#i obviously have the info saved and backed up else where but it’s nice to have easy access through tumblr

[birdy-bird27]

Bruh I’m trying to make like a oc compilation post for my sideblog but like how do you make that? I want to put each characters likes and personality stuff but also the stories I made for each of them as well. how do you combine that? It’s so hard bruh I wish I could just beam the lore into viewers head when I post my artwork on there lol

[my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction]

Magic Touch

Shimmer!Kane x afab!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals Masterlist• ao3• want to be tagged? | request info • Kinktober 2024 Masterlist • Kinktober 2023 Masterlist • Day 12: Anonymous Sex

Summary: Kane's an interesting patient.

A/N: This was meant to be for kinktober 2023 (I'm so sorry). A massive thank you to @thexsanctuaryx for saving my butt yet again and beating. I've gone off topic really because I found it difficult and this is where the story seemed to want to go.

Warnings: hospitals, reader works in the medical profession, kissing, I'm gonna say a bit of dubious content (but everyone's into it, it's just the set up is a bit hmm), biting, touching, Kane making people come with just a touch, please let me know if I have missed a warning!

Word Count: 2065

Kane’s reactions to you after his ‘rescue’ were… interesting. 

You were part of the medical team that had helped to keep him alive, spending your spare time while he laid comatose running blood work for the constant tests that were demanded by strict looking army officials. You never got to see the data. The whole team was just being used for the grunt work while faceless others got to assess and ponder over the results. 

You’d managed to figure out some things though, despite all the cloak and dagger. Often sharing knowing looks with your colleagues when new tests were ordered by your shadowy bosses. 

Things started to get strange, or stranger, when he woke up. 

Psychiatrist tests that you weren’t a part of. Constant interviews with high ranking members from all different government agencies. Throughout it all you were told Kane remained neutral, emotionless. Watching the people speaking to him like a spider would approach an insect. A cold glint in his eyes. 

It was obvious that he had come back different. Changed. Someone else. 

You didn’t really notice at first, the looks he gave you. Sure, you were there to do a job, but you also remembered to have some bedside manner. 

You’d chat with him a little, or more accurately, at him while you took blood and vitals. And he would watch you, listen, nod, say the occasional word here and there.

Honestly, other than his quiet disposition, you hadn’t thought anything was that strange. You’d seen weirder just working at A&E on a Saturday night. 

And there was something kind of nice about it, about how he would listen. As if every word that came out of your mouth was important. 

It wasn’t until you were called into a sudden meeting with your team’s supervisor’s supervisor’s supervisor that things were put into a bit of perspective. 

The man, ‘Karl’ he had said his name was, but you were sure that was as fake as the smile he had given you when you’d knocked and entered his office. His fingers had been cold when he shook your hand, his grip a little too hard to be friendly. 

‘Karl’ had made idle chit chat with you for a few minutes while your own anxieties grew like parasites in your stomach before he finally got to the point. 

“You tend to interact with Kane every shift, is that correct?” 

You’d nodded. “Yes, pretty much. I’d have to check the logs to be sure though.”

He’d hardly let you finish before he was speaking again, obviously already knowing your answer before you had even spoken. “Yes, we’ve noticed some… abnormalities from the recordings.”

“Wait,” you’d cut in. You knew about the constant surveillance, that wasn’t so much of an issue, but you assumed there was some kind of accusation of malpractice. “Everything I’ve done has been following guidelines to the letter, the wellbeing of the patient is my top priority, if you’re implying that-”

“No, no, no,” ‘Karl’ had held up his hands, another fake smile on his face. “Not those kind of abnormalities, nothing like that at all. I do apologise, I didn’t mean to insinuate anything of the sort.” He’d paused, breathing in and seemingly revelling in the moment of anticipation as you waited for his next words. 

“The abnormality is Kane’s reaction and interactions with you.” 

“What?” 

“He seems to… converse with you. Talk.”

You’d frowned. “A little.”

“A lot.” He’d put his hands together on the desk. “A lot more than he talks with anyone else. We have a proposition for you.”

You said nothing. 

“Have a conversation with him, 45 minutes, it’ll be monitored obviously. Whatever happens… happens. If he doesn’t talk to you, that’s fine.” 

“What do you want me to talk to him about?” 

“Doesn’t matter, anything you want.” He’d smiled. “You’ll be well compensated financially, of course.” 

You’d said yes when you’d seen the actual figure, you would be a fool not to. Though, there just had to be a catch, didn’t there? That kind of money to just talk for 45 minutes? Not even to ask any questions? 

. 

The room several guards led you to the following day was surprisingly nice. Carpeted, painted in a soft grey with plush sofas. 

Kane was already in there when they’d let you in, locking the room behind you and not even setting foot inside. Like they were pushing you into the lion’s den. 

He was sitting on one of the sofas, facing away from the door. He looked around straight away when you entered and gave you a small upwards twitch of his lips when he saw it was you. An expression that would have been cold and detached on anyone else, but you had become used to Kane over the past weeks. That small movement was a warm greeting.

“Hello Kane.” You say as you sit opposite him. 

“Good morning.” 

You shift a little to get comfortable. “You okay?” 

He nods once, “very well.” This was the same reply he would give you anytime you asked. 

For a moment you look around the room, trying to see if you could spot where the cameras were. You couldn’t. 

“It’s nice to see you.” He says flatly, but you smile.

“It’s nice to see you too.”

“I usually spend my time in here with other individuals.” 

You pause, trying to read anything on his stoic face. “Others?” 

“I often have meetings in here.” 

You nod, waiting to see if he’ll continue. He doesn’t. “You… like the meetings?” 

He takes a moment to answer, seemingly staring straight into your soul. “I feel indifferent towards them.” 

You smile. “That boring?” 

Kane cocks his head to the side, but says nothing. 

“Do they give you anything to do, anything fun to amuse yourself I mean?”

He continues to look at you for a moment. 

“Books, tv, games?” You shrug a little as you speak, “art supplies?” Surely the higher ups didn’t just leave him with no mental stimulation. 

“Something ‘fun’?” He repeats in the same tone and you nod.

“Yeah, like a hobby?” 

“Talking to you is ‘fun’.” He says plainly.

You can’t help the little smile that pulls at your lips. “Yeah?” 

He nods, and shifts a little in his seat. His hands pressed neatly together on his lap. “Being around you is ‘fun’ also.” You’re so used to his calm, even voice but you don’t pick up on the slight change in cadence to his tone.

Your smile widens a little, “that’s nice to hear.” 

He watches you, fixated, his line of sight seemingly glued in place as you glance around again. Once more trying to pinpoint the cameras. It made no sense for them to be concealed surely?

“They removed them.” He says plainly. 

You frown, quickly turning back to him. “I’m sorry?” 

“The cameras. That’s what you’re looking for, right?” It was a statement, not a question. “They’ve been removed.” 

“What?” Your frown deepens. You’re sure Kane’s not lying to you, part of you isn’t sure if he actually could. “Why? Karl said that-”

“He told you this would be monitored.” Kane nods simply. “I asked for them to be removed.”

“Why?” 

“I assumed it would be… uncomfortable for you.” 

There’s an icy touch on the back of your neck, a shiver at his words. Some deep down basic sense of self preservation being activated. “What?” 

“People grow uncomfortable under surveillance, they react differently.” 

“Well… sure. I mean, you’re not wrong, it’s just…”

He cocks his head to the side ever so slightly. “It’s just?” 

“I thought the whole point of us talking was for them to, you know, monitor.” You shrug, not sure how else to phrase it. 

Kane nods, not in agreement, but simply to show that he heard you.

There’s a pause as he seems to be thinking over your words carefully, choosing the right response with a level of precision. 

Instead he stands and sits down next to you, his leg resting against yours. You frown a little, swallowing and taking a breath to question him as you shift to the side to put a sliver of space between you. 

His hand on your cheek makes you pause, freeze as your words catch in your throat. His fingers are warm and gentle as he tilts your head up and towards him, his pressure light as if he was worried he could tear through you like spider silk. 

For a moment he just looks at you, observing your features as if he could decipher some lost hidden knowledge. 

He leans closer and you know what he’s going to do before he does it. You’re not stupid. But for some reason you can’t get your body to move, to raise a hand, to shift backwards. He presses a soft kiss to your lips. It’s sweet, gentle. The kind of soft first kisses that only exist in teenage romcoms. 

Your senses finally snap back into your mind and you pull back, breaking the kiss. “Kane, wha-”

He moves forward, his eyes seemingly expressionless as he kisses you again. His grip on your cheek tightens, halting your effort to pull away for a second time. 

The strength of his grip surprises you, the way his fingers slide around to squeeze at the back of your neck. You can’t do this, can’t let him do this. This is breaking every patient doctor code in the book. Not to mention that the room still could be monitored, you’d lose your job. And probably worse. 

You try again to move away, to break the kiss, but his hand tightens. The strong muscles of his arms contracting as he keeps you in place. 

Frustration bubbles under your skin, covering the deep down urge to just relax into the embrace, and you do the first thing that pops into your head. You bite his lip. Hard. 

He groans. 

“Again.” He mutters, his voice thick. He rubs the bridge of his nose against yours, practically vibrating as he leans close for another kiss. He moves closer, pressing his chest to yours and lightly pushing you back against the sofa.

“Kane, I…” You swallow, trying so hard not to get caught up in the feel of him, the intoxicating lidded look to his eyes, how his body feels against yours. “I hardly know you, I don’t know you.

“You do. You did.” He says simply.

You practically do a double take. “What?” 

Kane doesn’t answer, leaning down and mouthing at your neck, licking and sucking until you shiver and a small pant escapes your lips. 

He slips his hand under your clothes, ghosting his fingers along your skin. 

You jump, “Kane…” You wish you didn’t sound so needy, so breathless. 

“Hmm?” He hums against your neck and drags his hand down, sinking under your waistband. 

You pull lightly on his hair, getting enough space between you and him so that you can press your lips to his. 

He groans, kisses you back with a deep hunger that leaves you breathless. He licks into your mouth, rolling and teasing your tongue with his own until you're whining and bucking up against him. 

A damp patch is starting to form in your underwear, and when he lightly touches your clit over your panties you gasp, your back arching. 

You expect him to stroke, to move his fingers. But instead, he presses the very tip of his forefinger flat against your bundle of nerves, firm but gentle. 

And suddenly your world falls apart. 

You tense, moaning and panting as you come suddenly, pleasure exploding behind your eyes and robbing you of thought as you convulse in his arms. Your body pulses, sings and you can’t do anything but hold onto him for dear life. 

He moves his hand a fraction as you come down, taking his lips from yours and smiling ever so slightly as you breathe hard. Sweat beading on your forehead as aftershocks run through your nerves.

“What was that?” You pant. 

“An orgasm.” He smiles a little bashfully.

For a second you think he’s being serious, but you tut and giggle when you see the crinkles at the corners of his eyes. 

“You know what I mean.” 

“Let me show you again.” He mutters, leaning closer once more and pressing a kiss to your cheek as he slips his fingers under your underwear this time.

Thank you for reading!

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[badkitty3000]

What did you think was ooc for Five?

Great question, and I have already covered it a bit in my post here, but I could probably yammer on all day about it, so I'll add some thoughts.

Season 1 -3 Five was focused, determined, manic, arrogant, sometimes mean, violent, out-spoken, and full of love for his family above all. Yes, he insulted them and had no time or patience for their shit, but considering everything he'd been through and what he was up against, there was a reason for it. Season 4 Five? Ok, yeah, I can buy that maybe he was depressed and didn't really know what to do with himself anymore. Myself and others have certainly written him that way a few times. But, damn, he spent like all of season 3 bitching about wanting to be retired and here he could be! He could have played the stock market a few times, bought a little place somewhere, picked up a nice lady at the local Bingo hall and lived his peaceful live he deserved. Instead, he works (inexplicably) for the government and just wanders around with his sad little trenchcoat and CIA-issued pistol and flashlight, taking orders from The Man and just...existing I guess. I could see if they made it so that he joined the CIA to get inside info on Reginald and he had spent the last 6 years quietly plotting to take him down and get his revenge or set the world straight again. But no...he apparently hadn't even tried to look into anything Reggie was doing? Like he was just "*shrug*, it's probably fine".

Five loves his family above all else. We know this. If not, he wouldn't have spent decades alone fighting to get back to them and save all their stupid asses. Now, all of sudden, he just doesn't seem to care? Yes, he's present and has obviously kept in touch. He goes to the birthday party, etc. But there is zero interaction with Klaus, or his nieces, or even Viktor. When at the end, he finally gets some fight back (although for completely absurd reasons) and snaps at Luther, the whole family gasps in shock like this is some new occurence that Five would be mean to them. And he'd said much worse to them before! So, that leads me to believe he just has spent the last 6 years being a completely different person and everyone forgot he's actually an asshole?

And back to the family thing...fighting his brother over his wife? Falling in love with Lila, the same person who: conspired behind his and Diego's back in Season 2, was raised by his villainous boss, was the daughter of two innocent people he killed, tried to kill him with her fists, a frying pan, her feet, a knife, electrocution; and who he tried to kill multiple times as well. Yes, they have had time to heal some wounds and they have a shared traumatic experience with The Handler but come on...he would never! He would never be attracted to her that way. He would never betray Diego that way. And he certainly wouldn't fight him over her, not when she and Diego are married and have kids together. I don't care how many years they were together alone...just no. Best friends? Sure. Lovers? Fuck no.

Physically, where was his prowess? Five is supposed to be the all-time badass assassin, trained in martial arts and weaponry. His body is young at 19-20 years old, and at the peak of his physical fitness. Even without his powers he should be able to kick some ass, or at least try to. And then when he does have his powers, he just doesn't know how to use them correctly anymore? And again, he looks slow and weak in a fight. His solution to taking down the big Bennifer blob thing was to fire an entire clip at long range at it, and then just go "huh...weird that didn't work". Why wasn't he looking around the mall for a weapon? An axe? Something else to fight against it! That's what he does...that's his THING! We were fucking robbed of a Five-centric badass fight scene, when there were so many opportunities for one. Hell, he could have taken down a room full of Keepers with a fucking ballpoint pen while singing along to Abba's Dancing Queen! Why didn't we get that?

Meeting with Reginald. Remember in Season two when Five met with Reggie at the Tiki bar? He sat and had a drink with him, but it was still tension-filled with a lot of emotion there. Then in Season 3, when he was basically like "you're a sadistic lunatic that is going to kill all of us" and got right in his old man's face and told him he was a giant dick? This time...he's just standing around Reggie's house shooting the shit and not even acting like he's mad. That is just not the same guy. I realize this was supposed to be Viktor's fight with Reggie, but they still could have shown Five to have a little emotion there.

So, there you have it. I could probably keep going, but this is way too long as it is. It's just heartbreaking, really. This character that we have all come to love for all of his complexities and faults and heroics was just diminished to a one-dimensional, uninteresting character with no regard for his family. Basically, just undoing three season's worth of plot and character development. And it's not Aidan's fault. He did the best he could with the shit he was given, and I feel sorry for him. For as much as we love this character, Five was his. He made him come to life and there's not many other actors his age that could have pulled that off. So, I'm sad this was his end. They really did him dirty.

[cyren-myadd]

Am I The Asshole for saving the life of an evil person?

This whole thing is so screwed up that I don’t even know where to start. Sorry if this is confusing.

So a couple of months ago, I (16M) was captured by the clone of my crazy dead biological father and taken to the RDA to get tortured for information. I’m an orphan, so I don’t have any living family (other than my friends, who I consider my family, but they’re 14M, 14F, and 8F so there wasn’t really anything they could do) and I knew there was no one who would come rescue me. By the time they started interrogating me, I was pretty sure I was as good as dead. I even told the enemy that they would have to kill me before I would talk. But obviously I didn’t die or I wouldn’t be here writing this. The clone saved me. We made a deal that I would act as his guide and translator and in return he would protect me from being tortured and he wouldn’t make me give up any info. I spent the next few months in the jungle teaching him and his squad how to survive in the forest and I can’t believe I’m saying this but it was kind of… nice? I guess? I dunno maybe I had stockholm syndrome or something.

But anyways, it didn’t last forever cause he eventually got a lead on his target, who just so happens to be my best friends’ dad, and we went after him. The clone did so many horrible things. He set villages on fire, hunted an innocent tulkun mother and her calf, threatened to kill people, and I think the only reason he didn’t kill anyone is because I begged him not to. When he finally tracked down my friends’ dad, he and his soldiers ended up using my friends as hostages, and the worst part is that my friends’ older brother (15M) was shot by his right hand man when he helped me and 14M escape. After that, the clone was still holding 14F hostage, and he almost got my friends’ dad to surrender, but before he could, my friends’ mom grabbed me and took me as a hostage too. She was going to kill me to avenge her son, and I thought the clone was just gonna let her do it. Taking out my friends’ dad was the only thing he seemed to care about, but to my surprise, he let 14F go after their mom cut me. Thankfully, we were all able to walk away from that without anyone else dying or getting hurt.

Now here’s the part where I’m probably the asshole. After the big battle, I found the clone drowning underwater. I knew I should've just left him to die, I really really tried to, but for some reason I just couldn’t. I saved him. I guess I felt like I owed him or something. When he realized I saved him, clone called me his son and asked me to come with him, but I just hissed at him and ran back to my friends and their parents. I haven’t told anyone what I did yet. I know I need to tell them at some point but I just don’t know how. The clone was pretty beat up so I know he won’t come back anytime soon, but one thing I know about that bastard is that he doesn’t quit. He’ll be back at some point. What should I do? Am I the asshole?

[laugtherhyena]

I need to have ibis taken away from me so that i stop expanding Ayame's family tree-

Quite literally the most random thing ever, at one point earlier this week i remembered this throwaway from Asoot's puppetmaster arc at the scene where Akane goes to spend the night at Ayame's house;

This was, obviously, done because back then none of us had any ideas let alone designs and character traits for Ayame's family, hence the need for an excuse to why they're not present.

Cut to present year where i went and made characters for her parents and thought back to this line like "Hey i should make that", since i wrote Bashira as a single child that means this is an aunt from Ippei's side of the family; Mai Hatano!

And hey i was actually nice this time around so she's actually alive post-tragedy :] so here's some general info on her:

-She's 9 years younger than Ippei, the parents were going through a rocky part of their relationship and the mom thought maybe having another kid could save their marriage but it really only made everything worse and the husband left around the time Mai was turning 2 years old.

-The deal is that the father as some kind of businessman that was having an affair with a coworker and would excuse him coming up late or not even back home by saying he was piled up with work and blaming the wife or being “insensitive about his efforts”, but she knew he was bullshitting and could tell he had someone else. So again, she thought maybe if they had another kid that would fix things but it only led to somewhat constantly arguing for over an year until he left with his lover and cut contact with the rest of the family.

-This ties into why later in life Ippei choose financial stability over following his music career, the family struggled quite a bit over the years with just the mom and two kids, they had to move a few times and Ippei even got his job as a waiter during his mid to late teens to help out with money. I guess this also ties into why he and Bashira planned so much to have Ayame, i think his parents married pretty young and inexperienced so he wanted to avoid that and have a normal family.

-On Mai’s side she felt like she was at fault for “ruining her parent's marriage” for a good chunk of her childhood and early adolescence. She's over that as an adult, though it did lead to her avoiding serious relationships with anyone though most of her life. At most she's had some flings/one night stands, but never a proper boyfriend or anything official.

-On top of that Mai is generally pretty bad at dealing with emotions, both of other people and her own. She has no idea how to comfort anyone or help when they're in some emotional turmoil or need someone to vent to, so oftentimes she is kinda just changes the subject or gives a pretty standard response of like “Damn that sucks” before doing so and proceeds to ignore the issue as in sorta of a “forget about it” way. (As you can probably guess, she's not the one to show her hurt to others for a similar reason. When she received the news that her brother and his family had died she didn't express much of a reaction at all at the foundation and only cried when she was back home because she did genuinely care for them, though her odd reaction gave the impression to some coworkers that this wasn't the case.)

-She is a very stubborn person so she doesn't talk to people about this problem of hers, much less seek help when it comes to it because the fact that she can't truly help the people she cares for when they need emotional support really hurts her so she'd rather ignore and forget than deal with her lack of abilities in the area. 

-Stubbornness and ignorance are notably her most negative traits (“I was never taught and I will not learn” sorta thing). This extends to circumstances other than her loved ones emotional needs because a lot of the time she will be dismissive or ignorant about certain things solely because they don't affect her directly nor anyone she cares for.

-That being said, she is very outwardly nice and shows care to others. Very chatty and outgoing, pretty much the opposite of her brother and niece since she can talk to people very easily. She's on good terms with pretty much everyone from Tsurugi's division and talks quite frequently to other foundation workers as well. Though she is rather blunt and says whatever comes to her mind at any given moment.

-Before the tragedy she worked as a personal bodyguard in Towa city, this busy and sometimes dangerous lifestyle led to her distancing herself from her brother a lot as they grew older. It wasn't anything intentional, just life bringing them in separate ways so while she did love her brother and his family a lot they didn't see each other super often, it was mostly during holidays, funerals or events like some of Ayame’s competitions or similar situations. This became one of her biggest regrets late in life as she wishes she could have spent more time with them.

-She broke her arm pretty badly when a client was getting ambushed and was set to stay out of business until recovered. Once she was dispatched from the hospital Ippei and Bashira came to drive her home and help her settle back, alongside doing some catching-up. That was the last time they saw each other.

-When the tragedy broke out she became stranded in Towa city because of all the chaos and the Warriors of hope hunting down the adults. Her arm was still broken then, but Mai is a rather reckless person and went around fighting despairs and rescuing other citizens in spite of her injury, which led to her injured arm getting broken and slashed in many other places which then led her developing a nasty infection that she just kept fighting on her own for months until she and a group of adults managed to leave the city.

-She was brought to a hospital pretty much immediately after by the group's leader and by that point she pretty much couldn't feel or move her hand anymore and the whole area around her arm gave her immense pain. When she started getting treated the staff tried to contact any family member which led to them contacting the Kisaragi foundation and upon informing them that she was in their care Rei requested that Mai should be moved to the foundation’s hospital facility, which was where she stayed for the majority of her recovery.

-There wasn't much Hikaru or any of the medical scaff could do to save her injured arm so she had to have it amputated to avoid further spread of infection, but at this point Mai couldn't even think much about the fact and just told them to do whatever it takes to make the pain stop. On top of losing her arm, she also became prone to infections out of how bad hers was.

-It was when she was recovering from surgery that Tsurugi came to speak to her, he apologized for the foundation taking so long to rescue her, alongside informing her how the place functions and most importantly letting Mai know that her brother and his family had died. It was only after he left that the weight of this information and everything Mai had gone settled in and, for the first time ever since the tragedy started, she cried.

-The thing is that unlike her brother, an overthinker who thinks ahead and carefully plans everything in life, Mai tends to throw herself into things head on just hoping that it will all work out in the end and while she's going through things she doesn't stop to think much about the details until it's over. So it was only as she was recovering in the hospital that she thought about everything she had gone through, everything she had lost, and for once tried to think of what her next course of action should be while going through these feelings.

-That being said, she never fell into a depression or took the loss as hard as someone like Keisuke did because that's just not the kind of person Mai is. Somewhat similar to her ignorant demeanor, her way of dealing with grief is mainly by occupying her mind with other things, like going places she enjoys or focusing on training and work. The last one being the reason she joined Tsurugi's division pretty much immediately after being dispatched from the medbay.

-Mai’s an action woman! She has a lot of energy and loves getting into fights, especially if it is to protect others, so it's no surprise she joined his division and not Rei’s or Teruya's. But when it comes to Tsurugi's ideals Mai is by no means a follower, she thinks he's insane, way too radical, but so far his black and white mortality hasn't affected her or anyone she cares for directly so she turns a blind eye to it, this is the guy who pays her after all. (This does change post Sdra2, especially after Keisuke almost shoots Midori)

-She was assigned to be in charge of the new members basic physical combat and self defense training, especially for those like Ryutaro and Keisuke who had no experience in this line of work before. This is part of how she ended up becoming a close friend of theirs, though Mai tends to treat Ryutaro (and Midori by extension) more like younger siblings rather than coworkers.

-The foundation provides her a prosthetic for use only during missions (by Tsurugi's orders). Mai doesn't mind that since she doesn't actually like having the prosthetic on, it feels more like a trouble to put on and use than it's worth, she much prefers not having one at all.

-On a similar vein, Mai isn't a fan of the work uniform, she finds it way too stuffy and clunky so she only puts it on right before going on a mission, alongside the prosthetic arm. Tsurugi doesn't take that well, as he sees it as Mai not taking work as seriously as she should, but she is one of his best soldiers so he refrains from picking up on her.

-Onto some more miscellaneous information. Mai’s apartment is rather disorganized and messy, but for her it’s fine because she knows where everything is, even if it's not in the right place per say. Bashira used to jokingly pick up on her over it.

-She’s also a pretty bad cook, can only really pull off simple meals which is why she's a huge fan of takeout and fast food in general.

-Back in Ippei's late teens/early 20s she was the one to keep pushing him to take initiative and ask out Bashira, though that help absolutely came alongside teasing her brother for being so shy.

-They were really close then, Ippei would even pick her up from school everyday n all. This strong care stayed strong over the years even after they started seeing each other less and less after moving out of their childhood home, and even less after their mother passed away from old age sometime around the late 2000s.

-She never spent much time with Ayame but oftentimes when she would feel self conscious about her lack of femininity her parents would mention how she's just like her aunt on that aspect

-Mai has her brother's collection of music vinyls at her place, she's not the biggest fan of classical music, but listening to it reminds her of him.

[roxyteal]

(Jesus Christ it happened again. Mobile decided to not only publish the draft but also not save any of my edits. Pardon me if you see any appear) (Oct 30: Put context about his sobriety in the beginning, as opposed to in the middle out of nowhere.)

Today I am compelled to talk about Joe 5. It may include things I already mentioned in a different post, but those were in the tags so if any of this seems like not new info, sorry about that.

ANYWAY

Joe 5. Also this gets long so bear with me.

Joe 5 (but you can use either Joe or 5) came from a complete set copy of "Joe`s basics joke game". He was relatively fine as a person, with highs and lows. He's a bit of a snark but it's usually lighthearted. He even realized he had a problem and got clean, though... Alcohol still kinda haunts him as a result.

At some point, he and his entourage found the Webspace. On that day, they were among two others - a copy of Denied's Basics (the 10th apparently), and the 82nd Dave, who was a rogue for some reason.

Things were alright until it was mentioned that there was a pre-existing Joe and company around, and whether or not they'd like to merge with him, and so on. 5 thought that was weird as Hell and said no. But his companions said yes.

This resulted in 5 distancing from them since they're "not my friends anymore", and "I don't even know them anymore". And from then on, he resented the idea of merging, and that damned "Joe 1" for being so Goddamn happy. What's he all smiley about, he thought. The fucker.

But at least he still had his school. His empty, ghost town of a school. He quickly realized he couldn't live alone in that so he started staying in a tiny apartment, which quickly became a mess because of his plummeting self-worth. If only he'd just gone with everyone else, this could've been avoided, he also thought. It's his punishment for going against the grain. Being different. Maybe even "defective". Well shit, let's be defective. Why not.

He would have his code and model changed so that his hair would grow naturally. Somewhere in his reasons for this was needing to feel responsible for something, so he wouldn't completely fall apart. And maybe having it would make him feel better, whether about himself, in general, or both. He recalled that he considered asking his player about it in the past, but never got the nerve. Better late than never, he tried to rationalize. That's what people say to forgive themselves, right?

But the shoulder-length he requested (and wavy to boot, he didn't realize he had that...) spiraled out of control and now reaches his waist. Of course he couldn't keep up the end of the deal he put upon himself. It really needs the trim, but he couldn't be assed to try, and it disgusts him. The only good thing was how it never tangled. Game magic shit or whatever. But regardless of that, he looked like a cryptid, and he felt like one too.

At this point, his only comforts was TV, eating, and sleeping. He didn't need to do the last two obviously, but it gave him something to do, a distraction. When he ate, he could focus on the taste and nothing else. When he slept, he would stop being able to drown in his thoughts, welcomed instead into nothingness. When he watched TV, it numbed him enough to stop caring.

But even in his lowest moments, he refused to give in to his old addiction of... That. Diving back into it would truly mean the end had come. He'd rather be tortured to the brink before he had a sip again. Even now. Especially now.

He rarely ever left the apartment, kept the lights off, curtains to the balcony closed, and didn't allow visitors. He rarely ever left his bed, in fact. Sometimes he'd lie there and daydream about leaving. To where? Who knows. But this place was so painful to live in because everyone else has it great and he's got nothing so it's like... Just leave. But where?

He'd ponder it. Maybe just go out that tunnel and see where the Internet busses take him. Leave it up to fate. Maybe he'll find a nice little NeoCities domain. That whole area's so fuckin' large, there had to be a place where even 5, a worthless piece of shit, could fit right in! Yeah...

But he never gets out of bed. Out of the apartment. To the entrance tunnel. To the bus stop. To NeoCities. He just lies there, thinking about it. And nothing happens.

One day, he realized he was running out of food. The only reason he'd ever leave his trash heap of an apartment. By this point it was a matter of looking presentable enough to go out into that bright, colorful, vapid world crafted by that... Uh, mask man, and his spooky associates. Or keep staring at the dump that is 5's living space and contemplate if he could live without the sensation of eating. He still had his two other trusty vices, is it okay to lose one?

But, fuck. He loved the instant noodles. The frozen meals. The rice cups he could drizzle a little soy onto. And all the other kinds of convenient, packaged stuff. Goddammit.

So, he stepped around the trash, and next he knew, he was out the door. Fine. Fine. Fine! He'll get so much, he'll never have to come out again!

But as soon as he was outside the building, hair almost encasing his torso like a shroud, something shifted. Today's the day he's going to leave. Yeah. He'll get this done, pack up, make a pitstop to Vincent's or whatever pretentious name that supernatural son of a bitch had, flip off the gaudy building, then head straight for the tunnel. If he had time, he might even egg that fucking place!

This is it! God, it'd been so long since he was excited. Genuinely excited. He wanted to hold onto this forever.

Mood improved, he carried on with his mission. He ignored the other shoppers, checking off everything he picked up from his list. It was one of his first lessons here, because how could anyone remember everything they needed? He sure couldn't.

Things were going fine, until... He bumps into someone. Baldina. And she single-handedly became the craziest thing to happen to him.

He barely recalled the conversation, but it led to her hiring him as an assistant at her school, despite his clear lack of qualifications. It seemed that like Mr. Strobe-bow-skis, she too had plenty of people under her thumb, in numerous positions. A whole network of them.

One of which, 5 got to meet while struggling pitifully with the coffee machine, just seconds away from having a breakdown right then and there. This guy called himself, er, "I'm never"? But one word. Okay sure whatever. And in spite of 5's threatening tones and verbiage, Imnever was patient enough to show him how to use the brewer. Even informed him of how Baldina takes her coffee.

So what's Imnever's story? Oh, he teaches art here. He's more of an animator by trade, but this suited him just fine. Huh. Well, still more impressive than anything 5's ever accomplished.

The three of them became friends. He wasn't sure how that was possible, but finally he had a reason to go outside more often, instead of stewing in his own suffering for weeks at a time. In fact, slowly that poor excuse of an apartment turned into something a little more decent. It wasn't super tidy, but if Imnever, Baldina, or both wanted to visit, finally 5 could and would allow it.

It got to a point where, one morning, they surprised him with a present. A motorcycle. Apparently the two had taken his daydreaming musings seriously, about how cool it would be to have one. Also, 5 had forgotten what day it was - his birthday.

He cried. He couldn't possibly accept this. He didn't know how to ride it. He'd ruin it or hurt someone. All the classic, self-depreciating excuses he was told he was using.

But, as Imnever said, what you don't know, you fear. Once you do, you don't. Frankly that sounded confusing, and yet, these types of phrases helped him get this far, so... Just accept the damn thing.

The helmet was really cool, but he had so much hair that it wouldn't be able to fit. At long last, he got the trim he had desperately needed; up to just below the shoulders. But Baldina did it for him. Almost ironic, but at this point, who cares?

He forgot how light his head felt after the excess was cut down. It was a nice feeling.

Once he actually tried to overcome that fear of failure and took the chance to learn something, he was surprisingly quick on the uptake. And before long, he was zooming down streets in that badass chopper of his.

Maybe the Webspace isn't actually so horrible. But, thinking that, he reminisced about that day, where he was so sure he was gonna leave this domain behind and start over somewhere else. He slowed to a stop in front of Infinite School or something like that. Hm...

And he gave that treacherous high-rise building the bird, laughing manically as he drove onward. Of course he was going to stick around nowadays, but it still felt right to do. And boy was it worth it.

Life here had finally looked up for 5. Until, well... The demon showed up. But that's a whole other fuckin' story.

[frenziedslashers]

So I have read C'mere Honey bear about three times now 👉👈 and I am in love with the way that you write the big teddy bear. Do you think you could write something where Megan's S/O helped Dwight help the others to get Negan to stop? Maybe she knew Negan before he went rogue and she wanted him to be the man he once was. She still loves him and is only helping because she knows Rick won't kill him. Maybe before she gets caught she gets pregnant, though? It's Negans obviously, and she tells Rick and he allows her to stay in Alexandria to stay near Negan 👉👈 I just think it would be cute and I would love to read how you would portray how he would react to the news. (Female reader if that's okie 🥺 I love all of your TWD stuff so much!!)

Father of Mine;;

A/N: STOP THIS IS SO CUTE - thank you for the request anon and sorry if this is shitty. Hitting a writing block rn fr.

Pairing: Negan x Pregnant!Reader

Warnings: Pregnancy, Canon Typical Violence, swearing, Negan (He's a warning himself let's be fr), Negan makes jokes about sex because it's Negan. Lmk if I need to add more!

TWD MASTERLIST || REQUEST INFO

Negan wasn't always as evil as he was. You had once known a man that would fight to survive. One that would look for the light and still keep you and himself safe. Until one day that darkness seemed to consume him just as much as it consumed the earth. He was still in love with you, you knew it. He looked at you with those same adoring eyes, and he never once hurt you. He was just, different. He went from a man who would only fight for you. To one who now fought for hundreds. Keeping them scared while "protecting" them for his advantage.

You hated it, but you couldn't leave him. You still loved him just as much as he loved you. He was all that you had left, and you couldn't bare to let him go.

It wasn't until the whole Rick Grimes situation came around that you saw a light at the end of the grim and damp tunnel that you had been tracking through for the past years. You had found out it was Dwight who was helping him and helped the man in secret yourself. Giving him tips for Negans plans. If only in return Dwight would ask Rick to spare Negan. You couldn't live with yourself if you were the reason he got killed. He was your husband, and you loved him more than you cared to admit.

When Rick did finally end it all, you thanked him over and over. Tears rolled down your face when you realized the man had finally put an end to all of the violence that you had to endure. The violence that the love of your life had caused.

"Can I go with you? I swear, I just want to see him. He's my husband, I can't," you choked, and he nodded. "Yeah, you can come, you try anything though, and yer gone." Rick sneered at you and you nodded in understanding. Yet, you could tell the people around him didn't seem to agree as much.

You could care less what anyone else thought, though. You just needed to be near the man you fought so hard to save.

You hated what they did to him. You asked them to not hurt him, but you also knew if Rick hadn't done what he did. Then Negan wouldn't have gone back to Alexandria willingly. It was definitely a nice surprise for the previous leader when he woke up after being questioned by the gang to see you by his side. You were curled into a chair beside his bed, a book in your hands while you read and waited for his awakening.

"Whatcha readin' sugar?" He asked, his voice so fragile and hoarse. It made your chest clench while your eyes shot up to meet his.

"You're awake?" You had to ask in disbelief. Your lower lip quivered as you moved to hold his hands. "I thought you never would, I thought I might have lost you," you rambled, and he smiled despite the pain. "You're stuck with me," he croaked out, and you nodded with a soft sob.

His lips pulled down into a frown as he reached up to brush a few stray tears from your face. "Don't," he spoke, unable to continue. Wincing at the pain that shot through his neck when he spoke, you shook your head. "Don't talk, and I'll stop crying for you. Please, get rest, baby." You cooed, and he offered a weak smile. His eyes danced over yours as you leaned up to kiss his forehead with so much love.

"I love you, now get some rest. I'll be back to see you tomorrow, okay?" You told him with a smile and he did his best to smile back. His eyes watched you close when you moved down to press a gentle kiss on his lips.

God, the shit he'd do to have you hold him and just kiss him.

---

It wasn't only a month and Rick had your husband thrown in a cell. Locked away like he was the boogeyman. No light would shine upon him again besides what could bleed through the tiny window in his cell.

Sure, he did some regrettable things. You sure didn't agree with all of them, like killing Abraham and Glenn. That was uncalled for, but the people who claimed to be heroes weren't any better. So many innocent lives were taken. Women and children who couldn't defend themselves. Hell, a couple of your friends were murdered in cold blood, and anytime you saw Rick you had the urge to lunge. If it weren't for Negan still being alive, and the baby growing inside of you. You might have.

"You have an hour to talk to him. I will be right outside this door, if I suspect anything is happening, you're leaving." Michonne ordered, and you nodded, thanking the woman with a soft smile before slipping past the door.

His head shot up when he heard the door open and close. He was still weak, and everything hurt. He was still determined to meet you at the bars that separated you both. "Hey, beautiful," he chimed with that sweet grin that could manipulate you into doing about anything for him. A small smile of your own graced your lips. "Hey, handsome." His smile was even more than before just from hearing your words.

His hands were wrapped tight around the bars. His knuckles only grew whiter the closer you got to him. He swore being apart from you was worse than any punishment. He missed holding you at night. He missed seeing you most of the day. He missed you.

When you reached out and placed your fingers over his hand. His whole body seemed to slump forward. His forehead pressed against the bars of his cage while his eyes fell shut. "I never thought I'd see you again when they tossed me down here." He sighed, and you nodded while reaching through the bars to hold his face with a soft smile. "Well, they can't keep me away from you. I'm too mean. I'd start a fight if they kept me from seeing my husband," he only smiled more at that.

You were right, too. You had to be a little mean to keep up with Negan and the Saviors. It's what he loved so much about you. You were sweet as honey. But damn, could you be a bitch if you really wanted to be.

Your hand dropped from his face to his calloused fingers on the bar. Unwinding his fingers from the metal while pulling his large hand through it to link your fingers with his. "Plus, I got a surprise for you that I know you'll love," you winked, and his face lit up.

A thousand thoughts were running through his head. His mind was practically bubbling with excitement. "Is it sexual? I'm damn near about to bust just thinkin' about you sucking my dick through this cell." He joked with a wolfish grin and a low chuckle. His laugh grew more genuine when you swatted his chest with your other hand.

"Negan! Michonne is right out that door! She could take me out of here, you know?" He sighed, "I miss feeling you, though," he whined a little, and you rolled your eyes with an amused grin. "God, you're so immature sometimes." you snickered, and he only smiled. "Wouldn't want me any other way. Now would you?" You shook your head with a hum. He was right. He kept you entertained. You wouldn't trade his personality for the world.

He started shifting a little from foot to foot. The man grew anxious while waiting for you to tell him about this wonderful surprise. "So, if you aren't givin' me a piece, what's going on, sugar?" He wondered out loud.

His stomach felt like it was tearing itself apart when all you did was smile. Your eyes were wide and filled with emotions he couldn't quite place. His eyes dropped to your intertwined hands when you pulled them to your stomach. Placing his large hand over your belly. He was confused, to say the least. Then it all started coming together. Pieces of a puzzle that his brain was slowly fitting with one another. His eyes were floating back up to your own once he realized.

"You're gonna be a dad, Negan," He couldn't speak after you told him. His ears felt like they were filled with cotton. His eyes darted around the room while he experienced every emotion at once. He was thrilled. You and he talked about kids before all this. You both wanted a little cub to call your own, but he was locked away. What would become of a kid with a father locked behind bars?

He flinched when your hands held the side of his face. Your thumbs brushed away tears that he didn't even realize fell down the apples of his cheeks. "Negan," you cooed, and he could see the worry in your eyes. That look that told him you might be regretting even telling him. He didn't want you to feel that way, though. He was thankful that you told him. He needed you to know that.

"Honey, that's amazing," He told you, bearing his teeth with a wide grin, "Guess I was just hoping I'd be able to hold my kid, you know? And my super hot wife," even with the part he added at the end of his sentence you couldn't smile. You felt the same pain that he was feeling. If Rick had never shown up, he could be there throughout your pregnancy. He could hold your baby when it was born. Rick ripped away the joy of having a baby from you and Negan. In any other situation, you knew the man in front of you would be bouncing off the walls excited and telling everyone in a five-mile radius that he was going to be a daddy.

Now? Now he was standing in front of you with a ten-mile stare. His hand was still lovingly placed on your stomach, but you could tell he was scared.

"I've been talking with Michonne and Rick, Michonne doesn't like it, but Rick said if you behave right. He'd give you days to come out. You'll have to work to own your keep, but you could be with me and the baby," you assured, and you saw a sliver of hope in his eyes. His worries seemed to fade, and he seemed more excited than before. "I promise you, baby, I'll get on their good side and I will be there for you and that kid. I will hold my baby, you better believe it," he told you with a grin, and you let out a soft giggle when his hand on your stomach grabbed your waist to pull you closer to the cell. Careful to not hurt you while he did his best to kiss you through the metal bars.

"Can't wait until I get to hold you again," he sighed. You couldn't agree more.

---

It wasn't until the sixth month behind the walls of Alexandria that Negan was finally allowed time out of his cell with you. He was able to go to appointments with you and actually hold you. He felt like maybe his world was finally healing, and so did you.

"What do you think about the name Elizabeth for a girl and the name Aiden if it's a boy?" You raised your brow at the man who stood behind you. His chin rested on your shoulder while his hands rested on your stomach in the doctor's office.

"How about no," you shot him down. He scoffed, burying his face in the crook of your neck. A soft string of laughter fell from your lips at the way his facial hair tickled your neck.

Siddiq was quick to ruin the moment between the both of you. Clearing his throat to make himself known in the room. Negan didn't move, though. He never wanted to let go of you when he was released from his prison to come with you on these appointments. "Can you come lay on the bed? So we can get an ultrasound done?" He asked, and you nodded with an excited smile. "Yeah, Negan, come on, let go," you spoke, and he sighed. His hands reluctantly dropped from your stomach to watch as you made it over to the bed.

He took note of every change about you. How you seemed more plump and round. The way you had a slight waddle to your walk. The glow to your skin. Gosh. He couldn't be more grateful that he had you safe behind these walls. Even if he was locked behind bars most of the time. At least you were safe. Plus, you had a bed to sleep in. Even if it was cold and alone, it was a bed.

Negans hand squeezed yours. He sat beside you while you lay on the bed. His eyes were glued to that TV that would show him his future. The kid that would soon run his life. Change himself for the better - more than it already had.

He felt his heart squeeze in his chest. His hand tensed around yours when you both saw the baby on the screen. He had no words to express how he felt. His eyes were wide in awe. He just couldn't believe it. "I hope they have your smile," you told Negan, and he looked at you with a loving stare. A tender smile tugged at his lips. "I hope they have your eyes," he added. You both had never felt more in love with each other. If it weren't for Saddiq clearing his throat again. Negan probably would have been doing a lot more than just undressing you with his eyes.

"Well, they look healthy. I want you back here next week, though, and keep taking those vitamins." He ordered, and you nodded, Negan reaching out to wipe a few tears from your face.

"Negan," He looked up at the doctor when his name was spoken. Waiting for him to continue. "I'm going to talk with Rick and the others. I think she'd do better if you were to be with her more. She's gonna need more help the further she gets along. It's not easy moving around with a baby inside you," He quipped, and you rolled your eyes. "You could say that again," you scoffed, but Negan was too caught in the thought of holding you at night again.

"Can we trust you out here?" He asked, and Negan nodded, "Of course, I'm not fucking up this kid's life by pulling something stupid and getting more than just my throat slit. I'd do anything to be with my family," He told the doctor, squeezing your hand with a smile. "All right, I'll talk to them," "thank you," Saddiq merely shrugged with a soft exhale. "Don't thank me yet. II doubt Michonne will like the idea too much."

And she didn't, not one bit.

"Do you guys not remember what he did to us? What he did to Glenn? Or to Abraham? Or anyone else who got killed in the crossfire?" She hissed, and the people around her flinched. "Maggie doesn't even come around anymore because of him. Do you really think we should just let him roam the streets because his wife is having a kid?" She asked.

Rick shrugged. "Carl would let him."

---

It was a hard fight, and Negan did everything to prove to Michonne and the others that he was trustworthy. God, he'd let them put him on a leash just as long as he got to hold his baby when it was born.

He had never felt more torn. One part of him wanted to be excited. To scream and sing about how happy he was to be a father. He was going to have a little Negan running around. Causing chaos and destroying everything in sight. Or maybe a little you. Or a cross of both. He had every right to be excited. His heart swelled at just the thought.

The other part of him wanted to hide away in a corner. Ashamed of what his life had become and all the people he had lost. Along with the fact that he might not be able to hold you ever again. Or even get to play a simple game of hide and seek with his little one. He did everything he did for the people he cared about. Still to this day, he believed he did the right thing. He didn't deserve to be behind these bars, it was the goddamn apocalypse for Christ's sake!

Every day was a war inside Negans head. He seemed to be growing more and more lost, and you took note of that. His smile would be less and less each day. His eyes seemed to slowly lose that shimmer to them that you loved. He was losing himself not being with you and it scared you.

Michonne was there every day to watch you and the ex-leader interact. Listening to how he would talk to you, and what the both of you would say to each other. She never knew he could be that soft. So kind and loving. So paternal.

It took longer than Negan thought, but Michonne finally caved in. She saw how upset you were getting and she'd be damned if she kept a child from their father. Even if their father was batshit crazy.

He hardly looked up when he heard the door outside open. His eyes drooped from his lack of sleep. "Negan," Michonne snarled, and the man sighed. "What? Are you here to tell me I'll never see my kid?" She had never seen him look so defeated. Maybe this was what he needed? She should leave him down here to rot and deal with the fact that he'd only be able to see his baby through bars.

She wasn't like that though. If she was in Negans position she'd probably die from a broken heart. If she was unable to watch her kid grow? It would be torture, even if she thought he deserved it. You and that baby didn't deserve that. She'd be lying if she said she didn't like you either. You were a good person, and everyone could see it. No one understood why you were with someone like him, though.

She sighed, leaning her back against the wall with crossed arms. Watching the man for another moment or two before speaking up. "We're letting you out." His eyes shot up to Michonne, that liveliness slowly flickering back to life within them.

"What?" He choked, and she pursed her lips. "You need to be there for your kid. We're going to have people watching you and your wife at all times. Guards around your home, but we're letting you be with her until the baby's born," she spoke, and he could tell it pained her to say those words. Admitting that she was letting the big bad wolf out of his trap. A trap that protected the flock of sheep outside the four walls he was kept behind.

"Don't make us regret this, Negan. Who knows, you act good, we might allow supervised visits," he shook his head with a sigh. That smile was back on his face. "Shit, I don't think I've ever been more excited to hear the words 'supervised visits' when referring to my future kids," he chimed, and Michonne rolled her eyes. "Shut up before I lose the keys." And Negan listened for once. Standing to his feet with hope.

---

The moment that Negan was free, and actually able to hold you while he slept. He felt more healed than he ever had. His hands held and kept you close at all times. He was there to help you with anything that you needed. You were his everything and he finally had you back.

Even with all the side eyes and glares you each received throughout the town. Neither of you really seemed to care too much. It wasn't like they could stop you both from walking around. Happy and merry you would be raising a kid together. It wasn't until a month before you were due. That's when you each began to fear the citizens around you.

He held your hand with his as he walked you to the doctor's office. His eyes glanced over at you here or there to be sure everything was all right. He was always worried about you, especially since you were due at any moment.

Negan stopped the stroll with you when he heard a familiar click behind the both of you, though. His heart jumped into his throat as he squeezed your hand. His head turned around to look at the man behind the both of you that held a gun out. Aimed right at you.

He had feared this day since his attempted assassination. A gun aimed right at the love of his life. Just now it felt so much worse. You were pregnant. Carrying a baby! But it was his baby, and he knew the people behind these walls only saw evil when they thought of your kid being born. It tore him to pieces, and panic was setting within his chest. He felt like he was trapped, unable to save you.

Negan acted fast without thinking. Pulling you to the side and behind him. Thankful the person didn't fire. The barrel of the pistol just followed his movements. Now pointed at Negans head. "Hey, what do you think you're doing? Pointing a gun at a pregnant lady," Negan asked with a light-hearted chuckle. His palms sweating a little with how vulnerable he felt right now.

"You killed her," he snapped, and Negan felt his heart drop. He'd never escape any of this, would he? "Look, I'm sorry, I really am," he tried to apologize. He'd plead if he really had to. Anything to keep you safe and prove that he changed. "She was pregnant too, you know? My wife, she was four months along," the man rambled, his voice cracking while tears brimmed his eyes. "Why should you get to keep your wife and baby, huh?" He shouted, and people started gathering around to watch the scene unfold.

Rick was the one that tried to de-escalate the situation, but you hardly knew what was going on. Your head was pounding and swimming with what-if thoughts. Thoughts of Negan dying, you getting shot and the baby not making it.

Then it hit you like a ton of bricks. A pain in your abdomen that had you clenching Negans hand hard. The man hissed out with a wince at how hard you squeezed. "Dammit, woman, what are you-" he snarled a little, intimidated by the situation, and confused as to why you were grabbing him so hard. "I need to get to the infirmary," you wheezed, and he felt his stomach flip. Noticing how sweaty you were, and how the color seemed to drain from your face. Was the baby coming? Did you get too scared? What was going on?

He didn't have time to think before a loud bang was heard. Negan's arms instinctively wrapped around you at the noise. The jolt of adrenaline that shot through you was not helping your case, nor was his body draped over yours.

He peaked over his shoulder, realizing the man had only shot the ground and Rick was holding him to the ground. "Negan, get her to Saddiq, now!" Rick shouted, and Negan nodded. He didn't have to tell him twice.

His head was racing at the thought of you going into labor. Was he really ready to be a dad? Were you both ready to be walking around with a baby in these conditions? What if he did get shot? What if someone killed you?

He didn't have time to think about anything worse before you were being helped up the stairs by Saddiq. Pulled into the main room of the infirmary and onto the table.

"Negan," you cried out when he went to stand back from the table. Your hand reaching out to hold his, "Don't go, please." He frowned at your words. He hated that you thought he would just leave you here. His smile slowly came back while he nodded, "I'm not heading anywhere, remember, you're stuck with me." He told you, leaning down to kiss your fear. Brushing away the tears that spilled past your eyes.

The contractions got closer and closer with each minute that went by, and soon Saddiq was using his knowledge and helping you deliver your baby. Negan was simply a bystander, holding your hand and doing his best to comfort you. Even if you were screaming and yelling at him with each reassurance he tried to give you. He knew you didn't mean it, or at least he assumed.

---

When the baby was finally born Negan couldn't take his eyes off of them. They were so small, especially in his hands. Little nose, ears, eyes, feet, he couldn't stop smiling.

"Can I hold my baby?" You asked, reaching your arms out with a small smile, and Negan raised a brow. "Don't you mean our baby?" He asked, looking back down at her before handing the little one to you. Propping some pillows behind you so you could sit up on the bed while holding your baby. The blanket draped over your legs.

He hummed out a small laugh while looking over the kid, reaching out to place his finger on the palm of her hand. Watching as she squeezed back. "She has your eyes," you told him, and he chuckled, "Then I hope she's got your smile, honey-bear," he cooed, leaning over in order to press a kiss to the crown of your head.

From that day on Negan spent most of his time by your side. Getting Michonne off his ass after the whole rogue citizen incident. He needed to not only be there to help you heal, but also protect you. It was obvious that people weren't going to feel any remorse for killing a woman - that unknown to Negan - helped Rick capture the Saviors. Nor her baby who had done nothing wrong.

He couldn't believe that he had a kid now. She was everything to him too. He couldn't wait until she got older, as well. Watch his little girl grow up into someone strong. He just hoped she didn't grow up too fast.

"You know," he murmured, the both of you finally back in the safety of the house Rick had assigned you when you first got into Alexandria. "I think we should have an army of kids," he cooed, and you rolled your eyes. Leaning against him while you each sat on the couch. The baby in your arms.

"Negan, I'll have one more kid for you. After that, you'll have to figure out the army situation on your own. Either find kids out there, or someone else to have your babies." you joked, and he snickered, pressing a kiss to your cheek. His nose nuzzled your skin afterward. "Hmm, we'll be all right with just two, I guess," he sighed dramatically, and you rolled your eyes.

"I at least want a little boy," he hummed with a smirk, kissing on your neck while you giggled lightly. "Well, we're waiting at least another two years before I have another one, Neg," he groaned at your words. Leaning more against you. "Why not now?" You tittered, kissing his cheek. "Someone's got baby fever, don't they?" You asked with a grin, and he shrugged. "Only if you're the one makin' 'em, sweetheart," he told you, and you nodded. Finally settling against his chest after he stopped squirming around beside you. He was worse than the sleeping babe in your arm.

"I love you," he cooed, leaning his head on top of yours while one arm draped around your shoulders. The other hand reached down to set on the baby's chest. "I love you both, don't either of you forget that." He whispered.

Tag list: @tuttifuckinfruttifriday Fill out the form in my pinned post to be added to future works :)

[kyogre-blue]

SS is done.

The most standout part: I got the Rhea S rank. It was good. I support it, but I wish there was a gen version and also that it was available on VW. My general impression is that VW actually gives you more chances to ask after and worry for Rhea (plus Claude is a rather meh romance option), so it would be great if I could get with her there too.

In general, I wish VW and SS were just one route. Both have some nice small details, but given how similar they are, I feel like you'd get a better experience if they were just combined.

Checking my VW endgame notes, it seems VW gives you info dump about Agartha, which definitely feels missing in SS, and SS gives you a bit more detail about Byleth's deal from Rhea, which adds some nice details on the Rhea relationship front. Seriously, they should have just combined them.

(Hilariously, Catherine's endcard outright contradicts the paired Rhea one. They are incompatible, but I got both. Additionally, Ingrid's card seems to be written for Crimson Flower, since it mentions Galatea being "seized" and Ingrid needing to push strongly to be allowed to govern it, which comes across weirdly as a post-war in the Byleth-led United Kingdom, especially since the other Lions kids I recruited all got their lord positions without any apparent fuss.)

Overall, not much else to say about SS. Final take: SS and VW are really obviously the same route, but even though SS was supposedly written first, VW feels marginally better in its focus and I enjoyed it more. However, the Rhea stuff specifically is good, and I wish I could get it on VW. Yup.

Final save file time: 95:19. Minus the VW playthrough, it's 44:07, so a bit faster. Specifically post-route split, it's 20:16, so it seems like the part that I finished faster was actually just Academy phase, possibly because I just didn't care much for the BE kids.

Liveblogging notes:

Looking closely at the battle selection screen, it seems Shambhala is at the very eastern tip of the Empire. There's a bit of mountain that stretches down from the Throat across Airmid River, and it seems to be there.

Narration calls it a "sprawling underground city."

Thales was kind of a chump!

Ah, I just realized I forgot to check his X description blurbs. They probably weren't too interesting tho.

The Agarthans are super mad about living underground and not having "light." Thales also name drops Agartha in his battle line vs Seteth and in the cutscene afterwards. Aside from their ability description, I think this is probably the first time their proper name is mentioned. But we uh, don't seem to discuss this much?

Small scene with Nemesis's coffin is missing, I think. Well, obviously because he's not the final boss now. iirc the scene immediately after the month change, with everyone freaking out over Rhea is new instead. It's a little weird because iirc VW gives you more opportunities to express concern for her. Here, the Rhea focus feels a bit less supported.

Seteth didn't realize you already knew that Rhea is the Immaculate One (which you did, btw).

Seteth "long ago" lost the power to change form, but "it seems" Rhea has not. My dude, did you not know... He does confirm that he's also a child of the goddess, which Rhea keeps hidden in VW. Flayn is also counted as one of the children of the goddess, even though she's more like a grandchild. It's a general term for dragons.

Seteth and Flayn press Byleth about taking over as the leader of Fodlan in some capacity, now that Rhea's future is uncertain.

We find the Sword and Bow of Zoltan in Shambhala. I was wondering about whether these things existed, since Zoltan is a dude that got namedropped in a small quest item description a while back. I also have an Axe of Zoltan though I can't remember exactly where I picked it up. No spear?

Just noting that you use Arcane Crystals to repair magical weapons like the Bolt Axe, Mythril to repair sacred weapons like Cichol's Spear of Assal, and Umbral Steel for relics. Mythril is also used on forging the rusted weapons that require A+ professor rank. iirc they're legendary weapons from other games or something like that. Smithing Stones are for normal weapons of all rarities.

On VW, this month was about Nemesis appearing and us going to fight him, but here on SS, that doesn't happen, so the explore dialogue is all about Seteth telling us that we should become the new Ruler of Fodlan and us taking the month to think about it. Everyone around the monastery comments on this, how we should think about it carefully, how they believe in us, how they're thinking about the future, etc. It's... hm. I think it's okay, but it really highlights how much Byleth has not been setup for this role At All.

They're a mercenary who became a teacher via nepotism and while we do things in the story that you could probably read as proof of Byleth's ability to lead, they don't really feel that way, especially since Seteth can end up spending half the war refusing what we suggest. Byleth is also just... not a real character. So them becoming the big deal leader is kinda... yeah.

Anyway, I accidentally ended the month early. But whatever.

Before you tell Rhea your "decision," she gives you exposition about how she made you and Sothis's crest stone is in you. She wanted to see Sothis again and thought she could regain everything she had lost.

Sitri was Rhea's 12th attempt. She "grew up" without Sothis's consciousness and fell in love with Jeralt. But when she gave birth, the child was not breathing and she herself was also "in grave danger." Sitri told Rhea to take the crest stone from her and put it into her baby. Otherwise, both would have died.

Byleth is suggested to be able to house Sothis's consciousness because they have both the crest stone and a body born from a parent with Rhea's blood.

Rhea is aware that Sothis gave you her power and disappeared, which means Rhea's dearest wish did not come true, but she's accepting of that. She basically entrusts Fodlan and the future to you.

And she just flips out in the middle of that.

"White Beasts" appear all over the monastery. They are from priests and knights that Rhea shared her blood and "stones" with. Tho given how JP plurals work, it's impossible to tell if Rhea is meant to have one crest stone or several. Demonic Beasts also run in??

Enemies are Frenzied Church Soldiers with minor crests of Seiros, Altered Golems, White Beasts (cardinal that has transformed and gone mad due to the rage of the Immaculate One) with Blest Crest Stone Shards (bestowed by a saint and wielded as a weapon), and the Immaculate One herself. She has a crest stone of Serios, can recover HP when near a White Beast and is described as having been driven to an uncontrollable anger due to the power of the goddess.

This battle was annoying because of the Classic setting. The whole business with Rhea having a private army of people whom she shared blood with is, hm. But I get the feeling this was done purely to explain her battle having the same mechanics as with Nemesis and the 10 Elites. It's... an interesting tidbit that these cardinals and such exist, but kinda weird that the crest of Seiros is actually this common, especially since they can ALL presumably pass it down to their kids, and I would expect Rhea had done this for more than just one generation.

(funny concept: after a thousand years of Rhea just sharing her blood all over, a good three quarters of Fodlan has some Seiros crest blood and it manifests pretty much at random in people all over.)

Anyway, final blow by Flayn.

OK, enough screwing around. tbh I do like Rhea, so there's some emotional resonance in everyone being very worried about her and having little voicelines about how they want to pay back the debts they owe to her, and her sadness and suffering and all that. It's not the worst.

She mistakes Byleth for Sothis when collapsing in the cathedral.

They did make a mistake: Rhea transforms in her dressing gown without the mantle or headpiece, but she changes back in full archbishop regalia.

The post-battle exposition exposition is kinda... ah yes, all nations in Fodlan are gone, but you see the Church is leading people toward a new... nation? How does this work. Sorry, but I don't see a religious government (??) as a good thing.

Rhea says she had a vision of flying free and speaking with Sothis while near death. She's happy she survived... so am I.

Rhea's wish was for peace, but she admits fault in propagating a false history and deceiving the faithful. And she did a bit of forbidden experimentation on the side, obvs. We forgive her tho.

I wish there was a gen way to save her, without the romance. It's such a good coda, honestly, without the marriage.

I wish Byleth was a more concrete character. Not necessarily a super detailed one, but with at least some grounding traits.

Still, Rhea romance scene is pretty good. WAY better than Flayn. Why can't I do this on VW..........

Endings: Ashe takes over Gaspard as the new lord. Galatea was "seized" what the heck, though Ingrid did rule it. Felix still ended up Duke Fraldarius. Sylvain talked his way into peace with Sreng, good on him. Lindhart "escaped the Empire" but went missing. Dorothea fled with her troupe to a secret location. Petra went to Brigit. Caspar fell on a battlefield. Bernadetta because seriously ill and lived as a recluse. Ferdinand returned to his territory but went missing. Catherine became Guardian of Zanado, but why was she shaking up with MY wife in solitude? Because in the ending card with Byleth, Rhea is still archbishop and assists the leader of the new "United Kingdom of Fodlan." Shamir became Robin Hood. Alois became captain of the knights. Seteth became very tolerant lol

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for (unsuccessfully) trying to murder my former fiancee to save her?

cw: cannibalism, kidnapping mention, murder

I (29M when I died, but I'm now undead so technically centuries older than that) used to be the third prince of my country. As a child, I was very sickly and since I was pretty much of no use to my parents, I was neglected emotionally. I had this special medicine, made from dust from a specific key that, if made incorrectly, could be made a poison. This will be important.

Anyways, since my parents wanted some use out of me, when I was 15 they engaged me to this girl, B (15 at the time, 29 when she died, she's immortal now), from a disgraced family of another country. Admittedly I was kinda judgmental about this but turns out her family's disgrace was because of a terrible disease and she grew up all alone because most of her family died, which, growing up alone too, I emphasized with. Over the next few months, we grew close, and when B told me she wanted to travel the world to discover new foods, I thought it would be nice to join her.

Unfortunately, one day, we were having dinner, she started acting strange, and, because of eating trauma from her mom (which no one knew at the time, she told me this when I came back from the dead), she started to violently eat everything in sight in front of my horrified family. Our engagement was broken off, and I didn't see her for years.

One day, I got kidnapped and heard rumors that she went mad. Obviously I was alarmed and concerned for her, and agreed to get a certain magic wine glass for my kidnapper and become a spy to see her again. I disguised myself as a cook for her, cooking up increasingly more and more disgusting foods and banquets for just one person: B. Still loving her, we had sex one time, revealing she knew who I was. Anyways, she then literally made an undead horde kill off a military escort (cause she had kinda neglected her duties because she ate all day and all night) while laughing maniacally about how she planned to eat the whole world, while I watched the screams of the soldiers and the undead in horror.

I was terrified at what she become, so I tried to run away, only to be forced back. Then I decided that we were both too far gone now, so, in a moment where I could be TA, I planned to poison both me and herself with my childhood medicine and soup. Turns out, B had a whole demon in her that took all the damage of the poison for her (and also partially responsible for her descent into her obsession with eating literally everything), leaving her alive and me dead. B then ate me, because yes, she had become a cannibal at this point, and the medicine from my body weakened the demon further. B then died, later, from eating herself.

Anyways, we've reunited centuries later and are pretty much married now despite all that happened, cause we really do love each other, but AITA for this? I felt at fault for her descent, because the stress of getting unengaged AND of most of her family dying must have made her weak enough to get possessed, and I wanted to take responsibility and make sure she couldn't hurt anyone else, but at the same time, she was so upset when I died and I was wondering if there was any way I could have done this differently. Sure B pretty much forgave me for trying to kill her by now but I need to know.

[ghostoftheyear]

So I am 71 hours into Veilguard and I have a few Thoughts.

To start off with, WHERE IS MY KISS. BIOWARE EXPLAIN. I've really been enjoying the Lucanis romance, and the extended sort of storyline (the way they did this for all the companions was fun, even if I do heartily miss how we could have long conversations with the companions in DAI and explore various topics and really get to know them).

But. I finished Lucanis's story, his bond is maxed out, he's made comments about Rook, he made choccolatte calda for me Rook, but so far all I've gotten is one almost-kiss. And a nice little date, and smiles at each other. BUT WHERE IS MY KISS. I am literally almost about to go into the very last part of the game and I am upset.

So DAI felt padded out in the way that there were lots of extra, optional areas you could explore (the Hissing Wastes come to mind). Didn't really add to the plot, but you could check things out, learn more about the lore, etc. In Veilguard it feels very much like Sidequest City. More like Sidequest Country, really. And while I do like how many of them have sort of tied into an overarching theme that somehow gathered together in the end... I'm also very tired of them. There are quests in Hossberg I'm just not going to do. I gave up trying to figure out some of these stupid puzzles. I'm barely feeling motivated enough to finish the rest of the companion questlines. I'll finish them because I want to max everyone out, but at this point, it's starting to feel like a drag.

The Minrathous vs. Treviso choice was brutal. Not only can you only save one city, the person who comes from the city you don't choose just fuckin hates you. And like, that was well written! Of course I'd be upset if someone chose to save another city instead of mine. But wow, the fallout from that felt like I couldn't ever do anything right again.

Why is Varric out of commission for so long. I don't want him to push himself to try and take command again, but I don't like the fact that he's barely been out of bed since the opening mission.

Though I've generally gotten comfortable (more or less) with the combat, I don't really super love how you basically have to choose certain pairs every time. For example, I can't bring Taash with Lucanis because their primers and detonators aren't compatible. I'd like to mix my party up more, but often it ends up being Taash and Emmrich, or Lucanis and Neve, or Bellara and... Harding? I think? I've barely been using Harding. Or Davrin. I'm used to the tank/mage/rogue combo and I really don't want three mages in my party.

Finally, while I was super happy to see Aravel, why did they even ask who he romanced if they're not going to bring it up at ANY. TIME. Not when Rook talked to him, not in letters, NOTHING. You fucking get to meet him in Minrathous! Guess who else is in Minrathous! HIS HUSBAND. I know this game isn't about him, but man, you got to ask Hawke about their companions when they showed up in DAI. I don't even get that?

I get that they can't show all the romance partners. Obviously. They didn't even ask about the important choices made in DAI, so they can't account for if Bull became Tal-Vashoth or went back to the Qun, if Cullen overcame or succumbed to lyrium addiction, etc. But Josephine? She's freaking Antivan. There's no reason not to have her cameo. Or why does Isabela get to show up repeatedly when Zevran hasn't been noted once? (In Treviso. The home of the Antivan Crows. WTF. Again, they didn't want to or couldn't add info from Origins, but they didn't have to note that my Warden romanced him. Just a mention of House Aranai would have sufficed!)

I know these are all kind of superficial things, but we've had to wait for this game for ten years. I don't want this to come off like I'm not enjoying it, because I am -- I'm getting headaches from playing it too much and I'm bummed I won't be able to play much tomorrow because, you know, work and all. But it's rough when there are things you were looking for and feel let down when they're not there.

[shadowcutie]

Here’s some resources to help you make text-based interactive fiction games!

Totally unprompted!  There’s certainly nothing going on in a certain forum right now (or rather an on-going issue).  Nope, I just thought it would be nice to share some resources.  ;)

-----

Twine

Twine is such an easy tool to use.  It uses its own scripting language Sugarcube (there’s also Harlowe and Snowman, but they don’t have the same functionality and creator support as Sugarcube does to my knowledge), Javascript, and CSS.

Twine is FREE!!!

Sugarcube literally gives you a save function (which does browser and save to desktop)!!!  Be the save-hoarding goblin you were born to be!

It’s criminally easy to make games with Twine.  They make it easy to make stats, relationships, and other info pages.  When setting up the paths you can literally see arrows pointing where they lead, you can move passages around visually so you can group them up by chapter/scene/etc......to be fair once your game gets BIG it can get messy and confusing.

I have coding experience prior to finding Twine, but I’m absolutely certain anyone can make great games with Twine.  If all your doing is making text-based ‘more story than game’ games, then you’ll be doing minimal coding (setting variables, if/else statements, using text boxes, etc) so you shouldn’t have any issues.

If you do have issues I’m 99% certain someone has had your issue before, and the answer is one google search away.

You can use Twine in your browser, just be careful to not mess with the data/cookies or you can lose your games (totally not speaking from experience)....archive your games often if you use Twine in browser.  You can also download Twine, so you can use it offline!

Links:

Twine

SugarCube v2 Documentation - Your new best friend.

With the Settings API you can add a mature filter, different style themes (great for light/dark themes and color blind themes...or just different themes to look cool), difficulty settings, volume control, etc.

HiEv’s SugarCube 2 Sample Code - An ever-expanding collection of code, tips, macros, widgets.  A good mix of fun and useful stuff.

^ Includes a great pronoun widget!!!  To be fair it’s not the most user-friendly widget at first, especially if you aren’t a coder, but in the long run a widget like this is a great tool for customizing pronouns.  It allows you to write a character in the code with one set of pronouns throughout the game ($They $are a great $person), the widget selects the correct word through an switch (aka a fancy if/else) statement when the character is assigned a pronoun......so when playing a female it would display as “She is a great girl”, a male would be “He is a great guy”, and nonbinary would be “They are a great person”.  You can add neopronouns this way too!

Chapel’s custom macros - Chapel has a lot of cool macros, but a lot of them are more advanced.  Very few have been useful for the kinds of games I want to make, but they may be useful for you.

r/twinegames - Twine has some older forums, which are still up (though not active) and have helpful answers on them, but the current forum is found on reddit.

w3schools - When it’s time to style your game, this will be your lifeline.  Even today, like...seven years after first learning CSS I still come back to w3schools all the time. !!!Twine has funky class/id selectors for it’s built in stuff so refer back to the SugarCube Documentation!!!

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Itch.io

Itch doesn’t take ownership of your content!

It doesn’t have DRM!

You can host your games for free, paid, or free with donation.

It does take a cut of your sales “The Company shall be entitled to a share of the revenue Publishers receive from Transactions which shall be calculated on the gross revenue from the Transactions“ (I’ve seen 30% but I’ve also seen “Lets you choose what to give them” so I’m not exactly sure how much their cut is).

THERE IS NO RESTRICTION ON CONTENT ASSUMING IT’S LEGAL (though if collecting payment you may be under different restrictions per the payment provider’s policy), so please make all the twisted, dark, disturbing, and/or sexual games you want!!!

Links:

Itch.io

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r/interactivefictions

r/interactivefictions is a good place for game recs, coding/writing resources, etc.

Links:

r/interactivefictions

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Tumblr

Tumblr is...well we’re all on here so we know how tumblr is like.

Great tags to look at: #interactive fiction, #interactive novel, #interactive game, #twine game, #dev log, #IF, #if game, #upcoming game, #promo post

Tumblr is a great platform, but as every creator knows...Reblog!!!  Reblog!!! Reblog!!!  The lifeblood of tumblr is reblogging.

I’ve found SOOOO many games I would never have known existed through if-creator’s blogs just because they reblogged a post from another if-creator.

@interact-if and @iorifd​ are doing great work!  They collect games, share helpful coding/writing tips, etc.  Go show them some love!  Interact-if runs the subreddit mentioned above, and iorifd is working on a database for visual novels and text-based games.

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IFDB (Interactive Fiction Database)

IFDB is a database for interactive fiction games.  You can add new game listings, write reviews, make game polls, make game recommendation lists, etc.

IFDB seems to like their parser games (parsers being where you type in commands like “go west”, “open door”, etc).

It actually has a pretty good filter and ignore system.

Links:

IFDB

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Obviously this isn’t the end all be all of dev tools or hosting platforms for interactive fiction.  Ink is a scripting tool similar to Twine I’ve only heard of recently that might be interesting to you.  Ren’Py, although primarily a visual novel engine, can be used to make text-based games.  The only other hosting alternative I know is DashingDon, I THINK they only host ChoiceScript games and I don’t think you can sell through them, but it’s a good place regardless.

Cheers! :D

[nobodyfamousposts]

Helluva Deal (Miraculous X Helluva Boss)

Well, since Miraculous crossovers with Helluva Boss/Hazbin Hotel are a thing now, I figured I’d write my own on how I think it would likely go. Since this IS the Helluva Boss universe, expect mentions of death and the afterlife, allusions to violence, innuendos, and general inappropriateness:

“Let me get this straight.”

Blitzo stared down the demon before him.

Said demon simply looked back, unimpressed. The little thing was small with blue skin, dorky-looking round glasses, and uneven horns. It wasn’t even a notable demon. Just a random weaker demon who somehow got the funds to pay for their services.

And normally, Blitzo was hardly one to turn down money—or a job that offered money. But this…

“You want to pay us to kidnap someone from Earth—not murder, which is in our company’s name, but kidnap. Which is decidedly more difficult and less fun.”

“Yep.”

Blitzo steepled his fingers together and held them up to his face. “And you want this person kidnapped—not so you can kill her yourself for whatever issue you may have, but because you want her to make you a jacket.”

“Yep.”

“A plain old jacket you could just get anywhere here in Hell.”

The demon gasped in offense. “It’s not just ANY jacket! It’s an MDC original piece and I want one!”

Blitzo took a breath, getting the feeling he was going to regret this. 

“Why?”

This…made the demon pause and eventually shrug. “Well, I did say I would have died for an MDC jacket. And I’m dead now, so…gimme.”

Well, who was he to argue with that logic?

Although…

“That is going to require quite a bit more effort…” He started, obviously leading…

The demon gave a flat look. “I’m not paying you double. I need the rest to pay her for the jacket.”

“Why would you want to pay for it?” Blitzo demanded. “This is Hell! You’re a demon! Just steal one!”

“It’s a commission! I have to pay for it!”

Blitzo would have spit out his drink if he’d had one.

“What are you even in Hell for, anyway? You won’t kill. You won’t steal. You just want to pay some human for a jacket you could get anywhere. What’s the point of that?” He asked, giving the other demon a strange look because really, what kind of demon WANTED to pay for things?

The demon stared flatly at Blitzo, his tail flicking against the chair in apparent increasing agitation.

"Are you saying that a commission shouldn't be paid for?” The demon asked curiously, sounding a little...too polite. “Because the last guy who tried to skip out on paying for a commission died. Eyes stabbed out and everything. Do you want to risk that kind of thing happening to you?"

…

Blitzo paled.

“Oh.”

The silence lingered to the point of long past uncomfortable as the demon continued to wait for an answer and Blitzo’s not so subtle attempt to desperately press his secret security button under his desk had no effect.

This would turn out to be because of Loona disconnecting the thing due to her hangover. Though in the moment, Blitzo would choose to blame Moxie.

After a good minute of no response from his team, Blitzo started to sweat when the determined artist demon seemed to grow bored and pulled out a pencil.

He jumped to his feet.

“We’ll take the case!”

And immediately fled the room.

_______

Once on Earth, the problem came up rather quickly that they had no idea who MDC was or how to access them. The client only knew the target was a fashion designer in Paris, which narrowed it down to one city at least but still was little help when the city in question was one of the fashion capitals of the world.

Blitzo, naturally, took the lead in trying to work out a means of information gathering.

And by “naturally”, what was really meant was “horribly failing”.

“I’m telling you, the plan is foolproof. We hold someone for ransom until MDC trades herself.” Blitzo said with apparent glee.

“Sir, that would be the exact opposite of subtle and get us the wrong kind of attention!”

Moxie, for his part, was trying to come up with what he would call “sensible plans”. Millie was simply scouting the area while the two argued. Ever faithful Loona stayed behind to try using her own connections…a magazine.

Needless to say, Blitzo was the one carrying the team. Or at least in his not-so-humble opinion.

Blitzo rolled his eyes. “I don’t see you coming up with any plans, Moxie.”

The smaller demon gave his boss a disgruntled glare. “I already told you! We should just go back and ask the client for more information!”

“Hmm…” Blitzo paused, before pulling out his phone. “Hey, Loona. The client still in my office?”

“Yeup.”

Blitzo immediately closed the phone. “Yeah—nope.”

“Sir—”

“He gouged a guy’s eyes out, Moxie! I need my eyes! I’m too pretty to lose them! They frame my face!” Blitzo exclaimed, bringing his hands up to his head in a fit of dramatics. “Is that what you want, Moxie? Do you want me to lose my precious, precious eyes?”

Moxie stared at the man like he was insane. Granted, Moxie had long had doubts about his boss’s sanity, but still...

“Hey, fellas?” Millie called, interrupting the two as she waved them over to the side of the building they had set up a temporary base atop of. “Listen to this!”

Blitzo immediately headed over, with Moxie following along behind looking annoyed. As they got closer, they heard what Millie had called them over about. Blitzo leaned over and peeked into the room in question.

Below them was an open window of the building where apparently a number of teenagers were gathered within for some inexplicable reason. And in this specific room, a group of the teens were gathered around one particular girl with a large forehead and hair that appeared to be made of meat. It was this girl who had their attention.

“—really friends with MDC?” One short blonde asked, looking overly excited like Blitzo did when he got a paycheck.

“Of course!” The meat-girl replied, looking smug. “We go way back! I was even the one who encouraged him to start in fashion and inspired his Heroes line.”

Blitzo looked back up at his team. “I thought MDC was a girl?”

Moxie shrugged. “If no one knows their real identity who's to say if they're a boy or a girl?"

“What else are they saying?” Millie asked, which returned the focus to the room.

More talking from below, using words that none of the demons really understood or cared about.

“—which was why he even made the Fox outfit for me!”

“Wasn’t that design based on Rena Rouge rather than Volpina?” One other girl with blue hair asked from the doorway of the room. She appeared to be rather annoyed for some odd reason.

The meat-girl looked somber. “Well, that was before he had to change it. After all, as bold as he is, not many people would support an akuma line, even if he had kept my idea to donate the funds to charity for the victims.”

The group “oo”-ed over the girl and praised her for her thoughtfulness. The meat-girl preened at the attention. The bluenette rolled her eyes. Some other blond guy looked on in disappointment.

“How amazing!” The little blonde exclaimed, clasping her hands to her cheeks. “I’d love to be able to meet MDC!”

“So would we!”

All eyes fell to the window which Blitzo, Millie, and Moxie used to make their entrance.

Honestly, he thought it was one of his better displays of dramatics. It certainly warranted some applause. Or screams of fear. Maybe one fainting.

“Akuma!”

Honestly, he was rather disappointed by the underwhelming response.

“I know we're demons and all, but I thought this place was French, not Japanese!"

“Nevermind that.” Blitzo replied to his workers before stepping forward to face the students.

Or rather one student in particular.

“Greetings! I am Blitzo. The two behind me are Millie and Moxie.”

The class stared as one of the two glared at them while the other waved cheerfully—or would be considered cheerfully if her teeth weren’t so razor sharp.

“We represent IMP, a for-hire group out of Hell. We take contracts, complete tasks, and make wishes come true!”

The teens looked at the demons in wariness and confusion.

“That sounds nice…” The little blonde in pink said.

“Those wishes generally involve murder.”

“I take it back! That sounds horrible!”

Blitzo grinned. “We are the ‘Immediate Murder Professionals’, dealing with the unfinished business of those poor wretched souls who are seeking some small vindication in their current status in Hell.”

“Then…why are you here?” The bigger male demanded.

Blitzo ignored him in favor of his true target.

“You! Ugly girl!” He shouted, grabbing the meat-girl.

“Hey!” She exclaimed, insulted.

He shook her. “Take us to MDC and we’ll rip out those sausage-links you call hair!”

“…don’t you mean ‘or’?”

He grinned ferally.

“No.”

She shrieked in fear.

“Lila!” Others cried out in horror.

Ah, yes. There was the fear. This, Blitzo was good with. It made him feel better about the previous lackluster response to his entrance.

“Why do you want me?!” The girl—Lila shouted, looking panicked. “I don’t know where MDC is!”

He raised an eyebrow at this. “But you said you were friends.”

She glanced around, taking note of the fact that her cohorts were still in the room. Though he didn’t know why that should matter for her answer.

“We are! But…I don’t know where he lives now! He’s moved since his name got out there and hasn’t given me the address yet!”

A glasses-wearing girl frowned in confusion. “But didn’t you just say that he invited you to his house for fittings?”

“Yeah, you said it was for the latest line that just came out.” Another girl with multi-colored hair added.

“That was months ago. Before he moved.” Lila replied quickly. “So I can’t help you.”

“Sure, you can!” Blitzo replied jovially. “We can just use you as ransom until MDC agrees to hand himself over.”

Moxie approached the two, keeping his gun leveled at the other kids. “We can save some time and see if she can’t call him.”

“Hey, yeah!” Millie agreed, grabbing Lila’s bag off of her and searching for her phone. “If they’re friends, she’s gotta have his contact info!”

“It’s not in there!” Lila replied quickly. “I was worried someone would steal my phone to get his info so I don’t keep his number in my phone!”

Millie frowned, before holding the now open phone up to Lila. “Then just type in the number yourself.”

Lila glanced around the room in growing agitation. “I can’t! I don’t have it memorized!”

“Then where did you write it down?”

“I lost it!”

The demons were looking particularly vexed.

“When and where?”

“It was a while ago. I don’t know where.” Lila replied.

A girl with glasses looked at her in confusion. “But didn’t you say you just called him this morning to congratulate him on the new line? And that he promised you a free outfit as thanks for all your help?”

Lila paled. “I—”

“Then the number should still be in the phone under its call history.” Moxie noted. Millie grinned and looked back to the phone screen to look through the data.

“I deleted it right after!” Lila shouted desperately.

Millie looked up at her in irritation.

Then promptly crushed the phone in her grip.

Lila shrieked, though it would be up for debate as to whether it was in shock at the loss of her phone or in fear that she may soon share that same fate.

Blitzo seemed similarly put out, but ended up shrugging it off as he pulled Lila closer to him. “Then it’s back to Plan A to hold her for ransom. Or torture her to see if she can’t remember the details.”

“No, please!”

“Lila!”

“Let her go!”

Lila grabbed at the arm holding her, panicked but not enough beyond reasoning. She couldn’t afford to reveal she lied now. She could only hope that these monsters would take her somewhere private where she could manipulate them with less witnesses.

Marinette, for her part, was also analyzing the situation.

These were three unknowns. Definitely not akumas. If they were to be believed, they were actual demons. From Hell. Which existed, apparently. And was where Lila would likely find herself in the next hour if she kept this up.

But from Lila’s expression, it seemed she was insistent on staying tight-lipped about her lies. Marinette figured as much due to her history. But she would have thought that Lila would have had some measure of self-preservation. Though perhaps that only applied to the preservation of her lies and manipulations rather than her own well being.

It was clear that Lila wasn’t going to get herself out of this. Not in any way that would spare her and everyone else in the room, at any rate.

As it was, the classmates were about to rally in Lila’s defense. While they had stood their own against akumas in the past,Marinette didn’t want to see how well they would fare against demons. Nor did she want to have to test if the Miraculous Cure would be enough to fix whatever would be left of them if they tried.

Marinette looked to the doorway.

No one was paying any attention to her right now. She could escape. She could go out, find a place to transform, and come back to deal with these…demons.

But by the time she returned, who was to say what could happen. The demons could kill Lila. They could kill all of her friends for being witnesses.

Ladybug may not be able to fix this.

But Marinette…as Marinette, she could.

“I’m MDC.” Marinette admitted.

Everyone froze.

“Come again.”

“MDC.” Marinette enunciated. “It stands for Marinette Dupain-Cheng. My name. I’m MDC. I’m the one you want.”

Alya stared. “Girl?”

Moxie looked at her in consideration. “That would fit with the client’s report of MDC being female.”

Millie, frowned in suspicion. “How do we know she’s really MDC?”

Marinette took a breath and slowly pulled out her tablet. “Well, my signature is in the clothes, so if you’ll let me pull up one of the shots, I can point it out and—”

Blitzo cut her off, grabbing her arm. “Yeah, I think we’ll just take you both and let the client sort it out. Sound good? Good, because we’re leaving.”

“Bye all!” Millie said, waving to the group. “Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do!”

Moxie rolled his eyes. “That’s a pretty short list…”

Blitzo ignored them an opened a portal, dragging both girls after him. Without a glance back, both Millie and Moxie followed him through the portal. Before anyone else could move, the gateway closed behind them.

A long pause followed.

“Not so fast!”

Suddenly, the door was kicked open as Chat Noir burst into the room.

The much less enemy-filled room.

“Um…did I miss the party?”

_______

The room they soon found themselves appeared, for all intents and purposes, completely normal. It looked like an office of the sort they’d find anywhere in Paris. Complete with a secretary’s desk, a few chairs, and a table littered with magazines.

The difference was made quickly apparent, however, through the view out the window. The landscape the deceptively quaint room was mostly a collage of red and black, with a sunless sky above and a myriad of strange buildings. Also of note where the various denizens of…distinctly non-human appearance wandering the streets outside.

“All right, ladies! Welcome to Hell!” Blitzo announced with a flourish, causing the girls to pale.

Lila fell back with a screech, landing on her butt and immediately attempting to scuttle back away. Her path was quickly halted as she bumped into something. Looking up, that “something” was actually a wolf monster, making Lila panic even further.

Loona, for her part, was not having a good morning—ignoring, of course, that it was actually the afternoon. And as if it wasn’t bad enough that her hangover still hadn’t cleared, now some…thing had shoved into her, followed shortly by an ear-piercing shriek that only made her head feel worse.

Seeing the way the wolf demon growled, Lila opened her mouth, possibly to scream even more when Marinette quickly shoved a hand over her mouth with a smile to Loona.

“Oh my! Your hairstyle is quite lovely!” She lied. Blatantly lied to the wolf girl’s face.

“It’s bed-head.”

“I couldn’t even tell. It looks so sleek and shiny!”

“Whatever.” Loona grumbled and stormed off to the break room, slamming the door behind her (and then immediately regretting it due to the noise agitating her headache).

Marinette decided to take the initiative. “So…what do you want with us, anyway?”

“Our client paid us a pretty penny—”

“Basic contract.” Moxie interrupted.

“Pretty. Penny.” Blitzo continued as if he hadn’t heard. “For a chance to meet with MDC.”

Okay, they had mentioned that before.

“Then what?”

“If you are MDC, you can do whatever the client is wanting. If you’re not, you’ll at least make for a decent distraction while we escape and blow up the building.”

The humans in the room blanched at that.

“WHAT?!”

“I know. She was a beautiful building.” Blitzo said mournfully as he actually wiped a tear from his eye. “And I just got my office arranged how I like it, too. But it

Marinette stared.

Lila whimpered.

“I second that ‘what’.” Moxie interrupted. “Nobody at any point discussed blowing up the building!”

“It was on page 3 of the handout I gave you this morning, Moxie.” Blitzo exclaimed, covering his eyes in exasperation. “At least read the mission briefings!”

“Sir, the ‘handout’ was a paper napkin. There was no third page!” Moxie insisted.

Beside him, Millie for her part was looking over the aforementioned napkin for the part that was supposed to mention the circumstances in question…or really any of the plan.

“We’ll discuss it later.” Blitzo said over his shoulder to Moxie as he proceeded to grab both human girls and drag them over to a previously closed door.

“Hey wait—!”

“Hang on!”

Within seconds, Blitzo opened the door and proceeded to shove both girls through before slamming it shut behind them, the last thing they heard being him mentioning where to buy explosives.

_______

So.

Recap.

Hell was real. Demons were a thing. And the two human girls were getting a first hand view of the less than pleasant or holy side of the afterlife.

Marinette was…actually taking it all in stride.

Lila was less so. She was sitting ramrod straight in the chair, keeping a tight grip on her knees and trying very hard not to move as her eyes glanced quickly around the room at the assembled demons.

Marinette actually felt bad for her. And probably should have been panicking herself, all things considered. Maybe she would have been had it not been for her extensive experience as Ladybug.

Sure, it was Hell, but floating gods and people turning into monsters had already broadened her horizons of the possibilities of the universe. Plus despite the name of the company that had kidnapped them both, murder didn’t appear to be on the table. All in all, despite the circumstances, Marinette didn’t feel that scared.

The fact that the “client” in question who hired the group was actually a fan of hers wanting a commission helped quite a bit with that.

As did the flattery.

“OMG! OMG! I can’t believe it! It’s you! Can I get your autograph?! No—wait! I need to focus! Can I get a jacket with your autograph?!”

“Thank you.” Marinette said, somewhat flustered. Honestly, she hadn’t thought she had gained THAT much fame. Especially not enough for someone to want to commission her from the afterlife.

…was that a thing? Could that be a thing?

“What I don’t get is why the other girl had to tag along?” The demon asked, curiously. “Is she your assistant or something?”

Lila brightened, looking ready to speak—likely to try to lie her way out of this. Or mess up what little peace Marinette had managed to create.

“No!” Marinette interrupted quickly, ignoring Lila’s petulant glare. “No, she’s not. There was just a mix up since they didn’t know where I was or who to bring.”

Blitzo rolled his eyes. “Well, how were we supposed to know?!”

“You could have asked me when I contracted you.” Said the demon, somewhat annoyed.

“I have a website, you know.” Said Marinette, very annoyed.

They paused.

“…the fuck’s a website?”

Silence.

Marinette coughed. “In any case, you wanted to commission me?”

“Oh, yes!”

_______

It didn’t take long to make the arrangements. Marinette named her prices and the demon was more than willing to pay her for her services. They made use of Blitzo’s office to negotiate and fine tune some details regarding the arrangement. From determining the materials to writing up the contract to negotiating the costs, it was all pretty professional.

And ultimately involved the humans not being murdered and the building not being blown up, which was always preferable.

It finally came down to determining just how the demon customer wanted the jacket to look, and Marinette started drawing out some sample sketches on spare paper in the office that may or may not have been important documents for Blitzo which she may or may not have particularly cared given the whole “kidnapping and being used as a sacrifice” matter.

The only issue seemed to be that the demon customer wanted the jacket to be made of materials that were only available in Hell. Which made sense, she supposed, since she wasn’t sure how long anything she made on Earth would last in this environment. Millie and Moxie had been sent out to gather the necessary material in question, and what they returned with was a strange sort of leather. It was unique and of a color she had never seen before, and part of her really wanted to get a bit more detail about the make.

…given how pale Lila had already gotten, Marinette kindly decided to refrain from asking questions.

“Well then, let’s go over a few sketches and determine which one you like.”

The demon looked almost giddy at the prospect. The IMP team looked relieved. Except Blitzo, who still seemed to be pouting over their takeover of his office.

Lila was…less enthused. “WHAT?! What are you thinking?! He’s a demon!”

Marinette shrugged. “Well, I do have a non-discrimination clause.”

“That shouldn’t apply to demons!” Lila hissed lowly.

“The demons who have brought us to Hell and are currently our only way of getting back.” Marinette pointed out, dryly.

Lila huffed and went back to her chair.

So, with Blitzo and his team begrudgingly kindly being forced willing to donate their office for her use, Marinette sent to work to try and design a jacket to the client’s taste as quickly as possible.

The sooner she got done, the sooner they could go back to Earth.

…hopefully.

Lila, for her part, was terrified and miserable and just wanting to go back to Earth. Immediately would be preferable. Even without Marinette.

Yeah, thanks Lila.

“Why do I have to stay here? Why can’t I go back home? Or do anything else?”

The client tilted his head. “Are you saying you don’t like art? Because the last person who told me they didn’t like art had their eyes stabbed out. With pencils. Would you want that to happen to you?”

“…can’t I like art and not stay in Hell?”

“No.”

Lila paled and sunk lower in her seat, where she remained quiet for the next couple of hours while Marinette worked.

It was mostly in silence as Marinette drew one sketch after another. Asking occasional questions about preferred length, how many pockets, special embellishments, and which parts of the various jacket styles did he prefer. Eventually, they had come to an agreement about the set look he wanted, the materials needed, and when he wanted it completed by. And from there came the matter of payment…

“Um…I’m not sure what the exchange rate is for Hell currency.” Marinette said, looking at the coins he handed her.

The demon frowned, tilting his head in consideration. “I could always rob a human bank and pay you with that.”

Marinette paled.

“This is fine. Really. I can probably buy some things from Hell with this.” She said with a forced smile.

“There are tons of things you can only find here.” Millie said, brightening. “We could deliver them for you!”

Well, that was a good point.

“That’s true.” Moxie agreed. “You could make other things with the fabrics here. Hats. Shirts.”

He paused, looking over his shoulder at Millie who was busy chatting with the customer regarding the fabric he chose. Seeing she was suitably distracted, he turned to Marinette. “So…how much would it be to make a dress. Just out of curiosity.”

Aww. Even in Hell there was love.

She smiled. “We can certainly discuss it.”

The moment was ruined as Blitzo stepped in and slung an arm around Marinette’s shoulder.

“How about one of those sexy maid outfits for the bedroom? You’re French, right?” He asked before giving Moxie a nudge. “You could stand to have a little more fun in the bedroom.”

“Sir, I’m 14.” Marinette replied dryly.

“And what we do in the bedroom is none of your business!” Moxie rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Didn’t we just have a discussion about this last week?”

Marinette coughed as the two started to argue. “So…um…are we going to return to Earth so I can start working on this?”

Blitzo sighed. “Fine, fine. Killjoys.”

Lila heaved a sigh of relief. “Oh thank God.”

_______

With an agreement forged between Marinette and IMP to have the customer’s order completed and delivered within two week’s time, Marinette and Lila were safely deposited back in their classroom no worse for wear.

…well, physically. Mentally, there were probably going to be a few scars.

Several of their classmates had apparently remained since the earlier incident. Perhaps it was out of worry? Or maybe classes had resumed after their disappearance—akuma attacks and strange circumstances had become rather common, after all.

Still, it was Alya’s cry of surprise and then being pulled into a hug that assured Marinette she was, in fact, back home.

“You’re back!” Alya exclaimed, relieved. “We were so worried!”

It wasn’t every day your best friend and classmate was dragged to Hell, after all.

“—and I’d been trying to reach out to Ladybug and Chat Noir, but only Chat showed up and Ladybug must be busy or maybe she already knew? Did she help you? How did you escape?”

Part of her wondered if Alya had even stopped to breathe. The rest of her was just basking in the happiness that they had made it back safe and nothing too terrible had happened in the meantime.

The absolute LAST thing she needed was to come back and find out Hawk Moth had let loose another akuma that destroyed Paris while she was gone.

Alya suddenly gasped as though struck by a thought.

“Oh my god, Marinette! I can’t believe you did that!”

Marinette smiled. “Well, I had to—”

“You claimed to be MDC just to protect Lila! And here I thought you hated her!”

Happy feeling gone. Gone like a punch to the face. Knocked out. Dead, even.

Alya beamed. “I’m so proud of you, girl! I knew deep down that—”

“Nope!” Came a quick interruption. “That’s not what happened. It was just a lie. Completely and utterly.”

The interruption was half expected.

The fact that it came from Lila was not.

Everyone froze.

“What?”

“I never met MDC.” Lila explained, wasting absolutely no time with subtleties and just blurting it out. “I never knew Marinette was MDC. I just lied about knowing him because I thought he was the next big thing and I knew you would all believe me.”

“…what?”

Lila sighed. “I lied about knowing MDC. And being the muse behind his fashion line—well, hers. Since Marinette is MDC. She never lied. I did.”

The classmates were startled, but seemed to be taking in the information.

Rose, for her part, tried to be positive. “Oh...well, you didn’t have to lie about knowing MDC—”

“No, I mean about everything. Ever. In fact, there’s probably not a single time we’ve known each other that I was ever honest with any of you.”

Everyone stared.

“I’ve been lying since the moment we’ve met.” Lila continued. “I am a liar. Always have been. I am a horrible lying liar who lied about everyone I ever claimed to know and everything I ever said I did just to get you all to admire me because it was easier to manipulate you that way and get you to do things I wanted. From interviewing me for the Ladyblog to carrying my lunch tray to buying me things. I lied about having tinnitus just to get to sit next to Adrien and lied about not being interested in him to manipulate Nino into guilting him into letting me come to his house. Ladybug herself even called me out for lying. And when Marinette got upset that day I came back over the seat change? I threatened her in the bathroom because she was wise to me from the very start.”

A few stares were sent Marinette’s way. She didn’t have any explanation for them though. She was just as surprised as they were. More, even.

Lila shrugged. “Everything I’ve said. Everything I’ve done. All lies. Ever.”

Everyone gaped in shock. Nobody even really knew what to say.

Marinette started. “But why—”

“Because that was Hell, Marinette. HELL. The bad place you go to after you die, reserved for bad people. And until today, I didn’t even think it was real. Or that there could be a chance I could end up there. But I imagine if anything would warrant that, it’d be lying, manipulating, and trying to get revenge on a superhero.”

Nino blinked. “Wait…what was that last one—”

As if a great weight was lifted from her shoulders, Lila sighed. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go join a convent to try and save my soul now that I know I have one.”

With that, she promptly exited the room, leaving the group staring after her in complete bewilderment.

Alya gaped. “...what?”

_________

Epilogue: 

Marinette completed her commission to the demon and later for Moxie. Her fame increased in both realms and she eventually did open up her own design house. The only issue came in the customers who wanted to pay her by removing her competition, which she was mostly able to prevent until IMP took a hit on Gabriel Agreste. While Marinette did stop the attempted murder, this did still reveal his secondary identity of Hawk Moth, allowing the Butterfly and Peacock to be recovered and peace to return to Paris.

The classmates were shocked at the reveal of Lila’s true nature, but were more bewildered than anything given how it happened. They did all feel foolish and embarrassed for trusting Lila, but considering what could have happened, they all chose to take it as a life lesson to be more cautious in the future. They all remained friends and moved on to live quite fulfilling lives.

IMP formed a contract with MDC and gained a secondary job of delivery service as well as assassins, which increased their profits.

And Millie loved her new dress.

Lila Rossi convinced her mother to send her to a convent, where she became one of the most pious and devout members, spreading the message of being good in life more than any other.

[deaconusdelirium]

Um so I don't actually know how to submit a request so, I've never done it before, but I hope this is right.

So I read this enemies to lovers with Tech where the reader is the Batch's new mechanic/medic/pilot (y'know something like that) and Tech is constantly trying to outsmart the reader and is kinda rude to her. So I am requesting either that or Tech and reader are already together and Tech makes a comment that hurts the readers feelings but Tech doesn't understand why she's upset cause he was merely stating "factual evidence". Also can the reader be female or like no gender. I hope I did this right.

Time will tell

(Tech X F!Reader)

Oh yeah! Either way is good, but I prefer taking requests in DM’s. I’m originally from a different writing platform and I took requests directly in messages, but send in an ask like this is good too. I don’t mind either way. That goes for everyone else who doesn’t know how to send in a request!^^

I love the first one, and I have a little something for that

———

“And that’s… Tech” Hunter sounded disappointed as he seen his brother not only did not look up, but didn’t say anything as he introduced you to your new team, Tech just gave a small wave without looking up and walking off. “He’s a busy guy, I presume” you spoke, watching ‘Tech’ walk off and into their ship. “You’ll get use to him, he’s not all that bad. The worse he could do is fill your head with useless info for hours on end” Hunter explained while putting a hand between your shoulders, guiding you into the Marauder. Ok, so it might have been a bit small but at least you were off Kamino where everything was too sterile and creepy looking. You were all alone in your room after all, no one ever really came in but a few clones, Nala Se and Omega usually handled them all though.

You gave another look around, making sure you tried to memorize everything. “We have a mission in a few hours, so I suggest you grab what you need from your place” “oh, no. I’ve got all I need, I’m going to head back and tell Nala Se we’re leaving soon” you walked out, Hunter nodded in agreement. “Well, we’ll tell you when we’re ready” you nodded, walking away from the ship and back into Kamino to Nala Se

—

Tech had only ever heard your voice, and by the sound of it. He was already annoyed, since when was there ever another person who does exactly as he does? It was only him, but.. the thought of sharing ideas and thought with someone else ‘smart’ would be nice. But no, he wouldn’t take it. He had to see for himself, he was sure you were going to fail, and he surely wasn’t going to be pushed aside, especially for all he’s ever done for his brothers. You weren’t the one who upgrades their armor for them, you’re not the one who has a datapad much like he has, and you couldn’t possible know anything about mechanics. He’s never met anyone who knew as much as he did, and if he hasn’t within his life, then there’s probably no such thing as it.

—

He thoughts were cut short, when you sat in the co-pilot seat next to him. Only Echo sat there, maybe Hunter on some occasions, he still didn’t look, and he grew annoyed as you tried to tell him what to do. “Do you even know what planet we are on?” Tech asked, finally looking at you, “what does that have to do with this? You haven’t told me where we are and I’m stuck with you. So if you could just focus on the task at hand then maybe we could actually try and get along” you spoke, his eyes widen at your words, he didn’t want you to know anything. It may sound selfish, but he thought of it as a training, I guess you could say. How would you go about in a situation where you don’t know where you’re at, and what you’re doing? What is your next steps for an unexpected change of plans?

His gaze was still hard on you, how could you know something about flying? “Tech, if you don’t help them, Omega and Hera could be shot down” you sounded desperate, but he was the one in charge. He was the one flying, you weighed your options, you didn’t know what to do. He only sat there, observing you like it was his job. “Forgive me” you apologized to him as you pushed him out the seat and took over the wheel. “Hey” Tech called from the floor, standing up, but soon holding onto your seat as he seen what you were going to do. “Hang on Wrecker!” You warned the man in the back, you pushed the petal as Tech almost flew back and Wrecker yell from the back. You turned the ship around for Wrecker so he could take out the cannons.

Tech held on as your flying was not something he was expecting, once you had all of the turrets down and Wrecker finished off the clones on the ground, you stood up, grabbing your helmet and gun. Tech grabbed your arm before you ran out, “hey-” you spoke, “careful with my ship next time” he glared at you, but Wrecker broke the both of you up by running through his grasp on your arm. “Your ship Tech? Or all of ours? She did great!” Wrecker said, hitting you on your shoulder as he laughed and ran off. “Still, we got what needed to be done, I suggest we drop this.. this argument and actually help. And for your information, we’re al Ryloth” you ran after Wrecker, and Tech stood there. You were stubborn alright, but that doesn’t mean you were better than him. No, he won’t allow it

—

After Hera was reunited with her parents and uncle, you all took off. For their brother Crosshair was after them, maybe even you now since you were with the Batch. Taking a deep breath in, and letting it out, you continued to clean your helmet, a few new scratches, but nothing bad. “Y/n?” Omega asked you, coming up and holding your shoulder as she stood on one leg. “What’s wrong Omega?” You asked, looking at her leg, “I got a cut, and my legs hurting. Could you look at it for me?” She asked, sitting on the chair in front of you as she turned to meet your body. “Yeah, let me just grab my stuff, stay right there” you told her as you stood up, walking to grab your bag and come back. You pulled her pants up to her knee, seeing a small scrape on it, “hmm, you only scraped it, nothing too bad if we clean it. Glad you came right on time” you tried to lift her mood up. Looking like you did since she laughed and held Lula.

“This might sting a little, but it won’t hurt” you showed her the bottle, calming her down as she was worried what you had in hand. She gave a small nod, handing it back to you, you smiled and slowly poured the liquid over the cut. She winced, hugging Lula tighter as you grabbed a bacta pad and placed it over her knee. “Alright, that should be good. Come back later for another cleaning, I’ll remind you so don’t worry, and if the ache still continues after a few minutes. Tell me so I can give you some medicine, it might be from all the time you haven’t treated it, but be careful next time” you pulled her pants down, patting her lower leg as she set it down. “So you aren’t going to treat the ache she has?” Tech asked, datapad obviously in hand as he watched you, “Tech! She cleaned it up just now, I should be fine. I think it was just dirty” Omega spoke, Tech looked at her, the back at you, he walked over to another seat, making Omega face him as he turned the chair. “What are you doing?” Omega asked as Tech pulled her pants up again.

Taking the tape off and looking at her scrape, he almost nodded in approval, but stopped himself. “Oh come on, I’m not going just throw a bacta pad on there and say I’m done” you told him, “still, you could have left out an important part” he spoke, Omega watched, “and just because you’re a medic, doesn’t mean you know it all” he harshly said, you wanted to just leave, everyone’s been nice except for Tech, “yeah? Well just because your name is ‘Tech’ doesn’t mean you’re actually a technician. You can multitask yet I haven’t spoken one word about your work” you spoke up, gathering your things and leaving. Omega watched as it all unfolded before her, “that was a bit rude Tech, maybe try and be nice, she’s new. You’re probably making her feel bad” Omega defended you

Tech took his helmet off, watching you walk off and disappear down the hall. “Maybe we only needed one, medic aboard. That was only a small scratch Omega, anyone could treat that” he stood up, “maybe you think we only need one medic, but I think differently. You should respect her more, I came to her because you were busy making repairs, and I’m glad to have let you work while she wasn’t busy. She even helped us back on Ryloth” it wasn’t new that Omega put yet another one of her brothers in place. She was right, you did save them, and treat her. He bet, if she would have went to Wrecker, he would have only plugged it up with trash and dirt then throw a bandaid on it.

Omega walked out the cockpit, Lula in her hands as Tech was left alone. So what you knew how to fly and treat a small wound, anyone could do that… anyone who knew what they were doing. And he was intrigued at how much you knew and what you’ve done.

—

Everyone sat in their seat, you sat behind Echo as he sat in the co-pilot chair. Your hands gripping the pen as you worked an equation out on a piece of paper. Tech heard you whisper quite loudly the numbers, so he worked it out in his head as he watched the stars go by while in hyperspace. “205” he said, you looked up, sighing in annoyance and putting on a fake smile, “thanks Tech, I’m sure me working it out and trying a different way of solving this problem was to easy for you. What a pity, me working with pen and paper as you have a datapad? What was I thinking?” You scoffed out, Echo laughed a bit at your bite back. Tech turned to you, “what do you mean ‘a different way’?” He asked, you threw the paper at him as he caught it then glaring at you for doing so.

His eyes scanned over the numbers, this wasn’t right. None of this was, “give me the pen” he spoke, you looked at him, “what for?” “Just give me the pen” he demanded as you shook your head no. Echo was curious to see what you both were arguing about, his head peaked over the paper and was met with messy writings and scrambled numbers. “How can you read that thing?” You heard Echos disbelief in his voice, “here, I’ll explain it” you reassured him as you clicked the pen. Tech watched as you began to explain what this new trick was. He was fascinated, he found himself looking up your arm until he watched your face as you spoke about something that actually interested you… interested him.

He continued to hold the board with the paper on it for you while you worked it out, circling the answer. He wasn’t sure why, but when you turned to Echo to talk about it, he was quite jealous. Echo wouldn’t understand, but Tech did, why didn’t you argue with him about it. He hesitantly tapped two fingers on your shoulder, you turned and faced him, “perhaps, we could further discuss what you put into motion here? I could teach you some new things as well” he offered, Echo had seen his frail to finally try and get closer to you. He stood up, “excuse me” he walked off, giving you and Tech the time together. “Not sure, I feel like you’re only going to insult me further while thinking you’re smarter, you also offered me something. Don’t know if I should take it that you want something or you hit your head” you crossed your arms, looking at him. “I assure you, I have something’s I would like to share” he lightly laughed.

You thought about it, “fine, but if anything” you threatened him, “there no need to get hostile with me now Y/n, I want to see just how much you know” he leaned back into his seat, arms and legs crossed as he eyed you down. But if anything did happen, the Batch was on board. You sat in the seat Echo sat in before, questioning your choice on agreeing.

—

It seems Tech had underestimated you to soon, you we’re definitely smarter than he had thought. Was there actually someone just like him? Someone who he could rely on and wouldn’t have to explain too, mainly going into details. But you, oh you… you just gave him this feeling. He didn’t want you to leave the seat when you both sat, it was interesting seeing how you knew some things he didn’t. You both shared theories and facts about unusual things people would have probably brushed off and thought was annoying or just plain boring. He found himself moving ever so closer to you when you both started getting into.. deeper matters. What you did on Kamino versus what he does for the galaxy with his brothers. You told him how you wanted to get off the planet and explore while he suggested he explores all the time.

That was until you both found each other, knees touching while you both leaned forward. It was wrong, you abruptly stood up, “I’m sorry Tech, I shouldn’t have” you fixed your armor and set out. Just what happened there?

He didn’t have feelings for you, if he did. It’d most likely be jealousy and anger, for he didn’t want to be replaced for someone they had just met. He was their brother, you can’t just remove them from their life. Now you were off somewhere in the ship, probably have already forgotten about him. But his thoughts were stuck on you, was he too mean to you? Now that whenever he got close, you either brushed him off or you walked away. But what if he wasn’t, would you two have been closer? Together perhaps? It was like talking to himself, actually finding interest in the conversation. Feelings were never in his area of expertise, so he couldn’t exactly pinpoint what he was feeling at the moment. He was sure to keep an eye on it and write down anything he feels on his datapad, maybe even do some research.

—

“Y/n!” “Coming!” You replied to Echo as he yelled for your assistance. Walking down the hall to to Echo kneeling before the console trying to fix whatever he was trying to. “Yeah?” You asked, “I need..” he trailed off, trying to get the control panel fixed. “Oh! I’ve done this plenty of times back on Kamino for the clones’ ship when they got back” you spoke while kneeling next to him, undoing the wires as he looked at you, “what are you doing?” “Relax, you can’t just keep the control panel like this, you have to make sure it clean, this this part” you pointed to the corner of the panel as there was dirt inside, “that’s blocking this part, from entering. So brush this aside, and put it back. Now you’re going to want to make sure all the wires and whatnot are still good. Some could burn out and that could ruin the whole thing, and then you’d have to replace it all. But other times, it just needs a little cleaning” you walked him through it, telling him what goes where and how to clean the board without ruining it, while still making it easy for him to understand without using the big confusing words

He nodded, understanding, “Tech would never say anything like this. He does all the repairs like this, the only time he needs help is when he needs tools or for us to hold something” “Ah, I see. I’m sure he means well. I never had anyone to talk to about this and it feels good to finally share some knowledge” you told him to screw the panel back on. He stood up, offering you his hand and helping you up. “Thanks” “no problem, you learn something new everyday” Echo laughed at your joke, giving you a pat on the shoulder and walking off. You kneeled back down picking up the tools and gathering them into a bag. Another pair of hands helped you, as you looked up, you noticed he had no thigh armor. Tech.

“Thank you Tech, you didn’t have to-” you were pushed on your back as Tech was on top of you. You groaned at the pushed, opening your eyes to see Tech giving you a kiss. Your senses finally returning as you felt the harsh action, making your lips hurt. He softened the kiss, making you now blush as you laid there under him. He pulled back, “T-Tech?” You let out the breath you held in, “Y/n. I’m so sorry about before” your brow furrowed in confusion. “What for?” “All those words, bringing you down. It’s wrong now and it was wrong then, but how could I have not appreciated your actions before?” He questioned himself as you now remembered all those things he said and what he did to try and put you down.

“I can’t let someone, so good and loving leave. I’ve seen the way you treat Omega and my brothers when I’m not there too, you’re smart and beautiful. Yet you’re ready for battle when you’re thrown into it. I’ve been thinking, about my feelings, and… and us” your eyes widen at the last part. About, you? Him? Together? You haven’t thought about it, maybe once but that was when you both were talking that night in the cockpit, he was rude and unforgiving when you were introduced and given a task, always saying he knew and could do better than you. And that your tactics were sloppier than his, and to be frank, he didn’t mean that. It was his feelings he was confused about, “Tech.. I actually don’t know what to do. While you say you’ve thought of us, I haven’t, maybe once but that was wrong. We could never work out” you confessed, his gloved hand on the side of your head as he stroked a few hairs out of your face.

He sighed, thinking. This time it was his heart speaking, not his brain, this has nothing to do with what he normally did. So he had to wing it. “Tell me. What do I need to do to show you, how much I appreciate and want you by my side? Tell me what’s making you feel uncomfortable about us and how I can help. I’m willing to give this a chance if you are” he sounded desperate, the first time you’ve heard him like this. But you had to think on it, he was just as smart, maybe even smarter, he was blunt which made you not have to worry about his opinions on others and how you feel. And he was strong, both mentally and physically. You’ve never met someone as close knowing and interesting like you.

“I.. I’m willing to give this a chance as well” your hand came up to his hair, then pulling him down for another loving kiss. All those problems and feelings he couldn’t explain and work out, have now blown away. If seemed like being close to you felt like ecstasy, your aura felt so welcoming and warm. His lips ghosted over yours before coming down for another. This new found feeling was something he could get use to, yours lips felt so soft against his, your fingertips slightly trailed along his jawline and cupped his cheek. “We, better get up before someone sees us” you suggested, he nodded. A quick kiss on the side of your mouth was given before he got up. Pulling you along. He wanted to see where this relationship would take him.

He was excited to have you by his side now, he knew you two could take on anything. The thought of having someone just like him by his side put a warm feeling in his stomach, someone he could protect along with his brothers. Maybe the jealousy before was telling him something, maybe you both were destined to be together since you both could agree that you’ve never met anyone like the other. And he was glad to have someone to return to every time he came back from a mission, or having you on a mission with him in general. He already had hundreds of reasons why he fell in love with you, and if that’s just the beginning, he wondered what being with you forever would he like. Only time will tell

———

I hope you enjoyed, again! If you ever want to send it a request, I take it in DM’s for those who want to stay anonymous, but others can also go to my ask box. Either way is fine, I don’t mind!^^

[shinescape]

What are we?

Neighbour Yunho x Fem Reader

Requested!

note: bf material Yunho is what matters. Saving the anon who requested this from the drought. Enjoy the read!

They seem to think you were lying this whole time about being in a relationship and you’re about to prove them wrong. You’re starting to regret making friends with the two girls in front of you as one was scrolling on her phone and the other watching you with a smirk and arms crossed over her chest.

“I guess we were right. You took some random guy’s photo and showed it to us for the past three months. What’s new I guess?” You swore to cut ties with them after this, making friends in college was full of meaningless lies that you had to make up to keep them stay with you. But seeing how these two only care about your love life, might as well shove it into their faces and leave for good.

“Oh he’ll be here alright. Just running a bit late.” You said through gritted teeth as the girl who has been on her phone finally looked up at you. “I think he either ditch you or he doesn’t actually exist. I think we should go shopping-”

“Baby, there you are!” Her words were cut off by the voice that you hate to hear but glad that he finally came to shut these pretty faces up. “You got lost again, am I right?” You asked as he made his way to sit beside you and pull you in for a side hug. He smiled at you sheepishly before turning to your friends.

“You guys must be her friends. I’m Yunho, nice to meet you.” He waved a little and the only thing they did was blink at him, mouth slightly agape. You rolled your eyes and tapped Yunho on the arm. “You want to order anything, the smoothies here are nice.”

He turned to you and you swore his smile was way too fake to not be fooled. “Nah, I’ll share with you. So why did you call me here?” He took your drink without hesitation and sipped from the same straw you did earlier.

You watch in horror at his actions and the girls were as shocked as you were. They haven’t said a word since he came and you knew you already won. “My friends thought you’re an illusion I made but turns out you’re real.” If a smile could kill, yours would strike through their hearts that instant.

He laughed and looked at them. “You probably thought a girl like her won’t have a boyfriend right? But turns out I’m real.” His words sounded like it's mocking you instead of reassuring that you’re indeed taken.

“Now that you see him, say something. Did I lie?” You cocked an eyebrow at them and watched how they were fumbling with their words at the same time trying to appear presentable in front of your boyfriend.

“Fine. We believe you.” One of them said but you weren’t done yet. “I think you have something more to say to me.” They rolled their eyes and looked straight at you. “We’re sorry okay.” There was a short silence before one of them spoke again, “So tell us how you meet. He can’t be the one chasing you right?”

Your fingers curled on the table and were ready to lunge at them when Yunho’s palm stopped you from it. He smiled at them and was about to say something when his phone rang.

He excused himself and took the call. After a minute or so, he looked at them and back at you. He came closer to you and whispered to your ear. It was uncomfortable but you had to keep your cool.

“I forgot that I promised the guys to go to the movies. Can I leave?” You pushed him away because his voice was tickling your ears. “Yeah sure. No worries, babe.” He patted your head and saw the look in your eyes, as if telling him this is not over yet.

“Is there something wrong, Yunho?” Both of you turn to the voice and he let off a chuckle. How dare she say his name with that made up cute voice of hers, you thought annoyed.

“Yunho has to go back home, his mother needs him to fix a new cupboard she bought. Right?” “Ah yes. I’m sorry to suddenly leave like this. You girls have fun alright. See you later, baby. Love you.” He went straight to kiss you on the temple and stood up, jogging out from the shop. You were still trying to process what happened as the girls had curiosity written on their faces.

“You both have fun shopping, I have somewhere else to be.” You ran out before they could get more lies from you. Honestly, you have no other plans then going home and rethink about this fake relationship you had with your neighbour as well as childhood friend, Jung Yunho.

Yunho is your ‘on-call boyfriend’ meaning that he’ll come and as much as you hate to admit, rescue you when you get stuck in sticky situations like earlier. It started as a joke but somehow he agreed with no further questions. But today he really went overboard with the display of affection that you strongly thought was unnecessary.

- What’s with the PDA earlier?-

- I thought we were supposed to be convincing?-

-Exactly. Convincing not realistic-

He replied with a string of laughing emojis right after and you clicked your phone off, annoyed. He should explain at least but what if it’s not what you wanted to hear? Pushing back the thought away, you decided to stop by your favourite bakery before heading back home. Trying not to think too much about what happened earlier.

Weeks passed by and you stopped hanging out with the girls and was friendless around campus. It felt lonely but at least no one was bothering you about your life anymore.

They still talked to you but you made sure they were not invading your bubble anymore after that incident. That stupid incident where you remembered everything Yunho did on his own accord without feeling guilty or embarrassed as you were.

You were in your room, doing nothing but staring at the books lined up on your desk. How you wish that memory would disappear from your head but that’s not going to happen so easily.

“Honey, can you give this to Yunho?” Your mother passed you a bag filled with dishes she made for dinner. “Why can’t you go give it to him?” She patted your thigh a couple of times and left.

“What is with everyone not giving me proper answers these days?!” You stood up angrily and took the bag with you. With a sour face, you left the house and made a few steps to the front and knocked on his door. It’s that close yet your mother always made you do it.

The door opened and it was not Yunho or his parents. “Yes?” Your eyes were glued on the stranger’s face that you forgot what to say. “Is Yunho here?” He told you to wait for a while before shouting out for your neighbour. You stood there smiling as he accompanied you at the door.

The moment Yunho appeared you grabbed his arm. “Who was that guy?” Yunho looked at you suspiciously. “My friend...no more questions. I’m not giving out free info.” He shook his head at you.

“Your dinner. Bye” You gave him the bag and was about to leave when he stopped you. “Thank you.” You gave him a weird look. “Your welcome. You’re acting weird these days, it’s not too late to see the doctor.” With that, Yunho stared at your closed door before retreating back only to find curious eyes waiting for him. “I’m not explaining anything.”

Another day, another errand from your dearest mother. You were currently walking back home with no other than Yunho. “Don’t you get bored seeing my face everyday?” You asked him all of a sudden. “Not really. Why?” “I feel like I see you so much lately. It’s bothersome.” You grumbled and adjusted your grip on the grocery bags on both hands.

“Well, I’m not leaving any time soon. So expect more I guess.” He joked that made you elbowed his arm in return. You thought it was time to tell him about what’s been bothering you these days, he was a part of it so it’s now or never. “Yunho, I think you should stop being my on-call boyfriend. No one is bothering me anymore.” You explained.

“Then, should I be your boyfriend instead?” You stopped walking and looked at him. He can’t be serious? But he’s not even laughing. “I mean your mum knows I like you so I guess if you’re okay then we can just date.” He continued on as if it’s nothing.

“Wait, my mum knows what? You like me? You’re kidding right?” Your hands were hurting so you started to walk again, not caring whether he answered you or not. It was like that day with the girls where you had to process everything.

“Don’t you want to try it out?” His words sound so foreign to your ears. You hated to think that this was happening and he’s waiting for you to answer. “We’ve been friends since forever. I don’t think it’s going to make any difference.” You said not putting much thought in your words.

“Exactly. What’s the difference, we’re going to see each other like usual.” Yunho peeked at your face and saw how unhappy you looked. “I’ve kissed you a good amount of times so what’s the problem now.” Your eyes widened at his words but luckily he didn’t notice.

The problem is you don’t want to believe that you’re catching feelings for him. That’s what it was this whole time. “I’ll date you if you answer this question.” He looked way too calm about this and it scared you a bit. “Sure, what is it?”

“The day when you had to leave for the movies, did you like me back then too?” You bit your lips, obviously nervous about his answer. “I’ve liked you way before that. That’s why your mum kept on making you send food to me every now and then.”

It has been that long. Your apartment was already in sight and his words were still ringing in your ears but the group of boys watching you and Yunho made you stop functioning altogether.

“There you are! Your mum told us you went out. Oh, who is she?”

With a confident smile, he answered. “My girlfriend”

[lovebecomeshim]

hello! your zutara posting today has finally motivated me to ask this question because I came to atla very late(last year, to be specific) and I Love It Very Much but am 1000% out of the loop as far as why what remains of fandom (at least that I've seen among my friends) is so very strongly zutara. I'm not opposed to it per se I just don't really know what has driven it to apparently be such a popular ship? can you help me understand and maybe convert me a little bit?

Hey!! Your ICON! :D I can try but I’m not sure how coherent I’ll be; however I AM sure someone a lot more competent will be willing to add to this. Either way, I’m glad you asked because my plan was to drag down as many people as possible with me.

*smacks the hood of zutara* this baby can fit so much mutual love and support!

This got so long, I’m so sorry. I don’t know how to put it under a cut on mobile and it already got deleted once so I’m scared to mess with it lol. Moving on.

I’m gonna start this with a disclaimer that im on mobile so formatting is tricky and I’m also really new to atla in that I only completed my first watch through in like 2019??? So some of my info is all just based on what I’ve picked up from Discourse 👀 so anyway the sparknotes version: zutara was wildly popular from the beginning. To the point where the atla crew internally disagreed on which ship should be endgame. (Ex. Bryke [showrunners] asked the writers to rewrite The Southern Raiders to make Zuko seem less ideal for Katara than Aang [which failed, depending on who you ask]; the animation team purposefully created a visual parrallel between Oma and Shu in the Cave of Two Lovers and Zuko and Katara in the catacombs under Ba Sing Se in the Crossroads of Destiny; etc.)

The ship was popular enough that Bryke actually chose to display zk fanart at a con for the sole purpose of mocking the fans, but that’s neither here nor there. The entire episode Ember Island Players, while a love letter to/parody of the whole show, was an opportunity to address zutara’s viability as a canon pairing (while, again, mocking zutaras for romanticizing that catacombs scene). Point is! It’s always been popular but with it not being endgame, there’s got to be something that’s given it staying power.

And that’s honestly got to do with three things: their dynamic, thematic cohesion, and potential.

(You know what... you know what, it’s four things. The fourth is they’re so aesthetically pleasing together and individually. Like, they’re just good looking people [specifically when they’re grown but they’re also cute kids] and that absolutely doesn’t hurt) (but it’s not the Point, it’s just nice to point out sometimes)

The dynamic is hard to get into without also looking at the canon pairings, but I think I can do that without unnecessary bashing. It’s just that part of the magic of zutara is really highlighted by what they give to each other that their other relationships don’t.

First off, it’s classic enemies to (would be) lovers. The absolute truest form of it. It’s not too different from how CS started out: a rogue antagonist with a job to do—but no personal vendetta against the future love interest—who is deeply and emotionally invested in his personal storyline (revenge/redemption) with little regard for how it effects other people after his entire life and genuine good nature are marred by suffering, and a fierce warrior girl with a strong moral compass and her own personal investment in stopping him (protect her family and save the world doing it). Obviously frustration and animosity grew between them by the nature of them being on opposing sides, but that just lends itself to the sweetness of their later reconciliation.

The thing is that while they’re wildly different on the surface (he’s a hot-headed prince of a fascist regime who is trying to capture the Avatar to please his father; she’s a nurturing daughter of the chief who is trying to protect and train the Avatar in order to topple his father’s throne) they find out that they have so much more in common both in their experiences and their personalities.

(What follows is an excessive use of the word “both” and I’m sorry about that)(I can edit it. I can do that. That IS an option............)

They both have an innate sense of justice that they are determined to see done (zuko, at the war meeting, sticking up for the Earth Kingdom kid when the guards torment his family, choosing not to steal from the pregnant couple despite his circumstances, abiding by his word to leave the SWT should Aang come willingly, etc.; katara, literally.... at any point). They both have pretty one-track minds at accomplishing certain goals once they’ve put their mind to it, regardless of a lack of support in that endeavor (it goes without saying I guess, but zuko’s entire hunt; katara’s determination to get the earth benders to fight back, her determination to absolutely destroy Pakku until he agrees to teach her, etc.). They both lost their mothers at young ages. Their worlds are war-torn and traumatizing to them both, if in different ways, but that ultimately forces them to grow up too quickly to be wholly independent individuals. They both have issues with their fathers (for WILDLY different reasons, but). They both hold extreme prejudices that they need to learn to overcome (which ties into thematic cohesion)(bit like Lizzie and Darcy in that way but magnified by a million). They’re both extremely emotional and empathetic—which can and often does result in loud outbursts. Katara’s a bit better adjusted and can temper her anger for longer than S1 Zuko can, but they both feel that anger deeply and have no compunctions expressing it (Katara is, usually, more justified, particularly in S1. Again, S1 Zuko is severely maladjusted but at the point when they could’ve feasibly become a couple, he’s so much better off with the way he carries himself). They both struggle with feelings of inferiority in their bending abilities when confronted with prodigal benders like Aang and Azula, but have the work ethic required to double down and become two of the most powerful benders in the three remaining nations. This is a little more minor but it is a parrallel that appeals to some shippers that they both have these alter egos in the Painted Lady (notably fire nation coded) and the Blue Spirit (water tribe coded) that are pretty different from who they are day-to-day and are useful in accomplishing a purpose that they as themselves cannot.

(I’m.... I just realized that this could potentially get very long. Should I have made a slide show with bullet points??????)

Anyway, similar. I know there’s more but there’s literally so much to love about zutara that I’ll drive myself a little crazy trying to compile all the ways they’re similar. (Just gonna say that at this exact moment I went back to add more similarities.... so okay then)

Once they’ve reconciled, we see how all of these things only lend themselves to a deeper intimacy together than they share with literally anyone else. There’s a steady partnership that positions them as the mom/dad of the gaang, while also providing the support necessary to allow the other to not have to carry so much responsibility. A lot of zutaras will point out how zuko is actually depicted doing the more domestic chores that are normally relegated to Katara once he joins the gaang, since the others in the group are two 12-year-olds and sokka. The one that sticks out the most is how he makes tea for the group and then serves them, while Katara is able to just relax with her friends around the fire. Fanon expands upon this a lot to Zuko helping with the laundry or the cooking or whatever else needs doing since he, as a once-refugee, is used to doing his own domestic tasks. Before Zuko joined, Katara was the one mothering everyone, sewing for them, cooking for them, etc. She’s always tending to the needs of the group, and that includes emotionally. She does the emotional labor for the gaang 99% of the time, but when she’s the one falling apart, she’s usually doing it alone and without the comfort that she normally provides for others. Until Zuko. And that’s before they’re even friends.

Which is WHY people romanticize the catacombs of Ba Sing Se so much. Katara is verbally attacking Zuko out of her own righteous anger but also her own prejudice when Zuko, surprisingly, chooses to be vulnerable with her. He’s been on a journey that’s opened his eyes a bit, but he’s never actively chosen to expose the rawest parts of his past to anyone. But for some reason he chooses to do that with Katara of all people. While she’s yelling at him. He sees her humanity, and for once can look past his prejudice and empathize with her. And this time, when she breaks down, she gets to be comforted. Katara normally talks about her mother when she’s trying to explain to someone else that she sees and understands they’re pain, as a form of comfort to them. Here, Zuko uses the exact same tactic. He sees her and he understands. And for zuko? He’s not being shut down. He’s allowed to articulate his pain regarding his mother without being ignored and made to internalize it, and he’s allowed to process how he feels about his scar out loud without being told that he deserved it. And then he lets her touch his scar, something we’ve seen him actively avoid before. He’s completely open to her and she’s completely open to him and all it took was one five minute conversation. She was about to use the little bit of Spirit water that she had, that she was saving for something Important, to heal the scar that still daily causes him pain just because they had, somehow, connected.

Plus there’s the whole parallel to the star-crossed lovers forbidden from one another, a war divides their people—

And then zuko messes up, he regresses, he gets what he wants and he HATES it. And the sense of justice he had as a child has been restored to him against his will and he can’t think of anything he wants to do more than the Right Thing, so he joins team avatar. Before he does that though, we get to see his relationship with Mai, which is where comparison really comes in. And what we see is Zuko, fresh off of his encounter with Katara in the catacombs, trying to be emotionally honest with Mai... and getting shut down and dismissed. Which is just how Mai is and it’s fine, but not for Zuko. Still, he keeps trying, and he keeps getting ignored or scoffed at or yelled at. Which is really a larger symbol for how he doesn’t fit in his old life anymore, but again that’s about thematic cohesion. He tries to articulate his anxieties about returning home, he tries to make romantic gestures, he tries to explain how morally conflicted he’s feeling—and Mai diverts to some kind of physical affection to shut him up and a parting comment that is pretty much always, in essence, “I don’t wanna talk about this.” So they don’t. On the other hand, once zuko and Katara are friends, we see him again emotionally distraught and caught up in his anxieties about facing Iroh, and it’s Katara who comes to him and listens to him and comforts and encourages him.

Similarly, we have Aang clamming up and getting uncomfortable whenever Katara shows any negative emotion, usually resulting in him making excuses or running away. Or, in the case of the Southern Raiders, lecturing her on how she needs to just let go of her anger about her mother’s murder. People have talked this episode to death and usually better than I ever could, so imma... keep it brief. There’s a serious disconnect between Aang and Katara in his ability to empathize with Katara and her needs that has her tamping down her vulnerability and amping up her anger. He tells her that he was able to forgive his people’s genocide and appa’s kidnapping (petnapping? Theft??), which is blatantly not true but also not an entirely equal parrallel to Katara’s situation, and continues making these little remarks throughout the episode. But it’s Zuko that Katara opens up to. It’s with him that she’s able to talk about the most traumatic day of her life, and it’s with him that she’s able to get the closure she needs, cementing their bond as friends and partners. This disagreement between Aang and Katara is then... never resolved. They just never bring it up and hear what the other is saying.

There’s a fic called The Portraits of Ember Island that has a line that so completely sums up the heart of the matter for why people love their dynamic. For context, zuko has woken up early to help Katara with the cooking and they spend the whole time just letting one another talk, and zuko stops to ask why she always just lets him talk. And so she stops to ask why he’s always helping, and it goes as follows:

There’s just... so much mutual support! Trust! Intimacy!! And it just continues like that from the Southern Raiders on, listening to each other, advising each other, watching each other’s backs! And then! Literally saving each other’s lives!! I will never be over the last Agni kai. Not ever. Zuko may have been willing to jump in front of lightning for anyone, but he actually did it for Katara. And in a show, that’s the thing that really matters. It’s a fulfilled trope usually exclusively applied to romantic pairings, and it ended up applying to Zuko and Katara. And then she ran out into the middle of a fight with tunnel vision just to get to him.

Also!! Also Zuko pushing Katara out of the way of the falling rocks at the Western Air Temple!! And Katara catching him as he fell from the war balloon that he fought Azula on!! Before they’re even getting along, they’re the ones reaching for each other. They come to this place of equal ground, as partners, who watch each other’s backs, call each other out but still listen attentively and understand, and provide the support that the other has been sorely lacking up until they knew each other (whether that be from lack of effort or lack of understanding from others, or an unwillingness to accept it for themselves).

Then, trailing along under the surface of this, we see the themes of the show totally embodied by Zuko and Katara as individuals and in their relationship to one another. There’s a YouTuber, sneezyreviews, who has a, like, 2-hour explanation on why she not only loves zutara but also believes that their endgame would’ve actually elevated the writing of atla to new levels particularly because of thematic cohesion and resolved character arcs. It’s the zutara dissertation I never knew I needed, and it’s funny and eloquent and effective, so I’m just going to sum up her section on thematic cohesion to the best of my abilities and then link it for whenever you have the time. And I HIGHLY recommend it, especially if you want a full understanding of what makes zutara so great and gives it such longevity.

Guru pathik has a line that goes something like this: separation is an illusion; things that seem different are just two parts of the same whole. Iroh also tells Zuko something similar: balance and strength are achieved when the different nations come together and influence one another and celebrate what makes them each unique. And this lesson is a massive central arc that both Zuko and Katara go through, moving past a black-and-white, good guys-vs-bad guys, us-vs-them mentality and into a greyer, more nuanced view of the world. Zuko sees the fire nation from an entirely new perspective and while he still loves and hopes for his nations future, he surrenders his blind loyalty to them in exchange for an unflinching loyalty to peace and love. Katara too had to come to terms with the fact that cruel people exist in the earth kingdom and water tribes, while some fire nation citizens are just regular, kind people who also need and deserve to have someone speak on their behalf. And this is honed in directly on how they view each other. They grow in their individual journeys to be open to the humanity in the other and then, once they’ve found that, they’re able to grow more in compassion for others in a beautiful feedback loop. And this is all matched in the symbolism repeatedly and intentionally associated with them in canon: sun and moon, fire and water, yin and yang, Oma and Shu who found love despite their warring nations. Their individual arcs are completed in each other and complement the themes of atla beautifully.

The canon pairs... just don’t. Which, again, is fine. But the very things that give atla longevity and popularity are anchored in zutara. Kat@ang doesn’t accomplish this. They’re... nice. Sweet. Especially when you erase a good portion of their interactions in S3. It could’ve been just a sweet love story. (Personally, the dynamic between toph and aang accomplish the same thing that zutara does, with complementary personalities that fulfill the theme of opposites blending in harmony) M@iko, on the other hand, is less sweet but I think wasn’t even supposed to last. Zuko’s relationship with Mai seems to represent his relationship with his old life as a whole. He can’t be emotionally vulnerable, he’s goaded into abusing his privileges, his agency and opinions aren’t respected. They just don’t have common ground with which to discuss anything that matters, so they don’t. As far as themes, the relationship doesn’t fit with atla. It’s zuko returning to and sticking with what is (on the surface) like him, what’s expected. Fire nation with fire nation. Fluid water bender with the flexible air bender. Like with like, separated from what is different and challenging and complementary.

And all of these things combined of course lead to the potential for the ship. I don’t know how familiar you are with the post-atla canon but... well, miss “I will never turn my back on people who need me”, miss “I don’t want to heal! I want to fight!” ends up living quietly in the SWT as a designated healer who turns a blind eye to the water tribe civil war happening right outside her front door. Which can be fine! People change! Some people just wanna stay inside. I just wanna stay inside! But the potential future for zutara is so much more satisfying, with Katara becoming the most unconventional Fire Lady the uppity old cads who are stuck on the old ways have ever seen. Fanon has her serving as a voice for the other nations within a kingdom at the point of its biggest political upheaval, as a confidante to Zuko who can actually help him while he’s trying to figure out how to move forward and make reparations. They have the opportunity, together, to accomplish what they both have set on their hearts to fight for: positive change that lends itself to harmony and balance. And the steambabies! A popular headcanon is that their firstborn daughter, the crown princess, is actually a waterbender, which causes such an uproar among the people who are adamantly clinging to the old ways. It’s just a future full of potential to be forces for good together, full of trust, intimacy, joy. The exact era of peace and love and balance that zuko announces that he intends to ring in with the start of his reign as Fire Lord is, again, magnified by the very personal zutara relationship. And we love to see it.

tl;dr zutara isn’t for everyone. Some people just don’t vibe with it. Some are nostalgic. Some love the canon they grew up with. Some have been disappointed for years. Some just see themselves in other characters and want their happiness instead. Whatever the reason, that’s fine. But for me, I love the way these two, from the moment they give each other a fair chance, are able to lower their walls and prejudices to see the other for the kindred spirits they are. They see each other’s humanity, and their response is to pour out love and support and compassion. I love that they’re a power couple in battle. I love the symbolism and, honestly, soulmatism that colors their every interaction. I love that they embody the whole storyline of atla in their relationship and how it develops, which is notably why their seasonal arcs always culminate in each finale with how they relate to one another. I love that zuko adopting a waterbending move is what actually saves his life and then katara’s. I love the chemistry! And I love the future they could’ve had, instead of the ones they were given.

So, in conclusion: I just think they’re neat and I hope you do too, at least a little bit. Even if it’s just respectfully from a disinterested distance cause you do you. And now here is the video I mentioned. I’m sorry this post got so long and then I gave you an even longer homework assignment, but I can’t recommend it enough. She says it all better than I can.

[vannyvancan]

“nice to meet you“ Roommate!Shinsou Hitoshi X F!Reader Part 1

MINORS DNI

my masterlist

Tw for : Assassin!Shinsou theme, female reader,  gun usage, slight insecurity (?), NSFW for the most part on the later chapters, drug usage, corrupt government talk, harassment

This was the worst timing of your life. It was September and you knew time is going to pass quickly to chilly December. Even though late summer's breeze made it pleasurable to go out in town to run errands, the increase of supply demand made you squeeze out what little energy you had for the office job at logistics. Barely earning your required minimum wage in the small flat that you owned, your life was miserable for your financial conditions. Then your dear neighbor friend gave you an idea.

"Put up a roommate flyers? You can definitely share expenses with someone to ease your wallet"

Its not like it was a bad idea. You had roommates in the past in your time in college, you just were afraid of the mess you'd usually come back to once your classes would end. Now that you are an adult woman with a job, it seemed almost silly. Still wearing your summer loose shirt and shorts as house-wear you were basking in what little warmth summer had to offer, you looked out of the flat window to gaze at the orange sunset while preparing your fliers, the mixture of pink and purple ombre sent your mind in a state of serenity. For a moment you had forgotten your financial worries.

If only there was a way for you to excel more at your job and earn more, you've tried to, but the corrupt system only allowed privileged people on the spot.

The thought sent you back to reality and you grimaced, sighing and turning your head back to the paper you reread the information on it.

„Looking for a roommate at Address XXX, phone number and e-mail contact info...“

It was really neat even, you made a cutout for each number and email paper so that people can pluck it and consider it. You sent out fliers and continued on with your day.

The moment you sent out fliers around your workspace, around your building and in the most populated places in the town, the realization settled in that you'd be sharing expenses with some total stranger, you didn't have any friends that needed help, almost everyone that you knew off was either married and living with their partner or busy helping their parents and therefore still living with them. You had asked your closest friend, Uraraka if she needed it as a temporary stay before she moved out of country, but her plans caught her working on the other side of the city and was too far away from you. She probably had a similar situation like you so you felt bad.

You only hoped that the person that would knock on the door and be your roommate would not end up harassing you, make a mess more than you usually make yourself, or like your pessimistic parents would say, kill you.

Within two days, you get a call early morning, startling you awake.

Flying out of bed to pluck your phone out from charger you coughed out your morning voice and looked at the unknown number on the screen, swiping the green phone you answered.  You were curious on the sort of person you'd have this conversation with. Maybe you were a bit naive, because on one hand you were anxious, but you sure were also exited to have a person in this soulless flat.

"Hey... Is this the right number for a roommate flier?"

You've never heard a voice such like his. Spending your almost entire life in that neighborhood you've grown accustomed to voices such like your local sweet lady at supermarket, the friend from work had much more boring voices. But this guy seemed to have come from the outside. Perhaps Uraraka knew of him? You could ask, but doubtful.

Maybe he came to work temporarily? Your mind raced with questions as the mysterious, low voice left you speechless and it took you some time until he asked again

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

"Oh- y-yes I'm sorry!"

„My name is Shinsou Hitoshi, I was wondering if we could discuss about it further and meet up somewhere? Preferably an hour from now, at... Midoriya's Lounge Cafe? Sounds good?“

God, his voice sent your legs wobbling and it was only 7:05 AM on Saturday. He obviously had energy to do it now and you were barely awake, about to pass out by the mere vibrations from the speaker.

„Sure! Thank you for considering my place. Let's meet up there.“

Waking up fully you dressed up, plastered some make up on and stormed out, you also made sure to hide whatever leftover clothing from your living room in your bedroom to hide any nasty appearance if he decides to come here.

The stroll was short, the cafe he proposed was a 20 minute walk from your place, you weren’t sure if it was a coincidence that he chose this place or if he was considerate for choosing a place close by, but you were grateful for it.

8 AM and the cafe was rather busy at Saturday morning, good thing was that there was a lot of free space between tables, you'd usually pick this place to have a peace of mind when it was afternoon lunch break and you weren’t much hungry.

Now entering, the door made a small 'ding' from the doorbell, marking your entrance, your eyes scanned the area to find anyone who would be remotely looking at your direction. You didn't know how Shinsou looked like, but he could of easily tracked on the contact info how you looked like.

You made an eye contact with an individual staring at you, were his purple eyes staring back at you the whole time? The gaze sent the hairs on your back of your neck stand out. He was intimidatingly dangerous, it was apparent. His arms seemed to have enough strength to crush both of your wrists with just his one hand, his tall figure managed to find comfort in the armchair, knee poked a bit on the side and you could only guess how tall he truly was judging by his sitting position. The only coloured thing he wore was the purple strap adorning his black pants and t-shirt. The strap also matched his eyes and wild hair. It sure was in unusual colour, but you didn't question it since the owner of the said lounge was green haired.

He slowly tapped a finger on the table two times while looking at you.

'So this is Mr. Shinsou?' You questioned yourself, it was only logical, to whoever else he might invite to come sit beside him? Gulping a lump in your throat, you approached him, setting a bag on the other chair you noticed a sports bag was beside him. Was this all of his luggage? He didn't seem to have much if he was ready to move in right now, maybe he was only a temporary stay? Maybe he just came out from a gym.

Of course, it was 8 AM. And the man now sitting across you seemed to be the type to buff himself a lot, you held in your breath again once your gaze set on his exposed forearms and how tight his black shirt hugged his figure. It took you good amount of time to introduce yourself to him, but he seemed to be patient enough to let you get comfortable.

„Hello! You must be the one for the flier, my name is Y/N. It's a pleasure to make acquaintance.“

„Nice to meet you. I ordered us coffee if you don't mind?“ He smiled lightly

„Oh I don't mind, I love coffee in here, I'm a regular.“

After a short greeting, you two had a small talk on his and your state of living, you were sure he was going to be a semi-distant person, judging by his work schedule that makes it almost impossible to meet him throughout the day and night, you were kind of worried, but didn't judge much since it was his job of choice, he never said what he did though.

„Well you could say I'm a night owl. I go where I'm asked, taking calls left and right. Don't worry, I earn enough for your rent.“ He crossed his legs and laid back on the armchair, letting his arms rest on each side of it. You didn't say it but you were especially enjoying the view.

You were quiet careful when it came to relationships, ever since you had your heart broken in hopes of finding one, it made you feel insecure if you'd ever find a soulmate. This man made it seem like he was a big fish to catch, and you were out of his league so you quickly established it before any further thoughts entered in your mind.

„Great! So you want to come to my place now to look around before deciding? There's a guest room where you can leave your stuff.“

The indigo haired man nodded, after you had drank your morning coffee, you both payed for it and left, he took his sport bag and you eyed him curiously. You barely know him and now you know now he is going to come and live with you. Its not like you had much of a choice... you had to save on something, you were starving, and he came by quickly to come and live with you. As exciting as it is to have an attractive individual come and live with you, it also terrified you.

The walk back to your place was quiet, occasional questions slipped out from your mouth. Asking about his food preference and anything he didn't like to make his stay more comfortable. He seemed pretty open about anything.

„Is that all of the luggage you are taking with you or are you going to come back with more?“

„No, this is all.“ He responded, short and concise. „I'm a man of simple needs.“

God he should stop talking, or more like you should stop asking questions like a curious kitten, his voice made you jump on the phone but it was a stuggle to be with him in lounge to hear him talk as well. Once arriving, you struggled to find a door key for a second and you opened it to reveal a simple flat.

„Here we are.“ You looked at him and let him enter first.

You weren’t going to let your guard down still, if he was going to do something behind your back you at least wanted to have a little bit of chance to escape. His foot stepped inside, softly stepping on the plush carpet with his dark shoes he inspected the area almost innocently. You sighed in relief and entered after him, closing the door behind you.

„On the right is a door to the guest room.“ You said as you took off your jacket and tossed the key to the stand. „There's a bathroom in here and my room in on the left. If you ever need me just knock on the door alright?“

„You doubt that I don't have manners? Careful you might lose a roommate now.“

He turned sideways and grinned at you. There was something about this individual that's going to be a handful for you, nevertheless of how little you are going to see him throughout the day. After the short tour, he signed a contract of living with you. As you suspected, he was going to be a temporary stay in the city, he promised to be out of your neck in six months, after that, he was going out. He gave you the first pay and shortly after that he was phone called by someone on his end.

'Busy bee, isn’t he?' You thought to yourself as you watched him leave, shrugging the thought away you glanced curiously at his bag in the room that he left.

'It's not polite to look at other people's things.' You hummed and closed the door to now Shinsou's room. Feeling the unease fading away now, you decided to not worry yourself about other people's things as you had too much of your own.

Dialing the phone now yourself you sent a message to your friend.

[Today] 'Hey, Uraraka? Want to go out someday? I have so much to talk about! <3 '