#i stll love it of course

[deoidesign]

I adore reading your rambling tags, don't stop posting things there 😩

Don't you worry. I think I might be incapable of stopping idk what happened I never used to tag ramble

[quitealotofsodapop]

That's not forgetting the fact MK was also in big trouble.

Wukong: 1300 years, Macaque! We have been married, officially, for over 1300 years! What in Newa's name would compelling you to look me in the eye and lie to my face about this!? For over a year!

Macaque: I-I know, but Peaches this was important! I promise, I promise I was only trying to protect you and our cubs!

Wukong: FAT LOAD OF GOOD THAT DID! We all got dragged into it anyway, Liu'er! Xiaotian was searching for you every day, getting into fights with demons and celestials alike to figure out where you went! Our powers are gone, we're being chased across all of China and beyond while our home is a literal icicle, and the Lady Bone Demon has Ringu Jingu Bang! How is this protecting us!?

Tang, whispering to MK: Is... is this the famous temper that once gave Sun Wukong the reputation of being capable of cowing even the great Li Jing!?

MK nods mutely: I heard the story. Apparently, I was there, just not born yet.

Small cute headcanon, but I headcanon that Tripitaka had officiated Wukong and Macaque's official wedding in JTTW Stone Egg au

referencing. Hehe I love all of this

Macaque: "Are son was getting into fights!?... did he win?" Wukong: "OF COURSE HE WON! HE'S OUR SON! DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!" The Noodle Shop Gang: (*keeping a safe distance*) Tang, whispering jokingly: "Oh my gosh. Flashback to the Golden Pouch Mountain, am I right?" Nezha, with a thousand-yard stare: "Yeah, Macaque is not in Sun Wukong's good graces at the moment. I stll remember having to hoist him up so that he could look my father in the eye while he screamed." Tang, fascinated: "I... I was just joking but omg. He had you lift him up? Thats so cute!" Nezha: "Yeah, I wasn't about to argue with a hormonal expectant monkey. The only reason that anger wasn't directed at me was because he saw me as a cub to protect. My father crumbled like a stone pillar after the first five minutes." MK, laughing nervously: "I was there! Just an Egg though." The Noodle Shop Gang: (*realising just how old MK is*) "wut"

And oh gosh the legendary "Shouting at General Li Jing for the Rhino King incident". I love the idea of historians jotting that down and forgetting the context of why Sun Wukong was so furious at the Pagoda King.

I feel like Macaque deliberately struck himself out of many records to keep his and MK's presence a secret from mortal eyes and ears. But some people (esp demon historians) still wrote down that the Monkey King had a super-protective-adoring mate during his Journey to the West.

Basically most of Macaque's reunion + MK's reveal to his mom/baba that he's been secretly a superhero is Wukong yelling at them for hours from worry.

[ajesterwrites]

4. date at the mystic grill

summary: you invite stefan to the mystic grill

pairings: stefan salvatore x fem!reader, jenna sommers x reader (aunt), bonnie bennett x reader (platonic), caroline forbes x reader (platonic), matt donovan x reader (platonic...mostly)

warnings: none <3

word count: 3.3k

YOU PACED around your room, irritation accompanying each step. In one hand, you held your phone to your ear. With the other, you pinched your forehead to relieve a growing headache.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" You hissed. "You gave Jeremy drugs? He's fourteen! You know he's in an extremely vulnerable place right now! God, how could you be so stupid?!"

"Hello to you too."

"Ryder!"

Ryder chuckled on the other end. You released your forehead and squeezed your fist. If only he was in the room with you. You'd stare into his pretty eyes and slap the smirk off his face. Maybe you'd mess up the dark, shiny curls on his head too.

"Chill out, okay? He asked for them. It's not like I walked up to him and said,'I know you're a freshman and all, but how would you like to get high?'"

"I know..." You sighed. Maybe you'd overreacted... kids did drugs all the time. Hell, you'd been mixing lethal combinations from the time you were fifteen until about three months ago.

And if he didn't get them from Ryder, he'd get them from someone else. At least Ryder knew him and would look out for him....sort of.

"For what it's worth, I am sorry." You could practically hear Ryder's smile on the other end. "I missed you, Y/N." You scoffed. "I mean it. We should hang out tonight."

You looked herself over in your vanity mirror. He would love your outfit: diamond earrings, a lacy black dress, and your trusty leather jacket. If only he wasn't such a douche.

"Sorry, I can't. I'm meeting Bonnie and Caroline at The Grill tonight."

"What?"

"You remember Bonnie and Caroline, right? I mean, you haven't met them but..." You turned in the mirror, inspecting your body. You looked good.

"Yeah, I remember..."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just that you guys haven't spoken in months and..."

"And what?"

"I didn't know you three were stll friends," Ryder admitted.

You stopped turning. "Of course we are, silly. I've known them since forever."

"Y/N... you remember what Dr. Blake said, right? About–"

"I know," You snapped, no trace of the nonchalance you had before. "But he also said that I should try to get things back to normal so no one suspects anything. Bon and Care are my normal."

"I trust your judgment."

A faint voice crackled on his end. "Is that her?"

"Who's that?" You asked. You couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman...whoever it was, they didn't seem happy.

"... No one. I'll call you back, Y/N."

Click.

"Hello? Ryder?" You looked at your phone's home screen and scoffed in disbelief. This jerk just hung up on you! "Asshole."

A door slammed shut downstairs. Curious, you left your room to investigate, and found Jenna loudly rummaging through the cupboards.

"Jenna?"

Hands still searching, she glanced at you and smiled. She hadn't gotten used to having you around yet but was enjoying the company. "Hey, Y/N."

"What are you doing?"

Jenna brought her full attention to the cupboards. "Just... looking for something," She grunted, now on her tiptoes.

"How was your presentation?"

"Let's just say I wanted to down an entire bottle of vodka when it was over."

That explained her behavior. "That bad, huh?"

Jenna pulled out the largest cocktail glasses she could find and filled them with ice.  "How was school?"

"Oh, the usual," You shrugged, watching Jenna fill the glasses with Sprite... the closest she could get to vodka, apparently. "Although there is a new kid this year. His name is Stefan."

"Ooh," Jenna commented, wiggling her eyebrows as she placed a glass in front of you. "Is he cute?"

You blushed and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah."

Jenna smirked and sipped her drink smugly. They didn't have sit-downs often, but during her past visits, she'd always ask if you found a boyfriend or potential crush. And every time, you would practically bite her head off as you insisted that you didn't have time for boys and their foolishness.

The closest you ever came to committing to someone was in your relationship with Matt, but even Jenna could see you weren't fully content. So when you broke up, it wasn't much of a surprise. Everyone saw it coming. Everyone except Matt.

"You're dressed up," Jenna observed as she sized you up. It wasn't your best outfit, as it was relatively simple, but it did its job. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Should I be worried?"

"Not at all," You promised, chuckling. "I'm going to The Grill to hang with Bonnie and Caroline."

"Oh, okay, I got this!" Jenna said eagerly. This was the parental moment she'd been waiting for. "Wait for this... don't stay out too late. It's a school night."

"Beautiful," You said. Jenna grinned, celebrating the small accomplishment with a fist pump. You raised your glasses and clinked them together triumphantly. "You really have this whole parenting thing in the bag. You should have your own kid someday."

Jenna laughed. "Thanks, but I think two volatile teenagers are enough."

You put you empty glass on the counter and pushed yourself off the chair, ready to go. "Have fun!" Jenna called after you. Just as you started to reply, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" You announced, rushing to answer the unexpected visitor. When you opened the door, you were surprised to find none other than Stefan awkwardly standing on your porch steps, his hands tucked in his jacket pockets. "Hi."

"Hi."

You raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation. He cleared his throat. "I wanted to apologize for my disappearing act earlier. I know it was...strange."

"Not as strange as Hitchcock come to life," You joked. He laughed. You smiled, finding herself slightly in love with the sound—it was music to your ears. "Don't worry about it. Hemophobia is no joke... Wait, are you hemophobic?"

"Uh... something like that," He answered vaguely. "Anyways, I thought you might want this back."

He pulled a familiar brown leather book from his pocket. You gasped. "My journal!" You exclaimed, taking it from his hands. "Thank you so much, I didn't even realize it was gone!"

He nodded. "Glad I could help."

"Not that I'm not grateful, but... you didn't read it, did you?"

"No."

You held back a relieved sigh. "Okay, good. Can I ask why? Not that I wanted you to—definitely not—but I'm pretty sure that anyone else in this town would have."

He frowned. "I wouldn't want anyone reading mine," He said as if that were as obvious as the sky's color.

You were taken back by his response. "You keep a journal?"

"Yeah, if I don't write it down, I forget it," He explained. "Memories are too important."

You nodded. Most guys you met seemed to think that journals were a "girly" thing. It was refreshing to meet a boy who saw the value in recording thoughts and dreams...even if it was just a therapy assignment.

"Sorry, can you hold on one sec?" Stefan nodded cluelessly. You turned around and headed to the kitchen just as your aunt was leaving. "Jenna!"

Jenna stopped. "Hm?"

"Can you please put this in my room?" You asked, holding out your journal. Jenna's eyes darted to the book and she stopped her jaw from dropping open.

Truth be told, this was a big step for you. The only person you ever let touch it was Holly, and this didn't go unnoticed in Jenna's mind.

She bit back a smile, swallowing her excitement, and tried to keep a casual demeanor. "Sure."

As she reached for the diary, her eyes averted to the door, and she flashed an impressed look when she saw the stranger's face. "Who's that?"

You glanced at the door and smiled shyly. "Stefan," You responded in a low voice, not wanting your aunt to get any ideas or for the guest to hear you.

"The new kid you were telling me about?" Jenna mumbled. You nodded. "Wow, he is cute. Go get 'em, tiger."

"Jenna!" You whisper-yelled. Jenna laughed at the flustered look on you face before leaving to put away your diary.

You turned back around and walked over to Stefan, who tried his hardest to fight his creeping smile. You hoped he hadn't heard that embarrassing exchange. "Hey, so... I was on my way to meet a few friends at The Grill—it's kind of like a mix between a bar and cafe—and I thought maybe you'd like to join me. You know, as thanks for returning my journal."

"Sure."

"Really?" You asked, smiling at his nonchalance. "Great, let me just grab my coat. It's supposed to be like forty degrees out tonight."

You pulled your coat off the nearby rack and stepped outside, making sure to lock the door behind you.

As you and Stefan walked along the sidewalk on that chilly September night, the only sounds that cut the strained silence were the music blasting from passing cars and the gentle howl of the wind. The hairs stood on your arm—and it wasn't from the cold.

"So, how do you like it here in Mystic Falls so far?" You suddenly asked, trying to break the suffocating quiet. "Not too peppy, I hope."

Stefan chuckled softly, giving a light shake of his head. "No, it's not. I was actually born here, but I moved a long time ago when I was a kid."

"Oh. So what do you do in your free time when you're not meeting strange girls at cemeteries?"

"I like to read and write," He answered. You smiled. So did you. More recently, you'd picking up drawing. "Most of the time, I stay with my uncle."

"Uncle?" You repeated. "No parents?"

"No, they died."

You frowned. That must have been why he was at the cemetery. "I'm sorry for your loss," You said gently. You of all people knew what it was like, and although you weren't keen on sharing your experiences, you were tempted to so he wouldn't feel alone. But after months of pity and fruitless attempts to relate from your neighbors, you knew how ineffective that really was.

"It's fine," Stefan responded dismissively. Maybe his parents have something to do with the move. Or maybe he just wanted to save himself from the awkwardness of receiving condolences. "What about you?"

"Nothing to tell here. My parents are gone too, so it's just me, my aunt, and my brother," You explained. It wasn't exactly something you enjoyed talking about and yet somehow got mentioned in every conversation, so you were especially eager to change the subject. "What's your favorite color?"

"Blue."

You lifted a brow. "Sky blue or ocean blue?"

"Steel blue."

"That's a new one," You commented. "My favorite color is red—crimson, to be exact. Who's your favorite superhero?"

"I don't have one," He casually revealed, readying himself for your appalled reaction. He'd had this discussion countless times and had yet to meet a single person who wasn't shocked by the confession.

And it turned out he was right. The revelation made you gape at him. "You don't have a favorite superhero?" You asked rhetorically. You'd known something about him was different because he gave off this...vibe, but everyone you'd ever known at least had one favorite superhero at one point in time.

Stefan shrugged. "I don't know, I've just never been into that kind of thing."

"Alright," You said, nodding. "But you said you're into books, right?"

"Definitely," He enthusiastically confirmed. "My favorite would have to be The Great Gatsby, maybe The Odyssey, on a good day."

"You are the first person I've ever heard say that," You admitted with a laugh. He smiled. "What are you, like a child prodigy or something?"

"No, I've just always loved to read. I guess you could say I'm a little old-fashioned that way."

You nodded. "Okay, and what about your favorite band or singer?"

"Currently?" He asked. "Um, it's a tie...between Willie Nelson and Patsy Cline."

"Oh, so you like old music," You remarked, amazed by his outdated but golden taste. "In that case, what is your favorite movie or show from the 20th century?"

"Seinfeld and I Love Lucy."

"Hold up, what?" You asked, surprised with his immediate response. "Seinfeld I get but I Love Lucy? Have you forgotten about the hilarious 1950s masterpiece I like to call The Donna Reed Show?"

"You want to compare Donna Reed to Lucy Ricardo?"

"Donna Reed is an icon!"

"So is Lucy Ricardo!" Stefan argued. "Have you ever watched I Love Lucy?"

You began to say yes but quickly realized that wasn't true and closed your mouth. Stefan gave you a smug, playful grin before saying,"That's what I thought."

"Well, have you ever seen Donna's show?" You asked, not at all offended by his complacent tone. If anything, you thought it made him even more likable.

"When it came out," Stefan said without missing a beat and then broke into another grin.

She laughed. "Alright, Grandpa. How old are you anyway?"

"Seventeen. You?"

"Sixteen," You said. "But turning seventeen in June."

"Are you excited?"

"Not really," You admitted, tucking your hair behind your ear as you looked down. Normally, you wouldn't open up to a stranger, but the whole town knew of your troubles and he would learn eventually, assuming he hadn't already.

Besides, there was something about him. Maybe it was his old soul. But he seemed to brim with wisdom and understanding. There was something just so comforting about Stefan, like he was looking into your soul without a trace of judgment.

"It's gonna be my first birthday without my parents."

Anniversaries were some of the hardest days to get through. But you were determined to push through and make it the most epic birthday party ever. As proof that you really moved on. Denial at its best.

You looked up to discover that you were approaching the Mystic Grill. "Looks like we're here. You are going to love Bonnie and Caroline. They're awesome."

"Any friend of yours must be," Stefan said, opening the door for you. You smiled and thanked him as you walked through. Smart, cute, good sense of humor, and a gentleman? Either he was a fallen angel or a spawn from Hell...someone like him seemed too good to be true.

Almost immediately after Stefan stepped inside, you were greeted by your ex, who you'd forgotten hung out here with his best friend, Tyler Lockwood, after school. Sure enough, Caroline and Tyler were standing by the pool time, watching you and your....friends...intently. 

Great, now Matt was going to think you were trying to rub this in his face—as if what you did before wasn't bad enough.

"Hey, I'm Matt," He addressed cooly, extending his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Hi," Stefan greeted and gave Matt's hand a firm shake. "Stefan."

Matt's gaze averted to you, and you forced a smile, offering a small awkward wave. "Hey."

"Hey," He drawled. Your eyes danced around The Grill to find anything else to talk about, and you breathed a small sigh of relief when you noticed Bonnie waving at you. 

"Oh look, there's Bonnie!" You practically exclaimed.  "We should go."

You spared an uneasy look in Matt's direction and beelined for Bonnie's table. Stefan followed wordlessly. 

"Hey, guys!" You chirped. Caroline muttered a cheerful goodbye to Tyler, who narrowed his eyes at you, and your two besties jumped to embrace you. You didn't miss the way Caroline looked at Stefan, like he was a delicious platter of meat she wanted to take a bite of. It seemed that Stefan didn't miss it either. He quickly shunted his eyes to you. You smiled reassuringly. 

After a round of introductions, everyone got settled. Stefan slid beside you. Bonnie and Caroline sat on the other side—Caroline made sure she was eye-to-eye with Stefan.  Bonnie placed a cup in front of you, who looked at her questioningly.

"Large vanilla iced coffee, seven pumps of vanilla syrup, nine shots of sugar, heavy whipped cream, and extra caramel drizzle," Bonnie listed before stopping to take a breath. "Just the way you like it."

"You know me so well," You said, impressed. Three months away and Bonnie still remembered your order. If there was even a slim chance Bonnie wanted you to feel guilty, it was working. "Thanks, Bon."

You sipped your iced coffee, remembering how much you used to savor it before everything happened. The bitter taste of coffee mixed with delicious pumps of vanilla, caramel, and whipped cream...it was heaven in a plastic cup.

You expected to smile, but instead, you grimaced, adjusting to the explosion of sweetness. You managed to swallow your repulsion. The drink didn't taste terrible, but during your time in the center, you hadn't been allowed to consume sweets. Not unless you...

No.  You couldn't think about that right now, not when you were with your friends. You weren't in the center anymore. You were free. Free to eat and drink whatever you desired with clean hands.

Unaware of Bonnie's baffled stare, you continued to sip, this time enjoying it.

Caroline looked at Stefan, a lively smile brightening her features. "So Stefan..." Bonnie blinked out of her trance. "...you were born in Mystic Falls?"

"Mm-hmm. And moved when I was still young."

"Parents?" Bonnie asked.

He smiled awkwardly. "My parents passed away."

Bonnie glanced at you, then at Stefan, considering your very obvious similarity. "I'm sorry to hear that. Any siblings?"

"None that I talk to. I live with my uncle."

Bonnie and Caroline nodded, unsure of how to respond. Sometimes, it was hard to talk to people when you couldn't relate to them or their situations, and so far, they hadn't found any common ground. You leaned back and sipped your drink, racking your brain for something to say. Anything to say.

"So, Stefan," Caroline spoke up, beating you to it. "If you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow."

"It's a back-to-school thing at The Falls," Bonnie explained. Mystic Falls threw celebrations for practically any event, and you weren't surprised that Caroline was the first to mention it. After all, she was the queen of throwing parties, a title that no one else in the school's history had even come close to earning. But as much as Caroline loved hosting festivities, she almost enjoyed attending them even more.

"Are you going?" Stefan asked, turning to you. You hadn't been planning on it, but Bonnie was quick to intervene.

"Of course she is," She said, giving you a look. You laughed quietly and nodded.

"Yeah, it'll be fun," You added and looked at your friends, your eyes lighting up as you reminisced about the previous bonfire. "Remember last year?"

Caroline scoffed. "Everyone remembers last year."

"What happened last year?" Stefan asked.

The girls traded looks. You raised your eyebrows and stifled a laugh. "Let's just say the fire department got some free beer."

The group continued to chat for a bit with Bonnie making jokes left and right, and Caroline casually drilling Stefan for whatever bits of information she could get out of him. Though you suspected she'd already run at least three background checks on him.

Eventually, the stars emerged. When ten o'clock came around, Caroline and Bonnie had already left for home, but you and Stefan stayed back a bit and conversed about the most random topics, very interested in getting to know one another.

And for the first time in forever, you didn't feel like the broken girl who was holding onto too many secrets for your own good. You felt...normal.

It was a great feeling. But any feeling could only last for so long.

[loveing-eyes]

Hey it’s me again! Thank you for calling me nice I appreciate it

I was wondering if you could do a request with Bakugo, Midoriya, Todoroki, Kirishima, Kaminari, Sero, and maybe Iida if you write for him x reader separately where the reader takes a hit for them and the reader gets injured in a fight against villains or something. Maybe the reader is knocked out or down for the count but not dead.

I hope that makes sense. Thank you so much I really appreciate it.

-💕

yeah of course btw love the idea and thank you for the request

katsuki bakugou

• he turned his back to deal with toga when you saw him well it was one of dabis fire balls headed straight for bakugou you pushed him out of the way both of you missing the ball of fire but you did not missing toga's syringe and getting stabbed with the knife plunged into your stomach

•bakugou hit her with an explosion as she ran off and you fell to the ground clutching your abdomen

•bakugou for once stopped being pissy about stuff applying pressure to your stomach as you started coughing up blood

•he picked you up trying to keep pressure on the gaping wound the best he could

• full of worry the entire time you were with recovery girl

• the moment he was allowed to see you he ran in instantly wrapping his arms around you

• he was so scared you wouldn't make it with how much blood you had lost so seeing you ok helped him

shoto todoroki

• he had barely turned around for a second to try help izuku and he turns back and your on the ground choking

• to say his heart stopped for a second is a understatement he felt his heart break as blood dripped out of your mouth

• he instantly ran at you so fast it made tenya jealous

•he stared at the gaping wound on your stomach almost feeling your pain "i-i need to cauterize it" he whispered taring at you and the way you just looked like you were in so much pain it physically hurt him to lay his hand on the wound using his quirk to burn it so the bleeding would stop- or slow down

• when he lifted his hand he saw noticaebly less blood oozing out so he took you in his arms running to find help

•you two were in a hospital when you woke up the was a complete mess hev was worried he made it worse and you would hate him for burning you

•he told you what you did and he understood if you wanted to stop talking

•you made him hug you you quite literally almost died and would have died if it wasn't for him and you would neer admit it happened cause toga was throwing a knife at the back of his head and you jumped infront of it

izuku midoriya

•this man GLANCED away for a millisecond and your arm was on fire and dabi looked like he wasn't done

•man all you did was move infront of deku not even on purpose

•both of you were screaming which got the attention of shoto who quickly made an ice wall while you and Deku tried to but out the fire

•you got it out and somehow had minimal damage

• for obvious reasons he stll drug you to recovery girl

•never thought that would happen

•mans was happy it wasnt a grave injury and kept trying to give you an over the top amount of affection trying to make up for it when he realized it hanpped cause you covered him

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

hi anon thank you for the request I know i probably butchered this horribly uh I apologize part two tomorrow though

[princess-of-the-corner]

Was reading stuff on your Duchess Noire AU and had an idle thought. Chloe does discover Tikki but doesn't tell Marinette cos she fears Marinette won't trust Duchess anymore & will get hurt. This also feeds into her sneaking around & watching Marinette with her family and that whole… Everything but like even worse now cos she's full on putting Marinette on a pedestal which only serves to know her lower.

"Sooo, its a little weird that you're sneaking around my house spying on my family, but given you've kind of saved my life a few times by fighting Akuma, I figure I owe you the benefit of the doubt."

"The benefit of the doubt..." Duchess chuckles, no snickers into her paw like gloves like its some joke, but there's a sickeningly tight sort of wheeze to the sound that makes it feel like... Not a laugh.

Marinette swallows, and forces herself forward with the words, "So what brought you here, Akuma hunting maybe?"

Marinette watches as Duchesses stiff half poised to jump frame slacken and she simply plops down on the roof, staring at her. This drags on for nearly a minute as the heroes mouth slowly opens then snaps shut over and over as if she cannpt findf the words before finally she sags.

"I'm trying to figure you out."

"Me? I'm nobody special-"

"HAH! Are you for real?" There's a sort of wide eyes look to the heroine, words spilling out so fast they almost tumble from her fanged maw.

"Of course," She snaps back, not quite angry but increasingly worried about her partner and identity. "I mean you're a super hero-"

"I'm a wrecking ball who happens to make a decent damage sponge when Ladybug needs it. I'm not good for anything but hurting and breaking and being a punching bag, not really, I just happened to be pointed at things worse than me Marinette."

She looks her in the eyes and then away again, all the energy sapped from her frame as she murmured.

"I'm nothing like you, and that's the problem, that's what was always the problem I think. No one worthwhile whose met you has anything bad to say about you, in fact they adore you."

Se stood up and began pacing, tail swishing as her hands gesticulated wildly. "You have that creative brilliance that all truly exceptional artists should that lets you create things other people with more resources and time never could. Your parents don't just live with you they actually love you!"

Those last words seem to rip themselves out of her throat as she turns to look down at Marinette, still staring up at the heroine from her balcony as a sick, heavy dread settled in her stomach.

"Your parents love you," She mutters, practically collapsing atop the roof, a violent shudder running through her body, "And mine don't... So I must... I have to be doing something wrong... I just need to figure out what it is." She chokes whatever she was going to say back.

Marinette's mind races between options and explanations; sickness, akuma, maybe a fight? She knows Duchess can be dramatic and overreact at times, but then... Her parents don't live with her? Is it because they travel for work maybe-

Her thought process stops, Duchess is looking like she wants to run away, body tensing, feet beginning to pivot. Only them does she notice her parents making for the roof through the ladder in her room.

NOTES:

I recall hearing that Chloe just lives in a hotel suite and her dad has his own so while technically in the same building she's functionally on her own.

Also I always figured a lot of Chloe's hostility to Marinette was rooted in jealousy. Both seem to be in the same general 'tracks' at school, even art.

I always like ot HC the first two years of their relationship was more of a rivalry but a very harsh one given Chloe was stll chasutic but not as bad.

It, or more Chloe in general, worsened when they were twelve & Audrey came back for her birthday which Chloe was heavily involved in organizing down to the last detail to make her happy.

The party received no compliments, and Chloe was constantly sent away any time she tried to speak to her mother with some new insult about her clothes, or make up until essentially dismissed.

Locking herself in the bathroom she looked for what was wrong, missing or broken in her before finally losing it and just attacking the mirror, seriously injuring her hands and setting her art skills back to beginner levels.

After that she gave up on being better than Marinette and instead focused on tearing her down. Adrien may be aware of the mirror & party stuff but not how much it led to Chloe going from "Brat with a temper" to "Obsessive campaign against this one person who has everything she wants" that steadily spilled out into wildly direction-less antagonism at basically everything.

OOF YEAH THIS IS

Yeah it's.

I've written before on how while Chloé's overall behavior is a mirror of how her parents treat her and how they taught her to treat others.

Her focus on Marinette is because Marinette is so beloved by everyone despite the fact that she's 'lesser' and doing things 'wrong' (according to Chloé's template for 'Exceptional' given by her parents). Marinette has this perfect life with friends who genuinely like her and parents who do more than the bare minimum.

And there's jealousy and frustration. Chloé wants that life, and is confused why Marinette gets to have it.

[wildshona]

Making Contact

About a week after I was told that Richard's friends had tracked down Amelia she phoned. It was a long conversation after we had spent about an hour sobbing in each others ears. I mean my sis and i had had no contact for 3 years and so much had happened. we have spoken lots of times since butt i bet we still havent told one another everything.

one thing i remember is how i sobbed AFTER the call with all the guilt i felt. i had to get an emergency appointment with my therapist.

of course dad went off the roof when i ran away. i had fucked up whatever plans he had and one thing about my dad was he didnt like not getting his way and he certainly didnt like an escapee from his carefully crafted system of the roles assigned to my sister and me.

my dad had a view - or excuse - that there were basically two types of women - wives and whores. A good wife was obedient, dressed demurely to the instructions of her man, was a good homemaker, had babies and was satisfied with vanilla sex and maybe the occasional blowjob. A whore was obedient and dressed as her master told her, could stand in on domestic things if the wife was tired and took any type of sex that the man wanted - however humiliating, degrading, rough or whatever. Oh yeah she was a resource for friends as well cos she didnt have any worth.

dad had it all sorted. Amelia was clearly a good wife so I clearly was, well you can guess.

the trouble was when i ran away he was a whore short. Amelia said he was distracted from that when the first moved to the US cos he had a new community to fit in to and a new job to get up to speed on. so while he was buying a gun, joining an evangelical church, and getting in with the work hierarchy it was fine especially as Amelia was getting bigger and bigger with the soon to be Zoe.

but then things started to change. dad started to buy her the sort of underwear that he used to buy for me. not he white or pink cotton but the black or red lacy. and he suggested that she started to wear stockings - only round the house of course. then he bought her toys. not dildoes or vibes. butt plugs. Amelia had nver had anything up her butt - that had been my job. she did it of course - she was a good girl and a good wife. and a good wife and a good girl does what her man tells her without discussion or complaint. she knew it was only a matter of time before it was something else and not just a plug.

she was so shocked about my time on the streets and other things that had happened tp me. she did say that i wouldn;t have had too put up with that if i had only stayed obedient. so it was sort of my fault. well i have always accepted that all that was aconsequnce of me running away but that was ok. my decision - my outcomes.

but i now had this massive guilt that Amelia had taken on some of the whore role for which she was untrained and unprepared. i should say that didnt happen til after Zoe was born but stll. i mean she wasn't supposed to suffer cos of me. but she did. we love one another so she didnt say it was my fault tho maybe we will have some sort of conversation about that one day.

at that time we were happy to be in contact again and could tell one another how much we loved one another. tho she still didnt understand how i couldnt love daddy. I mean Jesus...she still didn't get it. She went to church on Sundays and listened while the preacher talked about jezebels and boys who wanted to be girls and the threats of white women having black babies and then went home and did what her man told her to do even tho now she was being told to be a jezebel - well once the lunch was cooked anyway.

i don't know what we are going to do with her.

[bubbl3zdaseaotter37]

I finished The Hollow Boy

GUYS I finished the Hollow Boy and yeah, the cliffhanger wasn't quite as bad as expected, but THAT STLL DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT that I am EMOTIONALLY DEVISTATED. LIKE.

***spoilers ahead, btw***

****you may have guessed that already, but I'm about to lose my mind****

I don't even have all the context yet, in classic Stroud fashion, but I can already tell that Lucy leaving the agency was devastating for these poor babies, even if none of them are admitting it yet.

It's especially sad to me, because Lucy came from such a bad place already. Jacobs, her own mother, even her older sisters were too absorbed with their own problems, too worried about themselves and their own safety, that she left. I know she doesn't show it in her narrative, but the Wythburn Mill incident and its consequences were so devastating that the unknown dangers of London were preferable to whatever she might have dealt with at home. Of course, we do know that Lucy is a little bit impulsive, but still--!

She came to London looking for nothing but an escape, and she ended up finding family. The difference between Jacobs and Lockwood is so profound--, Jacobs only looked out for his own backside, while that is literally the last thing Lockwood worries about. Hence why she left.

But without them? Without Lockwood, George and --yes-- Holly, the friends whom she cared about so that she knew she had to leave? She's back to self-absorbed supervisors and loneliness. (unless you count Skully. I love him so much, but it isn't the same thing as human-to-human interaction. I think she even said that, early on in TCS...?) It's like the beginning all over again, except she's more sure of herself and her place in the world. It's come full circle, and I'm really anxious to see what happens next.

Does that make any sense? I feel like y'all get it, even if my ranting is only half intelligible.

I have next book already (thank goodness), but I haven't read that far into it. I think I'm on chapter 3? Maybe 4? From what my friend's told me, it only goes downhill from here. Which pretty much checks out.

Anyways, that's my two cents. A big hug to the fandom for the warm welcome! I hope you enjoyed my rambling :)

[fangirls-fanfiction]

Chapter 17

♦️𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚍♠️

Queen Dice opened the door ajar, looking out to her partner, patiently waiting for her to invite her in.

"It's just... It's a stupid thought." Queen Dice sighed, her gaze drifting to the floor.

"It's not stupid," Luci frowned. "What's bothering you? You can tell me."

Dice hesitated. What were the odds that her Boss would understand? That she wouldn't lash out and get defensive about her past. She wasn't exactly one to be good at admitting her wrongdoings.

Even so, Dice was aware that ever since the 'good for nothing lackey' incident, the Devil had been treating her very differently. Respectfully. She took her and her emotions seriously.

Maybe, just maybe, she'd understand.

"Why don't you come in?" Queen Dice opened the door further, without a word, Luci nodded and did as she was told.

They sat at the edge of her bed, Lucifer gently taking her hand, patiently waiting for her to explain everything.

"I've just been thinking recently... The whole reason I started working for you was from a life or death situation... I had no choice but to sign your contract..." Dice started, taking notice of the demon's ears drooping ever so slightly.

She looked like a puppy almost, ashamed of causing a mess and getting yelled at for it. Even so, she didn't say anything. Not so much as a peep. Stll, she kept quiet and listened to what Dice had to say.

"That's how it was for years... I was just an employee under a contract. The first few years I worked for you, you hardly spoke to me unless it was to yell at me; when I was successful, you only gave me one chance before knocking me down again... And that was the cycle for a long time..."

"I know I've been a real pain in the ass in the past..." The Devil finally spoke.

"Just when I think things are going my way, something or someone blows it, and I lose all the respect I had from you... It's disheartening... I guess..." She stopped. "I— I want to know that you're going to take this relationship seriously. That if I mess up, you won't cut me off like you did before."

"I won't. I promise." The Devil reassured her.

"So this relationship... What we have... Is it just built on a contract?" Dice continued.

"I wouldn't have met you if I didn't make a deal with you." The demon replied. "But I mean... Yes, in the past..."

Queen Dice began getting tense, the waterworks threatening to burst as her Boss continued.

"I know I've made far too many mistakes in the past... I called you names, I treated you badly... I was awful to you... Truthfully, I have no idea why someone like you would go out with someone like me... But despite all my faults and mistakes... You gave me the one in a million chance... I don't want to mess it up."

Luci paused, her gaze going unfocused as she got lost in thought. Turning her attention back to Dice, she opened her mouth, hesitant to ask;

"Do you... Do you still want to work for me?"

"What?"

"Your contract. I can— I— I can go and rip up your contract right now, you'd be free. Would that make you happy? Would it make up for everything I've done?"

That single question cleared the air for Dice. She understood perfectly now that things had changed. She wasn't just an easily replaceable pawn in the Devil's game. Luci cared about her now, she wanted her to be happy, even if it meant sacrificing her best worker and potentially losing her girlfriend.

Queen Dice couldn't help but smile, touching Luci's face before giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Of course not, I love working for you. I wouldn't want things any other way. Just knowing that you're willing to change for me is all I needed." She said, making the demon smile. "Besides, someone's gotta keep this place up and running."

The Devil immediately frowned, her ears shooting back slightly as she glared at the other.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding."

"Good."

♠️ ♠️ ♠️

Midday, the sisters had found themselves wanting to go on yet another adventure. This time with their new companion, Lucas, they went upstairs, running through the Casino to the front doors. As came with every game they played, they weren't paying attention to their surroundings. They certainly didn't expect to run into someone while heading to the front door.

"Hey!" Cuphead snapped after they'd been knocked down with the collision. "Watch where you're... Going..."

"Me?! You were the ones..." Ms. Wheezy angrily brushed off her clothes before her attention went to the girls. "Wait... Wait— I know you two. You're the little punks that raided the Casino a few years ago."

"We didn't raid the Casino, we just... Beat you guys up... And stole contracts..."

Ms. Wheezy raised an eyebrow.

"It's... It's completely different."

It wasn't a moment later, another familiar face entered the Casino. Stopping short at seeing the sisters, Chips Bettigan blinked as she stared, as if her mind couldn't connect the dots.

"Man, I think I drank too much... I'm starting to get hallucinations." She furrowed her eyebrows.

"It's not a hallucination, it's the two brats that kicked our asses."

"Well... I— I wasn't really tryin y'know... If I was, I woulda whipped both their asses in no time flat."

"What are you two doing here anyways?" Ms. Wheezy ignored what Chips had to say. "If the Devil catches sight of you, she'd have you for breakfast. And who knows what Dice would do after that. Christ, she was wasn't just upset about the contracts; we had to endure her loudly complaining about that chipped tooth you gave her." She rolled her eyes.

"How'd she even fix her chipped tooth?" Cuphead asked.

"One of life's greatest mysteries..." Chips replied.

"That still doesn't answer my question." Wheezy said.

"Well... It's a funny story, really..." Mugma'am chuckled. "Not funny haha but... We're staying here at the Casino for a bit..."

"Really?" Ms. Wheezy raised an eyebrow.

"God, they're so scared they're starting to get delusional." Chips frowned.

"It's true!" Cuphead snapped.

"Why should we believe you?!" Ms. Wheezy just snapped right back.

"You can go ask them yourself." Cuphead sassed her, Wheezy only rolling her eyes again.

"Yeah right. Right after they're finished making out in the Boss' office." Ms. Wheezy scoffed, walking past the girls.

"You walked in on them kissing once, Smokey." Chips followed close behind.

Cuphead and Mugma'am looked at each other, the latter shaking her head as the former smirked. Following the two ladies, they sat up on barstools as Chips and Wheezy prepared for their shift.

"So, what exactly do you guys do for fun around here?"

"You're underaged, you can't sit at the bar." Wheezy immediately said. "You shouldn't even be in the Casino in the first place. What are you like... Twelve?"

"17." The sisters said in unison.

"That would've made you..." Chips counted on her fingers. "You two were 13 when you gambled your souls?!"

"When Cuphead gambled our souls." Mugma'am corrected her, glaring at her sister.

"Why did Queen Dice even let you play?!" Chips asked.

"Well... I guess I did call her old when she greeted us at the door." Cuphead thought back.

"Yep, that'll do it." Wheezy's expression went deadpan. "Now go on, shoo!"

"But you didn't answer our question! What do you guys do for fun at the Casino?" Cuphead asked again.

"Well... There isn't much to do besides work..." Chips thought. "Personally, I like to play little pranks on the other workers."

"Nuh-uh! No way! I already have to deal with the likes of you! I am not letting you create two more menaces in this damned Casino!"

Chips rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, frowning. Ms. Wheezy shook her head turning to the last dirty dishes presumably from the night before and began cleaning them.

"So... If you don't mind me asking..." Mugma'am said. "How'd you two start working at the Casino in the first place?"

"I was in debt." Chips sat in a chair behind the counter and leaned back and relaxed. "I used the last bit of my money trying to gamble some big bucks and I was so close to winning that the Devil got jealous and took my soul."

Ms. Wheezy filled a glass full of water and splashed it over Chips. Immediately sitting up, she coughed and sputtered, shaking off her now soaked clothing.

"You mean you lost everything within just a few minutes and had no choice but to hand your soul over to the Devil."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I know I woulda won, Devil just doesn't like to lose and Dice cheats at every game she can weasel her lying ass into." Chips glared at the other, wringing out her blue hair.

"Now that's true."

Chips went back to relaxing in her chair, Wheezy throwing a rag straight at her face.

"Go make yourself useful and wipe down those tables."

"gO mAke YoUrSelF uSeFuLL aNd wiPe dOwN tHoSe TAblEs." Chips mocked her under her breath, Wheezy simply shaking her head.

"What about you, Ms. Wheezy? How'd you end up in the Casino?" Mugma'am asked.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh, come on, Wheezy, you told me! Get this, girls, her brother— "

Ms. Wheezy whipped around to face Chips, scorning her with the sharpest glare either of them had seen from anyone. Chips cowered slightly, going back to wiping down the tables.

"When we're on friend terms, I'll tell you, until then, keep your nose in your own business." Ms. Wheezy snapped at the girls.

"Wait, so... Does this mean you consider me a friend?"

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't deny it either~"

Ms. Wheezy groaned, shaking her head again.

"Wheezy and I are friends~" Chips teased in a sing-song voice.

She laughed loudly, leaning on a table as she watched Ms. Wheezy's anger build.

"We're practically besties, y'know." Chips snickered.

Ms. Wheezy whipped around to tell the other off before the Devil beat her to it;

"Bettigan, you'd better not be slacking again." She snapped and she strutted through the Casino.

"Of course not, ma'am." Chips stood up straight, going back to wiping down tables.

"And you two, away from the bar, you're underaged for Hellfire's sake!" She turned to the girls. "And get that mutt before it rips my curtains!"

They immediately got down from the bar stools, their attention turning to Lucas gnawing and tugging on the crimson curtains by the windows.

"Where are you going?" Cuphead asked as the demon stopped short in the Casino's doorway.

"Places. Don't follow me." Lucifer was short with her as she walked out the door.

Looking at one another, the sisters smirked at each other before they went to follow her.

"I wouldn't do that." Wheezy caught their attention once more. "'Places' usually means she's going off to make a transaction. And usually they get pretty ugly."

"Did you know she once took down a five person gang?!" Chips chirped in.

"The point is, wherever the Devil is, trouble isn't far behind. Personally, I'd stay clear of her."

"Do you even know the Devil?" Cuphead crossed her arms.

Ms. Wheezy turned to face her, Mugma'am immediately pushing her sister to the Hellevator before things could escalate.

"God, she's still a bitch." Cuphead muttered under her breath as they rode the Hellevator down.

"I mean... She's gotta point..." Mugma'am sighed. "She is the Devil. She has no reason to care for us..."

Cuphead's gaze lowered to the ground. This was painfully true. No matter how much they wished it to happen, this would never be home. After this month was up, they'd surely be kicked right out of the Casino and left to fend for themselves.

The Devil didn't want them around and no one could blame her.

[grassas]

Maggie said,"Our shop was in a corner of Mr.Fell's bookshop." She thought that Mr. Fell was Aziraphale’s grandfather. But actually, he was Aziraphale himself.

That makes me wonder that, as Aziraphale bought the land that the bookshop is on in the 1630s, the Fell family must be a legend in local area over almost 400 years. Sons always look like fathers, of course. But with the powerful genes, there are also strange business methods and angelic kindness inherited.

That strange red-haired man comes from the Crowley family. Just like the Fell family, all the members of Crowley look same. And each generation of Crowley would bring wine and snacks to each generation of Mr. Fell, well, at least, occasionally.

But there were two generations of Fell and Crowley without contact in the middle, and people may suspect that the Crowley family has emigrated - not in the UK anyway.

Of course, even if people are given several times more space for reverie, they will not find out the friendly Mr. Fell has never changed for 400 years, and the sharp-spoken red-haired man is the same as the first known one.

Perhaps when Maggie told Nina this story , she didn't expect that maybe many years ago, Mr.Fell once congratulated her grandmother on giving birth to her father, and maybe the man named Crowley was there too.They came to give a gift together，then witnessed the birth of another generation of new life on this street.

And also the next generation, also many previous generations.

——Of course, all of the above are my fantasies. It is stll unknown whether Aziraphale and Crowley have really had so much contact with people on the street, but I believe, at some time in the past, now or future, at the second floor of A.Z.Fell&Co. in front of the window, there must be an angel and a demon, standing side by side, looking at the human and world they love.

Just like in the past, they stood on the wall of Eden and looked at Adam and Eve, which was walking towards the wilderness.

[szasza-chan]

I’m really jealous of everybody who can enjoy Buddy Daddies because this anime makes me so angry.

I KNEW that nothing will happen between Rei and Kazuki but still the whole presentation is just... ARGH!

Yeah, its not a 1:1 Spy x Family copy but still try to ride that wave, don’t fool yourself! But it would be more obvious with a straight couple, so why not make this show with two dudes? Genius! In that way, they can get the queer people and fujoshis/fudanshis’ money, but they won’t make their relationships gay, so everybody can “safely” watch it. That’s just disgusting to me.

I’ve already seen people saying that they’re happy that it’s not gay, so they can enjoy and watch it. Because, you know, if it’s gay and you’re straight, its physically impossible to you to watch something. *irony* And on the other hand people are like “yeah I know they won’t gonna get together but stll ship them”. Yeah, that’s the problem. They knew that a lot of people still gonna watch it and ship the protagonists, and that’s enough for them, because they already got your money. Even though they spit you in the face.

Do I want that Rei and Kazuki have sex? Hell no, who tell you that? This is not that type of anime, so of course it’s totally okay if they have a more “kid friendly” relationship. But I still would like to see some confirmation that they’re together, or get together later. A meaningful handholding, or a romantic hug. But this never gonna happen. Is there a chance that one of the guys is bisex? Of course, but you never gonna know it because in Japan media, there are no bi people (except if they want to make a gay character “straight”, like Mikasa in Fuuka, who “was” gay for 200+ chapters, and then he fell in love with his female teacher under tho chapters and got together... yeah, fuck you Seo Kouji, you coward bastard!)

I hate when people say that Japan is some safe place, where feminism and wokeness and “gay agenda” are unknown because it’s just not true. They has a lot of feminist manga/anime (like the whole mahou shoujo genre) and they has queer anime/manga from like the ‘80/’90s. CLAMP, Ikuhara, Yoshida Akimi all had LGBTQ+ characters, few years ago we had Yuri!! on Ice and Sarazanmai, so it’s not like that Japan is no capable of making queer media. But you’re naive if you think its as easy as in the west. They’re still very conservative and it’s hard to make real, uncensored queer anime, without resriction.

Of course I don’t say that it’s absolutely bad if somebody like this anime, or you’re a bad person, if you ship Kazuki and Rei. You watch what you want to watch, and like what you want to like. As I said, I’m just jealous, because I want to like it but can’t. I’m still hoping that in the end I will look like a fool, because they get together, but I know they won’t. It’s just another fujoshi-bait anime, which is okay, I like a lot of these type of shows (like Free! or S8 Infinity), but this is just feel bad.

[0the-duchess0]

Okay so because sleep deprivation and the Holiday season make an emotional little bish out of me, I decided to start the trend of writing a letter to your very first starter Pokémon. Mine was Squirtle, the letter is under the cut.

Dear Bubbles,

We had more in common right from the start than we thought. I had just stepped out of the water from earning my swimmer's certificate, when my parents handed me a GameBoy Advance with a copy of Pokémon Blue as a present. Of course I had seen you in the anime before. The year was 2005 and despite the first generation having been succeeded by then by countless games and merchandise, I was beyond overjoyed to start up the pixelated adventure that started it all.

Since your final evolution was the box art for the game you were, in my head, the main character of the game. So naturally I had to choose you. I gave you the name Bubbles because it is one of the moves you learn. Also, my English wasn't that top notch at the time, so my knowledge of good water-based nicknames that fit the language was limited. We set out on our journey, and despite my best efforts and enthusiasm, we got lost all the time. Mt Moon: Lost. Rock Tunnel: Lost. Rocket's Celadon City base: Lost. Saffron City Sliph Co.: Lost. Nevernonetheless, I had the time of my life. I didn't really have any friends back then, so I'd spent a lot of time indoors playing on my Game Boy. I barely had an idea what I was doing and gave you the worst moveset in the history of my gaming existence, but we kept winning, and you grew stronger and evolved along the way. Just you. The rest of the team consisted of a Pidgey, Nidoran(f), Nidoran(m), Rattata and Caterpie, but none of them made it past level 5. You were the main character. You and your Surf overworld sprite took me everywhere I needed to go. Until we got stuck.

Since my English wasn't as sophisticated, I had a hard time following instructions. With just two Gyms left to go, I had no idea where we should be heading or what to do to get to the seventh Badge. Somehow, it didn't bother me. I liked spending time with you. I kept aimlessly wandering around with you, battling wild Pokémon for fun and talking to NPCs at random. Time went by, and just like you evolved, I evolved. I eventually went on to other games. Newer games. Then I became a teenager and thought Pokémon was too embarassing to talk about with people the same age, so I tossed everything Pokémon related to the side. But I returned, and everything I learned on my journey through the outside world I took with me, including some language lessons. On a whim, I started up the GameBoy again. It stll worked. You were still there. Level 88. Six badges. The rest of the game had turned into a breeze. Your sprite entered the Hall of Fame. I've never felt more proud and accomplished....

... And then I deleted you. Of course, I've had many reincarnations of you over the years, but I'll always regret that decision. Even though You were never my favourite Pokémon species (Mewtwo has my heart in that regard). Even though there is no way to retreive the original you. You'll always hold a special place in my heart. You will forever be my first Pokémon and my favourite starter. 2005 is 18 years ago now, and still your influence can be found all around me.

And with that I truly mean all around me.

Though you may evolve. Though your sprite may change. Though your cry may be generated differently. To me, you'll always be that Tiny Turtle I got from Professor Oak the day I became a Pokémon trainer.

never change.

Love, Duchess (your OT)

[adara-of-the-flame]

the-name-is-hoggle

’-t was such a lovely little peice of property when Saisho No Me gave it to your predicesor.-’

Jareth pauses at that, the very air seeming to stir around him at the same time. Or maybe it was just something inside of himself stirring.

"I have no memory of that.”

The honest answer pops out of his mouth before he can help it, making the goblin king grimace in displeasure. He should have that memory, that knowledge. He had everything else of the former Owl King.

“Tell me what you know. That bog has only ever been a bog as far as I was to know.”

—-

Hoggle huffs when his idea only gains laughs,

“Actually I was thinking we’d ride inside it- Hey!”

The dwarf is lifted up with a grunt, expression going deadpan at the fact that he was being grabbed and carried without a care. Again.

“Seriously?”

Despite the justifiably indignant tone, Hoggle also doesn’t struggle or insist to be put back down. He probably should but….it was hot. And he was stuck in dress shoes, not good walking boots. Not great for trying to keep up with his friend’s much larger stride.

So…..he just listens as she starts off singing yet another of her strange songs, hand coming to rest on her shoulder to steady himself. The dwarf takes a look around their environment, already expecting it to start changing in response to Mars’ magic.

And it doesn’t take long. Soon enough a horse did appear- made of sand. The wind whipping into existence with a rush of hot dry wind and….sand. It whinnied and shook it’s mane made of stunted desert weeds, trotting up to them like any flesh and blood horse would.

“…….think we can ride it…?”

adara-of-the-flame

Maybe the air got a little hotter, too. "I don't think you're in any position to give orders, little King." Selva Roja's dotting tone never changed yet...there was the tiniest hint of a bite to those words.

"Of course you'd have no memory of that. Before your time, dear." Idliy, one of the Summer Queen's clawed fingers began rolling one of her disembodied eyeballs around the clearing. "Saisho No Me was just that kind of person. So giving, you know? So sweet. He'd give gifts for anything. For any occasion. Like, 'Welcome to the family', or 'Congradulations', or 'Best Wishes. Hope to see you all at the family barqeque', ect... You probably would have liked him."

She chuckled. "The Bog was one of those gifts. Back when it was sweeter, a spring of Spring so to speak. Stll part of Saisho No Me's kingdom, but...in joint ownership with you predicessor and any heirs after him. Just like anything else that belogs to royalty."

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

By now, Mars was no stranger to the influence her music magic had on fae realms. She had similar magic on regular, old, Earth but...not this prominent. A tune idly hummed didn't always create and summon anything.

"Oh, my gosh! I'm like Gandalf and that white horse in that movie!" The half-Urru's second set of hands clasped over her cheeks, Home Alone style.

For it's response, the sand-horse snorted.

"Well, only one way to find out." She was already holding Hoggle, so she unceremoniously plopped the dwarf on the horse's back. The horse turned to look at them both, but didn't move. "Know anything about riding one of these things?"

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the stench of this terrible blog…bleck!”

[prenvii-moved]

anyways HKJHSF SOME LYRICS BEFORE THAT LINE WER ELIKE.. YOUVE FGIVEN ME TOO MUCH TOF EEL AND LIKE.. UAG SOBS OB

[bygiornogiovanna]

Hii!! hope you are having a great day! :) I recently been dragged into a yandere rabbit hole and I’ve been meaning to share this idea with someone, what if darling is aware of the yandere concept? like daring knows the yandere loves out of selfish desires and maybe they don’t understand yandere’s aggresive side and straight up confronts Giorno about it?

and im curious how he would react. Im thinking he would rub it off saying that it is not true or he would think abt this long enough but still choosing to avoid the topic, can we have some headcanons about this? Thank you :>

What exactly are yanderes?

After being kidnapped, a question always wandered into your mind. You never understood why he was so aggressive. Screaming if you looked at other men, threatening, he went as far as leaving a man unconscious only because he asked for your number. So, when you confront him, how will he react?

Featuring; Giorno Giovanna

GN reader, except from the use of 'gattina' (idk italian so idk if it's femine or masculine xd)

A/N: Finally, a yandere request. Ngl, I was really thinking about what I could write with Yandere themes and this gave me the perfect idea. So, I might prepare one or two one-shots with our favorite yanderes~. Anyways, thank you for your request, have a nice day and enjoy! <3

You have always known what yanderes are and how they act and, in fact, it always seemed pretty interesting. Weird, but interesting. You didn't expect it to happen to you

But it did. And the truth is, it is a weird experience, with many failed attempts of escaping, punishments, gifts and other weird stuff. It's like everything that was happening was pulled straight out of a book. Somehow, with Giorno, you experienced them all;

Ah yes, Giorno Giovanna. The blonde mafia boss who had taken a like in you. You couldn't say you hated Giorno, he wasn't that bad. If you followed his rules, which were simple, showed him affection and didn't try to escape, eveything was fine. You were getting what you wanted, the moment you wanted it and you were basically spoiled in gifts and affection;

Well, that was when he was calm. And he was pretty easy to piss off when it came to you. Didn't give him his kiss the moment he entered the house? Punishment. Didn't like his gift? Punishment. Didn't thank him immediately for his gift? You guessed it, punishment. Oh, and don't get me started if you ever looked at other person. At home, he will throw a tantrum, claiming you were cheating on him, even if that was impossible since you never left his mansion;

So, after some time, you decided that you had to ask him why was he acting like that. You weren't sure if he would answer you, but it's worth the shot. What could possibly go wrong?

Said and done, you were now heading to Giorno's office, the place he was spending 60% of his time, when he was home, of course. Knocking softly, knowing he hates people who enter without doing so, you wait. "Enter" he said and the sound of papers being moved around could be heard. You walked into the room, closing the door behind you, a smile plastered on your face;

"What is it, gattina?" Giorno's face held a small smile at the sight of you, but his eyes seemed tired. "Have you been working all day again?" you asked, a hint of worry in your voice. You couldn't help but worry about him, after all, he was stll a human. One that was crazy over you, but still a human. He hummed and pushed his chair back, opening his arms; his way of telling you he wants a hug.

You complied and went into his lap, burying yourself in his arms. "You know, I always had this question..." you started and Giorno raised a brow as he waited for you to continue. "Why are you so aggressive? Like, I know that's what yanderes are usually like this, but why?" you asked and he just stared at you dumbfounded;

Yandere? So you knew about this topic? It was the first time that someone left Giorno this dumbfounded. "I don't think I get what you're saying, amore. You've never actually seen me being...aggressive" he tried to play it cool, not wanting to go into detail about why he was the way he was;

"Giorno...You left a man unconscious because he asked for my number. I'm not judging you, I'm just curious! Are there other types of yanderes? Also, why are you feeling the need to be-" "Enough." he stopped you, raising a hand. "You are talking nonsense. I don't know where you heard all of those things, but I want you to stop." Giorno said, clearly annoyed by your insistence;

That's how it went every single time you tried to ask him about that. He mostly told you to shut up, ignored you or avoided the subject. You had a feeling that, if you kept going you were either going to make him talk or get yourself a punishment;

"Come on, Giornooo. I want to know" you whined again, clinging onto his arm while he was cooking. He let out an annoyed scoff and ignored you while preparing the ingredients. The man loved your attention but he hated the fact that you asked him that stupid question. It's been a week, why were you still insisting? Sighing, he stopped and wiped his hands, pushing you a little far away from his body. He took your face in his hands and gave you a peck.

"And I want you to shut up and just stay with me without making me lose the last bit of sanity that I still have. Now be my good pet and stop asking me that stupid question, okay?" Giorno said with a small smile and, by the look from his eyes, you knew this was your last warning.

A/N: Nah you can't tell me Giorno doesn't call his darling 'pet'. I hope you liked this. Reblogs are appreciated <3

[sukirichi]

request: SWIMSUIT SHOPPING WITH JJK CHARACTERS — (yuuji, megumi, and gojo satoru ver!)

notes: i’ve reached a point in hell of no return, help 😩 anon knows exactly what she’s talking about and i’d be more than honoured to add on to this concept

warnings: nsfw content such as public sex, overstimulation, degradation, manhandling, oral sex (f and m receiving), road head, and slight cumplay (nsfw under the cut!) + this is unedited/not proofread,

(all minor characters are aged up)

masterlist ! requests are open

ITADORI YUUJI

he’s a pretty innocent boy

in a way that he’s not always dirty minded instead of him totally being...well, inexperienced

so when you ask him if he can come with you pick a swimsuit, he happily agrees

he loves going shopping with you and is extremely patient even if you take half an hour in just one shop

he’d happily carry your bags for you

seriously, this man is so low maintenance, he’s not going to ask for anything else or whine that you’re taking too long or that he’s hungry

he’s REALLY really patient and supportive of you

and even though he’s not an expert in women’s fashion, he’ll honestly give his opinions if he thinks a dress or shoe looks good on you or no

he might also remind you just how convenient your outfit would be on the event you plan to use it t

but this time, it’s a different case because you’re buying a swimsuit

now, yuuji’s seen you naked before so it’s nothing new to him anymore, but the moment he walks inside the swimsuit shop with all types of frilly bras and colorful pieces, he’ll immediately duck his head down in respect

he’s pretty fidgety the whole time

if you bring up a certain red polka dot bikini in front of your clothed body, tilting your head to the side innocently to ask, “how about this?”

yuuji’s brain will fry right then and there

he can imagine just how great you’d look in it, but he doesn’t want to be rude or too obvious so he’ll just nod and go,

“yeah, babe, that’d look great on you!”

he’s pretty silent the whole time, but really, all the blood’s rushed to his cock already

the whole drive back, yuuji is already so sensitive and clenching his jaw with his hands firmly gripping the steering wheel while you sit next to him, hiding your smirk

you almost want to laugh at how flustered he is, but he’s trying his best not to show it

but you’re not that bad, and so you ask him to pull over because the tent in his pants looks so uncomfortable and you doubt he’ll be patient enough to jack off in the bathroom when you both go back home

he’s confused at first, glancing over you with worry

“why, what’s wrong? did you want to go somewhere else?”

“no,” you laugh, pushing your hair back into a makeshift ponytail

and THAT has yuuji driving recklessly and swerving real fast and furious style because he knows what’s about to happen next

despite his eagerness, he’s still concerned about you, breathing heavily as you lean over your seats and start to unzip his pants

“a-are you sure about this? you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to,”

poor baby is already shaking the moment your nails rake over his thigh, your breath just ghosting over his clothed erection which is already damp with pre-cum

this makes you hum in agreement because yes of course you’re sure

you had a feeling yuuji would be turned on with this little escapade anyway, but you didn’t think he’d be this needy already

now it’s time for you to relax your throat and prepare yourself because yuuji is THICK

safe to say, all your arrogance is gone the moment you choke on his length, his big hands helping you keep the hair away from your face

meanwhile, yuuji is messily thrusting his hips up to your mouth, enjoying the way you just feel so warm around him

“f-fuck, baby, feels so good. i can imagine you already in that flimsy material, you’d be so pe-perfect, fuuckk.”

your chest swells with pride, always having been weak when it comes to his praising

once he reaches his high and paints your face white, yuuji lazily pulls you closer to him to kiss you, moaning when he tastes himself on your lips

you only giggle at how romantic he is even when your hands are still stroking his softening cock, and yuuji shudders a bit at the gesture

because he’s been such a great and supportive boyfriend today, you swipe at the cum near your lips, which makes yuuji’s eyes darken when you collect it with the tip of your tongue

then, as innocently as you could bat your eyelashes at him, you grin,

“would you like to see me wear it tonight? just for you?”

FUSHIGURO MEGUMI

PLEASE HELP THIS BOY

“gumi, can you come shopping with me tonight? there’s a pool party this weekend with my friends and i need a new swimsuit.”

he wants to say yes because duh

but he also wants to say no because he’d rather not walk around in public with a raging erection

and we all know megumi is big, like come on, he’s toji’s son

like yuuji, i don’t think megumi is that perverted either, but he’s still a teenage boy with raging hormones

he may have more control over himself than yuuji, but he knows his limits

a swimsuit is honestly so innocent — it’s not even half as tempting as when you surprised him with a white lingerie set (which resulted you two in not getting out of bed the whole weekend lmao) so he wonders why the hell he’s so nervous

eventually he convinces himself that going with your girlfriend while she shops for a swimsuit isn’t anything new and it’s just a “normal couple thing” so bedgrudingly, he sighs and agrees

which he immediately regrets the moment you head straight for the skirtinis

there’s so much to choose from, and his eyes widen at the absurdity of how there’s so many designs and patterns

i feel leki megumi is a cheapskate, so he’ll be more focused first on criticizing the price tags before looking at you

“25 dollars for this...thing?”

he’ll shake his head in disapproval, but then straighten up when he sees you frown

“i think it looks cute. don’t you like it?”

you push up a frilly pink skirtini, the shade a soft pastel one that just looks so innocent and cute on you

it doesn’t help that you’re gazing up at him under your lashes either, a small pout on those kissable lips

he admits it does look cute, even cuter because you’re the one wearing it, but he still doesn’t like the price lmao

or at least...not until he’s seen you wearing it

once you’ve both gotten home, megumi heads straight to the kitchen because he’s been so parched (he won’t tell you that he’s been subconsciously swallowing his saliva the whole time, showing him material by material until it all gets suspiciously thinner and more revealing)

he doesn’t like limiting you or telling you what to wear, either, so he just follows you like a lost puppy, careful to note stare too much at anything to not make anyone uncomfortable

but then he goes back to your shared room, just about ready to call it a day since you sure did take your sweet time, and he sees you strutting in your underwear in front of the mirror

megumi freezes at the door like a lagging npc LMAO

“...y/n?”

you smile, turning to him as if he hadn’t just caught you checking yourself out, which he doesn’t blame you for because you look absolutely stunning in it

the skirt just hides the supple flesh of your thighs, but really, he’s more stunned at how your ass looks so perky in that skintight material

megumi looks away, flushed, running a hand through his hair because he’s too much of a gentleman to outright say he finds you so sexy in fear it would sound weird

but you take his sudden aversion something else, and you wrap your arms around yourself a little consciously, voice turning small

“does it look bad on me?”

he immediately picks up on how small you’ve made yourself, his eyes snapping to yours

“no, you look amazing! why would you think that?”

you pout, “you suddenly looked away. it felt like you don’t really like it.”

at this point, megumi is such a blushing, stuttering mess, approaching you carefully with his words stll stumbling over one another

“that’s not true,” he sighs, rubbing his hands on your bare arms, finally letting himself loose and shamelessly staring at how your breasts are just right under him, waiting to be touched

the tension in the room begins to thicken, and you shiver when his hands trail down your hip before squeezing the flesh almost possessively

“beautiful,” he’d murmur almost absentmindedly, and by the time you’re practically melting in the heat of his gaze, megumi just goes ‘fuck it’ and straight out kisses you

he’s gentle though

he knows you felt insecure and so he wants to take his time with you, touching you in places he knows you liked, curling his fingers in just the right spot that has you seeing stars

he doesn’t do anything that would make your body shake, but it still feels good — a lot more like lovemaking

and it is

he wants you to know he loves you and that you’re the most beautiful being ever in his eyes

megumi will kiss you starting from your calves and up to your belly, where he hovers for a minute before changing his mind and diving back down to where you want him the most

small, kitten licks in your core that has you dripping in his tongue, your hands fisting his hair

megumi doesn’t stop telling you how pretty you look just like that, loosing yourself in the pleasure he’s giving you

he doesn’t neglect your breasts; one of his hands reaching up to softly pinch the beaded nipples which has you riding and humping his face even more

megumi buries his face in your heat in that moment, his nose bumping your clit every now and then, and you feel so beautiful with how he can’t seem to get enough of you

he knows this just by the way you clamp down on his tongue, sweet juices coating his lips and he drinks it all like a starved man

“cum for me, sweet girl,” he coaxes, his thumb pushing your lips open as he watches you come undone for him

“that’s right — fuck — you’re so gorgeous, so perfect, just mine.”

and just when you think he’s had enough, megumi only flips you until your core is right on top of his face, his large hands merciless as he pushes your hips forward and backward on his tongue

similar to before, you and megumi stay in bed all day long with him going round per round, never getting tired of making you feel good until you’re just laying spent on your bed, juices flowing out of your abused core

you push megumi away when his fingers slide in your inner thigh

but no he’s not quite done with you yet

“no,” he growls softly, pushing your hands away and pinning you under his weight. “i’m not stopping until you finally see yourself the way i see you. so divine, so ethereal.”

your body is something he’ll never get tired of worshipping

you’re hella tired

but hey who are you to complain

you only wish megumi hadn’t ruined your swimsuit with your cum, but after a promise that he’ll jsut get you another one, you lose yourself to another mind blowing orgasm

GOJO SATORU

let’s be real here

you know EXACTLY what you’re asking for the moment you dragged him into a swimsuit shop

you don’t even bother asking him if he wants to go anymore because gojo being gojo, he’ll be whiny about it, saying you could just surprise him the moment you get home

to which you roll your eyes and say, “this isn’t for you, gojo.”

hah, but anything that is yours is his, and your body is definitely his

gojo is nothing but bored

he wants to go home already and just fuck you already, and he’s getting on your nerves so you threaten that you’re not letting him touch you for a whole week if he doesn’t shut up and accompany you for once

it’s not that gojo is mean and unsupportive of you, he’s just so horny in that moment he can’t think straight

but he also really, really likes touching you so the big man just pouts and crosses his arms

sighing loudly and rather dramatically

it only takes a few seconds before gojo straightens up, peeking under his blindfold when you pick up a plain black bikini with the top knotted behind your neck

it’s not really your style though, so you’re about to move to another design when gojo whines

“wait, why not that one? it would look great on you.”

ofc you know i’ll look great on you, but it’s not your favorite, and it’s fun to tease gojo so you shrug nonchalantly, picking up a dark blue legsuit instead

gojo absolutely LOSES it

man takes off his blindfold just to glare at the material as if it offended him

“babe, what the fuck is that?”

“it’s a legsuit, perfect for scuba diving. plus, it protects my skin from the sun. i wouldn’t want a sunburn.”

the way gojo laughs is so cocky you consider choking him with the suit

“that’s what you have me for?” he points to himself incredulously, “i’ll put the sunblock all over your body babe, you don’t even have to worry about that.”

“please. i’d already be stripped down to my birthday suit before you even get to open the bottle,” you scoff, muttering under your breath, “damn fucking horny guy can’t keep his thing inside his pants.”

however, this doesn’t faze gojo

“and what’s so wrong with finding my girlfriend so sexy and hot i want to fuck her all the time?”

honestly what the hell were you thinking, assuming that you’d one-up gojo when this man would always be superior when it comes to being dirty LMAO he is just so shameless

but whatever, you ignore him, heading to the checkout with a self-assured smile

gojo trails behind you, his anger radiating off of him so strongly you can feel it

“y/n.”

“y/n, you can’t even swim. don’t fuck with me and say you’re buying that to ‘scuba dive.’”

“what, so i can’t learn now?”

“just buy the black bikini. it looks great on you.”

“i told you already, i’m not buying that and wearing it for you. i only dragged you here because i need someone to carry my bags.”

you know what happens to brats?

they get punished.

and that’s exactly what happens

gojo grabs your wrist rather roughly back to where you’ve left the black bikini, and not only does he shove it to your chest, commanding you to wear it, but he also shoves you in the nearest dressing cubicle

next thing you know, gojo has his palm over your mouth as he pounds into you from behind, absolutely railing you to the point tears are flowing down your cheeks

“look at you — not so bratty now, are we? you’re just a slut for my cock, aren’t you, sweet girl?”

gojo lifts one of your legs up in the crook of his arm, forcing you to look at the way your pussy greedily sucks him in in front of the mirror

you’re so wet that the squelching of your pussy, along with the slapping of skin, resonates in the cramped space

you reach behind gojo and move away from his hand, gasping breathily while your breasts bounce

“gojo, ah, shit — we might get caught.”

“do i look like i give a fuck, baby?”

no, he doesn’t. and he proves this by pushing you down by the back until your cheek is squished against the mirror, your ass pressed against his pubic bone

with the way gojo’s hips are angled and his long cock is hitting places only he can reach, you no longer care about people finding you in this position

your mouth is open, eyes rolling at the back of your head and drool even begins to slide from your lips

this makes gojo laugh, two of his fingers rubbing against where you two are connected to gather your wetness before shoving it into your mouth

“shut the fuck up, you slut.”

gojo’s large hands then comes up to grab and squeeze your hips roughly; you think he’ll leave bruises there or marks in the shape of fingers

he’s basically using you as his fucktoy now, paying no mind to how you’re crying from how he’s hitting in so deep and fast

your body just transcends into a different dimension

you’re fucked out, crying and begging for him to go slower

“gojo — baby — p-please, a little more gentle, ah, fuck.”

“what was that?” he teases, bending forwards to nip at your ear. the sudden shift in angles has the tip of his cock kissing your cervix, and you immediately clench around his cock.

gojo taps your lips when your eyes shut close from the exhaustion, barely able to comprehend anything else other than the familiar coil deep in your belly

“i couldn’t hear you, princess. speak louder.”

“slower, please,” you beg, placing your sweaty palms flat on the mirror in an attempt to hold onto something. “too much, satoru, t’much.”

poor you, his baby looks so tired and fucked out

with a sarcastic sigh, he kisses the pads of your shoulders, then bites the knot of your black bikini until the material falls to the ground

your breasts are now free from its confines, and his rough hands reach to fondle them

you expect him to grip it possessively like how he always does, but instead, he massages them with tender care, whispering sweet nothings in your ear

one of his hands reach over to where your hands are, looping it through your fingers while his thrust slows down

he forms a tantalizing pace of hitting deep before pulling out in a such slow, torturous fashion then slamming back in until he bottoms out in one thrust

it’s dirty, lewd, and still very much wrong — but it feels so right and it’s rare that gojo ever listens to you so you find it romantic

gojo isn’t the least bit apologetic when you’re both kicked out from the shop

because in the end, he won, and he holds your shopping bag with the cum-stained black bikini proudly all the way back to his car

[bejoomi]

joomi doesn't really know how long he sits there staring off into space. he doesn't realize that he might be just zombie-esque enough to scare children and for parents to steer clear of – until someone intentionally addresses him. he snaps back to reality, at least a little.

when he looks to the source of the voice, it feels like getting slapped in the face. of course his ex boyfriend's doppleganger would find him here. part of joomi wonders if he's detached so far from reality that he's hallucinating now. it is decidedly not jinyoung in front of him now, but the resemblance is uncanny.

he surely just stares, blinking in surprise, for several moments too long. to be honest, yes, he does mind. he does not want to share his bench, let alone with this man who resembles someone he is starting to believe is destined to haunt him forever. this reminder of jinyoung is particularly cruel. something breathing. something alive. someone. someone who feels familiar but isn't. someone he does not want, anywhere near him, especially on his bench.

he really considers just saying no. but that would be rude, and to joomi's knowledge, this man has done nothing to deserve that – yet. then again, hopefully they will never see each other again. what does it matter if he's a little rude?

joomi can stll not find it in his heart to be cruel to people for no reason. granted, he does have his reasons, but the stranger asking to share his seat can't help the fact that he looks like his ex. it's unfair to punish him for it.

so he just nods, small, and a moment later, mutters, "i was just leaving anyway. or, going to leave," and he does want to get out of here.

he very much needs to escape this situation, especially as jinyoung's doppleganger takes a seat beside him. it's all lighthearted – familiar. but wrong. it's all wrong.

he realizes, moments before he stands up suddenly to leave, that this is really stupid. really? a guy shows up looking like his ex, and joomi has a meltdown? it's not like it was a terrible breakup. it's not like he's dead. for any normal person this situation would be strange. maybe funny, even. but it would ultimately be nothing. right?

it's been a long day, hasn't it? the stranger asks, almost knowingly. maybe joomi is just imagining that. or maybe this is some weird guardian angel coming to dig him out of the hole he somehow keeps finding himself in. i don't want it. i can climb out myself, he informs the universe, or whatever higher power might be in charge of such a thing.

or maybe he's just some normal, unsuspecting guy who is either fearless or stupid enough to talk to someone who surely doesn't look remotely approachable.

he's left the man's question hanging in the air for too long. it's probably best to decide it's rhetorical now, and not answer at all. he doesn't want to talk. he feels too vulnerable. he doesn't know what he'll say to someone who looks like that, and joomi knows better than to think the world will show him the mercy of never seeing him again at this point. with his luck they probably...go to the same grocery store.

maybe joomi is part of some time loop anime, where he is destined to relive the relationship that fundamentally altered his life trajectory, just with slight alterations each time. he is doomed to love and lose in similar ways 5 billion times until he eventually, finally, finds a way to break the cycle and get a happy ending. probably when he's 102 years old, so he gets about 5 days to enjoy it before he kicks the bucket.

or, more realistically, he's being ridiculous and crazy and needs to chill the fuck out. this is just some guy. the resemblance is an unfortunate coincidence.

so, what does he do? the solution is probably still to just go home. this place is loud and he feels miserable and he really just wants to lay on the couch and pet his cat.

he stands up, perhaps a little too suddenly.

he turns to the stranger then, feeling the need to offer some explanation. "i'm sorry. i don't mean to be rude. i just...don't feel very well, and should probably get home. as soon as i can."

sungwoo is seventeen, just a year away from being considered an adult, and yet their mother can't seem to stop treating the baby of the family like a child. jiu gets it, to some extent. sungwoo is, officially, her last child. han sooah, well over the age of 45, is too old to adopt another young child and raise him into another fine young adult after four successful sons. sungwoo will always be her baby, mostly due to age, but jiu knows better than to assume that his disability doesn't play any part in their mother's smothering of worried affection. she knows better, and yet a mother can't help but fret. so when sangwoo wanted to use one of his days of winter break to go to lotte world with his friends, of course she didn't say no, but she did ask her next youngest son to go too, not to follow the kids around but to just be there in case they need anything. and, of course, jiu said yes.

all that said, jiu is decidedly not sangwoo's babysitter anymore. the kid and his friends are somewhere in the park, hopefully not causing a scene, and enjoying the day amongst themselves. jiu takes the day at his own pace, still a beat slower than he would have before the accident. that's the thing about fucking up your knee, it doesn't just fuck over the knee. soon the hip starts to act out, thanks to the altered gait from the injury and recovery. then, of course, the ache travels up the spine. he feels like he's at least twice his own age some mornings and he finds himself grateful that he's not trying to keep up with the teenagers; they'd probably be bored out of their minds waiting for jiu to keep up with their never ending energy. ah, well, it's been fun anyway. the rides aren't as fun as they used to be when he was a kid but the atmosphere is nice enough. the ambient loop of christmas music, the red and green decor around the park. it's definitely starting to put jiu in the holiday spirit.

he is getting tired again though, his leg a little achier than he'd like it to be, so finding a seat to take the pressure off for a few minutes has become top priority. of course, finding a open bench in a crowded theme park full of families is no easy task. most within eyeshot are fully occupied by mothers wrangling young children and too many gift bags from the souvenir stores, grandparents taking a break from trying to keep up with the grandparents, and groups of teens taking a break to chatter away. jiu doesn't really want to bother any of them if he doesn't have to, but there's another option. people seem to move around him, like they don't want to catch his attention. and jiu can see why, the young man has a sort of faraway look in his eyes, like he's fighting some battle that only he can see. while it might be unnerving to some, it's not wholly unfamiliar to jiu, who has faced down his own demons and helped tackle those of so many other lost kids. it's nothing that scares him.

maybe this is a win-win situation. jiu needs a seat, and the stranger on the bench might need some company. so he approaches, calling out a greeting as he nears the stranger.

"hey," he tries to catch the young man's attention, "do you mind if i share your bench for a bit? i have the body of an 80-year-old and i think i might fall apart if i have to walk another step." he keeps it lighthearted, nonthreatening, and waits for a confirmation before he sits himself down next to the stranger. "oh, that feels good," he stretches out his bad leg, unable to truly elevate it but at least taking the pressure off helps. "it's been a long day, hasn't it?"