#i think it was like a museum visit for him. we were supposed to play videogames but he found his surroundings more entertaining i guess xD

[dangerousdan-dan]

I invited a friend over and the moment he stepped into my room he said "wow, this is like a geek shrine" and I'm not sure if that was meant as a compliment or not

[luvvvivii]

tour guide — c.bc

pairing - bangchan x mom!reader

genre - fluff, imagine

wc - 1.3k (1,357)

warnings - not proofread (are we surprised), no pronouns used but reader has a kid and is called mommy/mom, mentions reader's ex-husband leaving her/cheating, lmk if more

a/n - late bday post for chan! hope you enjoy

synopsis - taking your five year old out to a museum was supposed to be educational, so why is the tour guide stealing your heart?

it was saturday, and you were out with your son visiting the museum for the latest dinosaur exhibition. he had always been fascinated by the extinct creatures, and had grown a keen liking to them. that was the reason why almost all his possessions were dinosaur-themed.

"mommy, mommy, look! that man has a dinosaur on his hand!" your 5 year old, hajoon, broke you from your daydream with a tug on your fingers, pointing towards a figure in front of you. the man, indeed, had a dinosaur puppet propped on his hand, playing with the kids that gathered around him. with urgent pulls from your little boy, you were suddenly standing in front of said man, with your hajoon looking up at him in awe.

"hi kids! and guardians," the man started, acknowledging all the adults with a smile. "my name is chan, and I'll be your museum guide for today. if all the little ones could go over there for a second whilst I talk to the adults, and then we can get started shortly!" chan pointed towards the large play area behind him, adorned with bright walls, plenty of equipment and, of course, dinosaur figures everywhere. you urged hajoon to go play, and even make some new friends, whilst you listened to what the tour guide — who you noticed was also quite good looking — had to say.

"so, as I mentioned, my name is chan. I've been working here a while, so trust me, I've got experience. and, I promise to make this a fun and educational experience for your little ones. you guys won't have to do much, basically just follow us around and take care of your kid while I do all the work. pretty laid-back for you guys." chan explained. you tried your hardest listening to what he was saying, but now that you were much closer, you were forced to take in all of his features. they were so defined, and beautiful, you couldn't help but stare. all of a sudden, he turned and made eye contact with you. it stayed like that for a bit, until you realised he was saying something directed towards you.

"erm, I think your kid's calling you?" he pointed to something behind you, and when you turned around you were met with hajoon's impatient whines. it was safe to say, you were completely embarrassed. "r-right…sorry!" you rushed over to your child, and looked after his needs straight away, before immediately entering a mode of shame. you hadn't seen it, but chan chuckled in seeing your embarrassment. "cute." he mumbled to himself impulsively.

soon enough, the museum tour was starting, and the kids were already riled up. they were running around, admiring all the exhibits, chatting amongst each other softly ; it was pretty obvious that they'd finally gotten to know one another. you glanced over at hajoon, and smiled to yourself at seeing him growing a close bond with one other girl, whose name you'd learn later on to be sumin. you had a feeling of guilt over taking you, however. despite coming here to have a great time with your little boy, all you could focus on was chan. your eyes always lingered on him a second longer than they should, and you felt your heart fluttering when your eyes met. despite all the promises you made to yourself when hajoon was born, you couldn't help but slightly fall for the cute tour guide in front of you.

when you were pregnant with your boy, a month before you'd gone into labour, your (ex-)husband had announced that he'd found another woman he was interested in, and therefore no longer wanted to stay with you. it broke your heart into too many pieces to count, but you knew you had to stay strong for hajoon. even if his biological father wouldn't be there to see it, you would look after hajoon as if you had no other care in the world, and you would execute it beautifully. you had also promised yourself that, unless you were 100% sure you were ready, you wouldn't get with another man. the obvious part was that you still felt the struggles of your ex-husband leaving you, and it tore your heart out every single day. the only problem was, were you sure you weren't ready to try to find someone new? someone who could love hajoon as much — if not, more — than you?

it took a while, but you had finally reached halfway through the exhibition. in all honesty, you had no idea what was going on half the time. but seeing hajoon's overjoyed face almost broke you to tears of happiness. you turned from hajoon's direction to behind you, where you were met with soft, loving eyes. chan's glance towards you felt…odd. not in a bad way, but it was still quite odd. it made you feel things you didn't think you'd ever feel in a while, but you weren't complaining anymore. this could be like your own little adventure, just like hajoon's.

but what if you were getting ahead of yourself? what if he always looked so caring to everyone? you were just getting tied up in something which wasn't even true.

"okay everyone! it's time to continue, up on your feet now." his sweet voice rung across the museum. you wondered, should I just give it a chance?

eventually, the museum tour eventually all came to an end. your five year old was dejected to have to leave, but immediately changed his mind when he saw they were giving out free dinosaur related toys. he rushed over, dismissing you with a quick "you can wait with the car mom!" with this, you took it as an opportunity to make small talk with the tour guide. eventually even lead it to a bigger picture.

"hi there, I'm not sure if you noticed, but I was the mom of one of the kids from the tour? hajoon?" you were fidgeting a bit, rethinking the choices that you made.

"yes! I've definitely noticed you, don't worry! is there anything you need?" chan's face contorted into one of concern.

"no no! I'm okay! I just…" you were doing it. you were actually doing it. you would be asking for the cute tour guide's number, but would he actually give it to you? that was when you looked up to finally meet chan's eyes. they were still wearing a hint of concern behind them, and his head was cocked slightly to the side.

"I just wanted to say thank you for making all the children so happy." you sighed, slightly annoyed at yourself for chickening out, although you did really mean what you said.

"of course! this is my job of course~ but in all seriousness, I really try to make them as happy as possible, how else would they enjoy it?" you giggled slightly at his response, before bidding him farewell and turning around to get hajoon.

"wait!" you paused and whipped your head back towards chan. "erm, don't take this in the wrong way but, are you a single mother? I mean, all the other kids had both their parents come, but with hajoon it was just you?" you nodded, to which he responded with a small "ah." and looked down.

"also, if you were cool with it — which if you're not, it's totally fine! I understand — but could I maybe get your number? just to keep in touch sometimes! because I think you're pretty cool, and hajoon's pretty cool! argh, this is totally not right, I'm so sorry. but—" you cut his trail of thought as you pulled out your phone and showed him your number. he looked relieved, running his hands through his dark brown locks. he typed in your number and saved it, sending you a small text so that you could do the same. you said your final goodbyes and promised to stay in contact with one another.

you never thought you'd be able to love another as much as you loved your ex-husband, but maybe when chan came along, fate decided to change that.

©@luvvvivii all rights reserved | do not repost or translate

[potatowithahat]

A doctor's notepad

A sdv Harvey fic

Winter 28th year 0

       Well I guess this is a thing. My psychiatrist in Zuzu city recommended keeping a journal to help with anxiety and loneliness. I guess I'll uh… see how this thing works out. It will probably be pretty short entries though. I'm a busy man after all. Why am I writing this like someone's expecting to read them? This is silly. I'm going to bed

                                              -Harvey, the doctor 

Spring 1, year 1

       Well Luis tells me there's a new farmer in town! Good for business,  I suppose. I need the extra money. And frankly that farm was a hazard either way. I can't even count anymore the amount of scrapes and bruises Jaz and Vincent have come in with from playing out there. Its practically part of the forest now. Whoever they are is going to have a hell of a time cleaning that mess up.

                                              -Harvey, the doctor

Spring 7, year 1

       I guess I spoke too soon about that old farm. Seems the farmers got it fixed up nice enough. I was at Pierre's for groceries Friday and I overheard Pierre talking about how they've been buying lots of seeds. Then, when I went to the museum yesterday I found they have made a deal with Gunther to donate artifacts! I saw them on the way home but they walked passed me with there head down. I think they might be a bit shy. 

                                              -Harvey, the doctor

Spring 8, Year 1

       The Farmer came in and brought me coffee this morning!!!! They apologized for being rude yesterday and said it was a good will gift. I told them it was no problem,  and how much I appreciated the coffee.  They just nodded and headed off, citing some chores they had back at the farm. They were very nice about it. I felt like they were in a hurry to leave though. 

                                              -Harvey, the doctor

Spring 9, year 1

       The Farmer brought me another coffee today! I think Maru might have told her I liked it. Or maybe they still feel bad? I'm not quite sure. They just walked up to my desk, sat the coffee down and quickly walked out. It felt a little odd. Other then that George has a cough. I need to talk about it with him.

                                              -Harvey, the doctor

Spring 13, year 1

The Farmers been bringing me coffee ever since the seventh. They're very quiet about it though, just setting it on my desk. I'm still not used to it. They sought me out at the egg Festival today however!!!! She was telling me how much they loved dieing and searching for eggs as a kid.  They got so animated about it but stopped themselves and apologized. They walked away before I could say how much I was enjoying the conversation. I'll have to talk to them later.

                                              -Harvey, the doctor

Spring 24, year 1

       I almost asked the farmer to dance with me. Almost. I couldn't go through with it though. I didn't have the Nerve and I mean.. who am I to ask? I'm just the town doctor. I think she asked Shane,  but he must have turned her down because he was still dancing with Penny. I stayed with Maru,  as always. We had a good time. Couldn't help but notice the farmer glancing over at me now and then. Or maybe it was just because I was so focused on them? Not sure 

                                              -Harvey, the doctor

Don't you fret, there will be more in the near future!!!

Thank you so much for reading

Edit: part two is live!! Find it here!

If you'd like to read more of my stories, feel free to visit my Ao3, or check out my masterlist here on tumblr!!!

As always I'm a little gremlin when it comes to writing so if you have any fic ideas please feel free to drop an ask!!!!

Also I'd love to thank @minnieplier-blog for the idea from there lovely ask!!!!

[cirilla-fiona-riannon]

Francis Drake Main Story

This is a rough translation. I’ll edit this if I find the time. Expect mistakes.

Would it be a betrayal to carry on this love?

Like the shore of a calm sea, it clung to my heart and shattered my feelings like a raging storm.

(I...)

I tightly grasped the fate entrusted to my hands.

With a snap, colorful fireworks burst against the clear blue sky.

Mitsuki: "Wow! Even the fireworks in the daytime are beautiful."

Napoleon: "Yeah. The weather's good, and there's a lively crowd here again today."

Petals were dancing in the air, and everyone was smiling and having a good time as the mansion's residents visited the venue of the World Expo in Paris.

Leonardo: "Some acquaintances of mine have mentioned that there are people similar to us who have visited multiple times."

Napoleon: "Makes sense. There's so much to see that visiting only once wouldn't do it justice."

Arthur: "Mitsuki, how about coming here alone with me next time? You know, like a date?"

Mitsuki: "Hmm, I'm flattered by the invitation, but I'll think about it."

Theo: "It seems that frivolous writers only focus on flirting when they come to a place like this."

Theo: "Broer, let's take some time to admire the paintings. Hmm? Broer, where are you?"

Vincent: "Theo, over here! Let's try riding the moving walkway!"

(Hehe, it's rare for everyone to go out together. They all seem excited.)

(Hmm?)

I smiled and suddenly saw a couple wearing kimonos pass by me.

(Japan, huh?)

I felt a sense of nostalgia and remembered when I first arrived in this era.

I traveled from Japan to France for a vacation in the 21st century.

During this trip, I slipped through a mysterious door I found at the Louvre Museum and time-slipped to 19th-century Paris, where I met historical figures from different countries and eras who live as vampires at a mansion I arrived at.

Napoleon: "Hey, Mitsuki. Is something wrong?"

Mitsuki: "Sorry, I was just spacing out."

Napoleon: "Geez, you're supposed to enjoy yourself today. If you just sit there, we'll leave you behind."

Mitsuki: "Wait, Napoleon!"

I smiled and hurriedly chased after Napoleon, who laughed wickedly, leaving behind a nostalgic feeling that touched my heart.

A few days later一

Mitsuki: "I'm back! Huh?"

Charles: "Welcome back, Mitsuki! Do you want to take a bath? Eat something? Or me? It's me, right?"

Faust: "Stop being so shameless, Charles."

Among the faces that greeted me when I returned from shopping were Faust and Charles.

They live in an old castle and would occasionally visit like this.

Mitsuki: "Welcome, both of you. What brings you here today?"

Faust: "We accompanied Lord Vlad for some business. I thought I'd also give the butler some medicine."

Sebastian: "Thank you as always, Faust."

At one point, Sebastian fell ill, and Faust prescribed him a special medicine.

Since then, Faust has occasionally checked on his condition, and Sebastian no longer complains of discomfort.

(He said he was just the right test subject for the new drug, but I'm glad Sebastian is feeling better.)

Charles: "I have a souvenir for you, Dazai. The teacher at the orphanage wants you to create a children's story."

Dazai: "Oh dear, I thought you were going to give me some delicious sweets, but it's about work."

Isaac: "Shouldn't you be grateful? Even a flaky person like you can at least be somewhat useful."

Dazai and Charles seemed to run into each other often in town and had become quite friendly.

I even sometimes saw Isaac getting caught up in their shenanigans.

Jean: "I thought it was noisy, but I didn't realize you guys were here."

Mozart: "*sigh* Has this mansion become a gathering place for vampires?"

Shakespeare: "*chuckles* The number of residents and visitors has increased so much. It's completely different from when I lived here."

Jean, Mozart, and Shakespeare came to the dining room.

Mitsuki: "I didn't know you were here, too, Shakespeare. By the way, I heard you have a new play."

Shakespeare: "I'm honored that you remembered. I came here to deliver the tickets."

Shakespeare: "My business here is done. Mitsuki, Vlad, and Comte are asking for you."

Shakespeare: "They have something they want to talk about."

(Talk?)

In the dark, quiet hallway lined with paintings, sculptures, and various antiques from different countries and eras, the sound of footsteps echoed.

The man making those footsteps lightly stroked the handle of the knife hanging at his waist with his fingertips and grinned.

Mitsuki: "Phew. The night breeze feels good."

I stepped out onto the balcony and enjoyed the coolness of the air that soothed my slightly flushed skin after having some alcohol.

The impromptu dinner party that was hastily organized because everyone had gathered together ended when Faust and Charles took Vlad, who had drunk too much wine and collapsed, home.

(Another fun day, thanks to everyone being here.)

As I thought this, I remembered what Comte and Vlad had told me earlier.

------------Flashback------------

Comte: "I've been checking the status of that door, but the other side is still not stable."

Vlad: "The door at my old castle is the same."

Comte: “The hallway appears as it cycles between abnormal and normal, but sometimes the time and space beyond it are distorted. I don't think I can send you back to your original world.”

Vlad: "I'm sorry, Mitsuki. The cause of the anomaly might be us."

Mitsuki: "What do you mean?"

Vlad: "That hallway connects to various eras. The fact that the space is distorted means that distortions are occurring in history and the world."

Their love for this world drove them to revive eternal flowers and transform historical figures into vampires, contradicting the laws of the world.

They explained that this action might be influencing the proper course of history, resulting in a warping of time and space.

Mitsuki: “No, I’m grateful that you’re investigating. But isn’t there danger involved in checking the door?”

Mitsuki: “Please don’t push yourself too hard. It’d hurt me if something were to happen to the two of you.”

Vlad: “Mitsuki.”

(Also...)

Mitsuki: “As I met everyone and spent all those precious days with them, I began to feel like this 19th century is another place I belong.”

Mitsuki: “Even if I can’t return to the 21st century, I think living here might be my destiny.”

(So please don’t worry about me.)

I conveyed this, and both Comte and Vlad nodded as if they understood my feelings.

---------Flashback Ends---------

(I really mean what I said back then.)

(Staying in this world is also one way of living for me.)

I’m fortunate to have food, shelter, and clothing, all thanks to the help of everyone in the mansion. But even considering that gratitude, everyone I’ve met has become incredibly important to me.

(I love this world. It’s a precious place for me, but...)

My feet were naturally heading towards that door.

(The world I used to live in is beyond that door.)

Thoughts of family, friends, and work that had become distant crossed my mind, and a hazy mist spread across my chest.

(If the door’s anomaly doesn’t get fixed, I have no other choice but to choose to live here.)

I do feel that way, but I don’t think it’s right to choose to live here just because there’s no other choice.

(If I keep having these negative thoughts, everyone will worry again.)

I shook my head to dispel the negative thoughts and turned my back to the door.

At that moment, I heard a creaking sound from behind.

(Huh?)

I turned around, and the door, which no one had touched, slowly opened before me.

Mitsuki: “Kyaah!?”

Then something flew out of the gap.

(Was that a bird just now!?)

Although I couldn’t see it clearly, a vivid red bird crossed my field of vision.

I followed it with my eyes, but suddenly my body was forcefully pulled back, and something cold touched my neck.

It was a dull, gleaming knife.

(---!?)

???: “The woman of destiny.”

I heard a whisper up close and felt a hand grab me, along with the presence of someone behind me.

Fear swelled within me at this sudden situation, and I turned around cautiously to meet the gaze of clear aquamarine eyes.

???: “Don’t move. This thing can cut through anything.”

???: “I’m not going to take anything away from you. Where is this place, and who are you?”

Mitsuki: “This is a mansion in 19th-century Paris. I’m Mitsuki, one of the residents.”

Mitsuki: “Who are you?”

I spoke the words in a trembling voice, and the man restraining me stared at me with unreadable eyes.

Drake: "I'm Francis. Francis Drake."

(Francis?)

Even though I heard the name, I had no idea who he was, so I continued to tense up.

Suddenly, the man let out a sigh, easing the tension.

Drake: "You've been trembling this whole time. Well, given the situation, I guess that's understandable."

Drake: "I suddenly ended up in a place like this, so I'm also confused as hell."

Drake: "Don't be too scared, little fawn."

For some reason, he called me that and grinned mischievously.

【 Masterlist ╎ Next Part 】

[alatusxiaoo]

✎ [ 17. ] get away with anything

you stare up at the sprawling sight in front of you with bewilderment.

massive cream-colored pillars towered proudly before the both of your comparably tinier frames, as the welcome banners strung across the museum’s open entrance fluttered delicately in the afternoon breeze — dancing to the background noises of the bustling city and chattering visitors.

truth be told, the unfathomed venue of your spontaneous date leaves you utterly speechless.

“you…”

“you probably don’t recall this yet…but you actually told me back then,” heizou hummed softly in response, staring up at the historical structure with an equal amount of adoration. “during the competition. after we wagered our bets and you said you’ve always wanted to visit a museum because it had free admission.”

he chuckles briefly at the interesting memory of your frugality, thinking to himself with a rather satisfied grin. “i remembered.”

your gaze flickers towards the surprisingly thoughtful boy standing next to you — at his loosely tied auburn hair and the strands framing his pale face, at his white button-up and arm rolled sleeves, at his awe-stricken smile and the enchanted gleam painting his eyes.

“shall we?” heizou beams, politely holding a hand out to you.

seems like feigning interest in him really wasn’t bound to be much of a challenge…

“we shall.” you smile without hesitation, lightly taking your fingers in his.

you leave your jackets by the entrance of the building before proceeding inside. heizou’s hands are cold as you tread through the museum with glittering gazes of curiosity. sad to say — neither of you were particularly knowledgeable when it came to the realm of historical events, so you and your date had spent the first couple of minutes merely wandering around the venue with an air of innocence and wonder, seemingly akin to two lost puppies.

despite the initial and obvious lack of expertise, you found yourself highly amused when heizou suddenly began to put on a play of passionate effort in pretending to be a well-informed tour guide — concocting awfully ridiculous yet humorous facts about each of the displays you happened to pass by.

you occasionally chimed in to make foolish jokes and took turns fabricating all sorts of tales on the history behind the exhibits. much to your dignity, you also successfully managed to return most of his flirty lines. though you tried to limit your voices and conversations to hushed whispers, you could often tell that you were both on the receiving end of disdained stares from other visitors.

in the midst of your conversation, heizou didn’t seem to be giving in too easily into your infrequently woven questions about what transpired at the party. you wanted to be confident in the fact that expressing interest was going to be enough, but he seemed to be able to see through your poor endeavors of forcing yourself to act flirty. his eluding behavior made it seem as though something strange did happen between the both of you that night — and you figured feigning attraction wasn’t simply going to be enough to pry for concrete answers.

“quick question, do you think i’d be able to get away with thieving run-down artifacts?” you randomly blurt in the middle of your journey around the building, suddenly catching sight of an artistic collection of jewelry flaunted behind a glass frame.

heizou pauses in his tracks, stunned by your words as he follows your gaze to the wall. “you want to steal…this?” he squints his eyes at the exhibited ornaments. “i didn’t realize you were into archival jewelry.”

“it’s a hypothetical question.” you snicker, rolling your eyes. “besides, you’re a criminology major, so i was curious.”

“i’m supposed to be a good guy, my darling watson.” he smirks, raising an eyebrow at you as if to prove a point.

“aw, entertain me for a bit here. just tell me if i’d get away with it.”

heizou falls into silence as his eyes flicker in hasty glances from you to the artifacts, legitimately contemplating the theoretical circumstance for a fleeting moment.

“i think you could.” he muses in response.

“seriously?”

“sure. i mean, if it was me at least, i’d let you get away with anything.” he laughs, winking over at you with a sly smile. “but why steal those shabby jewels when you can take my heart anytime?”

you wince at the flirtatious line, yet lift a hand to cover your face after failing to stifle the flush that blossoms across your cheeks. “ugh, that was definitely one of your better ones.”

“i see you blushing through the cracks, watson.”

“moving on, then!”

the true chaos only begins halfway through your museum date — when the both of you stumble perchance across a little kids’ area littered with dress up bins.

one mischievous look exchanged between one another was all it took to scramble towards the filed crates in suppressed laughter.

you managed to try on all the hats with heizou after rifling through them for several minutes, the sound of muffled snickers and hushed snapshots ringing through the half-deserted area. his arm firmly wrapped around your shoulder, your hand gently pressed against his chest, his fingers fumbling with the camera and breathing clumsy whispers, your mouth flowering into a sincere smile as you gaze at him before meeting the black lens.

albeit, your momentary bubble of happiness began to gradually deflate when much of the passerby who stared at you two with peculiar expressions presumed you were both creepy strangers who have been lounging around the kids area for a prolonged while now…

and it wasn’t even a surprise anymore when a pair of security guards eventually came approaching your huddled figures in long strides…almost certainly with the intent to kick suspicious visitors out.

but before you had even fully registered the situation, you were both already running off the opposite direction with gasps of childish laughter — hands instinctively intertwined as you began to make your great escape despite still sporting some of the hats on your heads.

it’s a dashing pursuit that doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon with either side proclaiming defeat, no matter how many turns you take and how many diversion attempts you make.

heizou suddenly backs you into a tiny corner behind one of the colossal statues near the exit, your chests heaving in weighty breaths and sweat dripping down your temples out of exhaustion. his hand is against the wall, trapping your body in between — and you tilt your head slightly to peek over his shoulder to see whether your pursuers had managed to follow suit once more.

“are they there?” heizou asks through smothered pants.

“they’re here, but i don’t think they see us.” you whisper, leaning back to the wall once more to catch your breath.

you close your eyes to calm yourself, feeling the warmth of the bonnet wrapped around your head heat your feverish face even more.

heizou’s breaths tenderly tickle your cheeks more than you’d want them to. eyes softly fluttering open, you know it isn’t much of a revelation to find his head inching dangerously close to yours.

“sorry, just a little longer.” he breathes in reassurance, blinking a tad too rapidly as his eyes anxiously dart anywhere else but at your face. his top hat also starts to slide down his hair due to minor yet excessive movements.

why does it seem like he’s panicking a bit too much?

and then you catch a glimpse of it. through the shadows, a flush crawling from the tips of his ears and roseating the skin of his face.

“oh my god,” you whisper-shout with widened irises, clasping a hand against your mouth in astonishment at your discovery.

“heizou. you’re blushing.”

“what?” he audibly scoffs in disbelief, tilting his head to the side without being able to meet your mystified gaze. “i am not.”

“yes you are!”

“i am not.”

“you’ve never been this close to a girl before.” you piece together in amusement, desperately trying to stifle the laugh that threatens to escape your mouth.

“i—” heizou swallows thickly at your declaration. “…fine. maybe just a little.”

“and yet here you went, shamelessly flirting with every girl you saw.”

“so what if i’m blushing anyway?!” he snorts at your victorious expression, cheeks growing a further shade darker.

“i should use this as leverage.” you smile as you move closer, teeth sinking down on your lip at the devious thought of it.

“leverage..?” heizou barely registers your words, dazedly staring down at your mouth.

“yes! you promised to tell me what happened to me the night at the party.” you nod eagerly, beaming with delight. “and you kept dodging my questions like a fucking weasel. this is the perfect opportunity to get exactly what i want.”

“aha. that’s real cute, my watson.” he strains a proud smile, hardly managing to tear his eyes off your lips. “…fine, you got me. can’t have everyone randomly flustering me tomorrow.”

“it’s a promise.”

“hmm…the party,” heizou ponders, shifting his weight to lean on the arm pressed to the wall. he nudges his top hat to a more stable position on his head. “as far as i remember, we first ran into each other at around early nine. you were getting a drink and i happened to be doing the same as well, but we only shared a brief conversation before you went and left to find your friends.”

“we met later on again at approximately ten thirty, i believe we held our drinking competition by then. you suggested on wagering bets and chose a favor as your prize, and i chose taking you on a date as mine.” he winks triumphantly, and you ignore the slight blush painting your cheeks. “i’m certain that’s all i saw of you that evening.”

“…really?”

“mhm, that’s it.”

you narrow your eyes at him, feeling dubious about his rather brief answer. “are you sure?”

he shrugs with a roguish smile. “like i said. it really is a shame you still haven’t regained your memory from that evening.”

“i don’t trust you.” you frown, distancing yourself from him as you rest deeper into the wall — carefully processing the information previously surrendered.

“i’m a little offended.” he chuckles. “but i suppose it’s only natural that you think things aren’t always as they seem.”

“why do you say that?”

“because,” he gestures to the both of you with his other hand. “you believe i took you out on a date under the premise that i won a drinking competition.”

“well, did you not take me out because of just that?” you furrow your eyebrows, feeling even more confused.

“exactly.”

new questions only formulate at the back of your head. you’re about to open your mouth to push the matter and demand further answers, however you can already see from over his shoulder that the guards have finally disappeared.

“are they gone?”

“yeah. let’s get out of here.” you tap his arm, stepping out from the confined space of shadows. raising an arm to wipe the sweat off your brow, you exhale a sigh of relief knowing that you didn’t have to worry about those guards clamoring your way.

you hear your date shuffle and follow suit from behind, and you turn around to see his hands stuffed within his pockets. you’re ashamed to admit that you were enchanted with how attractive rolled up sleeves made him look.

“we should probably leave before they come back to find us again.” heizou sighs in disappointment. “just when it was getting even more interesting…”

“what about our hats?” you ask, slightly embarrassed by the bonnet still lingering upon your head like a crown.

“well we’re not exactly in a position to make another appearance back at the kids area,” he smiles sheepishly, slowly walking towards the exit of the museum. “we should keep it, i don’t think anyone will notice. think of it as a nice souvenir from our memorable date. besides, you look rather cute in it.”

you feel the corners of your lips raising in a knowing grin as you trail his footsteps. “oh? i thought you said you were supposed to be a good guy.”

“i am.” heizou simpers, stopping in his tracks as he turns back to offer his warm hand towards you for one last time.

“but i told you, didn’t i? as long as it’s me, i don’t mind letting you get away with anything. although i suppose we’ll have to save you whisking away my heart for another time ~ ”

I WISH YOU WERE SOBER — [ previous. masterlist. next ]

synopsis — in which you were never really one for spontaneity or precipitous decisions, until you got yourself drunk at your senior year university party and woke up the next morning with the most dreadful of hangovers…along with a painfully distorted memory of a stolen kiss on that hazy evening.

note — belated christmas everyone! <3 here’s a date with heizou as a gift hehehe

taglist — @tihgnari @ceylestia @eissaaaa @venyan @sohyuki @senjurro @bobaducky @dinoshimaaa @sharoshing @ioverjn @hey-comrade-hold-stil @skaramush @lesboluvs @clovcly @ventuswhat @zephestia @theother-victoria @neptun-es @ihaveahunterlisence @minyoungieee @astolary @wrenhyperfixates @heartonthemoon @goodthingimsam @capybara4lyfers @slvdsjjk @michelindu @kimiesstuff @itssoizzy @kazuzux @hiqhkey @layla240 @justrisahere @one-offmind @diaflower @liquor-kissez @tokanite @pooonyo @sweetstrawberrybabe @yeeden @nejibot @lcvez @rion-s @sakushoujo @koiir @lost-wicked-artist @q1ngx1n @yer1sdi4ry @bleedingwhiteroses222 @starglitterz @xdncrkay @uwak-uwak-uwak-uwak @apyrose @zanashair

[oigimi]

arthur’s sequel - chapter 1

Translation notes provided at the bottom. Any text in italics is from a flashback. This process takes awhile but I’m re-falling in love with Arthur cuz of this. Pls enjoy!

There was a crescent moon in the sky the night I traveled from the Louvre Museum to 19th century Paris. It’s as if it was laughing at destiny itself…

I reminisced about it, and about my visit. I had experienced the worst encounter with “him,” and also the best love.

Arthur: Ah, you’re a good girl, so don’t act violently. Don’t be so rude and indulge in me. I’ll take care of you if you do.

With his vampire fangs peeking through, he uttered a nastily sweet whisper.

The flirtatious playboy mystery author, Arthur Conan Doyle. Even though he was the one I should’ve been the most cautious of, I became naturally drawn to him. He was like a gentle breeze caressing my cheeks.

Arthur: Well, MC. Why don’t we wager?

MC: Wager…?

Arthur: Whoever is first to kiss the other loses. When I win, I plan to capture every part of you. Your body, your heart, and even your destiny.

When we were together, it was so much fun I felt my heart soar. But the game of love was so painful it tightened my chest. Before long, I got to know the Arthur behind his smile, and the dark past he hid.

Arthur: I won’t kiss you. I can’t. Because if I want you, you’ll be gone. Isn’t that right…?

I’ll always be here for him. I want to protect Arthur, who smiles fleetingly, and his heart that is truly so kind and beautiful, no matter what.

A strong, irresistible feeling overcame a cruel fate. And…

Arthur: I can’t think of anyone else who makes me as obsessed as you. You’re the only opponent I’d ever want to lose to.

MC: Then will you let me win our game of who can make the other happier?

Arthur: That’s…

Arthur: Sorry. I won’t lose there.

Beyond the time where we weren’t supposed to meet – we’re still playing these happy games, even now.

--------

Since choosing to live in this world, several seasons have passed. I saw my colleague in his butler uniform at our meeting place, and trotted over.

MC: Thanks for waiting, Sebastian. I bought everything!

Sebastian: Thanks for your help, MC. I’ll carry the heavy bags.

I thanked him for so casually offering, and walked alongside him. The Parisian streets were bathing in sunshine, and lively with working people and energetic children all coming and going. As I felt my mood and movements lighten in the atmosphere of it all, Sebastian looked at me and tilted his head.

Sebastian: You’re in a good mood. You’ve been smiling for a while now. Did something good happen?

MC: Actually, the owner of the produce shop gave me some really nice apples as a bonus because the other day we helped his child find a lost toy!

But it wasn’t just the apples that made me happy. The owner also said, “Please also say thank you to that detective gentleman.” I’m gonna tell him as soon as I get home. I’m sure he’ll be so happy. Just imagining his expression makes me joyful myself.

Sebastian: I see. Well that solves the mystery of the apples I didn’t intend for you to get. So it’s a gift for playing detective?

Sebastian: …No, it’s not even playing anymore. Our great detectives are just as good as Sherlock Holmes!

The chiming of the bell tower mixed with our laughter.

Sebastian: Oh, is that the time? We need to get back to the mansion. Shakespeare is coming over to visit Vincent today, so I want to show some hospitality.

MC: Oh, uh… Sorry, I realized I forgot to buy coffee beans. Please go ahead home, Sebastian.

Sebastian: Will you be okay by yourself?

MC: It’s still daylight. And things are different from when I first came here. Leave it to me!

With pride, I split from Sebastian…

(At the shop)

I’d fallen into quite the pinch.

Man: Well, well, well. I’ve defeated this young woman. Now how are you going to pay me?

Playing cards were scattered across the table, and the man sitting across me had a nasty grin on his face.

I was fooled!! He was just pretending to be a shopkeeper!! When I went to buy the coffee beans, he said, “If you can win now, you’ll get a bonus! Come on now!” He greeted me with a smile, and before I knew it, I was entrenched in a betting match. I was careless, but I’ve been getting better at deception…

MC: I don’t have money. But you were cheating, weren’t you?!

Man: Oh? You’re going to whine now? Ha!

MC: Ah!

I threw my hands up, scared of his furious expression. At that moment…

???: Hey, stop!

A voice light as wind hit my ears, and I looked up.

Are you coming to rescue me at a time like this?

Arthur: Yoohoo, MC~

-------

MC: Arthur!

Arthur slammed his hand down on the table to block the man, and an arc drew on his lips. When I saw his always-relaxed smile, my whole body, which had been stiffened, was relieved.

Arthur, I hadn’t expected you to come…

Arthur: It’s quite easy for you to get caught up in these situations, isn’t it?

MC: Sorry, I was trying to be careful, but…

Arthur: Don’t worry about that now. We need to get out of this pinch first.

As he said that, Arthur sat next to me. The man glared daggers at the sudden intrusion.

Man: Hey, man. What do you think you’re doing butting in like this?

Arthur: Alright, here’s my conditions. You and I are gonna play another round. If we win, we get the full amount offered. If not, we’ll pay ten times the amount.

Arthur: Well? Sound good?

Man: What?! Ten times is a lot! Alright, fine. Let’s do it.

With that grin on Arthur’s face, I could tell he had a trick up his sleeve.

MC: Arthur, please be careful. This guy’s a cheater.

Arthur: Mm~? Oh, there’s no problem here. I have a goddess of victory at my side, and she’s got your name.

MC: Joking at a time like this…

Arthur: Don’t worry, MC. Don’t you trust me?

His eyes were an unwavering blue, like a glass ball. They pierced right through me, and I...

[CHOICE OF 3: I picked “Arthur’s got this.”]

MC: Of course I do. You’ve got this.

Arthur: That’s what I thought. I can’t show you my lame side anyway!

Even through his joking words, I began to relax. Things were going to be okay. Arthur and I laughed a little bit as we locked gazes.

Encouraged by Arthur’s reassuring presence, I also looked at the man head-on.

Arthur: Well isn’t this quite the development! I’m getting a sense of deja vu.

Man: Huh-?

Arthur: Nothing to do with you. Alright, let’s start the game.

The battle finished in the blink of an eye.

MC: Pontoon!

Man: What?! You’ve gotta be kidding-!

Arthur: And just like that, we’ve won.

Just like in the past, we triumphed brilliantly.

---------

Free from that man, Arthur and I walked in the evening streets, side by side.

Arthur: The shopkeeper reported him, so I don’t think we’ll ever see him again.

MC: That’s good, it saves others from getting caught in their trap. Thank you so much for your help, Arthur…

MC: But I can’t believe you had such good timing. Did you happen to be stopping by the store?

Arthur: I suppose it just happened. I was on my way to the publisher to talk about my new book.

Even in this time, Arthur continues to write under a pen name. He gets more popular every time he releases a new book, and even has been getting requests for serialization.

Arthur: And then I remembered you were shopping in town, and decided to visit the store you frequent. Aaaand bingo. Everything was fine up until you got in trouble.

He remembered the store I always go to. There’s his keen observation for you. Seeing my impressed face, Arthur grinned and looked at me.

Arthur: It really was like old times. Remember? When you were trapped in a game of pontoon?

MC: Of course! Yeah, I remember too.

That was way back when I first fell into this world. Arthur helped me when I was in trouble then, and he did it again today.

Arthur: MC, do you need my help? If you ask for it, I’ll give it to you. What do you say?

MC: Arthur… please help me…

Arthur: Mm, okay! And if I win, you need to do what I say.

MC: I was so relieved when you came.

I still thought of Arthur as dangerous and flippant back then. But now, it’s a treasured memory.

MC: Well thank you again, Arthur. You really are my hero.

Arthur: Your hero? Well, that’s just the biggest compliment I could receive.

Uttering it so quietly, Arthur gave a soft smile.

Arthur: Well it’s a golden rule as a hero to rescue my love in need.

MC: Ah! Well from now on, I’m going to be a lot more careful. I need to be more vigilant, and a little more suspicious of other people.

As I reflected on my carelessness, Arthur raised his eyebrows.

Arthur: I wish you had a way to protect yourself. Your virtue lies in your ability to face people straight, because you don’t doubt others.

MC: You think so?

Arthur: I know so. I fell in love with your pure and beautiful heart.

My heart trembled a bit, presented with Arthur’s true and honest feelings like a surprise attack.

Arthur: You’re my one and only. The girl I want to protect more than anything. And that’s why I always will. So you can always smile, MC.

--------

Arthur… My cheeks, growing warm, must’ve been dyed even redder by the setting sun. As I failed to control my swelling emotions, a cold rain began to fall on my cheeks.

Arthur: Ah, I thought I could smell rain. It actually did start. Let’s go, MC.

He took out and umbrella and opened it. Holding out one hand, he invited me into a gentle embrace.

Arthur: My apologies, I only have one umbrella.

MC: Thank you Arthur! Ah, I’m remembering again. When you saved me the first time, it rained that night too, didn’t it?

Arthur: That’s right. Even the weather is the same! Today’s the day to stroll down memory lane!

That time, Arthur gave me his umbrella and we parted ways for the night. But today, we are lovers, walking shoulder-to-shoulder under the same umbrella.

MC: Ah, Arthur! Did you know in Japan we call this “ai ai gasa?”

Arthur: “Ai ai gasa?” What’s that? Is it like a lovey-dovey umbrella?

MC: Lovey-dovey? Pfft… Ahaha!!

Arthur: Hey, why is it you’re the only one who understands? Haha, you’re so cute.

MC: Sorry. It’s cuz it’s a silly conversation between lovers. The meaning of the words is a little different, but it means the same in the end.**

I looked up, and a soft kiss touched my lips instead of the cold rain.

Arthur: Then what’s a lovey-dovey umbrella?

I pretended to poke Arthur in the chest and couldn’t help but grin like an idiot. I wished days like this would last forever. With the man I love more than anything else in the world next to me, life is just so dazzling and dear to my heart.

But the destiny awaiting us was about to make a huge move...

-------

Translation notes:

**ai ai gasa (相合傘) is a trope in romance media where two people in love share an umbrella. I think the joke here comes from Arthur calling it “raburabu kasa” (ラブラブ傘), which isn’t really a term, and literally means “lovey dovey umbrella.” I think this will be better explained in the official eng translation lol

Most of this is stuff we’ve seen before (like damn MC, two times at the shop?). I tried my best to not do a literal translation of everything and give the characters their voices I pick up on in the jpn and eng versions, so I took some creative liberties so it’s nicer to read.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Yuu can do it!

Part 56

First - Previous - Masterlist - Next

In the end, it was Enma who had pieced it all together.

Leona, who just so happened to have the exact antibiotics they needed, and had handed them over willingly, without asking for anything in return. Who had told them everything he knew, seemingly for no reason outside of wanting to help. Who had allowed them to stay in his dorm, instead of grabbing them by the scruffs of their necks and punting them through the mirror.

Leona, who, at some point, had made a deal with Azul.

But what did Azul get in return? Immunity from Leona’s plans? That felt far too little for the potion alone, not to mention buying Azul’s silence.

Leona was, simply, too compliant. Too content to follow along with their plans.

Sure, he was still a pain, but that was more of a token protest than anything.

“I think we can put Leona’s power to some good use,” Enma murmured, his voice slightly muffled against Ito’s hair.

Kuroki shrugged, nodding his agreement. “Should we confront him?”

There was no need, they all knew. The Yajugen — whose room was conveniently right above their own — could hear everything they said just fine. In fact, they were only repeating this conversation for Leona’s sake, they’d already discussed this yesterday, when Enma had had an epiphany while bandaging a bite on Ito’s hand.

But it would be easier to play Leona if he thought he still had some control over the situation.

Ito hummed, lightly, their eyes gleaming. “Nah. I think we should just have another fun little karaoke session. It’ll help prove that he’s just humoring us, too.”

There was the sound of several heavy items hitting their door.

Yajugen, it turns out, are extremely nosy and prone to listening in on conversations for fun.

Kuroki snickered and tiptoed out of bed to collect their winnings.

As he sifted through the items (mostly junk) in search of things he thought worth keeping, he found himself wondering, absently, if Yagujen were prone to eavesdropping because it was simply something they were basically forced to do.

Actually, maybe it was why Jack was so hesitant to be open about his emotions. What if someone overheard? Now that Kuroki thought about it, all of the Yajugen he knew were kind of closed off.

Then again, they were all teenagers. Really, this wasn’t the best sample population. Maybe they could visit the Savanna during their break? But the break wasn’t that long, and they were going to be spending it in the Queendom…

Over summer, then.

He found a bottle of soda among the trash and lit up, tugging it into his lap, peering at the label. To his disappointment, it wasn’t Coke. It was something called… Pep-si? Well, Ito might drink it in a pinch. It was the same color, after all, surely it would be fine!

He stood up, about to turn around and show his prize to his friend, only for his eyes to catch on Leona Kingscholar, speed walking towards their room, a man on a mission.

“Hi, senpai,” Enma said, smiling oh-so-innocently, yawning as he hugged Ito closer to his side, looking every bit like a teen about to turn in for the night. “What brings you here?”

Leona growled at him. Like a lame-ass love interest in a boring romance novel.

(Or a lion, Kuroki supposed, but let him have his fun.)

“Just. Tell me what your plan is.”

The Yuus’ eyes gleamed.

~

“Sucks that we don’t get to have that karaoke session, though,” Ito said, pouting lightly.

Kuroki grinned. “It’s our good deed for the week. No one should have to deal with you guys’ terrible singing.”

Kuroki did, because he cared for them, but no one else should.

“Well, not all of us can be in choir,” Enma said.

Kuroki snickered and pressed closer to them, closing his eyes.

~

The Leech twins were nowhere to be found the next day.

“Maybe Ashengrotto-senpai really is just screaming and crying back at the Lounge,” Ito said, an attempt at being lighthearted despite the tension that began to creep into the first years’ shoulders.

“The museum is closed today… apparently,” Kuroki said. He tacked on the ‘apparently’ in case the Leech twins were listening in, even though he knew that, logically, they wouldn’t be able to listen in on their conversation regardless thanks to them being hard of hearing. Gotta love paranoia. “Maybe they just don’t think we’ll be able to get in…?”

But, even as he said this, he didn’t really believe it.

After all, if they were willing to steal from a museum, it was safe to assume that they didn’t care about breaking the law.

Regardless of how rattled Azul may or may not be, he wouldn’t risk something like this.

The museum came into view, looming over them. There were guards at the gates. Kuroki’s eyes caught on the one who had abandoned him and Deuce the second Floyd Leech appeared. His lips curled into a scowl. He nudged Deuce, and they both pulled their hoods over their heads.

No one had looked at them twice – not for the hoodies, at least. Maybe the merfolk just assumed that it was in fashion on land, since every single one of them had opted for them. Maybe they were just too busy looking at the humans’ legs to notice what they were wearing.

“What’s it feel like being a delinquent again, Deuce?” Ace teased, but his eyes flicked over Deuce’s face to genuinely gauge how their friend was doing.

Deuce grimaced. “It’s not like we’re stealing anything important, but I guess that’s how it always starts.”

“Eh, we’re doing a good deed, it probably balances out,” said Enma, who had begun squinting at Jack’s tail, apparently curious.

Jack raised an eyebrow.

Enma’s face flushed. He held his hands up in a kind of surrender. “I just wanted to see what happened to your fur! Y’know, because Grim’s all smooth, now. I wasn’t staring at –.” He coughed, uncomfortably.

Luckily for him, Jack now seemed more concerned with his tail. He dragged it in front of himself, peering at it. It… was wet, which made it hard to tell. But there was fur, that much was clear.

Kuroki scowled. That was fucking unfair. He smoothed his hand over Grim’s not-furry head, mentally promising to make a potion to grow Grim’s fur back.

“Do you have to condition your fur?” Ito asked.

“Nah, I just use soap. My little sisters condition theirs, though. Always complain about how my tail looks better than theirs, but they don’t try out the soap for some reason? I don’t get it.”

Ito rolled their eyes, muttering something under their breath that made Jack bristle. Not that they seemed to care. Their eyes flicked to the guards at the gate, and they nudged Ace with their arm. Jerked their head towards the guards.

Ace scoffed. “Why do I have to do it? Why can’t one of you deal with it? What if I wanna enjoy the museum heist?”

“Sucks to suck,” Ito said. “Get going before the twins show up.”

Ace kicked them in the calf.

Ito hissed a curse.

Ace seemed satisfied with this. He groaned, loud enough for the mermen guards a ways away to hear. “This is so annoying!”

The guards’ shoulders jumped in mild surprise. They turned to look at their group with wide eyes, as if to say ‘are you talking to me’?

Ace, in fact, was: “And I was soooo looking forward to it, too!”

They all glanced at each other, rolling their eyes and giving vague shrugs, as if Ace complaining to strangers was something that happened so often that they had begun to tune him out.

“All that money, all that time saving up for some potions, all for this to happen?!”

They made motions as if to say, ugh, not again and fuck it, just leave him here and this is those guys’ problem now.

‘Those guys’ did not seem particularly happy with their newfound predicament.

“I mean, you guys know I've been interested in this shit since I was a kid,” Ace lamented, floating over to his unfortunately captive audience. And then he brightened up, as if realizing something. “Wait, you’re mermen, right? You had to learn everything in your history classes, right?”

The mermen grimaced, sending one last look at the group of teens, seemingly begging for help. Unfortunately for them, the teens were determinedly looking away, pretending not to know Ace.

So, reluctantly, for the sake of making Ace leave, they started answering their friend’s questions.

(Enma looked jealous. Kuroki tightened his grip on his friend’s hand to make sure he didn’t float over and start pestering the guards for information, too, in a far more genuine way.)

They waited until the merfolk were solidly distracted before making their way over to a staff door.

It was, of course, locked. Hence why there was no one guarding it.

Deuce crouched by the door. Glanced at Ito. “Do you have a hairpin?”

His hand was out, expectantly, so it seemed the question was more of a courtesy than anything.

And, in fact, Ito did have a hairpin. Several of them, actually. Their bun tumbled down into a slightly messy ponytail, which seemed to annoy them.

They weren’t alone in their misery. Apparently, lockpicking is a lot more complicated than movies like to suggest. And took way more people than expected. Sometimes, seemingly arbitrarily, Deuce would grab one of them by the wrist and force them to hold a bobby pin in place for him.

Eventually, though, Deuce was able to get the door open. He handed Ito their bobby pins back. They were bent wildly out of shape. Ito looked devastated as they worked to fix them.

One by one, they filed through the doorway.

Until –.

“Hey!”

Ito froze, their hand on the door.

Why were the guards suddenly good at their jobs?!

For a second, Ito looked at their friends, already inside.

And then they sighed, turning to look at the guards, their hand still on the knob. “Told you that it wouldn’t work, Puto,” they groaned.

“It was worth a shot, Yuu” Ace said. Kuroki noticed that Ace suddenly had an accent that was not unlike Ito’s. “Would’ve been a waste of all that money if we couldn’t even get some pictures of the place!”

“Get over here,” one of the guards called.

Kuroki could practically see the smug look that Ace would be sending Ito right now.

Ito closed the door, and Kuroki could hear them fiddling with the lock on the other side, pretending to put everything back into place.

Kuroki breathed a sigh of relief.

The teens, after a quick glance at each other, making shush-ing motions with their hands, made their way through the museum. Working their way back towards the entrance.

Jack ended up having to drag Enma along, because Enma stopped to gawk at every exhibit they passed.

“We have some potions left,” Kuroki hissed. “We can come back tomorrow after we pack or something.”

“Promise?” Enma sulked.

“Sure. Yeah. Whatever.”

Enma brightened up. As if he had never been upset at all. He allowed himself to be dragged along without further complaint.

Fucker. ‘I feel bad when I lie to you guys’ his ass!

Whatever. Kuroki still hadn’t apologized for the whole Deal With Azul thing, and his friends would surely realize this when the shock of ‘oh shit Kuroki had an anxiety attack’ wore off. And Kuroki had no intentions of apologizing, so his only choice was to make up for it in some way.

They made it to the front of the museum, hopping the turnstiles meant to force people to pay. It was even easier underwater, sweet.

Their eyes find their way to a wall of photos. There were, frankly, too many to count, each one labeled neatly with the name of whichever important person had come to visit this time. There were even a few repeats, like the fourth princess, who seemed to really love the place.

Grim was, surprisingly, the first one to find the one of Prince Rielle.

Kuroki plucked it off of the wall, and everyone crowded close, trying to figure out why Azul was interested in this picture in particular. It seemed to be a simple school trip… maybe it had something to do with Prince Rielle?

But then, Rielle was a prince, if this was blackmail then surely the prince could simply ask the museum to get rid of it. So, it was probably not that.

His eyes caught on a small grouping of mermen. They were different than the rest, less ‘human’ looking. Two of them seemed to be teal eels.

Blackmail against Floyd and Jade, then?

Kuroki couldn’t imagine Floyd and Jade were the type to be embarrassed by pictures of themselves as kids, though. Especially when they were, regrettably, kinda cute in a weird way. The chubby cheeks and wide, innocent smiles were surprisingly nice.

They were half-draped over another merman. This one was an octopus. Said merman looked annoyed about the entire situation.

He supposed that Jade and Floyd hadn’t been all that innocent at any point in their lives. This was, strangely, comforting.

Enma reached out and picked at the small label reading A visit from Prince Rielle and his schoolmates, until it was half-hanging off of the wall. By the time he was finished, it looked like the glue had gotten old, and the photo had been swept away by an absent-minded janitor, or perhaps the waves.

Kuroki turned to the other two friends. “Deuce, Jack, both of you take a quick picture of this. If it’s valuable, then it’s good to have a copy.”

Once they had done that, the group of teens left the same way they came.

Ace and Ito were still being lectured by the guards. They were very clearly not taking a word of their chastisement to heart, which was only pissing them off more.

“– coming to the age where this sort of thing will go on your permanent records,” the guard said.

Jack walked over and grabbed them both by their hoods. Lifting them off of the ground. It would have been more intimidating if they weren’t underwater. The two simply hung there limply, pouting.

“Sorry about them,” Jack said, not sounding sorry at all. “They’re a pain. I’ll take them home. I’m sure their mom will chastise them properly.”

The guards allowed the two to get dragged away, happy to not have to deal with the 'hooligans' any longer.

Enma rested an arm over Ito’s shoulders. “So, did you learn anything about memen, or…?”

“They age similarly to humans?” Ito offered.

Enma huffed. “That’s all?”

Ace shrugged. “They really weren’t interested in answering my questions once they realized I was just bait. I did learn that, apparently, not all mermen are good at singing? If that helps?”

It did not. Mostly because the Yuus hadn’t been aware that that was a thing, so they had assumed that that was the case anyway.

“Maybe I will chastise you,” Enma said.

Ace opened his mouth, clearly tempted to question whether Enma was finally accepting his status as Group Mom, but then thought better of it.

Ito fixed their hair as they walked, bobby pins poking out of their mouth.

“Did everything go alright on your end?” Ace asked.

“Yep,” said Kuroki, waving the photo.

Enma plucked it out of his hand, ignoring Kuroki’s protests in favor of handing the photo to Ito. “Can you hide this in your hair?”

After a moment’s thought, Ito curled up the photo and tucked it into their bun.

Kuroki blinked. Oh. That… actually made sense. Floyd had already proven that he would check Kuroki first, so giving it to someone else – as much as it pained him – was for the best. And Ito touched their hair all the time, constantly maintaining it to the best of their ability, no one would think twice if they kept checking their hair in the way they would narrow in on someone touching their pockets all the time.

“Are we splitting up?” Grim asked. He immediately clung to Kuroki’s side like a limpet. “I want to go with this henchman.”

Ace rolled his eyes, and then rested his arm around Ito’s shoulders. “I’ll take Ito, then. Wind magic doesn't work well underwater, so they won't see us as a threat.”

Jack nodded. “I’ll go with Enma.”

Enma grinned and bumped shoulders with Jack. “I’ve been wanting a rematch with Jade Leech-senpai for the past two days.”

“We’ll beat him, this time,” Jack agreed.

“I’ll stay with Kuroki, then!” Deuce said, his eyes narrowed in determination. “If Floyd Leech-senpai is going to target him, then having two mages around’ll be the best.”

“Does everyone have Kingscholar-senpai’s number?” Ito reminded them.

After checking their contact lists to be doubly sure, Ace and Deuce flashed a thumbs up.

“Alright, let’s head out.”

~

“Koebi-channnnnn,” Floyd called.

Kuroki groaned. If he was on land, he might have flopped on the floor. But this was underwater, and he felt that slowly floating down to the sand wouldn’t have the same effect.

Deuce shoved his hands into his pockets, scowling at the horizon. “If we don’t turn around, maybe they’ll go away.”

Kuroki knew this wasn’t how real life works, so he turned his head to glare at the twins. “I hate you guys. Please die in a freak accident.”

Jade pressed a hand to his chest, as if he were hurt. He was smiling too much for it to come across as anything near genuine. “You wound us.”

“Good,” sniffed Kuroki.

He’d had a long few days, okay? He deserved the right to call them bitches to their faces.

(He wouldn’t do that, he valued his life, but he deserved the right to.)

And, besides, the more Floyd and Jade concentrated on him, the further away Ito and Ace would be able to get.

“Now, unfortunately for you, we can’t let you get that back to Octavinelle so soon,” Jade said. He tipped his head to the side. “You’ve caused far too much trouble for Azul already.”

“So, what’s the plan?” Grim asked. “Distract us until sunset?”

“And then take the photo,” Floyd said, brightly. “Best of both worlds!”

Jade nodded easily. “Using minimal labor to achieve maximum profit is just good business sense.”

Deuce looked at Kuroki. “Do you have a plan? Please tell me you do.”

“I do!” Kuroki said, brightly. “Let’s try to kill them!”

“Does the water just make you Ramshackle people more pissed off than usual?” Floyd asked, his eyes widening in surprise.

Kuroki, who really didn’t want to go into his interpersonal conflicts with Floyd of all people, nodded. “I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere.”

“Enough chatting!” Grim said. “Fight us!”

Grim tried to shoot a fireball. Underwater. It went about as well as you would think.

The secondhand embarrassment is real.

But whatever.

Time to lose another fight!

Kuroki hissed a curse as Floyd’s tail pulled him off-balance, dragging him upside down. Kuroki pushed his shirt up to hide his stomach.

“Ooooh, what’s this?” Floyd asked, pulling a vial from where Kuroki had hidden it in his waistband.

“A bioweapon that’ll kill us all if you release it,” Kuroki lied. That was still back at Ramshackle Dorm. No, what he had now was a health potion. But he’d rather not have it spill out into the water, thanks. He wasn’t sure it would heal his wounds if it did.

“Literally what is wrong with you,” Floyd asked.

Kuroki bit him in lieu of answer.

The teens grappled.

As long as Kuroki kept Floyd’s hands busy, the eel wouldn’t be able to search him. Or, at least, it would take him longer.

After an hour, where the twins had managed to even pull off Kuroki and Deuce’s shoes in search of the photo, and Kuroki began to fear that they might just abandon all niceties and strip them of their clothes…

Jade and Floyd went still. If Kuroki couldn’t feel the rise and fall of Floyd’s chest, pressed against his side, he might’ve thought they’d died.

Had they gotten a text? Kuroki still didn’t know where their phones were hidden, but it was possible that the twins had felt them vibrate.

“It seems Trappola-san and Ito-san have left the water,” Jade said, quietly, his mind running a mile a minute.

“How the fuck do you know that,” Grim asked, disturbed. “They’re my familiars, you can’t have them!”

He was ignored by everyone but Kuroki, who would have asked what the fuck that meant in any other scenario.

Right now, though, he was more concerned with whatever was going on with the Leech twins.

So, he supposed, Grim was ignored by everyone, in the end. Ouch.

Anyways.

“It could be a bluff,” Floyd said. “We already checked them for the photo, they don’t have it.”

Hm. So they had checked the others. Maybe they had anticipated that Kuroki wouldn’t have it on him this time, since they had openly indicated they would check him first. Fuck. It was a good thing that Ito had hidden it in the way they had.

Jade whipped out his phone, intent on sending a text, only to pause. “It seems that Savanaclaw is causing a problem back at the lounge.”

“What time is it?” Floyd demanded, glaring at Kuroki, as if expecting him to answer.

As if Kuroki fucking knew – he didn’t even have a phone!

“The sun sets in an hour,” Deuce said.

“They won’t be able to swim to the mirror in time,” Jade said. “Let’s go.”

They watched them leave.

Kuroki turned to Deuce, who looked exhausted. The mage hadn’t fired off any spells, since they wouldn’t work in Floyd’s presence, but fighting underwater was draining.

Still, he examined his pen, which was free of blot.

“Ready?” he asked, looping his arm around Kuroki’s waist. Kuroki made sure he had a firm hold of Grim, hugging the monster as tightly as he could. He nodded.

And then Deuce sent off water spell after water spell. The new water was impossible to see, as it melded with the ocean immediately, but that didn’t mean that nothing was happening. It increased the pressure in the nearby vicinity, which meant that it could be used to propel themselves through the water.

They reached the mirror within minutes. Deuce was panting, his pen dripping ink, but they would make it in time.

They dropped onto the tile, soaking wet, barely even pausing to wring their clothes out as they pushed themselves to their feet.

Enma and Jack were leaning against the wall. They looked mildly surprised to see them.

“We beat them?” Kuroki asked, with just a hint of vindictive glee.

Jack nodded.

Enma wordlessly tossed them all towels, then jerked his head for them to leave.

They didn’t need to be told twice.

They ran towards Octavinelle.

From the second they stepped through the mirror, their ears were assaulted. The dorm was in chaos. The newly-freed students were rushing towards the mirror, whooping and hollering, happy beyond belief. Whether this was because Ito had given Azul the photo or because Leona had followed through, Kuroki wasn’t yet sure, but it didn’t matter. They pushed their way through the crowds.

Leona stood in the middle of the Lounge, surrounded by a pile of sand. He smirked at Azul, who was kneeling on the floor, in shock. Azul didn’t seem to care that the sand was surely dirtying his pants, his eyes trained on the floor, tears rolling down his cheeks. In one hand, the photo that everyone had spent so long trying to recover was being crumpled to the point where it was nearly unrecognizable. The other hand gripped a handful of sand, tightly, as if he was trying to force the pieces of the contract to come back together by sheer force of will.

Ace, Ito, and Ruggie were laughing at him just a few feet away. Ito was nice enough to cover their mouth to hide their smile. Ace and Ruggie were not. Ruggie was bent over laughing, one hand on the bar to keep himself from falling over. Ace was making an ‘L’ shape with his hand, since he was unable to actually say it through the peals of laughter.

Azul didn’t even seem to see them. His eyes found their way to Leona.

“Why?” he said, his voice hoarse. “I would have cancelled our contract willingly, had you just given it all back. You gain nothing from helping everyone. I don’t get it!”

“You want the truth?” Leona asked.

Azul nodded.

Leona shrugged, helplessly. “If I don't help Team Ramshackle dispose of these contracts, they'll make a huge racket outside my room every day until morning.”

Azul’s mouth dropped open.

“Basically, if you take their dorm away from them, they take my good night's sleep away from me. I want them gone from Savanaclaw, so these things have gotta go.”

“That’s it?!” Azul said, incredulously.

Leona smirked. “Sorry, Cephalo-punk, but you just aren’t as evil as one of those Yuus. Let alone three of them.”

Wait.

Wait.

Leona was blaming them?!

Kuroki grimaced, backing up a step, glancing toward the door. He should really be going –.

He tripped over a fork, cursing as he hit the floor with a thud. Who left that there?!

But this was hardly what he cared about, in that moment.

Because Azul’s eyes locked on him. His face contorted into a truly ugly expression.

“You.”

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

He isn't an oc but you said canon characters were okay too so can you do 22 and 24 for Hero? thx

Oh absolutely, Anon! We would be happy to answer any of the questions for Hero always! We love talking about him and actually have a lot of headcanons about #24 (his love language) so thank you for asking that! In fitting with the game though, we'll answer these questions in Hero's POV (or at least will try our best to). We hope you'll like what we come up with! Thank you and take care! 💙

(These are post-good ending and have some OMORI spoilers. We also added some game sprites because we thought it would be fun 😁)

HERO Answers:

22. What's the easiest way to flirt with you?

Oh...uh...do people flirt with me? I'd really rather they didn't...

It's very flattering, but um...honestly I haven't really been interested in any of that ever since Mari...

But I can still try to answer for you… Mari always said I wasn't very good at picking up her (apparently extremely obvious) signals, so I'm honestly not sure if I'd even recognize that someone was flirting with me. 😅 I was honestly pretty oblivious back then, and I think I still am. Apparently, my friend Brandi tried to flirt with me when Kel, Sunny, and I visited her house on the day before Sunny was supposed to move away, but I didn't notice that either. In that case though, I think that's just Brandi being Brandi haha and we're just good friends so she didn't really mean anything by that.

But in Mari's case...we really did care about each other in that way and were sweethearts so...I really probably should have picked up on her flirting a little bit more. She used to tease me a lot and compliment me. I'm not sure I really realized she was flirting until she was just really direct about it, though, like just flat-out calling me "good looking." She'd wink at me with this bright, teasing smile and get this sort of laughing look in her eyes before she'd just start giggling and I'd blush and get flustered which would just make her giggle even more.

Mari loved to tease to show affection. I think that's something we had in a common because I like to do that too, but in a bit of a dryer, more subtle way than Mari, I think. She was much more playful and giggly about it than I ever was, so it was a little different but still the same kind of thing.

I don't think that's just a romantic thing though. We both teased our siblings and our friends a lot too. I used to tease Kel all the time when we were closer, but...um...I'm not sure we have that kind of relationship anymore so I don't do too much of that these days.

Honestly, I don't think I tease anyone too much these days, not even in a friendly way but especially not in a romantic one. But I suppose I still like that sort of playful teasing as a way to show affection. I guess flirting would fall in that category too...maybe? I'm not sure.

24. What would you consider your main love language?

Definitely Acts of Service. I've always really loved doing things for people and taking care of them. It's one of the reasons I've always loved to cook for my friends and family!

I try to be mindful of other people's love languages too though, and try to figure out what my family and friends' love languages are so I can try my best to speak it for them.

Kel loves giving people things for instance. He gave me a cookbook just for coming home from college for the summer which was very thoughtful. I try to buy him thoughtful gifts too, and sometimes will pick fun little things up for him "just because," and he seems to really appreciate that.

Sunny's love language is definitely quality time, and now that he has moved to the City, I try to make a point to meet up with him and take him around to lots of my favorite spots around town. He loves going to my favorite coffee shop (probably because it's close to a mattress store haha), but I've taken him to a lot of parks and museums too or sometimes we just hang out at his apartment and watch tv or play games.

Mari's love language was quality time too, I think, but she also really liked physical touch. She was very cuddly--a lot more cuddly than me, I think, but I always tried to be more cuddly and affectionate with her because I knew how much it meant to her.

It's not always easy to receive love in the same way we give it away though. I always feel kind of awkward whenever someone wants to do things for me, even though that's how I would want to show love to them. I guess, I just don't want to be a burden on them or cause them any trouble. I'll admit that I always felt so loved whenever Mari would help me do the dishes though.

[faint-kitten]

Never forget Marcus Fenix is bad at sex.

by Faint_Kitten

NOTE: I'm going to oversimplify a lot, because believe it or not Tumblr DOES have a character limit and if I write too much it will refuse to save it/post it.

Gears of War is an incredibly political series. The books are cannon. Each game has MASSIVE time jumps and introduces new characters as if we were already supposed to know them. And you would, if you read the books which form one long continuous story with the games. In fact, the original Trilogy almost doesn't make sense without them. They are functionally worse stories without Karen Traviss' novels fleshing out the characters and completing the story. One of the recurring things that gets glossed over by fans of the games who just like the multiplayer is the fact that everything is awful in Gears' universe. Humanity fucked itself. It fucked itself fighting a multigenerational war for (lets be blunt) oil. The lambancy is the result of mining and fucking with immulsion and it is literally destroying crops, making ground infertile, and seeping it's way into every animal and source of food. That's why they're on the ships in Gears of War 3. Its why you have the line "you fucked up my tomatoes asshole." They have to grow food on these ships, because it literally isn't safe to be on land anymore (as seen in Coalition's End). But the fucking lambancy (again, a mutation caused by a never ending war for fuel) is reaching the ocean it's consuming the planet. As seen by the leviathan fight at the start of Gears 3. Mining, and Refining immulsion which turned out to be a living organism sleeping, (a parasite) made Lambancy, drove the Locust out of hiding and into conflict with humanity. The resulting condition of immulsion (lambant being the parasite and lambency being the condition of succumbing to the parasite) is infecting everything. It's literally ending the world. The world is falling apart, because in an attempt to win a war for Imullsion (Oil) they experimented on miners with rustlung (Black lung) to create supersoldiers to win the war, which lead to the creation of the Locust in the game. Hmm. First Gears game came out in what, 2005? There didn't happen to be any sort of...THING happening around the 00's that bled into every facet of our popular culture coming out of the U.S. at the time. Did there? Hmm. Whatever. Game's aren't political amirite bros? My Point is: humanity is fighting the entire original trilogy for it's survival. And they're doing horrible things to do so. I don't have space to go into everything, but honestly the emotional core of Dom and Marcus is not nearly as interesting as Cliffy B thinks it is, compared to everything else going on in the world. The fact no one gives a shit about art and museums as they have shootouts because...what the fuck good is art when everything is dying? When Dom and Anya attempt to pay a lawyer they do not give him moeny, they give him government ration coupons, because food is more valuable than money. Characters outright call Marcus and friends "fascists" to their faces. It handles a lot of the logistics of "the world is ending, humanity is losing how do we fight a worldwide war that we're losing, and what does that look like, in the military, in politics, and civilian life?" One issue of the original comic deals with the fact there are breeding farms. Women who are forced to make as many babies as possible, because more babies is supposed to mean more soldiers. With Alex Brand declared barren when she couldn't make baby and being put into the cog army. When they visit one of these birthing centers in the comic, where the women (justifiably) have revolted and taken over the facility, one of the women tells Marcus he probably had his pick of women, a big strong guy like him. Now Mr Fenix is our big strong manly man. We cannot have hetro men playing our game thinking Mr Fenix would let a lady talk to him like that. He's gotta be noble, This is the 00's. There were no wokescolds in gaming yet. Gamergate was a blip in our future. Our hero has to be right, he has to pwn this woman. So Marcus Angrily defends himself: "Listen Lady, there are two ways to win this war, making soldiers, and killin' grubs, and I'm a hell of a lot better at one than the other."

I think Marcus Fenix admitted he's bad at fucking.

[akocomyk]

November Weekend

2022's 2nd Most Memorable Moment

Nothing beats a day well-spent with the people you love—except maybe a memory that’s made so much impact in your life, nothing else that happened after that could be more memorable. Hence, this three-day event is only the runner-up of the year.

The following song was originally meant as an allusion to drugs. In a certain point of view, love is like a drug. It makes you feel good. It can liberate you. It’s more fun if you’re enjoying it with someone special. Ultimately, too much of it can kill you.

Nevertheless, the right amount of love is just perfect.

Last November, I posted three photo collages following the same visual theme. I did so because I knew right then that those days were one of the best memories I’ve had last year—if not the best—and it’s just interesting that they all happened consecutively.

I contemplated hard within myself if I should give this the top spot or not—obviously, the other memory won.

November 11

We were supposed to celebrate this day back on October 7, few days after our anniversary. Gerald was unfortunately sick that time, much to our dismay, and we couldn’t schedule at an earlier date because he wanted to focus on reviewing for his licensure exam.

It was a good decision, though. Having it in November made it a double celebration—our anniversary and him passing his exam.

We had a staycation at a cheap hotel somewhere in Pasay. It had a swimming pool on the roof deck.

We ate a lot—Manam, Greenwich, hotel food—and we played Nintendo.

November 12

After checking out from the hotel, we went to SM Mall of Asia where my sister joined us. We watched Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

November 13

Wilma and I went to the Pintô Art Museum in Antipolo, Rizal. We ate breakfast there—pizza and pasta.

She was astounded at how quickly I roamed around the galleries—she expected me to observe longer than she and Jemar did when they visited the museum, knowing the artistic person that I am.

Don’t get me wrong. I love viewing art. Not to say anything bad about the artists who made the pieces, but I think the museum was just too cluttered—it didn’t give the pieces the ample space they deserve. I was just looking everywhere and I’m like, “Why are these displayed like this???” 

It’s difficult to appreciate a work of art if everything surrounding it is trying to grab your attention. Having said that, I still gave some time to appreciate and try to interpret some of them if they were given enough space and justice—or if I find the piece very intriguing.

So for me, the museum itself—its galleries, the collection of pieces from the different artists, and everything that makes up the whole place—is the artwork. The obra maestra of the museum's owner.

Going back to our story... We went to a nearby café right after. She had coffee and I had a calamansi juice—if I remember correctly.

Then we headed back to Cavite to grab my keyboard from her house, then to Marjette’s house to eat dinner—it was the feast day of Cavite City.

November 14 (just some extra)

Wilma was in Cavite City once more and wanted to pass the time to wait for the traffic to ease—there was heavy traffic outbound from the city. She invited us for dinner, only I responded, so we ate at Papa Chon’s Ribs and Wings.

[jimbleswrites]

Nora, The Sole Survivor

Chapter 5: When Freedom Calls

I pushed open the doors to the museum, slowly looking inside. I had visited the museum a few times with Nate, but it was completely different now. The main room was ripped apart, with holes in the walls and collapsed floors from the other levels laying on the floor. There were a few raiders firing randomly at a room upstairs as we snuck inside and into a side door.

“How are we supposed to get up there?” Moe whispered, gripping his shotgun. I vaguely remembered the path from a tour I took years ago. I took the lead, moving into a dark room. I couldn’t see anything until the lights suddenly flashed to life. A patriotic jingle played over the speakers, apparently on the same sensor as the lights. Moe grabbed me and tucked us behind a weapon case. Sure enough, a raider came in to investigate. Once he was close enough, Moe jumped over the case, slamming the butt of his gun into the raiders face. The raider fell down, only for the dog to jump in and finish him off. I wasn’t as scared this time, but I was still getting used to the constant killing of this world. We continued on, eventually finding a staircase to the third floor with the other raiders outside a door.

“Come on out, minuteman! We’re gonna get inside sometime!” The raider leader was taunting the person inside. There were only 3 raiders there, which seemed to not notice us yet.

“Once one of them sees us, it becomes a firefight. Ready?” Moe quietly rallied as we readied our weapons. I nodded, and we turned the corner, blasting. I managed to shoot one in the chest, Moe’s shell flew into another, and the other quickly ducked out of sight. The dog ran forward, snarling and barking as he rushed the last one’s cover. I ran up to the dog, just in time to see the raider kick him to the side. Time seemed to slow as I raised my gun, quickly firing 3 bullets directly into his skull. The raider dropped to the floor, and the fight was over. There was a moment of silence, then the door opened. The man from the balcony beckoned us in, and we moved in the room. There was a small group of people inside, only 5 people in total, all in various states of paranoia.

“Man, I don't know who you are, but your timing is impeccable.” He lowered his weapon and felt out his hand. “Preston Garvey, Commonwealth Minutemen.” He introduced himself.

I shook his hand. “I’m Nora, and this is Moe.” The dog barked and ran further into the room. “And I'd assume this is your dog.” The dog ran right up to an older woman and laid down.

“You’d have to ask Mama Murphy about that, but I’m glad you helped with those raiders.” Preston sighed. “I’ll tell ya, it’s been a rough trip to say the least.”

“Minutemen, huh?” Moe looked over the 5 people in the room. “Not many of them around anymore.”

“I think I’m the last. Been helping these people since Quincy. We started with about 20 people and now it’s just us.” Preston explained. He began introducing the others. Sturges was a lanky guy in overalls, trying to hack into a terminal in the museum office. Mama Murphy was an older woman resting on the sofa, lazily petting the dog and looking at nothing with red eyes. Marcy and Jun Long were the middle-aged couple on the far side of the room, both of them muttering to themselves. I didn’t really understand what the minutemen did, but they seemed like decent people. “We were hoping to make it to Sanctuary to start a new settlement, but the raiders cut us off here. I know the boss is coming to finish us off, but we don’t have the firepower to fight them.”

“Well, now you have two more people. What’s the plan?” I cut in.

Preston pointed to Sturges, who turned around from his terminal. “There’s a vertibird on the roof. Pre-war. We can’t fix it, but there’s a set of genuine power armor and a mini-gun left behind. Figure if we can get it running, we can out-gun whatever the raider boss shows up with.”

Sturges put his hands on his overall straps, pausing for a moment. “But it’s out of juice. There’s a fusion core running the electricity in the building we could use, but the gate is locked. Was hoping to break through on the terminal here, but no luck.”

That was a solid plan. Power armor was the peak of military technology, and a mini-gun to back it up meant no one could stop us. “Where is the fusion core? Maybe there’s another way to get it.”

“Basement, just past the ruined stairs.” Sturges pointed, and I nodded. Moe followed me as we backtracked past the raider bodies. We found the stairs, completely rotted with a caged generator just in sight. I managed to find a ladder and placed it down as makeshift steps. I looked closer at the cage as we approached. It was a simple chain link, with another terminal here.

“You really want to help these people?” Moe finally spoke up, kneeling down next to the lock. He pulled out a bobby pin and a screwdriver from his bag as he spoke.

“I do. Maybe they can help find Shaun.” I looked closer as Moe started to pick the lock, slowly testing pressure.

“You don’t even know who the minutemen are. Trust me, they are not the force they used to be. Wouldn’t surprise me if he’s the last one.” Moe continued to poke and prod as he spoke.

“I know about the minutemen from way back.” I remembered the old statue next to the park in our neighborhood for the revolutionary era minutemen.

“Same concept, but they were the first to try to make a government out here. After the mutant attacks on Diamond City, they tried to branch all the little towns together. But apparently one of the reps went crazy, murdering the other reps during some hearing. Minutemen still tried to hold together but never really recovered. Latest fiasco was some Quincy shootout they had a hand in.” Moe finally opened the door as he wrapped up.

Mutants? Diamond City? I got the basic gist of it, but I’d have to ask about the details later. “Even if they aren’t as powerful, these people need help.” I pulled the core out of the generator, with it rattling to a stop as I did. “You don’t have to help if you don’t want to.”

“No, not that. Just used to the normal wastelander attitude.” Moe smiled. “Reminds me of the days pre-war.”

We came back up to the museum office, with Preston sighing in relief as we showed him the core. “This is a great change of pace. Now we’ll get you set up and-.”

Preston was suddenly cut off by a loud yell from Mama Murphy. She grabbed her head as she caught her breath. “They’re coming… and they’re angry…” The group seemed to take this more seriously than Moe and I, quickly grabbing guns and scrambling around.

“Change of plan, you go get set up with the power armor, and we’ll set up on the balcony.” Preston took charge as he pushed us to the door. “The door there leads to the roof, hurry.” I was going to question what was happening until I heard thuds from outside. The raiders must be back already. Moe and I ran over the door, rushing up the stairs to see a ruined vertibird. Mangled metal scraps were scattered over the floor, with a power armor frame leaned against the wall. I had seen some test armor during a work trip with Nate, but never actually used one before.

“Just slam the core in the power slot on the back. The rest should be easy.” Moe grabbed a loose sniper rifle and an ammo bag from the vertibird. “I’ll cover you from here.” He set up a small stool as I approached the suit. The suit towered over me, easily about 7 feet tall. The armor pieces on the frame were rusted but still intact as a full set. I pushed the core into the slot, turning the wheel on the back to open it. The back hatch swung up as the frame moved into a standing position, suddenly able to support its own weight. I stepped up into the frame, with the hatch closing behind me. I put my arms into the sleeves, finding gloves near the end. The frame was a little too big, but I could make it work. The screen lit up, showing overlays as I looked through the eye holes. I moved my leg, the whole frame mirroring my movement. I raised my hand, and the metal arm outside raised in response. It was a bit bulky and I wouldn’t be able to move as quickly, but I felt safe inside. I stepped forward awkwardly, adjusting to the new balance as I looked into the vertibird. There was a mini-gun still strapped to the gunner seat, which broke off with a quick pull.

I held the mini-gun as I looked over the edge of the roof, seeing about 10 raiders running up with another behind in a similar power armor frame. However, their armor was quickly cobbled with scrap metal and no helmet. There was rebar across the shoulder and chest, with spiked knuckles on the fist. The raiding party came to a stop in the middle of town, with the armored one stepping to the front.

They pointed to the building. “LEAVE NO SURVIVORS!” they yelled, sending the others charging forward. No time to take the stairs back down. I jumped down to a lower fire escape, which crumbled under the weight. I fell for a second, then managed to push off the wall, redirecting me towards the front door of the museum. I landed with a loud thud, jostling the suit. I was shaken a bit, but otherwise fine. I stood up, hearing gunfire from behind as Moe and the others started to shoot. I pulled the trigger, feeling the gun spin before firing. Bullets flew out as the raiders realized they were outmatched. They tried to run off, but didn’t get too far before getting hit. I couldn’t really aim well, so I slowly walked forward as I aimed towards the biggest grouping of raiders. They shot back a bit, but they dinged off the power armor. Even the leader in their own power armor was retreating, jumping behind a car near some exposed sewer pipes. Soon enough the raiders all were dealt with, bodies littering over town as I approached the car. I continued to fire, hoping to hit them through their cover with enough firepower. But after that little shoot-out, my mini-gun began to click. Out of ammo. I tossed the gun to the ground as the leader stepped back out, loud thuds as he stepped.

“YOU FUCKER! I’LL KILL YOU!” The leader tried to punch me, but I dodged to the side. The thuds continued, even louder as we circled each other. It was trying to punch in slow-motion, with some hits on both sides. Suddenly, there was a loud roar as a giant lizard broke out from the pipes nearby. It had black scales all over, yellow eyes below curved horns, and sharp claws on all 4 limbs.

“DEATHCLAW!” The leader changed from fighting to running, clearly terrified. That only scared me more, if this beast was enough to scare raiders just by presence alone. The deathclaw snarled, charging past me and grabbing the raider. It roared in his face, before throwing him through a building nearby. It refocused on me, slowly walking towards me. I had no ammo, and my other weapons were stuck in my pack inside the armor. It suddenly charged again, swiping at my chest. It scratched the armor, with the overlay showing the chest integrity was almost broken. I ran back to one of the raider’s bodies, hoping to find a weapon. I heard gunfire continue as they tried to hold the monster back. I managed to find a few grenades on a belt and a revolver with one bullet. I had an idea, but I would have to be quick. I turned around to find the deathclaw swiping at me again, catching my arm and shattering some of the pieces off the frame. It suddenly bit my arm, crushing part of the frame. I managed to throw the grenades into the gap in its teeth, and shot the revolver. It rang out, hitting the grenades and exploding right at the base of its neck.

The explosion sent me flying, landing on my back. The power armor was not responding, and I managed to force the hatch open. I crawled out just to see the deathclaw, missing a head, dead on the ground. Blood was still pumping from the body, pooling near the hole in its neck. Just me standing on an empty road with a bunch of dead bodies. I started to turn, only to see the leader limping out of a building nearby. They were still in their armor, and immediately laughed on seeing the scene.

They took a step, only to suddenly stop with a loud bang. They fell forward, a hole in their skull. I looked up to see Moe, giving me a thumbs up. The fight had been won. The minutemen cheered, finally free to leave Concord.

I made my way inside, finding the other already coming down to greet me. Preston grabbed my hand and shook. “That was pretty amazing! I’m glad you’re on our side!” The others agreed, with Moe making his way next to me and grabbing my shoulder in a fatherly approving way. Preston held out a little bag. “It isn’t much, but we can’t let you go without pay.”

The bag clinked as I took it. I looked inside to see some caps and loose ammo. It wasn’t much, but I didn't even ask for a reward.

“Thanks. I was hoping for some information too, if you don’t mind.” I asked. Preston nodded. “I’m looking for my son, Shaun. I don’t have much to go on, but-”

“He’s alive.” Mama Murphy spoke up. “I can sense it.”

“Sense it?” I didn’t understand.

“Mama Murphy has the Sight. She can see the future.” Sturges explained.

I didn’t really understand, but remembered that she knew the raiders were coming before anyone. “I don’t really-”

“You’re lost in this new world.” Mama Murphy cut me off, her red eyes unfocused as she rambled. “You want to find your son, but you don’t know anything about who took him.”

She somehow knew. Whatever powers she had, she clearly could see more than just the future. “Mama Murphy…” I pleaded. “Whatever you can tell me-”

“It’s too muddled.” She interrupted me. “I see a neon heart in a big city. The man there can help you.” She suddenly slumped down, with Sturges grabbing her. She had passed out from something.

“She pushed herself too hard.” Sturges picked her up, putting her on his back. “Her Sight comes at a cost. She’ll be fine, just needs a few days to rest.”

“We should be heading out anyway. Sanctuary should be nearby. We should be able to reach it soon.” Preston added.

“I actually need to head back there anyway. Codsworth is probably worried. I can help lead the way.” I offered.

“Please, that would be great.” Preston smiled. “Finally, a good change of pace.” We packed up the last of their things, ready to head back home.

[thefantasticreader]

Warm Blood and Cold Hearts

This is Chapter One of my new story I am writing about a Vampire falling in love with a Human, Basic yes I know, but anyways I thought of this last night and am introducing chapter one today. Also Merry Christmas everyone

WARNINGS: THIS INCLUDES BLOOD, SUGGESTIVE NOTIONS, VAMPIRES, things that would be involved in a book like this

A happy four year old danced in the rain, pouring down in all directions as he jumped in the puddles left just for him. The child had not a care in the world, protected in his mother's arms. "Honey, I hope you do know that I am not cleaning that mud off of him." Graham Carter, her father revoked from his seat in the office overlooking the boy. "Oh heavens Graham he's only a child, I'll clean him up well. Or the pay will, I do suppose you wish for your afternoon to talk to clients?" Her father make a quick nod, "Yes dear, on thought I don't suppose meatloaf is alright for dinner. It'll spoil to quickly Anne." Anne, her mother, looked out at the boy. "I suppose we should run to the store." How happy the boy seemed to be in the moment, no care for what could happen later in the years.

"Mommy!" the small voice exclaimed as the boy was lifted from the tub. "Oh hello my dear." he giggled, "I played in the mud today mommy." Anna nodded, I saw my love. You had fun, Yes?" he nodded. "Are we going to the store later momma?" Anne nodded at the wide eyed child. "And if you are good, perhaps you can get a treat." he smiled "I'll be the best I can momma." she nodded and raised his chin, "What ever did I do to deserve you Athan."

The visit to the store was rather brisk in which involved the boy to get a treat of his own, in which whatever did he choose but a hat. "Why did he choose a hat." Graham asked his wife as she giggled at the boy holding it. "He believes it makes him look sophisticated and graceful." his father rolled his eyes, "Sometimes I think we raised a girl." "Come dear, the night is still young, let us light candles and cook together my little 'gentleman'. Father is indeed crazy isn't he?" giggled followed the room as they continued out of the room with Graham sitting there confused as to what had just happened. "Neither the boy's parents nor Athan had been prepared for the fire that would take everything from them that night. Shame really, he died four years after birth, and his parents were young as well."

The museum was in full swing as the new exhibit had just opened up, titled in favor, a capsule of the 18th century. Although the story never had been found until now, he knew better than to interject the woman on the podium. "Even 105 year's later and still they discuss your 'death'. You know if I didn't know any better, which I do, I would say you are upset about this. the futile attempt at controlling your anger has failed Athan." The black haired male turned to his elder. "Your call was disturbing to say the least, pardon me for turning away from you for all this time. You did end my life." the male chuckled. tucking the long blonde hair behind his fair skinned ear he shrugged "I could have let the fire burn you to death but I knew you were too good to save." A firery rage surged inside Athan's body as he glared down on the man. "Almost Twenty Eight years later after college?!" the male sushed him. "I saved your life, now your mine and deemed eternal life... I suggested to find a palace and lock yourself away, oh right you have no money. It was lost in a fire." the male chuckled and walked away. "If you weren't my uncle I would kill you." both males grumbled the entire time in the museum and now even still exiting it they argued over the truth. "Must these car's be so disturbing!" Athan yelled as he entered the short car his uncle owned. "This 'disturbing' thing is called an impala. AND in which is a classic." The black haired male rolled his eyes and looked out the window.

Was he truly doomed to live eternity alone, would he ever find a way out, or would he be stuck like this forever. "Oh and Athan," his uncle began from his spot in the car. "I found us a new assistant. I believe you will like... her."

[paleparearchive]

The Secret to Popularity Is... Rock!?

Delacroix's Valentine 3★ 1/2 ( 1 - 2 )

Location: museum hallway (morning) ; museum entrance (morning) ; reception (morning) | Characters: Delacroix, Raffaello, Jan, Hubert, Mucha, Aoi/MC

Aoi: Good job on the production, Delacroix-kun! You made the client very happy.

Delacroix: No wonder. It's a work of art that I put my soul into. The guy who commissioned it knew rock too, so I didn't get bored.

Aoi: Come to think of it, when you handed it over, you were both talking passionately about rock.

(They eventually exchanged firm handshakes, so I guess they must have been very much on the same page.)

You've got the whole day off tomorrow, so get some rest.

Delacroix: No, I'll help ya with the museum. Ya said we got more customers after the Valentine's Day live painting, right?

Aoi: Uh? But…

Delacroix: We're shorthanded anyway, right? The other guys seem to be on a schedule, too. Hell, you're even busier than usual, right? It's times like this when ya can count on me.

Aoi: Hm… Thank you. I guess I'll ask for it then.

Delacroix: Yeah, leave it to me.

Aoi: (Delacroix-kun tends to get passionate when it comes to rock… This is how he looks after people.)

???: RAFFAELLO-SAMAAAA!~

Delacroix: Huh? What's with those voices? Are they comin' from over there…?

—

Raffaello: Welcome. You girls… You have never been to the museum before, have you?

Raffaello's fan 2: Right! We all came to see your paintings, Raffaello-san!

Raffaello: I appreciate that. Since I have some time today, I can give you a tour.

Raffaello's fan 3: Kyaaaa!~ I can't believe Raffaello-sama is giving us a tour…!

Delacroix: … What, the heck?

Aoi: Since he has been the leader in the live painting, Raffaello-san's fan base has grown even more. Fans often visit the museum, too. However, it just seems to be a bit of a challenge with even more people calling out to him on the street…

Delacroix: Amazing…

Well, Raffaello's always been popular, no wonder he's got a growin' fanbase.

Aoi: Huh, didn't you know? The number of fans of everyone who was at the Valentine's Day live painting has increased.

Delacroix: Huh, for real!?

Aoi: You didn't realize it because you had a commission, Delacroix-kun. The truth is–

Mucha's fan 1: KYAAAA!!~ Mucha-saaan!~ Good morning!

Mucha: Good morning. Fufu, you are a very energetic group of customers. However, this is a museum. Once you are inside, please be quiet.

Mucha's fan 2: Alright, got it!

Jan's fan: Jan-kun, you're sooo cute!~ Look at meee!~

Jan: Coooming~♪ Did you call me, ladies? Do you wanna play together?

Hubert: No, Jan. We were supposed to work together today, remember? If you finish today's work properly, I'll play with you.

Jan: Hooraaay!~ I'm gonna play with Bert-niii!~

Aoi: (As expected from Hubert-kun, he was quick to intervene! As usual, his guard against Jan-kun is still up.)

Delacroix: You were serious 'bout the growing number of fans.

…

—

Delacroix: The flyer was... Here. Aight, that's it.

Still, there's a lotta customers today. At this rate, I wonder if the additional flyers're gonna run out soon. I'll see how it goes a lil' more, and then I'll add some more…

Delacroix's fan 1: E-Excuse me, are you Delacroix-kun?

Delacroix: Huh? Yeah, but…

Delacroix's fan 2: Kyaaa, so cooool!!~

Delacroix: …! The hell, you…

[hecatemoon87]

Heart to Heart - A Reggie Kray Story

Until he sees her in another man’s arms, will he realize what he’s lost.

Part II - Mended Hearts

Request by @baneofmyexistencee

Time marches on as they say and things are not improving. It has been ten days since I’ve seen Reggie. He’s given me a few quick phone calls here and there. It’s always the same. He promises me he’ll stop over, spend time with me. Or we’ll go to a movie, the theater or the museum. His whole spiel is becoming old hat and I’m becoming tired of it. It really had been so much better when we had first met. We actually did those things, a movie, the theater. I was starting to think that this man was never going to propose to me. In fact, I was pretty sure he was already married to his job. 

The weekend had approached and for the fourth consecutive time, Reggie was too busy to meet me. I decided to go out with my girlfriends instead. We went to a pub in London that would be considered artsy. Many of the students from the university haunted this pub and it provided some stimulating intellectual discussions. There, at the pub, I met Harry. He was good looking, kind and interesting. His personality was the complete opposite of Reggie’s. Harry was a free thinker. He was anti-war, pro-environment and overall anti-establishment. Harry loved art, poetry and literature and he and I spent several hours chatting away about the philosophy of Thomas Hobbs. I was beginning to notice that Harry was filling an emotional void that Reggie had so callously created. We were making an emotional connection and it felt good. 

Upon returning home that evening a wave of guilt washed over me. I sat down on the couch and wondered if that conversation was the equivalent of cheating on Reggie. It wasn’t like Harry and I were out together alone, my friends were at the same table as we were. But I was feeling attracted toward Harry and I knew that I was walking a dangerous line. That night, I made a firm decision to never see Harry again. That I would make it work with Reggie because I loved him. 

The following day I visited Reggie at the club. It was Sunday in the afternoon. The club was closed and only a few goons loitered inside playing cards and drinking. Reggie was in his back office so I knocked on the door. I heard a gruff voice telling me to come inside. I opened the door and Reggie glanced up. I hoped he would have been happy to see me, but his face wore a frown.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, sharply. 

He had several open ledgers in front of him. He looked as if he was in the middle of crunching some numbers. I supposed I had interrupted his concentration. 

“I just wanted to check on you,” I said, coming inside and closing the door. 

He returned his gaze to the books and mumbled something incoherent. I walked over and took a seat across from his desk. I waited a few moments before asking a question.

“Do you want to get lunch?” I asked. 

“Can’t,” he said, not looking up.

“How about supper later?” I offered.

Reggie was writing, but he stopped and slammed his fist down on the desk. He looked up in irritation. 

“No, Y/N! Can’t you see I’m bloody busy?!”

I’m shocked by his outburst. I can now see that his eyes are red-rimmed, he looked so tired. 

“Reggie, you should get some rest. I mean, why don’t you just delegate this work out today?” I said. 

He shook his head and returned to working. 

“Reg, I’m serious, why doesn’t Ronnie…” I begin, but I am hashly cut off before I can finish. 

“Fucking hell! If you mention my brother one more bloody time, Y/N, we are fucking through! Do you get me?” he shouted, pointing a finger at me. 

I bit my lip as tears welled up in my eyes. I don’t understand, I’m trying to, but I just don’t. I got up from the chair and rushed out of the building. My heart hurts and I feel more confused than ever. My mother once told me that love can be beautiful, but it also can be tortuous. I didn’t know what she meant until now. 

-----------

It has been three days since Reggie flew off the handle. At first, I wanted to give him space. But then, the resentment began to grow and I just wanted to make him suffer for hurting me so badly. The day after the incident, my phone was ringing off the hook. I refused to answer it, knowing full well Reggie was calling me. Then I had a feeling he would soon visit me at my flat so I decided to pack my bag and stay with my friend for a few days. I really needed to sort my shit out, what was I doing with this man? Why did I still love him so much even though he was actively pushing me away? And why didn’t he just end it already if he was so unhappy with me?

My friend wanted to take my mind off my troubles, so she invited me to a picnic. It was being held at a nearby park. We packed our things for the day and headed over to the park. A few other people were already there setting up and amongst them was Harry. He saw me and waved merrily at me. I blushed and waved back. 

“You see, there are other fish in the sea,” my friend said, nuding me in the ribs. 

“I know…I’m just not ready,” I said as we approached the group. 

We all spend the rest of the sunny afternoon chatting and drinking. It was a lovely day and for a few hours I forgot all about Reggie. That was until a member of our group suddenly asked, “Oh my god, is that Reggie Kray?”

I was sitting beside Harry, I supposed we were close to each other. I was a little drunk, so my inhibitions allowed me to flirt a little with Harry. I could see Reggie, still dressed fully in his black suit trudging up the grassy hill toward our little group. 

“Oh, no,” I whispered, already feeling terribly embarrassed. 

At the bottom of the hill I can see two other cars, each filled with a few of Reggie’s gangsters. Reggie reached the top of the hill, he’s smoking a cigarette and his eyes immediately lock on Harry and I. 

“Afternoon, sorry to interrupt your little party, but can I have a word with,Y/N?” he said, flicking his cigarette ash on the ground. 

My friend must have told Harry what happened between me and Reggie. I never spoke about the fight to anyone but her, so I’m surprised by what Harry says to Reggie. 

“Maybe she doesn’t want to talk to you,” Harry said, getting up from the blanket we’ve placed on the grass. 

Reggie’s eyes flashed over to Harry and he walked up to face him. 

“That's so, huh? And who the fuck are you, mate?” 

“A friend. Y/N, doesn’t need some gangster mucking about in her life,” Harry said. 

“Yeah…so you know who I am then? You think mouthing off to me like that isn’t gonna have any repercussions?” Reggie retorted. 

“Stop, just stop,” I said, getting up and moving between the two men. 

“Look, I’m not here to cause trouble, Y/N. I’ve been looking for you for a week, I’ve been worried,” Reggie said, softly to me. 

“Seems like you already have,” Harry snapped. 

I cringed, knowing that Reggie didn’t like being disrespected in any manner. 

“Shut your fucking mouth, eh? I’m talking to her, not you,” Reggie said, pointing a finger in Harry’s face. 

“Reggie, let’s just go, okay? I’ll talk to you down there,” I said, pointing to the bottom on the hill. 

Reggie’s eyes continued to burrow through Harry. One thing about Reggie, he can appear as many things. Calm, suave and charming. Or on the other hand, down right intense and intimidating. I think Harry was put off by Reggie’s eyes. The pupil in his eye was larger and the intensity of his glare was unsettling. I carefully place a hand on Reggie’s arm and I pray he can see in my eyes that I’m pleading for him to come with me. I’m relieved when he broke eye contact with Harry and looked down at me. 

“Alright, come on then,” Reggie said, turning to return back down the hill. 

Once we are down the hill and out of the eyesight of the group I let Reggie have it.

“What are you doing?! How could you do this?! I’m so bloody embarrassed!” I shouted. 

“You’ve been missing for a week! I thought maybe you got hurt! Do you know how fucking worried sick I’ve been?!” he shouted back. 

“No! You don’t get to blame me for this!” I said, tears starting to form in my eyes. 

I am so angry with him I can’t hold back my tears for much longer. 

“Yeah? And why the fuck not? You could have picked up a phone and called!”

“Really? So you could just threaten to end our relationship if I step out of line again?!” I retorted. 

Reggie seemed to have forgotten about that last bit, I can tell by his silence that was the case. 

“Listen, Y/N, let’s go back to the club, talk this out,” he said, softly. 

I shook my head adamantly. “No, I am sick of your club!”

“Right, fine then, your flat? Anywhere you want, just let’s talk some place else, yeah?”

I’m trembling and tears are wetting my face. Up on the hill, I’m fairly certain my friends can hear the entire argument. I nod without saying a word and Reggie escorts me to one of the cars. The driver takes us back to my flat. Reggie and I both go up to my flat to continue our discussion. I sat down on the couch and he surprised me by going into the kitchen and starting the kettle. He doesn’t come back out until the water has boiled and the tea has seeped. I went to the bathroom to wash my face as I waited for him. When I come back out, two cups of tea are on the coffee table. Reggie looked up expectantly at me as I emerged from the bathroom. I slowly walked over to the couch and sat down as far away as possible from him. 

He frowned, but didn’t comment on my distance. 

“Fuck me,” he whispered and rubbed his face. “I’m sorry, alright? But you scared the living hell out of me. I thought someone hurt you.”

I don’t say a word. I just picked up the cup of tea and stared into the murky brown water. 

“Who the fuck is that guy? You’ve…you’ve been seeing him?” Reggie asked. 

I shook my head, a fresh tear appearing and dropping soundlessly into my tea. I’m refusing to look at him, because if I do I’m worried I will fall in love with him all over again. He is quiet and I supposed he was just watching me at the moment. 

“Come on, say something?” he asked. 

“There’s nothing to say, I think…I think it’s broken,” I whispered. 

“What is? What’s broken?” he inquired. 

“Our relationship,” I managed to say before breaking down.  

Immediately he stood up and removed the cup from my hands and then enveloped me into a bear hug. I burrowed my face into his suit, his familiar smell bringing solace to my senses. I gripped him tightly, sobbing into his expensive suit, but he didn’t seem to mind. He stroked my hair and hushed me, rocking me slowly in his arms. 

“Shhhh, it’s gonna be fine, love. I’m here, I’m here,” he assured me. “I was a fucking idiot, right? I’m sorry.”

It took me a few minutes to pull myself together, but when I did I looked up at him. I wanted to know, this would be the question and how he answered it would depend on if I stayed with him or not. 

“I want to know about Ronnie. Why does it upset you so much when I talk about him in regards to the work? And I want to know why you’re different now, since you’ve gotten out of prison you’re just so cold now,” I said. 

I honestly thought he’d let go of me and start shouting again about how I should never speak of Ronnie. But again, he surprised me. He continued to hold me close and I can see his face sadden and he actually gripped me tighter. 

“Because…because he fucked it all up,” he said.

I didn’t say a word, I remained silent but my eyes told him that I was listening. I just wanted to give him time to express himself. 

“When I went away, he made a fucking mess. He went off his medication and almost botched the whole business. When I came back, I had a lot of work to do. I still do. But he’s my brother, I don’t wanna hate him, I love him and I just gotta clean up the mess myself…but…it’s hard sometimes,” he said. 

So that’s what was eating him up. He loved Ronnie, wanted to take care of Ronnie. But he couldn’t depend on his brother. From a mix of conflicted emotions, the stress of running a business and responsibility of maintaining a relationship with me, poor Reggie had reached his limit. I didn’t need to ask why he bottled all this up. Reggie was a man’s man. That meant you didn’t complain, you did the work and you carried on. Talking about his pain would have been inmasculine. 

I stroked the side of his face and nodded that I understood him. I gave him a light kiss on his lips and pressed my forehead against his. 

“I’m sorry, Reggie. I thought that maybe you just didn’t want to be with me anymore,” I said. 

“No, that’s not true. I need you, I do. If you leave…I got nothing to keep me together,” he said. 

Suddenly he got up from the couch and crouched down in front of me. He grasped my hands together and looked me squarely in the eyes. 

“That bloke…you aren’t leaving me for him are you?”

“What? No, no,” I said, removing my hands from his and cupping his face. 

“Good, he looked like a fucking hippie,” Reggie said. 

I couldn’t help but laugh and I am enjoying the fact that he was jealous of Harry. 

“He’s an intellectual, not a hippie,” I corrected him.

“I don’t care, I don’t fucking like him,” Reggie said. 

He shook his head as if he was going off topic. 

“Nevermind, look, I don’t have it on me, but, uh, I wanna ask anyway. Not like how I planned, but I don’t want you running back to that wanker. Will you marry me?” Reggie asked, hesitantly. 

I blinked, completely thrown off guard by his question. In fact, I’m not entirely certain I heard him correctly.

“What?” I asked.

“Will you marry me?” he asked again. 

“Yes, yes, why did it take you this long, yes!” I said, excidelty. 

He stood up and I jumped into his arms. I’m so happy, I start crying again. 

“Whoa, you’ve cried enough haven’t ya?” he joked. 

“I guess I have, but at least now I’m happy.”

<end>

[qqueenofhades]

Your Garcy dabbles are getting me through a rough patch, shooting you another prompt for them because they are my Happy Place 😊

"Come on, take my hand." (46) Garcy ❤

46. “Come on, take my hand.”

It's going on autumn in the tenth year since Lucy Preston-Flynn moved to this universe for good, and Oxford is always the most beautiful in the fall. The leaves turn gold and crackle underfoot, the aetherium shimmers in the sunrise and sunsets, the dreaming spires look their most romantic and haunted, and since the city still isn't quite electrified, shadowed streetlamps lead down cobbled lanes and turn the world just that bit strange and unknown, and the foggy chill stings Lucy's cheeks when she leaves for Somerville in the mornings. It's 1897, three years away from the twentieth century, but even when that arrives, it will still feel very far away. What is the twentieth century even going to look like, this time around? It's been one of her longest lingering questions. If all the world wars and political revolutions and genocides are still destined to play out just as they had back home, or if there was time for things to change, rivers to take different courses. She didn't know then. She still doesn't. Sometimes it threatens to drive her crazy, if she lets it. She tries not to.

Lucy and Flynn stroll arm-in-arm along the Thames towpath, as punts of enthusiastic collegiate rowers scull past at top speed; they have to keep in shape lest Cambridge shamefully beat them in the Boat Race, after all. Flynn is finally back from a long work trip of investigating rare magical artifacts in Austria-Hungary, many of which he discreetly slipped back to their rightful owners rather than turning over to the British Museum. Lucy hopes that he'll be home for a while now; he's been gone for most of the year, and while she's used to it, it's always nice to have him around for longer. The kids appreciate it too. And maybe Ada will visit this year at Christmas, the way she sometimes does but not always. Time is a very frangible concept in Faerie, after all, and it's been a while. Lucy hopes she hasn't forgotten entirely.

"Hey," Flynn says, picking up on her distraction. "Something wrong?"

"No. Not really." Lucy sighs. "I'm just thinking about everything again. The way I still don't know what's going to happen in this world's twentieth century, and if Mariah and Ethan are going to be okay if you're gone and I'm gone and we're both working all the time, and if Ada remembers who we are, and -- "

Flynn stops short, turns to her, and takes her face in both hands. Lucy's older than she used to be, of course; ten years does that in any universe, and she keeps finding silver hairs in her brush and faint lines around her eyes. It's different in a world without drugstore beauty treatments (though the Victorians have plenty of alternatives that they would like to offer, some more horrifying than others), and she's tried to accept it as aging gracefully. Flynn is in his mid-fifties by now, but of course the grey streaks just make him look more dignified and silver-fox than ever, and he's still plenty strong, vigorous, and far from the retirement home. Lucy has tried not to worry too much what could happen to her family without modern medicine. If it gets too bad, perhaps she could call Rufus on the Refractory-Glass and ask him to come get them, the option that Ada originally turned down. They still keep in touch, and Rufus and Jiya even visited last year, in person. Mariah and Ethan know vaguely about the alternate universe that their mother comes from, but it's still a delicate subject.

"Shh," Flynn says, speaking both to Lucy and all her swirling thoughts, the worries that never entirely go away. "It's going to be fine, I promise. We'll figure it out together, as always. Hear me?"

Lucy musters a smile. "You're right. I suppose it's a blessing that I don't know what's going to happen, not entirely. I can guess, and I can hope, and things were already different here before. After all." She shrugs self-deprecatingly. "You know. Magic."

"Magic is nice," Flynn agrees, "but it doesn't fix everything. And trust me, it can't do anything that we can't do for ourselves. Now come on, take my hand and let’s keep going. I think we're both in need of a good breakfast. When does Michaelmas term start again?"

"Monday." Lucy's lesson plans are ready, more or less, and she is looking forward to getting back. "Breakfast sounds good."

"I know." Flynn takes her hand and tucks it into the crook of her elbow, and Lucy adjusts the fashionable angle of her parasol with the other. They stroll out of Christ Church Meadow and find somewhere to come in from the cold, are served tea and pastries and steam up the windows as the city wakes up and rushes off to class, and yet again, whenever she is with him, her dear stupid best-beloved husband, Lucy can trust that it will continue to be happy-ever-after.

[fic prompts]

[honouredsatoru]

JJK Characters x You on a date

notes : I tried including Gojo's love for Digimon since I also grew up watching Digimon and loving the anime with all of my heart, also because Gojo's seiyuu, both Japanese and English versions, voiced for characters in Digimon, so I wanna pay homage to the both of them. other than that, I also included my love for arts and history, something I tried to incorporate into my writing, just to make it like.. lilith's style, ya know?

extra notes : also I wrote megumi for Elli, just because haha.

warnings : slight cussing. not proofread lol. other than that, none. 100% fluff!

characters : gojo satoru, fushiguro megumi, kugisaki nobara, nanami kento, itadori yuji.

Gojo Satoru - Arcades, vintage shops, especially collectors, especially Digimon, comic book/manga stores.

[Your name]! [Your name!]! Look, look! It's the Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01 series! All 9 of them! Let's get in!"

"Ahh hold on. Towu! We're supposed to visit the cat cafe, you promised that you would go with me and take pictures with the cat hairband on! And I'm starving!"

You jokingly scowled at him, tapping your Doc Martens feet on the ground, arms folding.

"Fucking adorable. Let me see if I can tease her more, hah." A smirk soon appeared on this blue-eyed darling of yours.

"Let me get the manga and I promise, I'll go to this cat cafe with you, baby. Hm?"

"Oh alright."

"I love you, sweetheart. I know how much you wanted to go there but the manga. I- ahaaaa"

He started pouting as he kept pointing in the direction of the Digimon manga by the window. You quickly opened your camera, taking pictures of him sulking, emitting a soft giggle that actually made his heart squeezed with joy.

He presses his lips against your forehead, thumb circling your cheek, gently squishing them before opening the door, yanking you into the comic book store with him. You vowed to hide the comic books once he goes on a mission. After all, he made you wait a month before the two of you finally get to go to this cafe you always wanted to visit.

"Baby, I can read what you're thinking. Your face shows it too. Hehe. Watch me hide your panties."

Taking in a few gulps of air to deepen your breath, you opened your eyes, to meet the love of your life's own eyes, snickering at you, his large hands on the crown of your head before ruffling your already messy hair. There is no way you can stay mad at this man, as childish as he is, you know he loves you and deep down? He knows you love him too.

Itadori Yuji - Thrift stores, internet cafes to play online games with you, cinemas.

"Candy! [Your name] love! Don't! Make! Me! Ahhh cover up for me! I am gonna lose! I am gonna-"

He turns around to face you with soft eyes, his eyebrows slightly droopy before looking back at the computer, taking in the seconds in his head to register the fact that he lost in his mission with you in Inferno.

"Awww sorry babe. I mean.. you just started playing CSGO, so tell me, why- again- damn it- you wanna- AH. Damn it! Throw the fucking grenade! I mean why you wanna play this game, you need more practice- FUCK YOU."

Gentle chuckles were heard, emitted from his throat, his soft, peach toned lips landed on your cheek repeatedly as he rubbed soothing circles around your back.

"Breathe, bunny baby. You're so feisty whenever you start having online matches. Breathe. I love you, and I don't want you to get your blood pressure rising because of these dumbos, hm?"

Your lips curl into a faint and appreciative smile, nodding while your eyes are glued to the screen, ignoring the fading laughs and snickers from the people acknowledging your mini rage.

"I love you too. If I win, I'm getting us boba and chicken nuggets. So let me fight them, okie?"

"Yes ma'am!"

Megumi - Museums, art galleries, photo exhibitions, aesthetic cafes.

"Oh Gumi bear, look at that! That is the Raft of Medusa, it was done by Thèodore Géricault, he himself interviewed two survivors from the shipwreck."

He looks over your eyes that shine with excitement and pure happiness.

"Art"

Was what he thought every time he laid his sight onto you. God knows that he falls in love with you every single time he is blessed with your presence. Resting his arm around your waist, pulling you closer, inhaling the scent of mixed berries and wild roses, he swore he heard his heartbeat increasing every two seconds in a span of one minute.

"Oh really? What do you think this painting is all about?"

Glancing at him before returning to the painting, you puffed your cheeks, pressing your lips together with your index finger curled on your chin and your thumb under it.

"Lord, she is so cute whenever she does that. Can I kiss her? Should I? No wait, she's trying to tell me her own interpretation of this painting. To me. Oh wow. I'm gonna kiss her... later. I can't interrupt her." That is all he could think of. You. He is deeply, madly, beautifully in love with you.

"In my opinion, it tells me the ways of how men, or human beings, seek out in order to survive. When we are at the brink of desperation, insanity, happiness, greed, lust, desire, wrath, grief, don't we all do things unimaginable to help us go through the day? They even resolved to cannibalism. I think even I would commit to that if I was in an extremely dire situation."

You looked at him, a wide smile on your face, emitting a soft giggle that entered his right ear and stayed within the chambers of his mind. He closed the spaces between the both of you, sealing his lips onto yours, with the intention of making this very moment last a little longer heavy within his heart.

"Art."

Was what you thought of him.

Nanami Kento - Theatres, historical museums, fine dining restaurants.

You squealed, lightly clapping your hands as you ran to a block of marble, your foot tapping against the floor. He chuckles, hands in his pocket, taking fast strides towards you.

"Namnam! Look look! That's the Parthenon Sculptures! It was founded in hm... Athens, yes! If I am not mistaken, around 438 to 432 BC. These sculptures decorated the insides of the Parthenon, it is a temple located at the fortress of the Athenian Acropolis. It is said that this temple was built to appreciate and worship the Goddess Athena, she was the deity worship in Athens. Also, ah ah! Did you know that the word parthénos means "maiden", "girl" or ‘virgin"? And I-"

You look at him, your magnificent lover wearing a dark brown trench coat, with ecru brown trousers and a black turtleneck tucked in, his neck layered with white gold necklaces. Your hand unconsciously scratches your sideburns, giggling at the side of his stoic expression, eyes piercing yours beneath that yellow-green glasses he constantly has on his chiseled face.

"Oh... I am sorry... I didn't mean to bore you. I was just so excited because you know me! I love anything that is related to ancient greek history and mythology. I can't seem to get enough of it and it is absolut-

"I'm not bored, [your name]. I was just paying attention to every single word that pretty lips of yours uttered. It's magnificent that you knew all of this. It shows just how smart, curious, bright your mind and soul is. And darling?"

"Huh?"

"I am lucky to be blessed with someone like you. With Gojo constantly following me, there is no way I can read the books I bought for myself. However, having you around, breaking the ice with your random history tib bits, I feel like I am reading the pages, savouring each word, alphabet, sentence, thus expanding my quest and love for knowledge."

You looked down. Normally, you're not the type to tear up this easily but seeing how this man, this angel of a man, appreciates the little things you loved and adored, you can't help but let the waterworks out. You lifted your head up to meet his gaze, the tip of your nose slightly stuffy. You grabbed his arms, clinging onto him, the difference of height and size makes it sweet to the eyes of strangers surrounding you both.

"Oh Namnam. Thank you so much. This means the world to me. Shall we... go and see the best of Ramesses the Great? I've loads to tell you!"

Nobara - Shopping malls, ferry rides, beach dates, parks with cherry blossoms.

"Baby... tell me, have you ever seen anything as joyous as the ocean?"

You two stood by the seashore, fingers intertwined, your head resting on her shoulders, the sound of the seas splashing against the rocks and the warmth around your foot, it tingled but it feels good at the same time.

"I don't want this moment to end, [your name]."

"Why is that, pretty one?"

A faint sigh leaves her lips, you feeling her body loosen up.

"I just.. school is sort of stressful so my time spent with you liberates me from the pressure, fatigue, and image of curses embedded in my brain. Walking with you... through this airy womb of skies and clouds, don't you know it makes me happy?"

You leaned closer, pressing a soft peck on her cheeks, earning yourself a pair of scarlet cheeks with a gorgeous smile from the one next to you. You turned yourself to face her, hands on her shoulders, bringing her body closer to yours.

"Whenever and wherever you need me, I will be there. I might not be perfect, but I am gonna do my best to be the one you can always count on."

You pressed a kiss on her left cheek.

"I love you."

A kiss on her right cheek.

"I love you."

A kiss to the lips of the woman whom you shared your entire universe with.

"To the moon and back, I love you, Kugisaki Nobara."

The end.

tags : @tojisveryown @sookyshima @megumifushi @sixeyesgojo @sirthisisa-wendys @sasso-oda @fushigurocockslut @nkogneatho @kotarousgf @noritoshiikamo