#i think the hair was supposed to b red specifically bc i was trying to stray away from consistently giving sonas pink hair 😭

[pcktknife]

b4 i settled on raccoon i had a lil deer/goat guy

[fresh-bag-of-ham]

ok let’s talk SUNSCREEN

SO the UV filters available in the US can at this point be considered truly terrible. One of the main reasons you’re supposed to reapply sunscreen every two hours is that many of the filters we use are destroyed by the very UV radiation they are designed to block. Killed in the line of duty, thank you for your sacrifice, etc. Counterpoint: sunscreen is gross and reapplying it every two hours is the worst. I am not doing that. Fortunately, Europe and Japan/Korea have been much quicker to approve newly developed more stable UV filters for use and at this point they have some really good ones. They also have much better UVA protection, both because of the better filters available and better labeling regulations.

A quick simplified summary: UVB causes sunburns, is directly absorbed by DNA strands which causes the mutations that lead to skin cancer, SPF measures protection against this only. UVA does more generic damage, creates free radicals associated with aging, wrinkles, collagen loss, pigmentation, etc. etc., but can also contribute to immunosuppression and therefore skin cancer. It’s more complex than this obviously but that’s not really the point of this post.

My sunscreen criteria: I hate wearing sunscreen. However, Accutane + sun = an extremely bad time. My ideal sunscreen is something that doesn’t feel disgusting to wear so I will wear it regularly in the first place (i.e. dry-touch), something I ideally don’t have to reapply super often under normal daily use (i.e. photostable UV filters, water-resistant when necessary), and has maximum protection. As long as I’m wearing it, I also want as much UVA protection as I can find, without compromising the former criteria.

Note: The sunscreens I tried are almost all chemical UV filters and several are loaded with alcohol, so if that upsets your skin then proceed with caution/ask me for a specific rec!

Note 2: All of these are SPF50+ (the highest rating allowed in the EU (meaning they tested at at least SPF60) unless otherwise specified *cough*Supergoop*cough*)

Best Face: Kao Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence (x)

Best feel, best protection, best price point. This gets recommended everywhere for a reason. Bit of a silicone feel on the face. No white cast. Smells like alcohol at first. Really, really quality daily face sunscreen. Water resistant. Caveat that because of the alcohol I would make sure to throw a layer of moisturizer on beforehand to make sure I’m not totally drying myself out.

Also make sure you get the name exactly right, there’s a blah blah Watery Gel that’s totally different consistency, totally different filters, etc. etc. It has to be Watery Essence.

Best Body: Eucerin Sun Sensitive Protect Dry Touch Sun Gel-Cream (x)

This was a sleeper hit, so shout-out to Eucerin for the greatest body sunscreen I’ve ever tried. This stuff is SO protective and dries SO. DAMN. DRY. Zero grease somehow, feels like nothing. It’s even water resistant. I tried a couple LRP body sunscreens but they honestly aren’t worth mentioning. Eucerin or bust babey!

More Face Sunscreens:

I’ve also tried all top five sunscreens from this Stylevana listicle of Asian face SPF (x). The thing about face sunscreens that they’ve started doing is loading them up with silicones and acrylate polymers, which leaves a silicone-y feel on your skin like a makeup primer. As far as I can tell from poking through various patents, these polymers are doing a few things in the formula: a) emulsifying/stabilizing the newer/bigger UV filter molecules, and creating an occlusive layer over the UV filter molecules on the skin to a) improve water resistance and b) reduce eye stingy-ness. At first I thought I wanted to avoid these seemingly unnecessary additives but considering their function, these are all features I want/need in a face sunscreen so we’re living with them.

1. Shiseido - Anessa Perfect UV Sunscreen Skincare Milk: really good, sliiight white cast but absolutely no streaks, more like a foundation just a hair too light for my skin tone. However I can’t imagine buying this because #2 on the list is better and 1/3 the price. Medium silicone feel. Something I’d probably only break out for when I went to an outdoor summer wedding.

2. Kao - Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence: I have already sung its praises.

3. MISSHA - All Around Safe Block Essence Sun Milk: closest to a US milky/greasy sunscreen experience here, though very fluid and still absorbs nicely. No silicone feel. Not a bad choice but nothing special.

4. Canmake - Mermaid Skin Gel UV: probably second favorite after Biore. Similar, bit less of a silicone feel. I’ve gotten red a couple times using this though, possibly because less silicone feel = no layer of protection against sweat/physically rubbing off? I bet this would be perfect under makeup though, it’s super light.

5. COSRX - Aloe Soothing Sun Cream: SO moisturizing, almost a dewy feel that sits on your skin and never dries. I wanted to love her, but unfortunately she is so loaded with the aforementioned polymers that when you reapply/put the appropriate amount on to begin with, it completely gums up and pills and you lose all protection. Also definitely not water resistant. Probably my top pick for a winter daily face sunscreen that I wouldn’t ever be worrying about reapplying though.

Other Contenders:

La Roche-Posay Anthelios Invisible Fluid (x) and Bioderma Photoderm Max Milk (x)

These two bad boys have the highest rated UVA protection currently on the market, 46 PPD for La Roche-Posay and 42 PPD for Bioderma. The LRP is extremely watery (technically alcohol-y) and comes in a teeny bottle(though same size as a lot of these I guess) but it is The Best UVA protection money can buy. The texture is really nice too, and feels super water resistant. If I’m outside sweating or on the water in the summer, this is going on my face. I've also seen it on sale multiple times since I’ve started researching sunscreens (because it’s extremely popular) so you can definitely find it in the $0.30/mL-or-less tier if you keep an eye out.

This Bioderma is cheaper and also extremely protective (thanks Helena @bronyraurmp3 for the rec!) but unfortunately it stung both my and Mr T’s eyes like a BITCH. Extremely unpleasant experiences for both of us. TBH if I’m out in midday sun, swimming or kayaking or something, I’m gonna be wearing a long-sleeved UPF rashguard to protect my arms and upper body and not worrying too much about whatever cheap greasy sunscreen I put on my legs. This Bioderma stuff would be going on my neck, ears, and hands though bc it’s super water resistant.

Eucerin Sun Sensitive Protect Mattifying Fluid : bit of a white cast, really slippy texture going on and nice dry touch texture when it dried down, but drying down took foreeever. Probably really nice if you’re sensitive and pale.

Eucerin Sun Oil Control Gel-Cream Dry Touch : VERY matte and dry-touch, would have loved it if I hadn’t gotten burned using it (doesn’t have all the newest most stable UV filters). Approaching the expensive end of things too, but would be a lovely option if you really prioritize non-greasiness and don’t need the premium protection? Mr T really liked using it on his bald head lol.

Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen SPF40 (US): This is recommended many places but it has to be a joke that people are actually paying Shiseido Anessa prices for old American UV filter selection, only SPF 40, and no UVA rating to speak of, right??? (ok they do have a PA+++ rating meaning a PPD of 8-16, so. this is acceptable.) I did not test this one but damn wtf. The texture is probably nice though and it looks perfectly sheer in the photos on their website, so maybe as a last resort for darker skintones that show a white cast with everything else? At that price tho... you do you but damn.

Jigott Snail UV Sun Block : This had good reviews on Yesstyle but it sucked. White streaks, bad.

La Roche-Posay Anthelios Ultra-Light Tinted Mineral Sunscreen SPF60 (US): Another in the outdoor-wedding only price range. There’s a tinted and a non-tinted mineral version and I ended up mixing them together to get a shade that looked pretty good on me, but needing two bottles for that puts it in the extremely ridiculous price category. Really slippy nice texture that takes a bit to dry but dries down perfectly matte. I guess the person who wants to shell out for a high end all-mineral tinted sunscreen exists somewhere out there but I would bet there are many nice cheaper mineral options out there that I haven’t tried.

And that’s it! For EU sunscreens, I was able to order them on caretobeauty.com, and Japanese/Korean ones from yesstyle.com or stylevana.com, though I had to go to eBay for the Biore and Anessa. I ordered some Biore from a seller on Amazon but they shipped from Japan and I think they got taken by customs because the last known location on the tracking info is Chicago, so finding a seller in the US that has already imported them seems like a good idea (vendor lullabellabeauty on eBay worked great for me, fwiw, I will definitely order my Biore from there in the future).

If you have specific questions about any of these, or if you have any recs you think I should try, hmu! You will be shocked I’m sure to hear I have a whole sunscreen database at this point.

[emilycollins00]

Two faces of the same coin

Pairing: Tenma x ghost-looking! reader Part 1.

Hey! I had this awesome ask from sadly ages ago which I appreciated a lot bc honestly, just the fact that someone sent such a detailed thing?? My heart.

Request: (...) Tenma finds someone who looks like they got out straight from a horror movie- They could literally pass as a ghost anytime of the day! But once he talks to them they are just an extremely chill introvert, and actually really thoughtful and considerate? (...) So yeah, imagine Tenma who once was shitting his pants whenever that person was around slowly starting to enjoy their presence and even better: fall for them.

Enjoy! 💕

.

Classic horror icons and other disturbing creatures share common characteristics, pale skin, dark, sunken eyes, hunched posture, sharp teeth, and the like. These images inspire fear and revulsion in many with good reason. And while Tenma would insist he was okay with them- he really was and Yuki should really just shut up- he wouldn’t go out of his way to watch or read about that specific genre. And he was okay with that.

“A ghost in the school?”

He tried to not sound as worried as he internally felt, his brain still processing what Taichi was talking about while waiting for their drinks to drop. The redhead nodded unaware, eyes fixed on the vending machine “Yeah! You haven’t heard about it before?”

“W-why should I? It’s stupid to think paranormal stuff like ghosts exists anyway.”

With a clank, both drinks finally fell. Taichi crouched down to retrieve them humming happily, handing one of them to the summer troupe leader and keeping one for himself.

“I don’t know man, it’s kind of cool!” he crossed his arms behind his head, resuming their walk and looked behind. “What about you, Juza-san? You seen anything?”

The purple-haired boy considered it lazily, but ultimately shook his head. He didn’t seem too interested in the conversation anyway, and Tenma was pretty sure the main thoughts running through his head were today’s melon bread from the cafeteria.

It had been a while since their Ouka-high group had been able to have lunch together.

“Did you see? That Sumeragi Tenma is back!”

“Gosh, he looks so handsome!”

“Wait- don’t push me!”

“I heard he’s going to be a possible cast in that famous saga-”

“Are you serious?”

Whispers and tiny squeals kept circling them as soon as they entered the boundaries of the canteen. And while Tenma barely notices it at first, he can definitely see Juza’s stance going more rigid and Taichi’s eyes glowing at the attention received.

“I’ll go get our lunch” the golden-eyed teen announces heading towards the queue, hands buried in his pockets. He motioned Tenma with his chin. “You wanted set B right, no carrots.”

“Uh? Well yeah, but I can-”

“S’okay, you two go find some seats” he shrugged, looking around. There weren’t many spaces to start with and he’d honestly prefer focus on the food rather than the stares. “It’d be difficult to keep ‘em free with just one person anyway.”

“Roger! Come on Ten-chan, let’s go!”

.

.

.

“Aw, man. Everyone has their eyes on you as usual!” Taichi looked around, still indulging himself with all the people that were staring at them, some more blatantly than others.

How he didn’t get bored of mentioning it every time Tenma didn’t know, though he was low-key grateful. Not many people enjoyed being part of those types of reactions from a crowd- Juza for example-. When they finally managed to find some empty seats, Taichi placed his own bento on the table visibly excited. Tenma frowned.

“Since when did you start preparing lunch by yourself?”

“Ah, this?” the redhead laughed proudly at his confused look “See, I’ve been practicing my cooking skills! Tsuzuru has been super cool teaching me how to prepare some dishes for my siblings- plus, I’m sure I’ll get the attention of girls if they see my new talent!”

“Right…”

Tenma couldn’t decide whether he should make a comment as he took a long, thoughtful sip from his own juice can. Taichi’s lunch was a side of string cheese, a broken omelet, and some semi-burnt rice and it just didn’t seem very tempting.

He ultimately chose to leave it aside. Omi would surely know soon enough.

“So, uh, Taichi.”

“Yeah?”

He coughed, leaving aside the can and resting his back on the chair nonchalantly. “N-not that I care about that rumor, but- where is that ghost supposed to be?”

“Ah, the one we talked about? Mmm…” the autumn member caressed his chin, closing his eyes in deep thought. “No one really knows. It’s been spotted in pretty much all parts of the school” Tenma’s stomach sank at that. “But I’ve heard it likes room 1001 for some reason, you know, from the old side of the school? No one really uses it anymore- guess it makes sense!”

The redhead took again the chopsticks and started digging on the rice carefree.

“R-right.”

Tenma shook his head. Cool. Great. Now he knew which side of the school he would never even try to approach at least.

“Tenma-kun!” a female voice, not familiar, made him jolt from his seat. When he looked up a girl followed by two others were are already making themselves comfortable on the chairs next to them- one of them even deciding to sit on the table. “Hi there!”

Third years.

"Hi” he repeated.

“We saw your appearance in that new series, it was unbelievable!”

“Are you going to be a recurring character there? I’d love if you could ask one of the leads to sign a shirt of mine!”

He simply showered them a practiced smile. He could already tell what type of fans they were. It wasn’t something out of the ordinary- people approaching him about his shows or to ask for favors- and honestly, it was better not entering in that dangerous territory. “Thanks. Nothing’s been said yet, that’d depend on the company. I’ll be counting on your future support.”

They instantly beamed at his reaction. “Of course!”

One of them clapped her hand together “That reminds me, when is your next performance in that theatre company you play? I so want to go see it again!”

“Ah, that will take a while. We just finished a month ago so next up is the autumn troupe” he motioned Taichi with his head, a proud, real smile featuring his face this time “These guys have been going all out, you won’t be disappointed.”

“O-of course!” the shortest Ouka high student practically jumped into the conversation. “If you all want, we could ask for a few tickets from our-!“

“But Tenma-kun is not in that troupe, right?” the girls looked at each other confused. As if it wouldn’t be something it’d cross their minds to do, had the child actor not participated before.

“W-well, no but…”

“Plus, the summer troupe is hilarious! I kinda prefer those types of performances, you know?”

“I totally get you!”

From his peripheral vision, Tenma could register Taichi’s face growing red- a strained smile before sitting back on his seat, not trying to add anything to the conversation anymore.

Smile. Remember to smile.

“…We all give our all on those performances, I don’t think it’s fair if you have just watched the summer troupe. You’ll definitely enjoy it if you give them the chance.”

“Really?”

“I mean… If Tenma-kun says so maybe we could go take a look.” one of them gave a chuckle, playing with their hair. “You think we could ask you to get us some tickets for-?”

“If you are not eatin’ you should leave.”

“Uh? Can’t you see we’re-” the sentence died in their lips as soon as they turned and encountered Juza. Not that he himself was proud of his reputation, but during these situations at the very least it paid to see they knew who he was.

“Move.”

The resulting glare was terrifying in its intensity, and the retreat took no longer than a few seconds. No one mentioned anything afterward- Juza’s calm and blank expression coming back as he sat down, handing the summer leader his lunch and squinting down at Taichi’s.

“What the hell are you eatin’.”

“Hehe it caught your attention too, right? You see…”

Tenma observed them. They were acting as if nothing had happened. Not so long ago people tended to stay away from him for those same reasons, so it still took him a few seconds to find the words again- For feeling this relieved at their reactions.

He left the chopsticks aside. “Sorry this... keeps happening."

They momentarily stopped the conversation, sharing a silent look before turning to the teen actor facing the table in awkwardness.

“I-It’s okay, Ten-chan! They would obviously be more interested in watching you than an unknown performance” Taichi laughs and scratches the back of his hair. He seemed to be fine- a bit uncomfortable, but fine. “Besides, that just means we have to work even harder to be recognized, right, Juza-san!”

“Yeah, don’t get stuck thinkin’ ‘bout it. We ain’t losin’ any time soon.”

“Anyway Juza-san, are you sure you’re okay with only melon bread and pudding for lunch? I can give you some of mine!”

Juza didn’t verbally answer Taichi’s offer, merely staring at the burnt rice being held in front of him with skepticism “…nah. I’m okay.”

Taichi frowned at his own food, tilting his head confused. A few seconds later, he gave it an ultimate shrug before going for one more bite, Juza doing the same with his own lunch. Tenma scoffed at the view, trying not to smile amusedly. The autumn troupe really was made out of beasts.

“If Sakyo-san saw what you two are eating he’d skin you alive, you know.”

“Why.”

“What do you mean why, Juza-san you can’t expect-“

"Ah, that reminds me!” Taichi suddenly rambled, mouth full of rice “We should totally go to the arcade before we head up to the dorm. I heard they have these new games that are supposed to be super exclusive!”

Tenma winced “Can’t. I have a meeting with my homeroom teacher after classes.”

The other two replied with a similar expression.

“I almost forgot you came from a big shootin’ and all. We’ve been seein' you in the dorm pretty much everyday.”

“Yeah! Geez I always say I envy you, but dealing with that after working must suck!”

“You tell me…”

Taichi shook his head, giving him both thumbs up “It’s okay, we can go another time. Good luck though!”

.

.

.

“You can sit here. I’ll go bring your work in a second and then we’ll talk.”

With a lazy look on his face, Tenma caught a glimpse of his own reflection from a trophy case- one of the few resting at the entrance of the teacher’s lounge. He had never paid attention to them before; Second prize in a football tournament, first prize in some races and a few diplomas regarding different competitions, nothing too special. Ouka high had never had the best score regarding academics, which is exactly why he was able to enter.

Igawa liked to insist it wasn’t entirely Tenma’s fault he had so many troubles keeping up with schoolwork though- well, not more than the usual of not being good at studying. No one actually knew how hard celebrity kids had to push themselves- at least that’s what his parent had said. On the other hand, they hadn’t really cared much more, so long the school allowed him to be flexible with his schedules.

School time was usually done while moving sets and camera changes. He and other kids and teens were at different levels of schooling most of the time, so the teacher was forced to divide their time. Honestly, one would be lucky to get 30 minutes of full tutoring.

Anyway, it was rotten work and even Tenma knew it. He also knew what his homeroom teacher thought about it, which is exactly why he couldn’t help himself raising his eyebrows concerned as he saw the pile of papers being drop over the desk.

“Is this a joke?”

“I know you’re busy, but there’s a minimum to do keep up with your classes and… general results.” the old man frowned scratching his grey four-days old beard. He clicked here and there at the computer, probably revising the latest results of the tests they had done.

He then leaned back on his chair, trying to find a comfortable position before his wrinkly eyes turned to him again. “I wish I could think of another way, but you are getting quite behind everyone, Sumeragi-kun. We’re worried.”

Well, it was not his fault he couldn’t remember all the information they gave him like a script. Was it really the solution giving him the same amount of work as his classmates with half the time?

Before he could open his mouth to complain, the man placed his hand on Tenma’s shoulder. It felt heavy. “I already talked with your manager. It seems you’ll be having a break for a month and a half just before finals and I’d like to help you. We can’t have one of the biggest faces of the school repeating a year, can we?”

Tenma’s jaw clenched. Of course, everything was always for Sumeragi Tenma the actor. Student Tenma could go drown himself.

“Here you’ll find some reinforcement materials I think will be good for you to do in school. Less time wasted while moving and I’ll be here in case you have any questions.”

His face twitched. That would mean he wouldn’t be able to ask for Tsumugi’s help or any of the adults back in Mankai. “I actually-”

“Suguro-sensei, Someone’s calling for you about tomorrow’s meeting!”

“Is it that time already... I’ll be right there in a second! In any case, I would suggest you go work on the library Sumeragi-kun.” the man got up, finishing that way their conversation. “It should be quiet enough, but if you see any students being too loud, give them a call.”

Tenma side-glanced again at his workload, groaning internally.

Just about his luck.

.

.

.

Twenty minutes walking.

How could such a big school not have a single sign to indicate where things were?

Squinting his eyes, Tenma looked both ways across the hall annoyed, his already short temper from before increasing. He was sure the library was two turns to the right, then left, and then up the stairs from the teachers’ lounge.

...or maybe it was a floor down now that he thought about it. Damn it. It wasn’t as if he had ever stepped inside that place, shouldn’t they make it more accessible for everyone?

“This sucks…”

It had been a while since he had seen other students or even teachers around, which also made him feel uneasy. He glanced down at the paperwork in his arms, gripping it tighter. He hoped no one would see him walking around like this.

Just where was the stupid library?

It wasn’t until Tenma decided to try entering inside any room that would allow him to work, that he found many were strangely closed. He was about to gave up when he finally saw the dusty word ‘library’ at the end of the corridor. Finally. With effort he managed to open the heavy door, immediately pinching his nose.

“Ugh, stinks.”

The person in charge of cleaning the school really did a worse job than Matsukawa- at least the man cleaned from time to time and organized stuff. The place was an absolute mess; boxes over the floor, piles of books on chairs and shelves full of documents and other various things he didn’t quite distinguish.

Leaving everything on the closest table Tenma sighed when he felt his arms relaxing without the weight. Frowning, he walked around the place, smelling a mix of dirt and old- even some shelves were full of dust. Really, how did a school like this had such a gross place to study? No wonder students didn’t try to come here.

He should have asked for permission to take his work back to Mankai. Less danger of someone noticing he was behind his studies and it becoming a gossip- or worse, finding he had been walking without an absolute clue for the last half hour.

Yeah, he had more options to pass the year with Tsumugi’s help rather than on his own. Just looking at the amount of work he had he was sure it’d-

The faint sound of walking steps brought him back from his thoughts freezing him on the spot- all his breath trapped. He hadn’t heard anyone since he entered, but it shouldn't be surprising to find others studying.

I’ve heard it likes room 1001 for some reason, you know, from the old side of the school? No one really uses it anymore- guess it makes sense!

Or it was probably the wind. The wind tends to make noises, Tenma reminded himself while swallowing with difficulty.

Was the air suddenly thick?

Crack!

He strained to hear, his heart pounding loudly. “I-Is anyone there?” the nerves made his voice come out higher than he had hoped.

More cracks and sounds of steps. He couldn't see anything yet.

His stomach turned as his breath became louder. This wasn't happening. Yup! It was his imagination. What was happening could not be real, because ghosts didn’t exist. “I-I’m not afraid, you know?!” he shouted, positioning himself on a fighting stance while carefully moving backward.

That’s right- Tenma wasn’t scared. He had just rested enough, with or without a ghost in the room, and it was about time to leave. Ignoring his sweaty palms and nodding once more to nothing in particular, he turned around at the same time a pair of eyes made contact with his.

The figure opened its mouth.

And Tenma proceeded to absolutely destroy his throat.

_________________________________________________

This took so long though I’m not even sure If they are around. If you are love, I apologize! I found a few walls writing-wise. So not entirely to say I made it longer to make up for it but on the other hand... maybe. Thank you so much for sending such a nice idea so I was able to make this, really hope you like it. 💕

I promise this is a reader insert lol thank you for reading!

Part 2 soon!

[novannna]

“Is that blood?” “Yes but that doesn’t matter right now, what does matter is-” “You are literally bleeding.” with novissa (bc I love them) por favor?✨

ahhh tysm for the ask rae!!! I haven't written them in a while and theyre so fun to write!!! i love them so much ahfagsdf

i dont even know how to summarize this, just novissa fluff ig??? im not really sure asdfhdf theyre just gay idiots in love takes place some time before the start of renegades. (nova and narcissa are together)

wc: 1553 ao3 link

Narcissa tapped her fingers against her leg impatiently. Nova was late. Nova, one of the most punctual people Narcissa knew, was late. It was probably fine. She was fine. She was Nova after all.

But Narcissa couldn’t help but feel a squeeze of panic in her throat. She just needed her girlfriend to be alright. She needed Nova in front of her, so she could look at her warm brown eyes, and know that they were both fine.

Fuck.

Narcissa could feel her breaths start to quicken, and her vision grow a bit hazy around the edges.

She tried to take deep breaths, and calm her rising heart rate.

“Nova is fine,” she muttered under her breath. “Completely alright, just a bit late. There was probably something blocking her path. Most people are late all the time. I’m sure that’s what happened.” Her words did little to quell the fear. Nova had never been late before.

She had even promised she would be there on time.

I’ll see you monday, 7 pm sharp, Nova had said. You know where? Narcissa had laughed, and pushed a strand of hair behind Nova’s ears. Of course I do. Good. I’ll see you then. Nova had kissed Narcissa’s lips, hesitantly at first, but then harder as they both sank into each other, desperate to stay away from reality. Don’t be late, Narcissa had said half heartedly as they drew away, aching for Nova’s familiar warmth again. Late? Nova had laughed. I wouldn’t dream of it! And then, with her typical Nova flair, she had swung over the side of the railing, and raced away into the night. And now, three days later, Nova wasn’t here. Narcissa looked at her watch, wishing it would say that she was early. 7:27

“Fuck,” Narcissa muttered. Almost half an hour, and Nova still wasn’t there. She’d been the slightest bit angry before, but now she was just scared. Scared for what could have happened to Nova. If she died, Narcissa would be the only one who cared. Nova didn’t have anyone else. No one else would miss her. So Narcissa loved her all the more, trying her best to make up for the Anarchist’s shortcomings. “Cissa!” A voice shouted, and Narcissa turned to see Nova, alive and healthy and safe Nova, running towards her, a bouquet of flowers clutched tight in her hands. Narcissa felt her heart jump around in her throat, the way it always did when she saw Nova. Nova with her short black hair, shot through with streaks of blue, Nova with her black eyeliner drawn to perfection (Like Honey insisted), Nova with a beat up leather jacket, looking like some teenage romcom love interest. But, despite how absolutely breathtaking Nova was, all Narcissa cared about was that she was safe and alive.

Nova was grinning, and she embraced Narcissa, hugging the girl tight to her while spinning her in a circle. Nova’s infectious joy sank into Narcissa. She couldn’t keep a smile off her face, even if she tried.

Nova cupped her hands around Narcissa’s face and pulled the taller girl down for a kiss.

Narcissa gladly obliged, practically melting under the contact.

Finally, Narcissa drew away, the simple motion taking all her effort. She could stay tangled in Nova’s lips forever and ever without complaining.

“You’re late,” Narcissa accused gently. Nova tucked her head, and nodded. “I’m so sorry, there was a problem, and I had to stay later than I thought. I know I’m terrible.” Nova scuffed a foot against the ground. “But, I did get you flowers. To make up for being such a horrible girlfriend.” She presented a small bouquet of forget-me-nots to Narcissa.

Narcissa lit up as she lifted the soft blue blooms to her face and inhaled deeply. “Thank you Nova, these are beautiful. And you aren’t a horrible girlfriend, you’re the best. I was just scared.”

Nova nodded, not needing to ask why. They both knew the reason.

“Well you don’t need to be now, because I’m here to protect you.”

“What makes you think I need protecting?” Narcissa protested. “Maybe I’ll be the one protecting you!”

Nova laughed, the rough sound sending waves of happiness through Narcissa. “I’d happily accept your protection. I know I would be in the best hands possible.” Her face sobered slightly. “I am really sorry for being late, I feel terrible. If it ever happens again, I’ll find some way to tell you. You shouldn’t have to-”

Narcissa cut her off mid sentence by stepping forwards and pushing Nova's hair off her neck, exposing a large bandage, stretching from her left shoulder, across her collarbone, and dipping out of sight into her shirt. The bandage was more red than white at this point though, from blood leaking through.

“Is that blood?” Narcissa asked, a familiar panic rising.

“Yes but that doesn’t matter right now, what does matter is-” Nova tried.

“You are literally bleeding.”

Nova’s small frame was stiff, ready to run. “There was an accident,” she said tightly. “Right before I left. Things got out of hand, and well- you know how they can be. I got caught in the middle of things, and well…” she gestured haplessly at the bandage.

Narcissa could feel her heart tearing at the pure hopelessness in Nova’s voice. The girl had gone through so much, and all the Anarchists had ever given her was trauma. Narcissa just wanted to hold on tight and never let her go back.

“I’m so sorry Nova,” Narcissa whispered.

Nova laughed quietly, trying to defuse the tension. “It’s fine. It wasn’t anyone’s fault really. Ingrid was just being a jerk, goading Honey, and Honey tried to shut Ingrid up by throwing her jewelry box at her. Unfortunately for me, I was just walking by, and Honey has spectacularly bad aim.”

Narcissa nodded. God, all she wanted was to have Nova get away from that place, but Nova was too damn set on revenge. She couldn’t see how much it was hurting her. Narcissa was afraid she wouldn’t realize until it was too late. And all Narcissa could do was watch. Once Nova had her mind set, there was no changing. No amount of sweet words and promises could stray Nova from her path of vengeance.

“You did a shit job of patching yourself up, Nova,” Narcissa said instead. “You’ve already bled through.”

“Yeah, well I was in a hurry to see my girlfriend,” Nova retorted. “I don’t suppose we could patch me up before continuing the evening?”

Narcissa laughed a little, and pressed a gentle kiss to Nova’s mouth. “I suppose. It’d do me no good if you bled out before we even ate dinner.”

“I suppose not. Seeing as you are the smart one between us, is there a chance you could fix me?”

“You’re plenty smart too, love. But yes, I can help you. For a price of course.” A smile danced over Narcissa’s lips.

“I’d expect nothing less from the grand daughter of a world renowned black market weapons dealer.” Nova smirked. “What’s the price?”

“Kisses, and moonlight walks, and as many piggy back rides as I want.”

Nova tipped her head back, laughing. The fading colors of sunset shine through the strands of her hair, illuminating her head.

“You drive a hard bargain, but I suppose I accept.” Nova brown eyes gleamed. “Do you require a down payment?” She stood on her tiptoes, her chin almost level with Narcissa’s.

“Nova, let me save you before we start making out!” Narcissa scolded, but without any force behind the words. Truth be told, all she wanted to do was lose herself in Nova, but she had other things to do first.

Specifically, stitch the large gash on her idiot girlfriend’s shoulder up.

Nova rolled her eyes. “So pushy.” She smiled up at Narcissa. “Fine, my savior. Where to?”

Narcissa laughed, and pulled a small blue flower out of her bouquet, and tucked it behind Nova’s ears. “There’s bandages at the library, as well as some other supplies. We’ll go there, and then you can carry me to the river, and we can look at the stars while making out.”

Nova grinned. “Sounds like a plan. But, you are taller than me, so shouldn’t you carry me.”

“Well, A, I have absolutely no strength at all, I live in a library, what did you expect, B, my terms for fixing you included piggy back rides, and C, I know you like carrying me, and showing off how strong you are.”

Nova grinned, and nodded. “Very true. I suppose I better start carrying you now!”

Narcissa’s eyes widened with realization. “Wait Nova, No!” she shrieked, but it was too late. Nova scooped her up, and tossed Narcissa over her shoulder in a fireman's carry. A flurry of petals fell to the ground. It was comical really, 4 foot 11 inches Nova, carrying 5 foot 7 inches Narcissa with ease.

“Nova, you’re injured!” Narcissa practically screamed. “Don’t you dare hurt yourself more!”

Nova simply laughed, and started walking towards the library, Narcissa still slung over her back, laughing.

Narcissa sighed, and gave up. Nova was too stubborn to argue with. “You’re an idiot,” she said.

Narcissa could imagine Nova’s lips curving up into a smile as she said, “I love you too.���

[kinkymagnus]

Hi! Love your stories!! <3

I just wanna start with I am not transphobic (I know it sounds cliche...) but I am just curious about fanfic authors who write Magnus as trans.

Most of the time I shy away from trans!Magnus fics because for me its hard to picture it when he is male and when I try to read a fic I will get thrown off once I read sex scenes. I love your stories of sub!Magnus (let's be real there is no other kind <3).

I am always afraid to ask (hence the anon ask) cause most of the time anyone who loves trans!Magnus will get really defensive and start getting really mean when it's a general question or opinion and I just wanted to get your take on it.

hm ok. well. i really don’t love the wording of this question. but i like to try and take questions like this that i think are more borne of ignorance than malice and like, engage with them. i don’t think i’m morally obligated to, though, and people you may have said something like this to and reacted negatively, well, i don’t blame them at all. i’m not exactly feeling sunshine and roses about it, either. 

under the cut bc this is long

first: starting with “i’m not transphobic, but--” isn’t cliche, it’s a sign of someone knowing they’re about to say something transphobic. or trying to excuse themselves and distance themselves from any blame. and so on. it’s not like “oh everyone says that” it’s “i read that and immediately know i’m about to put up with some bullSHIT.” like, the fact you put that little disclaimer there means you KNOW IT NEEDS ONE. 

second: “it is hard to picture if when he is male” hm. ok. so. right here you’re assuming trans men =/= male. magnus having a vagina = not man. that’s very much being transphobic.

but let’s give the benefit of the doubt. let’s say you didn’t mean it like that. you might be confused just because you’re so used to cis male magnus, it feels off when someone suddenly describes something that doesn’t fit what you’re used to. it’s like when i read a fic and it mentions magnus’s dick or whatever, and i’m always surprised, and find it hard to picture, because at this point, i’m so used to trans magnus that way i write it. or it might be even something like... 

ok, here’s a weirdly specific example. i read the alex rider books as a kid, and there’s a character who is described as white and red-headed. in the recent tv adaptation, she’s a black woman with long dark curls. i’ve never been good at imagining characters in my head when its just books, so the imagery i’ve attached to this character is the tv show version of her. so now, if i go back and reread the books or read fanfiction for alex rider, every time they mention her red hair or something that makes it clear she’s not black, i’m a little startled, before i remember, oh yeah, originally, she was a redheaded white chick.

so let’s say that’s more the feeling you’re getting: you’re so used to cis magnus, seeing trans magnus is a little moment of surprise. 

........so what?

your options here are:

don’t read it and be quiet if it bothers you so much

keep reading and deal with the surprise i mean is it really that bad to have a momentary “oh yeah lol” moment? and you might even stop being surprised eventually if you get used to it lmao

i don’t think it’s a big deal to be a bit thrown off when you remember that this person’s version of magnus doesn’t have a dick or whatever. but that’s kind of something to keep to yourself. read it or don’t, but there’s nothing wrong with it. it’s not weird, it doesn’t make magnus less male, and if you don’t like it, don’t read it.  

also, you say “i’m afraid to ask” but come to think of it, you haven’t actually.... asked a question. just “like your fics. im not transphobic BUT... trans magnus is weird because i can forget he’s supposed to be trans until the sex scenes, and then it throws me off because he’s supposed to be Male. it’s weird. i love sub magnus. i’m afraid to ask because trans magnus fans are mean and defensive when you say lightly transphobic things. what’s your take?” 

i mean, is the question the whole “i’m curious about fic authors wrote magnus as trans”? like, what about us? most of us are trans and we love magnus???? idk what you want to know buddy? why people would EVER headcanon magnus as not cis? like, there are lots of reasons for that one being he literally could not possibly be our definition of the western cis male given that he was born like 4+ centuries ago on an entirely different continent . like, really, if you want to know why we headcanon him as trans i’m sure you could read through our blogs and find a bunch of shit 

and anyway it’s like, ok, 1. trans magnus isn’t just about the sex, but that’s a lesser issue.

2. again, no question being asked here beyond a general “what’s your take on this” (this being....”trans magnus weird”? or “trans magnus fic authors...thots?”?)

3. finally to get tho the last part of hmm yikes wording is the “anyone who loves trans!Magnus will get really defensive and start getting really mean”. the word choice here sure does say a lot. 

“defensive” and “mean”. if you’re going up to them and saying “trans magnus confuses me during sex scenes because he’s male!” then yeah, people might get a little upset. and defensive? either a) implies you’re on the offensive, or b) implies they’re like, guilty somehow, they’re being defensive and cagey. 

like, coming out with some casual transphobia or whatever and then playing the victim when people are offended and react....not cool

and just... look. calling someone out for being transphobic isn’t being mean or a bully. and no one’s saying you have to like trans magnus, no one’s holding a gun to your head and making you read our posts and fics. but if you’re going to read our posts and fics, don’t be a dick about it. 

and genuinely, like, i know i’ve focused on the bad here, but like, thank you, i’m glad you like my stories, and hell yeah sub magnus rights. and i don’t think you’re like a bad person or someone trying to be malicious and hateful or something, but like.... my dude PLEASE think about this shit and how you’re wording things like. jesus 

i think the highlights here are 

yes trans man = man

man with vagina = still a man

trans magnus having sex via a cis man’s penis in his vagina = gay sex between two males

people might get defensive or “mean” if you say things to them that are kinda transphobic and that’s understandable. they aren’t aggressors or your enemies for reacting like this.

no one is forcing you to like or read trans magnus content, it’s okay if you don’t, but if so just don’t, you don’t gotta say anything just don’t read it 

there are lots of reasons someone might headcanon magnus as trans 

and headcanoning him as trans isn’t weird, gross, or wrong in any way

honestly headcanoning him as cis makes less sense but that’s another talk

also saying “im not transphobic but--” doesn’t absolve you of any transphobia following it 

[irene-sadler]

Sir Reynard and the Red Knight

notes: 1. here's a (relatively) short n' interesting discussion of the history of the St. Bartholomew Day Fair in London, which was held roughly annually from sometime in the 12th century to sometime in the 19th century. I casually yanked some ideas (ull find this thing about rabbits casually mentioned with no explanation in the source) from events that took place at this specific festival to apply to my much much smaller Winter Solstice Fair held in Rivia.

translating any irl medieval holiday/fair/feast into a fantasy setting is a lil tricky b/c 95 percent of what happens and what makes them so interesting (to me anyway) is tied up in and totally inseperable from medieval Christian religious expression. however, when a lot of my source material was written (usually several hundred years ago bc public domain ebooks) there were still some weird obviously pre-Christian traditions in common use in parts of England. more on this next chapter b/c some of them are fuckin bizarre and so ofc I ganked them.

----

8.

The next day dawned cold, but the blue cast to the sky promised clear weather. The Queen had long since collected a list of names from a page, and sat scribbling figures and notes in the margins as she considered the best way to arrange forty contestants into equitable matches. Isbel proved unsurprisingly unhelpful; the Baroness, however, offered advice on the matter in a slightly imperious tone:

    “There’s no way to match these names up, by perceived skill, and if you try there will be hurt feelings. Random selection won’t answer, either; my suggestion is to choose from whoever is standing around when we arrive and let them sort themselves out as best they can after.”

    Meve shuffled the papers a moment, admitted to herself that she had no better ideas, and nodded grudgingly.

    “Yes, you’re probably right. First come, first served it is, then. Here, look after these,” she said, handing the papers over to the older woman, “I have to go; the Mayor will be wanting something from me within the hour and I’ve other matters to attend to, first.”

    She left the Baroness and Isbel eyeing each other suspiciously over their breakfasts and strode rapidly away to the stables. Reynard’s horse, dozing alone in his stall, greeted her with polite disinterest; she spotted a light flickering from inside a little storage room nearby, where she found his owner carefully examining his armor under Pug and Gaspar’s vacant stares. Reynard smiled tightly at her, Gaspar glowered from under his unkempt hair, and Pug sketched a lazy gesture resembling a salute.

    “Anything to report?” she asked them all, in a slightly falsely cheerful tone. Reynard glanced at Gaspar, who eyed Pug, who squinted up at the Queen through her single eye.

    “Well, someone came in after midnight rung, but we put an end t’ his fucking skulking, quick,” she explained, then pointed at a few dark spots on the dirt floor. “And you can see the blood right there.”

    “So you can,” Meve said, not at all displeased. “Don’t suppose you managed to get a look at the culprit?”

    Pug shook her head, then, considering a moment, noted, “A tall bastard, whoever. Gaspar got ‘im right in th’ ankle from the shadows.”

    “Tall, with a limp,” the Queen considered.

    Gaspar hesitated, and brushed his hand against his own pox-scarred face, glancing at Pug.

    “Might’ve had a beard, also,” she translated.  “Hard t’ say anything else.”

    “Better than nothing at all to go on. Where’s Gascon?”

    Reynard shook his head. Gaspar glanced at Pug again; she chewed her right thumbnail and shrugged idly.

    “Don’t know,” she said, cooly studying the dried blood on the floor; a breathless page then hustled in, bowed to all present - Pug croaked a laugh at him - and announced that the Mayor requested the Queen’s presence, urgently.

    “What, already?” she asked. “All right; tell him I’ll be along shortly. You two can go as well,” she added, to the brigands, “Thank you for your assistance, and tell the Duke to report to me the moment you next see him.”

    “As for you,” she added quickly to Reynard, as soon as the room cleared out, “In case I don’t see you later - “

    He put his helm down wordlessly, stepped across the few feet between them, and kissed her; she took her time pulling away, despite the city government’s looming crisis, and said, “Good luck, not that you need it; I look forward to your victory.”

    “Yes, thank you,” he said, somewhat embarrassed, “I’ll do my best.”

      An hour later, the event was already underway. The brilliant sun pulled a faint fog from the frozen ground, and flashed on the armor of the first two contestants as they met with a resounding crash.

    “Coll, and Bohault,” Giselle reported; they had put her in charge of keeping track of the course of the jousts, and she accordingly drew a bold check in red ink beside Bohault. The Queen nodded her congratulations to the man, who returned her notice with an answering, professional jerk of his head. The next contestants were familiar, as well, and the third set strangers, not unexpectedly; twenty rounds had to be got through, and some of the names on the list had a distinctly foreign flavor. One such man, called Devyn, provided the judges’ first opportunity to deliberate, as he and John Kimborne knocked each other down in the same moment.

    “Sir Kimborne’s a proper knight, which ought to count for something,” Meve said, “And that sweep with the lance on his opponent’s part was, I believe, not quite legal, which is no doubt why he was unseated.”

    “It’s hardly Devyn’s fault that he’s from Novigrad, which doubtless is why he didn’t know not to do that,” Giselle said, smiling encouragingly at the young man. “Also, I think he is well, you know, handsome, for a foreigner.”

    “Yes, I’m sure you do,” the Baroness said, rolling her eyes. By unspoken consent, she reigned as their chief; accordingly, when she pointed impatiently at the knight, her decision was accepted without further comment and the contest carried on. They made good time under her able command, assisted by the timely appearance of mulled wine and sandwiches at midmorning. The names and men rolled by, ticked off in red; they made it past the unpronounceably named Sicg Sicgurdssen, a group of brothers whose names all began with with same letters, Ethan, who put the third and final of the brothers down and received a brilliant smile from Giselle in reward, and as, the Baroness and Queen grew bored and were chatting idly about the relative merits of different styles of tilting helms, Sir Holt, who won his match easily. The Queen eyed him darkly and then abruptly lost interest in side conversation as Reynard appeared, defeated a man named Hall in a few passes, and departed again. The Baroness accepted the sudden silence with faint amusement.

    “Nolda,” Giselle read, next, “And Sir Eres. That’s the knight, there. Who is Nolda?”

    Meve cracked a surprised, but pleased, smile, pointed across the field, where a lanky woman in well-used armor stood apart from the other contestants and said, pleased, “That is Nolda; she was an Aedirnian defector, fought for us in Angren. I hadn’t known she was still here in Rivia; I thought she’d have gone back home.” The Baroness squinted at the woman, with a thoughtful air. Sir Eres scowled at his opponent, glanced hopefully toward the judges, found no leniency in their stony stares, shut his visor and rode to his place. The match lasted all of ten seconds: Nolda held her lance left-handed, at an odd diagonal angle, and then at the last moment straightened it, smacked her opponent’s spear aside with a sweep of her shield, and knocked him away. The Baroness hummed thoughtfully under her breath.      

    “Unusual tactic, but not, I as far as I know, illegal,” Meve commented. Giselle shrugged and crossed out Sir Eres’ name, as the knight picked himself up and stalked angrily toward the judges.

    “It may not answer a second time, but it certainly took him by surprise,” the Baroness said, agreeably, and added, to the clearly disgruntled man, “What’s the problem?”

    The problem was that Sir Eres was a sore loser, Giselle supposed; Meve privately suspected it had as much to do with Nolda herself than it did with his defeat at her hands, but if he was hoping for sympathy he found none. The Baroness turned him away with a few blunt phrases and the contest continued.

    By noon, they had only three names left. Giselle read them off in a doubtful voice: Brossard, Gaheris, Saban. They sent a page to find out where the absentees had got to, and took a break. Giselle hurried off into the crowd with a promise to return in due time, and Meve and the Baroness settled into a debate of the various methods of arranging the second round and soon arrived at a prospective bracket. The page returned, indicated a short, bearded warrior on a sturdy horse, said, “The dwarf, there, is Saban; as for the Duke, nobody seems to know where he might be found, and the squire Gaheris is injured and can’t fight.”

    “I suppose, under the circumstances, that we could simply advance Saban to the second round,” the Queen remarked, frowning at the news of Gascon’s absence, as Giselle came running, slightly flustered. “You’re late,” she added, to the younger woman. Giselle flushed and looked apologetic.

    “Someone had let a bunch of rabbits out into the street, and a crowd of boys was chasing ‘em,” she explained, and then, spotting something on the field, abandoned the tale and gasped, “Look!”

    Meve turned and smiled as she was finally proved right: a man in black armor, mounted on a black horse, sat at the farther end of the barriers. He slowly pointed his lance at Saban, who turned to stare at the judges, baffled. Meve shrugged at him, which he seemed to take for permission; he pulled his helmet on briskly and kicked his horse toward the appointed starting position without delay.

    Saban rode well, but it was obvious that he was an amateur; the black knight unseated him in their first pass without apparent effort. He stood, collected his lost helmet from the ground, picked a clod of dirt out of the visor, and shrugged pragmatically. Meve squinted at the departing black knight’s back, and said, “Well, that was - quite interesting. On to the next round, I suppose. Who is it, Giselle?”

    It was Bohault and the unfortunate Ethan, who stood no chance against the veteran; he received another, slightly less congratulatory smile from Giselle, who then drew a second mark beside the soldier’s name.

    “So,” Meve said to the Baroness, conversationally, watching the next combat with a fine appearance of attention, “Care to make a prediction on the winner, yet?”

    “Of this match? Sir Brewes,” the older woman replied promptly; the knight in question was unseated by his opponent a half minute later. Meve smiled smugly at the winner.

    “Nolda seems to be doing well for herself, doesn’t she? - but I meant overall, in general.”

    “Ah. Well, Sir Odo, Sir Kimborne, perhaps Sir Holt if should he get lucky with his matchups -”

    “What about that black knight?”

    “Oh, him? Well, it’s hard to say, for sure.”

    The conversation paused again as Count Odo made his second appearance, against Sicg, the knight from Skellige. The Count won his second match far more quickly than he had his first. Meve, knowing from long experience that he had been studying the competition for most of the last round, to prepare himself, was unsurprised.

    “Although,” the Baroness continued thoughtfully, as he rode away, “I have seen a black knight fight at a recent tourney, I can’t say as it’s the same one who’s here today. Armor can be changed, but this one doesn’t seem to have the same style, at all. However, he does seem familiar, but they all do after near thirty-five years of watching them in tournaments. Almost all, at least.”

    Meve was growing used to the older woman’s subtle hints, and therefore was sure she’d caught a significant note in her comments. She thought back to the tournament, suddenly recalled the Baroness’s parting behavior with a frown, and re-evaluated her previous assumption: perhaps, after all, there was no confusion about herself and Gascon, and - she realized with mild annoyance - the Baroness had figured out the true reason for her absences, one way or another, but said nothing about it at the time. The same gleam of a secret joke was in the other woman’s eye when she looked away from the field, where Sir Holt was riding away from yet another victory. Meve stared at her, momentarily at a loss. The Baroness smiled slightly and looked back to the lists.

    “So,” the Queen asked, deciding it was best to not to inquire further, “Who do you think it could be, this time?”

    “I’m not sure; I’ll need more time to consider the matter,” the Baroness said, as the black knight returned, last of the pack again, and lined up against Sir Orlac, who had been lingering about as if waiting for him.

    “They’ve fought before,” Meve said, remembering suddenly. “Sir Orlac received an unexpected cold bath, as I recall.”

    Sir Orlac took his second defeat and stood up, swearing loudly at the black knight’s back.

    “At least he didn’t get wet, this time,” she added.

    “What a fall,” Giselle said, “Do you think he’s hurt?”

    The knight was limping slightly, but Meve shrugged dismissively and said, “Oh, no. He’ll be fine. Anyway, who do we have left?”

    Giselle held up the list; the Queen glanced at the six names remaining, nodded, and signaled to the herald.

      “This is going well,” she reflected, after watching Nolda defeat Bohault, to acclaim from the growing audience. “Perhaps I should do it again, next year, but with fewer participants, so it doesn’t take all day.”

    “Hm,” the Baroness said noncommittally, and then, during the next fight, “I do believe I like Sir Kimborne’s chances to win out; what do you think, young lady?”

    Giselle considered.

    “Well, the black knight’s very mysterious; it would be interesting if he won, like a ballad.”

    Nobody bothered to ask Meve for her opinion, but she took no notice, as she was closely watching the knight in question and Sir Holt ride onto the field. The black knight sat dead still on the nearer side, but the red knight passed him and approached the judges, scowling. The Baroness addressed him, in a tone that rivaled Meve’s for arrogance:

    “What’s th’ issue, sir?”

    “I don’t want to fight this - this fellow,” he said, sulkily. “It ain’t proper.”

    “What do you mean?”

    “Well, for one, he might not even be a knight; it could be anyone under all that armor - any man at all, or a woman, even, for that matter.”

    “Heard this sort o’ thing before, a hundred time,” Giselle said quietly to Meve, “He’s chicken.”

    “I heard that,” the knight growled. Giselle blinked innocently at him.

    “Well, your other option is Sir Kimborne,” the Baroness said, growing slightly annoyed. Sir Holt opened his mouth, then closed it with an uneasy frown, obviously unsatisfied by the alternative offer.

    “Didn’t this same knight defeat you, a month or two ago? I would think you’d want to avenge your loss,” the Queen noted, idly. He scowled at the reminder, clearly inclined to argue further. The Baroness turned a hostile glare on him; he thought better of it and rode away, muttering, to take his place by the barricade.

    “What an ass,” Meve said.

    The knights completed a pass, to no avail on either side.

    “Didn’t your man Odo duel him, lately?” the Baroness said. “Can’t say I blame him, now, though I thought his behavior uncharacteristically impulsive at the time. Watch and see if the red knight don’t overcommit on this next run.”

    He did, badly; instead of his usual hesitation, he drove in a rush. Meve suspected he had lost his temper. The black knight took the attack on his shield and turned it away.

    “Yes, well, next time I’ll leave you to deal with him instead,” Meve remarked. “It seems to be more effective.”

    Sir Holt took his third run far more cautiously; his usual hesitation returned, and Meve glanced downward to hide a malicious smile as the black knight took advantage, aimed true, and knocked his opponent down hard.

    “I have five sons,” the Baroness replied, flatly. “Th’ egos of these fool knights can’t compare.”

    Gaheris limped heavily onto the field and collected Sir Holt; Meve looked from him to the black knight, who appeared to be watching the squire closely, a slight frown crossing her face. Giselle, meanwhile, made a bold red mark through the loser’s name and said, “It’s Sir Odo and Sir Kimborne, now.”

    It was a fight that the Baroness watched approvingly, making comments to Giselle, as Meve was, again, distinctly uninterested in conversation. The Count finally wore his opponent down from sheer weariness after half a dozen passes, drawing a pleased smile from the Queen. They then broke off for ten minutes, reckoning it was only fair to let their last three knights have a rest before the end. The judges spent the time in conference, deciding how to arrange their semi-finals; the no-shows had ruined their early arrangements, leaving them with an odd number of contestants. The Baroness eventually ruled that Sir Odo, being the senior knight, should be given a free round, and Nolda and the stranger would go against each other, as a result. Meve squinted at her.

    “Have you really not figured the black knight out, yet?”

    “Oh,” she said, mysteriously, “I think that by the time we’re done, we’ll know who he is, one way or another.”

      The black knight, however, did not appear when summoned along with the other two, leaving Nolda sitting alone at the barricades. Reynard, after a while, offered to go against her, on the chance that the third contestant would turn up very late to fight the last match; Nolda agreed, somewhat reluctantly. The Baroness overruled them, claiming that there was no knowing whether their third party would actually appear. The contestants therefore settled in to wait, Reynard with a distant frown and Nolda looking moderately suspicious of the sudden delay. The crowd chattered in the background, bored and uncertain of the future prospects for its entertainment.

    “How long are we going to wait?” Giselle asked, five minutes later; the black knight had failed to show.

    “Damn him,” Meve snarled quietly, “I planned this blasted event to flush him out, and he still somehow slipped away through my fingers. What now?”

    Giselle stared at her; the Baroness sighed and said, “Well, th’ only thing we can do is declare the match forfeit; Nolda will just have to fight Sir Odo, gods help her.”

    The contestants were summoned and the plan explained to them. Nolda did not seem overly relieved at being spared the black knight, probably due to being confronted with the Count as a result. He himself appeared mildly perturbed by the unusual situation, glanced at Meve’s tense smile, and said nothing.

    “I don’t know as it’s necessary that the Count should go against me now,” Nolda said doubtfully, “To tell the truth, I’m only here because Captain Bohault - he’s my husband - said could do better than me at this game, which I’ve proved he can’t.”

    “That you have,” the Queen said, mildly amused despite herself, “But the contest has to be won by someone. If you’re intending to spare Sir Reynard a fall on account of his age, I assure you there’s no need.”

    Nolda, who appeared to be roughly the same age as the knight, frowned, apparently unsure whether the Queen was joking. Sir Reynard’s expression turned mildly pained, but he did not roll his eyes at her.

    “I have no objections,” he said, stiffly. Nolda shrugged and said, “Well, I’m game, then.”

    “Good,” the Baroness said, “We’ll start in twenty minutes.”

    The combatants rode down to opposite sides of the field, where Reynard sat on his horse, exchanging a few words with his squire. Nolda stood at her horse’s head, deep in conversation with Bohault; the occasional audible phrase and the cavalryman’s complicated hand gestures suggested a strategy session was underway. Meve struggled to appear neutral, if she couldn’t manage anything else, despite her continued irritation at the black knight’s disappearance. The effort became supremely more difficult as, from behind and under the stands, a familiar voice whispered, “Meve! I mean, Your Majesty! I need t’ talk to you.”

    She turned, slowly, forced a casual tone, and said, “Ah, Duke Brossard. I’m glad you’ve decided to join us at last.”

[twst-rose-prisms]

Alice Whiterose

----------------❄️-----------------

~Technical Information~

Japanese: アリス • ホワイトローズ

Romanji: Arisu Howaitorozu

Nicknames: Goma-chan* ( Floyd ), Ari-chan ( Alisa ), Shiro-chan** ( Cater ), Chibi-senpai ( Ace ), Reine de Neiges ( Rook )

Voiced by: Satomi Akesaka ( voice sample )

~Biographical Information~

Gender: Female

Age: 17

Birthday: January 17th***

Starsign: Capricorn

Height: 1m55

Eye color: Blue

Hair color: White

Body type: Petite, short ( for a 2nd year ), curvy

3 sizes (bc why not?): B85 - W60 - H84

Blood type: A

Homeland: Rose Kingdom

Family: Alisa Whiterose ( non-blood related sister )

~Professional Information~

Dorm: Heartslabyul

School year: Second

Class: 2-D, student no.16 (poor girl have to sit next to Floyd)

Occupation: Student

Club: Science club

Best subject: Magical pharmaceuticals

~Fun Facts~

Dominant hand: Left

Favorite food: Anything edible

Dislikes food: Spicy food

Dislikes: Scary people, people judge her base on her height

Hobby: Gardening, Origami, Making sweets

Bad with: Open up a conversation, Talking to strangers, Stamina needed works

Talents: Cooking

----------------❄️-----------------

“White roses are very delicate and easily get tainted, just like people, don't think so too...?”

Alice Whiterose is a second-year student at Night Raven College and a member of Heartslabyul Dorm. A shy and introverted girl, she often got anxious if there are too many strangers around her. However, she can be very passionate and devotional when it comes to working.

----------------❄️-----------------

APPEARANCE: Alice is a young girl with shoulder length white hair that tied into twintails styles, wavy bangs covering her forehead and long side bangs. She have droopy blue eyes with a small red rose patch under her right eyes and wear a pair of dark blue glasses. Often got misunderstood as a first year because of her height and petite figures, though she doesn't show her uncomfortableness outside on her face. Alice also doesn't like to let her hair down naturally because it's easily got disheveled. Alisa state that she jealous because she have a "greater body" than her (which Alice quickly debase this but it's actually the truth)

In her Dorm uniform, she wear a white collar shirt with black-and-red striped necktie under a red vest. Over the vest she wears the blazer that others in her dorm wear ( except for Riddle ). She wear a white skirt with a black and yellow ribbon and a chain of 4 keys around her waist, black-and-red tights with heart patterns and red-and-white high tops.

PERSONALITY: Alice usually seen as a shy girl with somewhat gentle aura around her (as stated by others). A little clumsy and easily got scared, she usually got teased for being "jumpy" whenever something scares her. As a child, Alice got taught to not talking to strangers unless they're her friend's acquaintance, so it's understandable why she's bad with open up a conversation. If she found someone have the the same hobby/like the same things as her, she'll talk with them non-stop about it and even forgot about the time. Alice does state that she hates that habit of her and tried to fix it until today ( but failed anyway )

“I-I think... Plants are more gentle and easier to talk to than human. Maybe it's because they're not judgemental like some people.” - Alice's lab-coat SR card personal story (part 2)

Sometimes, people got weirded out by her strange habit of talking to plants and magical creatures during classes. The reason is that she think they're also like human, they need someone to understand them. Her gestures are very gentle and delicate, you could see this clearly whenever she take care of the plants in the school's garden. She also often talk with a soft and respectful voice, even at underclassmen. You might think she's slow, but the truth is that she actually have short stamina, so she can't run fast or holding heavy things. Part of it is also because she have a fragile body at birth, so her mother become very strict about her movements (hence why her gestures are very gentle).

It might make you think "She should be in Pomefiore instead!", but, the reason she got sorted into Heartslaybul is simple. Her passion and ambition towards works. She also doesn't like to live by her own rules, she think that "rules" are part of people's live, and sometimes, you have to follow it to have a better live. While she adore beautiful things, to her, anything that good at heart is beautiful, hence why she doesn't got sorted into Pomefiore. Another reason is that she doesn't strike to be the best in beauty, to be honest, she doesn't want to be the best in anything at all. Trey did comment that: “You sure are a suitable member of Heartslabyul huh Alice? Although Riddle doesn't admit it himself, but I'm sure he must've think the same way about you too.”

“I-I actually did used to play piano... B-But, that hobby of mine used to hurt someone, so I've quit for a long time now...” - Alice's initial SSR personal story (part 3)

Used to be a piano prodigy when she's was a child, she started playing at 8 but quit after 5 years because of an accident. Ever since then, she got anxious and sweating unconsciously whenever she saw a piano. Because of that accident, she also have fear of breaking/ruining things, hence why she always have a tight grip despite the gentle gestures on things she hold (even things like doorknob). If she accidentally grab on the hem of your shirt, you'll clearly notice it. (Though don't tell it out loud or else her face will become red as Riddle's hair). And when she's on verge of getting(?) anxious, she will immediately run away to wherever her feet take her, which usually ended up at the school's Botanical Garden. To her, it's the most quiet and peaceful place at NRC, it's warm atmosphere also help her to quickly calm down as well.

UNIQUE MAGIC: "Gift of Card Suits" - ( 魔法の上書の鍵 "Magic Overwrite Keys" ) To be able to use one of the key that she carried around on other people's magic. Each key have a specific effect:

♥️ Heart: To change the effect/chosen target of anyone's magic (for example, if someone use fire magic, she can use this key to change it to other type of magic or switch the target to anyone she chose)

♠️ Spade: To be immune to any effect of anyone's magic

♣️ Clover: To dispel any effect of anyone's magic

♦️ Diamond: To double the effect of someone's magic (basically, a magic buffer)

However, she can't use Heart, Spade and Clover keys to Unique Magic(s) because it took too much mana to do so. She can also only be able to use 1 key per day, meaning if she use more than 2 keys then it'll reach the limit of her strength, and her Unique Magic will become useless if she doesn't have the keys with her (hence why she even bring it when wearing the Ceremonial Robe). Alice also stated that out of the 4 keys, Heart is the one that consume most mana so she doesn't use it usually like other keys.

----------------❄️-----------------

BACKSTORY ( just a small part of it ):

The first thing she saw was the ground. Everything was quiet. Too quiet. She couldn't felt anything except for the cold, hard ground right beneath her feet and the broken wall on her back. Her small shoulders unconsciously shivering from the cold but she doesn't even try to warm herself. She just sit there, like a broken doll waiting for someone to notice it. Her blue orbs doesn't have any lights reflect on, as if they're dead. The only sound was ominous wind blowing on the dead trees. Her white, ripped dress were dirty as well as her used-to-be pure white hair.

Everything around her is dead.

"Oh my, what do we have here?"

A strange, deep voice suddenly speak up and break the dead silence. When she grown up, she couldn't remember much who was that, but she knows, that person was the one that changed her life. Her lifeless eyes slowly look up. Everything around her was a blur, even that person become a black silhouette. But she remembered it well.

A pair of glowing emerald orbs.

"Hmm? What's the matter, _____?"

"A human child. It seems like she's still alive..."

"Nfufu~ You sure are interested in human huh, _____?"

"...Want to bring her along?"

"...Haha! I guess that look is a "yes" then! Go on and pick her up~ If she still alive, that's it."

Then slowly, a large silhouette appeared in front of her. The little girl still sit there lifelessly, only until that person pick her up and place her into their chest, a faint shock expression slowly form on her pale face, a sign that she's still alive. For a few seconds, she panicked, and it seems like she also made that person panicked too.

"Hey now, don't panick along with her! You were supposed to comfort the child, _____!"

Slowly, a large hand awkwardly pat on her back, making the small child flinch due to the sudden contact. But after a while, her body relaxed and gradually melted into their chest. The little girl unconsciously rest her head on their shoulder while slowly drifted to sleep, a peaceful expressions reflected on her face.

The last thing she saw behind their back was a pair of glowing magenta orbs before everything went black.

RELATIONSHIPS ( in Alice's opinion )

Heartslabyul

🌹 Riddle Rosehearts: "W-Well, Rosehearts-san might looks strict, but... I think deep down, he's a kind person...! A-Also, he seems to be fond of sweets, though he doesn't show it outside... *giggles* I also admire him for how responsible and serious he is with his works...! And... I'm glad that he still keep the pin that I gave him...!"

❤️ Ace Trapola: "H-He's actually a reliable underclassman, but sometimes his words are quite harsh... A-Also, I hope that he get along with Rosehearts-san more since they sometimes kept arguing...And I felt a little embarrassed that he always calling me "Chibi-senpai"... *sigh*"

♠️ Deuce Spade: "A-A very reliable underclassman...! He also seems to be very serious about works, w-which I'm glad that we have hard-working underclassmen in Heartslabyul too...! Though, he can be a little too serious sometimes... *giggles*"

♦ Cater Diamond: "He's actually... one of the upperclassmen that welcomed me to Heartslabyul with open arms...! T-Though I felt quite embarrassed when he post pictures with me in it on MagiCam... Diamond-san alao help me out whenever I asked him, so he's quite reliable too...!"

♣ Trey Clover: "L-Like Diamond-san, he's also one of the upperclassmen that welcomed me with open arms...! T-Though I didn't trust him at first, he surprised me of how kind he is...! I-I also really admire his baking skills and often asked him for advice too...!"

Savanaclaw

🦁 Leona Kingscholar: "H-He's a little scary in my opinion... I-I also think he's a little hard to approach... Maybe I shouldn't made him mad..."

🐆 Ruggie Bucchi: "He is... Well... Easy to approach...? I-I did share some classes with him and he did help me sometimes, so I think he's a kind person...! His ears also look very cute...! *giggles*"

🐺 Jack Howl: "W-Whenever I stand next to him I felt like I got shorter... Aside from that, he's also quite reliable...! At first, I thought he's a little scary but after I talked to him, he's actually very nice...! A-Also, his tail looks very cute...! *giggles*"

Octavinelle

🐙 Azul Ashengrotto: "Even though he's quite nice when I talk to him, I felt like something is wrong... Sometimes, he kept staring at my keys when I wasn't looking, which is a little worrying...B-But he is very smart though, I really admire his alchemy skills...!"

🦈 Floyd Leech: "H-He almost gave me a heart attack when I first met him...! I hope that he stop hugging me or calling my name so suddenly whenever he saw me in public... I-It's really embarrassing even when I think about it... But he sometimes help me a lot with school works so I guess that he's a smart person too...?"

🐬 Jade Leech: "U-Unlike Floyd-san, Jade-san is very nice whenever I talk to him...! He also doesn't seems to hesitate when I asked him to help me with something... B-But, somehow, I felt like he is hiding something...?"

💄Alisa Whiterose: "W-Well, since she's my sister so I respect her a lot...! Although I felt embarrassed when I take a picture with her... H-Her fashion sense are very good though, I wonder why she didn't got sorted into Pomefiore...?"

Scarabia

🕌 Kalim Al-asim: "He seems to be a very energetic person... A-A little too energetic... But he's nice and friendly, so I don't felt uncomfortable when I talk to him...!"

🐍 Jamil Viper: "A mysterious person... He seems to be always around Al-asim-san for most of the time, I guess it's because they're friends...? I also admire his cooking skills too, so sometimes I asked him for advices...!"

Pomefiore

👑 Vil Schoenheit: "W-When I first met him, I got stunned by how beautiful he looks...! Even though I don't really like make-up but I appreciate his advice to improve my appearance...! I also like his hair color because it's really pretty...!"

🏹 Rook Hunt: "A weird person... To be honest... W-Whenever I walk past him in the hallway he always call me with a strange name that I couldn't understand... But, I respect the fact that he also adore beautiful things...!"

🍎Epel Felmier: "O-Out of all the members in Pomefiore, I think Felmier-san is the easiest person to approach...! He also teach me a lot about apples, which made me actually plant an apple tree...! *giggles* H-His fruit carving skills are also very beautiful, I really, really like it...!"

Ignihyde

💀 Idia Shroud: "H-He's a little gloomy in my opinion... If only he become more talkative then perhaps I could approach him easier..."

🤖 Ortho Shroud: "H-He looks very cool...! I've never seen a robot in my life before so I was really impressed by how pretty he look...! He's also very friendly and kind too so I felt at ease whenever I talk to him...!"

Diasomnia

🐉 Malleus Draconia: "I-I don't know why, but whenever I saw him, my chest got tighten up for no reason... His eyes looks so familiar too, I wonder why...? A-Also, he might seems like a cold person, but it's not the truth at all...! In fact... He reminded me of a child a little bit...! *giggles*"

🦇 Lilia Vanrouge: "I-I actually thought he look quite young for his age... *giggles* And I don't know why, but his eyes give me a strange feeling, just like when I look at Draconia-san... Aside from that, he's very knowledgeable...! I really admire him about that...!"

⚔️ Silver: "W-When I first met him, I almost tripped on his feet...! To me, he is quite mysterious and somewhat hard to approach though... B-But if it's possible I would like to talk more with him...!"

⚡Sebek Zigvolt: "H-He almost gave me a heart attack whenever he shout at me out of nowhere...! And it seems like he respect Draconia-san a lot too...! B-But it seems like he doesn't like it much when I talk to him or Vanrouge-san, I wonder why...?"

Others

🌻Mary Merveilles: "S-She is one of the first person to become my friend so I really respect her...! I also admire her because she always stay positive, even when come across troubles... If only I could be more cheerful like her..."

🐱 Grim: "A-A very cute cat...! I love the feeling of touching his fur and pet his ears because it's very soft...! *giggles* Though it'll be better if he stop causing trouble around the school..."

🌙 Luana Crowley: "W-When I first met her, I was surprised by how mature she looks...! And not to mention, she also talk like a true lady too...! I really, really admire the Vice Headmaster and I hope I can talk confidently like her someday...!"

Dire Crowley: "H-His masks looks very mysterious... I felt like he is hiding something, but I just can't tell what it is... I wonder why...?"

Mozus Trein: "L-Lucius-san is very, very cute...! Ah! I wasn't supposed to talk about him huh... *giggles* it's just that Trein-sensei's cat is very cute so I couldn't help it... His words are quite easy to understand, so I guess I can say he's a good teacher...?"

Divus Crewel: "H-His appearance is very... unique...? Even though I sometimes got scared of the stick that he kept carrying around, his lessons are actually quite easy to understand...! T-Though I would prefer it more if he stop calling me a "puppy"..."

Sam: "A-At first, I thought he's a weird person, but he's actually a cool person...! Not only did his shop contain lots of nice things, he's also very friendly too...! I-I often come to his shop to buy ingredients or new kind of paper for origami...!"

----------------❄️-----------------

TRIVIA:

+ *: Goma stands for ゴマフビロードウミウシ "Gomafubirodoumiushi" which is a type of sea slug that known for its fluffiness and cuteness in Japan and other Asia countries. It can also be called "Sea bunny" in English.

+ **: "Shiro" mean white in Japanese, Cater probably referencing to her hair color

+ ***: This is not her actual birthday. It's the day when she was found in the backstory. Her real birthday is unknown ( She doesn't even remembered when she was born )

+ Her name, "Alice" is a reference to "Alice Liddell" - the main character of "Alice in Wonderland" series while her last name is a reference to the (supposedly) white roses in the Rose Maze

+ While her profile stated that her homeland is Rose Kingdom, her backstory actually revealed that it's not her true origin.

+ In Alice's school uniform R card's personal story, she stated that the Heart key was a gift of someone she cherished until now.

+ She actually joined the Science club just to be able to take care of the school's garden easier

+ When she's bored, she will unconsciously do origami. It's one of her habit and hobby

+ Which is the reason why she often carrying around a small stack of colorful paper in her pocket

+ If you want to look for her, she'll usually be around the Rose Maze or the Botanical Garden. Alice also occasionally at the library too.

+ Her room have lots of decorations made from papers

+ She eats quite a lot but only when she's alone. Alice does stated that she doesn't want others to know about her appetite.

Will add more facts in the future~

----------------❄️-----------------

...And that's it! I actually decided to redesign one of my first child, Alice and give her a more detailed backstory! To all of you who read until the very end, I'm very, very thankful 💞💞💞 Also, I'll post all OCs related posts in this blog from now on while my other blog: @twststrash will mainly about rebloging and other stuffs!

Also, after finished her Ceremonial Robe, I realized what my true nightmare is: drawing detailed patterns. God I hope I won't draw it again after finished redesign all of my current OCs -w- Anyway, peace~!

[sicprowl]

Death by Chocolate

Dimitri and Cute Byleth stuff - bc why not?

“What the heck are you wearing?!”

Dimitri frowned, glancing down at his pristine white outfit with black trim, gold buttons, and matching blue and white cape.  Even his long hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, something he’d been proud of.

The nine year old couldn’t help but panic and clutch his novelty bag close, “I-It’s my costume!”

Sylvain blinked, his fake fangs peeking out from his upper lip.  "Yeah, I can see that!  But what are you supposed to be?!“

The red headed vampire guffawed only for Ingrid to stomp on his foot.  She then smacked him out of the way with her Valkyrie shield, “I think you look great Dimitri.”

That seemed to ease the young boy, “T-Thank you.  El helped me pick it out.”

Now it was Sylvain’s turn to be unsure, “Edelgard?  Your step-sister?”

Ingrid punched him with her shield again and gave the blond an approving nod.  "It’s great that you two are getting along.  Getting a new family is…tough.“

Dimitri didn’t reply, not needing to be told how hard it’d been when his father married her mother.  The boy had been excited to get a sibling, but all his interactions with said girl made him think she didn’t want anything to do with him.

"Where is Ms. Imperial Princess?”

“She’s with Hubert,” Dimitri answered as Ingrid hissed at him to stop it.  "They left the house before I was done getting ready…“

"All, tall dark and Snape-y.”  Sylvain snickered, earning another hit in the gut - only this time from an arriving Felix.

“Would you stop acting like an idiot?”  The shorter boy snarled while crossing his arms, “You’re embarrassing!”

Sylvain gave his friend an extra toothy grin, “Says the boy dressed up like Leonardo.”

“I’m a NINJA!  Not a ninja turtle!!”

The boys sniped at each other while they left Dimitri’s house and joined the many costumed kids filing around outside.  The sun was still out, so a lot of the younger kids were walking with parents or in large groups - much like their own.  It was going to be crowded like this for a while considering they were one of the better neighborhoods.  

Three words.  King sized bars.

“Is Dedue going to trick or treat with us?”  

Dimtri smiled at Ingrid, “Y-Yes.  He’s got to do something first, but he said he’d meet up with us soon.”

“I’m surprised he’s coming at all,” Sylvain shrugged as they came to the second house.  "Trick or treating might be too childish for him.“

"Says the eldest of the group,” Felix sniffed disapprovingly while Sylvain looked affronted.

“Hey!  I’m just trying to enjoy my last Halloween!”  The vampire grinned and flipped his hair, “I’m getting older after all - and I can’t spend next year looking for candy.  Not unless there’s a girl involved.”

Felix and Ingrid looked disgusted and made fun of the red head as they continued down the line of houses, bags growing heavy with treats and the occasional peppermint.  Decorations both cute and scary greeted them at each house - along with the occasional dad who thought he was scary enough to frighten some kids.  They didn’t mind if it, not if it meant more candy if they played along.

It was an hour later when the sun was already halfway past the horizon, most of the younger kids already going home for the night or visiting their last few houses.  Now the streets were littered with kids thier age and preteens like Sylvain, clinging to their last night of childhood before they focused on things like sports and awkward dating.

Dimitri didnt’ look forward to that, not when his mind was already reeling with nervousness.

Not when they were nearing the house.

“Whoa, look at this place!”  Sylvain pointed, “I think it’s the creepy place behind your house, Dimitri!”

“S-Shush!”  The blond whispered urgently, wide eyes staring at the old manor with panic.  "You’re being rude!“

But Sylvain continued to talk loudly, noting that the place was probably the oldest manor in the neighborhood.  With run down shingles, shabby siding, dirty panels and creaky steps that could wake the dead.  The windows were dirty, or foggy, Dimitri wasn’t sure.  The front yard was slightly overrun with weeds, boxwood bushes that looked like lumpy meatballs and a driveway full of cracks that were need of serious repair.

Felix gave the shabby home the side eye.  "Does anyone even live there?”

“Y-Yes,” Dimitri replied with a soft voice, his gaze looking around for something or someone.

“Whoa, really!?”  Sylvain’s smile grew, “Do you think it’s haunted?  Is the guy living there creepy?  Does he stare at you from his windows?”

“N-No!”  His head whipped around on his friend, affronted.  "The family that lives here is very polite-“

But Sylvain ignored him, already walking towards the creepy home.  Even the sight of other kids avoiding it wasn’t enough to deter him - which only made Dimitri begin to panic.

"W-Wait!”  The Prince grabbed his friend’s arm, but he was looking around wildly.  "We can’t!“

"Huh?  Why not?”

Dimitri blushed, suddenly nervous as everyone began to stare, “B-Because…  Because-!”

“I’m sorry I’m late,” A new voice piped in and they all turned.

“Dedue!”

Oh thank the Goddess!

Dimitr couldn’t help but feel relief at seeing his loyal friend who was…dressed as a cowboy?  The group eyed his button up shirt, jeans with carpet sewn on the sides, leather boots and  spurs, and brown leather hat placed neatly on his head.  Sylvain would have laughed at how serious Dedue looked in his not-so-serious costume if he didn’t already know the boy could knock him into next week.  The fact that the dark skinned boy acted like nothing was wrong was enough to make Dimitri feel better about his own costume.

“Took you long enough,” Felix scowled with a point of his plastic sword.  "You missed half the houses already.“

"Apologies.  The bakery was busy and my family needed the extra help.”

Felix huffed, accepting the explanation while Sylvain gestured towards the run down house with his thumb.  "All right, let’s go, let’s go!  I wanna see what kind of candy this place has!“

"If they have any at all,” Felix muttered as he walked with the vampire, Ingrid following after them.

Dedue and Dimitri stood still, the blond’s body fidgeting with nervous energy while the tall cowboy looked down at him, silent.

“Did…Is it done?”

His face felt scorching hot when Dedue nodded, pulling a wrapped bundle from inside his pocket.  "Yes.  It set before I had to leave.“

Dimitri let out a breath of relief, wanting to open the foil and look at his personal creation, but was also too afraid to see it.

"T-Thank you,” he smiled while taking the item, cradling it in his hands like it were precious.  "I really appreciate your help with this…I wasn’t sure…“

Dedue placed his hand on the blond’s shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze and tiny smile.  No words were said, but the look that passed between them was enough.

Gathering up his courage, the Prince gave his friend a nod before they walked up to the house where Sylvain was repeatedly ringing the doorbell.

"Hmmm, maybe no one’s home?”  

Ingrid glared and smacked his hand away from the button, just in time as the front door to open and an adult greet them with a gruff hello.  All but Dedue paled at the sight of the messy haired man, eyes blearly from what could only be from a heavy sleep.  No one said anything as he ran a hand through his honey brown hair while looking down at them.

“Trick or treat?”  Sylvain smiled, bag out hesitantly.

The man blinked, clearly confused as he looked at the boy before he cursed under his breath, hand rubbing his chin.

“Shit.  Is it Halloween?”

Sylvain lowered his bag while the others showed varying degrees of disappointment on their faces.  The man mumbled out an apology, tired eyes watching as the kids talked about the next house as they turned to leave.  Then his gaze stopped on Dimitri and Dedue, waiting for them to also leave.

…

“Uh…”  The man rubbed the back of his neck, “Sorry.  I don’t really have any candy.”

Dimitri swallowed, staring up at his very familiar neighbor.  Though he’d never seen the man up close, he recognized by his hair and the way he stood, that this was the same person who spent many hours of the day working outside.  Each day was either spent on the roof, windows, or yard; hammering away at loose nails, pulling weeds, or painting anything that wasn’t dry rotted.

It was no surprise that he was so tired and Dimitri almost felt bad for bothering him but…

“Oh, Byleth…”

The young boy stiffened, eyes wide as he saw a bit of movement behind the man’s legs.  A girl, his other neighbor, peeking out at them.  

Suddenly his throat felt dry and words escaped him when their eyes met.  Mint meeting blue, curious vs panicked.  The familiar girl stepped out in the door way, getting a better look at the two trick or treaters.  He blushed the longer she stared, suddenly wishing that pretty gaze wasn’t looking at him at this moment.  Oh goddess, his hands were so sweaty; so hot and sweaty that Dimitri feared he’d melt the treat between his palms.

“T-Trick or treat!”  He stuttered at her, holding out his gift to the girl he’d been watching from the small gap of flowers and fence that separated their yards.

Amusement flashed between the man’s eyes as he looked down at Dimitri.  "I’m pretty sure we’re the ones who have to give you a treat, kid.“

Dimitri blushed, shaky arms still held out towards the blank girl.  Hopeful.  Desperate.

Her father nudged her shoulder.  She looked up at him for silent confirmation and earned a nod before she took the gift.  The Prince swallowed when their fingers touched then quickly pulled away the moment she had the bundle.  Dedue gave him a look of encouragement as the girl unwrapped the chocolate in the shape of a flower.

Dimitri spent many hours with Dedue the day before in his family’s bakery, learning to make chocolate from his friend specifically for this reason.  It had been embarrassing to ask, but Dedue had been understanding and patient as he showed him the steps and how to decorate.

"It’s a Forget-Me-Not.”  Dimitri blabbed, eyes wide as if under a spotlight.  "I-I tried to make a rose, but they’re a little hard and…“

He shut up, feeling stupid for doing all this in the first place.  

This pretty girl was probably already in MIDDLE SCHOOL and what was he?  Some dumb little kid with a dumb little crush.

She turned the candy in her hands, staring blankly at the simple shapes before nodding at Dimitri.  He exhaled through his nose in response, only to snort.  The Prince covered the lower half of his face, mortified.

"Byleth?  You got something to say?”

The girl looked up at her father then back to Dimitri who still had his face covered.

“Thank you.”

Red began to spread up his neck, cheeks, and even to the tips of his ears as he let out a garbled you’re welcome.  After another awkward second of staring, Dedue came to his rescue by bidding the two farewell then dragged his friend away before he could make a bigger fool of himself.

“You did well.”  Dedue whispered, making Dimitri want to groan.

“Please don’t tell anyone…”

“Of course.”

The rest of their night was uneventful as they collected more candy then they could ever eat and went back home, bellies full and aching.  Dimitri didn’t touch any of his, too busy groaning into his pillow and wondering what had come over him.

Perhaps he could convince his father to move?  Surely it was doable.  

Luckily the boy didn’t feel the need to.  Not when he found a small bag of Hershey kisses on his side of the garden, right next to his flower gap where he’d sit and stare.

He wasn’t sure if he should look deeper into the meaning, but the gift made his heart soar all the same.

[insomnihan]

han’s Entire Thoughts and Feelings on Dreamcatcher’s “Scream”

ITS FUCKING HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LIKE THIS IS ON GOD HAPPENING I HAVENT BEEN ABLE TO RELAX I CANNOT LET THIS WAIT ANY LONGER LETS GET IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

there are no read mores here so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

ALRIGHT SO-

THE SONG THIS F UCKING SONG WHERE👏DO👏I👏START 👏 I KNEW RIGHT WHEN I WENT ON TO LISTEN TO THE GODDAMN LYRIC SPOILER bc im an impatient little bich THIS WAS GONNA KICK MY SHINS KNEE ME IN THE NOSE AND OWN. ME. i forgot which moot i said this to but i said they should try putting their rock/metal sound with an edm kind of sound anD HERE WE ARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT SOUNDS SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!! this got my heart racing quick as hell even during the slower parts????????? im sorry to the beginning parts, jiu, and the bridge i cant RELAX™

CRITICISM???????? I DUNNO THAT BI TCH™

(i wont tag every part they have ill just describe some of them lmao)

JIU JIU JIU JIU JIU JIU JIU JIU JIU JIU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MISS KIM MINJI YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this, this, THIS AND THIS G O D her voice is just so perfect to start the song to ease you into this BOP™ and then her voice for those pre-chorus parts to ready you ONCE AGAIN for that chorus BUT YET its still hype as hell bc you K N O W what shes leading you into her voice is LIKE FEATHERS AND CLOUDS dont ask

yoohyeon i swear to god- her voice........................... i cannot begin.............. to even describe how nice it is.................... I DUNNO HOW SERIOUSLY like it just has that tone and power where its not very high nor very low and its just.................. lord......... going right after jiu for this it was just so UUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH- pls i CANNOT with these parts and then still being a part of the choruses MA’AM WHY DOES YOUR VOICE JUST HITS THE SPOT HUH-

sua ALSO HAS A VOICE I JUST CANNOT DESCRIBE it just has this like..................... its unique and very alluring???????? i feel like i HAVE TO SAY THIS but her voice is as sexy as she is i- putting her right after jiu and yoohyeon at the beginning HOO and then this after gahyeon and damis fire and then shes also in the CHORUS TOO AND SHE ADDS MORE STRENGTH IN HER VOICE HELLO

SIYEON I HAVE TO SAY THIS AGAIN I WOULD LISTEN TO YOUR VOICE FOREVER IF I COULD her voice is just meant to do this kind of genre i swear to GOD like THIS????????? THIS x2??????????? BICTH THIS?????????????? she just sings so effortlessly and the emotion she puts like YOU CAN FEEL THAT S HIT especially in the bridge YEESH listening now it mellowed me out for like two (2) seconds before i went feral again

PIRI GAHYEON WALKED SO SCREAM GAHYEON COULD SPRINT pls i listened to this part and i was like ‘oH OKAY SING GO AHEAD’ oh no. nononononono NECK PLOT TWIST: SHES A RAPPER AGAIN BICTH THIS RIGHT HERE THATS HOW YOU GIVE WHIPLASH- AND THIS S HIT OOF THAT HIT- her voice is a lot deeper than we think LIKE her range is actually pretty big and we LOVE to hear it

dami..................................... what the f uck- FIRST OF ALL this was Too Much already on first listen and then your rap verse DO YALL HEAR HER PASSION??????? BC I HEAR IT DONT GET ME STARTED ON THIS PART WOO!!!!! LISTEN THAT HAD ME HOPPING AND JUMPING IN MY BED ON GOD- i swear pls stop saying this han come on she has one of the most (if not THE MOST) recognizable voices EVER???????? 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE DANCE FOR THIS SONG HAS GOT TO BE THE TOUGHEST CHOREO FOR THEM YET IVE SCREAMED ENOUGH ABOUT THE MASKED DANCER HOLDING HANDONGS SPOT UNTIL SHE GETS BACK AND HOW THEY HAVE GODDAMN BACKUP DANCERS LITERALLY THIS DANCE HAS SO MUCH POWER™ AND ITS SO HIGH ENERGY WHO THE FUC K IS DOING IT LIKE THEM

(i will be using the suit dance video for this portion)

JIU BEING LIFTED AT THE BEGINNING

THE CHORUS DANCES ARE YOU KIDDING ME- these parts.......................... oh s hit- and theN THE ENTIRE LAST ONE LIKE THAT ONE HITS AND MAKES YOU ITS BI-

literally both damis and gahyeons ‘devil. eyes. come.’ ESPECIALLY GAHYEONS when everyone is pointing at her (with this 🤘) thats Art™ right there

GAHYEONS RAP PART the usage of masks.................................. the symmetrical movement......................... Art™ part 2

these dances for sua and siyeons parts after the raps................... especially on the floor................ oh no- also i have to say siyeon lands on her knees really hard for that part i hope shes okay

jiu dancing by herself that is all

siyeon being Sexie™ that is all

dami stealing my heart and stomping on it that is all

ending pose with this 🤘 THE ICONIC™ AND LEGENDARY™ JUMPED OUT

THE VISUALS listen....................... LISTEN............................ LISTEN..................... L I S T E N- OKAY like my last two dreamcatcher thoughts and feelings (which if you wanna read: here and here) ill just show the scenes that i really liked (trust me it was REALLY hard to choose i might as well just put the mv again) and how i felt looking at them

............................................................................... oh f UCK-

ma��am whatever this is can you destroy me with it im ready-

OH S HIT

FOR THE WLW

but seriously whoever gave this woman a sword knows what the somnies like and wanna see and yes i too wanna get sliced the fuc k up

every time i see this i make like this songs title name and S C R E A M

i have no crazy special reason as to why i put her here other than i d worded when i saw her

GAHYEON NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this has to be one of the coolest things ive ever seen like on god this is so Pleasing to My Eyes like what the f kcu im like this A LOT

b ru H this part........................ theyre all doing this 🤘 at her.................... waht does it mean................... what doES IT MEAN

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH BICTH MXCUSE ME WHAT THE FKUC DOES THIS MEAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ooooooooooooooooooh mmmmmmmyyyyyyYYYYYYYYYY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

also some bonus gahyeon screenshots its what she deserves after spinning my head 360 degrees <3 (also i didnt notice that both did the sign love this for her)

T H E M

WELL WELL WELL STILL AS BEAUTIFUL AS EVER I SEE- HERE TO TELL ME THAT YOU ALL STILL HOLD THE TITLE OF BEING THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMEN IN THE WORLD LITERALLY WHAT CAN I SAY????????????? I ALREADY BE YELLING HERE THAT THEYRE FRICKIN BEAUTIFUL AND STUNNING AS ALL HELL BUT IMMA KEEP SAYING IT AND YOURE NOT GONNA STOP ME

THE BLACK DANCE OUTFITS........................ THE WHITE DANCE OUTFITS........................... G OD

NO COMPLAINTS LETS MOVE ON:

JIU

her purple hair already hurted me and shes beautiful enough but in this video when she iS LITERALLY THE VERY FIRST MEMBER YOU SEE WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT WHEN YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL- pls i love lace................... her white outfit got chains on it................... and OH BICTH THE BLACK OUTFIT SHOWS HER BACK IM FERAL

SUA

MISS I SWEAR TO GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I MUST ADDRESS THE OUTFIT WITH THE SWORD FIRST OKAY MA’AM LOOKING LIKE A WHOLE GODDESS WARRIOR READY TO SLICE BICTHES UP FOR TALKING S HIT LIKE ON SOME ‘YES IM FROM THEMYSCIRA’ VIBES AND DONT GET ME STARTED ON HER BLACK OUTFIT WITH HER BABS (BORA ABS) OUT

SIYEON

can you pls stop being beautiful for one (1) second can yoU PLS- i saw this shot in the mv and i think i fell in l*ve with her......................... as if i wasnt already shes as stunning as ever i cant stand her the black outfit with her long ass high pony tail witH THE GLOVES HELLO and that one look with the flowers or something on her head covering her eye.......... wow..........................

YOOHYEON

GIRL I GET IT YOURE SO PRETTY I UNDERSTAND!!!!!!!!!!!! this look in this specific photo with this dress and the braid uuuuuuuuuuuhhhhh Ma’am youre a goddess I Am Looking 👁👄👁 her white outfit with the pony tail and those straps around her torso oh god and then her black outfit seems simple until you realize it shows a little of her sides pls stop im a weak man i-

DAMI

HELLO MISS LEE YUBIN I SEE YOU DECIDED TO GO ‘F UCK YALL LIVES’ AND BE HOT™ HUH- tbh not even mad at her yullet (yubin mullet) but shes dami she can work MANY LOOKS™ her black and white scene during her rap like thats a Look™ that attacked me and like yoohyeons black outfit hers looks like nothing special until you realize her sides are also out........... oh no-

GAHYEON

GAHYEON THE WOMAN THAT YOU ARE!!!!!!!!!!! this is HER ERA NO I WILL NOT LISTEN YOU CANNOT CHANGE MY MIND- i wasnt expecting her to attack me as much as she did its that GODDAMN pink outfit from the l ver. of the teasers i sHOULDVE KNOWN!!!!!!! her black outfit is like suas does she have gabs (gahyeon abs) OH NO LORD PLS- SHES BIG BEAUTIFUL™!!!!!!!!!!!!

BONUS TIME: B-SIDE TRACKS (short thoughts and parts i liked) had to go and use the color coded lyrics to make sure to not mistake the members and appreciate them fake ass fan i have a hard time telling who is who sometimes pls dont roast me ill do better next time

Intro

OKAY LISTEN- this intro be hitting a little different compared to their last intros maybe its just me but i feel as tho it COULD go just a little harder yknow???? tho ofc im love it still but ANYWAY-

Tension

now this........................ this is beautiful so this was apparently was supposed to be called goodnight????? and changed the lyrics?????? so............... they were hiding this Bop™................ for a few years????? did i read that right?????? LITERALLY A SLAP™ IT IS HEADBANG MATERIAL the fkcuing drums oh pls- THE CHORUS SOMEONE TALK TO ME ITS ADDICTING i............... LOVE jius voice on this song in particular that slower part i dunno why she just got me i- those parts sua and siyeon do before that ‘break the wall’ part i dunno their kinda lower voices theyre making me feel Things™

Red Sun

SOUNDCLOUD RAPPER DAMI RISE-

okay seriously WHAT THE FKCU- IT GRABBED MY NECK DURING THE HIGHLIGHT MEDLEY something about those bells or whatever throughout this song just hurted me so much ‘red sun’ just....................... gets in your brain and im okay with that!!!!!!!!!!! like its true that the beginning part is so intriguing and lowkey hypnotizing WOW and then their voices sound kinda breathy be hitting a little different MISS LEE GAHYEON ON THIS.................. MA’AM-

Black Or White

the guitar the fkycing guitaR CAN WE PLS TALK ABOUT THE GUITAR AND THE BASS FOR A SECOND???????? HELLO??????? THE CRUNCHINESS™ and then dami in the middle (not @ me for thinking she cursed in this song 🤡)  S HU T- AND HELLO JIU SIYEON AND DAMI ALL TOOK PART IN WRITING THESE LYRICS BICTH IM YELLING- THAT BLACK OR WHITE IN THE CHORUS SIYEON SINGS IS STUCK IN MY HEAD HELP ME jk im okay with it being there yoohyeon jiu and gahyeon during those pre-chorus parts......................... good christ............

Jazz Bar

pls stop flirting with me.................................. DAMI ESPECIALLY LISTEN- I HAD TO LOOK UP THE LYRICS WITH THE COLOR CODE TO MAKE SURE MY EARS WERENT MESSING WITH ME LEE YUBIN I WILL FALL IN L*VE WITH YOU S T O P THE F CKUING BRIDGE- dami sitting on a piano during that part................ Thinking™ jiu sua and yoohyeon oh pls they sound so good and pleasant to the ears................. it feels like im in a jazzy cafe during the evening and its raining outside im drinking a latte with a cream heart design inside and im wearing a scarf- ALSO JIU SIYEON YOOHYEON AND DAMI TOOK PART IN WRITING THIS TOO BICTH!!!!!!!!!! dami saying this was one of her favorites Y E A H

SAHARA

HERE WE HAVE THE SONG WE MEMED BEFORE WE GOT IT but like that ‘SA HA RA~ RA RA RA~’ part is SUPER CATCHY siyeon and gahyeon and sua holy damn i- siyeon during the second verse AND HER HIGH NOTE ma’am im love you- also SOUNDCLOUD RAPPER DAMI RISE 2.0 i dunno what it is with dami with her raps being like this but im not even mad????????? i feel like thats an unpopular opinion something about that instrumental that guitar is hitting a part of my heart that i wanna hear it and then those drums it sounds SO COOL

In the Frozen

HERES ANOTHER FKCUING BANGER THAT GRABBED MY NECK AND WOULDNT LET. GO. like i literally fell off my GODDAMN BED HEARING THIS S HIT GOT MY HEART PUMPING AND S HIT its that flower line whatever it is that siyeon yoohyeon and sua do GOOD LORD and then dami???????? miss?????????? THE ENDING PORTION OH LISTEN- WHATEVER IS GOING ON WITH THE INSTRUMENTAL HOLY SH IT AND DAMI SAYING ‘LIMIT NO MORE’ AND ALL IT REALLY DIDNT HAVE TO GO THAT HARD F U C K-

새벽 (Daybreak)

now this is a song that could heal souls- its not super slow like a ballad but it has like a lowkey jazz lo-fi (???) feel to it and their vocals are super gentle and smooth are these angels- i dunno what it is about all these songs and the second verses like this one is good too??????? especially yoohyeon U H i felt that in mY BONES i can definitely see this song as one i would go to when i wanna relax to or even fall asleep to bc its so soothing

Outro

THIS HITS REALLY DIFFERENT AND I LIKE IT I DUNNO WHAT IT IS IT JUST FEELS NICE IN MY EARS

LIKE i was expecting this album to be SUPER INCREDIBLE COME ON ITS DREAMCATCHER YKNOW but i didnt think itd be THIS incredible this group is just so full of surprises and are just the MOST HIDDEN GEMS its unfortunate they really arent very known trying to be a little critical ofc there are SOME things that could be different theres nothing absolutely and truly perfect ever- personally i am IN LOVE with this album theyve topped themselves from their last comeback which like HOLY S HIT however will this be the comeback that will get them their first win? ..................... to be honest its hard to tell i was so hopeful last comeback and yknow stuff happened OFC I DO HOPE AND WISH THEYLL WIN but whats most important (at least to me) is that i enjoy their music and enjoy all the content they give and appreciate their work and their voices

IN CONCLUSION: PLEASE YALL ALWAYS MAKE ME SCREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and like before i must bring this back:

[minecraftoworymode]

picked a whole bouquet of whoopsie-daisies the other day reading some Very badfeel content so to cheer myself up here’s some super self-indulgent ramblings about romeo recovery post-s2

“YOU CAN DANCE IF YOU WANT TO YOU CAN LEAVE YOUR INTERNALIZED MISOGYNY BEHIND” or how romeo learned to stop worrying and indulge in the ““feminine”“ shit in life

when romeo transitioned he scrubbed everything that could be potentially viewed as feminine from his appearance and behaviour. while he did everything he could about the former (hairstyle, clothing, body language, voice), it didn’t feel like enough bc he couldn’t change some things that ppl used to be jerks- his frame (short and lithe), his family, his being trans- so he made up for it by trying to “act” like a “real man”. this unfortunately meant he was super vulnerable to manipulative alt-right indoctrination tactics (”we will validate you as a man as long as you endorse our assholery and share our shitty beliefs about what it means to be a man”) and he was on the verge of getting sucked into gamergate ideology when [THIS LORE IS ANOTHER POST] and hey, now the world is minecraft. u dont gotta perform gender roles for villagers they dont care. xara will not only actually eat ur liver for pulling The Bullshit but when you are kind she smiles, so bright and warm, and it is very very nice so maybe you should keep on doing that. n fred? fred is chill with their Everything in a way uve only ever Dreamed of. romeo marinates in this sauce for a couple centuries and comes the closest to being comfortable in his own skin he’s ever been.

however,

after the Incident he slam-dunked himself back into the hypermasculinity juice bc it was a mindset “safe” from feeling pain, whether his or others’. n since the worlds the admins created dont have the same ideas of gender as the world they came from, once he’s been dethroned romeo has a particularly hard time adjusting wrt That on top of all the other 2750347502730 issues he has to face

anyway flash forward a couple months of being incredibly volatile bc he now has to confront all the terrible things he did and how Dare u make him do that and maybe if hes nasty enough he can provoke someone into killing him and saving him from having to unpack All Of That- (note from @simple-mooshroom-herder​: Xara and Jesse at least grasp that Romeo will probably burn himself out on this bullshit eventually and the best thing to do is interact with him with a certain level of healthy detachment. Eventually he'll see that theres no "getting out of this" and he'll start to do the Work but until then its very frustrating to see that tactic take him nowhere.)

- one day petra notices how he’s constantly staring at all the ppl wearing cute dresses in beacontown and at first she thinks he's being creepy but then realizes that he's not being creepy and actually she knows exactly how he feels bc she also used to look at ppl wearing clothes super not suited for combat like that, like she wished she could wear them too, like if she just didnt have to keep up this image of the Warrior who is Not Soft Ever-

n ok. listen. these worlds have been specifically engineered to be better and kinder than the one the admins came from, and when people mess up- even REALLY mess up- people are generally not only willing to forgive you but support you as you try and get better. it’s instinctual for communities to respond to misdeeds with rehabilitation and reconciliation, rather than retaliation and renunciation (tho its not an overnight thing and it generally takes 1-3 people to spearhead the process, esp if the actions have affected a large group of people). like. ivor created something that almost destroyed the entire world, not just beacontown, yet by the end of season one he’s grown to be a part of the team- n its not just jesse & co being forgiving here, bc when ivor made his s1 build with 3 lava source blocks people objected to it, but by s2 he not only has lava in his build but a giant lake of it. (im assuming the fences around said lake are coming eventually, bc safety is still important, but the implications im choosing to take from this are a) despite almost ending the world people let him into their lives anyway and b) the community not only grew to accept but encourage his self-expression.)

BUT ANYWAY before i go off on that even more one day petra and romeo basically put on an impromptu fashion show in jesse’s house (bc their house is huge and, kind of perfect for a fashion show, and also right next to the order hall’s armory whence they stole a bunch of fancy swords to match the outfits) n theyre having a blast until the hero in residence , returns to their residence (and with COMPANY) n romeo is absolutely Mortified- caught red-handed showing feelings of an almost human nature, oh my god, this will NOT do- n this whole grand soliluquy of shame and excuses and apologies grabs the steering wheel of his tongue but he cant even spit a single syllable out bc jesse and lukas almost immediately dip leaving romeo panicking for a second before they come back with their inventories FULL of cute outfits, including a billion skirts and dresses, some of them are even enchanted so theyre like. super shiny or constantly flowing or things like that.

this actually ends up spiralling into a town-wide... not quite fashion show bc there's no runway or anything, everyone just shows up in their cutest/coolest outfits .. fashion convention?? Anyway several people come up to him and compliment him on his outfit casually before continuing along, not recognizing him not only bc of how hes done his hair and makeup n what hes wearing but he just seems... so happy (he might be wearing something on his head? like a headpiece or hat or something? but also maybe not hmm)- whoever this is, he's not hunched over like he's got several centuries' worth of sins crawling on his back he’s not trying to shrink and make small a human-shaped apology for the simple fact of his existence not dragging his feet like hes ready for, dreading, a hundred mile trek through the desert repenting hes just. hes literally just Vibing

anyway he's mostly been silent or just providing very quiet "thank you"s but when it turns out that some people showed up ready to play music and there's a song that he knows he literally cant help but start jamming out its the GOod Stim everyones a-dancing and a-jiving and some people start to sing and so of course he does too (the healing power of dancing and singing in cute outfits.... unfathomable) but. ppl recognize his voice

and after a few seconds he notices how quiet it's gotten all of a sudden n everyones looking at him like "oh shit thats the admin" and honestly his heart breaks. visibly

but

then someone starts singing, so quiet it takes a moment for him to hear over the sound of an encroaching panic attack (oh god he has airpods in), but when he looks over theyre smiling - theyre smiling at hiM???? AND IT DOESNT EVEN LOOK MEAN??- and doing this very simple step, that he catches onto just as easily as he matches their singing (its a fairly common little tune n dance)

theyre like standing like a good few meters away but as they take turns with lines in the song they slowly inch closer

and he thinks hes starting to recognize the dance that the steps theyre doing is from but at the part in the song thats coming up ur supposed to allemande left and even tho theyre like, less than a meter away now literally no one has really wanted to get close to him, let alone actually touch him, so hes totally expecting them to be like 'psych' and humiliate him in front of the entire crowd-

BUT THEN THEY ACTUALLY GO FOR IT???

he completes the step without even thinking about it n continues onto the next in this state of dull bewilderment where there is but one braincell active in his head and it is just going, in a very tiny voice, "danser?"

- when they linked arms the person briefly seemed surprised that he didn't like, chew their arm off or anything (he had. kind of snapped at people a few times during the past few weeks), but then their shock turned into a wide smile and they sort of- nodded? at someone over his shoulder like 'come and join us, it doesn't look like he's going to kill me after all you guys can put the eulogy writing on hold'

what rly makes his heart do the confused and hopeful conga is that this isnt even anyone romeo knows, its a total stranger. or- like- he saw them while he was pretending to be jesse he just didnt care to get to know them beyond ‘name and gimmick’- its not even someone who has any reason to think he'd be cool to befriend its literally jsut someone taking a chance on him (tkae a chance take a chance take a chance take a cha)

afterwards hes like "i should thank jesse for putting you up to that, it was fun" and theyre like "what? jesse didn't "put me up to" anything, dude, you just looked super choked. * something something surfer lingo who would i be if i just left someone to feel bad when they could be having fun dancing you know?*"

he H

[bakudekuficlibrary]

hey, can i ask for a fics where bakudeku are texting each other? if not, thank you anyway ;*

Here’s a mini-list of the fics I could find with texting/messaging between bakudeku! Because you specified bkdk texting each other, I excluded group chat AUs. AO3 also has parent tags that include variations of the tag, so many fics with sexting tagged instead of texting came up. We decided to separate those from the fics with just the texting (or the texting and sexting) tags.

- Jay

20 Works.

Texting

BNHA Grindr AU No One Asked For by HatakeJory ( E | 70,979+ | 37/50 )

Izuku is a second-year at U.A. and ready for his first relationship so he downloads the gay dating app known as Grindr. He meets pro hero and U.A. graduate Bakugou Katsuki who is looking for a cute boy to spoil, and eventually someone who’s awesome enough to run his Hero Agency with.

Who knows what they’ll find in each other?

[Underage]

I’ll share this with you, so leave it behind by yabakuboi ( G | 3,508 | 1/1 )

For the sake of the story, All Might is never in need of a successor, and, when Izuku saves Katsuki from the sludge monster, encourages young Midoriya down a different path. Thus, Katsuki and Izuku part ways after junior high, as Katsuki enters U.A. and the Midoriyas move overseas. It’s later that Katsuki realizes that there’s something missing, that he drove that something away.

Years after, Katsuki finds him in the last place he looks, in the cereal aisle at the local grocery store of their childhood neighborhood.

[Abandoned] They Say 3 a.m. is the Hour of the Wicked. They Weren’t Wrong, but I Didn’t Expect “Wicked” to Mean This. by Celestial_Hero ( T | 16,085 | 13/? )

Remember the last time you actually slept before 3 in the morning? Neither does Izuku, thanks to the #alwayslit conversations from the hellhole known as the group chat. Where the pizzas are always b o n e l e s s and the shade constant, Izuku wonders what he’s done wrong in his life to deserve the constant salt from the active landfill.

Not Who You Think by SinaBrosLN( E | 6,406+ | 4/? )

Who knew one simple photo of you and your best friend could have your crush messaging you, asking for you to date them! It was too good to be true!

A story where Katsuki thinks Izuku is the cute girl in his profile photo and not the nerdy guy with messy hair.

Smile, Sunshine boy by Abyssale( M | 13,269+ | 4/? )

In another world, in another universe, Midoriya Izuku is born the only child of Toshinori Yagi A.K.A All Might. To protect his little family, he decided to go back to America after a villain attack. In this world, Izuku is not born quirkless, but his quirk can help him to be a superhero. With All Might as his role model, he decided to train, and do what he can to become someone his dad can be proud of.

This story begins some years after this, in California where Midoriya Izuku met U.A. students on a school trip. This is the story of a sunshine boy, who will find friendship, love and other things along the way. It’s the story of a family who can move mountains to protect each other. It’s just another story about the life of Midoriya Izuku.

[Graphic Depictions Of Violence]

Rain by naths( G | 1,335 | 1/1 )

Midoriya woke up to the sound of light rain pattering against the window. Lazily he rolled himself onto his back and rubbed his eyes before he glanced at the clock. 10 am. Bakugou was at work by now. But he had the day off. So he had their apartment all for himself.

He snuggled down into the pillows and pulled the blanket further over him again. If he just stayed a few more moments in bed then that would be fine. He grabbed his phone and checked it for some messages, but the only one he had gotten was from Ochaco and Kacchan.

He opened Kacchan´s first.> Morning Nerd! It´s raining so put on a coat if you go out. Be back around 5 pm. Take care of yourself.Midoriya chuckled to himself and texting a quick reply> Thank you Kacchan, will be. Love you.

I don’t think you care, but do you? by confused_atm( M | 5,577 | 5/? )

Izuku is still scarred from his relationship with Katsuki during their childhood, and maybe they try to fix it. Together.(I’m bad at summaries y'all :’) help idk what I’m doing)!!TRIGGER WARNING!! There is self-harm, but only in like the first chapterThis is rated M bc of ^ and underage drinking uwu

[Self Harm]

Not Worried, but Katsuki’s a Liar by DeathByShyKid( T | 1,781 | 1/1 )

Katsuki tried not to resort to anger, tried to control it, he really did but Izuku was not answering his texts.

He wouldn’t have needed to text him if Izuku had shown up to school like he’s supposed to. By the time he’d already been seated and turned to look at where his boyfriend should have been sitting, Katsuki realized that the brat wasn’t even there. So, he was not worried but definitely shot a text Izuku’s way.

The Domestic Life Of Married Heroes by The_Crafty_Cracker( M | 2,642+ | 2/? )

Izuku smiles at the messages, he adores and loves his friends so very much, of course, he’ll go and help them out-wait!

This was the week that he and Kacchan had specifically placed a holiday in for at their agencies so that they could go out on a few dates and spend some time together without interruption.

But right now his friends need him…

Kacchan would understand, right?

Right?

[Abandoned] the space between by ruche( T | 4,707+ | 1/? )

Deku shifted weight back and forth on his feet. “Is it alright if I text you while you’re away?”

“Hah? You already text me.”

Or: with the gift of technology, Izuku manages to bug Katsuki even when he’s in another city entirely and has more important things to do. But alright.

Don’t Call My Boyfriend A Cuck, You Cuck by mearows( T | 294 | 1/1 )

1 New Message Kacchan’s PA: Good morning, Midoriya-san! Please don’t let Bakugou-san near any social media for today. If possible take away his phone and/or laptop. That’s all, thank you! 

Dear Future Boyfriend by peacheszxcx( G | 2,055+ | 16/? )

Dear Future Boyfriend,You probably don’t know even know me yet, so I guess I have to introduce myself. Hi! I’m Midoriya Izuku, your future boyfriend. I hope I could meet you soon! Love,Izuku

It’s Not A Date! by otaku916( M | 3,672+ | 1/? )

“If he doesn’t attack you the moment you walk through the door his dick is broken.” Ochako interrupted, making Izuku and Iida both choke on their spit.

Or

What happens when you have the emotionally constipated, gruff, socially inept guy ask out the oblivious nervous wreck? An awkward disaster of a date that’s what. Go through the pain of first dates, hormones, and running away from your feelings that comes with going through puberty - all while training to be a hero!

The Only One Who Can Receive His Feelings by dracofides( G | 1,744+ | 1/? )

Izuku gains the courage to text his crush to congratulate him on winning the game because he had nothing to lose, but Katsuki doesn’t take this very well and lashes out, demanding his name and purpose. It leads to Izuku telling him a story. After hearing, Katsuki suddenly feels guilty, so he lets Izuku stick around.

They bond.

….

A BakuDeku Text Story [Encoded like a text message]

“Yeah…” I turned back around and he was waiting for me ( Not Rated | 1,180 | 1/1 )

“Sorry.” I hide my head from his face which was slowly turning into a smile.

“Did you think I’d believe that?” He questioned.

“No.”

“I didn’t, I know you Kacchan.” My heart ached. Was this lie bringing us closer together?

Fuck yeah.

I just nodded, my face red. He’s the only one who can call me that.

Sexting

Swipe Right by Cellaira( E | 9,180 | 2/2 )

Kirishima had another stupid idea, and Katsuki had nothing to lose. Then, he discovered a witty, freckled, attractive stranger, and he had everything to gain.

(Like some damn good sex.)

In other words, the Grindr AU no one asked for but everyone secretly needed.

[On Hiatus] dick pic epistolary by animeboybuttsex( M | 10,113+ | 8/? )

Bakugou Katsuki? Needing FRIENDS? pfft nooooo

OR the original “accidental dick pic from a stranger” fic that there’s at least one of in any fandom

told in mostly texts at first

[ON HIATUS]

[Underage]

How Am I Getting Out of This One? by AniseTokunaga( E | 3,178+ | 2/? )

“There’s something he wants to try– actually, maybe a couple of things, if he’s being honest…”

Izuku fantasizes about Katsuki; a couple of mistakes in the making might make things more interesting, much to Izuku’s embarrassment.

More tags to be added if/when I update.

Claiming Deku by Kyna_Winchester( E | 8,245 | 1/1 )

It’s been two weeks since Izuku last snuck into Katsuki’s dorm room and he’s growing desperate. Can he make it through a day full of classes with his mind unable to focus on how bad he wants Katsuki?

The Selfie Challenge by errant_rivalry ( E | 3,902+ | ½ )

Frustrated by his separation from Katsuki due to incompatible work shifts, Izuku takes Ochako’s advice and downloads a little app called Snip Pic to help improve communication between the duo.

Things, inevitably, get a little out of hand.

[saigebeaumont]

- ̗̀ * ( robert sheehan + cismale + he/him ) have you seen ( benjamin ‘benjy’ magwitch ) walking around campus ? they are a ( twenty-three ) year old, studying ( political science ). we hear they are in ( rho pi rho ), and can be ( magnetic & irresponsible ), maybe it’s because they are a ( leo ). they sort of remind us of ( shiny red apples, walking on ledges, kaleidoscopes ), maybe we can find out more ! ( james + 19 + est + they/she ) *  ̖́-  + theatre/track

hi hello as u may have seen my name is james and this is my baby, benjy. i dont know how long this is going to get so pls bare with me

tw; fire? 

gen. info

full name: benjamin ‘benjy’ henry magwitch / joshua hollowood but u will never catch him actually using his real name tbqh

nickname(s): think of a random name. any century, any gender, any amount of letters or lack thereof. that’s it that’s his nickname. previous aliases that he has claimed to be are - thaddeus, balthazar, dante, romulus, etc., etc.

b.o.d. - july 31st, age 23

label(s): the icarian, the blackhole, the insouciant, etc. etc.

height: tall

hometown: ???

sexuality: chaotically bisexual

bio. info

let’s try and make this short n sweet

so like. y’know when a faerie steals a human baby and replaces it with it’s own, weaker, inferior baby? benjy is the human baby in this case

except they weren’t faeries

dorothea and fawley were two...somewhat, in love, folks--who had really wanted to have a child of their own. when they did, finally, have their child--he was very sickly and small and neither of them wanted their child to be weak goddammit

so they did a switcharoo, like...switched at birth except i’ve never ever seen switched at birth, and ran off with this extremely rich family’s newborn baby instead!

dorothea and fawley were part of a circus, and thus, lil benjy was raised in a circus !! how cute.

needless to say he was raised in a very nontraditional setting, like, homeboy was homeschooled bc they were literally always travelling, around the country and once or twice out of country.

despite that, he never doubted that his circus family didn’t love him or anything like ?? yeah he never called his ‘parents’ mom or dad, but that’s bc it was like...everyone was his parent.

dorothea and fawley told benjy that his name will never define him, and he could be anyone or anything he wants to be.

this caused a tiny benjy to be CONSTANTLY changing his name. like, almost everyday he’d just declare a new name and everybody in the circus would call him that specific name. even when he did acts, he’d go by a different name every single time

this carried onto adulthood and benjy still doesn’t tell people his real name very often. sometimes they’re sort of normal names n other times they’re fucking bizarre.

when he was seven he declared his name was ‘sock’ for an entire month.

grew up doing a buncha odd lil jobs and roles in the circus, from being a lil handyman like fawley to being a magician’s assistant like dorothea. t’was a lil tiny animal tamer (before the circus stopped using animals in their acts because we don’t stan circuses like that no we do NOT) at some point but reeeaaally liked tightrope walking and things as such

also tried his hand at fire-throwing/etc. etc. but the like eighteen (minor!) burn scars across his body will tell u that it was not for him and he gave it up to pursue knife throwing tricks and juggling

wasn’t rly ever around ppl his own age, also never had a smartphone before he was like eighteen or so--he’s not old fashioned but he can definitely be behind on the times

also grew up listening to primarily older rock/folk music/whatever the fuck music his family created/his own music

that being said benjy is good w a guitar but bitch cannot sing. he sounds like a dying frog.

he also did a bunch of petty theft but that’s bc some of the other folk in the circus did it and he was like huh. looks like fun. bc benjy is thoroughly an idiot but more on that later. so he got some shit on his record but he got them sealed when he turned 18, like, asap

but. benjy is a dumbass. he committed ANOTHER petty crime, because the boy has addictive qualities, and he left some dna evidence bc boy’s got some mf hair

surprisingly, it wasn’t through his records that they found him via his dna  but, rather, his real parents who did a whole ass dna kit thing for fun one day

this came as a shock to everybody involved, honestly, though tbh ? benjy didn’t care that much that he had parents who weren’t the circus, but that’s bc of his entire upbringing.

either way his birth parents wanted to like. y’know. meet their delinquent biological son and when they did they were like ‘woah woah woah wtf ur in a circus’ and he was like haha yeah

n that was...sort of it, for a while. benjy was 18, had his GED, n wasn’t planning on going to college at all.

the circus was still traveling, the world was all right, etc. etc, benjy maintained contact with his bio parents bc it was Polite to do

and then the circus burned down! somebody did a flaming knife trick when they weren’t supposed to and, long story short--the entire circus went up in flames. there were no victims, no worries, but their entire livelihood was gone and they were all effectively displaced.

when his Rich Biological Parents found out about benjy’s newfound predicament that he 100% was not responsible for whatsoever, they were like . . . . listen. we’ve got a Reputation to uphold, but we’ll send you to college.

he’s been here since he was like, 21, so he’s a junior i think ??

he’s majoring in political science but it’s like technically his first year as the major bc his freshmen yr he wanted to do anthropology and then he switched to mathematics and homeboy was nvr satisfied but now he thinks he wants to do smth w social welfare so he’s doing political science w theatre and public affairs as minors

personality

he’s got. a big personality

he’s got this sort of energy that attracts others but they don’t really know why bc holy shit benjy can be annoying

he’s just super intense ?? like the boy does not know how to calm down, he’s constantly moving around and being dramatic and sometimes whiny

pouts more than a person should averagely pouts

i wouldn’t call him a liar because he can be, very very blunt, and doesn’t know how to beat around the bush, but he likes telling half-truths simply to either confuse others or to just b a lil bitch tbh

he’s got big dumbass energy like okay he’s smart he just doesn’t apply himself very often and he just. does dumb things

gets into fights bc he’s a dumbass. like. he will purposely provoke ppl he doesn’t like, n when he’s drunk he’ll do it to literally anybody esp ppl he likes

also just. doesn’t know when to stop talking. can find ways to ramble about nothing, asks questions w the intent of being annoying, etc. etc.

his ~parents~ didn’t rly believe in modern medicine n they were just like ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away!’ so he’s got this obsession w apples. literally is always chewing on an apple or a toothpick or anything he can get his hands on. he’s like a teething toddler, essentially

probably the dumbass who plays wonderwall at a party tbh

okay but fun fact! he’s super nimble and just. cat-like, from all his yrs of practicing n performing tightrope walking. if he falls over it’s because he wants to fall over and if he falls over it’s bc he wants ATTENTION

he loves. being the center of attention? but he’s also content with being in the background if it makes sense. he just wants to be doing something, anything

anyways he doesn’t take shit seriously at all like, i don’t think he’s ever had a serious conversation in his life ?

big slut for parties. he loves partying, he nvr knew he loved partying until he went to ucla but he loves it

he’s got an addictive personality so like okay. he’s not Addicted Addicted to anything specific (besides nicotine) but he definitely has no problem with drinking n doing drugs Often.

i mean he’s reckless too he never knows when to stop, feels like he’s tryn to be the Superior boy but he’s not and he’s probably overcompensating nowadays to deal w the guilt of accidentally burning down his entire life

drives cars too fast, drinks too much, has no problem getting into heavier drugs

also okay on a lighter note the boy used to be addicted to cigarettes bc he started fairly young but hoo boy he’s now on that juul game

literally he always has a juul on him. spends all his money on juuls

he works as a florist n a gardener for extra cash even tho his bio parents send him money, just bc its one of the only things that really calm him down tbh ??

also i meant it when i said he doesnt tell ppl his real name, like, ever. at least his first name bc he loves his last name but ? u probably dont know him as benjamin or even benjy, just smth stupid like marcellus the magnificent or booboo the fool hahahsdfgh

did i mention he casually juggles bc i genuinely cannot remember lmao

uuuhh there’s more i’m sure but !! i have a really bad memory!

i also dunno if im keeping his fc but we will SEE

he’s basically like....still a five yr old child

OH okay so i remembered smth else

he’s essentially a nomad which means he hates being rooted to ucla so he’s usually off drivin’ around the coast bc he’s bored goddammit but he always comes back bc he’s a loyal dog

speaking of loyal dogs. he’s got commitment issues. but not commitment issues? it’s sort of like. he gets really interested in things/people, kind of focuses all his energy on that thing or person, and then one day wakes up and is just. terribly bored. tends to drop ppl like that, esp relationships, and he doesn’t think much of it bc it’s Normal for him

but believe it or not, if u call him in the middle of the night he WILL show up, or if u wrong him instead of him wronging u, he’ll still b endlessly loyal

like he’s shitty but he’s got a heart ?

also like i said. he is chaotically bi. both chaotic and bisexual and also the two combined.

he’s chaotic neutral in general

wanted connections ?? possibly ??

frat bros - [hulk hogan voice] brother. he needs them

general friends ! - if u dont hate him then u just. love him, man. no inbetween

exes - he’s probably got...a few of these, because his attention span lasts like a max of two weeks

hookups - they also dont tend to last very long just bc of how he is as a person, but y’know. they good while they last

ex-hookups, specifically

ex-friends - bc he’s an idiot

if u really want to u can bring in a circus pal but firstly idk how they’d afford school but honestly. we can work smth out. hmu [kissy face]

roommate - do they hate each other ?? who knows

bad influence - they only egg on benjy’s dumbass behavior

good influence - probably forces him to study for once, or take care of his dumb ass

idk what to call it but like. ppl who HE eggs on to be bad, is generally toxic to the other person

anything else u want [another kissy face]

[ascreamingstrawberry]

The HS/College Rent AU I Came Up With While Writing the Last Post

We’re just gonna refer to it as ‘the school’ b/c I can’t see a hs actually doing rent????? at least not in my old school district. This definitely didn’t come about because I’m wearing out my musical playlist on Spotify again what do you meannnnnnn anyone into the headcannon that is already becoming a fic that I’m definitely starting.....

NOTE : I just wanted to say first off I know that Tom Collins is typically played by an African American, and Angel by a Latino. However I’ve seen productions without these specifications, but this hc/fic is by no means meant to erase any character’s ethnicity, it’s just for the sanders sides hc/fic. 

Roman

freshman, 

red hair dye. kinda like jacksepticeye’s old haircut but red

soooo pissed he didn’t get Roger or Mark

in fact Mark is being played by a female??????

schools never has enough males for the parts they need

the only other option would’ve been giving Angel to a female, and the director did not want to send that message

which Roman kinda gets

And as Lo explained his father (the director) didn't give leads to freshmen

so he could consider himself lucky he even got Collins 

*smart logan voice* who is only in 3 or 4 less songs than Mark or Roger, because Roger has one more song than Mark, 

roman’s face definitely doesn’t do the little ‘aw’ (like seeing virge in his xmas sweater) when he realizes his best friend like counted them out to know that

(b.c even tho logan wouldn’t tell him he totally thinks romans deserved roger or mark too)

he and logan go way back, like middle school. roman’s always at the sanders house like every other day because his parents just yell at him for every little thing even if his brother started it

Collins couldn’t be too bad, he could finally play in a gay relationship on stage, 

and he’d be able to show off his lower voice range bc most of his other parts were leads and most male leads are tenors

so offended princey aside, Roman Prince is so ready to knock this role out of the park

and he walks in first rehearsal and the Angel they cast causes his little gay heart to almost combust on sight

Patton

freshman as well, new to school with his little brother

“pat, you’re ten minutes older than me”

“still older, virge” (frustrated virgil noises)

doesn’t really like acting, he gets kinda emotional when things are sad but then sometimes forgets to not smile in the middle of a fighting scene, patton

this boy can SING tho

like his tenor is good and all

but THIS MAN’S FALSETTO

soooo of course Thom-er Mr. Sanders cast him as Angel

he’s just so delightful!

he comes into first rehearsal in this cute blue dress and totally doesn’t notice Virgil watching from the last row, 

but he can’t focus on that because LOOK AT THAT CUTE GUY SITTING ALL BY HIMSELF 

makes a lot of ‘friends’ with everybody but when nobody jumps at the idea of a groupchat or to hang out this weekend  he’s totally not sad what do you mean virgil!

and they’re both ready to wait outside for their parents who are super supportive and give them lots of free reign because they’re kinda never there but that’s ok!

but then the cute guy that patton sat like two feet from the entire rehearsal bc he looked lonely comes over and is like ‘I'm not cool or anything but we’re gonna be in a lot of scenes together so if you wanted to, i’d love to hang’

and patton’s heart does the EHEHEH thing, and virgil has to do the *shoulder push* to get patton to give him his number

Virgil

needs to protect his big brother

bc this is a new school and who knows what bullies will be lurking to try and try to ruin his brother’s big heart

didn’t want to take a music class bc he likes to listening to music but he’d rather just listen or draw

then mr sanders, head of the arts dept. catches him watching the first rehearsal

mr. sanders says he has to do something to satisfy the music credit and oh hey my musical is looking for a piano player

fine, virgil spits out, but lowkey glad bc he likes piano he just doesn’t like somebody telling him how to do it and ruining it

but as he’s given the sheet music he just goes ballistic, the fast tempos are oddly relaxing, and the rock feeling just soothes him

so he thinks ah this won’t be too bad

and he walks in to the second rehearsal, and he’s watching his brother kinda twirl on the stage just a few minutes before it’s supposed to start

and he notices that other freshman, Roderick? Ramen? Roman? come in and standing next to him is the hottest nerd he’s ever seen

and that nerd plops down next to mr sanders whose just getting there and mumbles a ‘hey dad’ but virgil catches it

and oh god he’s fucked, he thinks to himself as he stares at the keys for the rest of the rehearsal

Deceit

is stage manager

just wants to go home

and is a sophomore but hangs out with freshman, just not in the arts dept.

but he watches this horrifically adorable freshman in a dress try to talk to a junior and he thinks, oh god these kids are gonna get eaten alive

sassy af

no i have not seen your prop that is definitely not on the table you just walked by three times without checking Jessica

is always hanging upside down?

.like you’re just like ‘Deceit where are you there’s a prop malfunction?’

‘oh yay’ and then he’s doing a backflip off the railing of the pulley system 

comforting when needs to be bc some actors need love while others need a stick up their as-

DECIET LANGUAGE! yeah like that one. that one needs love. 

“i fucked up my line, deceit!” “no one probably even noticed!”

“my hair is a mess” “no it’s not its fine”

makes his assit. stage manag. do dumb tasks like polish the piano keys bc “i can handle it myself”

he can’t

gets stressed but ‘i’m fine, where’s our mimi, light my candle is starting’

Logan 

son of the director, Thomas Sanders

went to audition for the musical to support roman but he heard one comment about getting in bc of his dad and he dipped

told his dad he just wasn’t one for that stuff and was only doing it for roman

tried to ignore the disappointed look in his dad’s eyes even when Thomas was smiling

asked him to be dramaturg instead

mildly happy Thomas and Logan shared smile

sits by his dad first rehearsal,

watches roman,

hides his smile at roman’s first read through already being in character

groans as he listens to roman talk about the cute boy’s number he got

comes into rehearsal the next time and stops bc THE PIANO GUY

*windows error noise* 

slaps roman’s arm a bunch of times

roman asks him what, and logan can just kinda point in virgil’s direction

and while logan goes home that night and compiles a very detailed powerpoint as to why his dad should let him be assistant stage manager

conveniently leaving out how the assistant works with the pit

 roman goes home and compiles everything he could ever possibly find on virgil foster

and omg he’s patton’s brother what?

how could anyone tell under all that purple hair dye???

and he definitely doesn’t send mr sanders a texts 

YOUR SON’S GOT A CRUSH MAKE HIM AS.ST.MAN.AHHH

roman is practically logan’s brother so Thomas is just like ok son

but Thomas makes logan give his case first

and then says ‘fine but you gotta do what deceit says’

and logan’s like well shit if imma die might as well do it looking at the cutest punk ever

next rehearsal he’s just like hello i am new assistant stage manager 

and virgil looks him up and down and just goes ‘cute’

and virgil is dying on the inside but logan doesn’t know that 

all he sees is that sauve boy making him windows error noise

Thomas

just wants his son happy

just wants his son’s friends and crush happy

just wants his musical to go well

[occupyvenus]

"Why are sansa ships so hated upon" lmao which one? Sansan? Where a 13 years old girl is paired with a 30+ man? Jonsa, where she is paired with her cousin/sibiling who she neglected her whole life and only cares about him bc he is what's left of her family? Or Sansa/Littlefinger maybe, when she's paired with a creep, pedophile and an asshole? Geez I wonder why these a+ healthy ships are so hated upon (im not even a jonerys btw, you guys are annoying the same amount)

I suppose you are talking about this? Because I don’t remember ever writing anything about why “Several Sansa ships are so hated upon” … Like, I really don’t. I remember writing the thing linked to above, where I bring up the issue why I think Sansa, like the character, not her ships … you do … you do understand the difference? Do you? Wait, here let me display it as easily as possible: 

Sansa == “the character”Sansa/Whatever == NOT “the character”

Do we have that? Take your time, I don’t want you to strain your brain. Just try to realize what’s the difference between “a character” and “the ships involving that character”. Don’t hurry, this is a very important point, I can only keep going once you get that distinction into your lovely, little head. I’ll wait, don’t worry. 

…

Got it? Good. I’m proud of you. Well done. Here, have a treat. 

What a gooood boooyyyyyyy. 

I did talk about ships in that post as well, but … not about the ones surrounding “Sansa” (you know … “the character” Remember? We already learned what that means?), but the most popular possible canon-pairings for Jon. Who is not Sansa … wait, time for another explanation:

Sansa == SansaSansa == NOT JonJon == NOT SansaJon == JonJon/Whatever == NOT Sansa/Whatever

Okay? One of them has a dick, the other has a vagina and tits. One of them has black hair, the other one red. One of them likes sword fighting and brooding, the other likes stitching and dancing. One of them is of above-average height, the other one is a smoll dwarf king… I honestly don’t know, how you could confuse the two. But okay,  I hope you understand now, so it’s time for another treat:

Look at thaaat!!! A good boy through and through! 

And not even concerning those did I ever talk about why people might dislike one or the other. I talked about my own personal preferences a bit …. okay, just so you understand what that means: 

my own personal preferences == my own personal preferencesmy own personal preferences == NOT why other people might dislike themmy own personal preferences == NOT other people’s personal preferences

We already learned another thingy! I know, it would be time for another treat, but I don’t want to spoil you. I promise to give you one if you power through until the end, okay? I know this is much to take in at once, but I know you can do it. I BELIEVE IN YOU! 

So here we go, the last complicated concept for today: 

If I remember correctly my little thing was called “On why Jonsa of all ships is so bitterly fought about and/or not taken seriously” not “Why Sansa ships are so hated upon”. That’s … not the same. I just proposed the theory that Jonsa is so easily dismissed as a canon possibility because 

a) Sansa is still considered a side character or at best the least important main character by many people and b) she attracts a lot of unwarranted hate (that doesn’t mean you have to stan her, love her or even necessarily like her. But so many people hate her to an unreasonable degree)

I just stated that if you consider all three key ladies to be of equal importance, all three ships are a legit candidate for jon!endgame!romance. You can find foreshadowing and clues for all, which one (if any at all, or all of them, whatever) you do actively get behind depends on your personal preferences (and I’m not going to judge that? Like, why would I?) and other endgame presumptions. (Will Jon live or die, will one of the three Ladies die? Will there still be a Iron Throne or not? If it does, who will sit on it? Etc, etc.) And if you don’t think they are equally important, every discussion about what is “delusional” or “possible” becomes obsolete because you’re not even approaching the whole issue from the same starting point. 

I never talked about why people might “hate” that one ship I actually talked about, except those two things. I totally get people who are a bit grossed out by the “thought-they-were-siblings” factor. I totally get that people dislike the ship for a variety of reasons, or no reason at all. Like, you do you. It’s just that (here comes another hard one, that many people seem to struggle with): 

What will happen == NOT just what you likeWhat is possible == NOT just what you like

I don’t know how you could read that thing (if you even did) and come to the conclusion that I wrote about why people dislike/hate specific Sansa-ships. I hope with all this new fancy information you can go back and think about the things I actually wrote about. But before you do, have another treat, you deserve it (that was a lot information at once. I know.)

What a good boy. Look at him go. Isn’t that yummy? Yes, it is. 

Now before you go take a nap to digest all these delicious treats and to recharge your brain, I have to talk about one last topic. I do prefer positive affirmation, but every now and then one has to resort to a stricter tone, especially when people talk shit about my ship: 

If we guys are that annoying to you, why do you take the time to look at our posts and respond to them? Like, just block us and go on with your life. 

It’s funny that you think 11-year-old-and-younger Sansa was in any position to “neglect” Jon.

It’s also funny how people just assume that Sansa somehow bullied Jon all the time (because I guess that’s what you’re getting at), when there is no canon evidence of her being THAT bad. In the show, she apologizes for “being awful to him”, but there actually is no book evidence that she was. More on that later. 

Even if she was a bit of an entitled brat AS A CHILD, show!Jon already forgave her for that, so why can’t you? Like, why do you people still blame her for something that not even the character you are supposedly defending gives a shit about? 

The only time book!Jon thinks about her in a somewhat resentful way is when thinking “he even misses Sansa, who never called him anything but her half-brother since she was old enough to understand what bastard meant.” And honestly, even the term “somewhat resentful” is too strong anyway. He’s simply surprised that he also misses the sibling he was the least close too. He thinks about her a couple more times, but never in a bad light (After Ned gets killed, he’s worried about both his sisters, who he assumes are in KL and hostages of the Lannisters. He thinks that Sansa would cry at “the magic” of the wall, while Arya would just laugh it off. He thinks about Sansa’s advice about talking to girls. He mentions her in passing when talking about the feast in Winterfell and being forced to sit in the back. (Though he was obviously lying about being that pissed at his family to manipulate Mance.) He thinks about her when thinking about his weak claim to WF (that even his sisters come before him in the line of succession). He declines Stannis’ offer to make him Lord of Winterfell because “by right it belongs to Sansa.” twice. He thinks about her brushing out Lady’s fur, after receiving the Pink Letter. I honestly don’t know where people get the idea from that they hated each other or even look back at each other in a particularly negative way. They weren’t close, no, but if you claim jonsa is an “unhealthy” ship, because Sansa “neglected” him so badly … I hate to tell, that’s all in your head. Seems like you people are projecting your own wrong conclusions and feelings onto a fictional character. Okay, he talks about her once before leaving WF, when he and Arya mention their most important rule for doing some forbidden shit “Don’t tell Sansa!” OH NO! She must have been a tyrant to her other siblings. Now, that proves it. Do any of you people have any siblings or cousins yourself? Did any of you interact with other children or teenagers when you were that age? Did your grow up on some isolated island with literally no other people around? EDIT: I FORGOT TO MENTION THE BEST EXAMPLE OF JON “HATING” SANSA: At the feast they throw for Bobby B at Winterfell, he doesn’t think “look at that smug, arrogant, privileged bitch who always calls me her “half-brother”, getting to walk next to the crown prince while I have to sit in the back!”, He thinks that SHE LOOKS RADIANT! Man, Jon really hated her and only left Winterfell because she was so very awful to him. 

Sansa actually did think about Jon before “he was everything that was left of her family”. She includes him in her prayer at the Battle of Blackwater and worries about him after realizing that not all men of the Night’s Watch are chivalrous black knights. (And before you give her shit for being so naive … Jon believed the exact same thing before actually travelling to the Wall.)

She thinks about him later as well (when fashioning her Alayne persona after him), but since you didn’t claim she doesn’t I can’t criticize you for that, can I?  (See what I’m doing? I’m reacting to the things you actually wrote). 

Btw, the whole sibling turned cousin issue is one of the things I totally get. I think it’s pretty bigoted going after those who don’t (like me and … all other Jonsa shippers), but I’m not going to argue with people that they shouldn’t either. Like, you do you and I do I or whatever. 

That said, I do think that the arguments “they see each other as siblings” and “weren’t even close” put in the same sentence are most often an obvious contradiction. “They see each other as siblings that can’t stand each other” would be a valid argument, if the later statement only had some proof to back it up. 

While I was very forgiving and tried to be nice and explain things, I can’t give you a pass for this nonsense

You know, there are probably many faws in my thinking and writing, but you people aren’t even trying. Just once I would like to have a civil, interesting, mind-provoking discussion with someone who disagrees with me. Instead, I get all the idiots with poor reading comprehension who can only bring up the same three illogical, stupid arguments. It’s getting boring. 

[jewel-s-blog]

about me + bias list

 hi there, I’m jewel :)

she/her/hers ・ 20 ・ kpop (writing) blog

Yes, Jewel is my real name although my parents admit I was supposed to be named elizabeth but changed their minds last minute after I was born how cute and I’m currently in university. I study political science and japanese for those wondering (because yes, I am japanese and it’s helpful when you live in hawaii to have that degree yk?). If any of this stuff is even mildly interesting and you have any curiosities, pls feel free to ask me!

I try to write some things when I can, so feel free to take a look at my masterlist. I also read A LOT of fics on this site, so also peep my recs if you feel like it. Warning: its mostly fluff and angst and almost always includes smut but there’s some really good stuff worth reading still! 

Feel free to talk to me :) i don’t have any kpop friends irl :( all my friends are locals smh 

I try my hardest to be active as much as possible but it’s taken me over a year to finally get used to tumblr lol marklee and i both struggle with complex technology i guess Of course, there are times when I get busy with college and will probably seem to drop off the face of the planet exam season kills but now that I’ve been in quarantine for a month, I figured now is the best time to start building an active tumblr routine. 

That’s all for now! Keep reading below for my bias list :)

xoxo, jewel <3

Bias List 

Before I begin, I will warn that this is basically a giant NCT shxtpost. With LOTS of hyperlinks for educational purposes and absolute crackhead-ery. I’ll eventually make a separate list for other groups I stan, but this blog is mainly NCT and this is already so long so I’ll leave it as this. Enjoy!

Biases are bolded in the beginning of each unit, so you can skip everything after if you don’t wanna see my ramblings following it.

A/N: After biasing nearly every member in NCT/WayV I’ve settled for now on my biases for each unit. This will most likely rotate fairly regularly as I literally fall in love with a different member every day cited here. solo stan? I don’t know her.

ULT

Jaehyun  *ahem excuse me i mean* 

Johnny Suh, it’s official. Don’t know how to explain, but I love everything about him. In the end, it’s always him. damn i sound like y/n thoughts but istg it’s true From SM Rookies to NCT Life to MV behinds, he’s the one. But I’ve also come to realize that I find myself most relatable to him as a person and I think that’s why no one else can trump him wow narcissist much jewel It’s kind of just my gut feeling. It also helps that hes the fluffiest tall, muscular tight booty hottie on the planet. See this black on black dance practice for further scientific explanation even in this jaehyun trying to wreck me so badddddd

Not gonna lie, I HAD IT BAD FOR MARK LEE still do and yet Johnny overcame that. If mark lee were my first love, johnny is my soulmate.

UPDATE! 

Lee Jeno has officially been added to the ult list. *See the entirety of my april activity on my sns accounts if you would like to see how this happened haha :)

NCT U  

im in love with him bc he literally reminds me of my boyfriend -- i like chill guys ok

Taeil is my little teddy bear who looks great in red hair and has a voice form heaven. Evidence? Here you go. He didn’t stand out to me much in the beginning because I was either deaf or blind but after Chain, the game was OVER. +moon taeil in shorts?? serve them thighs honey. Love you bebe tomato <3

BUT Doyoung is the #1 bias wrecker here because have you seen his cover of beautiful on masked singer?? have you?? if not, let me educate you. Also his collab with Sejeong?? Literally the cutest MV ever, perfect for Christmas, listened to it every year since it’s release.

Listen to Coming Home - NCT U for further scientific evidence that NCT has top vocals in the kpop industry.

NCT 127

THE Jung Jaehyun. For reasons that need no explanation. but ill give it anyway smh

After watching the performance of herin and jaehyun singing a whole new world I knew that was it for me. (I still watch it once a month for my jaehyun-related health and to honor SM’s biggest loss, seo herin and ji hansol but thats for another conversation) back to jaehyun His vocals are unique in NCT and bring a nice color to their songs, the man looks good in literally anything, and I’ll probably say this about every member, but I love his dance style--body rolls for days sis. Definitely my ideal type, which my boyfriend is 100% aware of; no secrets in my relationship ofc which explains the wreckage. Pretty sure 81% of the fandom gets wrecked by him daily, so I think I’ll stop here. 

NCT Dream 

Renjun.  why? i just think he’s neat but no really, it was this performance (ok actually this got me ALL SORTS OF WRECKED) and this fancam that had me falling in love with him but were gonna ignore the fact that I get bias wrecked DAILY by all the other members  GOd-tier vocals, personality for daysssssss, variety KING HUANG RENJUN. Safe to claim that I go into renjun feels about 3x a week. Check my twitter for proof. +dnyl renjun was a blessing and I sometimes cant believe that it actually happened. How do I explain?? He’s literally the best boy, but when he gets all worked up....let’s stop there before I have to go to confession again.

But for fun, lets list why I have biased every dream member at some point shall we? (in no particular order) Dream might just be my ult group, songs always bop, members at star quality 

mark- yes i am including mark bc he was the reason i even started stanning dream dreamies leader since mmc days, mentor, A1 rap skills, ad libs go crazy, unparalleled dancing style, hardest worker, cutest watermelon advocate ever, all around amazing person can you tell he used to be my ult? + he’s a good christian boy and my catholic *ss has to confess my sins for being a simp for him 24/7

chenle- vocal GOD, most steady live vocals in kpop, laugh to die for

jeno- i cannot resist his eye smile i wanna cuddle and onstage charisma-2:54 “let’s goooooo” and i alskfdfjlkdldkfa. 

jaemin- “other than my members, i don’t have any friends” and yet he’s literally the most caring and wonderful little puff in existence fight me pls dont im a pacifist 

heachan- idk why but donghyukie feels like he could be my best friend and also cant stop staring at him in their dance practices his body proportions are unreal and his vocal ad libs?? don’t even get me STARTED on heachans vocals

jisung- he is my son, but also my son’s vocals?? MWAH that voice got me second guessing if he’s really my son 

WayV 

Ten Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul another member where it kinda just....happened? In the end I was like “damn, when did you sneaky bugger get in my heart?” He’s got a similar vibe as Johnny AND DO NOT COME FOR MY THROAT FOR SAYING THAT THATS MY OPINION Like Johnny, I see myself in Ten. There are so many reasons why I love Ten, so I’ll make it simple and provide them to you. 

Reason 1 - Performance/dance  he just hit different, he’s THAT good. Reason 2 - vocals the amount his vocals has improved?? UNMATCHED. Reason 3 - INTELLECTUAL (still trying to find the clip of him talking about different kinds of love) Reason 4 - multi-lingual KING ok so this vid is him struggling in mandarin, but imagine, you speak thai and english and learn korean to debut and all of a sudden your agency says “ok learn chinese now.” MANDARIN IS ONE OF THE HARDEST LANGUAGES TO LEARN. Reason 5 - bad b*tch he just radiates bad bitxh energy in everything he does, and I appreciate a bad bitxh

BUT I love wayv’s chaotic energy and chemistry so much that I literally love them all dreamies watch out 

+special shoutout to xiaojuns vocals in Love Talk

+kun being a dimpled zaddy (jaehyun&kun type CONFIRMED)

+lucas holding binoculars like THAT @ 1:10

+yangx2 doing THIS (prepare to be blown away)

+hendery being a the best teacher 

+winwin BEING WINWIN THE DANCE GOD 

+winwin AGAIN and with Ten here i don’t even think i have to say that i tweeted about this everyday for a month and im still not over it. This specific dance really allowed winwin to shine even though ten is my bias. It really allowed others to see the fruit of his classical training even in modern dance which he never trained in. Not gonna be repetitive and SCREAM  say that he’s underrated, because we all know that already. Just show winwin some love, ok? thank you.

And so finally, we’ve reached the end. Phew, this took me almost 5 hours to put together because I definitely got carried away. For those who made it all the way to the end, thank you, I love you. It’s so messy and I don’t have the mental capacity to do anymore editing but I hope you got something from this massive post <3 Feel free to let me know what you think! xoxo, jewel

[shsluckymushroom]

Komaeda trying desperately to surprise kamukura on his birthday to make him crack a smile?

Sure thing - this might be a little slap dash bc it’s 4 am but I tried my best lol.

AU where Kamukura is just an ordinary born kid who ends up at HPA, I suppose.

If there was something everyone in Class 77-B knew, it was plainly and firmly that Kamukura Izuru was not one for social events. He was not one for idle chatter. And he was not one to ever, ever smile.

Another thing that, most of them knew, was that despite this, Komaeda Nagito followed him around and tried to talk to him so often.

Most just decided to let it be - Kamukura and Komaeda were both, really, seen as the strange ones in their class. Why not let them hang out together...it didn’t seem like they were doing any harm, anyway.

And for all his social awkwardness, Kamukura did seem to at least tolerate the white haired boy. Tolerate, if not completely endorse the presence of.

“Kamukura-kun!” Komaeda practically skipped over to the other’s desk as the bell rang in the air. As always, he had an enigmatic smile that no one could read - but most people thought was creepy or unsettling.

“...Yes, Komaeda?”

It was only lunch, so they didn’t have much time to talk. Kamukura never talked much, really. But Komaeda was the only one to continually approach him even after he’d shot him down so fiercely.

Something like that was at least interesting.

He knew the others whispered about how he was strange, and arrogant, and rude. Standoffish and anti-social. That was fine with Kamukura. He’d never been one to want for friends. He didn’t need them. Of course.

“Um...I was just wondering, Kamukura-kun...can you tell me your birthday?”“January 1st.” He said simply and smoothly, not even looking up from his lunch as he took a bite out of it.

“Oh, that’s New Year’s Day! What a lucky birthday, Kamukura-kun.”

“It is just the same as any other day, Komaeda. It isn’t special.”

Komaeda puffed up slightly, sitting down in the currently empty desk in front of Kamukura’s. “For starters, it’s your birthday, Kamukura-kun...that’s definitely cause for celebration.But having it on New Year’s...ah, that’s definitely lucky.”

“I do not see why.”

“...Aha. I guess you wouldn’t…”

Komaeda often asked him questions like this. It wasn’t exactly irritating, but he had to wonder what his purpose was. He could tell Komaeda didn’t want to use him, or exploit him - he seemed to genuinely just enjoy his company for whatever reason.

How odd.

No one else did, so it was something he took notice of. Komaeda, he supposed, was someone he took notice of.

“But I definitely think it’s special to have a birthday on a holiday, Kamukura-kun. But I’ll definitely remember to remember it as your birthday, and not the holiday. Would that make you feel better?”

“...It makes no difference…”

“Aha...I guess it doesn’t…”

Such conversations about various. Meaningless things such as this took place almost every day. Despite Komaeda’s clear lack of confidence, he still came to talk to him.

And he is the only one…

The months rolled by, and while Kamukura didn’t forget about the conversation, he assumed that the other likely would. After all, it’d just been a brief, four minute conversation. Especially as the holidays came by...why would he remember?

And indeed, as his birthday rolled around, as their class went to a festival planned for the occasion, no one mentioned it. Not even Komaeda, who dragged him around to the various booths.

I should not be surprised that he forgot.

Kamukura’s parents were very clinical, very focused on their work. They saw something like a birthday as a distraction for Kamukura - something that tore his attention away from his so important studies. He had never celebrated one. Never thought it was important.

And yet, when he was younger, sometimes on television, or in class, he’d see children celebrating their birthday, or handing out invitations to their parties, and while he never got one, he could observe and tell that it was something very very important to the children.

Thanks simply for being born…

He couldn’t imagine it. He only got thanks or celebrations, briefly, when he did extremely well on tests or was exceptionally diligent. It was extremely rare. So to be given thanks simply for being born...it seemed like such a foreign and unknown concept to him. Praise was not something given. It was something earned, and even then, only rarely and with the top efforts.

I should not have expected…

“Kamukura-kun.” Komaeda smiled up at him after the fireworks were over and the others had gone back to the booths. “Did you have a good birthday?”

“...” For a moment, he didn’t know what to say. He merely blinked down at Komaeda as if he expected him to fluster and say he’d said something wrong, but Komaeda just smiled, somewhat sadly.

“I know you thought I probably didn’t remember. I mean, I didn’t say it all day...but I told you, I wanted to treat today like your birthday. I wanted to do what you wanted to do, and win as many prizes for you as possible.”

...That was why he’d taken him to so many booths? His eyes widened, just slightly. Komaeda was testing his luck here...winning so many games on purpose was sure to trigger his bad luck eventually…

How...careless…

“The truth was, I was little scared...I thought if I did something big or grand, it’d just embarrass you. Kamukura-kun doesn’t seem to think his birthday is very important, even though I think it’s one of the most important days of the year, so I didn’t think you’d ever celebrated it before. I didn’t want to overwhelm you with a huge party, even if I think Kamukura-kun definitely deserves one. But...I still wanted to surprise you. To be honest…”Ah, there was that flustered reaction he’d thought he would have gotten earlier - Komaeda cheeks flushed pink as he toyed with his bottom lip.

“I really wanted to see Kamukura-kun smile on his birthday...because I’ve never seen Kamukura-kun smile, even though it’s been months and months since we started talking, and I’m sure it’s really beautiful…! But I wasn’t sure when the best time to tell you it was for your birthday would be...everyone was always suffocating us, haha, and if they heard...I thought you’d be overwhelmed. I haven’t, um, celebrated my birthday very often, either, and it can be very sudden and overwhelming to have groups of people suddenly celebrating it, right?”

“...It could be.” He finally managed to say. He couldn’t really believe what he was hearing - just by avoiding saying the words, Komaeda had managed to celebrate his birthday without him even noticing, and in such a considerate way…

Komaeda Nagito is so strange.

“Why do you care so much?” Kamukura finally spoke up bluntly, making Komaeda look up in surprise. “I have done nothing for you. I have never used my talent to your benefit. I may be conventionally attractive, but I doubt base lust could have pushed you to do so much when I have been so cold towards you.”

“Kamukura-kun...I don’t think you’re really cold.” Komaeda shook his head, “the others say that, but...I don’t really think it’s true, deep down. Kamukura-kun listens to my words, and lets me speak with him, and answers my questions, and lets me sit with him...um, I think Kamukura-kun is very kind, really. Everyone else looks at me like I’m malicious, and maybe they’re right...but Kamukura-kun is kind to me. That’s why...I wanted to make sure Kamukura-kun...had a good birthday.”

Kind…?

No one had ever called him kind before. It simply wasn’t a thing spoken of Kamukura Izuru. He blinked at the other, as if he doubted what he was hearing.

“...Are you, um, happy, Kamukura-kun? Ah, speaking of it, I didn’t even say happy birthday, did I? Um,” he glanced around, as if checking to make sure no one was there.

“...Happy birthday, Kamukura-kun. And...thank you for being born. I’m very happy I got to meet Kamukura-kun. Even if I’m just a tick, a bug, a worthless insect to Kamukura-kun...I think I’d be a lot more lonely without you around.”

Thank you for being born.

Komaeda was completely and utterly sincere when he said these things. It was such genuine care, that he found himself taken aback.

“...I suppose...I am happy. Somewhat.”

“...Ah…?” Komaeda looked up, then smiled brightly. “That’s wonderful! I’m glad...I could help you have a happy birthday, Kamukura-kun.”

“Hmm.”

Komaeda really had risked a lot for this. Running all those raffles and draws in the games...Kamukura’s backpack back at the entrance was now stuffed with toys Komaeda had given him as gifts. But he’d seen other students doing the same with stuffed animals today, so he’d just assumed...it was a New Year’s tradition…

“...You said...specifically that you wanted to see me smile…? What an odd thing to want.”

“...Aha, yeah, I’m sure it sounds pathetic to you...but one day, I really really want to see Kamukura-kun smile...even if that’s so presumptuous of someone like me…”

Kamukura had been taught that displaying emotion was a sign of weakness and distraction - it kept him from being focused on his studies, but…

“Komaeda.”

“Mmmm?”

He could smile just once, just fleetingly, just in thanks.

“...Thank you, I suppose.”

Komaeda’s reaction was predictable - his eyes went wide, and face bright red, before he buried his face in his hands.

“Um...um...ah...I d-didn’t really think I’d get...to see Kamukura-kun smile...this is so much good luck, ahaha…”

Perhaps I shouldn’t have done that.

“It was just a soft smile.” Kamukura’s expression was back to it’s usual neutral one, as if nothing had even happened. “...Komaeda…”

“Hahahaha…”

He sighed. “...I will walk you back to your house, to make sure nothing happens, if you are that concerned for your luck.”

“Ah…? Ah, okay…” Komaeda finally managed to pull himself together, looking up at him again. “Thank you, Kamukura-kun. See? You really are kind…”

“It is not a bother.”

Komaeda just giggled and followed after him, happy and content despite knowing that bad luck was on the horizon.

My bad luck could never be enough to effect someone brilliant and talented like Kamukura-kun...so long as that’s the case...it’s really fine…

To see Kamukura Izuru smile, though...he really was...amazingly and truly lucky.