#i thought this series already had an active poll

[foundfamilyhq]

[thyme-in-a-bubble]

night out

a/n: we back babyyy!!! i haven't been able to stop thinking about these two for fucking months, so i wrote both this aaaaand another part to wrap up their story and get it out of my system.

summary: “I can’t believe you’re fucking jealous right now…”

warnings: bodyguard!bucky barnes x reader x ex!peter parker, light smut, reader’s mom is the british ambassador to france, age gap (10-15 years), tattooed!bucky (both a metal arm and tattoos as picked in a poll by you), beefy!bucky, forbidden romance, bffs kate bishop and yelena belova, french rave, dancing, kissing, over-the-clothes fun, foreplay, references to public sex, choking, manhandling, jealousness, possessiveness, angst, arguments, brat mode activated (though its totally justified), these hoes are not dealing with their emotions in a healthy way but it's just for the sake of yummy drama

word count: 1993

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“I thought we were just going to a cute little wine bar, not a fucking rave,” you yelled over the music as your friends dragged you further into the warehouse. 

“Oh, come on, babe,” Yelena boomed, slinking her arm around both yours and Kate's neck, “don’t be a chicken now.”

“Yeah,” your brunette friend on the other side of Yelena tilted her frame to catch your apprehensive eye, “you already sneaked out, so you might as well make it count.” 

“I hate it when you’re right,” you groaned, your gaze narrowed to a squint as you got used to the warm flashing lights that dully illuminated the club. 

“Then you must always hate me,” a smug smirk spread across her features before the trio of you ventured further into the crowded space. 

As the night faded away, you found yourselves bathing in the strobes of neon light as your bodies moved on their own accord, like you were all part of a hive, buzzing together in harmony.

But then when you tapped both of your dancing friends on their shoulders and ushered their ears to lean in close to your lips, you told them, “I’m gonna go get some water,” receiving two thumbs up before you made your way through the crowd to the curved bar in the corner. 

However, after the bartender handed you a plastic bottle and you tilted your head back to take a much-needed sip, a familiar voice found your ears from across the bar. 

“As I live and fucking breathe,” you tipped the bottle back down and glanced down the way at the unexpected figure moseying closer to where you stood. 

“Peter!” a surprised smile couldn’t help but spread across your features, “what are you doing here?” 

Settling in beside you, he said, “it’s a Saturday night, where else would I be?”

“No, I mean, what are you doing in Paris?” 

“Oh, what, am I not allowed to be in your city anymore since the breakup?” he joked.

“No, of course, you can be here.” 

Leaning in even closer so that he didn’t have to yell as loud, he asked, “so how are you doing?”

“Me? I’m good, yeah,” your head bobbed in a nod, “how about you?”

“Can’t complain,” his gaze washed over you as if no time had passed at all, “so… can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” you shifted the water bottle to your other hand. 

“You seeing anyone?” 

“Oh, wow,” you half coughed, “Peter Parker, king of subtlety.” 

“Yeah, well, I’ve seen you naked more times than I can count, so I figured subtlety went out the window a long time ago,” he smirked, “so, are you?”

“I–, uhm…” your eyes averted a moment as you uttered, “no.” 

You weren’t, it was true. Though the reason for why you’d sneaked out in the first place did have to do with a matter of the heart. 

You’d asked your friends what their advice would be if you hypothetically needed to get over someone. They both of course assumed that you were referring to the man standing before you in the disco and not the person who watched you like a hawk every minute of every day. The method they had suggested wasn’t a sound one, though one that still found you desperate enough to try. 

To go out, meet someone else and bang the dude out of your system. 

“Can I ask you something else?” Peter asked again, ripping you out of your thoughts, away from your bodyguard and back in the moment. As you offered him a nod, he smiled brightly, “you wanna dance?”

And that’s how you found yourself in the middle of a crowded dancefloor, plastered against your ex.

It didn’t take long before your lips reunited as well, staying locked as you both let your hands wander, though for you it wasn’t entirely in the spirit of rekindling something that you’d missed, and more to help you forget about the person who you truly wished to lose yourself on a dancefloor with. 

“Fuck,” you heard Peter groan in your ear and his desperation poked your lower abdomen for the attention you used to give it, “you wanna go slip into the bathroom?”

“Uhh,” you giggled as his lips tickled the side of your neck, “what kinda woman do you take me to be?”

“Mine,” he smiled, “that’s who. I know you. A club bathroom is nothing… remember Amsterdam?”

“Y-yeah, I remember,” your body tingled at the thought. 

“That’s also an option, if that’s the kind of mood you're in,” he winked. 

Chuckling as he squeezed your tit, you shook your head lightly, “I’m not fucking you here on the dancefloor.” 

“Oh, come on, it–”

But the rest of your ex’s sentence was cut short as a figure forced itself between you two and pried you apart.  

Instinctively reaching out for Peter as he was forcefully pushed back, your arm then faltered as you blinked up to discover who had shoved him. 

“Barnes,” a shiver ran down your spine at the stormy expression plastered all over his face, a side of him you’d never witnessed before, “I–”

But he cut you off, only to bark, “out, now.”

“But I–”

“Do you wanna walk on your own or should I just toss you over my shoulder?” he glared down at you just before you watched Peter’s hand plant itself on Bucky’s broad shoulder. 

“Hey, dude, don’t touch her, back off,” your ex tried to square up to the intimidating guard dog. 

“No, no, Peter, it’s alright,” you rushed to explain, knowing full well that your bodyguard could and would put him in the hospital, “he’s–…” your eyes briefly flickered up to Bucky’s steely blue eyes, still directed at you, “he’s my bodyguard,” before you let your touch graze Peter’s forearm, “I’m so sorry, it was great seeing you again, but I have to go.” 

Getting dragged out of the club like a perp from a crime scene was not the way you’d imagined your night would wrap up. 

After he’d virtually tossed you in the back and slammed the car door shut behind you, you fished out your phone and swiftly sent your friends an explanatory text while you half-watched Bucky march around the vehicle to the driver’s side. 

The silent treatment he then served you nearly felt worse than the heated words you imagined tumbled around in his head as he fumed, his knuckles nearly turned white from how fiercely he was gripping onto the steering wheel. 

But when you finally mustered the courage to break the eerie silence, your words came out just above a whisper, “I’m sorry…”

“Are you?” his eyes snapped up to find yours in the review mirror, “really? Because I don’t fucking buy it.” 

“Well, I am!” you threw up your arms, “what do you want me to do?” 

“Not sneak out like a fucking teenager to get drunk with your little boyfriend,” 

“I’m not drunk and he’s not my boyfriend!” 

Not taking any of your words to heart, Bucky went on, “you know how stupid this was, right? What if something had happened, huh? I know you didn’t personally read the threats you got back when I first got this job, but trust me when I tell you that if any of those fuckers had gotten their hands on you tonight, you’d be lucky if you were still breathing when the sun rose. This is exactly the sort of reckless behaviour that caused you to need my help in the first place.”

Your mouth then fell open, utterly stunned at his audacity, “oh my god… you’re unbelievable…” you uttered breathlessly before hazily commanding, “stop the car…”

“No–”

“Stop the fucking car!” you roared, casting your gaze to him once more till you felt his foot step on the break. 

As the car screeched to a stop, you wasted no time ripping the door open and storming out. 

Though you didn’t dare to look back, you still heard him exit the vehicle as well and shadow you as you wandered a few paces away, just far enough for you to be able to get some air. 

“Y/n,” you heard him from just a few meters behind you, “get back in the car–”

But you didn’t shift your feet as you then interrupted, back still turned to him.

“I can’t believe you’re fucking jealous right now…”

“What?”

“Well aren’t you?” you heatedly twisted around to face him, “because it sure fucking looks like it. Getting all fucking possessive, ripping me away from my ex before I can crawl my way back to him, before I get the chance to feel anyone inside of me but you–”

“Stop–”

“Is that it? You just want me all to yourself?” you kept on poking, too blind by your fury to consider the consequences, “you want it to be you that I’m so in love with that I’d make you personalised porn, which would consequently ruin my life and cause me to have a babysitter essentially stalking me.”

“Stop!” he took a step closer as he barked.

“Unless you’ve already seen the tape,” your feet shifted back, keeping him at a distance, “fantasising that it’s for you, getting yourself off to the image of me bouncing on that pretty pink dildo–”

Your sentence then crumbled into a shrivelled yelp as you felt his cold metal hand seize your neck and push you the last few inches up against the brick wall behind you. 

His fingers didn’t squeeze you in the slightest, though you still knew just how easy it would have been for him to tighten his grip and turn it into more than just a raging warning. 

“You done?” he spat as his eyes pieced directly into your soul, “or do you wanna give me more reasons why you’re nothing more than a spoiled little brat, why I should just quit now and not have to deal anymore with what a fucking pain you are in my ass?”

For the life of you, no attempts at offering him an answer were successful on your lips. 

He scared you. 

He’d never scared you before. 

Both because of the explosion you’d undoubtedly made even worse than it had to be, but also his fleeting threat of leaving you for good. 

It all terrified you… 

Though, there was also a different sensation that it awoke within you, one that caused your eyes to flutter down towards his lips, an action that your bodyguard surprisingly mirrored as well as your heated breaths synced up. 

You had no idea who moved first, if it was you or him, but the next thing you knew, you were kissing him.

With adrenaline still pumping in your veins, you clawed at his broad frame as you let your tongue flicker out and flutter against his own. The steely hand that had locked itself around your neck softened and whisked down your form, mirroring your own starving touch as he securely held you like you were about to fall. 

However, just as your palm slid down to find the bulge in his pants, rubbing it needily before your fingers tried to seize the short zipper, Bucky took a large step back, snapping to his senses and creating a wide distance between him and your melted form against the brick. 

His eyes refused to meet your foggy ones as he held them to the ground, slowly catching his breath before uttering, “get in the car,” defeat shining through in his low tone.

“Bucky–,” you tried, but without success as he then cut you off. 

“Please, just–…” his gaze fluttered shut a moment as you then heard him sombrely promise, “look, I’ll make sure your mom doesn’t hear word of what happened tonight. If we go now, then we’ll arrive before any of the staff wakes up, no one will notice.”

© 2024 thyme-in-a-bubble

[animeomegas]

Soulmates: Okay, you must have telepathy or something, seriously! For a couple weeks now I've been working on a soulmate series with the fandoms in mind being Naruto and One Piece for right now. Getting ideas so things aren't the same across the board has been difficult.

As for the poll... I honestly had a few in mind as a general "who'd like the idea of having a soulmate." Since it wasn't multiple choice I put Itachi but Naruto, Gaara, Kakashi, and Lee, with Neji in a close position behind them, would be really high on my list. It all has to do with their life situations from canon.

So Itachi, if we stayed with canon, I could really see him hoping to meet them especially after being forced to kill his clan. I'm of the mind the Uchiha clan loves deeply, if not so much quickly. Knowing he has someone out there that would love him platonically or romantically without judging his past at least TOO harshly would be something I could see getting him through things. I don't think he'd want to find them because of what he's done and then with being ill, and having Sasuke coming after him...I just don't see him wanting to put them through that. If it was a non-massacre AU situation though, I still see him really loving the concept but in this scenario he'd want to find them. They'd be his safe haven, his quiet place, the one who really knows him behind the mask he wears for family and village. I can even see him actively looking for them depending on how the soulmate connection worked.

As for Naruto, I mean the boy really needs 100% on the poll. After all he's put through, sacrifices, and gives freely for loved ones and village, the boy deserves a soulmate and the sooner the better! Being called demon and monster and shunned as a kid could have really put him on a darker path and if we looked at it logically, he should have. I mean I can really see him being the ultimate villain in the story. However, with a soulmate - if someone explained it to him properly - I could see this being a dream right up there with wanting to be Hokage. To know someone will love him for him, Ramen obsession and all 🙂, would be something extra special to him and boy, don't let him hear you bad mouth them! Before he finds them or not. And then of course, the fluff!!!

Gaara, after his seal is fixed or whatever we want to say happens between the chunin exam invasion and when we see him next as a kage (I may have forgotten if they explained this or not it's been a hot minute since I've seen Shippuden), is kind of in the same situation as Naruto in a way. He'd probably be afraid of finding them at first because of Shukaku and not wanting to know someone who's his fears him. That'd break him, I think. But once he sees they aren't afraid of him and how tender they are with him it would be his most precious treasure.

There's a Part 2 to this! Look for it. 😆

OH MY GOSH! THIS ASK IS AMAZING! Okay, okay, okay, let me give me thoughts a section at a time, and then I'll get to the other ones ;)

ITACHI

With canon Itachi, I think you're so right in that his soulmate story is a tragic romance. He yearns for them, it brings him peace on his worst nights to know that there's someone out there who could love him, even after everything. But he will never, ever try to find them. If they found him, he'd run away so fast.

He feels cursed. His soulmate doesn't deserve to be dragged into this. They may be sad to never meet their soulmate, but whether they know it or not, Itachi thinks they'll be happier if he's dead.

Where this is complicated a bit, is what happens if Itachi has already found his soulmate before he massacre's his clan. But I still think that he'd run. He thinks it would hurt them less if he doesn't drag them into it. And if they're also an Uchiha? Well, I think he would rationalise that they'd be better off dead, give them a nice genjutsu life before killing them... and then he leaves Konoha with his soul quite literally broken.

Non-massacre Itachi is exactly as you said! His soulmate is his safe space! They would be so cute. Itachi would be so smitten. He pretends to be all logical about it whenever his teammates or Shisui would tease him about eventually finding his soulmate. Acting all mature like 'it's effort that makes a relationship succeed' and 'my first duty is to my clan'.

But then. Then! He meets his soulmate and boy is gone, he's a pile of love sick mush. Sasuke is incredibly judgemental about the whole thing lol.

NARUTO

So, Naruto is actually who I voted for, so safe to say I agree with you haha. But you summed it up so perfectly!

Child!Naruto wants to be loved. He wants someone to see him and love him, that's his biggest wish. Wanting to become Hokage is actually a step to achieving that, so actually being loved is his number one goal. So if he knew he had a soulmate out there somewhere? Oh boy. Meeting them is his dream, his ultimate life goal.

He dreams about them, he even talks to his imaginary version of his soulmate when he's sad. If he has some kind of mark, he caresses it all the time. He's keeps a sharp eye out for his soulmate.

But what I think is so cute about a soulmate AU with Naruto, is he talks about them constantly, he's desperate to find them, everyone around him is like lol, poor soulmate is going to be bombarded by him.

And then Naruto meets them, and he gets shy. He's all blushy and starry eyed and shy, and it's literally the cutest thing in the world!

GAARA

I think your idea is very realistic for Gaara, in the sense that he needs to be in the right place, as an adult, before he's anticipating his soulmate.

I do think that he's way more cautious than Naruto though. While he believes in soulmates, I think he doesn't quite fall in love with them until he meets them and gets to know them. He's not going to fall in love with a concept like Naruto.

But once he finds them, he's so pro soulmates. With his own children, he encourages them heavily to find their soulmate, and will give as many resources as they need to make it happen.

So in a weird way, Gaara is more in love with the concept of soulmates after he's already found his own.

(I will get to part 2 when I've given my elbow a break from typing haha! <3)

[thekinkyleopard]

SnzFire of Hostility

Part 4 of 6

A Snzfic series

⚠️Content Warning⚠️

Public Humilitation/Degradation, Force Allergen,

SnzFucking, Mess M

Description: Draeko is the fresh meat at College, new in town, and at first the jocks Alistar and Kanai, don’t find much interest in him. Until they find out he’s rather a little factory of entertainment and fetish gold. What will become of them all?

Author’s Notes: 😀 I thought this was gonna win in the poll, guess not. CONSUME THIS CONTENT ANYWAY ITS DELICIOUS. 😤 Sorry it took me so long to update this series, I have depression. 😗 @aller-geez did the art and owns both Draeko & Kanai.

Draeko sat at the edge of his bed, his eyes glued to the text on his screen, a mass message that had been sent out to the entirety of the college. There was a party being held at Al and Kanai’s frat house, but Draeko was feeling especially nervous to attend. He’d been actively avoiding their invitations to hang out for a few days after the incident in the gym. However, despite doing what’s best for himself, which is staying away from hypersexul men that use him like a play thing….the devil on his shoulder cried out for the attention. “Get it together, Drae…” he sighed to himself setting his phone to the empty spot on the bed next to him.

Despite his inner turmoil, Dreako found himself drawn to the idea of letting loose at the party. He had been keeping to himself for too long, buried in his textbooks and avoiding any social interaction that might lead him into a similar situation as the one at the gym. But something about the invitation from Al and Kanai sparked a flicker of desire within him. Maybe it was the need to prove to himself that he couldn't be pushed around or taken advantage of so easily.

With a deep breath, Draeko stood up from his bed and made a decision. He was going to the party. As he changed into more casual clothes, he could feel the nerves fluttering in his stomach, but he pushed them aside. This was his chance to show those bullies that he was in control of his own choices and body, no matter what temptations or dangers were presented to him.

Adjusting his shirt in the mirror, Draeko met his own gaze and saw a determination shining back at him. With one last deep breath, he nodded and headed out the door. It was already an hour past the time scheduled for the party, which made Draeko feel a bit less nervous, shows he isn’t desperate since he didnt appear early. The frat house was alive with music and laughter as Draeko approached, the sound spilling out onto the street and mingling with the cool night air. He could see shadows moving behind the curtains, silhouettes of people dancing and chatting inside. As he climbed the steps to the entrance, his heart pounded in his chest, but he welcomed the feeling as a sign that he was taking back control of his own narrative.

Pushing open the door, Draeko was hit by a wave of warm air scented with sweat and alcohol. The familiar buzz of a party surrounded him, and for a moment, he hesitated at the threshold. But then he remembered why he was here – not to cower or hide, but to stand tall and reclaim his own power.

Taking a step forward, Draeko entered the fray. The music pulsed through him, setting his nerves alight with a different kind of energy. He scanned the room, recognizing some faces from class, receiving a few loose waves of acknowledgment. “Drinks….where are the drinks…” Draeko thought to himself, some alcohol in his system would bring forth a bit more confidence as he scoped out the kitchen. Making his way through the crowded party, Drae finally spotted his target at the end of the hallway. Bottles of various liquors lined the counters, and groups of people were gathered around makeshift bars, mixing drinks and laughing. The hybrid felt a surge of determination as he headed towards the kitchen, ignoring the curious glances from some of the partygoers.

He poured himself a shot of whiskey, the burn of it down his throat giving him a jolt of courage. As he turned to leave the kitchen, he bumped straight into another person, almost knocking the wind from himself and spilling a bit of his drink on their shirt. "Oh, I'm so sorry," Drae stammered, looking up to meet the gaze of the person he had accidentally collided with. Alistar. With the world’s largest, shit eating smile spread across his face.

Draeko's heart skipped a beat as he locked eyes with the red eyed delinquent. “Hey there Squeaks, Glad to see you could make it,” winking a glossy ruby orb in his direction. The mutt swallowed hard and tried to muster up the fake confidence he was trying to receive from his beverage to act unbothered and un-phased.

“Oh you know, had nothing else to do so I figured why not, right?” shrugging his shoulders, rolling his two toned eyes and swishing his drink in hand.

“Yeah? Well, ain’t it just a peach to see you spare some time for little ol’ me….” The red head stepped closer, his breath could be felt from the closeness of his body and the hybrid found himself feeling weak at the knees, so he stepped back a pace. Draeko forced a smile, trying to maintain his composure despite the lingering unease in his chest. He could feel Alistar's gaze on him, assessing, probing for any vulnerability to exploit. But Drae refused to let himself be intimidated.

"Well, I wouldn't want you to feel lonely in your own house," he replied, his tone light but laced with a hint of defiance. Alistar chuckled, the sound sending shivers down Draeko's spine.

"Oh, I never get lonely, Squeaks," Alistar purred, leaning in even closer until Drae could practically feel the heat radiating off him. "Especially not with such intriguing company around." Draeko's grip on his drink tightened as he tried to edge past Alistar, but the redhead moved with him, blocking his path effortlessly. The hybrid's heart hammered in his chest as he searched for an escape route, his mind racing with adrenaline. “Ahh, come on, don’t run away from me, remember how my fingers felt ins-…” suddenly a hand clasped around Al’s mouth as Drae silenced him with reddened cheeks.

“SHH! What if someone HEARS YOU?” The hybrid blushed brightly, his heart racing as he chugged the rest of his drink now out of sheer nervousness. Alistar's muffled laughter vibrated against Draeko's palm, causing the hybrid to roll his eyes and avoid the other’s heated gaze. The larger reached up to pull the mutt’s hand off his face with a playful look still plastered upon him.

“Oh come on, don’t be a stick in the mud now, Pup,” wiggling his brows a bit, teasingly. Alistar then stepped around Draeko and plucked a beer from the ice bucket on the counter. “Why not get a few more of these in ya, hm? Then I’m sure the tune will change,” biting his lower lip just barely enough to be noticeable, but Drae noticed it.

The smaller's heart raced as he watched Alistar's every move, the conflicting emotions within him like a storm threatening to break loose. Part of him wanted to run, to flee from this dangerous dance they seemed to be caught in, but another part, a darker and more primal part, was enticed by the danger, by the challenge of facing Alistar head-on. With a shaky breath, Drae took the beer that he was offered and raised it to his lips, the cool liquid washing away some of his nerves but not the wariness that lingered in his mind.

He could feel Alistar's gaze on him, like a physical touch trailing over his skin, igniting a fire that burned with equal parts desire and trepidation. Yet still, Draeko promised himself to not be ensnared by those ruby eyes again. Steeling himself, he straightened his posture and let a sly grin curl at the corner of his lips.

"Fine, but you need to watch yourself there, demon,” narrowing his mint and grey eyes in the other’s direction, almost scanning his entire body to make sure the man wasn’t about to try him. Alistar instead chuckled, grabbing one for himself and popping the cap off with a swift motion.

“Hmm, we’ll see,” was the only words the red head could muster before bringing the liquid to his lips, and once he swallowed he pulled the bottle away thoughtfully. “Though, I’ve already had a few of these so…can’t make any promises,” winking cheekily at the blushing mutt. The tension could be cut with a spoon it was so thick, Drae finding it harder to focus the more alcohol he put in his system. It was but a few seconds of silence before they were interrupted by Alistar’s right hand, Kanai.

“Oh, Hello Draeko, good to see you could make it,” he spoke cordially, almost like the incident in the gym never happened and he was breaming with self confidence. Draeko's eyes flickered briefly to Kanai, the more composed and controlled of the two friends, before returning his attention to Alistar. His heart still raced from the intensity of their interaction, but there was a flicker of relief at the interruption. Taking a step back, he inclined his head in greeting to the hound.

"Hey, Kanai. Thanks for having me over," he replied, his voice steady despite the lingering adrenaline coursing through him. Kanai offered a polite smile and a nod of his head in return, his clear blue eyes assessing Draeko with an unreadable expression. "Of course, you're always welcome here," he said smoothly, his voice a stark contrast to Alistar's more teasing tone. The larger men shared a brief look that held unspoken communication before Alistar broke the silence with a casual grin.

"Come on, we should get to the dance floor," he suggested, slinging an arm around Draeko's shoulders as if they were old friends. Drae quickly downed his drink and grabbed another before allowing the red-headed student to lead him back to the main area where most of the others were socializing. The hybrid was starting to feel woozy as the effects of the alcohol kicked in and the nerves of being within Al’s presence started to shift to that of excitement. He silently cursed himself. ‘Stop acting like a love sick puppy, this dude is using you,’ he chastised himself but unable to pull away from the other’s embrace.

His train of thought was broken down when he reached the middle of the living space with the two men. Something wasn’t right. His nose was starting to tickle unexplainably, itching and tingling with a sudden urgency. What the fuck? Alistar took note of the way Drae’s face started to scrunch and twist, he smirked. “Oh, yeah, slightly forgot to mention…see that fog machine over there,” he pointed at it with a slender index finger.

“Yeah I thought it was broken why is there a fog machine with uh….” he swallowed hard trying to keep the pipe from bursting. “No fog,” finally finishing his sentence with a hard gulp.

“Cause it’s not a fog machine tonight….just hooked it up…it’s a surprise gift, for you, pup,” Al and Kanai both locked eyes, those of the red head sparkling with menacing intentions.

“F-For….H’Hih…AHh..Uh..” he cleared his tightening throat, not quite catching on despite how obvious it was made for him. Practically spelled out. “Me? SnDFF,” he snuffled loudly, trying whatever best he could to swallow it down, what was in the air tonight? It was familiar, but all the stimulus around him, and the alcohol starting to settle in, it took the mutt longer to come to the realization of what was happening.

“Yup, filled it with my cologne,” Draeko's eyes widened in horror as the realization dawned on him. Alistar had perfectly orchestrated his downfall for the night. Genuinely, he should have guessed. Panic surged through him as he felt his sinuses swell and his chest tighten. The scent filled the room, enveloping him in a cloud of irritation and discomfort. With every breath, he could feel the sensation intensify, like tiny needles pricking at his nose and throat.

Desperation clawed at him as he tried to hold back the inevitable sneeze that threatened to burst forth. He could sense Kanai standing nearby, amusement dancing in his eyes as he watched the scene unfold. Drae's head was spinning from the alcohol, making it even harder for him to focus on fighting off the sneeze that was building up inside him like a tempest ready to unleash its fury. This was exactly the opposite of what he wanted for himself when it came to indulging within the party.

As he struggled to maintain control, Alistar's voice rang out mockingly, "Come on, pup, let it out, don’t be shy now, we’re amongst our peers,” the red head gestured to those around them, chatting and drinking.

Draeko's nostrils flared as he tried to fight against the overwhelming urge to sneeze, his mint and grey eyes watering from the potent scent that enveloped him. His chest heaved while he tried to stifle the sneeze, but it was a losing battle. With a sudden and explosive force, it tore through him, loud and unrestrained. "ihh’gxxnt’iiew! K’GNSH’iiew! Huh'GDTS'iiew!!! H’GKNSH!” Drae's body convulsed with the force of it, at first he did what he could to try and constrict the kitten like sounds, his hand flying up instinctively to cover his nose and mouth. Yet, it was to his great horror that the sounds had already echoed in the room, over the music, drawing the attention of everyone around them.

Alistar's laughter cut through the air like a sharpened knife, lethal and biting. "Oh my! What a display, you know, I think you can do better than that though," he taunted, a triumphant gleam in his eyes. Draeko felt his face burn with humiliation as he lowered his hand slowly, meeting Kanai’s ever so cold, and distance stare. Yet no matter how far the hound seemed, he was always present, the silent watcher, it was almost more intimidating that Al’s direct approaches.

The red head’s laughter continued to ring in Drae's pink tip dusted ears as he tried to compose himself, cheeks aflame with embarrassment. The party around them seemed to have paused, all eyes on him as he stood there, caught in the grip of his own body's betrayal. He could feel the weight of their stares like physical pressure against his skin, suffocating him in a bubble of mortification. The red head’s sudden words cutting off the inner defeat the mutt felt in this current situation. “Hey Nai, fetch us a round of vodka shots, eh?” his ruby orbs danced in his friend’s direction.

Kanai, the ever silent observer, finally stirred at Alistar's prompting. With a knowing nod, he sauntered over to the bar to fetch the round of shots as requested. His movements were smooth and deliberate, a stark contrast to the chaos swirling within Draeko. The hound's icy gaze bore into Drae's soul, a silent reminder of his constant vigilance.

Meanwhile, Alistar leaned in closer, his voice dripping with malicious amusement. "You should really be more careful with your secrets, hm pup?" he teased, relishing in the other’s submission. Draeko couldnt press upon how deeply seduced he felt in the palm of the other’s hand. This slick bastard just knew how to get under his skin, irritatingly and sexually. The mutt unable to process, felt his whole body was a blaze as the scent caused his chest to tighten uncomfortably once more. This was never ending, he had never been triggered so many times in the last few years of his life than he had been lately since meeting these two demons. The mutt’s nose tickled with urgency, his throat tingling like sparkling water.

Draeko's head spun from the overpowering scent of the allergen, his chest constricting as he struggled to draw in a full breath. The sneezes had left him feeling exposed and vulnerable, his defenses shattered before the amused gazes of those around him. He could almost taste the humiliation in the air, thick and suffocating.

As Kanai returned with the shots, a sense of relief washed over Draeko. The hound's presence was a grounding force amidst the chaos, a reminder that he was not completely alone in this torment. So he thought. Forgetting just how often the navy haired man would join and assist. Yet, in this moment, Kanai's cool demeanor and calculated movements were like a lifeline for Drae amongst all the guests whispering and gossiping, it offered a sense of stability in the midst of Alistar’s taunts and his own physical discomfort. “Good lookin, bud,” Al winked at his friend, who dispersed two shot glasses to each of them from the tray he had brought them on.

Alistar's voice seemed to echo in Draeko's ears, a constant reminder of his own powerlessness in this twisted game they constantly played. The way the red-head reveled in Draeko's embarrassment sent a shiver down his spine, a mixture of lustfueled submission and absolute humiliation. Before the hybrid could succumb to anymore of it, they each all shot back their drinks, letting the glasses clink loudly against the tray they returned them to. Despite the mutt knowing he shouldnt add anymore alcohol to his already full system, he couldn’t confidently face the rest of the night, without it. Kanai turning to bring the tray back to the kitchen.

As the hound disappeared into the kitchen, Alistar's smirk widened whilst he casually flicked a small remote hidden in his pocket. Unbeknownst to Draeko, he had been surreptitiously turning up the fog machine's dispensing rate all this while. The scent thickened around them, enveloping Drae in a haze that seemed to amplify the smell of cologne hanging in the air.

Draeko's eyes shifted with realization as the smell grew more potent, his sinuses flaring up in protest. He struggled to maintain his composure, but each inhale brought forth a wave of discomfort that threatened to break through his carefully constructed facade. Like a fat elephant sitting directly on his chest. Alistar watched with glee as Drae's reddened and moist nostrils flared, while his eyes watered so hard small tears began to trickle at the corner of his orbs, a cruel smile playing on Al’s lips.

"You know, pup," Alistar taunted, leaning in closer as if sharing a secret, "There's no use trying to hide it. Your reactions are written all over your face…just release, I promise, you’ll feel sooo much better,” his breath ghosting over the other’s skin as he moved to nip at the mutt’s sensitive ear tip.

Draeko's heart pounded in his chest as Alistar's words sank in, a mixture of lust and desire swirling within him. His body was betraying him, reacting to the humiliation and degradation in a way that both repulsed and excited him. The cologne thickened around them, a physical manifestation of the suffocating control Alistar held over him. It was getting to be too much as he tried to swallow a golf ball sized weight down his already tight throat. His sinuses, full, overflowing with need.

As Alistar leaned in, Draeko could feel his warm breath against his ear, sending shivers down his spine. The mutt's body tensed involuntarily as he fought against the conflicting urges warring within him. He wanted to push Alistar away, to escape the torment and degradation he was being subjected to. No one should have the power to dominate him like this. But at the same time, a twisted part of him craved the humiliation, the helplessness that came with surrendering to it as he listened to the whispers and snickers of on lookers from the party.

Alistar's fingers brushed lightly against Draeko's cheek, tracing a path down to his quivering lips. The red-head's touch almost solidifying his undying needs but it was the simplest, and lightest of touches that wound up sending him over the edge. He blew. “Hh..-” It started, he tried to swallow it but it barreled out of him like a ton of bricks being dumped out of a wheel barrow. “Hh’NDKT’ih! A-Ahh…K’GNSH’iiew! hihh’KXXtsh’chhu! HNn-..’GNSH!”

The force of Draeko's sneezes were unexpected, violent even. His body lurched forward in a spasm of movement, the motion ripping through him like a storm tearing through a forest. He staggered, nearly losing his balance as the sounds echoed through the room, drowning out the laughter of the students around him. “Huh’GDTS’iieW!” The never ending onslaught continued. Draeko's entire frame trembled with the force of his sneezes, his muscles tensing and releasing in rapid succession around the red head’s grip at his waist. “ehh’Gxxtchh’iew!”

Alistar's smirk faltered for a split second, turning into something dark before he recovered, amusement dancing in his eyes at Draeko's expense. The other students erupted into fresh peals of laughter, their gazes fixed on the mutt who had become the unwitting center of attention. “Look at all this attention you’re drawing in pup, a pathetic little mess at my disposal..you’re such a good dog,” Drae could feel their eyes on him, mocking and judgmental, their amusement cutting into him like a thousand tiny blades, but the words dripping off Al’s lips were the fire to his loins, the power behind this man’s reactions over him, igniting that nymph under the surface.

As Kanai reentered the room, a frown creased his brow as he took in the scene before him. His gaze flickering between those around them and the two being highlighted at this current stage. He almost felt the need to step in and stop it. Yet, he watched as Drae’s body hitch, and gasp.

“Ehh’Gxxtch’iew! H’GXNT! Hiihh’NGnxxt’iiew! Huh'GDTS'iiew!! ” the mutt did his best to hold them back, stifled behind his choking and gasping throat. The room fell almost silent, the music seeming to fade at the intensity. Every eye fixed on Draeko as he succumbed to a fit of powerful kitten like explosions. Each unstable sound reverberated through the space, a physical manifestation of his vulnerability and public humiliation. Alistar's grin widened at the sight before him, relishing in the control he had over the mutt and the attention he was able to draw. As Kanai stepped forward, a flicker of concern in his eyes, it was as if a cold wind had blown through the room, chilling the atmosphere that had been thick with tension and amusement just moments before.

Draeko's body shook with each sneeze, his chest heaving as he struggled to find his breath amidst the onslaught. The scent of cologne and allergens mingled in the air, creating a suffocating cloud around him, the red head reached down to grip the hybrid’s trembling jaw, forcing his gaze upward into that of lust-filled ruby gems. The mutt's eyes darted between Alistar and Kanai, though a struggle to make out the second body with his face forcibly held up, a mix of anxiety and longing evident in his depths. He felt exposed, stripped bare, it was all for one, horrifying but also, incredibly, undeniably, erotic. Draeko cursed himself inwardly, god damn him and his insatiable libido.

As Alistar continued to hold Draeko's face, he leaned in closer, his lips brushing against the hybrid's ear. His voice low and seductive, he whispered, "You're a sight to behold, Draeko,” He paused, a lingering darkness to the use of the mutt’s government name. “So vulnerable, yet so undeniably alluring… A real sight for our guests tonight," the end of his statement garnished with a side smirk so devious, it caused the hybrid to shiver. Draeko couldn't help the thrill that came from receiving the sudden praise, despite the humiliation that still lingered in the air.

“Al…” Kanai interjected almost quietly, and when his friend dismissed the sound, he cleared his throat with more confidence and stood up straight. “Alistar, enough,” feeling finally that this whole display had gone on long enough. The red eyed male looked up and squinted, narrowing his eyebrows with defiance.

“Don’t be a party pooper, Nai,” sticking out his tongue before the other reached out to take Drae’s hand and pulled him square out of the demons arms.

“Hiiiii’NGnxxt’iew!” another escaped the mutt surprisingly as he was yoinked from the position he had once been in, trapped within the red head’s grasp. The force of wind that had splashed across his face with the velocity, was just another kick in his already tightened and weakened sinuses. Though it was slightly stunted due to the surprise, it still caused the other’s cheeks to burn bright red, his nose trickling as he quickly reached up to wipe it. “I-I-….excuse me…” the mutt muttered, pushing passed Kanai, and the other onlooking students who simply shrugged and went back to their previous chatting. Drae headed straight to the bathroom.

“Hey man, not cool,” Alistar scoffed and folded his arms over his chest, clearly cheesed at his fun ruining bestie.

“He seemed uncomfortable, I didn’t like it,” The navy haired man adjusted his wrist watch, making sure it was still ticking as a means to avoid eye contact with the red head who was going to try and gaslight him.

“He’s always uncomfortable! But you interject NOW?” Al scoffed throwing his hands up into the air, unbelieving that out of all the times to grow a conscious, he’d choose the time he’s having the most fun.

“Yes,” Kanai looked up now making dead eyed contact with the other’s irritated ruby orbs.

“That’s cold, Nai, that’s cold….I thought we had something special,” he shook his head, his gaze averting to the ground before shoveling his hands timidly in his pockets to put on an even grander display.

“We do, now, go apologize,” Kanai stood confidently, one foot rooted in business while his heterochromatic eyes casually rolled at the other's dramatic gestures. He remained unfazed by the theatrics.

“What?? Apologize!? Why would I do that? Im not sorry!” A small burst of air escaped from the red head's mouth, as if laughing at the very concept. He shook his head, his hands gesturing emphatically to match his dismissive tone.

“Because, he seemed really upset, if it were me, you’d apologize,” delivering a logical argument that would hit closer to home for him. Not always did he like to use the tactics he had up his sleeves that could bend Alistar to his own will, but he knew how to use it with confidence and stealth.

“No I fuckin’ wouldn’t I’d tell you to suck it up!” Doubling down, but Kanai gave Alistar a knowing look after he said what he did, and the red head rolled his ruby orbs, aggressively shoveling his arms at his side out of their folded position. “FINE,” he conceded. “I’ll apologize,” and followed up with a less than enthused tone of voice this time.

“Good, I’ll see you when you return,” Kanai nodded, inwardly impressed his friend was willing to take his advice and smooth things over.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom Draeko was splashing mass amounts of water across his blushing red, swollen and leaking face. Desperate to clear himself of the horrendous scent still haunting his sinuses. “HGXNT! K’GNSH!” small, rapid fire sneezes still escaping him every few seconds as he tried to clear himself of the misery. “hiih’…” he hitched and hicked while he hovered over the sink, his hands gripping the edges like his life absolutely depended on it. “hihh’KXXtsh’chhuu! K’GNSH’iiew!! Ihh’gxxnt’iiew! K’GNSH!!” it sprayed across the mirror, too quick to stop it, decorating it in tiny droplets of spittle.

It was in the exact moment Drae was trying to compose himself that he heard a knock on the bathroom door, it was heavy handed. “Drae, Yo, can we talk?” The red head cleared his throat. “I wanted to uh…talk to you about what happened…” he muttered a bit loosely now, looking down toward the ground, he was uncomfortable. He didnt apologize. It wasnt his thing, he was an asshole through and through. However, Kanai asked him to do it…so he was gonna do it.

Draeko groaned inwardly not wanting the other to see him in this state, his head woozy from alcohol and sneezing his absolute brains out of his skull wasn’t exactly the pinnacle of sexy. Not to mention the conflicting feelings he had after that entire display of control. “I- ….Uh….it’s fine…just go away…” he stutters loosely, trying to shoo the other from seeing him like this.

“Look, I get it, you’re upset could you just plea-…” cut off suddenly by the hybrid opening the door and dragging him inside.

“Alright! God..I’m a mess right now, what?” Draeko huffed with slight annoyance but his face reddened when he looked up and locked eyes with the other. Like he was suddenly taken under by a strong wave in the ocean, memories started to flush of his hand on his jaw, the sound of his voice and the feeling of a steady heart beat against his back. So controlled. So Calm. He tried to keep his ambitions down at bay but the alcohol was making him more impulsive by the minute, his sinuses still throbbing despite it. Alistar was starting to feel an overwhelming sense of irritation and took a deep breath in.

“Dude! I’m just trying to apologize for upsetting you, fuck!” he threw his hands up, and the lighting caught his flexing arms tastefully, the hybrid swallowed loosely as his eyes flashed between checking him out and keeping eye contact.

“Wh-….I’m only upset that you made me sneeze! Asshole!” which, the usage of every word caught the red head’s attention. Only…upset…sneeze…so…then…? He cocked a thin red brow and looked the other up and down quizzically before Drae rolled his eyes and finally couldn’t handle it any longer. The courage running through his veins and the way he was starved of the other’s touch for so long…the hybrid reached up with both his fists closing around the collar of Alistar’s tshirt, and slammed their lips together with a furious heat.

Alistar was caught off guard by the sudden, intense kiss, but he couldn't deny the thrill that surged through him. Draeko's lips were firm and demanding, his tongue parting Alistar's lips as he explored the other man's mouth. Al’s hands gripped the mutt’s hips, pushing him against the edge of the sink before pressing their bodies together, their clothes stuck to their skin from sweat and alcohol. “Fuck me…” the mutt whimpered behind their passionate entanglement.

Draeko's hands traveled up Alistar's back, his fingers curling into the dense red hair at the nape of his neck. He groaned into the kiss, his erection straining against the denim of his jeans, desperate for friction. Alistar moaned into the kiss, his own arousal matching the hybrid's “Say less,” he returned with a voice equally matched of breathlessness.

The sounds of their passionate lips and their ragged breathing filled the air, creating a cacophony of intense lust. They were both lost in the moment, all their differences and arguments temporarily forgotten.

As they continued to kiss, Draeko's hands moved lower, sliding under the waistband of Alistar's jeans, feeling the heat and hardness of his arousal. Alistar let out a low growl, his hands tightening on Draeko's hips, pulling their hips closer together.

The room spun around them, mostly due to the intensity of their movements mixed with a heavy consumption of booze, but none the less that passion burned hot as they began to tear shirts over heads, and shovel pants down ankles. Their skin met in a rush of wet, electric sensation, naked bodies collided against the cold, porcelain surface of the sink. Draeko's deep-set eyes locked onto Alistar's gaze, a mixture of unbridled lust and long-suppressed desire burning in their depths. He leaned in and whispered huskily, "I want you so bad…please..” he whimpered, biting his lower lip while pleading reddened, wet, eyes gazed up at the other. Al could only reply with an animalistic, approving grunt before finally finding the words he needed.

“Yeah? Then you can have me….but I want you to watch,” he gripped the other’s hips tightly before spinning him around to face the slightly speckled mirror, rubbing his harded cock against the crack between Drae’s welcoming cheeks. “I want you to see yourself get absolutely fucking claimed by me, this is what you’ve been wanting…and you’re going to face it,” he smirked with a cocky resolve, spitting in his hand, and mulling it lazily over his thick length.

Draeko shuddered, overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events but his eyes never left the reflection as Alistar’s cockhead teased his entrance. “Y-Yes Sir….” he whimpered in response. Unable to resist the raw desire that radiated off the other man, he arched his back, pressing his ass against the invading tip. Alistar's smirk deepened, his fingers tightened around the mutt’s slender hips, and he slowly forced his way into the hybrid, the heat of their bodies radiating off each other.

Alistar's pace was slow and deliberate, savoring the moment as he finally felt Draeko's body gripped around him. The red-head's groans echoed in the bathroom, a testament to the pleasure he was enduring. The hybrid's hips bucked back, meeting each thrust with a determined ferocity. His emotions ran the gamut – from frustration to desire, from pleasure to pain, all tangled into a mess of raw sensations. He was finally getting his way and Draeko didnt even feel an ounce of guilt for giving in. They both needed this.

Their bodies moved together, synchronized by the rhythm of their breaths and the slap of skin against skin. A sheen of sweat glistened over their skin, making their bodies glisten in the reflection. Draeko's eyes never left the mirror, both proud and ashamed of the sight of his body being claimed by the red head, the way his mouth hung open with each pathetic mewl and whimper that spilled out.

Alistar's hands moved with purpose, running down Draeko's back and across his spine with a purpose to leave long deep lines of marks that were sure to stain. As they moved, the echoes of the jock’s words reverberated through Draeko's mind - watch, be claimed, face it. It was a shameful thought, but also an intensely pleasurable one. The mirror serving as a testament to his shame and yet his deepest desires.

Alistar's pace increased, his thrusts deep and hard, and Draeko moaned in response, his head dropping back and his eyes rolling upward. The pleasure was intense, and though the embarrassment and longing were still there, it was drowned out by the raw, primal feeling of being taken. “Who do you belong to?” he heard the words suddenly cut through his mindless pleasure, the hybrid sucked in a stiff breath of air.

“Y-You..” he gasped, his eyes half lidded as he tried to keep eye contact with the other.

“Say my name,” Al ordered, his lips twisting into a satisfied smirk.

“Al…istar” Draeko managed to whisper, his voice breaking in a mix of yearning and vulnerability.

Alistar's eyes glimmered with triumph as he continued to thrust, his hands gripping Draeko's hips with a vice-like grip.

“Good boy, Now, look at yourself,” He nodded towards the dirty mirror, and Draeko forced his eyes open, staring at the reflection of his body being ravaged by the other man. In a quick motion, Al leaned over to snag his tshirt laying beside them, bringing it up to Drae’s face and smothering it into his calmed nostrils. "Go on, inhale,”

Hesitantly, the hybrid inhaled deeply, expecting to maybe get a whiff of the red head’s natural musk but instead met with the terribly invasive scent of his cologne instead. Shit. “N-No-…”

“Aht, Be my good boy, come on, watch,” he pointed at the mirror ahead, his hips still snapping relentlessly, slowing down every third measure just to torment him.

“Hnn…A-Ahh…H’KGNT! Hh’NDKT’ih! Hihh’GXXTsh’iiew! ” unable to deny or hold back he watched himself twist in agony before his eyes squeezed shut in the moment he blew his top and with his hands busy keeping himself steady against the sink, he painted the mirror once more. Almost unable to see himself clearly through the reflection now as he stammered and moaned. His one mint colored eye locked with its reverse image, seeing how reddened his whites were and the tears that stained his flushed cheek. He whimpered again, snuffling pathetically as he pushed his hips back to meet every thrust.

Alistar groaned low, and slow, it was almost unearthly the way it sounded. His ruby eyes glared down and consumed the sight before him, the delightfulness of watching his target become so needy for him, only to succumb to a convulsing mess. “You’re a fuckin’ work of art, pup…fuck….you feel so good when you tighten around me….” he grunted between a clenched jaw and working hips. “How your greedy fuckin’ hole flexes when you can’t cont-..Hng..ain your silly little mess…” pushing the words out as he continued his way through the smaller male, feeling the rolling bubble of his climax approaching.

The room was echoed with the sound of Al’s demeaning voice, and the slap of skin colliding amongst their throes. The mutt’s head fell downward, unable to keep his gaze but Al gripped him by his bangs in one hand, and forced it back up. “Don’t, look…away,” he commanded forcefully, and between the residual cologne still trickling up and down the inner cavities of his sinuses, with the sudden exposure to the light above him as well, another set of sneezes came spilling out of him.

“Hh’NDKT’ih! HUH’GDTS’iiew! KGNSh! H’GXTSh’ue!” His body lurched forward, and a plume of saliva misted from his open maw. Draeko's breaths now ragged, throat sore and eyes reddened, his mind a whirlwind of shameful pleasure and submission, his nose running mildly down his lip. The mirror, a disaster from top to bottom, no space unspeckled. He knew he was being conquered, but that thought only fueled him further, he’d been wanting this. Not exactly this…prehaps could do without sneezing consistently, but he wanted to please Al. He was so desperately working for that praise. Driven by it.

“That’s right, pup, you sound so delicious when you’re sneezing all over for me ….” The demon hissed allowing the T-shirt to fall from his hand. Alistar's thrusts grew more frenzied, Draeko's whimpers and moans grew more intense as he was given clearer air to breathe. He felt his own budding release building within him, a fiery wave of ecstasy ready to explode. "Yesss, that's it…" Alistar hissed, his voice low and rough, "Make yourself cum for me…Nghh” jaw clenching tightly before he finished his sentence “…Let me see you enjoy every last second of this,"

The words were like a catalyst, igniting the lust frenzied fire within Drae. He arched his back, writhing against Al's snapping hips, every stroke bringing them closer to their shared release. Sniffling, moaning, trying to twist his nose in circles to avoid another sneeze, he just wanted to cum, he wanted to feel the other cum. He didn’t want to be over taken by another dreadfully earth shaking sneeze. The hybrid's mind was a haze, his body trembling persistently while he was plowed relentlessly. “Cum for me…let yourself go..let me see…” Alistar spoke behind gritted teeth.

The climax was upon them, the room filled with the wet slap of skin and the gasping breaths of two men lost in their primal dance. Draeko's whimpers and moans grew more desperate, his body shuddering with each stroke while his nose and head throbbed from the intensity of his allergies. Alistar's thrusts became more urgent, the hybrid's tight hole squeezing him like a vice. The room was a whirlwind of sweat and musk, the scent of their arousal mingling with the lingering cologne.

Drae's mind was a blur of guilt, pressure and pleasure, his body a live wire charging rapidly towards its climax. He could feel his orgasm building, a furious wave ready to crash over the rocks while Al struck his prostate, and began a series of attacks against it.

"Agh! Ahh! Oh, fuck!" the hybrid cried as he spilled over, his body racked and shaken by the overwhelming sensation of his orgasm. Alistar's gaze locked onto Draeko's through a spot in the mirror, his eyes burning with intensity as he watched the hybrid lose all control. His own arousal peaked, and he could feel himself nearing his own climax. One final surge, and with a primal grunt, he thrust into Draeko one last time, filling him completely.

“FUUUUUCking…SHIT!” he cursed through his orgasm. Their bodies trembled in sync, coated in a sheen of sweat and the remnants of their crimes committed. For a moment, all was still. Only the labored breathing of the two men filled the air, their hearts pounding in the aftermath of their shared release. Draeko slumped against the sink, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. The guilt and shame of the moment intertwined with the raw pleasure they had both experienced.

Alistar stumbled back eventually and steadied himself up against the wall, grabbing his pants and pulling them slowly up to fasten them back on. “That’s gonna get fucking addictive, Bravo, such a good boy…” the messy red haired man scoffed, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, carefully pulling one out of the box, and up to his lips. He lit it.

Draeko's eyes met Alistar's in the mirror, a mixture of emotions swirled in his gaze. The culpability, the pleasure, the vulnerability. A newfound realization dawned upon him – he too, was addicted, and he craved more. His throat still sore as he tried to clear it with a cough; and then, the only sound he could hear was his own heavy breathing. He watched as Alistar's eyes burned with the same desire, the same hunger that Draeko himself felt.

Al's lips quirked up into a devilish grin as he took a drag of his cigarette, the smoke curling up into the air. "You know what they say about addiction, Squeaks?" he chuckled, his voice low and husky. "Once you get a taste of it, you can't get enough." Drae swallowed a hard large lump down his throat, biting his lower lip.

“You sound like an expert,” he chuckled nervously while he then stood straight and with the best of his ability, cleaned himself up. He was leaking from his nose still, and various other holes…he sighed inwardly, not wanting to show too many emotions off to the red head enjoying his aftermath stoge. Yet, the longer they stood around in this bathroom, the more nervous Draeko began to feel. The hybrid’s thoughts started to race, the post nut clarity was hitting him hard as he realized he was also sobering up. He quickly got dressed now. “Hey, you in a rush? You don’t want another round? Maybe ride me on the toilet?” Al wiggled his eyebrows cheekily, and Drae froze for a moment.

“I-…uh…” he cleared his throat and shook his head. “I gotta get back to my dorm…” was all he said before pushing past the red head, out the door and out of the house completely. Alistar simply stood there shirtless, slightly shocked but mostly content. He got what he needed out of the night, no need to pretend to be Prince Charming. Yet as he finished his cigarette he was met with a silent, stealthy Kanai by the door.

“FUCK! Dude! Don’t do that shit…scared the fuck outta me,” trembling outwardly as if he was covered in bugs and trying to shake them off. The hound was unimpressed, his expression, emotionless.

“Why did Draeko leave?” A simple thin brow perked up and he tilted his head ever so curiously.

“Said something bout needing to go home…he wasnt upset by the way,” The red head chuckled and stepped closer. “Just really fuckin’ horny….we smashed,” holding his hand up for a high five. He was met with a blank stare and several blinks.

“So then why’d he leave?”

“Dude, I told you, he just wanted to go home, he got his nut and wanted to dip,” shrugging his shoulders, throwing his hands up Alistar was being genuine in his response and Kanai was still deeply confused but wound up trusting his friend’s word.

“If you say so…Also someone threw up in the kitchen..you said you’d clean up any messes….” Al sighed with a mixture of frustration and annoyance.

“Uncle Fuckin…fine alright, I’ll be right there,” the jock grabbed his tshirt off the ground and slid it back over his head. “Lets get this over with…”

…..

Finally at home, Drae collapses on his back across the bed. Staring directly up at the ceiling he isn’t entirely sure what to do with what had happened tonight, and frankly, he wasnt ready to face it. With a deep, long sigh, he closes his eyes, and drifts off to sleep.

To be continued…

Author’s Notes: OoOoOoOo StEaMy 🥵🥵🥵 I enjoyed writing this one I’m not gonna lie. Draeko being tormented in front of everyone 😍? Secretly enjoying the power Al has over him! 😍 Al?! Anyway! Kisses! Hope yall enjoyed 🫶🏻

[unrealistic-ideas-for-writers]

Some Beneath the Sands Quest Rambles!

Featuring my wife being the biggest brain :3

Below the cut will be spoilers for potential plot points for the Beneath the Sands project, so if you’re a reader and not actively participating, you may want to scroll :3

AIGHT!

So my wife and I were being silly goofy and having a lil picnic for my birthday Saturday night (wheee)

And she read through the Beneath the Sands prelude for the first time and had so many great questions???

What’s the Alliance? What’s the Citadel?

Where was Dahlia during the entire prelude? Who is her husband??? Is Caladin’s Clan usually present in the Citadel? Is the clan compound there?

Did Dahlia die?

And so this very quickly segwayed into some very fucked up and also mellow lore???

So here’s some technical-ish terms I’ll probably use in the future and some loose answers to the Qs above^^

The Alliance and Citadels

Within this desert nation, multiple Clans came together to form a series of strongholds in the face of the Lament, often referred to as Citadels. While most people reside within small villages outside Clan compounds, Citadels are centers of trade and military power.

For instance, the Sunstrider Knight Order that Caladin leads. They are stationed at a Citadel and live 24/7 in the barracks there.

(Also, really in need of some Clan name ideas because it is driving me insane.)

Where was Dahlia?

If everyone remembers (or not) Dahlia is matriarch of their Clan, and due to being blinded during an “accident”, she often remains in the Clan compound and away from the frontlines

Both she and Cal are in the direct line of succession, but the Clan is Matriarchal.

Who is her husband??

Not sure yet :3

He’s going to be an odd man, me thinks

Very wiry and mischievous??? He gives fox vibes and I don’t even know what he looks like yet

I do know he’s an enabler and that fact will be important later

Is Caladin’s Clan usually present in the Citadel? Is their Clan compound there?

Nope! As stated above, most clansmen that aren’t scientists, merchants, or active duty military rarely venture to the Citadels!

Did Dahlia die?

Definitely not. She did not die during the prelude. In fact, my wife came up with some very cool and fucked up ideas on what to do with her and her husband as characters!

I’ll put a poll below with a few options on what we were thinking :3

Alrighty! Poll will have a few options with their respective explanations below, if it all fits :3

Please keep in mind that I have not fully flushed out Dahlia’s character, so it will not match up with what I’ve written so far. In fact I’d say all options are a complete 180 for her based off what’s been written.

Preserves herself in time

This idea is very loosely based because we very quickly thought up other things :3

We know whatever the fuck that stone was is borderline lethal when resonators come in contact with it

And we know that it fucks with time

I’m not sure where I was going with this, but Mayhaps Dahlia starts research that would predate and eventually lead the Court of Savantae

Human Experimentation

Something my wife thought up :3

I love her brain

Anyways, this idea comes from the weird dynamic her and her husband could have?

Let’s say the stress of losing Caladin, someone she views as her own child, was enough to cause a mutant resonator awakening

I’d say Havoc or Glacio in this case

She already has severe burns over her eyes, what’s a Tacet mark atop that??

Anyways, the grief drives her kind of insane in this one. Her husband, even the enabler, gives her a few ideas

Something something fucking around with her forte and cloning

And now we have a mini Orochimaru kind of body stealer roaming about

Tdlr: Dahlia and her husband clone themselves and transfer their consciousness over using her forte for the next hundred something thousand years to find Caladin again

Fractsidus Founder Dahlia!

Honestly, this idea works especially well with the one above^^

I could see her doing it too- the idea that she loses her brother to a seemingly one-sided war only to awaken just like he did

To feel the difference and wonder if this was the natural course of humanity all along? To evolve faster and better

Still think the cloning thing could work

Especially if during or after the Beneath the Sands quest we get a Fractsidus encounter with Dahlia and her husband and Cal just stared at two people he’d thought of his parents and just

“What the *fuck* did you do to my sister’s body?”

He’d be enraged, obviously, especially if she tried to justify everything, her madness showing and all

I think he’d be pissed, and probably convince himself that something just stole his sister’s body

Talking with Rover about the Fractsidus’ goals after would probably send him spiraling tbh

I’m sure this barely makes sense, but also- I had to get it out there. Feel free to leave ideas for me. This is more of a Caladin thing so it’ll probably be a post-quest prompt. Anyways! I love wife time. She gives me amazing ideas :3

[fullscoreshenanigans]

Hello! It's lonely-cereal. I really adore your blog since I've been obsessed with the promised neverland for over 4 years. And I wanted to tell you an idea I had/hear your thoughts.

So, I'm currently writing a promised neverland x OC. (Canon timeline.) and I came up with line a fanmade demon world plant. It's called muerte. It works the very opposite of the Vida plant. It's related to it. Vida is like it's "evil twin." instead of sucking the life out of it's victims, it can undo the effects of vida If so desired. It only withers if the person who's touched it last is dying or has died. Since "Vida." means life in Spanish, but takes life away, I named the fanmade one muerte since that means "death." in Spanish, even though it can bring life back. I thought it'd be an interesting concept for promised neverland fandictions.

It started when Ray and my OC found it and gave one to each other to make sure the other was always safe before my OCS shipment.

It looks like this.

Anyways I just wanted to hear your thoughts about it since I believe it could be cool for TPN AUS or oneshots.

Heyyo 👋

Going to digress a bit to start off, but one of my reservations with the series can be summed up with these tags from @whamss on this poll regarding the ending:

#nothing serious that happens to any ‘good’ character lasts if they’re younger than 20 lol #again its been a hot ass minute but tpn was at its best when Shirai knew how to raise stakes and make them feel actually serious

With the specification of "good character under twenty whose name the reader is aware of before they die" because during the bunker raid and Andrew's subsequent pursuit, there are six innocent children who are murdered.

(Chapter 111)

Fred's, Malcom's, and Mary's deaths are particularly brutal in that rather than shooting them from a distance, Andrew chose to relish bludgeoning them to death with the butt of his rifle until their faces were unrecognizable.

However, none of them have any significant moments in the narrative prior to dying, and their names aren't revealed until this extra in chapter 119. I distinctly remember feeling Shirai was trying to have his cake and eat it too, running with this to say "see, death is still a real possibility for these kids!" The effect is muted though when I don't know who they are besides "background character whose design I vaguely recognize from earlier chapters" and all ten members of the Goldy Pond Resistance survived their gun battle with the demon nobles.

Reading all that in chapter 85 and then seeing Paula and Sandy alive in chapter 96 was so jarring and kind of a "lol okay I guess" moment for me on my first read. It's not actively wishing for the death or brutalization of children who are already victims of the farm system but wanting to see lasting consequences that have weight to them and seeing how characters cope. Sandy loses an eye, but much like Emma losing her ear, we never see him note his long-term struggles with that loss, such as having a larger blind spot, the anxiety and anger that would understandably result in, or even minor annoyances that when stacked together weigh on him. Compare to Lucas who, while still a very capable character, does reflect on how the loss of his arm impedes him.

Tying that back around to muerte, my initial thought was that it similarly feels like it's cheating the narrative on a surface-level read and it seems to rely more on soft magic than the series typically does. Compare to Mujika's blood that has seemingly magical properties. While we're never given the specific details of how it works, Norman's explanations of demon physiology in chapters 120, 126, and 127 are enough to ground it in the hard science of this series' universe. It provides something their genomes are missing and is potent enough to permanently stabilize them upon introduction to the body through consumption.

But again, this is only a surface-level read and I don't know all the details of your story.

Vida is like it's "evil twin." Instead of sucking the life out of its victims, it can undo the effects of vida if so desired. It only withers if the person who's touched it last is dying or has died.

How does it undo the effects of vida, which draws up a being's blood into its stem and then carries it to its petals that results in its flowers blooming? Does it naturally create chemicals that when introduced into a being's bloodstream don't harm said being but cause a negative reaction in the vida plant, resulting in it shriveling up and dying? What of the stab wound still left by it, which is a major factor in its victim's death due to piercing their heart? Does it provide potent clotting agents to prevent a being from bleeding out after its removal as well as rapid mending to flesh?

I'm also a bit confused by what causes muerte to wither, assuming that it has to touch a being that's in the process of dying in order to counteract the vida and restore life to them. If a being uses it on another being but they're unaware they're dying from a disease like cancer, or adrenaline is pumping and they're unaware of a fatal wound when they go to help someone else, is muerte rendered ineffective?

Another thing to consider and something that could potentially offset the narrative convenience of being able to undo death is how it factors into demon culture. Gupna is a carryover from the original faith. Is muerte seen as unholy and are beings saved/revived by it seen as unnatural in the eyes of the general demon population and/or those who follow the original faith? Would that put a human or demon revived by it in conflict with Sonju? Is it highly regulated by the demon nobility as another means of controlling the demon population, or is it so rare it's believed to be an extinct species of plant? Are beings hindered in some way after being revived or are they fully restored to a clean bill of health? Having power over death in a series where it's treated as a genuine finality would dramatically alter a culture and its relationship with the afterlife.

It started when Ray and my OC found it and gave one to each other to make sure the other was always safe before my OCS shipment.

Since Ray isn't aware of the intricacies of the gupna ceremony prior to the explanation Sonju gives Emma, I'm assuming this is initially a sweet gesture between friends because they thought the flower looked pretty, and it unwittingly ends up saving your OC's life? Cute. |3

[seventeenlovesthree]

Digi Dynamic Shipping Game

Send me two names among the following 12 and I’ll write a short analysis post about them:

Taichi Yagami | Yamato Ishida | Sora Takenouchi | Koushirou Izumi | Mimi Tachikawa | Jyou Kidou | Takeru Takaishi | Hikari Yagami | Daisuke Motomiya | Miyako Inoue | Iori Hida | Ken Ichijouji

Whether canon provides input on them or not:

It’s been a while since I’ve written a whole relationship analysis, so before getting completely out of shape, I thought about digging up my old poll again to focus a little bit on Daisuke’s and Miyako’s relationship.

Even though my memories on 02 overall are very rusty, I do remember very vividly that these two share a very physical - if not one of THE most physical - relationship with each other from the very beginning. Which may actually be best described as: “Bickering siblings”.

As far as their “origins” go, they’re not as clearly stated as it is with Iori and Miyako being neighbors and Daisuke being classmates with Hikari, having known her through Taichi before the series; there's no indication that Daisuke and Miyako have even met face to face beforehand, let alone interacted properly, but they DO seem very comfortable talking to each other from the first moment on, mainly indicated by the fact that neither of them uses honorifics for each other. Along the lines of the series, it is strongly implied that their older siblings (Jun and Momoe) are actually good friends. And this may or may not have had an impact on whether they’ve actually met/spent time with each other before - and whether or not the impression they got about each other through their siblings’ (supposed) descriptions was a positive one. 

Either way, in the way they do not idealize their own siblings and instead have to fight for their privileges and for getting respected, they already have a lot in common with each other - and can be seen as a mirror towards Takeru and Hikari, who clearly idealize their older siblings. And it makes sense to think that their upbringing is mirrored in their behaviour towards each other - they’re constantly teasing and taking jabs at each other, there are several occasions where they describe each other’s behaviour as “weird”, comparing them to others, basically putting each other down/disagreeing with each other. As if to prove their own superiority. They’re loud, they’re opinionated - and also ridden by underlying insecurities about it.

Speaking of which; another thing they have in common is how easily they are infatuated by others: Daisuke’s crush on Hikari and Miyako’s crush on Ken (at the beginning of the series) respectively are somewhat based on them putting them on a pedestal. (In Daisuke’s case, aside from Hikari being one of his earlier friends, I do believe that he's also idealizing her because she's Taichi's sister, whom he greatly looks up to after all.) And it basically takes until - ironically enough - Ken (for Daisuke) and Hikari (for Miyako) become active parts in their respective developments that they’re both starting to become “less shallow” and, more importantly, less aggressive and territorial about their “fights”. 

Unfortunately, that also means that there is less of a (visible) development between them, aside from a few comic relief moments and so, a lot of this analysis is based on interpretation of subtext after all... However, despite the bickering - which continues to be a thing between them until Kizuna and even the few bits we saw about the 02 movie -, they’re also seen fighting for and being protective of each other when it matters, being happy when the other is safe. So if we get back to the insecurity part - since they clearly do have a lot of things in common, it should not be a surprise that they’d still be there for each other. And even if screentime may not prove it directly - they probably understand each other better than one might assume (even if it’s questionable whether or not they’re aware of it themselves). And to put it like Taichi and Yamato - sometimes, a good fight may be the best sign of a “good relationship”. (Sometimes, it may also take a slap...)

Whether I think why and how they’d work:

Since I’ve put so much emphasis on the “sibling angle”, I think there have to be very specific circumstances to happen for these two to see each other in a romantic light. It’s absolutely not impossible, but first of all - one would have to make sure that neither Ken nor Hikari are available for EITHER of them. Ken is not only the person Miyako canonically ends up marrying, but also basically Daisuke’s soulmate, whereas Hikari is basically Miyako’s and also Daisuke’s previous love interest... Thus, one scenario could involve Daisuke and Miyako consoling each other over not “getting the one” they initially desired. Because they’re actually familiar and close enough that it would actually work in my opinion.

This may sound sad and tragic at first glance, but the way I see it, them not focusing on Hikari and Ken is the only way for them to notice each other in a different light; actually looking at the things they share and have in common, realizing how much they may have idealized other people in their lives, how great they actually are - basically allowing themselves to be vulnerable around each other instead of getting defensive. Their walls have been built way too high and while Hikari and Ken were able to tear them down and they tore down theirs (with a slap respectively)... I do believe they could actually tear each other’s walls too IF they took the time to look at each other. They need to acknowledge that the other has soft and caring sides, but once they do, it may become a very (mutually) supportive and more open-minded bond than ever before. They’re both fun-loving, they’re competitive, so they could be challenging each other in more casual, more loving ways too!

Whether I’d prefer them as platonic or romantic ship:

I know people who are very fond of this ship in a romantic sense. And, as lined up above, there is a lot of unexplored potential in their relationship, based on their character dynamics and patterns alone - so I understand where y’all come from! On the other hand, it is also hard for me personally to not see them with the sibling angle, so for now, I’ll just enjoy them as such!

[saaraofthesand]

My Thoughts on The Sun and The Star.

I’ve organized my thoughts into some lists. Enjoy.

I polled my followers and they said they wanted this so you can’t get mad at me.

I must first emphasize that at 20 years old, I’m hardly this book’s target audience. I am fully aware of that.

Second, this book is fine. It’s not bad, it’s not insulting to queer people, but it’s also not the most interesting work of fiction I’ve ever read.

Third, I never finished the Trials of Apollo. I don’t think it hugely affected my reading experience with this one as I’d read all 10 of the other books and could use context clues for anything I didn’t know about. But I thought I should mention it.

Fourth, a lot of my problems with this book have also been present in all of Rick Riordan’s books post-pjo. So, these aren’t new.

Fifth, I went into this book with basically zero expectations. I’m not active in the pjo fandom (this is an anime blog), so I wasn’t seeing the book hyped up or anything. Before this, I’d basically only talked about it with my family and friends. I also don’t really read pjo fanfics. I have because I’ve gotten curious before, but I haven’t read enough to know about general fanon interpretations of characters.

Okay,

Nico has been my favorite PJO character since I was a kid (yes I grew up gay with abandonment issues shut up), so I was excited for this book.

The queerness is well done. There isn’t any “othering” of Nico, Will, or their relationship due to their queerness.

We got Italian! Nico moments, which I’ve been wanting more of since forever, so I’m happy about that. They did an okay job rounding out Will’s character. And Nico and Will’s relationship got a lot of good exposition (even if I felt that they were unrealistically mature about it). Nico’s experiences with homophobia felt very real.

Okay, now on to my critics:

Without a doubt my biggest criticism of this book is that it is very clearly fanservice. It doesn’t exist because it has a story to tell. It exists because fans wanted more Nico and Will content.

I didn’t like that the book was written from third person. I had this same critic of the Heroes of Olympus books. Rick Riordan’s strength has always been first person POVs, starting with the original PJO series. I feel like the funny chapter names, the breaking of the fourth wall, the sidebars, etc. are the reason that Rick’s prose stands out. A first person perspective is the reason the books are as funny as they are. And this book lacked that spark.

The choice to write from third person is part of what contributes to the fanfiction-esque writing style of this book. As someone who both reads and writes fanfiction, I can tell you that almost all fanfics are written from third person. This is because, for the most part, the characters you’re writing are not your own. First person is way too intimate a POV for that type of writing, and it’s why most fanfic authors don’t use it. That’s what I feel like is happening here. Oshiro is writing characters that aren’t theirs, and that means they can’t bring the intimacy of a first person POV or even a more intimate third person POV.

The book is also very on the nose with its themes and ideas. Generally, this is fine in this type of literature. This is a piece of middle-grade fiction. The target audience is middle schoolers. But also, middle schoolers can pick up on subtext. They’re young, not illiterate. There was far too much telling when they were already showing.

A good example is the title of the book. It’s very clear that “The Sun” is Will and “The Star” is Nico. I assumed that before I even opened the book. That imagery is incredibly obvious, so the authors don’t need to state it in the text. But… they do. Bob refers to Will and Nico as “My sun and star.” It was one of the moments in the book that really made me cringe.

The book has major pacing issues and is too long. I felt like it was going on forever. There were full scenes and segments that I think could’ve been cut without affecting the plot.

This book really put on display that even though Will and Nico work as boyfriends, they don’t work as partners. This contrasts Percy and Annabeth, who do work really well together since they were partners first. But Nico and Will are so bad at working together that their quest dynamic isn’t fun.

Generally, I don’t love the characterization in this book.

Nico and Will are supposed to be on this dark, dangerous quest. One so horrible no one would ever want to undertake it. It’s the House of Hades (Nyx’s Version). Except it really isn’t. It felt like they wanted to make it more psychological than the previous books, but they also weren’t totally willing to commit to everything that would entail.

Despite all the fluff in the book, it takes itself just a little too seriously. Nico and Will are 15-16. I feel like they could have had more fun with it while still tackling darker themes. Again, I know Riordan is capable of this because *gestures at the original PJO books*

Nico and Will have this weirdly mature outlook on their relationship that doesn’t fit their ages.

We don’t get PJO-esque jokes until 80% of the way through the book (yes, I kept track). There’s the “Travel Brochure” joke and the “Saturday Sundae” joke during the Nyx confrontation. Both of which invoked the feeling of reading the original Percy Jackson books. I got really excited.

Immediately after those jokes this became one of the cringiest books I’ve ever read. And I do not care to elaborate on that because I’m just happy that the book is over at this point.

Lastly, I wasn’t sure where to put this, but I read it, so now, you have to too. “‘Will, he said it has to be both of us,’ said Nico. Will hesitated at first, but an epiphany dawned in him, and his eyes went wide. ‘Together,’ he said.” After reading this, I immediately recoiled in disgust and went “UGH!” And there are multiple lines like this in the book. Absolutely horrible -7563/10. Rick, never allow another sentence like that into one of your books again. This isn’t YA. You can’t be throwing lines like that at me out of nowhere.

In conclusion:

I’ve seen people saying the criticisms of this book are the result of homophobia and… y’all no they aren’t. Most of the people I’ve seen criticizing the book are queer, including me! I’m tired of this idea that queer people just have to appreciate whatever representation they’re given without having any criticisms about it because at least it’s something. No! If Nico and Will were a straight couple, I’d still have the exact same critics of this book. I’m gay and it’s my godgiven right to dislike books that focus on gay people if the stories aren’t good.

Something that I do think is sad here is that Oshiro’s name is now on this substandard book forever. They’re a new author, and they don’t deserve that. Rick Riordan will be fine if this book isn’t received well, but Oshiro is less likely to be. That upsets me deeply as a queer writer myself. That sucks. I hate that. Go check out their books instead of this one tbh.

[smolljester]

poll results are in. in this post i'm mainly going to be talking about the inspirations/influences for my fic, Fleeting Words.

this post, while mainly talking about how the story eventually came to be, does include spoilers for some majour plot points that happen inside the fic (and some spoilers for other games/series). if you've read the fic and already know what happens, feel free to keep reading. if you haven't read my fic, but want to know what happens before reading (i know that's a thing some people do), feel free to keep reading. that said, there's more under the cut.

the biggest influence, mainly on my writing as a whole, has been and still is, Yoko Taro (NieR, NieR: Automata, Drakengard, etc.). at the same time as me getting Splatoon 3, which was my proper introduction to the series as i never played the other two games beforehand, i also got NieR: Automata The End of YoRHa. it wouldn't be until a few weeks later that a noticed one glaring similarity between the two games that i hadn't noticed before.

both games take place on a post-apocalyptical Earth, over ten thousand years in the future. despite that, both games are jarringly different from one another in terms of outcomes; whereas Automata is borderline nihilistic from the start to the end of the game, Splatoon is its polar opposite. both games are so eerily similar in concept, but are on the opposite ends of the spectrum! "What would the Earth be like over ten thousand years in the future after humans have died?"

NieR: Automata's opening: "Everything that lives is designed to end. We are perpetually trapped... in a never-ending spiral of life and death. Is this a curse? Or some kind of punishment? I often think about the god who blessed us with this cryptic puzzle... and wonder if we'll ever have the chance to kill him."

Splatoon 3 opening: "Think you're fresh? Start splattin', and we'll see!"

before humanity went extinct, they created the androids to preserve their legacy and fight back against the aliens in NieR: Automata. yet in Splatoon, sea life has taken over by means of... crystals that contain the remnants of humanity?

Splatoon as a whole is weird, which shouldn't be surprising; you play as a humanoid squid/octopus that can actively change forms and has ink running through their system. but i find myself drawn to a lot of strange concepts, the next bit of influence might sound off, but just hear me out. Godzilla.

the king himself, Godzilla! it's out of the blue, i know, but again, hear me out. Godzilla's whole thing is that he's a massive creature born of radiation. whether he be some preserved dinosaur, or an iguana, or something else, Godzilla is mutated to be the way he is because of radiation. now what does this have to do with Splatoon?

before the events of Splatoon, as evidenced by the short manga in the Splatoon 1 artbook, a number of different wars took place, with one of them launching a nuclear warhead into the South Pole, which caused water levels to rise drastically. now this (probably) won't be addressed in my fic as it's mostly background knowledge, but i might as well say it here. combined with the 'crystals' and likely nuclear waste that was left behind by the warhead, it's safe to say that sea life turned out the way it did in Splatoon because of a mixture in both factors. and in some rare genetic mutations for the Inkling and Octolings, a Kraken can emerge. (i made a whole post about Krakens that i'll link here.)

moving on. the biggest thing about me creating this fic in the first place was just one big "What if?" a lot of Marie's personality reminded me of my mother, and i know that some people interpret Agent Four as being her adopted kid, and one day i just had the thought of, "Well, what if Agent Four was actually related to Marie?" and i decided to follow in the footsteps of Yoko Taro and add some angst to the mix.

it's hard to pinpoint every single thing that gave me inspiration/influence, so i'll try to wrap this up with one final piece. the Octarians.

everyone loves the Octarians, right? i mean, sure, they don't have a lot of lore to them in-game or even in the artbook, but hey! that's what headcanons are for! a lot, and i mean A LOT, of inspiration for the Octarians came from Japan itself. there's not a lot known on their culture or their language, apart from the fact that it DOES exist; so i did what every reasonably sane person does and compare the different versions of Splatoon from Japanese and English.

for one, the Octoling/Octarian characters that are present in my fic have names that are mostly references to other pieces of media that i like. but, like every name, there's a meaning behind them. here's a few: Kotone (in reference to the sound of the koto and the FeMC for Persona 3), Naoto (meaning "honest/esteemed" and a reference to Naoto Shirogane from Persona 4), and Chihiro (meaning "a thousand questions" and a reference to Chihiro from Spirited Away.)

the political hierarchy of the Octarians is based around the "Four Auspicious Beasts," which are the symbols of the cardinal directions in Eastern mythology; the white tiger (West), the azure dragon (East), the black tortoise (North), and the vermillion bird (South). each of the Icons, as they are referred to in my fic, are in charge of specific aspects of Octarian society. Suzaku (the vermillion bird) oversees construction, technology, etc.; Genbu (the black tortoise) oversees geographical overlay, weather (on the surface), etc.; Seiryu (the azure dragon) oversees healthcare, farming, etc.; and Byakko (the white tiger) oversees military, law enforcement, etc.

granted, the Byakko, which is a title reserved specifically for the Emperor/Empress, creates the laws and oversees everything. "The Byakko's word is absolute."

that's about everything i'm okay with talking about on this post before i give too much away. take what you will, and have a good day. don't forget to drink some water!

[sailoryooons]

Reason for running this poll/commentary on results under the cut

Note: This is very specific to my creative process, my experience writing on Tumblr, and overall just assessing how I can be more productive based on the feedback I've received, my own experiences, and just asking some other writers their thoughts.

As we start to creep toward the end of this year, I've been trying to think about my writing as a whole, how well I've done, how accomplished I feel, what I did and didn't enjoy, and overall my self-perceived performance summary in writing for the year, and how I can better optimize what I am working on and how to best capitalize on my ever-changing inspiration and fluxing muse.

For me, what I enjoy doing the most, is writing large works. Works that require multiple chapters and a couple of months to get an update sometimes because of the amount of focus and inspiration required. For me, writing long-fic in the fantasy genre is what is most rewarding to me. So many of my ideas that I want to write and I have the most fun writing are really large projects that require multiple chapters.

But - there's always a but - I feel like series are not, in general, what the audience on Tumblr enjoy the most, and for those who do enjoy series, they lean more toward series that are 1) updated often or on schedule 2) are already done.

I do neither of those things.

Before this poll, I had a feeling that most Tumblr readers enjoy reading the longer fics that are one or two parts, which the poll mostly confirmed. I was surprised to see series in second, but in talking with some peers and readers outside of the poll, the series they like to read are 'fast' posted series with shorter chapters like 4-8k a chapter.

I am additionally bad at doing that. 90% of even the mini-series I write are loaded with 20k words a chapter because I do not feel satisfied cutting out elements of story to fit the narrative into a preferred word count and a lot of the time, when I try to adapt a big idea (like Gods of the Dark, for example) into a mini-series, I end up in the spot where I'm chopping up an original idea to try and fit it into shorter format.

Aka - trying to make a full meal fit into a to-go box.

Because I tend to lean toward longer series and fics that need a) time to write b) patience as I write them c) multiple chapters to tell the story I want, I end up in this gap of me writing a few different series (slowly) a little at a time which means.. I'm not really posting super often which results in one of two things: being asked for updates all the time and/or feeling like I'm not contributing and I'm riding the bench while everyone else is posting/interacting with people for the things they just posted.

So I've been thinking: how can I change what I'm doing to 1) make sure I feel like I am writing the stories I want without sacrificing narrative and plot to fit them into word counts that readers prefer and that they find more digestible 2) how to provide more fics and works that make me feel like an active member of the community here 3) to make sure I ultimately feel like I'm not wasting my time working on content that isn't preferred.

To be honest, I do feel like I write for a generally small-ish audience because I write a lot of fantasy or fantasy-adjacent content, and I write very long fics that sometimes I stray away from before I come back and finish them (cough cough, The Iron Ring). Which brings me to my point: I tend to feel a little bit bad or behind when I'm not really... posting things for people in this audience to read because I'm busy stuck with writers block because I'm trying to update stuff instead of writing what I'm inspired for or a chapter is just particularly difficult.

I haven't really figured out what the answer is on how to be more productive here, but I think, moving forward, I am going to focus my Tumblr for short fic only. I will still continue the series I have on here and I will bring back Carved because I said I would, but beyond that, I think I am going to dedicate more of my long-style fantasy fics for Ao3 only and to dedicate more time to those while doing the one shot stuff and smaller, more digestible content here on Tumblr.

What does that mean? It literally just means I'm going to stop doing series on Tumblr and will condense my less insane ideas into one or two shots, because I think it will overall be better for readers and for me. I will complete the three series I have active now (Obsidian, Gods of the Dark, and Lights), and I will bring back Carved like I said I would, but outside of those projects, I will no longer be doing series on Tumblr and focusing on shorter fics instead. Honestly - I won't lie to you, I did consider just stopping Lights, Gods of the Dark and Obsidian and removing them to re-write for Ao3 to make the transition now, but I feel like I'd llet people down if I did that, so I decided to make them my final series here on Tumblr.

Hoping this shift in focus will make it easier for me to give you more content, more often. It will also allow me to focus on turning my series into mem x mem works which do way better on Ao3 as well.

Anyway, I'm going to look at my WIPs and see what abandoned series I have there to turn into smaller works for you all, and I can't wait to post them next year at some point!

FOR RANDOM SCIENCE FOR NEXT YEAR

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 313: Deku VS Lady Nagant

Previously on BnHA: Hawks’s super-hot badass murder senpai Lady Nagant showed up to fire a cupid’s arrow into my heart, and a bunch of literal bullets into my son. Deku was all “oh shit it’s Hawks’s super-hot badass murder senpai, what do I do, let me think back to Hawks’s advice for a sec.” Flashback!Hawks was all “anyway Deku so if my super-hot badass murder senpai ever shows up you’re basically screwed so you’d better abscond the fuck out of there.” Present!Deku was all “lol idek why I flashed back to that conversation since I’m just going to do the exact opposite of what Hawks said” and charged directly toward Nagant because WHY NOT. Overhaul was all “waah I need to get back to my boss who I put in a coma out of love” and Nagant was all “jesus christ why did I even bring you here” and had a flashback to AFO who was all “ILU NAGANT IMMA GIVE YOU AN EXTRA QUIRK SO PLEASE CAPTURE DEKU FOR ME PLEASE AND THANKS” and yeah. Shit is all over the place right now and I love it.

Today on BnHA: All Might gets attacked by a pair of discount assassins and is all “Call an ambulance! ...BUT NOT FOR ME” and it’s really badass but also I really wish he would stop tempting fate like this. Lady Nagant is all “[casually flies around town shooting shit]” and I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t read an entire chapter of just that. Deku is all, “[gets shot (≥_<)]” and releases a giant Smokescreen which prompts En to show up. En is all, “( •᷄⌓•᷅ ) (⌣̀ Δ⌣́) ( •̀_•́ )σ (¬､¬) (눈_눈)” which I consider to be a high point of both the chapter and of my life. The chapter ends with Deku using the Third’s quirk to launch a bunch of random objects at Nagant so that he can jump up and grab her arm all sneaky-like, and I’m sure this is going to prompt another week’s worth of discourse that I don’t care about at all, but fuck it, I’m having a good time.

OH WE’RE CUTTING BACK TO ALL MIGHT WELL THAT’S NICE I GUESS. CONGRATS ON NOT BEING DEAD

you named your car??

you named it Hercules??

I love you so much??

please marry me you giant fucking dork???

lmao speaking of huge fucking dorks

who the fuck are you clowns. la dee da we’re gonna murder All Might with our synchronized spear attack!! I mean... they’re clearly trying their best... maybe I should just be nice and politely hype them up like All Might is so clearly trying to do

like okay, but we all agree that this is actually the least intimidating attack any of us has ever seen, right?? these guys zipped up their hoodies all serious-like and are trying to attack All Might and Hercules with their Walmart tiki torches, but just, no?? right?? like the only way this could possibly be effective is if they were trying to kill All Might with secondhand embarrassment

“those are assassins” this is a VERY generous assessment, All Might

OH MY GOD THE TIKI TORCHES ACTUALLY KILLED THE FUCK OUT OF HERCULES

[slaps roof of car] this baby can fit so many weaponized festive backyard lighting solutions in it

and yet, even after watching this with my own two eyes, I still can’t take these dudes seriously. idek what it is. anyways r.i.p. Hercules, I loved you a lot but I guess you weren’t actually a very good armored car were you

omg they didn’t know it was All Might??

okay 1) for a moment there I was like “oh hey maybe they’re not so bad after all” but then a moment later it was like “ah nope, they are.” like, that was an interesting .06 second emotional journey there. anyways 2) All Might you have my permission to kick their asses for this disrespect, and 3) anyone else all of a sudden getting “wouldn’t this be an interesting time for Stain to suddenly show up” vibes?? no?? just me???

(ETA: hmm tbh I’ve still got those vibes and they haven’t gone away lol. Stain?? you out there buddy?? do you want to be cool for just once in your life. ball’s in your court pal.)

OH SNAP ALL MIGHT ARE YOU REALLY GONNA DO IT ARE YOU GONNA KICK THEIR ASSES

PROTECTIVE DAD MODE ACTIVATED?? BECAUSE YOU KNOW I’M HERE FOR THAT SHIT, SO YEAH, FEEL FREE

omg he’s shouting at them about how much Deku has suffered lmao and they’re just like falling over from being scolded

so they have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about though, right? “SIR THIS IS A WENDY’S” well whatever, you killed his pet car so he’s in a bad mood now

OH MY GOD

LIKE, JUST SO WE’RE ALL CLEAR, THESE FOUR PAGES SO FAR HAVE MADE ALMOST ZERO SENSE. LIKE MAYBE 2% SENSE TOPS. BUT ASK ME IF I CARE. GO AHEAD AND ASK. I SAID GO AHEAD, IT’S OKAY. ...NO I DON���T CARE AT ALL THANK YOU FOR ASKING

(ETA: also, the more I look at this panel, the more I’m just like, why the hell would you phrase it like that though, sob. way to doubly tempt fate?? are you trying to give Horikoshi a challenge??)

and now back to Deku who is randomly bouncing around the city and narrating it to himself just in case he was confused about why he was doing this

who are you talking to Deku. but thanks we appreciate it

man you gotta love that overconfidence. the smartest guy in the world warned you away from this lady, so SURE, LET’S RUN RIGHT UP TO HER. “I APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT, FLASHBACK!HAWKS, BUT I’LL TAKE IT FROM HERE” well okay then!!

I think it would be funny if RHA.com put little Buzzfeed-style polls in between the chapter pages so they could survey people at random intervals as they read their way through the chapter. like, you finish this page and then there’s a little poll there asking “do you think Deku’s plan of catching up to Lady Nagant and finding out where Shigaraki is will work?”, and you click “no” just like everyone else and then nod as the results show that 97% of your fellow readers also picked “no”, and you chuckle to yourself wondering how many of the 3% accidentally clicked on the wrong option by mistake, and then you keep on reading

ANYWAY, SO

HOW’S THAT PLAN WORKING OUT FOR YOU SO FAR DEKU. nice kick, though!!

omggggggg

ouch

update: Deku’s plan not really working out. sources tell me my boy has been fucking shot. this is an ongoing story and we will keep you posted with the latest developments as they come in

wait what

feel free to explain to the rest of us what all of this “UNLESS...” and “THAT POSSIBILITY...” shit means anytime, Deku

oh lol did he realize she could fly??

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE, CNN’s John King reports that Deku is still fucked. eyewitness reports now coming in that Nagant is doing no-look shots and basically not even giving a fuck. sources described her mannerisms and expression as “sexy, but in like an effortless sort of way.” we will continue to bring you the latest

so now there’s basically an entire page of Deku being all “ah fuck so she’s basically closing in and she could already hit me with impossible accuracy even from Far Away, so if that’s the case then her being Up Close is probably going to be even worse!” making good use of that Big Hero Brain there, Deku

so now what, you’re doing some kind of spiraling kick thing?? how is that going to help

oh lol he’s using Smokescreen to create some cover. aww, good for you Deku you named one of your Smokescreen attacks

OH NO LADY DON’T TELL ME AFO DIDN’T EVEN FILL YOU IN ON THE BASICS

seriously, AFO?? you basically told her what Deku’s exact strategy was going to be but then couldn’t be assed to drop that little, small, barely notable piece of knowledge that Deku is rocking multiple quirks?? is it supposed to be a secret or something?? you dropped the ball here man

damn this is getting intense now

(ETA: the way En is poking Deku’s head in that first panel is fucking sending me, I love this guy so much omg.)

well then what are you planning, Deku?? I’m actually really curious!! I am genuinely starting to be invested in this fight scene not only in the “wanting to see who wins and how that impacts the plot” sense, but also in the “wanting to see how it happens because the choreography and strategy is actually pretty cool” sense, which honestly hasn’t happened for quite a while now! this is fun

anyway so what’s up Deku, are you going to use another quirk?? I’ve been speculating that he hasn’t actually unlocked the last two yet (since Two and Three didn’t exactly seem convinced when we last saw them), but maybe I’m about to be proven wrong

(ETA: well he clearly has Three’s obviously, but Two’s is still MIA, and that’s the one I am of course the most curious about. that’s the one we’re all curious about, let’s be real.)

OH SNAP???

AHHHH I’M HYPED LOL. ANOTHER SHINY NEW QUIRK LOL SHOULD I PUT UP THE USUAL DISCOURSE DISCLAIMER

(ETA: so yeah, after thinking on it, I’m not gonna say “please no Deku discourse on my blog” this week, but I probably will ignore any discourse that does come my way though, just because I don’t have much interest in getting involved in what would probably be a pretty repetitive discussion. like, I can just sum up my opinions (which is what they are) here instead. in fact here they are lol:

1) I like the SIXQUIRKS and I like seeing Deku be a badass.

2) I also don’t think Deku is too OP. more like he’s exactly as OP as he needs to be at the moment, given that we’re approaching the end of the series. I expect the other kids will also be pretty damn OP when we see them fight again. we’re just at that point now where they’re all badasses (as well they should be; they’ve grown a lot and they deserve it). it’s just that Deku’s the one we’re getting to see right now.

3) of course I miss Kacchan and the others, but for me this vibes much closer to the MVA arc where even though I missed them, I was still having a blast (as opposed to the dark days of the Basement arc where I was pretty much losing it lol). like, even though Kacchan’s my favorite, I still love Deku a lot and this arc has been amazing for him getting to shine on his own (for like the first time, really).

4) y’all know I love the OFA plot and I’ve never been shy about that lol. I like all of the Vestiges a lot. Banjou and his over the top personality; En and his “guy you thought would be serious and :| all the time but is actually hyper-animated and ALL OVER THE PLACE” energy; Shiro who actually is a :| sort of guy lol; Three who I still expect will be fleshed out in a more detailed flashback at some point; and of course Two, who, well. you know what I think about him lol. Bakuverse is still on the table and I’m still hyped. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we still have yet to see Two actually talk to Deku (as opposed to talking to the other Vestiges while Deku is distracted). did he lend him his power yet?? or is he still holding out?? either way it’s definitely going to be a Big Thing when it finally happens and I can’t wait to see it.

5) Lady Nagant is Everything and just because Deku grabbed her arm doesn’t mean the fight is over yet lol. Overhaul hasn’t come into play yet either. not to mention that even if the fight is over, the “where do we go from here” part still has me excited either way. her connection to Hawks and the HPSC is very intriguing and we’ve barely touched on that as of yet; she definitely has more of a role to play in this.

6) last but not least, I feel like every week the discussion is all about how much focus Deku’s getting, and how OP he is or isn’t, and OFA this and OFA that, but meanwhile I’m actually so invested in the character development here though?? the way Deku has distanced himself from everyone (except for the Vestiges, because of course they’re already dead so it’s not like they can die again lol)?? the way he’s pushing himself far too hard and we can see the shadows in and under his eyes, and the fact that he never smiles, and even All Might has remarked on how he isn’t taking care of himself at all?? the fact that he’s so single-mindedly obsessed with focused on stopping AFO?? the fact that he’s still the same sweet old Deku despite everything and was so kind to that fox lady with the umbrella, but there was also something so sad about that scene because it felt like a reminder of the type of hero that he wants to be, but that he’s not allowed to be right now?? because the stakes are too high and the world is falling apart?? and he feels like he’s the only one who can do something about it?? and that he has to be?? and that he is putting so much pressure on himself right now, and it’s absolutely too much pressure for any one person to bear, and I feel like no one is fucking talking about this lol goddammit.

anyway so yeah. I have feels about this, and every week that slow-burn angst is getting more and more intense behind the scenes, and I feel like it’s all going to hit a breaking point eventually. sooner rather than later. it really feels like a mirror of Katsuki’s post-Kamino arc. where all that angst was just churning below the surface for like twenty chapters and then it finally was like “okay it’s time” and it all came bursting out and we got the best five chapters of the fucking series (in my admittedly biased estimation lol).

basically, I know that most of fandom is billing this as either the “villain hunt” arc or the “solo Deku SIXQUIRKS fighting arc” or whatever. but for me, it’s always been and still is the Deku Angst arc lol. the cool fights are a sexy bonus (the worldbuilding less so because even though it’s interesting to see society at such a low point, it’s also very depressing and gets old pretty fast), but for me the thing that’s really keeping me engaged chapter after chapter is seeing Deku like we’ve never seen him before. seeing him all quiet and withdrawn and brooding and focused on AFO, AFO, AFO, and seeing that “he just doesn’t take himself into account” mentality taken to extremes. I am invested in that. I’m soaking up that angst each and every week, and I’m invested in seeing what comes of it. it’s a big picture thing. week to week this arc might just seem like a bunch of villain fight scenes, sure. but Deku’s emotional journey is the thread that’s going to carry this arc through from beginning to end, and for that I’m willing to be patient.

anyway that turned into a BIG OL’ RANT there but yeah! so those are my thoughts on the disk horse as it currently stands. and like I said, I’m open to discussion, but tbh I will probably just wind up repeating these same talking points endlessly so just a fair warning lol.)

anyway so Three says Deku has yet to use his quirk at ALL but now he’s trying to combine it with another quirk?? damn. also please check out En’s face here you guys

En launching a sneak attack up my favorite character list by the sheer power of his expressions alone. he really knows how to make the most of his screentime

OH DAMN DEKU

at this point the 3% from that hypothetical poll earlier are starting to feel prettttty damn smug, I’ll bet. well shit

what in the fuck

?? so like releasing his chi or whatnot?? isn’t that basically just like base OFA all over again?? also Deku did you seriously just apologize to Gran’s cape

update: Nagant has turned her eyeball into a gun

hm. hmmmmmmm. ...okay yep, still somehow sexy

anyway so she’s just floating up there building suspense, as one does. lord I sure hope she has good reflexes because something tells me she’s going to need them

OH SNAP HE THREW GRAN’S CAPE AS A DECOY WHAAAAT OKAY THAT’S SOME SMART SHIT DEKU

LOL SHE’S MAD NOW

JESUS CHRIST SHE JUST NEVER TAKES A GODDAMN BREAK FROM BEING AWESOME HUH

DEKU ARE YOU JUST THROWING EVERY DAMN THING IN YOUR INVENTORY

but without the cape and the hood how will you continue to look like an enigmatic badass. you really can’t. which means we might finally be moving on from the wandering nomad part of this arc, stay tuned

LOL YOU MANIAC

I hope he went full Kacchan with the dialogue there. his face sure looks like it lol. popped out of a building all mad fdskljlkj omg

well this was fun, shit. I still have basically no idea what Three’s quirk does though lol. like, can he use it to charge up objects with kinetic energy or something?? but then what was all of that talk about combining it with one of the other quirks?? or was that just because he was using Smokescreen at the same time??

(ETA: having seen and read an additional half-dozen explanations of Three’s quirk, I can say with confidence that I still have basically no idea what it is or does.)

anyway so!! Deku is a badasssssss but something tells me not to count Nagant out just yet even so. also I really enjoy seeing Deku flip out on people like he doesn’t have a fucking hole in his torso because it reminds me of A CERTAIN SOMEONE and I always love to see him channeling that feral energy; I feel like it’s been a while

anyways good luck to you both!! I truly wish that both of you could win. but if not, then maybe you can at least become friends instead. you have so much in common, you both can fly and have multiple quirks and you’re both badasses, and plus it would just be really funny to see the look on Hawks’s face lmao

[babypandawrites]

Allies, Pt. 11

The Siege of the North, Part One

Pairing: Sokka x F Reader Warnings: General War Things, Injury, Getting Knocked in the Head Word Count: 2,625 Summary: With the Fire Nation launching a huge attack on the Northern Water Tribe, and Zuko trying to take the Avatar, things do not go well.

Note: This is honestly one of my... worse chapters- but we can pretend its not :’) I was struggling a lot with some of the parts and ended up having to make them super rushy so sorry about that- Also! I have made a poll relating to the story that I would appreciate you guys answer! I’ll be tagging post relating to the series with #book one allies ! And on an absolutely unrelated note, support the ATLA Fan Musical Project! The team working on it is super talented and all the songs they’ve put out so far are amazing! Katherine Lynn-Rose is one of the leading team members and has some of the songs up on her YouTube channel, along with a link to the ATLM discord server! Which you guys should totally join, it’s super chill and supportive! 

-Navigation- | -Atla Masterlist- -Last Part- | -Allies Masterlist- | -Next Part- 

Taglist: @boomeraangin | @brokennerdalert

“So, this is where you’ve been spending all your time.”  “Huh?!”  The sudden voice startled Y/n, causing her to lose her balance from where she stood on a raised stool. Sokka slid behind her and caught her by wrapping his arms around her torso. Though with her feet still resting on the stool, it left her in kind of an awkward position.  Chuckling softly, he helped her get on her feet. “Sorry, didn’t think I’d catch you off guard.”  “It’s fine, thanks for the catch.”  Getting back up on the stool, Y/n grabbed the small rag she had tucked into her waist band, and used it to wipe down the top of a cabinet.  “When did you get a job?” Sokka poked around one of the clothing racks as he asked. “Why did you get a job?”  “The day after we got here and to make money, obviously. Kind of the point of a job.”  “Getting a job when we’re basically honored guests, makes sense.” Walking back over to her, he gently nudged the stool with his foot. “This thing doesn’t seem very stable.”  Looking at him with a glare, she smacked him in the shoulder with the rag she held. “It’s not, so maybe don't do that when I’m standing on it!”  “Sorry.”  Sighing, she went back to wiping down the cabinet, this time going for the top shelves. “And it’s not like I have anything better to do. I can only talk to Momo and Appa for so long until I start to feel like I’m going crazy.”  “Nothing better to do? You have friends, three of them, one of them standing right here!” He pointed to himself.  “You guys are always busy. Speaking of which, don’t you have an activity to do with Princess Yue?” She tried to ignore the weird knot in her stomach at the thought.  Sokka looked at her with a blank expression. “You're never going to let me live that down, are you?”  Laughing, Y/n hopped down from the stool. “Nope.”  “And for the record, I already saw Yue today…”  She raised an eyebrow at him, when he trailed off with a saddened tone. “You alright?”  “I’m fine. Just- It didn’t go well. I don’t wanna talk about it. How much longer are you gonna have to do your job?”  “Few more hours.”  Sokka let out a groan, as he turned to walk to the door. “Guess I’m hanging out with Momo today.”  “I’m sure he could use the company.” Y/n tossed the rag she had into a bin.  “Oh no.” She was about to go into the shop’s backroom, but stopped at hearing Sokka. Turning, she noticed he had frozen in the doorway. Furrowing her eyebrows she joined him at the door, looking over his shoulder.  “What is it?”  He kneeled down, and scooped up a handful of darkened snow. “Soot.”  Eyes widening, she jumped over him to get outside. Ash was falling from the sky rather than snow, and was starting to coat the ground. She held her hand out, gulping as ash started to gather in her palm. “Fire Nation.”  “Yeah, and by the looks of it, there’s a lot of them.” 

The pair had joined Katara and Aang at the citadel, the group currently sat on the building’s ground with their backs leaned against the wall.  “The day we have feared for so long has arrived. The Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness that I call my family here before me, knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe. But they will never vanish from our hearts. Now, as we approach the battle for our existence-” Chief Arnook raised his arms up. “-I call upon the great spirits! Spirit of the Ocean! Spirit of the Moon! Be with us!” He lowered his arms. “I’m going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission.”’ Sokka stood up from the ground. “Count me in.”  Katara looked at her brother with an expression of shock and worry. “Sokka!” Y/n shared the expression. “What are you doing?”  Several other men stood as well.  “Be warned. Many of you will not return. Come forward to receive my mark if you accept the task.”  The volunteers began to form a line in front of the Chief, each receiving a marking on their foreheads with a red paint.

A tense silence settled across the air, as the Northern Water Tribe awaited the Fire Nation's first attack. Several warriors lined up along the top of the tribe's wall, Y/n and the rest of her friends stood with them.  The wait was nearly suffocating.  A singular Fire Nation ship could be seen in the distance, but there were bound to be more out of sight. Gulping, Y/n’s hands clenched into fist. This was going to be a full scaled attack on a very powerful tribe, it would really be like nothing she’s had to face before. And honestly? It was kind of horrifying.  After a brief moment of waiting, the ship catapulted a huge fireball at the tribe's wall, crashing right through the middle of it. Several people were thrown back from the impact, along with the ice and debris from the wall. Y/n pushed herself from the ground, dusting the snow off her clothes, just in time to see more fire balls come over the city walls. 

Thus started the relentless attack on the Northern Water Tribe. 

As nightfall came upon them, the Fire Nation’s attacks stopped. Neither side had yet to win, and Y/n was sure that the attacks would continue at sunrise when firebending would have more power.  “They’ve stopped firing.” Yue said, as Y/n joined her and Katara on the citadel steps.  “For now.” She added.  When Appa flew in from the distance, Katara pointed at him. “Aang!”  The three ran down the citadel steps, to meet him at the plaza. Appa landed on his belly, clearly tired. Aang slid down from the bison’s saddle, sitting on the ground.  “I can’t do it.” Aang dropped his head into his hands. “I can’t do it.”  “What happened?” Katara asked.  “I must have taken out a dozen Fire Nation ships, but there’s just too many of them. I can’t fight them all.”  “But, you have to! You’re the Avatar!”  Y/n shot a glare at the Princess for that comment.  “I’m just one kid.” Aang buried his head into his arms, as Katara sat down next to him to comfort him. Kneeling to his side, Y/n reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder. Eventually, the four gathered into one of the citadel’s rooms, moon light shone through the window.  “The legends say the moon was the first waterbender. Our ancestors saw how it pushed and pulled the tides and learned how to do it themselves.” Yue explained, as she looked out at the moon.  Katara nodded along with her words. “I’ve always noticed my waterbending is stronger at night.”  “Our strength comes from the Spirit of the Moon, our life comes from the Spirit of the Ocean. They work together to keep balance.”  Aang perked up. “The Spirits! Maybe I can find them and get their help!”  “How can you do that?” “The Avatar is the bridge between our world and the Spirit World. Aang can talk to them!” Katara explained, answering Yue’s question.  Yue smiled hopefully. “Maybe they’ll give you the wisdom to win the battle!”  “Or, maybe they’ll unleash a crazy amazing spirit attack on the Fire Nation!” Aang widely opened his arms as he spoke. Though the look Katara and Yue gave him caused the boy to clasp his hands behind his back. “Or wisdom. That’s good too.”  Y/n leaned closer to Aang, putting a hand next to the side of her mouth to whisper secretly. “I thought it was a good idea- You should ask the spirits about a crazy amazing attack on the Fire Nation.”  Aang grinned at her, whispering back. “I will.”  “The only problem is, last time you got to the Spirit World by accident. How are you going to get there this time?”  “I have an idea, follow me.”  The three followed after Yue, as she led them to a courtyard behind the citadel, then to a wooden door.  “So is this the way to the Spirit World?”  Yue let out a quiet laugh at Aang’s question. “No, you’ll have to get there on your own-” She pushed the door open. “-But I can take you to the most spiritual place in the entire North Pole.”  Entering through the door, the group found themselves in an oasis of sorts. Unlike the rest of the North Pole, it wasn’t cold and covered in snow- It was rather warm actually, and there was a landing covered in grass. At the back of the chamber was a waterfall, which flowed into a long pool of water. Two wooden foot bridges led to the grassy landing. 

Aang ran across one of the bridges, laughing. He landed on the grass, rubbing it fondly. “I never thought I’d miss grass this much!”  Joining him on the landing, Y/n breathed out a laugh, slipping her coat off. “Ah- This is the kind of warmth I’ve missed.” It didn’t seem possible somewhere so warm was in the North Pole but- she wasn’t going to complain. This was great!  Shortly after them, Katara and Yue walked onto the landing as well, Katara smiling as she also took off her coat. “It’s so warm here! How is that possible?”  “It’s the center of all spiritual energy in our land.”  Momo skittered up to the pond, trying to grab the two fish that swam in it. One was black, the other white, they swam in a circle around each other. The three girls watched the lemur, before he ran away from the pond.  “You’re right, Yue. I can feel...something...it’s so… tranquil.” Aang sat down in front of the pond, his legs crossed. Closing his eyes, he closed his hands into fist and put his knuckles together to meditate.  Y/n moved to stand with Katara and Yue, as the Princess whispered. “Why is he sitting like that?”  “I think he’s meditating.” She whispered back.  “Yeah- he’s trying to cross over into the Spirit World. It takes all his concentration.” Katara added, also whispering. “Is there any way we can help?”  “How ‘bout some quiet?!” Aang turned to look at them. “C’mon guys! I can hear every word you’re saying!”  Cringing inwardly, Y/n mumbled a quiet sorry as the boy went back to trying to meditate. After a few moments, Aang’s eyes and tattoo’s started to glow white. Both Yue and Y/n looked at him in wonder.  “Is he okay?” The Princess asked.  “He’s crossing into the Spirit World. He’ll be fine as long as we don’t move his body. That’s his way back to the physical world.”  Y/n nodded in understanding at Katara’s words. “Neat..”  Yue started to walk away. “Maybe we should get some help?”  “No, he’s our friend. Y/n and I are perfectly capable of protecting him.”  “Yeah, we got this.”  “Well, aren’t you big girls now?” Zuko’s voice suddenly echoed softly through the area.  Gasping, Y/n turned to the source of his voice, along with Katara.  “No!” Zuko walked over one of the bridges towards them. “Yes! Hand him over, and I won’t have to hurt you.”  Katara and Y/n both took on fighting stances, as Yue ran away from the trio to not get caught in the crossfire. Zuko launched forward, sending several blasts of fire their way. Katara pulled water from the pond and used it to block the attacks, eventually shoving him backwards and knocking him to the ground.  Y/n didn’t drop her guard and was ready to jump in if she needed to, but she decided to hold back for now since Katara was handling things pretty well. Honestly, much better than she would be able too.  “I see you’ve learned a new trick. But I didn’t come this far to lose to you.” Getting up, Zuko fired another blast at them, which Katara easily blocked. She sent a stream of water at him, knocking him backwards again, before freezing the water beneath him. Katara raised a sphere of water from the pond behind Zuko, and encased him in it before freezing him entirely.  “You little peasant. You’ve found a master, haven’t you?” Zuko’s words were muffled by the ice. Right after he stopped talking, the ground started to shake as the ice started to glow yellow and orange. With an explosion of fire, the ice shattered, freeing Zuko who immediately ran at Katara.  Watching the two fight with a close eye, Y/n moved to stand closer to Aang- Just incase Zuko pulled something sneaking and tried to grab him. Which he did try to do. Slipping behind Katara he tried to grab Aang by the collar, but before he could Y/n grabbed his arm and twisted it before she raised a leg up to kick him back. Before he could recover, Katara blasted him with a jet stream of water, knocking him much further away from the three. She bent a huge wave of water that pushed Zuko at least ten feet up one of the walls, before freezing him in place. 

When Zuko’s head drooped in defeat, Y/n and Katara shared a satisfied look of victory. At least until, the sun started to rise. Y/n expression fell, realizing what that meant for them.  Zuko’s head snapped up with a look of determination as the sunlight reached him. He breathed steam, enough to melt the ice that was holding him in place. Sliding down the rest of the ice, he charged at Katara and fired a blast at her. Caught off guard, she was only able to block it partially, and got thrown back into the gate’s post- causing her to be knocked out.  Y/n rushed to Aang, standing between him and Zuko, taking on a fighting stance. Zuko breathed out a chuckle as he approached her. “Do you really think you can beat me?”  “I’ve done it before.”  “I’ve learned a lot since then. More than you ever will.” He shot a large blast of fire at her. Pressing her palms together, she thrusted her arms forward and dispersed the flames to go around her and Aang. Zuko ran at her as she did, grabbing her by the shoulder and shoving her aside.  Y/n tumbled to the ground, but made a quick recovery and rushed forward as Zuko grabbed onto Aang’s collar. She threw a punch at his face, which he ducked under, elbowing her in the gut before shoving her backwards again. Leaving Aang for a moment, Zuko stood in front of her, as she started to get up. Her gaze snapped over to Aang for a moment, he was just left to lay on the ground. Instead of trying to attack Zuko, she attempted to jump towards Aang. Before she could get too far, Zuko gripped onto her hair and yanked her back.  Gritting her teeth, Y/n reached back to grab his arm, heating her palms to burn him. “I’m not letting you take him!”  “I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.” Zuko spoke through gritted teeth, yanking her head back again, before shoving it down to collide with his knee. Her grip on his arm loosened, as her vision started to dot black. Arma falling limply to her side, she collapsed to the ground, when Zuko let go of her hair. “Your decisions have made you weaker, but mine, they’ve made me stronger.”  On the verge of unconsciousness, Y/n watched as the Prince grabbed Aang and threw him over his shoulder. “No…”

[delimeful]

breathing cleaner air (1)

winner of fic poll, a new BTHB fic for halloween month! the prompt for this one was "Painful Transformation"!

warnings: body horror, painful transformation, fighting/violence, dehumanizing language, antagonist (but not unsympth) virgil, religious terms borrowed to name original monsters (no actual religious connections), miscommunication/language barrier, mortal peril, thinking youre going to die

extra note: this is a multichapter fic, but this first chapter ends on a very concerning note. there is an eventual happy ending in later chapters, promise!

-

Roman wasn’t sure exactly when he’d been separated from the rest of his entourage.

One moment, Logan was at his shoulder, his firm hand keeping Roman from stumbling over gnarled tree roots, and the next, he was alone, with only faint echoes of his own voice to keep him company.

Their quarry was certainly powerful, to be able to warp so much of the woods around them with thick fog and unnatural darkness. He should have expected as much.

After all, this was the same monster that had been infiltrating the Dimiour kingdom at night and stealing away children from their families. It would have to be strong in order to pull that off.

His right-hand knight would surely recommend retreating and regrouping in more neutral territory, but this was the first time they’d actually caught the fiend in the act. Seraphs were notoriously agile, with the maneuverability of the three sets of razor-sharp wings that had earned them their moniker. Once one was out of sight, it wasn’t likely to be seen again.

This time, though, the tracer spell on Roman’s compass was still active and locked on to the target.

There was no way he could return to his court empty-handed. He was the crown prince. He couldn’t be a failure. Not when there was so much at stake.

Firming his shoulders, he pushed onwards, his sword drawn.

The forest was eerily quiet around him, making the scuff of his shoes against the ground seem harsh enough to lead any enemy right to him. He shook off the thought; he was the one pursuing here. Let them come and face him.

Roman glanced up from his compass, and paused at the sight of a familiar-looking rotting tree trunk. He’d noticed one just like it about thirty paces back because it had a rare strain of fungus that Remus would have liked. What were the odds that the same rare fungus dotted the same side of a different identical rotting log?

Sure enough, another thirty paces and the log popped up again. Despite following the needle of his compass devotedly, he was being led in circles. A mind-altering ability, along with the manipulation of light and water they’d already seen? Roman shuddered, imagining what the monster could be planning with so much power at its disposal.

Luckily, Roman had more than enough faith in Logan’s spellcasting.

He closed his eyes, letting the clink of the needle guide his steps closer and closer to his target. His mind rebelled, senses muffling as though he was walking through thick honey instead of air, and then, with a pop, he was though.

When he opened his eyes, there was a small house in a clearing in front of him.

It was less ramshackle than he would have expected, the candlelight in the windows looking almost cozy compared to the dark forest surrounding it.

Assured that the kidnapping culprit lay just ahead, he tucked the compass into his pocket, strode forward, and kicked the door down.

Immediately, his eyes were drawn to the figure in the middle of the room, who had spun around at his arrival.

It looked startlingly human, wide eyed and messy haired, but the single set of dark wings taking up half the room were a dead giveaway to the seraph’s true nature. Those fragile core wings could be hidden, protected, even glamored away, but they never vanished entirely. They were the most reliable way to expose a seraph hidden in a human guise.

The seraph swore lowly, flaring the feathery appendages out to make itself look bigger.

Roman could just barely make out the small figures crowded against the back corner of the room, anxious eyes peering out at him. He felt something in him loosen in relief at the sight of the children still alive, if undoubtedly terrified. He’d half-expected the horrific alternative.

“I’ll tell you this once, you feathery fiend,” he said, pointing his sword at the monster directly. “Release the innocents you’ve kidnapped, and I won’t make your end painful.”

Its pupils narrowed to slits, and it spread its wings wider, hiding the children from view. When it spoke, there was a high, grating discordant note under the words. “Not. A. Chance.”

“Then face the consequences!” Roman shouted, and lunged.

The seraph was surprisingly adept at defending, flexing its hands and using long, sharp claws to block his blows and get in some of its own. Even in battle, it always remained between Roman and the children it held hostage, and the poor things were too frightened to respond to his calls for them to run.

Frustrating, but nothing he couldn’t overcome. In the end, Roman had been trained with the sword since he could stand, and no child-abducting angel impersonator could best him in battle.

When the inevitable opening came, he seized it, pushing forward until the seraph’s back was to the wall. Cornered, it hissed lowly at him before catching his next strike on its claws. It strained against his sword, its shaking arms the only thing keeping his blade from reaching its throat. Only a little further, and--

“Stop it!” A small voice shouted, on the edge of tears. “Don’t hurt him!”

Roman’s head jerked up, his attention caught by the distressed call.

The children were still huddled together, but one at the front of the group had stepped forward, fists clenched and gaze angry.

“Leave him alone!” she demanded, glaring directly at Roman.

Something fluttered at her back, and Roman’s eyes widened.

“You’re--,” he started, and then the seraph twisted in his grip, and he only barely caught the motion of its hand toward his head before glass shattered against his skull.

He staggered back as thick liquid spilled over his head, too cool to be blood.

Rather than pursue the opening, the seraph stepped back, wings finally settling back against its back. The lack of aggression was strange, after it had so fiercely responded to his challenge. Seraphim weren’t known for mercy.

Roman stepped forwards, his mouth shaping the first syllable of a question, and then abruptly understood as his body began to burn coldly, like he’d pressed ice directly to every inch of his skin. His sword dropped from numb fingers, clattering to the floor.

He’d been poisoned.

“New plan, we’re moving tonight,” the seraph began to speak, addressing the children, but Roman’s heartbeat was too loud in his ears to make out the rest of its words.

He fell to hands and knees, a line of burning pain along his spine. Some of the children sent him looks, nervous or pitying or angry, but most were busy scurrying around and gathering everything that wasn’t nailed down. He could see now, the small sets of wings on each and every one’s back, marking them as his kingdom’s enemies.

Why had he been told they were human? A leak in the court? Who had lied?

The seraph crouched in front of him, gaze unreadable. Its eyes were mismatched, Roman noticed nonsensically as another wave of pain shuddered through him.

“Well, that didn’t go to plan.” It brushed the remains of a glass vial from its hand, and Roman stared at the dark liquid left on the pieces.

“Wh--at did you do. To me,” he grit out between pants, struggling to keep himself upright.

“Congrats. You get to see how it feels to be us. To be hunted,” the seraph told him with an unfriendly smile. “Maybe it’ll change your perspective a little. Or maybe you’ll just bite it.”

It shrugged and flipped up its hood, rising to its feet, and kicked Roman’s sword up into its grip. Roman protested the theft on principle, but his voice came out strained and feeble like he’d never heard it before.

Before it followed the last kid out the door, it paused, glancing at him one last time.

“Once the bones are done, it gets easier,” it told him. “Good luck.”

Roman didn’t realize just what that meant until he heard the first resounding crack.

He finally lost his battle with gravity, collapsing to the ground with an agonized cry. That noise-- from inside him--?

There was another crack, and a series of pops like dislocating joints, and then his skin was melting and he was fading in and out of consciousness, roused and put under by the same overwhelming, all-consuming agony. Each time he woke, he could hear grinding and shifting inside of him, as though his insides were rebelling against their natural placement.

The seraph hadn’t been lying: the bones were the most painful part, and once the last one had clicked back into place, there was a palpable difference in pain levels. He still hurt, ached beyond measure, but it was no longer so much that he couldn’t even think past the pain. It almost felt like relief.

Roman focused on breathing, slow and deep, until he felt a little less like he was going to shake apart. He didn’t know of any poison that could do something like this. It was magic-- strong, cursed magic, and unlike Logan’s, there was no softness in it.

It took what felt like hours for him to gain the resolve to push himself up, and even longer to maintain the motion even as every nerve ending in his body protested. His vision was blurry, and his balance felt entirely off, even more so than that time Remus had dared him to jump off the roof and he’d gotten a concussion.

When he finally properly looked down at himself, he found feathers and bone lining his hands, transforming them into sharp claws and rigid armor. Familiar, but only because he’d seen them on his enemies time and time again.

The shock of adrenaline at the sight was helpful in pushing his aching muscles to the back of his mind as he rose to his knees and twisted to look at himself, staring at the three sets of bright wings draped down from his back.

Golden and white feathers lined them, lined his ears and throat and chest, framing the white exoskeleton pieces inset in his skin.

He sat back on his haunches, and took a few deep, whistling breaths before trying to speak, to say anything in his own voice. To prove he was still himself.

The sound that emerged from his throat was hollow and resonant, like woodwind instruments in harmony. It sent chills of anticipation down his spine, for he’d only ever heard the uncanny call before battle.

There was no denying it, however much he might want to. His body had been warped, transformed into the worst enemy of his kingdom, the beasts that plagued their people day and night. He was a seraph.

He had to get help.

Surely, there was someone among the court who knew about this curse, who could procure a solution, some kind of cure. He couldn’t be stuck as a monster, he was Dimiour’s crown prince!

He pushed himself up to his feet and found he was taller than before, limbs thin and spindly. All six of the wings lifted and curled around him automatically, creating the shell of bright feathery limbs that marked a seraph on defense. They were lighter than he would have expected, seeing as he knew the true form feathers were as sharp as any knife.

He stumbled through the door into the open forest air, taking a significant chunk out of the door frame as he went. His limbs were unsteady with inexperience, the gait distinctly different, almost hunched over to counterbalance the weight of his-- the wings.

In the distance, Roman heard voices calling his name.

He loped towards the sounds with barely a thought, attempting not to overthink every staggering movement. The underbrush scraped and rattled around him, announcing his presence well before he cleared the treeline and found himself faced with the weapons of his own squadron.

He tried to speak automatically, to show them that he wasn’t what they thought, but all that left him were those discordant, eerie notes, like overlapping birds of prey. He sounded like a nightmare come to life, and he noticed with abrupt horror that some of the newer trainees were faltering, clapping hands over their ears.

A blade flashed in the corner of his vision, and he raised an arm automatically. With a clang, the attacking knight’s glaive rebounded off his arm so sharply that the man wielding it nearly toppled. Another knight quickly moved between them, weapon raised defensively as their fellow recovered.

Roman stared at his arm, now covered in an extra layer, a hardened shell of bone. The armor had appeared-- had ossified into place, quicker than he could think.

“Hold!” A familiar voice called, and Roman turned to it like it was an oasis in a drought. Logan. Logan was here, he was the smartest person he knew, if anyone would have a solution, it would be him.

An odd crooning note bubbled up from his chest, but it cut off sharply at the sight of his right-hand man.

Logan stood sturdy with his scythe staff held up in one hand, and not a glint of recognition in his eyes.

“Move on, continue searching for our liege,” he directed, voice firm. “I will handle this opponent.”

Roman screeched, wings flaring in upset, trying over and over to manage anything recognizable as human speech. Anything at all that would let his closest friend identify him.

Logan didn’t even flinch at the sound, well-practiced in filtering out the skull-splitting calls of seraphim. He’d been in more battles than Roman ever had, out on the field while Roman was stuck learning courtly etiquette.

He’d earned himself the mantle of ‘Executioner’, and the thought had never sent a chill down Roman’s spine the way it did now.

But then, Roman had never been the one on this end of Logan’s casting, had he?

The others continued forward on their commanding officer’s orders, searching for someone who stood right before them, and abandoning him to a fight he couldn’t win.

Logan knew seraphim better than anyone else, how they functioned on every level.

Roman barely knew how to operate this new body, and more than that, he was terrified of it, of the damage he could unknowingly deal his best friend. It could hardly be called an equal match.

Still, it was almost a surprise to feel the impact of Logan’s first cast, a draining spell designed to weaken the enemy. He didn’t want to believe this situation was real, any of it, but the burning pins and needles racing through him were undeniable.

His wings wrapped around him more securely, he intended to turn, to flee the way no prince should. Perhaps it was this cowardice that resulted in the way he only made it two steps before exhaustion made him stumble.

Or maybe it was the way the most painful transformation of his life had turned his body inside-out what felt like mere moments ago.

Either way, he was in no position to dodge the next spell, or resist the darkness blooming in his vision as he tipped over that precarious line into unconsciousness.

His last glimpse of the world around him was Logan, weapon in hand, striding closer with his face set determinedly. Roman’s foolishness had never managed to outlast or outwit that expression before, and he had no doubt that this instance would be much the same.

At least, with any luck, his friend would never know what he’d done.

[pathogenliliaceae]

I saw Jake Muller listed above Chris on some poll ranking RE protagonists according to skill and this could be a fun take. Thoughts on Jake?

!! Truly!? Says who? Never have I been so insulted for Chris, and I've made quite the practise of it throughout the whole of the series. Jake is just so green. To consider that he has more skill after one game...

Thoughts on Jake Muller:

Quite frankly, I still am not the biggest fan of the idea that Wesker has a biological child through means of an implied relationship. Jake has a mother, mentions her, but we are still left to try and fathom who this woman is. Consider the following: Wesker has caches of bioweapons [specifically, Uroboros] and literal loads of research stashed away. Any of these jumbles of letters that call themselves anti-bioterror organisations would likely have tracked his movements to the best of their abilities. We are told to believe that there is no canonical record of Wesker being in a relationship with an Edonian woman who had emigrated to [presumably] Raccoon City? I also am unsure if Jake can rightfully claim the “dead beat” father excuse for his behaviour if his mother moved back to Edonia prior to giving birth, but I should digress... I won’t.

Born in 1992, Jake grows up with a single mother who falls ill in the early 2000s. In an effort to support his mother through her illness, he becomes a mercenary. Here is the bit where I find that he is “more skilled” than Chris to be erroneous, and highly insulting: According to the Resident Evil 6 Memo “Soldiers of Fortune”, Jake knew nothing of combat skills until he joined his first mercenary group at seventeen. This means that Jake’s skillset has been active for an entire THREE YEARS before the Edonian Civil War and the Lanshiang Incident. It is an utter travesty to say that Jake Muller is more skilled than Chris after only having been trained for three. years.

He became attached to his CO, who taught him how to fight-- and his new father figure promptly sold out the unit as a turncoat. I suppose that being somewhat of Jake’s father makes you liable to be a traitor. 

Furthermore: Canonically, Jake is “moody”, “distant”, “cold”, and has no loyalties to any cause. If you’ve played Six, you know this already. But, we cannot take into account a character’s popularity without examining their convictions.

From here on, what we know of Jake takes place in-game. Foolish boy, making foolish decisions. He does have a bit of a redeeming arc, but that arc takes place solely through Sherry and uses her as his motivator. I am not so enthralled that she functions as his catalyst for change. In the course of six months, during which he’s run from Ustanak, endured some experimentation, and somehow picked up an entire Cantonese vocabulary-- he goes from “pay me millions for a blood sample”, to “there are more important things at stake than you and I”.  His feud with Chris is utterly imaginary and it shows just how immature he is as a character. He blames Chris for taking his father away from him, but Jake never had his father. He never knew who his father was. In the same breath as learning Wesker’s name, he learns that he was a bioterrorist of the highest calibre. He is anger with Chris for killing an imagined version of what he wanted Wesker to be. And nearly shot him over it. Subduing the feud for the sake of mankind, quoted above, hardly saves it. This is because, I think, it feels oddly one-sided. We’ve followed Chris through all of these years and installments. We know and realise that killing Wesker was needed and quite justified. But then Jake comes along with a complex, attempting to put some sort of spin on the morality of killing Wesker. 

What if the bioterrorist you are after has a child? Would you still pursue them? Yes, you would. Because they’re an active bioterrorist! Because they have the intent of ending the world through the use of a tentacle-virus and actively wants to put eugenics into practise because “everyone else is just so much chaff”. Not to mention- Jake does not know his father! He would never know his father! Even if Wesker had known that he had a son [again, we still believe this to be a stretch], I have high doubts that he would have cared enough to know him. He’s much too busy becoming a god and killing his own father figure. This entire father-son dynamic that Jake is angry over is entirely imagined.

I cannot offer much more of an analysis on him due to the lack of back story. And likely, the lack of his resurgence into the series. Capcom has a problem- they feel Chris needs to be replaced. They were going to replace him with Piers, but thought against it. They were going to replace him with Jake, but Jake’s reception was so poor that it would hurt the future of the franchise. And honestly, thank every denomination of God that Capcom thought better of it.  Could you imagine Village with Jake in Chris’ place? Some idiotic smart mouth trying to talk down sentient mould? Ugh. Spare me the thought.

Honestly, I am quite sad because I feel that due to Jake’s poor reception, and that Sherry is now regrettably tied to him, we may never see Sherry again. If that is the case, she is wasted. I will not forgive him if he wastes my daughter’s potential. 

In short: Who performed the study, what was the sample size, what was the demographic that comprised it, and who calculated the confidence interval incorrectly? Jake more skilled than Chris... Please.

[fullscoreshenanigans]

So many good dynamics, so very much a lack of ranked voting </3

#oh they are all lovely #but what about Ray and Lucas? #these three weeks had to be smth for them #with Ray meeting an adult for the first time who doesn't behave like an ass or cheats on him #but is a genuine good guy even around this new kid #and Ray's surely like ???#*This is weird and I could cry. Why were all the others so weird before? Was it because of me?* #them having so many talks about survivors guilt and Yuugo and their upbringing and all that stuff... #we were robbed! #I know Ray mostly thinks about Yuugo in flashbacks but honestly? he spent more time with Lucas? weird oh my (via @officersnickers)

I only had twelve spots 😭😭 Also Ray was already heavily featured on multiple polls while Rossi had none </3

But right we were robbed. It's crazy how Lucas is only around for 40 chapters (chapters 69 to 109, not counting flashbacks) and is only active in like 23 with how much of a stabilizing presence he is for these kids.

#so what if Don and Gilda and some others (cough cough Ray) pressure Norman into teaching them the demon language #and surprise Ayshe after a while with this gesture #making her feel at home a bit more in the human world (via @officersnickers)

Oh that, that's the good shit |3

I'm also a bit of a sucker for the exploration of what if the separation of the demon and human worlds isn't actually final like what's hinted at in SuddenWhisper's Tethered just because I always thought it was a bit of a copout (though far from a series original sin), so the possibility of kids being able to go back there to visit Mujika and Sonju.

*Free-for-all as in they weren't on any of the previous polls and are in different character groupings

Grace Field Kids Edition Goldy Pond Edition Lambda 7214/Paradise Hideout Edition Other Platonic Duo Polls Suggestions Post

[magioftheseas]

Gundham & Yasuke

Summary: The Forbidden Tanaka’s FTEs in the SDR2 Protagonist Matsuda Yasuke AU. YES.

Rating: PG

Warnings: Language and blood/injuries.

Notes: Unsurprisingly, Tanaka was the winner of the poll for which FTEs were to be done next. So his FTEs, quite hilariously, are getting posted on the anniverary date for sdr2′s initial release. That feels pretty...fitting. Writing Tanaka’s dialogue was really hard but I did my best. Despite my best efforts, these two don’t get along the best that they could. Cursed.

Read this fic among others HERE

Main story is HERE

Commission? Donate?

It went without saying that he didn’t have a normal middle school experience so he didn’t interact with a lot of people who exhibited the so-called eighth-grader syndrome. But he knew that once kids had the cognitive ability to identify their lot in life and long for more, such desires could get...twisted, to say the least.

Just about everyone wants to be fucking special if they’re not too focused on surviving. And most people grew ashamed of the lofty aspirations and special interests they developed in that delicate era. Matsuda understood that much, even if he was considerably detached from it. In some ways, those people were like animals. Strange beasts that acted on impulses and instincts. That still had intelligence but not, like, awareness. When it came to engaging with these types, Matsuda had no choice but to accept them even as he shook his head at their delusions of grandeur.

He understands he’s supposed to do that in theory.

In practice, however...

“Sharp-tongued fool!” Tanaka bellowed. “You draw too near to the barrier of the Ice Kingdom!”

It’s a beautiful day outside. It’s always a beautiful fucking day. Clear, sunny sky. Warm but with a pleasant breeze to keep it from being too sweltering. It’s such a nice day—and Matsuda Yasuke does not want to be here.

Without another word, he turns on his heel.

“Aha!” Tanaka sneered. “To think just the warning prose would be enough to make you turn tail and run. A cowardice I did not expect, but perhaps... I should have.”

While walking away and listening to that guy cackle to himself, all Matsuda had in response was to flip him off.

He proceeded to avoid Tanaka for the rest of the day—and would’ve avoided him for the rest of his life had fate not had something else in store.

--

It was another beautiful day. The perfect day for a walk. He was thinking by the ranch so that he could admire the chickens as he passed. Unfortunately, he not only came across chickens but also the cow that used to be a chicken he quite liked.

Also Tanaka Gundam.

And their eyes ended up meeting.

There’s no real point in reasoning with someone who exhibits grandiose delusions, he reminded himself. It’s no good to denounce them, but it’s also no good to enable them. It’s a delicate line that I do not want to fucking bother with.

Matsuda does look away, intent on ignoring the other. Despite that resolve, his thoughts don’t shut up.

I didn’t have any peers in middle school for obvious reasons. I never actually spoke to someone my own age who felt this way. I was too busy being fixated on my own goals and lofty aspirations.

A couple of steps forward. It’s fine. If he continued the way he was already going, he can just pass Tanaka. It’d be easy. Simple.

...

Fuck.

He pauses. He turns. Tanaka has already turned away, but as if guided by the third sense of a fucking Evil All-Seeing Eye, he turns back to Matsuda. His brow quirks.

“Has the barrier truly weakened so?”

“I don’t know,�� Matsuda replied intelligently. “For some reason, I feel too worn down to go through the effort of pretending you don’t exist.”

Tanaka cackled lowly.

“Such an insolent remark. It seems you do not truly know your place. But that is just as well. Even now, your true name is one that seems out of my grasp.”

“I’m Matsuda Yasuke. Nice to meet you.”

Tanaka clicked his tongue, scowling at Matsuda’s blank expression and his deadpan tone.

“That,” he snarled. “Is merely a brush against the surface. It does not encompass the deepest depths of your rogue soul.”

Alright. So he wants to know what makes me tick. If I had to guess.

“Your true name,” Tanaka requested impatiently. “I have no need for superficial titles.”

“That’s cold,” Matsuda huffed. “The name my mom gave me isn’t superficial.”

...even if it is ironic.

For some reason, Tanaka does perk up. He gives a nod of approval.

“A fair retort,” he concedes. “That maternal bond is its own scarring shackle.”

That admission was the first true crack in the wall between them. Or so Matsuda supposed, and he felt himself slip just a little bit further.

What a headache...

“Anyway,” he went on with a wave of his hand. “It’d be incredibly foolish to give you my true name, right? If telling a demon my name gives them possession of my soul and telling them my birthday gives them control of my life... Then telling someone like you...”

Tanaka nodded again, grinning so widely it was damn near grotesque.

“I see...the sharp-tongued fool is still retaining a sharp mind...”

I shouldn’t have played along even in jest. Fuck.

“What special abilities do you possess?” Tanaka purrs, drawing closer now. “What hidden capabilities have you acquired?”

Tanaka stalks even closer, his eyes are flashing with curiosity and hunger. Probably because this fucking weirdo wouldn’t understand a normal interaction if it bit him in the face.

I still hate that stare. I fucking hate that stare.

“You already know that,” Matsuda snapped, forcing himself to stay relaxed. “Neurology is my talent. You even know my name and birthday because of those damn student files...”

Calm down, calm down. It’s just fucking Tanaka—

Tanaka does halt. His head tilts quizzically.

“Hmph.” With nostrils flaring, Tanaka seemed to duck into his own scarf. “I suppose you are human after all.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Simple.” Tanaka chuckled. “I sensed your apprehension, Matsuda Yasuke. I sensed—and yet, I could tell it was not a chill brought about by the Ice Kingdom.”

Matsuda does flinch at that.

“I shall take my leave for now so that you may re-gather your peace,” Tanaka declared. “Till next time, sharp-tongued fool.”

Tanaka gave him a salute. Matsuda barely had a chance to wave back before Tanaka flipped his scarf and coat so that it would dramatically billow behind him as he made his overly dramatic exit. So fucking extra, and yet—

He left so that I could take the time to calm down.

And how the hell was he supposed to feel about that?

--

“Even now, I can hear the crackling of the Ice Kingdom’s barrier.” Tanaka was cackling. Another beautiful day. Yet somehow this weirdo was set on shrouding himself in asinine mystery as well as his own dark layers. How the hell was he not burning up?

Tanaka noticed his staring and merely smirked. “What brings you today, Matsuda Yasuke?”

Aah. Even with that pompous fucking tone, it’s an understandable question.

“I don’t like things to be unbalanced,” he said which was a bald-faced lie but sounded persuasive enough. “Since you interrogated me last time, I thought I’d ask you a few questions of my own.”

“Hmph!” Tanaka snorted. “You seek a comprehension that may underlie a deep terror that cannot be contained! Do you not fear for your sanity?”

“No, I’m insane already,” Matsuda said flatly. “I drove myself insane years ago.”

“Is that SO?!” Tanaka boomed, incredulous or admiring, Matsuda wasn’t sure. “Your humanity is one that only hangs by a thread, then?!”

I...can’t disagree with that, huh.

Matsuda shrugged.

“We’re not supposed to be talking about me. Let’s talk about you.”

Tanaka remained guarded but gave a nod.

“Very well. Demi-human or no, I shall not lose to you.”

That’s more like it. You’re much less annoying this way.

“What talents do you have?” he settles on since it’s only fair. “Even if it’s not the full roster, I’d like to know some...special abilities.”

“You shall only get a portion,” Tanaka said, sniffing. “Despite my appearance, I’m an active fiend. Between sorcery and human hunting, I manage my website.”

Matsuda blinked, trying to imagine this guy at a computer. Actually, it was really easy to imagine. There’s no way Tanaka learned to talk like an edgelord on his own.

I bet he spends a lot of time looking up stupid shit like Norse mythology. But, if he has a website, then...

“I have encrypted my research with magic,” Tanaka informed him. “Thus, only those worthy can gain access.”

...if he means through password then I could probably hack in with ease.

“If I had to guess what kind of research it was,” Matsuda mused. “Then—probably something like a pet diary, right?”

There were a series of muffled squeaks from Tanaka’s scarf. Tanaka burst into a boisterous boom of laughter.

“Even with your wits, you would only be able to access the dummy site!” Tanaka grinned victoriously, even though no conflict had taken place. “Your skill level would only open the gates of the Exciting Breeding Journal.”

“...Alright. That’s fine by me.”

You’re literally here because of your talent in animal husbandry.

“Favorite food?” Matsuda asked next. Tanaka stiffened. Growled, even. Because he was pissed off about getting such a lukewarm response? Matsuda didn’t bother inquiring, instead pressing, “Do you have one?”

“The orange melon that bears the face of the devil,” Tanaka huffed, put out. “No other food compares in terms of high nutrients or versatility in cooking methods. More importantly, its seeds are the most effective food source for my Four Dark Devas of Destruction.”

...a pumpkin. He’s talking about a pumpkin, right?

“However! Those seeds must be carefully washed, carefully dried, carefully peeled,” Tanaka rambled on. “And lightly fried.”

“How meticulous,” Matsuda muttered. “But nothing less for...them.”

“Indeed. A difficulty that beguiles pain and pleasure alike matters not in the face of a grand purpose.”

I can agree with that even if I hate how it’s worded.

“There is more when it comes to the caring of beasts,” Tanaka rumbled. “Shall I lead you deeper?”

“Uh.” Matsuda waved his hand. “Next time. Let’s talk more next time.”

Tanaka gave him a truly wicked grin. For once, it actually felt malicious.

“Take as much time you need to prepare yourself, sharp-tongued fool.”

Matsuda made a face but bit his tongue.

Piece of shit.

--

Tanaka wasn’t out and about today at the ranch. He wasn’t in the diner, either. It went to reason that he was likely in his cottage.

It’s only because I found some pumpkin seeds that I’m even going...

When he knocked on the door, he found it unlocked. Since he wasn’t an animal, he was going to wait for Tanaka to answer the door rather than barge in but...

“Ku—!”

He heard a noise. A sharp, strangled sound that was undeniably made through gritted teeth. Matsuda opened the door immediately.

“Is everything alright?”

And indeed—Tanaka was holding his bloodied hand in a death grip. The hamsters were chirping and chittering, but unaffected. What happened was clear, especially in how Tanaka’s shoulders were hunched.

Thankfully, Matsuda carried around packets of wet wipes. He rummaged through his pocket for one, stepping forward and reaching out.

“Let me...”

“NO!” Tanaka shrieked, and like a startled beast he scrambled away from his hand. He was panting, still gripping his injury with a wide and wild-eyed stare. Seeing Matsuda there did little to calm him down, as he growled, “The blood that flows through my veins bears a fearsome curse. You must step away now to spare yourself their potency.”

Thankfully, Matsuda carried around disposable gloves. He slipped them on, tearing the wet wipe packet open, and made his way closer.

“Come on. We really don’t want that bite to get infected.”

“This is not my first blood sacrifice,” Tanaka snarled, even showing his teeth. Gross. “I have no need for your medical sorcery. And furthermore, that meager covering...!”

“Oh my fucking god, shut the hell up.” Matsuda snatched up his hand, prying the other off as Tanaka shrieked some more. Thankfully, Matsuda was able to pull it away and got to work dabbing and cleaning the wound. Tanaka had completely frozen now, but Matsuda was still fuming.

“Don’t ever fucking call me meager,” he snapped, and thankfully Tanaka had spare clean bandages for him to re-wrap his hand with. “Crude and foolish I’ll take. Meager I won’t.”

Tanaka finally scoffed as Matsuda made sure the bandaging was secure.

“A demi-human like you has such pride.”

Look who’s fucking talking.

“You should not have endangered yourself, however,” Tanaka went on. “I was not telling falsehoods about my poisonous blood. It is only by a thread that you have not already deteriorated. As crude and foolish as you are, I do not desire your demise.”

“I’ve dealt with my fair share of poison, so you’re worrying too much,” Matsuda replied but winced from a sudden headache. As he rubbed removed his gloves to rub his temples, Tanaka stood up.

“You once again face the ramifications for your hubris!” he exclaimed and rushed back to deal with his hamsters. “I grant you relief, and I advise you to take your leave immediately.”

“I’m fucking fine, it’s just a migraine,” Matsuda griped and disposed of the gloves and wipes. “Should you really be handling those hamsters again so soon?”

“They are not mere hamsters!” Tanaka bellowed. “The fangs I have taken are that of the Crimson Steel Elephant, Maga-Z!”

Maga-Z blinked its bright beady eyes at Matsuda.

“For the sake of the Invading Black Dragon, Cham-P,” Tanaka went to coo over the largest hamster which was orange, not black. “A golden demon, one who understands fear all too well... Much attention should be heeded to make sure they do not get overly stressed out... While many devil beasts of this ilk are aggressive and fearfully territorial, the golden variant is the most docile and intelligent. They recognize me as...”

He trails off. It’s as if he’s too moved to speak.

I have heard hamsters had an unnaturally high rate of cannibalism, Matsuda thought. But I suppose like with dog breeds, they come in all sizes...and temperaments...

It was obvious Tanaka knew his shit, being an Ultimate at all. But seeing it firsthand, watching him dote on the beasts with a cottage interior largely dedicated to their cage and tube, the guy definitely loved animals. Like, a lot. Despite his delusions of grandeur, he at least seemed to love animals a healthy, non-obsessive amount.

“They’re living well,” Matsuda commented blandly.

Tanaka scoffed at him.

“For demons that live a mere 1095 days, the luxuries in life mean everything. I would never settle for less.”

“I see...” He scuffed the end of his shoe against the wooden floor. “That’s good.”

Shouldn’t have worn open-toed shoes, but I don’t have any alternatives. Oh, right.

“I got pumpkin seeds.” He tossed the bag and it landed on Tanaka’s lap. The hamsters jumped, and even Tanaka flinched. Matsuda, however, turned on his heel. “Sorry. Bye.”

With that insincere apology, he headed out. He could feel a disproving stare on his back but that didn’t lessen his steps in the slightest.

--

His favorite chicken-turned-cow was in a good mood today. She was accepting pets and even nipping at his fingers. All he had on him was candy. Not any fruit much less hay although...

“If you plan to feed that creature, you should be wary of apples,” Tanaka rumbled from behind. Where the fuck he came from, Matsuda wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t surprised to be hearing from him. “You can risk over-eating which will cause a bloated stomach for the animal.”

“Ah, thanks for the advice,” Matsuda said sincerely, turning back and frowning when he noticed the other’s own hanging head. “What’s with the long face?”

“I would hope that you do not consider that creature to be your familiar, Matsuda Yasuke,” Tanaka murmured sullenly and solemnly. Like he had come across something truly pitiful to the point of depressing.

Although he seems more focused on the cow itself...

“I don’t have a familiar,” Matsuda huffed.

Tanaka quirks an eyebrow at him. Furrows it, even, as if Matsuda is the one not making sense. How seriously annoying. But rather than inquire further, Tanaka just shakes his head.

“Creatures like that one are born to be slaughtered,” he said, turning on his heel. “What a wretched fate, one that cannot be escaped even with the use of the Evil All-Seeing Eye. If one is to form a bond with such an unfortunate beast, they will invite only calamity.”

“That’s...” Not necessarily true. There is livestock out there allowed to live full lives. But they’re exceptions that prove the rule, I suppose. And the fact that I even thought to use a word like allowed... “Woof.”

Tanaka barked back. “This sentimentality only arose because I have not encountered any new beasts. I shall go searching as to put my mind at ease.”

He walked on, and Matsuda found himself following. Tanaka didn’t seem to mind at all. The opposite, in fact.

“There are many creatures I’ve tamed, sharp-tongued one,” Tanaka went on to say. “The Cerberus. The Phoenix. Even then Midgardian Serpent.”

Looks like I was right on the money about him looking up Norse shit. That’s just another fucking word for Earth, asshole. I’ve read enough shitty fantasy manga to know.

“I saw a toucan one time,” he commented in lieu of verbalizing his thoughts. “And I guess there are the seagulls. Or those mascots.”

“Those uncute fiends cannot be trusted with their speech,” Tanaka hissed. “As for the others... Ah, the ravenous, feathered beasts.” Tanaka nodded sagely with approval at that one. “They are a perilous project as they are quite fearless and impulsive. Even when greater threats arise, they gather like a court waiting to hand down judgment.”

I think...that’s more something that crows do rather than seagulls.

He does think about it though, birds judging one another. If he looked up, he’d even see a seagull or two soar overhead. A phrase rose to his mind, unbidden.

When the seagulls cry...

“Hm?” Tanaka paused when he noticed that Matsuda had stopped dead in his tracks. He turned, and whatever expression was on Matsuda’s face—whatever that was had Tanaka clicking his tongue. “What is on your mind?”

“Something stupid,” he grumbled, shaking his head. “Even in peaceful times, I can’t help but worry about how easily things fall apart. Sometimes for something as petty as a broken promise.”

Is it speech alone that gives us the means of betraying one another?

Tanaka did stiffen.

“It sure is fortunate for us that we’ve yet to deal with any storms,” Matsuda went on to say. “In fact, it’s perfect weather every single day. Isn’t that strange? It almost doesn’t feel real, and if it’s not real... Does anything that happens here matter?” He paused again. “Like I said. It’s stupid.”

“Your inane ponderings still have an air of malice,” Tanaka muttered darkly.

Huh.

“Are you saying I’m someone to be on guard around?” He cracked a dry smile. “I’m not that fucking interested in messing with people. I just lack patience.”

Tanaka gave him a look. Wordlessly, he shook his head.

“I think... I will seek solace elsewhere. Do not follow me.”

Matsuda didn’t. Simply watched the other go. It might’ve been one of those annoying situations where the person was saying the exact opposite of what they wanted, but even if he could tell that was the case, he still wouldn’t have followed.

After all.

He lacked patience.

--

Tanaka seemed especially moody today. Although no matter how sullen his air was, the island sun wouldn’t let up in the slightest. In a way, that was pretty cruel, right? In that much light, it made it difficult to hide. Or something like that.

Wonder what he’s being so fucking temperamental about...

Matsuda makes his way over, waving as he does. He stops, however, when Tanaka regards him coldly.

“Matsuda Yasuke,” he rumbled in a gravelly tone of voice. “The sharp-tongued fool whose practices engage in the constitution of the mind... Would you like to duel?”

Huh?

Matsuda dropped his hand.

“...have you finally fucking gone actually insane?” He sighed. “Don’t answer that. No, I don’t want to duel. And if you push it, I’ll leave. I don’t have time for that bullshit.”

Tanaka’s cold stare became more of a glare.

“I’m afraid I do not have such luxury around you,” Tanaka said sharply. “You grind down my defenses with this continued, unsightly association. Despite wearing the face of a human, you, Matsuda Yasuke are...!”

“I’m just human,” Matsuda replied before he could finish. With an unimpressed shrug, he added. “And if you wanted me to stop bothering you, all you had to fucking do was say so.”

“I allowed these exchanges out of a sense of curiosity, arrogantly unheeding the danger,” Tanaka went on, muttering as he did. “Truly, I have been foolish.”

The sun shone down on him. On a day this bright, there wasn’t anyone to hide. Tanaka ‘Gundam’ looked a bit ill. When Matsuda took a step closer, however, he recoiled. With a sharp hiss, Tanaka held up his hand in warning.

Like an agitated cat.

Matsuda drew back with a sigh.

Someone like this—really is so needlessly fucking difficult. And for what? An inflated sense of importance? Wasn’t getting into Hope’s Peak enough?

...if he complained too much, he’d veer uncomfortably close to hypocrisy.

Hope’s Peak was just another step for me, but I wonder what it was for someone like this? Where the hell would he be if he didn’t get in? Honestly—I doubt it would’ve been all that significant.

“Alright,” he said. “Did you get anything out of our interactions at least?”

Tanaka stared at him, but being a normal fucking person without magical powers, Matsuda was more than capable of staring back, unaffected. For some reason, Tanaka did shy back a little.

“I have keenly observed you,” he said lowly. “Namely how your regard only shifts when directed towards creatures already marked for death. I suspect—you are a creature of calamity. The eye of the storm.”

“So, what,” Matsuda drawled. “Like a demon?”

Tanaka hummed, seemingly considering it. “No... That is not quite right.”

“I’m not sure what you mean, then,” Matsuda huffed, waving his hand dismissively. “But—I think I get what you’re saying. I just think it’s funny coming from you—and that you don’t understand.”

Tanaka’s stare blazed with an offense, and Matsuda paid no heed at all.

“How I regard creatures marked for death...” Matsuda snorted. “I’m a fucking doctor. Obviously, I treat them differently. It’s part of my fucking job.”

Although he’s referring to the cow, isn’t he? Seriously...

“I guess it’s weird,” he admitted. “With how shitty of an attitude I have. But I take my job seriously. If you can’t get something that simple, then your Evil All-Seeing Eye is pretty fucking lacking.”

“You...” Tanaka growled. “You’re truly impertinent. You wield your blade recklessly and foolishly. You and I both know—that it runs deeper than mere duty for you, Matsuda Yasuke.”

...so what if it does?

He supposes he should be impressed that Tanaka isn’t that fucking dense. That the animal freak is, in fact, a little perceptive.

Smiling mirthlessly, Matsuda reached out to pat the flinching other’s shoulder. He gripped him for just a moment.

“That’s all you need to know about me,” he murmured into Tanaka’s ear before pulling back. “I think we’re at enough of an understanding. Thanks for your time.” He gave a salute as he headed on his way. “We don’t need to talk again. We especially don’t need to duel. Have a wonderful fucking day.”

“One day,” Tanaka swore. “You will meet your cruel, disastrous end. That is the decree of the Tanaka Kingdom!” As Matsuda got further away, Tanaka boomed after him. “Mark my words, sharp-tongued FOOL! You are MARKED for des—!”

It was such a headache that Matsuda tuned him out. But as he found himself alone, he did wonder.

Marked for destruction? Or something else? Despite all that time, rather than growing close, that weirdo is now convinced that I’m hopeless. He might be right. Actually, I’d still consider us closer if he can recognize that. I still don’t really care. I don’t.

He walked on, moving forward because he had nowhere else to go.

Decree. What a fucking riot. If I do die, it won’t be because of an idiot like him. But whatever makes him feel better I suppose.

Matsuda shook his head, brushing the whole thing aside except...

If I die... It won’t be until I reach the very fucking pits. I won’t settle for anything less.