#i wrote the scene several days ago then decided it needed to take place later

[wheremermaidsdwell]

me, everytime: my brain is dying i should sleep

me: turns on youtube and pulls up my fic document

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

So, I mentioned the other day that there are some oneshots/drabbles that I feel like if I leave them on ao3 I'm just gonna end up deleting them later. Especially regarding "bundle fics", where every chapter is just a tiny little drabble or oneshot with a certain theme. I often have lots of ideas, end up posting like 3 drabbles and then abandoning it, and then like a year later deciding to delete it.

But I decided, hey, maybe someone wants to read them? So I decided to post them here on tumblr. I'm gonna make a tag, "Sara's dcla tumblr fics" so that they can easily be found.

I'm gonna start by posting all the parts from my former bundle I called "If Luna had a little brother" - Basically, I had a dream like 2 years ago that Luna had a little brother and then I wrote some small scenes with that scenario. All of them take place during S2, and I later had ideas for some stuff happening in s3 too. Her brother's name is Alonzo, by the reason being that was his name in my dream.

I'm gonna post them in separate posts, starting with the first one. Very nicely titled:

Ámbar "kidnaps" a child

Luna woke up confused. She had an odd dream. She was at a party at Jam and Roller, when suddenly it all became really distorted… then she was in her room, and there was smoke outside her door…

Right as she sat up and tried gathering her thoughts, she heard some short breaths coming from someone outside of her door. The door handle soon opened by itself, but no one came inside. Or, well, not until she looked down at the floor. 

“Good morning!” she giggled.

The little baby continued to crawl his way up to her bed. 

“Morning, hija!” Monica said, walking into the room. She lifted the baby up and placed him on Luna’s belly. “He’s been up since 5 and hoped his big sister would wake up soon.”

“Is that true, hermanito?” Luna giggled, petting him. “Well, you’re gonna get used to me sleeping in late!”

“He helped me make you some breakfast! Put on your school uniform and come downstairs.”

“I’m sure he made all the food on his own,” Luna joked. 

“Absolutely. He’s an infant chef master!”

Monica and Miguel had been talking for several years about how nice it would be to have another child. Luna had been positive about having a little sibling as well. Due to all the moving around, the plan of adopting another child had not come to a reality. All until a few months ago. 

Monica and Miguel had, out of curiosity, searched around for adoption agencies in Argentina. Suddenly, they got in contact with one and before they knew it, they called them. A little boy, only a few months old, had lost his parents in an accident and needed a home quickly.

They said yes to adopting him immediately. 

Luna loved him since the first time she saw him. She embraced her role as a big sister very quickly.

“What’s his name?” Luna asked.

Her parents shrugged.

“It’s up to us to decide,” Miguel said. “What do you think?”

Luna held him up into the air. “You shall be named… Alonzo!” She then giggled. “Just joking.”

“No, wait, I like that name,” Monica admitted.

“Me too,” Miguel said. “He looks like a little Alonzo.”

Luna bounced him. “What do you say, kid? Do you wanna be named Alonzo?”

The baby shrieked.

“He loves it!” Luna cheered. “All hail lord Alonzo! Woo!”

All of Luna’s friends loved her baby brother. Simón got along with him the best. Since he had several younger siblings and cousins, he was good with handling children. 

Last time he saw Alonzo, he put his beanie on him. Poor Alonzo disappeared under the large hat, causing Luna and Simón to laugh. 

Jim and Yam had met him briefly and just the sight of him made them offer to babysit him at any moment. Nina was a little awkward around him, as she was not used to being around babies. But, she did find him extremely adorable and had slowly petted him when she saw him. Luna had tried to make her hold him, but she said she wasn’t ready for that.

Someone who did not really get Alonzo was Ámbar. Granted, even if they lived in the same house, they rarely met, as he mostly was kept with his parents in the staff’s wing. But, there was one instance where she had more of a… close encounter with him.

It was some days after school started, and Luna was a bit sad after falling out with Matteo. She was holding Alonzo as he drank from his bottle.

Ámbar came into the kitchen. “Lunita! I heard about…” She noticed Amanda, as well as Tino and Cato, walk into the kitchen and make noise. “Wait, maybe we should speak alone. Come with me to the living room.”

“Oh…” Luna said, as she was still holding her brother.

“Bring him with you, he’s barely a person anyway.”

They went to the living room. 

“As I said, I heard about you and Matteo… I wanted to apologize, but I warned you! He’s not good for you!”

“Yeah…” Luna sighed.

“I just need you to know, I’m here for you. And I know how you feel, because I’ve been there myself.”

“Thank you, Ámbar.”

Alonzo started to tug on Luna’s pendant, trying to put it in his mouth.

“No, no,” Luna said, guiding his hand away. 

“Is it weird having a baby brother?” Ámbar asked.

“Not at all! He’s wonderful. Aren’t you?” She blew raspberries on Alonzo, causing him to giggle. 

“Well, I’m sure he is…” Ambar said.

“Do you want to hold him?”

“Me?”

“Yes!”

“Uh… okay…” Luna very quickly handed him over. Ámbar held him, unsure what to do. Alonzo grabbed her shirt and tugged it. “Eeh… what is he doing…?”

“He’s just curious about you!”

“Ok, why is he… what do I… help…”

Luna found her nervousness amusing. 

“Can you take him, I…”

“Of course.” Luna let out a chuckle as she grabbed Alonzo back. 

That was the only real interaction Ámbar had gotten with the Valente baby, but today that would change. 

She was mad at Luna for getting more love from people online than she did. She wanted to ruin things for Luna. 

She walked downstairs in a grumpy mood. At the same time, in the kitchen, Luna was opening the fridge to get a snack. Monica was preparing food, and needed to get something from another room. She quickly walked away. Alonzo was sitting on the kitchen floor, just playing with a toy. But, he soon got curious to explore, and started crawling out in the dining area. Luna did not pay attention, as she was busy fixing her snack. 

Alonzo crawled through the dining room towards the downstairs entrance. This is when Ámbar was standing there.

”What to do about Lunita…” she muttered quietly to herself. She then felt something on her foot. ”Huh?” 

She stared at the baby in front of her. 

”You must have escaped from the kitchen. Let me guess, Luna was watching you.”

Alonzo just stared at her shoes. 

Suddenly, Ámbar formed an evil grin. ”Luna is watching you… she must be looking for you… it would be so sad if she couldn’t find you…”

She picked him up. ”Come on. We’re gonna play hide and seek…”

”Eeh!” Alonzo gurgled.

”Hush… we don’t want anyone to find us.”

She carried him up to her room, where she made sure to close the door. She put him down on her armchair. 

”Now… we just wait…”

She stared at him for a brief moment. He stared back. 

”Ok, just some ground rules in my room. No crying, it’s gonna be too loud. No drooling, that’s gross. And no diaper usage. You need to hold it. Got it?”

Alonzo blinked.

”Good.”

At the same time, Monica came back to the kitchen. 

”Luna, where’s Alonzo?”

”On the floor, isn’t he?”

”No, he’s not on his playmat…” Monica sighed, ”Oh, he loves to crawl away, he’s worse than you, Luna, and he can’t even walk!”

”Well, now we have proof we’re related!”

”No time for jokes now, we need to find him…”

Luna shrugged. ”He can’t have gone that far. Alonzooo!”

No response. Miguel came into the kitchen.

”Miguel, have you seen Alonzo?” Monica asked. 

”No. Did he crawl away?” 

”Yes…”

”Maybe he climbed up the stairs!” Luna suggested. 

”That is possible,” Miguel said, ”He has tried to do that before.”

The three of them went upstairs to check.

Ámbar sat on her bed, smiling mischievously at her brilliant plan. ”Oh, I’m sure Luna is getting yelled at right this moment! They have no idea where the precious little baby is…”

Alonzo smiled at her as he let out a happy coo. 

”No, they can’t find you!” Ámbar cooed. She then frowned at herself. Why was she baby talking to the baby?

Alonzo giggled.

Ámbar took a deep breath, trying not to be consumed by the cuteness.

”Alonzo!” Luna called. 

They met Amanda in the upstairs hallway. 

”Amanda, have you seen our son?” Monica asked. 

”No… why, has he disappeared?”

”You could say that… he was just in the kitchen.”

”Oh no, I think I left the supplies closet open… I hope he’s not in there, there’s cleaning supplies in there!”

They all hurried downstairs to look in the supplies closet next to the kitchen.

Alonzo put his hands on the armchair and slowly lowered his mouth to lick it.

”No!” Ámbar exclaimed. ”No drooling, and no licking my chair!”

She picked up the baby. 

”I have a feeling they are super worried right now… they probably think you’ve been kidnapped. Which… you have. I’ve kidnapped you!” 

Alonzo laughed, which made Ámbar just want to baby talk with him more.

”Yes, I’ve kidnapped you! Yes, I have! Who’s a kidnapped little baby? You are! Yeaaah…” 

Suddenly, she stopped her tracks when she realized someone had opened her door.

”Ámbar…” Sharon said, ”Why is there a baby in your room?”

Ámbar stared at her. ”Uh…”

”Is that… the Valentes’ infant?”

Ámbar didn’t answer that.

”What is he doing in your room, Ámbar? Answer me!”

”He… came here! Yeah! They have no control over him, madrina! He just arrived in my room!”

Sharon crossed her arms. ”And you expect me to believe he climbed all of these stairs?”

”Yes?”

”I just got to know from Rey that the Valentes are looking for their infant. He was in the kitchen and mysteriously vanished.”

”So odd!” Ámbar exclaimed. ”They better keep a better eye on him.”

Sharon sighed. ”Give me the child, Ámbar.”

”No.”

”What do you mean no? He’s not gonna stay in your room. I’m already disturbed from opening the door and seeing you with him.”

”But…”

”No buts. Give me the child, Ámbar!”

Ámbar scoffed and handed him over. 

”I’m gonna return him to his parents. We will talk about this when I come back.”

She went out in the corridor, where she met Rey.

”You found the baby!” he exclaimed.

”Yes, he was in Ámbar’s room.”

”Ámbar’s room?”

”She took him… I need to talk to her. Take him to his parents, will you?” She handed the baby over. Rey did not seem too thrilled about that.

”… absolutely, miss Benson.” 

Sharon nodded and walked back to Ámbar’s room. 

Rey looked at the infant. ”You have no idea what kind of house you have moved into. You need to be careful.”

Alonzo stared at him, and then rather loudly used his diaper. 

”Okay…” Rey cringed. ”The sooner you get to your parents, the better.”

”Alonzo!” Luna called into empty space.

”Looking for this?” Rey walked into the kitchen, holding up the little boy.

”Alonzo!” Luna ran up and grabbed him. ”Mom, dad!”

Her parents came rushing over, and started kissing and hugging their baby. 

”Oh, where was he?” Monica asked. 

”Your son got somewhere he shouldn’t be. I suggest you have the doors closed when he’s in the kitchen.”

”Absolutely,” Miguel said. ”Thank you, Rey.”

”Just be more careful next time. Also, I think he needs to be cleaned up… just thinking…”

Luna sniffed on Alonzo. ”Yep, you need some changing, hermanito!”

”I’m gonna give him a bath, who knows where he has been?” Monica said. 

None of them would ever find out about Ámbar ”kidnapping” him. Although, after this day, they noticed Ámbar sort of smiling around him more. 

[serpentinearchitect17]

Hi there 😊

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, but I just had an idea for a particular scene today, so I decided to write about it. I’m taking a break from anything Red, White & Royal Blue related to focus on my current love and hyperfixation: Avatar the Last Airbender. I started watching the series last fall, and I haven’t been able to turn my mind off from it since then. Unsurprisingly, I quickly became obsessed with and fascinated by Zuko and Katara’s dynamic. They’ve become my muse lately. I’m working on a Zutara fanfic as we speak, and I’ll create a post about it once I get it up on AO3.

In the meantime, I wrote this very short scene. It takes place several months after the end of the 100 Year War. Zuko has made great progress as the Fire Lord, and Katara is now an Ambassador for the Southern Water Tribe. They’re in a committed and loving relationship at this point. I used some direct quotes from the Brooklyn 99 episode, “Chasing Amy.” This was initially meant to be a quick, humorous thing, but it turned into something sweeter (I have no regrets, heh). Full disclaimer: If you know anything about the reference to the B-99 scene, you’ll understand that Jake and Amy did have a significant moment of affection on that rooftop, whether it was technically love or not. As for Zuko and Katara, I personally don’t believe they were anywhere close to feeling love or deep affection in the Crystal Catacombs, but I think it’s the first time they truly connected on an emotional level.

Anyway, without further ado…

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After a long day of beginning preliminary discussions with the Earth King about the newest trade agreements among the Earth Kingdom, Southern Water Tribe, and the Fire Nation, Ambassador Katara snuck off for some alone time in Ba Sing Se. She managed to convince the Earth King to let her down into the Crystal Catacombs, even though most individuals in the city have been strictly prohibited from ever entering the area again. It’s still in the process of getting repurposed for better, more humane uses. She gave him some flimsy excuse as to why she wants to venture into the cavern. Despite the deep frown he gave her, he apparently didn’t question her motives, and had a couple of guards (thankfully, not the Dai Li) follow her to ensure that she made it there safely. She didn’t need the protection, of course, but she didn’t feel like arguing. She had told the Earth King not to let anyone else know where she was; she promised him that she’d be back to her guest house later.

Now, she finds herself back in the same spot that she was imprisoned with a then-banished Fire Prince.

Just as she runs a hand over one of the crystals, she hears soft footsteps behind her and turns around to find the love of her life.

The Fire Lord is dressed in his formal regalia, but he’s taken his crown off, and his top knot is undone, leaving his shaggy fringe hanging over his bright, golden eyes.

“There you are! Thank Agni,” he sighs in relief, drawing nearer.

A look of surprise flits across her face. “Hey, how did you find me?”

He raises his eyebrow at her. “Well, the Earth King didn’t want to tell me at first, but I figured it out. If I recall correctly, a long time ago, Master Katara and the banished Crown Prince Zuko were trapped under Ba Sing Se, in the Crystal Catacombs.” He gestures to their surroundings, and his lips quirk into a tiny smile. “This is where we were the night you fell in love with me.”

Katara snorts, shaking her head. She crosses her arms and gives him a half-hearted glare. “Zuko,” she warns, with just a bit of an edge to her voice.

“All right, fine. The night that you flirted with me for 20 seconds and I became obsessed with you forever,” he amends sheepishly, his cheeks flushing.

“That’s slightly more accurate.” She steps closer to him, so that there is barely any space between them. She reaches up toward his face, tracing her fingers over his scarred cheek.

“Are you okay?” he murmurs, automatically leaning into her touch.

“Yeah,” she answers softly. “I guess I just wanted to come back to see what it was like, now that things are so different.”

He swallows nervously, though he keeps his eye contact steady. “I understand. I kind of did, too, honestly. I hope…” he pauses, looking like he was choosing his words carefully. She waits patiently for him, and in the next moment, he continues, “I hope we can associate better memories with this place. They’ll never be perfect, of course, because of all the bad things that happened here before. But, maybe when we think of it from now on, it won’t be quite so grim.”

She nods before pulling him into her arms. He hugs her back with everything he has in him, pouring all of his affection and love, and apologies and regret into the gesture.

He lets her go briefly to press a kiss to her forehead. “Do you want to head back up?” he asks quietly, cradling her to his chest with his chin resting on top of her head. “We can probably explore more parts of the city before our next meeting, if you want to.”

She glances up at him and smiles. “Not yet. Let’s just stay a little while longer.”

He agrees and holds her, while the green crystals glow around them.

Yes, she thinks to herself, we’ll have better memories from now on.

[angleapple]

Hello, so this is my first ever post here. Well a post that has something written in it by myself actually. If u choose to read it hope u do enjoy.

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Subject: Naruto Shippuden FF, post war, personal AU where Itachi (my favourite character from the series) doesn't die.

Characters: Itachi Uchiha, Amaya Kiohime, Jiraiya, Kakashi Hatake, (oc) Ren Tanaka, (oc) Pebble, (oc) Mamba, (oc) Sparrow, (oc) Demon

Trigger warning ⚠️: mention of violence, blood, physical abuse (?), mention of death, unrequited love, love confession, love rivals, , mildly suggestive theme towards this ending (?), kissing scene, mention of human sacrifices/pawns and that's all I think?? Mention if u think there should be something else added to this list. Aww yeah 'ducks' too maybe ?? That's all I guess.

Word count: a little over 9k.

And now on to the actual story without further ado, hope u enjoy!

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Ok so, I was thinking about Itachi......let's be honest when am I not thinking about him..... anyway while I was daydreaming about braiding his hair in intricate, delicate braids so when he wakes up and needs to take them off it'll take him a hot minute I just was struck by an idea. A jealousy au.......tell me what do u think about it because I'm practically dying, over it, just losing it over this au.

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So this starts with a rough ninja group that starts to target several households. All quite reputable and big households and they burn the houses with the people in it. Consider it after the war era so Kakashi is the hokage. Jiraiya decides to visit him on the issue over at his office while he was trying to go through the files to understand the situation better.

So long ago, like really long ago, there was a great prophet that saw a dream, and wrote about it in a scroll. The entirety of shinobies all together, afraid of what might be in that scroll decided to divide it in 5 parts and hid it under the wings of 5 families who generation after generation choose their successors and hand the scroll over. Now it's not known where the scroll is, if it is real or what might be in it.

This really made Kakashi and Jiraiya concerned. 3 out of 5 houses have been attached and destroyed by now, and they don't even know where these ninjas r or their next target. So Jiraiya suggests they wait for them to attack again so then they will have a clear idea where they will attack next. For that of course they had to talk with the few half dead survivors from 2 of the families. They gave away one location but couldn't give any information about the other.

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Amaya was the one nursing the sick people back to health so they could live on. She heard about the scroll situation but didn’t know if it was her place to say anything because if it is as old and well known as they r saying then Madara knew about it surely, but he still didn’t go after it, so it must be something that’s not supported to be messed with. She was not sure but was uneasy stressing about if there will be another war at the door again.

Then she was called in the hokage’s office. Jiraya was the one who called. The rough ninjas were not to be messed with, they slipped through the fingers of quite some other groups of jonins of cloud and stone. Having a skilled medic in their team would be a great help, especially when she is also a sensory double. It’ll be a 4 person team, Jiraiya, her, Itachi and another guy who’s also a sensory and communicative expert in case they need more back up from the village later.

**********************************************

That day she was tagging along with Jiraiya the entire day for preparation and when around early evening they gathered all together for the sake of introduction and a plan and then setting off on journey, Amaya upon seeing Itachi called out as usual (screaming a very high pitched TACHI~~) and Itachi was about to yell a response back of his own, “shut up” that is, but kept to himself mumbling “how obnoxiously loud” holding his ears.

This piece of commotion brought out the former anbu and current officer in the sensory and communicative section. However the moment he saw Amaya his confusion evaporated and the empty space was full with a curiosity about what this woman was.

Needless to say the introduction period went on a little longer than initially planned. Ren Tanaka, the new man joining the team with auburn hair and grayish blue eyes, surprisingly started getting along with Amaya off the bat, while maintaining a professional relationship with Jiraiya and a cold shoulder to Itachi. They had so many interests in common, most of them were absurd and meant a total waste of time according to Itachi. That didn’t stop him from wondering if they actually shared such interests or he was just faking it, after all he can't really imagine anyone else being as obsessed with wanting to be a duck like Amaya, despite not knowing anything about them.

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The formation was simple and direct, Jiraiya, the team leader will be behind tailing the rest in case of any abrupt ambush, Ren will be in the middle maintaining a sensory field with Amaya, while Itachi will lead with his sharingans. The basic plan after reaching the place was to wait hiding.

They weren’t sure if the rough ninjas will be attacking the place they have chosen tonight, especially not when they have emptied the place before hand to avoid casualties at least in one family. They however were not certain about what to do with the scroll. Something they didn’t even know where it was or what it was.

Amaya and Ren fooling around didn’t help Itachi’s thoughts. What were they laughing so much about?? They r supposed to be silent and stealthy, sneaky, not slowing the rest down with failed attempts at muffling their wheezing giggles. He wasn’t interested in the slightest bit in what they were talking about, it was just some old book, a ridiculous romance story that he has heard Amaya obsess over countless times. He didn’t even like the story at the very least bit, he only read it to analyze the characters and the theme and the plot(holes) and the setting, and the symbolism so that he can understand Amaya when she figures something new out and tells him but definitely it was a horrendous piece of literature, insult to art. There was no need for her to explain all the details he has heard a million times to this new guy with so much enthusiasm, and so loudly…….He has a headache.

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He sure was startled when Jiraiya pulled him back. Apparently he was going too fast and went too far ahead of the team and wouldn’t hear them out. Amaya tried to call him so many times. What a joke, as if she called for him once after having met this gray eyed fish gasping for water with every breath……..no wonder it was so peaceful. Of course, he didn’t say those out loud, only said his mind was loud with what might be already going on there.

It wasn't all wrong. His mind was definitely loud, counting countless possible scenarios playing out in his head. However he didn’t like the excuse that the road they chose as short cut being hard to navigate was the reason why they were not as fast as his natural speed not because gossiping, why was he not having much trouble? Couldn’t possibly be his piercing eyes, sharp, swift reflexes, and natural ability to blend with his surroundings.

The good thing that came out of this was they were able to reach the place sooner than expected. The place was eerily quiet. Perhaps the evacuation was the reason, maybe it wasn’t a great idea and the thieves will be warned now, probably they should’ve just tried mixing in with the rest of the people here and catch the thieves red handed in action when they do come. But then again, what if they r out numbered and someone gets wounded. But even so they have Amaya, she can handle a household of people. What if the thieves think that the people here left the place and just took the scroll so they leave as well before even coming here. That being said……how r they even finding the scrolls to begin with if no one knows where they r…….

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The train of his thoughts had to be stopped abruptly when Amaya screamed at the top of her lungs. Itachi sprinted towards where he heard her scream. What happened?...... Did someone come in? Was there a trap? Did she get in trouble? His mind was racing under seconds, not that he was worried about her, it’s her healing abilities r unmatched and so is her cooking, she also owes him 3 favors, what about the ducks she has made friends with or Mr. chick ken? She still hasn’t been able to win against the bird. Her herbs garden needs her back, he was forced into promising that he’ll go with her to the summer festival, not that it matters but he can’t break a promise or she’ll never let him live it down how he’s a liar. The scream sounded really serious and she stopped suddenly too what if-. OF COURSE. HE HAD NO REASON TO WORRY. Girl had everyone in a fit of panic over 2 cockroaches. Even master Jiraiya is frozen. Yeah yeah this kinda job is perfect for Ren. He seems eager as well. Yeah……he doesn’t need to worry too much about everything, he can share the burden with his fellow team-mates. Yeah he might not understand their work ethics completely, like he doesn’t understand why is there any need for him to be clasping Amaya’s hands on his crabby claws but it looks like it fits well. He might as well assign Ren the duty of being her personal big roach defender and free himself of the baggage of having to keep an extra eye out. He has only 2 anyway.

They were having fun, a little too much for being out to grab deadly criminals who could be here any minute. Itachi already talked with master Jiraiya about where they should set traps and where will be the best place for trapping a large number of people and/or ambushing them. He’s done with his jobs for now, all that’s left is to wait. Wait till his eyes melt off that is. Jiraiya went to get drinking water and Amaya and Ren are playing, like kids. Just unlike kids there’s absolutely no reason for him to be lifting her up and around so much. Hell kids can’t even lift themselves up forget lifting each other up. She seems to enjoy it too much too. Ughh……it’s loud. Too loud. She’s laughing too much, he’s not even funny at all. What is she laughing at anyway. He doesn’t think she has told him about it before. Wait it’s the movie about valentine’s day? It was so cliché Amaya is a normal girl so he understands but as a shinobi Ren definitely has bad taste. Yeah he too has seen it……with Amaya…….ugh it was so bad he had to sit through it and tolerate her whining the entire time and deal with it even while having dinner. But she doesn’t have to start talking about it with anyone he meets. He can’t possibly like everything can he.

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Jiraiya has great stories to tell. He’s a legendary sannin, traveled the world and is experienced. He is a wise man, a pervert too but he’s responsible too…….sort of that is……..so it makes sense that when he speaks there’s a magnetic aura around him that draws in others to listen to him, especially when he’s seriously speaking. But right now, he understands Amaya but Ren….again….what is so enchanting about getting lost in a ghost city and finding his way back out through decoding a riddle given by an old woman (who might be a witch) and ending up falling from a waterfall but finally escaping. And she didn’t have to lie down on him. Look how he's patting her heads. She'll fall asleep no doubt. Itachi doesn’t know all the nightmares she might have, but he knows how to soothe them every single time. He has spent long nights stroking her head, against his will that is. All Ren has to do now is to make her a bowl of warm soup the next morning. A little bit more saltier than normal but nothing crazy. Things he might as well start teaching early.

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Volunteering to be staying awake was a mistake. What’s up with her anyway. Usually she nags so that she too can stay up with him and talk his ears off. Tonight…….does she not understand that it isn’t appropriate for a grown woman to be clinging so much to a man, let alone sleep in his arms. What’s up with the night also anyway? Isn’t it deafening? Why is master Jiraiya looking at him and smiling so much? He’s not even trying to hide it. What did he mean by “one can’t hide everything behind a poker face”. As if Itachi needs to hide anything. He’s open. He says what he means, he means what he says……..for the most part that is. Sometimes he has to deal with his true feelings. Because a shinobi must always know what is truly important. A legendary sannin, an impeccable communication and sensory officer, village’s finest genjutsu user and a normal doctor that has learned how to run over time. A team where everyone must know their position. Itachi would try to distract himself from these thoughts. But the glint from the red beads on her wrist is interrupting it. Red beads that match the purple ones on his own wrist. He wish he left it home. Or didn't accept it. Now someone makes him wear it because so does she why does it matter. He wonders if it's finally time he would have to get rid of them. The purple hue keeps him up too many nights when his wrist isn’t drowning in ink of silk strands.

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The morning was torturing. Everyone was feeding everyone. Master Jiraiya even tried to feed him a piece of mushroom, Ren would keep trying to pass him all the carrots, but doesn’t seem to mind being fed by Amaya. If he could he would shove every single bell pepper down her throat. But nop, he is the normal one out here that understands that they r not here for a picnic. They’re here to catch robbers that commit part-time murder. At least Amaya seems to think, she has fed Ren more than she has eaten herself. Well what’s his he'll finish his meal and go for a walk, and see things around. the air feels Heavy. Something may happen.

And happen it did. The house had a secret door. Somehow while entering the bathroom Amaya slipped and triggered the sensor in the bathroom mirror. How? Her slippers went flying and hit the glass on a 45° angle and the door opened leading to a staircase going down. That’s his girl, ahem, he means that’s the trouble he knows of, causing chaos while doing absolutely nothing. Of course she’s the one to find the path leading to the scroll. Right before lunch as well.

And then it went off. Ren and Amaya’s radars that is. There were people outside. 5, 7, 9, 13, 17, 25 no….30 in total. Yeah. 30 people , surrounded on all sides. They r entering the house. Near the entrance. Some of them are also sensory shinobi. Bad idea. It was a bad idea, to be underestimating Itachi’s calculation and Jiraiya’s traps. Simple but so effective. Perfect ambush, unsuspecting, silent and deadly. Just like how he likes them. What they did not like was having to face an explosion right at their face. Whatever it was Deidara would’ve thrown a fit over it being a piece of art……having ripped a whole in earth leading to outside where 3 of the leaders stood. Or they were underlings of the leader(s). Whoever they were, they were powerful, being able to use shadow clones to catch them all off-guard was impressive. They have a sensory one amongst them, who is also blind in both eyes, a real pain for Itachi for he seems to be staring at him constantly, visual paralysis doesn’t work on those without vision. No worries, he has plenty of other ways tho. But he isn’t the only one to be dealt with. There’s another man extremely fast on his feet and adeptly using both earth type and water type. Lastly the other girl who was also a user of genjutsu and a summoning user (birds).

How did he figure out her summoning? Well that’d be a nice question if there weren’t monstrous birds attacking from the sky while Amaya is screaming about what kind of Jurassic world game is going on. It’d be nice if Ren wasn’t playing along as if it was all a game, at least master Jiraiya is serious. Who is he kidding he’s definitely fighting seriously but because he is in middle of an argument over “front” or “back” with the earth-water user.

“Childish, aren’t they…..”

“-well they seems to be getting along so doesn’t matter”

“U r far calmer than I expected u to be”

“There’s not really any reason for me or us to be stressing over people like u.”

“Confident r we-“

He couldn’t finish his sentence when Jiraiya and his toads made their presence very much known. After all, he’d not be tolerating any mistreatment of his ideology. Ren too was able to get a grip on the girl. He seemed to be struggling a bit for someone who Itachi thought was pretty good on handling ladies. It was time for the final blow, just one more to take down and they’d leave for home, and get over with the drama. But for a mission ranked s class, it looks like everything went too smoothly.

“……..Pebble! Sparrow! We got the one we needed! Now’s the time to retreat!”

“Aww Mamba, we’re not done toying around yet”

“ Yeah, Pebble is right, let’s show these freak shows what we, right hands of-“

“ That’s enough! We r facing members of Uchiha clan and sannin trio here, let’s not joke around. Until next time, brats”

So that was their names, quite ironically fitting. Of course it was a mud clone…. Amaya! Wait did she….? Well it was indeed too easy. Is it now his cue to get involved in the game…….getting physical would be a pain.

“Direct taijutsu against me would be a pain no?!”

“ True, but creating preconceptions regarding appearance and assumptions can prove to be foolish for oneself, for I am not someone to be involved in direct battle with just about anyone. Neither have I gotten much patience.”

“ Careful now, u’d not want to hurt ur team mate would u”

“Amaya isn’t an important part of this group, unfortunately u went for the wrong one, a mistake u shall pay for now”

 Itachi took one look at the unconscious body of a very familiar girl, then within a second his iris focused on the view in front of him releasing a familiar swirl of black flames started to swallow everything on sight, now under more control and faster, Amaterasu, flames that can even bring fire. Then suddenly as if someone grabbed him from behind and pulled him, for better or for worse took him a minute to figure it out. The ground below him blew up and the roof collapsed, allowing the thieves to escape. He looked at Ren, and was about to say something but then Jiraiya pulled out something from his jacket.

“Well she’s not that important part of this group, and we already got the scroll with us, we also might as well run now ourselves, to deliver this scroll and take more people with us to hunt them down, until the whole scroll is together it’s not that much of any use, maybe we can even figure something out with this one piece-“

“ And exactly how will u face Naruto? What will u answer to lord 6th and lady 5th? What about the rule of never leaving a comrade behind as a leaf shinobi? –“

“ Itachi calm down we already have a clue on how to tail them!! I can track Amaya, through her bracelet, there’s a chip inside of it, without being captured by that eyeless guy they call Mamba. Also did you really think I’d let them get away with her? Know some difference between us man”

**********************************************

For a moment Itachi thought he imagined that looks in his eyes, but Jiraiya’s smile told him otherwise. Surely people don’t truly trust him, not yet-

“ And it’s not like I don’t trust u with the mission, I do, I know u r one of the best to have on this mission. What I don’t trust u with is Amaya. Man u really have to be a certain level of heartless to be this cold to someone so enthusiastic as her, she won’t even stop talking about ur endless patience and tolerance when all I could see was ur sheer disgust of her, if u will excuse me I’ll be taking a moment to actually start tracking her”.

She was actually talking about him? She’d rather talk about him than talk to him? That girl was crazier than he thought, maybe he himself should ask her about this. Just he hopes that she’ll be ok alone, it’s typical for her to volunteer, but for no one to tell him-

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell u anything, the way u were behaving already made us think u knew the plan. Don’t worry though, not that u look like u’re worried, but we’ll definitely find her faster than even  one of them can hurt her.”

Well a lot of people seemed to be seeing through him today, he didn’t know if it was good or bad. Didn’t have the energy to be thinking about it either.

**********************************************

Being splashed with water straight to the face was a rude way of being awakened. Maybe that’s the reason the man in front of her was called Demon. Well he looked nothing like a Demon, long green hair reaching his tailbone looked well taken care of, and matching jade eyes looking at her, cold, still, and so so dull…….as if dead. He had a pretty smile, if only it reached his eyes.

The man came closer and cupped her face, sighing deeply rubbing his thumb over her lower lips slowly,

“How beautiful, it’s a shame u r so stubborn. I like it however, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy feisty beauties to the depth of my heart”

“ My! U have one?!!”

“ Of course darling! Shall I dig it out for u to see myself or untying ur hands will do? Tsk tsk tsk tsk! How forgetful of me, no can do the later ma’am, will gladly do it myself only if u ask me to urself, just add a please!”

His hands clutched at his own chest, nails digging in his flesh deeper than she could tolerate.

“Stop!”

“Hmn?!”

“I said stop…….”

“My!! It’d be an interesting interrogation with u, I’d rather call it a pre-date planning. If u r a good little goddess I will marry u so fast”

Yeah…… This one was a definite creep, so much he made his underlings look normal, not that they were much disturbing anyway, she has seen Orochimaru. How hard will this be, his friends will be here soon, Ren knows what to do and master Jiraiya will definitely be on her tail and…… And maybe Itachi won’t be killing her when he sees her. Yeah, she should prepare for what would happen when he sees her next, no one will stand a chance against the amount of anger she’ll have to face.

“Careful now darling, I don’t like my woman to be distracted thinking about other men……”

Or maybe she should still be a little more careful. Just in case……

**********************************************

⚠️ WARNING ⚠️ violence

A broken arm, both brown ankles and a beaten up face. It was just merely some make up being put on her, oh how pretty she looked like this. Lips busted, eyes swollen, jaw fractured and rope marks around her throat, a true beauty. The 4 together couldn’t figure out how she was still alive, let alone keep her composer and such a tight lipped woman. Demon’s expressions were unreadable, was he in love with her, annoyed with her, either way both would end in her death. Impressive was how she could stall it. They have never seen anyone capable of healing the injuries caused by their leader, let alone so fast. The minor cuts were already healed, the more deeper wounds would heal too without any external help within a few weeks. This woman they took here was excellent at the one thing she did, if only her teammates could value her as an asset.

Mamba had suggested her to join in, leave behind people who don’t care about her no matter her worth and join them where they’d treasure her priceless talent. But feisty as she was she refused to open her mouth unless forced open.

“Shall we cut off her tongue? Not like she’s talking much for us anyway”

“Maybe we should double our efforts so I can put her under my genjutsu, knocking her out may work too”

“ Isn’t that too much work”

“ Not when it comes to the-“

“ Now now”, Demon spun around in a dramatic way, “ it’s a rude way to be talking in front of our guest, we should prepare for her special treatment in secrecy, so we can surprise her! How wonderful it will be!”

Even Itachi himself can’t put her in a genjutsu, as if they will be able to use any sort of visual paralysis on her. Just fooling Mamba was a bit too harder than expected. He’s gotten an iron grip on her. And much like his name a filthy black mouth, teeth and tongue. For someone to have such high tolerance for poison, he was surely the least tolerant in the group. Pebble was a man of monstrous size, he himself could pass as a mountain, and Sparrow looked like an old witch trying to feed a poison apple to snow white.

Honestly, she made a hasty decision, they way the hide out is so deep in the woods so close yet so hidden, all the traps around and triggers, she doubts Ren will be able to find her here anytime soon. It’d be better if Itachi just takes the scroll and leaves, handling what is in something so important is of a bigger priority. Also if only she could get at least somewhere near the room where the scrolls r. They’d not need to worry about anyone here fleeing with the thing that matters the most.

“Aww darling, u seem worried, don’t worry though, I’d love u all the same even if u r a limbless puppet running on fuel and no longer alive, you’ll be my most beautiful bride”

Heh, he really thinks someone like him can get her to do what he wants, something no one else has been able to do. As if!!

**********************************************

He didn’t wanna admit it, but Ren appeared to be a way better tracker than they expected! He as in they that is. It’s been only 1 and a half hours and they have already found the base. It looked like a normal abandoned place where no one has lived for centuries. If not for the precautions they took about the triggers and traps. To add cherry on top the weather seems to be getting heavy as well. It will be hard for Ren to be doing his job if the sky is drowning with rain.

Suddenly a kunai passed right by Itachi’s left ear alerting everyone showing they have been trapped.

Sparrow revealed herself from the shadows and used her summonings to surround her victims. She might not be as potent at genjutsu as Itachi but her summonings r powerful. She laughed at them and asked what were they doing triggering every single sensor near the hide out instead of sneaking in. Ren laughed a little and replied if nothing they got at least some traps figured out, only they weren’t capable of using shadow clones. It’s a tough technique, but so was the shinobis on their tail. The last thing she expected was to be trapped inside toad stomach with Itachi himself, her summonings getting more and more stuck inside. Oh how he hated people who were only capable of living by their own assumptions, prejudices r a deadly killer.

At least the good part was that they had a sense of team, helping each other out when they needed help was a great trait to have. But Pebble wasn’t the most patient man there. Thankfully neither was master Jiraiya. Directly messing with him after he felt u have insulted his taste is always a rough ending.

“The mountain toad’s stomach is a hard place to escape from, there’s no point in dragging on and trying to free her, we might as well have a negotiation over materials we both want back now all right gentlemen?”

Ok so they didn’t have any sense of team. Neither did they have any sense of respect for women. To be dragging a woman, who’s injured with broken ankles, by her feet was not something Itachi was expecting to see. Her body twisted in ways which could not be normal, forcefully dragged across the surface, all beaten and broken. He thought she had more fight in her than this, he thought she would be able to carry herself for longer than this, HE THOUGHT MASTER JIRAIYA WOULD SHOW MORE EMOTIONS THAN THIS!! Especially when even Ren froze up.

“Oww and u want us to believe u r here for a deal because…?”

“Simple really, no one really knows what is in the scroll but we all can agree that it’s a powerful secret, so u may take ur remarkable medic and we take our scroll.”

“ And ur teammate?”

“ Mehh, we can always replace her. There’s nothing really good about her other than some pet birds u see. So might as well get her replaced. I’ll miss my beautiful to be wife though, but it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”

Wife………wife? To be wife? Who behaves like this with their to be wife, who trades her for a piece of rolled up paper, who the hell just casually dragged their so called to be wife by her ankle that seems to be broken anyway.

“u sure are bold”

“Well what can I say, big fan of the clan killer of konoha u can say”

“ What makes u think that we even have the scroll”

“ Simple really, Mamba can sense it.”

“ I see how it is then, does he also sense the danger he is in now”

“ Enough talking, I think it’s time to get down to business seriously.”

Itachi wasn’t sure how being so eager to attack was good, when they had Amaya’s half-conscious body tied up with them.

“……..tachi…….”

He knew this voice, what he didn’t know was it could be so quiet.

“Look at this! Wifie woke up and chose to call for another man before me, I’m heartbroken. Particularly when I care about her more than they do”

 “ It shows exactly how much u care about her u hypocrite! Dragging her around like a corpse when she’s still alive, u sure do love her so much!!”

“ Wow why is brick head blowing up suddenly……. No way! U don’t say huhh!!-“

He didn’t get to finish his rant or realization when Jiraiya’s fist landed square on his jaw. Well he did say he wants to get down to serious business. The Pebble guy seemed stunned as well at his speed. Maybe this was time for Itachi to start playing big, it’ll be over soon.

A faint red aura surrounded him, slowly growing brighter and as if almost taking in a form, his eyes glowing scarlet and droplets of crimson starting to pool in his eyes. Eyes that embodies his past, his relation with the woman in front and who he is at core.

 “Tachi……Move now!”

The voice was faint but he heard it clearly. In a fraction of a second he moved the ground beneath him shattered. He underestimated the 2 other people to deal with. Ren was keeping Mamba and his poison busy, but they left Pebble unattended. Or so they thought, everything was now exactly where he hoped would be, right in the line of his sight all aligned.

“ clever move, but u forgot that we r still holding her here with us”

“ And that’ll be an issue exactly because? “

“ Spoken like a true clan killer”

The retort came with a kick to the ribs Itachi barely dodged thanks to his susano. The damage this man deals seems to be unrecoverable, he has to be more cautious. Or not. Like always, even in the state she was in she already has connected her chakra with the 3 there, no one has to worry about healing while she’s there ever. A miracle medic as always.

“DAMN U WOMAN, MY TO BE BRIDE GOING AROUND HELPING OTHERS LIKE IT IS SOME KIND OF JOKE!! Ohh I know, I’ll show them joke. Pebble!! We need to do what we need to do. Mamba, deal with them.“

And as if they were waiting for this opportunity, pebble set off the earth bomb and mamba released his poison smoke. The difference was that when it blew up it was more violent than they expected. If master Jiraiya didn’t pull Itachi back he’d been blown to bits.

But the question was, where are the other bits, other than broken shards of red that is.

**********************************************

Itachi would’ve charged into the poison mist is Jiraiya didn’t hold him back, Ren seemed to have frozen up even forgetting to inhale. Faint screams of the sannin couldn’t bring them back to their senses that the enemies were escaping. As if to add to injury already so deep his last words drowned much around when the sky started to as well. Jiraiya had no choice he had to choose between attending to the unconscious member or facing a raging storm he had no hand over, not now at least, and as the wise man he was he chose the former.

3, 7, 15 he found every bead of red but he didn’t find any hint of the wrist they were attached to. The rubble mixed with the roof and the earth around, he never thought his mind would ever be capable of being so perfectly portrayed by nature around him. There had to be at least smudges of blood or did the rain already wash them away. He saw it. He knows what he saw, the moment Demon charged towards the opposite direction his minions executed his orders, his hands were empty, Itachi knows the hands were empty because he was reaching out to hold them himself. He knows what he saw, he saw the smile, he saw the very same smile that always told him it’ll be fine, they’ll work till it’s not, he saw it. Yeah sure the eyes and lips were a little busted, the face was a little swollen, but it was the same familiar picture just a bit dusty. He won't be giving up. He might need a bit of help, he doesn’t have to do everything by himself right, he’ll just go ask Ren. He’ll go ask for help just after he’s done rummaging through this portion of the ruin. He’s not lying at all. Definitely not. Why would he……..

**********************************************

He did not appreciate being dragged into the cave by Jiraiya. He didn’t care about the interrogation going on there. As if Sparrow will be about to spill all the details. He doubts she even knows any. Being played by the leader like a pawn and sacrificed when she was trying to help. She tried her best. She didn’t ask anything so she’d know nothing. She was keeping an eye out for everyone constantly. He doesn’t know this girl. He truly doesn’t.

He trusted when she said she knew nothing, he already looked through her mind, almost, and he trusted her. So the best thing to do was to release her. The flames were inescapable and they’d finish the job faster.

“Why’d u do that!!”

“Mind explaining the meaning behind attacking ur teammate?”

Itachi had a poker face on. He had a promise to keep, he will always keep his cool and not let his unstable emotions take over his rationality. Ren did punch him but he’s not looking for a fight, he’s shaken. It’s alright, they did lose a teammate and there’ll be hell to explain. He’ll keep his cool.

“Excellent control over ur face Itachi boy, but those hands balled in a fist turning those knuckles white shaking shows ur fury enough maybe hide them to be more convincing. “

“ Tell him to hide his face too. I don’t ever want to see it after we return to the village. Let’s not being him back as back-up, he won’t be doing much anyway “

He didn’t mean to let the snort out and definitely not so loudly. Ren is kind of heart and naïve of soul. He has a long way to understand his new teammate perfectly. Not something he’ll be able to do unless he calms down first.

“There’ll be no need for a back-up”

“The arrogance level is through the roof ehh Uchiha? U will stop at nothing no? Nothing else matters in front of the mission”

“It’s the mission that no longer matters. The mission was to capture them alive. So we can get the information behind their intentions and if more r involved in this mess. Now it’s no longer what it was supposed to be like in the papers. We’ve gotten one scroll, u take that back to konoha and figure out whatever possible from it. I’ll bring the rest. We’ll see if others r involved in this or not depending on who tries to stop me or not. And-“

“ What exactly makes u think we’ll just agree and follow by what u say. Who allowed u to think u can make decisions for us too.”

“ I’m not making any decisions for u, I’m explaining what I’ll do. It should be a guideline for things to avoid so u don’t end up against me”

“ And let’s say we do in fact follow ur words. What exactly will it end in. U chasing vengeance because u r stronger. Or everything going back to how it was because now u finally understand that some plans don’t follow through so u should know when to back out of one such situation.”

He knew Jiraiya spoke what he meant. But obviously he didn’t know the whole truth. Neither does Itachi have the energy to explain now.

“Ren, I know it’s unfair to u but can I talk to Itachi a bit. It’ll only take us a moment. If u will wait it out I’m sure u can see there’s more common in between the two of u than u r willing to believe. There there child, just a few minutes.”

Itachi didn’t like how calm he was, he didn’t like how he was treating him like a kid, as if he was some stupid child. He didn’t like feeling like everything he spoke was a joke when he spoke his mind on a firm ground. Jiraya should know better than to be thinking that he was talking empty. He-

“I know I know, u don’t like being cut off, or people reading u too much and many more……..things but I’m not here to go through the list. I just wanted to say, I know that the whole reason u wanted to avoid her was because u didn’t want her to be in trouble because of u. Itachi Uchiha, a name that’s followed by some sort of another negative attachment no matter where u go, to not associate with it is probably the best way to not be involved with it. But did u ever think how deeply she already was involved? The entire impression that u gave was that u didn’t care about her not that she wasn’t involved. Something u kept trying to maintain even in this mission”

“…….. “

“ C’mon now, staying silent won’t be helpful at all. Ahh ok let me say it like this. U wanted her to be safe right? Not following u around or worse someone else hunting her to get back at u. Now not saying u didn’t have faith in her or u didn’t trust her because it’s something u did 100% and I can’t deny something so blatantly obvious. But Itachi, she followed u around maybe for a reason?”

“ What could be the reason. Can u name one single thing that I can ever give to her? What did I not do to make it clear that there’s nothing I can provide her with. A home, a family, love, safety nothing at all. Can u tell me what didn’t I explain to her? “

“ Now now let’s not get so ahead so fast. Maybe all she wanted was a friend with a listening ear. That u did give her, tirelessly. Ur poker face does nothing to hide how intently u listen to her rambling away even when what she says makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. U gave her what she wanted, a friend a companion and someone who listens. Why r u judging her based on how u think she should feel or be like instead of how she really felt or was”

“ Was……I think whatever needs to be proved is already proved. Was, she was, she felt, she did it’s all in the past. There’s no point in dwelling on the last anymore not when I can’t bring it back, or change it. Least  apologize or to make it right. When-“

“She ran after u because she wasn’t sure if u will return to her”

“ I never said anything about it because I don’t know it myself.”

“If u didn’t succeed in pretending she’s not involved then u should’ve accepted the fact that she’s important. Ur name doesn’t only bring trouble to the people u care about, it also keeps them safe. Not many r insane enough to mess with someone u hold dear to ur heart because they won’t be able to pay the price. Think about now, they went after nobody u thought was important but the one u ignored. Instead of making it appear that she’s the least informed member u made it appear she was a sacrificial pawn; and they went for her.”

“ Telling me these will do exactly what if I may enquire?! “

“Avoid future casualties that results in negligence of the situation at hand assuming everything is going accordingly. Human psychology is unpredictable. Adaptation and fluidity is crucial.”

The toad sage walked away, but he sat there. Unpredictable. Human psychology is unpredictable. For everyone? U mean to tell him that Jiraya didn’t know the consequences of his words on Itachi? Maybe he didn’t. Because if he wasn’t going for vengeance before he is now.

**********************************************

Muffled coughing couldn’t reach any ears even if there was one out there searching for it. Thank goodness she asked Yamato for a carry on wooden clone of herself as her temporary summoning. She surely did exchange places with it at the nick of time but sigh she lost the friendship bracelet. Well it isn’t friendship much anyway, he seems to not really think of her as a friend. Even now she’s still thinking about it when trying to swim against the flow of the river handling 4 scrolls and freshly healed from broken bones. She’s not even that good of a swimmer. WHY did she even think it was a good idea. Well it’s a different thing that it’s Itachi who’s the brain of the missions, and executioner, and planner, and tracker, and…….well she’s not a shinobi to begin with. Dang she really needs to stop having inner monologues about Itachi and focus on surviving the river.

**********************************************

“Are u fucking crazy?”

At this point Itachi is sure Ren isn’t even trying to hide his hatred for him. Not that he cares but yes, someone else seems to care. However it’s no longer something he bothers with. He cannot just go back home and face Naruto. He can’t just return to the same places where he’ll never see her again. He can’t just admit he didn’t even acknowledge someone that cared for him so much she forgot to care for herself. Who does this brick head thinks he is anyway, he came in her life first, he was the one to be hearing her ramble away first.

Who was he kidding, he wasn't her first in anything, he wasn’t even the best one at that. The again of all he was to her is a failure, then doesn’t it mean that he has the most right to be seeking justice for her death. After all it is him to bear the responsibility-

“What do u think of urself huh!! U think I wanna see them dead any less? U think I-“

“I don’t even want them to ever achieve any memorial grave, because realistically speaking there’s not going to be a body to bury, either. Do not compare ur childish crush-at-first-sight on a girl u saw merely a few hours ago with the relation we shared or emotions we felt together. Nothing was one-sided as u assumed. Yes I know there’s no point in confessing them now. But there’s also no point in denying them now either. I refused to entertain all irrelevant curiosity u may harbor any further. If u will this shall be our parting now”

Jiraiya didn’t have the chance to call out to him either. His usual genjutsu tricks, he didn’t even realise until the boy in front of him flew away turning into a flock of crows. He half expected the shock on Ren’s face, but was half not ready to believe that someone like Itachi will be losing his cool. Learning is growth however, learning humans r not machines running on pure logistics and sometimes emotions taking over is normal, letting the emotional side out is healthy, lessons Itachi will be needing.

“We’re gonna chase after him.”

“What good will it bring?”

“ I wanna see if he really means what he said. I don’t believe him”

“………so long u don’t regret it.”

**********************************************

Did he know where he was going? No. Yes. Sort of……? There could be many potential answers. He’s Itachi Uchiha of the sharinagan, if he can’t even track a few murderers that killed someone who actually may have mattered to him what good is he for. And besides-

.............

Is there a waterfall nearby? The loudness of water is getting louder and louder. Waterfalls……. Someone seemed to be mesmerized when Jiraiya was talking about them when he was telling the stories about his travels. She loved water, hot springs, ocean, rivers, ponds and even long showers, water made her happy. He didn’t think clearly when he was already near the hidden waterfall. How will he be keeping his composer if every little thing now reminds him of her. Well if u can call a whole waterfall small.

Then his ears perked up, his muscles tensed. He heard it, clear shuffling behind the bushes. He doesn’t think whoever it is has noticed him yet. He doesn’t sense any chakra from the person but he’s certain it’s a person.

Itachi was swift and light on his feet, he moved fluidly and dived in the bushes. They’re female, long hair, fair limbs and bright eyes and a hard as hell head that just head-butted his nose and started screaming about how he, Itachi, scared her shitless and she was just trying to pass by unnoticed and then the sound got hazy. Maybe it was the impact of her head in his nose that stun him, but to see someone alive after……no no no. He won’t fall for this, it’s clearly a trap.

She was explaining herself. She was very lively and animated by nature so waving her hands and arms excitedly when she was agitated was natural to her. She was not expecting him to grab her both arms and pin then behind her, turn her on her stomach, press her against the ground and keep her there with one knee to her tailbone threatening with a kunai against her throat almost cutting the skin.

“Who are u?........what do u want?”

Simple questions, except the person asking those questions was Itachi. What did he mean? He knows her right?? Of course he does. Why is he so violent though……..

“UCHIHA LAD YOU HAVE ONE CHANCE TO GET OFF ME OR OR…….Or………or no more dango for u I’ll feed them to Mr. chick ken, for……for a whole week!!”

Amaya……..Threatening someone to not let them have sweets when they r about to kill her, bringing chicken into a pursuit of life in death’s face, that high pitch voice, the warmth of her hands, the same eyes confused as ever never knowing anything about anything……..It’s Amaya

“You’re alive…….”

“Damn straight I AM!! I-”

**********************************************

Feel free to skip this part.

She has just sat up and faced him then he decides to come a little too close. His hand supporting the back of her neck, lips against her own. His nose pressed against her cheek and eyes as if forcefully squeezed shut. For a few seconds she didn’t even process what just happened until he slowly started to move against her mouth softly sucking it in, using another arm to support her waist. She got one chance to exhale the breath she didn’t know she was holding and as if her body gave up against his. Thank goodness his eyes r shut or he'll see how red her face was glowing. Pretty sure he can feel the heat but it’s still better than seeing her right. His hands moved from her neck to her hair and as if his eyelids fluttered scaring her to close her own eyes. Is he looking, she doesn’t know what to do, how to respond but she doesn’t mind him either. Her hands balled on the materialbon his chest resting beside where her body was pressed against his. It’s almost as if he let go of her too soon if she wasn’t so out of breath gasping loudly for air. For a fraction of a second though, then his lips found her again and this time it wasn’t so much of a soft and gentle kiss. There were hints of underlying aggression, slight pulls and bites, teeth scraping against the lip and the tip her tongue, his hands were tense against her. She had to shove him apart to breath as if he didn’t want to let go at all, still breathing as heavily as her, voice horse.

Continue.

**********************************************

 “U r alive……..please tell me it isn’t a lie and u r alive…….”

What was he talking about, of course she is alive and well…….she’s right in his arms and awww-

“Of course! Tachi!! It was just a clone!! I don’t know what u saw, but it was just a clone. Aww I wonder what poor Yamato san must be feeling I’ve got to apologize to him-”

“It was a wood clone?”

“Oh My God yes I had it as my temporary summoning!!”

Human psychology was unpredictable. Yet it was something so common for her how could he miss it. He can’t believe himself, it’s the same trick over and over again and she manages to keep it up. Brother and sister are much alike here……..

**********************************************

Ren could sense Itachi’s chakra nearby. So when he just took the lead and went a bit ahead thinking to himself what a hypocrite this man was leaving Jiraiya a little behind, what he was least expecting was to tumble upon him sharing a moment intimately with Amaya. And she seemed to be holding on to him too.

Jiraiya was half shocked to see him return with his head down.

“Let’s wait for him here”

But he didn’t pursue the issue further. Ren has gotten the answer he was seeking. But still maybe he should clarify.

“I’ve tried to tell u both, but I wasn’t given a chance to. She brought a wood clone as a temporary summoning for this mission. She wasn’t as helpless and useless as she made herself appear-“

“She has the rest of the scrolls, if I’m not too wrong Mamba will be chasing us soon.”

“…….. Give them a minute, he also needs to collect himself”

**********************************************

He was half expecting Ren to be all over Amaya the moment he saw her but surprisingly he was so friendly yet formal. Perhaps that’s for the best. Ren already understands the whole situation. He knows that they’re just coworkers and maybe acquaintances at best. He still didn’t like the way Jiraiya knew everything yet said nothing. He was grateful, still so annoyed.

 “ Tachii!! What do u mean I can’t handle them?? I’ve been carrying these and I-“

“ I’m not saying that u r useless, all I’m saying is when Mamba comes chasing us I’d rather deal with him myself instead see u get hurt again”

“ It feels kinda weird hearing u talk like this”

“ Get used to this then, I don’t wanna regret the same thing twice in my life.”

“Looks like a touching reunion was taking place, tsk tsk, too bad I’m disappointed and thorough with my dear  cheating wifie to be partaking in the get-together”

“ If u don’t drop it wifie game I’ll make sure u never speak again”

“ U r underestimating my speed to be thinking u can match with me and I’m not the only one alone here”

It’s true, mamba was a great sensory shinobi. Too bad he isn’t a teammate against whom Itachi could afford to be kind with.

Pebble and Jiraiya had an old dispute to settle, Ren and Amaya were against Mamba and Itachi decided to even the score against Demon and the “wife” issue needed to end.

Not good at directing fighting scenes so I’ll be gently glossing over them here.

Pebble thought the toad stomach would be easy to escape from…….until he got stuck there. Mamba underestimated Amaya and her own knowledge over poison thinking nothing could ever have any effect on him and got sealed paralyzed temporarily after getting anesthesia. Demon wasn’t the only one to be dealing irreparable damage and Amaterasu was definitely harder to deal with.

**********************************************

Well they were supposed to catch them all alive but getting 2 of 4 would prove to be a lot of explanations. Half way though the return journey while everyone was thinking of best words to face the least damage and by everyone it means Ren and Amaya the rest of the 2 were silently going after them. Until they had to stop for a little break and lunch. It wasn’t much chaotic like the last time they ate together, just this time Itachi managed to shove those bell peppers down her throat as a small revenge, one of many small revenge. Amaya was getting a little curious though, she kept quiet the entire way, she gets to ask what was in the scroll right.

Master Jiraiya was the one to open them at first. Everyone was at least a bit curious to begin with. Ancient scriptures on the scroll, who knows what kind of prophecy was in there. More or less anything at all could prove to be of huge help.

If not to everyone then at least to master Jiraiya. It was a thorough research done on his interest. Let’s just say the 106th point said the worthy one shall be in the possession of this invaluable information. Though cursed through and through the ‘wife’ issue was definitely resolved without any regrets. Least to say that the people involved r not likely to know anything in it. Most likely the reason shinobies decided to divide the scroll and hide it was to save faces after the prophet’s death. Later on as time went by the secret was glorified and reached this point. Well, if nothing at least now Itachi can forever tease Amaya for being serious the one time she was serious……… according to him. No she’s not allowed to talk back to him about it, he knows how to keep things quiet. Grounding her from seeing her ducks was the best way to do it as usual.

********************************************************************************************

It's my first ever work posting here, Amaya is my self indulgent OC,

Black hair, purple eyes and fair skin. It's not coloured but it's my own art ✨

She's a medic, but she's not a kunoichi. I do have a backstory for her and I also have another au where Itachi doesn't die (neither does Jiraiya or Neji). She's 2 years younger than Itachi, and is like an older sister to Naruto (he saved her a few years back during the og Naruto timeline). Maybe I'll be posting about her au later sometime.

Anyway, I hope u enjoyed it, though it was too big for a first post. Take care and see ya later 💅🏻✨🪄✨

[feriowind]

i wrote up a whooole feral luffy AU bit on twitter last night so am posting it here too (slightly cleaned up) hahaha

Feral luffy AU where the basis is that Luffy is the one who, somehow, set sail the day the celestial dragons arrived and had his boat shot down. 

 He's considerably further out to sea when this happens, and when he falls into the water, he's swept away by a strange ocean current. He winds up on a deserted island surrounded by the same strange currents and it keeps him stranded. 

 Ace and Sabo are devastated by the loss of Luffy, as is Garp, Makino, Dadan and the bandits, and later on Dragon and Shanks when they find out, attempts are made to locate Luffy's body but they never find him, the assumption that he sank too far out into the ocean due to his devil fruit. Ace & Sabo grow up significantly less cheerful without Luffy's presence, but their bond to one another is as strong as ever.

 Sabo fakes his death after begging Garp for help, anything to throw off his family from ever finding him again. Garp agrees because his hatred of certain nobility has grown significantly after Luffy's "death", and he can't stand the thought of losing another grandson.

 Luffy meanwhile, adapts as best he can. Surviving in this new jungle is painful, but doable despite the constant near brushes with death. The true hardship is how lonely he is without his brothers. Luffy has always thrived in the company of others, and without any he struggles, but again, Luffy adapts. 

 He manages to befriend some of the animals in the jungle, and accidentally discovers conqueror's haki when he nearly loses his hat to a predator, his one link to something beyond this island.

 The animals can't replace his brothers, but they ward off the loneliness. Throughout this time, Luffy makes multiple attempts to sail off the island with handmade rafts. Craftsmanship has never been his strong suit however, so they crumble instantly in the harsh currents.

 Perhaps due to luck, the currents always wash him back ashore instead of allowing him to sink and drown. Luffy's speech also slowly degrades over time. As much as he loves talking to his animal friends, the inability to hear someone else speak causes his words to slur and distort

 Ace and Sabo still hold true to their promise to set sail at age 17, but decide that they want to sail together instead of separating. When they finally set sail, they decide to take their time getting to the Grandline, exploring more of the East Blue at a leisurely pace.

After roughly a week of sailing, they get caught in a freak storm and are swept away by a giant wave where they too end up caught in the same strange current that stole Luffy all those years ago. The two wind up unconscious on Luffy's island, where Luffy finds them on the beach.

Luffy doesn't recognize them however, only that wow! For the first time since he arrived, there are other humans on the island with him that are alive! It's an exciting occurrence, and Luffy drags their bodies to the jungle where the tide won't reach.

When poking and prodding don't wake the two, Luffy sets off to gather food for his guests. He still remembers how tired and hungry he was when he first washed ashore, and figures they'd feel the same. As Luffy comes back, Ace wakes up in a panic.

Luffy rushes Ace in excitement and babbles. It's nearly incomprehensible to Ace however, especially in his panicked just-woken hazy-brained state. All Ace wants is to know where Sabo is and where this place is, and pushes Luffy away.

That's when Ace notices Sabo is lying just a few feet away asleep. The tension leaves him immediately and he's able to actually pay attention to the stranger trying to talk to him. 

Luffy is young and shorter than what he would have been had he been able to grow up on Dawn Island. His hair is long, wild and tangled, and he's dressed in furs and leathers. As Ace is studying him, he asks if he's the one who saved him and Sabo. 

For a moment Luffy stares silent, mind untangling the words until they make sense, and then he nods exuberantly. He tries to explain that he found them unconscious on the beach along with their boat, but Ace can barely decipher Luffy's speech. It sounds like someone speaking with a heavy accent at lightning speed.

But it’s then Ace notices the faint scar under Luffy's eye, and the strawhat hanging off his back. That in combination with Luffy's excited movements and speech sets off confusing alarms in his head.

Luffy's dead, Ace knows this, but he forces this strange kid to calm down and asks for his name. Again it takes a moment for Luffy to understand, and he replies. There's that same strange lilt to his words, but it's clear. Monkey D. Luffy! and it's said with a wide, proud grin.

Ace's world tilts then. Luffy? MONKEY D. LUFFY? His brain feels like its shorting out, refusing to register this new bit of information. He thinks he chokes a reply of some kind, but his mind feels blank. Luffy only laughs, not noticing Ace's shock.

In broken speech he asks for Ace's name too, but Ace doesn't hear his question, can only stare at Luffy's face. It can't be Luffy, he thinks. Because if it is... IF IT IS... They're only roughly a week's sail from Dawn Island. Just 7 days.

Is this boy trying to tell Ace that Luffy, in these past 7 years, was only a 7 days boat ride away? And they simply didn't look hard enough? He was here all alone while Ace and Sabo moved on? Ace's heart feels like it's constricting as his vision tunnels in on Luffy.

Luffy's finally noticed that this stranger is looking pale and ill, and pats him in worry. Is he sick? Does he need food? Are you okay, he asks. Ace grabs Luffy's arm then and stares at him with a strange expression. Luffy, it's me, he says, voice shaking. Ace.

Luffy's brows furrow in confusion and he tilts his head. Ace repeats himself, voice growing stronger. I'm Ace! he exclaims, and waits (prays) to see the light of recognition in Luffy's eyes.

Luffy mouths Ace's words silently to himself with frown. Ace? ...ACE! Luffy suddenly leaps towards Ace, landing directly on his chest and crushing him against a tree. He's directly on him and he's got Ace's head clasped roughly between his hands as he stares at his face intently

Ace? Luffy asks out loud, and starts repeating it over and over as he studies Ace's face. Luffy's grip is stronger than expected but Ace manages to give a jerky nod. The piercing stare breaks and Luffy's eyes water. ACE! he cries out in joy and it's the only word he can say.

Luffy wildly paws at Ace's face, then shoulders and arms, as if trying to make sure he's really there, and he's laughing and crying all at once. He then suddenly turns to Sabo on the ground and starts patting his body. He looks up at Ace with a hopeful smile and asks, Sabo?

Ace chokes back a sob because oh. OH. It's really Luffy! He was here this whole time and they never knew! Why hadn't they just looked HARDER? Luffy meanwhile crows in joy and triumph that BOTH his brothers are here with him. 

Ace gets down next to Sabo and starts violently shaking him. Wake up WAKE UP, how can he be SLEEPING when the greatest thing they thought they had lost was BACK. Sabo groans awake and is greeted by the pained teary face of Ace and an equally teary, but grinning stranger

 the shock of the scene jolts Sabo upright and he asks what's wrong? What happened? Ace just points to the boy beside him. It's Luffy, he says through clenched teeth, as if he were trying his best to stave off a breakdown. Huh? Sabo replies, what about Luffy?

 it's LUFFY, Ace grits out again, and this time Luffy chimes in with a cheery, Sabo! and leans in close to his face. Sabo is still confused and Ace nearly snarls in frustration. Luffy's ALIVE, Ace growls, and Luffy laughs. Sabo stares at Luffy and understanding slowly dawns.

 Luffy? he asks in disbelief, and Luffy nods excitedly before crowding in Sabo's face even more. Sabo! Luffy says with a smile and starts repeating his name like he had done with Ace earlier. Sabo, Luffy's been here this whole time, Ace says in a pained whisper.

 This whole time? And the same realization that Ace had grows in Sabo. Luffy, you've been here, all alone...? And we were so close? Sabo's body moves and wraps Luffy's body in a bone crushing hug. Luffy, I- we didn't know! Sabo stammers but it sounds like a terrible excuse.

 Guilt is devouring both Ace and Sabo but Luffy is only smiling. He's overjoyed that his brothers are here, and with their help he can definitely get off this island now! Things do work out!

 We have to go back to Dawn Island, Sabo says suddenly. We need to take Luffy home and we- we gotta tell Gramps! And Dadan and Makino! Luffy's okay! He's okay! And it's like a dam breaks and Sabo is the first one to break down into a full-body sob.

 Luffy gives a cry of dismay and does his best to comfort Sabo. Ace gives in and wraps both Luffy and Sabo in a hug. Both older brothers are whispering apologies to Luffy responds with just wrapping his arms several times around them both in one of his infamous rubbery hugs.

 like luffy had tried to explain earlier, the brothers' ship is beached on the coast and, surprisingly, only suffering a few minor scuffs. their departure is fairly swift, only waiting for the ideal weather after gathering some supplies and luffy's scant belongings

 Perhaps one or two of Luffy's animal friends joins them, but regardless, with the help of a 3 man crew, a sturdy ship, and an actual navigator, Luffy finally escapes the island, and the 3 brothers head home.

 Now all Ace and Sabo have to worry about is helping Luffy readjust to human civilization........

[gunterfan1992]

Episode Review: ‘Together Again’ (Distant Lands, Ep. 3)

Airdate: May 20, 2021

Story by: Jack Pendarvis, Kate Tsang, Hanna K. Nyström, Christina Catucci, Jesse Moynihan, Adam Muto

Storyboarded by: Hanna K. Nyström, Anna Syvertsson, Iggy Craig, Maya Petersen, Serena Wu

Directed by: Miki Brewster (supervising), Sandra Lee (art)

Across Adventure Time’s ten season run, the show explored a bevy of “mature” themes and story ideas—topics, like love, sexuality, depression, and grieving. The show also touched upon death, but the emphasis was usually placed on the emotional toll of a loved one dying, not really what happens when you die. We knew there were Dead Worlds and Death. We knew that there was reincarnation. But how does it all fit together? What does it mean? How does it work?

With “Together Again,” we finally have many of the answers.

This special opens with a marvelous fake-out episode simply called “Finn & Jake,” that sees the two steal a magical cartoon of 50-flavor ice cream before rescuing Turtle Princess and LSP from the clutches of the villainous Ice King. This is all deliberately anachronistic and over the top. Ice King is back to his season one ways, Finn has both arms, and he is still wielding his golden sword that he lost in season two’s “The Real You.” There’s lolrandom dialogue and silly monsters; it’s like a parody of seasons 1-2. But then, this adventure starts to get all wonky, and in time Finn realizes that he is in a some sort of trance or illusion: one that ends with Jake being buried in the ground. Suddenly, Finn awakens from his reverie. He’s an old man. And he’s dead. We’re then presented with a new title card that lets us know the episode is actually called “Finn & Jake Are Dead.”

Holy Glob! They actually went there.

Turns out Jake died years before Finn, so naturally Finn is super excited to see his best bud. But something’s wrong—he cannot find Jake!! They planned to spend eternity together. But all that Finn can find is his very own psychopomp, Mr. Fox (voiced by Tom Herpich, whose purposefully stilted line readings are the epitome of delightful). Finn rightfully assumes that Jake is in a different Dead World, and so, being the ball of spunk and energy that he is, he demands to meet with Death, only to discover that there’s a New Death in town (voiced by Chris Fleming). The episode eventually explains that New Death was the son of Death and Life, and after New Death killed his father, he became the sovereign of the afterlife. New Death hates his job and decides to just blow up all the Dead Worlds so he doesn’t have to deal with it all. (I won’t get too much into the details here, because there would be a lot of story to parse out.)

Finn soon learns that Jake has reached nirvana in the 50th Dead World, where there is nothing but peace and serenity. Finn nevertheless tracks down Jake, pulls him from paradise, but in doing so, accidentally lets New Death in, who promptly obliterates Elysium, sending all the enlightened souls—including those from different levels of the afterlife—to the 1st Dead World. This gronks up the afterlife, temporarily halting the reincarnation process.

Well, Finn and Jake are rightfully ticked, and so they haunt the material plane looking for Princess Bubblegum. She’s not home (more on that later), but Peppermint Butler is! After Ghost Finn and Ghost Jake explain the situation, Peppermint Butler tells them what to do: They need to find Life and explain the situation. The duo manage just that, and Life is rightfully angry that her kid has stopped the transmigration of souls. After Life gives Finn a McGuffin sword that can hurt Death, Finn and Jake return to his abode. A brawl ensues wherein we learn that New Death has been possessed… by none other than that spirit of the Lich.

That’s right, it’s the Lich! He’s back, and boy is he evil.

The Lich explains that by possessing Death, he can destroy the afterlife, thereby destroying a key aspect of reality. Naturally, Finn and Jake are not cool with this, and they engage in combat. After Mr. Fox grabs the McGuffin sword and uses it to annihilate the Lich and New Death, he is proclaimed the New New Death and sets everything right. Finn is slated to be reincarnated, and Jake is slated to return to the 50th Dead World where he and Finn will one day be reunited. As Finn is pulled into the wheel of souls, Jake suddenly decides to go back with Finn, too, “Just for fun.” The episode ends with a card letting us know that the episode is neither called “Finn & Jake” nor “Finn & Jake Are Dead.” Instead, it is “Finn and Jake Are Together Again.”

As they say, “And there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.”

If you were to tell me several years ago that the last episode to star Finn and Jake would revolve around them dying, I think I would’ve been upset. Not simply sad, but rather frustrated because “they all died” can feel like a cheap ending. But with “Together Again,” it all works. And a large reason that it works is because the show goes all in with their ideas. Finn and Jake don’t magically leap back into their old life (no, no, they very much do bite the dust). Instead, the special emphasizes the cyclical nature of life through the transmigration of souls. The episode ends with a beautiful scene of Finn and Jake, bound together as soul-brothers, being reborn into a new, mysterious (possibly Ooo 1000+?) world. It’s both aesthetically and emotionally pleasing; it doesn’t feel off the way over finales might. This is right. This is the way life works. “Round and round as nature goes,” and all that jazz.

I loved the series explanation of how death works. It seems that souls land in a specific Dead World, where they ‘marinate’ for a bit, presumably being rewarded or punished based on their life in our meat reality. After a time, they are then reborn. This process repeats, with each soul reaching higher and higher levels of enlightenment until they hit nirvana, which is the 50th Dead World. So in a sense, Adventure Time has a roughly Buddhist cosmology with a dash of Greco-Roman mythos thrown in for flavor. (As to what happens after a soul stays in the 50th Dead World for a long period is anyone’s guess, but I’d speculate that when all the souls in the multiverse have been purified and land in the 50th Dead World, they will all collapse into one another and form one perfect Monad. Perhaps this is the sphere of perfection that the beings who merged into Matthew thought they were connecting to? Who knows! It’s anyone’s guess!) I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see who Death, Prismo, Life, etc.’s boss was, but perhaps that’s a mystery better left up to the imagination!

One minor thing that I loved about this special was the number of characters who made cameos as well as all the callbacks that were made to previous episodes. Regarding the former: Finn and Jake’s canine family show up (including the oft-forgotten Jermaine!), as do Tree Trunks and her myriad husbands. Tiffany plays a major role in all these shenanigans as a “death cop” of all things. There is a delightful rogues gallery stuck in the 1st Dead World (including, among others, Maja, Sharon from “The Gut Grinder,” and Wyatt). In the 50th we find Ghost Princess and Clarence happily at peace next to Booshy, the weird spirit mentioned in the Pen Ward classic “High Strangeness.” As far as callbacks go, perhaps my favorite is the clap (from “James Baxter the Horse”) that Jake taught to Finn in case they ever do get separated in the afterlife. And of course, there are myriad references made to “Death in Bloom,” the episode that planted the seed for what this would grow into.

Going into the special suspecting that it would involve Death, I was curious how they were going to handle Miguel Ferrer’s character. (In case a reader is not aware, Ferrer played Death in episodes like “Death in Bloom” and “Betty,” but he sadly passed away a few years ago). The producers’ choice to feature him in a non-speaking cameo—despite playing a relatively significant role in the story—was wise; I’m not sure if I can articulate the exact reasons, but something about his role felt appropriate and not gross, as some post-mortem memorials can be. Speaking of which, the wonderful, lovely Polly Lou Livingston was featured for the last time in this episode as Tree Trunks, happily in heaven with her literal harem of husbands. It was funny, it really was, and I’m sure that Polly Lou would’ve gotten a kick out of seeing it on screen. (Also, this is a pro-Tree Trunks safe space. Any Tree Trunks haters will be chucked into the 1st Dead World with Wyatt.)

The biggest mystery in this whole thing, for me at least, is the question of Princess Bubblegum and Marceline. Several years ago, I wrote an essay about what could’ve happened to them in the Ooo 1000+ universe. I speculated that they peaced out and left Ooo behind. In this special, neither Bubblegum nor Marceline are to be found in the Candy Kingdom—Peppermint Butler seems to be the one in charge, given that he is now wearing Bubblegum’s crown. Likewise, the duo aren’t anywhere in the Dead Worlds either. Maybe the two of them skipped town and got a duplex in the Nightosphere? Who knows… I just want my favorite gals to be OK!

All things considered, “Together Again” was a marvel: An episode that managed to feel like a series finale even more than “Come Along with Me” already did without taking away from the series itself. An episode that managed to make the idea of dying funny. An episode that brought back the Lich in a way that wasn’t forced. An episode that made Mr. Fox the New New Death. An episode that gave us a beautiful ending to Finn and Jake’s story… as well as the beautiful beginning to a new one. I said it on Twitter, and I’ll say it again here: “Together Again” was the end of a sentence in a book with infinite pages. Truly, the fun will never end.

Mushroom War evidence: Everything takes place in the Dead Worlds, so not really. Perhaps a more eagle-eyed viewer can inform us...

Final Grade: That’s right, I’m gonna do it...

Post-script, I actually messaged Jesse Moynihan to ask about his writing credit. He told me that it was for an unused story idea that he had developed. I’m not certain, but I’ll bet it was a part of the cancelled TV movie they were trying to make during season 5, since that would’ve seen Finn and Orgalorg journey to the various Dead Worlds.

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Sole Crusher

Well... It's finally here... the episode introducing the new bee hero. And what do you know? It looks like I was right about how the new character would be portrayed.

It's kind of funny how I made predictions exaggerating what could happen, and they were surprisingly accurate. Isn't that funny?

Let's just get into the seventh (chronologically the seventh and the seventh episode in the season to air after “Mr. Pigeon 72”) episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fourth season: Sole Crusher. Damn, I hate that a pun this clever was used for the title.

We get to the point pretty quickly with the first scene being Zoe arriving in Paris and getting a tour of the city. She asks to stop at the Dupain-Cheng bakery, where she meets Marinette through some brief Unfunny Marinette Slapstick. The two quickly strike up a conversation.

I mean, it's not like Zoe is the sister of the absolute worst human being in existence, right?

Marinette compliments Zoe's shoes, and she points out that she designed them herself, and wrote every good thing anyone has ever said to her on them. But because she only has one friend, there's only a standard “I <3 U” on the left shoe.

So Zoe leaves the bakery and heads to Le Grand Paris where she meets her mother, Audrey. Unlike how she talked with Marinette, Zoe pretends to be just as snobby as Audrey in order to fit in. She then meets up with Chloe, who criticizes her for having poor person things like a phone without any diamonds embedded in it. And then she sees Zoe's shoes.

Look, that meme was already dated when it was referenced in Black Panther three years ago. Please don't try to reference memes in 2021, Miraculous Ladybug.

Chloe offers some golden heels while saying that those kind of shoes are for winners to wear and crush the losers underneath. This is the only episode to mention this kind of ideology, and believe me, it gets worse when Chloe decides to teach Zoe how to be like her.

Get used to this. This episode is all about demolishing any semblance of likability in Chloe's character. Now that Astruc doesn't have to bother with writing Chloe with decency since she's not Queen Bee, watch as he turns her into an absolute caricature of her former self.

Yes, Chloe has ordered her father to give her a lot of frivolous things in the past, but she has been shown to care about him, like immediately rushing to hug him after she was safe in “Origins” and showing concern for when he was akumatized into Malediktator while apologizing for causing it. For the love of God, one of the first things she did when she allied with Hawkmoth at the end of Season 3 was to have him unto her parents' akumatization. I guess she only cared about her rich parents for their status and not because she actually loved them right?

Next up on the list of Chloe's positive qualities to ruin is her friendship with Sabrina.

🎶It's seven o'clock in the morning🎶 🎶I can't believe they made this scene🎶 🎶With the writing Astruc's enforcing🎶 🎶It's like he's trying to piss off me🎶

Yep, Chloe doesn't view Sabrina in a twisted view of friendship anymore. Now she's a slave. I'm not exaggerating by the way, he actually said that in a tweet.

THIS IS WHAT THOMAS ASTRUC ACTUALLY BELIEVES

Okay, so I guess all those times we saw Chloe playing superheroes with Sabrina in “Antibug” and “Miraculer” were just a slave driver playing with their property. Actually apologizing to Sabrina for getting her akumatized in those episodes? Protecting her from the Scarlet Akumas in “Ladybug”? She was just interested in keeping her slave around. I think Astruc may have slept through the slavery unit in his history class. Yes, Sabrina was mostly used as a joke to show how controlling Chloe could be, but there were still semblances of an actual friendship between the two.

Chloe arrives at school and introduces Zoe as her half-sister, despite being the same age and having the same mother. Because I guess we can add basic biology to the list of things the writers don't understand. Now that we're at school, Chloe's friendship with Adrien is next up on the chopping block.

Yep, despite being Adrien's only friend and making a big deal about valuing his friendship to the point where she threw a big party just to make sure he wouldn't leave her and risked cooperating with an Akuma to save him, now Chloe just sees Adrien as a rich meal ticket. Two of the earliest episodes to show Chloe had a more compassionate side to her, and they just undid them. Even as much as I hated the episode, “Felix” showed Chloe was willing to cooperate with Marinette and her friends just to find a way to cheer Adrien up on the anniversary of his mother's not-death.

For the love of God, Astruc, 1984 was supposed to warn people about what could happen if they rewrote the past, not encourage people to rewrite the past. He probably finished Animal Farm thinking Snowball really did work alongside the humans, didn't he?

Marinette comes up and Zoe pretends to hate her, leading Marinette to wonder why she did that. She texts Zoe (she gave her number to her earlier) and invites her to a concert on the Liberty, but Chloe finds out. Zoe thinks fast and pretends it's just so she can torment her more. Chloe then takes out a book listing all the ways she can torture Marinette. I wonder if this is a metaphor for the writing process behind most of the episodes last season.

Zoe decides to go outside for some fresh air, and Andre comforts her. Funny how Andre bends over backwards to give Chloe whatever she wants, yet he's willing to actually talk to Zoe like an actual parent. Andre tries to cheer Zoe up, but she talks about her past where she had to put on an act so she would be liked, but (bet you've never heard this before) she just wants to be accepted for who she truly is. The surge of emotions is enough for Shadowmoth to akumatize her into Sole Crusher.

In addition to having one of the most clever puns for an Akuma name, I actually like Sole Crusher's design. Not only is it a good excuse to reuse Chloe's character design, it makes sense thematically, as Chloe was trying to mold Zoe into a copy of herself. The gold and diamonds also make sense given Chloe's love for shiny things. Her powers tie into the bizarre belief Chloe has about stepping on the winners. Whenever Sole Crusher kicks or steps on someone, she absorbs them and gets progressively bigger, making it easier to do so. While it's not cracking my top ten anytime soon, it's still an interesting character design.

Sole Crusher heads to the hotel to get Chloe, and she manages to get away pretty quickly. Maybe in an alternate universe, she's a track star? For some reason, she runs to the Dupain-Cheng bakery and then... Oh my God... pushes Marinette's parents so they get absorbed by Sole Crusher, before trying to do the same with Marinette.

When has Chloe ever done something like that? Whenever she endangered someone during an Akuma attack, it was unintentional or a result of her naivety. She was only trapped in Pixelator's dimension because Adrien tried diving to save her, she only alerted Rogercop to Ladybug's presence because she eagerly called out for her, and during “Zombizou” she only tried to throw Sabrina towards the horde of kissing zombies once, and that was meant to highlight her growth. The only person to actually do stuff like this consistently is Lila, but I guess she got vaporized by Big Brother offscreen.

This episode is determined to make the audience hate Chloe by retconning everything about her character while portraying her as a complete monster. As bad as Chloe could get, she was never selfish enough to use anyone as a human shield. This kind of behavior honestly could be explained by saying Chloe was lashing out as a result of losing the Bee Miraculous permanently, but the events of the Season 3 finale aren't mentioned ONCE, not even in the next episode that introduces Queen Bee's replacement! How the hell can you set up the next Bee hero without explaining why the original needs to be replaced in the first place?! And trust me, I'm going to talk about Zoe replacing Chloe later.

Sole Crusher grabs Marinette in her hand, so the Horse Kwami, Kaalki, uses her power to teleport over to Adrien's house and inform him Ladybug needs help, meaning once again Adrien did nothing in this episode before becoming Cat Noir.

At the Liberty, Chloe offers more victims to Sole Crusher in the form of the band Kitty Section (consisting of Luka, Juleka, Rose, Ivan, and Mylene) and theatens the giant golden supervillain she can send her back to Paris, even though she's really not in a position to bargain right now. And she STILL continues to insult her. Do you hate Chloe yet? Come on, do you? The writers won't stop until you do.

After we see Sole Crusher's conflicted emotions, Marinette is set free by Cat Noir and transforms into Ladybug, immediately summoning her Lucky Charm, a shoehorn. They only learn Zoe's sneakers were where she were akumatized thanks to Chloe's ranting, so the episode unintentionally made Chloe save the day. Ladybug breaks into Le Grand Paris and breaks the sneakers where Zoe hid them, using the shoehorn to open a door. So Sole Crusher is de-evilized, Ladybug fixes the damage, and gives yet another charm to Zoe.

Afterwards, Zoe goes to the Liberty, apologizes for the act she put on, all while divulging to the audience her “tragic backstory”.

Of course, everyone welcomes her with open arms.

And right here is where the biggest problem I have with Zoe as a character. I normally hesitate to use this term given how often it gets thrown around when criticizing characters these days, but I really can't say anything else.

Zoe... is a Mary Sue.

For those who don't know, the term Mary Sue originated in a Star Trek fanfiction from 1973 satirizing several self-insert stories at the time. Most of these stories showed a beautiful young woman joining the crew of the Enterprise and immediately gaining the attention of the crew. Mary Sue parodied this character archetype by showing how much she was appreciated by Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock, the latter being driven to tears at her funeral despite his species being emotionless normally.

What does this have to do with Zoe? She has the exact same storyline as Mary Sue in the parody fanfiction. Her mere presence is enough to make Chloe act extremely out of character in an attempt to make her look better, and as soon as she apologizes while giving a frankly vague backstory, everyone just accepts her as their friend, and I mean everyone in the entire class. I'm sorry, but it just doesn't feel earned. Why was she bullied at her old school? What did her bullies have against her? What caused her to stop going along with her peers, and why did everyone turn against her? How the hell did the bullies who put cockroaches in another student's locker get no punishment while the victim was forced to transfer schools? It's an intentionally unclear backstory designed to make the audience feel sympathetic towards Zoe without actually doing anything else.

I want to ask anyone reading this who watched the episode a question: Outside of her backstory, what do we actually know about Zoe?

What is her personality like? She's nice? Socially awkward? We've never had a character like that in Miraculous Ladybug before! Sorry Marinette, Adrien, Juleka, Nathaniel, Mylene, and Marc, there's a new character with more personality than all of you combined!

What are her goals? She wants to be an actress? Great, but why? Even though there's no clear answer for why Marinette loves fashion, or why Alya loves journalism, or why Nino loves DJing, you can still see the passion in their lives when they do something related to their goals. Zoe only says she wants to be an actress, connecting it to her people pleaser backstory (and given how it ended, she must be a terrible actress), and in the next episode, she immediately gets the lead role in a student film.

When Mylene got the starring role in the movie in “Horrificator”, we at least got snippets of her acting skills in the same episode that established her desire to be an actress, which is also implied to be because she was inspired by her father in “The Mime”. She didn't just say she wanted to be an actress and got the leading role. She still had problems to overcome like her cowardice, which threw her own self-confidence into doubt. Here, Zoe just says she wants to be an actress, and is rewarded for no reason the very next episode.

Zoe basically exists only to be a foil to Chloe, and the writers had no idea what to do in terms of a personality, so they just dumped a bunch of extremely likable character traits onto her without thinking of how her character could come off. And like I said, she's a Mary Sue.

I'm not the only one who thinks this. I've seen a handful of posts on this very site calling Zoe a Mary Sue. In fact, I even asked another Tumblr user @anxresi​ to quote their take on Zoe being a Mary Sue, which I couldn't even top in terms of accuracy. They basically listed off five things that made Zoe a Mary Sue.

She has to have a ‘tragic backstory’ so all the other characters will fall in love with her. Usually within minutes, in the very first episode they’re introduced.

She has to have a supercute design so that the audience at home will fall in love with her. And if they don’t, they’re automatically dismissed as ‘haterz’ even if their objections are purely from a writing POV.

Her only flaw will be thinking too little of herself. “What, lil ol’ me as the Bee Miraculous holder? With my shyness, colorful shoes, chic beret and personalized pink strip in my hair? Gosh, who’d have thought it?”

The contrast to her half-sister will be a constant plot point, with Chloe always getting dumped on. “You see, kids? Bad things happen to bad people. But you see this super-sweet girl over here? She gets a free DAD. Instant FRIENDS. To star in her own MOVIE. The chance to be a SUPERHERO, even though she only arrived last week. Who cares if she has no depth, no personality and barely any reason for being in the show, apart from being a massive ‘Up Yours’ to all the Chloe fans out there?”

What about character development, Mr Generic Zag Guy? “Development? What’s that?! Zoe is already perfect as she is. The only ‘development’ she’ll receive is having her hair done in the first episode she’s introduced. Besides, That‘d’ word is banned here at Zag studios. Why do you think we abandoned Chloe’s stillborn arc so quickly? This is a KIDS show, why bother trying to create a complex character with more than one dimension?”

This is essentially who Zoe is. She's perfect, has no character flaws, has a cute design so the audience will love her already, and was designed only to replace Chloe as Queen Bee. That's all she is.

So the episode ends with Zoe feeling happy at all the new friends she made while we get one of the most blatant attempts of symbolism in the ending card I've ever seen.

See, look. While Marinette is happily talking with Zoe with the image of Ladybug next to them, Chloe is to the far left with an EVIL purple aura, showing how bad she is compared to how great Zoe is. Only a braindead moron would actually like Chloe over the super awesome and pretty Zoe!

I'll give my final thoughts on the episode in the next part where I analyze this plotline as a whole.

LINK TO “QUEEN BANANA” REVIEW

[talatomaz]

defenceless | jj x fem!teen!reader

a/n: i’ve been rewatching criminal minds and i can’t believe it’s been a year since i last wrote for jj. and i have no idea where this came from.

(feedback/positive comments are appreciated)

warnings: major references to blood/being stabbed. mentions of assault

word count: 2.7k

masterlist | request list | request rules

r is jj’s 19 year old adopted daughter and gets victimised after stopping an unsub from assaulting someone

i do not give you permission to repost or translate my fics on any platform - likes/reblogs are okay and are much appreciated

“Morning, baby.”

You smiled when your Mum came up behind you and softly kissed your head.

“Morning, Mum. I made you some breakfast.”

You said, pouring coffee into the seasoned profiler’s ‘No.1 Mom’ mug that you’d gotten for her several years ago.

You’d gifted it to her on the first Mother’s Day you had with her after she adopted you. And she used it that morning and every morning since.

“God, what’d I do to deserve a daughter like you?”

JJ said proudly as she dug into her breakfast, happily munching on a piece of toast as she looked through her case file. Whatever dark, horrific crime she and her team were investigating simplified down to a few pages in that brown file.

“Busy day?” You asked, leaning against the kitchen counter, staring across at her.

“You have no idea. I’ve been up for a few hours trying to compile some notes on this case we’re working. Young, relatively low-risk, women are being raped in alleyways and there are no witnesses.”

She explained as she continued to eat whilst scribbling shorthand notes on a notepad.

“Any ideas on who you’re looking for yet?”

She hummed in answer. Swallowing her food, she replied, “Yeah, I think we have a preliminary profile that we want to release to the public later today.”

Pouring the rest of her coffee into a travel cup, she put her files in her bag and placed it on the counter you were resting against.

“You got class today?”

You were studying criminology, wanting to follow in your mother’s footsteps and become a profiler.

Nodding, you answered, “Yeah, then some of my friends and I are gonna head to the mall. And yes, I’ll message you constantly, so you know.”

You added when your mother opened her mouth to presumably ask that very question.

“Thanks, sweetie. Whoever our unsub is, he’s targeting women your age and considering he’s probably here right now, I need to know you’re safe.”

“I know, Mum. Now go, you don’t want to be late for work. Hotch only lets you be late once, you know.” You smirked.

“Yes, I know. Bye, y/n. I love you.” Your mother mirrored your expression and kissed your cheek.

“I love you too.” You replied, handing your Mum her keys and you watched her leave as the white door closed gently behind her.

***

“Maybe just call him out on it and see what he says?”

You suggested to your friend, Kerri, after she explained her boyfriend troubles to you and your other friend, Ally.

“I mean, the worst that could happen is-”

You stopped mid-sentence when you heard a muffled scream. Furrowing your brows, you walked closer to where the sound came from; an alleyway behind an old warehouse.

Remembering your mother’s earlier profile, you whispered to your friends, “Stay behind me.”

“Y/N, what is it?”

“Not sure.”

Inching around the corner, you saw two figures behind a dumpster. The smaller figure, who appeared to be a blonde female, was struggling against the male standing over her.

“Hey! Get away from her!”

Shouting, you ran up to the two and watched as the man’s head whipped around to face you before he darted off, jumping over a fence.

Approaching the woman, you saw she was half naked and had blood seeping from her nose.

“Oh god. Call 911, she’s been assaulted.” You said quickly to your friends who stood behind you, shocked at what they had just witnessed.

Hearing Kerri following your instructions, you took off the jacket you were wearing and wrapped it around the exposed girl.

“H-He tried to r-r-”

Unable to form the words, the girl started to sob at her ordeal.

“I know. It’s okay, honey. What’s your name?” You asked, speaking quietly to try to calm her as if she was a spooked animal.

“A-Annie.” She choked out as she tugged your jacket closer around her.

“Annie, you’re safe now. He can’t hurt you.”

The former began to sob harder and fell against your chest. Wrapping one arm around her, you used the other to take out your phone to call your Mum.

“Shh, it’s okay, Annie. You’re okay.” You said, soothing the distraught girl who was currently crying her heart out against you.

“Hey, y/n, what’s up?”

After quickly explaining what had just transpired, JJ told you and your friends to remain where you were since you were all witnesses and that she’d be there soon.

“You did good, babygirl.”

Morgan said, handing you a cup of coffee.

You were currently sitting at your mother’s desk at the BAU, having already given your statement to both local police and your Mum’s team at the crime scene. Emily and Spencer had driven your friends home whilst you came with your Mum to her work - she refused to leave you alone, even though you’d argued that it was still daylight and you’d be fine.

You didn’t reply, deciding to sip the hot drink, wincing when it burned your tongue.

“He’s right, y/n. Most people probably wouldn’t have heard anything.”

You glanced up at your Mum who stood above you, her hand resting on your shoulder.

“What will happen now? To the unsub, I mean. I interrupted him so he never managed to rape Annie.”

“He’ll probably try to hurt someone else.”

You turned to face Hotch as he approached you and the rest of his team.

“I just got off the phone with the hospital. They’ve discharged Annie into the care of her parents. She wanted me to tell you ‘thank you’.”

“I’m glad she’s okay. Physically anyways. So, you think he’ll get sloppy? Since he never got to...finish, he’s probably going to be antsy right? He might make a mistake?” You asked, hopeful that your Mum would catch him soon.

“More than likely. He’s definitely going to be angry, especially since we’ve just released the profile along with the sketch you helped us with, y/n.” Hotch answered, a gleam of pride in his eyes.

“Anything I could do to help,” you replied.

Standing up, you faced your Mum, “I think I’m going to go home. I’m kind of exhausted.”

“I’ll drive you h-”

“It’s okay,” you interrupted your Mum, “you’re busy here and you’ve got a lot of work to do. Besides, it’s only mid-afternoon so I’ll be fine. I-I just need some air.” You said, your voice faltering when you felt tears forming.

Clearing your throat, you held back your emotions and kissed your Mum on her cheek, “I’ll message you when I get home.”

“Okay, baby. I’m proud of you.”

The tall blonde hugged you close to her which you returned with as much ferocity, her hands stroking your hair as she cradled your head against her.

Bidding your goodbyes to the rest of the team, you left the federal building.

“JJ, you okay?” Morgan asked.

JJ had heard the emotion in your voice and though she was proud to have seen you comforting the most recent victim, it had hurt her heart to see what came after the ambulance drove away with an injured Annie in the back.

Once you’d given your statement and described the unsub to her and her team, she’d followed you to her old vacant office from her media liason days where you’d broken down.

She had watched you hold yourself together by a thread all throughout the questioning but had known that the adrenaline high would crash soon. And you quite literally did crash. In her arms, the moment she had closed the door behind her.

She had fought back her own tears as she gathered you into her arms, soothing you as you did earlier with Annie.

She’d tried as hard as she could to keep you away from her world.

She didn’t want you to be exposed to any more darkness than you’d already experienced when you were younger, before you’d met her.

“JJ?”

The blonde blinked, breaking away from her thoughts to stare back at the rest of the team.

“She did good, JJ.” Morgan repeated as JJ simply nodded, not knowing what to say.

***

Taking out your phone, you sent a message to your group chat with Kerri and Ally, wanting to make sure they were okay.

After receiving replies from the both of them confirming that they were fine and just a bit shaken up, you placed your phone back in your pocket.

Sighing, you continued walking down the relatively empty street; the majority of people either at work or school, unaware of what had happened just a few hours earlier.

You thought about Annie and later crying in your Mum’s arms. You didn’t even know why you did. Spencer probably would have given you some fact about adrenaline crashes but you shook your head, feeling self-conscious.

There was no need for you to break down like that.

All it achieved was your Mum being worried about you which was the last thing you wanted because it meant she’d be distracted from doing her job. Catching this asshole.

Hands in your pockets, you felt the bright sun shine down on your face.

Stopping for a brief moment, you glanced up at the sky, and allowed yourself to breathe.

As you were about to carry on walking, you felt a harsh grip on your arm pull you into an abandoned parking lot.

You thrashed against the strong hold, the self-defence skills your Mum taught you kicking in.

Stomping on the large figure’s foot, you smirked at the grunt of pain that fell from his lips. Then you elbowed them in their stomach and threw your head back into theirs. Hearing more shouts of pain, you started to run before you were roughly pushed against a brick wall.

Your breaths came out in heavy pants and your eyes widened as you stared into familiar eyes.

It was the unsub.

He held himself tight against you, pulling a switchblade from his pocket and into your view. Your eyes flickered from the sharp blade to his eyes. They were filled with fury as blood dripped from his nose - from when you’d head butted him.

“Good. So you recognise me.” His voice was hoarse, as if he’d swallowed a bunch of nails.

“What do you want?” You spat out, refusing to show any indication of fear to him.

“You ruined the other girl for me. But you seem like a challenge. I like that.”

Pressing the knife against your neck, he used his free hand to undo his belt.

You barely controlled the terror that threatened to rise through your body. Instead, you tried to focus on the pressure of his weapon, waiting for a slight reprieve where you could make your move to escape.

That moment came when he unzipped his trousers.

The pressure lightened for a few seconds which was all you needed.

Grabbing his wrist, you twisted the knife away from you and kneed him in the groin. Pushing him away, you stumbled, trying to escape.

But he was quick on his feet.

He swiftly picked up the knife that had fallen to the floor and thrust it into your stomach.

You groaned, the pain unlike anything you had ever experienced before. Your hand instinctively went to your stomach as blood started to coat your clothing.

You slumped down the wall as the unsub crouched down, sneering at you, “Bitch.”

Tapping the ground behind you, you felt a piece of broken glass in your fingers. Gripping it tightly, you gathered all your strength and plunged it into his neck.

He yelled out, his hand going to the glass that was still in his flesh.

Recognising what he was about to do, you clambered to your feet and watched as he pulled the shard, of what appeared to be from a broken beer bottle, out of his skin. Blood splatted all over the wall that you had been against, just moments before.

Blood continued to seep out from your wound.

You took off your jacket - the one you had previously wrapped around Annie - and pressed it against your skin. You groaned at the white hot pain that seared through your skin.

Knowing you were only down the street from the Quantico building, you took out your phone and called your Mum as you walked, as well as you could in your condition, back to the federal building.

“You home already?”

“M-Mum, c-come outside. I-I need you.” You choked out, trying to steady your breathing.

“Y/N? Are you okay?”

You could hear her shouting to the rest of her team before she continued to talk into the phone.

You made it to the entrance of the federal building but you were too overcome with exhaustion and you felt yourself drop to the floor.

You could hear shouts from the people around you as they watched blood pool around you.

“Oh my god. Y/N!”

You heard your Mum yell as she fell to your side, pressing her hands heavily against your wound.

You barely heard as Hotch called 911, stating his name and rank and urged for an ambulance to be sent immediately.

You struggled to keep your eyes open as you looked up at your Mum.

“Come on, baby. Stay awake for me.” JJ begged, tears carelessly running down her face.

“It hurts, Mum.”

“I know, baby. I know. But you’re strong. Stay with me. How’d this happen?”

JJ knew the only way to keep you awake was to continue talking so your brain could still remain active.

“H-He’s dead. He attacked me. I-In a car park. Down there.”

You weakly raised your hand and pointed towards the direction you had come from.

“Good girl. Just stay with me. You’re going to be okay. Y/N? Y/N!”

JJ screamed when she watched your eyes flutter closed as you lost consciousness.

***

“Woah, y/n. It’s just me.”

JJ said quickly when you jumped as she came up behind you to kiss your head.

It had been a few weeks since you’d been stabbed.

You’d woken up in a hospital, hooked up to all sorts of machines monitoring your heart rate. Your eyes had fallen on your mother who, once she saw you were awake, started to cry and hug you close to her. That then made you start crying and the two of you were just a pile of tears as you clung to each other.

After the tears had stopped and the doctors had checked up on you, JJ had told you that they’d found the unsub in a parking lot a few blocks from the BAU.

A couple of days after, you’d been discharged from the hospital. Your mother had stayed by your side up until this week when you had urged her to go back to work.

That had led you to now. She’d just arrived home from work and you hated that you were still on edge after your attack, despite your Mum telling you it was normal.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, honey.” JJ said softly as she came to sit beside you on the sofa.

You both sat in silence for a few moments before you spoke, your voice coming out in a whisper.

“I’m scared, Mum.”

You felt her eyes on you as she spoke, “Scared? He’s dead, y/n. He can’t hurt you.”

“I know, I just-In that moment when I fought him, I was so defenceless. And I’m scared of what will happen the next time I can’t defend myself.”

You continued, tears welling in your eyes as you stared ahead, unable to face your mother.

“Y/N,” JJ gently turned your face so she could look into your eyes.

“Am I defenceless?”

You blinked, having not expected that question. “What? No.”

“Exactly. I’m not. But I felt like it after I was kidnapped and tortured a few years ago. It’s normal to feel like that, y/n. But it’ll pass. I can promise you that.”

“It’s like I can feel him stabbing me over and over again.” You choked out, failing to force your tears back down.

“Oh, baby.”

JJ gently pulled you to her as she wrapped her arms around your body. She cradled your head against her chest as you clung to her arms, now sobbing.

“I got you, y/n. You’re safe. I got you.” She repeated, soothing you as you continued to cry.

Still hugging you against her, she kissed your head,

“As long as you have me, you’ll never be defenceless.”

[hollyhomburg]

Are you going to Stay?

(Fuckboy! Jungkook x Reader) (Idol au) (Soulmate Au)

Summary: It’s been a year since he last saw you, and every day he misses you more. It was only a matter of time until he turned up at your door asking for another chance.

Tags: angst with a happy ending, best friends to lovers, Themes of unhealthy coping mechanisms, sexual tension, emotional intimacy, physical intimacy, brief sexual scenes, Jungkook really loves the reader's thighs, Touch starved Jungkook, Mentions of hookups, talks of love languages, alcohol mention, Jungkook is intoxicated for most of this.

W/c: 6.4k

Song rec: Jk- Still with you 

A/N: there is a lot of time jumps in this where Jungkook is thinking through his memories while drunk, so if it sounds confusing that's the point. this is really near and dear to my heart- I wrote the bulk of this in one hour after listening to jungkook’s song still with you. it is directly inspired by that song. A lot of the dialogue in this story is based on things that have been said to me or I’ve said to others- so yeah- hope you like this self-indulgent story! 

“Of course I’ll never turn you away- but…do me a favor Jungkook, and don’t come back until you’ve decided what you want from me.”

One year. It’s been a little more than one year since he’s seen you and still- the last words you said to him haunt him as he walks through the rainy streets of Seoul. His fellow strangers on the sidewalk giving him a few weird looks for not having an umbrella.

He pulls up his facemask a little more, the bucket hat soaked through to his hair. The cold rain feels good against the back of his neck- the contact startling. Maybe Jungkook’s just too touch starved to make the right choices right now. Maybe its because he only wants someone to touch him if it’s you.

It didn’t always use to be that way. before he’d met you; he’d regularly needed a more sexual outlet for all his frustration, excess energy, and stress. It was healthy right? To need that? To want a connection without any strings in his line of work. 

Jungkook is a truthful person, and he stays that way by only ever lying to himself.  

When it rains in Seoul- it’s one of the few times that it ever feels quiet. The air pinning down the smoke and the smog, leaving space for the longing to clog up his lungs and spill out red on his tongue. Memories of you, the way you’d felt in his arms, your smile- your everything.  So many months without you and Jungkook can’t help but miss you a little more with every moment that passes.  

Some nights he gets restless like this and can’t help but walk and walk and hope his feet didn’t lead him to your door. Sure- at least half of the year that he hadn’t seen you had been because of the tour and the comeback schedule. But the last few months were his fault. He hadn’t had the courage to text you or pop up at your door. His stubbornness mixed with guilt, or something else entirely- a different sort of longing for someone you missed having, but had never really had in the first place.

Jungkook is great at lying to himself. That hasn’t changed in the last year.

Back then Jungkook had been too much of a coward to tell you how he felt. And so he was left out here- standing in the rain wallowing and wondering what could have been. 

You’d been best friends this time last year.

You’d been his one secret hideaway from his idol life, someone to drink with and sneak onto roofs and watch the stars with. A piece of the youth that he’d never had, but more than that too- something entirely new. How many times had you said, “it’s never too late to be a kid.” and never judged him for turning up at your door and needing a hug. 

Your entire relationship was some sort of reclamation for him, a better future found than the one he faced now. Going out sometimes, always worried about being spotted, never really having fun. Always looking for something better when he knew he wouldn’t find it. When he knew all he really wanted was to go back in time before he fucked it up with you.

You were his emergency contact; his someone to turn too on a bad day, or when he got too drunk at a club and couldn’t call management because he didn’t want to get in trouble. His drunken self that always wanted to see you- to drink in your laugh like a shot that made his knees weak. Your care, so freely given better than any party or hook up.

The countless times you’d taken him home to your apartment and given him a pair of soft pajamas and dealt with his drunken happy babbling about everything- always asking him about the places he’s seen and what one been his favorite. sometimes fooling him with shots of water just so that he’d get some liquid in him. his relentless pressuring for you to take a sip too- just to know the sweet truth- that your lips had touched the same spot his had. 

Jungkook is a fool when he’s in love. He tells himself he would have let your friendship go on forever if it meant never losing you. 

“What do you mean you don’t like New York!?” you’d asked, looking down at him with his head in your lap. Jungkook trying to resist turning over to nuzzle his head into your thighs- you’d always had such pretty thighs- the kind that look like they’d keep the memory of his fingers like memory foam if he squeezed hard enough. He wants to sleep on them. And he’s dangerously close to waking drunken poetic about them- marshmallows or clouds or just- fluffy.

He’s whiney when he answers but you don’t look bothered you only look endeared, helplessly swallowed by a wave of affection. “The buildings are too tall there and the city isn’t colorful enough- I love how Seoul just goes on and on and on, I could walk it forever if I wasn’t worried about being followed.”

He still loved how the neon lights looked in the puddles of the rain, the color bleeding everywhere with nowhere to go. The way he sees it now crossing a street in front of a makeup shop, the neon lights blinking red even though it’s closed.

But in every pink and red he can’t help but see your lips- your favorite shade of lipstick that you’d been wearing when you’d given him a key to your apartment. you were strange like him- there were some things you never liked wearing out of the house and that shade was one of them. No matter how many times he told you it looked nice, you'd always rub it off with a makeup wipe before you left. 

He remembers looking down at your house key, and the little keychain with a fluffy black ball attached at the end of it, heart-shaped. “I thought you didn’t like me popping around like a stray puppy?”

You laughed at that “you’re more like a stray pure-breed from the west minster dog show that I’ve kidnapped- but you should take it anyway- I know you like to get away sometimes- and it beats having to wait for me to come home right?”

He’s got the keychain and key in his pocket now- he rarely ever takes it out of his bag. And he fiddles with it in his pocket- the softness no less soothing then it was at the beginning. He rarely ever leaves the house without it- he tells himself it’s his good luck charm but he knows it’s because he wants to fools himself. Jungkook can’t be himself unless he has a piece of you. 

Maybe that's what soulmates are. People that you voluntarily give a piece of you, to keep it safe. 

He’s so lost in his memories that Jungkook almost tips his shoulder into someone passing by- narrowly avoiding getting thrown into the street as a result. Is it the several shots he’s downed that make him clumsy? Or the way that thoughts of you fill his head and leave no room for things as simple as the pull of gravity. Is it the memory of you that makes him shake- or the fact that he’s had too much caffeine and hasn’t slept in days?

Someone sitting in a cafe looks up and does a double-take, but he’s already moved on by the time they’ve lifted up their phone. The best they get is a picture of his back disappearing around the corner. He wonders if they’re going to type on some message board tonight “I think I saw an idol walking around in the rain, I wonder what could be on his mind?”

He remembers your words the day after your first kiss.“Do you ever wonder if we’re soulmates that met in a different lifetime? Or that we met a lifetime too soon?”

He’d tilted his head to the side, not understanding what you meant. You’d told him you were too drunk to remember the kiss the night before. But the way you’re looking at him now it almost seems like you do- but just didn’t want to tell him. How could you be worried you’d been too forward when he was the one who had initiated it? 

“Never mind Kookie- I’m so tired I’m getting philosophical, we should go home before it gets any later.”

Jungkook’s soul is certainly searching for something now, the world spins for a moment, and he loses track of where he is- the same way he’d lose track of you all those months ago. Those few miss begotten kisses like a wrong turn made on a highway- because he hadn’t been ready for something sensual, something soft and lingering like you’d been wanting.

The night that you’d gotten a little too close, your lips wet and hot and sticky with sweet drinks against each other. You crashing onto your bed with a giggle, so trashed. Jungkook helping you take your pants off because you could barely see straight, and it wasn’t sexual at all- when he paused to kiss the leading line of your knee. At least not the way that he’s used to. This is loving.

He’d kissed you up to your underwear. You squeal in surprise when he bits into your thigh a little bit. Teeth sinking into the skin he always wanted to touch and grab. Unable to stop his hands from grabbing fistfuls of your skin, so sweet and soft. You giggle when he does, his fingers hitting a sensitive spot and making your leg jerk out and almost kick him- too ticklish. “God I’ve been waiting so long to do this”

He’d uttered and whatever words you’d been about to say die in your throat. Suddenly a little less eager then you’ve been before. “Can we go slow?”

“Of course baby” Jungkook nods, and you don’t end up going any further that night, or at least any further than some heavy petting and making out. “God it’s almost 4am- we should sleep” both of your lips chapped red. and Jungkook feels like he can’t function without his lips pressed to your skin, nips at your neck, and your throat as you trail your hands up and down the back of his neck. All over. He feels and smells you all over and it’s driving him crazy.

Eventually, you wind down. Jungkook stretched out on top of you, his hips in-between your legs with only a few layers of thin fabric separating you. His ear pressed to your heart to listen to it. His body jelly finally sated to be so close to you. Your words are shy and scared in the darkness. His arousal burns low- and it’s not the most important thing- not in the slightest. 

“When I wake up, are you going to still be here Jungkook?” you had to ask- because he’s told you all of his tells before. You know his m.o. even if you’ve never seen it in person. you know that he never stays the night after hookups. had looked over one too many text messages of girls calling him an asshole, begging you to tell him how to respond. 

“I’ll stay,” he says, and at that moment- he swears he never felt a hit of the icky fear of being not enough. Curled up with you he’s not afraid of your relationship falling apart, you hating him, or you not wanting this. Every reason why he’d never stayed the night after hooking up before, invalid because he’s with you- someone he loves.  this wasn’t just another hookup; he loves you.

“Promise you won't?”

“I promise.”

And then in the morning, when he’d woken up with a pounding head and found you curled up next to him. Horror filling him but of course- you’d been drunk too. You have a few hickeys on your neck and he checks himself in the bathroom mirror afraid for a moment before he sees that luckily- his skin is unscathed. The fear- the worry, everything crashing down on him as he watches you asleep in your bed, relaxed and peaceful.

Jungkook isn’t a relationship person- he’s never been in one that didn’t end in his heart being broken. He can’t be- his love with you wasn’t supposed to start this way- not after another drunken night. Like so many, he’s had before in the past that have ended poorly. 

He doesn’t know where to go from here besides leaving. He’d even told you once “I don't think I could ever start a relationship after just- hooking up. like how do show someone the most vulnerable parts of you and then expect them to love you.” 

He leaves, starts the schedule for the day feeling terrible, the others asking why he looks so upset, why he’s snappy. After practice, he checks his phone. Finding only a single text from you; ‘you promised me Jungkook’ and nothing else. And he hates it- hates everything- because he wants to love you- he really does. But maybe a part of him doesn’t know how to love safely without ruining himself in the process.

Maybe that’s all that it was, love. The whole thing falling apart if you aren’t willing to love a person in the way that they want to be loved. Or maybe it’s less premeditated than that. He thinks about love languages, about how you’re supposed to give and receive love.

Though you’d already had the right kind of intimacy. You’d need a little more time then he’d been willing to give you. You’d told him that the next time you’d seen him. And you’d spent a few weeks pretending nothing was wrong when everything felt awkward suddenly. And by the time you were ready to adjust- Jungkook had convinced himself that you didn’t mean anything to him.

The time that you said you’d been going out to meet with one of your male coworkers and wouldn’t be able to hang out that night. Jealousy stinging Jungkook’s heart like a beestings- and for the first time in months he’d gone out looking for a hookup.

The hickeys you’d seen low on his hips the next day when he’d stretches up and you’d barked out “what the fuck is that” scalding and angry. Jungkook shrugging it off like it didn’t mean anything. The words he’d said haunt him in the hours of the night when he can’t sleep and only the hum of the air conditioner can hear the words he wishes he had said. If only to save you the disappointment of thinking he was a different person than he is.

“You went out with that guy last night- so why can’t I have a little fun?”

“He’s my coworker Jungkook you can’t honestly think- oh- I get it- you were jealous.”

Jungkook spluttering, rebuking your claim with a roll of his eyes, “there isn’t anything to get jealous over. We’re not trying to be in a relationship anymore.”

“That’s not what you said last-”

“Well I changed my mind” but he hadn’t not really- he would never change his mind about you he was only being stubborn.

“What do you mean you changed your mind Jungkook- you were the one who wanted this.”

“But I didn’t expect you’d be so clingy, and we can’t always be together and I just- I have needs and you can’t fill all of them” you flinch back, and Jungkook instantly wishes he hadn’t said the words. Because they were a lie- a lie meant to hurt. If anything he was the clingy one. He just- he couldn’t let it go.

“So you fucked up a perfectly good friendship because you were just lonely? I’m not one of your hookups- we’re supposed to be friends Kookie.”

His heart dropping, “you mean we’re not that anymore?”

“I never wanted anything with you if it meant jeopardizing that” and then him- unable to stop himself from asking you. “Are we still friends?”

“of course Mookie, I think I just need some time to think…you should go Jungkook.”

The first conversation you’d ever had about it is what he remembers too. “Do you think I’m a bad person?” your snort enough of an answer as you take a swig of the bottle of Soju. His hand splayed on the towel that you’d lied down so that the roof tar didn’t stain your clothes. “of course not.”

“Even when I’m…” this makes him uncomfortable even to talk about.

“The problem you started with? People who hook up and pretend that there aren’t any feelings involved but in reality, the denying of feelings tells you enough about how they feel. You wouldn’t have to stop yourself from getting closer to people if they didn’t matter to you- and if you weren’t afraid.”

Your shoulder had been so close- he’d been able to lean his head there. He remembers how good it had felt when you’d combed your fingers through his hair. (if he likes your thighs then you like his hair).  So much better than any hook up he might have had tonight. In truth- he’d been halfway to some girl's apartment when he’d called it off- and decided to go to your place instead.

Sure- you might not give him the exact kind of physical closeness that he was craving, but he loves the head pets, the way you’ll play with his hands. Like his hands are an extension of yourself, the motion so automatic like you barely realized you were doing it. 

He always left your place feeling more like himself. With everyone else, it felt like he had to fight to get himself understood, had to dilute or distill his words so that they’d get it, but somehow you were always on the same page. “I wouldn’t be too worried Kookie, you’ll grow out of it eventually.”

“You sure?” he’s so relaxed- he almost feels like he’s going to fall asleep against your shoulder. He shifts a little restless, turning so he can press his body against the line of your legs. Curling into your warmth.

“Yeah, I grew out of it too.” with anyone else- that sentence would feel patronizing. But with you- it was just comforting.  

How wrong he was- even now- you were all he could think about. Maybe that’s why somehow he ends up at your door. no- that’s not right-  The reason why he walks to your house right now, a year after the last time he’s seen you was because he’d released that song today- the one about you and missing you.

Of course, he couldn’t stop himself from checking in on you- still knew the username to all your old accounts. Enough to go and check if you’d commented on his song- and you had- a single broken heart emoji. Whether you meant for him to find it- he didn’t know. The fact that you still checked upon him the same way he checked up on you. That was enough for him to need to start drinking.

Your door is the same as it was back then, your slides sitting on the stoop- just inside the small alcove to keep them out of the rain. Your small house tucked into a side street. One of the last few in Seoul that wasn’t a complex- because you’d wanted a yard outback. You’re home, the light from the windows spilling like honey out into the wet street. You’d said that you’d never turn him away. So Jungkook steals himself and knocks, quiet. Ready for it to go unanswered because it’s so late.

You don’t look much different either when you open the door, hair shiny and dry like you’ve just blow-dried it already in your pajamas. “Jungkook!? What are you- your shoes are soaking wet! You’re soaking wet! Come inside before you catch a cold” it’s true- he must have stepped in a few puddles on his walk here. his chunky shoes slosh when he steps into your entryway.

In a moment all of your shock and apprehension melting away. And you’re fussing over him like its only been a few days since you’ve seen him and not a year. Your hands pushing his jacket off his shoulders. His mouth dry for a moment before the words tumble out again. 

“I miss you- I miss you so fucking much and it hurts. Can we talk? Please I-” your hands freeze where you’re popping his soaking jacket into your drier. Hands suddenly hovering on your counter.

Your house is just as bright and well-loved as Jungkook remembers it. Some days he lives more in those happy memories than he does in the present. The countless hours you’d spent on your couch, teaching Jungkook how to cook a little better in your kitchen. Even now- something sweet bakes in the oven, fresh bread or some other baked goods

Hours spent in your little nook in the corner taking personality quizzes on the Internet just to pass some times. The love languages quiz. “I think it's bullshit that they don’t consider food as a love language- because I love cooking for the people I love.” 

and Jungkook blushing and finishing his quiz in peace, finding out that his love language was physical affection too, tied with quality time. But that didn’t matter- the only thing he could think about was your love language. You love to cook for people you love, and he’s unable to stop listing all of the times that you’d cooked for him in his head. Nearly once a week at least.

Did that mean you loved him? You hover near that spot now. The first time that Jungkook had ever truly realized you were both falling in love.

Now that he’s not in the rain you can tell that he’s crying. His eyes bloodshot and red like he’s been doing it for hours. You reach out cupping his cold cheek with your warm hand and rubbing the moisture away. Is it a tear or just some rain? You can’t tell. And Jungkook’s whole body shivers at the contact, so sweet, he can’t help but teeter, almost falling into you as he tries to lean into it. 

Maybe he’s drunker than he thinks.

“I think you should shower first- you’re shaking Kookie- you need to warm up.” he nods quietly and lets you be his benevolent puppetmaster as you make him take off his pants soaking and stuck to his legs, leaving them with his shoes and jacket. Leading him to your bathroom. You tell him to leave his shirt and boxers outside so you can put them in the drier too.

You’d always been so good with this- ready to baby him and heal his woes whenever he’d come to you after a particularly bad day. Before he’d had you, he’d supplemented his usual bad habit with a hook up to sate his need to be self-destructive.  A month into your friendship he’d stopped because by then he’d only needed you. You’d patched him up when he’d been feeling hurt- without him ever having to hurt himself.

Compared to you, everyone else was just a fling, But they’d started out as first loves. Women that never gave him more than a few nights and left him broken-hearted when he got too attached too quickly. He’d been hurt a few too many times by the fact that they never stayed and spent the night. 

He’d convinced himself that was just how it went. Don’t get too attached, don’t get too personal and cuddle because no one wants to be that close to someone they barely know. He told himself to be satisfied with the closeness he got through sex even if he was vaguely aware that wasn’t what he really needed or wanted. 

And then one day he’d gotten up and realized that he was the one breaking their hearts- all because he didn’t want to get close to anyone anymore. Not in the way that meant being truly intimate. That was too much of a risk for his fragile heart.

True intimacy was the kind he’d had with you. You’d never needed to sleep together to cuddle him no- Jungkook just had to turn up at your door and you’d be ready to give him all of the physical contact he needs. Enough to stop feeling like he was about to jump out of his skin. 

That was what the love language quiz had told you what your love language way- physical affection, a love that Jungkook was always eager to receive.

The shower is warm and exactly what he needs. He walks out of it smelling like you; his heart hurting in such a keen way- everything in your bathroom familiar and new. The times you’d let him shower here, once after getting caught out in the rain with you (a literal downpour, eventually you’d gotten too soaked and just settled for being goofy, sloshing in puddles in the park, spinning around underneath a lit lamp singing a bad rendition of singing in the rain, spilling your bottle of soju with little regard for who might think it propper.)

A whole day he’d spent kneeling on this tiled floor after one bad night, holding back your hair when you were puking. Jungkook berating himself for his choices because He’d taken you to a bad club in Gangnam, and you were worried someone had tried to slip something into your drink- no other reason why you’d be puking like this. 

He’d apologized profusely, got you chocolate-covered strawberries as a thank you. Not knowing that you where allergic. “why the fuck did you eat them if this was going to happen” you were whiney, cheeks all puffy and red- lips a little swollen too. Gesturing for Jungkook to hand you the ice pack already, the itchiness getting to you.

“Cuz they looked really good and you were being sweet.” He slaps your hands away and holds the icepack to your cheek, moving it around every few seconds. Your eyes fluttering in relife. You’d spent the afternoon like that- Jungkook holding the icepack to your cheek watching a drama on your couch. it was the least he could do- after maybe inadvertently getting you drugged and giving you an allergic reaction. 

And still- next week you’d responded to his texts. He’d been ready for you to leave him after that, but no- you still called him your friend.  

While he takes a shower you put his clothes in the drier. Your heart humming because- he’s back. He’s actually come back. You never really expected him to stay away for so long- not more than a week at least. But then you’d heard the news of the tour and just assumed he couldn't. And you think through all the text messages you'd almost sent him asking for him to meet up for dinner or something but in the end. you’d been too worried that he would turn you down- that he really didn't care anymore. 

Your hands feel something in the pocket of his pants. you still - pulling it out not really believing it- but it’s your key. The key you’d given him hoping he would stay in your life. and seeing it- knowing he’s kept it with him all this time. you grip the edge of the counter, trying not to cry. 

When he gets out of your shower he finds an old set of his own pajamas there- probably left here at one point or another. He brings them up to his nose to inhale a deep breath, and they smell like you too. The simple joggers and black shirt- you must have worn them. Did you curl up in them on the nights that you missed him most? Did you even miss him? You’d never said it back at the door.

When Jungkook pads out into the living room, you’re sitting on the couch- head in your hands, a towel in yours, you jolt up when you see him. And your expression is unreadable as you gesture for him to sit in front of you. “I’m going to dry your hair” 

The clearly communicated intent makes Jungkook’s whole body tingle, his touch starved ness already making a reappearance- always wanting more and more. He sits, tipping his head forward so you have access to all of his hair, his eyes on the couch, and your crossed legs. They aren’t as plush as they once looked. In the past year, you’ve lost a little weight and he wonders if that’s because of him.

His whole body shaking as you bring the towel up and through his hair, drying it this way and that. Eventually leaning his cheek against your clothed thigh, before he jolts up. Catching himself with an arm out behind you. He looks up, and your breath hitches when you see his arms, the way they’ve grown over the past year.

He knows he’s put on muscle since the last time you’ve seen him and it makes the tiniest bit of pride well up in his chest to know he’s impressed you. It only lasts for a moment before you keep drying his hair looking down at your hands a sour feeling rising up in both of you. Like you’re both suddenly realizing how much you’ve changed in the last year. 

Your bodies might be strangers- but your souls aren’t. Even after all this time, not a single silence is awkward.

“Don’t want you to get a cold,” you say softly, and Jungkook only makes a small noise to let you know the message is received. He’s happy to be on the receiving end of your affection. After so long without any intimate contact, he needs it like he needs air. You continue in silence for a moment before Jungkook lists forward so hard that his head ends up pressed to your collarbone, his forehead warm against your skin. You don’t flinch back.

“Why are you being so kind to me? The last time I was here- I wasn’t- I never treated you well” his voice is broken and wavering. The darkness of the cloth concealing the fact that he’s crying again, but you can feel his tears against your skin anyway.

“I’ll always patch you up Kookie. And you did treat me well, maybe not the way I wanted to be treated- but you never treated me terribly.” That’s a little debatable, but Jungkook isn’t about to convince you not to forgive him for being an asshole.

“Will there ever be a way to go back?” it’s the one thing he’d been unable to stop himself from wondering- if there was a way to repair what you’d had. And he dreads the answer now almost more than not knowing. You bite your lip, folding your hands over your chest, leaving the towel hanging over Jungkook’s head like some kind of veil. Facing each other cross-legged on your old couch while the rain patters on outside.

“I never hated you Kookie- you’re still my best friend. Maybe we fight, and yeah it’s been a while. But at the end of the day, your soul still fits mine.”

He gulps audibly, hands reaching out to touch yours, you marvel for a second, eyes tracking over his new tattoos. He hadn’t had those the last time you’d seen them- you’d seen them on the Internet, of course, it was hard not to check up on him. 

“Do you remember what you said to me in that cafe that day?” his voice is low, as thick as the color that bleeds onto the wet asphalt outside. While in here you’re in a bubble cozy and safe. Out of time and out of place.

Your eyes are heavy-lidded, as he gets more brazen with his touches, fingers rubbing up and down your forearms. You make noise in agreement. “Soulmates that met too early.” your eyelashes flutter against your cheek- it is late- and you look as tired as Jungkook should feel where it not for the caffeine in his system- but the shower did a good job of calming him down.

His words feel thick as he swallows, “what if that lifetime is now?” your eyes shoot open. And you’re about to say something when Jungkook jumps in. “I miss you. I miss you so bad that I think it breaks my heart sometimes.”

“Jungkook” it's just his name, but the way it sounds on your mouth- Jungkook would follow that call anywhere. He slumps forward, leaning his head against your shoulder, and you smell so good. He can’t help but turn his head to nuzzle into your neck; you don’t stop him- you don’t even flinch in fact. 

You relax more- like you were waiting for him to lean into you. Hands coming up to encircle his shoulders and pull him in for a hug. “You missed me- but what do you want me to do?”

“Say you miss me too- say it's not too late. Say we have a chance.” your hands are gentle as they come up to run through his still-damp hair, “say it’s another lifetime and we can be soulmates again.”

“Are you going to stay?” you ask instead. You realize your miss-step, Jungkook sits up and you wish he didn’t so he wouldn’t see the blush on your cheeks. “stay the night I mean-” you swallow, “do you want to sleep here?”

“Yes” he flicks his hair out of his face, “if that’s okay?” both of you pretend that you mean only tonight. Even though you know- you both know what you meant.

His hair is drying curler and longer now. “You’re drunk Kookie- you should sleep. We can talk properly in the morning.”

Jungkook knows you’re probably just saying that because you want a little more time- but that’s okay. In the past year, he’s learned to be patient. And if you need the night to think it over- if you need the whole week or month. He’ll give it. “Okay,” he says, tilting his face up to look at you smiling. 

“I’m not making any promises Jungkook- we have a lot to work through to get back to how we were”

“I know,” he says, but still can’t stop smiling, letting out a watery little giggle, and damn his cute doe eyes and his easy smile- because you can’t help but think he’s the cutest thing. This boy that looks hard on the outside but isn’t anything more than the squishiest romantic when you get to know him, who turned up at your door and told you everything you’d been hoping for the second he’d walked out your door.

“I can wait as long as you need to wait, I’ll be okay as long as we just talk again. I missed you so so much” he’s definitely drunk; maybe it just took a little while for the shots to hit him.

You get him a blanket and a pillow and he sleeps on the couch and he might let his lips brush along the outside of your when you reach down to run your fingers through his hair again but you don’t pull away. A look on your face like it pains you to leave him on the couch. But those little acts of love were never out of place back when you used to talk every day. And you can’t bring it to yourself to scold him for such a blatant act of intimacy when it makes your heart flutter.

There had been a few times near the end. when Jungkook had let himself in with your key and crawled into bed with you. And you’d always woken up before him, had breakfast and something planned for the day- someplace you wanted to explore and Jungkook ready to company you anywhere and everywhere. 

He waits and watches the light underneath your door until it winks out and you go to sleep too. And he might wake in the middle of the night thinking bout crawling into bed with you but he knows enough to give you your space. His heart brimming with the possibility of more- more everything.

It’s worth it in the morning. Jungkook dreams about the love languages. Your words again ‘preparing food should be considered a love language.’ when he wakes in the morning the rain has stopped. Your porch doors open to your small back yard to let in the city sounds. The mist clearing over the rooftops, the smell of rain on the wet earth musky and sweet, quiet, and relaxing.

He smells eggs and French Toast, hears your soft humming in the kitchen. It’s Your love language to cook for those you love. And he knows somehow that you still love him when he hears the oil frying in the pan, the smell of cinnamon and sugar there too. everything sweet and nothing hurting.  

A single tear drifts down his cheek. And he’s unable to stop smiling, even if he is half-asleep, unable to open his eyes even. He falls back asleep and wakes to the feeling of your fingers running through his hair.  

There will be other times, when Jungkook can hop up from your bed and join you in the morning, back hugging you and peppering little kisses along your shoulder. Hands slipping under the edge of your shirt to squeeze at the ticklish spot on your hips. Or the small kisses he’ll press to your sleeping cheek when he has to leave early in the morning. Or the mornings when he’ll wake to you still in his arms kissing down his chest. 

Countless mornings, days into the future when things will be easier. And even if they're not easy, Jungkook knows trying with you is worth it. Now that he’s lived without you- he will do anything to stay by your side. For Now, he’s happy to sleep off his hangover dimly aware of the sound of you moving around your house. 

For a second, it almost feels like you’ve bent down, the warmth spilling across his face, the faint brush of your lips on his cheek. He tells himself it’s just a dream.  

Jungkook is good at lying to himself. 

Kofi

(if you want to find out your love language; here is a simple quiz to find out!) 

[hello-yue-here]

thank you @chiptrillino for tagging me in a wip game!

not quite sure what the rules are but based off of your AMAZING POST OF ART WIPS (check it out here yall chip is so talented) ive decided to just share some parts of my writing wips that i rlly like because i cannot draw whatsoever lmao

enjoy some lil snippets hehe

from heart don't stand a chance:

"Zuko couldn’t get over her eyes. She was looking past the camera towards the man who took it. Zuko could see clear as day the love she held for Sokka in her gaze.

It was a perfect moment that Sokka had captured. No wonder held it with him at all times. If someone had looked at Zuko like that, he’d never want to see anything again.

As he took in the photograph, Sokka sat next to him in silence. His hand was clutching the ring around his neck again in his fist, pressing it close to his mouth as he peered over Zuko’s shoulder to look. Zuko turned to him to compliment the picture and saw a sad fondness lingering in his eyes."

this is a scene i wrote a while ago thats gonna appear in a much later chapter. but yeah. more yue angst for you guys im so sorry.

from i love you (and that's all i really know):

"Mister Sokka," a little voice wishpered in his ear as he felt tiny pokes on his cheek, "Wake up Mister Sokka."

"Good morning to you too Izumi," Sokka responded wearily as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He looked towards the little girl who was standing on her tippy toes to see over the edge of the bed and poke his face until he rose.

She smiled at him once she realized he was awake.

"Can we have pancakes?" She asked shyly, hiding her mouth just below the edge of the bed as she looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

That look was going to be dangerous for him later on, he could aready tell.

"Sure thing, Izumi, just let me sleep for five more minutes, mkay?" He asked as he shut his eyes again. He was exhausted from last nights events, and the sun had barely risen. How did Zuko do this?"

this is a scene from the next chapter of this fic. so much sokka and izumi bonding you guys are gonna explode hehehe.

from cherry (the mailee fic i wont shut up about that is now a whopping 19 pages):

"Mai never had to guess with Ty Lee. She always knew when Ty Lee was happy about something because she would use an obnoxious amount of exclamation points. She would send gifs of people or cartoons making outlandish expressions whenever she wanted to react to Mai’s text with a specific facial expression. Sometimes Ty Lee would even send voice memos whenever her thoughts became too long, or she got too excited about a story that her fingers couldn’t type as fast as she could speak."

hehe i love mailee.

from yours (the mailee sorority fic that i promise i did not forget about):

"Mai lifted her head off the pillow again and met Zuko’s eyes. She studied his impassive expression, trying to figure out if he was joking or not. He did seem like he missed Mai and Azula, so maybe he did really just want to catch up with them.

But Mai wasn’t going to give up a golden opportunity like this.

“Tell us everything about the boy toy as well and you’ve got yourself a deal,” Mai said.

Zuko rolled his eyes and sighed, “Ugh, fine. And his name is Sokka by the way.”

“Nuance. You also have to wake up Azula.”

“No chance in hell,” Zuko scoffed, “You’re the roommate and her fellow ‘pong princess,’ wake-up duty is all yours.”

“If she murders me, it’s your fault. She’s a bitch when she’s hungover.”

“Whatever you say, Mai,” Zuko grinned before returning back to his phone."

i have decided that zuko is a little shit for this fic and no one can stop me.

from Where'd All the Time Go? (the yuekka fic that i have severe writers block with that i also promis i have not forgotten about):

"“Sokka I really think you need to take a moment and-”

“I am fine Aang, I don’t have time for a feelings talk right now. Right now I need to find the fucking chief of this damn place.” His words came out harsher than he meant, but he didn’t have the time to dwell on that.

Before Sokka could run off again to continue his search, a hand grabbed his arm. One of Arnook’s advisors, Malina, had started dragging him towards the podium.

“Do you not realize how late you are for this Sokka? The ceremony was supposed to begin with your speech nearly an hour ago-” she hissed at him as she pulled him along through the crowd.

“Malina I’m sorry but I really need to speak with Arnook it is urgent-”

“This damn speech of yours is what’s urgent right now Sokka, you can speak with Arnook later but the guests are getting antsy so you need to give your speech right. Now.”

“But-”

“Now.”

Maline shoved Sokka towards the podium and suddenly all eyes were on him. Every guest in attendance had their focus solely on Sokka."

homeboy is stressed in this scene. things are slowly going to shit in this chapter. i promise i will update this before the end of the year. i swear. im so sorry.

from a currently untitled jetko/sukka boiling rock fic:

"“Oh good, you survived after all,” She said in a mocking tone.

Jet didn’t answer. He knew anything he said would be used against him. He didn’t know where he was. He didn’t know what was happening. But he would be damned if he showed that weakness in front of the fire nation.

“I was told you were more talkative than this,” the girl mused. There was something familiar about her, “my informants were very detailed when discussing your little teashop romance.”

I knew it. Jet snarled in his mind, That bastard betrayed me."

i want this fic to be a little darker but idk how good i am at writing darker fics because i love fluff and humor too much. this could be good angst practice for me.

from a toph and sokka fic that i wrote a while back to help me cope w some shit that i dont know if ill ever post:

"“Sokka? Are you still there?” Toph asked, the slightest hint of concern began to slip into their voice

“Tell me a story,” he was trembling. Despite all of his efforts to sound calm, he knew his voice came out trembling and scratchy and pathetic-

“Is everything okay? You don’t sound too hot,” Toph said through the phone.

Breathe, Sokka, breathe. You don’t want them to be worried, you just need to calm down.

“Please, Toph, I just,” he said through shaky breaths that weren’t nearly deep enough for him to be getting enough oxygen, “I just need a distraction. I just need to hear your voice okay?”"

nonbinary toph anyone?

from a 10 things i hate about you kataang and zukka au:

"“What? Something on my face?” the guy asked deadpanned. He rubbed at his scar as if he were wiping off a smudge of mustard, and Aang’s face went pale.

“Stop scaring the sophomores Zuko, this one’s new. He won’t get your… humor… just yet,” Ms. Wu said as she waved Aang off again.

“I’m hurt that you’d imply I’m not funny, Wu. I’m hilarious,” the senior, Zuko, said as he walked past Aang.

Aang let out a sigh of relief knowing that this Zuko guy didn’t seem all that offended by his awkwardness, and darted out of the room."

zuko is a little shit part 2. the amount of sarcasm i have dripping off of heath ledger zuko is glorious. let zuko be a little shit. i havent added to this in months but when i finish some of my other wips i cant wait to get back to this.

i have more wips and drafts saved but none of them have anything juicy or funny or interesting yet because all of them are like less than three pages so far

but yeah, heres a good chunk of sneaky peakys from my wips!

I hope you liked them!

anyone who wants to do this can totally go for it. imma tag @ambykinns @lumities and @flowers-inthepieshop (only if you all want too!!) because this was fun :)

[today-only-happens-once]

Thoughts on “Flirting with Social Anxiety”: Roman, Virgil, Bravery, and Self-Worth

I originally started by just keeping a running list of thoughts in my head as I watched the “Flirting with Social Anxiety” video for the second time through. But then it started getting long and involved, so I elected to just make a specific post for some of the reflections and analysis my thoughts started to follow down the rabbit hole.

Obligatory reminder that this is just my interpretation of the canon work. You may disagree or interpret things differently, and that’s totally valid. These are just some of my thoughts and where this video (deemed “essential viewing” for the canon story by Thomas) fits in the broader narrative with relation to character arcs (specifically Roman). 

Without further ado, here are some thoughts on the new Sanders Asides video. Apologies for the length. Turns out, I have a lot to say. 

I first found it interesting that the beginning of the video involves a series of scenarios in which Virgil and Roman repeatedly call out Thomas’s lying. First is the movie ticket (though Thomas rightfully defends that it’s not his fault), then the store alarm, and then several other examples--most of which we do not know the actual scenario involved. Given that Virgil has been at odds with Janus repeatedly and heatedly in the past, and the way things ended in “Putting Others First” between Roman and Janus (specifically Roman expressing concern that Thomas will not know where to draw the line between selfishness and taking care of yourself), it makes sense that they would be vigilant against Thomas lying. Perhaps it’s even directly a result of Janus becoming more accepted as a part of Thomas, though we don’t know that for sure. 

I think the first big hint we get regarding Roman’s lingering and worsening self-worth issues is a brief line during the food court scene. Roman is forcing Thomas up while Virgil is pulling him back down to sit. When Virgil snaps “Roman, you’re making a mistake!”, Roman immediately shoots back, “If I am, I’ll add it to the list!” and shoves Thomas forward. And honestly, it’s not an unfounded thing for Roman to say. 

He makes a mistake in the way he treats Virgil early on, he makes a mistake trying to convince Thomas to win back his ex during the Moving On arc, he makes a mistake with the lyrics in 12 Days, he makes a perceived mistake by causing Thomas to choose a cute boy over Joan’s play in Can Lying Be Good, he makes a perceived mistake wanting the callback, and then another mistake by forcing Thomas to attend the wedding instead... The list goes on. (Is it any wonder that he says “mistakes” when Thomas asks how he used to learn things in “Learning New Things About Ourselves”?) It might also be worth noting that nearly all of these mistakes are rooted in somethin Roman wants for Thomas. 

And it is the most recent mistakes (relating to the callback) that have the most narrative weight at the moment. Even though the plot surrounding the callback has moved on, the aftershocks of its ramifications still are impacting characters--perhaps Roman especially. And this video works specifically to make that apparent. Just take a look at the reactions and camera/POV choices during the mirror monologue. 

Thomas mentions a few times in the course of that monologue the idea that he isn’t sure what he wants anymore; the first being acknowledgement that the mall is the place you go when you’re not sure what you want, and again when Thomas says specifically that he doesn’t know what he wants. Both times Thomas speaks to that, the attention is on Roman. In fact, the second time where Thomas is speaking directly about himself and how he doesn’t know what he wants? Roman is looking at Thomas, which makes sense because Thomas is really speaking about Roman when he says that. Because all the times in recent canon that Roman has wanted something for Thomas, it has backfired and it has hurt parts of himself (i.e. other “Sides”, and sometimes Roman himself). 

Though it’s also worth noting, through the course of the mirror monologue, the moments the camera/POV focuses on Virgil. Thomas makes the comment that he doesn’t know anything, least of all himself (and the focus on Virgil in that moment brings to mind that the reveal that Virgil used to be one of the Others). He also says “I know that if I don’t act on these feelings right now, I’m going to regret it” and again, we see a focus on Virgil. Because in this video thus far, Virgil is the one that has been keeping Thomas from “acting on these feelings”. 

I’m not saying anything you all don’t already know. But this is sort of a “present the evidence before you state your case” kind of situation. Heh.

The vigilance and call-outs against lying that I mentioned earlier lends a certain credence to the confrontation that Roman and Virgil have with Thomas after he exits the bathroom. The fact that it is Virgil that initiates that confrontation I think is especially interesting. Furthermore, Virgil goes so far as to use the term “deceit” when he says “will deceit continue to be the answer to all of your problems?”. That term carries a very specific weight in this series. I don’t mean to suggest (necessarily) that Virgil is speaking directly about Janus. Time will tell when the script releases, but I don’t think Virgil means “Deceit”. But I also don’t think that it’s an accident that he uses that word (or that the team wrote the script having him use that word). Given that Virgil was absent in the last video, where Janus became a more accepted part of Thomas, this confrontation about Thomas’s pattern of behavior in this episode is a useful reminder for the character of Thomas and us as an audience that all Sides of Thomas need to be kept in check once in a while. 

But relatedly, Thomas’s conclusion that “he’s better off without me” is an interesting echo of his on-going canonical crisis about whether or not he’s a good person. In this confrontation scene, Roman and Virgil establish that starting a relationship with lies means that the relationship itself won’t be a good one. The blow that seems to cause (or rather, bring to the surface) on Thomas’s self-esteem is an interesting turn--precisely because Roman is no small part of that self-esteem and the issues it’s having. I think it’s a useful and telling glance into some of Roman’s psyche that, while he may be reluctant to admit it, is directly influencing Thomas. 

And that issue of self-worth that is first suggested by the aforementioned “he’s better off without me” gets echoed directly by Roman only a moment later. When he says “one more chance at happiness squandered”, the use of more suggests that he’s not just talking about talking to a cute boy at the mall. He’s talking about all the other chances at happiness that have been squandered--most recently, the callback. The fact that Roman follows it by saying “it’s probably for the best” is an indirect reflection of just a moment ago with Thomas’s “he’s better off without me”. They are, effectively, saying the same thing there. And it strengthens the notion that the comment from Thomas is really rooted in Roman’s self-worth issues.

Which is precisely why Virgil bein the one to shove Thomas forward to talk to the boy is such a big deal. Because Virgil--anxious, panicky (in this video) Virgil--essentially decides no. No, it’s not for the best. That chance of happiness matters, and is worth the perceived risk. What Roman wants matters. And Virgil backs that idea up with decisive, meaningful action more than just words. (I will never not be emotional about it). 

And also... it pays off. And that’s so important for Roman. Because when was the last time that what Roman wanted paid off? I listed his perceived mistakes earlier. None of those, as far as I think Roman would understand, have paid off for him. It’s been a long time since what Roman wanted paid off and was seen as good by others, y’know?

I think that’s why Roman describes Virgil’s shove as “bravery”. I think it’s more than just Roman saying “I know that was scary for you and thank you for doing it anyway” (though there’s an element to that). I think Roman was afraid. I think calling what Virgil did an act of “bravery” might also be Roman saying “you were braver than I, and I am grateful for that”. Because Roman could have been the one to shove Thomas forward. He didn’t. Virgil did. And for Roman, that’s maybe a sign that someone else still thinks that what he wants can be good and right and worth it. 

(Side tangent that it’s also an interesting reflection back to that first episode when Roman claimed “rejection” as something he fears, and again in Fitting In when he acknowledges that Virgil has “been a little too familiar with rejection nad has had his fill”. Just another layer added to the continuing thematic thread about bravery and fear and rejection). 

Right now, its impossible to know for sure exactly why this video was deemed as “essential viewing” for the broader narrative of Sanders Sides. Maybe Nico will be mentioned in videos going forward, or maybe not. But this video definitely seems to have significance for Roman’s character arc and his continuing development, particularly as it relates to his worsening self-esteem issues. I am beyond excited to see where exactly this leads us, and the broader narrative implications of this key moment for Roman (and Virgil too). 

[oddaodd]

All The Knives That Lacerate Your Brain

· The reader deals with the aftermath of Tommy´s PTSD ·

Warnings: SEASON 4 SPOILERS (kind of), alcohol, depictions of depression and PTSD, blood, tears and a ton of angst. 

Author´s note : Some nights ago I had a sort of abstract dream about Tommy and I was sad all day, so naturally I wrote an angsty imagine to cope with my feelings.

Also, this is based on this one scene. ✨

Her head shot up in alarm at the sound of glass breaking in another room and she immediately knew where it came from. He had barely said hello to her when he had arrived home some hours earlier before locking himself in the parlor, which Y/n knew meant he needed space. But the tumultuous sound proved to be more than enough to make her grow concerned. So she walked out of the library where she had been reading and made her way to find him. 

She ran into Frances In the hallway, she was leading an upset looking Charlie away from the parlor. Y/n shot Frances a questioning glance but Frances just said “I’m putting Charlie to bed” and continued walking, Increasing Y/n´s worries. How bad could it be?

It was bad. When she got to the door she entered and saw him bending down holding his own arms, sobbing silently in front of the dresser, his forearms and hands were bloody and there were broken liquor bottles scattered on the floor near him. The pungent smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke lingering thickly in the air. Y/n immediately scurried to him, the sound of her feet on the wooden flooring promoted Tommy to look up at her and her heart broke a little when she met his eyes. So sad and broken. 

When she was close enough to him, he stood upright casting his eyes to the floor and taking a drag of the cigarette his shaky red fingers held.

“I’m fine” 

Y/n had never heard his voice sound like that, it was merely a whisper, raspy from the smoking and the whisky and with underlining pain, like he was on the verge of tears. 

She ignored his obvious lie and placed her hands on his upper arms, with the intention of leading him to a sofa so she could clean his cuts. But when she touched him, he backed away hastily colliding with the dresser behind him and loosing his balance for a bit before regaining it seconds later, the alcohol’s toll on him. 

“I said I’m fine!” 

Y/n winced slightly at his tone and approached him again cautiously. Hesitantly placing her hands on his upper arms again, looking for any sign of pain or hostility. She didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable, she knew he didn’t like to be around others when he was vulnerable and raw like that, but she wasn’t going to leave him alone not when he was at the worst she had ever seen him. She stood like that with him for a couple of seconds and when he didn’t push her away, she lead him to the sofa, carefully avoiding the shards of glass on the floor. 

He fell less than gently on the sofa and sat there while y/n made her way to the desk where a napkin rested next to the untouched food she had asked Frances to take to him upon his arrival. He put out his  cigarette in the ashtray that rested on the little table next to where he sat, sighing deeply and watching her as she walked back towards him, grabbing a bottle of gin that had managed to survive the crash. She sat next to him, gently taking his left arm on her lap, his palm up, cautiously examining it. 

There weren’t any deep cuts thankfully, but there were some shards puncturing his skin. None of them too tiny for her to be able to take out with her fingers, so she poured some gin on her hands and meticulously took them out, throwing them in the ashtray in which Tommy had put out his cigarette moments earlier. Then she grabbed the napkin and soaked it in gin. 

“This is going to sting a bit, love” she warned him before softly dabbing the damp piece of cloth along his wounds. She knew he knew it would sting, he was no stranger to alcohol on wounds, but she warned him anyway not wanting to startle him. His eyes closed and he sighed at the sting, his fingers clenching softly. 

She started working on his other arm and after she took out the shards and put them with the others he let his head rest on her shoulder with a strained sigh admiring her hands as she worked. Her touch was so soft and gentle, a contrast to everything else he was feeling at the moment. It felt so alien, he couldn’t believe the utter carefulness and tenderness in which she tended to him as if he were going to break. She was always like that with him and he loved that she cared, he would never admit it out loud, but he knew it wasn’t necessary, she knew. 

Y/n´s heart gave a painful throb and a knot formed in her throat, as she felt him shaking ever so slightly, just like he did when he laid in bed after being tormented by nightmares. She hated seeing him in pain, it hurt her like nothing else could, but she pushed the feeling down. It proved to be difficult when she felt a warm tear falling on her shoulder as she cleaned his red right hand which was just a tiny bit less bloody than the left one. He had never let her see him cry before, which made his silent tear a testimony of the severity of the state his mind was in at the time. It had been a rough couple of months after all. 

When she was done with his hand she threw the bloodied napkin on the floor and moved to put the gin away in the cabinet it belonged to, but then he caught her hand in his. The sudden action surprised her and she intended to speak against it, concerned about the fresh cuts on his palm, but decided not to. He needed to feel her, so she put the bottle of gin on the floor and started gently rubbing her thumb on the back of his hand soothingly hoping not to hurt him. 

They Stayed like that for a couple of minutes before she shifted her head a bit to look at him. He looked so exhausted. 

“Let’s get you upstairs” she softly said half questioningly. If he didn’t want to go she wouldn’t force him to despite her not wanting to let him sleep in the sofa. 

He only nodded and she smiled at him weakly, getting up and helping him to his feet. She wrapped her right arm around his waist to keep him steady and he threw his left arm over her shoulder for support. He didn’t wince, maybe his mind was too busy to register pain she thought. Or maybe he was just too drunk. So that only left her with one concern in mind. Charlie. She hoped he was already sleep so he wouldn’t see his dad like that. She knew Tommy wouldn’t like it, but that concern was dismissed too when they both walked past Charlie’s  bedroom to find his door closed and saw no line of light under the door. Poor boy. 

They got to the bedroom Tommy and she shared and he quickly made his way to bed, sitting on the edge, removing his suspenders and throwing them aside. His eyes lost. She sat next to him and looked for his glance but he didn’t look at her. 

Thinking he wanted to be alone and comforted by the thought that he was safe in their room she stood up ready to give him space. But as soon as she did, he grabbed her hand halting her actions once again.

“Stay” He whispered. Finally looking at her. 

She turned around so she was facing him muttering a soft “Of course” before letting him wrap his arms around her middle pulling her to bed with him. Once they were laying down he buried his face in her neck and she rested her chin atop his head. Oddly comforted by the feeling of his weight on her chest and his breathing fanning over her neck. She pressed a sweet kiss to his forehead which prompted him to hold onto her tighter, considerably tighter, a bit too tightly. She didn’t mind, she liked feeling him close to her. Letting him embrace her she felt another tear fall on her neck and then started running her fingers through his hair, occasionally tracing them along his face as well, trying to keep herself from crying at his state. His skin warm and tight from the tears that had dried. After a while she could feel his breathing and his grasp on her becoming softer and softer as he succumbed to a much needed sleep. 

“I love you Tommy Shelby” 

[demonslayedher]

Any Kny character you've grown to love/appreciate more??

Thanks for waiting, Anon, I have been trying to really, really hard to narrow this down, but the answer remains: the vast majority of the cast. The only character I loved right away was Tanjiro and that love kept me watching, as with almost every new character I was like, "ugh, I hate this guy. Here I was, having fun being emotionally invested in a high quality anime, and this might ruin it for me." But then the instant I see a different side of their character, I'm like, "...Oh." To go into some examples...

Zenitsu: I could not stand him right away, I hate womanizers, and his conniptions would go on so long that they held up the story. But Gotouge/Ufotable strung me along perfectly, the first glimpse of Thunder Breath made me immediately pay attention and think, "oh, that was cool. I want to see more of that." Seeing him protect the box pretty firmly put him in the "I need to protect this child" box in my heart. And then the spider demon happens, and I'm sending desperate reaction messages to a friend like "NOOOOOO!!!! BABBBBBBBBBYYYYYYYY!!!!" And then he annoyed me all over again at the start of Functional Recovery, ahaha. It's hard to remember how annoyed I was because I'm such a Zen Stan now, and he was a very firm favorite of mine by the time I finished binging the anime up to the last couple episodes, which I waited for as they came out. Inosuke: He was one of the reasons I was curious about the series, I saw some promotional art and was super curious about Nezuko's muzzle (I was one of the people who thought it was some ancient scroll or something, haha) and the kid with the boar mask. The art I saw showed his face, and I assumed he'd be some kid with a cracking voice performed by a female seiyuu. As much as I love Matsuoka's performance now, initially, since I knew what his face looked like, I found it grossly off-putting the moment I heard it. Then every chaotic thing Inosuke did dug a deeper hole; I very quickly decided I hated him, especially when he started beating up on the kid I was starting to like. As his chaos subsided he just became a character I tolerated, and then this happened:

Images you can hear, am I right? This immediately flipped the "BABY" switch in my heart. It was also a lot of fun to understand the Inosuke memes I was seeing everywhere. So by the end of the anime, I loved, loved, loved, loved the Tanjiro/Zenitsu/Inosuke interactions and desperately wanted more (still didn't like how Zenitsu bothered Nezuko, though). I was so impatient for more, but the manga art looked disappointingly off-putting. I figured the anime was successful enough that there'd eventually be more of it, and I wanted to be patient, but then I poked around, read some spoilers, got back into Tumblr to look at fanart and memes, saw a spoiler image of Tanjiro affected by Muzan's poison and the binge-read began. (That's kind of a lie, but I'll get to that.) Let's back up a few episodes. There I was, having a great time, the guy who I forgot about from Episode 1 was back and haha, I guess everyone hates him, and the chick who I figured was going to be a medic who saves Zenitsu in the nick of time turned out to be savage, awesome. I was sending reactions to my friends who were ahead of me, and then we left off seeing the Pillars staring down Best Boy. And I...

Well. Uh. Here, I've dug up an old convo for you, my comments are in blue.

Immediately followed by a passionate vocal rant, which I have transcribed here:

“I feel like what happened was that the mangaka was sitting around with his assistants and was like, ‘welp, gotta make this whole cast of characters, they gotta be so-o-o-o many more levels of extreme than all the other characters I’ve had so far, which isn’t hard, because all of the background characters are cannon fodder and I’ve just gotta leave them all with black hair and no personality traits. So! Gotta go to the opposite of the spectrum with the BIG! POWERFUL! People so no-o-o-body can be normal.’ And so he and his assistants sat down, and they all wrote down just random words or traits, and them put ‘em all in a hat. And then for each character, they pulled out a few of them and said, ‘OK. We’re gonna put these things together, now we have a character.’ And he was probably also like, ‘Iiiiiiiiiiiii’ll flesh them out later. For now, they just need t’… be there, and make an impact. How do we make an impact? By making sure it’s super, super clear what their character traits are. Here, we’ll have this guy repeat the word //HADE//…. ////HA DEEE//// over and over and over… to show that he’s a /showy/ person. Because he /cares/ about that. And he //should// care because that is his character and that’s why he’s powerful.’ OH MY GOSH, it’s so dumb.”

......orz I feel like Genya looking back at how he acted at the end of the Final Selection. I'm sorry, Gotouge, I had not even encountered your love for these characters yet in your little alligator form. Nor had I encountered the yet unseen-sides of these traumatized dragons and tigers. ...*coughs* Um. So. I was pretty harsh.

So this was my mindset, I went into the manga not caring about most of these characters and just wanting more Kamaboko squad interactions and wanting to hurry up and catch up to the battle with Muzan. And it's worth stating that I didn't mean to read it at first. I encountered a few spoilers, and just wanted to look for the context surrounding those parts, and then hunt for the (non-existent) build-up to those parts, and so... uh.........

I read a lot of the manga out of order, and yeah, that did affect how much I cared about what was going on. I didn't actually properly process a lot of it until later re-reads. But to try to state some things simply about each Pillar:

Giyuu: He was just 'ok' to me for a long time, I could see the appeal for why people I knew were fangirling over him but he didn't do it for me. His soft spot for Tanjiro was indeed endearing, though, and I firmly liked him by the time chapter 200 came out and I was properly heartbroken on his behalf.

Shinobu: She was intriguing, and then I liked her as soon as I saw her savage side, she was one of the characters I went hunting for spoilers for.

Rengoku: That stare really put me off at first, but I fell for him over the process of Tanjiro falling for him. When I first finished the train arc I sat back and said, "wow! That's going to make for a good movie!" and then in psyching myself out for the movie several months in advance, I fell hook, line, and sinker and was totally excited for him each time I saw the trailers. And then the movie was *stunning* and I love him even more. Uzui: He was the Pillar I hated most upon first meeting them. I blame the repeated use of his catchphrase. But then when he let his hair down to sell the kiddos the change in design helped warm me up more to him, like, "oh, there was a human in there." It took a long time for him to become more interesting to me, and an uncharacteristically subtle journey to becoming a character I liked. I am currently getting more and more psyched out for him and eager to see how much more I'm going to like him with the shiny Ufotable treatment. Mitsuri: At first I didn't remember her name, I had code-named her as "Boobs." But I kinda had a feeling she was going to grow on me quickly, and I was right, she's one of my easy favorites now. Muichiro: Who? Oh yeah, that kid who always kinda fell to the wayside in my attention. I'd see a lot of Muichiro-themed blogs and hear a lot of little girls looking at merch and showing a clear favoritism of him, and I'd like always react like Muichiro and just be like, "...", and then when I read his major battles I was more emotionally invested in things going on concurrently with other characters, and I was still like, "...", and then two days ago I revisited a Muichiro scene and was suddenly like, "......OH!!! MUICHIRO!!!!!" Himejima: I never really hated Himejima, even if I found his first impression kind of wimpy (haha... oh, I was so wrong). I had a pretty easy acceptance of him too, so I would generally count him among characters I like, but if you were to ask me why, I'd draw a blank. It's kind of a weirdly mature, subdued appreciation for him rather than passionate fangirling. But weirdly when I was daydreaming the other day I found myself thinking, "if I had to marry someone in the KnY cast, it would be Himejima." So like, not a fiery romance, but I see him as my dependable, sturdy rock to grow old with??? What is up with you, sub-conscious?? Iguro: My interest in him rises and falls. Being a Mitsuri fan helped warm me up to his character in the first place, which was the emotional tie I needed since his backstory didn't grip me much (I found it a frustrating distraction while I was desperately reading weekly updates). Reading more subtle details about his character in the fanbooks has brought me around and made me more curious about him, like I'd really like to be a fly on the wall for the conversation he had with Uzui one day about their pasts.

Sanemi: Hahaha, wow. He was so unlikable in the beginning, wasn't he? His character design (yeah, the eyes) was really off-putting too. But then I got to know him and there was no going back, I got totally played. He's a character I'm pretty fond of now and one of the characters I've enjoyed delving into most in fanfic. To keep this answer from getting too long, for the vaaaaaast majority of the cast, I was initially like, "meh" or "OK" or "ew" but now am like, "EEEEEEEEE, I LOVE THIS TOTALLY RANDOM UNIMPORTANT SIDE CHARACTERRRRRRR" so you know... times change. And the more time I spend obsessed with Kimetsu no Yaiba, the more I like them all, so even the characters I'm lukewarm on will probably have their eventual days when they take over my heart and smash it.

[stxrrywildflower]

vigilante

pairing - bau team x teen!reader

summary - the team meets one of the most reputable vigilantes during a case, suprisingly, it’s someone they least expect

warnings - mentions of case, cursing, past death, abuse

word count - ?

when you were 15, your parents were shot and killed right in front of you. as cliché as it sounds, that was the start of you story.

after moving in with a relative, you started online school. from that moment on, you trained and took the law into your own hands. sure, it was partially illegal and there were a lot of questions from your family, but, you couldn’t sit around in your city and watch other people suffer just as you did. you were currently 17 and as strong as ever with no plans of slowing down. especially with the severity of the most recent crime.

your signature was a spade. whether on a card or a piece of paper, it was at ever crime scene letting the police know you had helped.

this case was like no other. one man or woman, you weren’t quite sure yet, was murdering victims of all age ranges throughout town. after the second body was found, you began your own personal investigation. the way you worked was going to crime scenes either before or after the police were there and found whatever you could. there were a ton of times you found clues and either called in an anonymous tip or wrote it down on paper.

the bau team landed down in pittsburgh after a fairly short flight. the local police department had called the team in once more victims had turned up. the victimology was all over the place and they needed to find every possible ounce of information.

“we have an anonymous tip line but our usual caller hasn’t given us anything. other than that, you can set up in the conference room and boards are in there too,” the deputy announced. hotch was the one who thanked him while the team headed into the conference room.

“usual caller?” j.j. whispered to morgan who then shrugged. “who knows. could just be some local crime fan,” the agent responded. with that, the bau team went to work.

for the next two days the team and police force worked tirelessly to find something that would help them catch the killer. but alas, absolutely nothing. no calls on the tip line and no new bodies found. that was, until they had caught you.

“some jogger just reported some suspicious activity. said they saw someone in the alley on the ground with another person standing over them. it’s a stretch but it could be something. i’ve already sent some officers out,” the deputy alerted.

“alright, keep us informed if they find anything,” hotch responded.

it was a bit unusual for hotch to not send anyone to the potential crime scene but that was just it, it was only a possible scene.

it couldn’t have been more than ten minutes later when a few cops walked in. all heads shot up for one reason. they were pushing along a teenage girl in handcuffs.

you were dressed in black jeans with a black and white plaid jacket. combat boots were your choice of shoes accompanied by a beanie on your head. you looked exactly like the rebellious teenager in some movie. your knuckles were bruised pretty badly and you had a small cut on your lip. the team was obviously shocked to see that an arrest was made, nonetheless a teenager.

“who is she?” rossi asked.

“y/n y/l/n. we found her at the crime scene with the body,” the deputy explained.

“where are her parents?”

“she lives with one of her relatives. they have been notified but are choosing to let us deal with the situation since they are on a trip.”

“and you think she did it?” hotch questioned just as you were led to one of the interrogation rooms.

“all i’m saying is that she has motive. her parents died a few years back during a home invasion. adding on the bruises and the fact that she was found with the body, it’s a possibility.”

“prentiss and rossi, head down to the crime scene and examine the body. if you don’t mind i would like to speak with her,” hotch spoke. upon seeing a nod from the deputy, he followed him back to the room you were in. the rest of the team stood outside of window, peering in to watch the interrogation that was about to go down.

meanwhile, you sat back in your chair, keeping your head low as you moved the handcuffs back and forth across the bar on the table they were attached to. the cops had already searched you for weapons, not like you had any.

when the door opened to the interrogation room, you didn’t even bother looking up all the way. out of the corner of your eye, you did see two men walking in. one was the deputy, you recognized him, but the other you had never even seen before.

a file folder with the fbi logo and bold lettering was then placed on the table. your eyes widened slightly, maybe you were in more trouble than you thought. you hadn’t intended to be caught, that was obvious, but the police arrived and reprimanded you even before you could formulate a plan.

“do you know what this is?” the deputy spoke harshly.

the still mystery man held his hand out as a way to tell the deputy to stand down. “hi y/n, i’m agent hotchner with the bau profiling team. would it be okay to ask you some questions?” hotchner asked. you nodded slightly.

“what were you doing at the crime scene?” hotch questioned outright.

“i was investigating mr. hotchner,” you answered plainly.

“you were investigating a dead body? sounds like bullshit to me,” the deputy butted in. it didn’t take a profiler to know that he was becoming restless with the case.

“don’t you want to know who i am?” you snapped.

“i know who you are y/n. you’re on the wrong side of the law and a suspect in a series of murders,” the deputy responded.

“honestly you couldn’t be more wrong dan,” you spat, using the deputy’s first name. with the limited mobility you had, you reached into your coat pocket. both of the men in the room visibly tensed. “relax, i’ve already been searched.”

you tossed the familiar spade card onto the table before sitting back and resuming your motion of staring down.

hotch looked towards the deputy who swallowed nervously and scrambled to grab the card. the fbi agent furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he motioned for the deputy to follow him. after the door slammed shut, you were left in complete silence.

“what was that?” hotch asked the second they exited the interrogation room. the rest of the bau team had witnessed the encounter and joined the two men for answers.

“ever since a year-and-a-half ago, we’ve gotten calls and been given clues through that as well as at crime scenes. at first we thought it could be a potential signature of the criminal but after a couple cases, we realized that this person was actually helping solve these cases and finding clues we couldn’t even see. i never would have thought it would be a teenager,” the deputy responded.

“how does y/n manage to do all that?” emily spoke up. “we’re not sure. she’s always managed to be there either before we get there or even after we leave.”

“if y/n has been investigating the crime scenes, she may have seen the unsub without even realizing it,” rossi added. “that’s true, though i’m not sure she’ll be willing to talk after that.” the teams eyes all drifted to the one-way glass were you still sat, head down and running your fingers over your bruises.

you eventually lost track of the time you spent in the interrogation room. but, by your judgment, it was around three hours. a blonde woman was the first to enter the room. she sat down at the table for a moment, introduced herself, before offering you water.

“no thank you mrs. jareau,” you had replied.

the second agent to enter immediately tried to make feel more comfortable despite the situation you were in. you had to admit, the terrible jokes he told did make you smile slightly. he offered you water too. just like with j.j., you replied with “no thank you mr. morgan.”

with the responses you gave, the team decided to regroup without the pressure of the local police department. “did you notice how y/n addressed the deputy by the first name but all j.j. and morgan as mrs. and mr.?” spencer commented.

“the deputy did mention that she has a history with the police department,” hotch started before returning to morgan, “call garcia and have her fly in. y/n can relate to her the most.” morgan nodded at hotch’s request before exiting the room to call the tech genius.

you bounced your leg out of pure nervousness. a significant amount of time had gone since morgan had talked to you. just as you were starting to realize that they could only hold you for a certain amount of time, the door opened once again.

in walked another blonde woman, this time with bright clothes and accessories on. she sat down at the seat across from you and pulled a laptop out of her bag. you finally met her sympathetic gaze. “are you another fbi agent?” you asked softly.

“oh no, i wouldn’t last five minutes in the field. well my name is penelope garcia, i’m the technical analyst for the team.”

“and they called you in to talk to me? with all due respect ms. garcia, why are you here?” you responded. “okay, first things first, you can call me penelope. second, i can get those handcuffs off for you. i’m sure they’re hurting,” penelope offered.

once your wrists were released, you rubbed them as they had become red from being detained. “i know you really don’t want to talk about what happened but we do really need your help catching the criminals who did this,” penelope spoke. “like i said before, why are you here,” you added emphasis on the ‘you’.

“i have a past like you. i was my own type of vigilant after i lost my parents.”

while you knew penelope meant well with that sentence, you couldn’t help but grow angry. “you know nothing about me,” you seethed. penelope was slightly taken aback by your reaction and tone.

“my parents died because some deadbeat cops were out drinking instead of responding to my call. why do you think i do what i do?” you practically yelled, “i take the law into my own hands so people don’t have to suffer the same way i did.”

the second you were done your slight outburst, morgan walked in. you collapsed back in your chair. “derek i’m fine. you don’t need to be in here,” penelope whispered, hoping you wouldn’t hear. you did, however. “alright. i’m still going to stay in here if you don’t mind,” derek responded.

there was a slightly awkward silence that fell over the room. neither penelope or derek really knew what to say to you. they had both seen how you reacted to penelope trying to connect to you.

“it’s not like my family knows or cares. i don’t even know if i should really call them that. i was only taken in because they pretty much had too,” you grumbled.

both derek and penelope noticed you flinch at the mention of your family. and the bruises you acquired were never revealed how you got them.

“honey are they hurting you?” penelope asked softly.

tears slowly began to trickle down your cheeks. you held your hands close to your chest as the full on sobs started. in an instant, penelope was moving her chair over to sit by your side. “a group of hackers became my family after my parents died. stayed with them for awhile before i was recruited by the fbi and found such an amazing and loving team. it does get better, i promise you,” penelope offered.

you stayed like that for a few moments, just leaning into penelope’s side as she wrapped a comforting arm around you. “i’ll talk to mr. hotchner again. see if anything i concluded can help you,” you spoke.

with one final squeeze to your shoulder, penelope stood up and left the interrogation room with derek. hotch replaced the two, handing you a file for the second time that day. you took a deep breath before relaying all the information you had found out.

meanwhile, on the outside, penelope was close to tears. “her family is hurting her derek. people who are supposed to love and protect her are hurting her!” garcia exclaimed. morgan walked over and took her hands in his. “hey, baby girl. i need you to calm down. we’ll figure out a way to help her. but right now, we need your head in the case. reid and prentiss have some names for you to run. can you do that for me?” morgan asked. penelope nodded and got to work.

____

you were released from custody when you were done speaking with hotch.

the information provided was more then helpful. there had been a few key details that even the profilers had missed. they all wondered what you would see if another body did in fact turn up. a card with everyone’s phone numbers on it was provided to you incase you needed anything or they needed help. penelope had offered to stay with you. you had accepted, mostly because you didn’t want to be alone and she wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

when you and penelope were having breakfast the following morning, her phone had began to ring. “another one?” you questioned when she hug you.

“yeah. hotch requested your help. just as another consult,” penelope smiled slightly. you nodded as a way to agree, just because you were caught and revealed some things about yourself didn’t mean you were going to stop from doing what you always did.

morgan picked you up from your house. as you got into the back and penelope into the front seat, morgan leaned back and handed you a coat. “what’s this?” you asked. “if your going to be on the crime scene with us, you’re going to need some identification.” you simply shrugged and slipped on the jacket. big bold yellow letters spelling out ‘fbi’ were on the back making you let out a breath.

on the crime scene, you and morgan ducked under the police tape and walked over to the sheet covering the body. just as you kneeled down, the team all glanced around at each other.

never in a million years would they have thought they would be using a teenager in an fbi jacket as a consult.

you gave everything you knew to hotch before going back to the car to sit with penelope. “so, any plans for school?” she asked, trying to start a conversation. “i’m not really sure if i want to go to college. not even sure if i could get in.” penelope frowned, unsatisfied with your answer.

the unsub was caught four days later, your clues giving the final push to identify the killer. you were back at home with penelope as the team was finishing up at the police station. before departing, she would need to pack up all of her stuff.

“before i go, i want to talk to you about something. now just listen first. i’ve may have done a thing and figured out a way to get you out of this home. it’s a little confusing to explain but it’s only a fact that you can’t be here anymore,” penelope spoke.

“pen-” you started, “where am i even supposed to go?”

“that’s the best part. if you agreed, we can bring you to d.c. with us and you can be our under my care until your 18. my team travels all the time but i stay in the office to do my work. if you agree, we can get you into a good school or even just a stable job. you’re incredibly talented, i’m sure it want be a challenge.”

tears began to well up in your eyes. “you really want to take care of me?” you choked out. penelope nodded with a grin before pulling you into a tight hug. “this sounds a little suspicious,” you laughed.

“yeah well i’m a hacker. i’ll do anything to help people out,” penelope replied.

it was absolutely crazy that all it took for a teenage vigilante to find a new family was just to be caught. and honestly, it was well worth it.

[poliel]

Adopted Egg

Yo, I wrote a thing based off the Adopted Egg AU!

~

While Boiling Bay wasn’t as bad as Sizzling Sands or Frosted Peak it was still pretty bad. All the lava made it too hot to be comfortable and the various aggressive and angry bugsnax made it a pain to traverse. But hey at least getting headbutted by a giant angry popsicle or hit point blank by a big scoop of seemingly frozen solid ice cream cooled Buddy off fairly well. And the ocean water was nice lapping around their feet as they wondered back down the beach.

Thankfully though their pack was full of bugsnax though, at long last they’d caught everything single one that could be found here now. Meaning they could finally head back to Snaxburg. … After a quick nap though because they’d been out and about for far too long. And dawn was still a few hours away so almost no would be out and about when they returned to town anyway. So they turned and started for the wreck Floofty had taken shelter in before they’d been convinced to return to town.

As they neared it, they slowed because… was that a skeleton? Shaking off the initial shock, Buddy picked up the pace, jogging the rest of the way over. Yep, it was a skeleton all right, nestled up deep in the shade and protection offered the wreck’s overhang. Its bones were a clean white, indicating it was fresh. The sand underneath it was a dark maroon, probably blood. But most intriguing of all was the egg it was curled around, lying on a little blanket, the edge closer to the skeleton marred with more dried blood.

Far too big to be an eggler even if this was an area they showed up in, the splotches of dark green and magenta on it made it pretty clear that it was a grumpus egg andthat it couldn’t have come from anyone in Snaxburg. Not that there’d been any real question about the latter given the skeleton curled around it. But… none of this really added up.

It wasn’t too terribly long ago that Buddy had been down this way and in this wreck, their sense of time was very off these days but it couldn’t have been much longer than a week or two. While it was perfectly possible a grumpus had washed up here on a raft or something, crawled their way up here and then died, presumably via injuries judging based off the blood, it wasn’t possible for their body to have rotted all the way to bones yet. And even if there was something around that could eat a corpse, the bones looked undisturbed and unchewed on in general. So… where had it come from?

They lifted their camera to take some pictures, being sure to get some from as many different angles as possible just in case they needed to look over the undisturbed scene again later. Then, careful of the weight of their full backpack, Buddy crouched down to get a better look. First, they poked skeleton and then leaned in to sniff it, learning nothing. Next, they pinched up some of the red sand and lifted it to their mouth. Gagging they turned their head to spit because while they’d definitely confirmed it was blood it tasted foul, whether that was because it was several days old or something else, they didn’t know enough to say, either way they regretted decided to taste it.

After shaking off their disgust, they turned back to look at the skeleton and its egg. They needed to investigate more but also… they couldn’t leave the egg out here unattended. It was possible it had already been left out too long and thus it was too late for it but they had no way to know that for sure right now so… with a sigh, Buddy picked it up before straightening. Holding it to their chest with one paw, they pulled Sprout’s buggy ball out of their pouch and then pushed the egg in there instead. While it was about the same size, the oblong shape making it a bit bigger, it was notably heavier, making its presence uncomfortably hard to not be aware of but they’d live.

They pulled their backpack off to shove Sprout inside for now. There was barely enough room for him and he didn’t sound happy as they zipped it up but he’d just have to deal with it for a little while because they had some more investigating to do.

~

Any evidence about the skeleton or how it had come to be there had long since been obliterated by the wind and sea, leaving the mystery disappointingly unsolvable. Buddy searched high and low all over Boiling Bay and then Shimmering Springs too for good measure and found a whole lot of nothing, not even any shed fur anywhere or more dried blood. There was a notable lack of snakpods that weren’t high up though, indicating it was likely the mysterious grumpus had found and eaten them before succumbing to their wounds and somehow rotting away to nothing but a skeleton.

It was nearing midday by the time Buddy decided to give up and drag themself back to Snaxburg. While they weren’t squeamish about skeletons or dead bodies in general, they’d rather not take a nap next to one if they didn’t have to. Besides they still had the egg and what to do with it to worry about.

The first thing they did upon reaching town was drop their backpack off in Lizbert’s hut. Almost everyone would be expecting food but they’d all have to wait a little bit longer. Next, they went to the research tent.

“There’s a skeleton out in Boiling Bay,” they said as they sidled up to Floofty at their work table. “It’s in the wreck you used to live in. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

Floofty looked up from the lollive they were dissecting with a sigh. “No. Even if I had any use for a skeleton, why would I leave it out there? And if you’re implying I killed someone, you’d also be incorrect. You can check around town to confirm everyone’s still alive if you don’t believe me.”

“Nah, I didn’t think you had anything do with it. I was just making sure since it’s in your old shelter and not many of the others ever go out to there.” Also if anyone in Snaxburg was responsible for it in one way or another they were near if not right at the top of list of likely candidates.

“Good. Now leave, I’m busy.” They lifted a paw to make a shooing gesture at them before looking back down at their work.

Buddy would’ve gladly left to go take a nap somewhere but they still had the egg sitting heavy in their pouch. Floofty wasn’t a doctor but they clearly knew some stuff and thus might be able to determine if the grumpling inside was still alive or not, thus saving Buddy another long trek up to Frosted Peak to ask Eggabell. So they pulled it out, placing it gently on the table. “I found this next to it. I figure you might be able to figure out if it’s been left out too long or whatever.”

Floofty paused for a moment before putting their tools down and shifting their attention solely to the egg. They carefully picked it up to hold up and turn in their paws, examining it from all angles. “Hmm…” The looked at Buddy again. “You found it next to the skeleton?”

“Yep. It’s really weird. Clearly, they died recently but… only their skeleton and a bit of dried blood are left behind. I looked everywhere for more but… there was nothing.”

“That is odd. Very well, I shall examine the egg. Later I would like to look over the skeleton as well.”

“Awesome. I’m going to go take a nap.”

They were awoken by the sound of raised voices. Their own fault for choosing to sleep in Lizbert’s hut with not only the door ajar but the window open as well. It was still annoying though. They could move and sleep elsewhere or close everything or heck, even just roll over and pull a pillow over their head to cover their ear holes but… what was everyone fighting about?

“…totally can take care of it by myself,” Gramble was saying, his voice two steps away from having a protective growl in it.

“Yeah, right.” Cromdo scoffed. “You’re half-starved and go wondering around and often outof town almost every night, no way you could take proper care of it and the grumpling when it hatches.”

Ah, they were fighting about the egg. Not surprising honestly but… why was it so hard for everyone to get along?

“So I should be the one to have it,” Cromdo continued.

“Hell no,” Beffica came in next. “You just want it for one your schemes.”

“She’s right.” Wambus, the only one not yelling so his voice was hard to make up from in here. “Ain’t no way anyone here would trust you with it.”

“Gramble and I are clearly the best suited to take care of it.” Wiggle. “Having a little grumpling might be the exact thing I need to spark my muse.”

“Uh, no offense Wiggle,” Beffica again, her tone making it clear offense was meant, “but taking responsibility for raising a kid is kind of a huge deal. Doing it because you want to ‘spark your muse’ is the wrong reason. And you know I hate to admit it but Cromdo’s actually right about something for once, Gramble’s barely keeping himself alive. Adding on taking care of an egg and then eventually a grumpling is a bit much.”

“Exactly!” Cromdo again. “Wait what do you…”

Gramble interrupted with a growl. “I can handle it. An egg is exactly what I’ve always wanted and now I finally got a chance and I ain’t letting any of ya’ll take it away from me.”

Wambus’ voice came in next. “Assuming you can somehow keep it alive long enough on your own, you’re going to teach it not to eat bugsnax and then it’s going to starve to death then.”

“Buddy already said after they finish publishing their story they’ll come back with food supplies for me so it’ll be fine.”

“Can I hold it?” Chandlo surprisingly cut in next. “Just for a bit.”

“Sure,” Triffany said, indicating she’d been the one holding it before.

The argument resumed after that but Buddy stopped paying attention as they rolled over and pulled the pillow over their head, muffling the voices to be near inaudible. They were curious about how it was going to play out but not enough to stay awake any longer for now. They’d ask for an update on it whenever they woke up properly.

They woke feeling not well rested – such was never the case these days and thus not worth trying for anymore – but good enough to go about their day and pretend they were fine. After forcing themself out of bed, they weren’t around town, doling out the fruits of their earlier hunting and donating everything left over to Gramble’s barn. They then returned to Filbo who was doing his rounds around town.

“What happened with the egg?” they asked as they fell into step with him.

“Oh uh… Floofty examined it and said it’s okay. And then as soon as word spread about it everyone fought about who should take care of it. No one wanted to trust anyone else with it for one reason or another. Eventually Chandlo suggested everyone could just take turns with it. Which no one was happy about at first but then we talked about it some more and that’s the best way to do it for now since everyone was fighting about who was going to adopt it.”

“Interesting solution. Who’s all taking turns with it?”

“Gramble, Wiggle, Beffica, Triffany, Cromdo, and Chandlo. I wanted a turn too but… Beffica pointed that I tend to be a bit uh… clumsy so maybe I shouldn’t have a turn since I’d probably break it or lose it or… something.” He let out a heavy sigh, sagging a little before perking back up. “She’s right though so… I don’t mind.” He’d never told a more obvious lie. “I can keep updated on it through just doing my normal stuff around town.”

“Hmm… it was great talking to you. I have something I need to go take care of though.”

“Uh… okay. See you later,” he said after them.

Beffica was in Filbo’s hut again, snooping. She jumped and even squeaked a little, as Buddy tapped her on the shoulder. “Oh, hey Bestie,” she said as she turned to face them. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

Buddy normally would’ve apologized but they weren’t very happy with her right now so they went straight to business instead. “You need to let Filbo have turns watching the egg too.”

“Uh… why?”

“Because he wants to.”

“But… he’s Filbo.” She gestured with her paws as if her point were the most obvious thing the world.

Crossing their arms as they stared at her, Buddy didn’t respond.

It took her a few seconds but finally she sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine. If you think he can be trusted with it, I’ll talk to the others about him getting a turn too.”

“Good. Thanks bestie.” They lifted a paw to fist bump her turning to leave. They had tasks and stuff they needed to get back to.

-

Not even a full two weeks later and everyone in town had been scheduled into have a turn pouching the egg. Even Floofty and Snorpy, the two Buddy would’ve thought the least likely to want anything to do with it. And a few weeks later when they finally convinced Shelda to return to town it wasn’t long before she’d basically taken on a grandma role to the egg, having her own occasional turn with it.

Buddy was the only one who didn’t have a turn taking care of it. They were too busy running around doing stuff and working on their story. They’d hopefully be free of this cursed island soon anyway so there was no need for them to get involved with it much.

But seeing everyone start to get along around the egg was nice. There was still fighting and disagreements but overall everyone was trending towards being nicer to each other. It was more than Buddy could’ve asked or hoped for, hopefully it would continue into raising the grumpling once the egg hatched.

~

I'm ending it here because a lot of the other ideas proposed for the AU are pretty scattered timewise which would make it hard to cover them in this fic quickly and coherently. But know, post game everyone ends up living in one big house to take care of the egg and there's polyamory stuff and more eggs going on in the group.

[salamanderdr]

Lost Family in a Mad Town

My ‘Town That Went Mad’ one-shot

By @salamanderdr

tw: death/child death/trauma

Featuring: c!Karl, c!Dream, c!Corpse, and Robin

Authors note: Also I am in no way a writer so sorry for any typos. I’ve never actually written a fanfiction so the only place I can put it is here. I wrote this because I couldn’t get the idea out of my head and I had to get it down. Karl and the others did such a good job on the stream. I literally wrote this in one sitting, I hope ya’ll like it qwq. 

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Karl had been having these dreams for a while now. It didn’t seem like anything special. To him, they were just interesting stories to tell his friends. These stories are what he became known for, and he enjoyed the attention. What made the dreams so special is that most of them involved Karl’s friends getting into unusual shenanigans, which inspired most of the young men’s hangouts. However, one dream, in particular, caused Karl to reconsider if there was more to them. 

~Once asleep, Karl finds himself in a rather interesting dream. In the middle of a small village, Karl stands next to the town’s water fountain. The setting is more rustic than he is used to, and his bright multicolored hoody stands out among the bustling villagers. Despite his appearance, the quaint villagers paid him no attention. Concerned, Karl realizes that he can't interact with the townspeople. Unsure of what to do with himself, Karl spots a familiar neon green hood. Karl walks up to the figure and lays his hand on their shoulder, whispering, “Dream... is that you?” The brightly clothed man whips around, shock in his voice, “H-how… who are you?” Karl tilts his head, “It’s me Dream, Karl. Don’t you remember me?” Dream put his head in his hands, “I-I… Karl? Y-yes.. I re”. Suddenly a deep voice pulls both men’s attention away, “Cornelius! You still waiting for us?” Karl looks behind Dream to see a pale man with cat ears and tail, holding the hand of a sweet-looking boy with a hat full of lovely wildflowers. Karl’s heart became warm, something seems familiar about the boy, like if he could be an old friend. Karl speaks again, “Dream, who are they? Did he call you Cornelius? Jeez, what the honk is going on?” Dream quickly turns to Karl, “I’ll explain it later. Just go on, I’ll find you.”  Karl shakes his head “Oh, it’s fine I don't think they can see me.” Dream sighs, “fine, just stay quiet for a bit so I can focus.”

Dream walks over to the two who patiently wait for him “Sorry Corpse, I got sidetracked.” He gently offers his arm to Corpse. Still holding the boy’s hand, Corpse hooks his arm with Dreams. Dream smiles towards the boy, “Y’all didn’t miss me too much, did ya, Robin?” Robin giggles, “If anything, we’re better off without you.” The three laugh as they walk down the path as Karl follows close behind, also laughing to himself.

As the day ends and the night comes, Karl finds himself sitting beside Dream outside his little cottage. Slowly rocking in his chair, Dream speaks, “ I started remembering a little more, not much but enough to kinda understand what’s going on.” He looks at Karl, “I know you later down the line, don’t I?” Karl nods, “Yeah… so this really happened? You had a little family Dream?” he smiles. Dream frowns, “I did, a very long, long, long, long time ago,” he sighs, “this happened like hundreds of years ago, Karl, and you weren’t here. I guess those dreams you have are actually real things that happen.” Karl scratches his head, “I guess I’m learning new things about myself every day, haha. Hey, why don’t you tell me about them… if you want”. Dream looks longingly through the window where Corpse and Robin sleep, “ I found them. I was just planning to mess with the village for a bit, but then I got attached”. Karl's smile grows wider at this, knowing how Dream can be despite his usual dark intentions “and?” Continuing, “I found a boy and his blind friend, and I decided to play house… t-that’s it…” sweat starts to pour from Dream’s forehead “I lo-lost them, and it’s my fault.” Karl's face drops “W-what?”

Suddenly the dream changes and Karl faces a gruesome scene. Dream is on the ground, blood flowing from a deep wound in his chest, being held by Corpse, who is crying. Karl falls towards Dream, shaking him, “Dream! Dream! What’s happening? Who did this?” Dream splutters, unable to speak. Corpse cries for help, “Please someone! R-Robin, go get help!”. Not noticing him till now, Karl watches as Robin flees into the night in search of someone to help his dying adopted father. Corpse turns back to Dream, his voice shaking, “It’s gonna be okay Cornelius, Robin’s getting help.” In Corpse’s arms, Dream lifts his hand to Corpse’s face and wipes the tears from his sightless eyes, “Sorry, Corpse.” Karl watches helplessly as Dream takes his final breath, shocked about how tragic things have become. Karl stumbles to his feet and runs into the forest.

After several minutes, Karl leans against a tree, gasping for air. A voice suddenly speaks up, “Tragic, huh?” Karl jumps at the voice with a welp. He searches the empty trees to see Dream in his bright outfit, and this time, his disturbing clay mask with the eerie smile. Karl catches his breath and stutters, “W-wait, you died?” Dream moves closer, sitting in front of Karl, the morning sun reflecting off the mask, “Oh come on. You really think it's that easy for someone to get rid of me?” Karl shakes his head, “Of c-course not. It’s just, it was so convincing, it scared me. I’ve never seen you like that… What’s happening, what happened to you? What happened to Corpse and Robin?”, concern and millions of questions fill Karl’s head. Dream rolled his hidden eyes, “I guess I’ll be honest with you… it won’t really change anything. Well, you know I’ve been around for a while, and of course, you know I’m hard to kill. Those idiots didn’t know that though.”, he turned his head away “Karl, I bring chaos wherever I go, and I knew whatever that was wasn’t gonna last long, but I ignored it.”  Seeing the Dream he was familiar with sitting in front of him, the one who terrorizes many of his friends in the present, his voice hardens, “Yeah, that’s for sure. So you left them thinking you were dead. That’s cruel. Even for you. They cared about you, Dream.” Dream looks back to Karl, “Well, it was a different time I couldn’t just reveal myself. The ones that ‘killed’ me already saw I would only bring trouble, but they didn’t realize it all started when they decided to take a man’s life. It only fanned the flames of chaos. Hahaha, if I did reveal what I am, I’d be in real trouble. Then I would have hurt Corpse and Robin.”, he looked towards the ground. Karl narrowed his eyes, “You didn’t want them to know you’re actually a monster.” Dream didn’t respond. Then in the distance, a bell rings. 

Karl and Dream appear in the middle of the village to see the villagers in utter disarray. Dream speaks, “The Dream you spoke to was able to remember you only a little bit. When I was 'killed' I was able to show up. He should be watching right now. Heh, I guess I showed up so I could finish the story for him”. Karl looks at Dream, “so what is that story?” Dream looked at the crowd of angry townspeople, “Just watch for now.” Karl turns his attention to the mob. The people are angrily fighting about who killed the man known as The Wise Cornelius, paying no attention to the poor blind man and his adopted son, who were the real victims. As Karl watches, he begins to understand Dream’s role in the village. Yes, he was part of the family made up of a blind cat boy and a tragically orphaned child, but he also brought a lot of new knowledge to the villagers. His brilliance also seems to be what made him a target for the murderers’ Dream mentioned. To Karl, at least, the killers just didn’t understand Dream’s ideas and saw it as some sort of sin against God, knowledge, only meant to drag them all to hell.

Karl is snapped out of his thoughts to see two villagers dragging Corpse toward a prison, “W-wait! Dream what’s happening? What’re they doing to Corpse''. Dream didn’t speak. Robin’s cries rose above the crowd as he ran toward Corpse “Please don’t! It can’t be Corpse!! We’re all family, He would never hurt Cornelius!” Grabbing the arm of the villager, Robin is pushed to the ground “shut up kid! It couldn't be anyone else but him”. Corpse calls out to Robin as the other villager pushes him into the cell, “It’ll be okay, bud. It’s ok.” Tears running down his face, Robin grabs the bars of the cell as the villagers lock it, “Corpse, I can’t lose you too! You’re like a father to me!” Corpse places his hands on Robin’s “I-I know b-buddy.” Robin’s cries echoes throughout the village prison grounds, “P-please don’t go! I need you!”. Karl couldn’t help himself and began to cry too. Dream places his hand on Karl’s shoulder “They didn’t like how chummy I was with them, they framed Corpse because they believed I had already corrupted him” his grip became tighter, making Karl wince “they targeted my family Karl and I didn’t do a thing about it!”

The whole village, along with Karl and Dream, watched as the friendly local cat boy dropped into a lava trap, dying instantly. Robin fell to the ground, broken, weeping uncontrollably. No one comforted him. Dream speaks once more, “Robin was an orphan. His mother disappeared when he was very young. His father died in a war. He was so strong, and he was able to make his own family, but he lost that too. A child can only take so much really”, his voice grows cold when he says this. Karl nervously glances at Dream. 

It was suddenly night, and Karl stiffened as a blood-curdling scream came from one of the cottages. From the dark, Dream sighs, “Another innocent life lost.” Karl stutters, “H-how long do they keep this up?” Tired, Dream answers, “Till there is no one left. They let their paranoia corrupt them. The feeling they had about me doesn’t leave, so they turn to just taking everyone else to hell with them”. A shiver runs down Karl’s spine. Dream voice is ice  “They kill and kill and kill because they are too stupid to realize they are the evil they fear! Now that they have started this whole mess, they can’t stop”. Nervously, Karl whispers, “You really to cause people to go mad…”. Ignoring the comment, Dream asks, “And do you know who they blame all these deaths on?” Karl’s vision changes and his eyes widen in horror at the person in the prison cell. “A poor, innocent, orphan boy.” Karl looks directly into Robin’s eye, but the boy isn’t looking at him. He is looking at a figure behind Karl. Karl turns to find the ghostly figure of Corpse. The spirit walks through Karl, speaking to Robin and placing his hands on the doomed boy’s head, “Straight to hell buddy.” Just like that, Robin is gone. 

Karl jumps awake, his bed soaked with sweat, fear being the only thing he feels. He cries for a long time. After a while, there is a knock at the door, and wiping his face, Karl opens the door. He finds Dream in his doorway, “Well, that was a weird dream, wasn’t it, Karl?” Dream lets himself in. Karl's eyes follow Dream, “W-was that real?”, Dreams sits down on Karl’s bed “Yes, that was real. Now you know one thing that happened in my past... that I caused”.  Concerned, Karl asks, “Jesus Dream, there’s more?!” Dream lets out an unsettling laugh “Hahaha, of course, Karl! You don’t even know a quarter of the chaos I’ve caused, the villages and countries I’ve destroyed by just existing!”. Karl backs up, “so you let that happen? To your family, Dream?”  Dream leaned back on his elbows, “Don’t worry too much about Robin… Did he seem familiar to you Karl?” he nodded, and Dream continued, “That’s because he came back as Tubbo. He got another chance at life. Pffft, not like it’s any better really! Don’t know about Corpse though, bet he’s still in hell”. Shocked, Karl angrily speaks over Dream, “How can you say that? Do you not care about them anymore, Dream?”. Though Dream’s mask was covering his face, Karl can tell Dream is grimacing, “Corpse, Robin died ages ago. I could care less now”. Horrified, Karl truly realized the monster he let into his house and into his life. 

Karl didn’t sleep again for a while.