#idk it was just something that crossed my mind seeing ray put out a new sigaret

[lemonfreshlysqueezed]

A lot of issues are gonna happen between these two, but I thought this episode maybe did some foreshadowing that money is gonna be one of them.

Sand takes one last drag of his sigaret, because he wants to get as much out of it as he can. Because things cost money

Ray doesn’t get a last drag and also puts out a barely used sigaret.

Before they get on with what they were doing.

[nuoc7mia]

hi so I actually made this post months ago when I was fist reading Tokyo revengers (thank you Mandy), but I just finished this post today :3 most of this post isn’t rlly insightful--I'm either just screaming or rehashing takes that most people here have already made

warnings ofc for major manga spoilers although I also haven’t caught up on the last five-ten chapters:

look ik current!mikey could easily kill me, but he’s so cute:

rlly makes you wonder what happened when you look back after reading more recent chapters ahaha :’D but anyways, give him his flag!!! 

(again I wrote this in June--I contradict myself later in this word dump LOL)

this moment was just so funny to me I'm sorry LMAO (’love & peace’)

hngjksnfgs I love this panel so much :((( sometimes with all of the action going on and how they act or are drawn, I forget that they’re just middle schoolers trying to navigate through life. and here’s mikey who has the weight of the entire gang--literal lives--on his shoulders, and is constantly depended on by the members as this ray of shining light. people literally are filled with relief when they see him during fights bc THE mikey is here to take over and he HAS to win the match, right? which is kind of interesting now that I think about it, because there’s also takemichi, who’s mentally 27 and still struggling to carry the weight of his loved ones’ lives on his shoulders. if a 27-year-old can’t be responsible for the lives of others--if I, a 19-year-old, can’t cope with the weight of my own--then how could we expect mikey to be strong with everything that happened around him added onto the weight of the gang? looking back now, I think what happened to mikey in the future makes sense, as odd/cheesy/out-of-the-blue as it originally seemed in my head.

nothing new but I fucking hate kisaki overall and I'm so glad he never got a redemption arc because there was nothing about him that could be saved

(this was an extremely harsh take but again I'm never forgetting what he did to everyone just bc he was pining over a girl from elementary school)

this panel ALSO messed me up, esp after reading some more recent chapters :( I think takemichi said once that he liked talking to mikey the most because he always feels at peace with him and described his eyes to be this calm sea (which almost reminds me of giyuu and his 11th form: dead calm) (I also might be remembering wrong bc I can’t find the chapter I saw it on). but it feels so double-sided if that makes sense? like with that peace comes a never-ending emptiness because he’s constantly consumed by whatever darkness he has in him (sorry for another kny comparison but it feels similar to muichirou before his whole arc), and so he looks so detached and empty. it’s actually kind of jarring at times when the panel zooms into his eyes because you really feel like you’re going to drown in them, but the way it’s cross-hatched is unsettling--like it’s more chaotic and fuzzy inside his mind. + if you compare the dullness in his eyes with the clarity of the other characters, especially takemichi, it’s as if he knows that there’s no future for him, or at least no future with the others. I ended up crying when he was grabbing onto takemichi and asking to be saved, because that’s the first time that we see any sort of light/reflection in his eyes (of hope, honestly), as well as the first time that he reaches out to have someone shoulder his own burdens + truly be vulnerable + depend on someone else rather than letting others depend on him. 

(this rant is the result of me hate-reading the comments after every chapter on *******):

sometimes idk what some ppl want from takemichi LOL. actually, no, I do know exactly what they want: a strong mc who they can experience the story through and who solves the problem with the physical manifestation of their strength (the typical shounen protag). but that’s not the point of tokyo revengers imo, and if you’re expecting that, I think you’re missing the whole story ????? like the power comes from the fact that he’s an average person who continues to fight despite the knowledge that he has, the weaknesses that he’s constantly forced to reckon with, and the general helplessness + hopelessness that he feels. he just wants to protect the ppl who he cares for, and that desire trumps physical power or charisma. THAT’S what makes him strong and that’s ultimately what changes the course of things in the story (because we already have powers like mikey who still fall into darkness despite his physical strength). obviously it wouldn’t hurt to make takemichi more assertive in different ways and not see him get absolutely pummeled LOL, but that’s also how wakui chose to enforce his themes

also I'd like to make some more literal points: 

1. the manga itself is really long, but when you think about the time frame, there’s not actually much time for takemichi to achieve everything he wants and grow stronger, esp with all of the plot twists that are thrown at him. 

2. his main goal was never to physically grow stronger, but just to prevent hina’s death (and later Mikey’s). it was always to talk someone out of doing something or preventing a major event from occurring, which doesn’t ACTUALLY need power to be achieved

(ofc he rarely, if ever, achieves to make it happen, but the effort counts n is there)

3. the dude is constantly carrying the weight of his friends’ deaths on his shoulders SDHFSLD LEAVE HIM ALONE ;; i’d just shut down if I were in his shoes and try to forget that toman was ever a thing

4. mentally speaking, the guy’s 27 LMAO the last time he really fought was back in middle school, which means he has absolutely little to none of those skills left

once again, I have nothing insightful to offer; I simply like the way this panel was drawn

spouting nonsense out of my butt with this one: ngl it took me a while to get used to this art style? like I thought it was UGLY LMAOOO. but when I did, I really came to appreciate how the mangaka colors things in and uses lines to create movement on each page. for instance, here, you can FEEL the energy of toman not just from the speech and the action, but with the lines that wakui chooses to leave uncolored on the members’ uniforms and hair + how the trees are shaded (which is vertical and for me personally it adds a lot more pressure/force, like they’re bursting with energy). everyone and everything feels so alive !!! but at the same time, their art is so clean... SO FREAKING CLEAN. I just love it o<--<

stop it....... STOP IT......... if I don’t get my 100% happy ending I will bawl. (yes I'm aware that this will probably/definitely not happy and yes I have tissues ready for the final arc)

also timeskip!kazutora, inupi, and chifuyu all in one place........ goodbye!

on a side note: I think I'm just gonna be a manga only at this rate bc I tried watching the first episode and got impatient waiting for all of the big action skjdfskjdh but maybe it was bc I wasn’t in the best mood / head-space at the time LOL 

(I've let this sit in my head a bit longer and yeah, manga only <3)

I needed to end this photo dump with this exact panel because I had to put my phone down and mentally take a walk after seeing inupi in heels. 

honorable mention goes to ponytail!baji and toman founder!baji bc they’re both engrained in my mind forever. likewise with high school!chifuyu ;; he looks like he jumped out of a shoujo manga or some kind of slice-of-life

[im-hqlover]

Arranged marriage/Royal AU - Chapter 3 - The next day.

A/n - And here's another chapter from one of the fanfics that I'm most loving to write, and I hope you are also enjoying it =) 

Enjoy!

(none of the images used on the aesthetic belong to me, credit to their creators) 

Warnings: arranged marriage, maybe some bad words, sex mentions, anguish, fight, war mentions, maybe discomfort?, cry (Idk if it is necessary, but I will put anyway), maybe english errors/mistakes. (I hope I haven't forgotten anything) 

important details to mention:

-This is kind of a Royal AU, but time kinda mixes with middle Ages and current time, so some technologies exist and others don’t, it’s kind of confusing, maybe, but I hope this isn’t a big problem.

-The reader is 20 years old, Jason is 22 y/o

-The reader is female.

Pairings: Jason Todd x reader

Y/n = your name

F/c = Favourite cake

F/fd = Favourite food 

Words count: 6013 

Previous chapters: Chapter one, Chapter Two, Chapter two's Alternative ending 

Next chapters: coming soon 

Tag list: @sarcasmismyfirstlove​​ 

Y/N's INFO:

Gender: Cis-Female

Sexuality: Straight

Height: Shorter than Jason

Weight: Not Defined 

Skin Color: Not Defined 

Hair Color: Not Defined 

Eyes Color: Not Defined

Other details? Y/n is myopic

(I hope I have put all the information, let me know if i forgot something) 

The sun's rays from a beautiful autumn day filled the bedroom, leaving it fully lit, everything was at peace, and I was still sleepy, so I just try to sleep again, but my sleeping plans went down the drain when a bird appears and decides to sing right on the windowsill, I take a deep breath placing the pillow in my face to drown out the sound of singing, but it was useless, did that damn bird follow me from my kingdom to here, only to disturb my sleep? 

I take a deep breath, giving up trying to sleep, I remove the pillow and look at the ceiling for a while, the moment I woke up I found that place strange, and I wondered where I was, until I remember the wedding and everything, and of course, remembering that didn't improve my day, in fact I seemed to have forgotten Jason's little gentle acts and only my anger remained, anger at my parents, anger at having married a stranger who killed people, anger at me. I was clearly not in a good mood, and I found it very difficult for that to change, although it could have been simply a dream, or rather a nightmare.  

When I looked to my side to see my husband, he wasn't there, and then it crossed my mind what did he think of me, was the anger reciprocal? I thought so. I got up from the bed and sat down, I looked at the clock there and realized it was almost 10:00 am, I wonder why I managed to sleep for so long and didn't wake up when Jason got up… in fact, I’m not surprised, I was dying of tiredness yesterday/today's dawn, so I think it’s natural that I’ve slept for so long. 

I go to the bathroom, wash my face, comb my hair that was a mess and do my other needs, when I left I thought about what I would do at that moment, until my belly growled and thought it would be better to find something to eat, but not before changing those clothes, I didn't really want people to see me like that, but there was a little problem, in fact two, I had no idea where my room was located neither the kitchen. 

I tried to remember the path that that sir had taken until we got here, but I couldn't remember, because at that moment I was so nervous about what was about to happen that I completely ignored how I got there. 

As I didn't want to be bothering other people and wanting to do things a little by myself, I decide that maybe by exploring the castle somehow I could find the kitchen or my room, but guess what?  I was wrong. I walked through so many corridors, but nothing there seemed to be near the kitchen or my room, that castle was a complete maze and I thought I would need a map to be able to locate myself there. And I take a deep breath when I arrive in a dead-end corridor, turn around and end up getting scared because not far behind me there was a boy with maybe 10 or so, he had black hair as dark as coal, there were emerald green eyes, and he had his arms crossed for me. 

- Huh, hi - I say awkwardly and soon I feel my face heat up when I realize that that boy was seeing me in those clothes. 

- Hello Sleeping Beauty, you look lost. - He said with a serious face, I vaguely remembered him as being one of Jason's younger brothers, but I couldn't remember his name... maybe it had D? I had no idea.

- Huh, well, I was exploring the castle to get to know a little. - I rub my hand on my arm nervously. 

- It seems to me that you are looking for something, not "exploring". 

- Huh... well, maybe... I was looking for the kitchen. - I look away from him and he ends up laughing. - What's it?

- You'll never get there like that, the kitchen is practically on the other side of the castle. 

- And… by any chance… did you take me there? - He sighs not seeming to want to do that much. 

- Just this once. - He says with a tone not too friendly to be honest, he turns and starts walking, and I follow him. 

He really wasn't kidding when he said the kitchen was on the other side of the castle, I don't know how long it took to get there, but I can say that it was a long way to go, as we get closer I can smell food in the air, maybe they were already preparing lunch, when we got the boy to stop and say. 

- Is here. - He spoke and started to leave before I could even thank him. 

- Thank you. - I thank him in the same way, but I didn't know if he heard me, I knock on the door and it doesn't take long for one of the tall and thin cooks, perhaps an apprentice for his age, would answer the door. 

- P-princess y/n - He bowed when he realized it was me who was at the door, I just give a small shyly nod in response.

- Huh, could I come in by any chance? I would like to eat something if it were possible. - He nodded quickly several times and allowed me to enter the kitchen. 

- W-what would yo-you like to eat your highness? 

- Please just call me y/n, huh, sorry, but what's your name?

- J-Jeremy.  

- Nice to meet you Jeremy. - I say to him smiling until an older woman, maybe 50 years old because of her gray hair, she approaches us with a wooden spoon and stares deathly at the youngest.

- What are you doing bothering the princess, Jeremy? And why is she here? - She said while pointing the wooden spoon at me. My impression is that the woman wasn't very friendly, especially when it came to strangers in her kitchen. The woman wearing chef's clothes looks at my clothes with a disapproving look. 

- Huh, it's just... I was hungry and I thought if I could get something to eat here, it doesn't have to be fancy or anything, I'm happy if I can just eat a piece of cake with coffee. - Her expression seemed to have softened slightly, but her face was still not very friendly. - If it doesn't ask for much, of course, otherwise I can wait until lunch is ready.

- Jeremy! Get what your highness wants, immediately! - The lady said while pointing the wooden spoon again at the boy who quickly nodded in agreement. 

- Y-yes, ma'am.

The lady soon asked if I would like to go to the royal dinner table, but I refused and said that I could eat right there if I didn't bother, she seems to have found this strange, but she didn't disagree and let me stay there, I soon found out that her name was Constance. 

It didn't take long for Jeremy to come back with a plate with f/c and a cup of coffee, Constance said that I could sit at the staff table so that I didn't have to eat standing up, I agreed and sat there. When I finished eating I thanked them both and went out to the kitchen, now the new challenge, find my room, but this time, not to waste time I asked one of the servants who passed me, and she said she unfortunately didn’t know but that I was supposed to wait there and she would call someone who knew, and in little time the same man who guided me to Jason's bedroom came and guided me to my room. 

- Huh, I don't want to disturb you, but could I know your name? - I say to break the silence while we walk. 

- Alfred Pennyworth, your highness. - He replied gently and calmly.

- Please, call me y/n. - He turned to me briefly with a questioning look.

- Why?

- I just prefer to be called by my name only. - I shrug. 

- I must excuse you princess, but I think that will be a difficult task for me, calling a noble without their title seems wrong to me. - Well, I kind of expected this, many said the same thing, and even if they didn’t say it out loud I had the feeling that they thought that, everyone was taught to refer to each other, mainly for nobles, as a form of respect, but I hated it, it was like people could be superior to each other just because of a damn title, and that's why I always say it's just to call me by my name, but I know that didn’t change things, since everyone always kept calling me princess or your highness, or something like that, but I don’t blame them. 

- It's okay, I understand. - I look at the corridors we were passing through, in many of them there were several pictures of different things, from important people to things like a landscape, in addition to the corridors having giant windows to which they had equally large curtains to which they were in a way so that the sun could enter and illuminate the place. I didn't even notice when we got to my room, and I could see that there was a movement there. 

- What is happening? - I tell Alfred who turns to me. 

- They are taking your belongings to Prince Jason's room, since you will share it from now on. - I smile a little sad, my plans to avoid my husband were going down the drain, because now I would literally have to share the same room with him. 

- Are you all right, your highness? - I look at Alfred and shake my head negatively. 

- N-no, everything is fine. - He didn't seem to believe my answer, but said nothing more. 

- I have other commitments at the moment your highness, so I have to leave you alone at the moment. - I nod and he makes a little bow.

- Thank you, Sir Alfred.

- You’re welcome, y/n. - I give him a small smile and he returns, and then leaves there.

I look at the servants there and tell them if they could wait a little while to take everything because I would like to change my clothes, they agree and leave me alone in the room. I look in the suitcases and choose torn jeans and a black short-sleeved shirt to dress, in addition to my underwear and sneakers of course, I take the clothes to the bathroom and a bath towel too, I take a long shower, after getting dressed I dry my hair with the towel and comb them, and decided that I wouldn't use the dryer and let the hair dry naturally. 

Upon leaving my room the servants were waiting in the corridor to be able to continue their work, for a moment they look at me but for some reason they start to look away, which intrigued me, but I try to ignore that fact. 

Walking down some corridors I reach the main stairway which I descend, reaching the great entrance hall. 

- Y/n! - I hear my mother's voice coming back from me, and then I turn to see her, my father, my brother and some other nobles that I recognized to be some of our allies. - I finally found you, why didn't you show up for breakfast?

- I, huh ... I was very tired because of the night, you know. - I say looking away, maybe she believed that I and Jason did that, because in no way I wanted her to find out we didn't do that, she nods in agreement.

- And what clothes are these? You are no longer at home, daughter, you have to wear appropriate clothes. - She scolded me while trying to be "kind", when I knew she wanted to yell at me for wearing those clothes, but of course she wouldn't argue with me, not in front of the other nobles. 

- When I went to my room they were already carrying my bags, those were the only clothes I could find. - Of course it was a lie, there were other clothes and others more "appropriate" as she said, but I decided to wear that outfit because I liked to dress like this, and she knew very well that it was a lie, but because we were in front of others nobles she just scowled at me. 

- So it's better to change your clothes as soon as possible. - I cross my arms so that she sees that I refused to do this, as she didn't want to freak out in front of everyone she just changed the subject. - Lunch will soon be ready, join us and let's go to the dining room. 

Well, it's not like I have a choice to refuse, but I also knew what time or other I would have to go to lunch, so it was better to follow them than to be lost again, so I say yes quietly and start following them in silence, while they talked about political things.

It didn't take long before we got to the big dining room, with a giant table made of some very expensive and chic wood, when we arrived we were the first to be there besides the employees who was preparing the table, and  they indicated the places where we should sit, I sit in my designated chair and my mother sits on my left side, while on the right side there is a chair which I already had a brief guess of who would sit there. 

At the end of the table which was closest to me was a chair that stood out from the others, and I assumed it was King Bruce who would sit there, on the sides of the table, next to me and the different chair there were five other normal chairs but these were empty, three on the side opposite me and two on my side, and I soon thought it would be the chairs for each of the princes. 

My assumptions didn't take long to materialize, because soon the king along with the five princes came to the table while laughing at something. They all wore casual clothes but appropriate for a prince, their clothes were almost identical, white flax shirts, vests made of leather or some similar material, black pants that stayed inside his boots of practically the same color, and of course, there was a belt that served to hold their sword, the only thing that differed in their clothes was the size and colors of their vests, the oldest of the five wore a bluish vest, Jason’s was dark red that looked like it was blood, the boy who thought he was the third oldest wore a red vest too, but besides being a lighter red his vest had some golden details, the fourth wore a golden yellow vest with black details, and the last and youngest of them all, who was the same boy he had met this morning, wore an emerald green vest, and of course, the king dressed in the same way as his sons, his vest being black. 

They all stopped laughing when they noticed the presence of other people there, and soon took their seats in silence, the king sitting on the end, the oldest sitting next to the king and Jason, who had sat next to me, the other three sat on the other side, and the youngest sat next to the king, the third oldest sitting next to him, and the other who wore the yellow vest sitting in front of me. 

For a moment the place was in an awkward silence, until little by little the conversations were resumed, other people also appeared, both noble allies of my kingdom and Gotham's allies. After a while the employees finally bring the food to the table. My mother nudges me with her elbow and whispers to me "look at the posture", I immediately straightened up in my chair with the right posture, I kept watching all the food there, and I must say, none really made me want to eat because they were all those fancy, expensive and extravagant foods that I wasn't a fan of, I just stand there, watching the food and my empty plate, making no move to get anything to eat. 

- Aren't you going to eat daughter? - My mom asks me while pointing to my empty plate. 

- I'm not hungry. - I say in a low voice and still looking at my plate. 

- You need to eat something, you didn't even have breakfast. - I look at my mother, but just shake my head negatively, I look at my plate for a while longer, until I get up from my chair, catching the attention of everyone present. 

- Where are you going? - My mom asked, but I didn't answer her, and I just left the room and walking around the castle, I just wanted to get out of there, no matter where, just anywhere. 

I didn't even look at where I was going, I just know that when I realized I was passing through the warriors' training yard and not far from there I ended up in the stables, where there were several horses, all of them very tall and ready for battle, I looked at them in awe, I loved horses so much, but it had been so long since I had galloped in one, I was a little afraid to get too close to them, because being someone they didn’t know they could very well end up attacking me, I walked slowly in the corridor, watching each horse, until I stopped in front of one that caught my attention, unlike the others he wasn't so tall, and his body was more rounded, and his legs were thicker and stronger than the others. But there was something different about him, not just his structure, but he looked at me differently, which through his eyes even looked like he was talking to me, I didn’t even notice when I approached him until I was stroking his muzzle, it was so cute. 

- Hey! Caution! - I turn scared in the direction of the unknown voice and see that it was a boy who had called me, he should be the same age as me, or more or less close, he wasn't very tall as the other men here, he had tanned skin and dark brown hair. He approached me, and he didn't look very happy, in fact he looked like a mixture of anger and fear. - This horse is treacherous, it isn't good to be on his side. 

- Are you sure? He looks so tame. - I say while looking at the short, golden colored horse with white details. 

- Yes, I'm sure, I am the caretaker of all these horses and this is the most problematic, and I say, it is better to get away. - He spoke stiffly, I look at him and then at the horse. 

- By the way, why are you here? I'm pretty sure you aren't allowed to be here.

- I-I was just exploring the castle, and when I realized I got here, and I couldn't help myself and see the horses. - I say looking away. - I thought I could see them.

The horse caretaker didn't seem to know exactly what to say, he sighs and speaks. 

- As long as you're careful, I think it's okay to see them. - I smile happily, finally someone wouldn't stop me from doing something. - I really need to get some things and then take care of one of the injured horses, just don't get hurt while I'm out. 

He warn me while walking away from me, I nodded and said I would be careful, and so he left the stable. I approach that short horse again and pet him, I didn’t understand, he didn’t look bad, I look in his stall and notice that he has a small gold plate with a name carved in it, "Apollo". 

- I don't think you're that bad Apollo. - I say as I continued to pet him.

An idea came to mind, I look around and realize that there was no one there besides me and the other horses, I smile at Apollo and say. 

- I think you don't like it here much, do you? 

He shakes his head to affirm my question, I look around the stable and see some saddles and reins, I take Apollo out of his stall and I take it close to where the items were, and soon I put all the items in him, before mounting Apollo I stand in front of him and say looking into your eyes.

- I don't know how we will get out of here, but I know that together we will be able to get out in a way. 

His eyes seemed to say: "I know a way", I smile at him, open the door that was closed in the stable and realize that there it goes out into an open field where I supposed the horses to graze, I ride in Apollo and without delay he start walking towards exit. I looked around the field, I knew that that field would at some point be a limit for the horses not to leave. 

- So, do you know a way to get out of here buddy? - He turns his head to me and neighs, his eyes say it is for me to leave it up to him. 

- Then move on. - I talk to him, allowing him to start walking, I held the reins tighter when he started walking much faster. I just hope that after so long I still know how to ride a horse.

We both walked through the open field, Apollo seemed to know very well what he was doing, but it didn't take long for a problem to arise, there was a wall which prevented the horses from escaping, it was not so high, but I found it impossible to get past it, and I started to worry when the horse didn’t stop its pace. 

- Apollo, what are you doing? - I tried to make him stop using the reins but it didn't work, what was I doing now? 

It was then that Apollo went towards a rock that was there, he increased his speed even more and used that stone as a support to jump over the wall. I was unresponsive, I swore I was going to die at that moment, either from a heart attack or falling off the horse. I was paralyzed, and I was not released from this trance state until Apollo stopped and neighed at me.

- You could have warned me earlier! - I say to him and he just looked at me saying: "I'm just a horse, how was I going to warn you?" 

I take a deep breath trying to calm myself down again, it was all crazy. Then I pressed Apollo's flanks to make him walk, I knew I would have to get out of there before the guards came after me.

Apollo trotted for a while, until I could hear the sound of the nearest sea, so I directed him until we reached the beach, I was enjoying the scenery for a while until I got off the horse. 

Unlike most of the beaches I had already seen, a part of the beach was rocky, and the part that had sand wasn't that big. I watched it for several minutes, and even though I wasn't holding or riding Apollo, he didn't seem to want to leave my side. 

I took a deep breath, letting the scent of the sea enter my nostrils and the icy wind ruffle my hair. I looked towards where the castle was supposed to be, and then I looked at the sea, and then at the woods behind me, I had a chance to escape with Apollo, but I knew that even if I did it, at some point someone would find me again, and worse, the war, the only thing that kept me from running away was this damn war, I knew everything would come back again, and knowing that it would happen and because of me, it made me very bad, I didn't want innocent people to die for my recklessness.

It might not have been a long time of freedom, but just riding and being there on the beach had already made me a little happier. I turn to Apollo and tell him. 

- It's time to go back. 

He turned his head immediately surprised by this, and he seemed to say, "but you said that we would run away!" 

- I-I know what I said, but... but if I really do that, very bad things are going to happen because of me. But you can be free Apollo, there is no one who can stop you now. - I pet him and when I would take his halter off he turns his face. 

- Hey! I just want to take this away from you, so you can be free! Isn't that what you want? - He shakes his head negatively, and I am confused, he approaches me and puts his head on my shoulder. 

- Do you... want to stay with me? - I say as I walk away and look into his black eyes and pet his head, he seemed to say yes. I smile at him. 

- Okay, so let's go back to the castle, but this time, without crazy jumps it looks like I'm going to die halfway. 

He neighed and I think I should think of it as a laugh. Apollo then takes me towards the castle again, but then I guide him to the entrance, because I knew we had no way to get back the same way we left, and even though I knew that my parents would find me sooner to scold me, I knew it would happen sooner or later, so the sooner the better. 

As we approach the big gate I soon hear a guard shout from above the walls: "PRINCESS Y/N! SHE'S BACK! PRINCESS Y / N IS BACK!"  

It didn't take long for the gates to be opened for me to cross and I also saw that people started to leave the castle and they went to meet me, and of course one of the first to approach was my mother with her face of anger and disappointment. 

- What were you thinking y/n?

- Riding a horse? - I speak pointing to the horse. 

- Enough of your jokes y/n, you know very well what you did. - I look at her angrily too, I thought for a few seconds until I told her. 

- Yeah, I know. And? 

Her anger was so great that I could see that tears started to form in her eyes.

- Do you want to ruin everything? Do you want the war to return? This is what you want? 

- If I wanted that I would have done a lot worse, by the way, I didn't run away, I'm here, am I not? What's more, what are you going to do about it? punish me putting me in my room? 

My mother was quiet for a while, the other people who were there were also quiet, just watching the circus catch on fire. 

- What did I do wrong for you to become that way? - She asks as tears fall, even after everything, she was still my mother, and I won't lie, knowing that I hurt her, hurted me, but when she hurt me before, she didn't seem to care. 

- Want me to make you a list? - I say with anger still running through my veins, even if she was my mother, it does not undo the things she did.  

She just looked at me with sadness and anger, and left, other people looked at me with disapproval, and I just ignored them and took Apollo towards the stable, I knew the stable/training area should have a path that connected with the castle entrance, so it wasn't too difficult to find the location.  

Unlike before, there were almost no horses in the stable, and I also saw no sign on the caretaker, I leave Apollo and take him to his place again, I remove all his equipment and put it in place, I give him one last pet before leaving.

I know that everyone there would disagree with my actions, but I didn't care, but I was slightly worried because I knew that anything good that was in the relationship between me and Jason, or anyone in the royal family would now be negative, and that could be a bad sign, because with their distrust of me, it could indeed cause revolt against me, against my family and my kingdom, that is, in some way the war could return. 

I sighed angrily, again I had been such a reckless and selfish big asshole. 

I walked through the castle, trying to find the bedroom that I would share with my husband from now on, but as I searched I was stopped by an angry voice coming from behind me, I shrunk but I turned to see Jason approaching me. 

- What the fuck do you think you were doing? Did you know that you could not ride alone without protection, let alone without permission? - I shrunk and I stepped back at his increasingly angry voice, unlike my mother, Jason still scared me, and I feared what he might do to me or someone else for my actions.

- I-I... I thought I would have a little mo-more freedom here, but... but of course it wouldn't be any different here. - I say turning around to ignore him and also so he doesn't see the tears that started to form in my eyes and soon I leave there, going anywhere. 

- Where are you going?! - He says and I can hear his footsteps approaching me. 

- And does it matter? - He goes ahead of me, so that I could see him, but I try to ignore him. 

- Yes, it does, and from now on I won't take my eyes off you. - His voice was still irritated, and I could feel his eyes pierce me with anger. - Now tell me, where are you going.

I hesitate for a moment, until I answer him. 

- I-I think where our bedroom should be from now on.

- That's the wrong direction. - He answers, his voice was still not very friendly, but he was not as angry as he was seconds ago. - Do you even know where mi-, our room is?

I shake my head negatively and he sighs. 

- Follow me. - I did as he was told, and then in a few minutes we got to our room. 

- Huh, could you tell me where my clothes were put? - I say when I enter the room and he points to the wardrobe. 

- They must have put it in the wardrobe. 

I agree, and then I look at him and I ask. 

- Could I be alone for a while? At least until I showered and dressed. 

He agrees and leaves me there alone in the room, I look for my clothes in the wardrobe and then go to the bathroom to take a shower. When I finished dressing in leggings, a short-sleeved shirt and a sweatshirt as it was starting to get cold, I left the room and came across a guard. 

- Do you wish to go somewhere, your highness? - The man should have been in his thirties, he had brown hair and beard, and black eyes, he wore chainmail along with half his armor, and next to him was a scabbard in which his sword was kept.  

- Huh, where's Jason? 

- The prince is in a meeting at the moment, but if you need to go somewhere, I will accompany you, since from now on I will be your bodyguard.

Hmf, how great, a bodyguard, was everything I wanted most. I held back to keep from rolling my eyes, and then I smile at the guard and say. 

- So, huh, if you will be my bodyguard could you tell me your name? 

- Scott, Scott Dankworth.  

- Nice to meet you, Scott. - I half smile and he makes a little bow. 

- It's an honor to be able to protect you. 

We were silent for a few seconds until Scott asked. 

- Would you like to go somewhere, your highness? 

- No, I… I'm going to stay in the room anyway. But thanks for asking. - I shake my head negatively as I enter the room. 

- Alright princess, if you need to leave or anything, please let me know. 

I agree slightly and then close the bedroom door and lie down on the bed, honestly I had no idea what to do now, so I just lay in bed, looking at the ceiling, the hours passed like that, until I realize through the bedroom window that the sun had started to disappear, in a little while it would probably be dinner. I looked at the ceiling for a while longer, until I heard a knock on the door. 

- Who is it? - I say without emotion in my voice. 

- It's Scott, your highness. 

- You may come in. 

- I just want to warn you that dinner is on the table and they are waiting for your presence.

- Could you please tell them that I am too unwilling to attend the dinner? 

- Of course, Your Highness. 

He closed the door and I can hear the sound of his boots hitting the floor moving further and further away, but after some time I can hear the sound of his footsteps approaching. 

- Your Highness? - He said while knocking on the door. 

- Come in.

- They told me that you didn't eat anything for lunch or eat breakfast, and that you should go to dinner for the sake of your health. 

- I'm fine Scott. I already told you, I'm unwell for that dinner. 

The silence prevailed for a few seconds until the bodyguard started to speak again. 

- Wouldn't you like me to bring you something to eat? That way you won't have to attend dinner. 

I was thinking for a moment, I would be lying if I said I wasn't hungry, as the only thing I ate today was a piece of cake and a cup of coffee, and my stomach was now completely empty, begging for it I would eat something soon. 

- Can be… 

- What do you want me to bring, your highness? 

- Hmm… if maybe there was f/fd, I would be very happy.

- I'll see what I can do, your highness. 

- Ok. Thank you. 

When he left my room again, he came back after a some minutes saying that there was no such thing at dinner, but that lady Constance said she could do it as long as I could wait to be ready, and I agreed. It took some time, but the whole wait was worth it because the food was delicious. 

- Scott, tell Constance that the food was magnificent and that I thank her very much for her kindness. 

- I will. - The guard left with the tray with the empty plate in hand, and when he returned he said the following. - Your family is leaving for your kingdom, I will guide you so you can say goodbye to them. 

But I stayed in bed, I didn't want to say goodbye to them, not just because I hated goodbyes, but because I was still angry with them, and I didn't want to see them. 

- Tell them I said goodbye and have a nice trip. 

- Aren't you going to tell them personally? 

- No. - I just say that and he must have understood that it was better not to insist, and so he left. 

As soon as he left I couldn't stop the tears from falling. I don't know how long I was looking at the ceiling like that, but soon I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore and ended up sleeping. 

A/n - Well, I thought this chapter would be bigger than the second, but in the end it was almost the same size. I hope you enjoyed, by the way, I don't know if at the beginning, Damian's personality was similar to his or not, and I also know that aesthetic doesn't seem to match, but I couldn't find images that matched and related to facts in the chapter, so sorry for that. (and the knight in the aesthetic is the bodyguard, just so you know) 

Btw, if in case it have anything confused or with English errors, please let me know. 

I think that's it, I really hope you like it =) 

Until the next chapter!

See ya!

- Ina -

Masterlist

[seventhroses]

☁️ Dreams

👩🏻 A/N: It's here! This is my first story! I just wrote it as I needed an outlet to get my mind off reality. Probably gonna write again? Idk 🤔Anyway I'm excited to share this! Not sure if it’s good BUT I hope anyone that gives it a go would enjoys it! 🥰

🌠 Geners: Fantasy, fluff, slight smut

📃 Word count: 4.9K

Since young, you always have a thing for dreams. You were told many stories of different people's dreams and you've always finds it fascinating on what goes on in there when your body shuts to recharged.

There was one in particular that had it imprinted in you till now. It was your grandparent's dreams. You can't believe that they actually met in their dreams and how their love unfolds into reality.

How can anyone dreamed of someone else when they've never cross path or see each other before? You always questioned.

You could never figure out no matter how many times they tell you their tales. But even so, it was the sweetest love story that you've heard and of course, seeing it through parts of their times, you were partially convinced that maybe dreams do come true.

As you get older, instead of popping colours of life, nightmares get the best of you. You eventually start sleeping lesser and lesser hours. Dreams were no longer the happy fluffy thing you did look forward to every night.

Today was the worst. It was one of those days, where you felt like everything was collapsing on you. This week have been so exhausting and you probably had less than 10hours of sleep in total. Having to deal with your sickening boss that always throws you with piles of urgent paper work that you end up OT till 1-2AM to finish, colleagues that act as if they're the only one that have a life outside of work and dumped their unfinished work on you.

Just when you thought things couldn't get any worst, you sprained your ankle while chasing for your last bus home tonight.

"How great.." you sighed while limping up the bus with your now sore ankle.

"Well at least, I managed to catch the bus…" Trying hard to comfort your miserable self as you found a seat and sat down. 

You finally reached home after what seems like forever. Throwing your heels aside, you limped towards the kitchen to get some ice for your swollen ankle. Walking to the living room you plopped yourself onto the sofa, turning the TV on that you have no plans on watching. You find yourself staring into the ceiling, can't help but to question about your life.

Even though you're tired as hell, you can feel yourself fighting that tiredness, refusing to let another nightmare invade you tonight. But as the clock ticks away by the minutes, you know your fight is futile.

"If only.. I just wish for one good dream.. Just one, to end this miserable week" with that, you find your heavy lids closed as you fell asleep.

The next thing you know, upon opening your eye you saw the ray of morning sun shining into your room.

Checking the time on the clock, 

"It's 11AM?!" Now, widely awake. "Did I just sleep through the night?"

Not remembering when's the last time you slept through the night without waking up with cold sweat or hyperventilating from the nightmare you had. Though, you weren't complaining. You were in fact longing for a good sleep like this.

You got out of your bed, slipping into your bunny slippers, ready to kicked start your day. You just felt really good and recharged from the long sleep. After washing up and making yourself a cup of coffee, you walk to the sofa and sat down, finding a comfortable position to plan how you should go about your day before having your best friend over tonight for dinner and movie.

While you were making plans, a suddenly feeling strikes you. Something doesn't add up, but you can't seem to put it into words.

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It's 1PM. You're dressed in your ripped jeans and cute smiley sweater ready for some shopping therapy and groceries shopping for tonight's dinner. You grabbed a pair of your most comfortable heels and skipped out of your apartment. You were in a good mood, stress free and you know that's not normal but again you're not complaining. You're going to enjoy it while it last and so you thought.

As you were going down the long flight of stairs towards the bus stop, you were impressed at how you managed to go up these 'stairs of hell' with your swollen ankle last night. That's when you realised, they aren't painful anymore. You were pretty sure it was swollen before you fell asleep but they seem perfectly fine now. You also remember falling asleep on the sofa and not in the room.

So, how did I get to the room? When did I changed into the pj? Now, lots of thoughts are flying in and you couldn't much process or find an answer to them.  Are you that tired that you can't remember what you did?

 "Be careful!!" A loud voice snapped you back into reality and you can feel a strong hand holding on to your arm.

Facing the stairs down, you're pretty sure that you will get more than just swollen ankle if it's not for this person. You turned your head around wanting to thank your saviour but came to face with a white tee and strong veiny arms that is holding on to you. You tilted your head up trying to see who's this perfect fitting body belongs to and there, you saw a pair of small worrisome eyes looking at you.

 "Are you ok? Hurt anywhere?"  he asked worriedly.

At that moment, you couldn't seem to find a word as you were too focus on looking at this charming looking gentleman in front of you.

Let's be honest, ever since you start adulting, life has been a struggle of paying off bills and dealing with your work life. You hardly even have time for yourself, so let alone finding yourself a partner to add on the struggle with.

The only male presence in your life other than your dad, is your childhood best friend, Lee Minhyuk. Well, he's called your best friend for a reason. You have been in each other's life for more than a decade and you know each other all too well. Also, knowing that there will probably be no peaceful day ahead if you guys were to even try. You and Minhyuk can't even decide on a movie together for movie night without bricking for at least 30 minutes and ended up having to tossed a coin to decide. Which, you think it's probably going to happen tonight too. So, it has never really cross both of your mind about developing your relationship into anything else more than what you guys are.

You did met a few people, go for a few dates before but that was in collage when you had the privileged of time. All that just seems so long ago.

Right now, having come face to face with this charming guy, it is sure to activate your needs for a new male presence in your life. Not to mention, this gentlemen in front of you, his visual is… let's just say, he's totally your type. With your 'love struck' expression which you probably are showing now, he figured that you should be ok.

"Hi, I'm Hyunwoo." Waiting for your answer while holding on to you as you steady your feet. 

You noticed his expression changed to a shy and smiley eye, that would totally make anyone soft.

 "Hi" … "I'm y/n." Quite sure you sounded like a robot.

A red one to be exact because you can feel yourself blushing hard and the distant between the both of you and his perfume smell is not helping at all. You can hear him chuckled. His hand is still on your arms. His warm palm on your skin certainly have you feeling the butterfly flying wildly in your stomach.

 "Are you free for a coffee?" You blurted out of nowhere and a sudden realisation that you're thinking out loud, got you in panicked mode.

 "I mean… I mean you just saved me from the probability of cracking my head like an egg... so.. " pausing and cursing yourself for the lame joke. Now, you just want to dig a hole and hid.

He laughed. "I like that" not sure if he said that out of courtesy, just so your now red af face wouldn't burst. 

"and sure. I would love for a coffee with you, Y/n. "

You liked the way he calls your name. Like you never knew it could sound so sweet.

 After the awkward invitation, Hyunwoo slide his hand down from your arm. Holding on to your hand now, he casually walks down the stairs. Going one step ahead of you as he leads you down. He turned his head to looked at you and smiled,

"Now, you don't need to worry about getting your head cracked."

You're very sure at that moment, your face was in tomato red as Hyunwoo holds your hand and walk towards the nearby café.

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"Do you stay around here?" You asked as the both of you set down on the sofa seating in the café.

"Yes, I just moved here recently and was exploring the neighbourhood. You stay around the area?"

"Yup. Not far from the 'stairs of hell'." Almost rolling your eye.

Hyunwoo let out an airy laughed "I totally know what you mean."

Taking the first sipped of his drink, he started making some sound. "Mmmm! Mmm! This is so good!"

His reaction makes you adore him. How can someone be so charming, gentle and cute all at the same time.

"Oh, what did you ordered?" you asked out of curiosity.

"Honey grapefruit tea! It's on the drink's special menu. It's so refreshing!" You smiled at him as he sounded so proud of his order.

"Do you stay alone?"

 That question was definitely out of nowhere.

 There was a short pause as you were a little startled by the intruding question. Hyunwoo probably felt that he might have make you uncomfortable, so he explained.

"Oh, don't get me wrong. Since I moved here alone, I just thought it would be nice to know people in my neighbourhood. But its ok! You don't have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable. I'm sorry for the sudden question." Looking apologetic and not sure if he sounded weird.

But somehow his explanation makes you feel comfortable enough to tell him, so you looked at him,

"It's ok, dont be sorry. And yes, I kind of stays alone. But I have this best friend of mine, that would come crushing every so often to check if im still alive. So i'm not sure if that counts." Again, cursing yourself for the lame joke but it's kind of true too.

Well, atleast your reply showed Hyunwoo some relieved as you can see the smile back on his face.  

"It would be nice if we could have…"

 Before you manage to hear finished his sentence, the whole place start to shake violently. You could hear someone calling your name very loudly, somewhere but you couldn't find the source. Scared as hell, you closed your eyes shut.

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 When you opened your eye, you were in a dazed. Minhyuk is now on the sofa beside you and shaking you violently. You frowned, now back to your sense. You were quite sure if he were to continue shaking, you would have thrown up on him that instant.

 "Babe! Back on earth?! You scare the hell out of me!" "What happen to you?!" "I came into the apartment and the first thing I saw is your dead body on the sofa!" "I mean lifeless. I mean.." As Minhyuk went on with his chains of words, you rolled your eyes at him. You can totally see that small smirked on his face.

 You had given Minhyuk the password to your apartment on day one when you move in, as he was whining non-stop about it until you gave him the digits. Since the both of you are having movie night every other Saturday, so you though it did be more convenient to do so too. But Minhyuk always says, it's for your safety so he can come by to check on you and see if you're still alive and kicking. You just want to rolled your eye, knowing all too well it's for his own convenience, as he always comes over for free meals, if not when he wants to escape from his mom's nagging. But even so, you never really mind it because he would keep you accompany whenever nightmares start taunting you.

 "What time is it now?" you asked.

 "It's almost 7PM, y/n! And you are supposed to start cooking dinner at 6:30PM!" He shouted across the kitchen while getting you a glass of water.

 You took the glass from him while trying to figure out what just happened.

 "Are you having nightmares again?" Minhyuk asked with concern on his face.

 "No, it's not a nightmare. In fact, it was a good dream." You paused.

"Well, at least it is until someone starts shaking me so violently, I thought there was an earthquake." You said to him with a somewhat annoyed tone now. He pouted.

You stood up wanting to get a quick shower because you're still in your yesterday's work clothes but your ankle give way. Now you remembered that you had sprained your ankle and it's still swollen. You realised what was not adding up. You were dreaming, that's why it wasn't hurting earlier.

And that guy in your dream, Hyunwoo.

Who is he? Have you seen him before?

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

 It’s been a month since you dreamt of Hyunwoo and you were hoping to dream of him again but instead, the whole nightmare routine starts bugging you instead.

 Today, was no different as you find yourself fighting the tiredness to sleep. But after sometime, you finally can’t hold much longer and you fell asleep on the sofa. When you opened your eye and to your delight, you were at the same cafe, same sofa seat where you and Hyunwoo were at before.

 "Hey, your coffee." Looking up, you saw that smiley eyes that you were missing so much, right in front of you.

 "Hey.." You replied, fighting the urge to ask if he he's real. Afraid that it would break the spell to whatever is causing this dream.

 You decided to throw the thought to the back of your head, as you have been waiting for this to happen ever since that day, you tell yourself to enjoy it well it last. So, you turned your focus back on him.

 "How have you been?" You smiled while sipping on the coffee he got for you.

 "I'm good. And I've been thinking about talking to you again" That sudden confession caught you off guard.

 Has he been thinking about me? This is a dream, right? He's probably a reflection of what I've been wanting to hear from a guy.

Now you're very much convinced by yourself that all this are probably just in your head.

 The both of you talked for a while, enjoying each other's company. It felt nice talking to Hyunwoo and you were hoping to talk for a little longer but a loud ringing sound woke you up.

Lazy hand searching for the source of the dreadful sound, you grabbed the alarm and turn it off. Looking at the time, it's now 5AM and you know you are back at the harsh reality of work week. A sigh leaves you as you drag your heavy body out of bed.

 On the way to work, you can't help but be hopeful about dreaming of Hyunwoo again since the second time did happened.

 Indeed, you found yourself seeing Hyunwoo in your dreams for the third, fourth and fifth time in a spent of 2 months. It always happens at the same cafe. The both of you would be seating at the same sofa seat, drinking the same drinks. Even though, there's no knowing to when you will be dreaming of Hyunwoo but when you did, he never fails to makes you happy and recharged. You start seeing yourself looking forward to sleeping and dreaming again. Something that you use to love before adulting. Not to mention, nightmare have been less frequent and you were feeling better every day. It was a good sign for you.

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 And today you're dream again, the sixth time. But you found yourself at a different setting. It wasn't the usual cafe or the sofa seat that you always sat on. It was a place you are not familiar with. It was someone's home.

 It was Hyunwoo's home to be exact. You can see his family picture framed up sitting on the kitchen's table. He was smiling so brightly in the picture and you can see where he probably gets his youthfulness from. You smiled because in front of you, stands a familiar back hovering over the stove.

 "Your mum look so young and pretty." you said while admiring his back view.

 He turned around sounded in agreement. Now turning towards you, you can't help but to admire this perfect looking guy, in his home clothes and combing his hair back with his hand. He wearing a white tee that hug his body perfectly, showing his chest muscles curve and broad shoulder and a pair of shorts that shows his long legs. Unaware of yourself checking him out so openly, he chuckled

 "Enjoying your view huh?" he says jokingly as he turns back to cook.

 You cough trying to hid your blushing face, "Ahem, are you cooking ramen?" "The legendary 'Hyunwoo's ramen'?" You giggled as you teased him.

 "Yes, I promised its the real deal."

 "Are you sure is that good?"

 "Oh yes, it's that good that you would want for more." feeling challenged as he places the ramen in front of you.

"Go on, have a taste"

 He leans in on the table, moving into your personal space as you took your first bite. You're trying to ignore his extremely close presence, not sure if it's the ramen or Hyunwoo that's making you all hot now.

 "How is it? Good?" Staring at you earnestly, waiting for your feedback.

 How am I supposed to concentrate and eating with him being so close?

 In all honesty, he looks so yummy you just want to eat him instead. You can't help but blush so hard at your own desirable thoughts.

 "Are you ok?" Hyunwoo asked as his hands feels your burning cheeks and his face just inches away from you.

 Your face now so close to his. You looked at his so kissable lips and a sudden impulse urged you to slid forward and kiss him. You retreat back and shut your eyes, hoping to wakes up so you don't have to face the embarrassment from your action. But you didn't. Before you know it, you felt Hyunwoo lips clashing back on yours causing you to open your eye in a shock. That impulse and innocent kiss had turned into a heated open mouth kisses as Hyunwoo move his hand behind your head keep you closer. You felt yourself heated up from the action. You want more. He pulls away after a while, only to carry you up onto the table as he parted your legs to stand between you. He latched his lips back on yours and you swear you're feel all sorts of sensational feeling with what he was doing. Hyunwoo slowly moves his hand with lazy fingers gliding all over your body leaving hot trials and tingling feelings to where ever he passes. You can feel the shiver up your body and the tight knot somewhere inside of you wanting more of him.  

He pulls you closer to him while moving down to your neck, giving you soft open kisses. You can feel his growing bulge pressing on your centre as he grinds up against you, cause you to make soft seductive moans that you never thought you're capable of making.

 "Hyunwoo.." You murmur as you arched your back.

 He tilted his head up to look at you, so done for him just from the kisses. You can see his pupils blown; eyes filled with lust. He wants you. Before you can think of anything, you shudder as you felt the sudden contact of his palm cupping your heated clothed centre. You moaned and that encouraged him to move further. He slipped his hand through the side of your shorts and pushing your panties aside. You hissed at him when he parts your folds and starts making circle at your swollen nub. You can't remember the last time someone had taken care of you like that and saying you were a moaning mess is an understatement. You moved your hand wrapping around his now fully grown budge, wanting to help him relief from the strain in his shorts. You can hear his low moaned when you start pumping him. He sounded so attractive, yet so sweet. Soon after, both of you were helping each other to chased your much needed high.

 "Baby.." the sudden pet name got you closer to your high " I can't…" you curled your toe and shut your eyes, preparing for the rush that was going to come through.

 But talk about bad timing.

 As you opened your eye as you found yourself lying on your own bed. You rolled over, face pressed down and you screamed into your pillow venting out your frustration. You need to settle your sexual frustration. Reaching down to your panties which is now soak with aroused. 

You sighed. "I want him." 

You find yourself craving for Hyunwoo. While thinking of him, you settle your needs with the fate of your own fingers.

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 2 weeks went by after that heated dream you had. The seventh didn't come.

  "Just go to that damn cafe! It won't hurt anyone…" Minhyuk retorted over at the other side of the phone. Clearly annoyed at you talking about the cafe for the nth number of times over the months.

 You had told Minhyuk about all your encounter with Hyunwoo in your dreams. Maybe not all, you did leave the sixth encounter out to save yourself some teasing that you would for sure get from him.

 "I dont know. I mean they're dreams. I shouldn't let it bothers me so much." turning and twisting your hair on your finger while you talked.

 You have been thinking of going to that cafe ever since the first dream but you couldn't find a reason to go. You make your own morning coffee so you won't willing to spend that extra money on coffee outside. Work also got the best of you, so you go only between your work place or home. Your life it's so exhausting, so during weekends you just wants to stay at home do your overdue laundry and spend the rest of the day sloth-ing.

 Today, Minhyuk finally convince you to get out of your den and you both were planning to meet for lunch.

 "How about you go there and get me a cup of coffee before we meet?" Minhyuk suggested. Clearly taking advantage of your dilemma but, it works. You were more convince to pop by the cafe for a reason.

"You're one smart ass." you can hear his sinister laugh, knowing that he succeeded in getting himself a free coffee.

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 "Hi, welcome!" The girl behind the cashier smile as you walk through the door. In reality, you have never noticed this cafe before, so let alone visit it, but it felt familiar. The interior and the seating were the same as what you could remember from your dreams. You look at the menu board for a while, even though you know you would probably get an ice coffee to satisfy your caffeine needs as you didn't have one in the morning. But you saw 'Honey grapefruit tea" on the drink’s special menu and without much thinking you ordered it along with Minhyuk's ice coffee. You set down at the same sofa seat that you and Hyunwoo had sat on in the dream, while waiting for your orders.

Your phone vibrates.

TheannoyingBFF: Hey babe! Please dont kill me!

TheannoyingBFF: Hyungwon car broke down and he needs me to find him

You: ...

TheannoyingBFF: I'll buy you dinner tomorrow

TheannoyingBFF: I PROMISE!

You: You better!

You: Be glad that I'm still at the cafe and not on my way

TheannoyingBFF: I'm sorry and I love you!

You: I would've killed you

You: along with hyungwon

TheannoyingBFF: Hope you will bump into him, so my sin can be off set *Praying emoji*

You: ...

You: Bye

 You grabbed your drinks when your order tag buzz and went back to the sofa seat. Having your plans cancelled and with no back up, you decided to stay in the cafe for a while. This cafe makes you smile. You were happy when you're there, so it naturally makes you feel good.

 You took a sip of the new drink and with an impressed look, you mumble to yourself “Waoh, it's indeed nice and refreshing."  Continue drinking, you stare at Minhyuk's ice coffee that is place in front of the empty seat, you thought to yourself how lonely this makes you look. Like you've been bumped or something and this makes you feel like cursing at Lee Minhyuk.

 'Ting Ting' the doorbell of the cafe rang. You didnt react to it as it has been sounding out quite a few times. While you continue to scroll through your feed, a familiar voice started talking.

 "Hi, is this seat taken?" Looking at you and gesturing at the empty seat in front of you.

 You looked up, couldn't believe by the person standing in front of you. You start looking around and find the cafe seat all packed, so you turned back to him "Erm.. No" while you kind of avoid looking at him as you try to calm your nerves and trying hard not to show that "love struck" expression.

 He smiled and thank you as he set down. You moved the cup of now showing two layered coffee away, so he can have his space.

After a minute or so, his order tag buzzed and he stood up to get his drink. Your eye followed him as he went over to the counter. When he got his drink, you notice the table at the far end were about to leave and you can feel a slight disappointment in you, thinking that he would move to that available seats. 

But to your surprise, you see him walking back towards you.

 "If you don't mind, I did love to seat here. Is that ok?" His requested makes you smile.

 "I don't mind. Please seat."

 Both of you were quiet for a while, looking at your individual phones when you decided to break the silence.

 "Do you stay around here?"

A sudden Goosebumps came to you as you asked the same question, at the same place, same spot.

 He looked at you and with a soft smile, not questioning or looking at you weirdly.

 "Yes, I just.."

before he finished his sentence, you were mumbling under your breathe, like you already know what he would probably say.

"..moved here recently and was exploring the neighbourhood."

 He now looked at you with wide eyes but somehow it doesn't look like he was spooked by you but rather a sense of realisation. Like you know his secret.

He grabbed your hand and rushed out of the cafe, bring you to the 'stairs of hell'. That very spot when he first met you.

 "Do you know this spot?" trying to search for an answer from you.

 "Yes" is all you say, as you're trying to process the situation here.

 He grins, showing his teeth and his eyes turned into a smiley eye that were so familiar with.

 "This is real right?" you couldn't help but asked.

Because at this moment, you were just confused and happy all at the same time. Hoping that this could be real and not wakes up to nothingness again.

 "It is." "Let's do this all over again." Not sure what he means by his words, you waited.

"Hi, I'm Hyunwoo. Nice to finally meet you." he stretched out his hand wanting for a handshake.

 You couldn't help but to smile and hug him instead. The guy that you have been thinking of, debating if he is real or just fantasy, is right in front of you.

 "Hi.. I'm y/n" you murmur as you can feel the tears that trapped in your eyes threatening to fall out.

 He hugs you back and you could hear him say "Thank you for finally going to that cafe."

You look up at him "Did you go to that cafe frequently, hoping that you could meet me?" You're certain your face is now showing that 'love stuck' expression as you ask that question.

 "Yes" is all he said as he held your arms and gave you a kiss on your forehead. 

That moment, knew you're the one that needs to buy Minhyuk a meal and you can't love him enough for giving you the reason to go to the cafe.

 "Shall we continue where we left off?" He whispered softly into your ears and turns to look at you with a goofy smile. 

You can feel your face burning as he reached down to kissed you on your lips.

 Having to experience ‘real dream’ yourself, you now truly believed your grandparents dreams and that some dreams really do come true.

[perspective-series]

Vampire Perspective (17/17) FINAL

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: mild burning, lots of talk about blood, talk of death, idk if anything else

First Chapter || Previous Chapter || Next Chapter

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Patton was ready to outright sob with relief, guiding them both over the threshold. “Thank you, Roman.”

Virgil stared at the borrower incredulously, in a state of shock as he was guided across. So this was where the borrowers had gone… and they had let him enter? Patton he could understand, but him? Virgil? The one who had ruined the lives of every single person in this room?

 Roman nodded and smiled at Patton.

 Thomas, however, was not smiling. In fact, he was very confused and suddenly very scared. “I-I…” Was all he was able to say as he looked between the vampires and these new tiny creatures that were somehow already in his house.

“Thomas, please, I’m sorry to ah… to loophole you like that, but we’re really not going to hurt you.” Patton crept around Thomas, keeping to the edge of the wall so as not to frighten the human while he tried to get closer to the borrowers. “And I’m sure you have, er, a lot of questions.”

Virgil kept himself planted at the doorway, only shutting the door so that the beginning rays of sun wouldn’t leak in.

 Thomas nodded numbly. “I...I definitely have more than a-a few questions, yeah.” Thomas said nervously, watching everyone warily.

 The borrowers were also looking at Thomas nervously but Logan straightened himself up. “Hello, Thomas. I am Logan and this is Roman. We are borrowers who have taken residence in your home but fear not, we only take stuff you do not miss in order to survive.” Logan explained themselves briefly.

 Thomas blinked. “Oh...Okay?” Thomas still looked confused.

“They’re some of my other friends.” Patton explained, sitting down on the floor near the couch. Close to the borrowers for protection, but still giving distance. He hoped he could call them friends. “Um, I sort of found Roman the first time I came to your house. And I didn’t know what exactly Roman was, so I showed him to Virgil...and ah, I promise, Virgil won’t hurt you, any of you-” Patton gave Virgil a pointed look, “-but um… Virgil sort of, well, tried to get me to eat him.”

 Thomas’ face paled. “I’m...sorry?”

 “Yep.” Roman jumped in, popping his P. “Apparently borrower blood is even stronger than human blood. Tastier too. Virgil wanted Patton to eat me so he would become stronger.”

 “And then Virgil came and found me.” Logan continued, glancing at Virgil. “He intended on eating me as well.”

 Thomas felt like he was going to be sick. “But...obviously you-you weren’t eaten. So...what happened?”

“Well, I wasn’t going to eat Roman.” Patton assured him. “I kept him around for a while, and it was awful because we were both miserable, but I didn’t want anything to happen. And with Logan…” Patton paused, tilting his head at his fellow vampire. “What did happen, Virgil?”

Virgil shifted, looking across the room at everyone. So scared, so jumpy. Exactly like the terrified prey Virgil had seen locked up in the cellar back at his family home.

“...I realized I was turning into one of them.” Virgil shrugged with a wince, tucking his arms around himself. “I thought that’s what I always wanted- to be the strongest. I thought if I could just force them into submission, they’d leave us alone. I could make them cut it out, end all the crappy stuff my family’s done for literal ages. But I guess… I guess I just realized, if I went down that same path, I’m no better than any of them. And then I just didn’t know what to do, because of course I was still terrified of losing everything and making everybody around me suffer. Guess I ended up doing that anyway, heh.”

 Logan looked at Virgil, his lips twitching up slightly. Maybe Virgil had learned after all.

 Thomas frowned, coming a bit closer to all of them. “I see...well, I mean…” He looked at Patton. “Patton, I’m not going to lie and say I don’t still feel betrayed and I still hardly know what the heck is going on but...if you guys didn’t even eat these little guys and...and Virgil was right, he didn’t bite me that night, then...I’m willing to help you guys.” Thomas couldn’t believe he was doing this but here he was.

“...thanks.” Patton tried to give Thomas a genuine smile, even if he was still feeling quite disheartened. “Thomas, I… I know this is a lot, but I really am still the same Patton who was your friend. And… y’know, the reason I didn’t tell you all this is because of your reaction. I was scared you’d reject me, and judge me for what I am instead of who I am.”

 “Oh...Patton I am so sorry.” Thomas stepped forward even more. “I...this is going to take some getting used to. And, well you can probably hear it, but my heart is racing. But...based on what I’ve heard, you really are still the Patton I’ve always known.” Thomas gave him a smile.

 “He really is, you know.” Roman said to back Patton up. Giving Patton a smile as well.

“Aww, thanks you guys.” Patton gave them a true smile of his own, fangs and all. “And thank you again, Roman. And Logan. It was really big of you to come out into the open for us.”

 “Of course. We had talked things over these past few days and when we heard you at the door…” Roman shook his head. “Well, we knew we had to help you.”

 “I can only assume you came here because of your brothers, Virgil?” Logan asked, causing Thomas to raise an eyebrow.

 “Brothers?” He repeated, turning to look at Virgil.

“I have two brothers.” Virgil paused. “They’re assholes.”

Patton snorted. “That’s one way of putting it, I suppose.” The smile slowly fell from his face. “They came after us tonight.”

 “Those fiends!” Roman exclaimed.

 Logan winced. “Judging by your state, they seemed to have roughed you up pretty well. How did you even make it here? Were you followed?”

“...we’re not sure.” Patton gave him a guilty expression. “It started in the woods, then the city, and then a truck sort of hit us all. And then when we got up they were gone. I did take a chance, but… I was hoping we could rest here. Anywhere else they could easily get to us.”

 “Right, because...they need my permission or their permission apparently,” Thomas motioned to the borrowers. “To get in, right?” Thomas asked.

“A member of the home, yeah.” Virgil nodded. “Same rules don’t apply to vampire homes, though. They could waltz right into ours whenever they please because we’re ‘family’.” 

 Thomas winced. “Well...you’re welcome to stay as long as you need to. I have a guest room so as long as you don’t mind sharing a room…” Thomas chuckled.

“I mean, I don’t think this is the best plan.” Virgil admitted. “Not that I mind sharing a room, but well… you’re gonna die eventually.” 

“Virgil!” Patton hissed.

“Or move.” Virgil corrected. “All of you. And my brothers are sort of eternal beings who can wait that long, they’ll just smoke us out. Plus there’s always the possibility of them catching any of us on the streets and beating us to a pulp. Actually that’s just Patton and I, if we’re lucky. The rest of you would definitely die.” Virgil grimaced, looking at the borrowers. “Especially you two… ‘cause they sort of found out you exist.”

 Everyone winced. “Well…” Logan started. “I assumed that would happen. I take it our scent is still on the both of you.”

 “Wait, so...they’re just too powerful for you? How come? Don’t all vampires have super strength and speed and whatnot?” Thomas asked, still confused about this whole vampire thing.

“There’s sort of different levels, based on, ah...blood consumption.” Patton gave a nervous giggle. “It decides how weak you are. Animal blood, then human, and top tier is borrower.”

“My brothers got some borrower blood a while back.” Virgil explained. “And even though they don’t have a constant supply, they’re still going fairly strong to this day. Heck we thought borrowers went extinct entirely.”

 “Really?” Thomas blinked, looking to the two borrowers. “Well...I mean, I know you can’t eat them cause that would be horrible but...why not just take small bits of their blood at a time?” Thomas suggested.

 Roman tensed but Logan actually thought over the idea. “That’s...not a terrible idea, actually.”

“Uh, yeah, it is.” Virgil reminded him. “What are you crazy? You guys have so little that one puncture and you’d probably bleed it all.” 

“No, it’s too risky.” Patton agreed, shaking his head. “I don’t want to hurt anybody. I mean I don’t even drink from humans when I can stop myself.”

 “Yes, I am a little skeptical about that idea myself.” Roman admitted, looking warily at both Thomas and Logan.

 “But think about it.” Logan continued. “If our blood is so powerful, then even a few drops of it would give you a boost. And we can afford to lose a bit of blood. Humans do it all the time, after all. If we only give what it relative to a pint to you, even once a week, there is no doubt you two would become stronger.”

“...okay, true.” Virgil hesitantly agreed. “But there’s no way to collect that tiny amount. And, what if we get addicted or something?”

 “...That is a fair point but with Thomas helping us, we could find a way to extract the blood. After all, humans do it to mice all the time and we are about that size. Surely tiny syringes exist.”

 “Okay, yeah, but what about them becoming addicted to our blood?” Roman asked and Logan sighed.

 “Well...I suppose we just have to trust that they’ll be able to stop themselves. It may be easier, since they won’t be taking it straight from us.” Logan explained.

“That’s a lot of trust to put in us, kiddo.” Patton bit his lip.

“Patton, you go crazy over a few human drops of blood.” Virgil reminded him gently. “If we’re going to do this, you have to step it up first and stop driving yourself mad.”

 “You already promised me you wouldn’t skip out on a day drinking blood. I hope you don’t mean to break that promise.” Roman said, arms crossed.

“I-I haven’t!” Patton rubbed the back of his neck. “Just squirrels and such aren’t very… filling.”

 Thomas shifted in his seat, biting his lip. “Um...hey quick question but does getting bit...hurt?”

Patton froze, glancing at Thomas uneasily. “...why?”

“No, it doesn’t.” Virgil answered, already catching on. “It’s a quick prick, and then our saliva provides a numbing sensation so prey doesn’t thrash quite so much. You can also be put under with mild hypnosis so you’re not aware of any of it, if the vamp is capable.”

 Thomas nodded. “...Okay. Then...I volunteer to be your...food supply? Blood bank? Uh, whatever you want to call it. You can feed from me.” Thomas said.

 The borrower’s eyes widened. Having not expected this.

“Thomas, you… you don’t have to do that…” Patton murmured.

“Oh come on, Pat.” Virgil’s tone was bordering between exasperated and pleading. “You’ve got a willing, consenting human right here waiting for you. And you’ve got three bystanders if you ever overindulge. How much more ethical can you get?”

 “Patton…” Thomas started. “It’s okay. If it will help you get better, get stronger so you can defeat Virgil’s brothers eventually. Then...I’m okay with this.”

Patton judged Thomas’ expression. “Okay.” Patton sighed. “But, just, not tonight? I mean it’s been a lot, and I already ate.”

Virgil let out a hiss, jumping away from the door like a cat. “Make that ‘not today’.” He corrected, rubbing at his ankle. Where before he was standing, a sliver of sunlight was creeping beneath the door.

 Thomas winced. “No yeah, I get it. That’s probably good too, since I have to get ready for work.” Thomas looked between everyone. “Um, you guys can make yourselves comfortable, the guest room is just down the hall on your left.” Thomas explained before heading to his own room to get ready for the day.

 “This is good.” Logan said as Thomas left. “With Thomas as a steady food supply for you, you should have no trouble with drinking blood from us.”

“Maybe.” Patton shrugged. “It’s still weird to think about, though.”

“Then don’t think about it.” Virgil gave his own shrug. “Just use your instincts.”

 “Patton, I...I trust you. I think this is a good idea.” Roman said with a smile.

 Logan nodded. “Yes, with a steady supply of our blood, the two of you will match the strength of your brothers in no time.”

“Surpass them, actually.” Virgil pointed out. “Because we’ll have fresh borrower blood.”

 “Even better.” Logan grinned.

 “Well, things seem to be wrapping up nicely.” Roman said with a smile.

 “We still have a lot to do before things are wrapped up.” Logan said, giving Roman a look. “Including...Virgil? May I speak with you...alone?”

“...sure?” Virgil agreed, hesitant about the fact Logan would want anything to do with him after the way he had encaged Logan.

 Logan nodded. “Great. Patton? Roman? Maybe the two of you should go scope out the guest bedroom.”

 “Oh...uh.” Roman leaned in close. “Are you sure?”

 Logan nodded. “Yes Roman, I’ll be fine.”

 “If you say so.” Roman said. He still didn’t fully trust Virgil but if Logan was sure, then he supposed he didn’t have much room to argue. He turned to Patton. “Let’s go then Pat.”

“Um, sure.” Patton agreed, giving the pair one last nervous glance. “Do you want a ride, or…?”

 “Yes, thank you for asking Patton.” Roman said with a smile.

“Of course.” Patton assured him, offering his hand.

 Roman grinned and scrambled on, glad to see Patton remembered his no grabbing rule. Things were looking up already. “Have fun you two.” He eyed Virgil. “But not too much fun.”

 Logan rolled his eyes at that.

Patton gave a tense smile, having a feeling that none of this conversation would be fun. “I’ll get some curtains up.”

“You do that.” Virgil agreed, waving goodbye as the two headed down the hall, out of sight.

 Logan watched them go, before turning to Virgil. “So, Virgil...I’m glad to see you have listened to me about who you can be.” He said with a slight smile.

“Yeah, you were right.” Virgil admitted, sinking down to the floor. “About...well pretty much everything, actually.”

 “I know.” Logan said but watched Virgil carefully. “...What made you realize though?”

“I’m not sure.” Virgil shifted back and forth. “A collection of things, I guess. I mean I knew you were right when you were still… at my house, but I kinda refused to believe it. And then you disappeared along with Roman, I blew up at Patton, nearly tore that Thomas’ guy’s throat out… really wasn’t a great week for me. And then when I inevitably holed myself up in my room like I always do I kinda had this epiphany of well, if i’m gonna live forever, I certainly don’t want to live like this.”

 “Well, I am certainly glad you came around.” Logan chuckled a bit of his nerves shining through. “I knew I was not going to be eaten but I didn’t like the idea of myself becoming a pet, either.”

“Yeah, no, that’s totally fair. Obviously.” Virgil winced. “I kinda… okay, this is gonna come of as really stupid.”

 Logan raised an eyebrow. “Oh?” To be fair, Logan was used to stupid. He lived with Roman, after all.

“So you might’ve gauged i’m not the best at making ‘friends’.” Virgil explained. “I mean, Patton’s my closest friend, and even if we’re closer now I still basically forced him to live with me for eternity. So what i’m getting at is… yeah. I’m not good at this. But when I was starting to come around, I wasn’t really trying to make you feel like a pet? And then I thought I’d never see you again so I was already well on my way to trying to repress all this stuff, but um…” Virgil flapped his arms at bit, shaking his head. “Whatever. Look, i’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I started out threatening your life, and then your freedom, and augh. Just so much crap along the way.”

 Logan was silent for a moment. “Virgil, you did, in fact, do a lot of terrible things. I feared for my life for quite a while and even when I didn’t, I still wanted to get as far as I could away from you.” He paused. “However, you clearly feel bad for all of that. You could just be saying all this stuff to trick us but it makes no sense for you to. I believe you to be sincere.”

 Logan sighed. “That being said...I can’t forgive you. Not yet, anyway. You can apologize all you want but until I see a change...only then will I forgive you.” He gave Virgil a smile. “But not to worry Virgil. You are...well on your way already.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to forgive me.” Virgil nodded. “But...thanks. And I’m sorry Patton made us crash at your place. Are you guys really okay with me staying here? I can always leave.”

 “Of course.” Logan glared. “I am not just going to leave you to fend off your brothers on your own. You would get yourself killed.” And despite everything, he didn’t want Virgil to die. “No, you are staying here, for your own safety.”

“And what about your safety?” Virgil argued. “I could still bite your head off.”

 Logan waved him off. “Please, that was the first thing I stopped believing when with you. I may not forgive you yet but I...I trust you enough to know that that won’t happen. That you won’t do that.” Logan then shrugged. “Besides, with our new plan, it would be illogical for you to do so. Seeing as how you would eventually gain more power by feeding off of us forever then just once.”

“Okay, you got me there.” Virgil gave him a smirk. “Too bad, I’ll have to figure out other scare tactics.” His smirk slowly fell. “Wait. What about your friend?”

 “Roman?” Logan raised an eyebrow. “What about him?”

“I mean, I wasn’t exactly a ray of sunshine to him either.” Virgil grimaced in memory. “And he doesn’t seem to possess your lack of basic self preservation. I doubt Roman wants me within the same continent, let alone the same apartment.”

 “Virgil, if Roman didn’t want you here, he wouldn’t have let you into the apartment.” Logan said with a slight smile. “Yes, Roman is weary of you but he will be okay. Especially knowing you have changed.”

“...okay.” Virgil decided. “If I’m really not going to drive anyone away, I’ll stay. And speaking of, you guys totally can’t leave. Especially not at night, until we drive them out. And by you guys I mean anybody mortal.”

 Logan blinked. “Well, that will be no problem for Roman and I but...Thomas does have to go to work. Although, he shouldn’t have a problem since it’s during the day, right?”

“Yeah, that- that should be fine.” Virgil agreed. “Remus and Deceit are into this stuff so deep that they can’t stand a single speck of sunlight.”

 “That’s good for Thomas then.” Logan said in relief. “Then yes, staying inside at night should be no problem.”

“Good.” Virgil nodded decisively. “Because I don’t want anybody else getting hurt.”

[amazignphil]

I know exactly what you mean when you say "Blank" it has happened to me so many times and it never gets better. But for the prompt thing I was thinking "A cup of coffee for your thoughts?" And "Hollow" it's okay if you use only ine, that's fine!

I wanted to put it under a cut but fucking Tumblr won't let me. But thank you Nonnie!!! This was supposed to be like 500words or something idk how long this is I typed in my phone sjsjsjsjj

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.

Waking up and the morning sun were the two things Dan hated the most except maybe after his questionable first videos and his habit of dropping everything either randomly or behind something.

Having very rudely being woken up by the way-too-shiny beaming rays of the sun at the ass crack of---

Dan rolled over, careful not to disturb the warm mass next to him and checked the time.

The ass crack if 7-fucking-am. Off to a wonderful start, he supposed.

He rolled over once again, curling up next to the mop of now sort-of-brownish (but they don't talk about that) and trying to get some more sleep before he inevitably can't lay around in bed anymore and his stomach resorts to starting a fire in his pit and rhe only way to put it out would be copious amounts of cereal.

Dan groaned, sitting up. As much as he liked his bed to sleep in it forever and hates morning as much as his audience hates his peace signs, once he's awake, he's awake. No remedying it. He very bregrudgingly gets out of bed ever so carefully. Which is why it takes him a good 10 minutes to just roll out if bed.

He thinks if the building hunger he can start to feel roaring inside him, but breakfast is for when Phil wakes up because that's what routine of years has bought them to. Waiting for each other to wake up and then watching an episode of an anime. He likes to think it's a good system.

But on hindsight, he forgets how fast his mind runs. And where exactly it goes when it does. Being awake at 7 in the morning, with he sun blaring and with absolutely nothing to di except lounge around in their living room, Dan's ever evasive brain wanders.

It wanders to a depth he doesn't like. It wanders to a hollow void inside of him that he doesn't like going back to, but does so anyway. Because this thoughts go stray and that's never a good sign. Because sometimes, his thoughts go to depths he didn't even know existed.

He wonders how his life would have been now if Phil had never responded to him or given him attention. Or why Phil hadn't gave up on him after the first few dates where he was so awkward that it was embarrassing. He wonders why Phil never complained when Dan clinged to him like a giant octopus but just with 4 lacking limbs.

And he wonders, how Phil still loves him despite everything. Despite him being him.

He doesn't even notice when Phil has woken up until he hears someone bump into the coffee table infront if him. And as much as he complains about his clumsiness, he can never get over how amazing Phil truly is.

Phil sets down two two steaming mugs of coffee on the table, walking around and sitting down next to Dan and Dan's brain wanders again. And he's asking himself what he ever did to deserve this. He's never going to say it out loud, because the absolute look of disbelief that will cross Phil's face ("Dan. That's the stupidest question I have heard you ask and I have filmed years worth if gaming videos with you.") is not something he wants to see right now... or ever.

He feels a soft of press of lips against the crown of his hair and he suppresses a smile that immediately conjured on his face at the small yet so intimate action.

"A cup of coffee for your thoughts?" Phil asks, wrapping an around Dan's shoulder when he leans into him and he can't but feel warm. Phil's pretty sure he smells warmth too but Dan always disagrees.

"Nah. Just...you know. Running mind. Early morning. Nothing new." Dan doesn't fidget but he shifts slightly in Phil's hold and that Phil pressing another soft kiss onto Dan's forehead and then he whispers ever so gently against his lips,

"It's alright. I'm here. I'm here." Dan couldn't even try to suppress the smile this time.

.

Fin

[bluerosetohappiness]

First Impressions Of Red Army

So I was wondering how many days I had been playing Ikemen Revolution for and I was 100% sure that it would be around 150 days as I started last March. 

I went to my profile and I find this 

I was hella confused as to why it was telling me that I had started playing one year ago (18/08/2018) when I only remember started the game just over 5 months ago.

Seeing as I should do anything for my unexpected one year anniversary and something that no one asked me to do, I thought why not do a first impressions of each suitor to see how my views on each have changed. Note that I went into playing this game blind so some of my first impressions may be a bit dull because I didn’t have a know has to what I was going to be faced with.

Order will be when they first appear in the prologue.

𝓙𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓱 𝓒𝓵𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓮 I immediately had my eyes on him when he was first introduced in the prologue. I had a strong feeling that not a lot of people would like him for how he treated the MC when they first crossed paths but let’s be real for a second, are you really going to like every person you met at first glance. I’ve been playing video games and the like for about 11 years and for some reason I’m always attracted to the characters who treat the MC with real emotions, what I’m trying to say is because their playing as the MC they expect everyone to treat them nicely and with respect because no one likes to be treated harshly irl. But there is always that one character who treats the MC differently from everyone else, almost like a grudge and I want to know why they act the way they do.  

Y’all mind if I scream

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN TO EXPLAIN MY LOVE FOR THIS MAN

From the routes I have played so far, Jonah is by far my favourite one. His attitude to always wanting to fight for what is right along with always putting in his best foot forward, the cool composure he always puts up and never doing back on his word is really what got me loving him over the others. Despite him being the image of perfection and never wanting to show others his weaknesses he still has insecurities because people tend to forget that he is still human. 

I’m always salty when people judge him when they have given him a chance and haven't even played his route.

His soft side is sjksjkjksjksjksjkj HE’S SO PROTECTIVE OF PINE AND LUKA IT MAKES ME WANT TO PUNCH A WALL AT HOW SOFT IT MAKES ME 

Leokumi love child, fight me on this 

I had to summarise this so sorry if it is structured weird or is difficult to read.

𝓔𝓭𝓰𝓪𝓻 𝓑𝓻𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 A gentleman and much like Ray a tease but to Jonah though it seemed to me that the gentleman like attitude he was putting on was all just an act.

I definitely like him more than I first did during the prologue, if Jonah hadn’t been my first route Edgar probably would’ve been my next option as I’m all for mysterious guys. The way that Edgar treats the Creeks and how he can be himself around them as they won’t judge him is something I can relate to. 

𝓩𝓮𝓻𝓸 Felt like he was one of the only few that would be kind and understanding of the MC no matter the route and that we could trust him on his word to protect from Jonah harm.

SOFT BOI SOFT BOI SOFT BOI

How dare anyone treat an angle like Zero with utter disrespect and brutally much like the disciples did in Lancelot’s route. I will roundhouse kick the next person I see disrespecting Zero to the sun because he doesn't deserve to be treated like that. 

𝓚𝔂𝓵𝓮 𝓐𝓼𝓱 First thing I thought when I saw him REDHEAD  (Sometimes the only reason why I play a game is because of the redhead, idk why) 

Also his name ( ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ)

He was the lazy one of the group that did want to be there but was forced to for some reason. Kyle was going to be my first route if he were available at the time.

I must say that I very much enjoyed playing his route when it had finally come out and was sad when I finished it because I wanted to play it again but I knew I needed to start a new one. The only thing I don’t like about Kyle is his drinking habits PRAY FOR HIS LIVER, though the reasoning behind it is understandable I’ve fallen victim a drunk persons abuse behaviour to the point where I’ll probably never drink alcohol. I want Ray and Kyle to sit down and talk about what happened on that fateful day and how it’s affected both of them.His Style’s love child and you cannot tell me otherwise.

𝐿𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒𝓁𝑜𝓉 𝒦𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈𝓁𝑒𝓎

Saw him as the typically cold leader of an army that would abuse his power and not hesitate to cut anyone down if they were to threaten him. Was meant to be seen as the villain of the story from what I gathered from the prologue,much like Edgar I had a feeling that the facade he was putting on was forced or rather he had no choice. Reminded me of character who I thought was quite similar to him so I already similar with this type of attitude.

Someone give this boy a hug.

His will power to protect Cradle with everything his got, the sacrifices his made over the years to not only protect the people he loves but the feeling of loneliness was all too familiar to him. His selflessness to not wanting to burden anyone else with what’s happening between him and the Magic Tower, the list goes on.

His route strongly reminds me of Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright especially Chapter 24 & 25

[advernia]

push me off a bridge (to catch me as i fall)

a separate post for my ramblings for this fic!! it’s actually the longest thing i’ve written in a while, so i have a lot to ramble about haha;;

prelude

oh man... this started when two of my friends decided to go through edgar’s route at the same time AND also decided to go reacting to every single part of the route through burst texting AT THE SAME TIME, effectively flooding my inbox.... they were fully aware that i was at a seminar and unable to reply... now my inbox is filled with so much edgar screaming i cannot... (゜▽゜;)

screaming aside they were also very willing to read whatever drafts of edgar/mc i had available and this was their favorite!! thanks to them, i decided to finish this omfg... i’m actually so proud that i got this done but tbh it was getting so long that i had half a mind to let go of it already halfway through scene three haha... (;*△*;)

this has uh... some fighting scenes and tbh the first draft had absolutely none of it... this is my first time actually writing long(?) scenes and while i found thinking about them to be fun, putting them into words was some struggle??? like... i've been told that it looks okay but idk it feels clunky to me. oh well ＼| ￣ヘ￣|／

general stuff + war phase, baby!

initially this was only meant to be 3 parts + primarily focused on edgar/mc + with an unnamed mc as usual! but then since it’s an au of kyle’s route, i found myself wanting to flesh out the relationship of edgar & mc when set in a different angle + circumstances rather than just automatically implying attraction...

plus their relationship canonically starts off on the wrong foot in that route & edgar’s fully aware that mc isn’t exactly comfortable around him, so it really doesn’t sit well if i just... put them together, lol. so thus we have five scenes of them getting(?) closer!(???)

in short its a hella slow burn and not gonna lie, when i was writing their scenes i was like f i n a l l y... bless... ಠ ּ͜೦

one of the reasons i like kyle’s route is bc i actually got some feel of an actual war??? idk i think there’s so much plot that u can fill in with it, so i decided going for alternating scenes of the battlefield + med tent. while there's glimpses of the action going on, there’s also the sort of complimenting(???) or offsetting more emotional perspective of what goes on with the medics. 

tbh i stared long and hard at the cradle map when formulating some tactics and i gotta say i had a hard time calming myself down bc... 

in kyle’s route, the red army has the advantage and have pushed the black army as far back as to their bridge, which means that more or less they’ve occupied central quarter... but what dawned on me was... where the hell did the red army position their encampment from there??? 

was an encampment even necessary given that they’re like, in a really convenient area????? they probably could’ve settled themselves in some houses but tbh okay maybe it isn’t so noble of the reds to do (imposing themselves n’ stuff) + they have larger numbers so accommodating all of them is a problem but still... where’d they set up camp??? u see, when kyle + mc step out of the med tent it shows the forest bg, so... where??? on the edges of the central quarter area are where u can see them trees??? on the civic center roof?!?!

well... a decent answer is that they could’ve set up several encampments around the area to ensure their hold on the central quarter... it still raises some questions but honestly it makes a lot more sense... but if not and they really decided to camp out like one big happy family all together, then don’t even get me started on the possibility that the camp was stationed somewhere around here:

because doing that doesn’t have a single lick of sense omfg especially tactics-wise haha... that’s like... why would you do that... you’re wasting all your advantages... o h  b o y... so you bet when i remembered that mc + loki had to pass by a forest to get back to the encampment + encountered ray & some disciples i was like... u m m... why???? if technically the reds took hold of the whole central quarter area then it actually isn’t necessary to skulk around in the forest?????? yes yes i know safety precautions + avoiding detection but... dood... it’s safer to walk in claimed territory rather than the unstable one ahaha...

plus the thing about the black bridge... uh... it's just said in the route that lancelot handles it through magic and that's all. but when i thought back on it oh my god... what did he do??????? how is he still standing??? how much of his lifespan did he shave off just to salvage that situation??????????? how is the poor boi alive?????????? the whole fucking bridge literally falls apart and that's a whole lot of chaos and people and AHHHHH!?!?!¿¿¿¿ if ur gonna make the bridge collapse (good thing they didn't think of disintegrate) it probably cost the magic tower a hefty amount but get rekt lancelot still saves the fucking day, what a king - he's practically got one foot in the grave already... this dood, seriously ಥ_ಥ

there were other things i noticed in the process of writing this based on the route events but i was like fuck it, let’s think on that another day and leave it as it is (┛ಠДಠ)┛彡┻━┻ ily kyle but oh no my brain started reprocessing the other details of ur route

thinking about all that also made me think of other more stuff, like cradle economy + livelihood haha;; it’s stated in edgar’s route (well... it’s actually pretty obvious in other routes too) that the reds are richer than the blacks, so i went ahead and assumed that the former engages in something more lucrative like mining -> jewerly / raw material / mineral trade, while for the latter something more wholesome like agriculture. idk, it works. even moreso that the reds give off the whole nobility vibe while the blacks are simple and casual. even the bg screens of the red & black streets are polarizing.

then i also went over the rest of the chosen thirteen... while the reds show no obvious weapon variety (see: swords), i’d like to believe that they’re taught to be versatile enough no matter what the situation. plus, since they have the funding, i'd like to think they're skilled in magic manipulation, too. meanwhile the black army shows weapon variety, and i’d like to think that it’s because most of their recruits aren’t soldiers in the first place: they’re farmhands / hunters / village people turned soldiers, and it’s actually easier to let them go with what they know first before encouraging them or asking them to learn something new. thus axes and spears and possible unconventional stuff like caltrops.

crimson glory

one of the things i realized was in kyle’s route, mc isn’t exactly so buddy-buddy with the red crew in comparison to other routes. she gets minimal interactions with the four, and zero aside her relationships with the top three are rather... tense.

zero was the other red officer i was initially going to add aside from edgar & kyle, but i added all of them anyway. while they don't appear all together, all of them have scenes together with edgar.

the first edgar & jonah scene shows an obvious contrast - while he's being incredibly critical about it, jonah shows actual concern for the living situations in black army territory. on the other hand, edgar chooses to tease him about it, his joking more or less implying that he isn't that concerned / bothered about it at all. the game touches up on this sometimes, often with edgar commenting on how noble jonah is while jonah shows obvious distaste for edgar's callousness.

still, they work well together. personally i'm amused with a hc of mine that looking at how edgar fights / acts only spurs jonah to act more honorably while for edgar, being exposed to jonah's noble-ness more or less makes him curious to try being honorable from time to time lol. that still doesn't stop anyone from calling him the gentle demon tho ( ⚆ _ ⚆ )

tbh since edgar is obviously sneaky on other routes i wouldn't put it past him to casually pressure lancelot to tell him wtf's going on with this war when he gets the inkling that something's wrong. edgar goes about this subtly not-so-subtly and in the most polite manner possible. lancelot knows him far too well to take bait tho - he makes sure to speak carefully since he's probably knows that edgar's going to pick apart at his words for meanings + implications, so it more or less leaves edgar a bit frustrated since it's clear that lancelot won't tell him much. still, edgar knows when not to cross the line - even he's not so keen on getting on lancelot's bad side.

that aside, i'd like to think that edgar respects lancelot a lot as a person + commander enough that he'd truly risk his life for him on instinct like a true soldier would. while i think i could've done more on writing the gravity of the collapsing bridge scene, i liked the last bit where edgar + zero immediately worried for lancelot.

let's be honest here tho in some way or another all of the reds chosen worry about their king bc bruh... let us in bruh...

the scenes of zero & edgar in the end are also my favorite! it isn’t much, but enjoyed writing their relationship briefly. tbh i think edgar is one of those people under the sleep = most vulnerable = death thinking (no thanks to claudius), so the fact that he allows himself to drift to sleep twice in zero's company is a definite sign of trust. then again, he's injured but still ( ᐛ )و

edgar, idike, kyle

y’know even if this is an edgar/mc thing, i found fleshing out the kyle/mc relationship equally important which i presented in scene three. personally speaking, i’d like to think that if ever kyle didn’t fall in love with mc (on his own route???) he’d still be watching over her anyway since her struggle in the medical field + war reminds him a bit of his younger self after his brother's death.

which is why he doesn't intervene with that one soldier scene - he doesn't coddle her either when she goes into a brief shock. perhaps it's bc he knows so well what she's going through, he decides to let her handle it on her own. this was her experience, not his. and to be fair, she asked to go to the front lines determined but wholly unprepared emotionally. he tried warning her, she wouldn’t listen. now she faces the consequences - how would she go about it?

i decided to slap a name into mc this time to highlight the trust plot: idk if i got it clearly across in the fic, but in times of war + for someone who’s been trained to be suspicious / cautious of everyone like edgar; secrets are a surefire way to catch attention + breed distrust.

tbh he's hella aware that the secret around her name is most likely personal and nothing dangerous, but it's better safe than sorry - by making sure she understands that keeping secrets wouldn't be of any good to her + situation, he gets reassurance that she really is harmless. how bad + seriously she takes it honestly surprises him tho, but then again she's been going through other stuff too so it all piled up.

idike isn’t my in-game name, but it’s the given name i spoke of in this ask, haha! initially scene five has her saying her full name (with surname), but i thought it would be more fitting if i didn’t lol ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

i tried to incorporate a mix of the personalities of edgar’s!mc + kyle’s!mc onto idike, tho at first i was only shooting for the latter - i think it kinda works??? while somewhat composed and determined (kyle’s), she still shows some naivete in her (edgar’s), especially concerning the ways of war + how secrecy & trust work in times of war.

i found emphasizing on her emotional struggle important, since it should be a big blow for her who’s never known the terror of war. the game touches upon on it a bit (tho it's post-med tent scenes) and i wanted to expand on it further since there are so many possible angles to go about it.

the i can’t heal you if you’re dead line sounds like something like shiro emiya might say but lol no i just remembered this p3 manga panel (pg 24) - its been years since i read it and i still love that line and i integrated it here... i was trying to expand that one scene for a while but then i just left it as it is.

in the catharsis scene where idike airs out everything, the fact that edgar fails to empathize with her + focuses more on her emotional state rather than offering actual help (advice maybe, but i honestly doubt he’d do that) reflects that he's still looking at her as an interesting creature and not her as a person. part 5 hints that this may be slowly changing, seeing as he called for her all of a sudden.

... idike probably keeps edgar’s glove as a token of friendship or smth haha ooPSSS i forgot to bring that back ahahaha..... ヘ（。□°）ヘ

ooofff i guess that’s all i have??? a big thank you to whoever read both hot messes™ and by that the fic + commentary itself!!! do feel free to hit the inbox for any comments + questions + more brainstorming + general screaming haha! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

[purplesurveys]

662

What is the wallpaper on your computer screen? Why did you choose it? It’s one of the default Mac wallpapers, but I picked the shot with a pinkish hue, because pink. The default ones are already pretty enough, so I don’t feel the need to scour the web for the perfect wallpaper image. Is there a pattern on the pants you’re currently wearing? Which one? I’m currently wearing a romper. It’s just plain sky blue. Do you like going to baby showers? Do you go only for the cake? As an Asian, I can tell you baby showers are hugely a first-world thing. I think the more hip, Western-influenced, and upper-middle millennials and Gen Z Asian crowd can have the means to do them, but it’s like 90% not a thing here. In a region where there’s poverty in front of you, only the rich can pull them off; and for most of us, the biggest concern is that the baby remains healthy. Who is the person you text the most in your life? What relation are you? Gabie, probs. Girlfriend. Angela, my best friend, comes a close second. Mexican food, Chinese food, Italian food, French food or American food? Chinese > Mexican > Italian > American > French. I think I only like French cuisine for their pastries and escargot, but that’s about it.

Has there ever been a time in your life, you felt sexually undecided? Yeah. I still get confused about it from time to time, so eventually I just slapped the term demisexual on me and by far it’s been the most fitting for me. Does your mother annoy you when the holidays come along in the year? No? If anything I get worried a lot more because she comes home a lot late, and it always turns out to be because she spends the entire evening gift-shopping for family, friends, and co-workers hahahaha. What is the color scheme of your absolute favorite fast-food restaurant? I don’t really have a favorite fast food place anymore... if it counts, maybe Yellow Cab? They have a yellow and black color scheme, like the literal yellow cabs of New York. Do you think tattoos and piercings are sexy on the opposite sex? I don’t mind them; I don’t think of them in terms of being ~sexy lmao. Do people ever ask you to do things they’re too short to accomplish? Nah I’m usually the short one who needs people to reach stuff for me. Do your siblings bring people around that your parents don’t approve of? Mmm nope, not really. My mom loves my sister’s boyfriend, and as far as I know my brother doesn’t bring anybody home. Is there carpet or hardwood floor in your bedroom? Hardwood. I don’t know if there’s any Filipino home that has carpet floors. Do you check the texture of things first or the smell of them? As much as I hate this habit of mine, I tend to want to know the smell of everything. I only check the texture if I think it’s going to be satisfying, like if it’s anything like slime or sand. Have you ever broken the arm or head off of a trophy? How did you do this? Nope. I don’t think I’ve already even held a trophy before. Do you believe in superstitious things such as breaking a mirror? I only follow one superstition that has something to do with my school, but that’s it. I don’t obsess over it and I know it’s fake, but ‘following’ what the superstition says hasn’t gotten me in trouble in my last four years in university, so I just continue following it HAHA. Do you get sick of people who call themselves bipolar all the time? I do hate it but fortunately a lot of people are now more sensitive when it comes to mental health and mental health issues. I don’t hear this word thrown as much as it was in like 2011 anymore. Ever have an ultra-sound performed on you? What was it for? Nah, no reason to. I’ve only had X-rays of my spine taken. Do you like those ‘end of the world,’ ‘Armageddon’ movies? Never did. I was never into the whole apocalypse/disaster/wartime genres. What color are the headphones you have at this moment in time? I don’t have headphones. And I also don’t have earphones anymore :( I want a new pair soooo baaaaadddd. Ever been choked severely on something during lunch at your school? I’ve never choked on solids, but I’ve choked on water several times, when the droplets get stuck in your throat and your lungs get all confused and you’re left gasping for air but you just choke some more because the water in your throat blocks any air from coming in, so you end up coughing to near death. The last time this happened was during a lunch break in my INTERNSHIP, and it was so embarrassing because I couldn’t tell them what was happening, I was just coughing frantically and slowly turning red lol.

Do you remember who you sat next to in Kindergarten? Who was it? Yeah, the girl in front of me in the class list was I think Kaira, and the one after me was Kaye. I was friends with Kaira throughout high school and we still are today, but back in kinder she used to be my bully. But during recess, I usually sat beside a girl named Raegan, who was one of my good friends for a while. Has anyone ever compared you to an animal? Which one(s)? I don’t think so. Has anyone, including yourself, forgot it was your own birthday? On my 18th birthday my high school friend group completely forgot. It makes me feel like shit every time it’s brought up, so we’re not bringing it up tonight. Chocolate or strawberry birthday cake? Choose one. Chocolate! Do you eat more vegetables or fruits? What’s your favorite fruit/veggie? I loooooove me some vegetables – I’d try all of them in a heartbeat. My favorite is broccoli. And I hate most fruits, but I’ll give an exception to avocado. Do you abbreviate things way too often? Do you get called out on it? Not really, I just use the usual shortcuts – lol, lmao, rn, tbh, idk. My mom would get confused sometimes and ask me for the meaning of some abbreviations I use, but she doesn’t ‘call me out’ on it. Ever been in one of those church Christmas plays before? Why/why not? Hahahaha no, because I never wanted to join and it’s one of those things I’d never allow myself to be in no matter how much my mom forced me. What is the funniest conjunction you use throughout your day? ...Are conjunctions supposed to be funny? Have you ever thrown a roll of toilet paper at someone before? Nope. Does the dentist calm you or does it tend to stress you out? I like the dentist. I’ve never had big issues with my teeth (save for my worst ever toothache last year), so the idea of having my teeth cleaned and treated is actually pretty calming to me. The one time it ever stressed me out was when my dentist had to extract a dead tooth and he had to put three injections on the roof of my mouth. It was the first time I’ve ever caught myself literally shaking in fear, huhuhuhu. If you had to choose, which is the worst movie you’ve ever seen? Jack and Jill, for movies that are objectively bad. But in general, Knives Out was a big fucking waste of my time and money. Have you ever found yourself talking to an inanimate object? When I say sorry for bumping into them D: Do you like movies that are originally based on children’s books? Not all of them. Some were hits for me like Charlotte’s Web and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and some I didn’t really care for, like Coraline. Is your hair more thick or thin? Is it more curly or straight? THICK. So thick I could never pull off a bob, even though I’ve had the desire to adopt it as my look for a while now. It’s straight but it’ll sometimes be wavy. Something on the human body that grosses you out the most: Raised moles. Do you like meeting new people? What’s your most common greeting? Uhhhh I’m okay with meeting new people but it still depends on their crowd or the air that they carry around them. If I have a meh feeling about them or if their body language initially rubs me off the wrong way, I’d be hesitant. With my situation now, I usually say hi, tell them my name, we exchange our courses, then we talk about school stuff to break the ice. Ever think of what it would be like to be a mermaid or merman? Not really. Ariel has since showed me that it wouldn’t mean much, so I never actively wanted to be a mermaid. If you had to choose, which celebrity would you date out of all of them? Kristen Stewart or Hayley Williams. Do people feel sorry for you for no reason? Have they ever? I don’t think so. Idk, idk how people feel about me. What is something that bothers you about most surveys in general? I never liked surveys that go too deep, like those that ask me what I think of socialism or abortion, hhhhhhhh. I answer surveys so I can talk about my dog, say what I learned in school, or discuss who I had lunch with, and not to get all political. Simple yes/no questions can also be annoying so most times I elaborate. Who would you take with you on a stranded/deserted island? Maybe Gab? She’s super smart and resourceful and makes everything work haha. Do you have your own personal boom box in your bedroom? No. I was too young to want to have one. Would you survive if zombies were to take over the world? Why or why not? Probably not. I can’t even cross the street without holding on for dear life to my friends’ arms lmaoooooo. What would you say is the worst part of high school period? Adjusting. I took a while to, and when I hadn’t yet, it was the worst. I was left out of everything, had no opportunity to figure out who I was or what I needed at the time, and nothing and no one approached me unless I did so myself. What is your favorite color of apple? Red, green or yellow? I don’t like apples. Ever want to be a doctor? Is it because of all the hospital shows? I never wanted to be a doctor as a kid, but now I do see the point in going to med school. I’ve always liked and been good at memorizing names and terms, and biology is my favorite subject along with history, so a part of me thinks what could have happened if I pursued some specialization of med. As for hospital shows, I’ve never seen one. What do you think of all these reality shows that try to alter personality? I’m not sure what they mean? Don’t they all do that? Reality TV personalities always seem like much exaggerated versions of themselves. Where are your favorite pair of shoes in the whole world right now? I wear it too much but my Onitsuka Tiger sneakers are a k e e p e r. So comfy and such a classy-looking pair. Do you live anywhere near a mall? If you live in the Philippines, there is an 80–90% chance you live near a mall. In my case, I just live quite far from the main entrance of our gated village so it’s a bit of a drive; but the village itself is like two minutes away from one mall, four minutes away from two others, and five minutes away from still another one. Malling is pretty much the national pastime, so we’re loaded with them. Do you like drawing smiley faces or do you think they’re overrated? They’re pretty harmless, I don’t see why they should be deemed as overrated lol. If you were dying who would you say goodbye to first out of everyone? Gabie. Are you someone who actually likes to babysit children? I’ve never formally baby-sat someone, actually; at best I was put in charge of my younger siblings and cousins and looked out for them and took up the position of the responsible older sister whenever our parents weren’t watching. But to me it was already kinda like babysitting based on what I’ve seen in American TV hahahaha, and I always liked that sort of task. Do you ever have those ‘ah ha!’ moments? Do those annoy you? If the a-ha moment meant I was stupid in the past, then yes it would annoy me. Like for example if I’m driving somewhere and already far from home, then had an a-ha moment that I forgot something important back at the house, then I’d be pretty pissed with myself. But if the a-ha moment was something like a realization, I’d be relieved to have it. Do you hardly ever remember where you put things at? YES I HATE that about myself. I’ve lost earphones, my Hydro Flask, my yellow pad paper, readings, jackets, hair ties, socks, and school IDs because of it. What’s your favorite lunch meat, if you even like any in the first place? I don’t eat lunch meat. When is the next time you’ll eat a cupcake, if you know when? I have no clue :( Cupcakes are one of my favorite desserts though, but they’re just so hard to find or get. Where did you last buy socks from? What do those socks look like? The last time I bought socks was like 2015, back when they were a trend here for some reason. It has a bacon and eggs design, and I actually just wore them the other day haha. Do you ever lay in the grass and look up at the sky, just because? I’d look up at the sky, but not on grass. I find it itchy. When do you normally go to sleep on the weekends? Depends on what and how much I did during the day and how tired I am. Like just earlier (Friday evening) I was passed out by 9:30 because I stayed up til 2 AM working on a Powerpoint and had to wake up at 6 in the morning to continue working. But other nights I could stay up till midnight. Have you ever met someone with the same ‘biggest fear’ as you? I haven’t met anyone afraid of knives and injections and any sharp stuff like me, no. Do you ever have movie nights with your significant other? We don’t do movie nights ever, which I recently and finally realized when we did sit down and watch Titanic together a couple of weeks ago lmaaaaaaaaao. It was honestly really fun doing it and I remember remarking that we in fact never did movie nights in the last four years. Would you rather write with a pen or a pencil? Why is this? Pen. It’s just more convenient for me. Pencils get blunt as you use them, and I’m too impatient for that. Do you like candy bars? Are you trying to slack off of them? I honestly have nothing against them, but given that I have several many relatives who work overseas and have brought home candy bars as pasalubong (gifts) in the last 22 years of my existence... you can imagine how tired I can get of them. What is your favorite number? Is it significant with your life? 4. Not really. It just reminds me of Beyoncé and happier days haha. Are you afraid of being kidnapped if you go outside at nighttime? Yup. That’s why I never walk outside at night except when I’m at a mall or in school. I just drive everywhere. Has your mother ever called your school because of your grades? No. Whenever I struggled in school it was always just due to either 1 or 2 subjects, so there was no reason to ring up our adviser as it was never that worrisome in my case. I was never failing all my classes at the same time, basically. In the next twenty minutes, what will you be doing and where will you be? Maybe another survey or watching BoJack Horseman? Idk. It’s 3:44 AM and I’m pretty awake so I dunno if I’d still want to sleep. Do you like showers or baths better? Why did you choose your choice? Showerrrr. It’s quicker, plus it’s what I do more often. Are you a controversial person? Do your views oppose others? This was me as a teenager because I thought it would be cool to be edgy and have a different opinion than everyone else BLECK please delete that person lmfao. But now, hmmm the way I’d explain it is that in the case of e.g. being pro-choice, LGBT, critical of the Catholic Church, basically the more liberal ideas, I seem to be in the majority opinion about relevant issues on the Internet/social media. 

But I live in the Philippines, where society is still mostly traditional, conservative, modest, and disapproving of a lot of the progressive stuff happening in the rest of the world – hell, divorce isn’t even legal here. That said, a lot of my views which would otherwise line up with those on social media or those in like US or Canada or Europe would get me a lot of hate and criticism in the Philippines, especially among the older generation. Have you ever thrown a surprise party for someone? Who for? Yeah we threw one for Dave a few years back. My friends also threw an advanced surprise party for Raf on my actual birthday, and I was too hurt about it so I didn’t attend. What would you say your average word per minute time is on the keyboard? We did this in class once for fun when we weren’t really discussing anything, and if I remember anything I hit somewhere between 70-80 words. What is your least favorite class in school? Why is this? Chemistry, calculus, and trigonometry. So fucking useless. Do you bite your fingernails or tap them on desks? I tap my nails onto desks. I only bite them when I’m anxious. Have you ever wanted to be in a band? What position exactly? I wanted to learn the drums but never explicitly wanted to be in a band. Who is your role model or hero in life if you have one? No role models for me. Do you ever call your cousins just to talk to them randomly? No. We’re close, but we’re also busy, so the only time we get to catch up is when we get to have family lunches/reunions. Do you find any of your friends’ parents creepy or really mean? Not at all. All of my friends’ parents have been lovely. Do you ever have to wash your clothes at someone else’s house? Nope. When is the next time you’ll go to the library? Why is this? I dunno actually. I don’t really have to pick up a book to read for a class right now. Do you like fiction or non-fiction books more? What’s your favorite? Non-fiction. I don’t have a favorite but I will sit down and read any biography you offer me. Do you constantly have to be told to shut up? By who? No, and that would hurt, I think. I have friends who I lowkey think are too talkative for my social battery, but I’d never tell them to shut up. Do you know how to play pool? Are you any good at it? Nah. I don’t even know how to swing(?) the cue. Do you treat others as you’d like to be treated? Have you always? Yeah, I always try to. I always assume or imagine they’re going through something, so I always try to be a little kinder. Were you a really mean kid or a sweet and quiet kid? I was quiet, neither mean nor sweet. I didn’t make trouble at all but I wasn’t exactly the most darling of kids either haha. I was just too shy to move or talk. Are you someone who likes to get in arguments or fights a lot? I’d get in one if I have to, but I don’t thrive on them. How do you make sure people know you don’t like them at all? I don’t have to make a big spectacle about it if I don’t like someone for whatever reason. I can still be polite and civil if I have to interact with them. < Pretty much. The one way someone would know (if they even notice at all) is that if I would do anything and everything to avoid having to talk to them. Would you say you’re someone who likes to cuss a lot? I say shit and fuck pretty often. Do you keep secrets from your parents that you don’t keep from your friends? My entire relationship is a glaring answer to this. What is your father’s best friend’s name? Do you know them personally? I don’t know if my dad has one. He has close friends, but not sure about a best friend. If you had to, where would you get a tattoo at? Why? Inner wrist, but I know that would hurt so I might just settle with having no tattoos ever haha. I picked it becauuuuse, idk, it just seems pretty intimate to me. How much was the cell phone you have at this moment in time? It was the newest model when I got it so it cost like P45,000 or a little less than $1000. Would you say you hang out with people the majority of your life? Yes. For the last 18 years my life has revolved around going to school, so I’m allllllways around people. What would you do if you woke up randomly with purple hair? I’d be pissed and try to hunt down whoever dyed my hair in my sleep, but then afterwards I’d assess if it suits me or not HAHAHA. It’s dyed anyway, so I might as well make sure I look good with it. Do you ever look in the mirror and name all of your flaws for no reason? Yeah, especially the ones on my face. Doesn’t get to happen a lot but I’d do it occasionally. Are you getting sick of the reality show Survivor? Why? I never watched it, but I’m surprised it’s still on. < This. Do you usually explain to people why you do the things you do? It depends what I do but generally, I’m not weird or crazy or daring enough for me to have to explain myself to people all the time. In contrast, I have an org-mate who’s a little on the...experimental side, and we have caught him trying to drink glue or stabbing himself with a pen. He always says he just wants to know how it smells/tastes/feels like, depending on the situation. We’re all lowkey concerned about him though lol. Ever submit a video to America’s Funniest Home Videos? We didn’t, because I don’t live in America. The most painful medical procedure you’ve ever had? Anything that had me getting pricked, so like platelet count tests and the one time I needed to get IV placed on my wrist. I’m WINCING just thinking about them. Are you someone who likes to eat Poptarts? What’s your favorite flavor? Love Poptarts, my favorite is the chocolate one. We don’t get a lot of flavors here, hence the basic choice. Ever have a dream you’re being abducted by aliens? Was it scary? Never. Do you like people who are loud or people who are quiet? I like quiet people who can get chatty and loud when necessary. Does personality weigh out the sense of ‘good looks?’ In terms of who I find attractive? Not really, looks still matter to me. When is the next time you’ll see someone who is pregnant? I only know one person who is and I only see that girl like once a decade lmao so I have no clue if I’ll see anyone else who’s pregnant. Do you hate it when people copy the things you do? No, unless it’s the exact same thing I’ve been doing. Where is your favorite piece of electronic equipment? It is on the drawer next to my bed. Where is the person who ‘owns your heart’ at this moment in time? She’s in her dorm, all passed out considering it’s 4:40 AM lol. Has anyone ever told you that you’re good at cooking? Hell no. I’d tell them they’re completely mistaking me for a different person, because I don’t enter the kitchen at allllllll. Would you say you’re a fast texter, or are you pretty slow? I’m fast. What is your favorite flavor of Doritos? What do you drink with them? Nacho Cheese is fine with me. Do you have any enemies who you think are dangerous? I don’t have any enemies. < Yep. Do you ever try to squeeze information out of people? Sure. It comes with being a journ student lmao. Does it freak you out when the police drive by your house? I live in a private village so this never happens. I do get paranoid when I’m driving and there’s a police car coming from behind me, though. Are you someone who tends to take a whole lot of naps? Not really. I always have a lot of work to do so I can’t nap even though I would want to. What is your favorite nickname you like to be called? Why do you like it? I’m fine with Robyn. I’ve gone by it since I was four. Do you already have your outfit for tomorrow planned out? Eh not really. I usually don’t think of my Sunday outfits until I’m actually already in front of the closet anyway. I never feel like making an effort for church.  What is the color of your favorite pair of pants? What brand are they? Blue. No clue, but they’re mom jeans. Has your favorite song ever been featured on a commercial? Nah. I’ve never heard Paramore on a commercial. Do you ever promise pc4pc on Myspace then never return the favor? I never did Myspace. I’m vaguely familiar with the slang, though. What is one song right now that really gets on your nerves? That new Demi Lovato ballad. Bless her for allowing herself to be vulnerable on that track, but for the most part I cannotttttt stand her voice. What would you say was the best year of your life? Why? 2014, a lot of things seemed to fall into my lap back then, and I was simply happy and satisfied. Do those annoying infomercials ever draw you in to buy things? I have never been convinced to buy anything they sell but I WILL spend hours watching the commercials just because of how entertaining they are. Have you ever been pulled over by the cops for speeding? No. Speeding isn’t an issue here tbh. If it was nearly everybody would be pulled over, I think. Common reasons for being pulled over are like making illegal u-turns, overtaking on a solid double line, or being caught driving when your car is under coding for that day. Is anyone in your family a firefighter? Who is it anyway? Nope.

[neshabeingchildish]

Henry has a lot of inner thoughts that I’d italicized, but Tumblr always undoes that. So, the link is here because Idk that I’ll feel like going through to italicize it all again.

Mob Boss Joss Moss

Joss wasn't ready to jump to any immediate action on this matter. Firstly, although she was convinced, she would definitely have to have proof before just disappearing some kid in Swellview. She didn't have that kind of steelo just yet. A town like this, a kid goes missing and that's grounds to shut the whole town down. Bet it Kid Danger goes missing… well that meant that Captain Man had to show up. "Henry. Why don't we go back inside? I've got a little business with Natalie. You can wash up and get dressed and get ready to indulge." She gave him a point on the nose and turned to head to the beach house.

"I like indulging," Henry said, bashfully. His phone was inside. He didn't really need it. If the Man Cave needed him while he was in the water, they could reach him on the Whiz Watch. But, he checked it when he got inside, anyway. No signal. 

He set it down and Joss commented, "I'm having a bath drawn for us. There's dental supplies and refreshments waiting in there for you to get started while I quickly get up to speed on some business."

He blushed and nodded. Bath. For. Us? She and he? Like.. in the same…? Was it GO TIME?? More like HOE time, amarite? Nervous laughter. Why was he nervously laughing in his voiceover? Henry rushed into the bathroom and tried to contact Charlotte on his Whiz Watch. 

"Henry! Thank GOD! I've been trying to call you for… what are you wearing?"

"It's surf wear! But, I gotta tell you something. I think I'm in over my head. Joss had a bath drawn for us and I don't know what to do!"

"Get out of there! That lady Butler she has was in the store not too long ago and whatever she was up to, I know it was no good."

"Okay, so skip the bath, or…"

"SKIP THE BATH!" Charlotte screeched.

"Okay. I'll…" Joss came in and he shut off the connection. 

She raised her eyebrow and asked, "What the heck was that?"

"Nothing. Charlotte. I mean.. I've got one of those Pear watches that you can… SOooo… I don't know about this bath, Joss…"

"If you're shy, I'll turn around, so you can get in." She turned around and he nervously looked around the room. He couldn't see a way out. Maybe he'd get in the bath, and just have to try to escape later? What would Charlotte do? She'd consider the fact that I'm outnumbered and if I run, that many people will be after me on an island I'm not familiar with, with no Man Copter here to retrieve me yet. BUT, I can hide it out while they come to rescue me… They don't know where I am! Oh, but the location on my…

"Are you not interested in this, Henry?" Joss asked, with her back still turned.

"Of course I am…" he giggled and stepped into the tub in his surf short set. "I'm just gonna undress in here, beneath the bubbles and flower petals…" but within a few moments, he was passed out from the tonic that had been put into the bath. Joss grabbed a pair of rubber gloves from beneath the cabinet to let the water out without it touching her.

She whistled once and a few of her men came to collect him and bound him. "Search him for any devices that can be traced back to him, leave it all here and throw him in the boat." After that she took a shower. She smelled like beach.

.

Whenever the Man Copter hovered above the beach house, Charlotte read the scans. "Henry isn't here, but his stuff is." Captain Man went to go get it, in case there were henchmen waiting. There were. He fought them off, collected his things and got back into his ride. "We'll have to check all of the known Moss hideaways. Henry could be anywhere!” She was frustrated, but now wasn’t the time to vent her furious “I told all of you idiots” wrath… But, they’d better believe it was coming, eventually.

Captain Man, Schwoz and Jasper had separated to go check out hideouts as Charlotte found them and would alert the Man Cave whenever they located Henry, so that Captain Man would rush to the rescue. Charlotte wanted to go too, but she felt very passionately about making sure that Henry was found, before he was seriously hurt or something.

.

Henry blinked his eyes and his vision came in, a little blurry, but he realized soon that he was either drugged or bound or both. “Shwhat?” He said.

“Hello, Henry,” Joss said, now wearing an all black suit, with a team of decoys behind her and Natalie with her arms folded, glaring.

“This bath is trippy,” Henry said and laughed. 

“It’s the tonic that we slipped in it that has you trippy, Cute Stuff.” She said, leaning closer to him. “Don’t worry, it’ll wear off by the time Captain Man gets here.”

“Captain Man is coming here? You know him?” Henry asked.

“I know that you do, and that’s enough for me,” she said, turned on the balls of her feet and said, “Lock it up.” 

Henry eventually really came to inside of this cell, tied up with his arms out and legs down, like he was being crucified, and honestly, he was more worried about ow Charlotte was gonna nail him to the cross whenever he made it back to the Man Cave. What was she gonna say to him. “You were thinking with Jasper’s brain again, Henry. You do stupid stuff, Henry. She’s not even that cute and you got yourself drugged and tied up! Should’ve just let her kill you for being stupid! Naw… Charlotte would never go that far.” He tried to focus his eyes and study the room. His head was still spinning a little. “But, she warned me to be careful and I absolutely did not…” He noticed an opening in the ceiling where a vent was and began to look to see if he could possibly maneuver his way up there from where he was. “The gag is I literally tried to think with Charlotte’s brain, at every turn. Well, I didn’t TRY, but I kept finding myself doing that. Whenever you know somebody that smart, you try to see the world through their eyes, to make yourself better. You’re not supposed to view the world through… your one eyed monster…” He threw his head back and now said, “Charlotte, if you save me, I promise to not think with the wrong head again!”

Charlotte heard him speaking in the background somewhere. “Hen!” She whispered to herself. Wherever Joss had the camera that Charlotte planted on her, that’s where she was keeping Henry, or at least where he was being monitored from. She tracked it and tried to get in touch with the others, to let them know where Henry actually was… “Schwoz! I’ve found Henry. I’m sending the address out right now.”

Schwoz said, “I seem to have fallen into a boobsie trap. I am going to need to figure out a way to get out of here. Go on without me.”

“Wait. Those places have boobie traps! That means Jasper has probably gotten trapped too!” She tried to get in touch with Jasper, who was in fact, caught in a trap, but able to reach his phone. He pressed the button, then dropped it though and groaned trying to reach it. “Jasper? Jasper? Are you stuck in a boobie trap?”

“More like a butt trap!” He yelled to the phone and looked behind him at the gobs of bubblegum he was stuck in. “I sure hope this is just pressed and not chewed gum…” 

She rolled her eyes and hung up. “Captain Man… If you tell me that you’re stuck in a boobie trap, I will lose it!”

“Okay. Then, I will not tell you that. But, if you can get Schwoz to come to where I am for something completely unrelated, that will be appreciated.” She hung up on him too. 

“I am the only professional in this outfit!” She screamed, grabbing rescue gear. Those idiots in the traps would have to fend for themselves for a moment. She’d send the police to try to help, but Henry was actually in the clutches of a villain, so that’s where she was headed first. She probably should go to Ray first… but… No… These are the same people who (not knowing that he was Captain Man) were going to barbeque someone! She had to get to Henry in a hurry. She hated driving, but Henry was in trouble and her heart was beating in her throat now that she remembered that he could be being roasted on an open fire. “Henry, if you die before I can rescue you, I am gonna kill you dead!” 

.

Henry took a deep breath and struggled again to at least budge his restraints, but it was no good. He only tired himself out for the fifth time and now, he had to catch his breath again. Besides, they were probably watching him, anyways. He started (now) looking to see if he could detect any hidden cameras and wondering about if help was on the way. Probably not. Charlotte told him to get out of there and what did he do? Get in the bathtub and got himself skin drugged. He didn’t even know that was possible. But, what could he have done? Maybe mushed Joss in the face and took off running? But, if she wasn’t a mobster chick and he’d just mushed her face and ran, imagine the backlash for that!

Henry Hart, the Playground Pooper has entered news today again, after pushing Joss Moss’s face with his wide open hand and leaving abruptly following a fun date! Like… I need another L this year. My biggest L is not listening to Charlotte. I shouldn’t even have been on the date! I guess… I was really just trying to keep my mind off of all the weirdness with her lately. I don’t even know if she knows, but I KNOW, so… I don’t know, you know? WHO am I speaking with, here? This is an inner-monologue. Why ask ‘you know?’ to yourself, Dude? And now, you’re just off topic…

He thought that he saw a small flicker of a light in the corner. But, probably not. Charlotte was most likely doing everything in her power to get him home safely. The others probably were doing… well… what they could. Now, all he could think about was how he might die here. He might not get out. He might not get rescued. He might die and Charlotte might not ever know that he thought about her. 

If I make it out of here, I should at least tell her about that weird inception dream that I had where she was dreaming about me kissing her. She’ll think that means that I wanna kiss her though, and I DON’T… But… I will if she figures out a way to save me. Ugh. She’d probably hate that. She’ll probably hate to hear that I had this dream. She’ll probably ask, “Why couldn’t you just dream about kissing me? Why dream about me dreaming about kissing you?” And give me the most wrinkled ‘You’re an idiot’ grimace that her face can contort into. 

Man… My arms and legs are gonna be so sore. I could really use a sit in Piper’s massage chair when I get out of here. The things that I wouldn’t do to be in that chair again… I hope that Charlotte remembers me a hero, and not an idiot. Why am I back on this Charlotte line of thinking? I need to be thinking LIKE Charlotte to get out of here, not ABOUT Charlotte…

He sighed and threw his head back again, wishing that he was drugged again. All of his muscles were hurting, at this point and he could simply die, to be honest. He was ready. “I’m ready to die, now!” He called out, to whoever was probably watching him. 

“You’d better not be!” He heard Charlotte snap in s low hiss.

His head perked up and... yes! She came through the door and there were two guards unconscious in front of it. She had the look on her face, but he knew that she didn’t have time to really give it to him, so she was in there, getting him down, with the door jammed opened, so that nobody could shut her inside while she cut him loose.

“I expected to find Captain Man to the rescue, but somehow… This will bring me more pleasure,” Joss said,  when she saw her on the camera. “I’m going to go handle this,” she told Natalie. “Have the clean up crew on standby.”

Charlotte had almost gotten Henry loose when she heard the clacking of shoes coming down the hallway and she said, “It’s Joss!” Henry was released enough to free himself and she really didn’t want to be trapped in there, too, with all the guys incapacitated, so she said, “Be right back!” And got out of the room. 

She saw Joss, standing on the far end. She stopped walking and shook her head. “This was a very stupid thing for a girl as smart as you to do, Charlotte.”

“Bold of you to think that I’ve been working with him for all these years and a little bit of stupid didn’t rub off,” Charlotte said, smoothly and pointed a thumb at Henry, who was trying to free himself. 

“It’s not ‘a little stupid’ it’s VERY stupid,” Joss reiterated. 

“Look, I don’t really like to do a lot of overexertion, so can the fight sequence start? Because the sooner it starts, the sooner it ends, and an episode of Titans drops tonight…” Charlotte said, unphased. “Oh, but… you don’t blink for bugs,” Charlotte said. 

“Thank you for reminding me,” Joss said and then clacked her fan, which sent a small army of Joss decoys charging at Charlotte.

She reached for her zapper and shook her head, “You hate to see it,” she said and began to zap each of them down until they stopped coming for her. By that time, Henry had gotten himself free. “She knows who you are, so you might as well get ready for the fight.”

“The fight. It’s just her. We can just take her in,” Henry said, pointing a hand at Joss. Joss smirked and took off running, Charlotte gave chase, almost immediately. There was no way she was letting her get away! Henry blew a bubble and headed in that direction, too… but henchmen came. “OF COURSE!” He grumbled and began to fight them off as Charlotte vanished behind Joss through a door that shut after she went through. CHAR! He fought the henchmen down and went to try to find Charlotte, just in case she was rushing into another trap. Joss really didn’t seem to like her. But, he couldn’t budge the door… “Char!” He screamed.

“Henry?” She called back. “Ummm… This is a trap…” She said. “I think I can make it out. Go around and try to get her!” 

He nodded, but when he turned, Joss was right there and she spun around and kicked him in the face. “Oh my God! That hurt!” Joss let out a loud shriek and kicked him again as he leaned over and knocked him out that time. She shook her head at her henchmen and decoys, then opened the door for Charlotte who rushed out and immediately checked on Henry.

“There is more danger where this came from,” she said, smugly.

Charlotte nodded her head, gently set Henry’s on the ground and stood up. “Yeah, there is. For you!”

[deadpool-scar-bro]

oh yeah y’all i had a really weird dream this sunday but because wifi was down on my house i couldn’t post anything but here it is. this one’s a long one

it was like a post apocalyptic fantasy/sci-fi world. the people who were born before the apocalype were reborn, some of them had memories from before and others didn't. there were two that were special. spirits that would keep the world in balance after the apocalypse happened. 

it was me (but at the same time desmond/joseph); i was kept in a place that was green and beautiful. there i was trained on how to understand my powers and who i was before the apocalypse happened. the people who trained me were my sister and a friend, they had memories of their past lives and they were kind of like married? idk it was normal for people to be born with powers not everyone did but it was very common. 

however as a balance spirit i had more than just a power, one of them that i can remember was teleporting. the sanctuary was pretty empty and it needed people, so we were accepting people inside, but we didn't want people that would be harmful to the sanctuary and others, so we would filter them out and just let in the people who understood how to behave like a decent person and not be greedy little assholes. 

so one day while in training comes the person who does that job, and starts to talk with my sister and friend, and i was a sneaky little shit and heard everything.

they were having problems communicating with the man who kept watch of the north barrier by a giant waterfall and also a train full of people would come in that day and he needed someone to help him with the people. and i wanted to help 'cause i was tired of just sitting around and training. so i was begging to let me help, we kind of went back and forth in like a mock fight and i was getting my ass kicked.

and then my friend goes "you know what? go" 

 and i was like "yaaaay c:"

"you need to train more with your balance spirit anyway", in the dream this thing had a name but i can't remember what it was. 

 this thing was like a giant mantaray that was like a maroon color on the front that blended into a bright blue on the back. it was like part of me and i was part of it and much of my powers came from it.

it was kept in like a garage and didn't need water to live. so i went there to wake it up. it slept in like a curled up position and could sense when i got near and woke up on its own.

so i gear up which was pretty much just putting on pilot stuff and a hoodie.and climb on top of it and our bodies start sharing power. 

it naturally knows what i want and what i need so it knows where to go without me needing to stir it there. it starts flying and we cross a giant body of water and it looks fucking crazy 'cause the water becomes part of it and makes it seem like its body is just like seamless with the water. we arrive at the train station outside the sanctuary and we start looking at the people who arrived. most of them seem okay, they don't represent a harmful presence. and then i see him and its like something inside my mind is unblocking? he's like a friend but at the same time its caesar? so im just gonna call him caesar.

and i remember him but i don't remember why exactly, i don't have memories of him

and he recognizes me too but he doesn't have memories of me either. he's there with his family and i remember them too and have past memories of them, and we start talking about where they came from and stuff

suddenly this dude springs up and starts calling me names like "you are an evil and the people inside your sanctuary too" stuff like that and then like an entire mob stand up as well but its like they don't have a mind of their own and they all join up into a monstruous thing and just scream stuff at me.

my spirit and i fight back, we join up too and its like we are just one. caesar sees everything and is in awe at our powers.

we win and lock out the mob monster and tell them to never come back. we go back and start leading caesar and his family back to the house, the new people set in. 

when we arrive at the house caesar recognizes my sister and her husband and has some memories of them. again we find it weird that we don't have memories of each other. 

and then my sis husband looks at caesar intently and his eyes go wide and he goes "you are the second balance spirit" and caesar is like "wuuut :u"

and then he starts telling him about the balance spirits and stuff and that we are basically soulmates because of it. caesar isn't the most convinced but he reveals to us that he does in fact have a balance spirit (the manta ray) like i do. but its not full grown like mine, his is kind of like a baby and he hid it in one of his pockets.

we talk about training him too and then the talk shifts into us going to see what happened to the man on the north barrier. the next day we go to see his husband. he's a psychic and a medic. he had come to the kind of town that was slowly being built to treat the new people in case they needed it and to train new people on medicine stuff.

we ask him what was up with his husband and he tells us about this vision he had of him in a dream but it was very fuzzy and the last thing he heard was "help", which is why he had asked the other man for help. 

we all get on my manta ray and go to the house by the waterfall where he lives. also the couple are polnareff and avdol.

we go into the house which we find heavily guarded by a pack of bears that let us pass through. inside we find a very injured polnareff. one of his prostetic legs is damaged but he's so relieved to see us.

avdol immediately starts to heal him and we help him on changing the prostetic for one that works. pol has the power to communicate with animals, which is how he got the pack of bears that protect him and help him. he tells us that something got through the barrier and is now in the sanctuary.

the pack used to be bigger but they got attacked by the thing and it took out a lot of them and injured pol, the remaining bears saw him in danger and decided to retreat and take him back home. and now that thing is somewhere waiting for who knows what.... and thats as far as i remember.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #476

“yeah, i am the brain, some say insane”

What is your favorite Pixar film? Finding Nemo. Who was the last person to send you any sort of message on social media? My sister Misty. Would you rather build a snowman or a snow fort? Why? Snowman. I think you can personalize them better. At what age do you believe children should begin having screen time? I don't know. I guess it would depend on the kid. Have you ever failed an important test? Which subject? Yes; I failed my last Algebra final and the course. Who taught you how to ride a bike? How old were you? My dad. Idr how old I was. Do you know what your ring size is? What is it? Nope. When you picture dinosaurs in your head, what color are they? Like a darkish red or green. Last candy you tried that you did not enjoy? Or one that you did enjoy? No clue. Were you a chubby or thin baby? I was your average size. What is the most outrageous thing you’ve considered doing lately? Trying to get a cubicle job. Like seriously, NOBODY wants those. I don't either, but I just don't know what other options I have that don't require a degree and I'm not flocked by other people. I'd probably have some duties on the phone, but like... I'm not going to find a job I qualify for that is perfectly reclusive. Have you ever known somebody who ran away? Not personally, no. Rollercoasters that go upside-down… yes please or no thank you? NO FUCKING THANK YOU. Can you have kids? I would assume so, but honestly I wish I physically couldn't with how intensely I fear being raped. Are you a fan of Elton John? I've never really listened to his music and know very little about him as an individual. What does your town’s name begin with? "R." Are you a seafood fan? Nooooo. The one and only seafood I enjoy is shrimp. Give me a random word in another language. Tell me what it means. "Himmel" is "Heaven" in German. Odd how that was the first one to come to me, ha ha. Which city would you like to visit- Rome, Tunis, London, Madrid or Paris? Rome. New tats in your near future? Sadly no. :/ I have to focus on more important things. Did you ever participate in beauty pageants as a child? No. I don't support those. Have you ever ridden in a limousine before? No, but I've always wanted to. :( What's the most amount of money you'd pay for a house or a vehicle? Idk, considering I'm not familiar enough with what is considered reasonable and average for either. What's the longest wait time you'll wait at a restaurant to be seated? If it was actually up to me, shit, maybe only 15 minutes. I am way too impatient, and I'd rather just go to another place than wait for a while. Have you ever been given a responsibility that you couldn't handle? Did you mean: my past three jobs? Did you ever try to start a club as a child? For what? I feel like my friends and I did before... but I remember nothing of it. Who was your favorite babysitter as a child? My sister had this friend in our neighborhood as a kid whose grandparents used to watch us. The grandpa we knew as "Uncle Donny," and he was bar none our favorite. He was such a sweet man. Have you ever cared for a stray animal before? Cats, on many occasions in the past. [TW: SUICIDE/OVERDOSE] Have you ever contacted a suicide or crisis services hotline? For whom? Yeah, for me. I tried first to reach them online in one of those private chatrooms, but I want to say I waited around 30 minutes with nobody available. I was so desperate that I tried calling too, but again, it was too busy. That's when I ODed. Is there anyone from your family that you no longer associate with? I have an uncle by marriage that's an abusive, manipulative fuck that NOBODY associates with, except his brainwashed daughters. Do you have any illnesses that reoccur frequently? I mean, I have mental illnesses that flare up now and again, but no traditional illnesses. What is your sexual orientation? Queer or pansexual, idk man. Have you ever done any drugs harder than marijuana? I've never even done weed. What is one job you would never want to have? I would, no exaggeration, rather die than be a butcher. I could never in five trillion years. Do you bite or peel your string cheese? I don't like string cheese. Who crosses your mind the most? Girt, nowadays. I know, a fucking shocker who wasn't the answer. Have you ever been on a scavenger hunt? In school, yeah. Ever been to an auction? No. Are there two colors that you just simply despise? Puke green and yellow. If you were a fish, what colour would you like to be? I wanna be the Rainbow Fish. :') Did your first real significant other change you at all? You have literally no idea. Are you waiting to have sex until you’re married? No. What’s your favorite football team? I don't like football. Or even understand it. Do you have anything autographed by a celebrity? No. What’s your favorite way to eat peanut butter? Gimme a Reese's and I'm a happy bitch. :^) What’s your favorite kind of sandwich? I'm basic, just hand me a pb&j. How are you today? Worried about my mother since she has Covid now. I'm not feeling too hot, either. Was any of your home decor inspired by Pinterest? No. What is this month’s calendar picture? I don't own a current calendar. What is your last ex-boyfriend’s or ex-girlfriend’s name? Sara Jane. I prefer to refer to her as just my best friend, though; "ex" usually implies negative feelings in some way or form, and I've none of those. Do you use Snapchat? I never have. Would you rather go out for pancakes or steak? Yum, pancakes. Are you the clubbing type? No. Clubs don't appeal to me at all. Is your ex sexually attractive to you still? I haven't seen him in literally years. I wouldn't know. What is unattractive about them? The fact he apparently can't accept a mentally ill partner. Supposedly, he broke up with the girl he dated after me for the same reason he left me: her having depression. Like bro, good fucking luck finding a girl who doesn't struggle with something. Good luck finding someone who's going to be on Cloud 9 all the time. And also, he never communicated what he was feeling. Do you have a crap load of friends to hang out with? God no. The only person I hang out with is my boyfriend. Honeymoon, where? Alaska, if it's a good time of year to see the Northern Lights. If not, maybe the Bahamas to visit their black and pink beaches. The heat and humidity put me off, though... Lipstick over the actual natural lip line, your thoughts? It's capable of being attractive if done well and it's not too extreme, unless you're only looking from a distance. It can look especially great on drag queens imo. How would your wedding bouquet look like? Depends on the time of year, really. I kind of want to say black regardless, but I think that would blend too much with my dress (which I want to be black). Maybe if it was in the fall, which I want, it'd be orange and black to fit the Halloween vibe I'd love to have as a theme, perhaps a rich red, or light pink and white... idk. That's far in the future. What kind of game would you like to play that doesn’t exist yet? Bro, give me a meerkat simulator. There's the Lead the Meerkats Wii game that I ADORE, but I think the concept could be greatly expanded upon and made more realistic. What is one thing you would never ever eat? Balut came to mind very quickly. That looks like the grossest shit imaginable. I'll never forget seeing it for the first time on GMM and wondering how neither of them literally died where they sat lmao. There are a LOT of other foods, too. I'm incredibly picky. Which character in your favorite movie do you hate the most? Every single character from The Lion King is so lovable. Which non-existing (sci-fi and such) weapon and/or vehicle would you like to own/use? Bro, I want Thori'dal from WoW. A bombin' bow with unlimited, magical arrows? That shit's dope. Could save your life, and plus I love bows. How do you think the world will end? Humanity's end will almost certainly be rooted in human action. The end of the planet itself will probably be a black hole, gamma ray, or something else supremely powerful. If you could take a pill that would cure something in you that isn’t an illness - what would you be cured of? The fact I'm fat. :^) Take it all away pls. Has anyone besides your family seen you naked? If so, who? My ex. Do you remember anyone’s number by heart? Literally nobody's. Not even my own. :x Name something you will never try in your lifetime. Hunting. What’s the best place you have ever eaten at? The Cheesecake Factory, omlllll. Are you at home right now? Yep. What’s worse: Crocs or Uggs? Crocs are so fucking ugly to me. Do you knock before you open doors? Always. Does Fred from YouTube annoy you? Now THIS is a throwback. I liked him as a kid. He'd probably annoy the shit out of me now. Anything exciting taking place today? No. Who have you texted today? My mother and Becky, the receptionist at my psychiatrist's office. I rescheduled my appointment to tomorrow with my mom being sick (she wants to talk to him, and she's in no shape to today) and me not feeling well, either. Do you like grapefruits? No. Have you ever had the Reese’s PB candy bars? Omfg, the ones that are a bar of smaller squares is my FAVORITE candy in the world. Where’s your mother? In bed. She was directed to mostly quarantine in her room away from me. Are there any pets you’re wishing for? Always. :( Do you like oatmeal raisin cookies? I HATE raisins, so guess. Is your belly button pierced? No. Do you watch PewDiePie? Not anymore, no. His content changed a long time ago and doesn't interest me anymore. Do you like "Despacito?" Omg my sister showed it to me once and I hated it. Do you have any subscribers on YouTube? uhhh *checks* I have 71. More than I expected, ha ha. What’s the first word that comes to your mind if I say: "Boop!" Booping a snake on the nose. :'3 Have you ever played Five Nights at Freddy’s? Nah. I enjoy watching YouTubers play it, and I like the franchise, it's just not my kind of game to actually play. Can you twerk? Oh god, never tried, don't want to. Do you like dabbing? It looks stupid to me. It looks like you're smelling your armpit, dude. Can money buy you happiness? You are 110% full of shit if you think it can't to some degree. I would be so, so much happier if I wasn't poor. Have you heard of Blizzard Entertainment? Well, considering they're the company that owns World of Warcraft, obviously.

[girlbetweenryosuke]

“Blue Eyes Can Kill”: Chapter I

Note: Don’t mind the Japanese in the title board, idk if it’s right, im only learning Japanese ok HAHAHAHAH JUST SHHHHH. This is just a plot that i thought about last year and I was supposed to draw a manga for it, but that didn’t turn out well. So here it is. Also, this is an AU where Ryosuke’s still in HS and he gets into serious trouble

Teaser: “Hello?? Mom? Can you hear me?? It’s me, Ryosuke. Why weren’t you answering my calls?? Listen, Dad is dead. He was killed by this… I don’t know what the hell he is, just please, please stay safe. I won’t be coming home soon, but I guarantee you that I’ll keep in touch. Mom, I-I can’t t-take it anymore… I-it hurts… Just… if you see a mysterious man walk by, wearing a fedora, shades, and a grey coat, please, please, please…

Don’t look him in the eyes.”

Chapter I: “You’re One of Us Now.”

Ryosuke looked down as he walked. His shoes made tapping sounds each step he took. His leather shoes weren’t polished, dust was collecting on the top as it showed the blurriest reflection of the sky. His hand was in his pocket, the other carrying his school bag. His school uniform jacket was open as his white sleeveless top peeked through. He looked up, he was now crossing a bridge. He stopped in the middle of his tracks, leaning against the dirty stone railing.

He looked down on the river, seeing kids play by the riverside, a couple having a picnic, and a group of girls sitting and chatting. He breathed in, and out. It was a boring day for Ryosuke. He went to school, learned a little bit, sweat a little bit, and went home in what felt like 12 hours. A slow and eventless day—just like every other day. He wished something would change sometimes.

Huffing, he swung his bag over his shoulder, and turned to walk home. Turning to the left, then straight ahead, then to the right, then left, then left again, then straight ahead. It was a direction he knew like the back of his hand. It was repetitive, nothing special about it. He opened his house’s gate, hearing the ever so irritating high-pitched creak as he entered the garden and closed the gate.

“Ku!”, he smiled, crouching down as his little toy poodle jumped on his lap. He ruffled his fur, and then held the dog by its stomach and bottom. The door to his house was slightly opened, so he lightly kicked it, making enough room for him to enter. He took off his shoes and crouched, letting the dog go on the floor. “I’m home!!”, he declared, as he could hear his mother cooking in the kitchen. “Welcome home!”, his mother greeted. He breathed in, smelling the freshly cooked food his mother so lovingly prepared.

The food that his mother prepared was the only change he had in his every day life. Every day, there was a new dish on the table, new tastes for his taste buds to try, but more than that, more delicious food to fill his appetite. “What’s for dinner?”, he asked, grabbing the newspaper off the kitchen table. “Take a guess.”, his mother smiled as he sniffed the air. “Tonkatsu?”, he guessed, and she shook her head.

Just then, Chihiro, his sister, ran downstairs with a brown envelope. “Nope, it’s actually pork stew.”, she smirked, then slamming the envelope on the table right in front of him. He looked at it and then at his sister with a confused face. “Since you guessed wrong, you have to take this to dad’s police station.”, she evilly grinned, then turning to walk away, leaving Ryosuke to do the task. “Hey! Dad told you to bring it to him, didn’t he?!”, he shouted, Chihiro still climbing up the stairs, “Yeah, but it’s sunset, and it’s dangerous for a girl to go out at night!”, she said in a mocking tone.

Ryosuke rolled his eyes, grabbing the envelope from the table and turning to the door. “Ryosuke! Be back early! If possible, go home with your father, okay? He can’t stay at work too late.”, she reminded her son, and Ryosuke nodded as he slipped back into his shoes. “I’ll be going!”, he declared, “Have a safe trip!”, his mother replied.

Off to the street, his gaze went up to the sky, the sun was setting, casting an orange tone on the sky. He walked, looking at the familiar houses in the neighborhood. He bit his lip, wanting to own his own house, wanting to buy a house for his parents as well. Ryosuke was only 17, merely a high school student. He had big dreams, big ambitions, he was going to college after high school, and then graduate; he wanted to become a teacher. He had his life planned ahead, and he wanted to continue to live up to it.

He reached the bridge he was on awhile ago. As he walked, he noticed a group of people running away from the direction he was heading to. “That’s odd.”, he said to himself. Nevertheless, he maintained to walk, putting a brave front up despite an eerie vibe he was feeling. Something was wrong, no doubt. Why are all these people running away?

As he was nearing the station, he could hear police sirens, ambulances, and multiple footsteps. “PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR PLEASE, SIR.”, a megaphone blasted, as Ryosuke’s eyes widened. It was his dad speaking. “IF YOU SURRENDER NOW, WE WILL DO NO HARM.”, he continued. Ryosuke turned to the corner, seeing multiple police cars, an ambulance, and a barricade of policemen in the scene. “Who are they arresting?”, he thought. Then, he felt something even more unusual. Why aren’t there any bystanders? Why is he the only one watching?

Then, he noticed a man in the middle of the scene, being completely surrounded by guns. He had shades on, a fedora hat, and a bloody gray coat. He was eerily smirking, slowly turning his head to show his mischievous smirk to everyone. His hands in his pocket, he took one out, raising it, taking off his sunglasses. He looked down as everybody prepared to shoot.

“SIR, PLEASE PUT YOUR HANDS UP. SURRENDER NOW.”, his father said. Ryosuke peeked his head out, only letting one eye see what was happening. The tension in the air was thick as suspense filled Ryosuke. He was worried, scared of what could happen, and yet somewhat interested as well. The sky was turning into a deep red-orange. Darker, and darker, it felt as if the world was eating up his only light. As the sun set, Ryosuke felt like he fell deeper and deeper into danger.

… And he did.

The man looked up, a bright blue ray of light shot from his eyes as he looked at everybody in the theirs. Each man his gaze has passed at fell to the ground, shouting, whimpering, screaming in agonizing pain; a spray of blood followed. “DAD GET OUT OF THERE!”, Ryosuke shouted, calling the attention of the man. At that split moment, he caught the man’s gaze, seeing a bright blue light flashing before his one eye, the other, being covered by the wall he was hiding behind.

He felt it burn.

“Ryosuke!!”, his father exclaimed, and then suddenly catching the gaze of the man, falling to the ground as he tried to run to his son.

He felt it sting.

Ryosuke fell back onto the ground, feeling a stinging sensation on his right eye, the one that had looked at the man. He was breathing heavily, eyes wide as half of his vision turned red. Hands shaking, he touched his right eye; it was wet. He brought it up to look at it—it was red. He felt blood drip down half of his face as he screamed in terror and pain.

He screamed, but no one heard him. Everyone was dying. Some were grasping onto the road, trying to get help, others, breathing heavily as they tried to hang on for dear life, and others—dead. He spotted his father, eyes bleeding with large burn patches were on his exposed skin. “Dad!!”, he cried, crawling to his father. He took a quick look to find the man who had done this, but he was long gone.

“Ryosuke…”, his father coughed, reaching out to nothingness, unable to see anything. Ryosuke cradled his father’s torso on his lap, crying. “I-I can’t see anything…”, his father’s voice was coarse. “Dad…”, was all he could say. His father chuckled, raising his hand to try to guess where Ryosuke’s face was. When he did, he swiped his tears away, “Don’t cry, son.”. Despite what he said, a tear fell from his bloody eyes, mixing with the red liquid.

“What’s for dinner?”, he asked, letting his arm slowly fall back down, showing a sign of weakness. Ryosuke sniffled, chuckling as a tear fell, “Pork stew.”. “Ahh, my favorite.”, he said, his head now facing up to the sky, his smile about to fade away. “Dad, please stay with me. Mom said we have to come home together.”, he cried. His father didn’t reply. “Dad! Dad! Please!”, he cried, shaking his father as his father gave his last chuckle,

“Home… Yes… We’ll go home…”

The young boy cried, cradling his father. “D-dad…”. “I promise I’ll go stag beetle hunting with you…”, he lightly chuckled, biting his lip and sniffling, “Just please don’t leave us, dad.”. The sky turned from the bloody orange, down to its darkest purples. His father was dead.

Then, Ryosuke’s ear started to ring. It was like the creak in his gate; a high-pitched sound he hated so much was now continuously ringing in his ear. He slowly laid his father down on the ground, pressing his palms in his ears and squinting. More blood dripped down his cheek as he squinted; a weird feeling of warm and thick liquid made him cringe.

The noise wouldn’t stop. He grunted, feeling immense pain on his face and in his head now. Suddenly, he started to hear whispers. At first, it was soft, incoherent and overpowered by the ringing. Then later, it was louder, it was as if a person was whispering it directly to his brain. He tried to understand what it was saying.

“Yuuga road… Block 4… Tama’s Izakaya… Behind… Down…”

Ryosuke furrowed his eyebrows, trying to understand what it meant. The voice sounded like it was from an adult. An old groggy yet commanding voice. Yuuga road? Why would he go there? That road was sketchy, with multiple bars on each street, and a few run-down love hotels. “Go there… Go there… Go there…”, it repeated, over and over again. “Why would I…”, he said, and then regretting it as the ringing was louder, causing him to grunt in pain, pressing his ears harder.

He looked up, hearing ambulance sirens arrive, he gasped, feeling a drop of hope. “Go… Go… Go. Go. Go. Go.”, the voice in his ear started to push him, he couldn’t take it. “What the fuck is going on?!”, he cursed to himself. As the headlights of the ambulances started to appear, the ringing in his ear became unbearable. He surrendered, standing up and running away from the scene. He pressed on his ears, hoping the ringing would stop. “Please, please, please stop.”.

He stopped to turn back and take a look at his father as medics were crowding over them. He bit his lip, saying his silent goodbye to his father, feeling depressed and hopeless. “Yuuga road.”, he remembered. He then turned to continue walking, determined to find out what was happening.

The neighborhood was eerily quiet, not a single person passed by. As he limped to the address, pressing on his ears as the noise faded away, he felt himself break inside. Around an hour ago, he was fine. He was bored, even. He was expecting that nothing was to happen, even though he wanted something to shake up his day. But now, he regretted thinking that. He thought it was selfish of him. He soon grew to hate himself, crying as he slowly removed his hands from his ears.

He wept, falling down to his knees in the middle of the road. His hands on his face, feeling the dried blood and the wet tears on his palms. If only he had wished that everything stayed the same. If only he… If only he. He didn’t know what he could have done to turn things around. Maybe if his father changed his job, maybe if he didn’t bring in the bad vibes… Maybe if that blue-eyed bastard didn’t live.

He looked up, finding a green telephone booth. He sniffled, standing up and limping, trying to get to the booth. He held onto the frame, fishing a coin out of his pocket and slipping it into the coin slot. He dialed up his home’s number. As it dialed, he caught a glimpse of what he looked like on the booth’s glass. His right eye was bloody, a large blood clot blocked the whites of his eye. His hair was disheveled with sweat. His white sleeveless was covered in blood. He looked like the mess he was inside.

The phone did not pick up. He fished for a coin again, dialing again and it did not pick up. Lord knows he had prayed to the God he didn’t believe in, hoping that his mother and his two sisters were still alive. He bit his lip, crying, just at the thought that he had no family anymore. He couldn’t believe so. He fished out for another coin, the last coin. He pursed his lips, slipping it into the slot and dialing again. “Please pick up, please pick up, please pick up.”, he silently pleaded.

“Hello?”, his mother answered, sending relief down Ryosuke’s body.

Just then, the ringing in his ears began again, louder and louder each second that he was off his tracks. He grunted in pain, causing his mother to worry, “Hello? Who is this?”. He couldn’t hear what his mother was saying anymore. He just had to relay the message, to keep them safe.

“Hello?? Mom? Can you hear me?? It’s me, Ryosuke. Why weren’t you answering my calls?? Listen, Dad is dead. He was killed by this… I don’t know what the hell he is, just please, please stay safe. I won’t be coming home soon, but I guarantee you that I’ll keep in touch. Mom, I-I can’t t-take it anymore… I-it hurts… Just… if you see a mysterious man walk by, wearing a fedora, shades, and a grey coat, please, please, please…

Don’t look him in the eyes.”

On that note, he fell to his knees in tears and agony, the phone was left hanging by its chord. He grunted in pain, gargling his voice down as his hands clawed on his head. “Please make it stop… Please make it stop…”, he cried. “Ryosuke?? Son! Are you okay—oh my goodness, what is happening.”, his mother cried through the phone.

“Leave… Leave… Leave… Leave…”, the voice in his head repeated. He looked forward, slowly standing up. Putting one foot in front, then the other, trying to walk amidst all that was going on in his head. Suddenly, he felt light sprinkles of water fall on his skin. Soon, they were heavy drops of rain. The rain made it hard for him to see clearly, squinting his eyes as his vision blurred from time to time. He cried to himself. He was a 17-year-old—merely a kid. He didn’t know why he deserved this. He didn’t know who thought that he deserved this.

Soon, the red lights of the sketchy neighborhood appeared. People were now walking through the streets, prostitutes, possible criminals, drugged people, everyone who was on the blacklist of the police. And he knew that because his father is one… or was one. He slowly walked through the streets, these people not giving a single damn about this young man bleeding and limp.

He found the crooked street-sign, “Yuuga St.”, it read. The street was rather narrow compared to the others. He stepped through puddles, a few speedbumps and walked past sketchy people. He looked up, finding the red neon sign that sent half-assed relief down his body. “Tama’s Izakaya”, it read. He looked to its side, finding a narrow alley leading to the back of the building. He slowly limped towards the dark alley. It was infested with roaches, rats, and flies. It was disgusting.

He reached the back of the building, and he was met with another alley. To his left, the back of the bar, and to his right, a run-down love hotel. It was obviously not a star hotel considering you could hear faint moans and grunts from the inside. He walked through the fog, wondering what “Down” meant.

He stepped on puddles as he looked down, and under the fog was a hatch. He blinked, heavily breathing, feeling anxious and scared of what was down there. “Down… Down… Down…”, the voice in his head repeated. He gulped, crouching and reaching for the wet and rusty handle of the hatch. He raised it, water pouring from the door of the hatch as it revealed a ladder going down. It had moss growing on each side, and rust infesting the metal bars of the ladder.

He stepped down on each bar, holding onto another as he went down the ladder, letting his whole-body pass through before he closed the hatch from the inside. Once it was closed, everything was dark. He could easily take a wrong step and slip to his death. He gulped, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, mixing with the rain water.

Ryosuke found a spot of light from below, and as he neared it, he found out that it was a little window on a metal door leading to a room. Once he felt that there were no more metal bars to step on, he let his feet land on the floor. He turned around, finding the door right in front of him. He peeked through the window, it was dusty, only showing a blurry image of what was behind it.

Looking below to find the door handle, he hesitated to open it, only to be pushed by the ringing in his head; it was like this ringing was controlling him to do all these acts. His hands were shaking as he turned the knob, opening the door slightly, suddenly hearing someone humming. He recognized the song they were humming, “Live to Die Another Day” by MIYAVI. He found that sense of relief, maybe it was just a normal person for him to encounter. Maybe the first normal person he encountered all night.

He opened the door more, letting his body slip through. He examined the room; the floor and walls were concrete, much like in a sewage, but it was a lot cleaner, and the walls were painted red. Lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling were the only ones providing light. There were some weights and gym equipment in the corner of the room, and right in the middle of the room was a giant television screen, with a red leather couch in front of it. “What is this place?”, he thought to himself.

There were sounds of showering rain to his right, hearing the humming along with it. He looked to his right, as his eyes widened. There, he found a woman, naked, taking a shower as her back faced him. “Loving is easy…”, she sang, not particularly well, but she sang. “Loving is easy”, she sang as Ryosuke neared, finding a big scar on her back. They were slashes, tiger stripes, most likely caused by whips. “Loving is easy.”, she sang. Ryosuke gasped as she began to turn around, “Leaving’s the hard pa—”.

At that split moment, her eyes widened, full of shock, and soon, full of rage. Ryosuke, full of regret, wanting to turn back time, wanting to never have come here, wanting to never have lived, even. She screamed, shielding her body away as she threw a towel at him, him, using it to shield his eyes. “Who the fuck are you?!”, she shrieked. “I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry!!”, he repeatedly bowed, not knowing what to say. “Why are you here??!!”, she shouted as she threw on a robe. “I-I don’t k-know…”, he began to cry.

As soon as she tied the robe around her waist, she grabbed him by his shirt, letting the towel drop from his eyes. He felt so much strength, just through that one grab, it was like she could rip his shirt with no effort. She looked him in the eye, finding that one, one was bleeding, and two, she knew who he was. He looked terrified, unable to focus, and was on the brink of hyperventilating. Tears were spilling everywhere as he whimpered, looking into her eyes. Only one of her eyes were bright blue. It was glowing, even. It reminded him of the man whom he has met only a while ago. And after all that, he recognized her.

“Ryosuke?”

“Y/N?”

They blinked as her blue eye started to fade. “W-what are you doing here?”, she slowly let go of his shirt, letting his support himself with his arms behind him. “I-I don’t know…”, he shook his head, crying. Y/N is Ryosuke’s batchmate. They’ve never been classmates throughout their three years in the same high school, but they did know each other. Ryosuke was known in school for being attractive, for having tons of girls crushing on him. Y/N, on the other hand, was popular for being a laid-back senior. She had no care whatsoever about any event, nor did she show any emotion. It was a shock for Ryosuke to see her so angry, furthermore, shocking to see one of her eye glow blue.

“Amari!!” she started to call out to nothingness as she circled the room. She looked up, “Amari, what the fuck is happening?!”, she cursed. There was no response, and at this point, Ryosuke was 100% sure his schoolmate was a lunatic. She kept calling out Amari, with nothing appearing, though she was determined, and sure, that someone was going to respond.

Suddenly, the TV screen turned on, showing a static screen. They both turned their heads, Y/N quickly faced the TV as Ryosuke sat up. “Ah, I see you’ve met your new partner.”, a voice of a man spoke. “Partner?”, she looked at Ryosuke, then back to the screen. “What do you mean partner?”. “Y/N, my dear—”, “Don’t call me ‘my dear’.”, she interrupted the voice as it chuckled.

“Alright, Y/N. Do you remember how you got that blue eye?”, it asked, Y/N breathed in, slowly nodding, “Well, he got it too.”. Ryosuke blinked. Blue eye?  He got a blue eye? Was this some kind of disease, or something? “You mean he…”, she paused in realization. “Yes, he survived.”, it finished her sentence.

She looked back at him, walking towards him and lending a hand for him to stand up. He hesitated to grab it but took it anyway. She helped him up, and he dusted himself off. “Poor thing.”, she commented with eyes of pity for him. Why did she pity him? “So, he’s going to be like me from now on?”, she asked, “Yes.”, it answered, you could hear the grin in its voice. She faced him, eyes of pity as she placed a hand on his shoulder,

“Unfortunately, you’re one of us now.”

[andrewuttaro]

New Look Sabres: GM 28 - NJD - Birthday Wish

7-1 Win

The Buffalo Sabres are normally on the receiving end of tremendous beatings, at least for the last decade or so. Last night we got a rare taste of what it was like destroying a team by a lacrosse score line. It was something else. Less than seven minutes into the first period it was probably over. I was thinking about the future of several players careers… Devils players! The consensus on Sabres twitter seems to be this game came at just the right time. This club had the roughest of Novembers but had the points in the bank from October to make up the difference. They spent all those savings and as Thanksgiving came and went they began to find their footing again. After a promising home-and-home with the Leafs a convincing win to solidify the gains of a decent stretch of games was needed. A convincing win that was in fact a win in regulation against a team you should handle. New Jersey came knocking asking if we remembered the Home Opener. Whether it was the 50th Anniversary jerseys or 1970s figures present at the game that jogged their memory, the Buffalo Sabres remembered. That game, the second one of this season, was a rout. But this rout makes that rout look like herding cats. When I said this game was over in seven minutes earlier, I mean it was pretty well over in seven minutes. But before we pile on the Devils I thought I’d share with you some thoughts I had about some great players on their roster whom this game made me feel for. Will Butcher: you passed up Buffalo for what you thought would be better. It was for a time but here we are. PK Subban: I love you bud… but this game showed that scary trend is real. Your advanced numbers are garbage, I hope your next destination helps out. Wayne Simmons: Dude, please don’t retire after this. You deserve better than this awfulness. Taylor Hall: well… huh… we both know you’re not going back to Edmonton. When you go win a Cup with Colorado this June please don’t pass the Cup to Nazem Kadri or Nikita Zadorov. For some reason Sabres twitter loves to roast itself during that part of the Final and those two guys minus well be BBQ Chefs. Let’s get down to business.

The Buffalo Sabres came out aggressive. Yeah, I say that a lot here in the second paragraph of postgame; but this time the New Jersey Devils also came out aggressive, AGGRESSIVELY BAD! The Sabres had two goals before the Devils had a shot on goal. That’s right: let me clear my throat played twice before Linus Ullmark was even tested. To be exact the shots were 3-0 Buffalo five minutes in and that was good for a 2-0 lead. Unreal, right? The first goal was right after a Sabres powerplay ended and Jack Eichel was all alone in front of Louis Dominque and just tapped it against the guys pads. It trickled in and everyone was surprised. Hardly two minutes later New Jersey just could not make a clean zone exit and Jeff Skinner had the puck one-on-one with a now annoyed Dominque. Skinner tucked it in far side with a quick little slapper and there are your two goals against zero shots. Up next, not even two minutes later, Jeff Skinner’s third or… whatever non-numbered line we’re calling it, hauling Larsson and Sheary behind like a Christmas tree on a punch buggy mind you, pull off a goal you are more likely to see in the All Star game when all the guys are just trying trick shots they joked about in college then in a real NHL game. Jeff Skinner skates into the zone backwards with speed because the Devils did not know what they were doing in their own zone and crosses the gut of the ice like a figure skater to shoot the puck backwards at the net. That shot didn’t go in because this isn’t a video game, Jeff. However Louis Dominque blocked it with a pad and the resulting rebound was punched in by a Conor Sheary halfway onto his ass. It’s now 3-0 and I think this was the part where Dominque got pulled. No that wasn’t until the first intermission.

After goal three John Hynes and the Devils coaching staff took a time out to try and stop the bleeding. They did for a little bit. It was about ten minutes later when the Devils had finally figured out this shots on net thing but were still giving up D-Zone turnovers juicer than a holiday ham. Conor Sheary just takes a pot shot from a shite angle and Dominque gets his stick glove on it sending it up in the air. Carter Hutton must have watched this play on the bench thinking he’s not alone anymore. The puck goes straight up, and Dominque even watches a little bit of it’s hangtime. Then it just lands in the goal behind him like a letter delivered by a carrier pigeon. What a game already: its 4-0. Sheary skates the bench in celebrating with a “Idk, it just went in” look on his face. All you Monday night folks who paid for the cheapest Sabres tickets of the season so far got your money’s worth and more. But wait, there’s more! We’re in the last minute of the first period. Folks are filing up the stairs to get to the pisser before others and what happens. Casey Mittelstadt just dumps a puck off to Rasmus Asplund in the offensive zone and Asplund just goes “whatever” and one times it like he’s friggin Alex Ovechkin. It went in: 5-0 because this was Buffalo’s night evidently. That was Asplund’s first NHL goal. The kid who just got called up because of injuries and looked like an NHLer gets rewarded faster than maybe any other recent callup. And so the first period ends… *laughs in disbelief* 5-0 Buffalo.

This game was Founders Night. They had family of the Knox Brothers, the founders of the franchise, in attendance for a pregame ceremony. Apparently there was a giant birthday cake and birthday guard. Fun trivia: 50 Years ago on December 2nd the NHL formally granted Buffalo an expansion franchise. The club wouldn’t get named the Sabres for a little over five months but that’s a birthday even if there wasn’t a name. Perhaps the birthday wish was for lots of goals because 5-0 in the first period was not the end by a longshot. Three minutes into the second period PK Subban and Colin Miller have a little spat and the resulting penalties make it 4-on-4. I don’t know how to put this for children: Victor Olofsson sent a puck to heaven. Olofsson unleashed a slapshot that may soon be outlawed by the Geneva Conventions. The broadcast team didn’t know it went in until the horn went off. Ben Mathewson did a 60 frames per second (fps) replay of the goal and there isn’t really more than a couple frames between the slapshot and McKenzie Blackwood realizing the puck had gone in. It was the hardest goal any Sabre has shot this season. 6-0 Sabres and I really want to apologize to the Devils fans in attendance. This had to be embarrassing. I am so sorry. It wouldn’t be a shutout though guys. Zemgus Girgensons got called for tripping and New Jersey made the most of the powerplay when Nico Hischier sauced in a rebound past Linus Ullmark. 6-1 Sabres, the shutout is gone but the Devils are still angry evidently: Casey Mittelstadt is tripped by Kyle Palmieri, the ref blows it against him and before Mittelstadt is up Palmieri launches the puck at him in a temper tantrum. Mind you the Devils are now out-shooting the Sabres 2 to 1 but the Sabres are locking it down. This was the performance we needed. This was our birthday wish for the Sabres. The Sabres made Palmieri and the Devils pay for that trip and Henri Jokiharju fired a laser from the blue line to make it 7-1 for the home team. At this point we just crossed the halfway point of the game. Buffalo has scored a touchdown and Josh Allen didn’t even throw for it. This game was so good 71-year-old Mike Robitaille was telling 51-year-old Rob Ray that advanced stats are just splendid on the broadcast. It was a savagely beautiful disarming of the trap Ray had set. The Sabres were dunking on the Devils and Boomers were dunking on Boomers about advanced stats. This was such a wildly fun game we’re going to look back on it in two weeks and think it was some collective dream we had.

And it seemed meant to be like some kind of fairy tale! The third period had its scary moments, a couple Devils powerplays and a handful of defensive lapses for the home team but the end result never really seemed in question. Buffalo won in regulation 7-1. This game was everything. Jack Eichel’s point streak continues, he now has 38 points in 28 games on pace for a 111-point season. If he doesn’t make the all-star team we can rightfully conclude this league is rigged against Buffalo. Victor Olofsson probably deserves to go as well. Not only is he scoring at 5-on-5 now but he is leading the team in multi-point games; yes even more than Eichel. Friggin Johan Larsson had a career night: he got three points in a game, all on assists, for only the second time in his career. Think about every shocked or mother-of-god meme you got: that was this game. It was memeable! I can’t imagine they dominate like this every night but like, comment and share this blog to join the fun. Sabres After Dark returns Thursday night for a game in Calgary. I want some revenge for the Thanksgiving Eve myself but by that point my end-of-semester crunch week will be winding down, so I’ll probably settle for just some enjoyable sex puns. I got a pair of those oven mitts they gave away for the Thanksgiving Eve game, let’s hope the Sabres stay hot so I need them! Let’s Go Buffalo!

Thanks for Reading.

P.S. I don’t think the Bills catch New England for the division but let’s just savor the fact they’re one game back and that such a scenario is a realistic possibility at all. Just enjoying being a fan, I don’t think they catch em either but I’m going to enjoy this well it lasts!

[overdrivels]

Could I request something with the good old-fashioned 'we have to share a bed because there's only one and no one told us beforehand' trope? With either Hanzo or McCree; you can decide which. (Like one of them and the reader get assigned to the same mission and have to stay a hotel or safehouse or something, idk.)

It’s Snow Problem

I am 9000% convinced that Hanzo would take the stupid floor if there wasn’t some really good reason behind it (like the floor was lava). So I mashed up two tropes: one bed + we’re going to freeze to death unless we share body heat.

The only reason why I never picked up this trope was because I would personally pick the floor. I’m very used to sleeping on hard surfaces, so the floor would be my preferred sleeping place unless there was, like I said before, lava.

“Da-damn, t-the–the he-h-heat’s n, not working eith-either?”

You literally could not stop your teeth from chattering or your fingers from trembling as you desperately messed around with the dial on the very, very outdated radiator. Didn’t this cabin have some sort of code to follow? You can’t be sure if the dial isn’t turning because it’s frozen or if you just couldn’t put enough strength into your frozen digits.

“There’s n-no hot water.”

Behind you, Hanzo steps out from the bathroom, barely able to contain the shaking in his voice. His heavy coat was positively encrusted with white, glittering ice decorated his hair, the dying rays of the sun catching them and lighting them up obnoxiously. It showed no sign of melting anytime soon. His face was red with windburn—you’re sure you didn’t look any better—and his breath hung around him like a ghostly veil.

It’d be a miracle if neither of you managed to catch a cold or worse.

You curse your luck and at Winston who sent you both here to Yukon on this mission to investigate rumors about Talon activity. Something about a hidden laboratory deep in the icy tundra of the Yukon. The two of you almost got caved in when you entered the space—it seemed to have been a final defense mechanism for Talon’s abandoned bases.

In hindsight, you really should’ve asked Mei to switch with you when she was assigned to go the Bahamas. Mei looked absolutely miserable when she was asked to go. You have no doubt she has the same thoughts as you at this moment. She never really did like showing off her skin.

It wasn’t as though you were both entirely unprepared–extra set of clothes, self-activating heat packs (courtesy of Genji), blankets, and other supplies that would’ve proven useful in the situation.

That is, if those supplies were drenched in the brief swim they took down some slushy body of water. In your defense, the footing was bad and in both your defenses, neither of you could afford to jump into the fast-moving waters. Luckily, Hanzo had managed to pin it to fallen tree with a well-aimed arrow. Retrieving it proved a little more harrowing than expected: you both nearly fell in when the tree partially gives out, leaving your pants and boots soaked. Luckily, the journey back to the cabin was a short one, saving you both from the possibility freezing your limbs. But not short enough to avoid the storm that is currently raging outside.

You cross the room to look out the window—it’s almost completely frosted over. The telltale ‘squish’ of your boots remind you of just how uncomfortable wet socks are and that they need to come off along with any other clothes that you have on.

“The-the generator’s out-outside. Sh-shit.”

It doesn’t look like the storm is going to let up anytime soon either. Going out there may be the equivalent of suicide. The lingering cold that roots itself firmly into your bones remind you of just how unforgiving the weather can be. The fireplace itself is empty, all the wood being outside. It’s probably all wet anyway.

“There’s no signal,” Hanzo announces, setting his communicator down on the table. You politely ignore how he nearly knocks it to the ground with the way his fingers shake.

“Looks-looks like we-we’ll have to wea-we-weather this one out. God damn it all.”

No electricity, no heat, no communications, no hot water–no people in sight of your tiny cabin window, it’s practically a repeat of the Omnic Crisis, just with less shit burning to the ground. If you both want to survive the night, there were some things you had to handle first. Namely, getting out of these clothes that are no longer doing anything to contain your body heat. A bulb of dread and anxiety drops into your stomach, swimming around for a brief moment.

You take a quick glance at Hanzo who seems preoccupied with checking his bow with whatever little light is left. In a few minutes, you’ll be lucky to see your hands in front of your own faces. It’s a small comfort that he won’t be able to see you (but your traitorous mind wonders what he would think if he did see). You shake your head to cast away those thoughts, droplets of cold water flinging everywhere. First thing’s first.

You take a breath for courage, and begin to tearing off your soaked gloves with your teeth, your other hand too clumsy to be of much help. You almost gag, the taste of melted snow and worn plastic fills your mouth.

Your attempts to undress must’ve attracted Hanzo’s attention. He sounds positively scandalized when he hisses, “What are you doing?”

“We need–we need to get out of these clothes.”

You could sense Hanzo opening his mouth to protest and immediately cut him off before he has a chance to lecture you on dignity. “You’ll fr-freeze, Hanzo. There’s no heat, no hot water, we’re—we’re soaked. Take whatever no-n-notions you have about modesty and shove–shove ‘em; we need to stay alive.” That’s what you’re doing at the moment, anyway.

At his skeptical silence, you add, “I’ll turn around, so no need to worry–I can’t see very well in the dark, anyway.” The wind rattles the windows as though adding to your point.

Little did you know, Hanzo had been specially trained to function in the dark without the need to enhancements or fancy goggles like a certain arachnid. Assassinations didn’t usually take place in broad daylight, after all. Every movement, every twitch of your muscles was easily captured in his eyes. It is beyond distracting, but he’d never let you know that.

Despite his silence, you know that Hanzo understands the sense you are making when you also hear the rustle of clothes behind you. Satisfied with his compliance (and that you won’t have to report to anyone that someone died because they refused to take of their clothes), you continued your own disrobing.

Each particle of clothing hit the hardwood floors with a loud, wet slap, and you can feel the floor jump at the impact, almost mocking you both. The tension is almost palpable, making the act of removing your clothes even more difficult with the extra water and snow caked onto it. With each piece of clothing you lose, you shiver violently at the air that assaults you. But you clench your teeth and press on. You have your own skin to save. The greatest relief comes when you take off your socks—there’s no worse feeling outside of pain that compares to the skin-crawling squish of wet socks—even though the wooden floors are cold as all hell.

“They–they should’ve sent M-M-Mei on this mission,” you say jokingly as you wring out your shirt. “She would’ve loved this. Probably would’ve been better prepared, too.”

You only receive icy silence, your attempt at a livening the atmosphere dies as it comes out of your mouth. Hanzo seems very single-minded in his unclothing. You slap an unsteady hand to your forehead. That thought was dirty. He’s your comrade-in-arms, not a pin-up. Calm down.

Normally, your thoughts didn’t travel down this route–sure, he is attractive, but not enough to distract you. Maybe the cold’s hindering your mental facilities. That must be it.

You strip down to your underwear and, to your infinite irritation, even those were soaked somehow. You’re going to put in a complaint with Winston about his new snow and water-proof gear. You tug at your underwear, grimacing at the wetness.

‘To hell with it’, you decided as you reluctantly pulled those off, too. You glanced quickly back at Hanzo as you did, hoping that he wouldn’t see.

It’s so dark you could barely even see him.

Actually, you don’t even see the archer anywhere. You whip your head around, trying to catch sight of his outline. Where did he–?

“Here.”

You’re hit by something soft and blissfully dry. It’s a large towel, musty from disuse, but welcome, nonetheless.

“Thank–thank you.”

He grunts, and there’s the sound of him putting on his own towel. You first wring your hair through it, the icy water dripping down your bare back is far from comfortable, before you wrap it around yourself in a very pathetic attempt to get warm. It barely does its job, and you feel a little less exposed to the elements. Now that you’re no longer in danger of freezing to death via an icy cage of fabric, there are other matters to attend to.

You cast a forlorn glance at the silhouette of the duffel bag, wondering if anything survived the brief dunk in the water. You decide it’s worth a shot, and try to open it. You hiss at the stinging cold. The bag is freezing still from having been dropped into the slushy water. Next time, you’re going to take a drone and you’re going to cold-proof it so it can carry your stuff. Brilliant.

You hold the towel closed as you rummage through the contents of the bag—wet clothes, wet bags, wet and ice-encrusted everything except—

“Yes!” You pull out a thick stick, and before Hanzo could even stop you, you twist and snap it, immediately flooding the room with a warm yellow light (and accidentally blinding yourself).

Hanzo hisses like a disgruntled cat, snatching the emergency light stick from your hands as you begin to rub your eyes free of the afterimages.

When you’re finally able to open them without seeing strange colors, you had to fight to keep your mouth closed. Hanzo is completely shirtless save a towel around his midsection, covering up his stomach and upper thighs. The muscles previously hidden by the thick layers of protective gear and winter wear now exposed to the nippy air. You drop your gaze so you’re not tempted to stare—you’ve seen other sculpted men before, but the fact that it’s Hanzo makes this different somehow. Though, something seems off about him.

You keep your gaze to the floor, his legs. You weren’t sure if your eyes were playing tricks on you, and rubbed your eyes to be sure. (It stung more than you would’ve liked.)

“You–you have legs? Human…legs?”

Behind him, what you thought were prostheses seemed to now be just empty casings, lying neatly on the ground. He glares at you but quickly turns away, arms crossed over his chest, the light making the dragons on his arm seem more ominous than usual. You’re not sure because the light itself isn’t strong enough for you to tell, but you could swear that there is a tinge of pink on his chest and cheeks.  

However, his biting voice immediately drives your thoughts away from that. “Is that a problem?” The condensation from his mouth circles him like dragons. The imagery is almost frightful.

“N-no, no!” you stammer, “I just, I just thought that…y-you know what, never mind.”

You turn your back and kneel down, returning to rummaging through the contents of the wet bag, trying find something useful and to distract yourself from the awkwardness of a topic that shouldn’t be discussed. A series of shivers run down your spine at the contact. Damn, you really should’ve switched with Mei—but then she’d be stuck in this situation, and she’s not exactly comfortable with being nude, especially in the presence of others (but logically, she’d probably be the most unlikely person to be caught in this sort of situation in the first place).

You chance upon a medium size container and you immediately brighten when you realize what it is.

“Hey, Hanzo, look when I found!” You hold up the thermos, kept airtight and thus uncontaminated by the cold. Perhaps it’s a little too tight, and you struggle to get it open while using your elbows to squeeze the towel against your body.

“Allow me.”

Hanzo gently snatches it from your trembling fingers, kneeling down to meet you at eye level. You couldn’t help but watch as the light illuminates his muscles undulating as he attempts to do what you could not, and highlights the sharp angle of his face and his nose, the fullness of his lips—you had to look away. The cold must be making you delirious.

“Here.”

He’s already poured a cup for you. Even at this distance, he refused to look at you, eyes stubbornly averting your general direction. You pluck it from his hands with a quiet, “Thanks”.  A close look at the contents revealed it to be more of a golden broth that the chef insisted you both take with you. The steam that rises from it is a wonderful reminder that the broth is very warm—perfect for this situation.

From the corner of your eye, you see Hanzo put his hands together and mutter a quick “いっただきます” before raising the steaming bowl to his lips and taking a hearty sip. You did the same and almost gagged at the taste.

It is somewhat metallic—strong hints of ginseng, ginger, and other flavors that you couldn’t quite place. It undoubtedly warms you, the stark contrast sends a harsh shiver down your body, skin raising with gooseflesh. Your teeth tingles from the heat, and your stomach feels a ton heavy like molten lava just made its home there. You didn’t really realize it before, but you seem to have been getting used to the cold.

You take another large, but difficult gulp; the broth leaves behind a bitter yet soothing aftertaste (you don’t think you’d drink it a second time outside of a life or death situation). You’re going to have a word with the chef when you get back to Gibraltar. You don’t know if Hanzo disliked the taste, but he didn’t comment, so neither did you. You weren’t exactly in the best position to complain about warm sustenance in the middle of a blizzard, after all.

You both ate in silence, the occasional slurp breaking it.

It probably wouldn’t be long before the other Overwatch agents noticed your disappearances—Winston had insisted on updates every six hours, and the last communications either of you had with the scientist was early this morning right before you and Hanzo went to scope the Talon lab. Since the communicator isn’t working, you wondered how long it’d take before anyone back at base realizes that you’re both stranded here.

Stupid technology, even after so many years of advancement, it still can’t send a signal in the middle of a snowstorm?

Hanzo gets up from his kneeling position, having finished his portion of soup. You’re still having some difficulty drinking it without holding your breath. Though, by the time you are done, Hanzo’s returned. He hands you some clothes hangers from the closet, now that you can both see in the dark to not stab yourself with one accidentally (unfortunate as it may be, it’s happened before).

“We should hang up our clothes so they may dry.”

You take a look at your sodden pile. “Oh, right, th-thank.” You set down your cup and take your chilly clothes into your arms and the offered hangers before stepping into the bathroom. As a side thought, you twist a knob on the sink and unsurprisingly, get nothing. You sigh. It was worth a shot.

You see that Hanzo was one step ahead of you, his clothes are already hanging neatly from the shower curtain. You wonder when he had the chance to do so without you hearing. You shake your head, it must’ve been when you were too preoccupied with stripping. Though, as you’re hanging your clothes, something else catches your eye.

A white, long rectangle of cloth hangs innocently off the railing, water dripping from it rhythmically. Wait, you recognized this. It was a…loincloth? You keep your mouth shut, teeth clenched to the point that they couldn’t even chatter. This is not a good point of conversation. Not at all. You’re sure that if you speak a word of this to anyone, you’d somehow receive an arrow to the head. Several, if Hanzo was angry enough.

So you quietly hang up your clothes, readjust your towel, and back out of the room. You sincerely hope that Hanzo does not realize you’ve seen his choice of undergarments (but to be fair, he hung them up first), you’re not sure you could ever erase the image from your mind.

Luckily for you, he doesn’t seem to even be thinking such things, instead, he’s standing there awkwardly, staring at the bed with open apprehension. Strange.

“What’s wrong?”

He continues looking at the bed, the corner of his mouth turned downward in distaste. You also squint at it like the answer would manifest itself if you stared hard enough. Was it monsters? Bed bugs?

You blink slowly at him, then at the bed.

It hits you like a freight train. It’s a problem neither of you realized when you first entered the cabin, too preoccupied with trying to get out of the storm and its non-existence comforts.

There’s only one bed.

It’s not that small, but it’s barely enough to fit the two of you, it seems. Inwardly, you groan. You’re sure that you’d never hear the end of this if any of the other Overwatch members find out.

“I will ta-take the floor,” Hanzo says briskly, already trying to establish his new place of rest by sitting down. You had to wince sympathetically when he gave a full body shiver—you could even see the goosebumps from where you stand. Not even his pride is going to be enough to keep him warm at night. His self-loathing and hate, perhaps, but again—thoughts you really shouldn’t entertain.

“You’ll freeze to death down there,” you protest, lifting up the covers. They were thick, and seem like they’d be great at keeping you warm. Unfortunately enough, there’s only one of them. “Not like there are any other blankets, either.”

He does not respond. You crawl into the bed first, biting back a gasp when your body meets the cold mattress. You position yourself as close to the wall as possible without actually touching it, leaving ample space for the archer.

When you turn, you see he still hasn’t moved from his spot, and you sigh. “Come on, Hanzo. It’s just for one night.” Hopefully. “There’s nothing for-for you to sleep on. Just—just get up here. I’ll just stay o-over on this side.”

You could feel his hesitation, so you turn again to face the wall laying down onto the pillow to give him so privacy (or the illusion of detachment)—the pillow, too, is freezing and your wet hair pressing against your skin made it even worse. You really couldn’t wait to get back to base. Maybe trade stories with Mei when she undoubtedly returns with sunburn.

“If you insist,” he says quietly, reluctantly. You take that as your cue to press yourself even further from ‘his’ side of the bed.

Slowly, you could hear Hanzo get up and take a few tentative steps toward the bed. You could hear his ribbon pulling free, and you could almost see his hair coming free of its confines, spilling over his shoulders stiffly. The mattress dips underneath his weight as he crawls in carefully, laying as far away as the blankets would allow. You have to hold onto your end tightly to keep them from slipping off and getting stolen by your new bedmate. You both lay there, back to back. If you even turn just little bit, your skin would be pressed against his own–you could imagine it just sticking to each other. Your back tingles at the proximity, and you try hard not to focus on the fact that you could feel his presence right behind you.

The chattering in your teeth is slowly subsiding, the warmth of two bodies underneath the covers chases away the cold that haunts you both. The metronome of your dripping clothes is the only thing that fills the silence accompanied by the howl of the wind. You could feel Hanzo’s breathing more than you could hear it—the blanket dips and rises with each breath.

When you finally regain some semblance of consciousness, you notice that it’s hot—almost too hot and you’re sweating all over, but at the same time, it was chilly. Your eyes could barely open, aching and somewhat swollen. It must’ve been the wind and ice yesterday, you reasoned. The next thing that comes is that you’re painfully aware of more skin to skin contact than you remember going to bed with.

You couldn’t move without feeling the sensation of peeling skin. The threat of a painful extraction is almost as cringe-worthy as what you image to be Hanzo’s reaction to waking up in this sort of position. At least by some miracle, both your towels are intact, left in the place you both had them when you went to sleep.

But to make matters worse rather than better, Hanzo fills the space between your chin and collarbone with his face, curling into a ball and pressing himself against you as though you two would suddenly click into place. One arm is curled around your back, and the other is trapped between both your bodies, drawing you impossibly close. It vaguely reminded you of a child seeking their parent’s comfort or, if your mind dares go into that territory, two lov—no, no. Don’t go there, thoughts.

However, your thoughts are quickly drowned out when Hanzo noses his way into your neck, his lips skim against your clavicle and you jump at the sensation. ‘It’s okay,’ you told yourself as your heart begins to race like mad. He is just sleeping. He doesn’t know what he’s doing; it’s an accident. As if to prove you wrong, he continues to press his lips there and mumble unintelligibly. You tried to squirm away, the ticklish sensation combined with the close proximity was too much to bear, biting down the need to start laughing or shoving him out of the bed.

Apparently displeased with your struggles, he tucks his chin in, and almost sprawls himself against you, pressing you down onto you back and lying on top. The sudden motion makes you hiss—you were right, the feeling of peeling skin really hurts. But you have little time to dwell on it when his weight is almost suffocating you. Your new position is arguably less ticklish, but no less awkward. You shift, trying to get comfortable, but his weight pins you down firmly.  

“Oh, com’on, Hanzo,” you whisper. You’re surprised he still hasn’t woken up—what sort of ninja is he anyway?

You try another half-hearted struggle, but huff and give up when it doesn’t seem like you’re making any headway, too tired to bother. Might as well let the archer do his thing—there isn’t much you could do anyway outside of bucking his straight off the bed and giving him a very rude awakening (that may or may not result in him attacking you in a blind panic).

Vaguely, you notice it’s still dark, and the screams of the wind from hours before have now died down to become whispers. It seems like the storm has calmed down, sufficient for a signal to get through and for help to come. It’s too bad you’re stuck under a couple hundred pounds of sleeping muscle. You smile to yourself and look down blearily at the archer.

He seems so comfortable, hair splayed out messily around him, legs intertwined with yours so intimately that you’re sure that he’s going to die of embarrassment when he wakes up. You sigh, closing your eyes and willing yourself to go back to sleep. You could deal with this later. The beating of his heart against your chest, his steady breaths, and warmth makes that easy.

The next time you awaken, there’s the distinct sound of chatter, a lack of a body, and a hand to your forehead. It’s large and comfortable, a stark contrast to the suffocating heat that seems to have clogged your throat and nose.

“’nzo?”

You whine when the hand jerks back, exposing your forehead to the chilly morning (was it still morning?) air.

“—ne moment. You’re awake?”

You make a noise of affirmation in the back of your throat—it hurts and it feels like something’s stabbing the insides, you realize. You bury yourself deeper beneath the covers, feeling like you haven’t slept a wink. Your body aches, and your head hurts—it must be the result of having your hair still wet while you slept in such cold weather. That sounds logical.

A few more words were exchanged between Hanzo and whomever he was talking to before, it sounds somewhat heated and pressing, but you weren’t paying attention, sleep beckoning you like a siren’s call that you had no strength to resist.

“Stay awake. You’ve caught a cold,” Hanzo says softly but sternly when he notices you trying to doze off again.

Through your haze, you don’t really understand the severity of his words, but you nod anyway, if only to have him leave you alone so you may return to sleep sooner. You could hear him rummaging through bags, cursing firmly and searching more frantically when he can’t seem to find what he’s looking for.

You’re tempted to laugh at him, but right now, you’re just too tired to do much but try to follow his order. You blink at his back—it’s clothed. Maybe his shirt has dried? What about your own clothes then?

“Apologizes, but there is no medicine,” he says suddenly. Your leg jerks, your whole body jolting to temporary wakefulness. It looks like despite your best attempt, you ended up dozing off after all. “I have contacted the others, they will be here in several hours.”

“S’okay,” you mumble. You just wanted to sleep some more, and it’s too cold to do some comfortably. “Hey, Hanzo. Do me a favor?”

“Yes?”

“Get in here, it’s cold.”

For the record, I rather like the ginseng chicken soups my mother makes. It just doesn’t taste very good in the first few sips. 

[shadowsong26fic]

Coming Attractions!

No, I did not forget to do this! ...exactly...

I am super late again this month—buuuut I wanted to wait until I’d posted the delayed Precipice chapter, so.

Fanfic:

Precipice:

Sorry, sorry, sorry for all the delays in the last couple of updates—the last two weekends were super-busy, and then last week ended up being slammed at work and my brain just went pfft. Anyway, there will be another update this week/weekend (probably Rex and Leia), and I’ll hopefully meander back on schedule after that.

And I finally finished Commander! \o/ It was a fun arc. I’m very fond of that arc. But…yeah, it’s a long one, particularly given that very little in-story time passes. (Seventeen chapters to cover one very eventful week…)

So, yeah. Lessons is going to be a much quieter arc, something along the lines of Homecoming in terms of content/pacing. Resetting ourselves, establishing our new patterns, etc. Leia starts getting trained, Luke starts helping Mamma at work more, and bonding with Lavinia/actively being the human ray of sunshine he is. Probably Winter will turn up, too. I’m going to try and focus more on the Coruscant/Imperial Center thread this arc, particularly since Commander was so heavily about our Jedi friends…anyway, I’m guessing this will be a relatively short arc (8 or 9 chapters), and not much Drama/not very Plot-heavy. Other than Infernalis introducing himself. (He’s a lot of fun—there’s a bit I have half written where he’s all “yeah, I know Sidious is using me, but a) that’s what sentients do; we use each other and b) I’m using him too and c) I get to do ALL THIS AWESOME SHIT. So I kinda feel like it’s worth it.” Like…I don’t write unapologetic/Always Chaotic Evil/for the LULZ villains very often, but Infernalis is in that mold.)

Also! As of this Thursday, I will have officially been posting this behemoth for a whole entire year. I’m going to do a bonus fic (I’ll probably put up a prompt call post later tonight or tomorrow), and I’m hoping to commission art as well, either a full cover or one or more arc covers (for completed arc(s)). [Eventually, I probably will want ALL of the covers (i.e., main title/all planned arcs); but that’s a long range project because lol budget.]

ANYWAY if you have any specific requests for bonus fic and/or are interested in getting paid to draw pretty things/know someone who does this kind of thing and is open for commissions (since I do not know how to draw pretty things), let me know!

Distaff:

I FINALLY CONQUERED THE OPERA HOUSE \o/ ::throws confetti::

...heh.

Anyway, yeah. So, that’s moving again! Next chapter should not take nearly five months to come out, as it’s a lot less…mmmm…I’m trying to figure out how to word it. The Opera House was hard, because—look, it’s kind of dumb; Anakin is being really really dumb, we make fun of that scene for a reason, but it’s also one of if not the most important scenes in this entire arc? In terms of what Palpatine’s trying to do, I would argue that it’s even more of a key moment than the final revelation in his office some indeterminate time later, after Grievous is killed. Or, at least, it’s a bigger risk—once he gets Anakin past this point, the next one will come much easier.

Plus, you know, having to figure out an alternative Sith Legend™ to throw at her, since Plagueis doesn’t really apply. And Palps’s hand, so to speak, isn’t quite as strong as it is in canon (but, I mean, we’re talking if canon was, like, a straight flush, in Distaff he’s playing four of a kind or a full house; so still almost certainly a win). So there’s all of those factors to consider, too. (Also, it was his POV, which is…a fun headspace to get in, let me tell you, internet. Although whining about that at my ever-patient roommates did lead to me nicknaming him Skeev Palpatine which honestly I’m surprised I hadn’t thought of sooner.)

Buuuuuuut anyway. I make no promises for exactly when the next chapter will be out, but it definitely won’t take quite so long. Should be sometime this month. Fingers crossed, anyhow.

Masks:

…blaaaaaaaaaaaah. I don’t want it to die. I really don’t. On the other hand, I’ve got a whole lot of other projects ongoing, plus RL and all, plus I’m still having trouble getting into ANH!Vader’s head, so…ehhh, IDK. Essentially, I’ve decided that this is really super back-burner for the time being. Possibly I’ll do it in AU Outline form at some point, if I don’t manage a proper update, but for now, it’s on a vaguely-defined “if my brain cooperates” hiatus. I am (probably) locking canon for it as of TFA (meaning it won’t be as much of an In Spite of a Nail AU past that; and more just an…AU AU, if that makes sense?), though, because I like the plot I have. Though I reserve the right to change my mind on that after TLJ. Anyway, I’ll probably stop talking about this one (unless I use one of the spinoff versions of it as an AU Outline or something) until I actually write/post more.

Auxiliaries:

Update will be up very soon! Not a direct continuation of the last bit I posted, because I’m still working on that, but still something! (Ahsoka is involved because I love her.)

AU Outline:

…yeah, I dropped the ball on this one again. It was going to be the Mask of Zorro/California Gold Rush AU No One One Person Asked For, but I need to sit down and watch Zorro again to put that together, and I haven’t gotten around to that. Also, Ventress and her Tiny Time-Travelling Conscience were speaking to me. …well, less them and another thread of that same AU, plus a couple unrelated AUs... Anyway, I’m going to try and put something up sometime in the next couple days. It’ll probably be the continuation of the Ventress and Luke one but we shall see.

Original fic:

…yeah, I didn’t actually write any this month, lol. I’ll do better in October.

Miscellaneous Other Things:

[In a generic list format because why not]

- Epic Crossover RP OF DOOM! I’ll keep posting snippets from time to time, because it entertains me. And my RP partner and I think we’re funny/clever.

- NaNo is coming up next month! I’m probably going to do the same thing I did last year—set myself an ambitious Total Word Count goal for the month, rather than focusing on a single project. Possibly give myself a list of projects to choose from; probably set a minimum amount that must be on original work/not fanfic. More on that when we actually get close, probably.

- I’ll probably do another Open Question Night sometime halfway through the month, because those are always fun.

- …should I do something Special for Halloween? (Like I did holiday bonus fics for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day?) If I did, what would y’all want to see?

Goal Lists:

September Recap:

1. Keep up with Precipice updates.--not so much

2. Opera House.--FINALLY \o/

3. Another Auxiliaries snippet--missed

4. Work on Masks--missed

5. Another crack outline--missed

6. Update Lux and Farglass Cycle archives--someday I will actually do this

7. At least 5k on projects that are not Precipice--not quite, but I think between half-finished snippets and 3k worth of Distaff text I churned out, I got to like 4k or so?

8. At least 15k total on any/all projects--Not quite, no.

9. At least two pieces to Rainbowfic.--Nope.

10. Put some text down on something publishable.--Nope.

October Goals:

1. Keep up with Precipice updates.

2. Update Distaff.

3. Update <i>Auxiliaries.</i>

4. AU Outline--Mask of Zorro fusion and/or continuation of the Ventress one unless something New and Exciting comes up.

5. At least two pieces to RF.

6. Update the Lux and Feredar archives.

8. Write at least 15k total, at least 5k must not be Precipice

9. Write at least 10k on Precipice (bonus fic counts, meta/answered asks do not)

10. Put some text down on something publishable