#if i ever go and get another degree it'll be for something i actually give a shit about not fucking chemical engineering.. what the fuck di

[crownspeaksblog]

I have never deliberately or consciously seeked academic success, i was just trying to avoid failure.

[thezombieprostitute]

The Arrangement - Part 5

Summary: Jake's done a lot of things to keep his sister, and then his niece, safe from his parent's influence and manipulation. If he wants to keep them safe, he has to marry you.

Warnings: Bad parents, Implied physical abuse. Let me know if I missed any!

Chapter 4 -- Chapter 6

Series Masterlist

You're in the hallway when you hear Clay say his goodbyes to Jake with a promise to visit. It's now just the two of you, the part of the night you've been dreading. You step out to where Jake can see you, keeping your head down.

Jake takes several tries to start talking. Seeing you like this, he gets what Clay saw. It's a splash of cold water on the rage he had initially felt during your "wedding". Where he thought he had seen disappointment and coldness he now sees timidity and fear. Jake has been perceived as many things, annoying, intelligent, dorky, but never scary. He definitely doesn't like that you're scared of him.

"I, uh, I guess we should choose our rooms?" he finally says, making your brows knit in confusion. "I...I know we're..." he gestures at the two of you. "But you...I...we don't have to do anything you don't want." Your eyes widen in surprise and he's quick to add, "it's not because I don't want to, you're beautiful, and I'm sure you're great in bed, and I shouldn't have said that, and I'm sorry, but I'm just so nervous, but I think we'd both sleep better in separate rooms? If that's what you want? Or we can share a bed, if you want, I promise no touching that you don't explicit consent to, and I'm going to stop talking before I make myself look even more awkward than I feel."

He's rubbing the back of his head, cheeks pink, eyes down, clearly uncomfortable. He almost looks more like a teenage boy trying to ask out a pretty girl as opposed to the angry, hateful monster you were certain you'd married. You want to chuckle but the suddenness of the transformation leaves you even more on edge. Is his offer of separate rooms genuine or a trick? You want, so desperately to believe him, but can you?

Remembering the layout of the penthouse, however, gives you an out. "There's only one bed," you inform him. "The other rooms have couches or chairs, but no beds."

"Seriously?" Jake asks. "Why would they do that?"

"My...my guess is that they want to...ensure...that, that we..." you imitate his earlier gesture indicating the both of you and his eyes widen in realization.

"Well, damn," he mumbles. "I'll go ahead and sleep on the couch then, okay?"

"Are you sure? They look like they're meant for looks more than comfort."

Jake gives a soft huff, "I spent enough time in the military that I can sleep anywhere, I promise."

"You're in the military?"

"Formerly," Jake replies. "It's how I met Clay. And it's a very long story that can wait for some other time."

"It's impressive," you admit. Most of the men in your life were the type to act tough but would never actually go through with something as harsh as military training.

Jake blushes again, "well, it's no Masters Degree in ecology. That's a lot of hitting the books! Never was my forte, preferred hands on learning, which is why I never did well at school and I'm rambling again. Sorry about that."

You feel the heat rush to your face. No one's ever acknowledged your degree outside of claiming it was a waste of time and money. You really hope his compliments are sincere, but are still careful to not take them fully to heart. It could easily be another manipulation tactic.

"Thank you," you tell him. "I'll be happy to split the bedding and make sure the guest bathroom has toiletries."

"You don't need to do that," he shakes his head. "I've made do with a lot less and, most importantly, you're not the maid. You don't have to take care of me like that." You open your mouth but kind find the words to respond. He continues, "oh, did you want me to cook breakfast in the morning? I doubt it'll be as good as you cook, that pasta was awesome, but I can do some cooking and you shouldn't have to cook everything, especially not for someone who can cook for themselves, but I also don't want to intrude because you know where everything is and if you prefer to have the kitchen to yourself I completely understand, I just wanna help you out because we're in this together and..." Jake's face scrunches up in a wince, "and I'm rambling again. I'm so sorry."

"Whoever wakes up first makes breakfast?" you propose.

"I like it," he nods.

You go to get some blankets and pillows for him and he waits outside the door to the bedroom. When you give him a quizzical look he replies, "it's your room. I'm not entering without permission." Giving him a contemplative nod, you thank him before handing him everything.

"Goodnight," he tells you. "I hope you sleep well."

"You too," you tell him as diplomatically as you can.

He heads to one of the other rooms and you close the door to the master bedroom suite, your bedroom. As tiring as the day has been, you're not sure you're getting sleep any time soon. Your husband has given you much to think about.

Chapter 4 -- Chapter 6

Series Masterlist

Tagging: @alicedopey; @ashdoctor; @delicatebarness; @ellethespaceunicorn;

@icefrozendeadlyqueen; @lokislady82; @ronearoundblindly

[password-door-lock]

“Don't you ever get tired, boss?” You ask, peering over Unknown's shoulder at his screen.

He turns around to scowl at you. Yes, of course he gets fucking tired. That's by no means something he's proud of, and it's by no means something he wants to hear you prattling on about. Unknown has discovered that he likes having you around— it's nice to have someone to talk to, and even better that you're usually able to entertain him, at least to some degree— but he could do without the constant questions. You always want to know what he's working on (which is classified), what you can do to help (nothing whatsoever, unless you're sitting on a bunch of useful skills that have somehow managed to escape Unknown’s notice thus far), and, worst of all, how he's feeling (which is none of your goddamn business, actually). Unknown has no interest in anything even remotely resembling a conversation about emotions with you, let alone one about his physical state. 

“Hm,” he says eventually, not caring how you interpret the sound. It's none of his business how you interpret things, at least as long as you're keeping those interpretations to yourself and staying out of trouble.

“Then you should sleep,” you suggest, “I'm sure that it'll help you work better.”

“Oh, is that so?” Unknown hums, still not looking up from his screen— truth be told, he's barely listening to you. He couldn't care less what you think about his methods, though that certainly doesn't stop you from peppering him with moral qualms and concerns about his health under these working conditions— as if Unknown has any control over that, anyway. Why do you want to make him feel so powerless? Can't you just stay securely under his thumb and let him go about his business? 

“Yeah,” you reply, “It is. If you're tired, you should sleep. That’s kind of, like, basic knowledge 101, you know?”

“I can't sleep, prince(ss),” Unknown grits out. He’s annoyed that this is even a discussion. 

“Oh, you mean you can’t fall asleep?” You ask, probably trying to be helpful. Normally, Unknown wouldn't give a shit about anybody's intentions but his own or his Savior's... however, lately, he's begun to pick up on the fact that people can mean very well while somehow managing to remain insufferably annoying. He wouldn't have thought that this combination was possible until he met you— you should be proud of yourself, Unknown supposes, though not too proud— that would be a bit much. “Then that might be because of all the monitors. Maybe you’d be able to rest better if you turned a couple of them off.” 

“No,” he growls before you can give him another useless suggestion. Just because Unknown understands your motivations doesn't mean he's going to entertain any more nonsense from you. After all, he's your boss, not your friend— and honestly, boss isn't the term he originally would have selected, but it would be too much of a hassle to change anything now that you seem married to the idea. “I can't sleep unless that redhead sleeps, get it? He’ll attack and undo all my progress while I’m wasting time in dreamland.” And if that redhead is sleeping, then Unknown isn't going to sleep, either, because it'll give him an opportunity to get a leg up. If he rests only when his exhaustible body forces him to do so, then eventually, he’ll arrive at his revenge. 

“Well, if you're not sleeping, I'm not sleeping,” you declare, “And if you think I'm annoying now, you're just gonna love me when I'm sleep deprived.”

Unknown rolls his eyes at your sheer audacity. “Aw, do you think you're being clever?” He coos. “You can't control me that easily, assistant.” Lately, Unknown has gotten into the habit of calling you by your title as if it were a pet name of some kind. He likes the reaction that it gets from you, though he doesn’t understand it— if you’re so proud to be his assistant, then why do you constantly question him? Can’t you just leave well enough alone? 

“I’m just showing you how ridiculous and stubborn you’re being, boss. What are you gonna do about it?” You ask.

You’re challenging him, trusting that he’ll humor you as you test him in a vain attempt to prove a really useless point. Unknown isn’t sure why you couldn’t have applied this determination to chatting with the RFA, or at least going into that apartment. Maybe you would have been happier there, with people who would accept and embrace your affection and concern. But there’s no point in thinking about that now— you’re stuck with Unknown, and for all intents and purposes, he is equally stuck with you. 

Unknown just rolls his eyes at you again. Honestly, maybe he is starting to get tired, if you've managed to get under his skin so easily— but it doesn't matter whether he's tired or not. Unknown will get his work done regardless of his physical condition, and you should get that through your head as soon as possible. “You're gonna go lay down on the couch and shut your mouth,” he intones, “Or else I'll send you to your room, and you can stay there alone. How does that sound, cutie?”

Even if you insist on staying awake to prove some useless point to him, eventually, you’ll drift off if you’re laying there not doing anything. That way, Unknown won’t have to worry about you while he’s working— of course, he isn’t at all concerned with your well being, he reminds himself. He just doesn’t want to have to waste time thinking about what kind of trouble you might be causing behind the scenes. 

“Wow, so cruel,” you pretend to lament with a pouting expression as you throw yourself onto the couch. You’re just joking, of course— you don’t actually think that about him. If you did, you wouldn't be able to say it so flippantly. You’re convinced that he’s a good person somewhere deep down, but Unknown might very well be cruel— no, scratch that. He knows for a fact that he's a bad guy to his core, a monster in every sense of the word. Unknown is by no means a nice person, but he knows how to get what he wants. That’s got to count for something, right? “But just promise me you’ll rest eventually, okay?” Your concern is evident in your voice, even if you try to hide it behind that playful tone. 

“Mhm. Maybe I’ll be able to rest when my assistant isn’t causing me so many problems,” he hums. It’s best to just humor you, to keep you from wasting time worrying when you could be helping Unknown with his revenge. Besides, he’s not even really lying— he’ll have to sleep eventually. No matter how many times he pushes his body to its limits, it never seems to get any stronger or better at staying awake when he needs it to.  “But if you want to stay with me, then you should start being quiet now.”

You don't respond, and for his part, Unknown counts it as a win.

[larcenywrites]

hcs for what college life is like with boyfriend young!tony? even better if they're in different fields, like he's working in his mechanical/electrical engineering degree, while his girl is in a field more like international relations or business or history or something of that sort, so they get to geek out about their degrees and teach each other different stuff

AAAAH THIS!! I would give anything to share my college experience with young Tony 😫

Warnings: mild sexual references

College Life With Him

💠If you do it right, college can be a fun and unforgettable experience, full of new friends and new opportunities! But if you do it with Tony, college is also batshit crazy, slightly dangerous, and you'll probably forget half the things you learned after every other night 😵

💠Even if you go into it as responsible and chill, you're absolutely getting dragged into his mess one way or another! Try all you want to get him on a better schedule and keep him on track, he'll end up derailing you as well!

💠But you can't deny how much fun it is!

💠You may have a class or two together because he practically begs you to! Maybe you don't want a class that late or on that day, but- please? It'll be fun! He'll even drive you if that's the problem! He really does make those core classes more bearable, and it's kind of an easy A or B since he can help you with (almost) anything! He might even do the work for you... for a price, of course ;)

💠Speaking of which... while Tony gets a set amount of money from his parents each week 💅 he's a big spender. Of course this mf has a side hustle doing "tutoring." It's only called that so he doesn't get in trouble, but everyone knows he really just does all the work for a hefty sum. Most of it probably goes towards you though 😇 And obviously you get his tutoring services for free 😘 Except maybe for a "favor" or two... or maybe he'll even tutor you in some other things, free of extra charge 😉

💠But going back to classes, you may end up asking yourself why you chose to take a class with him again halfway through the semester. You love him to death, but if he's not trying to talk to you right in the middle of a lecture you already can't hear because he always wants to sit in the back (even in those auditorium classrooms and long lecture halls), he's doodling in the corner (or center 🤧) or the paper you're writing on or kicking your feet under the table! Somehow he's just so convincing. Or maybe it's the fact he'll help you out and you don't have to pair up with some random student for projects? Or maybe it's because you reallyyyy love him and want to have a schedule that perfectly fits around him so you can see each other more often :)

💠Study dates? All the time! An easy way to turn a long homework/study session into something a little more fun and cute! Sometimes they're at a cute café on the corner, but usually they're in his bed 🤫

💠Speaking of that cute café on the corner, you're there nearly every day! The workers probably know you by name, and know the things you order! It's a nice place that's usually quiet right after afternoon classes while you wait for later classes, or maybe you're just getting a late lunch. Either way, it's a nice hangout spot when the crowdedness of the drill field or campus-run cafes become a bit much, especially if you're trying to do a bit of homework or, you know, actually want to hear one another's conversation 🤧

💠You two are hardly ever separated. If you aren't at his house nearly every night, he's climbing through the window into your bedroom every other night! If you live in a dorm, he may be over some, but mostly he prefers to take you home with him 😏 He prefers the privacy and hanging out with you alone tbh, and while he may enjoy any ogling from your roommates, you might not 🤧

💠He'll even walk you to class even if his starts at the same time in a whole different building, or even sneak in when his class gets canceled! Some of those classes are big enough for no one to notice, but watch out-- he's usually feeling a little more mischievous in these situations, and may even ask the professor stupid questions that make you want to shrink into your seat...

💠Skipping class? He'll do it pretty often, but then he'll be all pouty when you skip class without him :( But considering how often you're together (and wake up together), you'll probably just be able to look at each other and decide to skip together!

💠Are there any concerts nearby? Tony is skipping a whole day to wait in that line for the pit, or even skipping if he has seat tickets. He may even literally pull you out of your class when he decides to go at the last second! Hope you don't have 8am classes the next morning!

💠Tony only has like one friend, but he knows just about everybody! More importantly, who throws the good parties and when. If you aren't a partier, he'll leave the subject alone after the first few times, and you not going will actually stop him from going! He may go to the one's before the semester starts and maybe when it ends, but he's no longer a frequent flyer. It's just not the same now that he has you and could be doing something with you instead! Like maybe raiding his father's alcohol and doing body shots with you 😏 Or maybe you're not into that at all... in which he may still do the shots part, and leave you with taking care of a drunken Tony

💠If you are a partier, or maybe just want to go once or twice to say you went to a "real college party", he'll be pretty stoked! Well, then he does start to worry a little, especially if you've never done anything like this. He knows the ones who are wild but decent, and those who are wild and shitty people, at least, so he'll be a lot more careful in choosing which ones he takes you to and be mindful of who's around😬 He won't drink nearly as much as he usually does even if you are, and you can guarantee he hovers all night instead of doing some dumb shit like jumping in the pool. Honestly, he'll probably decide it's more fun (and safer) to just have a party between yourselves back at home, and maybe that's a good thing! He's been lucky to make it home unscathed half-drunk at 3am, and unlucky enough to have sat in the sheriff's office with the others that weren't able enough to scatter away in time 😔 Plus, he's gotten into a fight or two at said parties, and you're probably tired of patching up bruised knuckles and split lips :/

💠Tony's very good at what he does and what he's learning! Honestly, you'd argue that he's well ahead of the classes he has to take and is just getting a degree because you sort of have to? He does seem to love what he does, or at the very least he just likes being good at something? You're not sure if it's what he wants to do, but he doesn't seem very pressed about it either way. However, he's very sympathetic if you aren't sure what you want to do. 2am talks about the future and where to go in life and they never seem to really solve anything? All the time, and he'll even join in! Threaten to drop out and he'll pout about you leaving him alone, and who's he going to embarrass now at graduation? Maybe he'll just drop out too! You probably make up silly back-up plans or quite literally throw darts blindly at a board to choose your major.

💠If you do know what you want to do, that's great! Tony won't really care what you do, but there are some things that will bore the hell out of him. Hey, maybe his long rants about god-knows-what bores you too! He may not really follow if you're trying to talk art and literature with him. He enjoys seeing you all excited over something, and he likes looking at art (especially if you can draw him- he'll be so puppy and excited), don't get him wrong! But, why are you so excited about a book that you can hardly keep up with? He can hardly keep up with you trying to explain the book! He'll probably do best with a history or business major, mostly. Hell yeah he wants to hear about some obscure war or hilarious monarch mishap! There's not much to really rant about with, say, accounting, but he knows math and numbers, and might enjoy helping you work or watching you! With business, he's probably more interested in law or cybersecurity. He might fuck with his dad every time he learns some new specific law and its workaround and loopholes when you're studying, or you both may get up to no good and see who can bypass the school's security systems and firewalls first 🤭

💠If you're in the same field as him, you may be a bit intimidated! He's pretty far ahead, and so effortlessly finishes work way before you do. However, you'll be able to take even more classes together, and doing projects together for class will usually be fun! Except he knows other ways to do it that you haven't learned about, and might try to take over a lot... so it might be best if you don't take too many 😅 Unless you just want that easy A. Also, he might, might, let you help out with his bigger personal projects, especially after seeing how you do with class assignments, and you might even be able to offer a new perspective! Hey, at least you can keep up with most of his tangents and know what he's doing!

💠He also wasn't kidding after all when he said he'd be the loudest one at your graduation, whether it's with him or not 😳 He's also going to celebrate more than you, even if you're the only one of you walking that day! You may end up taking care of a drunk Tony again at 2 in the afternoon 😅

💠But since he graduates Summa Cum Laude, whether you like it or not, you'll end up in his silly little speech at graduation ❤ Don't worry, it's mostly sweet 🙄😘

All About Study Dates

[not4problem]

I think there's something really amazing about Death Stranding in its endgame content, because once you finish the main story, you get presented with one last self imposed goal, one that you've seen only a handful of people achieve in the online structures around you, which is getting 500 perfect deliveries

Every single delivery done perfectly, on time, cargo pristine and undamaged. It was kind of annoying, as there are some pretty crazy ones like having to drive a truck up a 50 degree incline because otherwise the cargo in it will melt just a fraction of a degree and you'll have to restart, but aside from those, most of them are really chill, and you unintentionally begin to minmax with the zipline (best PCC config dont bother arguing). At the end of your journey, it'll get frustrating, as there is no tracker in the game for the orders you haven't s ranked, but that's kind of the beauty, there's absolutely no encouragement or perceivable reward for doing every delivery perfectly, just the sense of completion. I actually created a document to tick them off, like a clipboard for a list of completed manifests IRL.

And then, it's the last one. Ironically, the last one for me was order 420, so funny weed number guys. There was no fanfare, just the quiet hum of my Reverse Trike as I sped down the highway I'd driven down maybe a hundred times towards the Lake Knot Depot (I don't remember the exact destination just know the last order was 420 and it involved going to or from Lake Knot city).

Finally, delivering the package, 499 reached 500, and I entered a club of silent members. Now, my name will be among that everyone can see, but only I can really witness. A group of apexes, equals, not rivals. Completionists who've done their duty, and have earned nothing but the right to rest.

I think the idea of rewards waiting around every corner with videogames is boring. Trophy hunting is sickening after a while. Platinum trophies aren't interesting after a while, because I know that status is meaningless and yet competitive. There will always be another game, another platinum to grind for, another meaningless number to go up. There is no peak, as it's ever growing, no completion in supposed completionism. It's consumerism masked as completionism, because that's what they want. They want to take and take and take because you want to feel finished and complete, an apex at your game, but they intentionally remove that, because if you stop, if you want a rest from the giving and the grinding, they say, here's another goal. You're not complete.

That's why Death Stranding is looked down on. Its rewards are meaningless, you're given likes for almost everything, intangible, infinitely growing numbers, but you don't play Death Stranding to like every structure an unlimited amount of times. If you want to complete it, it gives you a hard number to achieve. 500 perfect orders. It can take 20 minutes to do a single one. But it tells you upfront; "There's an end to this." So you do it. You grind. Walking and driving and walking and driving the same routes.

But like anyone, you look for distraction. It gives you plenty of that through your cuff links. Mail from every person in the game. Little chips of data, bits and pieces of Kojimas personality inserted into the game itself, his interests and thoughts for choices throughout. The mail has tons of cool stuff in it, but you have to pick it from the dry gristle of an email. Bits of lore, world building, tips for progression you missed because it was so dull to read when playing the story. Now the excitement of the story is gone, and all you have left of the story is its structure.

Then there's one mail that caught my eye. I forget which NPC it's from, but it talks about work, about the fact that we need it to cope and survive. There are so many ideas about work, I'm sure most of us have heard the phrase "if you find what you love, you'll never work a day in your life.", but it's difficult to believe in our world of dead end jobs that pay less and less and ask more and more. It's impossible to love work, but what are we doing in Death Stranding? We're working, of course. And we like it, well, kind of. We know that we're going somewhere. You have the knowledge that there's an end to this madness, and that contrast against normal life is somewhat interesting. Labor today isn't fulfilling, but Sam's intentionally, directly, tangibly makes everyone's lives better. The game also has many themes of connection, but I think it's lower in intention compared to the idea of work and play. You're playing the game, but Sam is working. Does that mean you're working? Then back to that mail. Is what he's doing necessary for him? The game sort of inverts our modern reality of work and play, everyone has unlimited time for leisure, but no time to work. The opposite is true for many people today. It's an inverse commentary of work today, and that's what frustrates some people about the game, why people call it a walking simulator. It's because it is, and that walking, that journey, is necessary. The fact that you aren't rewarded, or rewarded with a sense of completionism and useless likes, is the point. There is meaning.

So it's nice to sit on my mental or digital throne. Games need to stop having this rat race of chasing rewards and satisfaction, because there will be nothing meaningfully gained.

I liked doing it. Those 500 orders. That frustration, the ticking boxes, the lack of resources to streamline the process. It felt rewarding to do it all by myself, to watch that number climb one per day 489, 490, 491. It was fun. Thanks Death Stranding. You're confusing, beautiful and you gave me a sense of completion like no other game.

[kylekozmikdeluxo]

#Long post... Diary entry:

At the beginning of May, I went to a presentation at my old high school. A place I haven't stepped foot into since graduation... It was a whirlwind of emotions.

It was an art night, featuring works made by all the grades in town from multiple schools, from kindergarten to high school seniors. My 6-year-old nephew's little ceramics project was part of the show...

I met up with some family, and also hoped to see some faculty from way back when. I had seen some teachers of mine out in the wild every now and then, especially at my movie theater job, but there were some teachers who I haven't seen since 2010. Before, even. Despite all my bad memories of high school, rarely any of them were with the teachers, as such... I would love to see some of them again, and they get to see a much older, better me.

And I did... With one...

I've been making art since I was a kid. Like, when I was really little. Sitting with my paternal grandpa at a workbench of-sorts against a '70s-style wood paneled wall, circa 1995... Drawing trains and all sorts of things, with details and everything. Formative stuff. I draw a lot.

But for a while, I don't think I had any real artistic skills. At least, if I had any, I didn't build on them. Middle school art classes mostly didn't do it for me, I didn't want to do things the "traditional" way. When I had an idea, whether it was for a story or a comic or whatever came to mind, I just wanted to put it on paper. Middle school was a whirlwind time that really chewed me up and spat me out, a place not fit for the particular kind of autistic that I am. And that's not even getting into the confusion over my sexuality, something I really put a lid on for so long. (For context, I barely came out in 2022, months before I turned 30.)

I staggered into freshman year, still holding on despite a few emotional setbacks... And then one day, in a "computer animation" class that was otherwise pretty cool, I was told by another student that I wasn't a good drawer...

Still, freshmen year ended where I was still creating, still drawing, still somewhat hanging on despite a nasty lingering demon of self-hatred that was festering within me month by month. And I think it fully took hold by November 2007. Yes, I memorize months/years when these things happen. My file cabinet brain just does that for some reason.

And this was when I was in a drawing/painting class. I thought my instructor was pretty cool, but I was not where I needed to be, mentally. She wouldn't have known, I was collapsing in real time and I sometimes foolishly showed signs of it. I remember nonchalantly answering a sort-of "what does this art piece mean to you" question on a sheet of paper with "I am a jerk". She was rather taken aback... and within weeks, I just straight-up dropped out of the class. It was a combination of me thinking I was an irredeemable bastard, that I couldn't actually draw, and me still refusing to learn the traditional way so I could in turn establish myself...

One of the biggest mistakes I made in life. I went through most of high school, letting stuff just pass me by. Things I should've gotten involved with, but I was embroiled in self-hatred and later fear of falling back into it... Going about a lot of things so timidly... I had seen this teacher a few times thereafter, up until my senior year. Our encounters were friendly, but that was about it. I don't recall if she ever said "you should've stayed in my class"...

Nearly 11 years later, I got a cum-laude degree in art... That was in June 2018. At age 25 1/2...

And yet at the age of 31 1/2, I feel like I'm still learning things that a lot of very talented artists out there were already learning at - like - age 10. I guess it's all in due time, eh?

So I hear about this art show that my nephew's project is featured in, and it's at the high school I attended... I figured, it'll give me something to do and maybe, just maybe I could bump into somebody I haven't seen since 2010. Maybe meeting someone from the past, be it a classmate (even one that might've disliked me) or a teacher, was a possibility. We're adults now, so, maybe the interaction would be waaaay different...

I got there... Walking through the doors, again, first time in about 14 years... It was a deeply surreal feeling that I just can't describe as I'm writing this... I went down one of the hallways, recognizing it to be the art/studio wing of the building...

There she was... I walked up to her, and after telling her I had her as a teacher... She recognized me. Even though I do NOT at all resemble what I looked like in 2007, or even 2010. I'm an amab enby, my hair is very long, I shave my facial hair, and look way diffferent... Anyways, she recognized me, remembered my name, and we had a lovely chat.

I told her why, after 14 years of processing trauma and bad feelings, I dropped out of her class. She completely understood, and was very happy to hear that I later went on to get an art degree. We talked about a few other things, and overall it was just... Thrilling for me. It was a sense of closure I never knew I was going to get in my life. I hadn't known if she still taught there or not...

And to make the night even better, I bumped into my elementary school art teacher... First time seeing her in person since 2003, and she was thrilled to see me.

It all felt so good, a bright spot in a very up-and-down year. The weird thing is, the future I so feared at age 15 is happening to me now in some way: I'm out as queer, still hiding it from people I know for fear of rejection, I'm trying to live on my own, things keep going wrong, and yet... I'm getting through each day, I'm creating, I'm at least working/making some money, I drive. I'm weathering this all better than 2007/08-era me would've ever guessed...

But, that was a great night, I will cherish it...

[wordsonamission]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks so much for tagging me in this, @acetonitril! Sorry for the delay, but I wanted to really think out my answers.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

12 currently! This is my first year actually posting fics and I'm happy with my progress.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

118,159! There's a chance I'll get another fic finished soon, too . . . And maybe I'll be able to sneak in something short and smutty before the end of the year.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

All I've published is Top Gun. I'm not going to be surprised if I end up writing soapghost for the COD games. Y'all have some superb writers and artists that keep drawing me in. Historically, I started some small 00Q and Destiel stuff back in ye olde golden days. There's a dramione fic from on my old computer from years back that was like 30k before I stopped.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Kissed By The Sun

Falling Into Place

A Safe Place to Land

Running on Empty

Spare

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! If someone was kind enough to make the effort to leave a comment, I want to make sure that they know I saw it and that I appreciate them for letting me know what they think. I don't generally reply the same day, but I try to reply within a couple of days. I love hearing what readers think and I hope that me engaging back only encourages more comments

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmmm I have a couple. Mission Report is a whole pile of angst just as a concept. It's short and sad all the way through imo. Spare ends on a really big cliffhanger which can be read as sad; a character is left in a really fragile medical state. Snow Day is so sweet but then the end is just a gut-punch. You could say that I like to temper fluff and steamy stuff with sadness and angst.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

If the ending isn't sad, it's usually pretty happy. Or at least hopeful. I think I'll give happiest ending award to A Cookie Conundrum. It's so silly and light, no angst.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

None that I've ever seen. But I'm still new and I write safe fics as far as subject and pairings.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yeah lol. I'm still getting used to writing it. What kind? Pretty standard MLM fic smut. I'd like to write harder edged stuff in the future, but right now it tends to be really loving stuff.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I haven't. That's not something I'm super into as a reader or as a writer. Never say never - it'll only take the right combo to get me going I'm sure, but it hasn't happened yet.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I've seen. That is a worry of mine.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No. I'm still new and I don't see that Top Gun has a lot of fics that get translated (I could be very wrong and missing out)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No I haven't.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

All time ever favorite? Yeesh. Uhhhhh I'll cop out and say that I enjoy a similar dynamic to my favorites - they're highly competent in their field but often less confidant about romance, there's a degree of imbalance in the relationship (rank, age gap, experience, etc), and I'm an absolute sucker for a character that doesn't let anyone else emotionally close who lets That Guy in.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I don't think I'm going to finish any of the old fic I mentioned, like from years ago. If I pick up those fandoms and pairings again, I'll start over.

16. What are your writing strengths?

God I don't know. I consider myself someone with a good grasp on grammar and how things Should be written as far as that goes (please go ahead and point out all of my mistakes, I know they're everywhere) which helps with readability. Comments repeatedly point out that even my smut is very tender and emotional. I tend to write characters affirming each other and being very giving lovers. I'm sure that says nothing about me as a person. I really like to dig into missing scenes to expand the emotional complexity of the canon story.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Knowing when and how to end a story. One of those writing posts that go around here mentioned going back a couple of paragraphs when you get stuck, which has been so true for me. But endings are still so hard. Writing sex is still weird, too, and I can get stuck on a single scene for days. Coming up with titles is also so, so hard. Occasionally one will appear and I'll run with it, but usually it's one of the last things done before I post. I'm really not happy with the titles for my Ace Week fics.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Do you mean including characters speaking a different language and writing their dialogue in that language? A block of text in another language is rough on a reader and there's not really a good work around. Asterisks to the bottom of the page don't work on A03.

If I want a reader to know what a character is saying, I'd make note of the language change and use italics in dialogue but otherwise write normally. If the characters are in a situation where I DON'T want them or the reader to understand, then I'd type the language in italics.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I've written what I would now call fanfic off and on my whole life. When I was seven, I wrote a horribly indulgent self-insert fic of me joining the characters of one of my favorite book series (Pony Pals) for an adventure. In middle school, before the publication of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I wrote my own version. I think I filled like two notebooks. I wonder if it's still around somewhere - I had some good ideas, some that were better than canon ended up imo

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Running on Empty! I loved it as one chapter but I really enjoy the whole story as it turned out in three. The only big thing I might change is tweaking the emotions Maverick feels after he and Ice finally get together. But that story flowed so well while writing and I really loved the world that I created with their families and especially Lisa and Jason for Slider. Plus I feel like that fic really addresses some of the trauma that Maverick went through and how he wasn't getting the support he needed in the OG movie.

That went long! Thanks again to @acetonitril for tagging me in this. I'm sure everyone else has already chimed in, but feel free to jump in if not. These are some great questions!

[soulsxng]

Sort of a continuation of these two worldbuilding posts from a little while ago:

One thing I didn't go into very much on either of them, was that there's one sort of subsection to the first type-- the "bound" gods, so to speak. As such, this subset of deities is effected by the same symptoms as those gods that are tied specifically to one realm.

These are the ascended deities.

Ascended deities are those who were not born as a god. Though they can be born as any species really, there are a few that are given the opportunity more often than others. Examples of this being kistune, Sumydans, and some types of elementals, to name a few!

Anyway, these gods became what they are today by passing a series of trials, and ultimately gaining something called a God Seal from it.

The trials differ depending on the individual, their species, and the kind of god they intend to become, but many of them involve proving their strength, wisdom/cunning, resilience, character, etc. They also usually require the individual to decide what their purpose will be as a god, and-- in order to form their God Seal-- choose some part of themselves to give up.

Darrow, for example, gave up his ability to change shape-- something that is fairly iconic for a kitsune and Inari-- and allowed that to make up the form of his God Seal. Unless he decides to let go of being a god, or the power is temporarily granted to him by another being, he'll never be able to use it again.

Now for the God Seal itself. What it looks like depends on the individual, but it is almost always kept on the deity that owns it, or hidden somewhere that they frequent. If this seal is stolen, not only does it give the holder of the seal power over the god it belongs to, but if it's kept far enough away from said god for long enough, it'll disperse. Thus causing the god to return to what they were before becoming a deity.

The time and distance is determined by what the deity gave up to form the God Seal in the first place. Again, using Darrow as an example, he can be within about 1500 miles of his God Seal and not have the time limit come into play. If he's outside of that 1500 miles, he would have about 5 days to retrieve his seal before he lost his powers and returned to being a kitsune.

If the God Seal was destroyed, it would almost always result in the deity that owns it dying. There's a small chance that it may leave them severely wounded, and likely disabled to some degree instead, though that's pretty unlikely. In this case, they would lose their powers and godhood, as well as whatever they used to create the seal in the first place. They would never be able to ascend again after that, either.

Moving on to tying themselves to a realm. With ascended deities, there's a bit more of a competitive aspect to things. After all, sometimes a being becomes a god, and there's already another overseeing the same/similar domain in the realm/area they're from. And a lot of gods really don't care to share their space or followers with others more than they have to.

Because of this, ascended gods will sometimes invade the realms and territories of other ascended. Usually a challenge is issued before any actual fighting (or whatever else) begins, but not always. Either way, the goal is always the same-- to obtain the opposing deity's God Seal.

There was a time that these challenges were extremely cutthroat, and a lot of the stolen seals would never be returned. Or worse, would be destroyed. Now, however, there's more of a system in place that prevents a lot of unnecessary cruelty and bloodshed. If ever there's an ascended god that becomes known for destroying, or not returning seals after a challenge, they're usually quickly targeted or closely watched by the other ascended gods.

When an ascended god is kicked out of their domain, they have the slightly longer amount of time to find a new one than they would have to retrieve or get within range of their God Seal. Without a ream, the seal means little to nothing, essentially.

[on-stardust-wings]

I always feel like the first season (and the book) give us angels and demons who are a lot more alike than they'd care to admit. They can do the same miracles, and those miracles are indistinguishable from each other even to other angels and demons close by. Canon is vague on whether angels and demons can sense other angels and demons, but they can definitely sense miracles. Aziraphale can tell Crowley did something at the convent, when he changes the guns, for example. The angels and demons can probably sense the miracles the show underlines with this chimey sound effect. Likewise, Aziraphale in the sushi restaurant senses the miracle that has Gabriel appear and for the first few seconds happily expects Crowley, so this one is a clear point of evidence for "miracles are indistinguishable" - in this case even to a trained eye, because Aziraphale can apparently sense Crowley, but not tell if a miracle was Crowley's work or not. And if it was at all possible to tell if a miracle was demonic or angelic, or even which specific being performed it, the entire Arrangement would not work. It relies on Aziraphale and Crowley doing each other's job/miracles, and nobody noticing.

IMO the only clean cut difference we get for angels and demons is the holy water/hellfirething vulnerability, plus the demonic "allergy" to consecrated ground. Everything else is mostly "angel" and "demon" being job descriptions, memberships of different political parties or something like nationality. As Crowley says, they're just names for sides.

The whole Aziraphale and Crowley being able to sense each other might just be familiarity, both with each other and with sensing an angelic/demonic presence on Earth. The on Earth thing might be a key element even. None of the other angels and demons spend much consecutive time on Earth. They drop in for quick visits. They do a job and then go home. Aziraphale and Crowley on the other hand live on Earth, for millennia. They went native, and some of that going native process is that they got really acclimated to Earth things and sensations. Because Earth is A Lot. There's all the humans, and demons and angels are empaths, they can sense human moods, potentially also telepathic to some degree, so even outside of physical noise, Earth has gotta be really fucking loud for an angel. Very hard to pick out a faint thing like another angel or demon in all this noise. The teasers we have for season two so far give us a hint at how overwhelming Earth and living in corporations are for angels especially in the beginning. Muriel is too frazzled to even try the tea, they're just going to look at it for a while, and that alone seems to be a lot of input. Angels and demons unfamiliar with Earth are probably not able to reliable sense anything.

In a similar vein, sensing another celestial being might be a skill that's normal and latently present in all angels and demons, but few of them ever actually develop it to full sharpness. They don't need to! They spend most of their time in Heaven respectively in Hell, where they are interacting with nothing but their own kind. The ability to tell "this is an angel/demon" is practically useless in this setting! Everyone they meet in their daily life is an angel/demon. If it's a more noticeable sensation, they might just file it as "there is a presence"/"someone else is here", because without a reasonably big control group of non-angel contacts who don't trigger the "this is an angel" sensation, it'll be very difficult to tell "there's someone there" and "this someone is of my own species" apart - they always happen together! They will naturally be perceived as one experience.

Especially if the "angel radar" sense is more of a faint sensation, something that's often subconsciously noticed maybe (like human sense of smell maybe - hold that thought for a moment please), it would take a long time and a good deal of experience to notice a pattern and learn to pick out an angelic presence in a crowded space that usually lacks angels, like Earth. Aziraphale and Crowley had millennia to learn that, and to grow attuned to each other's specific sensation/smell, and that's why they can easily pick it out. It'll be like recognising the voice of a friend or a family member in a crowd. Or maybe like recognising your partner's favourite fragrance even if just a tiny whiff of it hits your nose.

Smell is an analogue the show pulls several times. Crowley knows what Aziraphale smells like, and he smells that the hellhound has found its master. He sniffs the air before he says it. And Sandalphon claims something smell evil in the bookshop (Crowley just left). Now, does Sandalphon sense/smell Crowley himself (and thus his demonic nature), or does he perhaps smell Hell on Crowley because Crowley was recently downstairs for a report? This would make sense, after all the smell of a place can easily cling to clothing, hair and the like. Someone who has come from painting a room will smell of paint. Someone who does horseback riding smells of horse. Someone who spent time with someone else who was smoking a cigarette will smell of smoke. A smell clings to you. So the smell of Hell might very well cling to Crowley - and thinking this thought further, the scents of Heaven and Hell that cling to its respective inhabitants might well be taken as the natural smell demons/angel have, even if they naturally smell the same. To say a demon is evil because they smell of Hell is kind of like saying a horse girl (gender neutral) is a horse because they smell like one. And that would fit really well into the overall picture that angels and demons actually are a lot more alike than either side would like to admit, but that they are leaning very hard into the different paint jobs and fashion choices for a sense of identity.

I absolutely love the idea that you can give a demon a makeover and have them pass as an angel, because it makes so much sense for the story. They're just names for sides! Heaven and Hell are the same under a differently coloured coat of paint. They're different floors of the same office building.

I think it's interesting that the new trailer tells us (or at least heavily implies) that angels and demons can't sense each other, normally. Muriel doesn't recognize Crowley as a demon, and doesn't recognize Gabriel as an angel. (Possibly Gabriel has become human, which would complicate things. But Crowley is definitely still a demon, right?)

Although, according to Neil Gaiman, Crowley can sense Aziraphale. When the bookshop burns, Crowley knows that Aziraphale isn't there, and isn't findable anywhere on Earth.

Is it just a matter of familiarity with the individual entity? Does Crowley have unusually acute senses for an occult being? ("I know what you smell like!") Is Muriel unusually un-perceptive?

Anyway, if general angelic or demonic nature isn't something that other ethereal/occult entities can pick up on via casual observation, it does support the idea that a simple appearance swap would be entirely sufficient to fool the general populations of Heaven and Hell, with no need to worry about disguising Essence or anything complicated like that.

[praise-mammon-titties]

A group session

TW: full on porn, degradation, double penetration and other things that could possibly be triggering. This is ALL consensual btw

An unknown demon was mad at Mammon. He was thousands of dollars in debt to him and also missing some very expensive earrings and everyone knows Mammon loves shiny stuff so it was obviously him who stole it. He needed his revenge. Pacing around the purple halls of his home. A sudden lustful sense of hate his mind comes up with a deed so evil, a deed so stupid, it would work.

Step 1: frame mammon for stealing

Step 2: anonymously post the old vids online

Step 3: make Solomon  jealous

Step 4: convince Mammon to come with him to the strip club

An evil grin slips onto his lips.

~~~~

Barbatos entered the castle treasury, worried for he felt as if someone had been in here, someone that was not meant to be here. It annoyed him to a great degrees and whoever had the balls to invade this room must surely want a world of pain. oh wait he knew. The butler picked up the distinctive white hair. "Well well Well...old habits surely die hard"

~~~~

Coming across porn videos made by Mammon was something Mephistopheles never imagined in his long lifetime. Never thought that that would have ever existed ever. Never considered the possibility of that existing. But here he was, Dick in hand, watching one with a very strong desire. Man he wished he was the person fucking his brains out, he wished the greed demon was handcuffed to HIS bed, with HIS Dick in that tight asshole. Fuck...

But his little session had been ruined when he recived a call from Barbatos, the sneaky little bitch barbie, with an idea so evil it will complete his desire. "I'm in" he says right before hanging up, then cleaning up with a strong sense of enthusiasm.

~~~~

Getting a call from Asmodeus this late into the night never was his plan. Actually he wanted to sleep early but here he was on the phone with his her close friend and pact demon, discussing some meters like nails makeup and other boring this he never paid any mind to. "MC and mammon have been getting very close lately, actually he's been eating their cooking. Even saying it's good so weird. Oh and they got him a charm, a ruby, and they've been doing tarot readings for an hour. sure it's a joke and all but really- it's saying something when he does it with them and not you." you could hear the smugness and oh was Solomon jealous. He was fuming jealous! How dare that human try to take away HIS Mammon! This was unacceptable and he needed to remember who he had belonged to. Damnit Solomon knew he should have made a pact with him. "Anyway I'll be taking him to the local strip club tomorrow. don't come" Then he recived a call from Barbatos.

~~~~

"Please mammon come to the strip club with me it'll be fun" "but asmo buddy those places are filled with horny men and women who want nothing to do but get a quick fuck outta someone like you, or another demon. Sure I've gone before and all but it's not all that fun. Besides I wanna go gambling" "if you come with me I'll convince Diavolo and Lucifer to give you their credit cards. + goldie" "Fine you gotta deal"

~~~~

Mammon didn't know how it had gotten to this point. Finding himself on that stage showing off his sexy body while men and women threw countless amounts of money at him cheering for more. Pole dancing removing his articles of clothing watching as the crowd grew more and more horny and feeling so much pride. But then...Then he spots them. His boyfriend, it's hard to miss. Not when it consisted of he demon prince, his butler, the immortal human wizard, and the prince's childhood best friend that's hated by his older brother. Oh the embarrassment he felt at this moment. He dare not look at them while he's still on stage until his shift was over, where he tries to sneak out through the back only to be stopped. "Hello dear, we were looking allover for you" says Barbatos with a voice a little too sweet. "Oh heeyyy uh.....didn't think I'd find all of you here haha..see I'm here with asmo and he ditched me so I gotta go look for him-" get cut off. "Nono it's alright deary. Actually we've been meaning to have a little chat"Mammon finds himself being pulled into one of the private rooms with a massive bed just for customers who paid extra just to yknow do the dead with a worker. "Look guys- I know it might seem like I show off all the time, really I don't even work here- that was like a one time thing honestly-" his protests go ignored, instead mammon finds himself being handcuffed then pushed onto the bed. Considering how mammon was pratcally naked at this point all they had to wonder remove Mammon's boxers to reveal his hard he had been. Of course he is the man's a masochist. "Aww he's already so hard" gushes diavolo, joining mammon on the bed holding him by the waist then roceding to kissing his neck allover before finding s good spot an bitting into it. This leaves a bitemark s deep it causes bleeding.  Not a shit ton but yknow.

meanwhile the others had begun to remove their clothes, with mammon being made to watch every second of it. He gulps. They were all rock fucking solid which things the realization he's probably wousknt be able to walk for a while, a week? Maybe a month of 2? Considering this wasn't with just Barbatos or diavolo it's likely be longer than that! Diavolo would then proceed to bend Mammon over his lap. Rubbing his are gently at first before giving it  a loud slap. "Dia whyyy" he whined. "Well Mammon. You see, we're punishing you for your crimes dear" explains the prince. continuing to spank the demon over and over, leading to mammon whining every time, for it hurt but in such a good way. "really Mammon. Stealing from the castle, I thought we trained you out of that," he chuckles, placing a kiss on the speedy masochist's shoulder. 

After a while, Dia would finally stop. Instead choosing to remove his own clothes then have the boy suck on his own solid cock. And God was Mammon good at it. Sucking, bobbing his head, and deep throating that thing like a professional gay porn star. Mephi grew a slight bit jealous "Hey don't to get bout me now" he says, leading to Mammon giving him and in turn Solomon a hand job all while Barbatos watched on. Turned on like the sadist he was. eventually, Barbs chose to enter the smaller demon, not even bothering with lube cuz tbh mammon doesn't need it.

"Look at you" he grunts. "Sucking on cock while your slutty ass is being fucked hard." Another hard thrust. "You truly are made to be fucked" comments Solomon. Who was now the one getting sucked off. After a while Barbatos would cum inside whilst com gushed down Mr greedy's throat and splurged onto his face/hair. "Gee guys that was ho- woah wait wait-!  Nghhhh~ holy hell~" meph was next to push into Mammon, using his hands to spread his legs wide and hold them up, just as Diavolo enters with him. Both men would proceed to thrust in and out of him, at different intervals but with the same strength and speed. "Mmm~ fuckkk. I can't believe you'd rip me open like that" whined mammon, tears now filled his face. "Oh don't worry little crow we'll pay for your medical bill" oh how mammon wanted to slap the shit outta Solomon right there.

Keeping their boyfriend quiet was hard. Especially with him getting his brains fucked out by 2 dicks recently bullying his prostate but somehow they do. Likely having to do with the fact he's been sucking on dicks the whole find but yknow. when the pair finally pull out after both cumming into his ass Solomon would enter. Holding the demon by the neck, tight enough to the point it chokes but gentle enough so it couldn't cause any injury of any kind. his brain hazy and focused on one thing and one thing only as he hit all the sweet parts that could make even someone so used to getting fucked over howl. The way Mammon's beautiful body moved in ways once thought impossible, just because it could. Was he really that fucking flexible? beautiful absolutely beautiful.

Eventually like everyone else Solomon would cum inside. This left a mix of cum from litterally all of them inside of mammon, and being the selfish male he was, he'd grab a butt plugs and unplug up the speed demon.solomon would the now exhausted demon close and all of them would cuddle. WELL after yknow cleaning the mess they had made. Barbatos would chuckle a little.

~~~~

"My we seemed to have made a mess outta him" said the ever sadistic butler, kissing Mammon's head. "Mm..you owe me ur credit cards otherwise I'm kicking all ur damned asses!" "Yes of course honey, do whatever you want with them" replied Diavolo kissing his head.

~~~~

A/N: normally I wouldn't write something like this but yknow I was fucking possessed with something while writing this. Sorry if anyone got triggered when reading, and also I promise I'll post part 2 of pure fluff later. just at this very moment I'm tired and working on another smut fix that should be released some point this week. Also btw Asmo wasn't apart of the unknown demon's plans ;-;

[dhaaruni]

Dhaaruni, I hope it's ok if I vent for a moment in your askbox but it just keeps angering me and like, given the various circumstances of my life, the thing that gets me about young women and girls these days wanting to be wives so their husband pays for everything and they magically hold zero cares in the world is like.... Have you ever even Been There? [1]

No extra money of your own because it's in a joint account so it's for Everyone or No One? Cleaning the house, doing the laundry, cooking meals, etc.--something you will be expected to do as the Unemployed Person! Even if "hubby" never says so explicitly I guarantee you he's been raised to anticipate some woman always being there to fulfill his needs and keep house--can only fill up so much of your time. For example, I can sweep and mop up half of a house and wash up a load of laundry in 2 hours. Wow! How efficient. Except gee, what to do next? The other half? Bake a loaf of bread or a batch of cookies? (I do enjoy baking and cooking but it's still work!) Another odd load of laundry? Oh wait. There's so many things to watch on streaming services! Books to read! Maybe I'll finish up my painting!! Except when do you feel justified to take time like that when a full time job is from 8 to 5, and you can get so much done is so little time? [2] [Wow, finally tumblr is cooperating with me! Last one!] Oh but wait! Childcare. Childcare is a whole new ballpark. Have fun communicating with a wee screeching thing for anything from hunger and thirst, to outside playtime, oh no the favorite blanket is missing, and so on. It's not frustrating or maddening at all! Bonus points if you find yourself hit in the head by any object the baby/toddler can throw at you, and no amount of, "No, we don't throw. That's not nice. That hurts." will stop it! You just have to take it and hope that someday it'll finally click before you're the one screaming and throwing things in the backyard. And that's one little piece of childcare! You have to factor in meal planning for picky tastes but also ensure a balanced diet lest you constipate or give them diarrhea to kingdom come! Blowouts and diapers so sodden with urine they explode just by removing clothes! Tantrums and when they realize they can't throw something at you, they will scream right in your ear! Etc.! (I know it's Controversial ig but David Lynch nailed it with Eraserhead. Parenthood is that messy and messed up, This Be the Verse, etc.) Like this is well and truly what makes me wonder about girls and women wanting this. It gets old. I'm not saying a job as a cashier or barista is gonna fulfill my life or wouldn't be as mind-numbingly soul crushing. But it would actually pay bills! It would be more than the paltry change I'm granted as a full time nanny right now! Yes, I work 10.5-12 hours a day and I'm way below the poverty line! But ig I ought to be happy bc childcare isn't real work somehow? Or that it's solely my money? Except I can't afford much of anything without risking overdraft hmm. Which ig is why minimum wage looks better where I'm at! Terrible, right? Because even that tiny sum is an improvement for me. Like I'm part of a long, long line of unemployed, unmarried, childless women being made into cheap and convenient childcare! So the return to tradwife bimbo whatever bullshit makes me livid constantly. I cried so many times reading The Feminine Mystique bc while Betty Friedan didn't write it with someone like me in mind--I got my degree! I've never wanted kids! Sure I never planned out future education or found employment in my field, but this wasn't my choice!--, I can relate all too well! And all these girls and women wanting to go back?? Please please please READ The Feminine Mystique! I don't know a single woman that would take my place much less choose to be a stay at home mom even if money wasn't an issue! Because shockingly if women are human beings, our lives don't end at motherhood and homemaking! Crazy concept, right?

You're completely right, and I think you'll appreciate this post from @mini-wrants with @sprinkledsalt's addition.

[latte-fairytaekwoon]

Morning Routine (Jung Wooyoung) Rated

Part Two

Pairing: Jung Wooyoung × Reader (Female)

Genre: Smut, Fluff.

Summary: Seeing an advertisement online in need of a camera handler, Wooyoung jumps at the opportunity, not knowing his employer is a renowned camgirl.

Word Count: 4.3+K

Warnings: Exhibitionism, voyeurism, nude taping, masturbating in shower, breast play, a rather tamed smut

Taglist: @seacottons @multidreams-and-desires @galaxteez @deja-vux @yunhofingers @little-precious-baby @brie02 @couchpotatoaniki @daniblogs164 @a-soft-hornytiny @yunsangoveryonder @minhyukmyluv @nanamarkie @mingismoon @ateezbabysitters

▩━━━━━━▩━━━━━━▩━━━━━━▩

"Wanted: Experienced photographer/Camera Operator for personal/private filming. If interested, please contact number below for more information or details. Students majoring in said field are welcomed to apply. 19+ only."

Seeing the advertisement, Wooyoung's eyes popped up. Usually most jobs wouldn't even allow people without a degree or years of experience. And it would be perfect practice that didn't include boring or basic projects his professor would often assign, not to mention a little extra money would come in handy.

Not thinking twice about it, he quickly dialed the phone number listed and waited patiently as it rang. It took a while, but eventually someone on the other side picked up.

"Hello?" He discerned that it was a young female's tone.

"Hi! I was calling about the advertisement for a camera man?" He inquired.

"Are you 19 or over?" She immediately asked for his age, which slightly confused him. But thinking about it, he kinda understood why she might want someone older. After all, teenagers weren't exactly reliable or responsible when it came to taking on a job. She probably wanted to avoid them dipping out on her randomly.

"I'm 21 and very serious in my work." He assured her, already making it clear his intentions to be committed to the job she was offering.

"Hmm...I take it you probably haven't had a lot of experience outside of college right?"

Wooyoung slightly gulped as she discerned correctly. But she did say students were welcomed to apply and he was fairly confident in his skills.

"N-no but I can assure you that I'll work hard and meet your expectations."

There was a deep and defeaning silence that had Wooyoung worrying. He could already feel her hesitation to hire him or give him a chance. He was so worked up on being rejected once more that the slight giggle that ensued after that pause momentarily confused him.

"I like your attitude and drive already. What did you say your name was?" She asked.

"Jung Wooyoung." He answered right away.

"Well Wooyoung, how soon can you start?"

His mood lightened up quite significantly at hearing her say those words.

"If you'd like, I can come over to the location you wish after I get done with my classes tomorrow." He offered.

"All right, just one thing....... do you think you'd be able to stay over at my place for a few nights?"

Although he thought it was a rather unusual request, he didn't put too much thought, especially since someone was offering him a chance to actually have some work.

"Um.. of course."

Unbeknownst to him, the woman on the other side had her lips curling up into a smirk.

"Wonderful. I look forward to seeing you real soon Wooyoung."

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Checking the direction that was sent to him, Wooyoung looked at the corresponding number on the front door to make sure it was indeed where he needed to be. Adjusting the bag that was hanging by his shoulders, he slowly walked up to the vintage style house and rang the doorbell. Hearing the soft patter of footsteps coming from inside, Wooyoung mentally prepared himself to see a middle aged lady carrying a Siamese cat as soon as the door opened. But he was not prepared by the sight awaiting him. Indeed there was a cat in the arms of the figure in front of him, although it was a Persian cat and not a Siamese, but that wasn't the most surprising factor. What shocked him was to see a very young woman near his age be the one holding the cat in her arms, her face illuminated by the warm smile she was donning.

"You must be Wooyoung. I'm Y/N." She extended her hand out towards him, prompting the feline in her grasp to shuffle around and climb part of its body on her shoulder. Judging by the slight crinkle of her nose, Wooyoung guessed the cat probably clung its claws into their master's skin.

"Yes I am. It's a pleasure to meet you. I promise you won't regret hiring me." Taking hold of her hand, he gave it a firm shake while his face radiated the most reassuring smile he could make.

"Oh trust me, I don't think I'm going to." Her lips formed a rather curious smirk that slightly baffled him.

She gestured for him to step inside, which he immediately did as he tried to ignore the slight hissing the Persian cat gave him when his shoulder barely made contact against its swaying tail.

"Baby stop. He's going to be around for a while so be on your best behavior." She chastised her cat as she closed the door.

Y/N let out a soft 'hmph' when the cat suddenly jumped out of her arms and ran over to where Wooyoung was standing. He got stiff and held his breath when the cat pressed her nose on his leg and began sniffing him. Pulling back, she licked her lips and then scurried off somewhere in the other part of the house.

"Well we know for sure she doesn't dislike you." Y/N chuckled slightly.

"But I take it she doesn't like me?" Wooyoung raised an eyebrow.

"She's a cat, it'll take time for her to get used to you, that's all."

Shrugging softly, Y/N walked over to the kitchen and started taking out a few cups and saucers from the cupboard.

"I was brewing tea before you got here, would you like to share a cup with me?" Removing it from the stove top, she held up the elegant teapot to him after she finished her question.

"Oh, thank you." He gladly accepted her gesture.

Noticing him standing there awkwardly, Y/N pointed to one of the chairs surrounding the kitchen island.

"Wooyoung don't be too tense and just make yourself comfortable. After all, you're going to be staying with me for a few days."

Her words reminded him about that particular part of the job, that still felt odd to him and he was very curious to find out why she needed him to stay over with her.

"So.... can I ask what exactly is this project you're hiring me for that requires me to stay here?" He asked as he pulled a chair forward so he could sit on it.

"Oh yes, I thought you'd probably ask me about that since it is rather unusual."

She paused briefly so she could properly pour the tea into the cups, the rich aroma filling the atmosphere with its notes of chamomile and lemon. After sliding a cup over to him, she turned behind her to grab a tray that contained sugar cubes, honey, steamed milk and a few lemon wedges, all in different saucers or dishes that matched the tea set that they were currently drinking in. The cute floral design amused Wooyoung slightly. He could tell Y/N seemed to have a thing for classy and vintage style aesthetic, her house and the things inside was a major clue to it.

Pouring a tiny teaspoon of honey and some milk in her tea, Y/N carefully stirred them in the cup before finally answering the question Wooyoung had been pondering over.

"Well to make a long story short, I wish to film an everyday vlog for my....channel." Lifting the cup to her face, she gently blew on it before taking small sips out of it.

"Channel? Like for YouTube or like that?" Wooyoung himself started drinking his own cup of tea, preferring not to add anything to it since he liked straight tea as it was.

"Yeah something like that. But basically, I wanted to show my viewers how I live and what not. Show them what I do inside my home that they hadn't seen before. For example, I wanted you to stay over because I wanted to film my morning routine. I want to capture every move I make from the moment I wake up to when I get ready to start my day. Am I making sense?" She worried she was probably confusing Wooyoung even further, but he was actually not. It had become a popular trend this day to document a person's morning routine for people to see.

"Yes you are, no worries. Now I understand why you needed me to stay over." The smile he had was half covered by the cup that was brought back over to his lips.

"I mean if you're uncomfortable by it or would rather not, I completely understand."

Wooyoung quickly dismissed her worries, shaking his head as he cleared his throat.

"Trust me, I'm not uncomfortable and I'd love to help you in your project. It'll help me out as well, you know, gain experience and have someone to put as a reference if I ever want to get another job."

Y/N giggled softly at that and nodded.

"Ahh yes. I guess if you look at it from that angle, of course you would accept."

They spent a few minutes in a serene and tranquil silence, the only noises heard was the sipping of their lips against the rim of their cups. Wooyoung tried not to notice the way Y/N would occasionally stare intently to him, a slightly curious grin on her face at times. It wasn't that it made him uncomfortable, but it certainly made him self conscious, especially since he put a lot of effort into looking as presentable as possible. Did she perhaps thought it was too much? Or not enough? Or was it because she thought he looked funny? Whatever it was he got no chance to ask about it since he only opened his mouth to let out a sharp yell when he felt a certain feline's claws tangled themselves on his thigh, the sharpness of her claws even sinking into his skin.

"Baby!" Y/N got up from her seat and quickly removed the paws of her cat off her guest. She looked extremely embarrased as she apologized profusely before shooing the cat off to another room.

"I'm sorry. She tends to get a bit aggressive when trying to play. She didn't hurt you too much right?"

Dropping down on her knees in front of him, Y/N gently examined the damage done: a slight tear in his jeans but no visible signs of a deep scratch or anything.

"N-no it's fine, I'm fine." Wooyoung uttered.

He tried so hard not to blush at the position she was currently in. On her knees, between his legs as one of her hands caressed the attacked spot in an effort to soothe the pain. Wooyoung wanted to smack himself right then and there for the dirty picture his brain had imagined about the semi stranger in front of him, and his cheeks started to produce a pink hue when his body involuntarily started making a visible effect of his reaction to her stance by him in between his legs. He gulped as he realized she would be able to see the bulge that was starting to show.

"If you want, I could mend your pants for you-"

"No that's fine don't worry!" Wooyoung stood up from his seat and inconspicuously hid his tiny problem by pulling his sweatshirt further down as he moved away from Y/N.

"I mean, these pants were old. I was going to throw them out anyway." He tried as much as he could to seem as normal as possible, but judging from the look on her face he was probably not doing a good job. Luckily she seemed to not question his behavior and instead decided to start cleaning up the dishes that they used.

"Here let me help you with that." Wooyoung offered, trying to take some of the china off her hands but Y/N pulled her hands back so he wouldn't touch them.

"It's ok, don't worry about it. You're my guest and I'm very particular about the way to clean my silverware and dining sets. Nothing against you, I'm just.... slightly obsessive compulsive." She remarked in the most cheerful tone one could have while giving him a shy smile.

"Umm ok..." Wooyoung scratched the back of his head.

"If you want, why don't you bring the rest of your stuff so I can show you where you're staying?" Y/N suggested.

"Yeah. Sure."

Wasting no time and thinking keeping his mind occupied could help cool him down, Wooyoung picked up his keys and nearly sprinted out the door. Y/N hummed a soft tune to herself as she ran the cups under the lukewarm water. Her eyes were staring out her window, watching as her guest was head deep in the back of his car's trunk. She giggled softly as she remembered the flustered look on his face just a few minutes ago, tongue poking out at the image of his crotch outlined in those tight jeans of his. She looked down when she felt a soft face nuzzling itself against her ankle, soft purring coming out of her cat's throat before letting out a meowing noise. Bending down, Y/N gently scratched under Baby's chin as she liked.

"Yes I think he is absolutely adorable as well Baby.."

Picking her up, Y/N kissed the top of her head and smirked.

"And I'm going to have lots of fun with him."

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"Ok you ready?"

Looking over at the girl still in her bed, Wooyoung got a thumbs up to let him know she was indeed ready. Turning on his camera, he held up his hand and started putting one finger down at a time to count down the starting time. Hearing the slight beep of the camera go off, Y/N immediately plastered on a commercial worthy smile.

"Hello my darlings. As I promised you guys, I'm going to take you guys through my morning routine step by step. I hope you all enjoy it." She finished off her words with a wink before tearing off the blanket off her body.

Wooyoung had to give it to her, she definitely didn't seem to be camera shy nor awkward in front of the lens. He liked that she had confidence. Then he remembered that she had a channel of some sorts and that was probably the reason why. He stepped back a few steps to fully capture her as she neatly tucked her covers under her mattress, impressively folding the corners of her bed like they did in 5 star hotels. Smoothing out the top before patting it down, she looked at the camera once more.

"As you already know, I like to make sure everything looks absolutely pretty for you guys." Her voice dropped slightly in tone as she said those words.

Getting up from the floor, she pointed over to her still sleeping cat that was perched on its bed by her window. Wooyoung made sure to angle the camera towards her, zooming in slightly.

"She won't wake up for another hour or so....perfect amount of time to get all clean and dolled up."

Beckoning him over, Wooyoung carefully followed her inside her adjoined bathroom, keeping a steady hand as he made sure to capture everything inside. From the long vanity with its mirror to the walk in shower with its clear glass lining, all of it looking spotless and shiny. Clapping her hands together, Y/N beamed with enthusiasm.

"And of course, the first thing I do each morning is wash up."

When he heard that, Wooyoung thought she meant like her skincare routine as he had noticed her cleansers and toners perfectly lined up next to the faucet sink. But he was not prepared to suddenly be hit with the image of her bare chest in front of him when she suddenly pulled her black satin tank top off and let it drop to the floor, his own jaw going slightly agape. As if he couldn't get anymore flustered, he nearly wheezed when she turned around and bent over to slide her matching pajama shorts down her smooth legs, her ass staring him right in the face. It took everything in Wooyoung's strength not to drop the camera when Y/N stood back up and turned around so that her completely nude body would be in the frame. She giggled as she took notice of Wooyoung's beet red face, further teasing him as she kicked her discarded lace panties by his feet, the poor boy swallowing hard as one of his hands shook nervously.

"Eyes up here baby." He immediately looked up from the ground when he heard her sweet and sultry voice.

Walking over to him, Y/N snaked one of her hands to grab at one of his belt loops so he could follow her. Opening the large glass door to the shower, Y/N released his belt loop and made a sign for him to stay there and keep the camera towards her. Stepping inside the enclosed space, she twisted the knob on the tile wall enough so that the shower head above her would start pouring out the refreshing and cool water onto her body. She released a soft moan when she felt it splash onto her, hands gliding down her torso and thighs as her eyes closed and reveled in the tingling and cooling feeling of the water dripping down on her.

Wooyoung stood there completely speechless and flabbergasted, his eyes unable to blink the longer he stared at the scene before him. It felt completely wrong to be there, to watch and film as this girl he just met the day before stand naked in front of him and continue her shower routine as if he wasn't even there. He just couldn't believe it, couldn't believe what he had gotten himself in to when he called and accepted to work for her. But he still accepted and he had a job to complete so he tried his best to look as composed as possible as he kept the camera pointed at her.

And yet more often than not he found himself biting down on his lip hard, trying to suppress the groans threatening to spill out as he continued to watch her as she did the most normal things a person often did while they took a shower. The camera captured every minute starting from when she lathered her head with her shampoo, its scent of coconut and hibiscus filling the entire room with fragrance that further made the tight feeling in Wooyoung's pants ache even more. His eyes were exclusively locked on her body, watching as the water cascaded down her soft skin, focusing especially on her breasts. He licked his lips as he took in the way her nipples peaked out due to the temperature of the water, wanting nothing more than to take one of them in his mouth and suck on it. The fact that Y/N would purposefully bring her hands up at times to cup or rub against her fleshy mounds wasn't helping his case, it only made him more sad that it wasn't his own hands touching and caressing her breasts. He was willing to bet they were probably the most soft and squishy pillow like tits to exist.

Wooyoung was really aching when she poured some of the pomegranate scented body wash into her sponge and began to distribute it around her body, starting from her arms and working them down her legs and between her thighs. He didn't mean to but he couldn't help himself as he fantasized about being him the one who was lathering her body, imagining all the things he'd do if he could. Like perhaps teasing her by grazing his fingers across her wet folds or even pressing his thumb down on her sensitive clit. Either way, he knew he wouldn't be able to keep his hands off her if he got the chance, but he doubted that would ever happen. So he decided to take what he could of the moment and perhaps use it for fap material when he was alone.

As if knowing exactly what he was thinking about, Y/N turned her body to fully face him and smirked. Sliding her hands up her torso, she took hold of her breasts and gave them a tight squeeze before releasing them. Wooyoung could not help the audible whine that spilled out from his tongue as he saw her repeat the same action a couple more times. Pressing her boobs together, her thumbs played with the hardened nipples, tweaking at them and even giving them slight pinches every now and then. Wooyoung knew she was doing it on purpose, trying to arouse him even further....and it was working perfectly.

With one hand kept on one of her breasts, the other one snaked its way in between her luscious thighs. Dipping one finger inside her entrance, her lips parted and began spilling out breathy moans as she started to slide her finger in and out of her body.

"Oh fuck..." Wooyoung muttered, not caring about if his words got recorded or not. He became too invested in watching as Y/N continued fingering herself in front of him. She looked absolutely exquisite, body drenched in the rippling water as she continued to stuff her pussy with another one of her fingers. Her eyes shut tightly and her head tilted back as she let out even louder whimpers when she began scissoring inside her fleshy core. Her hand that was on her breasts pulled away to twist the showerhead knob so the pressure of the water could be at its lowest setting. Without the intense sound of the splashing water, her strangled noises became more audible as well as the slopping and squealching sounds her dripping pussy was making due to the intensity of her rapid finger movements. Wooyoung could clearly see and hear that the sounds were definition not due to the shower she was taking. Y/N was definitely horny and the slick her heat collected was clear evidence of it.

Having someone as hot as Wooyoung not only watching but helping her film something that thousands of other people would see, and more likely than not jerk off to, made her weak. She loved having people watch her do naughty things as she was doing now, it thrilled her and riled her up even more. And she loved seeing the effects it had on others, like the obvious bulge in between Wooyoung's thick thighs. She could practically make out just how big he was given how painfully hard his erection seemed, and that image served to help push her over the edge. With high pitched whines and cries, she shuddered as she felt herself cum all over her hand, her fingers slowing their movements down to help prolong her orgasm without making her become overly sensitive. She panted heavily as she took out her fingers and brought them up to her lips so she could lick off the secretion left from her climax.

Wooyoung's tongue poked out as he witnessed the pornographic image of Y/N drinking up her juices as if it was a delicious and sweet dessert.

"It probably is and it only makes me crave to have her smother my face with her pussy even more." He mused inwardly to himself.

He was so lost in his fantasy that he didn't notice Y/N had completely turned off the water and finished until her breasts were displayed right in front of the camera lens. He let out a soft stutter when her hand came up and pressed the pause button, being careful not to drop any water onto the camera.

"I'm going to finish drying myself off in my room so you can have some .....alone time." She snorted softly as she passed by him, her hand brushing against his crotch which made Wooyoung hiss softly.

Grabbing the towel that was hanging on the wall, Y/N wrapped it around her body, tucking it in so it wouldn't fall down. Stooping over, she picked up her lace panties and looked back at Wooyoung.

"Here, in case you need a little help." She flung it over to him, which he catches in his free hand.

Wooyoung stared at the underwear and then at Y/N with a dumbfounded expression.

"So I take it this is why you specifically wanted 19 plus people?" He quirked an eyebrow up, one corner of his lips pulling up into a knowing smile.

"Yes. I might as well mention now that I'm a camgirl with a porn channel." She explained.

"Yeah, I kinda figured that out when you flashed your boobs at me."

They both bursted out laughing at his little joke.

"Ok but seriously, are you sure you're comfortable with all this?" Y/N asked.

Wooyoung looked down at her before looking back down at the panties in his hand.

"I'm definitely going to be hard most of the time, but I think I'll be fine." He assured her with a mischievous smile as he set down his camera on the vanity dresser. With a sly smirk, he began unzipping his pants, not missing any of the facial reactions she was making as he began to pull his cock out of its confinement.

"I mean, I got up close fap material with an actual pornstar. What guy wouldn't want my job?" Cocking his head to the side, he rubbed the tip of his dick with his thumb, spreading some of the precum down the shaft. Although she had said she would give him alone time, Y/N couldn't move her feet out the door as she stared intently at the way Wooyoung hugged his length.

"Wanna watch me jerk off with your panties to your image?"

Stepping forward, Wooyoung reached up and pulled the towel off Y/N's body, causing her to inhale sharply at his bold move. Sucking in a breath, Wooyoung shamelessly looked down at her body as he placed the hand that had Y/N's panties around the base of his cock.

"Just stay there and don't move beautiful...."

[idiotwhotalkstoomuch]

I have another question: Have you read the demon slayer manga by any chance? If so, how far into it are you? like have you eat all of the chapters already? Cause I got the idea where even after MC is sent back to their original world, the boys are still able to check up on how MC is doing through the mirror from the opening ceremony. That way when MC eventually participates in the final fight against Muzan they get the chance to truly see MC in action which brings me to my actual question (Assuming you've read everything to avoid spoilers) how would they react to the severity of MCs injuries against Muzan or even some of the upper moons? Based on their personalities who do you think would be cheering for MC, begging them to live another day so they can have a chance to meet again since they're absolutely working on a way with Crowley to bring them back. Since this is the battle against the big boss,it means demon slayers won't be necessary and it'll be fine for MC to live the rest of their days in peace at NRC or in the world of NRC right? on the other hand, who do you think would instead be hoping that MC will stay down and receive medical treatment, let the other slayers handle the rest of the battle because they're already so badly injured they really shouldn't push themselves any further and they can't bear to see their friend hurt so badly (Considering what happens to a majority of the cast, if MC is a pillar, Ooooooh boy.)

I also found an absolutely amazing demon slayer video that's fan made but I don't want to risk spoiling anything cause it's way later on in the series, hence why I asked earlier.

So I just read some of the manga (not in order cause being orderly and me do not mix)

Decided to detail the fights more cause they can all be summed up to “worried as heck” with varying degrees

WARNING SPOILERS FOR THE MANGA OF DEMON SLAYER (I TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE UPPER MOON FIGHTS, WHO BEATS THEM AND SOME IMPORTANT STUFF ON THE TANJIRO FIGHT. ALSO A SPOILER FOR THE DEMON SLAYER MOVIE Y’ALL KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT)

The upper moon fights that MC likely participate in are the Hantengu fight and Douma or Kokushibo (I will cover both) before Muzan

Being a successor of a Hashira, if they were the flame pillar or the sound pillar’s tsugoku it’s likely they might even join the hashira if deemed skilled enough and since they joined in overblot fights, their skills definitely weren’t slacking so it’s likely they have

During the Hantengu fight they join Mitsuri in fighting Hantengu’s strongest clone so the others can go for the main body but since Mitsuri was the one to jump in and get the attack to the face and recalls her past, only she awakens the demon slayer mark

Douma has a past of pissing people off and ruining families and if they were Shinobu’s tsugoku alongside Kanao then they know full well what she plans to do and Adeuce and the others really wish they could go and comfort MC as the grief on their face at the idea of their master dying is clear

If MC is a girl and joins Shinobu in the fight, they might wind up getting eaten by Douma alongside Shinobu if they fight well enough and Kanao doesn’t make it in time, in this scenario Lilia and several other Diasomnia members have to calm Malleus down as his anger at watching his friend die while being helpless is clear as the others grieve

Luckily in this scenario, if the mirror keeps on to at least see Shinobu’s plan through then they get to see Douma’s defeat by his own gluttony with Kanao and Inosuke dealing the finishing blow

If they end up not being eaten or just don’t catch Douma’s interest (either by not being a female, them being saved by Kanao in the fight or other possible reasons), Grim really wishes he could join and melt all the ice created by Douma as his blood demon art starts to freeze them as they throw their own swords alongside Inosuke (or help in some other way) to assist Kanao in finishing the blow against Douma and ending him once and for all

Azul, Jade, Jamil, Leona, Lilia, Malleus, Riddle, Rook, Vil and the teachers have to applaud Shinobu for her suicidal yet extremely effective plan, they likely would not defeated Douma without her and hope she rests in peace (ngl her death broke my heart lol)

If they ended up fighting Kokushibo, they’re all pretty shocked to see the regenerative abilities of a demon both from Kokushibo and Genya, they had heard about it from MC but seeing the extent of how far it can go in this fight amazes them

The Kokushibo fight seems allergic to letting people under the age of 18 survive (Muichiro death was sad but Genya death animated may actually emotionally break me) so it’s very possible that they die in the fight as after all Kokushibo is the strongest demon moon that probably spits on Upper moon 6’s 22 pillars killed so it’s very unlikely that they could ever leave this fight unscathed or with their life

Jack has to help Adeuce and Grim who are breaking down as they watch their friend who they were hanging out with the other day like normal teenagers would, give their life to defeat the demon who has killed hundreds of people

The older members of the cast like the teachers, Malleus and Lilia all have moments of silence for the young lives slain by the man who was obsessed with being the strongest samurai

In the Muzan fight (if they make it there alive), since they’re stronger than many other members, the lower ranked demon slayers give their lives to protect them a gruesome sight that characters like Kalim have to cover their eyes to all the death and gore in the mirror

MC like Tanjiro and the hashira get poisoned by Muzan’s blood and all of them think it’s the end until Tamayo’s cat comes in and saves them, avid dog lovers like Crewel have to give props to the cat for saving their lives

It’s possible that at the memory of the twst cast waiting for them to win and the family they’ve lost yo Muzan, MC gets their demon slayer mark to help them in the fight against Muzan, luckily if they are aware of the demon slayer mark’s deadly condition from Kokushibo, the more experienced magicians and potions experts like Crewel, Vil, etc. believe that if MC gets through the fight they could create a way to prevent the demon slayer mark from ending their life at the young age of 25 something that brings hope to all of them

Of course optimistic thoughts like that can also be crushed at the end of the fight after Muzan disintegrates under the sun once and for all since they could’ve received fatal injuries in the fight until dawn and die with the kakushi trying to save them, while the others plead for them to be sent back to their world so they can receive immediate treatment and are reminded of the fact that they likely won’t make it and are forced to just let them die surrounded by their comrades

If they manage to survive the fight against Muzan (likely having one of their senses permanently ruined, having a lot of permanent scars on their body or even missing a limb or two) and are ready to just retire for the rest of their life and they receive a message from the twst cast are always welcome to have them back if they want to retire in their world

[mageofseven]

Part 3! This is the last part, containing Beel and Belphie's sections below the cut. Please enjoy~

Part 1 | Part 2

~

Beelzebub:

Things were peaceful with the pregnancy for a while.

Even in the beginning, when MC was barely showing and faced very little issues, the sixth brother was waiting on her hand and foot

And he almost always had a smile on his face. He was just insanely happy about becoming a dad, about having a baby with MC.

He handled every thing more or less with stride.

When she started showing and the woman felt self-conscious about the fact that she was losing her figure, he'd hold her close and kiss her, telling how beautiful she was, that the belly she was growing made her no less so. In fact, it made her even more beautiful because to him, what her body was doing was a beautiful thing: growing and carrying his child, something that meant the world to him.

Yeah, he was a bit anxious about how things would go since Lucifer told them the pregnancy could become dangerous for her, but he was still truly happy for the two of them to become parents.

Unlike his siblings in the other timelines, Beel had no fears about how he'll be as a dad; he knew he had so much love to give their son or daughter and was ready to give it.

It wasn't until MC's fourth month when some concerns were raised.

MC's belly had grew at an unusual rate. Despite just entering her fourth month, her belly was roughly the size of what it should be in her sixth or even seventh month of pregnancy, according to Satan.

Beel didn't really know anything specific about pregnancy so he didn't see it as anything to worry about. I mean, he was the Avatar of Gluttony and this was his baby. MC developed quite the appetite because of this and was eating at least twice more than she used to. Surely that's all this was? And if so, the man couldn't see it as anything dangerous, at least.

Still, MC's anxiety grew over it, causing him talk over it more with the blonde to figure out if there was anything he could do for her.

And so the time came; the rune! Satan drew the rune over the human's belly to collect the data they needed.

After a minute or two of absorbing the data, the blonde raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?" MC asked.

"It... well, I suppose for a start, Beel is correct that his sin is part of the reason for the growth spurt." Satan began. "But only partly."

Beel leaned towards his brother, listening closely.

"However, there are some more difficult elements at play here." The fourth brother continued. "The most pressing being... the number."

"I... what?" The woman stared at the demon in front of her.

"It seems you two are having twins. Two girls, in fact."

Beel immediately pulled MC in for a hug. The woman cried heavy tears, but they were paired with a smile. The big guy teared up as well.

"Twins. Beely, we're having two little girls." She said from inside his arms.

"I know." The man pulled back and gave her a sweet kiss before laying both hands on her belly. "Our little girls--"

"I hate to interrupt," The Avatar of Wrath said, but of course, did so anyway. "But... do either of you realize the danger this poses to any degree?"

Beel turned back to his brother, furrowing his brow.

Satan sighed.

"Beel... one baby was going to be rough on her body, but two?" He pointed out. "Honestly Beel, she'll likely be eating at least as much as you, if not more, and that still might not be enough for her body. It's manageable now, but once she enters the last trimester, it'll be very difficult to keep two gluttony demon children fed as well as the mother they're siphoning nutrition off of faster than she can get it."

Basically, MC was going to be eating an extreme amount of food and still literally be starving. That's how Beel understood it at least.

The man looked at his girlfriend and frowned in worry. He hated feeling hungry and didn't wish that on his Muffin, but knew she'll end up feeling even worse than that.

"Is there anything I can do for her now?" The redhead asked.

"Right now... all we can do is stock up and hope for the best." The blonde answered. "Lucifer should probably be informed so things can be planned out."

And so he did. He walked his girlfriend to their bedroom so she could lie down for a bit while he went to Lucifer's study to inform him. The older brother was instantly stressed out, but let out a sigh and told him that he'll handle it.

Lucifer did warn Beel though that he probably won't be able to eat as much as he's used to because of this. The Avatar of Gluttony only nodded. If he had to go hungry to keep MC fed and alive then so be it. It was worth it to him.

As the months went by, Satan's predictions were proven true. By half way through her seventh month, MC was bedridden. Her belly had grown so big that she literally could not get out of bed on her own.

The woman was never alone though. She constantly had either Beel or Belphie or both with her to bring her food or carry her to the bathroom or cuddle her so she didn't get lonely.

What was equally as worrisome as her gravid boulder of a belly was the rest of her. The woman had lost so much weight in her thighs, arms, and face that she looked like she's been starved for years.

Each touch of Beel's was extra gentle because his girlfriend looked so fragile like this. He was afraid to hurt her even more, especially because of their girls' kicks.

The twins had inherited their daddy's strength. Occasionally, one or both of them would kick their mama a bit too hard, causing a bruise to form on her belly.

This led to lots of belly time. Beel would kiss and rub his Muffin's belly while talking to his girls, telling them how loved they are, but how they need to be more gentle with their mama.

Despite how difficult the situation was, both Beel and MC kept positive, smiling through it. After all, this was all for their little girls so of course it was worth it.

Good End:

Oh this poor woman. It took ten months of pregnancy, being a full month over due, but her twins were finally ready to come out into the world and meet their parents.

It was a long twelve hours for the couple; after all, these were two very big, overdue demon babies of gluttony being pushed out by a mom they've seriously weakened for months now. Yet despite the odds, both Mama and babies made it out okay.

Beel kissed his girlfriend's head and watched as she fed their girls. Their girls. This was really happening. Beel was a daddy. His sweet Muffin was a mama and those sweet girls feeding from her chest were their daughters, sporting his hair, eye color, horns, even delicate versions of his wings, but still had all of their mother's facial features. They were identical, unlike him and Belphie, but the demon truly hoped the two could forge just as strong of a bond together as he had with his twin.

When the two were done drinking, Beel took the one from MC's left arm and brought her into his own. Just then, a knock came to the door and it clicked open to reveal Belphie, who Beel texted a few minutes ago; he wanted his twin to be the very first one to see his daughters.

The couple smiled at him.

"Belphie, come see them." MC invited him to come closer.

The seventh brother approached the bed and gave a small smile.

"So... whose who?"

MC looked up to Beel, letting her boyfriend introduce them. The man smiled.

"This is Arsenia." The redhead stared down at the little girl in his arms, kissing her head before looking to the one in MC's arms. "And right there is Anais."

The three talked for a bit and watched the babies before MC needed to sleep. Beel laid the twins in their cribs before giving his Muffin a quick kiss on her head.

"Sweet dreams, Muffin. Thank you for everything." He smiled.

Bad End:

Twelve hours. Twelve hours of labor that seemed like it was going no where. The first baby was barely even crowning after all this time and MC was losing what remained of her strength. The woman honestly didn't know how much more she could take.

Beel felt so helpless as he watched her struggle. He was so hyperfocused on his Muffin that he hadn't even thought of food once during these twelve hours and even a non gluttony demon would be getting hungry right then.

It took another hour, but MC eventually got the head out and then the shoulders. But that was it. That was as far as she made it. She had lost the last of her strength and just... faded away at that moment. Beel couldn't accept it at first and just kept calling her name and shaking her shoulder, begging her to wake up. But she didn't. The man let out a howl of pain before collapsing on his knees in sobs. He cried for a minute before remembering his girls.

Beel quickly shot up and freed the first baby, Arsenia, from her mother's body. Anais... Anais, he never got to save. They never knew it, but the cord had been wrapped around her neck for most of the labor and she left them before even MC did.

And just like that, the Avatar of Gluttony lost his Muffin and one of his daughters. As he held tightly to Arsenia though, he vowed that he would never, ever let any harm come to her.

Beel was a loving, but fiercely protective father. His daughter handled it in stride for the first twelve years of her life, but after that, grew to really resent him. He never let her truly live her life. By fifteen, she actually ran away to the Human realm in search of what was left of her mother's side of the family, leaving a note saying that she couldn't handle him suffocating her anymore. Arsenia had succeeded in finding her grandma and Lucifer convinced Beel to just let her be for a few days. Then he came to get her and the two had a heart to heart talk.

The man didn't know how he could grow to let go more; all he knew was his fear. This was his daughter. His worse nightmare was losing her just like he did with MC and Anais. But he knew if he didn't learn then he was just going to lose her in another way. The man just didn't know what to do anymore. Not without MC, who kept him grounded. Not without MC, who he sees everytime he looks at his daughter's face. And so he was stuck feeling desperate and lost and just wanting his daughter to understand him and be happy.

Belphegor:

After the two's three month fight, Belphie was dedicated to taking care of MC.

He was an ass to her when he found out of she was pregnant and he knew it, never even denied it, but it came from a place of fear and love for his human.

Seeing just how important this baby was to her though... it was enough for him to bury his fear deep inside of himself for her. He had to; she needed him and he was not going to abandon her again.

Her second trimester was... well, let's just say he stepped in to support her at just the right time.

MC was always so exhausted and went through her days in almost a daze.

She even passed out at the dinner table one evening, face falling straight onto her plate.

Normally, the Avatar of Sloth would find this funny, but the pregnancy had him on edge.

She woke up fairly easily though. Just a couple shakes of her shoulder and the woman was lifting her head, wondering why there was mashed potatoes in her hair.

That was enough for him though. Belphie picked his girlfriend up and carried her to his room. He cleaned the food out of her hair before laying her back on the bed.

"I'm sorry..." She mumbled.

"Don't apologize, Butthead." He said softly, pulling her to his chest.

He knew she couldn't help it. In general, pregnancy could be tiring, but when the baby daddy is the literal Avatar of Sloth? Yeah, that made things harder.

The human fell asleep, barely staying conscious long enough to hear his response.

Belphie leaned in and kissed her forehead.

Even after such an early bed time, MC didn't wake up in the morning. Or the afternoon. Belphie was tense as hell, but tried to be patient.

Around 3pm, after sleeping for about twenty hours straight, the man tried shaking his girlfriend awake. But she wouldn't.

Belphie started freaking out and shaking her harder. She still wouldn't wake up.

He had to triple check that she was alive. And she was; the woman still breathed slow, sleepy breaths and had a calm pulse like any sleeping person would.

But she wasn't waking up? Why?

At some point, the younger brother wasn't sure when, but Beel had gotten up and rushed to Lucifer.

The oldest brother put a hand on his youngest brother's shoulder, stopping him from shaking the human anymore.

Belphie instantly shook the oldest off and gave him a glare.

"Stop, she's not waking up!"

"Shaking her is not going to help the situation."

Belphie was frustrated with the Avatar of Pride, but knew he was right. But what else could he do?

Lucifer did most of the talking with Beel after that. The two went back and forth on different things as Belphie simply held his girlfriend close.

Eventually, the two left the room and came back with Satan, book in hand. Belphie growled as the blonde approached the bed.

Satan sighed.

"Enough with that. I believe I know a way to figure out the problem."

And with that, the fourth brother explained step by step everything he was going to do.

The boyfriend scowled, but let the blonde do what he needed to do.

Satan opened his book and laid it on the bed. He gave a glance at the page before pulling down the blanket and raising up the woman's shirt.

Belphie growled again, but stopped as Beel laid a hand on his arm. The man then took a deep breath and just sat up, watching the blonde's movements carefully as he guarded his girlfriend. Yeah, Satan was his brother, but more importantly, that was his girlfriend the blonde was messing with. Whatever he does, he better be gentle.

The three other men watched as the Avatar of Wrath drew a rune around MC's navel. The woman stirred, making some noises in her sleep, but didn't awake.

When the blonde finished the rune, it glowed a very bright purple. The fourth brother raised an eyebrow at this.

"It's... not supposed to do that." The blonde picked up his book, rereading the passage once more.

"What did you do?" Belphie immediately jumps to the worse scenarios.

Satan waved off his words and continued to read the passage.

"It's suppose to glow green since I am the rune's scripter... however, it shows itself in your color."

The Avatar of Sloth didn't say a word; he didn't understand what was going on. He looked down at his human, whose sleep had turned a bit restless since the other man drew the rune on her.

The fourth brother finally sat down the book and reached out to lay his hand on the rune

...and was immediately shocked.

Satan cursed and pulled his hand towards his chest.

"What happened?" Lucifer asked.

The fourth brother just shook his head and breathed for a minute in order to keep calm.

"It... I seemed to be locked out." The blonde answered in a controlled voice.

"What do you mean, you're locked--"

"It means I don't have control over the rune!" The Avatar of Wrath snapped at the oldest before taking a deep breath. "Belphie, you do it."

"Do what?"

"Just put your hand on the rune; it'll do the rest."

Belphie stared at his brother for a minute before slowly laying his hand on MC's belly, right above the rune.

Suddenly, his eyes glowed as his brain was flooded with information.

Okay, first off, he learned the rune was purple because of the baby. As soon as they sensed the rune intruding on their safe place, the baby locked Satan out... apparently to protect themselves and their mother. Belphie only has access because they seem to trust him.

It also seemed that the baby has inherited their dad's protective instincts. Belphie approves.

That's not the only thing they got from him though.

The reason MC has been out cold for past twenty hours is because they inherited their dad's miasma powers, the ability that he uses with his aura to weaken people and put them to sleep

The very same power he used the night he killed MC.

Belphie wanted to curse, to scream, to aim all his anger at the little being doing this to her

But then he discovered why.

The baby... they sensed their mama's great distress, something MC had been trying so hard to hide from him.

It all went back to the first revelation; the baby was protective of their mother. They weren't just protecting her from outside forces, but from herself too.

Lastly, he learned learned that there was no single baby; there was two

Twins. A boy and a girl.

Belphie pried away his hand so quickly that he almost fell off of the bed. If it wasn't for Beel being right behind him and catching him, he would have.

"What is it?" His twin asked.

Oh dear devil, where should he even start? The seventh brother didn't even know if he wanted to say anything; he just wanted time to let it all sit within him, but he had three pairs of eyes trained on him at the moment.

Belphie glanced down at MC's sleeping face and a fresh wave of guilt washed over him. She was essentially being drugged into sleep by his kids. Once again, this was his fault.

Sensing how overwhelmed his twin was, Beel turned to Lucifer and said some things that the younger twin didn't even try to hear before the oldest and the blonde left the room, leaving the twins alone.

Belphie sat with his knees to his chest and hid his face in his arms.

Beel came up and hugged his brother.

"It's my fault..." Belphie's voice cracked.

The younger twin told the redhead everything, who listened patiently to all of it.

Beel's arms tightened around his brother.

"You know she wouldn't blame you for it." Beel told him.

"Doesn't change the fact that it's my fault..."

The twins talked together for a little over an hour. After that, Belphie fell asleep next to MC and Beel left to update Lucifer.

The conclusion? Wait. All they could do for now is wait. Satan looked into some human-safe potions that would be strong enough to wake MC if she took too long, but otherwise, waiting is all they could do.

Two days later, MC woke up in severe need of water. Beel ran to go get some for her as Belphie held her close, relief washing over him.

A few bottles of water later, MC asked what happened.

Belphie didn't know what to say. Or rather... how to tell her.

But he did. He admitted everything with a heavy heart and actually apologized to her.

Wide eyed, his girlfriend pulled him in for a hug.

"Hey... none of that." She told him. "I'm fine, I-- it's okay."

The two laid there and cuddled for a while. Belphie laid with his head on her chest, feeling it rise and fall with each breath (and being incredibly grateful for each one) as his girlfriend stroked his hair.

"So...twins?" She asked softly. "How...how do you feel about that?"

Belphie let out a sigh. How could she lay there and worry about him despite the situation she was in?

It didn't help that the demon honestly had no clue to how to answer that. How did he feel about any of this now?

He hated all of this in the beginning and he resented this baby for even existing. Since his experience with the rune and getting the chance to understand the babies inside of her... he really didn't know.

They seemed... anxious and overall just wanted to protect their mother. That was no different from Belphie himself.

His twins just... devil, he could feel his heart softening for them as he thinks over everything.

He didn't resent them anymore, but how did he feel about them? About there being two of them?

Honestly, it sounded like a hassle. Even once this whole pregnancy is done with, MC and him will have twice the responsibility; he was exhausted just thinking about it.

Still, he accepted it all.

"Dummy, you shouldn't be worrying about what I think." Belphie shook his head. "...How do you feel about it?"

Silence.

"A bit... scared." She admitted. "I don't want you to get overwhelmed again and... and leave me."

Belphie sat up and stared down at her.

"I'm not leaving you. Ever." He said firmly. "I know I was a dick in the beginning, but I'm staying with you. Period."

MC looked away.

"Y-Yeah, but..."

Devil, he had to keep her stress levels down or their twins are gonna drug her again. The demon leaned in and kissed his girlfriend before laying his head back down on her chest.

"I love you, Butthead." He mumbled. "I'm not leaving you or our kids so stop worrying."

He could feel her body relax underneath him.

Months went by with very little issues. She went through somedays with a really froggy mind and that was concerning on it's own because she was extra clumsy like this, tripping over furniture and starting little fires in the kitchen.

Belphie and Beel were always hovering around her because of this, ready to catch her when she tripped. They also took over her cooking duty and took turns. MC felt bad and said she should be contributing more, but Belphie would always silence her with a kiss and tell her she's contributing enough by carrying his little gremlins.

This made her smile because she knew he was joking. If he was able to joke about them like that then there must be affection for them underneath it all. And she was right.

Her coma-like sleeps were rare but they did happen twice more in her pregnancy. Luckily between Belphie and Beel, they were able to keep her stress down enough to where it usually wasn't an issue.

Good End:

MC had woken him up in the middle of the night. Her contractions started while she was asleep and woke her up when they got too strong for her to sleep through. Belphie woke up to her crying and clinging to him.

From 3am to 9am, a long six hours, MC labored hard till she pushed both twins out. Their son had his dad's dark hair while their daughter had MC's hair. Both had Belphie's purple eyes though. Their daughter had their dad’s horns while their son had their dad’s tail.

MC held their son close to her chest as Belphie held his daughter. He stared down at the little girl, who lightly squirmed in his arms and let out soft cries.

"Belphie..."

He looked over to his girlfriend, just to notice that he himself had been crying as he watched his daughter. The demon looked away, blushing. After a moment, he spoke.

"I know we really didn't talk about this beforehand... but I want to name her Lilith."

His girlfriend gave him a smile.

"Of course."

The two discussed it for a few minutes and decided to name their son Judas.

Bad End:

Things fell apart early in MC's eighth month. The woman suddenly just collapsed where she stood, seconds after whispering Belphie's name and trying to reach out to him. The man caught her before she hit the floor. She had suddenly fallen into one of her comas. But why? He thought his girlfriend was okay, but apparently she had been bottling some feelings up. She would have had to have been or otherwise their children wouldn't be doing this to her.

It was three days later that Belphie woke up in the night to feel that the bed was wet. Very wet. MC's water broke! She was still in her coma though so how did this work?? Even with the contractions, could she birth the twins if he she wasn't awake to push?? Belphie quickly woke up Beel who in turn rushed to Lucifer. The oldest called a doctor, who had Belphie stay outside of the room.

The youngest brother paced back and forth in the hallway, cussing, and overall more awake then he has been all of his demon life.

In the end... MC didn't make it. But the twins did. The twins survived even when his girlfriend didn't and that fact destroyed him.

For the first two years of their life, Belphie had absolutely nothing to do with his kids; Beel raised them for him. It wasn't because of what you might think. Belphie didn't resent his kids or blame them for their mother's death like he thought he would. Belphie was drowning in self-hatred because it was his fault. He believed this with every fiber of his being. He couldn't even look at his children, especially Lilith, who he saw both MC and his sister within her whenever their eyes met.

Eventually, he got his shit together, at least somewhat. He always needed help though so Lilith and Judas were raise by both their father and their Uncle Beel. Belphie was pretty laid back as a father so between him and Beel, the kids had the freedom to do just about anything. However, they grew to be a bit bratty. Good hearted, but bratty. Any time anyone other than he or Beel tried to discipline them or said anything awful to his kids, Belphie was ready to murder a bitch and slowly at that; it was a lot easier to set this man off now as a parent. Luckily, Beel was always able to drag him away and calm him down.

Those around them were always put on edge by the Avatar of Sloth's presence because of this; even the other brothers weren't sure how to interact with him somedays. Still, his kids were safe and between himself and Beel, they never went without anything. They grew up loved and protected... just like MC wanted.

He sometimes got into these depressive moods when he thought of her and couldn't leave his bed. At first, Beel would try to occupy the kids elsewhere so he could have his space and the twins didn't have to see their daddy like that. One day though, when they were five, they snuck away and into the attic room that he hid in. Wordless, the two just climbed into bed with him and he held them close to his chest.

As much as he missed MC... he loved his kids and moments like that reminded him just how important they are to him. There was once a time where he told himself that if he had to choose between MC and their kids, he wouldn't hesitate to choose her; he simply couldn't imagine how he could care about anyone as strongly as he does her. Now that they're here though, he doesn't have to imagine it; it's his reality and though he missed MC with every fiber of his being, he wouldn't trade his children for anything in the three realms.

~

Part 1 | Part 2

[rev3rb]

Hello! I’m back for our monthly chat :) The chapter really started off strong with a Gureshin flashback. Love a good reminder of Guren’s motives even if we don’t have any more info on his plan. Also love the immediate switch to Yu and “Mikapoo” being silly. And the way they addressed Yu’s maturity like we’ve talked about. I personally don’t wanna see Shinya and Yu together, but her flustering compared to Yu’s obliviousness was cute in a “Oh, Sweetheart 🙃” kinda way lmao. However, I am super onboard with Detective Mika tryna put the pieces together . He really seems to be the most in tune with the natures of some of the ppl he’s around. Plus I’m still obsessed with his current character design (his tail brings me constant joy 🥺). Krul immediately attacking him was a really cute way of checking in with him. And Ferid’s entrance was just golden (poor Kimizuki 😂) even if I am very confused as to how he plans to bring them all along in a truck with seating for 3 ppl max lmao. At least Ferid and Guren are making their partnership extremely clear; although, I kinda doubt that they intend to tell them the whole truth like they claim they will. But it would be helpful for us readers if they came clean lol. Overall I found this chp. pretty cute. Still waiting on actual answers tho!!

Hello! Sorry for the late reply yet again, but the first week of the year is generally a busy one for me.

They really had to hit us hard with Shinya's death this month between Vampire Reign and Catastrophe at 16 didn't they? It hurts. PLEASE STOP (but not actually). The immediate transition afterwards was whiplash worthy, but it was a good form of whiplash. "Mikapoo" is certainly an... interesting nickname lol. I wonder if it'll stick.

Shinoa and Yuu were pretty cute. Gotta love how much of an idiot Yuu is with this kind of thing. Sometimes it can be (and is) overdone, but with stuff like this interaction, it's cute.

Detective Mika! We, mainly you, were right about that! The only new thing we learned this month was the fact that Mahiru was apparently watching that night all those years ago, but as of now, it's not a huge thing. It makes sense that she was there given that Guren was there. What I find strange is those weird things floating in the background in that flashback.

They weren't present in the first chapter, so I'm thinking it has something to do with Yuu's memories/his head since that's where we first saw them (if that makes sense). I suppose it could be a retcon too, but either way, we won't get answers at the moment, so no use dwelling really. As for Mika being more in tune with people, I suppose you're right. There's also the fact that he's more suspicious of people so he's more actively paying attention to them compared to Yuu who doesn't really care to pay attention to that sort of thing even though he's shown himself to be quite observant and aware at times.

Cute way to check in on him? Yes. I suppose lmao. It's certainly one way to do it. The sentiment was heartwarming at least. Vampires may not have emotions, but Krul cares about Mika to at least some degree and that's apparent.

I absolutely love how every time Ferid shows up now it's like "Guys! Stranger danger is back!" Never won't be funny. Ah, the truck. You ever play gen 3 (ORAS/RSE) pokemon? It's like that. Just shove them in the back of the van. It'll be fine.

Overall, this chapter was definitely more of a filler chapter, but I really enjoyed it! It's the kind of reset the manga needed after dealing with the First the past few months, but it is still kinda annoying that we were baited into thinking we were going to get answers from the First last month then didn't. It is what it is though. I agree in that I highly doubt that Guren and Ferid are going to share everything at this point as there seems to ALWAYS be more to the story. I have a bit of an inkling that the First may fill in some gaps/give another side to things for the readers if we ever get that explanation. The manga has set both Yuu squad and Co. and the vampires (Rigr and Co.) up for exposition dumps. Kagami could do them back to back if he wanted. I'm also curious about where Guren and Ferid are going to take everyone. Guess we'll just have to wait and see what next month brings.

Thanks for the monthly ask and again, I'm sorry about responding late!

[local-cry-baby]

It's A Promise (Barry x Reader)

so sinnoh remakes (and premakes?!) has been confirmed and of course the first thing I had to do was write a short fic on one of my favorite rival of all time

Sorry but I had to ten year old me had a massive crush on this character lol

writing; short story

word count; 2781

genre; friendship & hurt/comfort (very subtle romance)

reader; gender neutral

au; takes place after the events of DPPt (also Barry has freckles if that counts)

summary; your plans for summer has been hijacked by a certain hyperactive boy

Image

Half asleep you heard the Starlys chirp and trill and the Kricketots chime in harmony with one another, announcing the arrival of morning. You shifted slightly in bed, pulling the covers closer to you and yawned. The best feeling in the world you believe was hearing the sound of the world rousing to the start of a new day and knowing you didn't have to wake up along with it. With a content sigh you roll on your side, slowly drifting off to sleep...

Tap! Tap! Tap!

You furrow your brows slightly at the sound but quickly relaxed, smiling softly to yourself...

TAP! TAP! TAP!

You assume it was just a Starly or two messing outside your window so you chose to ignore it, opting to pull the covers over your head. You sighed again, this time in annoyance, as you try to fall asleep...

Click! Scree!

"Psst! (Y/N), are you sleeping?"

Your eyes open in disbelief as you immediately recognize the voice and just process the fact that he happen to somehow open your bedroom window to ask the obvious. 'Say it ain't so.’ You turned to face your window to see Barry there, arms resting on top of the sill as he watched you with a curious expression which was soon beaming with excitement once he saw you. "Oh good, you're awake!" Like you weren't sleeping to begin with.

"Wha? Barry what are you doing here?" You asked groggily. "Aren't you suppose to be at Pastoria City with Wake?"

"It's summer, duh! Crasher Wake gave me the week off and since your school is closed for vacation I thought it was perfect to catch up and hang out together this week!" Barry had this lively vibe around him that practically made him glow like a ray of sun leaving you dizzy with exhaustion. You plop back in bed with a groan knowing your plans to sleep in till afternoon for the whole week was ruined. "So at first I was thinking of going to the Great Marsh like we use to for old time sake" Barry began as he climbed right in sitting at your windowsill. "But I heard today would reach the hottest temperature ever in Sinnoh history!"

"Really now?" You asked in a monotonous voice. How hot can it possibly be in the coldest region in the world.

"Get this, 72 degrees! Can you believe it?!" As someone who was born and raised in Hoenn, a region where temperatures can reach up to the high 90s during the late summer you weren't exactly impressed. "So change of plans! We're going to spend the day at Sandgem Beach so pack your things!"

You glanced at the digital clock on your bedside. It read 6:22AM. "Barry it's too early! Can't we go like at 10 or something?"

"No way! We have to go now otherwise it'll be full if we go any later!"

"When is Sandgem Beach ever full!? You can barely even call it a beach!" You turned away from your friend, wrapping yourself up in your blanket. You were not getting out of this bed.

"Come on (Y/N)!" Barry whined. "We haven't hung out in so long! I literally spent all night planning this week out and you're just going to turn me down?! If Lucas and Dawn were here they would've agreed in going!" You can hear the irritation in his voice but underneath it was a hint of dejection. Shortly after your journey with the trio came to an end things changed. Dawn moved to the Kalos region a year ago to continue her study on Pokemon and just a few months afterwards Lucas left to Unova for reasons unknown though you had a hunch that it had something to do with that officer Looker. Barry spend most of his days at Pastoria’s gym, training intensely with Crasher Wake. As for you your parents never supported your dreams of becoming a Pokemon Trainer and your battling skills were left to be desired so you dropped it to continue your studies and follow a more reasonable career.

Although you didn't look at him you can feel him gazing at you, presumably with a pout or with Lillipup eyes. You groaned in defeat. "Fine."

Barry barely let you finish your sentence as he responded, "Really? Awesome! Don't forget to bring your Pokemon along with you, alright? And don't show up late otherwise I'll fine you!" With that he jump out your window and let out a yelp. "Don't worry! I'm alright!"

You sighed, wondering how anyone could have so much energy so early in the morning as you practically dragged yourself out of bed to start the day.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Sandgem Town was quiet, the majority of the residents still asleep or just starting their day. You haven’t been in Sandgem in quite a while yet walking down the somewhat familiar road invoked a nostalgic feeling. You paused, looking at the houses on the street till you spot the familiar lab down the road. Professor Rowan’s lab. It almost felt like yesterday when you took your first step through Route 201 alongside your friends Lucas and Barry (although the latter practically raced his way there) to get here with your first Pokemon, Riolu. You couldn't help but smile at the memory before going on your way to Sandgem Beach. And, as you predicted, it was empty saved for Barry.

He stood at the edge of the boardwalk, his back facing you as he perform some stretching exercise. His team was already out of their Pokeballs, enjoying themselves. Infernape was meditating, Roserade, Snorlax, and Staraptor were sunbathing, Floatzel was swimming, and Heracross was attempting to bury itself in the sand, seeking warmth. Taking out three Pokeballs from your belt you released your team: Lucario, Lopunny, and Vaporeon. Your Pokemon looked around their surroundings before glancing up at you in surprise. When was the last time you actually brought them somewhere that wasn't home or your school’s campus? “Go on you guys. Have fun!” With that said your Pokemon went off to do their own thing.

Lucario sat beside Inferape, joining it in meditation and Lopunny bounded excitedly over to its long time crush, Roserade, the Bouquet Pokemon vastly annoyed that its peace was disrupted as it escaped from its crushing grip. Lastly, Vaporeon decided to take a swim, dipping into the ocean and blending itself into its surroundings, disappearing from sight.

The commotion between Lopunny and Roserade caught Barry's attention as he looked over to notice you. "Too slow!" He yelled running over to you. Not even giving you a chance to say something he grabs your arm and drags you over to the boardwalk. Once he lets go he begins to take off his shirt.

"Ready for what?" You asked.

“Barry!” You never saw your friend shirtless before so you couldn't help but feel flustered. Though he didn’t seem to care as he carried on anyways. As you assumed, Barry had a lean figure, what you didn't expect however was the amount of freckles he had. Although Barry had freckles dusting his cheeks and nose they were barely noticeable compared to the ones on his back and shoulders which were far more prominent. Realizing you were staring longer then normal you quickly turned away, trying to hide the awkward blush.

Luckily, Barry didn't notice. "Ready?"

"To swim!"

You look down at the blue water before dipping a bare foot in. It was ice cold. "It's freezing!" You exclaimed.

"It's not that bad!"

"Thanks but I pass" you said, waving a hand dismissively.

Barry pouted but it was soon replaced with a mischievous smile. "Alright then, suit yourself." He said, surprising you. Barry wasn't one to easily let things go without trying to convince you first. He's up to something, you know it. You were about to ask but he had already left your side as he jump right into the water, splashing you head to toe causing a sharp gasp to escape your lips from the sudden shock of being doused in icy water. Barry pop back up to the surface with a triumphant smirk, his bright eyes gleaming with playfulness.

"You suck!" You yelled causing him to laugh as he dived back underwater. Soaked to the bone there really was no point in staying out of the water in hopes of drying off soon, not with this cold breeze that made it impossible to warm up. You remove your hoodie and shorts revealing your (color) swimsuit before setting them down on the boardwalk and slipping into the water. Since you were already cold the frigid water didn't get to you, feeling more welcoming then before.

You looked around for your rival, trying to spot the blonde in the murky water but only saw his Floatzel which was lazily floating around. "Barry?” Something suddenly grabbed onto your ankle causing you to scream in surprise and flailing to get away, kicking away whatever touched you.

Barry appeared right beside you, clutching his left cheek. "Ow! Seriously?! You just kicked my face!"

"Well you shouldn't have grabbed me like that!" You said. He only stick his tongue out at you before swimming over to the boardwalk, crossing his arms and resting his head atop of it. You watched him as he stared up at the blue sky with a content expression, droplets of water clinging on to his hair as it shined in the morning light. Seeing him like this gave you the same flustered feeling from before. You couldn't quite wrap your head around as to why though. You’ve known him since kindergarten. So why all of a sudden you felt awkward around him?

"What’s up?" You didn’t even realize that he had stopped gazing up at the sky in favor of looking at you.

“What do you mean?” You said, turning elsewhere though it was in vain since he already caught you this time around.

“You were staring at me just now. It was pretty weird.” You try to think of something to say, mainly to defend yourself but to your relief he changed the subject. “So how’s school?”

You shrugged. “It’s alright. Senior year isn’t difficult compared to the other years since we’re more focused on applying for college.”

“Do you know where you want to go?” You noticed his words were a bit quiet and reserved unlike his usual chipper and noisy self.

“Well I was hoping to go to University of Unova since it’s known for having the best (career) course” you explained. “Though my parents aren’t too keen on me going that far so I might just stick to Goldenrod University.”

“I know that but...” He trailed off for a moment, thinking of what to say. “Can’t you just go to Canalave College instead?”

“Goldenrod!?” Barry’s sudden sharp tone made you flinch. “Why so far?” He was looking at you with a hurt expression that made you feel guilty despite the fact you didn’t do anything wrong. At least, you felt like you did nothing wrong.

“Well compared to Unova which is practically halfway across the world. Johto is just south of Sinnoh.”

“Barry, Canalave College doesn’t even have programs on what I’m going for.”

“Ugh, this is why I’ve always hated school” Barry grumbled, letting go of the boardwalk just to sink further into the water leaving just his eyes visible to you, glaring down at nothing in particular. He almost resembled that of a pouting child.

You didn’t understand why he was so upset about your plans or why he was trying to make you change your college decisions. Unless… “You don’t want me to leave?”

Barry barely let you finish your sentence as he quickly got up. “It’s not that!”

“Then what’s the problem?” You pressured.

At this point Barry wasn’t even looking at you, opting to just randomly glance around the area. “There is no problem! It’s just...” With a sigh he finally looked at you. Honey colored eyes stared at your (e/c) ones, his cheeks gaining a bright shade of pink. “I thought even though Lucas and Dawn left at least I still have you around.”

You couldn’t help but frown. You didn’t realize just how attached Barry was to you and the others until now. Naturally you felt bad but you certainly couldn’t change your plans for him either as much as it hurts you to see him like this. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think you would be this upset about it but it’s just how it is. Eventually we have to go our own way to live our lives. Right now you’re training with Crasher Wake to become one of the best Pokemon Trainer ever. At some point you’re going to leave Sinnoh to follow that dream, right?” He remained silent but nodded in response. “Just because we’re not going to be together like old times doesn’t mean we’re no longer friends. You’ll always be my best friend no matter what.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I guess I was being over dramatic.” You couldn’t help but smile when you saw his expression brighten. That was until he started giggling leaving you perplexed.

“Huh? What’s so funny?” You asked

“Sorry I just found the whole ‘you’ll always be my best friend’ bit kind of cheesy.”

“I was trying to cheer you up you douche!” You snapped unable to control your blush of embarrassment as Barry continued laughing. Seeking petty revenge you bought your fingers to your lips and let out a sharp whistle. Without warning your Vaporeon splashed out between you both before spouting water right in his face. He sputtered in surprise as he attempted to shield himself.

“So that’s how it’s going to be huh?” He challenged before calling for his Floatzel who immediately appeared by his side. Already getting the cue of what was going on the Pokemon retaliated by spraying sea water over you by spinning its propeller-like tails. Oh, it’s on now. Barry however was already a step ahead of you as he mounted onto his Pokemon’s back. “Good luck trying to catch me Slowpoke!” He taunted with a smirk before promptly swimming away from you. You knew Vaporeon was nowhere near as fast as Floatzel but you sure as hell weren’t going to let him get away so easily. You got on Vaporeon’s back and began swimming after the two, unable to contain the childlike excitement and determination you were getting from the chase.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

For the first time since you moved to the chilly region you truly felt the warmth of summer in Sinnoh. You and Barry sat on a bench right outside Sandgem Beach, not bothering to change out of your swimsuits as you ate popsicles and watch the afternoon go by. Residents glance at you both with odd looks since beachgoers rarely, if ever, visit their town but neither of you mind at all. After having that impromptu water fight you both decided to have a Pokemon battle, for old time sake. Of course you lost but you didn’t mind. Its been so long since you felt the fun and adrenaline that battles gave you that you completely forgot why you enjoyed them so much in the first place.

“Hey (Y/N)?” You looked at Barry who took a small bite from his orange creamsicle. “I know I said it was cheesy but is it true? I’ll always be your best friend no matter what?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t lie to you about that.” You had just finished your (flavor) popsicle, dumping the stick in the trash can beside you. He remained silent and although he said he was fine you notice still a hint of sadness in his expression as he stared off in the distance. Placing a hand on his shoulder you diverted his attention to you as you beamed at him. “It’s a promise.”

There was a sudden shimmer in his eyes and you wonder if he was tearing up when he quickly rub at them. “It better be otherwise I’ll fine you ten million PokeDollars if you replace me!” You couldn’t help but giggle, Barry joining in.

“So what’s the plan tomorrow?” You asked.

“Well I was thinking the Great Marsh maybe. If you’re fine with that.”

You nodded. “I bet I can catch more Pokemon then you.” You smirked when his smile faded into an annoyed expression.

“As if! I’m totally going to kick your ass!” He said swatting away your hand when you attempted to ruffle his hair just to irk him.

Needless to say, you were pretty glad he woke you up this morning.