#in their bed anyway. because otherwise they miss you too much. and then they explain that they want to put your platonic friendship over any

[unopenablebox]

unbearable eroticism of one’s girlfriend wearing jeans and a hoodie

[writingwisterias]

Okay so hear me out ( hello first, where are my manners )

but rly hear me out : Leon and the reader, the reader is pregnant, and the baby is born on September 30th. Like I can’t be the only one who thought about it ? Anyway, please don’t die I love your stories.

stay hydrated folks

Hello!

I actually love this, I could feel the angst and fluff. I will try not to die 🫡 I hope you enjoy and have a good day! And everyone that sees this is your reminder to drink water or anything please (Not proof Read I'm sorry it posted before I got the chance!)

I'm so sorry for how late this is please forgive me! I wanted to flesh it out a bit

Warnings: Fluff, Angst, Pregnancy, Child birth (Not graphic), PTSD, Establsihed Relationship

ID!Leon Kennedy x AFAB!Reader

The red circle on the calendar was just a constant reminder to him. Not only because of the impending arrival of his child. But also of that one fateful night -- the day that changed his life. He would spend the entire year trying to forget about it and think of anything other than this. It was the devil's work he swore in that doctor's office when the date was announced. He watched you freeze, a fake smile now replacing the real one you had when you entered the office. Leon hated that one date could still have so much effect on the two of you. 

You grasped his hand during the rest of the appointment, and you watched as he sunk into himself, his eyes turning hazy as he dissociated. Your fingers squeezing his desperately trying to get him to come back. You would never blame him, the horrors he had been through were enough to break a thousand men and he was still here. You had asked him years ago to explain everything to allow the secret he had kept so long to be heard by someone he trusted to help him heal. Since then the pregnancy had turned into a nine-month countdown to the date. The small kicks he felt every night fought desperately against the feeling, the reminder. The life you were carrying to involve him in a never-ending circle of happiness was already trying to heal their dad. Leon was too good of a man to let this affect the relationship with the child, besides due dates can be wrong all the time. Sometimes the baby will come later, he might be lucky.

You watched him become nervous as the countdown began as you were in the final weeks of the pregnancy. It became a routine for Leon to stare at the red circle every morning as he made breakfast and coffee. Only getting worse since the date was only a few days away at this point. The nursery was completely decorated with things you had both collected yourselves and had been given in the baby shower. All of the baby grows were washed and put away, a large stockpile of diapers in the changing table ready to be used up. You were both just waiting on the baby. 

“Good morning” You spoke softly as you entered the room. Your voice is now the only thing taking his attention away from the calendar. Leon smiled at you, his oversized shirt draped over your body. “Morning” He mumbled, hand instantly smoothing the fabric smiling at the little kicks that greeted him. It wasn’t unusual for him to be awake early, his military timer being one of the things that never left him. Despite your attempts to train it out of him in favour for a few more hours in bed. “What’s for breakfast today? It smells good” You hummed sweetly looking over at the hob. 

You tried to hide it, you really did but Leon didn’t miss the twinge of pain in your face. The small adjustment you gave yourself as pain washed over you. “Are you alright?” He asked ignoring your previous question entirely. His touch was gentle a simple reminder of his support. You nodded muttering a small ‘yes’ despite your features clenched together displaying otherwise. His hand moved gently on your lower back, the movements distracting you from the pain. You knew what the date was but you also knew what the pain meant. You just didn’t have the heart to tell him yet. After spending the whole night hoping that maybe it was just a Braxton hix and they would fade away eventually. However, the world wasn’t that kind. “Love, please don’t lie to me. Not when you are this close” 

“The date-”

“I know the date…I don’t care not right now. Tell me what’s happening” 

You turned to him, finally able to stand up straighter now the pain had subsided. Leon knew what you were getting at, he’d read all the books and leaflets the doctor recommended. All to be able to recognise the signs. Leon ensured that he was as prepared as he could be but now it was happening he froze. Panic rose in his system as you had yet another contraction in front of him. The timings were too close together, you had waited for hours as he slept. Hoping it won’t fall on this date. For his sake. 

“Do we need to leave?” He asked, his voice catching in his throat. You nodded a soft chuckle leaving your lips as you held onto him, fingers digging in his arm as you let the pain subside. To his credit he worked quickly, gathering the bag and items you had prepared and putting them into the car. He was careful as he led you towards the car. One eye on the road and the other on you, pride swelling in his chest at how well you were handling yourself. He thought he would be more lost today, that the date would distract him from being present with you. It did occasionally, every time someone would remind you both of the fact the baby was arriving on your due date he would go silent. Get lost in his mind again. Only to be brought back by a softer comment from you or your touch. The same way you would normally bring him back after spending years with him.  

When getting himself coffee or ice chips for you; he would make sure to avoid the ER, the screams triggering his flashbacks. You were proud of him, he never let it show. Despite the circumstances, you knew he would be the best partner you could get in this situation. 

You tried to hold back from making any sound but the more you needed to push the louder you got. He didn’t blame you, he could see that you were trying for his sake. The hospital was already proving to be challenging with all of the other mothers throughout the day going through the same process just a few rooms down. Leon could feel your attempts to be silent in the way you gripped his hand. You saw Leon wince at every moan and flinch at every scream you made. It didn’t help the baby was progressing slowly meaning the process was dragged out. It seemed like the entire day was attempting to make this harder for him. 

Yet despite everything he still helped you through it, complimenting your progress and how well you were doing. “You can do it, You are doing so good” He whispered in your hair, placing kisses not caring for the sweat that coated your skin. His kisses were cold and welcomed against your sweaty skin. You shook your head exhaustion lingering in the corner ready to take over. The final moments were the hardest for him. Leon tried so hard not to let it affect him but the room was suddenly too loud as it now filled with the baby’s cries, the nurses praising you as you also cried. The wails reminded him of all the distant ones he heard as he ran around the police station, of all the people he couldn’t save as he was trapped inside. Your deeper groans of pain sounded similar to Marvin’s as he spoke helping Leon out of the station. 

You felt his presence, but he wasn’t there, his eyes watching over you with that hazed look again. You wouldn’t hold it against him; it was enough that he was here physically. You knew he hated the hospital, the sounds of everyone injured and in pain. You’ve spent countless times trying to force him to get his sickness checked out by doctors instead of googling the symptoms. However, you knew that once the noise reduced, he would come back, and he would enjoy the moment. 

Guilt washed over him as he held the baby the small bundle watching him with curious eyes. You were asleep, having some well-deserved rest. The machines beeped around him, the noise of the hospital fading as he looked back into those blue eyes. They were so small in his arms, their head cradled perfectly in the palm of his hand. This is what he endured and fought for that night, the chance to have a life at the end of it. To have happiness and love surround him in even the smallest ways. Leon didn’t know he was going to be tracked down and blacked mailed by the government for just surviving the events of Raccoon City. Neither did he know that he was going to have to sign his life away putting what he assumed as pure luck into training. He had just watched you champion this for 9 months, endure days of morning sickness, all of the growing pains without a complaint. Looking forward to the future when you can finally hold the baby. He supposed in his own long-winded way he did the same. 

All the nightmares suddenly didn’t matter anymore, not when a positive thing overtook them. Soon to be interrupted by softer cries in the night. The small bundle he held in his arms wasn’t just a new birthday to celebrate for them but for him as well. For the new Leon that wouldn’t let that one night dictate the rest of his life, haunt him forever. It was his chance at a rebirth, at a new beginning. Not only as a husband and father but just as himself. 

[maleyanderecafe]

Tom (Visual Novel)

Created by: LayRain479

Genre: Horror

Tom is kind of interesting albeit confusing in certain places because of the aspect of the twin that's present. It's something that took me a bit to understand fully since it doesn't go too much into it and there's not really anyway (that I'm aware of) that you're able to differentiate them. That being said, this is a full game with 10 endings which is a nice thing to have.

The story starts out with the MC waking up in their apartment, and deciding to eat breakfast. She ends up going to the bus to get through her school day and realizes that she has work the next day. She gets really tired and frustrated as the day goes on before going back home. As she walks back home, she notices that someone is following her and can either continue walking or try to redirect them by walking into a circle. Both of these lead to meeting someone at her home, but redirecting them gives more options of interacting with the person following her.

If she does decide to walk around, she does confirm that she is being followed and eventually confronts him. If she asks who he is, he will compliment her, telling her she's pretty before introducing herself as James. She ends up finally returning home, either running before she learns his name or after and finds another man at her home. This man looks exactly like James, but it seems like he's actually a twin named Tom. The MC can either kick Tom out immediately or first give him a pen that he requests. Despite being creeped out, the MC eventually goes to sleep.

The next day, the MC goes to work at the convenience store with her coworker John. John seems worried about the MC, seeing as she looks very tired and out of it. The MC can either tell John or refuse to. As she's working, Tom will come into the store to greet the MC, buying something that the MC likes. If the MC does not tell John about the break in, Tom will offer the item to the MC as a gift, otherwise, John will turn him away.

While going home, Tom stops her again, asking if she will go out with him. Depending on your interactions with him, you can either respond only yes or no before you move away from Tom. While walking back, she ends up in a long alleyway where she finds a dead body. Upon closer inspection, you find that this body is actually James (or if you didn't get their names, the stalker), only to run into Tom as she tries to run back. The MC wakes up at home the next day, completely out of it, realizing that she actually has no idea how she got home. She ends up shaking it off and going to work however. There she gets a text that tells us that John is busy today and that the MC will be working alone (though we know he's probably dead). Here, Tom will come over and offer to hang out with us as there's not really any customers, leaving the MC to comply. He will eventually ask if the MC misses John, which you can answer yes or no, being more pleased if the MC states that he doesn't miss him. He will eventually bring the MC home, and eventually reveal what he's done: getting rid of James, breaking into her house, stalking the MC and of course killing his own brother after seeing that he too was stalking the MC. Eventually he also reveals that he did indeed drug the MC, causing her to panic about it, which leads to Tom drugging the MC (again). Upon waking up, she finds that she's been tied to the bed as Tom talks to her. Tom explains that he's made sure she can't escape, locking and sealing all entrances and exits in an attempt to keep her there. The MC stays there for an unknown amount of time before freeing themselves and exploring the place. After a thorough look around it seems that there's no way for her to escape. Tom catches her right away and as punishment, locks her in the basement until she apologizes. Afterwards, she plays nice until she can find another opportunity to escape.

If the MC attempts to escape, they'll find themselves in the woods, running and stumbling about. Depending on how good the relationship with Tom, the MC can either survive and be taken back by Tom, or survive and pass out, leading to Tom chopping off her leg.

If they decide to look into Tom's room, she finds that his room is exactly the same as their room. While searching, they can decide whether they should give up and accept her life here or continue looking for the password.

Giving up will lead to the MC accepting her life here, much to Tom's happiness. She stays with Tom and lives in the house from then on. She might also find a picture of Tom and James in his room, that Tom comments on upon going to check in on her. After a while, the MC feels really useless and finds a knife, and can choose to harm herself. The MC cuts and stabs herself into her arm until she passes out on the floor. As she bleeds out, she sees Tom who panics and then decides to die next to her, stabbing himself in the chest. If she decides not to, she can decide to either try to kill Tom or not. If she decides to kill Tom, she is able to convince Tom she's fine until she stabs and kills him. She can then decide to either call the police, get rid of the evidence or run away.

Calling the police leads to the MC being able to succeed in convincing the police it was self defense, allowing her to leave and live her life again. If she decides to get rid of the evidence, she'll end up burning the house down and getting a taxi to leave the place. When she gets home she can either feel great regret for what she did or realized she actually enjoyed killing him. Finally running away will lead to the MC running out into the woods, falling and dying alone in her demise.

Trying to find it will lead to the player not being able to find it and Tom watching them for the rest of time.

Like I said before, I think the most interesting part of this game is the fact that Tom and James are actually twins and that Tom kills James in the middle of the route. When I first played through, I was kind of confused given that I never was able to introduce myself to either of them, leading me (and the MC) to believe that they were the exact same person, at least until we saw Jame's body. Truth be told though, I could not tell the difference between the two twins at all. It would be one thing if the designs were simply the same, but the personalities are extremely similar as well. I think the only real difference is that James is a lot more lighter and a bit more shy while Tom is a bit more direct, but that's just an educated guess from me. I really do wish there was more interactions with them separately so that the MC could come to the realization (especially if the MC didn't know his name) or have ways to show various differences between the twins. I think it would be fun to have twins that have more distinct personalities, so that even if you didn't know their names, you could guess that the two are different people, and the strange death at the end would make more sense instead of just not realizing that the two were twins. It could go the opposite direction where the twins act similar but have subtle differences so that you can tell the difference between them (though maybe they did do that in the game and I just didn't notice it). Might be nice to influence which twin lives based on what you do, since then you could have two yanderes that fight for you and could have had different outcomes. Still, I do think that the ultimate endings we did get were pretty fun, I always like endings where the MC is able to kill the yandere and actually does enjoy it, so that's something that's always fun to see.

Tom and James are the two yanderes in this one. Both of them do about the same thing initially, stalking the MC, breaking into their house, stealing things and giving gifts. At some point though, Tom ends up killing James out of jealousy, as well as John, the person that the MC has been working with. Of course he does the standard thing of kidnapping, there's the leg removal ending and the murder suicide ending. Given the general tone of the game, I actually thought that James would be a lot more selfish in terms of yanderes, not really caring about the MC's desires, but he does seem to feel hurt when the MC gets hurt, though he does resort to more drastic measures like kidnapping when need be.

I'm not sure if this is my computer or not since I haven't had this issue with other renpy games, but for some reason the audio would sometimes completely stop and refuse to play until reopened the game. I'm not sure what caused that but I guess that was something to note.

In any case, it's a fun little game with a twin aspect. Although I do wish that the twin aspect was expanded on, I do like what they have in terms of endings and concepts.

[narcissistcookbook]

about thirteen or fourteen years ago @inkylizard told me about this show Sleep No More (description beneath the cut) they'd seen in an early run in Boston, and i had such bittersweet feelings listening to them talk about it because 1) it was absolutely my kind of thing, and 2) it was basically impossible to see it because it was so far away (i'm Scotland-based)

and since then i probably thought about the show more than most people who have seen it. i ended up working some of what kit described to me into my own music and shows, in a very vague sense

anyway, fast forward over a decade and i'm in NYC for ten days prior to tour and kit tells me that Sleep No More is still on, and it's about to close forever so this is my first and last chance to see it

so anyway

i finally saw it and it was amazing. for once hype wasn't the joy killer. it was inspiring and empowering and it's made me want to explore some of the more outlandish ideas that have been tickling my brain in terms of music writing/performance

i almost went again today, but low energy mixed with a fear of not wanting to dilute the magic by returning to the source convinced me otherwise. i think it means more to me to wait over a decade to see it, and then never be able to see it again.

Brief description of Sleep No More if you haven't seen it and aren't aware of it, told from the perspective of someone who had it described to them once and then saw it once 13 years later and has done no reading or research beyond that. Apologies if I describe it in a way that makes you squirm and go "nooo you aren't explaining it right" 💜

Sleep No More is an adaptation of Macbeth told mostly through the medium of Dance and Vibes. It takes place across the breadth and depth of an entire five floor building called the McKittrick Hotel, which is a dreamlike network of TV/movie-quality sets (a ballroom, a hotel, a city apartment, hell, a street of open shops, a mental hospital, a forest, witches' dens, a huge room full clocks connected to a tiny prayer vestibule, there's too many to mention) and masked audience members are encouraged to wander freely and explore the entirety of the building in any way they like

all the sets are fully explorable and designed to be examined in close detail. if you dig around you'll find letters, medical records, diaries, a fully stocked and unguarded sweet shop, hidden dressing rooms, discarded props, again much more than I could list off here. rooms have backrooms which have other backrooms. secret passageways connect parts of the building/story to other parts.

and through all this the cast are whirling and screeching and sprinting from place to another with little regard for who is or isn't following their storyline. at one point I was one of only two people watching an actor sew up a disembowled teddybear in a child's bedroom - and in the mirror, the same bedroom was reflected covered in blood. at another I was the only person watching a nurse tuck a man made of rocks into a hospital bed. at another, I turned a corner and one of the witches (with about twenty people in tow struggling to keep up) barrelled into me on their way to a scene elsewhere (he stopped and gave me a boop on the nose). another time, i walked into what I thought was an empty interrogation room only to realise after *far too long* that one of the characters was hiding in there with me

and on top of all this, each character has a scene they will only perform to one other audience member chosen by them

the magic for me is that not only can you not see the whole show in a single visit, but that it's basically impossible for anyone to see the whole show period no matter how hard they try. someone i know has seen it seven times and i've seen parts of it that they didn't even know about. it creates a sense of longing for what you'll never see, a sense of loss for the parts you missed, and a deep sense of personal connection with what you were lucky enough to see

what a banger

[emsprovisions]

❄️ Day 9 - Catan and Christmas ❄️

🎁 Today's fic is dedicated to @guardian-angle22

Summary: Carlos saves Christmas at the firehouse.

Word count: 722

Prompt inspired by "20. playing board games" found here

24 Days of Tarlos Masterpost

TK couldn’t get out of working Christmas Day this year. It used to not matter to him. He used to accept every Christmas Day shift if he wasn’t already working because it never really mattered to him if he missed. It’s not like his father did much to make the day special, having always picked up Christmas shifts himself once he had divorced TK’s mom.

But now, TK has Carlos. He loves Christmasses with his husband. The big Reyes family celebration is always on Christmas Eve–Nochebuena–at the Reyes Ranch, and they’d gotten home late last night as it was, only for TK to turn around and come into work a few short hours later. Christmas Day is always a lazy affair with Carlos. When neither of them has to work, they sleep in, then stay in bed even longer. When they finally get up, they make breakfast together and exchange presents and enjoy the early part of their day with coffee they make last before showering and preparing dinner for their parents, or otherwise getting ready to go to one of their parents’ houses for dinner. 

However, since TK has to work this Christmas, Carlos has taken it upon himself to show up at the firehouse with beef tenderloin and board games. 

“Babe!” TK’s entire face lights up when Carlos walks through the bay doors, his arms laden with grocery bags of stuff. “I thought you were going to go to your mom’s since Ana’s still in town?”

Carlos just quirks a brow. “And spend Christmas without my husband? Are you joking?”

TK just shakes his head, starry eyed as he helps lighten Carlos’s load, helping him carry it all into the kitchen. 

Most of the crew is already in there, prepping sides in-between calls for their own feast. There’s a bag of chicken breasts marinating in the fridge in garlic, lemon, and thyme, and Mateo is making mashed potatoes while Nancy is leaning against the counter at his side. Marjan is working on a shaved brussel sprout salad, Paul is on roasted veggies, and Judd is warming bread rolls. 

“Hey, Carlos!” Nancy calls out as she glances up from her phone, being the first to notice him. “Did you bring presents?”

“I brought beef tenderloin and Catan,” Carlos grins. 

The members of the 126 cheer anyways, except for Judd, who just shakes his head. “Y’all and your Catan, you can count me outta that game.”

“You know, probie,” Marjan grins mischievously as she turns her eyes on Judd, “I think it’d be a Christmas wish come true if you played Catan with us just once.”

Judd just heavily sighs. “And you’re gonna get the captains in on this too, I s’pose?”

“Oh, absolutely,” TK grins. “It’ll finally be a true 126 hang!”

“Plus me,” Carlos adds.

“You’re an honorary member, babe,” TK winks. “You married into the firehouse fam.”

A couple of hours and a few short calls later, as much of the 126 as possible is seated around the long dining table while TK is setting up Catan plus a few expansion packs. The usual crew is attempting to explain the game to Judd and Tommy–Owen declined on account of paperwork. 

They end up with a Frankenstein game of Catan with all the extra pieces from multiple expansion packs. Paul isn’t even sure the game is playable like this, but Marjan and Mateo wave his concerns off. 

“This’ll be fine,” Marjan says, waving her hands in the air. 

It’s a really fucked up game of Catan, but everyone’s laughing and having fun, and it feels a lot better than any Christmas TK’s ever been stuck at the firehouse for, even his previous ones in Austin have never felt quite this joyous. TK’s pretty sure it has something to do with the man biting his lip and grinning beside him, a gold wedding ring on his hand signifying he belongs to someone—TK, specifically—as he attempts to get wool from Nancy for their settlement. 

Between rounds, when Carlos gets up for a drink refill, TK follows him to the fridge and hugs his husband tightly. 

“Thank you for doing this, baby,” TK murmurs into Carlos’s ear.

“I wouldn’t dream of missing spending Christmas with you, TK,” Carlos kisses TK’s cheek. “Let’s get back over there?”

TK nods. “Merry Christmas, baby.”

“Merry Christmas.”

[primoppang]

hi. hi. here to request. a little seungmin fluff where we are kind of lonely and sad and he reminds us that he’s always there : )

HI HONEY TY FOR BEING MY FIRST EVER REQUEST <3333 ily and seungie so I got u bby ◡̈ mwah ur the best ( ˘ ³˘)♡

warning: swearing is inevitable with me sorry ¯\_(˶′◡‵˶)_/¯, fluff, like gross amounts of it, seungmin says "this is so gay but..." because he cringes at showing affection but refuses to let you forget how he feels about you fr, he's a tsundere ok? ok. he licks your face(?) , one (1) kiss, he joking threatens to fight you, and mentions of self doubt and anxiety, angst if you blink but I think it's mostly fluffy... anyways! lmk if I missed anything!!!

WC: a little under 500 :D

AN: this is the first drabble I've ever done in bullet point format so just pls lmk how it goes??? Im super nervous I hope it's at least an easy read :(

so the first time he realizes that you're feeling lonely he slaps himself internally because how DARE he make you feel that way, but he's not home rn and can't show you physically so he comes up with a Plan™️

you're literally the light of his life

so he just >:(

but not at u

he just wants to make you feel happy and loved and safe

so he starts brainstorming

but he's naturally a menace

so when you're texting with him while he's working and you're being kinda short

because yk

u just feel :(

he just sighs and texts back

"look, please don't feel sad. I know this is pretty fucking gay but I love you."

which makes u giggle

because that's YOUR seungie that YOU know and love so much

<3

BUT whenever he's able to be physically with you and he can just feel your self doubt and anxiety creeping in and trying to swallow you, he once again uses his braincell.

so he just grabs ur hand

and leads u out of ur bed and to the living room

sits u down

and starts running around ur shared apartment grabbing every blanket and pillow that exists within the space

and I mean

E V E R Y. S I N G L E. O N E.

puppy zoomies moment hehe

and don't even think about trying to question him

he'll just say "shut up and wait while I set up a big ass fort for us to cuddle in, ok?? I love you but I wanna make u SEE THAT."

which u smile at

because him telling u to shut up

but then explaining why

and then also watching him move furniture and start building the fort, you tear up with happy tears

because???

:(

he's the sweetest and u love him so much

but when he hears u sniffle

he turns on Extra Puppy Mode™️

pops out from under some blankets and tackles you into the couch and holds your face

wiping ur tears

maybe even licked one because he's a freak and wanted to get a reaction

which u just squealed at bc wtf sir

but then he realizes

oh ur crying because ur so touched by this whole thing that he's doing

!!!

"... you dummy. stop crying... we gotta get snacks and stuff for our super awesome fort yk??? and you won't be able to see if you're cryi—"

you cut him off by giving him a little kiss on his pouty lips

as a silent thank you :(

which he realizes that oops maybe he got too serious and overwhelming

but you reassured him that you're just so glad to have him as your partner and best friend in one :(

"please just remember that I do love you, and I'm always here even if that brain of yours tells you otherwise, ok? or I'll have to fight you... affectionately."

and then he proceeds to smother you in kisses and cuddles :(

[tealclover]

This Way Out

So, Tails slipped up. Not only did he manage to get himself snagged, but he dragged Belle into this with him. To make matters worse, Starline was unbearably smug about the whole thing. Yeah, yeah, he got the Sonic the Hedgehog’s sidekick. Whoop-de-friggin-doo.

Just when Tails was starting to prove himself again. Ugh. How embarrassing. 

Well, enough of that. He promised Sonic he’d be fine, and he intended to keep his word. All he had to do was find a way to get Belle and himself out safely. … But who exactly were those two Mobians hanging around the facility?

(Alternate ending to Sonic IDW Issue #36, featuring a snarky fox. Some mild angst.)

Even before fully regaining consciousness, Tails knew he was in for a headache. And not just literally, though the pulsing in his temple was certainly noteworthy.

For starters, before even opening his eyes, he was lying stiffly on his back of all places. Tails never slept on his back if he could help it – his namesakes made resting much more reasonable on his side or belly. Sleeping on his tails was both uncomfortable and impractical. Impractical because it left his belly and other more vulnerable parts exposed. Uncomfortable due to the cold and the fact that his namesakes trapped underneath him, occasionally numb from lack of bloodflow. Which they were. But so were his arms and his legs, and, oh, he couldn’t move at all actually. 

It was probably too much to hope that that beeping indicated that he’d spent the last fifteen hours on a stone-hard hospital bed, seeing how his last waking recollection involved him and Belle separating, tons of snow, and…

Starline. Who wanted to kidnap him. For supposedly scientific purposes.

Ugh.

With no small amount of trepidation, the fox bleerily opened his eyes. He was immediately rewarded for his efforts with too much light why couldn’t he live like the nocturnal creatures foxes were meant to be and a sinister chuckle that grated on his nerves.

“Ah, Young Master Prower. I see you are awake.”

Yup. And he wished he wasn’t.

“Starline.” Oof. Voice crack. That wasn’t doing his credibility any favors. How long had he been out? He coughed, trying to get his voice back before roughly continuing: “I hope you’ve got a five star meal on the way; otherwise I’m going to have to give this stay a poor review. Don’t tell me this is a hospital bed,” he grimaced at the surface he was strapped to, arms, tails, and all. He was trapped for the time being, but appeared to be intact, at least. If the bindings were ignored, he could have passed for a patient – the presence of the finger pulse oximeter amongst other diagnostic tools were certainly intriguing, if not concerning. Were those vials of blood his? “Or do. Cause I’m not sure there’s much I can do for you if you think it’s acceptable to let your guests sleep on tables.”

The platypus stared at him for a few seconds, like he hadn’t expected the witty response. It was actually kind of funny to watch him visibly reboot and reassess the fox. Finally, he sighed. “I suppose you were raised by Sonic. It makes sense that you would share his poor taste in humor.”

“It clearly beats your taste in decor,” Tails sniped back. Starline hummed at that.

“Public perception of you paints you to be a polite boy genius. It seems that isn’t entirely true.”

Tails shrugged. Or tried to, anyway. “The general population wouldn’t consider strapping me to an examination table. Care to explain that, by the way?”

Starline smiled a sweet-sick smile. “Oh, you’re curious, are you? To be quite frank, I want to see if you can find out. Why don’t you and Miss Belle take a moment to catch up?”

Tails froze. “Belle?”

“I'm here, Tails…” the voice came from his left. He peered over as far as he could to see the robotic marionette on a second table a short distance away. She wouldn’t meet his eyes, but from what he could see of her… she looked distraught. Not fearful, necessarily, but despairing, which was somehow even more worrisome. 

“Belle, are you okay?” He asked gently. She sniffled, ducking her head into her chest as best as she could. Were those… tear tracks on her cheeks? She could cry? Why was she crying? He took a second to shoot a gleeful Starline a sharp glare before refocusing on his newest companion. “Belle, are you hurt?” 

“... No,” she whispered.

Tails didn’t know if he believed that, but he didn’t know how to press the issue with the correct amount of sensitivity, especially with Starline hovering over them. What a creep. Couldn’t he leave? “Okay… okay. It’s going to be alright, I promise.” He waited for Belle’s tiny nod before continuing. “How long have you been active?”

“About… twenty minutes. I’ve been offline s-since the avalanche. I… I’m sorry, Tails. You came back for me and now-”

“I’m not worried about that, Belle,” he told her, firmly but not unkindly. “We’ll figure it out. Can you tell me what you remember?”

“I…” She made a strangled sound, but forced herself to continue. “My d-d… my creator was Mr. Tinker.” Tails gut sank. He wasn’t surprised, not with their matching attire, but it was still a sad confirmation to hear. “That… that jerk figured it out. He, he told me-” she hiccuped again. “It’s his fault Mr. Tinker is gone. He changed him into Eggman.”

“... I’m sorry, Belle.” What could he say to that? This wasn’t something he could fix with a wrench and a bit of mechanical know-how. Belle was a robot, but her feelings were hardly artificial. After Emerl, Gamma, and their successors, Tails was very well aware of that. She was just as much of a person as anyone organic; something that was clear to him from the moment they met. He couldn’t just reprogram her to feel better. Or, well, maybe he could, but that wouldn’t be right. To do so would likely be robbing her memories and cheapening her experiences, changing who she was in the process. It wouldn’t truly fix anything; frankly, it would likely lead to an identity crisis later on.

And so, all he had to offer her was kindness, and time to recover once they escaped.

“I… don’t know how to help with Mr. Tinker, but my friends and I would be happy to have you, if you want. I have space for you back at my workshop, and the Restoration accepts anyone who wants to to have a part of it. If you want a home, we’ll give you one. We can try to figure out the rest in time.”

Belle was quiet. Finally, she tearfully confessed, “That would be nice.”

He offered her a smile even though she still wasn’t looking. “I’m glad you think so. We’ll do our best to make it worth your while.” He hesitantly continued. “Did Starline do anything else?”

She shook her head. “He just… listened to me talk a-about Dad. About home, Windmill Village, and how the villagers kicked me out after the Metal Virus cleared up. I got so mad, but it didn’t matter. He didn’t care. He doesn’t care at all about what he did. He only wanted the code.”

“Code…?” At that, Tails shot another glance in their captor’s direction, though the platypus had since turned his attention to the monitor at Tails’ side, turned so that the fox couldn’t read any of the details. Were Belle’s readings stashed away in that device? … No. At least, it wasn’t just her information. Starline was gathering his vitals as well. But why? From the sounds of things, he was trying to get a reaction out of Belle earlier, and now, he was… testing Tails? Did he truly want him to uncover the motivations behind their kidnappings or was he simply fishing for another set of reactions from a different subject? He wouldn’t put it past Starline to have something of a sadistic streak – most villains lately did – but not one without purpose. If that was all he did, there had to have been some sort of incentive, something to be gained…

Why him? Why Belle? Her thoughts and feelings, and his-

Was he trying to record them both?

Was Starline in his head right now? 

A delighted laugh at his side told him that yes, he probably was.

“Positively remarkable, young Master Prower! You are truly one of a kind.” The platypus’ hands clapped together. “It is no wonder Sonic has prevailed for so long! He is powerful on his own, but you, you can keep pace with him, you adapt to his spontaneity and can plan in the heat of the moment so that he is successful in his every endeavor, no matter how foolish or impossible.  It is little wonder that the two of you alone keep Doctor Eggman on his toes, despite his armies, his keen intellect, and his prowess…” He stood to approach Tails again, looking down upon him with glee. “You truly are the greatest of combinations.”

That would have been a heart-warming compliment, had it not come from the mouth of a madman. As it stood, the fox had to resist the urge to squirm under that predatory gaze. He would not give Belle another reason to be afraid. 

“And, in spite of knowing all of that,” Tails mildly remarked, “you brought me straight to your base.”

Starline was likely to overestimate himself. In his eyes, he had a useful enemy at his mercy. He was less likely to seriously consider the fact that, in the process, he had invited that very foe into his base, to say nothing of the others that would come knocking down his door later.

… Let him read those thoughts.

“Is that a threat?” The doctor mockingly inquired, unfazed and clearly quite confident. “You hardly have the advantage, fox.”

“I've gotten out of stickier situations.” This wasn't even the first time somebody thought to make a labrat of him, his first encounter with the Deadly Six coming to mind. … Hopefully, this wasn't going to become a trend. 

“Perhaps, but I've taken precautions. Escape won't come easily for you.” The villain adjusted his glove with a self-assured smirk. “You are now quite the valuable asset to my plans.”

“Which are…?” Tails pressed, earning him a condescending pat on the head that made his skin crawl.

“All in due time, little specimen. As it stands, I've already shared too much with you, and I really must get back to work. You have such fascinating insights; it’s a pity we won’t be discussing this further, seeing how you will have no recollection of this conversation,” he coolly lamented, hand shifting from his bangs to his eyes.

“Now, it is time for you to go back to sleep.”

So... yup! Here's a glimpse of a brainworm I've had for a little while regarding Issue #36. It's a little rough and is absolutely a WIP (the end is particularly prone to change), but I felt like sharing a bit of it! Hope whoever finds it likes it! :)

[still-breathing-au-p3r]

It’s really nothing new to have a flood of texts and emails spamming his phone after class. The fact that it’s nothing new these days is very new. It’s such a wild change from how things were before he came to Iwatodai that sometimes it’s overwhelming. Minato actually kind of enjoys it despite that– or maybe a little bit because of it– even if he does leave most of them on read.

He’s never had so many friends before. If he’s completely, brutally honest with himself about it, he’s really never had any friends before. None that really counted, anyway. None that had stuck around after one too many conversations where he said too little, or worse– said something they didn’t want to hear.

Now he has a whole compendium of people who know exactly what he’s like and still not only tolerate his company, but actively seek it– and all of them want to hang out at the same time. So now it’s the opposite problem, maybe?

Most of them understand and don’t take offense. Sometimes Tomochika and Miyamoto are a little pushy– or very pushy in Miyamoto’s case– but otherwise it’s fine. It’s a much nicer problem to have, all things considered. It’s been what’s kept his head above water for the past two weeks.

Minato scrolls through his phone, reading through today’s invitations. The track team does have practice today, and lo and behold, there’s Miyamoto’s trademark capslock enthusiasm right at the top of his inbox– but that’s not what grabs his attention. Just below Miyamoto’s is a message from someone he definitely wasn’t expecting.

It’s Aragaki. The subject line reads “Need a favor”. 

Minato can count on one hand the number of times Aragaki has messaged him personally, so it must be important. But then why not say something about it when everyone had visited yesterday? He opens the email, curiosity climbing.

Sorry to ask, but I need you to grab something from my desk and bring it to me. You’ll know it when you see it. Door should be unlocked. 

Straight and to the point, just like always. He can practically hear how Aragaki would say it, the exact matter-of-fact tone he’d use.

He’s got no proof, but Minato has an inkling as to what Aragaki is referring to. Or at least, he knows what he hopes that Aragaki means. If his hunch is right, then it explains perfectly why he’s asking Minato for this favor instead of Sanada or Mitsuru, and why he wouldn’t have wanted to bring it up in front of everyone else.

He’ll be missing track practice today, it seems. Minato can’t turn down this request for anything. He hopes Miyamoto and Yuko will understand. 

–

He finds exactly what he’d been hoping to find in Aragaki’s desk drawer. 

He can’t help the soft smile that tugs at the corners of his mouth at the sight of  the familiar envelope. On the paperwork inside, the date and reason are blank, but…

The signature is unmistakable. That’s Aragaki’s handwriting. 

His smile falters. A part of him wonders if this is just some kind of mind game. Maybe Aragaki just intends to tear the form up, and he knows Minato is the only one who would blithely bring it right to him. He doesn’t want to think that Aragaki is that cruel, but…

Well. Okay. Minato knows he isn’t. While that’s certainly the sort of sick prank that the world might play on him, it’s not something Aragaki would ever do. He’s kind of surprised that such a vehemently bitter idea even crossed his mind.

So maybe he is still… a little miffed… that Aragaki so blatantly lied to him. And went off to die without a word. And catapulted him into the nightmare memory of another hospital bed, another figure being consumed by wires and machinery. That last one isn’t really Aragaki’s fault, but Minato still can’t help being upset. 

It really is the lie that bothers him the most, though. It’s a little unnerving, how much it’s getting under his skin, when normally Minato wouldn’t be this upset, or even upset at all, about being lied to. Minato hadn’t felt this way when Yukari confronted Mitsuru about all the secrets she was keeping. He hadn’t cared what Mitsuru had been hiding. Honesty just never has been a sore point with him. So…why does this feel so different?

The only way he’s going to get any real answers or closure is to see this favor through to the finish. Minato pockets the envelope and makes his way back to the hospital. 

The smell of antiseptic hits him like a truck as soon as he crosses the threshold into the lobby. How does Junpei stand spending so much of his time here? Or Sanada, for that matter, who had come here every day since Aragaki was admitted. It makes him want to sprint right back out into the open air just thinking about doing the same. 

He arrives at Aragaki’s door. He seems to have skipped a few steps– he’s gone straight from the entryway to the patient wing without a single recollection of speaking to the receptionist or walking through the halls. Aragaki is awake in there, Minato sternly reminds himself. It’s his friend on the other side of that door, not an empty shell that used to be him. 

He knocks, and obeys when he’s bid to come inside. Aragaki regards him quietly for a few seconds. There aren’t any other visitors right now; Sanada must still be in practice.

Minato nods and produces the envelope from his pocket. Aragaki nods as he takes it, but his expression is subdued and unreadable.

He tucks it away into the drawer on the small side table to his left. He looks back at Minato and frowns.

Minato doesn’t respond. Aragaki blinks, surprise softening his features for half a second before the scowl settles back into place.

Minato doesn’t feel his face doing anything in particular. He wonders vaguely what Aragaki sees in his expression, but decides it’s better not to ask. Time to move on.

Minato must be making another face, because Aragaki rolls his eyes.

He’s got permission to leave if he so chooses. That’s clearly what Aragaki expects, but leaving things like this on such a sour note doesn’t sit well with Minato at all. 

Neither of them are good at talking, but there’s quite a bit Minato knows needs to be said. As leader, it really is his job, and… it’s his job as a friend, too.

Aragaki must take his silence the wrong way again and scowls at him.

Part of Minato does really want to tear into him, craves the catharsis of it. Aragaki even seems to want him to as well, as if to prove some kind of point to himself. But Minato doesn’t think there’s anything he could say that Sanada wouldn’t have already. 

Besides, being angry is exhausting. Minato’s already tired enough.

He settles himself in one of the chairs at Aragaki’s bedside and folds his hands in his lap.

“I…want to apologize,” he says.

“Huh?” Aragaki looks surprised again. Minato wonders if having his emotions put on shuffle like that is as draining for Aragaki as it would be for him.

“Everyone else visited you at least once before you woke up, but… I didn’t. I was too scared. I didn’t want to see you like that, Senpai.”

Aragaki just blinks at him, as though Minato’s apology is so far from what he’d been expecting that he’s stuck in a frozen state as he tries to process it. Minato wonders if this is what people mean when they tell him that his long silences and stares make them uncomfortable. 

“You…” Aragaki shakes his head, exasperated.

Minato pushes forward. “So… I’m sorry. For being such a coward.” 

“Cut that out, seriously. You don’t need to– I wasn’t even awake. S’not like I would’ve known if you were here or not.”

“Still.”

“The hell d’you mean, ‘still’? Just forget about it. It’s fine.” Aragaki sighs hugely, and his voice softens when he speaks again. “I mean that. It’s fine.”

“It’s really not though. Not to me. I don’t want you to think I don’t care.”

“You’re really sayin’ that like it ain’t your catchphrase?” Aragaki scoffs. 

“Got me there,” Minato says with another ghost of a smile. Now that he’s on the other end of it, Minato suddenly has a better appreciation of what Aragaki said to him a month ago at Hagakure. It really is refreshing to have someone say something to you straight instead of beating around the bush. “But I’d like to visit now, if that’s okay.”

“...Look, that’s real sweet and everything, but I ain’t really in a chattin’ mood right now.”

“That’s fine,” Minato replies. “Neither am I. I pretty much never am.” He digs into his bag and pulls out a book, opening it across his knees. He runs his thumb over the edge of the pages, worn to moth-wing softness by age. “But I’ll still be here.”

Aragaki doesn’t answer, so Minato shifts his attention fully to his book. He only gets through about a page and a half before Aragaki’s grumbling voice cuts into the silence again. “...Anyone ever tell you you’re a goddamn weirdo?”

“Junpei says that a lot, actually.”

“Hmph. Well don’t tell Junpei I agree with him on that,” Aragaki says, his mouth twisting wryly to one side. “It’ll go to his head.” 

“You got it, Senpai.” 

Aragaki makes a sound that might be a scoff, but might also be a suppressed laugh, and just like that the tension in the air dissipates. The next couple of hours pass mostly in silence, but pleasantly. Minato doles out books to Aragaki, and to Fuuka and Sanada when they arrive. They have occasional fragments of conversation amongst themselves, particularly after Mitsuru arrives near the end of visiting hours.

It feels comfortable, normal. The smell of old paper and bookbinding glue overpowers that of medicinal sterility. Minato even manages to forget, for just a moment, that they’re in a hospital at all.

[str4ngr]

Im so obsessed w kunigami rn plz

Hi! May I request for maybe a drabble? 🥺

If nsfw is allowed: wild card!kunigami being moody and you take care of him anyway while he’s being slightly insecure 😝😝

If pg: reader being sweet to wild card!kunigami even though he’s spouting out whatever bull$h!t 🤣🤣

Thank you!

kunigami's my fav too

TY FOR THE REQUEST ANONN ☺

sorry this took so long omfg exam season be killa

this kinda gonna be like a continuous thing, so like sfw but then nsfw?? idkidk but ill put a line for when it goes nsfw also like idk how well i characterized wildcard

cw: suggestive, gn reader

Kunigami’s heart hurt, how could it not? He was just barely qualified to continue in Blue Lock, through something like a Wildcard! It wasn’t even his own effort that led him there, but being a place behind last. And how could he explain that to you? The one person that makes him smile when your face slithers into his mind during sleepless nights full of stress and self-doubt. Deprivation made him moody, like a child, tantrums of silent treatment at every turn of his day. Even when you were texting him, if you sent a photo of a ceiling instead of your face, if you texted too slowly, or if you were talking with someone else in a group chat. Kunigami fully acknowledged his pettiness, how even though you hung on every word of his texts, he still acted this way. So how could you fix such a moody man? Simple, you thought. At first. Quickly proving itself otherwise, listening to him talk about his insecurities led to practically nothing, as he wasn’t too keen on giving his lover that kind of impression. Of course, you really wouldn’t have cared if it was something he considered embarrassing, because truly, you loved him too much to care. So you sat through every ranting series of texts, having him babble through the phone as you whispered sweet words gently though the call, sweet enough to make his heart skip a beat. Every time he spoke with you, his shoulders got lighter. But he never stopped acting so sad, cause every cheer of encouragement boosted his ego into the sky. So he would grumble into the phone with you, who always listened and always responded with the upmost optimism. He adored how you dealt with him even though he purposefully acted so annoying just because of his stupid addiction to hearing pretty little voice saying pretty little words of encouragement. He couldn't help but get greedy.

｡⋆✮nsfw below✮⋆｡

Greed wasn't supposed to be the trait of a hero, but not everyone was perfect. He missed you, only being able to see your precious figure through the screen of his phone he could barely be on. He missed you, he wanted you, he craved you, but did you feel the same? Kunigami quickly fell victim to his desires. Alone at night, way too late to be up and too earlier to go back to bed, your phone would ring. Not often would he call you, solely because he didn't have much time, leaving you in ecstatic joy as you saw who's name was disrupting your all-nighter. But you were met with a different greeting that the usual pet-name and an exaggerate kiss to make you laugh. Rather all you heard was heavy breaths, constrained and controlled, like a muted groan.

"Ren? Are you there?" You heard the straggle of a groan break through the call, causing your brows to furrow. His breath haggled in his throat, was this a good idea? Would he disgust you?

"Fuck, princess, your voice is too sweet." You words lumped together as your head spun to conclusions. You thighs brought themselves together as you could feel yourself getting aroused. "keep talking, c'mon." you lips parted but all you didn't make a sound. You made the effort of saying his name, pushing through the stuttering,

"Rensuke," He sighed,

"Tell me what you said yesterday," You could practically visualize the position his was in. Phone propped to his ear with his shoulder, hand tightly wrapped around himself as his eyes squeeze shut and his lips tighten into a strong line, trying to hold back his noises.

"C'mon, lem'me hear your pretty little voice."

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

ao3 - ScarletEvening

lowkey love this n might fix it up to be a proper fic lmk☺☺

[stargazer-sims]

The More Things Change...

... the more they stay the same.

Victor and Yuri have grown a lot since their early days together, but no matter how much time passes, some things remain as consistent as ever.

Yuri matured significantly and managed to conquer his paralyzing self-doubt. He runs his own successful communications firm now and is well respected in the business community. But, he still dissolves into a sad little puddle and demands all the attention when he's not feeling well.

As for Victor, he's still working at the hospital and he continues feeling fulfilled by his profession. He likes caring for all his patients and makes their comfort his priority, but the patient who'll always be first on his list of priorities is the clingy and still impossibly cute one he has at home.

Yuri: I’m sorry I’m ruining your day off. I know you wanted to go biking with Davey and Lindsey, but now you’re stuck with me instead.

Victor: I’d rather be stuck with you than with anybody else.

Yuri: Not when I’m ill.

Victor: Any time, no matter what. You know that.

Yuri: I feel bad that you’re missing your adventure because of me.

Victor: It’s okay. The mountain bike trails aren’t about to disappear, and the weather will probably be warm enough for a few more weeks. I’ll have other chances to go.

Yuri: I wish I wasn’t so anxious about being alone. Otherwise, you could’ve gone anyway.

Victor: Honestly, I’m anxious about you being alone when you’re sick, too. Even if you didn’t mind, I don’t think I could’ve just left you.

Yuri: I need you.

Victor: I know.

Yuri: You make it better. I know that probably sounds like a silly thing to say since you can't actually make it hurt less, but you just... make it better. I don't know how to explain it.

Victor: It’s all right. You don’t have to explain anything.

Yuri: Stay close to me. Please.

Victor: I'm here.

Yuri: I was doing so well for so long, but I suppose this was inevitable. They don't call it a chronic illness for no reason, do they?

Victor: I'll take care of you. Don't worry.

Yuri: I know you will, but that doesn't stop me from wishing this wasn't happening.

Victor: Do you think you’d be more comfortable in bed? I can go upstairs with you and we can cuddle for a while if you want. Maybe I could give you a belly rub.

Yuri: I’d really like a belly rub, but I’m not certain I can move. Not until the painkillers start to work.

Victor: That bad?

Yuri: Yes. It's that awful cramping pain, like someone's twisting my insides.

Victor: Do you feel nauseous too?

Yuri: Mm-hmm. I've been feeling uncomfortable for the past few days, but it's gotten quite a lot worse since this morning.

Victor: You didn’t say anything.

Yuri: The pain was manageable, and I've been busy. But I'm worried this might be the start of a new flare-up, and I don't have time for my body to betray me like that right now. I've got too much work to do.

Victor: I don't think your body understands your work schedule, love.

Yuri: *grumbling* Stupid body.

Victor: *laughing* Would it be inappropriate for me to say how ridiculously adorable you are?

Yuri: Probably, but I won't complain.

Victor: Let me know when you feel like you can move. I'll help you upstairs, and I'll take your temperature.

Yuri: Do I feel warm?

Victor: A little.

Yuri: Oh... brilliant. This had better not be another infection, or I'll—

Victor: What?

Yuri: I'll cry. I'll quite literally cry.

Victor: It might not be as bad as you think.

Yuri: What if it is?

Victor: If you have a fever or if you're still in a lot of pain tomorrow, I'll take you to the urgent care clinic. In the meantime, try to rest, okay?

Yuri: Maybe we should go now. I mean, not this minute, but when Caroline gets back from shopping with your mother.

Victor: Do you want me to text Mom and let her know what's up? I'm sure Caroline can have dinner with her and Julian, and hang out there for the evening.

Yuri: No, it's fine. I can wait until she gets back at least, and I think she's old enough to stay by herself while we're gone.

Victor: I don't like the idea of her staying alone, and I'm not sure I can handle being worried about both of you.

Yuri: If anything happens, your parents are across the street.

Victor: You're not concerned at all?

Yuri: Of course, but she's seventeen years old. She needs to be independent at some point.

Victor: I know, but maybe not at this specific point. Maybe we can let her stay on her own for a few hours when you're feeling better, when we can both be available if she needs anything.

Yuri: You know you're being overprotective, don't you?

Victor: You say that like it's bad.

Yuri: It's not necessarily bad. You can overprotect me all you want, but Caroline has a much different temperament than me, and she might not always appreciate being protected as much as I do. I think you need to let go, just a little.

Victor: I don't know. I don't like it.

Yuri: What do you want to do, then?

Victor: I still think she should stay with Mom and Julian.

Yuri: Okay.

-----

Caroline: I'm back from shopping! I can't wait to show you the cute... Oh! Papa, what's wrong?

Yuri: It's all right, Caroline.

Caroline: How is it all right? Are you sick? You were fine when I left. Was it something you ate, or...?

Victor: Papa hasn't been feeling good for the past few days. It seems it finally caught up with him.

Caroline: You're going to take him to the doctor, right?

Victor: We were just talking about that, as a matter of fact. We decided we're going to urgent care.

Caroline: Urgent care? But that's like, for when it's really serious. Papa, you haven't needed to go there in ages. Not since just after we got back from Sulani last time. That's like, almost two years. This isn't going to be like the times you've had to be in the hospital for weeks, is it? 'Cause those are terrifying.

Yuri: That's what I'm hoping to avoid.

Caroline: Well, if you're going to the urgent care clinic, I'm coming with you. I'll hold your hand while we're waiting, and I'll do whatever you need me to.

Yuri: Well, I guess that's your dilemma sorted, Victor.

Caroline: What dilemma?

Yuri: He didn't want you to stay here by yourself.

Caroline: What are you even talking about? There's no way I'd stay here by myself in this situation. LIke, I'm already freaking out, so can you imagine how much worse it'd be if I was here worrying about you all alone?

Yuri: I thought you might like to have the house to yourself.

Caroline: Maybe if it was just a normal day and I had a few hours to myself to do something fun, but not right now. Maybe you can let me have the house to myself some other time. You know, like when you're feeling better and I'm not losing my mind over all the worst-case scenarios and stuff.

Victor: There's not going to be a worst-case scenario.

Caroline: I'm coming with you so I can hear the doctor say that.

Victor: Because I'm totally not a fully-qualified registered nurse.

Caroline: Victor, that's not what I mean! You totally are, but you know there's a hierarchy or whatever. Husband first, then nurse. And you can't say there isn't, because I've seen you acting even more panicked than me when Yuri's sick, and I know for sure you'd never be like that with your patients.

Victor: I do not panic. I'm one hundred percent calm. Trust me, I'm a professional.

Yuri: I don't think you're convincing her, love.

Caroline: You're not. Now, stop pretending to be a tough guy, 'cause we all know the truth. And don't tell me I'm not allowed to come with you because this is one time I'm not gonna do as I'm told.

Yuri: Oh? Just this one time?

Caroline: Ugh! You guys are so infuriating! How can I even love you so much when you're so annoying?

Victor: We're not going to tell you not to come. I'd like it if you did.

Yuri: I would too. I certainly wouldn't turn down the offer of you holding my hand while we're waiting.

Caroline: I know that's not much. It's not going to fix anything, but I also know you really don't like going to the doctor, so hopefully it'll make the whole thing a bit easier.

Yuri: Don't say it's not much. You might be surprised how much it truly can fix when you know you're with somebody who loves you.

[scorchieart]

Characters: Clavis Lelouch x F!Reader

POV: 1st person Genre: Fluff

Prompt #9: “Why would I be worried? I’m with you.”

Wordcount: 1648

A/N: And here's that 2nd part of @venulus's request, as narrated by Clavis. Thanks for being patient with it, I went over the word limit because this is a bonus, so it doesn't apply by the rules of the challenge, the rules that I made up myself so they're completely arbitrary, I don't have to explain myself, I own a Clavis in a bottle and I'm not afraid to use him, here's the first part with the reader's POV, okay bye... 

Warning: ***Spoilers for Clavis Romantic route end***

“Tell me, Cyran. Do they miss me back in Ye Olde Rhodolite?”

I slipped my arms through wide, snowy sleeves to join the rest of the robes on my body. This piece came from the hands of a renowned seamstress in the south of Jade, known for her nimble hands and elegant embroidery. The pearlescent details reflected nicely against the white canvas underneath, and I softly ran my fingers over the stitchwork as I waited for the answer.

“Unquestionably so,” Cyran called. “Not a day goes by without someone mourning the loss of their beloved third prince. I hear the gardeners are in a fit about lack of exercise, what with no trap-laying miscreants to chase out of trees and no spontaneous holes to fill.” 

“How delightful,” I said. Though I was wearing more clothes than I did even in the deepest depths of winter, I had never felt so light. I thought of Yves and his amusing philosophy on the application of dress to not only cover but express one’s ambition to the world; a sword and a shield. And in my many years as a mediator and envoy for peoples across the continent, this was how I wanted to present myself today. Each layer I donned was a memento of all the places I have been. The places that made me the man I am today. Rhodolite, Benitoite, Jade, even Obsidian; those and more conquests under my belt. A universal love letter to those I’ve met along my journey.

“No,” said Cyran simply when I exited the closet.

“Why not?” I protested as he began removing my outer layers. It hurt that my attempt at symbolism was overlooked, but doubly so by my first conquest. “Do they not make me look illustrious and venerable? A flawless masterpiece to be shared with the world? Righteous and chaste and virtuous? The most distinguished gentleman of our time?”

“You got that last part right,” grumbled Cyran, moving to unbuckle my belts. I hoped he wouldn't open the pouches I’d attached to them, otherwise he’d be met with a facefull of Lelouch Trap Series galore. I harrumphed and turned to the bed.

“And what do you think, my dear?”

She sat with her legs outstretched, surrounded by piles of leaflets and documents, her eyes glued to a paper in her hands. “Rhodolite must go to bed every night with tears in her eyes knowing her most enthusiastic wakeup call is miles away,” she said.

“Ah, not that, darling. Though you are correct. No, I am referring to my extraordinarily extravagant ensemble!” I said, spreading my arms as much as Cyran would allow. Goodness, he worked fast.

“You look great,” she said.

“You didn’t even look at me,” I frowned.

She tore her gaze away from her paper and looked at me unamused. Too late. Cyran had stripped me entirely of my perfectly-crafted symbolic attire and left me in a pitiful base layer. 

“You look great,” she said.

“He does now,” said Cyran, stepping into the closet, a mountain of heavy discarded robes overflowing from his arms. I ran my hand through my hair to avoid his peevish glare as I approached the bed.

“What ever could be so important that you’d miss my grand entrance, my love?” I said. 

“Your real grand entrance,” she said, pushing the document she had been reviewing toward me. “The courtyard can only hold about five-thousand people maximum. I think we miscalculated.”

I took the sheet without looking at it, folded it, and set it on the stack with the others. “There is no mistake.” None that she has to know about, anyway.

“No mistake? Clavis, that document says we sent out ten-thousand invitations!” she said, reaching for the sheet again. I grabbed her hand and threaded my fingers through it. Her palms grew sweatier by the second.

“No mistake,” I repeated. “We can have two identical ceremonies if needed, so the latecomers can catch the second.”

She closed her eyes and let out a long nasally breath. “And did you account for the possibility that they all decided to attend the first?”

“The more the merrier, then!” I said, smiling as widely as I could to hide my dishonesty. It was only a little white lie, a publicity stunt. I don’t even know ten-thousand people. But I do know Chevalier’s coronation had five-thousand. 

And she glowered in a way I knew meant she could tell I was hiding something.

“Now, don’t give me that look, my sweet,” I crooned. “Does the idea of so many people at our doorstep frighten you? No need to worry, your charming Clavis will be by your side the entire—”

“The idea that we won’t be able to accommodate them all worries me, Clavis!” she yelled, pulling out of my grasp. “How will it look when we have to tell half our guests they’ll be sleeping on the floor?”

“You worry too much. I’m sure it will all work out, because what fun we’ll have today,” I said, reaching under her arms and lifting her into the air. This time she grabbed on to me, holding my shoulders as I spun us around in the buttercream light from the windows.

“Cakes and cookies and music and suits and gowns and dancing and lights and roses…” 

I twirled faster and faster, listing the first things that popped into my head, hoping she’d latch on to one of them and forget everything else. 

“....And magic and joy and ladies and gentlemen and friends and family and—”

“What would your family say if they saw you mess up this badly today?” she cried, and everything stopped. Dizziness caught up to me as we stared at each other, and though I could see three of her floating around my view, I knew all of them had unlocked me. 

“Ahem!”

Cyran only “Ahem!”ed whenever I pulled a prank in front of his eyes. Or did something he disapproved of. This one sounded like both.

“We’re running late. I’ll head downstairs to greet our guests. Please help him finish getting ready, my lady,” he said, shooting me a sharp look that sobered my vision instantly. He shut the door and I was left holding my beloved in the most guilty position I could imagine.

As soon as her feet touched the ground again, I embraced her, burying my face in her hair. Today of all days, I did not want her to see me fall apart.

“They’ll be here. All of them,” she said. “As if they could stay away.” 

She patted my back gently, and against her palms I could feel how erratic my heart was beating. How did she unravel me as simply as she took in breath? How did she manage to stand by my side without giving up like all the others? How did she know the person I wanted most in attendance today was the only one who stayed away? 

“And what if they think it’s all a big joke?” I croaked, forcing my jaw to stop trembling. “How could you choose me as king? Me?”

“If they thought it was a joke, they wouldn’t have bothered sending their RSVPs,” she said, cupping my cheeks and forcing our eyes to meet. “And what an honor to attend the coronation of the first king of Lelouch. The illustrious and venerable. The righteous, chaste, and virtuous King Clavis.”

I coughed out a laugh and pressed our foreheads together. She lightly rubbed the tip of her nose against mine, whispering more compliments in the tiny space between us. And how did she always know how to best cheer me up?

When I could breathe normally again, I gave her a final squeeze and pulled back. She courteously left me to finish composing myself as I turned toward the window. The cheery sun blinded me, and I rubbed my puffy eyes until I could make out the steady stream of horses and carriages arriving at the gates. I’m sure my mother would scold me for such an unseemly display, her little gentleman bawling on the morn of his coronation, but like my love she would hold me close and not let go until I was alright. I suppose that was the unspoken territory that came with family, and it thrilled me more than receiving the crown to add one more member to call my own. Even if it came at the cost of moving away from the rest.

Movement outside caught my attention, and I saw two horses trotting along awkwardly through the courtyard, their riders engaged in what looked like a heated argument. Cyran rushed out from the main doors just as one rider, a young man in the frilliest pink cloak, nearly slipped off his horse in his attempt to grab the tail of the second rider’s, his snickering silver-haired brother, flowing coat. More familiar faces entered view, each one looking more jovial than the last under the glittering sun, ending with a final stoic face quieting the scene. 

“Look look! It’s Chevalier!” I gasped, unable to restrain myself from jumping up and down. “And Leon and Jin and the others! Darling, they came! They actually came!”

“Does that mean you’re not worried anymore?” my darling said, reappearing at my side with my ceremonial sword, desperately trying to catch my last belt to fasten it to. Yet again I was reminded of my mother and her countless attempts to contain my unbridled glee in my youth. Is there a rule that a king cannot celebrate like a child when he experiences pure, unadulterated joy?

“Worried?” I said, stopping to let her complete her task. As badly as I wanted to run down the stairs to greet my brothers, I wouldn’t mind staying right here until the ceremony began. “Why would I be worried? I’m with you.”

This is the second time I've written 1st POV Clavis. Both times he was crying. If we follow Chevalier's accounts, he did that a lot as a kid, and you know it's not like adults are immune to having a good cry, too.

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If you would like to be added or removed from my tag list, please send me an ask or a message.

[vvatchword]

So. I got fired.

When a big family emergency hit back in November, it just knocked me the fuck out. Just blew me right out of the water. I kept thinking I'd get back into things, but I never did. I was just completely flattened.

I started being late. Dreadfully late. Then I started not working at all. I could just NOT WORK. Like I couldn't get out of bed--it was that bad. I mean I couldn't. I wanted to get up, I was willing to get up, but I couldn't fucking get up. If I did work, it was at a crawl. I have never had as much trouble with alarms as I do now: they can't wake me up, or I simply cannot get up. My communication fell off. My work fell off. Simply the worst work and the worst worker you've ever fucking seen. As far as my personal life was concerned, I started missing appointments and I stopped being able to cook. I just couldn't fucking cook! It didn't matter if I had a whole box of ingredients and the recipe book in front of me, I couldn't do it. It wasn't happening. I lost something like 25 pounds because if I couldn't make myself go shopping I just wasn't eating.

And we were putting out a BOOK.

Anyway, I got my first-ever "less-than-satisfactory" job review. I got a list of things to improve. It was a fucking torment, but I was pushing myself, I spoke to friends for accountability's sakes, I was up front with my bosses, I went to therapy, I was making sure I was medicated... I thought I was improving as of the last two weeks!

But it was too little, too late. I think they'd already decided they wanted to drop me. And that's because--well, at my yearly review, my greatest nightmare occurred. Y'all know I'm autistic as fuck. And part of being autistic is pretending you're a human being. Look at me! I'm a fucking human! I smile at the right time and speak the right way and meet your eyes just the way I should. Don't get in a conversation with me when I'm tired or it starts getting weird but otherwise-----

Well, us autistics call this shit "masking." It's a labor. It's a skill. And at my yearly review, I had to sit down with this brand-new A-type executive director we have--and it did NOT feel good. It felt like a goddamn job interview. I could tell he was judging me on a level I wasn't prepared for. I was pretty worn down from months of family and personal bullshit--not the least of which was the low fucking pay and terrible benefits, which, combined with astronomical rent and car issues, have put me heavily in debt. Oh, and did I mention that I have a problem with older men? It's not something I realized until after I spoke to my therapist about this particular event, but under certain circumstances--of which this was the perfect storm--I revert to a child. It's a trauma response. Don't ask.

My mask straight-up shattered and I looked and sounded like I was fucking mental. I don't know how to explain it to you and half of that is because I hate just THINKING about it. It's like my soul was trying to leave my body. My voice pitched up and went monotone in a way I haven't had to fight since I was in college. I began self-flagellating and just uttering complete nonsense. If I were a dog I would have been rolling over with my tail between my legs. Please sir not the boot. Please sir do not hit

Obviously I only told this to like. Two people. Because it's embarrassing. It's something you should be able to fucking control. And I couldn't, just all of a sudden, in front of this exec who thinks he's cool shit (he's like Elon Musk, but a boomer. Just the worst ideas. I tell you, being rich is a curse, you turn into an idiot).

That said, honestly, I don't blame anyone? This was my fault? And at the same time I'm deeply, deeply troubled. Because when I look back, I see the seeds of this collapse in my previous job--where I was starting to fall behind on work that shouldn't have given me trouble. I just couldn't keep on track or stay on target. I was starting to be late here... and there...

This is terrifying. Like this is mortally, deeply terrifying. I don't know if I can work. I truly don't know. My own brain has turned on me. I don't know if I'll be able to keep to deadlines or get to work on time. I truly don't. I truly truly don't. I'm too scattered, I'm spread too thin, I'm too needy, money's too tight, my needs are too many. There's too much going wrong. And I'm alone and I'm tired. I don't like this world or this country or this state. I don't want to do this anymore. I'm so tired of pretending I'm a human being for people who can IMMEDIATELY tell I'm a weird fucking mistake from another planet.

Right now I'm trying to think how I can minimize literally everything. Just sell as much as possible, keep only the most important things. It'll suck, it'll hurt, but...

all I want to do is write. I'm tired. I don't want to do anything else. I want my books and I want my computer and that's it. But I have to eat somehow, I have to find shelter SOMEHOW, I have to pay for things SOMEHOW.

I'm tired of hoping life will look up. I'm tired and I haven't been given any reason for why anything is worth THIS MUCH AGONY. All the things I need to do, I can't. All the things I want to do, I can't--because I'm hung up on the things I NEED to do.

Let's face it. i'm not good at adult shit. I've never been good at adult shit. I've only ever been good at going to school, really. And I don't really think I'd be good at that anymore. I can only do things now if I am deeply interested in them, and literally none of those things pay my bills.

I'm fucking doomed.

Fucking bye y'all

[charmedreincarnation]

Hey! I was hoping u could give me some advice.

So I’ve written a bunch of really important exams and I’ve really messed them up. Like left a good number of questions and failing these have serious consequences.

Im trying to maintain the state of having passed regardless of what the 3d shows me, but it’s kinda hard since everything and everyone around me is telling me otherwise and it’s kinda difficult to fulfill it in my imagination. Pls tell me how I can sail through this and get the marks I want?

Ok embarrassing story alert 🙃🙃

My freshmen year of college, I had all As, and then two horrible things happened the very last second.

The first thing that happened is while doing my vocabulary essays for history, I accidentally plagiarized one of my old assignments for something very similar. In college wether on accident or on purpose, and wether it’s to yourself or copying someone else’s work, plagiarizing is a huge no no, and can get you not only a failed class, but expelled from college. I live in America so we spend 10-25k per semester on school and expulsion is permanently on your record which affects your entry to other colleges. I got an email saying I had a board meeting with the council, and I about just spent 5 minutes doing the worst ugly crying I have ever done, while having a panic attack. I already have an anxiety disorder and this just about sent me into a clinical spiral. Then I remember manifesting and even through my ugly tears I just fell asleep affirming everything will be okay, everything will be okay. I had the board meeting and nothing happened to me?? It was almost like they forgot what I was there for. They just made me take an hour long anonymous class on plagiarism and that was all. It wasn’t on my record and I still got an A in the class 🥰🥰.

During my second semester again!! I had all As. In one of my classes in fact my highest grade class I had a 98% and we had an final essay due. two days prior I got sick as a dog!! I was asleep for 48 hours and missed the deadline for a 200 point essay! That’s right I got a fucking 0/200 On the assignment and when I emailed her explaining I was sick she just told me tough luck!! I Went from a 98% to a 68% because she made it worth 40% of our grade. She was also my only teacher who had a strict no late policy even if you’re almost dying (bastard!!) it was the worst luck and chance that it was this specific class. I ugly cried even harder than the first situation and I was sick too so it made it all that much worse !!!!

anyways I decided crying wasn’t going to do shit and I can solve this crisis just because I can and I don’t deserve to fail because of a sick mistake !! I had recently learned about revision so once again while ugly crying I just affirmed I have an A, I have an A, I have an A, and visualized her putting in a 100% in my grading portal until I fell asleep. Once again I woke up with a 200/200 even though I didn’t even submit the essay ???!!!!!

I don’t know if my desperation and crying heightened my affirmations or what but the easiest times I had with revision was my during my most desperate moments . I guess my advice to you is to just visualize yourself not missing those questions, and feeling slay after talking the test in your mind !then affirm to yourself you blew the test out of the waters (good way) and go to bed at ease because you’re going to be okay 🥰

[fulgurbugs]

ok i’m about to go to bed but i’m like halfway thru the main stories of everyone and here’s my octopath 2 thoughts so far:

gameplay:

Hikari go brrrrrrr. this guy hits like a damn truck

also, i learned how concoct works finally and i am now a true concoct beliver. luv u castti <3

a lot of stuff was nerfed for some classes, some of it i like, some of it i miss

-no more 8stack reflect magic damage, RIP. cleric final ability is no longer a double cast but instead allows the target to take an extra turn after everyone else (i like this one, opens a lot of cool stuff you can do, but you also need to manage bp more if you wanna max your damage or casts instead of just getting double. cleric also now has an SP stealing staff move, reflect is replaced with a shielding move that prevents a % of damage based on boost, and also gains a physical and elemental buff. overall really good changes to the class.

scholar no longer has double hit spells. i kinda miss these, i really didn’t get much use out of the new skills scholar has, except for elemental barrage, which can be good for scouting weaknesses or big damage if solo targeting. but it means enemies with primarily magic based weaknesses are more annoying to break.

i think those two classes got the biggest overhauls. everything else of the 8 main classes seems to have its biggest tools intact (leghold, donate bp, etc) so i was pretty familiar with how to setup and beat bosses pretty efficiently. i do miss the generic multi hit wind and dark spells a lot tho….

otherwise, despite overall nerfs to some of the stronger more abusable strategies (i’m told runelord tressa equivalent is still in the game tho) latent power is balancing that out by being also busted as hell and fun to use. all of them are unique and a fun extra management tool that can make or break your turns. (poor castti tho, if you have enough money, hers is kind of irrelevant.)

ok anyways MINOR GAMEPLAY SPOILER TIME. THIS IS A SPOILER WARNING FOR MINOR PARTS OF CASTTI, HIKARI, PARTITIO, AND THRONE’S BOSS FIGHTS IN THEIR CHAPTERS.

SPOILERS START HERE:

ok. don’t really like how casttis chapter 4 boss has basically the same gimmick as alfyns, with max hp reducing poison. i think this fight is harder than alfyns by a little bit tho.

Hikaris final chapter is. super long. there’s 3 whole boss fights in the last chapter, so be ready for a lot of those in a row. i found the second boss harder than the third fight tho.. lol. it’s again also kinda similar to olberics ch4 so i already knew how to cheese it a bit, though it wasn’t as easy to set up on this guy.

partitios ch4 was piss easy, just did not hit very hard lol. and i don’t think the boss has that much health

throne ch4 was also pretty easy, but had a pretty cool unique mechanic. makes you play a bit different with it because of it, so you gotta get creative sometimes or compromise on your damage etc. good stuff even if it wasn’t too bad on me.

OK. THIS IS STORY SPOILER WARNING. IM GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS AT THE END OF THE 4 CHAPTERS I JUST MENTIONED, SO CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED

SPOILERS NOW:

casttis story was ok. didn’t like it as much as alfyns in ot1 but it wasn’t terrible. i think i’m just usually not that big on amnesia plot lines. i like castti a lot in her travel banters tho, she’s actually pretty funny compared to how serious she always is in her story chapters.

hikari was pretty alright too. i think his evil demon blood is probably tied to galdera in some way, but they never actually explain where it comes from in his route and i was kinda waiting on it the whole time. kinda funny he becomes king and all, gets crowned, and then we’re off to go to partitios silly capitalism project with the new king of ku in tow.

partitio himself is probably my favorite traveler so far, but i think his story falls a little flat at the end. mostly because mr roque gets literally no comeuppance at the end despite literally ruining multiple towns worth’s of peoples lives by putting them in abject poverty and extorting them. partitio just goes i’ll hire you and we’re back to hunky-dory. kinda wish he didn’t accept defeat and suicided or was killed by his own creation or something more fitting, partitio never even confronts him for scamming his family and altering the contract. like come on man.

Throne. i don’t know how i feel about this one, the chapter 4 is. insane. you will never predict how the fuck her story wraps up, so i actually won’t even say even with the spoiler warning. just go fucking play the chapter 4 lol. i like the stuff in her chapter 3s with mother and father tho, even if it’s edgy and whatever. throne also has some fun travel dialogues, i like her well enough. it’s just that the chapter 4 is so bonkers i can’t decide how i feel about it and her lol. idk

looking forward to the other 4! i think all the stories are solid despite if it seems like im saying otherwise here, they’re definitely on par with the first game, which i think had quite a bit simpler plots lol. cant wait to get to the cross character chapters as well!

[remidyal]

Snippet - Dig Out Followup

I shared this follow up to Dig Out on Discord a bit back but figured I'd toss it up here so it'll exist in a semi-permanent state! If you haven't read the original story, it's available on AO3 here. I'm on vacation this week so not getting much writing done, but hopefully some little odds and ends will tide people over before the norm resumes next week!

Jawbone O'Shaughnessey laid on the bed late at night in his otherwise empty motel room in Bastion City, the television on but unwatched, reviewing some of the reading for the conference he was in the city for when his crystal rang. The tone let him know it was his (remaining) daughter calling.

He'd given her her own ringtone the first time he'd had to do a work trip After; she'd still been unspeaking, at that point, but she'd called twice and he'd spoke to her anyways, one-sided conversations that were far more about trying to ground her than anything else. He would not risk missing a call from her, not even now. She wouldn't make it if she didn't need to hear him.

So, the ache as always of missing home in the back of his head, he took the call. "Hey, Aelwyn!" He said, forced cheer in his voice in spite of the hour; she hadn't woken him, and she'd feel less guilty after if she knew that.

The tone wasn't what he expected, but Aelwyn had been doing better lately. She had almost a fevered energy as she spoke, though, something he had sometimes heard from her Before but not since.

"Hey, Dad. Um. Is there any way you can get home, as soon as possible? I can teleport you back, if you need even, but…" It was a request he might have expected a few months ago, but he'd thought she'd be okay this week; Ragh and Kristen were both in the manor, for one, and Ragh in particular was pretty protective of her. Aelwyn could only teleport once a day, Jawbone knew from a lot of prior planning.

"I can, if you really need me to." He said, because of course he could, but honesty would be important too. "Do you? It might be the morning before I can get a train, but I can be there in a few hours if I drive. Will you be okay until I can get there?"

The call, in voice only until that moment, changed over to video; Aelwyn was standing in the dining room, of all places, in pajamas. In spite of the energy in her voice, she seemed almost flustered as she spoke; clearly, SOMETHING had happened. "I.. oh, this is harder to explain than I thought it would be. It's a good thing, I think. I'm sure, really…" She started muttering to herself, looking at something off screen.

Jawbone cut in, because she seemed almost ready to fold in on herself. "Aelwyn, breath in for me, okay?" She did, and her eyes flicked back.

"…I would teleport there to get you faster myself, but I don't want to leave for four hours to rest. We can talk about how and.. I think it's a good thing, and maybe we can make it permanent, but.."

"Aelwyn," Jawbone said, frustration starting to seep in just a little. "Please, can you tell me why you called?"

"Ah. Right. You'll want to be here." Aelwyn said, before tipping the camera around, and…

Three figures were sitting on the kitchen floor. Kristen and Ragh were both also in their nightwear, but the last took him a moment longer to recognize than he would have thought possible. In his defense, she was covered head to toe in dirt, her hair matted, her eyes sunken, but.. she was wearing a jacket he should have recognized instantly, because he had seen her wearing it for years. They had buried her in it; there had never been even the least bit of question that they would, once they had to bury her at all.

"Aelwyn, what..?" He said, wonder and terror in equal measures getting into his voice, because there were little signs of decay on her face, but she was also clearly speaking to Ragh.

"I know." Aelwyn's voice said off camera, and he understood her strange mood much more now. "I'll see you soon, to try to explain?"

"Of course." Jawbone said, watching Adaine move on camera for as long as the call lasted even as he was up and packing to go home to both of his daughters.

[blu-joons]

When He Gets Jealous Of You Playing With Another Member ~ WayV Reaction

Kun:

“I can’t believe you let him beat you again,” Kun exclaimed as you walked away from the air hockey table, having been defeated by Kunhang yet again.

“I tried,” you defended with a chuckle, wrapping your arms around Kun’s waist, “I told you that you needed to help me out to be able to beat him.”

Kun’s head shook back at you, “the two of you looked like you were enjoying yourself too much, I didn’t want to get in the way of that, it was easier just to spectate.”

“We could have gotten Chittaphon to help on Kun’s side,” you tried to explain to him, “unless there’s a little more to this then you’re telling me.”

He offered you a weak smile as he cleared his throat, “I just didn’t want to get in the way of your fun, it seemed like you were enjoying spending time with Kunhang.”

“Why don’t we have a game?” You offered, trying to cheer him up.

“Are you really willing to lose yet again?”

Your head nodded as you pulled Kun across the table, “I want you to know that I’m willing to play games with anyone, but no one more than I am with you.”

“I didn’t mind you playing with Kunhang instead of me,” Kun tried to assure you, but your head shook back at him.

“The look on your face says otherwise if I’m honest.”

“It’s no big deal now…loser.”

Ten:

“Do you fancy another round?” Sicheng offered as the dorm remained quiet, “we’ve got time, I don’t think the others will be back for a little while.”

“I’ve got to get you back after you cheated in the last round,” you spoke, picking the controller back up as you immediately accepted Sicheng’s challenge.

In the middle of your game, the dorm door finally opened, with Chittaphon being the first to walk in. “There you are,” you smiled, glancing across to see who had walked in.

“Hi,” Chittaphon nervously spoke, lingering at the back of the room, “if you’re in the middle of something, I’ll just head off to my room.”

You glanced across questionably at Sicheng, “have I missed something?” You asked, confused by Chittaphon’s anxious behaviour, “he didn’t seem right to me.”

“Go and see him, I think he might be jealous,” Sicheng encouraged.

“I think you’re right; he did seem annoyed.”

As you entered Chittaphon’s room, he immediately let go of a groan. “I’m glad you finally managed to make the time to come and see me, did your game finish?”

“Jealousy never suited you,” you spoke, perching down on the end of his bed, “we were only playing because we were bored.”

“Did I really make it that obvious that I was unimpressed?”

“A little but it was cute, don’t worry.”

WinWin:

“Y/N, do you know where my…oh sorry.” As he walked into the living room, Sicheng froze as he saw you in the middle of a game with YangYang.

“Do you need her?” YangYang asked, pausing the game so that you could look across at Sicheng, “we’re nearly finished with this round if you want her.”

Sicheng’s head shook, but you got up anyway, letting YangYang know that you’d just be a few minutes. “Were you looking for the shirt that I stole from you earlier.”

“Y-yeah,” Sicheng stuttered as you walked back across to his bedroom, “I’m really sorry, I didn’t realise that you were in the middle of something.”

Your head shook as you noticed the frustration in Sicheng’s voice. “We were only playing a game, waiting for the rest of you to finish recording so that we could go.”

“I know, it’s no big deal,” Sicheng tried his best to assure you.

“Then why do you sound so annoyed?”

Sicheng wrapped his arm around you as you handed the shirt across to him, “it just took me by surprise to see you playing a game with him that we usually play.”

“If it makes you feel better, YangYang is rubbish at the game,” you encouraged, “nowhere near as good as you are.”

“That’s why I’m the undefeated one between us.”

“Exactly, you’re the best at it.”

Lucas:

“You don’t play it like that!” Kun called out, letting go of a loud chuckle just as Yukhei reached the door to the living room, overhearing you both.

“You’re such a cheat,” you exclaimed, throwing your head back in disbelief as Kun blocked you from moving his counter on the board game.

Anxiously, Yukhei walked into the room to see you both in the middle of a board game. “You guys look like you’re having fun,” he spoke through gritted teeth.

“I don’t know how this person can be trusted to lead you, he can’t even play chess properly,” you teased, only to notice Yukhei’s expression drop.

You excused yourself from the game briefly, walking across to Yukhei who turned away from Kun. “I’m fine,” he spoke, knowing straight away what you were thinking.

“You don’t look as if you’re fine,” you sighed, nudging is side.

“Go back to your game, you’re enjoying it.”

Your head nodded as things began to fit together, “you’re not jealous that I’m playing with Kun instead of you are you Yukhei? Is this really what’s going on?”

“I know it’s stupid,” Yukhei groaned, offering you a weak smile, “but sometimes I just want you all to myself.”

“Maybe you can join us for the next game then?”

“Yeah, I would like that a lot.”

Xiaojun:

“I’m taking Y/N, you can find a different person to play your game with,” you overheard Dejun yell across to Chittaphon as he asked where you were.

“What’s going on?” You questioned as you walked into the room, looking between the two of them, “what’s with all of the yelling, I can hear it down the corridor.”

Dejun reached out to take a hold of your hand, “he’s trying to get you to play on the console with him, but I told him that I want to spend a bit of time with you instead.”

“You don’t have to yell to tell him that,” you reminded Dejun, smiling weakly across to Chittaphon as he excused himself, quickly leaving the room.

As the two of you were left alone, Dejun’s shoulders dropped. “I know what you’re going to say, and I already know that I probably just looked like a jealous fool.”

“I’d love to say you’re wrong, but you’re not,” you teased.

“I don’t know what came over me.”

Your head nodded in agreement with him, “I am allowed to spend time with your friends as well, I don’t come to the dorm to see you and nobody else.”

“I know,” Dejun hummed, “and if you’d rather head off and play a game with Chittaphon, then I really wouldn’t mind.”

“I think I’m needed a bit more with you right now instead.”

“Without doubt, I would have to agree.”

Hendery:

“What are you doing?” Yukhei exclaimed as you tipped the bag of flour out to weigh it, completely missing the scales, leaving the kitchen counter covered.

“It’s your fault, you coughed as I began to tip,” you retorted, nudging against Yukhei’s side, “this has to go perfectly but you’re causing me to mess up.”

A knock at the door disturbed you both as you overheard Kunhang’s voice, “what are you two doing in there? And why is there a do not disturb sign hung up on the door.”

“Don’t come in,” Yukhei called out as you dropped the bag of flour onto the counter, running across to make sure that the door kept shut.

From the other side of the door, Kunhang let go of a groan, “why can’t I know what the two of you are doing? I didn’t realise that the two of you kept secrets.”

“It’s not like that,” you called from behind the kitchen door.

“Then what’s going on in that case?”

You smiled weakly across at Yukhei before sliding out of the door, coming face to face with Kunhang. “We’re doing something for your birthday, that’s the big secret.”

“Oh,” Kunhang faltered, weakly smiling, “I’m sorry, I just heard all the laughter and got a bit confused by things.”

“You were jealous that Yukhei was making me laugh in there?”

“I think I was, but just a little bit.”

YangYang:

“Something funny?” YangYang questioned as he watched you let go of a chuckle, typing on your phone for a few moments before looking across at him.

“Dejun just played a funny word in this game we’ve been playing,” you told him, placing your phone back down beside you, “I don’t know how he did it.”

The smile on YangYang’s face disappeared as he realised what was going on. “Now I see why you’ve not been listening to me for most of the night tonight.”

“I have been listening,” you protested, “just because I’ve been enjoying this with Dejun doesn’t mean that I’ve not been paying attention to you as well.”

YangYang’s head nodded, knowing that he was blowing things slightly out of proportion. “It’s nice to know that the two of you are good friends, it means a lot to me.”

“We are just friends,” you assured YangYang, “that’s all it is.”

“I know, I’m just being a worrier.”

You reached across and took a hold of YangYang’s hand, “please don’t feel as if I’m choosing your members over you, we just started this game today whilst we were waiting.”

“I’m alright,” YangYang promised, “I don’t want to be that jealous boyfriend, I know the two of you are doing nothing wrong.”

“None of us would ever do anything to hurt you.”

“I know, I’m just being stupid.”

---

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