#in this home we respect all the interactions of the boys (with some exceptions)

[hitwiththetmnt]

I recognize these screenshots help me…

part 2/??

I redraw rottmnt scenes but with the tmnt2012 characters, like an alternative universe.😔👌

Yey finally I did it ._.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I know that Yuu is gender neutral in the game for many reasons so it makes me wonder if Yuu was a girl in Conan would that change the dialogues and the way the characters interact with her?

Like not a major change to the main story or turning the game into otome but some small ones like in some characters interaction with Leona when stepping on his tail he won't want to beat us (because of the respect woman thing lol) in book one or Deuce being shy in the beginning of their friendship.

Hmm... For the most part, I honestly don't really think so? Cater still calls Yuu cute, Azul is still pretty polite, etc. Rook still waxes poetic and creepily recites your sizes, etc. regardless of gender. At best, maybe some of those traits would be exaggerated a little more or expanded on to suit the scenario?? Like maybe Ace would initially tease fem!Yuu about being at an all-boys school or something, isn't she bothered by it? But I really doubt that anyone would be tripping over themselves to protect or befriend fem!Yuu or anything, especially when most at NRC are primarily concerned with their own interests. Most of the characters aren't noted to treat women particularly differently than other genders. We also don't get to see the NRC students interacting with girls around their age either, so it's hard to discern how they'd be with them. I think even the "Deuce being shy in the beginning of the friendship" headcanon comes from a perspective colored by writings in fandom; Deuce in canon doesn't really seem to demonstrate major issues interacting with girls, at least not that I can recall. At best, he expresses surprise when Grim mistakes Epel for a girl and fails to romance the Ghost Bride (he freezes up and his mind blanks; it’s difficult to say this is how he’d act around most women or if he just acts this way due to the demands of the situation). I think if we eliminated romantic interest altogether--because, to be clear, one girl in a cast of mainly guys is NOT always meant to be romantic or a harem--most of the cast would be their usual selves, if not maybe a little more polite due to how they’ve been socialized to see women as the “fairer” sex. For example, Riddle, Epel, and Jade underestimate Sally, though this isn’t clear if it’s gender-based or because they sympathize with her poor home life. They may also be instances of the guys not really knowing how to deal with girls? For example, Trey fails to help Sally up after she has fallen (which Sebek chastises him for); Trey later admits that he doesn't know many women beyond his mother and sister who is 4 years younger than him. Because of this, he says it may be that he was subconsciously nervous to interact with her.

The exception to this, many would point out, is Leona, who comes from a country in which women are respected. The strange thing is, whenever this point is mentioned, I always see people speaking about it in relation to Leona and Leona only, even though Ruggie and Rook also come from the Sunset Savanna (so technically those latter two would also theoretically be respectful to women). Now, there's a lot of discussion in the fandom about just how far Leona's "feminism" (a term used by fandom, never said in official materials) stretches. The most extreme of takes paint Leona as a misandrist who actively hates on or mistreats men while upholding women as superiors. And that... Well, I don't agree with this interpretation whatsoever. Yes, Leona no doubt respects women and is more likely to listen to them if they ask him to do something (for example, attending a party for a female painting in Cater's School Uniform vignette or taking a picture of himself in his robes for his sister-in-law in his own Ceremonial Robes vignettes). However, he won't just keel over and do whatever is asked of him simply because it is coming from a woman (think back to Ghost Marriage; he was still pretty pissed off when Eliza slapped him), and nor is he shown to disparage his own gender.

Rather than putting women on a pedestal, I think it would be more accurate to say that Leona doesn't underestimate women or think lesser of them because of their gender. (If you're interested my detailed breakdown of "feminist" Leona, check out this analysis.) For example, while his classmates worry for Sally's wellbeing in Lost in the Book with Nightmare Before Christmas, Leona lauds Sally's cunning and ability to save herself. We also get a pretty good look of this in the Episode of Savanaclaw manga, which features a female Yuu. (And before anyone says, "Yuuka could be hiding the fact she's a girl!", take a look at these panels. She is clearly not making an effort to hide her chest and given her nonchalant personality + ability to physically defend herself, Yuuka has no in-universe reason to be hiding her gender. The other students probably don’t bring up that she’s a girl because she’s already been around at NRC for roughly a month at this point and have likely acclimated to her presence. Besides, people don’t normally bring up “well, that’s a girl” out of the blue in everyday conversations.)

Riddle seems to treat Yuuka the same as the gender-neutral Yuu in the game; he still adjusts her tie for her without any flourishes, flinching, etc.

If you read the Episode of Savanaclaw altogether, pretty much all of the characters treat Yuuka like another fellow student and not "oh, this is a woman and a woman has to be treated differently".

Leona stops Savanaclaw mobs from beating up Yuuka and co., but this isn't significant because he does the same for gender-neutral Yuu in the game. It's not "I stopped the guys from hurting a woman" behavior. And get this: Leona still challenges Yuuka and co. to a magift/spelldrive game and he STILL kicks their asses and expects them to get up for more. He doesn't give even Yuuka special treatment or leniency because she is a woman. He wants her to play him again, the same as the other students (who are all guys). It is Jack who has to intervene and stop his dorm leader from bullying Yuuka and co.—but again, this isn’t a change from the game, as Jack always steps in anyway.

Yuuka recognizes Leona as "the garden caretaker" from back when she accidentally stepped on his tail. Unfortunately, we don't get to see if Leona attempted to attack her from this instance. It could be that the manga excluded it because he didn't try or it could be that he did (if the magift/spelldrive demands were of any indication) and the manga just didn't have time to show it in full. Buuut we should also note that Leona makes exceptions to his own... "moral code" when it is convenient for him. For example, he tells his students to not pick on outsiders but then still wails on us through sport. When Yuu steps on his tail in the garden, he says, "Well, can't say it'd be much fun to hurt someone so helpless," but then adds, "Still gonna do it, though."

My point is, this is the closest we'll get to "how would the boys treat a fem!Yuu", and that's what I'll leave you with.

[selfloverrrrrr]

Omg so for the requests thing, I’m here begging for mean yandere yuuta noncon smut. Hear me out, he is not some shy subby baby like some people make him out to be. Have y’all seen how cold he is in recent chapters? To that point, he’s not concerned about hurting you. If you won’t behave, he’ll slap you around a bit and tie you down. He’s a sadist with his darling, and if she fights back it’s all the more reason for him to put her in her place.

What Did You Expect?

Warnings : smut , heavy smut, unprotected sex, Noncon, Kidnapping, physically and emotional abuse, biting, size difference, Yandere Yuta, stalking, protective, jealous, obsessive, manipulative....

( All characters are aged up/18+)

Minors Do Not Interact

Read the warnings carefully....if you don't like my stories block me not report

Yuta's POV

What did y/n thought when she approved me as her roommate? That I'll be a good boy like I act in public. Make people believe that I'm just an innocent boy who respects everyone? Well that's not her fault... I won't blame her! Everyone believes my act!

Let's not talk about everyone... let's talk about y/n ... She was exceptional. I've met so many girls before...but none of them made me feel like this. Well that's not my fault that I imagine her naked when she looks like that sexy... And always wears short clothes.

She always wears a short skirt and crop top in college. Why doesn't she understand that makes my heart stop! And one day we all friends were playing the truth and dare. In that stupid game everyone gave her a dare to sit on my lap. And she did. Of course she thinks I'm a good guy.

Does she know how hard she made me by sitting on my lap?! I couldn't stop moving when she sat on my lap. Fuck I was too hard I was just hoping that she won't notice how hard I'm right now!

Does she know how many times I had to masterbate that day?! Every time I was masterbating my dick was getting hard again. My mind was full of images of her riding me. Does she know every night I sneak into her bedroom and use her hand to masterbate?! No she doesn't! But after she sat on my lap I couldn't control it anymore... I'm gonna use her tonight! Doesn't matter if she wants it or not!

Y/n's POV

I just came back home. I was out with my female friends for shopping. I saw laying on the couch and watching something on his phone. "Hey Yuta...did you do dinner?" I asked. He looked at me and his eyes traced my whole body. "Yupp.. I did" he replied with a smile. "I did too there" I said. "That's great then" Yuta said.

"Okay I'm gonna try these dresses good night then" I said. "Yeah okay... good night" he replied and I went to my room. I closed my door and went to the bathroom. I got fresh. I turned on the light of my room and took my shopping bag. I was just wearing a bra and pantie.

I took out the dresses I bought. There were three dresses. One floral long dress, one red mini frock and one black mini revealing dress. I was looking at them and thinking which one I should try first. "The black one would look sexy on you" a voice said from behind me.

I turned around and gasped. "Yuta? W-what are you doing here?!" I said and fell on the bed. "What do you mean? I live here too" Yuta said and started walking towards me. "But this is my room!" I protested. He didn't stop walking towards me.

I started throwing my dresses at him. "Yuta stop!" I said. But he didn't. Then I threw my pillow at him. He grabbed it and threw it on the floor. Then he started crawling on the bed towards me. I started backing up but he grabbed me and caged me beneath him.

"y-yuta please get away! I never thought-" before finishing my sentence he interrupted me. "You never thought I would be like this... and you always thought that I'm a good shy boy like you always saw, right?" He said and leaned closer. "But baby how can I be like that good boy?... when you always dress like that" He said with pleading eyes.

He grabbed my hand and placed it on his crotch. "Look what you did to me" he whispered. I felt his dick hard. Hard as rock. I tried to pull my hand but he kissed me forcefully. He started undoing my bra. I slapped his hand but he didn't stop. He threw the on the floor.

I grabbed his hair and pulled. "Yuta please stop" I begged. He looked at my boob squeezed it with his hand. I moaned loudly. His head loosened from my hand. He slapped me roughly in the face "are you gonna behave or I have to make you behave?" He said with grinded teeth. He crashed his mouth on my boob.

Yuta started licking my nipple. His was so teasing. I moaned. He continued his teasing licking and sucking on my nipple. With his one hand he grabbed my other boob and squeezed it roughly. I scremed so loudly. " you don't know.... how much I waited for this!!!"

When he was done playing with my boobs he got up and started taking off my panties. " Y-yuta please...." I begged again. "Shhh... You are wet... lemme help you." he said with his smirk. He bring his face close to my pussy and licked it. "Ummmmmmm..... heaven~" he whispered to himself.

He took off his clothes. His huge length was out now. My eyes widened at his length. It was too long and too thick. He grabbed his dick stroked it two or three times then line it with my entrence. I began to panic. I knew it wouldn't fit." Yuta.... please no .... Yuta please no... I'm begging you!!!" I begged him. He slapped me again. "Fuck... it's finally gonna happen " he said.

Yuta pushed his whole length in one slide and I screamed with pain. He didn't even give me time to adjust his size and started thrusting in and out roughly. I was screaming loudly. His huge dick was giving me too much pain. He started giving me hickeys on my neck and chest. His thrusting getting faster and harder. My whole body was shaking. He was moaning too. The way his dick was touching my g-spot made my back arch. It didn't take much time and I came. As I came that smirk again played on his lips.

I felt his dick start throbbing inside me. " Y-yuta please...not....not inside" I begged in a whisper because I didn't have the power to speak. It was too much for me. "Why not?... Don't you want a good innocent child like you thought I was?" He said with an evil laugh and thrust even harder. I started crying helpless. When my warm walls clenched around him he moaned loudly. In a few minutes he came inside me. He slowly pulled out and threw him beside me. He brought his face closer to mine and whispered....

"another round?" He whispered. My eyes widened. "No no no no... please no!" I sobbed and begged. But he started laughing evilly. I kept crying....

Give me your requests guys....

I love when you give me your requests 💕

[aeternallis]

It may be a bit of a hot take, but imo Kimchay has always been the most insidious of the three canon couples in KPTS, and I just love that for them.

It's deceptively easy at first glance to assume they're the healthiest/softest couple in the show, because at the onset of their relationship, they meet under the best of circumstances when compared to the other two. They don't have any questionable explicit scenes, and their storyline is almost cut off from the intertwining web of the other two couples' storylines.

But with the exception of their first meeting at the open house, every interaction thereafter—no matter how kind Kim acts, whatever feelings he begins to have for Chay, no matter how guilty he looks each time—takes place against the backdrop of Kim's hidden motives and the looming truth of who he is.

It's always been fascinating to me how KimChay stands out against the other two couples, because unlike Porsche and Pete who have the physical prowess to fight off Kinn and Vegas respectively and reinforce the boundaries they have when these hardheaded mafia men disrespects their autonomy, the only thing Chay has going for him in order to reinforce said boundaries is through mental fortitude. Being blunt with Kim about minding his own business, not answering his call, blocking his number...all these things shows the level of self-respect Chay has for himself when he's been wronged.

We the audience knows this, this isn't anything new. What Chay lacks in physical capability, he more than makes up for by that metaphorical spine of steel.

That’s not to say that I’m minimizing what Porsche and Pete went through; all the Theerapanyakul men are underhanded in some form or another. Porsche and Pete too have the capability in talking back through their own mental fortitude; they would have to, considering the lives they’ve lead thus far. But when push comes to shove, these two also have the added fighting capability—earned through a lifetime of hardship and necessity—to stave off the mafia men’s physical aggression, as we see a couple of times in the show. It’s partly through this fighting capability that they earn Kinn and Vegas’s respect, that they learn the hard way that Porsche and Pete won't be bullied so easily.

I cannot stress enough the fact that there is a difference between loving someone and respecting them.

The honesty between KinnPorsche and VegasPete has always had a brutal edge to it; I think it's why they both get a happily ever after (at least where we leave them off in the show), because they've already seen the worst of each other.

But we know that Chay in contrast isn't a fighter, if his immediate reaction to the kidnappers is anything to go by. One would think that this isn't his first rodeo with an attempted attack in his home (loan sharks and all that), and he’d know some self-defense considering who his brother is. Yet still, his instinct was to call for help, as he probably would do the same had Porsche been there with him.

But as we see in the show, Porsche’s overprotectiveness of Chay is to a point that it becomes detrimental to his safety. After all, why hasn't Porsche taught Chay to defend himself, if they've had experience before of getting harassed in their own home?

It's through mental fortitude alone that Chay can perfectly match Kim, because there is no way for this boy to fight off Kim’s aggression in the way Porsche and Pete can with Kinn and Vegas respectively.

And before I go on, I don't think there's any need to argue that Kim would never show or point towards Chay so much aggression, not when he's already done it:

The only reason Kim let go of his hand in this scene so easily is because he was stunned by Chay's antagonism towards him (besides the fact that he was butthurt af when Chay outright calls him out). This scene, along with the scene before it and the bar fight scene, heavily hints at the sort of aggression that Kim is potentially capable of showing/pointing towards Chay. (I wonder what was the stage direction given to Jeff in this scene that Barcode had to yank his wrist back that hard, yknow?)

I'm pretty sure this was partly the point of this scene below; it begs the question of that unknown dimension between the two of them:

But getting back on point: Chay only has his mental fortitude to match Kim and reinforce his boundaries, but even then, it’s not completely foolproof; given enough time, Kim can find ways to disarm Chay, as we see in their final scene together.

And of course it goes without saying, there are moments in the show where it's very obvious Kim truly returns Chay's affections, even moved and inspired by him. But ultimately, even where the audience is left off in terms of where their relationship is at, Kim doesn't respect him—or rather, he doesn't respect the boundaries Chay has drawn in the sand between them.

If Kim had truly respected those boundaries, he would not have reached out the way he did. He would not have reached out with an unknown number, in order to bait Chay into clicking that video link. He would not have used Chay's own song to re-write it into a love song for him.

Because for all of Chay's mental fortitude, in the end, even if Kim himself did not see Chay's reaction to the video, the end result he likely wanted came about: he found a way for Chay to pay attention to him again and more than that--hold that attention, because Chay doesn't delete the video.

Everything this final scene together entailed is arguably calculated on Kim's part. After all, nothing has changed: it happens against the backdrop of Kim's selfish motive. The motive has changed (from getting information on Porsche to getting Chay back/to forgive him), yes—but the nature of it hasn’t.

I think that's what makes Kimchay's relationship the most insidious of the three in my eyes, because despite everything they've been through so far, Kim still doesn't respect Chay's boundaries, not at this stage of their relationship, if ever. Besides that, Kim can and has found ways to counter Chay's strongest asset, to bring his guard down if you will.

And Chay has nothing else he can use against Kim to reinforce his boundaries, not fighting capability and certainly not distance, alas.

There is definitely a level of selfishness in Kim that surpasses the selfishness also inherent in Kinn and Vegas due to their upbringing, yknow?

It's why they hold my attention so much, I think: the sheer potential they have to become the most unhinged couple in this story, and how much I'm drawn to it like a moth a flame~

[pablitogavii]

i was wondering if you could write about gavi getting jealous after his friends talk about the reader (his girlfriend) being rlly pretty or about her ass and body and his teamates talking about how good she is and he see thee same teamates talking to her when she is coming to pick him up and he gets rlly clingy

Pablo's POV

It was a good game, a 3:0 win for Barça, and another goal for myself. It was definitely a good day and to top it all, my girl was watching me from the stands and is giving me a ride home.

"Buena juega!" Xavi hugged me before slapping my ass as I left toward the changing rooms. Mierda! Why always me!?

"Pablito had a supporter today at the stands chicos!" Ansu joked when we all arrived at the changing room starting to take off our sweaty jerseys. I just smiled feeling lucky to have a girl who would come watch my matches and be my big supporter.

"She looks so hot in a Barça jersey!" Araujo aded and I felt my fists clench.

Yeah, my jersey hijo de puta! I thought to myself but didn't let their provocations get to me. They always do things to get my reaction, calling me a "hot head" all the time.

"But hermano, her ass in that shorts...damn! Pablo is a lucky cabrón!" Ferran's chuckled and I clenched my jaw. That was my ass to look at, not yours!

"Things I'd do to that ass!" those words were the last straw and I turned around to face the three guys staring in amusement back at me.

"Watch it..she is MY girl!" I said giving them a death glare and they made a joke about it raising their hands in surrender.

What the fuck!? I never look at other man's girl...it's so filthy!

"Can I steal you for a moment Gavi?" Xavi called and I nodded hoping it won't take too long cause I couldn't wait to kiss her lips again.

Your POV

I was waiting by the gates like we said but Pablo was running a bit late. I just assumed he was celebrating his goal and an amazing win. I was really proud of him today!

I sat on some chairs taking out my phone to scroll through Instagram while I waited before I heard familiar voices calling my name.

It was Ansu, Araujo and Ferran with bright smiles on their faces and I got up politely smiling back. You didn't really interact much with Pablo's teammates, except for Pedri who is like a brother to you, but you were still friends.

"Pablo is right behind us. He was talking to Xavi about the national team stuff" Ansu told me and I nodded once again proud of my boy.

"You got him whipped Y/N. This was the first time I saw Pablo really jealous" Ferran commented and you got curious about what he meant so they told you the story.

"We did it on purpose, tho. To mess with him. Not that you aren't beautiful, but we respect that you are Pablo's girl of course" Araujo explained getting a little nervous but you giggled reassuring him that it was fine and kinda curious why Pablo got so riled up?

"Amor!" speak of the devil, Pablo rushed pushing past the guy and snaking his arms immediately around my waist and pulling me into quite a theatrical kiss.

"Alright, bye Pablo. Bye Y/N!" Ferran said as the three of them started walking away and Pablo made sure to stand right behind me to block any possible sight of my ass. He was so adorable when he was acting jealous!!

Pablo's POV

Why was she laughing with them!? Fuck! I was all of the sudden is such a bad mood!

"Everything alright, cariño?" she asked while driving us to my apartment and I just nodded murmuring a quick "fine" meanwhile still staring at my phone.

I was being stupid! She is my girl and she would never do anything with any of them!

"Congrats on a win but you don't really seem happy...what's up Pablito?" she asked me as we came into the apartment and I just tossed my bag onto the floor and went to sit on the sofa.

"I'm tired." was all I said really not in the mood to tell her that I was jealous because my teammates made inappropriate comments about how hot my girl is.

"Is this about what your teammates said?" she moved to sit next to me and I gave her a curious look. How did she know?

"How do you know about that?" I said

"They told me that you got really jealous because they talked about me?" she said making it sound like a joke but I wasn't exactly feeling like it was nothing.

"I'm not jealous! And they were not just talking about you! They were talking about things they would do to you...and how hot and sexy you are..and I'm sorry I don't find that funny!" I snapped at her and she gave me a concerned look. Fuck! Why did I yell at my princesa like that!?

"Pablo..they were doing it to get a reaction from you..that's all" she tried but to me it just felt like she was defending them. How the hell is any of this okay!?

Your POV

I just tried to deflate the situation, reassuring him that his teammates meant not harm but he just rolled his eyes leaving to get changed without a word.

Wow! This was such a stupid argument!

I followed behind him hearing that he was in the shower and I took that opportunity to get into pajamas and wait for him in our shared bed.

Hopefully the shower will help clam him down a bit.

When he came out in just his pajama pants and shirtless running a towel through his wet hair, I almost forgot we just had an argument..I was suddenly extremely turned on.

When he laid down, I moved closer kissing his cheek and down to his sharp jawline while he just stayed quiet hopefully enjoying my ministrations.

"Amor, can we not fight?" I whisper moving my hand now to touch his strong abs smirking when I saw that his eyes were closed and that he was certainly ready to fold as well. It was stupid after all!

"They were just messing with you Pablito.." I added not expecting him to suddenly move away turning around to look at me once again angry.

"Why are you defending them again!? Mierda! Whatever!" he said getting up before leaving to sleep in the guest room. Childish!

"You won't be able to sleep alone, angry bird!" I yelled after him knowing what a big cuddle bear my man is but also knowing I won't be able to fall asleep until his arms are around me again.

Pablo's POV

I knew I overreacted the moment I laid my head on the pillow of the guest room. I was just so furious that I didn't punch their stupid faces after the filth that left their mouth!

I was angry at them and I was taking it our on her..fucking idiot!

I regretted leaving the moment I did but I also happen to be a stubborn hijo de puta and I wanted to prove to her that I could sleep alone!

Almost two hours have past and I was twisting and turning trying to get comfortable but it was useless...I had nobody to hold..nobody's hair to kiss..nobody's breathing to listen to...I couldn't sleep without her!

I faked going to get some water stealing a glance through an open crack of our bedroom door just to see her twisting and turning he same way I did for past two hours. I was smirking. She couldn't sleep without me either.

When I slowly got back into our room, her back was turned towards me and I slowly slipped under covers snaking my arm around her waist receiving an immediate reaction while pulling her back against me.

"Finally..I knew you couldn't sleep alone Pablito" she teased and I refused to tell her how right she was. It was my ego what can I say.

"Nahh I just saw you fidgeting when I went to get some water and I felt bad princesa..that's all" I lied and she giggled pushing her bum more into me and i felt myself getting hard. Mierda! Why were we arguing again?

"I mean they are not wrong..your ass really is so hot bombón..hot and all mine!" I hummed feeling her move against me slowly and I grabbed her bum giving it a rough squeeze that made her moan loudly.

"Don't you think I deserve a treat for winning..and for not punching their faces" I smirked and she turned around kissing my lips passionately while running her small hands through my hair..fuck those made me weak.

"Mhmm whatever you want papi" she said preciously and I smirked biting her lower lip while getting on top of her determined to release some of this pent up frustration.

[detectivestucks]

A Jealous Hokage XIII

18+ content, Minors do NOT interact

Pairing: Kakashi x F!Reader x Obito

Summery: You go on your first mission and come home to a loving Kakashi, he trains you before your next mission where reality sets in.

Warnings: NSFW, canon violence, fingering, oral sex

Word Count: 10.3k

Art Credit: @akirasukuna

A/n: Just realized this was my 50th fic. Fun fact, part 1 was my first.

Part 12 New here? Check out Part 1

You and Naruto leave the Hidden Sand after a successful negotiation. Naruto had noted how easy it was to sway the Sand’s counsel of advisors this time compared to others. Usually Gaara has to work harder to make negotiations reach an agreement but the elders were nothing short of appreciative words and submissive smiles when they found out your name. Apparently everyone on the council already knew who you were. You did your best to assume it was because of your work but you were terrified to know if they knew of you before or after the mess at the gala. 

The entire ordeal was far more diplomatic than you were expecting and didn’t seem to garner a hint of danger. …leave it to Kakashi to find some loophole that makes you ‘active duty’ without being active. 

It almost made you wonder why he was so hesitant to do this to begin with. It was barely dangerous. You doubt that Naruto has used a single jutsu in the past year if these are Kakashi’s missions for him. It almost seems like a waste of his talents. Except the kid is crazy likable and powerful enough that people who don’t like him still respect him. 

Either way, you go as a group to look at the ruins and you make quick work of the translation. Much to the surprise of the Sand’s governing body and to the chagrin of their intelligence team, it takes you 4 days to work through all the tablets. Before you left, Gaara even asked to speak to you about a permanent position with his administration. As tempting as the offer was, you thought about Kakashi and Shiho and your cousin. You didn’t want to move far away from them like that. 

“The Leaf is very lucky to have you. Of that I am certain.” Gaara says in reply to your rejection. 

You shrug and give him a cocky smile saying, “Maybe tell them that sometime.”

Gaara gives a small chuckle, not entirely sure what you mean, but he makes sure to bring it up in his raven back to the Hokage thanking him for your visit.

–

Jumping tree to tree you notice how keen Naruto is to get back to the village. It makes you happy to see the boy’s eagerness to see Hinata. You wonder if Kakashi would’ve been that way had the two of you met sooner. Your mind starts to wander to Obito. He had once said how he’d teleport back home even during missions so he could be with you. You bet Obito would have the same look in his eyes that Naruto does. 

The thought pangs you. The way Obito’s eyes soaked in your presence the last time you saw him. The love you feel from him with nothing more than a single look, it touches your soul. Part of you wishes he'd stop looking at you that way, the other part of you knows a little piece of you will die the day he does.  

You shake the thought from your mind as you near the village gate. You’re home and ready to see the man you chose, the man you’ve been in love with from the start. Much to your surprise, Kakashi is actually at the village gate waiting for you. 

“Angel.” he greets with relief laced through his voice. He instantly pulls you into a strong hug. Both arms are wrapped around your smaller form and you feel as if he might crush you from his strong hold. 

“Hi baby.” you say in muffled tones. You could barely breathe let alone talk from the way Kakashi held you. 

“Kakashi-sensei, do I have permission to turn in the report tomorrow.”

“Go home to Hinata. We can talk tomorrow.”

“Thanks Kakashi-sensei.”

Naruto’s face says it all. The boy is madly in love. Similar to the man holding you hostage at this very moment. 

“Kashi, you didn’t have to be so worried. Everyone was very friendly. And Gaara is Naruto’s friend. There wasn’t any danger.” you whine. 

“There’s always danger when I let you out of my sight.”

You think back to the event shortly before you left. Now it feels like a lifetime ago but maybe for Kakashi it was too soon. He did have the trial while you were out of the village. Perhaps for him this is all too fresh.

“Kashi, I’m fiiine.” You struggle to say as you reassure him. “And can you please stop crushing me? I can hardly breathe.”

Kakashi gives you one last harsh squeeze before loosening his grip and settling for just a hand around your waist. The two of you walk across the village to your home so you can shower and change into less sweaty clothes. 

“How was your trip?”

“Very productive. I assume you already knew that though since Lord Kazekage sent a raven.”

Kakashi gives you a proud smile. 

“Four days.” He says. You crack up at the implication. “I bet his translators were pissed.”

“Oh they were. They gave me death glares.”

“See? I told you it was dangerous.”

“Oh please.” You roll your eyes with a smile. “I think they all believe I’ll be responsible for their unemployment.”

“Ah, so you are thinking about the job offer.”

You study Kakashi’s face at this remark. He was joking but his eyes were dark with sadness.

“No, I wasn’t.” you correct him. “Did Gaara seriously tell you about that?”

“He asked me to have you reconsider.”

“Hey,” you coo as you lift your hand to brush his cheek, “I didn’t even consider it for a second. I don’t wanna leave the village.”

The worry on Kakashi’s face remains. “I’d think after everything that’s happened…”

You stop in the middle of the street and turn to face him. “I’m not leaving. I wanted a break, not a relocation. I’m happy with my new position. It makes me feel a lot better. Thank you.”

The puppy dog look in Kakashi’s face melts your heart. You had the man utterly wrapped around your finger. You weren’t sure you were comfortable with the influence you had over one of the most powerful men in the village. It could be dangerous if you are in the wrong mood. 

You walk in comfortable silence the rest of the way home. 

The second you are through your front door, Kakashi dotes over you. You walk in to find all your favorite takeout is already waiting in the fridge, fresh flowers are at the table, and he had all the fixings for a lovely soak in the tub waiting in your bathroom. Kakashi heats up your food and then moves to get your bath ready while you eat. You can’t remember a time you’d been pampered so much in your life and it has you worried that Kakashi did something wrong while you were away. 

He comes out of your bathroom, his sleeves rolled up, rubbing the suds off of his forearms. He paces over to where you are sitting, happily slurping away at your noodles, and plants a wet kiss on your forehead.

“Your bath is ready my Angel.”

“Oh?”

His eyes twinkle down at you.

“Will you be joining me in said bath?” you ask as you walk your fingers up his shirt.

“Only if you agree to sit in my lap.” he whispers into the shell of your ear.

You close your eyes and hum at his sultry tone. 

“Here” you say, trying to feed him some of your noodles with your chopsticks. “You’re gonna need your energy.”

Kakashi happily takes several bites, letting you share your supper as his hands wander under your shirt. 

Once your noodles are gone the two of you practically sprint over to your bathroom, stripping as you go. He loves how even though you are much more muscular now, you’re still soft and pliable like you always were, just with some extra hidden strength below the tender flesh. He slips into the bath, holding out his hand to let you in. You sink down beneath the bubbles and lean against Kakashi’s hard chest. He somehow remains in exquisite shape even after taking an office job. You wonder how much training a Hokage goes through to stay sharp in the face of a true village threat. You allow yourself to settle against his warm milky skin and turn your head so that your ear rests on his heart. His arms wrap around your waist just under your chest. 

You breathe deeply, taking a moment to appreciate the epsom salt relieving your muscles. You look around to the lavender candles lit along the rim, the purple bubbles filling the tub up to your shoulders, and listen to the soft music playing in the background. The man knew how to draw a bath. 

You nestle into him a little deeper and feel his member stiffen a bit in the small of your back. You sleepily let the tiniest giggle slip out when you notice.

“You think it’s funny, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s funny.”

“You’re the one pushing against me.” he says as he draws shapes on your arm with his finger.

“I know.” you simper. “I can only imagine how your fangirls would feel if they found out I gave you a boner and didn’t do anything about it.” That thought really pulls at the corners of your lips.

Kakashi scoffs. “My fangirls…”

“I’m sure I could fuel their little fires for a year with that tidbit of information.”

“Don’t go telling anyone about your Hokage’s boners, now. Especially not my fangirls. That’s an order.” he punctuates with a playful kiss to your cheek.

You hum. Him giving you orders is very seductive and the mood this bath is putting you in has you pliable to suggestions. 

“Why? Afraid of an international incident?”

“You might start one.” he jests, now kissing your neck. “What if my fangirl forms an alliance with a fangirl from another nation? I’m quite famous ya know.”

“Oh I’m well aware. Some girls from the Sand were asking me about you.”

That piece of information doesn’t sit well with Kakashi. He knows that he made a fool of you in front of the representatives of other nations at the gala. He also knows that’s part of why you were so furious with him. He wishes he could take it all back and never put you through that humiliation. 

“Kashi,” you hush with gentle strokes along his forearm, “it’s okay. I’ve gotten over it. I forgive you.”

Kakashi lets out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding in. 

“Since when do you forgive me?”

“Now that you’re letting me go on missions. It’s a lot easier to forgive when you feel at peace.”

“So you- you feel at peace?”

You sleepily nod against his chest. 

Kakashi responds by cradling you protectively, relief flooding through his muscles.

“Word’s already spread that you’re doing international visits. I got three ravens while you were gone.”

“Oh?”

“One from the kazekage thanking us, one from the Hidden Waterfall, and one from the Hidden Stone.”

“That’s a good thing, right?”

“It is. You’re a powerful resource. But it also means you might be targeted.”

“How so? They’re gonna capture me to interpret a dusty scroll?” you laugh, “Let them.”

“Y/N, I’m serious.”

“Sorry.”

“The more of these visits you do, the more S class intel you know about various nations. Rouge shinobi will want to capture you for that knowledge. They will interrogate you and possibly torture you.”

“I guess I hadn’t thought about that.”

“That’s why I never entertained this idea before.”

You chuckle.

“What’s so funny?”

“You thought about sending me to other nations before?”

“Of course. My first week in office.”

You snort. “...knew it.”

Kakashi’s hand plays with yours. His thumb brushes your knuckle as you interlock and unlock your fingers with his. 

“We’ve got to be at the training grounds early tomorrow.”

“We do?”

“Yes, I promised I’d train you.”

“Right…”

You nestle into Kakashi further, making sure to wiggle an extra amount down below, earning a grunt from the man. 

“Y/n…” he warns

“What?” you pout with doe eyes, “I thought maybe I’d earn some extra credit by doing a pre-workout tonight.”

The wolfish glint in his eyes excites you. You feel him spring to life against your lower back and the lazy conversation you just had washes from your mind as your hormones replace it with thoughts of more engaging activities. 

Kakashi raises a hand to your chin, turning your head and kissing your neck slowly. Your eyes close and you feel your entire body relax. His lips move slowly over your skin, allowing you to feel the gentle tickle of his soft lips and warm breath. You tilt your head out of his way, granting him further access. 

He moves both hands to your waist, gripping you firmly and pulling you against him. You roll your hips backward providing him with friction while one of your hands reaches backwards to tug at his hair. One of Kakashi’s hands slides down between your legs, his fingers finding your clit and rubbing slow circles.

“Fuck Kashi…” you whisper 

Kakashi hums into your neck, continuing his gentle strokes. You struggle to catch your breath and use your free hand to grasp your chest. Your fingers pressing into the fat of your breast, adding to the building sensation in your core. 

Kakashi’s hand kneads the muscle on your hip as his other hand lowers, slipping two fingers into your folds. Your breath hitches with the insertion followed by a low moan. Teeth graze over your skin and goosebumps erupt all throughout your limbs. 

Kakashi strokes his fingers in and out of you lazily, allowing you to bask in the feeling. He’d occasionally pull all the way out to rub a few circles around your nub before sinking back in, stealing your breath away completely. You tried to keep swirling your hips against him but soon you were unable to keep rhythm as his fingers distracted you from all thoughts and actions. 

Enjoying how he threw you off your game, Kakashi shoves in a third finger, stretching you out. The bathwater began lapping at the edges of the tub as his hand quickened in and out of your hole. His fingers curl upwards to stroke where you like it most. Your feet push against the front of the tub, your legs stiffening from ecstasy. Your back pushes into his chest as you squirm in pleasure. The faster he stroked the more you moved causing the hand on your hip to grab around your waist and then ultimately grip you at your breast, your hand still cupping the other one. 

“Going somewhere?” He taunted

“Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck.” is all you could pant. Breathing out the words like a mantra. The hand that had a death grip on Kakashi’s silver mane found a new home clutching the rim of the bathtub as you braced for your impending orgasm. Your legs straightened against the tub, shoving you fully into Kakashi’s abdomen. He gives your chest one last squeeze before lowering the hand to whirl around your clit while he dug four digits into your straining cunt. He finger fucked you till your walls spasmed around his knuckles and chocked moans are all that mingled with the sounds of the splashing water.

Your eyes rolled back and your body went limp. Kakashi could feel how your walls trembled with aftershocks from your release. Your heart was beating heavily in contrast to the near lifeless state of the rest of you.

Kakashi chuckles into your ear. “Greedy girl, giving me a boner and then getting herself off. Tsk tsk.”

His voice was smooth as honey and his words made a wave of chills wash over you in the warm soapy bath water. Kakashi fed you his fingers before he used one to trace along your cheek and jaw bone, musing aloud, “I guess I’ll have to take care of this myself or risk getting blue balls. What a shame that I have such a selfish girlfriend.”

“Kashi…” you whisper, exhausted from both your mission and your orgasm 

“Yes Angel?”

Too fucked out to form a sentance, you instead lazily turn around in the tub and push Kakashi’s legs together so your knees could rest on the outside of his hips. You prop yourself up on his chest and lay your head in the curve of his neck. You line up your entrance over his hardened length and slowly sit down. You hear him suck in as he sinks inside of your gummy walls. There is a slight twitch inside of you but you’re too tired to care. Instead you drift off, falling asleep and napping while cockwarming him inside of you. 

Eventually you find yourself in your bed but you don’t have any recollection of how you got there. You’re dry with comfortable pajamas on and your boyfriend’s arms wrapped around you. It was quite blissful. If this is what being home from missions is like, then this is by far the best career move you’ve ever made. 

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

The next morning, Kakashi decided against going to the training grounds and instead had you running up and down the stairs leading to the cliff above the great stone faces. While this was once a workout you relished in, you never had to do it so many times in a row and you were never expected to spar afterwards.

“Kakashi, we’ve been going at it for hours…” you pant, bent over with your hands perched on your knees.

“Wrong attitude.”

“Babe, I mean it” you say sternly, trying to communicate that you were at your limit.

Kakashi ignores your tone and only charges at you, forcing you to block several strikes with your forearms. You catch him smiling below his mask. 

“It’s not funny” you grunt between blocks.

Kakashi’s slick fingers pull out a kunai as he continues his attacks. You can’t believe how relentless he’s being. You feel like you might collapse and he still chooses to pull out weapons. 

Obito was harsh but Kakashi was down right dangerous. He backs you up to the cliff’s edge and you almost fall over. A gasp slips from your lips in fear. Kakashi feels the length in his pants twitch at the familiar sound. However he ignores it and keeps pushing forward till you fall off the side. You draw the last of your chakra to catch yourself before you plummet to the ground and what would have been certain death.

“You’re a mad man!” you shout up at him with every spare drop of energy you had. 

All you hear is laughter coming from your boyfriend atop the cliff.

“Dick…” you grumble while you pull yourself back up to where he stood. 

Exhausted and unable to stand, you crawl to his feet before falling over on your back, eyes closed as you face the sky. Kakashi continues to chuckle and you open one eye to glare at him. 

“Something funny?”

“Oh nothing…”

That’s when you realize a tent is pitched in his pants. “Did you seriously get a boner from pushing me off a cliff?!”

Kakashi’s face blushes, small laughs still rocking his chest. “Whatcha gonna do about it?”

“I hate you so much right now.”

Kakashi lowers himself to the ground, beginning to whisper in your ear as he hovers his body over yours.

“Sorry, you make your bedroom noises while you train. It’s quite distracting.”

If you could roll your eyes you would’ve, but instead you just lay there collecting your breath.

“Hmm, your lack of response is really quite concerning. Perhaps you need more motivation.”

You go to swat at him but instead he grabs you by the waist and throws you over his shoulder as if you were no more than a sack of potatoes, marching off to a wooded area with you like the spoils of war. 

Once there was a little bit of privacy Kakashi sets you down against a tree, the trunk helping you sit up. 

“Tsk tsk, still unresponsive. Maybe we should work on your breath control to improve your cardiovascular endurance.”

You give him a questioning look as a wicked smile stretches over his face. Oh no. You feel Kakashi fist your hair with one hand as he frees his hardened length with the other. 

“Open.”

You look up at him pleading. You’re so exhausted, you can barely keep your eyes open let alone give head. He holds the base of his cock and lightly beats your cheek with it. “I said open slut.”

As you feel the weight of his girth strike you in the face you flinch but you comply, opening wide so he could stuff his salty member between your lips. Your eyes nearly close at his taste, your tongue instinctively tracing up the underside of his shaft.

“Good girl” he coos as his thumb brushes your cheek before both hands settle into your hair. 

You relax your jaw and stick out your tongue as Kakashi strokes lazily into your mouth. His tip prods at the back of your throat, slipping all the way in before pulling out. Your tired breathing is interrupted by selfish pleasure. You cough around him still winded from before. 

“Hmm” he hums disapprovingly. “Let’s try that again, shall we?”

He slides himself all the way in and holds you there. Your exhausted body begins to wake up, half heartedly pushing him off of you. He pulls back allowing you to pant and catch your breath. 

“Again.”

He shoves himself back in, hands holding your head captive. You struggle and cough with him shoved all the way down but he just tauntingly slaps the side of your face with his hand before loosening his grip so you can breathe. 

“I think the lesson’s starting to stick. Let’s try one more time.”

Your eyes look up at him begging for mercy but there’s none to be had in his lust-fogged mind, he buries himself in your throat again. Your head is pushed up against the tree’s bark, no way for you to get off of him. 

You try inhaling but there is just no way for oxygen to get past his girth. Kakashi pinches your nose, shaking it side to side. The evil teasing is causing a surprising amount of wetness between your legs. He starts to stroke in and out of your mouth.

“You know, you never returned the favor last night. Maybe it’s time to remedy that.”

You’re dreading his words, knowing what they mean. Both of Kakashi’s hands grip your hair, threading his fingers through your locks as he widens his stance. “Relax your throat for me Angel.” Given how tired you were, you were barely capable of tensing up. You were so oxygen deprived that your chest was heaving and your mind was fuzzy but that didn’t stop the puddle of arousal forming in your underwear. 

His fingers tighten and that’s your cue. Kakashi throws his hips into your mouth, fucking your face with reckless abandon. Wet ragged breaths are pulled down your windpipe between thrusts. Kakashi’s quick to cut off your air supply with his manhood. Your tired arms claw at his thighs making an appeal to be granted a breath. Gurgling sounds are all that are emitted from your mouth as he abuses your throat for his own pleasure. Your watery eyes look up at him but his head is lolled back, looking towards the treetops. More choked breaths lead to him twitching inside the column of your neck. 

“Fffffuckk…” he grunts, his pace slowing down. 

You feel hot cum spring out of him and travel down your throat. “Oh shit… Angel... Fuck.” He draws a breath through his teeth as he trusts in and out of you, emptying himself in your mouth. He finally withdraws and leans his forearm and head against the tree, holding his softening cock in his hand. You pant with your mouth open, tongue hanging out, the back of your head perched against the tree. 

Once Kakashi catches his breath he tucks himself away and squats down next to you. One hand cupping your cheek, he releases you with the words, “I think that’s enough training for one day.”

You close your eyes and fall limp against his chest. “Thank gods.”

He chuckles as he holds you, brushing your hair and cradling you in his arms.

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

You were only home for three days before Kakashi caved and sent you on your next mission. During those remaining two days, Kakashi had you run drills with Naruto so you could get used to his fighting style and practice defensive formations that would allow you to escape while Naruto restrained and eliminated enemy nin. 

At the end of the day, no matter how strong you might become, you could never compare to the power of an Uchiha susanoo like Obito and Sasuke or a tailed beast like Naruto and Kuruma. That was why Kakashi left the responsibility to Naruto to fight off the enemy single handedly while you ran for safety. He was not about to risk your life fighting when Naruto could do it for you and do it easily at that. 

During these training sessions you became rather familiar with Naruto and grew to enjoy the boy quite a bit. He was turning out to be a fun teammate and even entertaining to fight with. Kakashi’d actually have to break a sweat when fighting him which you found endlessly humorous after he spent so much time beating up on you. 

Inevitably though, the day came that Kakashi would be forced to say goodbye and send you off on another mission. This time you were to visit two villages before returning home. First you are headed to the Hidden Waterfall to interpret markings found on a cliff face. Then you are to make your way to the Hidden Stone to evaluate a set of scrolls that the village was too hesitant to transport to the Leaf. According to Kakashi, the Tsuchikage had been asking for the Hokage’s permission to have you look at these scrolls for quite some time. 

You couldn’t help but notice how well respected you were by other nations. You also couldn’t help but contrast that to how you were being treated here at home. Doing your best to not dwell on the comparison, the thoughts still slip through and it causes a tightness in your chest. 

—

Naruto and you leave the Hokage’s office bright and early that morning. Another goodbye riddled with emotions as Kakashi looks at you like it’s the last time he’ll ever see your face. 

Once out of the familiar village your mind is able to focus. The mission was clear. Transcribe for the Waterfall then send a raven to the land of earth when you are on your way. 

It was going to be a longer mission. Partly due to the amount of distance you’d have to travel but also because you were unsure how long each interpretation would take. The mission could easily turn into a two month project. That was a long time to be away. Especially for Naruto. You wondered about how Hinata felt about his long absence. Especially one with a questionable return date. 

“Naruto?”

“Yeah?”

“How does Hinata feel about you always being away on missions?”

“Well back when she had missions of her own she didn’t mind at all. Sometimes we even had missions together.”

“Aww, that’s sweet”

“But now that we’re thinking of trying for a baby, I know she misses me.”

“You’re…congratulations!”

“What for?”

“Trying for a kid is a big deal!”

“Is it? Well gosh. Thanks I guess!” he says with a nervous scratch to his head. You feel a sudden wave of guilt wash over your mood as you contemplate how Kakashi is risking Naruto’s dream of having a family to save your skin. What a sacrifice for him to make all over a small possibility of someone trying to abduct you over some silly language skills and intel you may discover in the process. Before he was doing normal diplomatic visits. No risk involved whatsoever and now…the way Kakashi made it sound had you nervous. 

Your thoughts are broken by the sound of your name.

“-huh?”

“I said, why did you ask?”

“O-oh, cause Kakashi seems to be struggling with my absence. And well, he went on missions for a long time. So he should understand this lifestyle better than any other boyfriend I could have-”

“Maybe that’s what’s making him nervous. He knows how often we come home by some stroke of luck or by the skin of our teeth, ya know?”

“But, I have you. How could he question if I’m gonna make it home?”

“Kakashi-sensei knew me when I was nothing more than a hard headed kid. He might not view me the same as the rest of the village.”

You chuckle remembering how crazy he used to be. Kakashi had shown you his official ninja ID photo just yesterday.

“What?”

“Did you know your file still has that crazy photo of you with red and white paint?”

“It does?! Aww man!”

You laugh and shake your head. “Thank you Naruto.”

“What for?”

“For protecting me. And for being the reason why Kakashi is letting me do this. I needed this…more than you might now.”

Naruto did know. He knew exactly how the village turned on you when they found out you had been secretly seeing the Hokage. Not to mention the events the day before you were assigned to him. He wasn’t going to say anything but he could imagine just how much you needed a break from the Leaf after all of that.  He remembers when there was a time he needed a break from it too.

“...You’re welcome.”

You smile to yourself and continue your travels to the Hidden Waterfall in comfortable silence.

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

The Hidden Waterfall was even more beautiful than you expected. Both the landscape and the people were gorgeous. You felt like you entered a fairy tale while you were there. The hieroglyphics you were tasked with deciphering were etched into the side of the cliff by one of the waterfalls. It was a harrowing climb and the job was definitely not for the faint of heart. You suddenly became grateful that Kakashi shoved you off a cliff during your last training session but like hell you were ever going to tell him that. Despite the bodily exhaustion of getting to the engravings, the actual symbols themselves weren’t too far off from a dead language you had learned for fun a couple years back. 

Your first visit to the site, you were accompanied by the village leader, an archaeologist, and two linguists with Naruto serving as your chaperone. However, once you got to work and they saw how quickly you began stringing the pieces together, the next day there was an extra person watching you. Then the next day there were three new faces, and by the fourth day you had to express your discomfort because a total of 12 additional strangers had come to stare at you as you clung to the side of a cliff trying to wraith and decode simultaneously. 

On the fifth day you had written down all the symbols on a scroll along with your initial thoughts of the translation so you didn’t need to climb back up again. When you started trying to blend the message together, you found that some parts of the cliff didn’t weather so well and the symbols must have been distorted with time. Being the perfectionist you were, you drew what you believed the original shape was and worked till the meaning made sense. 

To your great surprise, the cliff held clues towards a secret hidden power within the city’s walls. Something similar to the secret star in the Hidden Star Village.

This must be the kind of thing Kakashi was worried about me learning. 

“People will already notice you because you are beautiful. They will pretend that is why they are staring at you. Pile on that you are a genius, the hokage’s girlfriend, and the amount of village secrets you know and it’s a recipe for abduction.” Kakashi’s words of warning run in your mind. 

All those people. What was their motive for watching you? Cause you were the pretty girlfriend of the hokage, or because they were impressed with your skills? Were they interested in what you were doing or were they observing with nefarious intent? 

Either way, you were relieved that the head of the village was respectful of your wish to be alone. He would not allow you to be completely alone, of course. He needed to make sure you didn’t make a copy of the translation for yourself or a copy to sell to other nations. But he was very polite in the way that he asked to sort through your belongings at the end of your stay and you made certain to assure him that you understood his intentions. 

Ever grateful for your help, they sent you off on your journey with copious amounts of rations and per Naruto’s request, provided several packs of instant ramen. Many people involved in the project waited at the village entrance to waive you off as you left. You felt like a small celebrity as you reentered the forest.

“Is this how you feel all the time?”

“What’d you mean?”

“Everyone recognizing you and waving at you as if you know them.”

“Well…I guess sometimes, yeah.”

“Does it ever bother you?’

“No. There was a time where everyone knew me but they either ignored me or gave me looks of hate. I’m much happier knowing no one thinks of me like that anymore.”

The boy once more tugging at your heartstrings. Naruto was just so wholesome, it was impossible not to like him. No wonder Kakashi used him for all his diplomatic dealings.

As you smile at Naruto, you notice his face drop into a stern expression. He peered over his shoulder, nodded, and then looked forward again. 

“What was that for?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t play dumb with me. I saw that”

“Saw what?”

“Saw you nod at something- or someone. Is someone there?”

“No, I just thought there was.”

You didn’t appreciate how Naruto brushed you off like you were stupid. He had just watched you bring an entire village to marvel at your intelligence. Clearly you were smart, so what was with playing coy?

What you didn’t realize is that Naruto sensed familiar chakra. A certain Uchiha to be exact. The worried aura appeared suddenly and as Naruto glanced over, his suspicions were confirmed. Obito had teleported over to see how you were doing. Naruto gave him a reassuring nod to which the Uchiha nodded back. It wasn’t the first time Obito had checked in on you nor would it be the last. The idea of you being so far from his protection was extremely distracting and though he had fought side by side with Naruto and knew his strength, he was still haunted with worry after he wasn’t there to protect you from Aoto’s attack weeks prior. So even if it was in secret, he'll pop in and check on you, just for his own peace of mind. 

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

At last you made it to the Stone and to your great surprise, you were greeted with a small entourage and a young woman. 

“Hello, Y/N I take it.”

“I, uh, yes. I’m sorry, who are you?”

“I’m Kurotsuchi, the fourth Tsuchikage.”

“Oh!” You immediately bow, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. I was expecting an old man.”

“You mean my grandfather!”

She laughs and puts her arm on your shoulder signaling for you to stand up. 

“It’s okay, how would you know? You were pretty distracted the first time we met.”

“We’ve met?”

She bursts out roaring, almost making herself cry. You weren’t a fan of being kept in the dark so you stood there growing in frustration till she explained that you had met the same night that Kakashi blew up an entire street fighting with his best friend. 

The blush that took over your cheeks is so bright it can easily be confused with a sunburn. 

Kurotsuchi clutches her side, “Oh,” she wheezes “I don’t think Kakashi will ever live that one down.” Your blush now growing to your ears, you wished you could’ve dealt with the old man. You doubt he would’ve cared about idle gossip as much as his granddaughter did. You quickly clear your throat to cut her off. 

“So I understand I was summoned to look at a set of scrolls?”

The tsuchikage calms herself before clearing her throat like you, “Yes, we’ve been holding on to these for quite awhile. Please follow me.”

You follow her though the village, several armed guards convoy after the three of you. 

“I apologize for all the security. We’ve been concerned about these scrolls for quite some time and we need to make sure you are protected while you’re here.”

“Thank you. I’m sure Kakashi would appreciate it.”

“They are also here to guard the scrolls from you.” You’re left a little stunned into silence. “While we cannot help what you will learn in this process, you will not be permitted to write anything down and take it outside of the secured area.”

You exhale as you comprehend. “Oh, no worries. I handle classified information all the time. I understand.”

She leads you to the village headquarters and through several doors that are locked with both ID cards and chakra signatures. You walk through windowless corridors and realize though the intel is likely just as precious to the village, it is a very different environment from your visits to the Sand and Waterfall. You couldn’t help but notice how much more severe the people of the stone were. They were quick to laugh but equally quick to scowl. 

Your eyes continue to wander around and your appreciation for Naruto’s company grew. You would never want to be behind so many locks and doors without an ally on the inside. Eventually you come to the end of a hallway and are asked to raise your hand. You comply and see a chakra force field materialize. Kurotsuchi weaves signs and then pushes your hand into the force. You feel a warmth tingle against your palm till suddenly your arm falls through. She pulls you through but you stop halfway across the threshold.

“What about Naruto?”

“He can guard from the outside.”

“No.”

“Did you just say no?”

“I’m not going anywhere without him. Kakashi’s orders.”

“These are classified village secrets. You’re in no position to determine who does and does not have access to this room.”

“And I am a world-class mind. You’ve been holding onto these scrolls for a year looking for someone who can interpret them. I know what value I bring and so does my Hokage. Hence why he sent me with a jinchuriki bodyguard. I am not going to put myself in a more compromising situation than I already am by being a foreigner in a distant village. Either he enters with me or we leave.”

You see her face twist in anger. 

“If you need to discuss it with your village elders, we can wait.”

She begins to chew on her bottom lip in thought before she nods and gestures for Naruto to put his hand on the chakra barrier. 

You both step through and enter one final door before you are greeted with a floor to ceiling bookcase of scrolls. 

“Wow” you whisper, barely audible as you gawk at how much work awaits you. 

“May I?” you ask, turning towards Lady Fourth. 

She gestures for you to move towards the scrolls. You stride up to the shelves and grab one at eye level. You unfurl the paper and scan down the old parchment. The symbols looked familiar but also very strange. You wished you were at home where you had several textbooks that you could use as reference but alas they were too far away. 

“How many are there?”

“One hundred and twenty three. We wondered if it was an intentional amount.”

Naruto lets out a small groan, surely distraught at the idea of missing Hinata’s ovulation window.

“Why didn’t you warn us that this was going to be a lengthy job?”

“The less information the better.”

“I disagree. Having adequate expectations and perhaps an idea of what resources from home I might need would’ve sped up this project. It could be entirely possible that we will have to return home before I’m done.”

“Are you saying you can’t do it?”

“I can, but if I had a small sample of this writing, there would’ve been a couple textbooks I would’ve brought for references.” You purse your lips together in thought. “I’ll do what I can. If I get stuck we will have to come back for a second visit.”

While Kurotsuchi didn’t seem pleased about your answer, she didn’t seem displeased either so she left two guards in the room with you and Naruto and made her departure. 

“Oh, and by the way, we will provide for all your needs while you're here. You just have to promise to stay within the main part of the village where my Anbu can see you at all times.”

“Understood, Thank you Lady Tsuchikage.”

You turn back to the scroll in your hand. “Naruto, I’ll do my best to make this quick. I won’t keep Hinata waiting.”

“Thank you Y/N, but don’t worry about me. There’s always next month.”

“Here, grab the scrolls on the top shelf for me. I’m gonna need to see if there is a numbering system. Maybe I can put them in order.”

Fortunately for you, the numerals used in the language of the scrolls weren't too archaic and you figured them out without reference but the language of the scrolls themselves was perplexing. They could almost be read in three different languages but none of the sentences made sense when read as any of them. You were really wishing you had your textbook. The one in your office in the bottom drawer of your desk. Why didn’t you just think to pack it just in case?

You turn to one of the guards feeling a headache coming on. “May I take a walk outside? I need to clear my mind.”

They bow and lead you through all the barriers and doors, bringing you up to the front of headquarters. The final rays of sunlight can be seen through the glass doors. Naruto follows your lead and steps outside with you. The sun’s fading light causes you to realize you’ve neglected your needs the entire day. Soon you hear Naruto’s stomach call for food. 

“Let’s get something to eat.”

“Thanks.” He said with a grateful smile. The two of you head off to a local ramen shop, not feeling adventurous about your food choice. Naruto stuffs himself then heads to the bathroom, leaving you alone at the table. You pay the bill with the money left by the tsuchikage and decide to wait outside in the sweet smell of dusk. 

Something about the way the fresh air fills your nose and the falling darkness of night comforts your mind, brings you peace. That is until a heavy hand lands on your shoulder frightening you. You spin around, ready to attack. 

“Princess, relax! It’s me!”

“Obito?!?!”

Your fear quickly melts to relief as you jump into the man’s arms. He holds onto you like a precious treasure. 

“What are you doing here?”

“I was worried so I decided to check in.”

“Did Kakashi send you?”

“No, he thinks I’m still on my mission.”

“Are you still on your mission?”

“Technically, yes.”

You let out a little giggle. You missed him more than you realized. Your arms restrict around his upper body in an impossibly tight hug. Obito hugged you back and spun you around like you were weightless. Setting you down where he first startled you. 

“Wait, Obito, I just had an idea.”

“What is it Princess?” 

“This assignment, it’s going to be long. Like really long. But I think I have a textbook in my office that could help me figure out the language. Would you Kamui back to my office and bring it to me?”

“Kakashi would know I’ve been visiting you then.”

“Is that a problem?…aside from the fact that you’re supposed to be on your own mission.”

“Well he specifically didn’t want me checking in on you.”

You hum, “I’m surprised. I’d think he’d want reassurance that I was alright.”

“He’s insecure about our relationship.”

You don’t respond. If the roles were reversed you’d feel insecure too.

“But I’m sure Shiho will keep quiet for me.”

Your eyes light up at this. “Really?! It would make the translation go so much faster.”

“Sure. I can’t say no to you.” His face softens significantly as he stares down at you. It warms your heart to look at him. He was too good for your silly love triangle. He deserved better. He should be someone’s first and only choice. Why did he choose to love you?

“It’s the biggest book in the bottom drawer of my desk. You can’t miss it.”

“Care to tell me the title at least?”

This brings a small laugh to your lips. “I could but it’s in a language you don’t understand so I doubt you’ll remember it.” 

“Odjebi”

You gasp at his profanity pretending to be insulted before you break into a smile.

“You remembered!!”

“Of course I remembered. I remember everything you tell me.”

“Aww Obi”

“Stop swooning I just told you to fuck off” 

You giggle and wonder how many of the curse words you taught him that night he still knew.

“Still doesn’t mean you’ll remember the book title. Just ask Shiho if she’s there cause if anyone moved it, it would’ve been her.”

“Fine” he grumbles. “I’ll be right back.”

In a blink he swirls away, leaving you alone once more, just outside the noodle shop. You can’t help but think Naruto must be having a terrible time on the toilet if he’s taking this long. You wonder if he hadn’t relieved himself in a while. Fortunately you don’t continue musing on this thread much longer as Obito reappears in front of you holding one massive textbook. 

“You weren’t kidding when you said I couldn’t miss it.”

“Thank you!” you say as the weight of the pages is transferred into your arms. “Anyone see you?”

“Nope.”

“You’re the king of sneaking around.”

“You don’t know the half of it.”

“And I never plan to.” you say with a curt nod. Obito only smirks at your response. 

“Stay safe, Princess.”

“Same to you Obi.”

Before he goes, he wraps his arms around you and kisses the top of your head. “I’m proud of you, miss hot-shot interpreter.”

You sink into his chest. He really does give the best hugs. “Thanks Obi but you’re embarrassing me.”

“Oh I embarrass you huh? Should I make a scene?”

“Obi!” you shove him off to which he laughs with a jolly and boisterous chuckle. “I’ll see you back at the village.”

“Not if I see you first.”

“Gonna keep spying on me then, huh?”

“Absolutely.”

Your face softens into a grin. “Niiiight!” you sing at him

“Night Princess.” and with a twinkle in his eye you watch him vanish.

Holding the text to your chest, you wait for Naruto while the warmth of seeing Obito fills your weary mind. 

“There you are, Y/N. What’re you doing out here?”

“Hm? Oh, just enjoying being outside. We’re going to be indoors a lot over the next couple weeks. I wanted to say goodbye to the sun.” You finish the last sentence in a dramatic fashion earning a chortle from the golden haired boy. 

“Hey, uh, Y/N?”

“Hmm?”

“Where, uh, where did you get that book?”

“Oh! I un-” Should you tell Naruto about Obito? “I-I bought it from a shop nearby.”

You weren’t sure if lying to Naruto was the right thing to do but you also weren’t sure how he would feel about Obito following you. He would be loyal to Kakashi for sure but how would that loyalty manifest?

“Is it gonna help you with the scrolls?”

“Very much, yes.” you beam.

The two of you turn towards your lodgings and head back for the night. You had weeks worth of work to get to in the morning. 

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

You did your best to go through all the scrolls in a timely manner. The first one took the longest, about two days to work all the way through. But by the fourth scroll you got the hang of the language. Naruto’s eyes widened as he watched you graze through the fifth scroll. 

“How’d you do that one so fast?”

“I don’t know. It just kinda made sense.”

“But you read that like it was in Japanese.”

“That’s how it is for me. Languages are easy. Once I get it, I’m fluent.”

“Woah. No wonder Kakashi-Sensei likes you. You’re even smarter than he is”

“Be sure to tell him that for me.”

He sniggers at you.

Now that you have the hang of the language you are able to run through the scrolls at a substantial pace. You could decipher about 7 of them in a day. Your speed was so fast in fact that there was quite a bit of buzz coming from the Anbu who were aware of your reason for being in the village with the infamous Naruto. 

Of course you’d draw attention wherever you went. The kid was one of the most famous ninja in history. Plus you still gained quite a few stares for being the significant other of the Leaf’s Hokage. It was impossible for the Tsuchikage to hide your presence in the village which only made concealing your reason for being in there that much more of a challenge. You only hoped that all the paparazzi that followed you around were there for celebrity reasons and nothing more. 

Kurotsuchi ensured you always had Black Ops over your shoulder but they didn’t make you feel nearly as safe as Kakashi’s student did. For all you knew, the Black Ops were ordered to eliminate you as soon as you were done. You were sure the Tsuchikage had thought about it. If she had any real clue what the scrolls were  about then it was definitely a possibility. They told of a hidden weapon within the Land of Earth, in a remote part. If it were to fall into enemy hands, it could destroy the village and all surrounding areas. But this weapon also could put a target on their backs. Other nations might conspire against them to ensure it is never used. 

You had contemplated if you should be sharing the intel with Kakashi. Maybe during a time of war but not during a time of peace. At least that’s what you tell yourself. 

The scrolls were fascinating to say the least. They told the story of why the weapon was created and how it was developed. Along with all the instructions on how to use it and ways it was used before. There was so much history and culture embedded in the text. You were certain that historians, intel officers, and shinobi captains were anxiously waiting for you to finish. After only 19 days from start to finish, every scroll was transcribed and put back on the bookshelf in order. You stand before the reorganized bookshelf internally patting yourself on the back. You hold the stack of parchment containing your translations in your hands. That is when Kurotsuchi pulls you into her office for a debriefing.

“I have to say. I am incredibly impressed with how quickly you completed all one hundred and twenty three scrolls. The rumors about you do not do your work justice.” She speaks as she leaves through the pages of your handwriting. “Now our alliance with the Leaf is still somewhat new. While we couldn’t have done this without you, and believe me we tried, we still would like to ask you not to share what you’ve learned with anyone else.”

“Understood.”

“My men have told me you didn’t share your findings with Naruto. Why is that?”

“Yes, well you didn’t want him in the room so clearly you don’t want him knowing what the scrolls said.”

“This is true.”

“Like I said, this is an S rank mission and I am quite familiar with S class intel. It’s a little unusual keeping the information away from my comrades, but if this is the kind of thing I am going to be doing, I should show respect to every village I visit.”

“That is appreciated.”

“Please note, if you ever try to use the information from my translation to hurt the Leaf, that is where my loyalty ends.”

“I understand. But I must warn you in turn, if it is discovered that you share the information you learned during your time here, my Black Ops will be after you.”

“I expect them to.”

“So we understand each other?”

“We understand each other.” 

“Then you are free to go. Please share my gratitude with your Hokage” 

“Will do my Lady.” you say with a bow.

You open the door to let Naruto come in and say his goodbyes. He and Kurotsuchi are friends and fought together in the recent war. They laugh together before parting. The both of you making your way to the village border and soon you and Naruto are back on the road. This time headed home.

Home. 

You hadn’t been there in so long. It had been over a month. You were anxious to see Kakashi and tell him all you could about your travels. The beautiful Hidden Waterfall, the strange Hidden Stone, the people who followed you around and asked for your autograph. How proud you were of yourself for deciphering both projects in record time. Though you were a confident woman, you still really appreciated the validation from others.

You and Naruto are gifted food from some of the villagers you had come to know over the past few weeks. Naruto couldn’t help the look in his gluttonous eyes as the boxed lunches were handed over to you. You stored some in a sealing scroll and the rest you shoved in your pack.

You traveled the majority of the day but stopped eary. Choosing to make camp around supper time when you grew hungry. You pull out the meals from you backpack and begin to eat, Naruto wolfing his down like a teenager. You smiled and shook your head at his unrefined behavior. 

“You know you’re gonna give yourself a stomach ache like that.”

The boy shrugged but sure enough, thirty minutes later he disappeared to use the bathroom. Naruto always put a lot of distance between himself and you when he needed to ‘go’ on the road. You decided to lay out the tent and your sleeping mats, even crawling in yours though it was not yet time for sleep. 

You heard twigs snapping underfoot.

“Wow, that was shockingly fast! You ready to turn in?”

Instead of hearing the  familiar voice of your teammate a shuriken slices through the wall of your tent. 

You panic and immediately slip out of your sleeping bag. You slip your hands into your tactical pouch and pull out two kunai ready to  defend yourself. When you run out of the tent you see them standing in the trees. One rogue Stone Black Op and eight rogue shinobi. What made it worse is that you knew them. All of them. The Anbu man was the main guard who stayed in the room with you. The very one who complimented your talent and walked around the village with you the most. A few of them were people who you noticed following you and made you uncomfortable. But four of them, the last four were shinobi who had helped you out throughout your stay in the village. One of them was the one who had given you the rations…shit, what if they poisoned Naruto?!

You come to terms with the realization that you will likely fight this battle alone. You know as soon as you scream for help you will be forced to start fighting. So before engaging, you center yourself and draw a deep breath. 

“NARUTO!!!!!!!”

The name barely passes your lips before the first knife is thrown. You run to the side of the clearing, putting the men in front of you rather than surrounding you and weave the signs for Mind Confusion. All nine men fall to their knees clutching the sides of their faces with their hands. Some of them fight against the swirling feeling you stirred inside of their brains. 

You run up to the ones who begin to stand back up and pool your chakra in your fist before punching them in the back of the head, successfully knocking them unconscious. 

Two down.

You do it again, bringing them to their knees with your jutsu and knocking them out with a heavy blow to the back of their heads.

Threes more, that makes five.

You head to the sixth shinobi who begins to rise but he throws a shuriken at you and you have to backflip away to dodge the blade. You begin to weave signs again but three of them round on you to begin hand to hand combat so that you are denied the opportunity to weave signs again. Fuck.

You hold your own against the three, oftentimes dodging their attacks so that they hit each other, letting them do the work of fighting for you. However soon the fourth remaining attacker tries to restrain you. 

“Come ‘ere pretty girl. I don’t bite…hard.”

You glare at him and channel your chakra for another punch. This time directed at the attacker’s mouth. 

“Aww, seems she didn’t like that Botan. Better luck next time.”

“Yeah, sorry Botan, you just got your jaw broken by a girl.”

There is a round of laughter among the group. You were in the fight of you life and these fuckers were laughing. It killed you knowing you were no match for all these men but Naruto could wipe them out in ten seconds. You needed Naruto. Where is he? Is he okay?

Your anger helped you command your chakra and you were able to land blows on two more of them but still all four conscious men were able to continue the fight. You tried, you really did but you were taking on four targets at once, one of whom was a member of the Stone’s Anbu. You struggled to free your hands. If you could use Mind Transfer on him, then maybe you could use him to fight his comrades. But even as the thought entered your mind you were slammed against a tree by that very Anbu. 

“Sorry sweetheart, but you know too much. Maybe the Tsuchikage was willing to let you live but I’m not so trusting.”

“I wouldn’t share village intel. I have no need for it.”

“Maybe you don’t but we do.”

“Hey, didn’t she go to the Hidden Waterfall on her way here? Maybe we should find out what she knows before we kill her.”

“Shut it Koko! I’m in charge here.”

“I’m just saying… Plus it’d be a shame to put such a pretty face to waste.”

You see how the man currently holding a knife to your neck eyes you. He pushes himself against you and you know you’ve lost. Your mind is a swirling mess of fear, worry for Naruto, and flashbacks to the bathroom at headquarters. Strength you didn’t know you had exuded from your body and you begin to push the shinobi back but then two more come to his aid, restraining you against the tree. 

Suddenly a blue giant appears before you, so massive that all you can truly see is its foot. Then following a crack of thunder all the men around you are beheaded. It happens in an instant. You blink several times as your mind registers the bodies falling limp at your feet. Blood gushing from their necks as their hearts pump their final beats. Your entire face, chest, and arms are drenched in blood from the severed bodies that once restrained you yet now lay heavy against the ground.

You look up at the garganchuan and realize it was Obito’s susanoo. Tears burst forth from your eyes as your mind registers what happened. You’re safe…Obito saved you. He relinquished his susanoo and returns to the ground. You run to him as he marches towards you. But before you can hug him he grabs your wrist, snatching you into his void. 

“Obi wait! Naruto! Our things!”

“FUCK YOUR THINGS!”

“Obi?”

“YOU ALMOST DIED! AND YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR THINGS?!”

“But what about Naru-”

“I DON’T GIVE A RAT’S ASS ABOUT NARUTO! HE CAN TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF!”

“Obito…”

“You’re going back to the Leaf. NOW!”

Obito pulls you out of his void and suddenly you are just outside the Leaf’s headquarters. Despite nearing the end of the day, there are still quite a few people around. Obito drags you by your arm, his large hand wrapping around your bicep. You stumble beside him through the halls up towards Kakashi’s office. The blood that’s coating your face, chest and arms is beginning to dry on your skin and make you itch. 

“Obito, slow down!”

The man just huffs as he pulls you up to the double doors, kicking them open and throwing you inside.

“KAKASHI, WE NEED TO TALK!”

Part 14

Masterlist

[kapyushonchan]

My (not so) short review that nobody needs hear for this update - KFOS and SOCN

*sighs* Boy, where do I start?

TLDR: KFOS and SOCN turned out disappointing. This is my personal impression, reasons below, warning - lots of letters.

KFOS - first, my minor pet peeve - I don't like that they stopped giving cutscenes with the favorites except Christian. Ram, Kamal and Sara have much fewer of them with Devi compared to him. I also noticed that the cutscenes have lost quality? Just close-ups? I've had the impression before that stories that drop in the rankings get less resources.

Second - I think Stasya doesn't "feel" the story yet, because the only emotions I experienced while reading were my disgust and tension during the dinner scene.

Well also Doran turned out well, his not-so-passive agression with wishing a long life to the queen (especially in the context that he can't express his displeasure with Englishmen directly and he can't kill them all, so he turns to caustic sarcasm) is just slay king energy.

Third - and here starts my rant - a lot of interactions feel artificial and underwhelming. Devi's confrontation with Clara in the street seemed just like that - artificial and not really well thought out. The concept of the scene itself is good - Devi sees how Indian servants are bullied in Britain and lashes out. But the tone, the consequences that author chose to portray is just.... Devi just pulls Guy Richi and shuts the racist arrogant lady up. Yayslay, but… was it me or it was underwhelming?

RANT

Come to think about it, you didn't have to go to Britain to see that behavior (or all those Indian movies I watched and a few books I read kind of misled me). AFAIK this attitude was common in occupied India, as some of the British upper and not so upper class moved there to occupy and make easy money there. They built districts to their taste and style - all those clubs and establishments where Indian servants worked and where Indians were not allowed to enter. The police, too, were subject to the British. This apartheid and humiliation could be seen in India at every step, but Devi notices it only in England? And, bear with me, but I really think she couldn't just go to a high society lady and berate her for the way she treats her servants without some consequences to her and to Christian reputation. Devi has not changed Clara's mind with this argument, and she certainly will not change the mind of the whole of English society, which stands on the opinion of the exclusivity and superiority of the British Empire over all nations that have not risen to the level of their greatness. That's how empires work. Devi's act was from the good heart, but impulsive, and she would be spoken of not with respect but with contempt, saying that Christian had chosen “a rude savage” as his bride. Because Devi is not at home. She is in the land of her enemies. Because the whole thing was truly none of her business and it's not her servant, and also doing that she could have made things much worse for the servant-girl and for Christian's reputation (breach of etiquette! that Devi likes to bring up when someone's rude to her). And in this situation it doesn’t matter how angry Devi and we as readers would have felt, because we are in a different world and we’re not making the rules there. We should be uncomfortable with this scene, we should feel anger and frustration in this scene.My point is that the scene would have been more realistic if at its outcome Devi was faced with indifference, condescension and judgment, as if Devi had done something wrong (she hadn't, she just ended up in a world where such attitudes were the norm). Devi should have felt like she was in the Looking Glass, she should have been thrown off balance by the situation. Girl power slay in the style of "I'm Basu and who are you?" doesn’t work here. Or rather it doesn't give you a nuanced outcome of the situation. Even if Devi had come out of the verbal confrontation victorious in her own eyes, society would have gaslighted her. And because of that sence of powerlessness, her anger would have gotten even greater, and she would have actually cursed Clara with the help of the Dark Mother. And Devi would realize that she can't behave in England the way she did at home. It must be infuriating, annoying, but it's something she and we as players have to put up with. It resonates with us, we have to feel these emotions. I would read, of course, how the heroine deals with injustice, but if we have a story about colonialism and the Dozen trying to throw off that yoke, why aren't we shown such scenes in all their colors? Because mere words and knowledge of the etiquette are not enough. I also think Devi's connection to the Dark Mother's anger could have played out as a sort of Death Note, where Devi curses someone and then misfortunes happen to those cursed people.

I think the artificial tone of the story is my main problem with season two in general. Devi finds herself in a foreign hostile country, but now she's acting like Amala in India and by simple demands she shuts up the lords and ladies left and right just by demanding respect and they just listen to her and shut up. And it looks like a safe route, like there are no stakes there. And with change of the “location” we have to feel discomfort - but not with food, weather and new clothes, but with a feeling like we’re walking on eggshells. Devi, in a conversation with lord What's His Face, intimidates him with Christian, and he stops harassing her. But then the same lord makes a shapito show of provocation at dinner, showing that he doesn't give a damn about Christian's opinion and doesn't give a damn about him in general. I'm not saying there shouldn't be provocation, it shouldn't have been so brazen and direct in words. After all, English high society can masterfully insult in a veiled manner, and the author's skill in writing such dialogues was clearly lacking here. Imho (just my imho) storywise here, in England, Devi should realize how lucky she is to be a member of high Bengali society where she is respected, valued and listened to, when in England she should feel that she is looked down upon, trapped and treated worse, like a second-class person, no matter what her background is. Here, if you are on a route with Christian, there should be a test of his and Devi's feelings in the context of the contempt of the entire upper class society for the "second class people" as they see Indian people to be. Christian has to experience that he has become a pariah in some way by choosing to marry a Devi.

I may have a misconception of how things worked back then, but my thoughts are that it's like all the tension is gone from the story. And there should be - it's a story essentially about two factions who hate each other, who don't want to make contact and settle because it's a story built on a colonial takeover. It's toned down here, yes, it's not historically accurate and all, BUT: if this base of historical events gives you an opportunity to use a great source of conflict, disagreement, and drama - you use it (that's why the provocation with beef at the dinner resonated with me -  I was fuming!). And alas, I'm feeling less and less of all that. Especially after the first season that SLAYED.

Also, Devi's offer to Doran to team up with Christian, to use him, would have looked different and even more tense if those political and social nuances worked, and their interaction wasn't just some game of "who knows more". What kind of games are these anyway, they're on the same side, behind enemy lines. Devi could have shared her frustration with her experience in England with Doran and then open some cards to him and admit that they need Christian's resources to determine who's sowing turmoil in the Dozen. There could have been some great GOT-style dialogue here, not just the "The Executioner despises the Englishmen and therefore won't even consider it, he needs to be persuaded", but "The Executioner has been through enough in his life to know that if there's a chance, you have to take it, politics is always played dirty". Doran is described as intelligent after all, not just angry walking muscles.

Well, that's just my thoughts and impressions, you're free to disagree with me here. I'm probably asking too much from a visual novel, I never read them with a magnifying glass to look for nitpicks, but…. But I really liked KFOS S1 ._. And I'm sad for the untapped potential.

SOCN - I was disappointed too. I think Remy's original idea to write that Agnia and Amen attack Livius and Eva but were saved by Seth worked better.

Now, it's friendship and magic, no conflict and drama. The two sides of the conflict resolve everything man-to-man, blow off steam and agree on everything.

And I have the feeling that all the seriousness of the situation has gone somewhere and everything has descended into some kind of farce.

Okay, Amen using Livius and Eva to achive his goals still works fine. But Seth, who fights Amen for fun and then agrees to cooperate with him - no. Just no. It's seems OOC. It doesn't work. Even if he's weakened like a God. Even if he needs Hemseth so much. Seth is a god, he has pride and principles, and there's no way I believe he'd choose to work with someone who kills his followers and weakens him. Neither will Amen agree to work with Seth who he thinks is some kind of Supreme shezmu. He hates the Supreme. He wouldn't go for an alliance either.

Has the writes watched too much of House of the Dragon? WHERE ARE MY CONFLICTS I'M ASKING YOU I'M GOING TO START A SCANDAL

I thought that Remy's decision that Amen and Seth couldn't be friendsto MC like the other favorites had to do with this intransigence, but no, some other reason.

What's the point of not being friends with the favorites if everyone's drinking beer and making truces with each other???

[writeraid]

Okay, I'm in a particular state of 'bordering on the edge of an anxiety attack' and 'thinking too much about something that happened four years ago I won't get into in this post' so I wanna talk more about my silly little comfort Group Home/Shelter AU that I've mentioned on here before. The main divergence is in Khonshu's temple, when Marc becomes his avatar. He's given a choice instead of immediately being forced to become the 'fist of vengeance' (Which..is probably OOC but it's my comfort au I can do what I want.) 'Protecting The travelers of the night' becomes 'Protecting The Vulnerable' and somehow that all ends up in Marc (and also kind of Layla..ach..it's complicated..) forming what is essentially a group home but is probably in no way accurate to real life. It also serves as a kind of..shelter.. for those who may need to avoid being in the system for whatever reason but ultimately need somewhere to go temporarily. I get to raise hundreds of children, I get to see them growing up, IN THEIR EYES I SEE YOU- ehem, ignore that. I am so damn tempted to make some panels of AU!Marc to those specific parts of the song but maybe with Alexander replaced with 'Randall' or somthng but ehh, we'll get there when we get there.

The home is built into what I picture in my head as some big old Victorian mansion..location..uh..pending. Make up your own ig.

Despite Marc essentially being the founder, he doesn't spend much time around the kids, allowing Steven and Layla to handle the younger children and the intake process. There are days when he finds himself almost completely retreating from the front, because that little boy looks too much like his little brother and- It's not that he doesn't like the little kids. He avoids having that much interaction with them more for their sake than his own. Though, some of the few he's interacted with have taken to calling him 'Dad'. He secretly doesn't mind it.

The keyword there is little. In fact, he normally does take the lead when it comes to the older kids. More often than not - but not always, because Trauma really can affect young children and often times the idea of children being 'resilient' can do more harm than intended - the tweens and the teenagers that come in remember much more of the shit that happened that lead to them being here. They're the ones the world around them calls 'troubled' when in reality they just got the bad side of the coin. He's more than willing to take one of the kids aside and let them cry/scream/break things/just talk if he can see they're struggling. He sees himself in them the most.

Steven, on the other hand, fronts most often around the younger kids. He's what some might call 'bubbly' compared to Marc. He projects a much lighter energy. Kids - especially young kids - mimic the adult's energy, and although Marc is great and all, every baby he's ever held immediately started crying (and then probably fell asleep right after, he just has that vibe, y'know?). He's always there to greet new arrivals with a smiling face or a shoulder to cry on if need be. He reads the young kids bedtime stories and helps them with their homework. ("I've always found that using math in a sense you might find in the real world makes it easier.") He doesn't only interact with the small kids, though. There have been instances where he's sat down with one of the older kids, offered tea to a teenager here and there that looked practically ragged. Age aside, he loves getting to talk about Egypt with the kids, especially the few taking history courses of their own. He also typically fronts for big group events and holiday dinners (they celebrate ALL the holidays. Everyone's respective culture has sort of..blended together in a way, with more getting added all the time.)..except Thanksgiving, because Marc won't let him get a vegan turkey for the whole house.

Jake is...interesting. In this world, Marc and Steven are aware of who he is, but he seldom shows himself regardless. He doesn't feel that he needs to. His boys are safe, and for the most part, do a great job of protecting the kids.. but sometimes..well, there's always a bully that takes things too far.

He attempts to sneak out for a poker game with a buddy one night, and finds one of the little kids out of bed, awoken by her cold. He tucks her into bed and brings her medicine and decides this is more important than a poker game.

He also still runs a cab business on the side, but only really works when it's late or when he's sure Marc and Steven won't be needed for a bit.

Khonshu lurks, constantly. Watching. His avatar. The kids. All of it. He keeps himself invisible, but children are smart. A few (who he wonders if they might very well be seers of some form) catch them from the corner of their eyes, and stories start to be told. One late night, one of those kids can't sleep, and the old bird falls into his much more gentle healer ways, ones he thought he had buried long ago. He perches on the side of the kid's bed, and tells a story that has been told by generations.

Layla both handles the technical side of the home, and also often times handles the young, young children. The babies left at fire stations and orphaned in horrible tragedies. Somewhere down the road, she became Tawerets avatar just as she did in the show (but probably for different reasons.), so it only makes sense given her standing with The Goddess of Woman and Children (at least?? one of them?? according to what I've read.). She also helps with the older girls/afab kids, especially when dealing with a certain time of the month for the first time. (The boys understand what's happening, but greatly prefer to allow Layla to do it..for everyone's sanity.)

Mother/big sister figure Layla holds a place in my heart don't care if it's potentially ooc this whole thing is self indulgent anyway.

Taweret, as mentioned, is around. Of course, she is. It only fits. Unlike Khonshu, however, she seldom actually interacts with the kids directly, standing charge over the home like a gentle guardian.

..and..yeah that's all I've got. feel free to toss in your ideas or hell even write fic/draw fanart for this AU (Gravity Falls au style baby). I need to know i'm not alone in my delusions Sorry for the long, rambly post, but when you need to distract yourself, you need to distract yourself.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Viral (2016)

Released only 7 years ago, the world has changed so much since Viral was made it practically feels like a period piece but that actually works in its favor.

The news is warning people of the “worm flu” as it spreads throughout the world. Caused by a parasite, those affected develop a voracious appetite before vomiting blood and collapsing from severe seizures. When the worm flu forces their town to quarantine, teenage sisters Stacey (Analeigh Tipton) and Emma (Sofia Black-D’Elia) are left alone. Their father, (Michael Kelly) was on his way to pick up their mother from the airport and the new security measures mean they have no idea when they'll be able to return.

You can see what I meant earlier about the film feeling like it comes from a different era. Viral, was made before the COVID-19 epidemic and one of its more interesting aspects is how accurately it predicted what would happen. The Drakefords have recently moved to the area. While Stacey has made plenty of friends and has a boyfriend, CJ (Colson Baker), Emma is only starting to feel at home in her new school. After the teens are left home alone and learn school is closed indefinitely, they go to a party with all of their classmates. Normally, Emma wouldn’t be interested, but Evan (Travis Tope), the handsome neighbor she’s befriended, will be there. They don’t see the imposed curfew or the government warnings as anything to take too seriously. There, a few people wear masks but most don’t and wouldn’t you know it, someone infected shows up, spreading a plague that could’ve been contained to who knows how many households. The sickness in this film is obviously more extreme and dangerous than the one we went through but several scenes in the film feel eerily familiar. Government vehicles pass through the streets, blasting warnings to everyone to stay indoors, respect the curfews and report infected individuals. When people die from the flu, everyone in the house is taken away by people in hazmat suits and their house is marked so the CDC knows how many people were taken. Food packets are distributed to each household so people don’t have to leave their homes for any reason.

Another of the film’s strengths is the relationship between the characters. Stacey and Emma feel like real sisters. The actresses have some nice little bits of dialogue to help us understand who they are even whether they’re talking about normal subjects like school and boys or they're contemplating the danger they now face. Stacey may be more outgoing, she may tease her little sister often but she’s looking out for her. The scenes of normal interactions make you understand why, when one becomes infected, the other refuses to leave her behind.

Once the worm flu comes home, some of the weaknesses in the story creep in. We're reminded that this is a horror film - not a dramatic thriller set in a frightening time - with a scare that turns out to be just a dream. Towards the end of the picture, the sisterly bond on display strains credibility. Remember, this worm flu is not like Covid-19, where it’s just infectious and potentially fatal. The disease in this movie is directly compared to Toxoplasma gondii, the parasite that removes rodents’ fear of cats. It alters the way people act and can make them murderous. When your loved one manages to escape the room you’ve locked them in, it’s not so they can hang out with their friends or go buy that cheeseburger they’ve been craving; it’s so they can kill and/or spread the parasite. If they run into a dark, abandoned house, only an insane person would follow them and that's before we see the dead bodies and the open door leading towards the dark basement. It’s the ultimate “don’t go in there!” scene. In its defense, it leads to a great, final reveal about the worm flu. Except for one scene where we get to see it take control of a hostile neighbor, the details about the parasitic worm are kept vague, which keeps it scary. That final reveal raises all sorts of questions as it makes you realize how big of a nightmare these characters are living in.

Minus a couple of moments where the characters toss away their survival skills like a dirty face mask, Viral is an enjoyable horror thriller when it's not trying too hard to go for the typical scares. I'd rate it higher if it wasn't for another movie that "predicted" the pandemic more frighteningly and accurately, Contagion. Between the two, that's the better movie. (October 29, 2024)

[moonlite-drabbles]

Correspondence (pt. ll) - Mika, Capitano, Varka

Aka; Mika wingmaning for Varka and Capitano, 2.3k words

~

Mika found himself an… unexpected new responsibility, what with their expeditions traveling side by side for the time being, Varka had thought it fit to use Mika as the currier between the sides, since he was already aquainted. As such, he was running between the two to trade information on the upcoming routes, or to simply invite the other side over for dinner. 

One such situation had Mika walking into the enemy camp. Heads turned towards him, but they recognized him by now, letting him nervously trot up to a high ranking looking personnel. 

“H-hello. Grand Master Varka requested I shared information on the path ahead. We scouted out some upcoming terrain issues.”

“Hm.” The general replied simply. “Take it to Capitano. He requested you be sent his way next time you cross over. Training is done so he will be within his tent. Just go in.”

The general pointed him towards the large tent set in the middle of the encampment. Large enough for someone even of Capitano’s size to stand fully within it. “Oh. A-alright.”

Which is what lead him to Capitano’s tent, sitting nervously across from the man as he shared information.

Mika couldn’t help but wonder if this was part of his training, facing such a terrifying man diplomatically. It got easier though. Capitano was a beast of a fighter during training. Untouchable in terms of strength, except maybe by Varka. As such, when they were on the move, Him and Varka led the expedition by horseback, side by side.

“S-sir? Varka requested I-”

Capitano tilted his head towards him. The gaping void of the mask swallowed all light, but Mika got the impression the man was looking his way. “Sit, scout.”

Mika did so, silently reminding himself of good relations and respectful interaction. Archons, why was this his job?

“So, you came here for…?” Capitano asked. His voice was deep and smooth. 

“Ah, yes. Varka requested I share.” Mika quickly handed over the mapping, which detailed the paths ahead, along with the issues with each one. “The westmost path is long, at a roughly thirty-five degree angle going through it, and the recent rain has rendered it muddy. It poses a hazard for horses. The second is over forty feet wide and the straightest shot towards progressing, but we have concerns about rock slides closing off the path. The third requires traveling a ten foot wide cliff edge during the worst of it.”

“Good to know. Our own scouts came to similar conclusions. With less detailed maps though.” He thumbed over the paper. “Does Varka wish for the soldiers to eat communally today?”

“He said nothing of it, sir.”

“Hm. You said you were fifteen when we first met, correct?”

Mika froze, Capitano had never delved into person conversation before, despite having been the designated currier between the two for a few weeks. “Well—yes. I am fifteen, sir. Soon to be sixteen.”

“Young for someone with Varka’s expedition, which has been active for years.”

“I am capable… sir.” he said, did he say that before? When they first met? Mika couldnt quite remember with all the days that’d gone by.

“Indeed. I’ve seen some of your maps when meeting with Varka. You are incredibly talented with drafting military maps. They rival ours, which are drawn by men twice your age—and stature.”

“Thank you?” Was that a compliment?

It probably was. Capitano continued, appraising Mika with a tilt of his head. “You are a good scout. Could use some meat on your bones, though. You know, in Snezhnaya, we at least try to feed our boys.”

“I—I am fed well, I promise. I am just on the skinnier side.” Mika responded, feeling an embarrassed heat rise to his cheeks.

“Hm. Boys like you freeze back home.”

“I am not too concerned with freezing currently.” Mika laughed slightly. “Natlan is quite hot.”

Capitano seemed to drop it, instead turning the conversation. “Grandmaster Varka, what is your opinion of him?”

“Well—I’m not quite sure I can answer these types of questions.”

“It is nothing of intelligence I assure you. Just a personal inquiry on the character of one of your comrades.”

“Alright then...”

“So, is your opinion of the Grandmaster?” Capitano asked.

“Grandmaster Varka?” Mika tilted his head. “Well, he’s my combat instructor so he’s taught me a lot. He’s a very good Grandmaster. He’s very…”

“Boisterous? I’ve seen such. He is a loud man. Proud to laugh. I’ve seen. He often, and with enthusiasm, invites me to a drink. He is a good conversationalist, if a little long winded.”

Mika resisted the urge to wrinkle his nose at the mention of Alcohol. “Yes. He’s—he’s a good man, really. I respect him deeply. He’s very honorable as well. There’s no one else I’d have leading us.”

“I see.”

“And of Varka, surely a man of that renown has a lover?”

What.

What.

“I mean… he has children. Two, both adopted vision holders, that are in Mondstadt, but—I suppose there are only rumors of flings. Nothing solid, definitely not official or–or public. I guess.”

“And of these flings, who has been the subject of them?”

“S-sir… this is very quickly turning to a subject I cannot talk about.” Mika bit out, flustered. What was this man playing at?

“I apologize, but ask you indulge me, scout.” The Captain dipped his head.

Oh. Oh. Mika… supposed he could help out Varka and the Captain in this regard. There couldn’t be much harm in it.  “W-well… there was rumors with a admiral of similar age stature, but that was long before the expedition.”

“And what was this… admiral like?” Mika immediately deduced this question’s true intention. The Captain wanted to know the gender.

“I don’t know much about him. This was before the expedition so I was quite young. More of gossip. The admiral though I met in passing later on, he was a decorated man. But he did not join the expedition.”

Capitano seemed to have gotten what he was looking for. He dipped his head in gratitude. “Hm. Thank you. You’ve been very insightful.”

He seemed appreciative, as if what Mika had done was more than just participate in gossip. The young scout tired hard not to smile. Honestly he should get a metal of valor for this. Or maybe an acting award. Does Liyuean theatre hire Mondstadters? “N-no issue, sir. Was that everything you need?”

“Yes. You are free to return to your camp. Oh, and tell Varka we extend an invitation to him and his comrades for a joint dinner.”

Mika left that tent, struggling to maintain a straight face as he darted from the fatui camp, only breaking out into giggles as he ran back to Varka’s tent.

That night, Mika watched as Capitano chose to take a seat at the bonfire next to Varka at dinner, instead of the other way around. And when Mika had to retire to his tent, he glanced over at the near abandoned bonfire, The Captain and Varka still sitting by it long after the other’s retired.

~

“I must ask, is this a common arrangement, Grandmaster?” 

Capitano asked, long after their sins had been committed, as they laid against one another. They were in Varka’s tent, Capitano having abandoned his own. Just for the night. And maybe another.

“Bedding opposing military personnel? Can’t say it is.” Varka’s laugh was soft. 

Grandmaster of the country of freedom meeting with the highest commander of the goddess of love. To an outsider, it would make sense, be beautiful in a way. 

To Capitano it was a slight to his goddess, equal to heresy. To Varka it was an embodiment of his ideals.

“Is that comforting, Captain?” 

“How is the boy?” He asked instead of answering.

Varka knew who he was referring to. “Mika? Good. He’s back on scouting shifts and training.”

“You take a lot of care with the boy. I’ve seen you personally training him.”

“I try to pay special attention to Mondstadt’s vision holders. And the attention is good for him. He does not have many… responsible men in his life.”

Capitano stayed silent, hoping Varka would elaborate despite doing so would probably be invading the boy’s privacy. He did not. Instead the man sighed.

“I have a soft spot for the boy as well. I have it for most kids.” Varka said. He was always doing that. Just admitting things. Freely. As if no one was listening. “Which is probably how I ended up with two despite not having a wife.”

This was new. “You have children?”

Varka laughed, and Capitano felt as though he had referenced a joke he hadn’t learned yet. “Some would say—they themselves change opinions on the topic. The younger of the two is Razor. I knew his parents, but they died, and the boy was raised by wolves. The lad is still half feral according to his teacher, but he wields a claymore and an electro vision…” 

Capitano listened. It was another one of Varka’s long winded tangents, where he hid nothing and spoke because he loved to.

“The elder is Rosaria. She’s an adult, a nun of the church, though you’d sooner guess a vampire from her way of dress.” He gave a small laugh. “She wields a polearm and a cryo vision. Deadly, the girl is. I didn’t even train her to be so, I left her in the care of the church hoping she’d find peace. Instead, she found it necessary to put others to peace. Pretty soon the two of them will be able to hold blades against their old man. I wouldn’t mind it.”

Capitano hummed.

“Those are only the ones who choose to call me family. There are others I’ve done my best to help raise—an old friend of mine had two sons. The red haired one…”

And Varka shamelessly fell into another tangent, detailing, with glowing pride, his children and their lives back in his homeland.

“Then there’s Mika. I’d be lying to say anything less than I see the boy similarly to Razor and Rosaria. Perhaps it’s simply because he’s been the youngest of our expedition, and I’ve had no one else to exercise  what my daughter refers to as ‘empty den syndrome’ onto, but I do think of him quite fondly. He, though, has a set of parents, though—ah. I seem to have gotten off track. Yes, I have children.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Many would.” Varka responded. And then they laid in silence a moment longer.

Varka breathed like he spoke, deep, loud, and without care. Not an ounce of tension to the man. Capitano wanted to gently rest his hand around the other’s throat, just to feel the thrum of his windpipe as the other would surely laugh at the motion. It was an infatuation uncharacteristic of him. And so, once again, he distracted himself.

“Mika is young. Very. For a scout. He must have been younger when he joined the expedition, and younger then when he joined your knights.”

Varka hummed. “He was. Twelve when he started as a courier for the knights. Thirteen when he earned his vision and officially joined under one of my officers. The boy has always been flighty—uncertain. It was much worse back in the city. He’s come far.”

“I’d imagine it’d be better—what with his family nearby.”

Varka sighed, face falling into far off frustration, not directed at Capitano. “His parents have always been moving about as adventurers, and Mika found himself being raised by—or rather raising, I’d think—a much older brother with a drinking problem. The amount of times me or my men have seen the poor boy dragging his adult brother from Angel’s share is pathetic. I’d dismiss the older from the knights but I’m certain he’d just wallow at the tavern until they sold the house.”

Well. That was quite a confession. One he didn’t quite know how to respond to. “I suppose that’s why the boy always looks seasick when we pass around fire-water.”

“Indeed. It’s unfortunate but it’s simply what it is.”

“I’ve never understood how Mondstadters can leave their children about. To wander and such.”

“Our landscapes are safe, our weather temperate, and our predators few and far between. The freedom gives them strength.”

This, Capitano knew. 

Snezhnaya was much the opposite. Their icy land filled with jagged edges, the weather raging and dangerous, their predators always stalking. Huddled close together and around warm hearths is what allowed them life. The love, perhaps, is what gave them their strength.

Freedom and love. Between the two of them, Capitano would offer both roles to Varka. The man was undeniably better versed in each, and when he commuted his heresy he had no duty pulling him away, no god to judge him. But, Capitano supposed, if needed, he’d take one.

Once upon a time, the Tsaritsa’s gospel and worship spoke of love. The different kinds, the magic of it, the gift of it. Once, Snezhnaya was icy cold, but warm in the ways of his goddess’ love. He remembered sermons where preachers promised them that they will fall in love, and may pursue that love under the protection and benevolence of their goddess. No matter what land they hailed from, or scars they bore. Now though, such practices were abandoned as his goddess The Tsaritsa ended such worship. Now, there was no promise of acceptance, should it be found him and Varka had courted.

He shifted to his side, propping himself up on one arm, to look Varka in his eyes. Then he planted a kiss on the man's jaw, scratchy stubble brushing against his lips. He’d take that chance. If even for the fleeting moments that their sides passed one another in their lives.

~

Also up on AO3!

[canyouhearthelight]

Nihilus Rex, Ch. 12: Aftermath

Here we have what should be the last really technical chapter for...hopefully the rest of the book. Fingers crossed. Although I am sure we can sneak some more stuff here and there if someone asks for more technical stuff, just not so many unending chapters of it.

As always, on the even-numbered chapters, I wrote while @baelpenrose co-wrote and beta'd.

Some legends are told

Some turn to dust or to gold

But you will remember me

Remember me for centuries

And just one mistake

Is all it will take

We'll go down in history

Remember me for centuries

Fall Out Boy, “Centuries”

Lash

“I heard it was part of a bigger hack.”

“Everything I’ve seen about that goes back to some QAnon boards. They think everything is a conspiracy.”

My heart rate picked up just a bit as I looked over dozens of similar conversations across several message boards.  It was entirely too close to home, but felt completely surreal at the same time - I had been part of a coordinated attack against major financial institutions, and no one even believed the scale of what had actually happened.  Not even the people directly impacted, if everything from our botnets was accurate.

In the immediate aftermath, over truly horrendous spinach pie and far too many dolmades, Nils and I had kicked around what-ifs and half-assed contingencies.  It had all boiled down  to keeping an eye on our feeds, waiting for updates from Bishop if he caught anything, and laying low until the attack had aged out of the news cycle.  If online communities started piecing anything together, the plan was to sow misinformation and redirect.

We had definitely called it on the news portion - pundits were still arguing over whether the slain men were heroes of the middle class out to free people from the bonds of financial indenture, or anti-capitalist villains trying to destabilize the global economy.  Every late night show had a self-referential monologue about the deceased, followed by a person-on-the-street segment with split opinions like some ghoulish, real world version of the Boondock Saints.  No one could agree if their goal had been just the one attack, or if there was a secret manifesto somewhere with their ultimate strategy.  What everyone did agree on, however, from the Department of the Treasury, to the OCC, to all major news networks, was that the people responsible had been gunned down by police.  Body camera footage had been released, sometimes uncensored, with all six men declaring loudly that no one else was involved, nobody had put them up to this, nothing had inspired them. 

No One. Nobody. Nothing.  Anyone who had interacted with Nils online and had two brain cells left to rub together would have known immediately.

Except… Our damage control had done its work for us.  Every single time I had been alerted that someone was suggesting a larger plan, the same response had come: That’s QAnon nonsense. A conspiracy. I bet you think the moon landing was fake, too.

Nils had joked about his handle then. “Would you buy that my handle is also an Odyssey reference to be a contingency for exactly this?” He’d said, half joking.

I squinted, half smiling at the memory. “I bet your minion morons believe that.  I do not.  Especially not having seen how far back your handle goes, in some form or another.” She waggled a bite of food at him. “Nice try, though. The bravado almost sold it.”

“Fair enough. Speaking of handles, Lash. Can I get your real name?” He’d said, as they’d shared dinner after the fact. “I haven’t tracked it down as a matter of respect, but we’ve been friends for a while and I would like to know. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” 

“You aren’t allowed to use it,” I had made him promise. Something about sharing my first name had always felt too… exposed. “Not in person, not via text, not at all.”

He’d given that weird smile that seemed almost like his signature, the one that seemed like he was laughing at something somewhere else, and said, “I promise. I’ll only call you Lash.”

“Then I will tell you when all this dies down and you can’t rat me out to the authorities.” He hadn’t been expecting that, and I winked at his shock. “Shouldn’t be too hard. Not like you would rat me out anyway.” Truth be told, I liked having him at something of a disadvantage.

He inclined his head at a little bow, “As you wish, Lash.” He raised a glass. “This was really fun though. Good working with you.” 

Now, I was staring feeds on three monitors, a week out, watching the entire financial sector and public refuse to believe anything more serious had happened than six armed men breaking into a major bank Guy Ritchie-style.  All three of us had expected some form of damage control, but there was nothing to control.

Almost like I had cursed myself, my phone started buzzing violently across my desk, sending me to my feet hard enough to almost knock my chair over.  “Spam Spam” showed up on my caller ID - Bishop.

“Please take me off whatever list this is,” I answered carefully. Bishop did not call me. He messaged me through about a million proxies, but calling was a no-no.  Paranoid did not begin to describe the man’s communication habits.

“Just a moment of your time, Miss,” the voice came through. “I am calling on behalf of Bloomberg to offer you a one year subscription for only $1 per week. That’s all your basic financial and stock news, for $52 a year.”

“That’s nice, but I’m broke,” I sighed, taking note of the site before hanging up.

My stomach sank when the phone buzzed again, this time a message from Nils. “Uh. Quick meetup somewhere secure. We may have overshot slightly. In a good way.” 

Definitely not good. “Let’s meet at the usual spot. We need to talk about the project for class, anyway.” I sent the message and didn’t even check for confirmation before gathering my stuff with one hand while I checked my news skimmer with the other.

Well, fuck.

Nils was waiting at the shitty hacker cafe, and he looked tense, eyes sharp. He barely waited for me to sit down. “So. There’s a thing. Remember when we were making the worm? And we had to shave some stuff off to make it small enough to still function? And we had to simplify some of its seeking parameters? Uh…it…I just realized that everything in Blackbox…”

“Shut the fuck up,” I hissed, glancing around to make sure no one was paying attention. “You and B reached out within about five minutes of each other, and he managed to tell me to check the news. I saw. We overshot by a couple orders of magnitude, yeah.”

“Yeah. Explains why no damage control. Until someone leaked it, I don’t know that they were legally allowed to admit it could be hacked.” 

“We need coffee,” I stammered out, running a hand over my head. “And B. But coffee first.” Without waiting, I bounced up and ordered for us both. When I came back to the table, he was bouncing a knee - not out of place in a place that specialized in caffeine addiction for the ADHD set, thankfully. “I don’t suppose you carry a flask or something? Could only make it taste better.”

“My flask is for energy drinks when I need caffeine in emergencies because my head is starting to hurt from withdrawals, so, no. It absolutely would not. I appreciate the suggestion though.” Nils’ voice was flat. “I’ll reach out to B and tell him to get over here. We have a bit of a security concern to address. A slimy, perverted security concern to address.” 

“He doesn’t know my actual name or my face,” I told him pointedly. “I’ll drive the bus if you’ll do the throwing, it comes to that.”

“He knows your handle, he’s better than we are at breaking encryptions and worse about boundaries, he absolutely knows your name.”

“I don’t think anyone is going to trust any records scavenged from a defunct elementary school or a birth certificate. Those are the only places my actual name is listed. I don’t even drive.” I thought about it for a minute. “But backing up his stuff remotely to make sure we have any sex trafficking or worse would be a good idea.”

“Honestly I was thinking simpler. We have a crime that he was accomplice to, he can’t blackmail us without incriminating himself without claiming he didn’t know what it would be used for. He might get immunity for the tip, but that takes time. He’s attempted to solicit you for indecent shit a lot, and attempted to get me to engineer…basically letting him do sex crimes, a few times. I kept the messages after turning him down, you? If nothing else it kills his credibility as a witness and ruins any ability he has to get us convicted of anything.” 

I gave him a dirty look. “What kind of amateur do you think I am? I have all my dirt on everyone backed up where no one can find it except me or my parents. External drives, somewhere safer than that server we just fucked up.”

“Of course, my apologies.” He looked a little calmer with the idea that Weasel was handled. “They’ll try to trace us but our databombs will have made such a brutal hash of anything they could trace that they won’t know where to start looking. At a guess they’ll move to a different system against future hackers - and I don’t envy the next suckers to try this.” 

I tapped my chin, trying to think what Bishop would point out. Something simple we would be missing. I wasn’t good a peopling, but Bishop was surprisingly adept - “They have six dead bodies, a drive designed to fuck shit up, and six cell phones that had been in contact with you.  So, first link is you. Let’s start there.”

“Burn phone, pre-paid, cash, with an out of state number, picked up ages ago for something else entirely, under an alias I no longer use, again invented for something else entirely, and called through wifi service using a vpn. Said burn phone has now been utterly destroyed with its remains scrubbed of fingerprints and the remains tossed into a dumpster, whilst I was not carrying my normal phone, on the opposite side of town from where we normally spend any time. I think that about covers it.” 

“I don’t ever want to hear anyone say women watch too much true crime,” I muttered. “You literally could have just taken it apart and used a belt sander on it, handed the pieces to a makerspace. Or donated it to a Goodwill bin.”

“I’ll remember that for next time.”

Bishop showed just after that, making a point to ignore us while getting his coffee and sitting at a table two over from us, facing away.

“I knew getting involved with both of you at once would get exciting. So. We want to talk about what you little maniacs have been discussing before I got here so I can go over what you missed?” B’s voice was vaguely amused, and a little tense. “I should mention, I’ve already gotten a message from Weasel. He put it together. Hopefully you two have a contingency for that.” 

“Oh, the usual,” I answered airily, arching a brow at Nils. “Blackmail and making sure there aren’t any other tracks to cover. Nils overdid it with his phone, but it should work.”

Harvey’s voice took on an amused note. “Alright then. I’ll tell Weasel to pound sand. Am I to take it you kids had fun the night of the job?”

“Food was hit or miss, and there was some half-delirious contingency planning around damage control.” I rubbed my face. That felt like a decade ago.

Nils was looking embarrassed and Harvey looked amused as the older man continued. “Pity. You two were getting really wound up and I was hoping you’d be able to take a load off that night. From the looks of things, Nils’ usual bullshit and choice of pawns is working out on deflecting suspicion against a bigger conspiracy - I think the feds are reluctant to give conspiracy wingnuts credibility.”

Someone isn’t paying attention to politics, I mused internally. On the surface, I just smiled and took a sip of my coffee, suppressing a grimace at how bitter and nasty it was. Cold brew…. How hard did you have to try to fuck up cold brew, I swear. “Either way, the damage had controlled itself so far.  Any updates since you called? I checked my skimmers right after, but the news was sparse.”

“So far an announcement that 4Chan white supremacist boards are going to be looked at more seriously as a breeding ground for stochastic terrorism coming from the FBI, unsurprisingly now that they’re affecting rich people.” 

Nils gave an evil chuckle. “Oh good, that’s a pot I was stirring a bit ago. Unmanaged retaliation against cops in a predictable timeframe for whatever happens to them and we can let the system eat itself and look away from us, thank you very much…”

The only reason my head didn’t bounce off the table when I dropped it is because my arms cushioned the fall. “Don’t get me wrong!” I held a hand up blindly. “After the revenge porn thing, yes, scrutinize breeding grounds. And at least everyone knows the guys who are currently taking the fall are not - “ I pointed at myself emphatically. “But I am not a fan of ‘unmanaged’ retaliation against a group with airtight legal protections and a poor track record of reading perp stats correctly.” It was the most polite way I could say ‘racist assholes’ without everyone in the cafe looking at me.

“Options: I have to actively take command of the right wing gun nuts a la some shitty real life Code Geass-ripoff shenanigans to manage them, or I let their anti-government shit lead them to fight actual problems for a change, or I let them continue believing that the Jews were running the world and that everyone who couldn’t pass a paper bag test were their foot soldiers in need of shooting - right as the ax was about to fall on them. Guess which option I figured involved the least collateral damage? If you prefer I decide to go whole hog on the aesthetic and try ripping off Lelouch vi Britannia harder, which to me seemed worse than telling them they were going to have a cop problem rather than a Jews run the world problem…” Nils response was less annoyed than exhausted, and unlike our previous conversation where it was clear that he hadn’t thought it out and felt bad about it, his tone indicated that he’d thought this one through and had simply picked the least evil available option he saw. 

Thankfully, Bishop’s unending focus on ‘simplest solution is best solution’ saved me palm abrasions and an assault charge from strangling the cute but dumb motherfucker on the spot. “Since the heat right now is on an actual breeding ground for incels, alt right, and revenge porn entrepreneurs, we could just let them chase their tails and keep laying low. White collar crime is historically white, et cetera, ipso facto Columbo Oreo.”

“I like that idea,” I agreed, putting as much reluctance as possible behind the sentiment. Realistically, Nils as Commander and Chief of the Fucknuckle Wingnut Army was not giving me the warm and fuzzies.

[crater-lake]

208

1/17/25

I wrote a nice poem today that I want to congratulate myself for. I am both more and less accomplished/valuable/scared/profane.

Here:

Time is a blind feeling sanctioned by God

Gulls

(

the canvas of unbreathing, the inflection of breath

)

eulogize the wisp aether.

A mute swan

(

the warm nothing of whatever I haven't done

)

meanders like a line that cannot end itself.

Surrender;

Ghost mist

(

whenever my mother last held me

)

in cotton pleats gazes and held breaths long

Evening

(

the come down of it

)

pushes belief into every standing thing,

lights come on and on

night blossoms,

so I go exactly home.

A god iris of silken dark airless over

sleepy city streets.

The closest in your 20s to godliness is lovelessness.

But we don't need to be close

or 20

or godly

to feel that,

I write that with the stipulation that I'm in this entry spurned by the same defeat that those apps almost always give me. (In almost, in almost) Right now, I have the distinct pleasure of not listening to how my brain says I am worthless. I have to not walk down a really good street, which is annoying, because it would feel good to feel bad right now. I sabotage every kindness I have been paid which means it's the right hour. Will, I'm here, I'm here! I know it's hard to really be reader and writer but there you are.

I only write the truth with some exception. Instead of writing about my day, and Cafe Kreuzberg, and the gym, and piano, and my excellent nap, and my good, yet slightly too informal classes, and the great poem, and the jaunt in my step, I am going to first focus on how this random 19 year old Spanish boy chose someone else to hook up with while talking to me. And he is actively cheating on his boyfriend which inflamed my interest. And even though I logically understood that even when you are talking to someone, there is still such a slim chance anything ever comes of it: think of your hookups and how few there are and the sheer amount of people you talk with. These sorts of experiences make me absolutely want to give up. I douched myself and he said he needed a few minutes and then opted to go with someone else. I felt and feel disposable, worthless, replaceable, and pathetic. He said he had promised already to this other guy and that he could meet me tomorrow or after and I said No. Then he sent four messages and I said No. Which was good of me even though I want to be touched so bad. I haven't blocked him yet because I want the chance to say no to him one more time. I want to refuse back even though it won't matter, even though as I type, their bodies are colliding in the dark.

I am really trying to love myself better. Which means ethical loneliness, and accidental patheticness. I can accept them when they are outside of my control. But this was very much something I understood even during the interaction, and after, in the now. I don't forgive myself for seeking pleasure in disposability.

People disappear all of the time. I wonder why people put oblivion into our phones. When I block people, I just blocked him, I think, I've blinked them into oblivion. I just need most of me understood and I need to choose myself over pleasure more and more and more if I can stand the boredom that is actual care. If I can emotionally understand the value of good care when I start fulltime work. If I can understand the discipline of not succumbing. If good is not accurate: pleasurable vs. stable. Both can be good. Feel as in the fire versus like the bone stability good of structure. It's really horniness vs. self respect. Both can feel good but one is more exciting, and I am so so bored and I dream of holes opening and closing.

These men have no idea they are passing by the most interesting man in the world. That while he titillated me, I was scribing mawkish melodies on the keyboard, consoled by the ease in which I understand it, and how its beauty will make people love me harder. I hear Gaspard de la Nuit in my head and I'll hold on harder to it. Going to sleep is not going to satisfy me, but it will help me have stability. A whole window of pleasure sunlight shuts when I delete the app, and I am truly left with myself in a novel way. (I get only ugly people on Tinder- which means I might be gauging my own general attractiveness, wrong.)

Lorenz could be in love right now and my dreams will gut me even if I drift off thinking of magic, fire from my fingers, evergreen, sawdust in heeping piles in Upstate New York, the word turbid, and luminesce, and tenebrous, and slats, and escarmentar, and estrenar, demenager. I'll keep one awful gulp of it near my heart. Hiccup it into music to catch the next awful thing. I am here, not more. I get to crawl into me. I get to end what I want to end. I get to start over. I get most verbs. I have to leave or I won't be able to.

[chiefsawyer]

Full Name: Elaine Jean Sawyer

Nickname(s): Laine, Lainey, EJ, Baby bird/Bird

DOB: July 24th

Female; she/her; straight?

Height: 5'4’’

Hair color: Red

Eye color: Blue

Tattoos: None

Piercings: Ears; two on each of her lobes

Language(s): English, a moderate amount of Spanish, some French, and fluent in ASL

Occupation: Chief of Staff at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital ( formerly a General Surgeon who found a love for business and evil )

Relationship Status: Married to Donovan Lewis

Summary:

tw: death, mental illness ( schizophrenia mention ) manipulation 

- Elaine grew up a sweet little redhead and then some things went down with her mom, who struggled with paranoid schizophrenia. When her mom had a bit of a break and scooped Elaine out of bed in the middle of the night, convinced that Elaine's father and brothers were conspiring against Elaine and her mother, and that they weren't safe at home and needed to get far away and proceeded to drive Elaine across the country. Elaine ofc was down for the roadtrip with her mom, her bestie. After a few weeks of Elaine and her mother being reported missing, when they were found by police, her father had her mother admitted to a full time care facility and Elaine's lack of understanding the entire situation made her real angry at her dad ( she uses her mom's maiden name as her last name, Sawyer, and has since the incident when she was 6 ). Given that she was the youngest of 5 kids and the gap between her and her next sibling was 10 years, her now single dad ended up dragging her all around with him and she went to too many poker nights with him so between her tiny child rage over missing her mom and not understanding anything except for the poker games, blossomed a love for learning how to be deceitful, perceptive, and berry toxic. She was ( and still is ) very good at such might we add.

- She kept being toxic through life and would basically just get close with her dads friends/her teachers/mentors through college/medschool and then hold those relationships/interactions/boinking against them ( BUT she did meet Donovan during her internship and he was the first person in power who gave her enough respect to build a fun/wink wink/goofy friendship with and really never abused his power against her shoutout Don ) to get ahead and then eventually married one of those mentors bc he was kinda chill but then he passed away due to a small medical issue that escalated and his death DEFINITELY was not manipulated/caused by Elaine ( shhhh ) but he left her lots of money and his kids, her stepchildren, are literally her age and they’re pretty chill so probably felt at least a little bad tampering with his life/playing god but it’s fine bc she took his job and was HBIC in her department for a minute. After her husband passed away, she also reconnected with Donovan for a money-related deal and they were married for one year in order to help Don get inheritance money and they split the fat check but after a year she felt obligated to absolutely bounce back to work focused crazy bitch.

- Miss ma’am ended up getting pretty bored so she continued being toxic and making friends/getting close with people and learning things about them to get ahead ( she really boinked her way up to the top ok ) and would subtly threaten/blackmail those people to get ahead and boy did she and then she met another husband and he was really cool but he had a big bad air about him and she WAS NOT here to be arm candy so she was like time for my biggest magician act yet and through some connections knew about SGMW and had some dirt on the chief there ( an NPC for the sake of writing ) and basically hopped on a redeye and threatened the chief with some dirt. Her husband found out about the threatening, he was friends with the chief, and was like ma’am if you do this I’m leaving you no cap and Elaine was like bestie the divorce papers are on the kitchen counter checkmate my brother and she also had boatloads of dirt against husband and wrote up a heinous divorce contract with her lawyer that screwed him so bad so she got lots of money in the divorce too hehehe

- Anyways chief was like mkay you win and basically stepped down for ‘personal reasons’ and she was their first pick ( duh ) for replacement and she nailed her interview because even though she doesn’t play fair, she does a good job at what she does career-wise and now she’s here vibing and kind of relaxing because being toxic is tiring I guess? She’s a pretty chill lady but kinda rude/doesn’t let people get very close to her because over her dead body would you get dirt on her. But she’ll take all the gossip and secrets and loves playing therapist for her own gain honestly and that is all 

[l-g-6-5]

I am not usually one to hunt down posts that I hear people talk about, but I feel VERY strongly about this, so I have to write this out. I usually wish to be cordial, but I cannot be kind in good consciousness.

First and foremost, I can't believe I have to say this:

THE ACTORS ARE NOT OKAY WITH SHIPPING.

I am not saying that all shipping is forbidden. Obviously, there are a few exceptions stated by the crew, but for the most part, shipping is off limits. Any decent person can accept that.

'But LG what about what you've endorsed and put up with?' First, I made sure the actors or those were okay with ships before doing anything with them. At some point, a series/property is big enough to not consider the actors in it, but The Mandela Catalogue is a small series with smaller creators. It's not that hard to respect boundaries.

Now, as the resident Lore Maniac, I am about to unload on your tags.

The lesser of two evils: the Mark and Cesar one. They were from a point in the series where it was just Alex and his friends. Is it not weird to put two friends, that are strictly friends, in a relationship? This is also an issue with Tumblr and their constant need to push people together, even if they express that they are not okay with it. On top of that, Cesar himself was never stated to evil. In fact, the only thing we know about Cesar is that he's Mark's friend. Everything we do with him is speculation or us interpreting the Alternate as him. Alex has stated that Cesar is still alive (albeit, maybe retconned), so we still have yet to see what he is really like.

Now, for Adam. First of all, someone didn't know that Gabriel Linan (Jonah's actor) was controversial and it shows. Ty WAS okay with Jonadam until Gabriel got into controversy and left the crew. This part is off of memory, so please, forgive me (fellow decent people) if I misremembered anything. Remember that real people are showing their faces for these guys.

As for Adam hating Jonah? Boy (gn), he gets along with NO ONE. He and Evelin broke up due to him being an ass. He still says Evelin was in the wrong for their breakup, saying she was crazy. Sarah and Adam were cordial, but he clearly did not respect her boundaries. When on their first case, Adam used an audio lure to get the hands to come out, which made Sarah panic. If you read his journals on the Mandela Tech site, he calls her a coward and actively worked to replace her with Jonah. And here, you can tell he hated Jonah from the get-go. He only saw him as a 'random stoner' that was to replace Sarah on his investigations, but puts up with him because 'not a lot of people down to risk their lives i guess'. And let's not forget how he reacted when he got home from the volume 2 call. He casually brings up Jonah being dead to Sarah, who goes off because Jonah clearly enjoyed Adam. This goes as far back as Volume 2, really, as if you see the meme video 'Adam and Jonah's First Case', you can tell, even as a joke video, Adam did not like Jonah at all. He put up with him, snapping at him for getting rowdy after trying to keep a professional tone, and when he audibly begins to regret this decision ('I should have gone to law school' and 'I wasted all this time'), he snaps again ('JONAH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD CAN YOU SHUT THE HELL UP'). Yes, the interaction of this video is cranked to 11 and is not canon, but every good joke has a bit of truth in it. The fact Jonah annoyed Adam was a funny joke before, but with the context of him seeing Jonah as a random guy that is willing to die on the field for his own aimless quest, this is not-as-funny behavior.

In addition, the messaging app in Volume 4 is a lot of signs of his interactions. Sarah and Evelin both are reacting negatively. Jonah had cordial messages. Then you see Amanda, she told him 'Fuck you. You will get what is coming.'. Tyler was clearly talking to Adam about Face Studio 2, and that could be going either way. Noah was talking to him about Left 4 Dead 2, which, while it is normal behavior, could partly be that he is reaching out because all his other friends don't play or are dead. Aka: Adam's the only option for a competent partner to play with. Considering he never messaged back, that tells you how much he cared. For the most part, Adam doesn't see value in his relationships. He only really cared about finding his mother.

Also, it makes sense because Adam is not human and is less likely to be able to grasp respect and boundaries.

TL;DR: Respect the full lore, respect the creators, fuck you. Blocked.

this is not the biggest concern or anything but i would really love it if alex kister would stop sacrificing the integrity and continuity of his series just to dissuade queer people from making queer ships because he wont admit hes homophobic...

[applejuicefruit]

Hello! Could you write something with Kylian where, him and the reader are assumed to be dating because she comes to some of his games and sits with his family but they’ve never been see together other than that. After a match he goes up to his family and her and they kiss and he takes her onto the field. 🤍I like your writing it’s very sweet🤍

Hi 👋

Thank you for requesting! I really hope you like this⭐️

Not a secret anymore

Kylian and I, we’ve been dating for over a year now, but no one knew except our family and close friends.

We decided to keep it private mostly for my sanity, I didn’t want crazy fans insulting me because I was dating their favorite football player. Unfortunately these kind of things happen, especially if you’re dating a very famous person.

Second of all, Kylian is a very private person. We kept our relationship hidden from the media for over a year so I think we’ve been doing a great job.

Like every PSG match I attend I always sit with his family.

That made fans speculate.

Some of them think Kylian and I are dating, some of them think we’re just good friends.

The only times we’ve been seen together were when I was at the Stadium.

Just in the first half of the game Kylian scored and, of course, as a PSG supporter and as Kylian’s girlfriend I couldn’t help but celebrate along with his family. His mum hugged me so he did his brother. Some fans saw this interaction between the three of us and decided to film it and post it on instagram.

That’s the main reason I wanted to keep our relationship private.

The first 45 minutes of the game passed and PSG was winning.

I couldn’t be happier.

While I was waiting for the game to start again I decided to open Instagram to kill time.

I saw my notifications blowing up because some fan pages reposted the video.

I was reading through the comments and some of them were nice, others weren’t.

“Typical” I whispered so low no one could heard me.

A lot of people were trying to understand if Kylian and I were truly dating. Honestly I didn’t care, they had no proofs but I was worried something might came up. I don’t want his fans thinking I’m using him for fame and I also want to respect his privacy.

I decided to put down my phone and watched the game since I was so lost in my thoughts I didn’t see the match has restarted.

Kylian scored.

Again.

The fans were going crazy.

I was going crazy.

I couldn’t contain my happiness.

The moment he scored he waved to where I was sitting. Some people assumed he was waving to his brother but I know it was directed at me.

Just 10 minutes after the game ends and PSG has won.

Everyone was celebrating.

Fans were screaming and singing and shouting and some of them were even crying too.

Kylian and his teammates were celebrating.

That’s when I saw him coming directly towards us.

I thought he wanted to celebrate with his family so I didn’t say anything.

Oh boy I was wrong.

He came up straight towards me and hugged me.

“Kylian what are you doing?” I whispered trying to maintain a straight face.

He didn’t respond.

Instead he kissed me.

In front of 60.000 people.

And more watching from home.

“Kylian stop what are you doing?” I asked a bit worried.

Maybe it was the adrenaline.

Maybe not.

“I’m kissing my girlfriend” he said kissing me again.

I couldn’t contain my excitement but I was a bit worried too.

“What about keeping it private Kyky?” I asked him using his favorite nickname.

“I don’t care, I don’t wanna hide it anymore…” he said between taking breaths “I want the world to know that I have the most unique girlfriend by my side” he said kissing my cheek.

“They are filming…” I whispered to him almost laughing.

“Let them film” he simply said back.

Then he took my hand.

I knew what he wanted to do.

But I tried to stop him.

“Kylian are you sure?”

He looked at me and nodded with his beautiful smile that made me fall in love.

He took me out in the field where all of his teammates were celebrating. Of course they already knew about us but they also knew about our privacy so most of them were shocked too.

The moment I was in the field I saw hundreds of photographers trying to come up to me and Kylian but his protective arms shielded me from them.

“You know we’re gonna be on every magazine tomorrow right?” I asked him smiling.

“I just hope they’re gonna post nice pictures” he winked at me and I couldn’t contain my laugh.

After the game we came straight home. He was so tired and I was so sweaty that I needed at least three showers.

“Can i join you?” he asked entering the bathroom while I was already in the shower.

“What if I say no?” I asked laughing

“I’ll join you anyway”

“Exactly” I already knew the answer.

He got in the shower with me and we spent the next 20 minutes just showering each other and showing us affection and love.

We got out and we went straight to bed. Both of us already tired from the long day we had.

I fell asleep with my head on his chest and his arms around me, like every single night.

When I woke up I decided to check my phone.

“Shit…” I whispered trying to not wake up Kylian.

He heard me tho.

“Bonjour” he said hugging me.

He was so clingy in the morning it made me thing I was taking care of a baby sometimes.

“What are you watching?” he asked still half asleep.

“My Instagram followers just went up from 200 to a million” I say to him looking weirdly at my phone “and they keep going up”

“That happens when you’re dating Kylian Mbappè” he said proudly.

I couldn’t help but laugh a bit.

“Just put your phone down and come back to sleep, it’s early” he said putting his head on my chest.

“It’s 10 am Kyky”

“Exactly, it’s early”

I smiled looking at him and went back to sleep.

Sometimes I couldn’t believe I had the most perfect guy on my side.

I just love him too much.

[needsmorewlw]

How do you think the hacketteers would act in Squid Game situation?

Oh no...oh no

Amazing ask and also I feel like I need a hot chocolate to comfort me while I think about this lmao

Ok...well first off...none of them handle it well. Plenty of crying, panicking and yelling at each other all round. And in the situation where they're all taken home and then given the opportunity to come back, I can't see any of them doing that.

I could use some string of logic to say Ryan could convince himself it was all fake and go back but I'd like to think he's not THAT delusional. But even in the scenario where all of them are desperate for money, I just can't see any of them willingly going back.

But in a situation where they do and all die? I'll continue down here

Laura would obviously win, I don't think anyone would argue there. Either that, or if her and Max got to the end together, she would let him win. But she's the only one with the mentality for the squid games. Just, pushing her morals down and doing what needs to be done to survive. If Max is there with her, I don't think she would interact with anyone except him and if he's not there, she would lone wolf it.

This is kinda morbid but I can see Dylan y'know... giving up...once he realises the hopelessness of the situation. Like he knows from the beginning that they're all dead and he just tries to help the others in any way he can while also accepting that he's gonna die. Dylan would absolutely, no doubt, play the "I'll die so you can live" move when they're in partner games where one of them has to kill the other. Whether it's more devastating to have Ryan or Kaitlyn do it, I have not decided. But I am in tears.

Poor Abi. This whole situation is far too much for her. She survives as long as she does, purely due to luck and being helped and protected and then she'll die panicking and screwing up a game she had to do on her own.

All love and respect to my boy. I do think Jacob would be a moron. He's good at all the games and does well for a bit. But he wouldn't take it seriously at first, he'd be like "it's all fake these people are crazy" and then he'd probably die in some hilariously stupid, tragic way.

Ryan's in the same boat, at first. Stubborn himbo solidarity with Jacob, tho I doubt they get along in this universe either, they just agree. And then if he gets his head out of his ass soon enough to NOT die in a hilariously stupid tragic way, he would probably make it pretty far. And then die in just a tragic way instead. And here's the angst train but I'd say that killing Dylan would be the thing that gets Ryan realising it's all very real.

I can see Kaitlyn being top 2 with Laura. Just surviving because she has the skillset to survive. She would definitely be the most calm one throughout the games. kinda trying to keep people from being spiteful and work together when it's possible. I just don't think she'd be able to bring herself to stab Laura to death at the end.

Nick's tricky because we didn't get to see him in survival mode but I could make an argument for him going out in a similar way to Dylan. He'd protect someone else (probably Abi, but Jacob or Dylan would be some nice angst too) and die in the process. Maybe in the game where it's just a murder spree in the sleeping area. He would be confused and conflicted throughout the game and just try to be co-operative to the best of his ability.

Emma is another tricky one. We didn't get to see how she interacts with others when she's under pressure but based on her vibes? She'd totally try to form alliances based on who she deems the most useful. It's a smart move. But I think that she would stop being smart and end up trying to save Abi. Like she would have a choice between definitely living and abandoning Abi, and staying with Abi and maybe dying and she would choose that and die.

Max. Hmm. I think he'd be good at the games. He'd be reasonable and try to keep people calm and together but ultimately he would perish tragically unless Laura was able to rescue him. OR for ultimate angst. Laura fucks up and almost dies and Max sacrifices himself for her.