#it'd be nice if said games i mentioned got that much

[sepheroth]

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[makochi-furin]

KAJI REN AND DAZAI OSAMU WITH S/O WHO WAS PREVIOUSLY IN A PHYSICALLY ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP

A/N: these are what my scenarios look like :)

WARNING(s): reader used to be in an abusive relationship, mentions of PTSD

KAJI REN

Your boyfriend, Ren, had texted you earlier today that his mom was out, and that if you wanted to you could come over, or you two could go out to town to do something, since he didn't have rounds today.

You jumped on the chance, obviously, quickly getting dressed and practically running to his house. It wasn't often that you two got to spend time together, even on weekends, because Bofurin took up so much of his time. You were so proud of him, of course, for being in Bofurin, but you also missed him a lot.

That's how you found yourself in his room. After about two hours of catching up and joking around, he asked you if you'd mind him playing on his PlayStation. Apparently, one of his friends had asked him to join.

You said it was okay out of habit, because before, with your ex, if you'd have said anything else... Let's just say you'd end up feeling it. Plus, Ren told you it'd only be about thirty minutes, and then he'd take you to go get food.

He didn't have any sort of headset on, though, so you pretty much sat on his bed and watched him, talking all throughout about any random thing that popped into your head.

Although he didn't reply much, you knew he was listening. His headphones were around his neck, after all, and sometimes you'd catch him smiling about something you said.

He was quiet, and it was nice to be able to talk about yourself for a change. Though, with Ren, it seemed like you were always talking about yourself. You just hadn't gotten to in so long. Talking about yourself before Ren was usually met with ridicule.

Eventually, you two settled into a comfortable silence. You leaned back on the headboard, phone in your hand as you scrolled through social media.

You got a pop up that your phone was about to die, which had you pouting at the screen. Looking around, you saw a phone charger on his nightstand, but it wasn't plugged in. You couldn't see an outlet anywhere nearby.

"Hey, Ren?" you started hesitantly.

He hummed.

"Can I use your phone?"

Ren nodded, quickly grabbing it from his pocket and tossing it onto the foot of the bed. "Why?"

You were shocked. Astonished, even. Carefully, you took his phone, opened it, and were even more shocked when you realized there wasn't a password. Shaking your head, his question finally caught up to you. "Oh, mine's almost dead."

He nodded towards the outlet beside his desk. "You can charge it there, if you want."

You smiled, grabbing your phone and his charger. As you made your way past him, you couldn't help but ruffle his hair playfully.

He rolled his eyes at you, but gave a little smile.

Crouching down beside the outlet, you realized it was already full. You were pretty sure the grey cord was the one that was connected to his PlayStation, so you instinctually unplugged the black one without even thinking about it.

When the quiet sound effects from his game immediately stopped, you felt your heart drop. Genuinely, it was like a bucket of ice cold water had been dumped on your head, and now your every muscle was tense.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Your ex always scolded you for never being able to do anything right. Being with Ren, you had begun to move past that. Now, though, you were agreeing with him.

Ren watched the screen go black, blinking with the controller still in his hands. After a few seconds, his jaw locked and he lied his head back on his chair.

You didn't even say anything, too scared to. All you could do was stay crouched there like an idiot, the cord still in your trembling hands, watching his reaction like a hawk.

He didn't seem happy.

He sighed, ran a hand down his face, and then stood up and began walking over to you.

You popped up into a standing position, pulled taut like a rubber band about to snap. The offending cord was still in your stupid hands.

You wished Ren was more easily readable, because he had the same stoic expression he always did. Only, when you caught sight of the annoyance in his blue eyes, you changed your mind. You wished he had stayed unreadable.

"R-Ren, I'm so sorry," you breathed, feet glued to the ground. You felt completely unable to move.

"Yeah... It's fine," he muttered, reaching out for you.

Instinctually, you turned your face away and raised your hands to block the hit. It was a motion you'd ton plenty of times before. In fact, it was so ingrained in you that you didn't even realize you were moving, didn't realize you were holding your breath, until the strike never landed.

Slowly, you peaked open an eye to look at him.

Ren was staring at you oddly, his hand held out palm upwards. He was frozen, too, and you could see the cogs turning behind his eyes. For a moment, it looked like he was short circuiting.

"I... I was just gonna plug it back in," he explained awkwardly, eyes moving from the cord in your hand to the outlet on the wall.

You flushed red immediately, beating yourself up over how stupid you'd made yourself look. "Right... Right, I'm sorry." You practically shoved the cord into his chest, still shaking and unable to move your body how you wanted to.

Ren nodded, examining you with his eyes. Then, he let the cord fall to the ground. Slowly, as if scared of frightening you, he sat down on the edge of his bed. He grabbed your shirt, gently pulling you between his legs, looking up at you.

You didn't want to meet his eyes, hoping he'd just forget it ever happened and move on. You felt stupid enough without him adding onto it.

"What was that about?" he asked quietly, hands resting on your hips. "Did you think I was gonna hit you?"

Too ashamed to answer, all you could do was shrug. You were sure you were a pitiful sight, still trembling like a chihuahua.

To your immense relief, he didn't look offended. Rather, he looked worried. There was a storm gathering in his dark blue eyes, but his voice had never been gentler as he asked, "Why?"

You knew what he was saying. He'd never hit you before, or even come close. Ren hadn't even ever yelled at you. Sure, maybe the two of you hadn't been together for long, but you'd done plenty of things at this point that your ex would've freaked out about. Ren would only assure you that it was fine, that there was no need to apologize for every little thing.

You couldn't speak for a few minutes, terrified to tell him the truth, but also wanting to. For some reason, you wanted him to know, even though you also didn't. You didn't want him to look at you differently, but now that he was asking outright, you really didn't want to lie, either.

Finally, after several minutes of gathering up enough courage, you told him. Maybe not everything, but enough.

"You know... my ex?"

Ren nodded, already knowing where this was going. He didn't know the guy personally, but he'd heard stories. It was a small town.

"When he was mad, he hit me," you said simply, trying to shrug like it was no big deal, but Ren could see right through that. "It doesn't matter anymore."

He hated himself for not knowing the words to make you feel better about it; he really did. For the life of him, Ren didn't know what to say. He was the stupid one. All he could do was pull you closer, wrap his arms around your waist, and squeeze.

He really wasn't good with words, and he'd never felt like more of an asshole for it.

You played mindlessly with his hair, honestly happy that he wasn't digging anymore into it. "I'm sorry," you couldn't help but say, feeling like this whole awkward situation was your fault.

"Never apologize for things you didn't do," Ren said quickly, and you were taken aback by how firm his voice was, leaving no room for argument.

Trying to lighten the mood a little, you said, "Well, someone has to," with a bittersweet smile. Then, you hugged him back, enjoying the warmth, the comfort that came from being wrapped up in him.

He didn't reply. Instead, he just held you.

After that, you thought it was over.

Ren didn't mention it again, and everything was out in the open. The air was cleared, and now you didn't have to feel guilty for "lying" by omission. You'd never need to think about your ex again, and Ren didn't look at you differently (to your immense relief).

He was more mindful of not frightening you accidentally, but that was really all that changed.

At least, you thought it was.

One day, you were lounging on his bed again, phone in hand. He was at his desk, playing a game with his friend from Bofurin. Afterwards, he was taking you out for dango, which you were looking forward to.

Suddenly, you got a text from him. From your ex. It made your stomach churn just seeing his name pop up on your phone again, but you were curious, so you read it.

'I'm so, so sorry for everything I did to you. You deserve so much better than me. I'm just a piece of shit, and you were way too good for me. I'm just really, really sorry.'

Your eyes flew open, because that was not your ex, but the number was definitely his. "Hey, Ren, check this out," you whispered, awed.

"What is it?" He asked, looking over his shoulder at you with raised eyebrows. His hands, bandages over his knuckles from a recent fight where he had "gone a little too hard" (his words), held steady to his controller.

"My ex... He apologized to me," you breathed, still in shock. Your ex was not the kind of person to apologize. Even when he left you bruised and bloody, no apologies came, only half-assed excuses and monologues about how mean his mom was.

"Crazy," Ren said in a deadpan tone, turning back around to his game.

You blinked, suddenly putting the pieces together. These words were not your ex's, not by choice, anyways. And Ren had met you on the bridge last night with those bandages, but no other signs of a fight, not even a scratch or bruise.

Your eyes widened, dropping your phone immediately to stare into the back of Ren's chair. "Ren...?"

He hummed.

"Did you do something?"

"Uh, yeah," he said bluntly.

You couldn't believe what you were hearing. You stood up and went over to his chair, looking down at him with wide eyes. "What exactly... did you do?"

He didn't even look at you, eyes still trained on his game, as he casually said, "I beat the shit out of him."

"Ren!"

He only shrugged, and then wrapped one arm around your waist to pull you closer until you were sitting on the arm of his chair. Ren kissed the back of your shoulder, and then said, "Someone needed to."

Kaji Ren wasn't great with words, and in the moment when you told him about your ex, he'd never hated himself more for it. That is, until he remembered how great with his fists he was.

DAZAI OSAMU

You sat on the couch in the living room of Osamu's small apartment, where you had been staying pretty much since the two of you started dating. Outside the window, you could see the stars shining against a nearly black sky. Tired to the bone, all that was stopping you from passing out in his bed, which smelled so sweetly of him, was the fact that he was still out on some mission.

Knowing what he did for a living, especially knowing how dangerous it was, you just never felt right going to sleep without seeing him back home first, safe and sound. As such, you sat with a fluffy throw you'd brought from home over your lap, trying to pay attention to the soap opera playing on the TV to no avail.

You were worried sick, constantly checking your phone for updates, but he hadn't texted you back in hours. It was nearly three in the morning now, and as the minutes ticked on, you felt your heart encase itself with this terrible dread and worry.

You knew before you started dating him about his job at the detective agency, but you'd never imagined back then how attached you would become to him. He didn't seem like the type to stay, so you never figured you'd be up all night worried.

Alas, here you were, halfway getting ready to drive to the agency building and ask about his whereabouts.

You flinched, brought out of your mind, when the door very slowly creaked open. Immediately, you turned around to look over the couch, relief washing over you like warm sun rays when you saw Osamu walking in.

"Hey," he said softly, probably seeing from the deep bags under your eyes how tired you were. Osamu's eyebrows pinched together, concerned, as he carefully placed his trench coat on the counter. "What are you still doing up?" He made his way over to the back of the couch, long, thin fingers absently going to lightly scratch against your scalp. Crouching slightly so he'd be closer to you, Osamu tilted his head. "You weren't waiting up for me, were you?"

The way his fingers softly tugged at the roots of your hair sent a pleasant shiver through your body. "Of course, I was... I wanted to make sure you were safe." You tilted your head up and back to properly look at him, dazed momentarily by the way his lips lifted into the softest smile, his brown eyes twinkling.

"I'm sorry. I would've called you, but my phone went dead." He leaned down to brush his lips against your hairline, hand leaving your hair. "You should get some sleep. I'll join you after I take a shower."

You nodded, the memory of his touch ghosting over you. "Okay." Honestly, you couldn't think of anything better than going to sleep. Part of you wanted to be a little pissy with him for not getting back to you somehow, but the other part was just too relieved to see him in one piece.

"I'll be out in ten," he said, squeezing your shoulder before walking off down the hall.

You sighed lightly once he left, pushing your blanket to the side and standing up. Stretching your arms over your head, you couldn't help but smile to yourself.

Osamu was rough around the edges, and it had taken him quite some time to get used to being in a relationship, but being with him felt like a breath of fresh air. Your previous partner might have lowered your standards some, but after months and months, you still felt safe with Osamu.

He didn't switch up on you like your last had.

It was a testament to how far you'd come that you were annoyed about him not answering. In your last, that was the last thing on your mind. Your physical health wasn't always guaranteed back then, because your last had a penchant for punching everything that inconvenienced him and a short fuse to match.

Even reminiscing about it made your muscles tense up, so you quickly shook away the thought. Just as you were about to head into the bedroom, you saw his coat lying on the counter out of the corner of your eye. With an exasperated sigh, you walked over to pick it up and hang it on the coat rack.

Osamu had a terrible habit of dropping his clothes wherever.

You picked it up, about to hang it on the rack when your fingers cramped. Wincing, the coat fell from your grasp. As soon as it hit the floor, there was a loud POP! that had you covering your ears, dizzy and confused.

It was accompanied by the terribly loud shatter of glass, and shards falling unceremoniously onto the hardwood floor.

You gasped and jumped back, eyes widened with horror. Apparently, his gun had been in there, and now, like the idiot klutz you were, his living room window was shattered.

Just like that, all of your progress froze. You were in fight or flight, blood pumping rapidly through your veins. You could feel your heartbeat at every pulse point, because oh, my god.

He was going to be so angry.

You were acting on autopilot now, flashbacks coming to you of a time when you'd accidentally broken a plate—just a plate—and your ex put you in the ER for it. This was a whole window. You were hyperventilating, your brain cut off from oxygen and getting fuzzy.

It wasn't a second after the gun went off that you'd flown over to the window and crouched down, trying to gather all the pieces. Maybe, if you had it cleaned up by the time Osamu was out of the shower, he wouldn't be as angry.

You didn't really hear him frantically shout your name from the bathroom, the buzzing in your ears too loud. Neither did you hear him running into the living room, panic in his eyes as he assumed the worst.

When Osamu saw you there, he blinked, confused. When his eyes found the trench coat not lying where he'd placed it, he understood immediately.

"Hey, hey, hey. Baby, that's glass," he said, quickly making his way over. He'd already taken his shirt off, revealing the bandages wrapped around his middle and up his neck.

You didn't really hear him, nor did you notice how the shards cut your hands. Blood dripped down your fingers, palms, and wrists, staining the glass and the floor red.

Osamu crouched down beside you, eyes widening at the bloody scene. He immediately grabbed your wrists to stop you from collecting any more glass shards, his grip firm, but gentle.

You froze, too scared to look at him. "I'm so sorry," you whispered, shaking your head as tears welled in your eyes. "I didn't mean to, Osamu. I swear. I—"

"Hey, it was my fault," he replied, shaking his head. "I shouldn't have left a loaded gun lying around like that. I'm sorry, okay? I'll clean this up later."

"I—I can do it," you insisted, finally looking at him. Your breath stopped when you saw the sadness in his eyes, the way he looked like he just knew.

He smiled at you, but it was placatingly, as if he knew the quickest way to go about this was to simply go along with your panicked ravings. "I'm sure you can, baby, but I will. It's my fault. Let's get you to the bathroom so I can treat your hands, yeah?"

"My... hands?" You looked at your hands, your wrists still in his grip, and were horrified by how bloody and mangled they looked. Your breathing was starting to even out, finally coming back to yourself.

"Yeah, just..." He eyed the glass, and it was all around. Tiny shards that glinted dangerously in the yellow light of a nearby lamp, all around you. "Don't move."

You were still dazed, so you just did what he said.

Osamu stood, and then carefully scooped you up bridal style. Lips pressed into a thin line, he looked around at the floor closely before finally finding a spot where it didn't seem the glass reached. He set you down carefully, and then led you with a hand on the dip of your back to the bathroom.

The next thing you knew, you were sitting on the toilet, in disbelief of the spell you'd just had. Meanwhile, Osamu had lied out tweezers, Neosporin, and bandages on the sink counter.

"I'm sorry," you uttered again, embarrassed of how he'd found you, and more so embarrassed of how he was having to fix you up now. Honestly, you didn't even want to look him in the eye.

"You didn't do anything wrong," he said softly, grabbing the tweezers in one hand. With the other, he squeezed your knee. "I'm not quite used to living with someone else yet. I should know better than to leave a loaded gun around."

"I'm so clumsy," you muttered, head falling.

"And I'm an idiot," he said lightly, using a finger to raise your chin. He rested his forehead to your's, closing his eyes tight. "I'm relieved it was the window... When I heard the gunshot, I was terrified it was you."

You squeezed your eyes shut, too, enjoying the closeness. The tears that had brimmed earlier started to fall, but you wouldn't acknowledge them.

"I know what PTSD looks like," he murmured, wrapping his arm around you and holding you close. "If you want to talk about it, we can."

You shook your head, biting your lips. Not yet. You weren't ready yet.

Osamu nodded, pressing a kiss to your forehead before pulling away. He gently grabbed one of your hands, getting ready to remove the glass from your skin. He made quick work of your hands, and before long they were glass free and bandaged.

He kissed the knuckles on your right hand, and then pulled you up to a standing position. "I'll clean the glass up. You go lay down. I'll be there in a minute, okay?"

You nodded.

That night, as you fell asleep in his arms, you had never felt safer.

[inkblot22]

(PS I don’t actually know the source material for idia I just stumbled upon one of your fics while looking at FFXIV Yandere fics so sorry if this sounds OOC)

I’m not super creative but what do you think might actually be Idia’ routine with his darling? Does he fall into any routine, does it change a lot?

Have a wonderful day (and happy late bunny day!) 🫶

I actually am of the opinion that this is a very creative thought! You should give yourself more credit. I like to idealize the day to day life, but it never occurred to me that writing it down might be a good idea. On that sentiment, I think maybe Vil or even Leona would have a better day to day routine. Dividers by @/cafekitsune

Also, wow, what a pipeline, FFXIV to twst?? You've got good taste lmao welcome to my blog.

I'll put this under the cut, and I'm also not promising that this will be very good. I use the 24 hour clock. I am constantly getting told irl that American people don't do that, but I'm evil, so I'm putting the times in 24 hour clock format.

TW for mentions of noncon, coercion, captivity, someone keeping someone else awake, a hint of Idia being an asshole

+ Idia doesn't really seem like he has much of a set schedule, but Ortho absolutely does and Ortho is lowkey kind of bossy, so...

+ Yeah uh, Idia's partner is absolutely out of luck. Idia likes night gaming a lot, and he gets loud, so good luck sleeping. Idia himself goes to bed late and wakes up whenever the heck he wakes up. He could go to bed at 0300 in the morning and wake up again at 0700.

+ As his kept partner, the schedule is a little more normal, like I said. Ortho doesn't really need to sleep from what I understand, (I haven't read all of book 6, no spoilers or else I WILL temporarily block you) but it's silly to imagine that he doesn't wake up or attempt to wake up everyone else around him as early as 0600.

+ After waking up, Idia will eat breakfast. I think it'd be delivered usually since Idia and his partner are basement dwellers, one by nature and the other by force. After breakfast begins work...

+ Or procrastination. Idia flip flops between extreme focus on what he should be doing and what he should not be doing. He manages to get his schoolwork done, but more often than not, he's asking his partner to cuddle up and watch a movie, drama, or his fingers flying across the keyboard. Idia will not ask them to cuddle if he is doing schoolwork or virtually attending classes.

+ I like to think that he smells smoky, on account of the flaming hair, and he runs hot, so prepare to SWEAT. In the case his partner doesn't really want to hang out with him, he will usually sulk and only occasionally get upset to the point of doing something about it.

+ I don't think he showers every day. I think he's an every other day type of showerer, based solely on him not being particularly active. This means that his partner doesn't have to run on his showering schedule and gets extra hot water on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

+ By the way, in the case that Idia's darling ever gets peckish, Idia has a snack stash that he proudly pulled out and showed them as soon as they were allowed to wander a bit. I figure they get hungry some time around 1400, especially if Idia is also eating at that time.

+ I think his metabolism is fast, but also a bit odd. He is a young person, and therefore he strikes me as the type to get randomly hungry. If asked very nicely (and with the promise of physical affection in some form) he'd be incredibly willing to make his partner something to munch on when he makes his own.

+ Despite Idia's partner being literally held captive in his room, with all his suspicious items and, worst of all, himself, Idia is about as respectful as a kidnapper can be about demanding sex. He doesn't like to be physically forceful about it, and he often will just jerk off in the bathroom.

+ The reason for this is very simple: If Ortho ever saw Idia having sex with ANYONE, Idia would spontaneously combust. Well, obviously he doesn't know that for certain, but it's a theory that he is not willing to test. He won't even talk about his preferences around his little brother.

+ As far as I'm aware, most people in captive situations do not tend to ask their kidnapper to fuck them unless they're being threatened in some way, but Idia's partner isn't typically being threatened (ignore the shock collar,) so they never ask Idia to have sex.

+ This does not stop Idia from being a whiny bitch about not having sex enough as soon as Ortho is gone for a few hours. The close quarters and sudden advent of a human being who he doesn't mind touching him is a big thing for Idia.

+ Ortho goes on "walks" in a sort of unusual schedule. That is to say that he doesn't have a schedule. If something needs to be picked up, he's tired of Idia not listening to him, he has his own stuff to do, or he just feels like it, Ortho will go out, sharing his location with Idia. From there, Idia will typically calculate how long it'd take Ortho to get back paired with whatever Ortho said he was going to do before he left, and see if he can squeeze in some coerced touching.

+ So. Good luck, Idia's partner. Idia will make a big stink until he gets bored or his partner gives in. His partner usually gives in, based on fear of what he might do alone.

+ Bedtime is somewhat randomized. If Ortho was out, when he comes back and it's any time after 2000, he will very subtly try to get Idia and his partner to start winding down. If both or one ignores him, he'll start getting upset.

+ Like I said, Ortho is kinda bossy. He will nag someone, and the worst part is that he's usually got their best interest in mind.

+On the off chance that Idia decides to go to bed at a decent time, he curls up behind his partner. He runs hot and smells smoky, and at some times it's not the worst thing. Some times.

+ By the way, a lot of this flies out the window in the event that Idia decides to attend classes in person. This is rare, so don't expect it to happen often, but it's not as good as it could be. Ortho goes with him and he locks up any way to reach the outside world, so all his partner has to entertain themselves is his manga collection, or the fun pastime of destruction of property. (This is a very bad idea, and I can expand on punishments later.)

+ In Idia's partner's case, every day is much of the same but just a little different, which makes it hard to keep track of time. The fact that Idia prefers low lighting and no natural light doesn't help this whatsoever.

[zombiigrll]

Could you make a fic for Carl where he’s kind of yandere-like? You can get creative with it, but just something creepy like that. It’s okay if not! 💛

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BLOODY VALENTINE. ⋆｡°✩ yandere!carl grimes x reader .ᐟ WORD COUNT .ᐟ ⭑ 1.5K ꩜ .ᐟ WARNINGS ⭑ use of y/n, gore mention, blood, murder, 'yandere-like' carl (i hate using the word yandere but i don't know what else could be used T_T), crying, vomit, takes place in alexandria .ᐟ SUMMARY .ᐟ ⭑ it was pretty obvious you and carl had liked each other for a while. but after you started getting close with ron, carl started to change. ꩜ .ᐟ A/N .ᐟ ⭑ thank you so much for the request anon! i've never really written something like this before so i hope its to your liking <3 also this ofc isn't in character for carl, so i know some of the writing isn't gonna seem like him n stuff :p

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────────────────────────────────────── you had known carl since the prison. michonne found you on a run and took you in. and ever since then, you and carl would always hangout together. you were practically inseperable.

...that was until you guys arrived at alexandria and you met a boy named ron.

you and carl met him together when his mother and rick decided it'd be nice if the two of you made friends with people your guys' age. "you guys have video games?!" you immediately took interest to the moving characters on the television in front of ron and the boy named mikey.

"yeah, you want a turn?" ron asked, moving the controller toward you.

"yes, please!" you beamed, reaching to grab the controller from his hand when your finger grazed his, making you flinch a bit in embarrassment. "oh, sorry."

carl instantly noticed this interaction and walked over, ripping the controller out of your hand.

you frowned. "hey-"

"we're leaving." carl looked at you, then back at ron angrily.

"uh, why?" ron raised an eyebrow, squinting at carl.

carl scoffed, throwing the controller back to ron and aggressively grabbing your hand in his, practically dragging you out of the house.

"dude, what the fuck?" you shoved carl away from you once the two of you got outside.

"i don't like him. he's weird." carl blankly said, staring down at you as if your reaction was unnatural.

"he didn't even do anything! all he did was give me a controller, what's so weird about that?"

"he just met you and he's already trying to make moves-"

"no, carl. he wasn't. he was being nice." you rolled your eyes and crossed your arms together. "if anyone is being weird, it's you. what's wrong with you right now?"

carl looks at the ground and laughs before bringing up a hand to the side of your face. "nothing is 'wrong' with me. i'm fine."

"obviously not. you've never acted like this before." you shoved his hand away, shaking your head.

carl looks at you, upset, but at the same time, furious. "whatever." he walks away, shoulder-checking you as he passes.

you look back at him, confused. carl was the sweetest boy you've ever met. he's always been there for you through everything, so what is the matter with him right now?

you brushed the thoughts away and walked back into rons house, trying to clear your mind from whatever the hell is happening with carl right now.

...

the two of you hadn't spoken to each other in a while. you've been spending your time becoming acquainted to the people of alexandria, and he'd been off doing whatever.

you haven't really seen him at all, except for when you'd go home. he'd be on his porch, shaking his leg with his arms crossed. every. single. day.

he was scaring you, and you weren't confident enough to ask him what's wrong. especially not after the way he shut you down last time.

you were sure it was just him going through puberty. you never knew how boys developed, so you assumed all boys acted like how carl was acting. jealous and insecure.

you didn't even like ron, not like that. he was dating enid, and you liked carl, even if he was being weird. you just wanted to make new friends.

but today felt awful. you woke up with a sick, eerie feeling laying in your stomach. something felt wrong, but you didn't know why. you put your clothes and shoes on and stepped outside, and alexandria was silent.

"...hello?" you called out loudly. no answer.

you looked around your surroundings and noticed that some cars were missing, which you assumed was due to rick and a few others going out on a run together.

'maybe ron is here?' you thought as your gaze went towards his house. you started walking closer to the dimly lit building. as you stepped onto the porch, you rung the doorbell twice. "hello? is anyone home?" you asked through the door.

you heard a voice from the other side. "shit." a raspy, distressed voice spoke.

"are you okay?" you knocked on the door loudly as that sound.

silence.

"i'm coming in." you quickly opened the door, a disgusting stench filling your nose. "what the hell..?"

you looked around and the living room and it looked normal for the most part, despite some oddly moved furniture and some glass on the ground. but that smell. it was nauseating.

"who's there?" you asked, looking around at your surroundings as you stepped closer to the hallway, which was also closer to the strong stench. "i know someone's in here, just answer-"

you froze as you looked ahead through the doorframe and into ron's room.

there was blood everywhere. and a figure facing away from you wearing a very familiar sheriffs hat.

"oh, my god." you gagged, covering your mouth with your hand as your eyes widened at the scene.

a clinging sound was heard, a bloody knife falling to the ground. right besides ron and mikeys bodies.

you were about to pass out. you brought up your arm to hold onto the doorframe for support.

"...what did you do?"

the boy didn't respond. instead, he turned to face you. there was blood stained all along his face and body, and his eyes looked dark. he stepped closer to you, which made you step away in fear.

"i'm not going to hurt you." he softly spoke, reaching out a bloody hand in your direction.

your eyebrows furrowed in fear as you looked him straight in the eye. "are you kidding me..?"

carl brought his bloodstained hand up to your cheek, resulting in the fresh blood spreading along your face and a shiver rolling down your spine.

"i love you."

as he spoke, your faces were inches apart, the smell of iron filling up through your nose. your eyes widened further and you shook your head away from his hand. "you.. you killed ron, you killed mikey, and... now you're saying you love me in a room splattered in their blood?" you laughed fearfully.

he stayed silent, taking in your terrified expression.

"you told me you'd always keep me safe. you'd always make sure i would never feel afraid again." you reminded him, stepping further back. "you failed. miserably."

"y/n-"

"don't." you cut him off. your eyes focused back to the bodies, and you fully processed everything. your body jerked up and you threw up right by your feet. "..holy shit."

"i just.." carl shook his head. "i didn't want to lose you. i didn't want you to leave me."

"so you fucking murdered ron and mikey?!" you yelled, wiping your mouth off with your sleeve. "do you hear yourself?"

carl stayed silent, staring down at the ground with clenched fists.

"i liked you, carl. only you." your voice softened as tears began glazing over your eyes. "there wasn't any competition. it was only you."

carl looked over at you, wide eyed and confused, more guilty than before. "..what?"

"you didn't have to.. to kill people to show you love me." you pointed behind him, reminding him of what he did.

he was speechless. guilty as ever. he was shaking frantically. tears flooded his eyes as he brought a hand up to his face, which only resulted in more blood spreading across his already bloodstained face.

you laid your head on the wall, recollecting your self. carl just stood by the doorframe spacing out.

"...what do we do now?" he finally spoke, his voice wobbly and quiet.

"i don't know!" you snapped again, raising your hands over your head. "it's your mess."

"please, y/n." he begged, running a hand through his hair. "what can i do to fix this?"

"i..." you trailed off, staring at the whole scene again. "shit, carl."

you walked into the bathroom at your side and threw a towel and bucket of water out to him. "clean it up." you said before turning around to walk out of the house.

"wait." he called out.

"what?"

"are you going to tell anyone.. what i did?" his voice sounded scary, but terrified.

"not if you don't get caught." you sighed. "forge a note, hide their bodies, whatever. i'm not apart of this anymore."

carl nodded somberly. "i'm sorry."

you left the house.

...

things weren't normal at all after that day. i mean, why would they be? carl hid what happened the best he could, actually taking your advice to forge a note. you kept your word and stayed silent. jessie was a mess after that day, unsure why her boy and his best friend 'left alexandria.'

you didn't know how to feel about carl anymore. he loved you still, as far as you could tell, but you couldn't understand your feelings for him.

you knew you still loved him despite everything. but you felt as if you couldn't forgive him for taking away the first friend your age you'd made, and taking jessies son away from her.

he was basically just some sort of bloody valentine to you.

─────────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────────────

[ardienothesieno]

post game isat thoughts i have

what the title says i have thoughts in my brain and i want to share them

isafrin date thing pretty much immediately post-game: sif should get to be sick for at least a week. and the party fusses over them the whole time and it's adorable and then i think one night. sif should turn to isa and ask if he wants to hang out. hehe and sif brings isa to go look at the stars this time! and it's sort of like isa's friendquest but this time they are actually snuggling. and not just talking about isa, they're talking bout sif too some of the stuff isa says is reminiscent of the loops which freaks sif out a bit. but it just makes them happy to hear isabeau talk and he would share some things that happened in the loops-- wholesome things of course i think it'd still be a while before they opened up about the uh. the worse shit. but stuff like teaching bonnie to fight, finding out they were allergic to pineapple the hard way (isa would be freaked by this but sif finds it hilarious), maybe tell him about wish craft and color theory, the change god helping them out, bombing the king, etc etc. the nice stuff. AND THEN. I THINK THE ISA USING A SHOOTING STAR AS A DISTRACTION THING SHOULD HAPPEN-- BUT ITS REAL THIS TIME <3 like sif looks up and it's a whole freaking meteor shower... and isa tells them to make a wish, to which they respond "i'm not messing with that again for a looooong time" :)))) and i just think that should culminate in isa carrying a sleeping sif back to either the clocktower or the house, wherever the family has set up shop... njhgfcftyhujkuhgvfcdfty i love them they're so cute

LOOP THOUGHTS. i dont know if i am committing to this hc, but i think it would be cool if loop and siffrin became a system of sorts? i know very little about plurality so i dont really know what im talking about... if i get anything wrong please tell me! but ive got yet another scene in mind like right before the party leaves dormont to go pick up nille, sif visits the favor tree one last time. just. reminiscing. and mira would come along and find him and they'd have a talk! not specifically about loop, but loop would definitely come up in the conversation and then at some point sif says that loop mentioned that they'd be coming back and is like "i wonder when we'll see them again" and loop just screams HOW ABOUT RIGHT NOW and shoves siffrin out of front jhugtfcvfdxscfgthbnygvh i think loop should still get to have their own body and autonomy and stuff, i just think they should also be able to just show up in sif's head. and vice versa i think eventually sif figures out how to do it as well and they just get to constantly bother each other from a shared headspace dcgbnjuytfg

and. and then i think that can lead into a lot of sad wholesome moments where sif lets loop be siffrin for a little while. like the party is sitting around a campfire telling stories and being happy, sif notices loop hanging around in the headspace, and lets them drive for a bit. i dont think they'd do it very often or for super long or anything but. hgfcdxcfgybhnj. they should get to be siffrin every once in a while too. as time goes on and they become more of their own person they do it less and less, but for the first few months to a year or so it's comforting to be able to be surrounded by versions of their past family, if only for a bit as i said. i dont know what im talking about really so if i said anything badly or if any of these ideas are bad please let me know

time craft shenanigans i think sif (and loop) should get to keep time craft powers after the loops end not to like. the extreme that the loops were. but like how sif will loop back like five minutes if they screw something up socially-- i think they should get to keep that EXCEPT. the party learns to pick up on what time craft feels like. so if theyre ever talking to sif and boom weird time craft feeling and sif is in a wildly different emotional state they can just go "sif. did you loop back. what happened." i think it would be a good. like. starting therapy point? them having a toxic coping mechanism for when things go badly and the rest of the group helping him work through those situations instead of avoiding avoiding avoiding and i think loop should keep it for the memes (and trauma reasons. but mostly the memes.)

it would get better with time, as siffrin (and loop) gets more and more comfortable with being uncomfortable and messing up and learning to work through the anxiety and and and then that could lead to a big situation a few years in the future when the group splits up. and sif is TERRIFIED that the loops will start again i dont think the group would ever split up for good though. they're a family!!! they're not gonna just leave each other behind after another few months of traveling!!!! that just means all the suffering sif went through was for nothing!!!!! and yeah, they cant stay together forever. i know. but even after splitting up they'd still definitely have family reunions like every other tuesday

BUT SIF AND ISA NEVER SPLIT UP EVER. NOT EVEN FOR FIVE MINUTES they get bonded and go on to open a boutique/trinket shop <3

[ar3s-r4t-qu33n]

My Thoughts and Theories on the new Rush Week Teaser!!

• New Johnny outfit!!

Obviously based on the 'Wildflowers bring out the rattlesnakes' quote from the Lore Stream by Ronnie Hobbs

Hopefully it's not event exclusive and we can wear it all the time because 👀

Maybe new fits for the whole gang? That'd be nice.

• The music reminds me of 80s horror and we are yet to hear about a frat/Sorority house being attacked on the radio. Obviously, there were the three girls in Plugerville, but I feel like we know all about that already? He broke in, killed one, got his scar, and escaped and is now wanted, probably his biggest failure ever (sorry Johnny baby but you get ahead of yourself way too much). That would date this to be the October of 1972.

That leads me to think this is set in the future maybe? Either still 1973, the Halloween after the game, or possible even in the 1980s.

It's a big jump, but with the almost definite arrival of Choptop, it might bridge some of the aesthetic gap between him and the rest of the family (I'm not saying we're about to time jump the whole game 10 years, but just visually speaking)

• New Characters!

I have a feeling we'll be locked in to play as Johnny as he hacks and slashes his way through (possibly like a Hitman mission? Like, he has to complete a certain goal and not get caught??)

But it's POSSIBLE that we are at the University of Texas and we might get to meet June, Sonny's girlfriend

Or like I said, set in the 80s with a brand new cast of victims to either play as in evading Johnny (unlikely, at least to me) or to hunt down and kill as Johnny

The blonde girl reminds me of a TCM OC I've seen before. This is a HUGE stretch, but POSSIBLY she's her..? Heavily doubt it but it'd be really cool since people really want that OC in the game

• Set during Halloween

Meaning it HAS to be either PRE Maria's disappearance (before March/April of 1973) or AFTER her disappearance AND the movie (August of 1973)

Still clinging onto the hope that she's alive

I'm thinking possibly that Johnny has killed Nancy and run off with Hands? It'd make the leather jacket make sense

Not that it needs to, Johnny would totally wear that as is

But if I hear him mention a 'gal back home', I'm losing my mind-

I'm just saying, him killing Nancy and taking off with Maria after everything would be a perfect ending to me, whether she's traumatised or not (I didn't say she had to be all hunky dory, girlie will be BROKEN after all of this but I just cannot see Johnny killing her off, not after he and Grandpa and everyone else have gone through so much effort to keep her alive)

Those are all my main thoughts rn for the teaser!! We literally don't know anything about this game mode yet, but making Rush Week be like, Frat/Sorority Rush is such a fun idea since the story is so connected to the University of Texas. And like, it probably IS the Plugerville incident, but idk, I'm holding out hope for a little bit more, ig?? Idk. Let me know what you guys think, I'd love to talk theories and ideas!!

[meimi-haneoka]

Clear Card Trivia 1 ~ Literary and musical references/mentions in Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card

Hello everyone! The end of the Clear Card manga is very near, so I thought it was about time to start writing the long list of posts I'm going to release in the upcoming months, since it's almost time to wrap everything up and it would be nice to look back and not only analyze the plot but also trivia and themes/topics discussed (openly or not) in these almost 7 years of serialization of Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Arc.

Today we talk about the several literary and musical references spread across the different CCS Clear Card media. The references are quite a lot and I find it so very fitting for a story that features books so much, both under a positive and negative light. Books have a life-saving role, being the only thing young Akiho could cling to, to survive mentally till the arrival of Kaito in her life and the subsequent removal from her abusive family, but for a twist of fate, a spell under the guise of a book is also what was about to destroy her soul forever when said book got filled up with magic. The very first time Akiho's inner book gets set off is precisely in Fujitaka's library. Moreover, a fictional world existing into a forbidden book called Alice in Clockland is also where Kaito sends everyone in the climax of the story. In that fictional world, it is said that books record the memories and feelings of people. And after recording them, that same book can rewrite them. Books are literally an essential element of the plot of Clear Card Arc.

In my list I will take in consideration both the anime and the manga, with a special section for the now-defunct Happiness Memories mobile game! The references are ordered basing on their impact or importance within the plot, and include all the info we have till chapter 72. I might update this post if we get more literary references in the very last chapters of the arc. I will probably not be able to talk in depth about all the possible double meanings and connections of these stories to the real Clear Card plot, as I haven't read most of these books or I'm still in the process of reading them, but I have looked at summaries on Wikipedia, so hopefully I'll be able to feature at least a part of the interesting connections. Anyone who knows these stories or songs in depth is welcome to give more insight!

Soooo, ready to dive in?

1) Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There / Lewis Carrol

Of course the first reference featured in this list couldn't be other than this one! The whole Clear Card arc is heavily based on the Alice In Wonderland narrative, but particularly in the sequel "Through the Looking-Glass". The very first mentions of "Alice-related" stuff is as early as chapter 12, when Sakura and Tomoyo visit Akiho's home and they check out her huge library: here Akiho shows them her book "Alice in Clockland" for the first time. Tomoyo spots the resemblance with the title of the best-known novel, but Akiho says that the book she's holding wasn't written by the author of Alice in Wonderland, and although the language it's written in is composed by runes, she was taught how to read it. Later on we discover that the more she progresses reading this book, the more it gets connected to recurring dreams she's having, with an "Alice" as the main character who experiences all sorts of adventures (unbeknownst to her, she's dreaming about Sakura's adventures with the Clear Cards). Akiho sometimes shares these dreams with Kaito and he always listens attentively, commenting that it'd be good if Alice acquired "more and more skills". We also see Rika (through Sakura) giving away to Akiho one of her Alice picture books, and the girl is definitely thrilled and moved by the kind gesture of who is basically a stranger to her.

Moreover, in chapter 38 & 39, Kaito shrinks Sakura in order to prompt her to create a Card, and sends her down a hole carved in a tree, calling her "Alice". Sakura also created the Shade card supposedly basing it on the Jabberwock featured in Through The Looking Glass. The whole situation prompts Kaito to remember about his first face-to-face meeting with Akiho, which he says happened in a garden fit for Alice in Wonderland. The whole scenery Sakura witnesses in the strange world she's sent to is very reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland/Through the looking Glass, with her being so little and the talking flowers. Of course, the biggest reference to Through the Looking Glass is the whole Alice in Clockland play, in its first version based on Akiho's beloved book with the same title (Naoko initially called the play "The Two Alice", but then decided to change it at last minute, in a twist of fate). Both "before" and "after" the rewriting of memories operated by Momo's book, we not only have an Alice in this story, but also a Cat (which will have a key role) and a Red Queen. Another notable similarity is how Alice, in Through the Looking Glass, crosses "the wood where things have no names", forgetting her own name for a short time while crossing that forest in the company of a fawn. In Alice in Clockland, the Red Queen completely forgot her name once she entered Clockland, in both versions of the play, before and after the rewriting. Akiho/Red Queen regains her memories by lifting the dark veil covering her face, while Sakura/Red Queen regains her memories thanks to Alice telling her the truth about what happened.

Furthermore, the fact that later in the climax Sakura and Akiho are turned into twins by the forbidden magic activated by Kaito might be considered a reference to the famous twins Tweedledum and Tweedledee (although, that's also commonly known as one of CLAMP's obsessions 😂). One more reference is represented by the White Queen in Through the Looking Glass, who can remember events that will happen in the future, and while Sakura can do that herself to a certain degree, certainly this character is better represented by Lilie, Akiho's mother, who could see so much of the future ahead and tried to reach Sakura in her dreams to inform her of an important truth. It is also to be noted that the White Queen's daughter in Through the Looking Glass is named.....Lily.

2) Ten Nights of Dreams (夢十夜) / Natsume Sōseki

"Ten Nights of Dreams" is a collection of short pieces by Japanese novelist Natsume Soseki, where he narrates 10 mysterious dreams set in various time periods, including his own. The book gets featured for the first time in chapter 10 / volume 3 of the manga, and episode n. 6 of the anime. In this scene, Sakura and Akiho are each reading a portion from the 7th dream, the one where the dreamer finds himself on a ship, among strangers, not knowing where the ship is headed to or when he'll see land again. The tone of this dream, like the rest of them, is pretty dark, as the dreamer is extremely discouraged and decides to throw himself into the sea, regretting it when it's already too late. This book gets directly mentioned again in chapter 58 of the manga, when Naoko reflects on the fact that even the tenth night told in the collection is a dream, because there's no point where the storyteller wakes up. This leads her to think how scary it would be to have a dream you can't wake up from, and this will become for her one of the sources of inspiration for the scenario of the school play. When the teacher talked about this book to her students back in chapter 10, she stated "this collection features plenty of mysterious stories, but depending on the person, they could also be considered 'scary' ". I feel like this is exactly how Clear Card Arc could be described too, especially from the POV of the Japanese readers, that I've witnessed these past couple of years on social media. I wonder if this wasn't a way for CLAMP to tip the readers off regarding the thematics and tone that Clear Card would take halfway through. Moreover, the teacher mentions "foretelling dreams" in relation to this book, and that prompts Sakura to consider if the dream she's constantly seeing with the Mysterious Cloaked Figure could be a foretelling dream too.

3) Momo / Michael Ende

"Momo" is a fantasy novel written by German writer Michael Ende (the same of The Neverending Story), and it gets featured in chapter 39 of Clear Card, while Kaito is having a flashback of his first face-to-face meeting with Akiho. At the moment of Kaito's arrival in the rose garden, Akiho was reading a book, and when she's asked about its content by Kaito himself, the girl tells him of a story that is unequivocally that of "Momo": a little girl battles some so-called "time thieves". Akiho seems to love that story, as she has read it many times.

Although it might seem just an easter egg at the level of the Cthulhu books that I will mention later, the presence of the "Momo" novel here is completely different and very significant to the main story of Clear Card. First of all, its complete German title translates in English to "Momo, or the strange story of the time-thieves and the child who brought the stolen time back to the people". As we all know, this sequel of the Cardcaptor Sakura series deals heavily with the theme of time, and Kaito is strictly related to that theme, as he's the major "player" of that element, using magic to stop it or especially to rewind it. In "Momo", the "time-thieves" (also called Men in Grey) are some kind of paranormal parasites with the goal of stealing the time of humans. They appear to people offering to save their time in some so-called "Timesaving Banks", urging them to spare time by dropping any activity that supposedly "wastes time" like relaxing, playing, enjoying things, with the goal of having that time returned back with interests later. But that time saved in the bank is actually stolen and consumed by the Men in Grey for their own survival. Human feelings such as love are a hindrance for them, and they avoid at all costs to form any bond with anyone. Momo is a mysterious little girl, beloved by everyone in her town as she seems to be able to solve anyone's problems or afflictions just by listening and talking to them. She will eventually take on the task of defeating the Men in Grey. Ende's novel is a critique to consumerism in the modern society and how hectic our lives have become, where time is everything and we often never use it for what really matters the most: making us happy. Momo was published in 1973 but its thematics are super relevant even today.

Aside from the easy connection of the topic of time to what Kaito does (although in a more benign way, in our case), "Momo" is also how Akiho chose to name her beloved bunny plushie, who, unbeknownst to her, is actually the magical Guardian of the Book of Time. We don't know when exactly that naming happened, as of chapter 72, but the fact that one of the most treasured and beloved existences in Akiho's life was named "Momo" - the same as the title of the book Akiho was reading when she met Kaito for the first time - suggests hitsuzen is strongly at work here. Akiho might have named Momo after she met Kaito, and to show how important that meeting was to her, she chose to name her after an element that was strictly connected to that meeting. And if she named her so before meeting Kaito, then it shows just how fateful their meeting was. She named one important existence after a beloved book, and precisely when she was reading that same book, she had her first meeting with another important person in her life. The one she will love the most.

It is also to be noted that in "Momo", the time is consumed by the Men in Grey in the form of smoking cigars made out of dried hour-lilies' petals, which are pink flowers representing time itself. Again, a feature of lily flowers, which connects us once more to Lilie.

Depending on how Clear Card will end, and whether Sakura will be able to regain all the memories and the time lost with them, beating the Forbidden Magic activated by Kaito, we might even draw another reference - how Ende's Momo is able to give the stolen time back to the people of her town.

4) "Tsuki ga kirei desu ne" (月が綺麗ですね) / Natsume Sōseki + "Kaze no nai yoru ga boku wo semetogameru" (風のない夜が僕を責めとがめる) / SPARKS GO GO

In chapter 48 of the manga, Akiho, unable to sleep after waking up from an unsettling dream, heads to the garden of her home in the middle of the night. And there surprisingly she finds Kaito, also awake and staring intently at the full moon. In a magical and emotional scene, illuminated by the full moon and prompted by feelings of worry for Kaito's pale complexion - too pale for his own good, Akiho tells him "Can we talk a little bit longer? Because...the moon is really beautiful".

At first, these can seem totally normal words of admiration for the full moon illuminating the two. But actually in this scene, Akiho has just covertly confessed to Kaito that she loves him. Many of you probably already know, but in Japan there's a little story that takes us back again to the famous novelist Natsume Soseki who seems to influence Clear Card so much (he'll get another mention later in this post). There's no actual written evidence of this, so Japanese people tend to consider this as some folklore tale, but when Soseki worked as an English teacher, he allegedly corrected one of his students who translated too literally the English phrase "I love you" in Japanese. He supposedly said "that's too direct, Japanese people don't express such phrase so directly. You should use 月が綺麗ですね (tsuki ga kirei desu ne, 'The moon is beautiful, right?') instead". And that's how the myth of expressing "I love you" in Japanese with "the moon is beautiful, right?" was born. It is very poetic, romantic and subtle so there's no doubt its popularity is really high and used in all kinds of media even today. And, I have to say, it fits romantic, shy and bookworm Akiho to a T. But how can we be sure that Akiho was really-really meaning that? It's because of the quotation marks on the original Japanese script. Akiho was deliberately quoting a source. And her face right afterwards, eyes cast down and red as a tomato, is the final proof of her intention. We still don't know, 24 chapters later, if Kaito's surprised face meant he understood what she was secretly meaning, or not.

However, I have a second source for this particular line from Akiho. One day I was searching on the internet, wanting to know more about this popular phrase, exactly as she worded it (it's slightly different from the classic one) and I stumbled upon the song "Kaze ga nai yoru ga boku wo seme togameru" (The windless night is reproving me) by Sparks Go Go. It's a love song from 1993, and the very first verse features the very same line Akiho said, worded exactly as she did. When I started to translate the lyrics, I was shocked. The lyrics actually fit perfectly the scene in the garden under the moonlight and what was going on between Kaito and Akiho in that moment, so much that it really makes me wonder if Ohkawa wasn't trying to make a double reference here:

Since the moon is beautiful I'll invite you for a stroll outside Tonight it's a bit chilly So wear one more layer of clothing I'm stammering And for some reason I suddenly realize All the feelings I've kept inside till now The windless night is reproving me Even though you're telling me A funny thing that happened to you today Tonight it's a bit different than usual My heart is twinkling Our footsteps echo softly As if I'm about to realize something All the feelings I've kept inside till now The windless night is reproving me The windless night is gently inviting me

As you can see, it's almost a precise description of that scene, with the mention of the stroll at night under the moonlight, the talk and the hidden feelings that are being conveyed in that moment.

I'll conclude this paragraph with something that I usually always mention when I tell people about the "moon is beautiful" 's hidden meaning in relation to Clear Card's storyline, because I think it's highly related. There are several ways to respond "I love you too" to a love confession made in that fashion. And one of the most popular ones that gets associated so much to this phrase (despite not coming from the same author but actually another one, Japanese novelist Shimei Futabatei who lived in the same period of Soseki) is 死んでもいいわ (shinde mo ii wa), which literally translates in English to "I can die happy" or "I can die for you" (you already know where I'm going with this one, right?). Apparently, Futabatei decided to translate in Japanese as shinde mo ii wa the Russian word Ваша present in a passage of the book "Asya" by Ivan S. Turgenev. The word Ваша actually literally translates in English as "yours", and the scene showed a woman deeply committing to her love, but since this is the same period as Soseki, the Japanese novelist used an indirect way to express it. I've read that the choice of shinde mo ii wa is tightly connected to the context of the original story, where a woman of low social status (an illegitimate daughter of a Russian landowner) and a man of higher class fell in love, but kept it hidden for most of the story. Back in those times, such relationship was frowned upon by society and so, indulging in that love could also be seen as the death of someone's life in society. In that sense, that "I would die for you" expresses the spirit of abnegation and complete dedication that such profound love inspires. Now, back to Clear Card, consider who's literally sacrificing himself for Akiho, and draw your conclusions.......

5) Liber Ivonis, Celaeno Fragments / H. P. Lovecraft & August Derleth

When Akiho visits Sakura's home in ch. 26 in order to learn how to cook from her, Sakura also brings her to visit her father's small library. In a very excited way, Akiho recognizes some books of her interest and she asks Sakura if she can take them. Those books are, in order of appearance, "Liber Ivonis" and "Celaeno Fragments" (there's a small typo on the book's title, due to the ambivalence of R/L in Japanese) which are two books featured in the Cthulhu Mythos created by US writer H. P. Lovecraft. Both books seems to be grimoires about occult topics and dark magic spells. It is very likely that the two books are merely easter eggs (they had no influence whatsoever on the plot) or a covertly way from CLAMP to let us know that Akiho was acquainted with magical books.

6) Buying Mittens (手袋を買いに) / Nankichi Niimi

"Buying Mittens" from Japanese author Nankichi Niimi is the book Sakura and Akiho are asked to read to the children of the hospital in episode 19 of the Clear Card anime. The story features a baby fox going on a journey to a nearby village to buy mittens to warm its cold paws in the rigid snowy winter. The story revolves around the themes of trust in other human beings. Although the mother fox advised her little one to be careful of human beings, because if they found out it was a fox, something terrible would've happened, the little fox actually finds out humans are not all the same, and the human being selling the mittens wasn't actually harmful at all.

See, when this episode was released in May 2018, I remember it got a lot of criticism for being a "wasted episode" and not bringing the plot forward at all. But I had already understood back then that this was actually a very symbolic episode for one of the major thematics of Clear Card, which would've shown its full importance only later on the story: how much we can trust other people, especially when we don't know them and they are having seemingly hostile behaviors. I knew the anime staff chose to feature this book for a precise reason. With hindsight, from the manga storyline POV, this is absolutely connecting to how Sakura had her trust tested multiple times in the entire arc, not only towards Kaito who had the most ambiguous behaviors, but also her loved ones, starting from Syaoran himself - who stole her cards in the very beginning and even lied to her, hiding an important truth for her sake; but also Yukito, for a moment, when he activated the Moon barrier all of a sudden, scaring even Kero and Suppi; or how inevitably Sakura's trust in Akiho was also put under pressure once she found out that Kaito was a magician and so inevitably she had to question the reliability of a person very close to him. Trust, trust in your beloved people and even more deciding to trust someone you don't know well is of utmost importance in this arc. If Kaito the magician is, in Buying Mittens, the human known for hurting and hunting and killing foxes, Sakura is the little fox who has to make the important decision of whether she can trust him or not, especially when she's in a moment of vulnerability (in the story the little fox shows the fox paw instead of the human hand to the hatter, who recognizes it as a fox but actually doesn't hurt it at all).

When Sakura found out about Kaito being a magician, she made a careful and delicate decision: she decided to trust Akiho and indirectly to trust Kaito too, avoiding to jump to conclusions and to ruin Akiho and Kaito's relationship by questioning her friend about Kaito's nature. And despite acting in shady ways for the entire arc, and sometimes being just misunderstood - leading everyone to believe he intended to hurt Sakura, in the end we found out that none of that has ever been Kaito's intention from the very beginning.

As repeatedly told by Nanase Ohkawa of CLAMP in Twitter Spaces, Sakura trusts her loved ones, and that actually represents her strength to believe that she will always be ok and everything will eventually be alright.

At the end of the Buying Mittens story, on its way back to his mother, the little fox hears a human mother singing a lullaby to her baby, and the fox draws a parallel to its own mother. Thanks to that, while being cuddled by the mother fox later, the baby fox says "maybe humans are good, after all". Motherhood and mother's love is definitely another thematic common to Clear Card and Buying Mittens, but also finding something that wholesome in common between the two species (humans and foxes) is the key to trust that there can be something good to be found even in "the other" that seems so scary and oppositive in the beginning. I'm certain that will also be a huge theme that will lead Sakura to help Akiho and Kaito in the very end of this climax.

7) Night on The Galactic Railroad / Kenji Miyazawa

"Night on The Galactic Railroad" is the title of the book Yukito is reading to the children of the hospital in episode 19 of the Clear Card anime.

8) "Oborozukiyo" (朧月夜)

"Oborozukiyo" is a Japanese folk song that gets featured in chapter 9 of the manga and episode 6 of the anime. Tomoyo and Akiho sing together this song in 2 different occasions between manga and anime: in the manga they sing it at the hanami in front of group of school friends, while in the anime it is a song that Tomoyo suggests to Akiho to sing together, and at the end of the performance she offers Akiho to join the choir later. The song is also featured in the Clear Card soundtrack album.

9) Special references appearing in the mobile game Happiness Memories:

Botchan / Natsume Sōseki

Natsume Soseki gets mentioned again in the Happiness Memories game when Akiho, in one of the photostories (the one focused on the study of English, with Syaoran reiterating his love to Sakura in English without her knowing what he meant ❤️) tells Sakura she's looking for the English version of some books, namely Night On The Galactic Railroad by Kenji Miyazawa (already mentioned above) and Botchan by Natsume Soseki. Apparently, Kaito suggested her to find those books and read them in English, since she's still having some difficulties with Japanese language. Akiho doesn't initially remember the titles of those books, so Syaoran intervenes and tries to help.

The Wandering Lake / Sven Hedin

"The Wandering Lake" is a book written by swedish geographer Sven Hedin. This one gets seemingly mentioned during one of the photostories set during the old anime arcs, where Syaoran gets invited to the Kinomoto home and bakes a cake with Fujitaka and Sakura (I don't really know much of the details because I never got this card 💦) While they wait for it to bake, Fujitaka and Syaoran talk about their favorite subject, archeology! And Fujitaka apparently makes references to this book (he supposedly mentions the lake name, Lop Nur) while explaining his love for archeology.

And I believe that's all for this first installment of "Clear Card Trivia"!! I hope you enjoyed it and maybe that it surprised you too, for some reference that you didn't catch before today! My love for this story is infinite, for all the reading "layers" it provides us with, and one of those is composed by all the literary references featured in it, since books are really so important in this arc. Knowing all these little quotes and references makes me appreciate CLAMP's efforts to build this arc as something deeper and more meaningful.

As I said in the beginning, I intend to update this post in case something else comes up in the handful of chapters that are left! See you next time, what will I feature? I have looooots I want to talk about!!

[ven0moir]

Did ... Mike lie not only during his monologue ...?

Okay so, a little disclaimer that this is more of an interesting observation that my bestie made during her second S4 rewatch rather than an actual 'theory', but I do have some questions regarding when exactly Mike went to pick the flowers for El ...? In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really matter whether or not he lied about this, but in putting his timeline together, I feel like I am missing something.

Please take this with a grain of salt, as I personally am not 100% convinced of this but it IS interesting enough to point out the possibility. So I'll start out by saying that when this scene came up ...

She immediately said "oh he's lying, he didn't handpick those flowers. Did you see that face?? What was that? Plus the way he hesitates, and then how he overexplains the flowers ..."

And I had to pause for a second. We know Mike is putting up a front, that his entire outfit is a front, his demeanor is a front ... so how do we know for certain that these flowers are not part of his 'disguise' too and that he isn't lying about them in some way ...?

I always thought that Mike got the idea to bring El flowers from her letter in EP1, specifically because she mentions them here:

She says she missed the flowers at first, but not anymore. Either way, perhaps Mike thought it'd be a good idea to bring her flowers, yes? We also see the flowers again at the end of the season, and it's fair to assume this is where Mike picked them from.

Now the thing is ... I went back and found a map of Hawkins to see where Hawkins High School is in comparison to Mike's house, Hopper's cabin and this hill (which we first saw in S3 when Dustin and the gang set up Cerebro).

(original map link here)

Notice the distance. The hill (aka Cerebro) is nowhere near the Wheeler's house. The hill is not on the way home from school either, so it's not like he made a quick stop on his way back. With this in mind, remember what Karen said to Mike earlier that day?

This implies he HAD to be back home at the very least sometime around 9pm. Mike was at school all day (minus when he and Dustin went to find Erica. Considering that Hawkins Middle School is likely where Erica is, which is right next to the High School, it wasn't a long trip either),

then they had their D&D game that night and by the time we see them leave the game, it is already nighttime, meaning he likely had to go straight back home after this. I'm not sure what time this scene was, but it was around the time Chrissy died, which was 9:27pm, meaning he had to immediately head back home after the game.

So my question is ... when exactly did Mike pick those flowers? It doesn't seem like he would've had time to do so. Is it possible that Karen did it for him instead? Did he asked her to do it for him, (which wasn't established since he left his house in a rush that morning) or was it Karen's idea altogether, as in a "Here, give your girlfriend these flowers, us girls like flowers" kind of supportive motherly way before he left for the airport?

My friend also noticed how nice the handwriting is on the card. I do not believe we've seen Mike's handwriting before, so there is no way for us to compare whether or not it fits him. Eleven would be able to recognize his handwriting, as she's been reading his letters. She's obviously disappointed because it doesn't say 'love, Mike' which would be her main concern. But she could've also noticed it wasn't his handwriting. Is this his handwriting's, or is it Karen's?

So the options are as following:

He disobeyed Karen and went to the field late that night to pick up the flowers, or he got super early the next morning to go pick the flowers before his flight.

Karen got them for him and gave them to him to give to El before he left for California the next morning, and then he lied to El about handpicking them because it seemed like a nice enough romantic gesture.

The Duffers didn't put that much thought into this and this is more of a plot hole, and not necessarily something we're meant to notice.

Only S5 will tell, it seems.

[jakowskis]

💖💙💜 owen harper bisexuality masterpost 💖💙💜

i've had this in my drafts for a minute but i figured i'd finish it up and post it today for bisexual visibility day :D

it hasn't cropped up recently, but i've seen a lot of people who've questioned owen's bisexuality over the years and i thought i'd compile all the 'evidence' (although it completely baffles me that we got a show with five canonical bisexual characters and people want to write two of them off as straight / "heterflexible" ?? there shouldn't have to be 'proof' of owen being bi, RTD said torchwood is about five bisexuals fighting aliens in cardiff which means they're all bi, full stop. also, bisexuals should never have to 'prove' they're bi, and in regards to fictional characters, i'm sick of people nit-picking who 'deserves' to be counted as rep and refusing to 'claim' certain characters if they're morally grey or if the fandom simply doesn't Like them as much-)

but i digress.

so without further ado, here's everything i've found that supports owen's status as a bicon :-)

explicit canon instances

➤➤ obviously, we have to start with his gay kiss in the first episode of the show. there's a lot to be said about that kiss, i'm not gonna get into all that here, but i've seen a lot of people say it's not proof of owen being attracted to men, and i wholeheartedly disagree. you can literally catch him smiling very happily after the kiss (and one of owen's few genuine smiles of the series, too). i don't think a straight man (or even a "heteroflexible" man) would beam at another guy who's just informed him that he wants to fuck him. a fair amount of people have also said they interpreted owen calling the taxi as him intending to get away from the couple, but i don't understand how they're getting that impression, because that smile makes it seem very much apparent to me that running away is the last thing he wants to do.

it's also, notably, the first time we see bisexuality IN the bisexual show, which i don't think should be discounted. like, we see owen do something gay before jack does, for fuck's sake. is it a good first impression of how torchwood portrays bisexuality? no. is setting owen up as a more sex-driven, opportunistic bisexual nicely contrasted against ianto & tosh's more romance-oriented brand of demisexual bi/pansexuality? in my opinion, yes. i love that the torchwood bisexuals all practice their bisexuality in different ways. that's very special to me. 'cause it's realistic! real bisexuals all experience bisexuality differently! obviously it'd be a different story if he was the only bi rep, because lord knows we've seen enough of that already, but torchwood makes an effort to show us five different brands of bisexuality, and five different bi stories that largely only exist in the subtext, that aren't the focus of the show, and it's fantastic. it's all i could ever want out of bi rep, honestly, even if it is a bit dated now.

➤➤ the other explicit moment in the show: asking tosh and ianto for an end-of-the-world threesome in sleeper (s2ep2). i've actually never seen owen bi-deniers (fhdskjf it's a conspiracy) even mention this scene. owen literally asks ianto if they can have sex with each other to his face, and he's dead serious when he asks it. that's... i mean you can't mistake that as anything else. like fhdsjkf??

➤➤ next we jump to some of the, i suppose, extended universe content. whether the books are canon or not is debated, but the novel 'another life' features owen playing an online simulation game, and it makes a point to depict owen flirting with someone with a male avatar + wondering to himself if the guy would be down for cyber-sex. [someone posted part of that scene here. for context, owen's also got a VR headset on during that bit.]

➤➤ another instance is on the website, which some also don't regard as canon, but, i mean, i don't know who worked on the things we see on that site, but obviously they got their information from somewhere. they probably consulted with the writers on the show, or at the very least got notes on what things to touch on. anyway, there's a portion of the site where you can find a 'background check' on owen, and it's just a collection of messages from some ex-lovers of his. one of them is a man.

again, some people disregard the canon validity of the website, but the way i see it, the information on this site was released while the show was airing for fans to look at and to gain further insight on the characters. one of the things they felt a need to tell us about owen, important enough to be featured in his background (wayyy before the katie plot was developed), was that he wasn't just interested in women. personally, i regard that as canon. you can find this here. and even if you wanna say fragments jossed this background, it doesn't joss his, like... identity.

next we have things said by russell t. davies himself + by burn gorman (owen's actor)

➤➤ again, RTD (who's torchwood's creator, but i'm assuming everyone reading this knows that) explicitly described torchwood as "a bunch of bisexuals living under cardiff and fighting aliens". that's not ambiguous. [i don't have a direct source for this quote, it was apparently said on the dvd extras.]

burn's comments on owen's sexuality include...

➤➤ (when asked who owen fancies) "Owen's pretty cocky, he'll try it on with whoever comes along." [x] and yes, this is vague, but vagueness is often interpreted as proof of bisexuality. (for example, in the pacific rim dvd features, newt's bio stating he was interested in "whoever will take him" was widely interpreted by the fandom as him being bi.)

➤➤ (in regards to owen's "let's all have sex" line) "I don't think he [...] thinks about the implications, or whether it's with a man or a woman." [x]

(ok i have to admit, although i absolutely adore burn, i'm not super fond of the way his 2006-08 self would talk about how torchwood handled sexuality*. however! he kind of hit the nail on the head in saying that, even if it's in the context of owen wanting end-of-the-world sex, because my take on how owen sees his own sexuality has always essentially boiled down to thinking he'd be like, "well, why wouldn't men also be an option?" (well, with sexual attraction anyway; i think owen's relationship with romantic attraction is far more complex.) i think he resembles jack in that way; anyone's a prospective sexual partner, if they're attractive and interesting and he decides he wants them, and he's also impulsive as hell, so he doesn't think too hard about gender in the moment if he decides he's into someone. there's not really any hang-ups.)

➤➤ and ofc...

(out of context this could look like he's just jokingly calling owen an alien-fucker, although owen makes his thoughts on alien-fucking pretty clear in countrycide lol, but it was said in the context of owen/andy as a ship [x].)

*if you're wondering what i'm referring to, it's a comment here [x] about how the torchwood team's bisexuality is a result of being in a pressure cooker environment and having a 'wartime mentality', and they just kind of 'take what they can get'. the implication that bisexuality is out of desperation/accessibility rather than attraction is pretty damn icky, BUT i love him lots and he generally seems to be pretty woke these days (+ otherwise has always seemed to grasp why torchwood's rep was so unique and groundbreaking and important) so i'll go ahead and hope that was just, y'know, simple 'being a straight guy in 2008' ignorance. fifteen years is a long time and i have faith his opinions have evolved by now, esp considering he used the word 'pansexual' at a 2016 con [x]. (actually, ok, you caught me, that last bit wasn't super relevant and i didn't need to bring it up, but i just wanted to gush about him doing it because how often do you hear that word out of celebs, especially older and presumably straight ones. and in 2016, too. kinda slay of him, ngl)

aaand finally, some random, non-explicit little things that i think support him being a bisexy king (several of these are goofy and half-serious)

➤➤ in episode 2, they make a point to cut to owen smiling after jack's line about "you people and your quaint little labels". one might argue he's smiling at gwen & carys on the screen, but cutting to him immediately after jack says it very much implies he's reacting to jack's words, and i think it's particularly poignant after, again, we saw him kiss a man the episode prior. (which, another thing - owen's literal introduction features him kissing a man, like that's gotta count for something. if the literal third thing i ever see a male character do ever is kiss a guy, that means something.)

➤➤ and of course, in the same episode, we get "period military is not the dress code of a straight man" .... owen's the only one of them with working gaydar. also what a fruity thing to say

➤➤ speaking of fruity things to say, in s2e10 when they're all watching the old film, owen goes "look at the state of them 💅" and he says it SO cunty for no reason it always kills me fhsdkjfd

➤➤ combat.

➤➤ no, really.

➤➤ bonus: in the combat commentary, it's mentioned that when RTD saw the above scene between mark & owen, he said it was "the gayest thing he'd ever seen".

➤➤ in the three monkeys, a big finish audio featuring owen & andy, owen flirts with andy repeatedly. even if he just does it to be annoying, it's still pretty damn gay. also the pet names... (he calls him sweetheart, sunshine, and tiger. it's half-mocking, sure, especially because it's owen, but there's also a domesticity to it.)

➤➤ and then there's the hope's "you're alive again and you want crisps?!" "be glad that's all i'm asking for" (owen was like 'i will not use this as an excuse to try to sleep w andy i will not use this as an excuse to try to sleep w andy i will not use th') these are the only two audios i've heard with this duo, i'm sure there's more examples in the other two. i know gooseberry literally has owen sabotaging andy's relationship with his gf and that is... woohoohoo.... i'll update this once i get through those.

➤➤ …. this is my personal opinion but i lowkey think he kinda wants john hart a bit when they all first meet him in kkbb hdskjfds. gwen & tosh both seem very charmed by him and they're meant to, it's supposed to be like 'oh, look at jack's ex waltzing in and charming the pants off everyone (ha), and only ianto and jack see through him' - owen isn't given a flirty line of dialogue or even a close-up shot of him eyeing john like the girls get, but if you watch him closely he certainly looks… intrigued by him. i think owen's more of a bi disaster than he lets on.

➤➤ in episode 10, diane notes that owen has "beauty products" in his bathroom. obviously this shouldn't be indicative of sexuality, but how many Straight Men in 2006 were moisturizing lmao. hell, how many do nowadays 😭

➤➤ gwen & owen's dynamic settles into a lovely little friendship in s2 and owen lowkey gives gbf vibes <3 them making fun of the movie in s2e10 together + the cheek-kissing at the end of s2e9… bi besties!!

➤➤ the peace sign he throws up in meat when he meets rhys fdsjk i don't even believe in some of the silly internet jokes abt bi culture but c'mon

➤➤ have you seen his taste in women. diane is soo butch and gwen's a total tomboy in s1. that's bi culture babey!!!! i too like girls when they're boys

➤➤ i already talked about it but the aforementioned scene where he asks tosh and ianto for a threesome... he asks them, like, immediately after they team up and bully him for not comprehending that there's "no phones. phones all broken. anyone there? no, 'cause the phones aren't working." that was suuuch a disaster bi owen moment for me. i too would get a little revved up if tosh and ianto both bullied me at once <3

aaand finally... the biggest Evidence of all....

➤➤ he's a leather jacket bisexual. need i say more

and that's all! thanks for reading!

[credit for the dividers used in this. didn't tumblr used to have built-in dividers? i miss that.]

[ddwcaph-game]

Do the crush options want to get married and/or have kids in the future? If they do, how many kids would they want? Is there a chance that they could change their mind about it/be persuaded, or would wanting/not wanting kids be a dealbreaker for them? Would their preferences/opinion change when they're adults? (If the last question is too spoilery, then you don't have to answer)

Heh, what a question to wake up to! Although I guess it was sort of inevitable. 😄

Some of the information (particularly how many kids Wayne and Roselyna want) can be discovered in the game as secrets, so I'll put the answers below the cut. Oh and before anyone asks, MC's ancestry/heritage doesn't matter when it comes to having kids in the future.

Wayne would definitely want to get married, if it wasn't obvious enough. Nestor mentions in one of the dialogue options in Chapter 4 that Wayne would want 4 kids, two boys and two girls ideally. He even has some of the names planned out, but that secret isn't fully discoverable yet. This likely wouldn't change when he's an adult, but he'd be totally open to adoption and having less/more kids (and changing the names he's planned out).

Not wanting kids isn't exactly a dealbreaker for him, but like I mentioned in the other ask, he'd probably want the relationship to be partially open in that case (so casual flirting and dating, but no one-night stands).

Roselyna would also definitely want to get married, and as you'll find out in her diary, she wants 20 (twenty) kids ideally. Yup. (You can find out in her diary how she got the idea in the first place.)

Of course she's totally willing to lower that to a more reasonable amount once she grows up and starts having kids, but she'd still want it to be on the higher side of reasonable. She's also open to adopting kids (since she's also adopted), but not wanting kids would be practically a dealbreaker.

Honestly, at this point, I don't see Lily ever wanting to get married, with the only possible exception being MC. Other than B, Lily is possibly the hardest crush option to win over, because spoilers. She wouldn't want kids even as an adult, but she could be maaaybe/sorta/kinda persuaded to have one or two at most, via adoption or other alternative methods.

JM's not interested in crushes (and therefore marriage) at the moment because of studies, but in the future, he'd ideally want to get married. And by ideally, it's more of a "it'd be nice" more than "I want to". As for kids, he'd ideally want one or two, but he could probably be persuaded for another one or two more. That said, he'd be fine with not wanting any kids either.

Brandon/Beatrice isn't too keen on getting married at the moment other than a vague dismissive thought of "sure" if you ask them, although that's likely to change in the future depending on later events. They also haven't entertained the thought of having kids yet, so they could be persuaded in either direction.

For Cordelia, the idea of marriage is more of a pipe dream. So yes, she would want to get married, but it would definitely not be near the top of her priorities, even as an adult. She comes from a culture where having plenty of kids is the norm (so she wouldn't be opposed to that idea), but she's more than fine with not having any (and would rather adopt instead if possible).

I mean, Cham is an angel, so it's safe to assume that in her several millenia of existence, she's never even considered of getting married… although they wouldn't necessarily be opposed to it later in the story. The same goes for kids, so she's fine with none, or as many kids as MC could possibly want (adopted or otherwise).

***

Anyway, thank you so much for the question! 😊 I'd also like to point out that MC's also a twin, so there'd be a higher chance of them also having twins/multiples if that's something you wanna consider for your headcanons 😉

Here's a post I made a while ago about what the crush options will be like in the future, so you can check that out for more information about them as adults!

[siriannatan]

Overheat - ScWhip

Man, I didn't write anything for a while, all the games I play kept on dropping updates on me lately, and my inspiration's been at all-time low :{

Here's to hoping it gets better :}

fWhip was fully aware he'd be quite a sight if anyone spotted him. A well-liked if a bit abrasive hero barely stumbling through the back streets. His face flushed so much it was easily visible from under his mask. Lips curled in an annoyed sneer. At least the place he was going to was both close and didn't have overly tight security making it easier to sneak in. He didn't need his acquaintances being bothered by the media.

Another lucky thing. No one got on the lift as he made his way to the top floor and then stumbled his way to a very specific door. And knocked. Leaning against the wall was all he could do while waiting.

Not that he waited long. "Must you come here in your hero outfit?" Scott sighed and practically dragged fWhip inside. Scott being still in his 'work clothes' was making fWhip's brain short circuit slightly. Teal and black looked too good together.

"I can go home if you're busy," fWhip offered in case Scott was leaving for work. Even if that work would get the whole city in uproar about a brutal murder.

"Shouldn't you be telling me to change my career instead?" Scott chuckled, practically carrying fWhip to his couch. 

"As long as you don't freeze anyone you're police's issue," fWhip shrugged, not like he was all that passionate about being a hero. It was just a job for him. He was no Gem to put actual passion into it. So he could not care less what Scott did as long as the mercenary was willing to help with his overheating issues.

"You're weird for a hero," Scott chuckled sitting down as fWhip freed himself of his mask and cape.

"For me, it's just a job, why put in more energy than I'm being paid to put in?" fWhip sighed. "I can go and stick myself in a fridge if I'm interrupting something," he added, just in case. Scott letting him in could mean he was not interrupting but it was more polite to ask. He might have just wanted to not have a chance of his neighbours seeing a literal hero on his doorstep.

"I was just catching up on emails, I'm barely back from one contract and I'm already getting requests," Scott complained, tablet in hand clearly ready to carry on.

fWhip had the urge to lay his head in Scott's lap but that seemed a bit forward. They were just accidental friends after all. Even if Scott was unfairly pretty with his soft floofy cyan hair and pretty dark blue eyes. Practically skin-tight black, likely bulletproof shirt he had on was just making it worse. 

He just had to try to not think about it. fWhip decided. Have a nice nap in Scott's pleasantly chilly company - literally chilly. And sneak back home. Hoping Gem doesn't ask where he goes to cool down after overusing his powers. Easy. 

Scott's hand, as if he could read fWhip's mind suddenly guided his head to the other's lap. "Just sleep," the mercenary said. "It'd be troublesome if you fall off the couch," he explained but fWhip could swear he saw a slight blush. He was smart so he didn't mention it. Just enjoyed this rare chance. "I'll wake you up when you've cooled down."

Scott's hand tangling itself into his hair as he was about to fall asleep was a nice bonus as well.

[synergysilhouette]

Things I'd want for a "Fire Emblem: Fates" remake

I haven't played a ton of FE games, but I really loved Fates for it's characters and branching storyline. The community gives it WAAAY too much hate. One person told me that it's a minority of people who don't like it, but it's a LOUD minority, making it seem like a majority of people hate it. That said, the discussions I've had (and gatekeeping I've experienced) have inspired me to make some of my own changes to Fates if it ever got remade. I wonder if you'll agree with any. I know some of these are MAJOR changes that results in this feeling more like it's own game, but I hope you still take them into consideration, anyway.

1. Nix the amnesia story--It only existed for gameplay purposes to teach the player how to fight. Story-wise it's not important for Corrin, since they don't remember Nohr and thus it feels as new as Hoshido, so it completely defeats the born with/raised by concept. Just allow us more time to enjoy/interact with Nohrians and Hoshidans each in order to make it a more convincing story with a conflicted protagonist, plus it helps to flesh out the characters. Considering 3H and "Engage" allow you to explore environments a bit more, that should be a given. I feel like the amnesia plot only works in the "Birthright" route since Corrin would be kidnapped more recently and it'd make the royal family the main villains, and less sympathetic.

2. Have more support-contingent branching storylines--In "Fates: Birthright," Kaze dies at some point if you don't have his A-support conversation with Corrin. If you do, he becomes Corrin's retainer. It'd be fun if socializing with the characters (ie Azura, Silas, the royal family) had more weight to it, story-wise. It'd also be cool if you could carry over your save data from the opposite game and if you have A-supports with Ryoma, Elise, Takumi, and/or Xander, you can potentially save them. But that may be pushing it…

3. More same-sex supports (with kids)--Allow for Corrin to reach same-sex S-supports with Silas, Azura, Jakob, Felicia, and Kaze, given that they all join you in every route. Plus and the royals and Flora should also be allowed to be romanced in their respective routes and "Revelations." I feel like that should be a given. And allow us to keep our kids rather than off-screen offspring as mentioned in the epilogue. It feels unfair to remove their kids from the main story.

4. (Possibly Defeats the Purpose) Make it clear that Corrin isn't related the the royals--This is mainly for romantic reasons, but maybe have Mikoto as a woman who became a noble in Hoshido, with Sumeragi treating you like one of his children. It's also revealed that when Corrin was kidnapped, the Nohrian siblings were too young to know they weren't their sibling. Plus the Nohrian siblings being half-siblings does nothing for the plot, especially since they look alike (Leo and Xander have blonde hair, Camilla has purple, and Elise has blonde and purple hair).

5. LET THE PARENTS SURVIVE! Maybe it's because of parent death fatigue in "Engage," but I'd like for Sumeragi and Mikoto to survive, and let us see Ganon as a good king before he is curropted and dies. Plus giving Corrin dreams of Anankos would be awesome.

6. Remove the Awakening connection--It's only mentioned in some support conversations and doesn't fully impact the story. I see why it's a nice nod to the game that brought the franchise back to light, but still. Asugi looks like Gaius and Rhajat looks like Tharja, but apparently they're not the same person, so it can be the same with Laszlo/Inigo, Odin/Owain, and Severa/Selena. Maybe if we had a couple more characters from "Awakening" and it coming into play for the main storyline, it'd be a different story.

7. Give more life/information on Valla--If we're going for this "secret, Atlantis-like Kingdom," make it a trapped, isolated paradise that Anankos governs, giving this Fire Nation-type of nationalism so the inhabitants want to reclaim Nohr and Hoshido for themselves. They've already conquered Nohr, explaining the aggression towards Hoshido following Ganon's corruption. It'd be fun if you could recruit/interact with characters from Valla in "Revelations."

8. Fix up the Deeprealms and it's drama--In the game, they're convenient alternate dimensions/worlds that age the kids up quick at different rates, and most of them are ignorant of their heritage and birthright (no pun intended). In my rewrite, this is simply ONE alternate world that the children are sent to, and they age proportionately; the younger ones were just taken from the Deeprealms earlier. Plus it's something that's seen as "off the radar" and a world Anankos hopes to conquer after the main setting in the game. Along with this, all of the parents visit and involve themselves with their kids, rather than the children feeling like their parents ignored them or kept them in the dark.

9. Open World like in "Engage" and "3 Houses"--It'd really help to explore the culture more and expand the world so that the consequences feel even more severe.

[ghostssweetgirl]

crazy over you ~ simon ghost riley x reader slow burn/enemies to lovers

description: y/n gets transferred to task force 141 and quickly becomes friends with soap and gaz, but her and ghost "hate" each other for the first part. warnings: mentions of violence and death (duh), alcohol intake, smoking (at some point), nsfw (at some point), subtle flirting with soap. i'm new to writing? so don't expect this to be the greatest. this is not in line with the game campaigns or missions. the only characters i included are y/n, soap, gaz, price, & ghost. i have no knowledge of the military this is just creativity disclaimer: i do not own modern warfare or any of its characters.

chapters: next [confrontation] last

That night, as usual, everyone is together eating in the common room. This time watching an episode of Friends. Price clears his throat.

"Well, I got to say," he finishes chewing his food. "Nice work, y/n. Sorry to do this to you, Ghost, but Ghost compliments you on your shot."

You feel your cheeks get hot and hope you're not blushing, "Well, thank you."

Ghost huffed.

"Ghost?" you look at him, ready to compliment him back but he slams his plate and walks away.

Everyone stops eating and just... stares questionably at each other.

"Well then," Price chuckled.

"Jeez, somethin's crawled up his arse, I tell ya," Soap added.

Gaz softly laughed at Soap's remark, and Ghost walks back in, cigarette in hand, walking outside.

"What's fuckin' funny?" Ghost questions.

"Oi, just talkin' bout you havin' something stuck up your arse, L.T.," Soap smiled, holding back his laugh.

"Fuck off, the lot of you," Ghost spat as he slammed the door, quick to make eye contact with you.

You want to like Ghost, but he's almost unbearable to be around. One minute he's okay, next he's a proper dick. You decide to walk outside to confront him.

"Hey," you chirp. "Not trying to-"

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" he got in your face, blowing a cloud of smoke. "You do well on one mission and think you're hot shit? You don't know the half of it, y/n."

You shake your head, trying to find words. "You're right! Honestly, I don't want to know! Okay! I'm not used to this, but I am trying my best, Lieutenant."

His fists clench and unclench as he walks away from you, breathing hard. "You survived the first mission, congratu-fucking-lations." he laughed as he shook his head.

Your mouth opens and closes as you search for what to say. You're almost hurt by Ghost's disbelief in you, does he think you're fragile?

"Was it Price telling me your compliment? Is it because I'm a woman? Huh? You just think I'll be KIA and-"

"You'll wish you were when you start to see the shit we see regularly, darlin'."

Your face quickly turns into a frown as your eyes begin to water slightly, turning around grabbing the doorknob, and shaking your head.

"Fuckin' hell, I... I'm sorry," he whispers as you walk away, slamming the door, not caring what he has to say.

Tears threatening to fall from the corner of your eyes, you tail it to your room. Worry contorts everyone's face as they watch you walk away while Ghost enters.

"The fuck did you say to her, L.T?" Soap confronted him.

"Don't worry about it, MacTavish," Ghost spat, shoving past him.

--

You sit on the floor of the shower thinking, letting the hot water fall over you. As you expected, you felt rejected, even if it was only by Ghost. You don't know why you sought his approval so much, but what he said bothered you - got under your skin.

You don't know how long you were in there, nor do you care. It was getting too late, and you needed your sleep, but needed to calm down even more. You ignored the knocks on your door, not wanting to risk confrontation with Ghost. It'd probably be better if you just ignored him for a few days, or at least until you'd be forced to work with him again.

You take deep breaths until you relaxed and step out of the shower. Drying off, you take a look in the mirror, starting to doubt yourself, wonder why you're here or if you really can handle it.

Finally, the tears stop. You're able to drift off to sleep somewhat peacefully, not looking forward to the next day honestly. You didn't know if you had plans, but you were waking up early regardless and were going to stay in the gym until your body gave out, you knew that much. You curse yourself for following Ghost outside, and as you realize you're going to get a little under 7 hours of sleep and damn him. 

[jellyloveru]

wouldn't it be kinda funny if cozy glow had a similar childhood like twilight? but different enough to make her like. that.

i guess i see plenty of similar in them. both like control to a degree, and i believe that their relationship with friendship started relatively the same (didn't see much need for that at first).

(just the rest of my thoughts on cozy glow)

for some reason i see cozy as someone who got a rather spoiled childhood (surprise, i know). if not by parents (as someone from the creative team said "who says she has any?") then by someone else. perhaps the lack of parents contributed to that (special only grandchild left by the late daughter/son). so... grandparents?

i see it like that, it's a bit silly - a lone grandparent caring for cozy, to a ridiculous degree. at the same time they play chess - something either the grandparent is good at or it was the interest of the late parent. either way - cozy gets good in chess after a while.

the grandparent keeps cozy close - after all, she's so special, isn't she? the only one in the whole world. she couldn't do anything wrong! she's so kind and understanding to the grandparent, always being close, not going away for long. then again, it'd be so great if she had friends! but she keeps saying how much she loves them... maybe one more chess game?

what eventually happens is that the grandparent doesn't understand that cozy starts to play them. lying and manipulating. kinda like a game of chess! the right move, the right word, the right combination of both - and you win, you get what you want! it's fun! and rewarding!

little by little, cozy glow gets better and better at chess.

she gets her cutiemark by finally beating her grandparent at it. it could be seen as her talent in said game. but maybe it could also mean how good she's got at playing others. maybe she cheated during the game and gaslit the grandparent into believing that maybe they just forgot some move or the other. cozy would never lie to them, right?

and then the same happens when she makes friends. she uses them as means of getting something she wants. and it's not that bad even! after all, she's so nice and polite about it. yeah, they don't get anything out of their friendship, but they're not getting anything bad out of it either, now do they..?

i don't have any thoughts about cozy's grandparent when she enrols to the school of friendship. maybe they pass away with that being their last wish for her - to get more friends. maybe they pass before that and cozy goes to study there to manipulate better. maybe they don't pass, maybe they live far away, enough, so that they don't hear about what she's done, or what happened to her. maybe they learn about that and keep quiet, their heart too old for such shattering news to be on their mind, to be known for that.

and maybe she doesn't even have a grandparent. and she just plays chess as a kid so much she gets tetris syndrome hard enough that she sees others as chess figurines, just pawns at her hoof, some ponies to reach victory (which would make twilight and friends the kings/queen to defeat i guess).

(which could also be the reason why she might not like non ponies that much. they're more difficult to manipulate, at very least)

(tetris syndrome is crazy, honestly. had it for a while after playing solitare too much. i couldn't hug people or walk past them even without thinking about which cards both of us were and whether we'd stack or not)

or maybe it's cause she's an only child who got treated as special for too long. twi's a middle child, after all. not to mention that she practically raised spike, even though he's her younger brother.

dunno. all three versions might make sense.

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for being rude to my husband's boyfriend after he cheated on me for him, dating my husband's ex, falling for/getting with my husband's boyfriend, and still being mad at my husband?

I (S, 19NB) am married to J (19M). We had met eachother a few years prior as we had been invited to join a lot of the same areas as we had a shared friend group.

Eventually, we were invited to this game show type thing our friend G (19M) had made. Basically, you had 3 lives, and each time you lost one, your color changed, and you became more hostile.

J and I decided it'd be a good idea to pair together, although his ex (M, 22M) wasn't too happy about it. We survived together, even as the game became less and less of a fame. Eventually, he proposed to me with a poppy flower, and we had a small wedding. Unfortunately, he reached his final life much before mine and was killed. I mourned for months, but I was okay once we were freed from the game.

About a year later, another game happened. Now, unknown to me, J got back with M without telling me. This wouldn't have been a problem, we're both polyam after all, but I had explicitly stated I wanted to date everyone he wanted to and vice versa, as well as know when he fell for someone. I never found any of this out until more recently, but it hurts to know he betrayed me before I even knew it. (I won that second game, btw <3)

Then, another year passes by, and the third game happens. In this game, though, your life is tied to another's. J ended up being tied to a different game member, T (21M). I had my own issues with my tied/soulbound, but that's irrelevant. T and J got really close, and it was pretty clear they were dating. They never tried to hide it, and J never told me anything. T definitely knew we were married and also said nothing. After the game was over, I yelled at both of them and told J to choose me or T (which was bad, I know that) and when J tried to talk it out I stormed off.

J and I didn't talk for a year after that, T ended up visiting the place we were both invited to several times. He tried to be nice to me, but I was incredibly cold and harsh. I was rude to him no matter what he was doing.

Then came the fourth game. J and I still hadn't been talking. I ended up teaming with M (J's Ex, whom I previously mentioned) and got really close with him. M and I fell for each other, but before I decided to go ahead and date him, I wanted to give J another chance to talk. So I talked to him, he was rude the whole time, even threatened to kill me. I told him that if he made sure the server killed T before me and let me be the last green life, I'd gladly let him kill me. He got angry and told me I had 30 seconds to run, I told him that I loved him, he refused to say it back and started counting down, so I left.

It's safe to say I decided to date M after that, although I waited to confess until after that game had ended. That same day, two other things happened. As mentioned, T and myself were the final green names on the server, so we were being hunted. Somehow, me and T ended up in a small space together and ended up making out. I also realized I had fallen for T, damn does my husband have good taste.

Eventually, we did talk stuff out. M and I began dating, J and I talked things out, I confessed to T, and we got together, M and J made up and will likely be together again soon, and M and T fell for eachother and are together now.

However, I still feel resent towards my husband. He betrayed me, and his reasoning is that he was scared of my reaction, even though M and T were both people I had casually expressed attraction towards for a long time. I just feel so guilty still, and it's made worse by the fact that bringing it up always makes J feel guilty, which I don't want, because he's my husband, but I do want because he deserves to feel guilt for all the pain he caused me, but I know that's wrong.

I don't know, I just need to clear my mind, AITA?

[problemswithbooks]

More Dain Stuff

So I'm still thinking about Dain and more so, who he might end the story with.

Now, I'm 98.9% sure Violet will stick with Xaden. Not saying it couldn't be interesting if, after the whole Venin thing and their already rocky relationship they broke up, but at the same time that's not how romance novels are written. The story might have dragons, but it is primarily a romance book. Xaden has always been the main focus of Violet and they got together in the first book--just like other fantasy/romance books; think Edward/Bella or Alina/Mal. Plus, most of her audience really like them together; not having them as end game would be alienating her readers.

So Dain's not ending up with Violet. To be honest he could end the story single if he survives, but I'd be a little surprised. Many authors even outside the romance genre have a habit of pairing up their characters at the end. It would be nice if the series didn't go that route, especially if it didn't have a time-skipped epilogue, but I'm expecting at least the main side characters to get paired up to some extent since it is a romance book.

That leaves the question of who he could be paired up with. It's hard to say at this point because he hasn't had many interactions with anyone besides Violet. The few times other characters mention him, most don't really like him. They're are Violet's friends or Marked, so they already have a poor opinion of him or hate him for Liam's death.

I'm not saying that Yarros couldn't have those characters change their opinion of Dain in later books (I really hope they do) and then pair him off with one of them. The issue is that I think most of Violet's close group have been given hints already to who they'll end up with. Sawyer is crushing on Jesinia, Imogen on Garrick. Rhiannon is with Tara, who will hopefully get better established as a character in later books. Though brief Sloane and Cam have some flirtation and in a lot of ways it would make a lot of sense to have them end up together, particularity if Cam becomes King. It would fully show the Marked ones are apart of the kingdom again and fully trusted.

Now, Ridoc is a possibility, but only if Dain is established as bi (which isn't impossible). The biggest hurdle there is that Ridoc is the exact opposite of Dain in a lot of ways. He's the goofball, while Dain is portrayed as a strict. Ridoc doesn't like him. It's really doubtful they'd get along. That could change as the series goes on; Ridoc could show a more serious side, while Dain could lighten up. Violet said he used to smile and laugh a lot, be less of a rule follower. Maybe Ridoc could bring that back out. I think it could be pretty cute and honesty it'd be cool if Yarros put an end to a love triangle by pairing up the spare with another guy.

One possibility though that I really find interesting and I could see is Cat.

First of all she also needs paired up as that failed third wheel of a love triangle with Xaden. There is a man in her Gryphon Flier group that likes her, so that might be who she gets put with in the end, but if that does happen I hope he gets a bit more screen time given how important Cat has been at least during Iron Flame.

Second, their powers complement each other. Dain can see memories (pretty much read minds to an extent) while Cat can manipulate emotions as long as they're present. I could easily see these two using teamwork to get stuff done. Cat could get someone upset enough that they lower their shields so Dain can read them, or Dain could read someones memories and give Cat the best ammunition to get them into the state of mind she needs to manipulate their emotions. Physical fights wouldn't change much but in intelligence work they could be really good as a team.

Third, I want a Flier/Rider romance and Cat's the most prominent Gyphon Flier we have as of Iron Flame. She's third in line for the throne which is interesting and could mean she ends up as Queen. Giving her a dragon Rider partner could be a good way of showing that even once the Venin are gone Navarre and Poromeil are still allies. Also would be interesting to see how a relationship like that was seen by the dragons.

Fourth, it'd be a bit funny. Cat is Xaden's ex, while Dain was Violet's first crush and childhood friend. I doubt Xaden would care much, since he never cared about Cat, but I think Violet would have many conflicting feelings about it which would be fun to see her stress over. By the end of Iron Flame she seems to have grown to respect Cat and Cat respects her in return, but I it wasn't that long ago she hated her. Meanwhile, although she was furious at Dain, he was her best friend for fifteen years.

It'd just be funny to see Violet struggling with that sort of roller coaster of emotions and perhaps catching herself thinking similar things Dain said to her about Xaden. I mean I could see her first thought being Cat is getting close to Dain to mess with her, since she can't get to Xaden anymore. Having her catch herself and realize she's making snap judgments could lead to some interesting conversations with both Dain and Cat or even Xaden talking to her more about his past with Cat. Just cool character interactions all around!

Fifth, character development. Dain is seen as Mr. By the Book, and although there probably isn't some rule against Flier/Rider relationships (because they've never worked together before) it could still be seen as wrong. They might be working together but they were enemies for hundreds of years. Dain picking Cat despite it being seen as against the spirit of the Codex continues his growth as getting over his issue of putting rules before people he cares about.

Meanwhile Cat, although tackling her anti-Dragon Rider hate and working with Violet has another flaw the one that was probably the biggest reason her and Xaden broke up. She wanted a crown. Now, I actually don't think this is a terrible thing for her to want given what we know of her and her situation. Poromeil has been essentially left to die by Navarre for hundreds of years. Frankly it makes sense Cat would want political power so she could use it to form an alliance with a Kingdom that might be strong enough to save her home.

Still the story makes it appear to be a flaw--that she wanted a crown over love. So, in that sense picking Dain, someone who isn't a prince or king, and has very little sway with anyone with power (Xaden hates him, and he deserted the army so he doesn't have any allies on that front either--dude is not getting a good job no mater whose in charge) shows she'll pick over over a crown. Even if afterwards she still gets the throne of Poromeil for whatever reason, it'd still prove she picked Dain over power.

So, that's my essay on possible end ships for Dain. I sort of still think he'll die--I'm always prepared for a character I like to die. But if he does live and get paired up I'd say it'd be Cat, with Ridoc as a runner up.