#it's what made me even consider them in the first place haha

[thenobleprincex]

totally agree w you about hawk! i feel like a lot of people interpreted him as having internalized homophobia which isn’t really what’s up with him. he’s very aware he’s attracted to men and he acts on that attraction without shame for what he wants. but he also is not willing to give up the life and world that practicing heterosexuality will give him access to

hi anon!!!

yes!! i'm so glad my words resonated! you're absolutely right, it's not about homophia itself, but rather the fact that heterosexuality gives him a world of opportunities and perceived freedom and safety that he wouldn't otherwise have.

now, that doesn't totally account for aspects like all the trauma he has (his father, for example) or the fact that, when you have to play pretend for so long (and play pretend in a way that requires you to belittle and endanger people who are just like you), i do believe some parts of you start to internalizing aspects of it. it's not that hawk is completely shame-free (would that even be possible in his position?) but rather that shame is not his main motivator - trauma and search for the freedoms and safety of Heterosexuality are much more present in that regard

[ask-the-pioneer]

"I've always been captivated by them. Something about the shiny exterior, how they glimmer when you tumble them around in your hands. My younger self would obsess about them, a childlike fascination. Even back then I instinctively knew they had value. My mom would use pearls I found to pay for a safe passage at scavenger tolls. We tried to bypass those points as much as we could, but sometimes it was unavoidable."

"It's a looong story…. I was found roaming the wilderness by my mentor, who brought me to er, an entity, called an interator. Do you know of iterators? Apparently they are what was left of an ancient civilization that once inhabited these lands. I couldn't wrap my head around it at first. Iterators are massive, absolutely huge, like mountains. Do you see that big structure of a regular, smooth shape?"

[She points towards Five Pebble's can in the distance]

"That is an iterator's «superstrucute». A mountain, the entire thing… is a person. It still sounds crazy when I say it."

"Ah, right, my name… like I mentioned, I got lost and my mentor found me. He brought me to his iterator. If my memory serves me right, his name is «No Significant Harassment», or NSH for short. I recall thinking at that time, «Harassment? I hope he won't be cruel to me». I had no concept of iterator names, their meaning, why it's three or however many words long. It was incredibly confusing to my young mind, though looking back at it I consider myself very lucky. The iterator was, dare I say, «god-like» (his own words), but benevolent. I saw how well he treated Hunter – my mentor – and it made me trust him more, even though I was scared and wary in the beginning."

"Would you believe it if I told you… there are stories written inside the pearls? That those things I’ve been obsessing about all my life are used for storing information? I had many of them leftover from when I lived at a scavenger outpost. One cycle, NSH noticed my interest, and – I wish Hunter had told me about this sooner, but – the iterator shot at my head with something…? And suddenly I could understand everything he said. Not that he said much, because I started crying loudly and ran straight out of there, haha. But before I bolted, he gave me one of his pearls as consolation. I think he felt bad for the scared little me."

"After that, he would eagerly read all the pearls I brought to him. That is how I learned more about the culture of the peoples who were here before me: the Ancients, their customs, why the iterators were built, and much more. It was like the knowledge of the entire world was suddenly revealed to me – to a seemingly insignificant being, a tiny speck in an endless ocean of life. It both made me feel very important, and very small. And, yeah, it has intensified my obsession with pearls beyond mortal limits. What if I could write into a pearl? I could archive the history of my entire species! All the stories my mom told me when I was small? All the places I’ve been to? Or other scugs have been to…"

[Her eyes widen, sparkling with glee]

"Y-yeah… that would be nice… sadly I am what I am – a slugcat. I don’t know how to do this very advanced stuff at all. I have no means of doing this. I once asked NHS for help, but there’s only so much he could guess from my frantic signing. I don’t think he understood me, in the end. But he did appreciate my efforts, and I was given a title – the Pioneer, like a person who is the very first to explore something uncharted. Apparently no slugcat before me thought of reading from or writing into pearls? I find it a little hard to believe."

"This one! This is a very special kind of pearl – it contains an ancient poem from which my name originated. See, my name was a gift from NSH the iterator. It’s spelled: «Mirmyntasseth». The best way I would describe it, is… it’s a name for a feeling, or an experience. The way it was explained to me, is that the word «Mirmyntasseth» is an expression of seeing a marble roll on a flat surface, then hitting another marble. Ah, right, you may not know this – a marble is like, like a pearl, but translucent and even more ornate. I was told that marbles were used by the Ancients for entertainment. They had a game where you rolled one to hit another. I'll admit, I can see the appeal. Throwing rocks is fun, although I image this game was considered a more dignified pastime."

[She tumbles the dark pearl in her hands, admiring its luster]

"The poem inside this pearl, one of its verses spells: «Eight Marbles Cast in Stone». The poem itself is long… very long… I had the iterator read it to me once, and we had to stop in the middle because the rain was coming. Maybe I will ask NSH to read it again, when I’m back at his superstructure with Hunter."

[Her gaze trails off to somewhere far away for a moment, a subtle grimace on her face. She closes her eyes and shakes off the thoughts that cloud her mind]

"So, um… yes… that is why I am called Eight Marbles Cast in Stone, or Marbles for short. I like how it sounds, it has a nice ring to it. And it’s a gift from an iterator, a god-like being. I consider it a great honor."

"…that said, I wonder why he didn’t just name me «Pearl»? Wouldn’t that make more sense? Maybe it didn’t sound cool enough. They’ve used pearls just to store information. I guess it’d be silly to be named «Dirt» because you doodle in dirt, or «Batfly» because you love eating batflies? Hmm…"

[exhaslo]

Can you do like a God Miguel and devil fem reader, this is my first request so please no hate 😭 Oh yeah AND SMUTTTTT

That man is basically a God, haha. Usually I see this request the opposite way, so this is going to be so much fun!

Warning: MINORS DNI, Smut, teasing, taunting, handsy, oral sex (m receiving), riding, rough sex, dirty talk, doggy style, creampie

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

"C'mon, Big Boy. Afraid to show a lil ol' devil like me what a taste of Heaven looks like?"

This was a sight to behold. No one had ever dared to question or even go against Miguel's ruling. There was a reason why the two dimensions were split between Heaven and Hell. There were a whole list of reasons.

One of them, being devils like you.

You gave a wicked smile towards Miguel, the God of Heaven himself, the ruler of all Angels. Hell, the very man whom separated the Angels and Devils. He was one who controlled all. One who could change the course of fate itself.

"What's a Sinner like me to do in order to enter your pearly white gates of Heaven?" You cooed, getting on your knees.

"You have already made your choices in life. You must live with the consequences of your actions." Miguel spoke.

You gave a pout, pressing your lower lip out while pressing your breasts together.

"But, it wasn't all my fault! I'm here to confess my sins and do right. Please, give me a chance? Isn't that what Angels do? Give second chances?" You begged.

Miguel grunted lowly as he shooed his Angels away. They had started to whisper amongst themselves because sadly, you were right. Miguel disliked it when a devil would sway the good hearted with cruel twists of truth.

"You wish to be redeemed? How do you plan on doing so?" Miguel asked. You bit your lower lip, finding his scowl hot,

"I'll do anything."

-------

Miguel sure had you work your way into heaven. As God, he personally oversaw your progress. Every human you helped; everyone good deed you did; everything was in his sight.

Even your advances. You were sly as you did your job. Poking your ass out slightly; accidently having a tit pop out; hell even using the old lollipop trick. You were doing whatever it took to try and sway Miguel in your favor.

"Hm, excellent work. Perhaps I just might consider your arrival into heaven after a few thousand more good deeds." Miguel hummed. You felt your eye twitch,

"Thousand? Isn't there anything more..." You slid your hand down Miguel's chest, "Intense I could do?"

"Have you forgotten who I am?"

"I haven't," You whispered in his ear, slowly lowering your tank top, "I know that you rule over everything. You see everything while no one can see you. You poor stressed God."

"I'm not stressed." Miguel huffed as he glanced around the human world, "I know what you've really been after this whole time."

"Hm? You have?" You cooed, "Then why entertain me?"

"Because even a God gets bored."

In the next second, both you and Miguel were in what looked like a human hotel room. A smile curled upon your lips as you spread your legs on the bed, slowly removing your top. You gave Miguel a seductive look, motioning him over,

"So bored that you'll entertain a devil?" Miguel scoffed,

"So bored that one might say I am stressed." He tried to change the topic, but sighed, "Sometimes even I grow jealous of how easily humans find pleasure."

You raised a brow, your smile growing wider. You sat up, reaching for Miguel. Your hands stroking down his chest as you threw your top across the room.

"Allow me to give you a show then?" You whispered.

Swapping places with Miguel, you proceeded to give him a little lap dance. As you moved your ass against his crotch, you started to take your bra off. For a God like him to entertain a devil like you, oh this was going to be good.

You nibbled against his ear as you took off you pants, revealing no underwear. A chuckle escaped your lips as you glanced down towards Miguel's erection.

"Hm, does mini God wanna play?" You cooed.

"Perhaps I could show you what heaven tastes like after all." Miguel played along.

Oh, that made you wet. You hands were all over Miguel now. You just had to strip him, but slowly. You cute little devil tail twirled as you started to grind against Miguel's white robes. You stroked his face, watching his temptation grow,

"Shall I do all the work?" You whispered. Miguel just smirked,

"Weren't you the one who needed to get into heaven?"

You huffed as you removed his robes. Eyes widening at the sight of his dick. He wasn't a God for nothing. With a lick of your lips, you got on your knees and started to work your magic. You had good deeds to do after all.

"How many deeds if I make you cum?" You hummed with a lick of his tip.

"A hundred."

"Oh? Then I'll have my work cut out."

"It's a good thing stamina doesn't exist for me." Miguel said with a smirk, which made you quiver.

Ignoring that thought for now, you returned to stroking and sucking Miguel's dick. Of course God doesn't have stamina. Even devils and angels had it. Well, at least you were trying to earn his forgiveness and not the other way around.

You moaned lowly as you started to take Miguel deeper. His dick was thick and long. Just the thought of him ravishing you was making you horny. Not to mention the sounds of his grunts was delicious. If only you were a succubus, this would make a fine meal.

"Still waiting to be impressed." Miguel teased.

You felt your eye twitch as you kept sucking. What more did he want? Gasping, you felt his hands on your head as he started to thrust into your mouth. Tears started to form as you tried to breathe through you nose.

"Here's your first hundred." Miguel groaned.

You nearly gagged as Miguel cummed inside your mouth. Moving away, you swallowed what you could, but coughed up the rest. There was so much. Wiping your mouth, you glanced at his still harden erection and chuckled,

"If that's the case, then this will be easy."

--------

"Are you giving up already? What a poor little slutty devil you are." Miguel mocked as you bounced on his cock.

You were drooling as you rode Miguel. His dick fit so nicely inside you, stretching all your walls as you fucked him. His tip hit the far back of your cervix, making you really see heaven in a different light. You had only fucked him for a few minutes and you felt like giving in.

"Is this all Hell has to offer?" Miguel asked. You flinched, feeling yourself about to cum again,

"N-No...J-Just....so...ah~" You whined, jumping down once more only to cum.

"This is why you need my help."

Miguel held your waist and started to thrust up inside you, causing you to moan and squirm. His dick was too much. He was hitting you in all the right places. Gripping your hips, Miguel watched your tits bounce as he fucked you from below.

"Tsk, tsk, this poor little devil wants forgiveness right?"

"Y-Yesh~"

"I'll give it to you. One load at a time."

You shuddered towards his words as he released a heavy load inside you. Gasping, you felt Miguel press you against the bed, entering you from behind. His grip was still tight as he started to pound your pussy.

"Such lewd sounds you're making. Does my dick feel that good?"

"Ah~ Ah~ Y-Yes!" You cried out, gripping the bedsheets. Miguel chuckled, listening to the sound of his dick slapping into you,

"Can you feel my holy presence inside you? Is this the taste of heaven you wanted so much?"

"Ah~ Mhm~"

You couldn't think. You felt your eyes roll back as you focused on Miguel pounding you. His hot cum just begging to spill before his next load. This was truly paradise.

"So cock drunk that you can't even think. What a slutty devil you are." Miguel hummed, feeling you cum around him, "But you are doing the best deed there is."

"Mhm!" You gasped as Miguel slapped into your gummy walls faster,

"Keep coming to me for your forgiveness and I'll happily give it to your horny pussy." He groaned, cumming once more, "How does that sound?"

"Ah~ Y-Yes~ Yes~" You moaned loudly.

Miguel just chuckled in response, turning you over. You were out of breathe and fucked out. Miguel glanced at your body, watching your devil wings disappear since you had no energy. Another chuckle escaped his lips as he watched his cum leak out of you,

"Don't suppose you want to start a new race? I have unless stamina after all."

You had a long road of forgiveness ahead of you, but you weren't complaining in the slightest.

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

I CAN FEEL THE JUDGEMENT FROM ABOVE, BUT WE ALL KNOW I'M GOING DOWN! I HOPE YOU ENJOYED!!!

[leftshoeuntied]

Good Neighbors | part one

König x Reader 

part two part three

CW: reader has feminine pronouns, mostly plan on this just being fluff but will include angst and minor character death in future parts (wanted to give a fair warning just in case it makes you uncomfortable!) 

please let me know if I missed anything that should be listed in the warnings though!

also I didn’t edit I’m sorry I’ve re-written this like six times so I just need to get this out haha

With a creak of his bones and a groan, König stretched out in his bed early one morning, wincing at the pull in his left shoulder and the stabbing feeling in his chest with each breath. If those two places hurt less, he probably would’ve noticed the knots in his lower back more but his brain was used to writing out the dull pains his body holds.

As he gotten older, his back has started to hurt more regularly but sleeping on the soft mattress back in his home, well house, only emphasized the pain. House, not home, because he had plans when he had bought this property to turn into a home years ago, make it a side project on times not on mission to create the life he always wanted. Even buying a soft large mattress for the main bedroom, figuring his partner would want a soft mattress, opposite of what he’s used to sleeping on but like the saying goes – soft wife, soft life, and that’s all he would want for his dream wife. 

But like the rest of his dream, the house fell to the backburner, a burning reminder on what could’ve been for him but didn’t come to be. If he could’ve made the base his permanent address, he would’ve sold the house already, but unfortunately, his boss said no. He’s held on to it since then, but still, he’s spent most of his time on base, always coming up with a new excuse on why he needed to stay so close to his work. 

Unfortunately for König though, he had been sent home on medical leave against his will after a broken rib and an injury to the left shoulder that left his body badly bruised and sore. But to him it was a worse punishment to be forced home for six weeks for rest and rehabilitation with physical therapy before he could officially be let out back onto the field. 

Part of him just wishes they would’ve done the surgery to fix his shoulder, instead of waiting to heal on its own. At least then it would’ve had a more distinct schedule of when he can get back to normal, but all he hears from his doctors now is that it’s a low-grade separation, and they hope he should be healed in 6 weeks. We’ll see. He thought to himself as he thanked his doctor gruffly and rolled his neck adjusting to the new brace on shoulder, he’s at least grateful they didn’t force a sling on him, they probably knew he wouldn’t have worn it.

At least the physical therapy for the last two weeks would force him out of the house and into a routine again, but until then? König didn’t know what to do with himself for the next six weeks.

He didn’t have many friends in the area, most of the people he considered close were back on base or getting ready to be sent off on a mission, and there weren’t many people in the neighborhood that he actually knew or spoke to.

The neighborhood was a quiet one, filled with elderly couples, their children already have moved out to have their own families. The older couples would give König a quick smile and wave if they were in their front yards while he was on his way out of the neighborhood, or a jog, but he wasn’t getting invited to the neighbor’s holiday parties. He was okay with that; he didn’t really want to speak with them either. He was fine with just a mutually respectful relationship without them prying into his business.

It was different with his elderly neighbor Carol though. Carol lived at the end of the street with him, across the road from, and from his first day in the neighborhood, she was quick to learn more about the quiet big brute across from her. 

“Good morning, König! It’s good to see you!” His elderly neighbor Carol calls from the driver’s window her car with a smile and a wave, idling in front of his driveway. Any other one of his neighbors, he probably would’ve given them a curt nod before turning away from them, but not Carol. 

Carol was one of the few bright spots for him in this neighborhood, and one of the few reasons he even did come back to his house at times. 

He had done some projects for her over the years, and even while he was gone, he made sure she was still taken care of. Like during the winter, he always made sure she had her driveway plowed, whether it be done by him while he is home, or mistakenly telling the plow truck driver her address instead of his own. He’s helped her keep the gutters clean around her house, cleared the drains at the end of their driveways during any storms, and even helped her clean out the basement when she had some water damage after an issue with her water line.

Carol reminded him of his own grandmother who has since passed and felt it was important to take care of her since he’s never seen any of her own family looking out for her. When he has been invited into her house for meals or to offer his help with projects, he’s seen the numerous family photos, numbers of photos should young children smiling, weddings, and graduations but of all the times he’s been over to help, never once had he heard about any of them visiting her. He can’t help the protectiveness he feels over her, and the frustration he feels thinking about her family just forgetting about her and what he wouldn’t give to be back with his Oma.

“Guten morgen Carol, it’s good to see you, how are you?” König jogging softly over to her from his front steps and meeting her at her car window.

“Ah I’m doing well, but I’m not too sure about you, hm?” She says while eyeing the brace on his shoulder. “I always get so nervous for you, hon, I’m glad you’re home safe though.” She says giving him that maternal look but grabbing his wrist with an endearing squeeze. 

“Anyways I’m off to my doctor’s appointment, you’ll have to come by for dinner sometime soon while you’re still home, alright dear?”

“Yes ma’am.” König gives a small smile and nod, knowing she’ll follow up with a call to tell him when he’s supposed to be at her house. She pulls her arm away with a smile, getting ready to put her window back but as König goes to turn back to his mailbox she quickly stops and calls out.

“Oh! And if you see someone pull into my driveway while I’m not home, don’t worry! It’s just my granddaughter. She’s going to be staying with me for a bit, working on some projects around the house. I’ll have to introduce the two of you, she’s just the sweetest!”

König gives her a smile and nod as she pulls away, but he can’t help the feeling of trepidation building up his spine. Granddaughter? He never met any of her grandkids, not that he spent much time at his house, but he spent enough time to know Carol and how she always wished her family visited her more, so why now?

Carol doesn’t need her granddaughter to come over and work on projects around the house, he can do that, he’s been doing them for her for the past couple of years and now he’s even got the time to start the larger projects he promised. He’s looking forward to the dinner with Carol and her granddaughter just so he can figure out why this granddaughter did decide to finally show up.

divider by @/riottsrph (thank you!!)

[sylvaridreams]

Inhales. You know what gets me when I think about Heart of Thorns. The anti-sylvari sentiment in-universe was SO real for a while there. During the period of time where the whole world of Tyria learned the secret that Wynne had died to protect, that sylvari came from the jungle dragon, that they were made to serve it. Everyone turned on them. Friends, lovers, commanding officers, it didn't matter anymore. They COULD turn mordrem at any time, so you had to assume that they would. You couldn't trust something that belonged to a dragon. Even Laranthir (of the Wild) right after the crash, being held captive by his own people, waiting for him to go feral and tear their throats out. The sylvari Commander was granted a little wiggle room, a little space to walk around freely, but it's all very conditional. Prove you're a good one, that you won't fall to the dragon. There's the event in Verdant Brink where they round up all the sylvari in a camp and ask you to interrogate them, to break them down until they confess to being mordrem. And inevitably a few of them are hiding among the camp, but an equal number of sylvari run from you in fear, more afraid of you and the Pact than the certain death of the jungle beyond. The other innocents that stay don't have a choice. It's keep your head down and don't say anything or be killed, one way or another, while the Commander that you've worked under for the past couple of years interrogates a crying novice, asking if they've heard a voice. And who hasn't heard the voice at that point? The Commander admits to hearing it too. Canach likens it to a buzzing fly. Irritating. Nothing more. Strong willed sylvari don't stumble when Mordremoth speaks. But even that's not true; maybe not everyone's played Heart of Thorns on a sylvari Commander, but the closer you get to the dragon, you start to falter, to black out and lose time. In its domain you actually do fall to it. Briefly. Just for a while, you forget who you are and what you're doing there, and mordrem start giving you killing orders. And you snap out of it and never tell anyone, never. They can't know how close you got.

But what GETS ME is that after the dragon is dead, no one talks about it. It all returns to normal. Like the tension was never there in the first place. I'm sure there might be some loaded quips about sylvari in Living World Season 3 right after, but the next time I actually can recall it coming up is in Path of Fire. Right as you get into Desert Highlands; Canach says something about "I always knew this whole human/gods arrangement wouldn't work out" and Kasmeer shoots back "This coming from someone with a DRAGON in their family tree." And that's that. No one actually really discusses it in-game. They all moved on and don't care if you're a dragon minion or not.

Which. Augh. WHAT!!!!! NO ONE CARES? I'm sure it's a better end-user experience than if everyone you encountered as a sylvari player was like "OOOOOH I DON'T TRUST YOUR TYPE... YOU WRETCHED DRAGON PLANT FOLK" but narratively it's a little boring. At least in the sense that it doesn't feel finished. There should still be tons of anti-sylvari sentiment in Tyria and propaganda spread to force them out of parts of society and stupid hoops to jump through to be considered safe. Just as I think that sylvari should still hold anti-asura sentiment--you're telling me their small second generation had a huge group taken away and tortured to death and there's no ingrained fear of it happening again? I want my sylvari commander to have met Gorrik in LWS4 and been like haha. uh. 😥 (do I really have to work with this guy. An inquest...) (and EVENTUALLY come to like and trust him!) instead of the game plowing over it like oh yeah don't worry about it n_n the facility exploded and all so he doesn't work there now don't worry n_n NO I'M WORRIED!-- again I'm sure that the smoothing over of Everything is a better end-user experience. rather than everyone you meet being rude to you or vice versa. However----💥 (I am killed by a sniper from a long distance so that I stop talking before I begin delving into the prejudices that are already baked into the narrative)

[happilychaengs]

pi(e)ning

a/n: i have not written anything in so long so this might be the worst thing ever, sorry! this really is all over the place

wc: 1975 words

hirai momo x gender neutral reader

"can you just go marry your neighbor already?"

sana's mouth is chock full with blueberry pie, a small moan and a 'god' coming out of her mouth as she keeps taking bites from her fork, "like, this pie – i can't  – it's just so good and you got this for free! free has never tasted so good."

"haha." you cut out a slice from the pie, your fork stabbed at the top, "i actually haven't tried this yet."

sana squirms in her seat from the flavors she's shoving in her mouth, her head almost on a swivel as she takes another bite, a tight smile on her face, "you need to, like right now." 

you pick up the fork as you take a bite of the pie, the crust crumbling in your mouth as you relish in the sweet,slightly sour, and tart flavor that hits the base of your tongue. sana looks at you in anticipation, her eyebrows raised, “well?”

“it’s – it’s really good.” you laugh in disbelief as you take another bite, “do you want to take this home, actually?” 

she gives you a look of wonder, as if you’d just given her a million dollars, “you’re joking – seriously? i mean, are you sure? i wouldn’t mind, but, y’know-”

“yes, i’m serious, sana.” you put down your fork, “momo gives me something new practically everyday now, and i can’t really finish it. i love it all, but it’s sometimes too much for me to eat it all.”

-

“don’t you think this is a bit excessive?” nayeon rests her head over her roommate’s shoulder, looking at the flour spread all over the kitchen counter, her eyes squinting as a bit flies into her face from her roommate kneading the dough around. she coughs slightly as she steps back, “okay. mind explaining what this is all about, momo? i wouldn’t mind if you cleaned up, but you do this almost everyday and never clean up. i always have to pick up after you.”

“i’m making fresh banana bread for someone.” she lets the dough rest in a bowl as she turns to face nayeon, leaning back on the kitchen counter. nayeon looks confused, “who? because i know it’s not me. we literally always have an empty fridge.”

“it’s – it’s for y/n.” momo turns her head away, staring at the resting dough and avoiding nayeon’s eyes, “are you talking about our neighbor? why? do you like them or something?” nayeon laughs, slightly teasing her, but all she gets is silence. “seriously? how?”

it’s not like momo had any real reason to like you, she just did. she had just opened her bakery, and you so happened to be the first person to try it and to really like it, so it never really stopped considering she figured out you two lived next door to each other. with each and every new pastry she gave you, you accepted it happily, and it made her like you even more.

“i’m… going to guess it has to do with your baking, because you are nonstop giving y/n something from our kitchen.” nayeon wipes the flour off her nose as she walks back to her room, “just please clean up, at least.”

-

there’s two rhythmic knocks on your door as sana goes to get it since you’re in the shower, her not expecting it to be anything out of the ordinary. 

“hi, who is it?” sana chirps as her head pops out from the side of the door, surprised as she sees a woman holding a large bag of bread and a bit of flour on her face. “are you momo?”

momo’s face was full of surprise as she didn’t expect someone else to open the door for her, “uh, yeah. how do you know who i am?”

“y/n told me all about you! thank you so much for the food you always give them! it’s always really good!” sana rains compliments on momo, but momo is more focused on the fact that you have another woman over and it seemed like you two were really close.

“right, um, i – where’s y/n? i just wanted to hand them the banana bread i made.” momo tries to steer away from sana, feeling almost a bit uncomfortable being near her because she doesn’t know what type of relationship you two have, but sana grabs the bag out of momo’s hand, leaving it on the table, “y/n’s in the shower right now, but i can let them know you stopped by? or i could go in and just tell y/n?” okay. so you two were close enough to get into the shower together.

“no, no it’s okay.” momo lets out a nervous chuckle, her head low and her heart cracking. “i hope you two enjoy it. i’ll just leave. i’m kind of in a rush.”

sana nods her head understandingly, “yeah, okay, sorry to hold you up then! thank you again!” she basically shoo’s momo to the door, with no idea how it seemed to her.

-

“how’d it go?” nayeon is on the couch, flicking through the shows on tv, barely paying attention, “did y/n like the bread?”

“i think… y/n has a girlfriend.” momo drops her bag on the floor, her back slouched over as she plopped onto the couch. nayeon’s focus shifts, “for real?”

“yeah, she opened the door for me since y/n was in the shower, and basically pushed me out the door after i put down the bread.” momo sinks into the couch, a slight pout forming on her lips as nayeon ruffles her hair, “well, at least you tried. how long have you liked y/n anyways?”

“for a few weeks now.” momo says it in a whisper, scared to admit it because she can’t even begin to fathom how dumb she sounded to nayeon right now.

nayeon’s eyes widened, “are you serious? why haven’t you made an actual move then and why am i finding out just now?” she barrages momo with questions as she sinks deeper into the couch, “why have you only been giving y/n free food and not actually saying how you feel?”

“i’m sorry, okay?” momo sighs, “i just… didn’t know when to say it, i mean, we don’t talk a lot – we just exchange a few words, and i guess – it never came up.”

“hirai momo. you are so dumb. i mean it.” nayeon flicks her forehead, a slight ‘ow’ escaping momo’s mouth. “how are you able to start up your own bakery but you can’t even say three little words to our next-door neighbor?”

-

“hey,” you have a towel on your head as you dry your hair, “what’s up with the bag?” you sit down on your bean bag chair.

“momo dropped by and wanted to give you some banana bread, but you were in the shower so i just told her to leave it here.” 

sana takes out a slice as she takes a bite, “mmph! this is really good!” her voice is muffled with the bread in her mouth, “how did you even get momo to deliver you so much food?”

“i don’t know – i went to her bakery before when it just opened and she said i was the first customer to come in. we talked for a bit and we figured out we were neighbors so i guess she wanted to deliver it to me?”

sana looks at you, confused, because that didn’t sound like the full story, “you sure that’s all she did or said? nothing else? because i don’t think that explains it. maybe she likes you.”

“no way,” you laugh, “we’re just neighbors, right?”

“i don’t know…” sana dusts her hands off as she finishes the slice, “she did seem kind of off when she came by – she looked like she really wanted to see you.”

“really?” your voice is laced with curiosity as you sat up, because honesty, you liked her a bit. 

“you sound interested.” sana teases, “you totally like her.”

-

but momo hasn't come back in days since then. you two see each other in passing – obviously, you two are neighbors – but she just gives you a small greeting and a smile, before seemingly getting away from you. maybe she was in a bad mood.

but she avoids you for another week and so obviously too, that you can’t help but be a little worried. sana finds herself laying down on your couch, crashing here again for the third time this week – even if she was your best friend, this was a bit excessive – as her stomach rumbles. “i miss momo. she was good for you.”

“you mean good for you? i can hear your stomach rumbling.” 

sana laughs as she rubs her stomach, “fine, i loved the food she gave you, okay? but seriously, what did you do? you make it sound like she hates you or something.”

“that’s the thing, i don’t know. i mean, should i try talking to her? i feel like i fucked up by not saying thank you enough or something.”

“you’re stupid.” she laughs.

“i don’t know, maybe that’s why?”

“i doubt it. just go talk to her about it. who knows? maybe you two will fall in love after that and i can continue getting free food!”

you throw a pillow her way, hitting her face, “you’re dumb.”

-

momo sees you down the hallway of the apartment complex you two share again as she’s fumbling with her keys in her back pocket, trying to get her door open, but as luck would have it, it falls out of her hand, onto the floor and you’re calling out her name.

“momo! hold on!” you run up to her as she looks up at you, “can we talk?”

momo’s heart beats a little faster, “uh, sure. what do you want to talk about?”

“i feel bad, y’know, for not saying thank you for the food enough, and i was wondering if i did anything wrong?”

she knits her eyebrows in confusion, “no? why would you say that?

“i don’t want you to think i only want the food – because i don’t – but i don’t want my neighbor to hate me and avoid me everytime she sees me.” you give a nervous chuckle. 

momo opens her mouth to speak, but she sees her roommate standing a few feet back behind you, throwing up these exaggerated gestures, motioning her to say something. “you didn’t do anything wrong, no, i just - i just felt like i was intruding on you and your girlfriend by always coming over.”

“girlfriend?” now you’re the one confused, “i don’t have a girlfriend?”

“what? then… then who was the girl who opened the door for me last time?”

“that was my best friend, sana. i’ve known her since we were in high school, and she just crashes over sometimes. but why would you feel like you’re intruding…?”

“i…” nayeon urges momo to say it from afar, nodding her head excessively, “i actually liked you for a while, y/n.” she lets out a small sigh, as she turns away for a moment, “i always wanted to say something to you when i came over, but i never got the chance to, and then… i saw sana and i thought you two were dating and i guess i couldn't bring myself to come over anymore so i just stopped and you don’t have to like me back or anything, it’s just-”

“stop, momo,” you let out a small laugh, “i think i like you too.”

“really?” she gasps in disbelief, “so…”

“are you busy right now?” 

momo shakes her head, as she smiles, “no, not at all.”

“maybe we can have lunch, then?”

you sound nervous, though momo giggles as she nods her head, “definitely.”

[elsa-fogen]

what do you think about the fact that al likes doodling?

i have a head canon that he has some sort of scrapbook or sketchbook full of little doodles of things going on at the hotel and just in his life, I feel like he would draw really stick-figureish (is that a word?) but I read a fic that depicted it as the same art style as an Invader-Zim obsessed scene girl and I could not stop cackling.

I also feel like he would either guard it with his life from everyone (exception to Rosie, of course) or just not bother to tell anyone and one day they just find him doodling schoolgirl style, kicking his legs in the air, LMAO NEW THOUGHT WHAT IF CHARLIE OR LUCIFER FOUND IT

OH! OH! Now that you mentioned it - i LOVE that about him! I just absolutely ADORE little thing he made for the add in the first episode. And i love this fact because 1) he's the first character i like that likes to draw canonically (okay maybe also toothless from httyd?) 2) Me and Alastor share so many similarities, and even drawing???? This just makes me love him even more (i'm sure we would hate each other irl tho AHAHHAHAHA or maybe not, idk)

SO, SINCE ME AND AL ARE SO SIMILAR, I'M GONNA PROJECT ON HIM MY DRAWING HABITS >:3c Forgive me this one, i usualy don't do that, i usualy project characters on myself haha

He DOES have sketchbooks just to draw, and they are ORGANISED. He's numbers every sketchbook and counts every drawing in them since the first one. He also has two numbers for each page - through one sketchbook and through them all. He has over 300 of sketchbooks by now (I have less, only 56). They are stashed somewhere in a very safe place.

Every sketchbook has a date of first and last drawing. Also amount of drawings. It looks like: NOTEBOOK 253 (number of sketchbook, also he doesn't call them sketchbooks) 03.06.1978-05.07.1978 (dates while it was active) 119 (amount of drawings) 29961-30080 (which numbers of drawings are in this sketchbook) He would cound something else, but he's just too busy to spend time on it. He can remember something thinking about what he was drawing in that period and vice versa

He used to draw at overlords meetings, pissing off Carmila and everyone else, because it looked like he hadn't listened to them, so Carmila banned drawing at overlords meetings (Alastor is still angry about it)

But he doesn't progress too much - most of his progress was made through first 10-20 sketchbooks, now he only has slight style changes sometimes when he feels like it

Tho he's really proud of his current skill and used to think that he's literally the best (used to get angry when reminded that it's not true) (now he kinda knows, but still likes his own drawings, doesn't accept criticism and doesn't try to purposely improve)

He likes showing his drawings to people, he knows and if he does, you have to say that it's literally So Cool, show enthusiasm turning pages and say that everything is just amazing. If you don't, he'll be OFFENDED. He also can leave a sketchbook opened on a page with a drawing he likes the most, and it's like a sign "NOTICE THAT I'M DRAWING AND SAY THAT YOU LIKE IT"

If he considers you a friend (well not like Rosie, but at least like Charlie), he'll be showing you his drawings regularly (and you have to be enthusiastic about it!!!!!!) He has showed it to Charlie, but somehow her enthusiasm is... too much. She's too patronising about it. He also shows his things to Husk, he knows that Husk is annoyed and doesn't give a shit, and he just enjoys his annoyance. He also shows his drawings to Niffty and she gives him Just Right amount and vibe of enthusiasm. (He sometimes draws something for her fanfiction if he likes something enough and enjoys Niffty's reaction (she explodes from happiness)). BUT!!!!! He never shows anything to Mimzy. Because she's like, person from the real life, and he feels like she would laugh at it. To Rosie he shows only things he considers his best and her opinion is the most important to him. He can even forgive her criticism (wouldn't take it tho) (she never critisizes him and absolutely ADORES his drawings). Angel kinda likes his drawings, but isn't enthusiastic about them enough

He doesn't take requests (Angel tried "draw me like one of your french girls" shit, Alastor never did (also his ass did not get the reference and he was like "i dont??? have??? any french girls????")) (Vox also tried to make Alastor draw something for him, Alastor was just "that's interesting, i'll think about it" and never thought of it again)

SOME OF HIS DRWINGS TURNED OUT TO BE PROPHECIES but he notices that only when something happens and then he goes back to his old sketchbooks and accidentally finds it. They are just coincidenses tho, but it's fun and Alastor makes a big deal from it and screams to Rosie like "I PREDICTED THAT SHIT 27 YEARS AGO" when finds out. (it's how i predicted many plot points from SU and literally TOH hunter's possession before the show even was a thing JHJDFJHFGJFDHKH i wonder if i predicted something from Hazbin, i need to look through my sketchbooks now)

If you dare to mess with his drawings and vandalise them... oh... you better pray to whatever god you belive in to make your sufferings be enough to redeem your sins and go to heven.

[yourheart-inmyhands]

haha im back from the dead to be annoying >:)

Btw zhongli pantalone and childe you know the one where you made her like a child hissing at them. What if they suddenly became like a calm and kind darling after one of the biggest child screaming last night and like they also stop fighting or anything but will be Affectionate if you treat them kindly and won’t force them >;)

ah this is such a good idea! i apologize that it took me so long to get to it but i hope you like it :D

Warning: this post contains yandere-themes, including mentions of stockholm syndrome, mentions of drugging, mentions of mind breaking, being held against will, being deprived of food, being deprived of sunlight, delusional behaviors, and other potential topics. Please Read At Your Own Risk!

Yandere!Zhongli would be skeptical, while he likes the idea that you finally came around, he knows it’s not true. He’d continue to keep you trapped in one room for a while, testing the limits of your sudden kindness and docility. If you should continue to act well, he may begin to step back a bit, allowing you to be in a less secure room, one with windows, perhaps even a real light.

It was startling at first, to suddenly find you so calm and pliant. Zhongli had almost believed you’d finally been broken mentally, a sad side effect he had considered from the beginning due to your aggression towards him. He was pleasantly surprised to find you were simply docile now, no mental break or severe lapse in brain capacity. Was it accepting your situation? Stockholm syndrome perhaps? Or were you just playing along in hopes of earning some freedom? Zhongli tests the boundaries for the next few days. Seeing how close you’ll allow him, how much he can come in contact with you before you lash out, all the little affectionate things he’d been dying to do that your previous behavior had prevented. If you should continued to behave, he would reward you with a new room. This room had real windows, the glass is reinforced and there are many fine nails sealing it shut, but it’s something.

Yandere!Pantalone would be wary. He thinks it’s a ruse to get him to lighten up on you, but he doesn’t. The chains bound to your ankles that lock you in the room, limiting your range of movement and keeping you tied down remain in place. The guards stay outside your door and the windows remain sealed shut. If you continue to behave well, he’ll reward you with some small gifts that you can enjoy but nothing more. It takes a long while to earn his trust, it’s something you must really work for.

The first few days of your sudden shift in behavior are handled exactly how they were before. Pantalone would leave you alone for the day, coming to visit only at your feeding time, which was dinner time for the rest. The only difference he made was that he spoon-fed you, typically he’d set your tray at the foot of your bed and set up a small table and chair for himself just outside your reach. He liked the calmer attitude you had, it made the polite discussion over dinner more enjoyable now that he actually received responses. It took a few weeks of this polite behavior for him to start bringing you better gifts. Things like puzzles, books, and other things you hadn’t previously been allowed due to the danger factor of them. From there he slowly starts to visit you more, coming to your room during breakfast and dinner, and eventually he’s there for all three meals. He’s a very patient man, he spent his life building himself to be the legacy he is now, he has no problem waiting out this little game of yours. Doesn’t mean he won’t enjoy it while it lasts though.

Yandere!Childe would be the most accepting of this. He’d assume you’d just finally accepted your situation, as escape was inevitable with him looming over your every move. He’d take you on walks around the palace now, sit closer to you when you two would eat together, cuddle with you at night, anything you’d finally allow him to do and he’d do it. He is so devoted to you and your happiness that he’s over the moon now that you’ve accepted him, accepted that you two must be together.

Waking up beside you had never felt better, now that you could actually cuddle him back. Before when he’d have to use other methods of keeping you calm, it just wasn’t ever right, but now, now it was perfect. Childe liked this new you, the you that smiled at him when he said a stupid joke, the you that let him mess with your hair in the morning, styling it how he thought best for the day. The you that let him take you one walks around the palace, your arm linked in his as he told you about his grand adventures. He hoped it was just you finally realizing that you love him too, and that you were destined to be together that made you like this. Part of him gnaws in the back of his mind, worrying that he had messed with your head too much and that you’d developed stockholm syndrome, but he doesn’t think that’s so bad. After all, you finally loved him back, why did it matter how you’d come to that conclusion.

[ash5monster01]

hello! i was wondering if you could write a neil perry imagine? like he finds the reader at a pond in the woods and he's very curious about her so they start talking or something? idk haha anything works, thank you!

In The Woods

Pairing: Neil Perry x FemReader

Warnings: fluff, minor language, mentions of bullying, minor sexual implication, two lost souls, immediate attraction

Summary: When Neil stumbles upon you in the woods he’s shocked to find that you’re one of the most interesting people he’s ever met.

word count: 1.3k

Masterlist

It’s not often Neil finds himself wandering away from campus, a fear of getting caught stopping him. Yet today is one of those days when he needs a break from everyone. A break from his Dad, his teachers, even his friends. Having been forced into an all boys school at a young age he never found himself with any alone time. So despite the looming danger of demerits, he sneaks away from campus and past the tree-line anyway.

He’s aimlessly walking, not even considering the danger of getting lost when he freezes in place. Not only had he found a clearing that withheld one of the most beautiful ponds he had ever seen, but beside the water line lay a girl in a Henley Hall uniform. Hair fanning around her like a halo, eyes closed, and the softest hum falling from her perfect lips.

Of all the scary things he could’ve come face to face with in the woods, he never expected a girl to be one of them. Unsure what to do he takes a step forward, but much to his luck a stick snaps underneath his weight. The sound alerts her so fast she’s up in an instant, eyes casting over him that make him feel frozen in place. He wonders had it been a beautiful deer, would it have run off already.

“Who are you?” you ask with an accusing tone but the sound of your voice is so angelic he’s positive the apprehension never reaches his ears.

“I-I’m, I was just on a walk, I hadn’t meant to intrude” but your accusing eyes soften when you spot the grey sweater on his form, the Welton symbol etched delicately over his heart.

“Sorry, you just scared me is all. A lot can happen to a girl alone in the woods” you tell him and he nervously chuckles, daring a few steps closer as he comes near you.

“Then why are you out here?” he curiously asks, wondering how he could go so quickly from wanting to be alone to needing to know everything about you.

“Bad day at school, needed some fresh air. It’s sort of comforting when you close your eyes and listen to the trees” Neil can’t help the way his eyebrows furrow, confused as to what you could possibly mean. Trees didn’t make noise.

“I’m not quite sure what you mean” he finally says and you giggle, the sound so light he swears he’d get swept up in it if he wasn’t careful.

“Come here” and your request does not go ignored, he walks over in the slowest speed he can without acting eager before sitting beside you in the grass. “Now lay back and close your eyes”

Neil does as told, following you in perfect movement as you both lay side by side. You’re perfectly silent while Neil takes in the sounds around him. Every few seconds he hears the soft croak of a frog, ripples on the pond, and mostly the wind rustling the leaves on the trees. It sounds like a symphony, music he’s sure no man could ever recreate. For the first time all day he feels his annoyance subside and his heart calm.

“Wow” he breathes, eyes still shut as you turn your head and dare a glance at the cute boy. Of all the spontaneous trips you had made into the woods that separated your two schools, had you ever expected to actually find a boy within it.

“Beautiful right?” you inquire, smiling at him as his own brown eyes open and meet yours. Suddenly becoming aware of the air between you both, you share a nervous laugh, both feeling the connection between you both.

“I’m Neil by the way” he says and you smile, your own name leaving your lips in an introduction. Slowly you watch as his hand lifts from his side, held up between you both. “It’s nice to meet you”

“You to Neil” you agree as your own hand folds into his, a spark igniting in you as Neil focuses on how you said his name like it was your own. Like somehow he now belonged to you.

“I had a bad day today too. I came out here hoping to be alone” Neil admits and you give a pressed smile, releasing your hand and turning your gaze back up to the sky above you.

“I can leave if you still feel that way” you tell him and he shakes his head, eyes widening as he realizes what it had sounded like.

“No, no, I just meant that you had made it better. That maybe I didn’t need to be alone after all” your tension eases as he says this, smiling his direction as your face turns pink. A random boy making you blush had not been on the list for this afternoon.

“Teachers?” you ask and he shakes his head, a shadow casting over his features at the reminder.

“Father actually. He found out I got a C in Science. Said I wasn’t focused enough, that maybe I should consider summer school to get ahead” he admits, eyes cast brightly over the clouds. You nod beside him, knowing exactly what it was like having the pressures from school and family on your shoulders.

“I’m sorry, if it makes you feel better though, the most popular girl in school spread a terrible rumor about me. I heard people whispering all day” you tell him and his features immediately soften towards you, knowing exactly what it was like to feel so down from what others thought.

“Was it bad?” Neil asks and you sigh, hands folding together over your stomach as you look up at the sky. Thanking gravity for keeping the tears at bay.

“Yeah. Something about how I had relations with a teacher to get good grades. Yet I figure she’s just jealous that I passed the English test and she didn’t” you tell him and what you don’t expect is his hand to fall on top of your own.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that” and you swear it’s the most earnest thing anyone has ever said to you.

“Thank you, I’m sorry you have to go to summer school” your words illicit a laugh Neil cannot help, smiling widely at you beside him. He swears he has never seen anyone more beautiful.

“It’s not so bad, especially now that I know about here so I can escape” he tells you and you smile, images of you meeting him here for the rest of the school year playing on loop. A hopeful gleam in your eye.

“I’m happy to share my hiding place with you anytime Neil” you tell him and he grins, thankful it wasn’t just him who wanted more of this moment.

“What’re you gonna do when you get back to school?” he asks and you shrug, hand mindlessly lacing with his own and moving between you both.

“Try my best not to pull her hair, ignore it probably. Nothing else I can really do” you say and Neil tries to hide how his heart hammers in his chest, speeding up with every brush of your fingers against his.

“Or you could tell them something else just as bad” he suggests but even you can tell he’s not the kind of boy who favors revenge. It makes you laugh anyway, what he had probably intended to do all along.

“Would you maybe want to hangout here again Neil, say 4 o’clock tomorrow?” you ask daringly, not wanting to lose your nerve and he smiles wide, hand squeezing your own.

“I’ll be here” he says and somehow that comforts you enough to dare go back to school and face all the mean words about you. For you had come out here in search of peace and instead had found a friend.

“Good, I’ll be counting on it”

[milksuu]

Hello! What do you think about a scenario where Aphelios and reader meet in OSU or another game?

Like reader creates maps and uses songs that aphelios actually likes and so he ends up being the player that she always sees on her stat map charts with almost always being top 1. And one of them gets curious so they reach out on the app/netsite and they get to know each other?? Like kinda how they met and how their relationship would evolve over time. I'm not good with words but yeah!

❥ prompt: You were a revered OSU! map creator. He was a map farming legend. Especially your maps. He was always at the top of the stat charts. Praised or scrutinized, he was the daily hot topic in the /osu subforums. His username was the only thing you knew about him : m00ncake. You had no idea he would end up being Aphelios from the band Heartsteel. That's until he showed up at your job by accident, and you connecting the dots. Oh, did you forget to mention you worked at a maid café? ❥ content/warnings: fluffy fluff, mild hurt/comfort, minor angst (?) ❥ characters/pairings: Heartsteel!aphelios / f!reader

This was it. Your magnum opus! Once your song map hit the platform, thousands of players immediately clicked to dominate it. It wasn't going to be easy for them. You'd taken special care of making it more challenging than your previous maps....especially for one certain player.

m00ncake had a history of over-taking any map within the first try. After every song, there he was: placed at number one. With astronomical stats that would take days of practice for any top streamer to compete with. It's what made the whole scene that much more competitive.

But every gamer had their weakness. And you made this map specifically to exploit m00ncake. You had analyzed his replays. Over and over again. In the darkness of your room, till the desktop screen stung your eyes dry.

He was exceptionally good with rhythm, timing, and anything technical. If you could throw him off, even a little, you'd consider that a flawless victory. This time around you would delay the kick sliders, just by a fraction, before the uptick. The rhythm theoretically the same, but the minuscule margin of delay would throw any muscle memory built up from your previous maps alone.

You waited with baited breath. m00ncake played and finished your map. The stats were posted. Yet again, he proved to be the legend he was considered to be. Despite your best efforts. With the numbers alone, there was no way another player could possibly over-take him.

A few moments later, you received a direct message:

m00ncake: nice song. also fun map. can i ask a question?

You heart thumped inside your chest. Gulping, you allowed your fingers to type back:

mcreader: oh, thanks! and sure, go ahead. m00ncake: did you purposefully slow down the kick slider at certain parts? if you did, it was actually pretty challenging for me. i'm usually on auto-pilot so that kind of threw me off. haha

After that message, your friendship blossomed. Frequently messaging each other on the platform, to then adding each other on Discord. Whenever you posted a new map, m00ncake would call you, and have you listen to his insane key-board clicking sounds. The most intense ASMR one could experience, really.

It was always great to get feedback from him after he would finish. Being the professional OSU! player that he was, it was nice to get insight on possible map formations, songs, to just general technical suggestions. To no surprise, you both enjoyed the same style of music. It explained why his play history consisted of mostly your maps. Even your least popular ones.

But he never spoke. Not even a whisper. And you never pressed it. If he was just generally shy with speaking, you could understand. You didn't mind doing all of the talking, and him replying with short text, emojies or tts.

mcreader: i found a great song for a new map. but i have work now, so i'll probably do it later tonight. maybe post it if im not too sleepy. m00ncake: sounds good. i'm excited to play it when it comes out. i'm usually up at night so if you need some company, let me know. have a good day at work. ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧

mcreader: will do! and tysm! have a good day too! ttyl! (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

You pressed your phone to your lips. m00ncake was always so sweet, supportive, and always a treat to talk to (Well, text to). You just wished you knew his name. Or anything more about him, really. He was always very secretive. It made you wonder why.

When you made it to work, you dressed and fitted into your maid outfit along with the rest of the girls coming in for shift. You heard giggles and whispers, "Hey, did you see that guy that's at that one table? He looks just like Aphelios from Heartsteel!" Another girl wiggled excitedly, nodding her head. "Totally. But it's so hard to tell. He's got his mask on and has his hoodie up. No, there's no way it's not him. As a die-hard fan, I can tell!"

"That's enough, girls." The manager clapped her hands at attention. "Everyone already has their table assignments. And there will be no switching. Whether we have a special customer or not, we always provide excellence in our service. Understood?"

After learning your table assignments, you were ready for your shift. And looked like you were assigned the very table everyone seemed to want. Whines erupted around you. "How come she get's to serve Apehlios? I bet she doesn't even know who Heartsteel is." The mass of complaints silenced as the manager clapped her hands once more.

They were right. You weren't too knowledgeable on the up and coming band. But if they were right, then that made you all the more nervous. It wasn't everyday you served someone of musical prestige. You usually served single college guys, the occasional cute couple, or a group of high-school girls on a fun after school date.

"Welcome back, Master! It's an honor to serve you again today." You sang your rehearsed spiel at the customers table. 'Masters' were always treated as if they had come home from a long journey. "I'm glad you're back safely. You must be tired after being away from home so very long. Please, let me recharge you by taking your food and drink order."

What on earth? You almost broke character. You watched as the young man had his phone out, playing OSU! in the most casual way imaginable. He rolled his blood-moon eyes to acknowledge you, expression veiled. He placed his phone on the table, but his fingers continued to tap his screen while he scanned the heart-shaped menu.

D-Did he memorize the whole song!? The whole scene was out of this world. So distracted by this detail, you almost didn't realize he was trying to communicate. You looked down. He pointed and tapped a finger at his order. A lavender latte and dessert combo.

"Wonderful choice, Master. I'll let the fairy's know right away. Your dessert and drink will be out shortly."

You scurried away with the order. When you returned with a tray, you sought to investigate your customer a little more. It was customary to draw art on the latte foam. You smiled sweetly, drawing the shape of a rabbit. "I'm so happy you returned home, Master. I was so worried because it had been so long. Once I heard you were coming back, I couldn't help but be excited for today. The day when we would finally see each other again."

Honestly, you were just trying to ramble and waste time. He never bothered reacting to your whole gimmick. That gave you security to scan your eyes over his phone screen. Your breath hitched. His username...his username...his username...

m00ncake

You practically squirted the whole bottle of chocolate sauce on the table. Recovering with an innocent laugh, and wiped the table dry, and ran away to take cover in the employee's only section. You pulled out your phone and opened Discord:

mcreader: hey! super weird question, but um, what're you doing rn??????? m00ncake: ...me? just out and about. having something to eat. why ( ° - °) ??????? mcreader: i was just wondering, and im sorry if this is random but...is....is your name aphelios by chance?

After pressing send, you peeked around the corner. You watched as the young man tapped on his phone. After a pause, his eyes snapped wide. Panicked, he looked around the space. As if trying to find a proper response to your question.

It is you, you pressed your lips firmly together. You went back to his table and took his wrist, encouraging him to follow you. "Oh! Master, let me guide you to the restroom." You announced loudly, leading him away. You dragged him into the dressing room. Since next shift wasn't for a few more hours, no one would bother walking in.

"m00ncake, Aphelios--whoever you are. What're you doing here?" How embarrassing. If you ever decided to meet in person, you didn't want it to be like this. With you and your silly frilly outfit and cringey maid character (even though you did enjoy it). But this was way over the top than you imagined!

Aphelio's backed up slowly against a locker. He didn't say a word. Blinking wildly at your question. You pulled out your phone, revealing your Discord and OSU! conversations with him.

"You see this? That's you! And now I know that it's you...you're m00ncake...and Aphelio's from Heartsteel...and I-I'm..."

Why? Why? Why? Why couldn't he have been anyone else than a supposed famous idol star? Why couldn't he have been some normal guy with an obsession with online rhythm games? Someone weirdly normal, like you.

So why....why did you have to like someone so out of your league?

Girlish talk and laughter bounced outside the changing room door. Fearing the worst, you dragged you and Aphelio's into your clothing locker. You made shushing gestures to your lips, which was ironic, since you knew at this point he never said a word.

A couple of girls walked in, laughing to one another. "Wow, I can't believe I lost one of my hair ties. Thanks for letting me borrow yours." The other then replied, "No problem! I always keep spares in my bag. Hey, look. Whose headphones are these?"

In the frantic mess of your actions, Aphelio's lost his headphones. The pair continued to laugh and talk, wondering exactly where the headset even came from. You shifted your gaze upwards. And your heart squeezed horribly inside your chest.

Aphelio's had his eyes half-lided, almost closed. Breathing laboriously through his mask. He looked as if he was in pain. Flinching whenever one of the girls giggled too loudly, or the other raised their voice in excitement. In the condensed space, he had no room to move his arms and cover his ears.

Your eyes widened at the realization. This...this is all my fault. Carefully, you squeezed your arms up, cupping his ears in your hands. In this angle, your cheek condensed into his chest. You felt the erratic thumping of his heart. Slowly, it settled to a steady rhythm. The heaves of his chest dissipating to normal breaths.

When the girls finally left, you uncovered his ears, both slipping out of the locker. You picked up his headphones, adjusting them against his ears. You then fitted the hoodie over his head, wearing a sad smile, "I'm so sorry. About all that. About everything, really. Can...can you forget about today? And don't worry about paying for your meal. I'll cover it."

You didn't let him type or gesture a single word to you. Resuming character, you escorted him out of the maid café, with a take-home box in hand for his troubles.

Your shift dragged on. You didn't bother sending any messages to m00ncake. Or actually, Apehlios, you should say. And no messages came from him, either. Good...it's better this way. The two of you living in two separate worlds.

When end of shift came, the sky had darkened. With your dress bag slung over your shoulder, you left the café. When you stepped onto the sidewalk, someone familiar stood at the side.

"A-Aphelios, why did you..." before you finished, he messaged you on Discord. You opened the message:

m00ncake: i didn't want to forget about today. in fact, do you want to ride the train together?

You paused. A smile then formed across your lips. With a nod, you placed yourself at his side. In a comfortable silence, the two of you walked shoulder to shoulder. Your phone buzzed. Another ping:

m00ncake: i shouldn't probably say this but, i actually have a thing for girls in maid outfits. you can shove me in a locker and call me master anytime. (˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

You blushed furiously, grabbing his arm and shaking it with a whine. Thinking maybe, just maybe, two totally different notes could be part of the same song.

an: omfg what a cute idea this was! honestly, im not versed in rhythm games, but i tried my best. maybe i went overboard too. thanks so much for the request @timetoeatthebread-blog!

[nightcolorz]

let your thoughts on the finale run WILD god knows i want to hear them 🙏🙏

OOOO YES OK!!! I’m going to start with my Armand twist thoughts bcus ik that is a point of contention among my fellow Armand apologists and ik y’all have been waiting to hear how I feel about it haha. Then I’m gonna yap about Daniels turning for similar reasons, and cuz I have theories!!!

I can’t say I’m surprised that Lestat saved Louis instead of Armand, I honestly thought when I was first watching ep7 that it was Lestat saving Louis until it cut to Armand doing the mass mind control and I was like oh ok, that makes sense ig. But I was very much willing to accept that Armand was planning to let Louis die, and so I’m def not having much trouble accepting it now lol.

I think amc made Armand just the right amount of devious when it comes to his involvement in the trial without bordering into out of character territory. I imagine directing the trial was elating for him after his panic about loosing his place in the coven. It makes perfect sense to me why he would want Louis dead 😭‼️. He basically explains it himself lol, when he says to Louis that his choice was between his coven of 200 years or his boyfriend who is actively putting him in danger and severing his sense of security. As Armand says lol, he couldn’t rely on Louis’s devotion to him to last as long as his coven has, and his priority is always going to be preserving that safety rather then being loyal to ppl he loves. Armand sees love as extremely transactional and entirely based in how secure he feels in it, how long it lasts, how much it does for him, etc (bcus hes Never been actually loved b4 oops). So once he realizes that Louis is doing nothing but putting him in jeopardy, and is actually pretty uncaring towards him, and he is given that choice, then of course he chooses the coven so thoroughly that he’s willing to let Louis die.He’s not wrong about Louis being an unreliable person to bet all his cards on💀 Louis only stayed with Armand for so long out of spite against Lestat, not out of any real love for him. And for Armand love is only worthwhile if it’s also protection and security, and Louis is not gonna give him that.

what I find interesting is how despite Armand’s plan being to kill Louis, he made the choice to stay with him even tho he wanted him dead. And I think Armand decided to stay with Louis purely because Louis burned down the theater, and without Louis Armand had nothing else. He always needs that security, that thing to devote himself to so he isn’t alone or aimless, bcus Armand doesn’t know how to live if he is not given a purpose. The learned helplessness was rlly getting me, the way he knows Louis is going to destroy the thing he just put sm effort into preserving and he doesn’t do anything to stop him. He doesn’t even act to try and preserve his relationship with Louis, he sits there limply with his head down and blankly admits that Louis will never forgive him and their relationship is ruined 💀. I think he only makes the choice to attach himself to Louis when Louis tells Lestat (and Armand) that he is going to stay with Armand. The way he’s staring at him like a wide eyed dog waiting for master to pull his leash during the scene in Magnus’s chambers, his needy little glances after he kisses him, he’s waiting for commands 😭😭 he’s waiting for Louis to give him a purpose after he destroyed the thing he was desperately clinging to

With all this being said tho, I don’t think that Armand doesn’t love Louis. As I said he has a very warped view of how love works, and even tho I’m sure it would hurt Armand to see Louis die, he both considers loosing Louis an inevitability that will be less painful if he has control of the circumstances, and he considers the loss of loved ones who are not safe/secure/useful a necessity. Armand is very used to loosing the ppl he loves in cold and painful ways 😭 for him this is the way life for a vampire is, and it doesn’t matter how he feels about it, it has to be done. When Armand says “i could not prevent it” it’s goofy asf cuz, um yes you could have sweetie ❤️🙏. But I think part of him means that, he rlly does feel like the cruelty he puts ppl through is all he can do, it’s not a choice it’s an inevitability, it’s just how he is.

i stand by with all my heart my analysis that Armand is not a manipulative or calculated person. He is clearly not so good at being manipulative lol, and his lies r only rlly affective bcus of Louis’s willingness to believe them. He lies out of fumbling desperation and fear, not out of any sort of deviousness or evil spite, lmao. He’s lived a life where he has to fight to survive, and he’s willing to do anything it takes to ensure his own safety. Armand is out for himself basically, lol. And if Louis has to die for Armand’s well-being, welp, sucks to suck 💀. If Armand has to lie to Louis so that Louis will stay with him, oop! Well he’s gonna try his best 🙏 lmaoo

When it comes to daniels turning, ahhhh!!! Omg ok, was very excited about this. My theory: cuz I’ve seen a lot of ppl upset about this and confused now that “devils minion can’t happen”. Babes I am so certain devils minion did happen ‼️ especially after this.

So after the reveal Armand is begging Louis to forgive him and trying to desperately convince him that they can still be together after this, the way he’s stuttering honestly broke my heart 😭 he may be a devious little bitch but he is my little princess and I love him. But anyways, Armand is coming to terms with (when he’s thrown out of the house, and then thrown into the wall) that the person he has been betting everything on for 77 yrs, the person he has been depending on for his purpose and his security, is gone and he has nothing else. “Without Louis I am nothing.” ‼️‼️ so as he’s lying in that rubble Armand’s thinking, I’m nothing. And knowing him, probably trying to desperately find smth else to fill the black hole.

and daniels there, and knowing Daniel, he’s not leaving. He’s getting sos messages from Raglan telling him to get the fuck out of there 😭 but raglan was the person who told Daniel that Louis is the dangerous one, not Armand, and well Louis’s left. And Daniel isn’t going to leave a fascinating story in the rubble just to go back to his shitty old man home, no sir.

So here we have it, Armand is more desperate and alone than he’s been in 77 years, and Daniel is staying with him. I imagine he helps him leave Louis’s house while he’s injured, probably drops him at a hotel or smth. And Armand has just lost his life line, and is looking for a new one, and here’s Daniel, helping him back on his feet, not leaving. I think that Daniel ends up fascinated by Armand and by some pull unable to leave him, and he stays with Armand for a while while he’s recovering from the divorce. And in my mind devils minion in the past still happened, and Armand knows this, maybe Daniel does, maybe not. Either way Daniel feels the connection. And through the power of desperation and nurse maid style rebounding, Armand turns Daniel bcus he can’t stand to be alone. And oh boy, the Armand apparently fucks all the way off right after, probably out of guilt for breaking his ultimate rule to not ever make another vampire, which aligns with book canon, where Armand and Daniel separate partly bcus of Armand’s guilt. And so here we r

I am completely certain that Louis’s claim that Armand turned Daniel out of spite is wrong, and based in Louis’s bitter post divorce bias. Especially considering how Daniel does nottt have the attitude of a man who was just turned into a vampire against his will out of anger 💀 that is youthful gay boy silly Billy lusting for life 70s Daniel in the flesh right there, that is the face of a man who’s minion has been deviled, yknow yknow. And Armand would never do that, turn someone (let alone Daniel), out of spite. If that was the case that would be an unforgivable character assassination, which I don’t think is likely to be true based on everything they get right about Armand. Armand turned Daniel out of desperation, bcus he needs Someone so that he won’t “be nothing”, not spite.

thank u sm for the ask beloved mutual ❤️❤️ I hope u enjoy this!!! I am going to be posting and answering a lot of asks today lol, and I have a lot more thoughts so stay tuned!!

[atticsandwich]

Hey I like the idea of your fic where mephisto made a pact with mc before mc got yeeted to the past in NB. I know it was a while back but did you make a continuation for that? If not would you consider doing one? I really want to know what happens when mc gets back to og timeline and reunites with meph

hey!! sorry it took me this long to respond, i only recently got around to getting an idea for a continuation. i initially wanted to leave it open ended but i kinda wanted to indulge myself a bit haha :>

—

time, curious time

mephistopheles / gn!mc

a sequel to this fic, in which you come back

(to preface: ignore the hard mode reunion for this one 💀 i still choose to think that "reunion" is a red herring set up by nightbringer bc it does not align at all to how they set up mc's dissappearance in the first place. but more on that theory some other time or maybe im just being delusional idk)

—

It was a day like any other.

R.A.D was bustling with students rushing to go home or hang out after a long day of class, echoes of afterschool plans reverberating through its halls. On one hand, everything seemed as it was— nothing was amiss; there were no violent bouts or random screams of terror, no demon stampedes or curses being thrown at each other.

But, it was still different.

At least, that's how it was for Mephistopheles, who, as usual, was holed up in his office at the newspaper club room. Ever since your disappearance, he's been spotted less and less, only ever coming out when summoned by Diavolo or if he deemed it necessary to go home— he still has a brother awaiting his return to tend to, of course. He never really got used to how quiet the office became, especially during the times he'd typically expect you to barge in like you owned the place. He also never got used to his phone being so... stagnant, missing your daily texts and calls whenever you couldn't visit him. Your name is still pinned at the top of his D-Com list, just in case, he says to himself everyday.

Just in case they come back.

It's been a year since then, yet the memory of the first night of your disappearance is still vivid in his mind. He remembered exhausting all his resources and connections, from the grandest duke to the tiniest noble— he didn't care about the judgemental gruffs and stares he'd get when he asked them if they had any info about a particular human sorcerer, which, considering demon nobility, there was a lot of, to the point where he almost started accussing any noble who responded to him with even the slightest off-tone. Diavolo had to intervene at some point, as the usual snarky, egotistical demon completely stopped sleeping then. His worried brother's face was one he would forever remember, and he made a mental note to never let him see his big, dependable brother in that state ever again.

Things have calmed down now, he supposes, but they never slowed down searching— he never did. Sure, they eventually pieced together that you were sent back somewhere in time and that Solomon was tasked to bring you back, much to his dismay, but there was still a culrpit on the loose, someone bold enough to snatch up a human under the protection of the Demon Prince hinself. Whoever that was— demon, human, whatever— no matter their reason or agenda, still had to answer.

The echoes of the crowd of students outside started getting softer, and Mephisto deems it might be nigh time for a little break. Just in time too, as he starts feeling his eyelids drop and mind fog, a stale cup of tea now cold on the side of his desk. Before drifting to sleep, the last of its scents wafts over to him, reminding him that he did your favorite blend today.

—

This must be a dream, he thinks.

When he opens his eyes he's met with the darkness of his office, the halls outside now dead quiet. Someone must have turned off the lights, as he slowly sits up from his position on the sofa.

Wait, when did he get here?

He surmises it must have been the club president or Diavolo, as they often come to his office to check in on him from time to time. Still, there's a weird feeling bubbling in his stomach, something that he hadn't felt in a while.

Why was his hand so warm?

It's then that he finally notices it— the soft, steady breathing of someone laid next to him. He stops himself from jumping in alarm, and just before his mouth opens in condemnation that some random demon went and slept with him while he was taking a nap—

"Mephisto? Are you awake now?"

A voice lulls him back to his senses.

He knows that voice. He knows it all too well.

He notices the hand clutching his; tightly, like they weren't going to let go anytime soon. He feels the lone pact on his wrist suddenly burst to life, like it never faded in the first place, and he finally realizes what was happening.

If this is a dream, please don't let it end, he pleads.

The figure sits up, still not letting go of his hand. He feels another hand carress his face in a warmth that he never thought he would feel again, before he finally locks eyes with the figure.

"It's not a dream. I'm home."

"You..." the words get caught in his throat, unable to say anything. He resorts to taking his free hand, the one shaking uncontrollably, as he returns the gesture of carressing your face. You lean into his touch, chasing the warmth it radiates.

He doesn't notice his tears starting to flow, nor does he notice you lean towards him in time to react as you kiss away the salted dew from his eyes. In true Mephisto fashion, he retaliates, like he always does, smashing his lips all over your face until it reaches yours, and you laugh as you finally feel his smile while taking in his fervent attempt of making up for lost time— hands still bound together, bodies falling back to the comfort of the couch, your name spilling out of his mouth everytime he catches his breath. In his arms, here,

you're home.

—

tags: @insomniachox @whatever-fanfics

[mitch-the-silly]

(Left under the Lucifer one-shot!)

AND I SHALL DELIVER!! Just had to think where I was taking this, but I think I'm satisfied with this part 2!! I absolutely adore throwing biblical canon into the Helluva verse. It rejuvenates me!

Had to put on "He Is" for this one. You know the Lucifer content gon' be good when I tune in to Ghost-

Lucifer and gn!Fallen Angel!reader

Scenario!

"Brother in Falling" Pt.2

Part 1

You stared at him as he spoke. It had been so long since you’d seen Lucifer. Matter of fact, you’d far forgotten what he was like. You didn’t really interact with him much during his time in Hevaen and it had been years since Heaven banished him. He seemed so… gentle. This was the “bringer of evil” that Heaven so warned you about. Drinking coffee, talking about his daughter and how he wanted to be more involved in her life. You felt lied to by heaven. He was just a guy, a nice one at that.

“What about you, you got anyone? Or had…?” He asked, hoping he wasn’t picking a any unhealed scars.

“Me? Well… I had a couple of friends, sir. But they turned their heads to me when I fell.” You replied, taking a sip from the coffee he’d made you. It was quite good if you said so yourself.

“Oh, you don’t have to call me that. I’m not really your sir… But uh… What did you do when you were in heaven?” He spoke, curiously posing query.

“I was just a measly guard at the court… Nothing too important… But you… you were The Moring Star! I mean, I owe you that respect. You were once God’s favorite.” You replied.

“Well, what can I say? I did what I could! Guess they thought I was too revolutionary for them, but joke’s on them! I’m not doing half as bad! Haha!” He laughed, somehow giving off the vibe that he was forcing himself to feel this way.

“They wasted your talent. You’re a great person, Lucifer.” You spoke sincerely.

“T-thank you… I… I haven’t heard that in some time…” He chuckled, oddly proud to have received that compliment.

“No problem!” You smiled softly.

“H-hey uh, I know I mentioned presenting you to my daughter, Charlie. But, There’s protocol in place in acase of another fallen angel. It’s just been… eons since someone else has fallen… I know I’m technically The Only One, but I was an archangel, they just undermined the six the followed me down here.” He explained, huffing at the end.

“Protocol? What do you mean by that?” You asked, lifting your guard just a little bit.

“Well, Uh… techinchally when a new angel falls, we need to hold a meeting because you’re uhh… a new powerful force in Hell. Even more than any naturally occurring being in any of the Seven Rings. We didn’t do it with Vaggie, because she was an exterminator, and they’re sort of at the bottom of the chain. When I found out she was a fallen angel, I just advised her not to point the weapon at everyone that crosses her path. Not like she actually stopped doing it, but eh, bureaucracy. Regardless, you’re a first choir angel, an uhh…” He stared at your form for a moment scanning for any sign on of what class you belonged to. Unable to tell, he blushes in embarrassment, feeling that he came off as weird for staring at you. “Sorry, uh, what class are you?” He asked, looking away in embarrassment.

“A Throne. I’m a throne… Or was…” You replied in a mumble.

“No no, it’s ok. You don’t have to deny it if you don’t want to. You can be whatever you want, I’m sure not gonna tell you anything, and I’m sure not gonna let anyone tell you anything.” He chuckled. “But yeah, You’ll find some of us have rejected or kept our respective titles as we’ve pleased. I mean, shit, I may not be in heaven, but I’m still a Seraph!” He laughed, giving you a sympathetic smile.

“Thank you, Lucifer.” You replied. You were already more welcome here than anywhere else in Heaven. It warmed your heart that you were somewhere where with beigs who appreciated you.

“Either way, you’re a Throne and that might throw off the power balance Hell has, considering that unlike sinners, you can go wherever you want in Hell and, shit… you’re more powerful than some of the Sins… But that’s besides the point! The point is, there’s a bureaucracy I have to follow when it comes to this. It’s just a brief meeting about uh… what was it again…? Uhh… well, your place in Hell and the denizens of your area… oh but all the rings are… full uh… welp! That’s what the meeting’s for! Just to uh, determine your place in the hierarchy.” Lucifer explained, giving you a weak smile. He wasn’t too sure in himself, and you could tell. Seemed like he was going through a rough patch.

“Right… uh… but hierarchy? I don’t… well, I’d be lying if I sad I didn’t wanna, but I don’t think I’m uh… suited to just be put into a leadership position in a hierarchy that has existed for eons and eons. Are you sure about this…?” You asked, clutching your coffee mug.

“Well, the meeting is to figure all of that out! You should bring that up when it happens.” He explained. “Excuse me, I have to make a couple of phone calls…” He added, letting out a small chuckle, getting up from the chair that he sat in. He walked off to a corner; you could hear all of his conversation anyway, but at least he made the effort to politely move to the side.

“Hey! Mammon! So, I’ve got some news! A new angel fell! Uh… We need to hold a meeting and- Yeah know your time is money, but unless you want me to really make you pay taxes as you should be doing, you’re gonna make this government work!… Yeah, Good to know you’re coming, I’ll text you the schedule when I get everyone on board. Yeah, bye to you too.” He sighed, hanging up, and dialing another number.

“Satan! Hey, so uh, I have some crazy news. A new angel fell, and we need a meeting as soon as possible. You’re busy? You missed the annual meeting earlier this year, you’re not missing out on this one! It’s an emergency, don’t make me threaten you like I did Mammon a minute ago…. No I’m not telling you which of the three Choirs they belonged to until we set foot in that meeting room…Good, I’ll get you the schedule when I have it. Yeah, yeah, you grumpy bastart.” He sighed.

You stared at him in confusion despite knowing exactly what he was doing. You knew he was invoking the other 7 Sins to the meeting. You simply sat there uncomfortably, sort of fidgeting with the mug. He noticed this, and before dialing, he walked towards you, giving you a gentle smile.

“Hey… It’s ok. If you think you’re being a burden, you’re not. This is a grand occasion! Charlie, went and stirred up Heaven. You being here is a victory for a new and better world!” He reassured you, continuing the dialing of the next phone call.

“Hey! Ozzie! Yeah, I know I rarely call you anymore, but guess what?” He began.

You couldn’t help but wonder what everyone else had become. You’d seen these seven virtuous angels fall and become the Seven Sins. Of course, they were all driven by their own desire to pursue their respective sins, but it seemed Lucifer’s pride was more on his work. He didn’t seem to have bad intentions either way…

“Yeah yeah, thanks Ozzie, you’re great! Bye!” Lucifer smiled as he hung up. “He’s the only one who never misses out on meetings. The real problem is getting Beelphegor to attend… He is the sin of Sloth…” He joked at you, looking for the next number to dial.

You continued to drink your coffee thinking of what was to come. When Lucifer was done with all the phone calls, he turned to you. “So, I haven’t given them a meeting time, but I’d rather give you some time to adjust. Uhh, in two days sounds fine?” He asked, ready to put it in his calendar.

“Oh, uh, s-sure…” You replied, brushing the feathers on your wings. Wincing at the broken appendages.

Lucifer gave you a slight look, frowning at the sight of your small show of pain. “Hey, if you wanna, I can take you to the hotel now. You need some rest…” He suggested, putting his phone in his pocket.

You nodded gently, “You must be annoyed with me saying thank you, but… You’ve been nothing but kind to me since I got here… And I… put a hole through your roof…” You sighed, pouting in a bit of frustration towards yourself.

“I already said you’re not a burden… Plus, us fallen angels have to look after each other.” He smiled.

It wasn’t long until you two arrived at the hotel. He refused to fly and show himself publicly (not to mention you couldn’t fly anyway.), so the limo it was. The car ride was full of chit-chat between the both of you. A warm feeling overwhelmed you as you spoke to him. You hadn’t spoken to someone this genuine in a long time. Perhaps being sent here was the best thing that happened to you…

[akookminsupporter]

Hey! A couple of questions for you 😊

AYS, to me, was never going to “confirm” jikook. It was just unrealistic considering society and that they’re serving now. That being said, did AYS reaffirm for you jikook might be real? And do you think if it was your first bts content would you also think that there might be going something on (ie watching with no bias). For me, it showed how incredibly close they are and several moments of intimacy that goes beyond most friendships.

The second one is now 6 weeks out from the car convo, has your opinion on it or its relation to jikook changed? For me still, that car convo didn’t show they broke up or disprove that they may be dating.

One of my pet theories, even before Face and long before knowing buddy existed, was wondering if they took a step back in prep for military service - a let’s focus on solo careers and work on not being as tied together cause we have service a head of us. A practice run if you will. Not breaking up, more let’s try long distance.

More so now, and what I haven’t seen people talk about, is I was thinking about how for the other guys and jikooks prior relationships, they would know how hard dating as an idol would be. I’m sure Tae and Jennie had a lot to contend w being so busy as idols and on differing schedules. Same thing for dating a non famous, dealing w the insane hours and workload, rarely being in Seoul. And that was never a reality jikook faced - for a period they would’ve both lived and worked together. They were in the same schedule, the same places. And that would’ve been for a majority of their relationship. So no wonder post October 2022 was an adjustment, when they truly did not have any schedules as bts. And they’re both human, and Jimin has said both he and jk get lost in their work (from that colouring live). Sometimes we aren’t the best and prioritizing work and relationships, especially when it gets busy. You hear stories about loving couples going thru phases where they’re just roommates before making the effort to not just be living together. It seems like Jimin got incredibly busy and focused with Face and Muse. And jk is allowed to have feelings about that. Doesn’t mean them not being able to see each other to hang out is any deeper than that. Doesn’t show that they broke up or couldn’t be dating. I also wonder, since we may never get the background on it, if that period of time solidified the decision to enlist together. Where before it was a ok well enlist it will suck, became after that period of time nah we’re not doing 18+ months apart.

Ahhhh sorry for the long post, a couple questions and a couple thoughts for you haha

Hey anon, sorry for taking a bit to post your ASK.

“Did AYS reaffirm for you that jikook might be real?”

Yeah, definitely.

“Do you think if it was your first BTS content, would you also think that there might be something going on (i.e. watching with no bias)?”

Oh, absolutely. I think if I'd seen AYS without much context, I’d be sure they’re a couple, no doubt about it.

“The second one is now six weeks out from the car convo; has your opinion on it or its relation to jikook changed?”

Are you talking about Jungkook complaining that Jimin never reached out? Honestly, no, I still hold the same opinion I had initially.

I think one of the reasons why that time they talked is confusing for us is that we don’t have the context for a lot of things. For example, when did they decide to enlist together? I think that decision shaped many of their choices, like focusing on their work and perhaps on other friendships, because their relationship wouldn’t just pause dramatically come December 2023.

Honestly, I think that period in their relationship solidified whatever they have and made them want to be together, which is why they ended up enlisting together through a system that guaranteed they'd be together. Even if Jimin and Jungkook took a break—assuming they really have a romantic relationship—the fact that they decided to film a show together and enlist together in the army shows they’ve overcome whatever was separating them or that they’ve just realised they want to be together.

So, I think it’s a bit tiring and unnecessary to speculate about what might have happened during that time in their relationship because, first of all, we have no context, and second, they’re still together. The fact that they enlisted together through the buddy system is the biggest “proof” they can give that their relationship is solid, whatever that may be.

[cafeinthemoon]

It's a Fire - Chapter II

Chapter 2

Wordcount 4,4k

Title The Porch and the Table

Fandom Kimetsu no Yaiba / Demon Slayer

Previous chapter

1

Symbols ⭕➕🖤

Warnings: mentions of grieving and parent loss; alcohol consumption

Tagging ? (If you want to be tagged in any of my stories, just leave a comment on this chapter or send an ask or a message)

N. A.: So this chapter is a bit longer than the first, but I think I should've stopped worrying about this by now hahaha I need to concentrate on what happens in each chapter and how the events move the story forward.

In this one's case, I've cut off rhe details of her arrival at Rengoku house and jumped to the beginning of her adaptation there, which includes her interactions with the staff and, specially, with her stepson, Senjuro. Of all the elements I want to explore in this ff, their relationship is one of my favorite things, so expect a strong bond to be created between them 🥺💜

About Shinjuro's appearances: I'm trying to bring a sort of growing tension each time he's around instead of just making his unpleasant traits too evident right from the start, bc I want reader to figure out the problems in her new house little by little, then trying to deal with them and make herself as comfortable as possible until she snaps and decides otherwise (spoilers haha)

I already know how I want this story to end though I just started writing it, and I believe I'll too much fun unveiling the light and and darkness in each of these characters.

Hope you enjoy this exploration mission with me 🖤

The servant sent by your father was walking in and out your new room at that moment, to bring your belongings to it. Since he was the only person who came with you, you offered to work with him, but the man declined, stating that there weren’t many things to carry and that he would soon be done.

— You made a good work packing your things even in such a small time, y/n-sama — he commented with gentleness — It made things easy.

You laughed.

— Well, I’ve tried my best. But if you’re okay with this, I’ll leave you alone. Thank you for everything.

You entered the room and, out of his sight, checked the spot where you left your sword, a place where it’d be difficult for someone to take it from; you sighed in relief with the vision of the weapon, and left to take a walk outside. There was a few spaces where you were given permission to wander – all of them separated from the parts of the house where the deceased members of your husband’s family used to stay – so, not having much to do right now (and, honestly, not knowing what to do), you were going to use the walk as an excuse to deliberate.

The wedding happened in the morning, but now it was almost midday. Your mood was no better than earlier, but you already sensed part of you accepting your new reality. You didn’t know if it was good or not, and didn’t want to figure it now, preferring to leave your mind free to think about how to act towards the circumstances.

The Rengoku House was as large and solemn as a samurai’s residence, with a wooden, rectangular structure to mark its entry, followed by a short path that led to the front doors. The building itself was raised under the traditional architecture, with two wide wings on each side and a porch to surround its premises. On the outside it was surrounded by trees, bushes and flowers; besides, the maid who led you to your room talked about the existence of a garden, but didn’t let it clear if you could visit it or not. Whatever the case, you thought it was a beautiful and silent compound you had there, despite the sensation of sadness that lingered in each spot you’ve passed by. Another thing you observed was the low number of servants, considering the house’s size, a suggestion that the Rengoku were facing problems that were similar to the ones in your father’s house – that was the only reason you could find for them to accept the good dowry that was offered alongside your hand. It was unnerving, you thought, unable to shake the feeling that you came to live there at the worst moment possible.

You then started to consider your new life as a married woman, and came to the conclusion that you weren’t getting such life at all. As soon as you arrived, you were informed that you wouldn’t share a room with your husband: yours would be in the same corridor as his, but in opposite sides; apparently, he was a man who cherished his privacy enough to organize things in a way that many would consider uncommon, to say the least. This idea seemed correct when you were led to meet your room, because as soon as you entered the house, Shinjuro ordered a maid to take care of you and walked to the other direction, disappearing from your sight, and until that moment you haven’t heard of him. Now that you remembered this, the prudent part of you was relieved that you weren’t going to share your personal space with an individual you just met, but another one, prideful, was a little outraged by the fact that you were dismissed right in your first day as a wife. Were you that uninteresting?

As you walked to an open area, your thoughts changed to lighter directions. You were content to see that the few servants you’ve met were kind enough to give you clear instructions and answer your questions concerning locations, meals and general rules, even though you couldn’t shake the sensation that they were a bit skittish, specially when they thought Shinjuro was near, but since he hasn’t appear to cause any problems you tried not to think of it. You were also relieved to observe that they did their best to keep the house clean and organized, which included your room: though you weren’t at ease with your situation, it was good to have a positive thing to point out in it.

You were thinking about this very thing when you looked around and realized your feet led you to the house’s entry again. You looked ahead and saw you weren’t alone there: a boy, not older than fourteen, was using a broom to clean the area; he worked slowly, perhaps taking care not to raise much dust, and you noticed his concentration from your spot, meters away. But what really caught your attention was the fact that he wasn’t dressed as a servant… and, well, he could never be, for he was the living reflection of the house’s head.

You remembered your mother told you that Shinjuro had two sons, but she didn’t tell you much more; maybe she never met this one. But the same silence coming from his own father was incomprehensible.

He didn’t tell me anything about this boy. Not even his name. What the hell…?

Your throat tightened when you wondered what kind of environment this kid must have been inserted.

Before your imagination could go any further, the boy saw you and stopped working. You approached him and one look at his face made you realize that the concentration you first observed wasn’t but sadness. You also noticed that his resemblance with Shinjuro was limited to his physical looks: apart from the thick eyebrows and the flaming hair, he carried a much kinder expression, with a freshness you doubted his father has ever owned, even in his youth days.

You decided not to bother him by asking about his moods, instead opting for a gentle approach.

— Hello — you smiled; and, looking around, — It seems a lot of work for one to do by themselves.

The boy showed you a hesitant smile, and his tone matched it when he replied to you.

— I know, but I don’t mind. It’s a good way to pass the time.

A moment of silence, and you noticed he wanted to continue the conversation, but struggled to find the words.

— It looks like you want to ask me something — you encouraged him.

— Yes, I do — a note of relief was sensed in his voice, as if you just did him a favor — I just don’t know how to ask this without bothering you. So… are you my father’s new wife?

The tight in your throat returned, but you forced a smile on your lips.

This is enough embarrassing for me. It doesn’t need to be like this to him as well.

— Yes, I am. My name is y/n. My family is from the (…) land. And you must be Rengoku-sama’s younger son.

— Yes. I’m Senjuro.

— That’s a good name, Senjuro-san — and, trying to imprint a comforting note in your voice, — And don’t worry, you could never bother me simply by asking this. I’m really content to meet you. You know, it’s relieving to talk casually to someone for the first time in days. It’s been a busy week, this one.

Now, Senjuro seemed to be more at ease. Maybe his days have been busy in their own way, and speaking with a new acquaintance was a welcoming change in the routine.

— I can imagine that – he commented – By the way, do you need help with something, y/n-sama?

You suddenly waved your hands in a gesture of refusal.

— Oh, no please, don’t call me like that! Y/n will do — you laughed — And, thank you, but I’ve already organized most of the things in my room. The rest will find their place with time — you sighed — For now, I just want to breathe fresh air. Fortunately, it’s a beautiful day we have now.

Senjuro observed the sky, the vivid blue spotted with big, white clouds, and agreed. You imitated him and looked at the weather with a smile.

— It's almost midday… – and, turning to him, – You know, when I was at my parents’ home, we used to eat our lunch on the porch on sunny days. Is there any problem in doing this here? What does your father think of it?

The boy shrugged.

— He doesn’t care at all. But he hates to see leftovers on the porch.

— It’s understandable — you giggled — So, how about we have lunch together on the porch? I’m still a bit lost here, so eating at the table won’t make me feel at will, but I’d still like to have company.

— It’s okay for me — he smiled.

You were afraid that Senjuro was going to see your approach as invasive, so it was with relief you heard him accepting your invitation.

— Right! I’ll ask the maid to bring our food to my room’s porch, then.

He frowned.

— Where is exactly your room? I thought you were going to, you know, stay with my father.

Your heart skipped a beat at that question, but you didn’t let out your discomfort.

– Your father decided that I’m getting a room of my own. Don’t ask me why! – you shrugged, a low laugh escaping your mouth.

You then explained the location to him, and he replied he would go there in a few minutes.

***

Lunch time was quiet and pleasing.

You found the maid who showed your room and asked her to bring food for two to your chambers. When you explained your plans to her, at first you though she was going to argue, maybe considering the possibility of having Shinjuro scolding her for allowing his wife to make a mess right in her first day at the new house, but she just agreed and asked you to wait until she brought the bowls for you and Senjuro.

After the meal itself, you’ve spent some time sitting on the porch and talking. At the same time you spoke to him about yourself, you’ve found out interesting things about your new family from your stepson.

– So… How did you and my father meet, y/n? – was his first, natural question.

– The story is a bit long, but if you have patience I can tell you – you smiled – My parents use to know your family, or so I was told. My mother was a member of the Demon Slayer Corps. She was a (…) Rank, and came in contact with your father during work. She never explained in details how missions work in the Corps, but apparently she was given a task that proved to be more difficult than it seemed at first, so she and her group were supported by Rengoku-sama. They’ve became acquaintances since then – you took the cup of juice from the tray where your bowls were brought – She met your elder brother once, when he was just a child.

You saw a glow of excitement appearing in the boy’s reddish eyes.

– She did?

– Yes! – you laughed – And she always spoke good things about your family – your smile faded a bit with the next sentence – It was like this until she passed away.

– I’m sorry for this – he replied – You know, my mother passed away when I was little. I can barely remember her.

You put a hand on his shoulder.

– It’s difficult without them. I know.

He nodded in agreement.

Talking about your mother, even though it required remembering her absence, was the easy part of the narrative, and your heart was calm while telling it. What would come after it, however, was a different story. Still, verbalizing those events to an attentive listener like Senjuro did you some good, for you managed to leave the bitterness out of your tone.

– Unlike my mother, my father never revealed to be familiar with yours until days ago, when he told me he contacted Rengoku-sama to ask for help.

– Help? How so?

– There has been little to no protection against Oni in our lands since my mother’s death, so the people who lived in the villages around have been suffering – you explained – Things became difficult even in our house, and half of our servants were fired or decided to leave. My father thought it was a good idea to contact yours and offer my hand in marriage in exchange for his protection, and somehow your father said yes – you put the cup back on the tray, lying your hands on your lap and trying not to show the trembling in them – I didn’t know about the offer until the week when the wedding should take place, and your father and I have never met before the ceremony’s day.

That part of the story seemed intriguing to Senjuro as well. Maybe he didn’t think his father was the type of person who’d accept a contract with such terms, or he was simply caught in surprise by being informed about the wedding with a few days in antecedence just like you. Whatever the case, both of you could easily agree that this situation was embarrassing, to say the least.

– That’s why I was a bit afraid earlier, you understand? – you shrugged – It’s been probably years since the last time my father saw yours, and without my mother to support us, I had no idea what I was going to find once I arrived at your house – you giggled – So, thank you for accepting my invitation and eating with me.

Senjuro imitated your gesture and left his own up on the tray, between the bowls.

– That’s okay, y/n. I've actually had my meals alone for a long time, so it was good to have company today – he replied with gentleness – I really liked to meet you.

You were intrigued with the revelation of him eating alone in his own house, but you wouldn’t question him right now. Instead, you replied that you liked meeting him as well.

The boy stood up and nodded, thanking you for the meal. But, before leaving, he turned one more time, as if he forgot to tell you something.

– You know, when I found out my father was going to marry again, I was really afraid.

You frowned.

– Afraid? Why?

He hesitated.

– Well, I… thought he was trying to replace my mother with someone else, but I’m relieved to see this isn’t true – and, urging a shy smile to let it clear that his words had no hostility, – You’re a good person, y/n.

You gave him a smile of comprehension. Of course, the worst fear of a young boy who lost his mother so soon in his life and then his big brother was concerning the kind of people his father would decide to bring under the same roof as him. Your father never met anyone after your mother, so you never had to worry about this, but if you were Senjuro's age, you’d feel the same way.

– No one can replace your mother, Senjuro-san. Actually, no one should try, me included. But it’s going to be good if we continue to get along.

For the first time, you saw him opening a smile with no signs of embarrassment or mistrust.

– I agree with you.

***

After Senjuro left to continue his tasks, you took the tray with the bowls to give them back to the kitchen. You were planning to come back to your room and carry on with the organization of your belongings: though you said to your stepson that the work was almost done in this sense, you knew you weren’t going to finish it that day.

You were walking through the corridor, thinking of this, when a shadow appeared: someone was blocking your way. You startled and raised your eyes to find Shinjuro standing before you. No word came from his mouth; his mere look was enough to make you step back.

– Rengoku-sama – you murmured – Can I help you?

Instead of answering your question, he lowered his eyes to the tray.

– Who ate lunch with you? Senjuro?

You promptly confirmed. The man stared at you for a moment, and it was impossible to tell if he was surprised or displeased.

You tried to justify yourself.

– I paused the organizations at my room and took a walk outside. I met Senjuro-san at the house’s entry. I invited him to eat lunch with me and he said yes.

Shinjuro seemed to accept this explanation, though no contentment was detected in his expression.

– I see. I hope he hasn’t bothered you.

– Absolutely not – you frowned, confused – I don’t see any reasons for him to bother me.

Again, he seemed to approve your reply, but that didn’t mean he was happy with what he heard, and his next words made it clear.

– It’s good that you’ve shown patience towards him. He can be too soft sometimes, even talking too much.

Talking too much? That Senjuro, who was constantly trying to measure his words when asking things to you? Were you speaking about the same boy?

Well, you couldn’t understand why your husband was saying such things about his own son, but considering that he didn’t even mind telling you his name, it didn’t seem reasonable for you to take his words into account.

– Well, I was very pleased to meet my stepson – you stated, taking a step to the side to indicate you were heading to the kitchen that moment – And, to me, he spoke enough. Not much, not less.

Maybe Shinjuro wasn’t expecting your reply, or maybe he didn’t want to carry on with that conversation just like you, but he commented that “at least you two got along” and how much discomfort you were all spared from thanks to this. He walked past you and left with no additional words, leaving you with intriguing thoughts.

***

Apart from other few times when you spoke to the maid or when you met Senjuro, you’ve spent most of that day by yourself, unpacking clothes and other objects, trying to figure out the best way to keep them together in your new room. The place itself was similar to your chambers in your parents’ house, both in place and shape, which somehow made things easy, yet the whole aspect of the room, aside the conscience of not being in the house you grew up in, wouldn’t let you feel entirely at will inside it. The color of the walls, the room’s position in the building, the texture of the floor, the smell of it… Everything screamed that you weren’t at home.

Your husband’s whereabouts were a mystery and, honestly, you weren’t missing his rigid presence and stern tone. He hasn’t said a word about his routine and habits, so that you didn’t know if he left the house at some point during the day, if he spent his hours in his own room, an office or anywhere else or if you should expect to see him again before the next day; being left in the dark was unnerving, of course, but not getting much useful information from the few contact you had with that man, you’d rather not to seek for him.

Shinjuro himself was a mystery to you, too.

Now that you had time to think about this, you found yourself trying to understand his real reasons to accept this marriage. Sure, your dowry was very encouraging, but one day that money would end and you would still be there, and then what? Would he kick you out of his house and replace you for a richer girl? It was too soon to tell if he was capable of such thing, but the money excuse still sounded superficial to you: accepting someone you’ve never seen before in your house just to receive a financial benefit? It didn’t make much sense. Or did he want someone to look out for Senjuro? Well, you already let it clear to the boy that you weren’t there to replace his mother, and nothing about parenting was said in the contract. Besides, Senjuro was no longer a child; the type of education he needed was beyond the one you could ever give to him: you were a well educated woman, but your education was still a female one, so that apart some lessons in Literature and sword movements you were sure he already knew, there weren’t much you could teach him; it was better to hire a tutor or invite a relative.

You were holding a pile of folded clothes at that moment. You put it on an open drawer, sat on the floor and sighed. There you had a mission you didn’t ask for.

Wasn’t it enough to make me move to this place? Do I really need to try and unveil what goes on in this man’s head? As if he would let me...

You decided to take some rest both from your task and those annoying deliberations.

***

It was only in the next morning that you heard of him again.

That time, you decided you were going to have breakfast at the table, so you woke up early, washed your face and prepared yourself.

When you arrived at the kitchen, Senjuro was already there, filling his bowl in silence. He raised his eyes when you approached and knelt in the spot in front of his.

– Good morning, Senjuro-san – you gave him a soft smile while taking your own bowl.

– Good morning, y/n.

The meal had all the reasons to be calm and quiet, and you were glad for it. You haven’t had a good night of sleep, so the last thing you needed was tension right in the morning…

But the sudden shift in the air and the change in Senjuro’s posture let you knew you weren’t going to get what you wished: you turned your head to the entry and saw Shinjuro passing through it and walking to the head of the table without a word or a look to his son or to you. He sat and just started filling his bowl, something that wouldn’t mean anything if it wasn’t for the fact that he landed a large, already opened bottle of sake on the table.

You swallowed.

Drinking at this hour? Seriously?

You glanced at Senjuro, and the boy, as if knowing better, immediately turned his attention back to his food. You tried to do the same, but Shinjuro had another surprise, this second one directed related to you.

You saw his hand pushing a paper toward you over the table. You left the hashi aside and took the paper; it was a letter.

– A letter? To me?

– It’s from your father – was the reply – He told me he would be writing to you right after you moved to my house.

You stared at the folded paper for a while, without giving him a verbal response. When you heard that it was written by your father, your curiosity somehow died inside you, and any wish to read what was in there disappeared. You left the letter on the table and grabbed your hashi again.

The gesture didn’t go unnoticed by your husband.

– Won’t you open it?

You raised your eyes to him, not hiding the tiredness of the last days.

– No. I won’t.

Shinjuro naturally thought you were saying you were going to read it later, and the same could be said about Senjuro. So it wasn’t without confusion that they observed you giving up on the food for the second time, taking the letter and standing up.

There was an oven on the other side of the kitchen, which fire has been fed with coal. You calmly headed to it and, not thinking of how what you were doing was going to be seen by the presents, you tossed the letter in the flames.

You went back to your spot and found father and son staring at you in disbelief, each one for different reasons. Senjuro was probably shocked to see someone dismissing the words of a parent with no hesitation; you were actually content with that, for it was a sign that he has been taught good family principles. Shinjuro, on the other hand, had nothing but indignation with what he just saw: what kind of daughter treats her own father like this? Well, if only he had a father who treated him like yours, maybe he could understand.

They were waiting for a verbal explanation, of course, and you gave it to them.

– Senjuro-san, I’m sorry that you had to see this, but I won’t apologize for what I did. I just cannot – you said to the boy; and, turning to his father with a much lower tone, – Thank you for giving the letter to me, Rengoku-sama, but I ask you to do the same thing I did if more come. I don’t want to read them.

You saw the twist on his lips and knew exactly what he was thinking. Brat. Stubborn, ungrateful girl and many other unpleasing ways to describe a young woman who didn’t act as expected might have come to his mind that time, as well as the idea of a long, difficult path he was going to follow in his life beside you. You certainly didn’t want things to be this hard between you, and an ache in your heart reminded you of this, but this has already started in the least favorable circumstances; what should be expected, then?

What your husband said to you after this, however, had more to do with the practical aspect of things than with his personal opinion on ungrateful girls.

– Why didn’t you at least read it first? How could you know there wasn’t something important in it?

– There wasn’t – it was your prompt reply, not completely devoid of sadness – If my father had anything important to say, he would’ve done it before I left his house.

He frowned, a gesture that in his case would draw more attention than in any other individual, and spent a moment in silence, staring at you and measuring your words before grabbing the bottle of sake and drinking directly from it. You observed the firmness with which his hand left the bottle on the table after it, making a thump on the wood, and couldn’t help wonder that if you were a boy and he was angry, he could’ve yelled at you and even smacked you, but having you putting all your politeness in your words was enough to hold himself in place.

The rest of the meal went in uneasy silence, each of you lost in your own thoughts and you claiming to yourself the task of dissolving the connection with your father and keeping an eye on your stepson whenever your husband was around.

Chapter 3

[terriblyvexed]

hey hey! its one of your readers on ao3 i realized i can ask questions on tumblr so i am trying it out. this may be a controversial question as opinions vary greatly from person to person lool but i am curious being a fellow fan of aot and a fan of your work, so, what did you think about the ending to aot? 👀

(personally i subscribe to a specific fan theory (NOT ANR GOD FORBID i rebuke it!) to keep hope alive in my heart that theres more aot to come cause i did not like the ending much so basically, theres no judgement from me srsly im delulu myself as it stands 😭💯)

anyway thats all thank you for writing left behind and answering my question (potentially)! hope you have a great rest of your day :D

Yeah I know your nickname haha and you can ask or yap about anything!

Ahh yes the ending opinions where swords are drawn two minutes into the debate lol and it’s annoying that people can’t state their thoughts as freely because of the toxicity from every side. This is going to be long I’m sorry😭

I personally didn’t like the ending that much either. I don’t think it’s as bad as people make it out to be, I mean we’ve all seen GoT, but I know a story like AoT could’ve done a little bit better than that, so. It’s not that I wanted Eren to live happily ever after, because his death made the most sense even before I knew about it, but it’s the execution of the episode in general that makes it feel rushed for me.

Mikasa killing him is a beautifully tragic twist, I started bawling my eyes out right there, but I wish the cabin scene was done differently. For me it didn’t feel as raw and honest as the Eren-Armin convo, which I’m not the biggest fan of either, but I’ve always wanted more communication for Eremika so maybe that makes me bitter. Let me see them talk about the table scene and let me see Eren apologise to her. It’s their last moment together, I wanted to see more emotion and honesty rather than an already established relationship that they did off camera. I get what it’s trying to show, and the scene itself is not bad, but I was just a big EM shipper at the time and hoped for more. (I felt the same back when he told her he would wrap that scarf around her forever and always. It hit me just in the right place I remember wanting them to talk about it afterwards but nothing was said.) Same with the memories he gave back to his friends, I’d have liked to see them talk. Him opening his eyes one last time to see her was beautiful no comment there.

Other than that I also LOVED when Levi saluted his friends and comrades! Liked his internal monologue where he said he didn’t regret not bringing Erwin back (Which also made me wish we could’ve seen Armin coming up with impressive strategies and ideas like he used to.)

I liked how Hange was sent off, but I missed them in the final fight.

I really liked the rumbling montage with Guilty Hero playing and Armin’s VA pouring her heart out + that cry at the end when Armin sees Eren. The Levi&Mikasa team-up/final stand was amazing. Those were all done nicely, but that’s pretty much it for me.

For some reason I wasn’t vibing with Annie. I mean she was never my fav but her in season one and in her ova was so much more interesting to me.

I was left underwhelmed by the final fight considering we’ve had great battles like RTS and Liberio previously, it does not compare in my opinion. I understand that Eren won’t kill his friends and I definitely agree with that, but something else could’ve been done with Ymir to make the stakes higher. The ancient titans didn’t feel threatening when you just knew no one was going to die, especially when Falco (first time flying) could dodge all of their arrows.

When everyone there turned into titans, like Jean and Connie, I would’ve preferred if they stayed titans and died when the curse ended. Bringing them back a few minutes later is just meh for me, and makes the emotions I’ve felt a one time thing only because that Jean&Connie dialogue didn’t hit the same afterwards. Not to mention that Connie’s mom was brought back only for us to not see their reunion lol.

Ymir’s storyline was interesting when Eren saw her memories, but after that she lost me a bit. I also don’t like that that *chef’s kiss* scene with Eren telling her she’s just a person didn’t free her at all, that killing Zeke stopped the Rumbling, that Levi was nerfed for the sake of the fight. If all these decisions were done in a slightly expanded time period, I don’t think I would’ve minded much. Especially the final episode itself was, again, rushed in my opinion.

Also, this isn’t just the finale but Historia being sidelined like that is a no-no for me. Not a fan of how the Hizuru-Mikasa plot line didn’t go anywhere either. That may just be nitpicking, but again I do believe season 4 should’ve been longer, maybe with a season 5 as well.

With all that being said, these are just my personal opinions/feelings and despite all, thematically the author did a good job wrapping everything up. Ending a story like AoT couldn’t have been easy at all. Watching it was an experience I don’t think I’ll ever forget or get over and I’m forever going to miss it. (I’m reading the manga now and the uprising arc has me hooked since it’s a bit different from the anime, and dare I say better?)

The ending didn’t ruin it for me or anything, just sad that I won’t get to see the things I wanted to see because naturally everyone has their own expectations, but what are fanfictions for?

What’s the fan theory that you believe? Other than that ANR I’ve heard about the mist and ouroboros but I’ve never read them in detail.

Thank you for reading Left Behind! I’d also like to state that my criticism of the AoT ending does not mean I’ll write one better lol. I like my ending for my story but I’ve already made peace with the fact that some readers might have problems with it. Which is fine as well because I love a good finale debate.

You have a great day/night as well!💓