#its not just the clothes its also abt how he carries himself

[101suouexpressions]

Soft boy, casual energetic teenager, and Suou. That's it. That's the style.

[arahdow]

SKILLED FINGERS

Pairing. Sonic x reader, Shadow x reader, Silver x reader, Knuckles x reader

Content. fem!reader. the way they would unclasp a bra. suggestiveness, nsfw. silver’s the shortest but the freakiest hehe. kinda ooc characters. MDNI

Word count. 1.5 k

A/N. I suddenly had the urge to write about this while talking with a friend abt how there’s men who can unclasp a bra with one hand but there are others who really struggle hehe so yeah!! i had quite the time of my life writing this sjdjs and the playlist filled with sex songs really inspired me, so, here!!

+ I was quite surprised with silver’s!!!! my hands moved on its own ! and the one with shadow, i actually got inspired from a fanart i saw on pinterest 🥵 so yeah, i did my research JDJDJSJ

++ I also wrote this while being REALLY sick so forgive me if there’s something poor written :( not beta read !!

SONIC

He gets really excited, and actually knows how to do it but because he’s impatient he can’t find it in himself to take his time

Both of them came back from a mission on green hill. The truth was that Sonic had actually gone to another place for a week now, this was the first time they saw each other after a week, and spending their first moments fighting wasn’t her cup of tea.

But now they were coming home.

Panting into each other’s mouths, his body guiding her to the edge of their bed. His hands were everywhere at the same time, his heartbeat was quick as he kept kissing her. Without parting, she got on her knees on the bed, Sonic quickly followed her. 

They both were now kissing on their knees, her hands roaming around his back, playing carefully with his quills, then coming up to cup his face, caressing his cheeks. 

The blue hedgehog took the girl from her waist and pulled her close, until she was almost sitting on his lap, both her knees on the sides of his thighs. Taking her top off of her in such a hurried way, she thought he was about to rip the piece of cloth from her body. The man was so excited, impatient. Parting from her lips for a moment, his hand roamed on her back, finding the clasp of her bra quickly. 

Giving her a smirk with hooded eyes, he started moving the clasp around, back and forth, pulling, pushing. Nothing. The girl came back from her dazed state and noticed that Sonic was actually having a hard time taking the undergarment off of her. 

Waiting for a bit, looking at his concentrated eyes, she started to giggle a bit. 

“Need assistance, love?” She asked, her hand going to her own back to end the blue hedgehog’s suffering.

But Sonic had none of that. He slapped her hand away and groaned. “I can do it! I’ve taken it off of you other times, why can’t… I… Now?” He struggled, his voice getting desperate.

She let him keep on trying until she couldn't wait any more. Sliding her own hand towards the clasp, she undid the bra easily. Sonic murmured a low “mhm”, as he continued on kissing her chest, stomach, sliding down. He looked at her with hooded eyes, his face pressed against her thigh as he admired the view.

“Gorgeous.” He winked, brushing his lips on her skin as he started doing hickeys on her thighs. If there was something Sonic quite enjoyed, it was teasing. And it showed.

SHADOW

VERY SKILLED. Doesn’t exactly know why he knows how to do it, but he’s cocky about it, nonetheless.

Shadow had just gotten home from beating the shit out of Sonic. It was a hobby at this point, not even something necessary. He came through the door stretching his arms over his head as he walked into the kitchen. 

His significant other was making dinner, thank chaos because he was actually getting very hungry from the previous activities. Smiling at him, the girl looked up from the stove, as she turned it off.

“My love! How was hunting Sonic?” She asked jokingly, as Shadow got close to her, carrying her to sit on the counter, his gloved hand taking her face using his thumb and index finger to hold her chin.

“I still have lots of energy, mhm.” He replied huskily on her ear, as he kissed her cheek, then her jaw and last her neck. “Are you going to do something about it?” 

After a few more words from him and a couple of kisses down her clavicle, the room got quite hot, and it wasn’t for her cooking. 

“Mhm, Shadow… The food.” The girl tried to complain.

“Shh, I'm having quite the feast here, doll.” He replied simply, his mouth still latched on her skin.

In seconds, Shadow put his hand in front of her. She knew exactly what he wanted. Using her teeth, she chewed the tip of his white glove, taking it off slowly. His breath hitched for a second.

Because that was a rule when being intimate: No clothes between both of them. Including his gloves.

As his hands returned on her body, he touched her naked back. She quickly felt his fingers looking for the clasp of her bra. She was about to offer to take it off herself, when he found it, the thing gave in rather quickly, making her gasp.

Shadow looked at her in the eye, his eyes scanned her flustered expression and smiled cockily. Sliding the straps off her shoulders, slowly, teasingly. She could actually feel his heartbeat as her hands pressed against his chest. The hand that wasn’t sliding the strap was caressing her thigh. His lips pressed as he stared at her chest. 

A glint showed on his red irises. Oh man. 

SILVER

Not very skilled with his fingers BUT he uses psychokinesis ofc

The girl knew she wasn’t playing fair, but she wanted to push as many buttons as she could. Actually buying those pheromones she saw on the internet, and this could go either too good or nothing could happen. She didn’t believe there were any bad consequences for her actions.

Until now.

Well, it wasn’t that bad…

But the way Silver’s face was actually smashed on her neck, licking, biting, kissing and more made her brain turn into a non thinkable goo. He couldn’t keep his hands to himself, grabbing, caressing her skin, like he wanted to combine both their bodies. 

Not only that, but he was rutting against her leg, desperate whining noises coming from his throat. The girl was losing it too, but it was obvious his body was actually on fire. His cheeks blushed a pretty red, and he actually managed to drool all over her sternum.

Her hand threaded on his quills, sliding down until she could feel his chest fur. Doing an experimental tug, the man nearly came on the spot. A breathless moan left his lips as he continued panting over her, his hands positioned on either side of her head. 

The girl kissed him hungrily, getting excited by the whole situation. 

“Love…” She tried speaking but Silver grunted, taking his girlfriend with one arm under her back, making her sit in front of him. His pupils were blown and his breathing was accelerated. He had no time to think about that damn clasp, so he snapped one of his fingers, the cyan aura forming on his hand and then, the girl felt the bra fall off her chest.

Using his psychokinesis to do such a thing turned her on, she wondered what else he could do with such power.

KNUCKLES

He just rips it off

It was common knowledge that Knuckles wasn’t the most patient or delicate guy, especially when it came to having intimate moments like this one. Rouge threw a little party for her birthday, everyone was invited and, being the showy bat she was, it was quite a formal party. So the girl decided she was about to go wild with her dress.

The piece she wore was a deep green, sleeveless dress. The neck of the dress was high, the thing hugging her curves. it looked rather simple until you looked at the back of it, a slit running all down the low back. It was gorgeous, and she felt untouchable with such a piece.

Amy actually helped her choose the dress, and she also recommended using a specific type of bra so it wouldn’t be noticeable. The straps turned and twisted, it was something difficult to put on, but she didn’t mind, as long as she looked good in the dress.

And now it was time for the reveal. Knuckles actually wanted to wear something nice, so he dressed up (she helped him choose his outfit. He also asked to help her with hers but she declined saying she had a surprise for him). 

Walking out of the room, the girl walked confidently towards her boyfriend sitting on the sofa, his legs spread and his elbows were positioned on his thighs, making him lean forwards. Too caught up in his mind, he didn’t notice until the girl was beside him. She cleared her throat and that did the trick.

His eyes flew open as he got up from the sofa, walking towards his partner. 

“My… You look gorgeous.” He said, kissing her cheek, that’s when he positioned a hand on her back noticing the slit. He swallowed, nervously. “Say, doll, what if we arrive a few minutes late?”

He asked, his hands starting to roam, sitting on her butt. The girl smiled, patting his chest. “Rouge will kill us if we arrive late.”

Knuckles hissed, finding a button that undid her whole dress. “I think we’d survive.” Were his last words before he carried the girl to bed.

Kissing and palming all over her, the man took a look at her bra and without a second notice, he ripped it off from her. She let out a surprised gasp. 

“Now how am I going to use the dress, Knux!” She exclaimed, feeling him grin, his breath caressing her chest. 

“Use it without that bra, it would look better, doll.”

[luneariann]

Bsd headcanons!

- Kouyou, 27 yr as of current canon

- Kouyou started dressing in traditional clothing in an effort to seem older/inspire more respect when she first became an executive, and it stuck. now instructs all the people under her wing to do the same

- Actually a huge fan of romance novels, Chuuya started reading them cuz of her

- Tea snob

- WILL judge you to your face in the most convoluted language, you will only realize you were insulted in like three business days

- She has freckles but she covers them up w makeup, Yosano loves them

- Yosano, 27 yr old

- When she was first adopted by Fukuzawa she tried doing things she thought kids her age did in an effort to feel more "normal" it didn't rly work

- Has won scariest ADA member four years in a row, shes both very proud of that title and very protective of it, actively does scarier shit once the elections come back around each year

- Wine snob!

- Veryyy blunt, she got it from Ranpo (Fukuzawa would call him a bad influence except he theyre both saying what hes thinking so)

- Dazai, 26

- Has tried to be a plant dad to win a bet w Ranpo, failed miserably, none of his plants are alive but theyre all lovingly named anyway, he talks to their decomposing corpses sometimes

- The worst fashion sense known to man, he KNOWS how to dress he just makes the active choice to dress like a bowling alley carpet when given the chance

- When Atsushi made him a friendship bracelet and he had to be excused to go to the bathroom and compose himself

- Hes Yokohamas local cryptid

- Chuuya, 26

- Loves romance novels, its his greatest secret

- Dazai gave him a bunch of plants as a surprise gift during his brief plant dad phase, he frantically learned everything he could abt them so he could take care of them properly

- He cuts his own hair, yes it is uneven on purpose, he thinks he looks cool (he does, but only because hes Chuuya so he can pull off literally anything) (yes i am biased why do you ask)

- Fantastic cook

- Piercings <333 he would get a tattoo but he doesnt rly do well with needles (cough trauma cough)

- Atsushi, 18

- Had a "sleepover" with Kyouka when he realized neither of them had ever had one, it was great they did eachothers nails and watched romcoms together, Kyouka decided she didnt really like them but Atsushi did so they watched them anyways

- Made everyone friendship bracelets one time on said "sleepover"!

- ALSO has an atrocious fashion sense, its Dazais influence <//3

- Kyouka has made it her personal mission to fix his haircut over time (he cuts his hair with kitchen scissors, she was horrified when she saw)

- Akutagawa, 19

- a full on trad goth, he goes simple for work tho

- Hes a gatekeeper, sorry yall </3

- Carries around an umbrella in the sunlight cuz he burns rly rly easily

- Gets cold REALLY easily too

- The most socially inept man you will ever meet, Gin had to cover for him A LOT when they were children

- When he first realized he felt something for Atsushi he not only did not realize that his heart speeding up around him was a crush thing, but thought it was excitement for a fight, so he just ended up challenging him to an absurd amount of fights, going as far as to go to the ADA to pick fights

[bluehourbucky]

cookies

pairing: steven grant x reader

summary: steven helped you move into your new apartment you want to thank him with some homemade cookies

a/n: I got such a soft spot for steven he's the sweetest most cutest person ever

[dont know why everything is lower case sorry abt that i was already too far in to change it when i noticed]

| main | bucky | moonkinght |

________________________________________

you've been wanting to do something for your neighbour since you moved in since he had helped you carry your furniture into your apartment.

not only did he help with moving in he also went out of his way and asked if you need help with rearranging furniture or building something, you declined politely. it didn't help that steven on top being kind is also incredibly handsome and you had immediately developed a crush on him.

however you hadn't managed to say thank you yet.

you didn't know how to say thank you but you thought a batch of cookies wouldn't be a bad idea.

and a good idea it was, in case you had sugar which you didn't.

so you shamefully walk across the hall and ring stevens door, he's the only neighbour you actually met enough times to ask for stuff.

"hello!" you say when steven opens the door, he looks even more handsome since the last time you saw him. to be fair you've never seen him in his at home clothes and it's absolutely a breathtaking sight.

"'ello?. you alright?" it takes everything in you not to literally run back to your apartment.

"yeah yeah. great. so uh you have any sugar I promise to give it back?"

"sure, come on in, don't stand in the hallway, just gotta find it." steven curses himself for inviting you in as his house is a mess and he legitimately has shackles attached to his bed.

you awkwardly walk inside and only take two steps then you stop not wanting to overstep.

"oh you have a fish." its the first thing that comes to mind to fill in the silence.

"yeah that's gus. gus say hello to our guest." steven says and your heart does a little flip.

"oh so rude of me hello stevens roommate." steven let's out a laugh which makes you blush.

"here,love." steven gives you sugar and you blush even more, you assume the nickname was accidental but doesn't mean your heart knows the difference.

"thank you. bye." you quickly leave and almost stumble.

steven curses himself, he didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, the word just slipped without him thinking. he's had a crush on you since he saw you the day you moved in and now you probably think he's creepy.

after getting into your flat, you immediately start making the cookies. you really hope steven likes them you put a lot of effort into them.

you stand a few minutes in front of his door like a weirdo until you get the courage to knock again.

"hi! It's me again. here some cookies for you. I just wanted to thank you for helping me move in and for being so kind to me. okay bye." you push the cookies into steven's and try to leave but steven grabs your hand.

"wait. what if we ate them together? that's of course if you want to. and you really didn't have to I helped because I wanted to." steven still holds your hand and waits for your reply.

it's not like you're going to miss this opportunity and not with the way he's looking at you.

"sure."

you take the time to look around and really take in the sight of his apartment, the books, the aquarium - it's just so steven.

"please, feel comfortable. thank you so much for making this for me. i'm sure it took bit of your time."

"i wanted to, I hope you like them." you expectantly look at at steven while he takes his first bite.

"so?"

"best cookies I ever had." steven says and you blush.

" im sure that's not true." you shyly say.

"sure are."

at some point you and steven sit on the couch and talk, he tells you about his work at the museum some fun things you can see there and offered to give you a tour when he's not working.

somehow the time flies and suddenly it's 2am and when you see the time you jump from the couch.

"oh im so sorry for keeping you up so late! i should go."

"I didn't notice how much time passed I'm sorry for keeping you. I been rambling a lot." steven scraches the back of his neck awkwardly, and he really hadn't noticed the time he was really just enjoying his time with you.

"i guess I'll hold you to your promise for the special tour of the museum?" you smile at steven.

"of course."

the last thing steven remembers is you going to the door and now he's suddenly kissing you?

as you were about to leave steven pulls you in for a kiss, at first you're shocked, but it takes you just few seconds to return it. it starts off rough but suddenly it melts and softens as if you're kissing another person.

at first stevens hands are on your hips but as the kiss softened they are suddenly on you cheeks.

when you finally pull away you feel like you're as red as a tomato.

"sorry." steven mutters out an apology.

"its okay. that was nice." you can see that his shoulders relaxed at your words.

"uh the tour could we turn that into a date?"

"i'd love that. good night steven."

you kiss him quickly again and leave.

"good night" steven whispers to himself.

____________________________________

"you helped the worm. it is amusing." khonshu laughs.

"it was impossible to watch that. besides he just needed a little push it was going well." marc replies and puts on the suit going off into the night.

_____________________________________

[the end]

likes comments and reblogs are appreciated <3

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

ari i’m curious do u have kenny hcs

RIKO U HAVE NO IDEA THE MONSTER UVE UNLEASHED.....

i do have some kenny hcs <333 take a seat here's a snack we’re gonna be here for a while 🧁🧃 (THANK YOU FOR INDULGING ME <3 this man genuinely makes me feel ill im sooo delusional abt him)

okok so first of all; general hcs !!

he likes art!! loves art!! this one is canon to me i just think he is so interested in any and all of humanity’s creative outlets and ofc art is the most prominent one. he loves all different forms of art — from sculptures to paintings to writing to video games (HEAVY on the latter btw i think he's so entranced by new technology) and so on.

and on that note!! i think he paints and writes himself :3 hes been alive for so long, learned so many languages, there's no way he didn't have time to pick up a paint brush. i think he paints to release stress!! and his styles vary but there's something mildly macabre abt all of his pieces. tends to gravitate towards expressionism above all else, especially the abstract kind.

i also feel like he sincerely enjoys ”bad” art like low budget movies and modern romance fiction and goofy video games…… he just thinks they're fun. def gets a good laugh out of them (this man canonically had a whole comedy phase he just wants to have fun!!)

and and and!! this is self indulgent as hell but i also think he cooks. there's just so much to learn when it comes to different cultures and their cuisine and i think they all interest him. but i hesitate to say that he's a good cook bc i feel like he’d make really weird fucked up food combinations just for the hell of it…. he's a freak. 100% the type to mix orange juice w black coffee just to see how it tastes.

i also hc that he has a soft spot for children, seeing as he literally carried and birthed one of his own LMAO... i just think he admires the innocence of childhood !! that childish and simple hope that adults tend to lose. he's very good w them too!! gentle and patient. and in geto’s body he has the softest nicest voice so i feel like kids gravitate towards him (i'm just thinking abt that One scene where he blows bubbles at a playground and all the kids chase them… they love him i just know he's a regular at that park)

OH AND……. idk if i’d call this a hc exactly but i just wanna see kenny in more feminine clothing. he literally has All the genders i don't think for a second that he cares abt gender norms. one moment he's in that tacky middle aged divorced father core hawaiian tshirt (he's so Me), the next he's wearing a purple floral dress or a puffy turtleneck <33 i just think he could pull anything off.

NOW FOR THE GOOD STUFF……. relationship hcs <33333 hes a whole red flag but hes also my silly pookie bear just trust me on this

FIRST OF ALL he's huge on quality time. if he's in a relationship w u then that means he sincerely enjoys ur company and therefore has a tendency to just bring u with him wherever he goes. otherwise he gets bored and starts whining abt it (silly silly man) hes a lonely guy ok </3 i feel like he gets very sudden urges to explore new places / do new things and he’ll make sure you’re right there w him !! you’ll wake up in his arms only to find you're in a snowy forest or some shit and he just WILL not tell u where he's taken u bc its ”a surprise ^_^” LMAOO

he also takes on a teaching role in the relationship and i think that's where hes happiest !! gets a kick out of it but it's also kind of special to him. especially if you haven't seen much of the world, or if you're just a naturally curious person — preferably both. he just enjoys teaching you new things, leading you towards new sights, drinking in your expressions and reactions. it's precious to him. something to cherish.

ON THAT NOTE i think he has this unquenchable curiosity that gets temporarily sated when he tries to like . Dissect you. see inside your mind. it's like hes solving a puzzle that never runs out of pieces. hear me out riko but i see him as somewhat similar to makima, he's detached and has trouble connecting w people and handles you almost like a math equation….. but since he unlike makima is a human being, i think he still has the capacity to grow to care for you and treat you like an equal (or something close to an equal). he genuinely does love you, but he's rusty. kenjaku just wants to know all there is to know about you — every single thing. he’d dig into your brain if he could, but he’ll settle on just brewing you tea, listening to you speak about your fears, hoping it’ll give him the same insight.

he's a little possessive . kind of a Lot. idk i just think he feels a pang of jealousy when he sees u laugh and have fun w someone else (he's like a preschooler getting pouty bc his bestie is playing w someone else LOL) and that makes him Uncomfortable so he just waltzes in and steals u away w a smooth smile and a hand on ur waist. pretends like it doesn't bother him in the slightest but if u tease him too much he drops the smile and gives u a Look (it's scary as hell so u immediately shut up LMAOO) and god forbid someone else is like… teaching u something… a subject they're knowledgeable abt while u sit there listening happily to their rambling……..... ohhh he gets so jealous it's funny. researches that particular subject in frightening detail JUST so he can correct your little friend and teach u abt it himself <33 weirdo. freak.

also (this is extremely important to understanding kenny's character) he's both mother coded and father coded but in the worst possible ways.

he's mother coded in the sense that he's a smidge controlling, good at coaxing you into doing things outside your comfort zone, an expert at making you feel guilty by acting especially sweet and gentle, has the ability to make you cry w one disappointed look etc etc

and he's father coded in the sense that he's easily offended but pretends not to be, wants to see you succeed so bad that it's almost more for him than you, forces you to have really deep onesided philosophical talks at 2am when you just want to sleep, sucks at voicing his love for you out loud so he just buys a bag of your favorite fruit, cuts them into slices and calls it a day. etc etc. he's awful actually. i need him

but !!! as for more soft hcs i think he's honestly an affectionate guy deep down… like deep deep down but it's there. he just likes having u close. preferably touching him. not constantly bc that’ll annoy him but he wants you to stay near so he can pull u into his lap whenever. loves reading to u while u rest ur head on his thigh, playing w ur hair and lulling u softly to sleep <3333 (it's the geto kinnie in him) AND idk why this came into my mind but i think he likes nose kisses. just bc ur face scrunches up and he thinks it's cute. he can be sweet !! probably.

OHHH AND he loves playing board games w u <33 everything from chess to monopoly. he thinks it's fun + a good bonding activity but it's only fun in the beginning. he's condescending if u lose and petty if u win but he’ll still ask u to stay up w him all night just so u can finish the game (he's insufferable actually) if u decline he’ll huff and play by himself while shooting u petty glares until u feel bad and join him. then he's back to being all suave and calm and mature ohhhh i hate him

he wants to be the mature stoic indulgent person in the relationship sooooo fucking bad but he’s plagued by silly impulses day and night. he’s just good at hiding it. but deep down he is and always will be a silly nerd <33

and finally; i think that in a no curses au he's significantly less of a freak but still weird and obsessive and a lil mean. bullies u just a tinyyy bit and acts condescendingly sweet but he cares for u a whole bunch. probably struggles w showing it in a way that isn't too overbearing or mildly alarming… maybe through writing. poems and paintings of u… sculptures…. just wants to portray the beauty he sees in u (can u tell artist!kenny makes me go a little crazy)

overall hes a weirdo hes a freak (def wants u to kiss his brain just to see how it feels) and he may or may not be a bundle of red flags but i love him dearly <333 hes a silly goose. i want to study him in a lab

[nebwashere]

The Garden and Desertduo

My friend has encouraged me to be more insane about life series on main so like I'm finally posting one of my essays aka analysing crane wives songs as life series and usually desertduo

This is all from my dms with them so if it looks like texting that's cause it is lmao

I should post my older ones but for now I'll post the newest one because I'm going insane about the garden by tcw

I almost just said the garden by desertduo is crane wives coded

Anyways the garden by tcw is desertduo coded

I'm just thinking of what certain symbols in the song would be in relation to desertduo

Probably gonna analyse this in a weird order cause I'm gonna figure out the ideas after but anyways

"I need you to bury this beneath my bed" could be last life when grian says everything from last season is null and void?? He's trying to leave 3rd life behind

But also this is him asking for them to count it as a double victory - no matter the result of the fight he wants to leave it behind them and bury it

"The crows in the garden are laughing at my expense" this could have 2 meanings: 1 it's the ghosts at the end of 3rd life wanting a fight and an ending or 2 it's the watchers with how in martyns lore they feed off of negative emotions in the life series

"Drowning out all the lies that I might have told instead" throughout the series grian claims his loyalty is conditional but by this point (post betrayal/during or before cactus ring) both the ghosts left and desertduo can see how strong his loyalty actually was and how far its taken him and that's emotionally vunerable, he can't pretend it was just convenience or rationality anymore because he had a chance to kill him and take the win scar HANDED him a chance to win and he refused he couldn't kill him

OHHH IVE HAD REVELATIONS

The first verse is grian speaking (everything I've talked abt so far)

Second verse is scar

"My stone, my shield, my steady hand" throughout 3rd life grian protects scar and has to carry out everything scar tells him to do therefore being his hand (interestingly this has a parallel to treebark with martyn being ren's Hand, typical foilduo behaviour right here)

"Hold your light to the darkness in my head" scar has called grian "the light of the server"/"the light of my life" SEVERAL TIMES also grian has a lot of sun symbolism in terms of his 3rd life win

"Put your ear to my heart or set your teeth against my throat" first thought here is the first part is post cactus ring when Scar is already dead and the second part is during the cactus ring OR this is during the post betrayal scene when Scar tells grian "you can kill me" and "for everything you've done to me to keep me alive this long you may slay me and take the enchanter", Scar leaves the choice to grian about whether to kill him or leave him alive (at least for a bit)

"Give me something pretty to wear beneath my blood-stained clothes" they care about each other but also on the exterior they are in a literal death game, it fucked them up but also it gave them something pretty (their relationship)???? Not sure how to express my thoughts on this one but they very much exist

Maybe that grian gave him someone to care about apart from the violence and destruction of 3rd life as well as the violence and destruction he causes

Also the way that grian hides himself genuinely caring about Scar under excuses of the game like the opposite of how people who show their emotions freely "wear their heart on their sleeve"

3rd and 4th verse is both of them, 3rd uses a lot more we/us, it's more after they decide to do the cactus fight, while in the earlier verses they have conflicting interests (Scar wanting grian to kill him, grian wanting to kill Scar and then not wanting to) at this point they've made up their minds also it could reflect how at this point they've agreed on a double victory

"Lay me down, pour the dirt into our bed" when they go into that cactus ring they both know they're going to die there but with this line despite their imminent deaths there's still this tenderness?? Despite the violent ends they're forced to have they still try to make it easier for each other and still try to make it fair despite everything

Also the change from "my bed" to "our", originally scar was going to give Grian the win leaving grian to deal with the consequences and trauma of winning but now they've agreed on a double victory

"Tell the crows they can have their pound of flesh" again the 2 interpretations 1 them giving the ghosts a fight and killing each other in a fair fight despite not wanting to and 2 giving in to giving the watchers their entertainment

Not too sure for the last verse yet tbh but I'll go with some of the stuff from the official annotations

"Get on your knees and dig up the garden" I think this could be later after 3rd life ended back in hermitcraft, they're digging that trauma and guilt back up after they buried it inside them because they needed to survive

"Won't you throw down that spade and // Dig up the garden, darling?" (Okay now I'm getting ideas) throwing down the spade could represent emotional vulnerability like throwing down weapons

"Won't you cut down that apple tree for me?" Idk abt the symbol of the apple tree (technically its religious symbolism but idk what it would symbolise for 3rd life) overall the last verse is about how they need to bring that trauma back up and process it and be emotionally vunerable with each other to be able to leave it in the past and put it behind them and heal

Overall the first verse is grian in the post betrayal scene/cactus ring fight, second verse is scar in the same scenes, 3rd verse is both of them pre/during the cactus ring fight, 4th verse is them post 3rd life trying to deal with the effects its had on them

[scwheeler]

🏹🩰 ˖ ࣪⊹ — flipped

pairing: mike wheeler x fem!reader

summary: the first day you met mike wheeler, you flipped. hasn’t it been time he did too?

warnings: mean mike…

age of pairing: throughout the years, particularly 14-15

a/n: inspired by my favorite fucking movie flipped 😊😊 bc it’s so cute and romantic like something i will never fucking experience something like that 😕😕 (dt: @luv-finn bc they love this movie as much as me) — also idk if i’m actually back but i just never published this and there should be another part coming but idk if i’ll ever get to it… ALSO ITS REALLY FUNNY BC I WROTE FIC ABT FLIPPED AND THEN I HATED IT SO I REWROTE IT AND THIS IS THE REWRITE LOL

the first day you met mike wheeler, you flipped.

there was a feeling of inexplicable excitement and thrill rushing through your body. the sense of familiarity hitting you, you felt comfortable when looking at him as if he’d been your friend for years yet he was just a new face. he was just there, close to you, carrying boxes full of clothes and furniture.

your mom standing beside you and telling you about the flowers in your front yard became less interesting. you stopped responding, stopped moving, stopped breathing. he looked up and saw you staring. you felt your knees give out and nearly fell, holding yourself up against your mother. he looked away and got back to his box carrying, but before he could turn around you caught his glance.

it was those eyes, something in those dazzling eyes.

when school begun, you were over the moon to see him again walking through the classroom door with a few notebooks in hand. you had to tie yourself down so you didn’t tackle him right then and there. he introduced himself as mike wheeler and was seated right in front of you.

there couldn’t possibly be a clearer answer from the universe. he was so shy and so cute and his hair, it smelled like watermelon but every other wednesday, strawberry. you sat patiently everyday in your seat for him to arrive with his new button down shirt or whatever jcrew shirt his mom bought him and the same old sneakers. no matter how hard he would try to avoid it, the first thing he would see was you. your eyes perfectly matching his.

the first day i met y/n y/l/n, i didn’t care.

i helped my dad carry out the last boxes into the house from the moving truck as i heard women talking from the lawn next door. i never wanted to move to stupid indiana but it wasn’t up for discussion. i looked over to see our new neighbors and saw a girl and supposedly her mom. i didn’t acknowledge her, she looked like all the other girls he saw on the car ride to the neighborhood. she looked startled, maybe even a little scared so i looked away and got back to my job.

on the first day of school i was nervous. staring at the small pink slip from the office, my confidence sunk. being the new kid again? it sucks. the numbers on the slip read ‘13’ which was my new classroom number. the first two weeks i’ve been here and i’ve yet to make any friends meanwhile nancy already seems happy with the arrangement and hollys settled at home. why was i the only one the universe hated?

i knocked on the wooden door and waited for it to be opened by an old lady or man who would only give me a ton of homework everyday and to be faced him a bunch of kids who were gonna make my life a living hell. fortunately i got both of them wrong. the woman who answered the door was kind enough to introduce me to the class and give me a seat.

then i saw her. the girl from the next door lawn who was scared of me the moment i looked her way. she’s such a weirdo. what type of person just stared at someone for like a whole ten minutes and doesn’t even blink! she must be some type of robot. i sat down and the lesson began but i paid no attention to what the teacher was saying.

everyday, i’d enter the class late because my mom would drop off nancy first and then me. luckily i rushed to my seat quick enough for the teacher never to call me out for being late. but i would see her everyday in the morning. she was the first one i’d see with either her braids, ponytail, curls, or straight hair. she was always the first thing i would see.

her eyes looking into mine.

each week you were tasked to give a carton of eggs to the wheelers house and you were more than happy to do it. you would grab the carton before your mom could even ask you and dash out of the front door to his house. before knocking on the door or ringing the doorbell, you checked your hair in the window’s reflection beside the front door and calmed yourself. you knew you would be a mess the moment mike wheeler would open the door.

unfortunately every week it was a gamble. sometimes it’ll be nancy, mike’s sister or mikes mom, mrs. wheeler. occasionally it was even holly or mike’s dad. but the certain days that you heard mrs. wheeler yelling for mike to get the door, a smile was plastered across your face. you held onto the eggs tight and waited for him to open the door. although he never looked excited or happy to do so, you had enough excitement for the both of you to share.

this was the first time you’d ever approached mike’s house by yourself and if you were honest, you were nervous. “hey mike! um these are some eggs from our own chickens!” you happily handed the carton to mike. god why did you sound like a girl scout. “oh uh thanks i guess,” he responded and quickly shut the door.

soon the egg exchange became a weekly ritual and he started to open the door immediately, like he was expecting you to arrive which meant he actually acknowledged your presence. although you never got anything in return from him, being met with those dazzling eyes on every hot friday afternoon was good enough. sometimes you were at a loss for words when he opened the door and stare straight into your eyes. he made you feel like the most important girl in the whole world.

he made you feel loved by just a look.

“mike! get the door!” nancy was yelling from upstairs and got back to her conversation on the phone with probably steve or barb. with mom and dad out of the house and holly in the living room, it became my responsibility to get the door apparently?! i wrote my last sentence and rushed down the stairs to get the front door.

i assumed it was just some stupid girl scout or the newspaper guy but when i opened the door, i was met with her. the girl from the moving day and the girl in my class. i never really paid attention to her so i didn’t even know her name but she knew mine as she gave me a carton of eggs, “hey mike! um these are some eggs from our own chickens!”

i couldn’t even decline as she almost throw the box to me. i looked down at the brownish eggs all aligned in a work out cardboard carton. i was confused, why did she give me—eggs? i felt kinda bad not giving anything in return but i couldn’t think of anything from the top of my head so i just thanked her and closed the door.

approaching the kitchen, i set down the eggs on the counter and looked at them for a second. she had chickens? that’s weird especially as what—a pet? i just placed them inside the fridge and ran upstairs again to finish my homework.

later that day, during dinner we had meatloaf and an egg salad. i wondered if these were eggs from earlier today or ones that mom had bought from days ago. “by the way, the neighbor brought us eggs and they said they were homegrown or something,” i stabbed my meatloaf with my fork and mentioned the earlier events.

my mom seemed confused, “where’d you put them? i didn’t even get to see them?” “i put them in the fridge, like the second row,” i replied and drank my water. “oh those? the brown ones? i threw those away, we only buy the white ones and have you seen the neighbor’s yard?! if they have chickens in that yard and give us those eggs, we’d get salmonella for sure!” my dad brought up.

i felt bad but decided not to oppose my dads previous actions. instead my mom did, “ted, they’re nice people and those eggs could’ve gone to other uses if not eaten.” so he threw them away? “karen, if they’re nice people, they would give us a pie or a cake. mike if you get eggs again, just throw them away, i don’t want this family getting ill from bad eggs,” my dad ended the discussion and i only poked the egg on my plate. even though it wasn’t the egg given to me by the neighbor, i didn’t want to see or eat an egg anymore.

following my dads orders, every week when she would come with a grin and a new pack of eggs, i would quickly get the door and receive the carton. i’d say thanks even though i bit my tongue slightly since initially there’s nothing to be thankful for. i’d wait about ten minutes for her to walk away and re-enter her house, before going out the back gate and dumping the eggs in the compost. maybe i would’ve eaten the eggs but i was only following what my dad had said.

every week i’d be met with her eyes, i felt guilty like i was keeping a huge secret from her. i was but i couldn’t say anything, as much as she annoyed me, i still had my human decency. so i just grabbed the eggs and threw them away a couple minutes later. the cycle went on for months with her returning every week with a new batch and a new look in her eyes. i wanted to say something believe me, but i couldn’t just tell her to her face.

she made me feel so guilty with just a look.

[noxiatoxia]

@pumpkinmetaphor HII ur asks are off and tumblr DMs are a nightmare to navigate so I will respond here to spare poor poor op

soo I have quite a bit written out actually, but idk if it'll ever come to be ...? I think I actually made a post abt it a bit back. It's just one of those many many things I write in my downtime for fun that will prob never get finished. Anyways the concept revolves around werewolves because I love stories of protags having some deep secret they cannot reveal for fear of rejection or worse. In the story, Kaoru has been infected with lycanthropy after being attacked badly by a werewolf. He lies about this encounter to everyone, doctors and his brother included, as he genuinely believes he must have saw wrong. He was attacked at night when he couldn't see well, the animal seeming to be a wolf...but there aren't any wild wolves in Japan. So Kaoru believes it must have been something else. (side note idk how the disease spreads as of yet. Think either saliva in the bloodstream like rabies or it's a thing of if you get killed by a werewolf you come back as one not knowing you technically died...)

Soso Kaoru beings acting strange after this event. After weeks recovering physically, coming back home, his personality shifts unknowingly to himself. He becomes a lot more restless at night, much more snappy and rude, generally kinda acting like his brother more lol. He just seems to be losing his temper easier and being more aggressive and physical, even with Hikaru, who he also becomes more snappy with. Obviously he doesn't understand why he's acting like this, neither does anybody in the club.

Then the big thing happens...full moon baybeeee. Up to this point Kaoru would feel more awake/elevated heartbeat when looking at the moon, but when the full moon comes around, he feels fucking crazy. Like manic and uncontrollable and he starts to freak out a bit. However he sticks it out because the club is hosting a prom event like episode 2, so it's like, whatever, go home and sleep later.

Until he makes the mistake of forgetting to keep himself busy, which leads to him compulsively staring at the moon, and then he finds he can't look away, and well.

And the transformation thing sort of has him black out. In my head, I imagine the werewolves look like regular wolves, just a tad bigger with bigger paws that may be more human-like. Definitely makes him lose all cognitive ability, and by the time he snaps back to normal, he doesn't know where he is, his clothes are tattered, he's in so much pain, and there's blood, and he's like whaaat the fuck happened here...

He's able to hide these facts, not wanting anyone to know how he found himself when he woke up bc that shit cannot be good. quickly through talk he finds that morning that haruhi got hurt last night, so of course hikaru (who is doubly worried about his brother who disappeared for a chunk of the night) urges that the two of them along with the rest of the host club check up on haruhi (who is at home trying to tell them "im fine guys gooddd")

but like, ofc its the club so they knock the door down lmfao. and tho haruhi plays it cool, she is obviously a little shaken about whatever happened. she has some bandages but nothing awful.

turns out, as she explains, an animal attacked her last night (cue tamaki wailing) and she scared it off by blindly slashing a pocket knife at it ("WHY ARE YOU CARRYING SUCH A DANGEROUS WEAPON AROUND!?!? IF YOU NEED BODY GAURDS KYOYA CAN DO SOMETHING IM SURE-" "i use it to open packages senpai.")

kyoya of course takes the idea of a wild, vicious animal on school grounds very seriously, and so inquires on the appearance of the animal. haruhi pauses but admits it looked like a wolf. of course kyoya tells her that can't be right, it must have been a stray dog, but haruhi insists it did NOT look like a dog.

anyways, the club are in uproar about this, arguing back and forth about this wolf-not-wolf that nearly killed haruhi, and kaoru is silently watching from the back as a terrifying realization dawns on him. he remembered waking up with there being blood. namely, blood on his hands and under his nails, and a nasty cut he got on his cheek which he assumed he acquired by tripping and hitting something sharp. But if he pairs that with what haruhi says, it seems INSANE, but also...it would make sense. everything to this point would make sense.

and it terrifies him. it terrifies him more that hikaru swears up and down that he's going to "kill that filthy mutt" that hurt haruhi, and it terrifies him that kyoya says he's going to bring this up with school staff about increasing security. he wonders if he told them that it wasnt just a wolf, it was HIM, that if they would be merciful, or if they would still hate him. if hikaru would want him dead still. and the fact is, he HURT someone. his friend. this is his fault and he cant even blame his friends if they wanted to go as far as kill him if they found out, now that he is literally a monster that can kill people.

this, finally, is where the carriage thing comes in (took long enough!) the story functions as an elaborate ass metaphor, where kaoru's lycanthropy is a physical metaphor for his anxieties about the person who he's supposed to be, the harm he thinks he's causing other people, the harm he's causing his brother. he's running around, trying to find a cure while keeping everyone in the dark, praying no one finds out before he can fix this and fix himself. and if he cant, his only option is likely a grim one, but he CANT let anyone know, it's too risky, he has to do this by himself. his self-destroying obsession with keeping everyone safe and doing the right thing for his friends causes him to push them away from fear of hurting them or getting hurt himself. there's that part of him that's convinced he won't be able to solve this.

it basically drives him to his lowest point mentally and physically. he avoids all his friends so he can't hurt them with his uncontrollable temper or possible transformation, he's doing tons of shady shit in an effort to cure himself. he goes to nekozawa bc if anybody knows how to solve this fuckery its nekozawa and nekozawa treats him like a little lab experiment lmao bc of course he is enraptured by kaoru's newfound form and the physical changes it has made to his body (sharper canines, faster-growing hair, possibly an inch taller, newfound silver allergy). but of course as news of the wolf attack on campus spreads so do rumors, some "crazy" rumors about werewolves being real, of course rumors that are mocked by most of the kids as being nonsense scary stories, but this does NOT help kaoru's paranoia...

as for how this story ends WELL it's unfinished so you can guess (i have no ending.) i do want some part of hikaru obviously finding out at the worst possible moment, probably a very unfortunate circumstance where kaoru is unable to escape transformation on a full moon and hikaru is there. and he probably begs and pleads for hikaru to leave him alone but of course his brother won't do that, and obviously he is fucking stunned to see his brother turn into ?? a wolf. like erm *marvel voice that just happened..... and since kaoru has no control in this form, he tries to attack and even kill hikaru. hikaru would obviously not fight back, bc he doesn't want to hurt kaoru. that and he is stunned silent.

there are other elements of the story i want. for example, if i ever finish this thing, i do have ideas of ayanokoji being involved somehow. probably a witness to kaoru's odd behavior/actual transformation and thusly being able to use this against him cuz Fuck Da Host Club. or even try to kill him herself bc he's a fucking wolf dude idk. i also had this scene in my head with arai being involved bc the night kaoru attacks his brother he wakes up far as fuck away from tokyo with no memory except knowing A) hikaru was there and B) there is blood all over him he can only think of the worst possibilities so he kinda wanders in an unfamiliar back road in a fugue state until some lady almost accidentally hits him with a car and is like. who is this child covered in wounds and blood......and very sane thing to do she is like. hey do u need like. a lift. you look like ur gonna die. you have like 3 stab wounds. and kaoru is like. floor it chief. anyways turns out it's arai's mother ! woah. which is funny because after helping Kaoru and hanging out with him she admits she's like, "oh i helped you cuz you remind me of my son. you seem about his age" and kaoru is like oh ha ha that's nice of you....and then fuckin arai shows up a few hours later and kaoru is like "ohhhhhhhhhhh............................uhoh."

to which since kaoru doesnt have his phone on him arai offers to phone haruhi for him since he has her number and of course 5 minutes later the host club is at their location in a fucking helicopter or some shit bc ZOMG KAORUUU WE WERE SO WORRIED ABOUT YOUUUUU WHERE DID U GOOOO (hikaru withholding information)

it's an incredibly "fan fiction-y" story i admit. but that's the fun of it. it could get soooo dramatic too. cuz like yeah duhh hikaru wouldn't want to kill kaoru ofc not but OTHER people ? there's a guy who is a werewolf. umm. can't see that going over well. and the general attitude kaoru would hold and the way he attempts to figure everything out on his own. the day he and hikaru reunite after hikaru finds out the truth could go so many ways, from silence to yelling to crying to awkward laughing to kaoru just blankly asking what hikaru plans to do with him now, like he's a prisoner accepting his execution. sorry i am a fan of introducing trauma between the toxic codependent twins. and like the other members of the club? i can see people like tamaki being quick to try and help kaoru (despite what he did to haruhi) and haruhi being like "this may as well happen welcome to Ouran Fucking Highschool" but people like Mori or Kyoya may be more hesitant, pointing out kaoru, while not malicious, genuinely CANNOT control himself in his canine state and has shown multiple times that can and WILL kill people, including his friends, and that can't be ignored or brushed off. maybe they put a muzzle on him idfk. either way, it's also a great metaphor for stigma bc once his friends start finding out, they are obviously treating him differently. Even (or especially) hikaru. he's being treated like a different person now. it makes him feel more inhuman than ever. they only see this awful monster he can become now, he feels, and honestly, maybe they're right. it's not all of who he is, but it's a part of him, a part of him that has hurt two people he loves most, and so he can't help but judge himself based off that too.

well ermmmm yes! that is my funny funny story that i have like 6k written down in a word document of that i may or may not finish who fuckin knowwws

[borom1r]

take whatever boromir hc or experience you would like (one you rlly love) and just. gush abt it!! I don't know a whole lot but I do know you love him ;v; (ily and I hope you feel at least a bit better soon 💖💖 lmk if there's anything I can do!!)

heurgh thank u dude life just keeps happening so much all the time + im. Fed Up — ily2 tho fr this means a lot;;;;

uuuuuuuuuuuummmm immmm very partial to just. Boromir Is A Good Big Brother. fundamentally, he Cares. he cares so so much. I love him??? I love how much he loves. He wears a ranger’s vambraces, archer’s vambraces bc he loves his baby brother and he’s carrying a piece of Faramir into unfamiliar territory. + obviously there’s his relationship w/ Merry and Pippin and his “give them a moment, for pity’s sake!” line but also the fact that he’s the one to restrain Gimli from running back into the mines, who’s comforting Gimli. + his “don’t carry the weight of the dead” line to Frodo. and just. ARGH im gnawing on things abt Sean Bean’s acting in the Osgiliath flashback.

the bowed head as he steels himself to face Denethor, “the victory belongs to Faramir also” + the encouraging little nod, the disbelieving shake of his head at Denethor’s “I know his uses and they are few” ITS SO!!!!!!!!!! like he is absolutely playing a part. Boromir, Golden Son of Gondor is absolutely an act put on for his father’s sake. and i just. dude I feel so normal abt the fact Boromir rocks up to Rivendell in EXTRAVAGANT clothing for a nation constantly at war, neighboring the source of all fucking evil. he has silver stars on his gambeson, a garment nobody will EVER fucking see!!!! all this finery and he’s wearing vambraces his baby brother 110% gave him. and he’s using the under-layer which he has No Reason to use bc he’s not an archer (except sentimentality. bc that’s the way Faramir wears HIS, bc he IS an archer.)

the very core of him is caring and I get so. skfhshhfhd I’ve blocked two ppl in the boromir tag for being like “I don’t like him” ok for one worstie why the fuck are you posting this IN HIS TAG then????? and for two what do you MEANNNNNNNN you don’t like him????????? “he’s morally grey” “he’s a villain” did we READ the same BOOKS?????? watch the same films??????? he’s a MAN. he’s a man who loves SO MUCH that this ring, which is so evil literally fucking everybody with even an ounce of power + real understanding is scared to touch it, can ONLY corrupt his love and even then only for a moment. he is a TRAGIC character because he is a good man!!! and even good men when driven to extremes of desperation can do things they regret. external influence and evil magic bullshit or not Boromir was at his breaking point mentally and saw one path forward and regretted it instantly!!!!! I can’t stand Boromir slander I will key your fucking car over Boromir slander.

also this is silly but I was talking w a beloved friend abt how everyone gets their autism from their dad. and Faramir absolutely got his autism from Boromir. undiagnosed KING we stan a legend who managed to fly completely under the radar for Weird but can talk at length for hours about obscure battles and legendary warriors if u get him started. also he has to leave the room if he smells eggs cooking and he makes his bed/packs his bedroll Perfectly every morning so his routine always Starts The Same, but that’s fine :) that’s just Boromir for ya :)

Faramir bemoaning the fact he got all the verbal + sensory issues meanwhile Boromir got Encyclopedic Knowledge Of Obscure Military Facts and Stubborn About Routine (“I MUST blow my horn every time I leave on a quest bc I REFUSE to set out like a thief in the night. now we can sneak around tho!” <- he is so fucking silly I love him)

[cryptids-lobelia-garden]

Lol sorry this is a day late I was honoring the April 1 strike for Palestine and then yesterday my internet was really slow and Tumblr draft edit wouldn’t work

Anyway.

Warnings: idk how these work please lemme know if I need to tag anything else but uh. Manipulative/kinda creepy whumper, a conditioned whumpee and his self destructive/self sacrificial tendencies, caretaker was hurt by whumpee in the past (not in a whump way just in a whumpee tried to destroy the world and caretaker had to stop him way) but he’s grown over the time they’ve been apart and come to understand the whumpee’s actions, uh. This is Pokémon and I’m going with a nuanced take of some of them are sapient and some aren’t and caretaker is very much a Pokémon, also whumpee is a canon character and might act OOC for. Reasons that will hopefully be revealed over the course of this month if I can get this challenge done :D oh also I follow canon VERY loosely bc there’s like three different canons and I’m here to have fun not to police my story writing so uh. Ye

Anyway, there’s also some mind control in there, some frostbite, some.. It’s like a chemical burn sort of, some dissociative panic attack flavored stuff, uh. Animal attack? Oh yeah and dismemberment lol- this one is. A little. Uh. Yeah

Oh and if you see these characters on another account ask that account if it’s me before getting upset bc uh. I have posted abt them on my main before

Anyway. Yeah. Enjoy this, uh. Please don’t judge me I can’t get these freaks out of my head hsjdjdjd

Day 1: Limp

Reunited Arc Part 1

~~~~~

It was supposed to just be a normal day off.

Cheri was headed to Celestic City to meet with a historian, to answer questions about Dialga and the Diamond Clan.

He’s taking the train, since he didn’t feel like walking all that way or making any of his Pokémon carry him.

It was supposed to be a normal day, but he sees a familiar face, and he has to do a double take.

Long blond hair, one eye covered, tied in its usual messy bun in the back. A shining silver eye, which is currently focused on a watch on their own wrist. Cheri would’ve guessed that was Cynthia, but he’s a guy, and he’s wearing a form-fitting black turtleneck tank top, a denim jacket over it.

The modern clothes on him are such a foreign sight.

But there’s no mistaking it.

Volo.

Cheri feels his blood freeze near instantly. A few people step away as the space around him begins to grow cold, a breeze of malice brushing through the air.

Volo hasn’t noticed him yet, and Cheri’s debating between just leaving and confronting the man.

Celestic Town is pretty close to Mount Coronet, but Cheri has prior arrangements. If he decides to go after Volo, he might not make it to the city on time, if at all. And someone guards the mountain now after Cyrus, right? So it’s not like Volo will be able to actually get there.

Unless he takes a path that isn’t through the caves. But even then, Arceus will be fine, they’re a god, it’s fine.

Maybe Cheri should just avoid all this and ride a bike to town. He left himself enough time to, after all.

But the train doors close, making Cheri’s choice for him. He can’t just say nothing.

So he steps forward.

“Hey.”

Volo looks up from his watch, eyes wide. “Hello- I’m sorry, am I in your way?” Who is this? He looks familiar..

Cheri shakes no. “You shouldn’t be here.”

Volo stops, staring at the stranger(?) for a moment. He knows me. Who is this? Usually, when people are angry at me in this time, it’s because they’ve mistaken me for Cynthia. But it seems like this one’s here for ME, not her-

His eyes widen. He goes pale. Takes a step back, his voice quiet enough that only the man in front of him hears it. “Cheri.” The one of the siblings I ESPECIALLY did NOT want to run into.

I don’t have time for this! Not now- of all the times I could have run into him, it had to be this last mission?

He pushes his thoughts aside, putting on a grin and trying to act like everything’s fine.

“Haha, it’s fancy seeing you here! What a coincidence!” I can’t do this right now! I’m on a time limit- this is THE WORST possible timing for this to happen, so of course it does.

“What a coincidence indeed,” Cheri says, voice low, taking another step forward as Volo takes a step back.

Volo’s smiling, that same pleasant grin Cheri remembers from all those years ago. But Cheri knows it’s a lie, can sense the fear coming off the man.

“Why are you headed to Mount Coronet? You and I both know you shouldn’t be there.”

“Listen, I can explain, but I don’t have much time- but I am not here for Arceus.” Cheri doesn’t seem convinced, so he keeps talking. “I’m here to protect Arceus, actually, from someone much worse than I am.”

“Hm. A likely story.” Cheri starts reading his emotions a little more.

“I swear on my life, that’s behind me.” Please, please, please please PLEASE believe me. I know you have every reason not to, after what I’ve done, but please just listen.

Cheri hums, thinking this over for a moment.

He doesn’t sense any lies from the man, strangely enough. He lets his magic push forward a little further, sensing for Volo’s intentions.

He doesn’t sense anything to do with Arceus at all, actually. No lies, no deceit.

Interesting..

Volo shivers as he feels a cold chill brushing through him, though the pleasant mask of a smile stays firmly in place. They reach their stop. I need to get away. He turns on his heel. “Well, I’ll be seeing you around-” Cheri’s hand is on his shoulder, and he tenses, breath catching in his throat. Please have mercy. Whatever you’re about to do, just don’t hurt me too badly.

Cheri’s voice is quiet, his expression grim. “You’re on a suicide mission, aren’t you.”

Shock, surprise. He shakes his head, smile growing strained. “Wh- how did you-” Volo clears his throat, turning back to smile at Cheri. “It doesn’t matter. No matter what happens, whether it’s him who dies or me, the problem will be over. And I’m probably not going to die anyway. Why?”

Cheri frowns, thinking that over for a few moments. Him? I’m assuming that’s who he’s saying he’s protecting Arceus from? If Volo dies, doesn’t that mean the problem isn’t technically over? Because we still have someone out there who’s willing to attack Arceus to further a goal. And if Volo, of all people, thinks this guy could KILL him, with Pokémon as powerful as his.. “..I’m coming with you.”

Why? What does he want out of this? “He is dangerous. You shouldn’t come with, he could kill you, and I am not worth it.” How much does he know? How did he know?

“Well, that’s all the more reason for me to come with.” If this guy really is as much of a threat as Volo says he is, I need to make sure this guy doesn’t get anywhere near the creation quartet. The two step off the train, and Cheri crosses his arms, head tilting to the side. “If you’re telling the truth, it sounds like this guy needs to be taken out.”

Volo looks up at Cheri for a second, opening his mouth to argue, and Cheri ignores his own annoyance, interrupting before Volo starts.

“I’ve fought gods. I’ve fought you. I’m sure I can take this guy out just fine.”

Volo frowns. “You should want me dead, you know-”

“No. Nope.” Cheri pinches the bridge of his nose. “Shut up with that, I’m not gonna listen to you talk about yourself like that.” Because as angry as I am at him for everything..

I can’t bring myself to hate him. Can’t bring myself to hate anyone, really, but ESPECIALLY not him.

We’re the same, after all.

Volo shuts his mouth, keeping the surprise off his face. I betrayed him and his siblings. Am I not just speaking truth? “..okay. ..I’ll explain while we walk, but we need to hurry.” I really am not worth it. But.. I doubt I’ll be able to talk him out of this. He always was stubborn, even more so than his sister at times..

What does he want, coming with me on this? Perhaps he’s just making sure I’m telling the truth about not being after Arceus, but then if he knows how dangerous this mission is..

..What should I tell him? What should I leave out? He needs to know at least some of the situation. Maybe if he knows it’s no real threat to anyone except me, he’ll leave the situation be? He knows I deserve this, after all, was on the receiving end of my worst mistake..

Cheri follows the man, who seems to be lost in thought, and he soon gets lost in his own. Who is “he”..? I could look into his fears and see.. no, that’s too invasive. Even for Volo.

..I really don't know much about him, Hisui was so long ago.. And even back then, he tried to avoid being around me as much as he could. He could tell I didn’t trust him. He hung out with Ana and Keyo much more often. But..

He looks up at Volo. Volo looks back, smiling that pleasant smile again. But it’s tense. Almost strained. Cheri gives as reassuring of a smile as he can, but it only seems to make the guy more tense, so Cheri looks away.

I’m pretty sure that this isn’t like him. He manipulated my siblings and I into helping him collect the Plates, avoiding the dangerous work for himself; it isn’t like him to do something so dangerous like this.

Cheri carefully looks at Volo out of the corner of his eye, studying Volo’s face for a moment. His eyes glow as he looks into Volo’s emotions, grimacing when he feels a wave of anxiety and self hatred and quickly stopping, pulling his magic away.

Whoa..

..He doesn’t feel the same. I don’t feel the sense of untrustworthiness I did back then.

I wish I had a hold on my powers then, because I don’t have any idea how different he truly is, I have no clue if that self hatred was there before, but I know for a FACT the anxiety wasn’t. I can see it even without my abilities.

Volo’s looking around at every face as they walk. It’s hard to notice the nerves behind the pleasant smile, but Cheri can tell from how tense he’s holding his shoulders, a tenseness that didn’t exist back in Hisui.

And his eyes are.. darker, somehow, and his breath hitches every so often as people look at him.

And he looks sick. He has eyebags dark enough they almost look like bruises. He’s pale- even more so than he was back then.

He’s still smiling, but something about the smile is even more fake than it used to be; at least in Hisui, the confidence was real.

What happened to take his confidence?

They’re around less people now, and Volo takes a breath, turning to look at the trail. “So!” Volo claps his hands together with a fake chipper attitude. “The man we’re going after.. His name is Eclipse.”

With the name, Cheri notices fear.

Memories.

He doesn’t look into them, that’s invasive, but he can tell they’re there. That’s not good.

“He’s..” Volo thinks for a moment. “..Not a good man.” Then he points into the air, finger wagging as he talks. “And he’s leading me straight into a trap! And he likely knows that I know that it’s a trap. And he also knows that I’m going to come anyway, whether I know it’s a trap or not. But!” Volo turns to Cheri suddenly, pointing at him with a smile. “If I walk into the trap, he’ll stop everything he’s doing. He only wants me. I mean, he also wants to take revenge on- well, that doesn’t matter, but he’ll stop if I give myself to him.”

“If you what?” Cheri’s staring to get genuinely worried, eyebrows furrowing. “Volo, who is this guy?”

“Someone who gave me what I deserve,” Volo says quickly, then he shakes his head. “It really doesn’t matter. Go home, this doesn’t concern you.”

“Arceus is part of it, and you are too, so uh. Yeah. It does concern me, actually.” Damnit, that wasn’t supposed to sound so pointed. I’m WORRIED, about HIM, not about Arceus.

Volo shakes his head. “Really, it’s fine. I’m not here to do anything to Arceus. No plates, no flute, you can check my bag if you want. I’m just here for Eclipse. I’m here to try to take him down, and if that doesn’t work, well.. The problem will be gone either way!”

There’s a sour taste in Cheri’s mouth. Something’s very, very wrong here. “So, what, you’re just gonna let this guy take you and do Arceus knows what?”

“It’s deserved.” Volo smiles at him again, though it’s more strained and looks much more like he’s pleading. “Please, just leave, this is not worth your safety.”

“Nope. No, not happening. I’m coming with you whether you like it or not, you’re not gonna talk me out of it now.” This whole situation.. Whatever’s going on, it really seems like it’s MUCH worse than he deserved. Prison maybe, I could see that. Maybe getting grabbed by a time traveler who could teach him about exactly why what he did was dangerous.

But something tells me someone went way too far.

Volo’s smile grows more strained. “..I was afraid of that,” he murmurs, then he shakes his head. “Well. Hm. ..okay. I.. suppose this might be a good thing. He probably thinks that I’m not coming with backup- I wasn’t planning to, so.” Volo shakes his head, smile fading entirely as he turns back to the trail up Mount Coronet. “Anyway.. He has been collecting legendary and mythical Pokémon from different times and places. We’re not sure what all he has- we know for sure he has Regiice, Azelf, and possibly the other two lake spirits, as well as the Red Chain.”

Who is “we”?? Wait. SHIT. Cheri’s neck snaps he turns to Volo so fast. “He has the red chain?”

Volo, fairly used to ghost-type shenanigans, barely bats an eye. He just nods, a grim look on his face. “And he’s going after Arceus with it.”

“That’s.. not good.” Cheri turns back to the trail, frowning down at it and kicking a few pebbles forward. “But if he takes you, the problem’s over? Why?”

Volo thinks for a moment. “He’s.. very angry with me, and it’s me specifically that he’s after, despite the situation,” he says. Cheri can tell Volo’s verbally stepping around details, so he stays quiet, waiting for Volo to explain. “..I caused him to lose everything he had.”

“..with the rift, or..?”

“Oh, no, not like that.” Volo quickly shakes his head, hands waving. “No, he just..” Volo grimaces, looking away, what Cheri would have been able to see of his face hidden behind his hair. “He.. Well. He did some pretty bad things to me. Which! That was deserved, really, you know I deserved them.” Cheri grimaces. He keeps saying that it’s deserved.. it’s putting a bad taste in my mouth. Before Cheri can say anything, Volo keeps talking. “But when Management saw what he did, they kicked him from-” He shakes his head. “You know, I actually don’t think I’m supposed to talk about that. Forget I said anything about Management.”

“Okay.” So, he was in some secret club or something, and this Eclipse guy hurt him and got kicked out over it. “..the hell you mean ‘it’s deserved’? What did he do?”

Volo’s lips press into a thin line for a moment, then he glances at his watch. “Oh, look at the time!” Volo grimaces as he looks at the cave through the mountain. “We should hurry, let’s leave the path and just climb it, this cave system must be new; I am unfamiliar with it.”

Okay, he’s avoiding the question. Cheri frowns, ignoring the annoyance stewing in his gut and following Volo off the path. Then Eclipse must have done something pretty bad.

Or maybe he’s just a very private person. He avoided questions a lot back in Hisui.

Then again, in Hisui, he had a lot of things to hide.

..What is this club he was in? Some sort of evil team? But if it is, why would they have sent him to PROTECT Arceus from this Eclipse guy?

Given our past, I’d think he was lying if I couldn’t tell. He is so incredibly lucky I have the ability to tell.

“..so. He’s got a bunch of legendaries. Why are they with him?”

“They’re not with him willingly,” Volo explains, finding a good spot on a cliffside to start climbing. “He has this device, it’s from the future- Ah! Did I mention he’s from the future? Anyway, he has this device, which is controlling them through technologically created psychic power. They don’t want this, so we need to try to avoid hurting them, so the hoppers can bring them home- they’re from different times, he’s been jumping through time to take them.”

Cheri blinks a few times, head tilting to the side in confusion. “Hoppers?? Jumping through time???” Holy shit, wait, was I accidentally right about a time traveler grabbing him?

I guess it makes sense how he’s here then.

“It’s a very long story.” One I am probably not allowed to tell you. Well.. I might be able to, considering the fact that technically, you’re a time traveler. One chosen by Arceus, no less. But.. I don’t want to drag you into this mess. Not any more than I already have, anyway. Volo shakes his head. “Anyway, we’re not sure what exactly he’s controlling them through, but we believe it’s his bracelet.”

“Gotcha.” Cheri frowns. “So, don’t hurt the legendaries, break his bracelet.”

“Exactly.” Getting to the top of the cliffside, Volo turns around to pull Cheri up, though Cheri waves him off, he doesn’t need the help. “And try not to get hurt yourself.”

Cheri nods, smirking. “Thanks, Sherlock.”

Volo blinks a few times in confusion. “..Sherlock..?”

“It’s a reference- there’s this book-” Cheri shakes his head. “Nevermind.” Noticing a sneasel sneaking up on him, he snarls at it, letting an illusion lash towards it. It squeaks in fear, running off. “Sorry, can’t risk it with dark types.”

“No, that’s fine.” I already knew he wasn’t human anyway, though it’s interesting to see him actually use his abilities.

However, it IS a little frightening.

Was that meant to be a show of power, or was he genuinely just scaring it off?

What exactly does he want with me?

Volo turns, and they keep walking, an uncomfortable silence falling between the two.

“..you know.. I have time.”

Volo looks over at him in confusion.

“For a long story I mean.”

“This isn’t one you want to hear,” Volo quickly says. Please don’t ask again.

Luckily for Volo, Cheri just looks at him for a moment, almost seeming to study him. Volo shudders at the way Cheri seems to be staring straight into his soul.

Then Cheri nods, turning to the next cliffside to climb in silence.

Volo watches him for a moment longer before turning back to climb. ..He doesn’t trust me. I can tell. He might never trust me again, and honestly, that would be warranted.

It’s really unfortunate timing, that this has happened now, of all times. Right now, when I’m doing something important. One last thing before there’s nothing left for me to do, nothing left that I can fix.

..I suppose if I survive this, I can let him and his siblings decide my fate afterwards. Those three were the ones most directly affected by my actions.. Then they’ll get the final decision, if it isn’t made here.

..for now, though.. I can, at the very least, try to give him closure.

“..I.. want to apologize,” Volo mutters.

Cheri turns to look at him, subconsciously checking his intentions, and oh, this is a genuine apology. “Hm?”

“For.. Not only the rift, and pulling you and your siblings from your home, but also for betraying the three of you. ..I hope you know it wasn’t just.. It wasn’t all just manipulation. You three were some of the few people I could genuinely consider friends, had I not been holding you all at arms length.” I might as well be genuine. Maybe in return, he’ll do the same..

No. I shouldn’t hope, I don’t get to hope, but..

It would be nice, if it was something I deserved.

Cheri blinks a few times as he feels the sincerity. Interesting.. “..They’re going to want apologies too, you know. ..thanks, by the way, that.. actually means a lot.” He looks up the mountain, thinking for a moment. “..You really have changed, haven’t you.”

Volo hums, making a so-so gesture. “I’d like to think so.”

“..I forgive you, you know.” Cheri shakes his head. “Honestly, I did a long time ago. What you did was fucked up, don’t get me wrong, and a LOT of people got hurt that shouldn’t have. But.. I dunno.” He shakes his head. “..I can understand your reasoning.” What I learned about him, about his people..

Volo stops, looking over at Cheri with confusion. He forgives me..? Why? It doesn’t make sense to me. What does he have to gain? I don’t know if I should trust this, that might be exactly what he’s aiming for. “Really?” Volo looks up to meet Cheri’s eyes.

Confusion, a hint of fear, and Cheri realizes he should explain. “I wouldn’t ever do the same thing you did, don’t get me wrong. But the world really is full of unnecessary suffering.” Cheri shakes his head. “And.. if I’m right about where you came from, you’ve dealt with a lot of it, right?”

How much does he know about me? And how does he know it? Why does he know it?

Volo doesn’t let his uneasiness show on his face, humming noncommittally. “It doesn’t excuse my actions. I ended up bringing harm to a lot of people.” I don’t deserve forgiveness. “..Thank you, though,” he murmurs.

Cheri studies him for a moment. So, the self loathing is probably from the rift and everything surrounding it, at least partially.. Not sure what the uneasiness is about, but he doesn’t like something about me. It might just be the whole zoroark thing, but it’s been growing, so maybe it’s something I’ve been saying or something? “Don’t mention it.” He looks up, getting to the top of the cliff they’re climbing and offering a hand to pull Volo up, which Volo takes.

They’re about halfway up the mountain now. The air’s growing colder- though Cheri can’t really feel the cold himself, Volo’s pulling his clothes a little tighter around himself.

..conversation topic.. Oh, the plan. “So.. About this Eclipse guy..”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Volo says quickly.

“No, I wasn’t asking what he did, don’t worry.” I don’t want to push him too much, he’s wary. “I just want to know, he’s trying to kill you, right? Do you want him alive, or? If you’re, uh.. taking him out, what’re we doing with him after? What’s the plan?”

“You don’t have to worry about that, he’ll be taken care of either way, and.. alive would be preferred, but if he dies, I.. don’t really care.” Maybe that’s a little harsh.. Well. Maybe I’m allowed to be a little harsh. Volo shakes his head. “However, I would like to be able to capture him and bring him in. I.. have some questions that I want to ask him, with prison bars separating him from me, of course.”

Cheri hums, studying Volo’s expression for a moment, sensing the emotions behind it. Is that.. Pain? Exhaustion?

Concern? ..Overthinking, maybe..?

“..What sorts of questions?”

Volo shakes his head. “..I just.. hm.”

I don’t know how to word this. I want to know why he did it. I want to know why, out of EVERYONE he could have chosen, every timespace criminal he had access to, he chose ME to hurt.

“..I want closure.”

Cheri hums, looking away. “..He might not give you that. Talking to him might make it worse, you know.”

Volo turns to Cheri with a glare, hissing “You know nothing about him, or my situation.”

Cheri’s a little surprised by the sudden anger in the air, though it’s understandable, he doesn’t blame Volo for it. After a moment of thought, trying to figure out what to say, he shrugs. “I might know next to nothing about the situation, but I know trauma when I see it.” He glances over at Volo, letting his eyes flash, a subtle reminder of his abilities. “He hurt you, yeah? On purpose, I’m guessing.”

..Just how much does he know..? And what is he trying to get out of knowing this about me?

He’s right, and it scares me. Does he know because of an ability? Did he look into my fears? Or did he figure it out on his own?

Volo turns away, the silence giving Cheri all the answer he needs.

Shit. It seems like trying to bridge the gap is just making things worse.. Honestly, I should’ve expected this, got too personal too fast.

Well. There’s no point in dropping the conversation at this point. He can try to make me leave, but it’s not gonna work, I need to make sure this Eclipse guy doesn’t fuck with Arceus. And besides..

I’m worried. About Volo, of all people. That’s saying something. “..And he’s trying to kill you even now.. I doubt he’ll give you closure.” Cheri turns away, frowning. “If anything, talking to him might make things worse.” It made it worse when I talked to Keyo’s bio parents, after all. Dickheads will be dickheads, it’ll always hurt to talk to em.

“Perhaps.” Volo shakes his head. My pain shouldn’t matter to you. You can’t actually care, especially not with everything I’ve done to you, so..

It must matter to you because you want me hurt.

“..Let’s talk about something else, shall we?” And if you do somehow care, you shouldn’t get attached to me anyway, you shouldn’t get attached to someone who deserves a bad fate. It’ll only hurt you.

“Hm.” ..yeah. He’s probably done talking now. Cheri looks up the mountain, squinting as the sun hits his eyes. “..Not much further now.”

Volo nods, checking his watch. “The readings said he will appear in the cave that leads to Cloudcap Pass.”

“Alright. So we get to the pass, then go to the cave from there?”

Volo nods. “And then we’ll wait until he arrives.”

“Right.”

They climb in silence until they reach the top, coming out near the destroyed temple. Cheri takes a deep breath, taking in the air.

This place feels as holy as it always did, the presence of the gods closer here than it is anywhere else in the region, and he feels the power of Arceus’s blessing within him shift.

They’re watching.

Volo glances over at the spear pillar, an unreadable expression on his face, and Cheri senses a spike of guilt. Then he turns away from it, wordlessly heading to the cave, a grim determination filling his gut as he lets his Pokémon out.

Cheri lets his own Pokémon out too. He hadn’t been expecting a battle today, but most of his Pokémon are pretty strong anyway, so it should be fine. He’s got Sprigs with him, and Sprigs doesn’t fight, so he was left in his ball. But Cheri has a few with him that do fight, some of the ones that he hasn’t spent much time with recently. Hydra, Eelectra, Zigzag, Tiktok, and Sylvie- his hydreigon, eelektross, linoone, galvantula, and sylveon, respectively- all can fight. And in the worst case scenario, he can fight too.

Recognition. Feeling a pulse of emotional energy towards him, he turns to look at Volo’s Lucario, who’s staring at him with confusion and a little bit of fear. Cheri takes a breath, summoning up feelings of forgiveness, knowing the other Pokémon can read them. After a moment, the Lucario nods, pushing another feeling towards him. Friendliness, a gesture of goodwill. That is SO much better than what I got from his trainer. Cheri smiles, letting the feeling rise in his chest and sending it back, then he looks over at Volo.

Volo looks normal on the outside, but Cheri can tell he’s terrified, can feel the feeling seeping off him even without reaching towards him with his abilities.

“Hey,” Cheri says, resting a hand on Volo’s shoulder.

He nearly pulls away when Volo flinches, but then Volo leans slightly into the kind touch, looking up at him with wide eyes.

He’s touching me. Why is he touching me. I..

Why am I.. not all that scared of it..?

“I’ve got your back. You’re gonna be okay,” Cheri mutters. If you’re gonna die, he’s gotta get through me first.

Volo stares at him for a moment, then nods, his smile becoming a bit more genuine, though there’s sadness in his eyes. Oh. This is genuine kindness?

I should have expected it from Arceus’s chosen.

..I really don’t deserve this. You shouldn’t get attached to me. He opens his mouth to speak, but then his watch starts to blare, an alarm that he quickly moves to silence, expression hardening. “He’s coming,” Volo says, pressing a button on his watch. A hologram pops up, indicating a specific location, and Volo turns it off and takes a step away from there, staring at it, getting low to the ground, ready to dodge at a moment’s notice. Okay. I can do this. All I need is to last long enough to break that bracelet. His Pokémon quickly surround him, protective. Cheri motions for his own to do the same, and they quickly get into battle-ready stances.

The group stands in silence, staring at the spot, waiting with bated breath.

And then a portal opens, and Volo’s garchomp snarls, dashing forward.

“Ah- Shark, wait-!”

But it’s too late. Shark is thrown into the nearest wall, a Mewtwo holding him there. He snarls, kicking at the walls, the ground, trying to escape the psychic grasp, but it’s no use. Should I recall him and let him back out? I don’t know if that would work, don’t know if I could move quickly enough-

“Well, hello there,” someone says.

The voice is unfamiliar to Cheri.

But Volo stiffens even further.

Goosebumps rise on his arms.

Cheri can feel the fear seeping off him as he turns to stare into the portal.

The strange man steps forwards, grinning. “That’s not the friendliest welcome.”

“Eclipse,” Volo mutters, shrinking back. Shrinking back.

What the hell did he do, to make Volo react like that? Cheri looks over to Eclipse, taking in the high-tech bracelets on his arms, the look in his eyes.

He’s immediately hit with the man’s aura as he reaches his powers out, a sense of complete malice washing over him, and his eyes narrow as he braces himself against it, subconsciously baring his teeth.

“I can’t let you near Arceus,” Volo says, taking a step forward despite his fear, his Pokémon moving with him.

Eclipse waves his right hand, and a few more legendaries appear.

Volo stops moving forward. The whole cave is at a standstill.

Cheri notices strange yellow wires around the legendaries’ forms, feels psychic energy coming off of them, and then his eyes narrow as he notices a small yellow bracelet on Eclipse’s wrist. It’s barely noticeable, but it matches the wires. That must be the one.

“You know what I want,” Eclipse says. Volo’s Pokémon growl, protectively moving between the two. “All you need to do is come quietly, and all this can end. You know you deserve what’ll happen to you. It’ll save the world, even; it’ll finally redeem you, to prevent the same thing you did from happening again.”

And his grin widens, the malice surrounding im grows stronger.

“Don’t you want that?”

The manipulation leaves a bad taste in Cheri’s mouth, but he looks over at Volo, waiting to see how the interaction plays out.

“..I..” I do deserve it, but I still have my Pokémon to take care of. I don’t want to leave them behind, but if this doesn’t work, if I attack him and it ends up being for nothing, will he hurt them as retaliation for my actions?

..If I just go with, I won’t have to worry. They will be at least a little safer. The land may be different in this time, but it’s still their home region, and I trust they’ll be able to take care of themselves if needed, but..

“Are you going to return the legendaries to where you got them if I do?”

Volo’s pokemon make sounds of protests, but he holds up a hand to keep them quiet.

“Of course. I only needed them for this, after all.”

Okay. Fuck this. Cheri steps forward suddenly. “He isn’t going anywhere with you,” Cheri spits, moving between the two himself.

“And who are you? His new toy?” Eclipse sneers. “He’ll only betray you, you know; he’s betrayed everyone he’s ever gotten close to. He’ll manipulate you and then throw you aside, like he always has.”

Cheri feels the way Volo shrinks back, feels the guilt pooling off the man, and he snarls. Gods. Why does every powerful man I meet have to be SUCH a DICK? “Shut the fuck up. You think I don’t know the risks? I’m one of the guys he betrayed, and you’re still wrong for treating him like this.”

Eclipse raises an eyebrow, a spark of curiosity in his eye. “Oh really?” He tilts his head to the side. “Haven’t you noticed he’s better now? Haven’t you noticed he’s not going to try anything anymore? That change is because of me. Really, the world is better off with him in my hands-”

Cheri rushes forward. He’s reaching for the bracelet on Eclipse’s wrist, aiming to break it, and the other Pokémon in the cave rush forwards with him.

Within seconds, Mewtwo flings a bunch of their Pokémon out of the cave. Zigzag, Hydra, and Volo’s Spiritomb are frozen in a huge block of ice that Cheri narrowly avoids himself. Galarian Moltres flies past him as he dodges another blast of ice. There’s something glowing electric blue over there, but Cherry doesn’t see what it is before another ice blast blocks his vision.

Cheri can’t see Volo, but he knows Volo has Sylvie and his lucario with him, so he focuses on dodging Regiice’s attacks. With an angry scream, fire blasts from his throat, knocking Regiice out cold. One last blast of ice manages to catch his arm, and Cheri yelps as frostbite sets in-

Volo screams, a sound that reeks of agony, a bloodcurdling sound that makes Cheri’s heart drop, and he turns to Eclipse, letting his true form show, ten feet of pure protective rage aiming for Eclipse’s wrist-

Mesprit. Blast of emotion. Panic.

Frenzy.

Magic rushing in his ears. Time blurring together. Screaming, sounds so far away.

Blood flying through the air. An arm, mangled human arm, on the ground, blood pooling, blood in his mouth, between his teeth, on his hands, broken bracelet, mutilated flesh.

He tries to breathe. Everything sounds underwater, the world spinning, spinning, out of his control.

Out of control.

Out of control.

Out of control, he’s out of control-

Ribbon around his arm. A sense of calm pushes the panic away. He’s left on the ground, gasping, catching his breath, residual shakes leaving him exhausted, shifting back to his human form on instinct.

He looks up after a few moments, looking up at Sylvie, who’s staring at him with wide, terrified eyes.

“h.. Hey, buddy,” Cheri murmurs, gently scratching the top of Sylvie’s head. “You okay?”

Sylvie makes a sound, butting his head against Cheri’s chest before pulling away and dashing around the chunk of ice.

Cheri recalls the Pokémon who are still stuck in the ice, then stands on shaky legs, hurrying after Sylvie- Oh no.

Volo’s on the ground.

Cheri can’t tell if he’s conscious or not.

He rushes to Volo’s side, his uninjured hand hovering over the man, trying to figure out what’s wrong-

“Cheri,” a weak voice, and Cheri looks up at Volo’s face.

Contorted with agony. He reaches out with his magic to see where the pain is, burning blasts through his side. He pulls back.

“Is- is he gone?” Volo asks.

“Yeah, I- I think I got him, I think he’s gone,” Cheri mutters, rolling Volo over despite Volo’s cry of pain.

His shirt’s stained black in a large spot on his side. Cherry pulls it up to see a huge burn. It’s.. odd, though, it’s not a normal burn. The area around is stained black, but it isn’t charred, nothing is charred. It almost looks more like a poison than anything.

Cheri can feel the dark-type energy coming off it, sapping his own energy, and he takes a shaking breath through his mouth, trying to will away the feeling as he scoops Volo up. Volo lets out a pained sound at being moved. “Sorry,” Cheri mutters with a grimace, trying to ignore how hard it is to move his hand, how numb his arm is. Once he’s sure Volo is securely in his arms despite that, he gets Volo’s Spiritomb in its ball, then runs out of the cave.

“‘S fine, deserved,” Volo mutters, eyes slipping shut as he leans into Cheri. Cheri takes Volo’s pokeballs and recalls the injured Pokémon he finds scattered around the outside of the cave. “Can.. can you take care of them for me..?”

It’s all Cheri can do to not scream, shakes running through his entire body. “Shut up. Don’t do this shit, you’re not dying on me.” I came here to protect you, and by Arceus, I’m gonna do it.

Volo laughs, an exhausted, mirthless sound, even as a tear slips down his cheek. “It’s okay,” he whispers. “It’s okay. I deserve this. It’s okay.”

“Shut up!” Shit, I’m being a little harsh. Gods. Fuck. “Sorry, actually, don’t shut up. But stop that. You don’t deserve it.” As he talks, Cheri quickly recalls the rest of their pokemon, then he gets back to running down the mountain, not even bothering going through the caves, he knows where he’s going. He shifts back to his true form so he can jump down cliffs and land it, jumping over tree roots and fallen logs, trying his best not to jostle Volo too much.

Volo’s taking shuddering breaths, silent tears slipping down his cheeks, but he doesn’t complain at all. Self hatred, agony, and a sense of utter hopelessness is coming off of him, all of it is mixed with acceptance.

He genuinely believes he deserves this, Cheri realizes, a sick feeling building in his gut. Fucking hell.

“Why’re you doing this?” Volo murmurs, looking up into Cheri’s eyes. “You can’t seriously want to help me. What’s your motive? ”

“Is it so hard to believe I could genuinely like helping people?” Cheri spits.

He was aware of the way his voice echoes in this form, but Volo flinches at the sound.

And it reminds him that, yes, it is.

He isn’t human, after all. He isn’t even living.

He’s a vengeful spirit.

And sure, he chooses not to indulge that side of himself.

But how is Volo supposed to know that?

“Sorry, sorry,” Volo murmurs, breath hitching slightly as Cheri jumps down a cliff. Blood starts to drip down his side, and Cheri internally curses.

“It’s fine,” Cheri says, setting Volo down and tearing off pieces of his own shirt to start packing the wound and make a quick makeshift bandage. “Talk about something, anything, just.. Just keep talking.”

Volo winces in pain. “..You know the Pokémon that got me? Galarian Moltres?” He looks away, eyes unfocused. “Some say it burns your very spirit away.” He laughs, though the laugh turns into coughs. “I must be very lucky that mine’s still intact, ahaha- Ow!”

“Sorry.” Having tied the makeshift bandage tight, he quickly scoops Volo back up. “What else about galarian Moltres do you know? Any interesting legends? Anything?”

“G-galar was never really my focus,” he mutters, taking a few steadying breaths- they’re shallow, it hurts him to breathe. “I’m just..” He lets out a quiet wheeze, resting his head against Cheri’s shoulder.

There’s exhaustion radiating off him, Cheri realizes, and Cheri gets running again.

“Don’t go to sleep, I don’t know what happens if you do,” he mutters.

“Mmh..” Volo shakes his head. “Trying..”

“Good. Keep talking.” Cheri takes a shaky breath. “What about normal Moltres? Any cool legends?”

“..they’ll dive into volcanoes to heal themselves,” Volo mumbles. “And they.. bring an early spring, to cold places..” His eyes slip closed.

Cheri nods. “You know the Indigo League Flame is said to have been lit with their flames?”

“Oh yeah.. I.. I remember that.. s.. Sorry, I can’t..” Volo goes limp in his arms.

“Hey, Volo, keep talking! Volo!!” Not sensing anything from the guy at all, Cheri grimaces. “SHIT!!!” Cheri moves faster, shifting back as they get to the bottom of the mountain, not wanting to be seen by anyone who doesn’t already know in any form outside of a human one.

shit shit Shit SHIT SHIT!!! Cheri bursts out of the trees, running into Eterna City, dodging around people as he heads to the nearest hospital.

He rushes into the emergency room. “We need a doctor, now!” It comes out louder than he meant it, almost echoing, though for some reason, it’s hard to hear himself anyway.

Everything feels so far away as the emergency room suddenly turns into a rush, a stretcher coming out to take Volo away. People ask what happened, and he explains as best as he can, telling them Volo got hit with a powerful dark-type attack that sapped his energy, leaving out the legendaries and the reason for the blood staining his hands and teeth.

He.. doesn’t entirely know why that’s there. He has a faint idea, but he blocks that out on purpose.

He can process that later, he can process that he probably killed a man another day.

The doctors are concerned about it, though, so he tells them it’s from the one who attacked the two of them, and they accept that answer, bringing him back soon after for his frostbitten arm.

Time seems to stretch to forever as his injury is treated, but when he’s finally left alone, allowed to leave, it feels like no time’s passed at all. He leaves the hospital, heading straight for the Pokémon center to drop off his and Volo’s Pokémon.

Relax. Just breathe, Cheri. Just relax.

Breathe.

He takes deep breaths as he walks, wrapping his arms around himself and closing his eyes, sensing people’s feelings to determine where they are so he can avoid them.

Thankfully, he makes it to the Pokémon center without an issue, setting down the pokeballs on the nurse’s desk.

“Those six are unregistered, he- he made their balls himself,” he explains, trying to ignore the shake in his voice.

The nurse scans the pokeballs. “They look registered to me..”

Sure enough, they are registered, under a Volo Discere.

“Huh.. interesting,” Cheri mutters. Did he always have a last name? I know Volo means to want. What’s Discere..? “Okay, nevermind, then. Um- I’ve gotta go, he’s hurt. Can you take care of them while I’m gone?”

“Of course, but- Wait-!” She looks up in worry as he leaves, but he doesn’t have time to chat, making his way back to the hospital.

I need to see if he’s okay.

He heads to the nearest waiting room. Someone passes by in the hall, he recognizes her as the nurse who treated him.

“Hey!” He rushes over, catching her attention. “Volo, uh, Discere- is he okay?”

“Huh? Are.. you asking about the one you came in with?” She gives a weirdly strained smile. “They’re still fixing him up, but it’s looking like he’ll pull through.”

“Okay.. okay.” Cheri lets out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

She nods, rushing off, and he finally lets himself relax.

Okay.

Okay, we’re okay.

Not sure what she was freaking out about, but it should be fine..

..they’ll come to me if anything happens with him, right..? I’m probably not on his emergency contacts- he probably doesn’t have those, actually- but I AM the one who brought him here..

WOULD he have emergency contacts?? His Pokémon are registered, so maybe???

Cheri sighs, sitting in one of the chairs, leaning back with his hands clasped together behind his head. He lets his eyes slip closed, taking a few deep breaths.

Whatever the case, if he needs me, if he asks for me, I’ll be here.

After a few moments, the exhaustion of the day catches up to him.

And finally, he slips into sleep, all his day’s plans forgotten.

[meowzfordayz]

bff

Author’s Note: 10/10 would be 11/10 happy w/ these bffs. 😭💞

bff

Rengoku Kyojuro x Reader, Shinazugawa Sanemi x Reader, Tokito Muichiro x Reader

Word Count: ~1,500

CW: explicit language, platonic

Emergency Request Fulfilled: can i request platonic fluffy hcs for muichiro and/or genya— separate ofc, with a fem/gn (thats really up to you) childhood friend!hashira reader whos very loving? (not a hashira if genya!)

for example always holding on in someway, giving hugs, cuddles, kisses (on the hair/scalp or hands only), giving alot of attention, and friendly overall.

how they interact, feel, maybe even defend them if someone makes a comment abt them for ‘leading him on’ bcs they dont love him romantically *totally didnt happen to me once* i mean.. its like 1920 its bound to happen, react to dating assumptions, ect.

~faqs, image~

Bff!Kyojuro who, to be quite frank, doesn’t exactly make you laugh directly, but constantly makes you laugh indirectly, because how could you not laugh at how hard he makes himself laugh ??

Bff!Kyojuro who’s only slightly embarrassing to go out for meals with (his moaning exclamations of delight and contentment as he eats are, uhh, fairly loud), but you’re never truly embarrassed — really, you just wish you had his level of obliviousness confidence

Bff!Kyojuro who grins brightly whenever the server assumes you’re on a date “Which date do you think we’re on?”; who grins even brighter when the server’s eyes widen as he promptly announces “Beyond five hundred!” (of course, the server doesn’t have any way of knowing that those ~dates were entirely platonic and span a decade+); who tips the server generously if they mention proposing or marriage

Bff!Kyojuro who takes your scolding Stop fooling everyone into believing we’re a couple! with a grain of salt, because you do the exact same thing (it’s a miracle that your friends continue to fall for your We’re finally, actually, literally official! prank)

Bff!Kyojuro who raids your pantry with zero shame; cooks a second portion—for you—of whatever he’s craving; randomly stocks your fridge from time to time (he has a key to your apartment — it’s a regular occurrence for you to return home to new groceries and a sticky note “Reimbursement for our recent movie night!”)

Bff!Kyojuro who comes over with his old clothes because you get first priority/pickings before they’re donated

Bff!Kyojuro who pouts when you refuse to cuddle with him You’re too fricking sweaty

Bff!Kyojuro who retaliates by sitting on you

Bff!Kyojuro who writes you the sweetest birthday letters; you have a box with 10+ letters for all the years you’ve known him; it’s your tradition to read them in order (oldest to newest) every night after the celebration dies down and everyone (besides Kyojuro) heads home; he starts cleaning while you sit and read; it’s also tradition that by the final (newest) letter, you’re sobbing (happily) into his chest

Cleaning can wait

Bff!Kyojuro who believes in you, supports you, would move to another country for you — he has his own ambitions and dreams, sure, and they’re as adaptable and flexible as his adoration for you

Bff!Kyojuro who knows he can show up at your apartment at ass o’ clock, cheeks tear stained, heart ruptured, because you’re there for him too

You told him once that You’re my non romantic soulmate, and feeling your palms cup his face—your gaze tired, concerned, angry for him—he knows, “You’re my non romantic soulmate too.”

Bff!Sanemi who’s kinda your frenemy ?? except more friend than enemy (albeit, it took years to achieve that ratio)

Bff!Sanemi who excels at the little things

Bff!Sanemi who picks you up from the airport, the bar, really anywhere if you give him enough time to get there

Bff!Sanemi who knows your allergies, health conditions, fears — double checks whenever you dine out, carries extras of generic medication on him, keeps an eye on you ~just in case

Bff!Sanemi who remembers the things you want but I don’t need it though; has a literal list of items to buy/make for special occasions (i.e. birthdays, holidays) as well as ~just because (i.e. he misses you, you’re annoying him); ensures the list never runs out, “But you deserve it.”

Bff!Sanemi who’s very competitive and very mean about it — Monopoly, Go Fish, War, Scrabble, and puzzles are in the DO NOT PLAY WITH SHINAZUGAWA SANEMI category

Bff!Sanemi who has almost destroyed your friendship over Monopoly’s houses and hotels rules, cheating when shuffling cards, bullshit words in Scrabble, and overall raging (puzzles in particular)

Bff!Sanemi who doodles Sharpie tattoos on your forearms whenever you fall asleep before him, bUT TO BE FAIR — they’re always lowkey beautiful

Bff!Sanemi who’d be honored to draw the art for your first tattoo (if you so desired a tattoo), and would be just as honored if you drew the art for his first tattoo

Bff!Sanemi who’s adamantly against matching tattoos, but he’s got nothing to worry about considering your styles differ… significantly… (aka, for the sake of these hcs, his doodles of eyes actually look like eyes, whereas yours look like… scary)

Bff!Sanemi who kisses your bruises and scrapes (acquired from careless tripping, stubbing, falling) first “Are you okay?!”, and then laughs and points at you second “You’re a fucking idiot.”

Bff!Sanemi who: if you’re good at cooking — buys you ingredients and ~forces you to cook; if you’re bad at cooking — delegates setting the table, choosing the playlist, washing the dishes to you (while he cooks instead)

Bff!Sanemi who dances with you in the kitchen, which could be cute except that he takes it very seriously

Bff!Sanemi who grumbles when you accidentally step on his foot, insults your skill, “You’d be knocked out first round from any dance competition.”, rolls his eyes when you mutter It’s not that deep, and inevitably turns stepping on feet into a merciless battle that he unfortunately and usually wins

Bff!Sanemi who reluctantly massages your feet afterwards (winner’s remorse)

You told him once that You’re a menace. My menace, and as he stares at your playful fierce glare, he’s inclined to agree

Bff!Muichiro who cuts the tops off your strawberries; unshells your sunflower seeds (a true act of selflessness); shares his fries I’m fine! “I insist.” But Mui- “Less staring, more eating.”; lets you sip his frappes before he does

Bff!Muichiro who grabs your hand as you cross the street together, squeezing protectively, eyebrows furrowed with endearing focus considering, well, yanno We’re just crossing the street!

Bff!Muichiro who holds open doors for you; jams his foot in closing elevators for you; waits in lines for you

Bff!Muichiro who listens to you ramble for hours—tucked into your favorite corner of his couch—while playing mindlessly with your hair, David Attenborough narrating about whales or something in the background

Bff!Muichiro who kisses the top of your head after playing with your hair; hands migrating to your shoulders; searching for and gently kneading at any knots

Bff!Muichiro who learns your favorite braids, and either creates masterpieces with your hair and/or allows you to “Go wild.” with his (depending on who has better/ideal hair for braiding)

Bff!Muichiro who keeps extra hair ties on his wrist; for himself in case you spontaneously decide he needs a make over; for yourself (when applicable) in case you break/forget/lose yours

Bff!Muichiro who surprises you with picnics in meadows of wildflowers (the long drives are 100% worth it) because wildflowers = flower crowns = the best accessories

Bff!Muichiro whose entire Instagram is basically photos of you, himself, and you with him, featuring your plethora of creations

Bff!Muichiro who tags you as Hair Stylist: @--- or Model: @--- because, “Credit where credit is due.”

Bff!Muichiro who replies with vague 😁 and ☺️ and random heart emojis to You guys are too cute! and Dayum you really outdid yourselves and Where is this? It’s sooo prettyyy comments on aforementioned posts

Bff!Muichiro who never discloses locations because he cherishes the privacy and intimacy of his time spent with you

Bff!Muichiro who rarely allows you to move (when you’re cozied up on his couch), tugging sternly at your earlobe, “Hungry?” as you inch toward the kitchen, “You’re my guest. Stay put! I’ll go.”

Bff!Muichiro who has your coffee/tea/preferred beverage order memorized, and if you don’t have a usual, then he still knows your moods and somehow always picks the perfect drink to satisfy you

Bff!Muichiro who can’t promise to not watch the next episode(s) of your favorite show(s) without you, but is happy to rewatch them to your heart’s content

Bff!Muichiro who scoffs when mutual acquaintances—sometimes even mutual friends—poke and pry at his friendship with you, because he knows where he stands with you, and that’s what matters most

Bff!Muichiro whose tone turns icy, impatient, rude when pushed too far, “Leading me on? I choose to be their friend, and they choose to be mine. We know how we feel, and that’s enough.”

Bff!Muichiro who could write entire essays in your defense, but finds that cutting to the chase is generally more effective

Bff!Muichiro who refuses to stop nudging you with his elbows, tickling you to get his way, offering you piggybacks when you’re lazy/sleepy, because, “I don’t care about rumors. I care about you. If you’re happy with our friendship as it is, and I’m certainly happy with it, then what’s there to change?”

Bff!Muichiro who hugs you for as long as you want—for as long as you need—regardless of whose around

You told him once that Your hugs could cure practically anything, and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t live up to your standards

[vibraniumphoenix]

until you came along. [ b.b ]

a dad!bucky barnes x fem!reader wherein bucky finally gets to meet his little one.

WARNING: bucky hinting about his past but aside from that nothing else! maybe this fic giving you baby fever idrk, time is set somewhere after the events of tfatws, and lowercase intended!

A/N: hi my baby fever is torture and im dragging you along with me. dad!bucky has been stuck in my head for so long now and i’ve been feeling guilty abt not sharing that with you. please reblog the post, it really means a lot!

---

if someone was to tell bucky from a few years back he would be an expecting father, he would probably chuckle bitterly as he turned down the idea; but here he was now, rushing in the middle of the car-filled streets of new york, to finally meet his new born baby.

he cursed under his breath as the cab he was in turned into another corner that had cars barely moving, fingers drumming against the sides of his thighs as he tried to calm himself down, his right arm pulling out his phone to see multiple messages from your mother, asking where was he as you were already in active labor一 that was several hours ago.

he and sam were on a mission, taking down some mafia gang that wanted to smuggle in illegal goods in trade for stolen a truck filled with stolen vibranium; his mind replaying how he didnt want to leave the hospital and stay by your side, but you pushed him to go, not expecting that the infant would arrive later that day.

as soon as he saw the tall building of the hospital you were at, he paid the driver and got out of the car, sprinting all the way to the entrance where his father-in-law was waiting, “i’m so sorry i couldn’t come sooner一” were the words that left bucky’s mouth until he was cut off, “it’s alright, you should head up, your little one’s waiting upstairs.” your father said, patting him on the back as he motioned with his other hand to go.

weaving his way inside, he quickly found your room and composed himself, standing up straight as he caught his breath, smoothing the invisible wrinkles on his clothes before slowly opening the door, peeking his head through its crack to see your sleeping figure on the bed, your mother sitting right by your side.

“bucky!” your mother quietly greeted, standing up to give him a hug. her smile was wide as she stared at his almost organized look, his hair still in a disarray from the rush he was in moments prior. “both of your angel’s are sleeping as of the moment, you should get some rest too, son. me and f/n will go home and set everything up for the baby” she calmly said, motioning the seat that she was previously in.

a small smile formed on his lips as he nodded, wanting to actually take a seat and be with you. “thank you for looking after her, ma.” he answered, hugging the woman tightly before letting go, waving his had as she left the room.

he quietly walked over and took a seat, observing the small sleeping figure inside the clear bassinet next to your bed, tears forming up in his eyes to see such a peaceful little face. gently raising a single digit over the crib, he gently caressed the baby’s hand which held onto his finger, “hey there, little one. I’m your dad.”

---

you stirred awake, body feeling extra sore still from giving birth, you were about to open your eyes when you heard bucky’s voice, “... and i was probably more scared than your momma could ever be at that moment, my little angel.” you opened your eyes a little to see bucky carrying the infant in his arms, sat down, slightly facing the window.

the warm rays of the early sun peeked through the blinds of the window, illuminating the peacefulness displayed on his face, “when your momma said that she had a suspicion you were in her belly, she was scared that i would leave ‘er, since we weren’t even into a year of dating一 little did she know that i feared what would become of us.”

your heart broke silently as you tuned into his confession to the baby, “i’m way older than your grandma and grandpa, i’m afraid that i could never see you grow up, i’m afraid that your momma would leave me for someone younger, that could be better a dad than old me.” his voice was soft, fragile almost as cradled your son.

“but i set those fears aside when i saw you sleeping in that crib of yours, lookin’ so angelic as you slept. i could have only wished to start a family before since i… i was considered to be someone so dangerous; i’ve always thought i would never find love but momma came along and proved me wrong, and now you’re here with me.” bucky continued, raising the small babe up to place a gentle kiss on his forehead.

“i’ve seen so much on this earth that i thought i’ve seen everything it has to offer. your dad’s cool since he got to fight such a big alien and so many bad guys before but i never really realized how much of life i missed until i saw you open your eyes and look at me. i’ve never deemed my life so… worthy until i you and momma came along.” bucky finished, bringing up his flesh hand to wipe the tear that had managed to escape, sighing softly.

you also brought a hand up, wiping the tears that you didn’t even notice away before quietly calling out your husband’s name, making him look back at you with a big surprise, quick to get on his feet and sat by your bed, his flesh hand holding onto yours as he leaned down to place a kiss on your lips. “how long have you been up, darling?”

you smiled tiredly, “just enough time to hear you ramble on to your son.” your tone light and teasing, making the latter chuckle in embarrassment that you had caught him being so soft, “who knew mr. bucky barnes could be such a softy.”

“for someone who just gave birth, you sure are in a teasing mood, baby.” he groaned, shaking his head at your antics. “i’m sorry i couldn’t be here for you when this little troublemaker arrived, y/n.” bucky apologized, looking at you with a small yet disappointed smile. “i knew i should have never taken up that mission.”

you squeezed his hand, shaking your head firmly. “no, james, don’t ever blame yourself for that.” you started off, “i said that you should go一 besides, you’re here now, with me and our little prince and that’s what matters.” you reassure him, bringing his hand up to your lips to place a gentle kiss on his already healing, bruised up knuckles.

bucky sighed softly, knowing better than to argue with you about that, “i know better than to argue with you about that, y/n.” he retorted softly, heart filled with love as his vision bounced from your featured to the sleeping one in his arms, gently exclaiming, “my god, i love you both so much.”

you laughed softly, warmth spreading throughout your body at the sight of the, now two, men in your life, “and we love you too, bucky. we love you too.”

---

[lunaastoir]

cute things i think the genshin characters would do

characters included: diluc, kaeya, venti, and albedo 

****minor lore spoilers for diluc!****

an: i’m thinking of making this into a series bc this was such an adorable concept to write so lmk if you’re interested 👀 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

diluc 

sorry kind of starting off with something a little sad 

i think diluc would have a habit of rubbing his vision 

ok seems kinda dumb at first but let me elaborate: 

after the death of his father, diluc was quite obviously devastated 

he basically withdrew into himself after letting all the grief, pain, and rage flood his senses

i think during this time of grieving, he would’ve developed this habit of running the pads of his fingers across his vision to calm himself down 

(v similar to katara from atla) 

since his father had always been proud of diluc’s vision, the thought of touching something that reminded him of his father has always been able to bring him some sort of relief no matter how short lived

it serves as a constant memory of his dad and i think being able to have that kind of connection - no matter how small would hold a significance to him 

stressed? you’ll see his fingers dance across his vision as the crease between his eyebrows gradually loosens 

ok here’s a bonus habit (bc the previous one was sad) 

whenever he’s bartending at angel’s share, he always flips the bottles in this cool bartending way before pouring the drinks 

like the whole shabang - flips in the air, shakes it in a way that the drink foams just right 

people are usually v surprised when they see this bc woah mans has got some sKILLS 

but also bc he’s known for being pretty serious and reserved so seeing a “trick” is kind of breaking the stoic image they have of him 

after he’s done pouring the drinks he’s also really precise about closing the bottles 

he makes sure that the caps are on tightly and that nothing is leaking (which ig is another reason why he does flips with them so he can make sure that the bottles are tightly closed) 

yes he’s rich but he also wants to make sure the drinks don’t go bad bc 1) kind of a loss if they do and 2) his customers deserve the best 

sweet man pls protect him <3 

kaeya

when he’s sitting down at his desk, he brings his legs up so he can sit on his chair criss- cross applesauce 

since he’s in his office and the only other person who’s in there with him is jean, he feels like he can drop the suave, charming cavalry captain facade he puts on when he’s in public and just dial it down slightly to who he really is in that moment 

jean doesn’t say a word the entire time even tho she quite obviously notices 

don’t get me wrong, he’s still the smooth talking kaeya but just,,, more relaxed and comfortable?? if that makes sense 

so since he’s a lot more comfortable in his office, he usually folds his legs into his chair bc damn they hurt from walking around all day

this is kinda dumb but i also think he has a lot of ink stains on his hands from writing so whenever he sees a fresh one he just likes to stamp it onto a piece of paper 

usually that piece of paper ends up being an unimportant report that goes to jean 

dw he also has a bunch of pretty small towels in his bottom drawer that he uses to wipe his hands on bc the public can’t see the pretty cavalry captain w ink stains!! the world would end!! 

oH kind of a side note but i also think he would keep a small folded up picture of something klee drew him in his pocket 

he thinks it’s very sweet and he periodically takes it out just to look at it soft for this man 

last one for kaeya but since he wears boots that have the little lip on the bottom (not really a heel but enough to make some noise) he makes sure to always try his best to walk quietly around the streets of mondstadt at night 

if anyone catches him doing it he’ll wave it off and say something like “oh me? i’m just practicing my stealth - it comes in handy when you have to sneak up on enemies you know?” but in reality that’s just bs 

he really just doesn’t wanna risk waking people up <3 

venti

this adorable man is obviously notorious for drinking 

he loves alcohol!! i mean he’s the anemo archon of the city of wine and freedom so is anyone really surprised 💀

anyways venti always jokes abt not having any mora (he really doesn’t he’s not wrong) but he always makes sure to pay his tab at angel’s share 

the only reason diluc lets him drink sm is because at the end of the day, venti always comes through w the mora 

he really is a talented bard so everything he makes in singing and composing music for other people to listen to always goes straight to angel’s share (debatable if that’s for the best or not but i’ll leave that one to you) 

so yeah <3 basically venti pays back his tabs even tho he’s an archon since he doesn’t want people to experience a loss bc of him 

it’s the archon nature coming out but also the venti nature bc he’s a sweet boy 

anyways getting onto the actual habit 🕺

he has a tendency to skip/hop regardless of wherever he’s going 

he uses his anemo elemental skill a lot while doing this just he can feel a light breeze whenever he skips around 

i also think he carries around extra bard strings in his hat bc he thinks it’s a cool party trick to take them out and be like tada i have extra strings no need to worry!!! 

people are usually not that amused but he does it anyway 

also yeah uh those strings sometimes fall out when he’s skipping 💀 

he’ll be hopping and suddenly bOOM they fall out, he loses them, a kitten by the name of prince takes them, and he has to ask for help to find his strings (i believe this is exactly how venti lost his strings to prince during the windblume festival and no i will not take any criticism and if venti says something different he is lying 🔪)

also has a habit of putting his hair into a bun sometimes!!! 

he loves his pigtails but he finds that he gets bored of them occasionally and his hair needs a break from its wavy tresses so he just plops it into a bun instead 

so so cute 10/10 hairstyle he can do my hair 

anyways love this man thanks for coming home <3 

albedo

i had a feeling i would kind of have a hard time w albedo since he is a little hard to read so i hope this is ok LMFAO 

he has paint stains. everywhere. no you cannot change my mind. 

they are subtle tho i will give him that 

you can’t notice that anything is amiss until you really pay attention and then you’ll start to see the pretty pastels and greens of the sunset he was painting up on dragonspine softly smeared across his clothes 

very rarely you’ll see a cute swipe of paint across his cheek or neck and it’s honestly adorable 

he was probably pushing his hair out of his face while he was painting and some excess paint on his finger landed on his cheek :,) 

he doesn’t really care tbh he thinks it’s just a part of him and it really isn’t that noticeable so he just leaves it 

also!!! since he is a big alchemist and he’s constantly working on labs and experiments i think he would accidentally misplace a lot of his written work 

he seems very organized but w someone as intellectual as him w his brain running miles a minute, i’m sure he has definitely forgotten where he’s put stuff away 

so!! in order to help him remember, he has little notes across his lab detailing where everything is 

if he was working on something and he immediately has to put it on hold bc something came up (klee came in demanding attention or sucrose needs help) then he’ll quickly jot down a note and stick it to his desk so he’ll remember when he comes back just in case he forgets 

sucrose as a result has noticed A LOT of notes across the lab and it’s simultaneously funny and endearing 

“started experiment with sweet flowers to try and turn them into a youth elixir: papers --> on the desk right next to klee’s photo” 

final point: he lets klee braid his hair sometimes if she wants to 

she doesn’t really know how given how young she is so she ends up messing up but albedo always walks her patiently through the steps again 

always makes time for klee no matter what bc he really does care a lot abt her :,) 

i love him sm pls 

[babymilkawa]

HI ITS ME CAN YOU PRETTY PLEASE WRITE SOME HCS FOR SUGAWARA IF HIS GF IS SICK. ALSO I DUNNO HOW MANY OTHER CHARACTERS YOU DO FOR EACH HC POST CAUSS I FORGOT TO CHECK, but if you need like three i’d really love hinata and daichi as well :D REMINDER OF SUGAWARA SUPREMACYYYYYY

HERE ARE SOME THINGS I MADE AS A BRIBE

ILL TAKE IT// but yea I didn’t rly put a limit cos ppl are decent enuf to not request like 10 at a time right?? 😅 here ya go swaglorddd

sick s/o headcanons with:

sugawara koushi, hinata shoyo, sawamura daichi, kenma kozume

gn!reader :)

sugawara koushi

if you show up to his practice wrapped in layers of clothing and a red nose, he’ll excuse himself immediately and force you to sit down on the bench while he goes to coach ukai’s store to get some meds for you

when he comes back, both his hands are carrying two plastic bags

one of them has your stuff, warm food that isn’t greasy and cough drops too

the others are cold drinks for his teammates aww karasuno’s mom

you are forBiddEn to have the drinks too except for the warm water he put in your water bottle

rly wished you’d go home first instead of waiting for his practice to end but it doesn’t seem like you want to

he’ll look to the benches every few minutes to see your sleeping form

during break, he’ll gently move your head onto his lap so you don’t have to lay on the hard bench

as soon as they’re dismissed he’s giving you his jacket cos “it gets cold in the night time” and warms up ur hands

if you try to keep ur distance so he doesn’t get sick too, he’ll joke that you prolly already got the whole team sick

making you pout and him pinching ur cheeks 😖

once you reach your place, he’ll linger outside of your door,,,unwilling to let go of your hands SOB

“I’ll come back tomorrow morning ok? I’ll also bring porridge but you still need to eat something else and don’t forget to drink hot wat-”

“yes, yes I know koushi...now go home so you don’t catch a cold too”

but even when you’re standing by your window, you’ll see him looking around your house, tryna figure out which window belongs to your bedroom

and as promised, he comes back the next day with hot porridge and makes sure that your water bottle is full with warm water

and that your backpack has extra cough drops

he’ll still hold your hand and kiss ur forehead

maybe part of him wants to get sick so u can take care of him djhfjdhf

hinata shoyo

he’ll pout a little once he finds out your sick but he’ll still stay by your side!

he’s still overflowing with energy but doesn’t wanna tire you out too much

you’ll hear him stop by your house in the mornings with a volleyball in his hands and maybe kageyama behind him, eating

he’ll bring random snacks from coach ukai’s store and place them at ur door

you’ll sit by ur window and he’ll sit outside of it, telling you about his day, what he did, how practice was

“y/n no one clapped for me T-T”

cos ur usually clapping for him after every successful hit

“kageyama was just yelling at me saying how my spike wasn’t even that great but I know you would’ve said it was good :((“

“aww shoyo, I’m sure it was! Don’t listen to him, ur trying ur best:))”

pet his hair

yes ur the one who’s sick but he misses u

will stop by ur house everyday

I mean he already does that

u usually help him with hw but he doesn’t think he shud ask u when u sleep

all his energy will just go p o o f when he sees u sleeping

he’ll prolly hear windchimes or smthing hahahah

but he’ll be able to sit quietly until you wake up

kageyama’s like HaaH???

SHH

but hinata’s tryna figure out his hw without u helping ok

once ur better, he’ll give you the bIGGGEST hug and sway you side to side AWW I MISS THOSE HUGS

and catch you up on evthing that’s happened

meaning everything that’s happened in the last 5 mins cos he already tells u everything 🙄

sawamura daichi

he’ll make sure you have everything for school

brings you your hw, explains to you the concepts

will call u during lunch or smthing cos it’s boring w/o you

dating him means ur automatically good friends with asahi and sugawara so they’ll check up on you too

and sugawara will tell you how daichi won’t stop talking abt how he can’t wait till u get better dhhdjfjdjs

sometimes you’ll catch him having tea with your mom on your front porch and she’s tryna embarrass you hahhsjdf

Ok but that scenario is just,,, so,,, hubby material yk

like he prolly came by to drop some food and ur moms making him stay and gushing abt how handsome he is

“so you’re the one making my y/n all happy”

rare occasions that daichi blushes #1

he’ll softly knock on ur door and u quickly pretend to be asleep

places sthing on ur desk then just leaves the s o f t e s t kiss on ur forehead and whispers sweet dreams GAHSJFOEJ

when he’s gone you look at what’s on ur desk and it’s a flower crown from ur first date 🥺

keep him ok

will prolly do sthing like throw paper airplanes at ur window

and then when he sees you open ur window he’ll hide behind a tree and watch as u go outside to pick them up

inside he’s written little notes like “get better!” Or “i miss you!” or “WHAT ARE U DOING AWAKE GO BACK TO SLEEP”

like sir u woke me up with all that tapping 🙄🤚🏻

once ur better, you walk into the vb gym first and u can hear him yelling at Tanaka and noya then when he sees u walk in he’s all “oh, y/n” 😌

PLS TANAKa and Noya WORSHIP U NOW SJDJSKKS

in the first couple of days you’re back he’ll still keep an eye on you and have his arm around your shoulder

occasionally putting his hand on your forehead and sneaking a kith 😚

kenma kozume

u didn’t tell him at first that u were sick but he still found out 🙄

“ur sick, aren’t you”

“huh?? No I’m not :((“

will look at u like this -_-

and yk if u stay home from school, he’ll find excuses to hang out in ur room

kuroo will be calling like “is freaking kenma there?!”

yea he’s spooning u

since ur sick, hE’ll be the one to pet ur hair

if it helps u fall asleep

won’t play games in ur room like he usually does cos he doesn’t want the sound and light to distract u

he’ll most likely bring u take out bc he can’t cook and will prolly burn down ur kitchen cos he got distrayced by the tv or smthing ahHa

will check ur temp like every 5 min I swear

“no- ko i rly don’t think my temp is gonna change every 5 min”

“but just in case-“

-_-

he’s smart ok so he’ll tutor you with late hw if u need it

will sit next to you and wiggle his toes by ur feet :3

once ur better, y’all go back to ur usual gaming and eat the hell out of junk food 🤪

a/n: rly hope u liked it 🥺💕 daichi’s was my fav hehe and TY @ilauvcoldpizza FOR HELPING ME W KENMA <3

haikyu!! masterlist

[m4rkiza]

pile of headcanons

bunch of raihan/leon headcanon nonsense from my twit*r

theres alot under the cut, warning : its cheesy, also, i headcanon raihan calling leon "bubu"

Raihan is really good at baking and leon is great at cooking savory & spicy food, raihan likes spicy food and leon likes baked goods, they complete each other

Leon so thick and firm he'd be so good to hug and raihan took advantage of that, holding his bubu until leon complains or whine, yknow when ur pet looks so cute and u hug them, like that

leon contacts name on raihans phone is like "♥💖my bubu♥💕", but raihans contact name on leons phone is "Raihan" with capital R

raihan complained about it, showed leons contact name on his phone, leon is surprised bc he thought his contact name on raihans phone is just "Leon" or "Lee"

then leon changes rai's contact name too "🥰raihoney💖

leon doesnt look like the guy who'd be extra on hair and skin treatment, the reason his hair and skin (especially his hair) is unbearably soft and shiny is bc raihan kept reminding him to do so (and buying it)

sometimes leon act spoiled so raihan will do an entire haircare for him

yes raihan do it bc he loves leon unconditionally and he thinks leon deserves it

raihan has a dirty mouth and uses every swear word but for some reasons, around leon all he can say is "jerk" "ugly" and "dumb"

raihan does that bc all he remember when hes with leon is pet names and how-to-coo-and-woo-your-boyfriend

raihan being leons moral compass feels fitting, not bc leon is dumb but bc leon himself is swallowed by his own title and got the hero complex, making him selfless and have a hard time to say no

raihan is there to "what the fuck are you thinking, dont do that baby, you'll die"

but leon seems stubborn yes? he wont listen if people just say "no", he'd ask the reason why, and if the said person doesnt give a clear answer, he leaves but raihan always tries to explain him in full description, short & long lasting damage, consequence etc

so obviously leon listens, and as time goes by, raihan is.. his moral compass, in a way

raihan playfully growls while squeezing leons body parts but its definitely not so playful in leons mind

raihan always ask leon to wear his freshly-washed-hoodie at sunday so when he go to work at monday, his hoodie will smell like leon

raihans laugh is like "aha haha haha *low volume wheeze* phew heehee" and leon got a laugh that can trigger an earthquake

Raihan sneeze like a kitten while leon sneeze like a buldozer

Leon muffles his laugh by hugging raihan so it wont surprise anyone around them

leon demanding affection from raihan by giving him stupid empty threats

leon : Kiss me or ill

raihan : u will what

leon : i-i will shrink your hoodie and make it mine

raihan : no, now come here bubu

In reality, leon doesnt need to do "things" to get raihans attention, raihan told him he can just ask or "just sit on my lap or tug my shirt and ill cuddle and kiss you till the next day", but leons ego is too high for that so he does stupid shit instead

raihan is very loved by leons family bc surprisingly hes able to stop leon and hop from fighting

if u ask how, raihan simply pick up leon up and walk away

aihan is the only guy who leon will listen too and got called as the "champion tamer"

but all raihan do is just

raihan : bubu, no

leon : no..?

raihan : leon. no

leon : no...

then nag him softly while explaining the consequences, sometimes short and long term effect it depends on the situation

leon is stubborn, so it took sometime to convince him that his plan or an action he almost took to partake is very impulsive or doesnt give a good result

the thing is leon is not stupid, infact hes quite brilliant, therefore its hard to convince him if a person who tries to stop him doesnt have a similiar mind like he is, but thankfully theres raihan

for some reasons raihan is able to found leon in any occasion so the league staff ALWAYS calls him whenever leons gone

league staff : mr rai-

raihan : is it leon

league staff : yes

raihan : im on my way

leon likes to ask raihan for hairbands bc he kept losing them

raihan : bubu, isnt this your third time asking for them this week

leon : ....yes..?

raihan spoiling leon bc he feels he wants to make up for him, bc he wasnt available near leon when fought eternatus

leon follows raihan everywhere in the winter and kept pressing himself to him, whenever raihan question whats wrong leon just looked him in the eye and "im warming you up"

leon is small by raihans perspective but he hugs leon tight anyway

raihan is possessive of leon hes THAT hot, charismatic yet very adorable, leon is the one who keeps his chin up and soothe his fears, and hes the champion, everyone wants the champion, u think he'll let go that easily? no, never

and leon is probably possessive too, raihan is a hot nerd, affectionate and gentle, hes the one who push him to his best, the one who also stops him for doing too much, hes his source of comfort and he wont let go and wont let anyone take his raihan away from him for sure

10 years of friendship and healthy rivalry means 10 years of being on each others live, being one of the biggest contributor and supporter for the other, who pushes to the limit yet stopping when one is too close to the edge of the cliff

no matter if its platonic or romantic, they wont let anyone take their rival, friend and lover away that easy, you wont let anyone try to take away one of the important and huge part of your life

raihan big, so hes the big spoon, he loves cooing right at leons ears and kissing the back of his neck, shoulders and sometimes reaches forward to press a sloppy wet kiss to leons cheek

leon crying to raihan when he founds out raihan smokes when hes stressed out, and begging the other to stop and talk to him instead or cope with healthier way

raihan doesnt need an alarm clock to wake him up, leons just need to grin and say "good morning!" its so bright it WILL wake him up

raihan and leon lives together and since then the outfit leon has on his wardrobe is a collection of formal tailored outfits and his battle tower outift, some booty shorts and work out clothing, and obviously underwear and socks.the rest he just stole from raihan

especially t-shirts, hoodies, and jacket, raihan seeing him walking and opening his wardrobe after shower is such a common occurence that he doesnt even need to ask anymore

raihan looks like the type who carries lipbalm and hand cream in his hoodie pocket, he carries 2, 1 cocoa lipbalm for him and honey lipbalm for leon. whenever he met leon, he applies the lip balm on him, it becomes habit that leon even raise his chin up for raihan

leon can sleep alone fine, but when he woke up he felt groggy,but if he slept on top of raihan he'd woke up like he had a perfect 8 hours sleep even tho he slept for only 5 hours

raihan is a heavy sleeper but waking up with leon glued to his chest/back make his whole day better,especially when he woke up to leon peppering his face with kisses to wake him up

raihan being lowkey flustered and overwhelmed by leons beauty/cuteness/sexiness/everything while leon is being clingy and acting spoiled around him

leon cant be serious around raihan, when he saw the gym leader,he automatically let his guard down infront of him, changing from champion leon to leon from postwick, all giddy and happy

leon unzips his champion outfit and once raihan heard the zipping sound he zooms to leon to plant his face between leons chest

if leon wants attention from raihan he will do various things from holding his arm and press his head to raihans shoulders,sitting on his lap and loop his arm around raihans neck,hugging him from the front and put on a cute face

but if raihan wants attention he just, hug leon from behind,put his head on leons shoulder and doesnt let go until leon does SOMETHING

leon has been taking care of others for so long,so when raihan takes care of him ,its a new,yet quite familiar feeling.

its hard to accept since he felt bad about receiving the attention,but raihan kept doing it until leon tend to act spoiled around him

raihan always kiss leons forehead before he sleeps,when raihan is away, he has the urge to videocall raihan so he can coo him to sleep,but hes too embarrassed to do it

he thought abt that and raihan suddenly videocalling him,its noon on the region he visited, and hes like "heeeey, i just want to say good night to my beloved!! good night leon,sweet dreams,sorry bc i cant kiss your forehead but ill kiss u 10x more when im back"

leon was shocked and stared to his camera "lee? fuck,is the connection that bad-" and leon stuttered "n-no! i was surprised...thank you darling, have fun and stay safe okay?"

"of course! dont stay up thinking abt me for too long,i love you so much bubu,good night!

"..good afternoon raihoney,i love you too" leon stayed up for the next 20 minutes rolling around the bed screaming

raihan actually helps leon on taking care of his dragons, which made leons dragonmons actingspoiled around raihan,and sometimes leon thinks that his dragons loves raihan more than him

raihan plays with his dragonmon as if hes playing with a yamper,calling them "cute little babywubby" and playing with their hands,kissing their foreheads and lays with them on the floor,and of course leon joins in by laying on top or next to raihan

even leon have seen raihan carrying his dragapult like a baby with a baby axew hugging his legs, raihan is legit a dragon pokemon magnet

raihan has a habit of cooing or complimenting at leon even when hes doing the simplest thing ever and leon feels giddy like a 5 y.o everytime raihan does it

can u imagine how many pictures of leon raihan have on his phone,its probably more than 1000, he takes picture of leon as if hes a baby pokemon

leon comes to raihans place at 2 am without any warning,i mean raihan DID gave him a spare key so, raihans flat is HIS flat too,and there he goes,going to the bedroom and slip himself under the duvet,crawling to sleep closer to raihan

at first raihan is SO surprised that he jumped from the bed,but now he doesnt care anymore and just kiss leons head,mumbles "goo'nite bubh" and sleep again

leon does it so often that if hes gone from his apartment,people call raihan instead of him

raihan hugging leon from the back while leon is doing stuff in the kitchen while singing,and raihan is there like,peppering smooches and compliments while leon is STILL singing,and giggling bc raihan is smooching him

raihan is BAD at it but he sings along with leon in a joking manner and leon cant even sing anymore bc hes just wheezing while raihan is just "cmOn bAbeEEe SING AgAiiiNNnn"

[shattersstar]

here r my jason headcanons abt his scars and general feelings about his appearance + how the reader deals with it

disclaimer: wrote these in my notes within half and hour and i’m tipsy but i hope u enjoy these thots

jason wasn’t overly aware of his appearance growing up, until he moved in with bruce. he was aware he was a bit rough around the edges, growing up as he did was direct influence of that, but it wasnt until he had to interact with high society he was made aware of how looks mattered. he didn’t get the same treatment as dick, maybe the novelty of bruce’s wards had worn off come the second robin, or maybe they all recognized a poorness in him that left his toothy grin a little smaller. he tried not to care but those things bite at the back of your mind and leave residual scars to trace in years to come.

and years later, he had come to hate his body. it was something mangled, mashed and stitched back together, barely holding itself together in the first few years after the pit. his autopsy scars stayed too, every injury from being robin, from his life on the streets healed into a nothing but those fucking scars stayed. they were a harsh reminder of how his life panned out and would follow him around till he died—again.

the distaste from the socialites he had nearly forgotten about seemed to burn through his veins each time he passed a mirror. as he grew and accumulated more wounds, ones that healed and others that didn’t, the more he stopped looking at himself. he wanted to feel the vanity others had thrusted upon him, wanted to relish in the sly glances he got as he aged into his (forever handsome) features, but all he felt was lies. They wouldn’t be as bold with their eyes if they knew about him, about what hid under the layers of clothes, what phantoms hung on his shoulders and the blood he washed away, that never truly left. He couldn’t find a rugged appreciation in the crooked bend of his nose of the scar that clung to his cheekbone, another slicing through his left brow bone.

he felt like he had grown into what he was always seen as, some rough kid from the streets of gotham. he didn’t hate looking mean, it had its advantages. he liked the surprised reactions he got from his apartment neighbours who assumed he was just some criminal kid trying to make his stake in the crime ridden city. but then he’d help them carry groceries, let them drop off their pets at his place when they went out of town for the weekend, helped esl kids with english homework when he had free time. part of him wished he didnt have to win over people to get him to accept and trust him but he understood nonetheless

that was until you showed up. you moved in across the hall and asked him the day you met to help you move the couch the movers put in the wrong spot. “if you’re busy its all good.” you added at the end with a shrug, likely due to his own stunned silence at your request. he agreed, pulling his key from the lock and spent the evening setting up your living room. you paid him in a beer your friend had given as a house warming gift and asked him about the floor. you were a bit nosy, a little gossipy but something about it felt sincere. just a genuine curiosity about the inner workings of the place he called home. actually—everything about you just felt sincere.

you were kind to him, treated him like a neighbour and not a cautionary tale and jesus that scared the shit outta him. you popped up in his life a few times after your first meeting, inviting him over when you made way too much food or asking him for a good grocery store nearby. it wasn’t until you knocked on his door, asking if he wanted to hang out—no conditions, no help or anything needed. “do you like movies?” you asked, swaying on the balls of your feet as jason stood in his doorway, it barely cracked open out of habit.

“as long as its not based on a book.” he replied, ignoring how dry his throat was.

“you’re a ‘book is better then an adaptation’ kinda guy huh?”

“because its true.”

“unless the book already sucks.” that made him chuckle.

“but yeah i like movies.”

“cool the things is—“

“u dont have a tv.”

“exactly, we can squish onto my bed or watch it at your place if you’re cool with that. can’t lie i am curious to see how you live.” you admitted, jokingly pushing yourself onto your tippy toes and pretending to peer over his shoulder.

“my place then.”

“tomorrow night?”

“tomorrow.”

it quickly became a weekly tradition, you’d bring popcorn and something you stressed baked and alternate between picking films. most were spent in his living room, but after a while you managed to get him back into your place. you did exactly what you said and squished into your bed, laptop balancing on your lap desk. jason was in his usual long sleeve and sweats. you were in a tshirt and pj shorts. it was summer and he knew you were going to ask. “you wanna go back to your place in change? its kinda warm and as much as i like you, i dunno how i’d feel about you overheating on me.”

despite your attempt at humor he muttered a quick, “i’m fine.”

you shrugged it off and jason should’ve known better. should’ve known you weren’t going to drop it, that wasnt how you worked. you were nosy and talkative and curious and pushy and caring and you hated the idea of a wall between you two. so when you slipped into his lap one day, some early 2000s romcom droning on behind you, he knew exactly what you were up too.

your knees dug into the side of his couch and your hands landed on his shoulders. “were friends right?” you asked, and something about how your nose bumped his felt anything but platonic.

“yeah.” he breathed, hyper aware of your thumb brushing against the collar of his shirt. one of his scars peaked through, and a jagged knife wound that left him half dead on a rooftop two years ago.

your thumb brushed it and his fingers clasped to your forearms in warning.

“this is why you’re always in sweaters right? what you’re trying to hide.” your eyes were fixed on it, still rubbing small circles against the skin around it. he didn’t say anything, you had were more observant than he gave you credit. “friends dont keep secrets jay.” you all but pouted at him, forehead resting against his.

“they’re...bad.” was all he could stress, eyes downcast to where your thighs met his.

“they’re apart of you which means they cant be bad. not to me.”

and it was like the hesitation in which people would approach him, the disgusted whispers about the newest wayne ward, the eyes that were fearful to meet his all vanished. all the left over pain and hate for his tired and broken body was put somewhere he couldnt reach even if just for this moment.

he still had a hard time looking in the mirror, wished his battered knuckles didn’t stand out so much when your fingers locked with his, wanted to kiss you without feeling the small scar from his  near constantly split lip, wanted to be able to wear the more revealing clothes you thought he’d look good in, and more. there were still things to want and wish and hate and push away. but there was also your voice now living in his mind whispering the words he hadn’t known he needed to hear since he was a kid.