#its one of those ‘which came first - the chicken or the egg’ situations

[thenamesmobu]

What’s into the code au?

The Into the Code AU is my interpertation of The Stanley Parable

(Although it has been teetering to become its own storyline at this point).

So the premise of the AU is that it takes place in a byproduct dimension after the creation of the internet. From how vast and fast the internet is growing since its creation, it created a new plane of existence that's separate from our reality. From there, a lot, and I mean a lot of things would occur. Such as space and time-breaking rifts, two separate voids that work differently from each other, new living "organisms", and a substance that can be compared to radiactive energy; the Codes.

More info down below if you or anyone is curious. I am legit, actually, finally spilling the beans of my AU here.

⬇️⬇️⬇️

The Code Void

The Codes is the non-biological substance that comes along with one of the voids, the Code Void. Although, it's a "chicken or egg first?" situation between those two, as it's unclear which came first than the other. Either way, this void is chaotic, time and space clash onto one another, creating a void that is similar to a dark, static-y TV. (Time and space are prevalent in this void, as anyone can use the internet at anytime and anywhere, this actually contributes to expand this void.)

The Code Void is best to not be seen with the naked eye to someone who can't handle processing an abundance of unfiltered knowledge. In a worst case scenario, this would inevitably cause death, as the person witnessing the Codes would dissolve into Codes themselves. The Codes is also where my TSP cast get their source of energy from as the Codes can be bended and molded if done safely and accordingly. Also this is where my interp of Crows×3 live in, so yeah.

The White Void

There's a particular part of the Code Void that was somehow not affected by the expansion of it. This place is known as the White Void, the void where my TSP cast resides in, also known as The Parable. The White Void sounds what it seems, just a white void. But this place works similarly to a blank canvas, it can be "painted" by whoever the person putting effort into putting things in it. The White Void cannot be expand, nor can it shrink, it remains completely the same, regardless from the passage of time or the changing of space. Now due to this, the Code Void can't expand itself to absorb the White Void. However, the White Void has this "ability" to erase whatever or whoever's within it if the object or a person that's been specifically intertwined with the Codes isn't stimulated enough.

I'll get to the characters and the other aspects soon, I promise. But here is the info for now🗣🗣🗣

It is nighttime as I am writing this and I am a quarter sleepy. So I'm sorry if my writing seems kinda off with a few typos here and there

To be continued...

[luxlightly]

I don't know what autistic person needs to hear this today but all of those questions you hear repeated all the time like "what came first, the chicken or the egg?" or *if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around, does it make s sound?" are not actually questions. There isn't an ongoing debate about these things that no one has been able to figure out for centuries even though there seems like a clear answer.

They're just sayings that happen to be in the form of questions. They're not actually asking the question any more than the phrase "is the Pope Catholic?" is.

"is the Pope Catholic?" means"This is an absolute certainty"

"if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around, does it make a sound?" means "if no one knows about something, it doesn't really matter/if no one knows about something, it's easy to dismiss it"

"Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" means "The situation in question is cyclical in some way. The cause and effect are not linear and straightforward "

"is the glass half full or half empty?" = "The way we view something changes our perception of it, in terms of positivity and negativity"

There is no answer because the point if it is the question itself. There's no trick. There's no riddle. It can't be solved because it's not meant to be. The saying is the question. Even trying to answer it is largely counter productive to its intended use.

I get this is probably extremely obvious to most people to the point of sounding silly to explain but as someone who spent many of my younger years thinking that somehow there were just these ongoing debates about seemingly obvious questions and, frustratingly, they continued being asked even though they had been thoroughly answered by this point in time, I feel the need to clarify it fully.

[macgirlism]

if im gonna do one thing its baby a fictional 40 yr old man on the internet… its what it was built for

[romanianwilkinson]

MONSTER CAMP QUOTES STARTERS

A collection of sentence starters from the game Monster Camp. Feel free to change words and pronouns as desired. CONTENT WARNING(S) FOR: Monster Prom/Monster Camp spoilers, suggestive, cursing, crude content

“ I just have it here because [NAME] insisted that I offer it, as a marketing stunt. ”

“ And lastly, super-horny-type players no longer get a charm buff against tsundere types! ”

“ War machines don’t turn me on or anything! ”

“ I don’t wanna be weird, but do you mind if I climb inside of you and play around with your main turret? ”

“ A wine to DIE for, you say? Well, darling, don’t threaten me with a good time! ”

“ This one just says ‘ hmu with that reaper dick, daddy ’. ”

“ You on your phone, as always! Probably making blogposts on your Tik Tok page. ”

“ Yeah, you really don’t want to witness a repeat of the last time [NAME]’s diehard fans went without a selfie for fifteen minutes. My tailbone still hasn’t completely healed. ”

“ Now hold still, this will only hurt for a moment --- ”

“ Yay! You found a shenanigan! ”

“ My poems all have two or three emotions in them, AT LEAST. ”

“ CRYING IS OBVIOUSLY A COMPETITION TO SEE WHO CAN SQUEEZE THE MOST WATER OUT OF THEIR EYES! ”

“ No way, really? The way to WIN at poetry is by LOSING at life? ”

“ I dunno, maybe fall in love with someone who’s married and develop an opioid addiction? ”

“ HELL YEAH, SPEEDRUN! ”

“ It’s morbid, but... kind of romantic? ”

“ GASP! Google+? Are you kidding me? The psychopaths behind that global tragedy are here?! ”

“ Prison has changed me, [NAME]. Would you like to trade me some cigarettes in exchange for my fundamental dignity? ”

“ Undermining the laws of reality, subverting life and death, that’s the kind of stuff my followers expect. But CHEATING? No way. ”

“ Though we are imprisoned in chalk jail, we are free in our hearts. But our hearts are also imprisoned in chalk jail. ”

“ Um, no, I am NOT groveling. I am posing a dignified query to [NAME] that just so happens to be performed on my hands and knees. ”

“ I didn’t know you condoned playing the friend card to get free labor, [NAME]. ”

“ Ah, but saving the world doesn’t put avocado toast on the table. We indie seancers and necromancers need to pay our rent too, you know. ”

“ And as you know, I am illustriously Internet-famous, so if you could shower me with adoration and give me the pizza that would be fabulous. ”

“ Do you wanna fuck the pizza or not? ”

“ Are you ready to go swimming? I must admit, darling, I’ve always wondered what you would look like while... wet.”

“ Did you turn this date into an orgy without consulting me? ”

“ Gosh, I love it when you insult me! Please do it more! ”

“ Now who wants to make a baby? ”

“ What if she puts a curse on me that makes me magically forget the location of the clitoris?! ”

“ Hey, don’t knock wacky decisions that endanger us all! That’s how I always manage to stay a step ahead of my nemeses! ”

“ Oh gods, I’ve killed so many monsters, just for being monsters. This is making me question my entire moral foundation. I NEED MORE THERAPY. ”

“ I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: fish give better pedicures than people! ”

“ You’re not tricking me into parenting a stupid egg. I’ve never fucked even ONE chicken! The egg is not my son! ”

“ You came to visit me at camp, Daddy! ”

“ Don’t be ridiculous, I know your brand of horny, [NAME], and this ain’t it. ”

“ I thought we both agreed to be nothing but vague and haughtily aloof about our past dalliances. ”

“ Point EAST, compass! EAAAAAAAAST! You dumb fuckboot!!!! POINT! EAST! ”

“ One time I was told a soul’s worst fear was bugs and I inadvertantly sent The Beatles. It happens to the best of us... And the worst of us. ”

“ SOMEDAY I SHALL DEFEAT YOUR FIVE STRANGE FEET! ”

“ Why do you keep suppressing your monster half? Embrace your true nature! ”

“ Wow. I didn't think this was possible, but I guess I was... wrong? About social media? Oh dear God, is this how grandparents feel?!?! Am I a GRANDPARENT?! ”

“ I don’t know! I was relying on my friends to cover up my bold and idiotic statement! ”

“ ... I ate the oars. ”

“ PSYCHE. The ocean can eat my ass. ”

“ So pucker up, [NAME]! I'm about to declare mouth war on your FACE! ”

“ YOU FOOLISHLY FOOLISH FOOL! You're showing our inexperience! YOUR HONOR, THE ENTIRE LEGAL TEAM PLEADS THE FIFTH! ”

“ That's right. I'm talking about a classic Transylvania Hot Tub, a Seth Brundle, and a REVERSE Reverse Romanian Wilkinson. ”

“ Sorry, I was in your ribcage seeing if I could use it to cut strips of crepe paper into confetti and then I got lost in your kidneys. ”

“ There's nothing sexier than a doomed romance between a dating sim player and a hot fictional character. ”

“ That's right! I secretly replaced one of you with a bear while no one was looking, to teach you a valuable lesson about the art of disguise! ”

“ Enchant my armor. I’m going into the lake. ”

“ For VIOLENCE REASONS! ” 

“ This stupid lake monster called me short the other day, but I was too low level to crush him like he deserved. ”

“ That dumb wet dinkhole won't know what hit him! But it will be me! I will hit him! ”

“ No, YOU'RE a fuckshark! Also, what does that even mean?! ”

“ You seriously didn't notice the enormous needles those interns jabbed into your veins as soon as [NAME] got here? “

“ It all makes sense! The Camp Dome is just an elaborate ploy to distract us from the giant mouth that eats campers! “

“ This is the BEST show I've ever seen in my life, which is now at an end! “

“ Am I high, or did he just tell us EXACTLY how to foil his evil scheme? “

“ What, like a few severed heads and visions of my grandpa screaming in horrendous pain are gonna freak me out? Where I'm from, you can buy that stuff at IKEA. “

“ ERROR: Due to the sixth mass extinction, the slaying of leprechauns is inadvisable. “

“ Then why do I have half-finished scarves, decoupage, pot-holders, friendship bracelets, and a taxidermied rabbit in my skeleton? “

“ The wang elemental. ”

“ I also have an uncle who works at Nintendo as a copy machine! “

“ What flavor of ice cream AM I?! Now I gotta know. HA! You know what I should be? 'Pistachio.' Because my outside is HARD, but I'm full of NUT. “

“ I mean, life is a bit like... this sandwich! No, stay with me, I'm going somewhere good with this. “

“ A survival situation without any sexy fun time isn't worth surviving in the first place. “

“ Rut the RUCK?! ”

“ The ' ambulance of the heart ' is just a regular ambulance! Ambulances treat all organs! ”

“ Yeah, that's why I made sure that my so-called ' emotional armor ' was also ' actual armor '. “

“ And being yourself is the key to living your dreams, which is the key to self actualization, which is the key to being really good at sex! “

“ So hot I'd buy that even without free shipping. 10/10, call me some time. “

“ Hi, quick question: does it count as kidnapping if I'm abducting you so you can help me do a thing you already agreed to help with? “

“ I could be wrong, but are you just upset because you DON'T have a skeleton that's inside your body? “

“ I'm gonna get SO FUCKING RELAXED MY HEAD WILL EXPLODE! “

“ Whoah, whoa, hold up. You're fucking my grandma? “

“ No, [NAME], that is a popcorn bag full of more dynamite. Put it down. “

“ I hear that at least 70% of people on Patreon aren't murderers! “

“ If you want cash, just rob banks like the rest of us! “

“ Did it work? Do you feel any less horny? ”

“ FUCK YEAH, LET'S PUNCH THAT MOUTH IN ITS MOUTH! “

“ Yes... incidentally, we are no longer allowed to enter Italy. “

“ Is anyone else turned on right now? ”

“ Yes! Yes! I know what you're feeling! I suddenly see how marrying a corpse isn't okay! “

“ JUST LET ME IMPROVE YOUR SELF ESTEEM, MORTAL! “

“ Look, choose whatever you want, but I'm not responsible for whatever you put in your mouth. ”

[jess-themess05]

It Is I, the ideas guy (hey that rhymed :D)

I have some wonderful news! To celebrate my AO3 post reaching 100 kudos I decided to get some stories commissioned. 

An angsty one based on idea 4

And a more wholesome one

Please check them out, they are really quite good!

oh wise ideas guy, these stories are very cool and its very cool you got them commissioned (even if i couldn’t read them for a bit dAMN YOU AO3 MAINTENANCE)

uhh obviously spoilers for the two fics linked above!

alright first one! oh no!

as the title suggests “Nightmare Turned Real” a very unfortunate situation occurs in which..uh.. yeah gregory fucking dies. yippee!

i took one look at the title and the Major Character Death tag and said oooo that’s probably not good. for MOST PEOPLE! cause i love angst. but anyways, how awful must that be to be forced into hurting someone you could call family, and having to fall back onto the same experiments from the man who started it all, in order to save his soul. not even his life. it’s like admitting defeat in every way possible, admitting you failed to protect him (against others and yourself) and even knowing where afton came from, the grief he experienced that caused him to lose himself, just to try and protect his child? and hurting many others along the way (including his other children, like... jeez) that does not sound fun! 0/10 in one of the worst ways to combat your fear of killing gregory, just do it! get it over with! he can’t die again!

ok ok and number 2? oh. very cute :)

we get 2 nightmares here! but both are very quickly taken care of with comfort and isn’t that just lovely, it starts off with the same flashback from the other fic before greggy boy died, but vanessa wakes up! and our favorite boy decides the best course of action is to check on her and guard her like any brave knight right in her doorframe. real quick i still love the inclusion of freddy teddy (glam rock freddy but he’s portable) in these, here we get him as a silly little bear to be carried around, to give comfort, and a silly little bear to be tossed at the nearest presence once waking up from a nightmare! good thing robots can’t get concussions!

then we see gregory’s nightmare pov, which seems to be taking place in fnaf 4? that’s pretty cool! with the screaming mini freddy’s on the bed to holding the doors shut when an animatronic is outside, yeah that’s really neat!! but right before he gets attacked by fnaf 4’s version of garbage chicken he wakes up and promptly gives vanessa a broken nose and freddy some mechanical brain damage. that’s swiftly pushed off to the side to take care of gregory, he admits feeling unworthy of the title of “Knight” for being scared, which i mean... little man you are a child, that’s in your nature and perfectly fine. vanessa soothes those worries and move onto hearing her story about dropping an egg and crying for 5 minutes :) i think that’s a good ending in my book!

[im-the-punk-who]

I hope you don’t mind me asking but what’s wrong with Caesar Milan? o.o

Oh dear. xD A better question might be what isn't wrong with him?

Okay full disclosure that I hold a pretty low opinion of most 'For TV' dog training (also the problem I have with Youtube trainers, btw) because they always focus on the showiest and most visible problems with the 'quickest' fixes.

Dog training is boring. Really good dog training is really boring. This is something I tell my clients all the time. 80% of dog training is sitting around waiting for something to *not* happen.

As I said in an earlier post, aggression and anxiety are tiered, connected behaviors. And a good trainer will be able to predict those tiers and the escalation pattern of a dog just by watching them interact with low level stressors. Additionally, just like people, dogs do not learn well in high-stress environments.

If you see a dog reacting visibly, that dog is already over threshold and cannot learn. Again I'm gonna say this again. You cannot do good training with a dog if that dog is being visibly reactive or aggressive - you need to be working at a lower reactivity level.

Additionally Caesar, like many trainers, views behaviors as causationally independent. That you need to know 'the root' of a problem to address it. That you need to treat each problem differently. Which means you're going to be consistantly exposing your dog to the same stressor just at different 'levels' until they get used to it, rather than working on a lower-level issue to teach them the basics and then using those basics to address the larger issue.

The reason this is so in a lot of dog training methods is because these trainers don't understand *how* the behaviors are connected. (And trust me, they are.)

So in general, any trainer who seeks to *cause* a reaction in order to 'assess' where the dog is at or for show is intentionally causing that dog needless harm. They are putting that dog in a situation where they (should) know the dog is not ready for it simply for their own ego or inexperience.

But with Caesar Milan specifically, he also uses a hierarchical pack method and ideology of the 'alpha pack leader' that is outdated, disproven, and frankly counterproductive to good training.

GOOD dog training is a conversation. It seeks to remove confrontation and open communication. It seeks to make the dog feel confident in making a choice for itself and not relying on the human at all. It tries to teach the dog not only that it can say no, but that we recognize when they are in distress and will listen to that, so that they can trust us not to put them in truly dangerous situations.

Good dog training is not about 'being the alpha' it is not about gaining 'obedience' from your dog or even respect. It's about getting your dog to like following your directions because they know that doing that usually leads to cool things.

BUT

it is ALSO about helping the dog regulate itself, and recover when bad things happen. Good dog training is just as much about stress recovery as it is about a dog listening to its human.

And this is really what's wrong with the techniques Milan (and a lot of trainers, frankly) use. They do not focus at all on the dog's emotional recovery after a stressful event, focusing instead on what is an issue 'for the human' rather than addressing *why* the dog is behaving like it is and trying to address the emotion underlying the behavior.

Like, aside from the fact that Milan uses just *wrong* techniques and teaching ideas, the biggest problem is that he only seeks to stop a dog from doing a certain behavior, rather than improving the dog's overall mental wellness (which would then not just prevent that one behavior but prevent other related behaviors AND give the dog it's own emotional toolbox to address its problems with.) And that's a problem.

I recced it in my other post, but i REALLY suggest reading this post to understand what I mean about how we address the emotional wellness of the dog before addressing any specific behaviors:

Is your dog an optimist?:

Suppose you never learned to swim and you were afraid of water, leaving aside the possible chicken and egg discussions of which came first. Someone comes along and says “I can teach you to swim in one quick lesson. Meet me at my boat tomorrow morning.” You show up and go out on his boat. He drives you to a lagoon and all around are alligators. He points to a dock a hundred feet away and says if you get up on the dock the alligators can’t eat you….and then shoves you in the water and takes off with the boat. It’s quite possible that you will learn to swim and make it to the dock alive but if you do, do you think you will now feel better about water? Will you have less fear of water or perhaps might you have an even more intense fear of water? Initially you may have had no clear or particular reason to fear water, you just did, but now you have a really good and concrete reason to fear water, you are absolutely certain you almost died in it and have a strong association with water, alligators, and fear.[...]

--

This is what happens with the most challenged dogs when people try to “socialize” them. All they are doing is repeating bad experiences for the dog. A question that I like to ask owners and trainers who are doing this is, “Think of a food or a type of music that you really hate. How much of that food would you have to eat or how much of that music would you have to listen to before you would like it?” Of course people look at me with confusion or like I’m nuts. The question is absurd – everyone knows that repeated exposure to that food or music only makes them more convinced that they hate it.

So why would this be different with the dog? Why would Rover all of a sudden decide that something he really didn’t like was all of sudden (or gradually) actually good and enjoyable? And of course that brings up a really important point – the best you could reasonably expect from this kind of repeated exposure, in most cases, is acceptance, not that the animal would actually come to like the stimulus. Similarly, you would probably not come to like that food or music that was repeatedly forced on you – at best you might just learn to tolerate it.

For me, this is not a good result for our dog. I want the dog to move from fear and anxiety to comfort but even further – to joy and happiness. I want the dog to learn to not just become some degree of comfortable with the things s/he used to be afraid of but to get to a point where s/he likes and looks forward to those things.

[isa-ah]

if its not too personal, may i ask what are all the alters names and roles in the system? (including host of course)

so like im not very booksmart about system roles but i consider myself a protector and also the host (me, isaiah, 24 :) <3). im usually the only one interested in drawing or blogging so 99% of anything on here is just lil ol me. i also front by far the most bc none of these assholes want to work so i have to take care of commissions myself lol

my first rl serious i think something's wrong w me alter realization was a Dave fictive when i was like 16-21 who would just black me out and autopilot when shit was really bad. I lost a LOT of time between when my grandma died, when my grandfather died, when i moved in w my aunt, ran away, moved in w my mom, and then left for arizona, and im pretty sure almost all of that was him. he hasn't fronted or had any kind of presence in the headspace in years tho besides like 10-15 minutes at a time once or twice when I got rlly triggered by a conversation. I simply do not remember anything that happens when he fronts which used to scare the shit out of me haha. lo said he thinks it's specifically 13 which. fair lol

bentley is definitely my most active alter these days. he's around 30 and tends to take over whenever i get upset abt some shit. he took the very very most brunt of my grandparental caretaking and medical trauma so like i don't rlly have those nightmares or intrusive flashbacks anymore which is nice. I tend to take on a lot of social obligations and I don't know how to say no but he Can and Will watch a man burn without pissing on him which is rlly refreshing tbh. he's the no obligations I'm hanging out alter. we're rlly close but I don't think he's friendly enough for lo :( he likes old trucks and 70s bops.

shys my youngest alter that i know of, he's like 14 and is like young isaiah (the oc) but nonverbal hence, shysaiah or just shy :) he's a sweet kid who just likes to be around and goofy. if he has to be verbal he does cry tho and his triggers are rlly different than mine which throws me whenever he gets set off. he's definitely got the most palpable and distressing fictitious memories, like he heard a line in a song and had flashbacks that made ME wig out. his is very.. idk bad dad parental abuse csa vibes, as far as the trauma pill he swallowed, but mostly when he's fronting he's in rlly high spirits! he likes neopets and yesterday was his birthday haha.

bulldog is rlly the only other guy of note & he's like? idk 19? i very much experienced the like adults arent taking care of me and so my tiny body is full of RAGE thing as a kid and like all thru my teens I had a FOUL hateful kinda temper. I'm cool as fuck as an adult tho cause that's his problem now. whenever my mom gets on her shit or I start thinking about my aunt he like zaps straight to the cofront to try to start some shit w my family which. fair! but no! he's a lot more mad about my aunt than my grandparents which hes probably the only one but fight the good fight i guess. he's just a real asshole, if uve ever seen me writing long vent posts on here bc im all worked up that's that anger boy cofront babey <3 he's DEFINITELY not nice enough for lo tho.

there's like other guys im aware of knocking around but they don't front or rlly make any effort to interact w me or our peers so shruggg I mostly just let them be. my biggest brain teaser re: all of this is the chicken and egg situation between ocs and alters. which came first, shy or isaiah? bentley definitely came before his oc counterpart but i low-key get a vibe about reggie and barnaby that makes me go ok but?? idk mostly I'm just endlessly fascinated by the intersection of being a lifelong artist with a deep love of characters and having alters who present so... character-y. which came first??

[itsclydebitches]

YYH Recaps: Episode 4 “Requirements for Lovers”

Hello, everyone! It's been quite a while, huh? Ah, the endless cycle of wanting to write and yet, astoundingly, not writing. I know it well.

Good ol' writer's block has skedaddled for a time though, so let's make good use of that and dive into Episode Four: "Requirements for Lovers." 

Ohhh, YYH getting spicy with its titles 😏

Actually wait, I shouldn't be making dumb jokes just yet. First I want to acknowledge a slight change to future recaps: YYH, RWBY, and anything else I might try my hand at. Namely, a lack of pictures moving forward. A few weeks ago — months? I honestly can't keep track — tumblr implemented a new limitation where no post can have more than ten images in it. It's a move that, while I'm sure has its justifications, makes sharing analyses of visually-based media all the more difficult. I'll be doing my best moving forward to describe scenes as needed, as well as combining connected images together to stretch out my limit, but I'm not going to pretend that it'll be the same as getting the visual play-by-play we’re used to. 

Tumblr certainly is a website, huh?  

Anyway, we open on Yusuke once again lamenting the difficulty of hatching a spirit beast that doesn't immediately devour him from the head down. On the one hand this is an admittedly easy way to reset the story over the course of this arc — the storytelling equivalent of waking your character up each morning — yet I cannot deny that if I were undergoing a resurrection test, it would consume my every thought too. Can't really blame Yusuke for endlessly bringing the conflict up when the conflict is this deadly.

Well, deadly for a ghost, anyway.

Specifically, he's worried about how embarrassing it would be to get eaten by something that came out of an egg this tiny. I'm torn between reminding a fictional character that things grow — a pissed off chicken could kick my ass and it started out in an egg too — and just shaking my head over the absurdity of worrying about embarrassment when, you know, you would cease to exist. It's not even a matter of, "What if I die and then I'm embarrassed about it in the afterlife :( " Yusuke is already IN the afterlife. He's got nowhere to go but oblivion!

Luckily, Botan takes a more practical approach to these worries, pointing out that he'll be just fine provided he does some good deeds. Yusuke starts a rant about how do-gooders are only ever out for themselves.

Yusuke, you dumb-dumb, you're a do-gooder now. What was all that help for Kuwabara, hmm? As said, these early episodes exist in a semi-reset loop, where Yusuke needs to stew in his main character flaws for a while before any real growth starts to stick. Those flaws being, primarily, "I'm a pessimist" and "also I hate myself."

Case in point, Botan accuses him of always seeing the glass as half empty. Which, while true enough (outside of his confidence in fighting, anyway), by now we've got a pretty good sense of where Yusuke developed this attitude. He affirms this by talking about how Koenma's got him by the balls, "just another idiot abusing his power!" With an alcoholic mother and those teachers from last episode, it's no wonder Yusuke thinks this way. Mr. Takenaka's interest and Keiko's care aren't enough to combat the rest of Yusuke's experience, not when Takenaka is an outlier and Keiko is Yusuke's peer. Her desire to keep him on the right track reads only as an inevitability at best (the downside of having a perfect childhood friend), or a legitimate annoyance at worst. Or, as we'll continue to see in this episode, a way for them to flirt.

Is it any wonder Yusuke would sneer at Koenma's offer then, expecting the worst? The fact that Yusuke is still undergoing the challenge at all, no matter what he says, speaks volumes to me.

However, Botan is less than comfortable with his criticisms. She panics a bit at Yusuke insulting the (junior) ruler of the underworld so blithely. That, and the fact that he's carelessly tossing his egg around.

(Yes we’re using precious picture space for memes are you SURPRISED?) 

Anyway, Botan isn't just concerned for the sake of concern. She cautions Yusuke against speaking too freely because there may be investigators checking in on his progress. No sooner does he ask what those investigators look like than one appears.

Thunder! Lighting! An energy so intense that Yusuke is briefly blinded! It is, as he says, quite the entrance. What kind of being could possibly be at the heart of such an astounding show?

Why, this teeny-tiny cutie, of course.

Remember, few appearances in YYH coincide with the character's true self. Would you ever assume this is the all-powerful investigator who holds Yusuke's future in her hands? Of course not. That's the point.

The investigator introduces herself as Sayaka and immediately demonstrates that she has no more patience for Yusuke's attitude than Botan does. "These damn kids," he mutters and my brain briefly blue screens because Yusuke. You're fourteen.

Plus, Sayaka and Botan clearly have some sort of eternal youth situation going on, so there's that too.

Sayaka is, in a word, fantastic. She pulls no punches with Yusuke, teleporting away from him with what can only be described as a shit-eating smile, all while refusing to tell him what exactly she's investigating. “I’m sorry, but that’s a secret!” However, Keiko is clearly at the forefront of her interest. She refers to her as Yusuke's "girlfriend."

Botan is more than happy to point Keiko out — because of course they're still following her around! — and pulls a Et tu, Brute? on Yususke, leading Sayaka right to her. Like most of the Underworld, Sayaka is rather shocked that the pretty, popular, scholarly girl is supposedly into the delinquent. It's the power of childhood friendship, you fools! Specifically, Sayaka references the "positive markings" that Keiko has accumulated, but the audience already knows by now that such markings are suspect at best. Yusuke himself is proof of that. So if his terrible marks don't preclude him from being a young kid's savior, should we really view Keiko's as proof of superiority?

I mean, Keiko is fantastic, but that's not really the point here.

Starting her own investigation into Yusuke's life, Sayaka begins with one hell of a bombshell: "There's no point in doing [the resurrection] if the people closest to you don't care." WOW. Not only is that a harsh assessment, it's one I don't think I can personally get behind. The offer to restore Yusuke to life is built on the acknowledgment that their system is flawed (even if there's no work to change or dismantle that system): they thought he was worthless, his sacrificial death seems to have proven them wrong, and now they want further evidence, in the form of this trial, that Yusuke is a good person at heart. The whole point of this challenge is to give him a second chance, with testimonies like Mr. Takenaka's emphasizing that Yusuke has always been capable of more, so long as he applies himself. This, as we'll see throughout the series, applies to relationships too. The Yusuke with one friend he play-fights with, a distant mother, and a school worth of kids who are terrified of his very name is not the future Yusuke they expect him to become, so... why base his resurrection on what he's already (not) accomplished? Granted, the show is very unclear about what, if anything, Sayaka will do if she decides that Yusuke doesn't have a life worth going back to (even if I have my own theory discussed at the end), but the fact that this is suddenly a factor at all seems grossly unfair, not entirely unlike Kuwabara's rigged promise. We as the audience know that people love Yusuke. Yusuke himself is beginning to acknowledge that. But if this fourteen year old delinquent truly had no one that wanted him back from the dead... isn't that all the more reason to allow a resurrection and give him the chance to build a life where he would be missed? 

This stupid shonen got me thinking too much istg. 

Yusuke, ever the self-deprecating pessimist, bypasses all of the above thoughts and jumps straight to, "It's clear if [Keiko] had any sense she'd want me gone." I'd find that attitude incredibly sad if I wasn't distracted by how cute Botan and Sayaka are, sitting on the oar together. The spirit girls who fly together, thrive together! 

Botan starts teasing Yusuke about having a crush, which just feeds his temper and Sayaka's confusion. Deciding that she needs to gather more info, they follow along for an average day of school because these earlier episodes are, apparently, ghost-stalk Keiko hours. 

We see her reading aloud in class from Heart of Darkness (not the easiest book for some middle schoolers), scoring a point during volleyball practice, refusing to let one girl cheat off her homework, but happily helping another who runs up with a question. So she's pretty, athletic, and academically successful, the trifecta for any good love interest. Sayaka is impressed not just with her "nearly perfect" scores, but also the maturity that Keiko demonstrates, such as maintaining her morals about cheating while remaining compassionate. 

Actually, I really love the contrast this provides for us, the viewer. Meaning, Keiko is shown to be at her least mature when in Yusuke's presence. Not that her responses aren't justified, but watching her dramatically snatch gum from his mouth, slap him across the face, or pull crazed expressions as she yells at him is a far cry from this calm, poised, soft-spoken Keiko. It's a way to visually show us that she's comfortable in his presence, despite the suspect humor attached. Not that the Keiko we see at school is faking or anything — she is legitimately that kind and articulate — but we see that being with Yusuke allows her to relax in a way she doesn't with others. School!Keiko is, as Sayaka says, pretty much perfect, 24/7. Yusuke's Keiko is a little rougher around the edges, in a way that implies a multifaceted personality shining through. 

However, the only conclusion our trio draws is that, given Keiko's accomplishments, any attraction must be one-sided.

Poor Yusuke lol. 

In a plot move that is so ridiculously contrived, just as Yusuke is grappling with the accusation that Keiko couldn't possibly like him back, a "handsome boy" arrives to ask Keiko out. He says that he couldn't bear it when she stopped reading Heart of Darkness because he's fallen in love with her voice. "Will you be my girlfriend?" 

Please excuse me while I lose my shit over how ridiculous this is. I legitimately straight up cackled when I watched this scene. 

Luckily for Mr. Absurd, Keiko takes him seriously — and lets him down easy. She says she can't be his girlfriend and when he presses the "Why?", asking if she already likes someone else, Keiko confirms that she does. This is done through a shot of her feet. Not a POV shot given the angle, but close enough that it feels like we're stepping into Keiko's shoes (haha), shyly staring down at the floor in embarrassment and regret. 

Rejection complete? The guy screams. 

I mean he screams. 

I mean this nobody we're never gonna see again unhinges his jaw and lets out an unholy shriek the likes of which makes me shriek in utter GLEE. 

It's insane. It's wonderful. I'm going to use one of my coveted image spots to show you his face: 

Look at that and tell me this show isn't amazing. 

Okay, I'm focusing again. As Keiko runs off Botan and Sayaka start dragging Yusuke, teasing him about how Keiko chose him over that "charming handsome boy." 

...Please scroll up and look at that image again. I find YYH's definition of "charming" and "handsome" to be hilariously wrong. 

Yusuke, as per usual, throws himself into damage control, claiming that Keiko didn't say who she liked, so really it could be anyone. They're not buying it. “'I like Keiko' is written all over your face!” Botan crows. Meanwhile, Sayaka is scribbling in her little investigator's journal that feelings on both side are severely misunderstood. "Suggest serious counseling." 

Fantastic idea, Sayaka. I'd personally suggest counseling for the whole dying/best friend getting resurrected thing... but relationship woes work too! 

We cut to later when school is out and Keiko has gone over to Yusuke's. To say that Atsuko has done a poor job of keeping the house clean lately would be a serious understatement. 

Keiko points out the old food and broken glass specifically, cluing us in that this isn't just a messy environment, but a dangerous one as well. This is proven when she accidentally knocks a stack of books over and a used bowl falls onto Yusuke's face. What's interesting is that Keiko says that things are "back to normal" now, though I'm not sure if that's in reference to the state of the house, or just the note Atsuko left behind, asking Keiko to take care of Yusuke while she's out. I'm inclined towards thinking it's just the note, partly because of Keiko's shock when she first arrives, because the house wasn't shown to be in this state prior to Yusuke's death (first image above), and because the note is accompanied by a great voiceover that makes Atsuko sound quite sloshed when she left. That's what's normal, the drinking and carefree attitude, not the state of her home. If we buy that reading, it allows for another fantastic look into Atsuko's mental state. If she's already an alcoholic, the trauma of her son's death and the following revelation that he's coming back might make her struggle in other ways. Like finding cleaning to be an impossible task. 

She's depressed. It doesn't excuse the state she's left Yusuke in and, as previously acknowledged, YYH is definitely not a show interested in this nuance, but I still find it fun to take what little we've gotten and run with it. 

However, Keiko is firmly on team "WTF Atsuko." She hurries to make sure Yusuke wasn't hurt by the falling bowl, bemoans him being "covered in garbage," and says that leaving him in this state should be considered a felony. Knowing it's far beyond her power to fix Atsuko's failings, Keiko swears to come here after school every day until Yusuke regains his body. It's as she's cleaning him of the dust that's gathered that Keiko becomes entranced with Yusuke’s features. Particularly his lips. The soft lighting returns, their theme song swells, and Keiko gets thiiiis close to kissing Yusuke for the first time. 

Which is a little weird, right? I mean, we know why Yusuke is freaking out. Beyond the embarrassment of a middle schooler receiving his first kiss while two ghost girls eagerly watch on, he's made a hobby of denouncing his interest in Keiko to anyone who will listen. But for the average viewer — for Keiko herself — don't we care the he's, you know, dead? Or if not technically dead, very unconscious? Don't get me wrong, I fully understand the appeal of this situation in a generalized, cultural sense (with the side disclaimer that I'm reading a Japanese product through an American lens). Sleeping Beauty exists for a reason and there's definitely an element of that here: a gender-reversed setup where Keiko’s kills may break the "curse" of Yusuke's untimely death. Even his in-between state of being mirrors the "death like sleep" of the fairy tale. But when you strip away those Disney-esque thoughts, we're left with a girl about to kiss an unresponsive body, not as a common gesture of care (the parent who kisses their child while they sleep), but as a first time, romantic milestone. 

It's a little weird lol. 

But embrace the romance! As well as its inevitable interruption. Just as Keiko is about to land a peck, the neighborhood watch committee announces a heat and fire warning, startling Keiko out of her thoughts about Yusuke's "beautiful face." (There's another gender reversal for ya.) She gasps at her almost-action, conveniently remembers that her mom wanted her to do some shopping, and hightails it out of there before embarrassment can really kill them both. 

So she runs off for food... in a sweater? The outfit is cute and all, but I wonder what the animators were thinking, putting Keiko in a puffy pullover during an episode all about a heat wave. 

It's about at this point that the plot goes from cute romance to absolutely buck wild. The fires the neighborhood watch committee mentioned are not, in fact, due to the overwhelming heat, but an arsonist that's going around tossing molotov cocktails through open windows. Why is he doing such a thing? I don't know. Arsonists be doing arson, I guess. The important bit is that Yusuke's place is his next target, considering that Atsuko forgot to lock the windows when she went out. Within seconds all that garbage is set ablaze, quite obviously putting Yusuke's resurrection chances at an all time low. 

"Wake up, stupid!" he shouts at his unconscious body. Mood, Yusuke. That's me every morning. 

So this is a full scale emergency now and everyone is scrambling trying to think of something to do. Yusuke comes up with the idea to possess himself like he did Kuwabara — nice attempt at a loophole there — but since it would technically count as his resurrection, no dice. Botan decides to go get Kuwabara himself, even though he's too far away to do anything. It's still worth a shot. Sayaka, meanwhile, watches all this unfold with a somewhat clinical detachment. She's not quite indifferent and she's definitely not cruel... she’s just not as emotionally invested in this as the other two. Which not only re-emphasizes her purpose here, as an observer judging Yusuke, but also highlights the bond Botan is forming with him. As mentioned before in regards to her hanging out with Yusuke rather than ferrying souls, Botan is well past someone assisting Yusuke simply because it's a part of her job. He's her friend. 

We get some shots of the growing fire which includes a hazy texture to the animation I quite like and then we cut to Keiko several blocks away, shopping bag in hand. Word of the new fire spreads, with one bystander mentioning that it's the twelfth today. 

"This is eerie.” 

“Yeah, I can’t help feeling we’re under attack.”

That's because you are! Someone stop that man! 

Sadly, I don't think the arsonist is mentioned again, let alone captured. We'll just have to relegate that to my incredibly niche fic wishlist. 

Keiko also overhears that the latest fire is on fourth avenue, which of course is where Yusuke lives. Recognizing that he might be in trouble, she takes off at a run. 

Meanwhile, Botan finds Kuwabara practicing his kicks against a Yusuke dummy. Amazing resemblance, right? 

Watching for the purpose of recapping, I'm picking up on a lot of details in the animation I quite enjoy. I don't think anyone would claim that YYH, at this point in time, has the most impressive or flashy animation (the fight scenes later are another matter entirely), but there's a clear love for the product that shines through. The scared expression on Kuwabara's dummy. His unexpectedly dainty kick, complete with pointed toes. Botan's more translucent coloring to emphasize her supernatural status compared to Kuwabara. There are a lot of nice touches despite the overall simplicity. 

Plus, you can't forget the lovely irony of Kuwabara fighting a defenseless "Yusuke" while the real guy actually lies defenseless amidst a fire. We already know that despite his tough talk, Kuwabara would be horrified to learn that his friend rival had died (again) in such a manner. 

Capitalizing on that transparency, Botan runs a hand through Kuwabara's back to catch his attention. He gets his "tickle feeling" and instinctively looks around towards Yusuke's house, seeing the smoke. "Something tells me I should go that way." Gotta love a guy who drops everything to chase a vague, supernaturally induced hunch. 

As Kuwabara leaves we cut back to Keiko arriving at the house, staring in horror at the blaze. We get an audio flashback to her talk with Yusuke where she promised to take care of his body until he got back. So she tries to run in, only for a couple of the onlookers to snag her, quite correctly keeping her from undergoing a suicide mission. We learn later that Keiko absolutely would have died without Yusuke's sacrifice, so her "You cowards!" is born more of emotion than justified accusations. It's not cowardly to look at the raging inferno in a small apartment and realize that recklessly running in will only result in two dead teens, not one. 

I mean, the flames are already right there, licking the door. Even if Keiko somehow managed to avoid burns, the smoke alone would do her in. Still, Keiko tries to mitigate the damage by dumping a bucket of water over her head. As a kid I remember thinking this was the smartest thing ever. Utterly inspired. Keep that in the back of your mind, kid Clyde, for future reference. As an adult... I have no idea whether this would actually help or not lol. Any firefighters doubling as YYH fans? 

Recklessness and iffy precautions aside, I can't express how much I appreciate the story giving Keiko things to do. Yusuke recognizes that she's the only one with the maturity and open-mindedness to believe in his resurrection. She's the one picking up Atsuko's slack regarding his day-to-day needs. She never hesitates for a moment, heroically throwing herself into this blaze for Yusuke's benefit. Yeah, a lot of that still falls into the emotional/domestic sphere — what we expect of the love interest in a 90s anime — but too often action stories don't have a clue what to do with their non-action characters, not even when it comes to just supporting the fighters. They're simply... there. Keiko, however, isn't window dressing. Whether it's helping Botan survive an upcoming, supernatural plague, or cheering the team on at the Dark Tournament, Keiko is an important part of the story, despite lacking the fighting prowess of the rest of the cast. 

Just as important, this episode establishes a core equality between her and Yusuke. We just watched Keiko reject a (presumably) accomplished guy for him, telling the audience that these surface differences — academics, power levels, popularity, looks — don't matter to them. Yusuke is not Keiko's lesser just because he doesn't have the same scores in Sayaka's book and Keiko won't become Yusuke's lesser just because she doesn't have spiritual power like he does. The only important thing here is that they love each other and they're both willing to sacrifice everything for the other. In the span of about ten minutes, Keiko nearly gives up her life for Yusuke and, in turn, Yusuke gives up his resurrection for her. The level of care they show towards one another is balanced, despite those differences. 

They’re a good ship, y'all. Even if this recapping's got me noticing Yusuke/Kuwabara potential lol. 

To get back to the plot, a drenched Keiko charges into the fire, yelling Yusuke's name for the drama of it because we all know he can't respond. Despite the audience (hopefully) recognizing Keiko and Yusuke's equality, that memo hasn't reached Yusuke yet. "You're a lot more important to this world than I am!" he yells, hammering home that despite everything — knowing he instinctively saved a child, watching his loved ones grieve for him, helping Kuwabara just because he can — Yusuke still, deep down, believes that he doesn't deserve to come back; that he doesn't measure up to those around him. The self-sacrificial nature this insecurity produces shocks Sayaka. She points out that if Keiko doesn't save his body, he's not coming back. "What's the point of being alive if Keiko has to get killed for it?" 

Keiko means more to Yusuke than the rest of his living existence. Jot that down in your notebook, Sayaka! 

Kuwabara arrives and runs into one of his friends who informs him that Keiko just went inside. “Yusuke’s girl? The one we saved from those thugs?”

BOY does that tell us a lot about their rivalry! I mean yeah, we've already established several times over that Kuwabara — just like Yusuke himself — is not the cruel street thug he'd like to present himself as. If these characters actually wanted to hurt each other outside of a martial arts challenge, don't you think Kuwabara would capitalize on the "Yusuke's girl" bit? Everyone seems to know that they have feelings for each other, but Kuwabara never once wields that as ammunition against Yusuke. There are no taunts about him not being good enough. Or rather, I should clarify there are no serious taunts — Kuwabara is well known for his teasing. There's also no attempt to steal Keiko out from under him, the common treatment of the love interest as a "prize" that many stories fall into. Indeed, later this episode YYH will deconstruct this a bit. Yusuke sees Kuwabara grab Keiko's hand and yells that he better not be getting "fresh" with her. But it's purely Yusuke's worries shining through. The audience gets a crystal clear picture of the situation and knows, categorically, that Kuwabara has only the most innocent of intentions in holding Keiko's hand. 

(Well, running from the police isn't innocent, but...) 

I keep getting sidetracked. Plot! Keiko makes it to Yusuke's room and finds that he is already on fire. She then proceeds to try and put it out by patting it with her hands. I take back what I said about Keiko's smarts in this scene. Now we know where that supposed recklessness comes from though. Apparently they're both immune to fire! Nothing to worry about here, folks. 

JK she's actually in danger, despite the animation choices. By this point everyone, including Keiko, realizes that there's no way out: the fire has blocked the door. Sayaka then reveals that there is one way to save her. If Yusuke throws his egg into the fire, the energy of the spirit beast will release and guide her to safety. The catch? Hatch the egg early and it won't complete its intended function of guiding him back to his body. This beast is gonna guide one person and that is it. 

Cue Yusuke's near immediate decision to sacrifice his life for Keiko's. Granted, it's not precisely one life for another. Yusuke's resurrection was always contingent upon the beast not devouring him whole — something Koenma claims would have happened at the end of the episode — meaning that it's not technically a fair trade. Yusuke might have sacrificed Keiko's life for his own... only to fail to get that life back anyway. (There's a tragedy for ya.) To say nothing of how Yusuke is currently dead and has been for at least a couple of days, whereas Keiko very much is not. There's some sort of philosophical discussion there about potential being pit against current reality. 

BUT that's not the point! The emotional point is that he sacrificed his life for hers — the potential of his resurrection, the potential of that life he might have led — all technicalities aside. And I, for one, think that's very neat of him. 

A blue light shines as the egg's energy is released, providing a lovely contrast to the fire surrounding them. A path forms to the door and Keiko, recognizing Yusuke's presence, follows it. "We'll make it, Yusuke," Keiko says, which is one hell of a sucker-punch now that we know she's just carrying a corpse. Unbeknownst to Keiko, Yusuke is very much not making it. That's the only reason why she is. 

Kuwabara appears to help them the rest of the way which is also a pretty awesome thing considering that, from everyone else's perspective, the fire is still raging and blocking the door. Despite his spiritual awareness, Kuwabara gives no indication that he noticed this strange light, or Yusuke's hand in the rescue. Which basically means he lunged into a bunch of deadly fire for Keiko and doesn't question how in the world he isn't burned. 

Keiko's hands are fine, Kuwabara's whole body is fine... fire immunity must run in the friend group! 

Yusuke has another rare moment of vulnerability — "They're both okay" — and I cackle happily at the "both" because see. You love Kuwabara too, Yusuke! All this bluster about hating him and finding him annoying. The second he rushed into that fire you were crawling up the walls. 

Except then that happiness gives way to something that sounds a little more shocked. Devastated. "Well, I sure am... relieved..." Kudos to Cook's voice acting. You can hear the exact moment Yusuke realizes what he's done. Not that he regrets it, but the consequences are finally sinking in. He's relieved that they're safe, yes, but now he's never going to be able to rejoin them. 

As Yusuke has an(other) existential crisis, Kuwabara peels back the blanket Keiko had wrapped Yusuke in, revealing his face. “What are you doing with Yusuke’s body?! Are you some type of sick grave robber?” he shouts. God I love when a story actually keeps track of who knows what. Kuwabara, for all his recent involvement in the plot, doesn't actually know what's going on. From his perspective Yusuke died, he made a scene at the wake, he saved "his girl" from a bunch of thugs, lost a huge chunk of time only to wake up with her randomly hugging him (then slapping him), participated in a bet with his awful teacher and had a couple weird, Yusuke related dreams while studying, and has felt the presence of ghosts perhaps a little more frequently than usual. Now he's trying to help save Keiko from a fire only for her to reveal she risked her own life for Yusuke's body. Of course he's freaking out! What's she doing with that? 

What's utterly fantastic though is that Kuwabara takes all of five seconds to process this and then enters immediate Ride or Die mode for Keiko. She's been hoarding Yusuke's body for undetermined reasons? Well, who is he to judge? The important thing here is that people are arrested for keeping bodies, so they've gotta skedaddle before the firefighters show up. 

Hence, hand-holding and avoiding arrest. 

As Yusuke starts threatening Kuwabara not to get "fresh" with her, Botan sadly reminds him that he no longer has a say in who Keiko does or does not fall in love with. The switch in tone is jarring. Whereas before Botan would have teased him mercilessly for the crush, now she knows that nothing can come of that — and it would be cruel not to remind Yusuke of that too. 

"Oh no. I didn't think..." Yusuke whispers, further establishing that he knew the risks of using his egg, but hadn't allowed them to sink in yet. Now they have. 

He gives a fake little laugh with, "Just when it was getting good" and I cry at the development in the span of just four episodes. Despite what I said at the beginning about the show resetting each week, there has been a lot of change thus far. Yusuke wants to live now! He wants to be there for Keiko! He looks down on his tiny family and screams at the unfairness of it all! They're talking about how they can't wait for him to come back and now that's never gonna happen!!

It hurts, friends. It hurts a whole lot. 

During this conversation between Keiko, Atsuko, and Kuwabara, we see that a couple of hours have passed (it's nighttime now, the fire is out) and Atsuko is apologizing for putting them all in danger like that. And by that I mean yes, she does technically apologize with an "I'm sorry" and everything, but it's also a one sentence apology pit against... well, near death for the three people standing (and sitting) before her. Atsuko seems just as concerned by Keiko losing her hair as she does Keiko nearly burning to death and she kneels by Yusuke's wheelchair, baby-talking to him about how he forgives her, right? I love Atsuko, she's great, but objectively speaking she is not a good mother. Not right now, anyway. 

Oh yeah, and just to reiterate that: Keiko's hands are fine after patting down Yusuke's on-fire body, but her hair, which I'm pretty sure never catches, has to be cut short. Ah, anime logic. Funny thing is, YYH isn't the only story to take the love interest and give her a cool, short cut thanks to a traumatic event. Anyone read Ranma 1/2? 

During this conversation we also learn that, sometime between the fire and now, Keiko filled Kuwabara in on everything that's happening with Yusuke. Makes sense. He kneels beside the wheelchair, joining the others in telling Yusuke that they'll wait patiently for his return. Yusuke, above them, continues yelling about how they're waiting on a dead man. 

“It can’t be helped. He made this decision on his own." 

Except it can, in fact, be helped!

Just as all hope is truly lost, Koenma appears and announces that Yusuke will be returned to life. Why? Because sacrificing his egg for Keiko is a better indicator of his worth than the egg itself could have been. Despite feeding on his negative outlook and heading towards biting Yusuke's head off — something the animation backs up by showing us teeth during the fire

— Yusuke's act demonstrates a tendency towards being a "decent human being" that is "so rare." Wow. That's depressing. Still, yay that Yusuke has those qualities! And this, to my mind, helps explain Sayaka's presence. Koenma recognized that judging Yusuke couldn't be left to the egg alone and indeed, Sayaka took note of his worth before he ever threw the egg into the fire. First it was questioning why someone as amazing as Keiko would go for him, then it was solidified through the shock of Yusuke announcing that coming back to life was meaningless if she wasn't in it. Even if Keiko had somehow, miraculously escaped the fire before Yusuke's sacrifice, I bet Sayaka's report would have tipped him in resurrection's favor anyway. 

Everyone is, of course, overjoyed and my heart swells at the intense gratitude Yusuke displays. My favorite part though is when Koenma cryptically says that “Your added experience with death could make you very useful" (a nod towards future events that goes right over Yusuke's head) and his response to this is a yelled, "YOU THINK I'M USEFUL?" This poor kid. The God of everything ever is chucking out revelations left and right, about resurrections and spirit beasts, but the only thing that really penetrates is the realization that someone thinks he's useful. Talk about relatable. 

You know, I've been thinking about why this moment works so well. I mean, there are a lot of other stories where undermining the consequences our hero faces — either with humor, or by erasing them completely — can feel like the audience was cheated. I think YYH dodged that with a couple of crucial factors. First, Yusuke's consequence isn't something new that he's now avoided, it's just a permanent extension of something he was already dealing with. We did get to watch him inhabit the space between life and death, grappling with whether he'd ever be able to return. The story didn't deny us that growth, it just confirmed something we all instinctively knew: this tale won't end here with Yusuke permanently going to some afterlife. Second, the Deus ex Machina fix doesn't happen too soon. Yeah, it's only a couple of minutes in a single episode, but we (and Yusuke) still get to sit with that outcome for a while, soaking it in before its removal. Finally, there's no doubt that Yusuke earned this reprieve. Koenma's timing might be sudden and (if you're not genre savvy) unexpected, but looking back at the series as a whole thus far, we're able to agree absolutely that Yusuke deserves this. Far from feeling like we were cheated, this solution invites just as much celebration as we're seeing on screen, for the simple reason that we can buy into Koenma's reasoning. We know now that Yusuke is a good person. We saw him selflessly sacrifice his future for Keiko. We agree that he deserves a second chance. 

Thus, the episode ends with Yusuke flying up to fill the screen in his joy, a far better, final shot than Harry Potter and The Prison of Azkaban managed 😰

And that's it for Episode 4, folks! See you later for Episode 5 💕

[thehollowprince]

What would you say are Scott's main character traits (including flaws)?

His compassion, his empathy, his resilience, his refusal to give up or back down. Scott was essentially the heart and soul of this show. Without him, none of the events that took place over the six (eight!) seasons would have been possible.

I. Compassion - as a positive trait

To me, this is Scott's biggest character trait. This defined him more than anything else throughout the series. It also set him apart from any other werewolf that we saw throughout the show's run. Where Peter or Derek or Deucalion were angry and power-hungry, Scott wasn't. Scott just wanted to be a teenage boy, be on first line for his lacrosse team, and date his girlfriend. Scott's compassion, his care for the lives of those around him, was what allowed him to overcome the manipulations and machinations of his various foes. Him wanting the best for others was what usually allowed him to turn his enemy's allies against them, by showing them a better way.

One of my favorite lines in the show summed up Scott...

"Scott doesn't care about power-- he cares about people."

Understand, when I praise that sentence, I'm not hating on people like Derek, who craved power, which was understandable given how powerless I'm sure he felt after everything he went through. No, my issue with Derek was never his quest for power, but always with how he went about doing it.

And that was his (Scott's) philosophy from day one. It's how he managed to get Allison out of her aunt's clutches and get Derek to fight against his uncle. It's what allowed him to sway Isaac (and Boyd before he and Isaac switched roles) to his side and away from Derek's pack.

I will always remember the way Isaac looked at Scott during Raving when Scott clarified that he didn't want him (Isaac) to get hurt.

It's what allowed him to calm Boyd and Isaac down in season three, as well as have the twins try so hard to join his pack. On and on that cycle went, with former enemies becoming allies, the biggest example of which being Theo.

Theo was Scott's biggest rival. He managed to do what no other villain on this show ever did. He brought Scott to his lowest point, drove his pack apart, killed him, and after everything, Theo wanted to be a better person, because of Scott.

Sidenote: I think that's why I loved Theo as much as I did. Theo was a perfect example of what Scott could have become if he'd followed the path that Peter laid out for him.

II. Compassion - as a character flaw

Like any great characterization, a character's greatest asset can also be one of their biggest flaws. And while I do think that Scott's compassion was his greatest strength, I also believe it was his greatest weakness. Scott's compassion, his desire to see the best in others, was something that others took advantage of.

Once again I bring up Theo, because whereas others, like Peter or Gerard or Deucalion, simply looked at this from their jaded world view, thinking Scott was naive, Theo was the only one to take actual advantage of Scott's trusting nature, using it to worm his way into the pack and sabotage it from within, as opposed to hammering on it from the outside.

Now, I feel the need to say that it wasn't as bad as some parts of the fandom make it out to be. There are those who "watched" Teen Wolf that will swear that Scott invited in every serial killer and homicidal maniac that came across the show, even after they attempted to kill him, and that's simply not the case. While he was a very trusting person, once you broke that trust, it had to he earned back.

Scott never fully trusted Peter again after his many attempts to take out Scott. Derek spent the latter half of his arc gaining back Scott's trust after repeatedly breaking it in the first two seasons. When Theo came back, Scott didn't give him a bro-hug and say "It's all good". Theo had to earn back every inch of Scott's respect that he so casually threw away.

It was Scott's compassion that also led him to make some pretty risky mistakes, such as invading Corey's mind or attempting the trap with Hayden as bait that ultimately got her and Liam captured by the Dread Doctors. Scott's compassion was what made him bad under pressure, as we saw whenever one of his plans fell apart, he grew frazzled and anxious, because he wanted to protect everyone.

To once again sidebar here for a second, part of me also wonders if Scott was so trusting in response to Stiles' paranoia.

Scott: "Why can't you trust anyone?"

Stiles: "Because you trust everyone!"

Its like a chicken-or-egg situation.

III. Intelligence

Scott's intelligence is often overlooked because it's not as flashy as Lydia's, but he is a highly intelligent character. And no, I'm not just talking about "emotional intelligence", which is often tossed out as some sort of consolation prize, but actual, book-smart intelligence.

People will often cite the first season, when Scott got back a bad grade as proof that he was a poor student, while completely ignoring the fact that said grade had the phrase "this isn't like you" on it, telling the audience that before all these werewolf shenanigans started happening, he had better grades. Something he turned around as the show progressed, enough to get into AP classes. It was Scott who deduced that the Dread Doctors were creating chimeras. It was Scott that figured out what was taken from the Ghost Rider by Douglas. It was Scott that outsmarted Gerard and Deucalion, who managed to trick the trickster (Nogitsune) and to devise a plan that took out the Beast and Theo, as well as denying Gerard his prize.

Scott was incredibly intelligent and people need to recognize and appreciate that.

IV. Empathy - Emotional Intelligence

Scott's empathy was another huge asset of his throughout the show. His ability to empathize with others, particularly those who opposed him, completely threw those around him off guard. Where someone like Peter or Derek (season two) or Theo (season five) would look at someone's circumstances and see that as a way to manipulate them into getting what they want, Scott looked at those same people and empathized with them, accepted their pain for what it was and not as a tool.

In my opinion, that's why Scott and Lydia worked so well together. They were both used and abused by Peter, and tossed aside when they were no longer useful.

It was Scott's empathy that allowed him to connect with Kira and Liam when they were coming into this world. He'd gone through that, scared and confused and he did everything in his power to ease that transition for them. Same with Malia. He recognized that she spent a large chunk of her life as a rabid animal and that it wasn't her fault, giving her the room to grow and come back to herself on her terms. It was him recognizing that Allison had been manipulated by her grief and her grandfather, his refusal to hold that against her because he understood, that inspired Allison to come up with her own code.

Scott understood those around him, and by just being a good person who believed in others, he inspired those around him to be better.

V. Resilience

No character got knocked down as many times as Scott did, and he got back up - every single time.

***

To close off, I want to talk about another "flaw". I don't necessarily view it as a flaw, but I know that some parts of the fandom did, so it needs to he discussed.

The most common flaw that Scott had was the same flaw that his entire pack had - they were teenagers!

Scott was a sixteen year old boy who was bitten by a werewolf and had his entire life thrown upside-down. People often seem to forget that and demand that he be a perfect person (despite not demanding that of other characters) and its aggravating. He got jealous, and angry, and insecure, and he was allowed to. He was allowed to enjoy the little moments of happiness, like getting a good grade or dancing with his girlfriend, because he was a child forced into a world of warring adults who sought to take advantage of him (and others) at every opportunity.

[hollenka99]

Not The Boy He Once Knew

Summary: Even if he’s not the best at always showing it, Phil cares about his sons. But when one leaves home and goes down a dark path, all Phil wants is for his little soldier boy to come home safely.

Warnings: Death, stabbing

This is based on Obscuritea’s Little Soldier Boy animatic. You can find them on Twitter at @/0bscuritea.

Phil remembered holding his children for the first time. He could have watched Techno's little snout twitch for as long as his eldest would allow him. Wilbur stared at everything, as if it was mandatory for him to visually absorb as much of the world around him as possible. This included the young pig boy hovering by door, unsure whether he wanted to meet the one who was had made him a big brother. Tommy was a wriggler, that was for sure, always trying to get into a better position within the blanket. Wilbur certainly didn't help things when he clambered onto the sofa in order to push himself through the space under Phil's free arm so he could get a better view of the baby.

Many summer afternoons were spent sitting in the shade of trees, watching his sons play with each other. Sometimes, he'd even be out there strumming on his guitar while doing so. The older Wilbur and Techno got, the more they liked to engage in rough play. More than once, Tommy would be happily sitting on his lap before finding himself caught up in the latest rough and tumble session.

One day while his two eldest are 12 and 9 respectively, Phil is horrified to see them return home from a night time adventure in the nearby woods with blood on their person. It would seem that they'd run into a number of zombies and skeletons. Wilbur had tripped and this had caused Techno to make use of his axe. Most of the blood wasn't even theirs so they argued it wasn't a big deal. As Phil retrieves the bread he has on hand for situations like these, he scolds his boys for being reckless. There wouldn't have even been any mobs about if they'd gone out in the day. Just because death was a three strikes and you're out kind of deal didn't mean they could risk injury or worse for the sake of fun. Now, were there any cuts or scrapes they wanted him to look at? Just the one on Techno's snout? Well alright, best get that sorted then off to bed.

During a week where his attention had been directed perhaps everywhere except towards Wilbur, he notices the light is still on in his room. Good. With a knock, he gets invited in. An apology is issued, after which Phil pulls out some wheat and cocoa beans he had lying around. The boy in his early teens acts as if his eyes don't momentarily light up once it clicks what those ingredients are for. When he makes excuses about being too old to be bribed with cookies as well as pointing out that it was getting late, Phil calls his bluff. Come on, let this be his way of saying sorry tonight then he promises tomorrow morning they can have a guitar session, just the two of them. Wilbur rolls his eyes but heads to the kitchen regardless. Phil's glad he does because that is the first time Wilbur plays an original song he was in the process of creating with him as the audience. It was only a shame that incidences like these were becoming few and far between. He wasn't going to catch every time Wilbur felt ignored, especially if the kid slowly stop attempting to get his attention as often in the first place.

It's an odd feeling when Wilbur says his goodbyes. The years have passed so quickly it's hard to believe his little boy isn't quite so little anymore. However, his second son had been a budding musician for as long as he'd had the dexterity for it. It would be impossible to forget how he had beamed with such intensity upon being gifted his first guitar, so much so that Phil had slightly worried he might injure his mouth or jaw somehow. He'll be fine. Phil had nothing to worry about. Besides, Tommy had already made the journey himself a few weeks ago and it sounded like he was already making friends.

Life carries on with Techno helping out with the farming and the occasional correspondence arriving from the other two. When he hears about drugs in a van, he rolls his eyes. Trust them to do something ridiculous like that. It's less humourous when the word 'war' begins to get thrown around. Then shortly afterwards, Techno is leaving to assist his brothers in their endeavours. This results in an argument as Techno packs. By all means, help Wilbur and Tommy but don't get involved in a war that wasn't his to fight. Phil's anxiety regarding his sons' wellbeing grows due to talk of plans to win back L'Manburg after a failed election resulted in an apparent dictatorship. The more days that passed, the stronger his desire to have all his boys back home safely with him grew.

He sits alone at a table that had once been abundant with life. Once again, Tommy has sent him a letter regarding the situation over there. He was getting scared of his brother's apparent obsession with potentially destroying the nation in a blast. Wilbur had even been heard wondering if Phil would be proud of him. Given the current circumstances, he wasn't so sure how to answer. Tommy had even confessed that both he and Wilbur were on their last lives which petrified Phil more than any of the bad news he'd gotten so far. However, his son was right. Enough was enough.

It was time for Phil to make his way to L'Manburg.

He almost finds it funny how Wilbur's voice immediately morphs into the defensiveness of a child as soon as he realises his father has entered his secret detonation room. It was honestly reminiscent of times such as when he got caught stalking a chicken to gain the egg necessary for a pumpkin pie, said pumpkin being dragged behind him by the stalk. However, his son wasn't 4 anymore. Wilbur was a grown man who had proven himself to maintain less than innocent thoughts and motivations.

But Phil was his father nevertheless. And he would talk him out of this 'blow up L'Manburg' plan like others such as Tommy had previously done. Besides, he knew Wilbur. Deep down, that boy didn't have it in him to cause that much destruction, let alone risk instigating any potential loss of life. All he had to do was calmly talk him down.

L'Manburg had been won back. Even with Wilbur yelling in frustration about the several times he came close to pressing the button, that could be seen as a sign of strength. They could agree to not do anything rash then gradually dismantle the vast quantity of TNT hidden in the walls. The notion that Wilbur would risk triggering the button to see if it was actually rigged is so absurd it makes Phil laugh aloud.

He's certainly not in the mood to laugh within a minute of that moment. By the time thirty or so seconds have elapsed, he is on top of his son, both of them on the ground with only dust and rubble left of what had been the secret underground room. Wilbur had been talking about Eret one second before uttering the infamous line of "it was never meant to be" the next. Phil doesn't think it had truly registered in his mind that the explosives were about to go off when he leapt to protect his son from them.

This couldn't be happening. He knew Wilbur, he knew that he would never be capable of blowing up L'Manburg. Except Wilbur was. He... he had.

It's as Wilbur is screaming into the sky about his unfinished symphony remaining forever unfinished that the reality of his personal mistake makes itself known to Phil. Tommy had warned him that Wilbur was going off the rails. He'd said that Phil shouldn't let his guard be lowered around his brother. The second born of their family was currently not to underestimated.

That grin, that sheer ecstasy upon achieving his goal, the way Wilbur revelled in his 'victory'. Well, what more proof did Phil need to know he'd done the exact things he'd been warned against?

He barely has the chance to acknowledge that before Wilbur is demanding the unimaginable from him. No, perhaps 'demand' isn't the right word. Begging might be more appropriate. A sword is tossed at his feet, an invitation for it to be used. He can't though. Not this. Anything but this. The punishment for reversing countless hours of dedicated hard work should not be a death sentence. That simply does not equate.

"God, you're- You're my son! No matter what you do, no matter what you act like, I can't..."

And it's true. This was the kid who would (along with Tommy most of the time) go on epic adventures to claim treats in chests which were placed high up for the exact purpose of deterring such behaviour. He was the one who'd be found sneaking off to the surrounding caves and mines for the sake of exploration. It was him who practised his rallying speech skills on his brothers and father. More than that, Wilbur was a talented musician who liked writing songs and loved his family. He wasn't some irredeemable criminal who deserved to die to pay for the pain he'd caused.

Phil was not going to give Wilbur what he wanted. At least, he was against it until he realised this was about more than punishment or penitence. This was him asking someone he trusted to free him from the burden of all his wrongdoings. Wilbur wanted peace in his life again. And what kind of father would he be if he couldn't give his son that?

He grabs the sword. If he's going to do this, he'd rather make it as fast as possible. The last thing he wants is the suffering of a loved one. Wilbur tenses as the blade finds its way into his chest then exits. The gasps and stuttered breaths are worse than his son begging for death a minute ago. It's okay, he mutters. Just breathe through it. It'll be alright in a moment. Phil doesn't know whether him stroking Wilbur's hair is helping at all but somehow, it's helping Phil himself so that's good enough. The hand gripping his side begins to lose strength. He lets out a grief-stricken groan as he holds his son as tightly as he can.

"You couldn't just let- you couldn't just win?" There is no response, not even a hint of it.

The walls blown apart, he knows everyone can see him. But what does he care? Wilbur's head rests against his father's chest, arms loosely drooping towards the floor and body slumping alongside it. When he inevitably forces himself to let go, to leave the remains of this godforsaken room and... and bury his son's body back home, he's aware he'll have to face the fact his lap is stained with blood. But that can wait for as long as he can delay it.

For now though, he'll sit here with his eyes closed. Maybe that way he can somehow convince himself he's just holding the little boy who loved finding his way into his father's arms whenever he was drowsy, albeit an enlarged version. It's all he can do to keep the tears and questions of how this could have been prevented at bay.

[nopeferatu]

Can you explain to me why usuk is so popular when other America or England are not?

So in canon when Lithuania was undressing America and i guess was happy or saw him undress, Lithuania says he was happy now he undress and America says he loves the way he undress while blushing. When America made love gun. He used on himself. In front of Japan? I get there are usuk moments in manga

Okay I don't hate usuk. I don't mind because I see at more ass allies and friends then romantic. I could see as most maybe England having one sided feelings towards america. And don't worry I'm not one of those dumb anti usuk shippers that saying is incest. Even though i don't ship it I love seeing fanart and fanfics.

Uhh honestly I'm not really sure WHY it ever got to be so popular? I will say that Hima has done a lot of ship bait for them in the past...

See for example buon san valentino:

And the desert island strip:

I think many people can agree that England at LEAST has a crush on Ame on his part, that much is obvious, but I think you can also interpret America as also having feelings for him.

In the Buon San Valentino bit, Ame SPECIFICALLY wanted chocolates from England. He could have asked for chocolates from Japan, or Liet, or anyone really but he didn't- he wanted chocolate, on whats universally considered to be the most romantic day of the year, from England. Just that in and of itself to me is like...you'd have to be blind not to read that as him having a crush on England. But America is kind of a tsundere in his own weird way, and I think a lot of people forget that? Like...to me, whenever I see that part of the strip where hes eating the chocolates, I see it as him feeling put out by England not giving him chocolate, so in retaliation when he DOES give him chocolate, hes like "Oh what lol you think I like you?? Pfft as if!! Let me show you how much I DONT need you"

Also in the Halloween event where Ame forced them essentially into couples costumes as like. a "reward" for England being America's first twitter follower, Hima later commented on that and said that either way America would have found a way to have made England be his first follower. (Plus the way that America made a comment to England about "showing off his legs" in the robin costume 👀 you expect me NOT to see that as flirting?)

There was once this post that someone who wasn't even an active USUK fan made about how America can also be interpreted as having a crush on England in return. It really put a lot of his actions, especially with regards to England, into perspective but that post is lost to time so unfortunately I can't link it here or else I would.

There are other things, like the fact that Hima himself posted this to his official blog back in 2008:

in the USUK fandom, whenever England is shown wearing America's jacket its called Amerigigi. This is OFFICIAL Amerigigi that was featured on Hima's blog.

Also the fact that America and England are officially King and Queen of Spades in merch that came with the Arte Stella book

A lot of fans of the past always joked about how the american revolution scene was set up so it played out like a huge, dramatic break up between lovers, which is really funny and silly to think about.

Theres also a rumor that Hima one time posted on his blog that England definitely had a crush on America, but that he took it down very quickly so it was only there for a brief moment. I don't know about the validity of this tbh as I've never seen any screenshots floating around about it, but I have heard a lot of fans through the years talk about it so I don't know what the truth of that situation is.

Soo yeah like. I wasn't there from the start (2007ish? 2008?) so I really can't say what came first, the chicken or the egg. Did Hima write the characters with romantic undertones before people started shipping them, or did he lean into the shipping that was already going on? I have no clue.

Another thing you have to realize is that fandom is gonna fandom, yanno? They see two cute blonde boys with a turmultuous relationship and they go "wouldn't it be cute if they kissed?". Thats what drew me into the pair when I first got into the fandom 🤷🏽‍♂️

Not to mention all the IRL history that is applicable between them post-WWII...you can't expect me, as someone who likes American history, to see the Special Relationship and just NOT use that as fodder for my ship thay literally innvolves those countries.

WHOOO sorry this got so long but these are some reasons off the top of my head that I think might have contributed to the popularity of USUK? I'm sure theres more reasons, and again I cant really explain why this of all heta ships got as big as it did, but the truth is that whenever you go onto FF.net, ao3 and Pixiv, the pairing that has the MOST content created for it is USUK, and thats not even including other fanworks made for the pair throughout the years that are floating around on sites like tumblr, twitter, instagram, deviantart, livejournal, etc. Edit: I brought the fact that there are so many fanworks for USUK to say that theres obviously something there that has drawn fans into the ship, something that a lot of people over the years have seen and been interested in exploring further.

And I'm not like. Discrediting other ships or anything like that lol. At the end of the day, all of this is just up to your interpretation and how you choose to read the source material. You don't have to view them as romantic if youdon't want, thats the beauty of transformative fandom. Hell, if hima said tomorrow that USUK was canon, people don't even have to ship it then and can disregard that if they wanted. Canonicity doesn't mean that a ship HAS to be shipped. Hell, PruCan has always been like one of the most popular ships in the fandom, and they dont even really interact much in canon? People just started shipping them on the basis of them being "the forgotten nations" or whatever.

So like, other ships aren't less valid, and nobody is forcing a gun to your head to ship usuk lol. I honestly can't explain why it got so popular other than "theyre cute together"

[furyasyourguide]

Hey! Hey! It’s ya girl fury as your guide! You are either here from google or you saw my youtube video. Don’t worry. It’s at the bottom of my page Either way, Welcome! Here’s some key points and animal recipes from gameplay guide on how to with these chickens in the Cottage Living Expansion Pack in the Sims 4 franchise. If you aren’t careful they will stress you out. We will cover how to buy them, how to raise them, feed and mate them, harvesting eggs and how you can make money off of them, and all points in between. I’ll be adding pictures. Bare with me. I’m just getting started here!

First we are going to talk about stuff to help set you up to prosper as a chicken farmer, then we will get into the meat and potatoes of dealing with these chickens.

Picking Traits

You can really set yourself up for a better gameplay experience by giving your sims certain trains in Create-A-Sim that support what you will be doing in your gameplay. If you are going to be an athlete, select traits like being athletic. These are traits that I love to select when it comes to being the best chicken farmer I can be:

The Animal Enthusiast

The Animal Enthusiast trait helps you to bond and build relationships with animals way faster than if you don’t. The better the relationship that you and any other members of your household have with them the better. It does help contribute with the outcome of your animals products that they make. So make sure that not just you, but other members of your household are cool with those chickens. If I picked any trait it would be this one if I expect to have animals to harvest products from. 

The Green Fiend & Loves Outdoors

Now these aren't necessary for raising chickens and whatnot, but they can be very helpful and I will explain why! You will be outside a LOT if you have animals to harvest from. Selecting the Green Fiend trait if you live in a neighborhood that isn’t polluted gives you +2 Happy Moodlets for breathing fresh air just by being outdoors, and doing things like doing green activities such as upgrading your appliances with eco parts. It usually boosts your inspiration. Since you’ll be outside caring for your chickens you get free inspiration that you don’t have to do anything for like browsing art on the pc, or needing to be a foodie just to get inspiration from getting recipe ideas from the pc or tv. The same with Loves Outdoors trait because it also gives you +2 Happy Moodlets. If you are into canning, cooking, writing, painting, knitting, cross stitch or pretty much anything that being inspired helps then I suggest these because you’ll be outside often. So why not rack up on FREE inspiration? If your neighborhood’s eco footprint aint hitting on much then I don’t suggest eco fiend, but usually I have no issue with it in Henford-On-Bagley which is the new neighborhood in Cottage Living. Let’s take a look at the neighborhood map while we are talking about it because their are shops that are hidden in town that will help you prosper with dealing with these chickens. These are just things that you can do before you start dealing with them to help get you ahead. 

The Grocery and Garden Shops 

The Grocery and Garden Shops are stands located by the bar at the Gnomes Arms at the bottom of the map, but they don’t tell you that bs. They are both open from 9am-7pm. You can get produce and ingredients to cook with which you will need if you are making certain animal treats, make foods with the Simply Living Lot Challenge enabled, to help cut on costs with food and craftables. You can also buy a limited variety of animal treats. 

I know that this video is about dealing with these chickens, but you will need various produce and ingredients to make animal treats with. Treats allow you to get a different color of wool, a variety of eggs, and an assortment of milk flavors. You can extend the life of your animals, and even help socialize and boost your animal relationships. You can even get a golden egg to resell, use in recipes or to get the coveted golden chicken. 

Unfortunately you can only get a limited variety of treats, and limited quantities of them at a time from the Garden Shop. I suggest buying some treats in advance so you can unlock the recipe to make them when you start working with your animals. You unlock treat recipes by feeding a treat to an animal from your inventory, running some errands with the locals, or from getting buddy buddy with the area wildlife and sometimes they will put you up on game by giving you a recipe.

You can come back here and buy the produce and stuff that you will need. I suggest that you grow and make the ingredients for your treats yourself because the shops are highway robbery at it’s Sims finest. Sim capitalism in this game is alive and well. So if you have the coin, I recommend that you get some friendly treats if you have the cash because they are definitely a big help when you are starting out. 

Buying Chickens

To purchase chickens you just click on it. You’ll at least need a hen and a rooster to make hatchable eggs that turn into chicks. If you got it like that, go ahead and cop a hen and rooster chick. That way you can start them out young and build a relationship with them early on. So when they are old enough to mate and reproduce you have a better chance at quality eggs. Even your favorites can disappoint you, but trust me. It definitely helps. 

Hens go for $150 and roosters are $200. I don’t know who came up with that, but I wont choose violence for the sake of this lil’ guide. They come in a variety of colors, but they don’t really affect the outcome of the eggs unless it’s a hatchable egg that you don’t have to use. You can resell them. I prefer to have a variety of them so I can differentiate between them. You can even name them, which is funny to me. 

Taking Care of Your Chickens

Hover over a chicken.  This bubble will basically tell you how your chicken is doing.Keep the coop clean. Feed em. Make sure to give your chicken attention. Those are the basic requirements. Let’s talk a more on how.

Clean Up!

Cleaning the coop is easy. You just hover over it to see what it’s status is. The bubble will tell you your capacity, if and how many eggs are ready to be collected, how clean it is, how many chickens you have, and a break down of them. It will give you an option to clean it if it’s even slightly dirty, which usually happens after they have eggs. 

Feeding chickens in the game is easy. You just click on the coop, and click scatter feed nearby. 

How to Feed Them

It’ll cost you $4 each time you feed them. Make sure that you feed them enough to give every chicken some grub. If you have half a coup or less, one throw is enough. If your coop is full then give them 2. If you are leaving the house or plan on being busy, then make sure you have feed on the ground in advance even if they are full just in case. They ARE bird brains, and sometimes your hen wont come out even though it’s starving. You can scatter the food on the ground then call the hen out. It’ll see the feed and get with the program, OR you can click it and feed the ones who are hungry.

Attention Starved

The hardest part of taking care of these things is giving them attention. I’m not a fan of it. Make sure that they are content by clicking on the chicken and either clicking on the top option which changes, or click socialize then on the various options that suit you. You can also increase your relationship with friendly treats and the animal’s social motive with the animal party treats. We will talk more about treats, but if you give them these it’ll help increase your relationship with them and increase their attention. 

If you do all of this and make sure that you AND your household members are good with the animals then you will have quality eggs, including special eggs of different colors, and hatchable ones that may still disappoint you with a normal quality. The quality is up to you depending on how much work you are willing to put in. Typically they will be eggcellent. Get it? I crack myself up. Lemme stop with the chicken jokes. If you don’t take care of them it will be a real situation down the road. I could make a joke about getting to the other side, but we are just going to move on to how these chickens will move on if you don’t take good care of them.

Your animals WILL complain to you if they aren’t satisfied with how you are running the joint. If they DO run off its usually just one. It’ll come back if you clean up your act and get it together. 

Trade a chicken. Go ahead. You know you want to.

These chickens DO age, so if the Grim Reaper pulls up with the stick then you can’t come back from that. They’ll let you know when your bird is getting on up there in years. You can trade any of them for a variety of stuff if you can bare the pain from the sadness moodlet you will get from the betrayal. Now. If you don’t see when the Grim Reaper comes because you are doing something that isn’t near the chicken or you are asleep or something then you don’t get a sadness moodlet. If you witness it then you’ll still be upset and you gets NOTHING. So I recommend trading the bird before it’s too late.  

You can trade a chicken for white meat, which is pretty obvious. You can also trade it in for animal treats, a lil produce and ingredients to cook with, or you can take the cash and do the race. Chicks can’t be traded for chicken meat, but let’s do a quick trade real quick so you can see how it goes down. 

These Animal Treats, Honey

So let’s talk about these animal treats. This can be more stressful than dealing with them birds sometimes. You do NOT get the animal treat recipe off bat. You have to feed them a treat from your inventory, get it from running errands for the locals, or by befriending critters like rabbits and birds and hope that they’ll put you on game by giving you an animal treat recipe. They give you a gift each day if you ask them, and sometimes it’s some absolute bs. Often times you get a treat recipe. So you can’t make them until you unlock them. Once you unlock the recipe, I beg of you to start growing the crops or working on the needed items to make treats because it will be a big help. Buying ANYTHING in the Garden and the Grocery Shop is highway robbery like I stated before bestie, and I don’t respect it. So if you would like a leg up on getting the ingredients together in advance to save on costs then go to my site itsyagirlfury.com for info from this video, quick tips and animal treat recipes to have everything you need beforehand. You can click on the fridge, the coop or animal shed to make animal treats if you have the ingredients for the ones that you have recipes for. If not? Forget about it. 

To feed a treat to an animal you simply click the animal, click give a treat, select what you have available and that’s that. 

So what do these treats do? A lot. They can boost your relationship and attention when you socialize with your birds. They can extend their lives.They can intentionally get you different colored eggs, like the rainbow egg which is a LOT to deal with. A rainbow egg of excellent quality is a smooth $200 so it is what it is. Not only does the golden treat get you a golden egg, but it can turn a chicken into the coveted golden chicken which is a financial blessing. An excellent quality egg is $300, and a hatchable golden egg is $450. It’s a madd decent hustle if you have them turning out golden eggs like in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. 

The golden chicken also improves anything it’s around. Sometimes it’ll just do it on it’s own. I keep mine locked in a gate so they aren’t just roaming all over during their waking hours or so the fox doesn’t move in for the kill. So they are often near my garden, and will just improve stuff on it’s own. ‘Preciate it homie. You can also click on it, and ask it for help. 

Let tell you about the real MVP though. My evil chicken. She originally was a white chicken. One day I looked, and she was evil. She’s not necessarily evil. They can keep their loved ones from dying. They can even ward off vampires, foxes and the Grim Reaper. They WILL fight the Grim Reaper, but he will hide until it catches the chicken slippin, then go and get what it came for. So it is what it is. 

Animal Treat Recipes

Animal Party Treat -Improves social motive. Required:any mushroom or veggie. 

Chocolatey Animal Treat- Makes brown wool, chocolate eggs, or chocolate milk. Required: custard, chocoberry.

Fishy Protein Animal Treat- Gives an extra wool, egg or milk. Required: any fish.

Flirty Animal Treat- pink wool, a hatchable egg, strawberry milk. Required: Strawberry Jam, sugar.

Friendly Animal Treat- positive boost to the animal’s relationship with a sim. Required: any fruit or veggie.

Fruity Animal Treat- Makes blue wool, a blue egg, or enriched milk. Required: Apple jam, Blueberry jam. 

Golden Animal Treat- gold wool, turns a hen into a golden chicken, golden honey milk. Required: a golden egg, cowberry or honey.

Healthy Animal Treat- extends lifespan of an animal. Required: any fruit or veggie and lettuce.

Midnight Animal Treat- black wool, obsidian egg, or an evil chicken. Beware! Required: cowberry jam, obsidian egg. 

Pumpkin Animal Treat- orange wool,pumpkin spice milk, orange egg. Required: pumpkin, sugar.

Rainbow Animal Treat- rainbow wool, rainbow milk, rainbow egg. Required: blue egg, green egg, orange egg.

Spicy Animal Treat- red wool, fire milk, obsidian egg. Required: spicy mushroom, any veggie.

Veggie Animal Treat- green wool, green eggs, mighty plant milk for lactose intolerant sims. Required: aubergine, lettuce. 

Some Bonus Chicken Nuggets

Now. A few things that I have found to be helpful so we can wrap this up: I’ve found it to be helpful to make sure that you have lighting near them. So if it’s dark it’s easier to see them. 

Speaking of lamps, I keep the warming lamp near my animals so when I go near them I am kept warm if it’s cold outside, and I also get a +1 Happy Moodlet from it. She loves being outdoors so she doesn’t get cold. It’s not the same reason why Cardi B says that people don’t get cold. 

Keep ‘em “cooped up”

If you don’t want your birds just roaming around all the time or to protect them from foxes then keep your gate locked. Click on it and click lock and for all chickens. If they aren’t in one then put them in one. 

Put your eggs in the fridge if you plan on keeping them. If it’s perishable, put it in the fridge to keep it for longer.

The calendar shows what competitions will be held at the Finchwick Fair every Saturday from 3:30-9:30pm. I suggest not going early because they don’t judge you until later. The calendar tells you what two entries they are accepting so you can prepare. If your chicken showed out, and you think you have a chance to win then go enter and win one of those trash prizes lol. The ribbons are cute, though. 

This expansion pack is stressful, but it’s fun. It’s definitely one of my favorites. If you have any other chicken tips or if you are a sims streamer then please leave that in the comments. My socials are itsyagirlfury everywhere on social media platforms. Or you can go to my site itsyagirlfury.com to find me. I’m getemgirlfriday on twitch. That’s also in the bio and at my site. I’d love to have you. I mostly play the sims and it goes down. 

[halothenthehorns]

All in the Family

Chapter 21: The Burrow

It was a homey kitchen, that was the first immediate apparent thing. Even after they'd all landed it didn't seem to disturb the already hectic nature of the place any.

The stove was still full of the warm smells of a feast of a breakfast, to which the Marauders at once began helping themselves to. Dishes in the sink were scrubbing themselves to a polish, and someone had left a deck of self shuffling cards on the counter, just above a drawer filled with all sorts of Muggle things Frank wasn't sure of. He thought that may have been a battery peeking out, but wasn't positive.

There were over a dozen chairs scattered about the room, all of various types, a careworn cloak hung over one at the head of the table which was oblong, with a few burn marks imprinted in the wood, and some things carved into the legs, initials perhaps. Hanging proudly in the center of the wall behind this was something resembling a clock, but instead of two, it carried nine hands, and no numbers were present, instead such things as 'work,' 'school,' and, 'mortal peril' were around the face. Strangely, the hands weren't pointed at any of those, but all trailing aimlessly about the circle, the clockwork as lost in time as they were.

Fighting back a shiver so as not to think of that, he put his attention out the window, his eyes skipping right past a wilted feather duster, where a hedge hinted at a garden just out the backdoor, and what could be a chicken coop paces away from that, with gentle hills rolling on for miles beyond this.

Despite being stuffed to the brim in this tiny room, Frank was amazed how open it all felt. He couldn't help but compare it to his own kitchen at home, where his Mum had everything perfectly outlined for its place, four mirrored straight chairs around one symmetrical square table. Even the lake he could see from a very similar window was usually steal gray, the wide expanse looking more threatening with its deep waters.

He looked down when someone gently took his hand and was unsurprised to find Alice, a stack of marmalade and toast in her hands she'd braved from the depths of the Marauders hogging the food. He couldn't help but grin lovingly at her, bending down to give her a kiss on the temple before beginning to nibble on his breakfast as the older Black began. They had no idea why a Burrow would be mentioned, wasn't that were animals slept? At this rate though they truly wouldn't put anything past the ability of Potters kid getting into something.

The two tried to sit on the ledge in the early morning sunlight, but disturbed the feather duster, which came to life as an aged owl, ruffling his feathers at them and blinking slowly. Alice offered him a bit of toast, and he accepted this in his beak before hobbling to a perch. Frank reached over and pet it for a few moments in thoughtful silence.

Between ripping up bacon and shoving that into his mouth, Sirius eagerly kept going with the now lively story of the Weasley's arriving, especially those twins! What brilliance they were, knowing how to pick muggle locks!

Of course Harry's escape couldn't be all fun, Vernon had to come and muck everything up, but honestly picturing the look on his face was almost worth all that had happened. Didn't stop any of them from hoping Harry never had to go back to that Muggle dwelling.

Lily couldn't help but think the same, just silently, to herself at the far end of the room. She was trying very hard to resist the sausages sizzling away in protest that this wasn't their house! They shouldn't just be helping themselves to anything they liked! Frank and Alice weren't helping, even Regulus was picking over some eggs.

She'd already tried to leave from the room to stop further temptation, but found all ways out of the room barred. Just behind her, she was sure that was a washing din with a room beyond that, and at the other end was a crooked staircase leading to more. A promising swinging door even could have led off to a living room, or she even would have preferred to go out into the garden. Nothing, all blocked like always.

So now she was forced to listen in protest of the Weasley's catching Harry up to speed while he in turn told them of why mail wasn't going around. The idea that it was Malfoy's house-elf was, realistic, but even she couldn't see Malfoy doing something so stupid as to try stopping Harry getting back to school by using his elf as a prank. Besides, she was sure of Dobby's sincereness, the warning he'd given.

"Awkward," Peter stage whispered when they reached Ron's home, the house they were presumably in, and Mrs. Weasley came out to at once give her kids a stern dressing down.

"Makes me real grateful to my parents," James agreed with a chuckle as he speared another fried egg and shoved it in his mouth whole. He still had his eyes on Evans the whole time, as usual, and was growing worried about her. He hadn't seen her eat anything since this started, and they'd been at it for hours by their own internal clock he was sure. So he grabbed a plate of fried potatoes and tomatoes and made his way over to her. At first she just narrowed her eyes and glared away from him, clearly more annoyed than anything he somehow knew her favorite breakfast.

"Here," he dug a galleon out of his pocket and left it purposefully on the table. "Will you please eat something now?" He offered her the fork and plate.

"I don't need your money, or pity," she snapped.

"I'm not offering you that," he agreed, wafting the plate as near her nose as he could. "I'm offering you some delicious food that's just hanging around this kitchen that Harry's certainly eating away."

"He was invited here, we were not," she grumbled, but her resolve was wavering as much as her mouth was watering. She'd skipped lunch to do a Transfiguration essay she was behind on, and she really was hungry...

"I'm listening to the fact that she had no more clue Harry was arriving than he did, and yet she dumped a plate of food on him. I'm sure if they were here this second we'd be offered the same while explaining ourselves," he wheedled.

By this point in the book they'd already finished breakfast, and the kids were going to do a punishment of de-gnoming the garden. There was no telling where they'd end up next, and it was being made perfectly clear how welcome Harry was here...surely that would extend to just one plate of food on her part...she made the mistake of glaring at him, determined he'd walk away, but was caught off guard by the sincerity of his concern. She usually didn't take the time to bother reading his face, she was usually to busy giving it the pure disdain it deserved for picking on every student in that school, especially her best friend. Her guard was down though, without Sev around, and for the first time she realized he had hazel eyes. Very open, wide eyes that were currently a genuine peace offering for some food.

Without even realizing she was doing it, she accepted the plate. The brilliant smile lighting his face was like none she'd ever seen before, from lips that usually were just throwing curses around. What was even more spinning than that was, he walked away. He didn't pester her anything further; brag he'd known this would work or point out he'd known what she would like, offer her a seat at the table, or even compliment her. He just went back to his friends, who had somehow wrangled Regulus into their conversation of bragging about how far they'd managed to throw gnomes, which apparently were out in the Forbidden Forest. She stabbed a potato and chewed slowly while looking back out the window, her mind scoffing at her caving like this while her stomach happily rumbled to shut up and enjoy.

Mr. Weasley turned out to be a delight, Sirius hadn't even known about the Muggle things around the house! He stopped pestering Regulus to give details of why he'd been in the Forest at any time and got up to go inspect the drawers, Frank watching him rummage through them without care suddenly making him understand why Evans had been so put off with their helping themselves to food. Clearly the Marauders were growing braver by thinking they could do anything they liked around here, though he was personally sure they'd be the same way no matter what the situation. He seemed as delighted as Arthur to find such things in here and called Lupin over to him to have a few things explained, abandoning the book in the middle of Mrs. Weasley chastising her husband for that car.

It took his friends several tries to convince him to leave the lot and finish, but his enthusiasm had vanished Regulus' good mood, he was looking about this house with such pure disgust they could have been back in Privet Drive. It made Frank a bit sad, how conditioned that kid must be to hate all things that weren't like his family, to even hate another pureblood family simply because they enjoyed Muggle things.

"I wish we could see Ron's room, and the twins room, and the rest of this place," Alice quietly said beside him, her eyes on the ceiling with curiosity.

"Perhaps we shall," Frank offered without much enthusiasm, personally he was just hoping this madness would end before they wound up trapped somewhere much less hospitable. That Devil's Snare was still weighing on his mind, and he already had a bad feeling this Potter kids life wasn't going to get much better from there, even if this chapter did end rather nicely for once.

[korra-the-red-lion]

Unnatural Affairs. Chapter 2: Let the Good Times Roll.

When I woke up the next morning, my eyes were achy and itchy. Falling asleep after spending most of the evening crying might have had something to do with that. I groaned as I reached for my glasses, deciding that I definitely needed a shower. I grabbed my soaps, shampoo and conditioner, flip flops, towels, and headed towards the communal shower area.

Luckily for me, there was no one here when I got there. I turned on the water, letting it heat up as I set up my things. I pulled the curtain across and got to washing all the eye boogies off my face. The warmth of the shower was very much needed as it ran down my body. I started feeling more like myself again as I scrubbed all the night grime off. I spent a few extra minutes, just enjoying the feeling of the warm water against my skin. If I closed my eyes, I could convince my mind that I felt great about this whole thing.

Then my stomach rumbled. I realized that I really didn’t have much of an appetite after my chat with dad and emotional break down with mom. I hadn’t eaten much of anything since lunchtime yesterday. The allure of food was more than enough to convince me to leave the comfort of the shower. I quickly wrapped a towel around both my body and hair. I gathered everything up and shuffled out of there. I peeked my head around the corner, feeling self-conscious of the fact that I had to go back to my room practically naked. I dashed back to my room and closed the door as quickly and quietly as possible. Sarah was still sleeping, thank God.

I got dressed and towel dried my hair the best I could. I didn’t bother with anything fancy today, since I was going to be spending most of my day standing in line to get my textbooks. I wasn’t going to wait around and end up spending hours of my school time there, so I planned to do it today.

I checked myself in the mirror before leaving. Just plain black leggings and a over large t-shirt that read ‘how-to pick-up chicks’ with a picture of a stick figure picking up a baby chicken. I adjusted my glasses to make sure they were straight, and I tossed my hair over to one side, trying to give it some style. I said I wasn’t going to be fancy, but I’m also not going to go out looking like I woke up from a rager.

I grabbed my purse, student card and my phone, and left the room. The sun was shining brightly overhead once I got outside, trying to squeeze out those last few days of summer. It felt good on my skin, and I thought about maybe eating outside. That would be nice.

Yawning as I made my way to the meal hall, my thoughts of my new classes and the new people I would meet wormed its way into my head. I knew I would do well in most of my classes, except for maybe some of the science ones. The issue was making friends. It’s not like I had hard a terrible time making them or anything, but my disposition ended up pushing away a lot of people. Then of course, the conversation I had with my dad popped up like an unwanted house guest. Dammit, he really knew how to get in my head.

I was practically storming as I walked into the meal hall. It was actually nicer than I thought it would be. There was quite bit of space, with nice large tables. It was also clean, which was a huge plus. Of course, move in day was literally yesterday. Maybe give it a week or so, and it would change. I walked down the stairs, letting the smell of food knock me out of my foul mood.

I loaded my plate up with hash browns, two fried eggs, bacon, and toast. I was starving and couldn’t wait to eat. I was about to head outside when I saw familiar strawberry blonde hair and I found myself walking towards it.

Shyly I approached the table where Lyn sat by herself. She was nearly dozing off in her seat, her plate empty in front of her. I tapped her shoulder, causing her to jolt awake.

“Wha’?” she blinked a few times and looked over her shoulder, smiling when she saw me. “Oh, hey Ally, wassup?”

“I was hoping I could sit with you?”

“Be my guest,” she said with a yawn. Her hair was tied up in a loose bun today, instead of that tight ponytail she had yesterday, and she wasn’t wearing the paint either, revealing all her freckles that were splashed across her nose and cheeks, like I suspected.

“How’d you sleep on your first night? Any crazy parties for you, or was the noise enough?”

I shook my head. “I’m not really a party girl, honestly. And I mean, the noise was definitely something I need to get used to. But my roommate seems really cool and at least that’s something. I was worried I was going to have a horrible roommate, like some of the horror stories I read about.”

Lyn cupped her chin and was leaning against the table as she listened to me. I wonder if anyone ever told her she had an intense stare. Even in her sleepy state, I know her focus was entirely on me as I spoke. It wasn’t uncomfortable or anything like that, more like an observation. She smirked into her hand and said, “I had one of those in first year.”

“What? Really?”

She nodded, still not taking her eyes off me. “Oh, hell yeah. She was so strange. She ironed all her shit in the room, told me I wasn’t allowed to cross the line she taped to the floor unless it was a necessity, and legit told me that I couldn’t listen to my music too loudly with my headphones in. Like, this girl was on something, I swear. Eventually, I broke down and requested to be switched out. Thank God, they moved her into a single dorm, and I got to stay. That’s when Nura moved in, and she’s awesome. We get along like PB and J, you know? I’m rarely in there anyhow, with practice and work, but still. Gotta feel welcome in your own home, you know?”

She ends with that a lot, I noted. It was endearing. I nodded in agreement. “I get that. Sometimes it was hard to um…go home after school. I don’t always get along with my dad, so it was awkward to go home.”

Lyn winced. “Shit, sorry. That’s crappy, not feeling like home is a safe place.” She sat up and leaned back, staring up at the ceiling. “Dammit, Hart, you ruined the mood.”

“No, no! You didn’t do that at all,” I said quickly. “I was the one who brought it up in the first place!”

“I was the one who was all like ‘feel welcome in your home’,” she groaned. “Listen, I’ll make it up to you, yeah? You can ask me one thing, anything you want.”

“That seems really extreme…”

She shrugged. “I’m pretty much an open book.”

I bit my lip in thought, not really sure what to ask her. I didn’t know her all that well, but the offer to get to know her better was intriguing. Still, nothing really came to mind, and I ended up shaking my head. “Can I cash it in later?”

Lyn laughed, “Sure thing, Ally.”

We ended up talking for awhile longer about general things, like what majors we were taking and our favourite bands. Just simple stuff. Talking to Lyn was really easy. She laughed for no reason and had an infectious smile. When she was excited about something, she ended up bouncing her leg under the table. I’m not sure what it was about her that calmed me down, honestly. But she did. Maybe it truly was just her easy-going nature, but she seemed like a genuine person. Eventually, I had to get going to grab my books, much to my disappointment. I knew that once school started for real, I wasn’t going to be able to hang around her as much. It sounded like she had a lot more on her plate than I did.

As we both stood, I worked up the courage to ask for her number. That way, I could at least keep in touch with her by text. When I did, her eyes narrowed as a smirk appeared on her face.

“Sure, totally, Ally,” she took my phone from me, her fingers brushing against my hand as she did. “I don’t usually give my number out to anyone, but I will for you, since you’re cute and all,” she handed my phone back with her smirk still firmly in place.

Damn, that something I wasn’t expecting. I know I was blushing, but I tried to play it cool. I got the feeling yesterday that Lyn was a flirty kind of person, but I’m not entirely sure what her whole situation is.

“Thanks. I just know once school starts, we’ll both be pretty busy,” I said, looking away. Yeah, play it cool.

“Totally, just playing, you know?”

“Ha, totally.”

She pulled out her own phone and checked the time. “Yikes, gotta head out for real, though. Let’s try and hang before classes start, yeah? I’ll see you around, Ally!” With that, she left. But not before giving me her signature wink on the way out.

I tried to stop myself from smiling, but it was so hard. She really did have an infectious nature to her.

XXX

As I had hoped, there weren’t that many people at the bookstore. The line was a little long, but not so crazy that I would regret my choice in footwear. The bookstore itself was small, with not a lot of room to navigate. The lady behind the counter seemingly was 100 years old and was certainly moving like one. The only reason why this was taking a long time was literally because of her.

I tapped my foot along to the song I was listening to. I have to say, while I don’t love the lyrics, drivers license was a pretty catchy song. I missed the days of women writing songs telling men who did wrong by them to eff off. There was something cathartic about it all. Still, can’t deny a good song when I heard it. I was pretty content to stand there idly until someone tapped my shoulder.

I looked over, but there was no one there. Maybe the guy behind just hit me by accident? Shaking my head, I went back listening to the music when I felt the tap again. Again, there was no one there. Slowly, I take one earphone out and can hear the sounds of someone whispering around me. My eyes widened in understanding horror of what was happening.

There’s a freaking ghost trying to get my attention.

Inwardly I groaned, but I kept a neutral face on the outside. Well, except for the frantic look around I did with my eyes. There, in the corner. I turned slowly, trying not to draw too much attention to me as I did.

There is a ghost, looking no older than me, with some fancy hair cut and a nice suit on. He’s got a wicked grin on his face as we made eye contact. He floated over to stand directly in front of me.

“So, you can see me after all,” he said. All ghosts have this tinny tone to their voice, as if they’re talking through a bad phone call or something.

I nodded slowly but don’t dare say a word. There are way too many people around right now.

He tilted his head in a mostly human way, until it creeps a little bit past his shoulder, like his neck was broken. “Can’t you speak? You’re not one of those mutes, are you? Not that that’s an issue, but I was hoping to get someone who could share my story.”

Sighing through my nose, I pulled out my phone and typed out a message. I can talk, just not here. Too many people. Can it wait?

The ghost squinted at the screen, clearly able to read what I wrote. He frowned as we make eye contact again.

Oh Christ. I didn’t like the look in his eyes. He looked like he didn’t agree with me one bit. Some ghosts understood that most people can’t see them and that it makes a person look insane if they just start talking to thin air, while others just didn’t care. I had a bad feeling that this one fell in the second category.

He reached over, his hand going through my face. I felt the cold sliminess as he pulled his hand back through, and it takes my entire will power to not shudder or vomit on the spot. I really hated when they did that.

I wasn’t sure if it was normal for them to be able to touch people. I honestly never looked into too deeply, as it was best to avoid talking about it at all. But not for the first time do I regret that decision from 14-year-old me. I should have just used public library sources and at least had a better understanding of these things. But nope, I didn’t want to do anything out of the ordinary. Stupid.

“Human, all I want is for someone to listen to me and tell them what happened,” he said snootily. He reminded me of some popular guy who was used to people doing what he wanted on the drop of a hat.

I shuffled forward in the line a little. There were only three people ahead of me. I turned my head slightly, pulling my earphones up, hoping to God it looked like I was talking into the mic. “Listen, buddy. I am very happy to listen to you, but after I get out of here!” I hissed as quietly as possible.

Now he looked pissed off. Once again, he reached for me, as if that would make a difference. Except this time, it does. I can’t help but violently shudder as I stumbled back, reeling from the sudden shock of falling to my death. I don’t know if it was murder or suicide, but regardless, I feel the impact as my body hits the ground. My books tumbled out of my arms as I began to hyperventilate.

Oh my God, breathe Ally, BREATHE!

How could I breathe when I feel my neck snapping, but I don’t die right away? How can I breathe when I feel my skull leaking my brains all over the pavement? My vision is getting narrow as I trembled on the floor.

Okayyoujustneedtotakeadeepbreathlikemomtaughtyouinandoutinandoutcountto7holdfor7right?

My thoughts were racing and jumbled, my breathing definitely not slowing down in the slightest. We make eye contact one last time, me and the stupid selfish ghost. He was looking down at me with absolutely no pity or guilt at all. The look he was giving me suggested that if I had just done what he wanted, everything would have been fine.

I closed my eyes and forced myself to take a deep breath, but it didn’t work. I was still hyperventilating, my vision getting spotty. There is someone next to me, maybe another student. Quite frankly, I don’t really know much at this point. I felt someone, someone alive that is, take my hand and help me towards the door.

Yup, this is exactly how I expected my trip to the bookstore to be.

XXX

I woke up in my own bed, my mouth dry. I remember going outside and telling them to give me my purse. I took my Ativan and got back to my residence with the help of someone. I seriously can’t tell you who. Judging from how dark it was, it must be nighttime. Groggily, I sat up and reached for my glass of water instinctively. Except, it’s not there. Because I’m in a dorm, not my house. So, there is no night table with my water. I forced myself to get up and head towards the bathroom.

I washed my face and mouth, taking sips of water as I do. When I looked into the mirror, all I saw was my own pathetically pale face staring back at me. Day 2 and already I failed dad. Goddammit, the school might call my parents to tell them I had a panic attack at the bookstore. How humiliating. Not even a day away from home and I fall apart.

I can’t stop the tears as they fall down my face. I feel like garbage and I know I look like it too. I break down, using the sink as support. I feel like such an idiot. My mom wanted me to take a year off, maybe do some traveling. She probably knew that the stress of being away from home wasn’t going to be great for my stupid anxiety. As the sobs rack my body, someone’s timid knock draws my attention.

Sarah pokes her head into the bathroom, a look of worry on her face. She walked right in and pulled me away from the sink, embracing me.

“I’m here for you, Ally.” That’s all she said, but it strikes me deeply. This girl barely knows me but is here in this stupid bathroom, holding me tightly. Goddamn, how were some people just that good?

So there we stood, in the bathroom. She just held on to me, whispering into my ear and rubbing my back. I couldn’t say or do anything, so I just rested my head on her shoulder until I finally felt okay enough to head back to our room together.

XXX

As expected, I had a voicemail from mom when I bothered to check my phone in the morning. Well, more like afternoon. I stayed in bed all day, wearing my sloth covered PJ bottoms and my favourite hoodie. I basically watched one movie after another, just to keep my mind off things. Sometimes you really needed to take a ‘me day’.

Sarah left after checking to make sure I was feeling better. She said something about getting some good food and better desserts to cheer me up. I gotta do something nice for her after I was feeling better.

I stared at the screen, wondering if I should listen to the voicemail when a text appeared there. I was confused for a minute until I saw it was from Lyn. Then shame filled me, stopping me from opening it. She probably thought it was so lame that I had a panic attack in the stupid bookstore.

So, I ignored it. I didn’t want the only other person on this campus who I knew to think I was some pathetic loser.

Well, that only worked until my phone lit up again, this time with a phone call. I really didn’t want to answer it, so I declined the call.

Sarah walked into the room, holding two huge bags. “Okay, so like, I got some super yum food to help you feel better.”

“You really didn’t have to do that,” I mumbled into my hoodie.

“Sorry? Can’t hear you when mumble like that,” said Sarah. She plopped down on the bed and opened the first bag, pulling out a bunch of Taco Bell. The second bag had cupcakes and mini cheesecakes in it. I couldn’t believe that she did all this just for me.

She handed me a handful of Taco Bell things. I wasn’t even sure what most of it was, since my parents and I rarely ate fast food like this. But my God, it smelled amazing. I opened one up and took a tentative bite. It was so good right now. It was like Sarah knew I just needed some junk, just salty goodness.

“Yas! I like, was hoping that would work,” she said triumphantly. She noticed my phone was vibrating and picked it up, staring curiously at the screen. “Who’s Lyn? She’s called you like, 3 times. Is she your sister?”

I shook my head, stuffing more in my face. With some difficulty, I swallowed and took my phone back from her. “I just met her the other day. I guess she heard about the whole bookstore incident and wanted to check in…”

“But?”

“But I don’t want her to think less of me…”

Sarah made a disgusted face. “Ally, if someone thinks less of someone because they have anxiety, then they need to like, check themselves. So many people have mental health stuff going on. Like, seriously girl. I think she honestly just wants to make sure you’re okay.”

I stared at my phone, knowing that Sarah was probably right. Still, I wasn’t sure I was ready for that conversation. What was I going to say anyway? Hey, everything is totes fine now. Just had a panic attack because some jerkass ghost demanded I see how he gruesomely died, except didn’t bother to tell me who I was supposed to tell. So yeah, basically went through something extremely traumatic for absolutely no reason at this time. How was your day?

Yeah, that wasn’t going to fly. Instead, I fired off a text that just said, I’m doing okay now. Thanks for checking in. I don’t really feel like talking about it right now.

There. Straightforward and easy. When I got a message from Lyn, this time I opened it. Ok, let me know if u do wanna talk. I’ll be here.

“I guess I should call my mom, huh?” I said, looking over at Sarah, who was attempting to stick a whole mini cheesecake in her mouth.

She smiled unabashedly at me and swallowed. “Oh, I think you like, should, but no pressure. If you need to take time, then like, take your time.”

I gave a little laugh as I handed her a napkin for her face. It felt good to laugh. Sarah laughed too, as she wiped whipped cream off her lips. She handed me a mini cheesecake and we both attempted to shove the whole thing in without making a mess of ourselves. I giggled as I tried very hard not to make a mess, only to end up smearing a whole streak of chocolate sauce on my face somehow.

Sarah wasn’t much better off, with whipped cream on her nose this time. We ended up taking silly photos of each other and drank a ton of the pop she brought from Taco Bell. We ate and joked around for the next little while, until I finally worked up enough courage to listen to my mom’s voicemail. I excused myself and told her I was going to make the call.

I sat outside, the afternoon sun warm on my face. I don’t love the idea of making this call out in the open, but I didn’t want to kick Sarah out of her room either. It is what it is, I guess. I opened up my voicemail and listened to mom’s message.

“Hey, baby. How are you doing? Dad and I got the call and I just wanted to make sure that you’re doing better? Was there something that triggered it? Or did it just happen out of the blue? Either way, just call me back so I know you’re doing better now. Love you, Alexandra. Bye-bye.”

I scrolled to my mom’s name on the call list and hit call, listening to my phone ring in my ear. She picked up after the third ring. “Hello? Alexandra, is that you, baby?”

“It’s me, mom.”

“Thank goodness! Are you okay?” I could hear the concern dripping from her tone.

“I’m doing fine, yeah.”

“Okay, I’m glad to hear it. Can you tell me what happened?”

This was the part I wanted to avoid but knew I couldn’t. I shifted to get more comfortable and told my mom everything that happened. I wanted her to understand that everything about the whole situation was basically non-consensual. If I had the choice, I never would have spoken to that stupid preppy ghost in the first place. I wondered if my dad was listening in as I explained it all. I honestly hoped he wasn’t.

There was silence at the other end while I waited for mom to take it all in. I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until mom said, “Okay.”

I sighed in relief.

“It sounds like that was…different? They’ve never done that to you before, right?”

Kind of think of it, no. That was different. Of course, when I was younger, I would just speak to them normally anyway. But that? I’ve never had a ghost do that to me, ever. I’ve never felt so violated before. It was strange…

After talking to mom a bit longer, I finally hung up and laid in the grass, looking up at the clouds. Was there something about this area that made them stronger, maybe? I really shouldn’t be thinking too much about it, but I also didn’t want that to happen again. Maybe I could walk down to the store tomorrow and see if they had anything that warded off spirits. I might also do some research, just to make sure.

So much for being ‘ordinary’, huh?

[habibialkaysani]

The Old Guard (Laurel/Nyssa; M) - part i

Ships: Laurel/Nyssa

Summary: Laurel Lance and Nyssa Raatko are happily married - and have been for centuries. Along with Helena Bertinelli, this immortal army follows their equally immortal leader, Dina Drake, in the fights that they think are right.

But after one of their comrades makes a fatal lapse in judgement, Laurel and Nyssa find themselves trapped in their very worst nightmare - captured, as nothing more than lab rats. Luckily, the team has also just found its newest member, Sarah Diggle, so maybe all isn't lost.

A/N: Okay! So this one is something I've been working on a while. It was only meant to be 5k, but is now on 11k and still not done. So I will probably post in two or three parts.

You don't need to have watched The Old Guard for this to make sense - it follows the movie in terms of plot, but I'm hoping at least that the characters are still recognisable from Arrow.

Read at AO3

Laurel heard the knock on the door first, jumping to her feet. She had been curled around Nyssa on the couch, who was immersed in a novel she’d bought at the airport, but Nyssa quickly followed Laurel’s suit, putting the book down on the coffee table.

When Laurel opened the door, her face immediately split into a smile at the sight of Dina. “Hey, stranger.”

“Hey yourself,” Dina replied, going in for a hug, and then laughing as Laurel lifted her off her feet. Helena came in after Dina, closing the door behind them both.

“You look great, boss,” Laurel told her. “Love the hair.”

“Thanks! You, on the other hand, look okay,” Dina said with a grin.

“Gee, I love you too.”

Dina moved to Nyssa, who was waiting patiently for her hug, which was returned with gusto. Laurel smiled as Dina patted Nyssa’s cheek in greeting.

“You want some tea?”

“Make it Irish and I’m in,” Dina said, and Laurel shook her head fondly as Helena reached into her purse for her flask.

“On it.”

“While you both ruin your livers,” Laurel said, going to the mini-fridge, “I have something for you, boss.” She unearthed a small container from beside the fridge.

“Oh yeah? Please tell me it’s halwa.”

“Five hundred, Helena,” Laurel said, and Helena grinned.

“All in, I see.”

"Excellent," said Dina. "I'm starving."

“No, come on -” Nyssa said but it was half-hearted and she couldn’t suppress her smile even if she wanted to.

“Let’s settle this,” Laurel said firmly, handing Dina the container. Dina shook her head fondly as she sprawled on the armchair and uncovered a large square of Dina’s favourite sweet.

“All right.” Dina took a bite. “Mmmm. So good. Okay. Sesame seeds and tahini. Walnuts, not pistachios...” Helena let out a low whistle. Laurel refused to look defeated yet, though, and continued to pace. “Honey... okay, my guess? That Turkish place we went to in Rabat in - when was it? 2004?”

“Holy Mary, mother of God,” Laurel muttered under her breath, as Helena grabbed the money in front of her and waved them around Laurel’s face with glee.

“On the money, every time,” Helena said, and Laurel was still smiling, somehow, as she glanced at Nyssa, who hastily tried to cover her laugh with a cough.

“Next time, habibti,” Nyssa said, as Dina shook her head with faint exasperation.

“You say that every time,” Laurel complained.

Dina nudged Laurel playfully. “Don’t be such a baby, Laurel.”

“Admit it, boss,” Nyssa said, “you missed us.”

Dina didn’t hesitate. “I did.”

Silence fell as their fun and games came to an end, and as if to punctuate the point, Helena dropped a file on the coffee table. “It’s a job.”

“We don’t do repeats, Helena -”

“But we could do some good, Dina,” Nyssa interrupted, rather uncharacteristically. “Lord knows the world needs saving.”

“Why by us, though? Why should we feel like we owe this shithole of a planet anything?”

“Maybe,” Laurel said gently, “maybe we at least owe it to ourselves to hear Waller out.”

“Amanda Waller?” Dina asked, sitting up a little straighter, and Laurel was encouraged by that.

“Yeah. She’s ex-ARGUS now. Works freelance.”

“I don’t know,” Dina insisted. “I just - have a bad feeling about this. About what this could do to us.”

“I get that,” Laurel said, ever the conciliatory voice, “and that’s why Nyssa and I will have eyes and ears on you when you and Helena meet with her.”

It was clear from Dina’s sigh that she was relenting. “Fine.” Nyssa caught Laurel’s eye and they smiled, though stopping short of punching the air with victory - they weren’t quite there yet. “But only to hear her out. If anything goes sideways -”

“We’ll be there to back you up,” Laurel promised. “We got you, boss.”

“Always,” Nyssa added.

*

They set up the sniper rifle in the hotel room, Laurel watching from afar as Dina and Helena scoped out the market surrounding the cafe they would be meeting Waller at.

Behind her was Nyssa, listening carefully to the chatter of the market below.

"You have to admit," Nyssa said through the comms, "it's good to get back into the game."

"Not so fast, Nyssa," came Dina's voice, and Laurel adjusted her scope to better catch Dina's face. "We're hearing her out. That's what was agreed. Don't count your eggs and all that."

Helena laughed. "Chickens, boss. It's chickens."

"Chickens? I take it that means you would like to order the chicken shawarma?" Amanda Waller came into view, and it was strange for Laurel to see her in anything other than a sharp suit - Waller was dressed in a leather jacket and jeans, rendering her virtually unrecognisable.

"Just a coffee is fine, thanks," Dina said, extending her hand to Waller for a shake. "Dina."

"Amanda," Waller replied.

"I almost didn't recognise you there without your power suit, Amanda," Helena said, shaking her hand too and then taking her seat at the table.

"Got to blend in, I suppose," Waller said, speaking in a British accent.

"I thought you had to be American to join ARGUS," Dina said, and Waller laughed.

"Indeed. I was born in Star City. Then I went to live with my mother in Cornwall. Went back to Star City many years later and the rest, as they say, is history."

"Why'd you leave ARGUS?"

Wallet grimaced. "I needed some time off after my husband died."

Dina shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you," Waller said with a perfunctory nod, Laurel could see, but also with the air of not wanting to talk about it. Laurel didn't blame her.

"So how can we help you?"

Waller spoke at length about the mission she wished to send the immortals on - a school being held hostage in Azerbaijan, in dire need of rescue. Laurel watched Dina's expression and knew from her face that they would take the job. Once actual people were involved, especially kids, it was hard for their leader to turn it down.

"Given the… delicate political situation in Azerbaijan at present, our priority is getting the students out alive," Waller continued. "Money is no issue - Miss Bertinelli and I briefly discussed your going rates -"

Dina got up, rather abruptly. "We'll invoice you when it's done," she said.

"Good," said Waller, also getting to her feet when Helena followed suit. "Thank you for doing business with me."

Nodding briefly, Dina downed her cup of coffee in one, then gestured for Helena to follow her. Laurel watched through her scope, focusing again on Waller, who unexpectedly raised her hand to wave and smile, as if looking directly at Laurel.

Laurel huffed a laugh, shaking her head, then nudged Nyssa beside her to take a look. They shared a smile of mild exasperation but the warm kind.

"What do you think, habibti?" Laurel asked softly.

"I think we would be blaspheming if we did not use the blessing God gave us to do as much good as possible," Nyssa replied after a moment. Laurel felt the familiar tug of love in her heart at the woman at her side, so much so that she couldn't help but kiss her.

"Your heart," Laurel murmured, placing her palm against her wife's chest, "is so full of kindness. Overflowing, in fact. This world is unworthy of it."

"Get a room, you two," Dina said over the comms, at the same time as Helena saying, "You two make me want to vomit", and Nyssa and Laurel dissolved into laughter.

*

It was terrifying when everything went wrong.

To be surrounded by soldiers armed to the teeth, who not only shot them repeatedly but used the four immortal women before them as target practice - it was fitting, in a way, for Laurel to be on the ground, dead, when shit indeed went sideways.

They'd practiced this. They had had centuries to perfect playing dead, using the deadliest weapon of all in their immortality - pinpointing the precise moment their enemies’ grip on their weapons were relaxed.

Of course, there was no way to practise being reborn, no textbook that could predict the brutality of this death or the next, and so something always threw Laurel, no matter how ready she was for those bullets - especially when it came to Nyssa. As Laurel's eyes opened, the bullet lodged in her forehead being ejected from her skin as it knitted up, Laurel immediately sought out her wife, careful to suppress her sigh of relief when she saw Nyssa's eyes open too.

Slowly, the four of them took the time to get their bearings and get back on their feet, and the soldiers had no warning when swords and arrows were unleashed on them mercilessly. Dina unearthed her axe for good measure, grunting as she finished off the last of them. They all panted, Laurel with her sword still aloft, Nyssa's bow tensed, Helena's arm quivering as she pointed her crossbow at the feebly stirring soldier at her feet.

"Everyone still with me?" Dina said, looking around. Helena made a noise of assent.

"Na'am," Nyssa said after a moment.

"Laurel?"

"Yeah," Laurel said, dislodging a bullet from her jaw with her tongue. "Pissed as hell."

"I don't understand," Nyssa said. "Where are the students?"

"We've been set up, Nyssa," Dina said grimly. “There are no students.”

"Jesus," Laurel muttered under her breath. "You were right, boss."

*

They got a freighter train towards Armenia - there was a safe house they had there, though Dina wondered aloud if they were perhaps chasing their tails. She told her team to get some sleep, and Laurel, grateful they'd all been able to change their clothes but still unable to shake the stench of blood in her nostrils, fell into a fitful, troubled slumber as she wound her arm around her wife's waist.

She saw it in flashes - the girl, in army fatigues, the military weapon, and then the dagger, appearing from nowhere, slicing the girl's throat… her hands going up to try and stem the blood -

"Ya allah," Nyssa breathed, jolted awake at the same time as Laurel - and when Laurel looked around she found Dina and Helena in similar states of shock.

"Another one?" Laurel said.

"It can't be, not that quickly," Dina said, but Nyssa was already reaching for her notebook, sketching rapidly.

"She was a black woman," Helena said. "Military…"

"The dagger was definitely Pashtun and there was a woman near her in a chador," Nyssa added, continuing to sketch.

"Gotta be Afghanistan, right?" Laurel said. "And the dog tags - Dig? Digger? Or something?"

"Could you make out the company?"

"Echo 2-1," Dina said in a hollow voice. "Gods. Why is there another one? Why now?"

"I don't know, boss," Laurel said. "What do you think?"

"I think we should find Waller," Helena said. "We're wide out in the open here. One problem at a time."

Nyssa shook her head. "No," she said, "we need to find this girl. Whoever she is - if she's like us… she needs us." Nyssa appealed to Laurel, gazing at her. "You remember what it was like at the beginning, hayati. How scared we both were. Imagine what she's going through."

Helena shook her head. "We can't split our focus -"

"We don't have to," Dina said, appearing to make up her mind and getting to her feet. "I'll go and retrieve her. You all get to Armenia. Go to the Charlie safe house there. Work on tracking Waller."

"Are you sure, boss?" Helena asked.

"If we're dreaming of her, she's dreaming of us. And once they figure out what she is, she'll lead them to us, so that doesn't leave us a lot of time."

Dina held her hand out to Nyssa, and after adding the finishing touches, Nyssa tore out the page with the sketch and handed it to Dina.

"Christ, look at her. She's just a baby." Dina looked up at Helena. "Find Waller and keep on her ass, okay? I'll be in touch."

With that she stepped out of the train, landed only somewhat unceremoniously and then began to walk away.

*

Hours later, Laurel woke from another bout of fitful sleep, having been unable to get any rest on the train, to the smell of Nyssa’s cooking.

Sleepily, Laurel got to her feet, rubbing her eyes. Their safe house in Armenia was small, indescript, with just enough space for three single beds squeezed into the bedroom, and a couch and dining table in the living room, which doubled as a kitchen.

Helena was at work on her laptop, typing away furiously. Nyssa was rummaging in the bag of groceries Laurel had bought earlier, finding a jar of sauce to add to the pasta. She tried a couple times to open it, but some things were beyond her, and Laurel knew that as she smiled.

"You need me to open that for you, habibti?" Laurel asked quietly.

"You have impeccable timing, my love," Nyssa replied, holding out the jar for her, and she couldn't hold back her amusement when Laurel opened it within two seconds.

"It's all in the wrist," Laurel said.

"So you say." Nyssa turned back to the pan on the stove, pouring in the sauce. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just hope Dina finds this new one already. I hate the nightmares."

Nyssa started to stir, slowly, and Laurel could tell she was contemplating something.

"I know you feel these things more than any of us."

"I wish I knew why," Laurel said with a sigh. "But she's scared, Nyssa. And I feel it too." After a moment Laurel leaned forward, putting her arms around Nyssa's waist. She felt safer there, in the warm presence of her wife.

"It will be okay, Laurel," Nyssa said, leaning her forehead against Laurel's. "We will find the girl. And we will walk out of this shitstorm together like always."

"Thank you," Laurel whispered, dropping a kiss on Nyssa's cheek. "Do you need me to help with anything?"

"You could start on the washing up, if that's all right."

Laurel was already rolling up her sleeves, while Helena's phone began to ring. "Hello?" said Helena. She met Laurel's eyes and gave her a thumbs up. "Boss, I'm gonna put you on speaker, okay?"

"Hey, I got the new one," Dina said.

"What's she like?" Nyssa asked as she stirred.

There was a pause as if Dina was stifling a laugh. "Well, she stabbed me, so I say she has potential."

Helena chuckled. "Atta girl. I like her already."

"We're about to get on the plane. Should be with you in a few hours. Helena, any progress tracking down Waller?"

"No, sorry, boss. She's good. She has to be, as a security expert - knows how to cover her tracks."

"Everyone's got a weakness, Helena. I need you to find hers."

"Copy that."

"I'll see you all soon."

*

Sarah Diggle, as it happened, proved likable from the jump. She and Dina had arrived looking a little worse for wear, as if they'd had a tussle or two on the plane, and Laurel could tell from how jumpy she herself had been the past couple hours that she was feeling Sarah's adrenaline.

(She was so glad the whole empathy thing at least ended upon meeting.)

"Why are you all in my dreams?" Sarah asked once they sat down at the dinner table. Laurel was on her feet, heaping pasta onto plates and handing them out, starting with Sarah. "Thanks."

"We dream of each other - our deaths, the first ones, and what happens after - until we meet," Nyssa explained. "Then the dreams stop."

"Why?"

Nyssa smiled. "The why, Miss Diggle, is a question that will never be satisfactorily answered. It is one I ask most days - why us? Why immortality? Why did we dream of each other? Why are the rules the way they are?"

Sarah simply looked more perplexed by Nyssa’s words. "I think the best way to look at it," Laurel said as she handed a plate to Dina and then sat down, "is that it’s like - destiny."

"Some people are meant to find each other," Nyssa said, and Laurel smiled when she caught Nyssa's eye.

"So let me get this straight -"

The dinner table erupted with laughter and Sarah Diggle looked even more confused than she already was. "Kid," Dina said, taking a sip of her wine, "let me stop you right there. There's nothing straight going on here with any of us."

Laurel murmured in assent and then couldn't help but wink at Nyssa.

"Ameen to that," Nyssa agreed.

"Yeah, you'll just get a lot of nervous gay laughter if you ask any of us for a straight answer," Helena said.

Laurel watched as Nyssa turned to Sarah. "What she said. But our collective queerness aside, Ms Diggle, please do say what was on your mind."

Sarah smiled - it was tentative, accompanied with the nervous brushing away of her braids from her face, but it was there, Laurel could see that much. Their newest addition had had a frown creasing on her forehead the moment she had arrived, even in her young age, but with the laughter around her, some of that tension was relieved.

"Do we really never die?"

The smiles on the team's faces faded a bit.

"Nothing lives forever," Laurel said. "Even if it feels like we've been alive for eternity.”

Nyssa gestured at herself and then Laurel. “Laurel and I met in 1020."

It took a moment for that to sink in. "So you're saying you're both -"

Laurel grinned. "- over a thousand years old? Yes, but don't tell anyone."

"What about you?" Sarah asked Helena.

"Youngest recruit, from 1912."

"We call her the baby because she's only a century old," Nyssa said affectionately.

"You're the oldest," Sarah said, looking at Dina.

Dina grimaced. "Yep."

"How old are you?"

"Old," Dina replied.

" How old?"

"Too old," Laurel said, intervening after catching Dina's eye. "Let's just say there's a reason Dina's in charge around here."

Sarah nodded, seeming to accept this as an answer.

"So how do you know we do die?"

"Because one of us did," Dina said heavily. "His name was Thomas. I found him first. And one day we were in battle, fighting. And he got injured. Never got up. We don't know how or why, just that one day we stop healing and it's the end of the line. Our time to go."

There was silence for a moment. "It's a lot to take in," Nyssa said eventually.

"And I did tell you that you wouldn't like all the answers you got, kid," Dina said.

"You said we're immortal." The words came out of Sarah's mouth sounding almost accusatory. "You told me that. Just after shooting me in the head -"

"Sorry about that," Dina said, but the tension in the air was palpable. "But I knew I wouldn't hurt you. In the long run I mean."

"How? You just said that we all have an expiry date -"

"You're too new," Helena interrupted.

"Listen, Sarah," Laurel said. "Just because we're immortal doesn't mean we're invincible, or unstoppable. We're definitely not completely unkillable. Tommy is proof of that. And that's why -" Laurel paused for a moment, then reached out for Nyssa's hand to squeeze. "- that's why none of us take our lives for granted. Eventually our time will come, and that's an inevitability every human has to wrestle with."

"We just have to wait for longer is all," Nyssa added.

"So you are the good guys." At Laurel's raised eyebrows, Sarah explained, "I wasn't sure when I met Dina. If I was on the right side of things."

"I did shoot you, so I can't say I blame you there," Dina conceded.

"Goodness is subjective," Laurel said slowly. "It depends, I suppose, on the century, but - we fight for what we think is right."

"Even when the righteous battles land us in deep shit," Dina muttered, swigging from the bottle of wine now. Her words were quiet, but there was no doubting that everyone heard.

Nyssa got to her feet. "Sarah, you must be tired. Want me to show you where we all sleep?"

Sarah nodded, getting up and following Nyssa to the sleeping quarters.

"Listen, boss, I know you're pissed -" Laurel started to say, but Dina waved her away.

"I said what I had to say on this, Laurel. But the person I'm blaming is Waller, and whoever the fuck she's working with who set us up." Dina looked up, met Laurel's eyes. "I can't really blame Nyssa for having more of a heart than me."

Laurel smiled. "Like I said. Overflowing with kindness."

"Laurel, I love you, but enough with the sappy shit, please."

Still grinning, though, Laurel then glanced at Helena, who had been nursing the same drink for half an hour. "You okay, Helena?"

Helena nodded absently and picked at her food again with her fork, before she gave up trying to eat anymore and pushed her plate towards Laurel.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, not hungry. Eat it so Nyssa doesn't take it personally."

Laurel laughed a little more easily at that, digging in and finishing what was on the plate in front of her in a matter of seconds - after all, she loved her wife's cooking.

*

Later, Laurel was curling up around Nyssa, her arm wrapping around her wife's middle on the bed they shared. Laurel had her nose buried in the small of Nyssa's back, breathing in the familiar sweet smell of her beloved, listening to the sounds of her breathing which slowly lulled Laurel to sleep.

She wasn't sure how long that lasted, though, when the sound of a loud gasp woke Laurel up with a start.

"What is it?" Nyssa asked, the knife under her pillow already in her hand.

"You okay, kid?" Helena said sleepily, and from over Nyssa's shoulder Laurel could just make out Dina's silhouette in the doorway.

Sarah, who was now sitting bolt upright in her bed, clutched the comforter around her and seemed even smaller than before. "It's nothing. I'm sorry, guys. It was just a bad dream."

Nyssa put her knife down under her pillow, then propped herself up on her elbow. "It's okay. You can tell us."

At first Sarah was hesitant. "I dreamed of a woman in a coffin," she said slowly, and there was no mistaking Laurel and Dina's simultaneous sharp intakes of breath at her words. "She was screaming, trapped in this coffin underwater… and she would keep screaming until her lungs bled, pounding against the coffin until her knuckles wore away. And she would drown and then come back. Go through that whole thing over and over again… I saw flashes of it before I got here, but this was the clearest I've seen it so far." Sarah turned to Laurel. "She looked like you, a bit. But with shorter hair."

"Her name was Serena," Laurel said quietly. "She was my twin. And one of us."

"Your twin ?"

"We never knew each other as kids. Before me and Nyssa found each other, it was Dina and Serena. Dina had been lost after Tommy died. She'd given up hope until she met Serena."

"They fought thousands of battles alongside each other," Nyssa continued. "Fighting the good fight all over the world."

There was an audible sniff, and Laurel looked up to see Dina had gone to stand in front of the window near their beds, her head in her hands.

"What happened?" Sarah asked Dina.

"They were captured," Nyssa answered, when Dina didn't. "Captured freeing the so-called heretics being accused of witchcraft. They were hanged over and over for their crimes, but -"

"They kept coming back to life," Sarah guessed. Nyssa nodded. "Probably just proved their case that they were witches."

"That's exactly what happened," Laurel said. "And then… to separate them - they locked Serena in a coffin. The Iron Maiden. And they threw her into the ocean."

Sarah looked across the room at Dina. "Shit."

"We spent decades looking for her," Dina said at last. "Never found her."

"I feel her pain," Sarah told her. "Her rage. She feels insane."

"She's been trapped in a box for five hundred years," Helena said unexpectedly. "Just living for that long would drive you mad. Let alone dying over and over like that at the bottom of the ocean."

"That's why we work so hard to evade capture," Laurel explained. "A fate like my sister's… in many ways, it’s worse than death. I would not wish it on my worst and most bitter enemy. Nor would I wish the guilt that I feel to this day over what happened - because I should have been there to rescue her. And I wasn't."

"It's not your fault, Laurel," Dina said softly. "It's mine. You weren't there. I was."

"You blame yourself?" Sarah asked. "Why?"

"It would be bad enough if I just lost a soldier," Dina said quietly. "But she was my - my… partner, in every way imaginable. And I couldn't save her. I failed the love of my life and I think about that all the time. That is a nightmare I have to live through every day of my long life, and there is… nothing I can do to change that. Or end it."

Dina's eyes filled with tears, and the choking sound coming from the bed next to Laurel told her Sarah was crying too.

"So that's it? We're doomed to an eternity of this?"

"Sarah -" Laurel said, but Sarah was already getting to her feet.

"I need some air," she said shakily, grabbing her jacket.

"I'll talk to her," Laurel muttered immediately, but Dina held out her hand.

"No, it's okay, I will. You guys get some rest."

Before Laurel could object, Dina followed Sarah out the front door without another word.

"She'll come round," Nyssa said after a moment.

"Will she?" Helena said doubtfully. "I mean. She's not wrong. Being doomed to an eternity of life and death -"

"Who says you're doomed?" Laurel interrupted.

"If you're alone," Helena said quietly, "you're fucked. You'll outlive anyone you love and then who've you got?"

"You've got us, of course," Nyssa said without skipping a beat, and once again Laurel felt a surge of love for her. "You're never going to be alone if you have your family around you."

Helena looked suitably chastened. "Yeah, I know I do. But the kid is grieving her old life right now. You've both had a millennium to adjust - she's barely had five minutes."

Laurel opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, but then at that moment a can fell into the open window of their bedroom. There was a hissing sound, as gas clouded the air and filled their lungs, and then all at once everything went black.

[gay-salt-amber]

What happened to Kenma?

( ships: Kuroken, Kenhina, sugawara x daichi and others on the side)

Kenma stood there, eyes wide as Kuroo continued to yell, "You know what?! If you hate it so much here, just fucking leave!"

"I never said that!" Kenma retorted, holding back tears

"Well it sure sounded like you did!"

"All I want is you to pay attention to me once in a while.."

"I do that all the time! I do it during practice, the walk ho-"

"Yeah, you do that when other people are around.. You rarely do it when we're alone anymore..." The pudding haired teen hissed back

"Well I'm sorry if I have work to do Kenma!"

"What work?! The only work we had was a group project that we both FINISHED A WEEK AGO!" I yelled

Then without saying another word, a hand hit my cheek, hard.

Kenma stood there silent, sighed and walked to his room, to get away from me instead of trying to fix things. I marched back up to my room, booting up my Switch, plugging my earbuds in and tried to space out. But even the soft music of my Animal Crossing Island couldn't calm me down. I finished my daily Animal Crossing tasks and turned off the Nintendo Switch with a sigh. I stood up, walked over to its charging port and put in back into the port before flopping onto my bed and screaming into my pillow.

I wanted to vent, I wanted to scream to someone, I needed to open up. But I can't do that.. They'll just turn me away.. I let out a sigh and checked my phone, looking through the group chat I shared with Karasuno, they added me since Hinata wanted me to chat with others. Even Sugawara, their substitute setter considered me his son, showing me the same parental love he showed Hinata all the time. I started talking in the chat but I could tell they knew something was off.

--------------Karasuno GC--------------

(name key: Sugamama: Sugawara Noya: Nishinoya Gaymer: Kenma Saltyshima: Tsukishima Milk Man: Kageyama Tangerine: Hinata God: Asahi Simp: Tanaka Dachi: Dad)

Sugamama: Are you doing ok Kenma? You're never this quiet..

Noya: Yeah dude what's wrong?

Gaymer: Ah.. I'm fine, just a lot on my mind

Saltyshima: Damn our little gamer must have lost at a boss or something

Milk man: I doubt he would be like this if that was the case.

Tangerine: Yeah! Kenma please tell us what's wrong!

--------------Real life--------------

Should I tell them? I should probably tell Sugawara or Daichi I feel like they would know best what to do.. Yeah, but how do I go about that? Thoughts then whirled around in my head, maybe I can go stay at their house for a bit. I mean, I cant stay here, I wouldn't really feel safe, no happy... Wait why don't I just stay with Shoyo?...Right he already has his sister to watch, I don't wanna bother him more.

I stood up, snuck downstairs, looking for Kuroo, luckily he wasn't in the living room, he was in his room. I quietly opened the storage closet and got out a few bags, I also covered the hand mark with makeup while I was at it, after a few minutes of applying foundation and such, I tried to go as fast as I could back up the stairs without arousing suspicion. I made it to the door, winded from walking so fast. I quickly stuffed about 5 sets of clothes in one bag and my game stuff, like my laptop and Switch stuff into the other. I have other consoles and games but my laptop and Switch have the most on them. I grabbed my phone, charger and earbuds, called an Uber.

I waited outside with my hood up so if Kuroo looked out he wouldn't recognize it was me. About 5 minutes later I spotted the Uber, I check my messages with a driver by the name of Josh to confirm it. Low and behold I was right. I grabbed my stuff and got into the car, gave them Sugawara's address and we drove for about 20 minutes in silence. I sat listening for the same playlist on loop, it was a playlist Hinata made for me, I loved it so much. Then as soon as I got into the car, it seemed, the drivers voice echoed on the leather interior of the car.

"Hey, this your stop, kid?"

"Y-yeah, thank you.." I nodded, handed him money and got out of the car, he drove off, leaving me nervous to ask for help from my practically adopted family I took my earbuds out, looped them around my phone, sighed and walked to the door

--Sugawara pov--

"So, what are we doing for dinner, Daichi?"

"Uh, how about we get take out from that Chinese place you love?"

"We had that last week though.."

"Do you still want it, Suga?"

"I guess so, I mean yeah, I do love their food."

"Well If you want it, I'll order some."

"Alright thank you!"

I plopped myself down on the couch with a good book, it was titled The Shadow of the Phoenix. Its a sci-fi story about a bunch of secret agent kids. Its quite the entertaining and tear-jerking read.

Then I heard a knock at the door, "Daichi? Was the Chinese food meant to get here that quick?" "Uhh, I don't think so.."

I sat my book down stood up and walked to the door, to see a cold, red-cheeked Kozume Kenma.

"Kiddo? What are you doing here?"

"Uh.. I'll explain, can I come inside though..?" He looked sad and his voice was even quieter the usual

"Oh of course! I don't want my son freezing!" I grabbed his arm lightly, walked him into the living room and got him settled on the couch. I got a few blankets for him and let him get relaxed before asking anything, pressuring the Nekoma boy who already had anxiety and stress issues who I cared so deeply about is the last thing I want!

"Hey Daichi?"

"Yes?" Daichi walked into the room, seeing Kenma on the couch

"Why are you here kiddo?"

"..."

My face softened more and I gave him a smile, "Tell us whenever you're ready ok? You like Chinese food right? We can order you some! if eating will help."

Kenma's face finally rose from the blankets "Yeah, that sounds nice, thank you a lot mom." The pudding haired kid gave me a light smile

"Alright, I'll go and get the food, if anything happens while I'm gone, call me ok?" Daichi's words were directed to both of us obviously but he was clearly meaning Kenma more then me.

"OK, don't take too long ok?"

"I know, see you later Suga." He planted a kiss on my forehead and was out.

"Can I have a thing of water please?"

"Of course sweetie!" I got up, got him a glass of ice water, I remembered he liked to chew ice sometimes so I got him some more slushy like ice so he doesn't break his teeth. I then spotted that we have some Ritz Crackers so I got a small napkin full of those for him just incase he wants them. I walked back into the room and sat next to Kenma, handing him the water.

"....I am ready to tell you why I'm here.." Kenma whispered, taking a sip of the water, crunching on the ice that came with it.

"Go ahead kiddo, you can stop if you get overwhelmed ok? I am right here, remember that."

"Thank you, Suga." He let out a deep breath before continuing,

"Well.. Me and Kuroo were arguing, which happens.. More then I care to admit." That set a red flag off in my head right away but I kept listening.

"And he hasn't been his usual affectionate self, so I brought it up and he got defensive, saying that he has work to do and he already shows me enough affection." The boys voice grew shaky but he pulled through and continued,

"I pointed out that the last time he showed me affection was about 6 hours earlier when we were at practice.. So.. I think he may just be showing me attention around other people now and I don't know how to feel."

I reached forward and hugged the small anxious setter, "The fact that you even think that is a problem." I whispered, not wanting to speak loud and make the situation worse,

"Really? I thought I may have been over-reacting.." Those words made my heart want to sink like an anchor

"Kenma, kiddo, for as long as I've known you, you never over react, you are rational and think things through. So I don't think you were wrong for coming here, nor wrong for thinking that Kenma was doing it for attention."

Through tears, Kenma, almost silently, "... Thank you mom.."

"Its no problem kiddo." I ran my fingers through his hair, this type of thing helped Hinata and the other first years calm down and it seems that Kenma isn't any different.

"I'm sorry if I cause you trouble but.. Can I stay here for a while? I'm just not very comfortable going back to Kenma's place."

"Of course, you can stay forever if you really wish, I will let you stay here as long as you need."

Kenma then pulled away from my hug and sat up taking another drink and munching on the crackers. Spending the next minutes in peaceful, relaxing silence.

--Kenma pov--

Eventually Daichi came through the door with bags of food, "Welcome back!"

"Hey.." I greeted quietly.

Daichi sat the food on the kitchen counter and came back to the living room, "Are you holding up better, Kenma?"

"A little, I guess."

"That's good."

I stood up and went to the kitchen, "Kenma! The one in the middles yours by the way!" Daichi called from the other room.

I curiously opened up the middle bag, 'How'd he know what to get me...' I thought I looked into the bag and saw that inside was a thing of fried rice, sweet and sour chicken and egg rolls. I smiled as I got myself a plate. A few seconds later, Daichi and Suga came in.

"Uh.. Kenma..?" Daichi's voice sounded astonished

"Yeah, Is something the matter? Did I do something?"

"No. But, why is there a hand print looking mark on your cheek..?"

Sugas face went from nice to murderous in 1 second, "Was it Kuroo?" He asked, more seriously then I had ever heard.

"Mhm.. It was."

"We will get that patched up after dinner ok?" Suga said, snapping back into mama-Suga mode.

"Ok, thank you."

I got my food and went back to the couch and ate quickly, this was more then I've ate in a while. Which isn't Kuroos fault at least I don't think.. I just don't eat much since I get fat easy even though Shoyo says I don't. But to say I was in food heaven was a understatement. I drank the rest of my water, fishing the rest of the ice out with my finger, I stood up, took my dishes to the sink, washed them and put them away.

"Thanks Kenma, you didn't have to do that though." Sugas voice rang out through the large kitchen as he walked up and put his dish in the sink to was later. Daichi came into the room and handed Suga a few medical items,

"Lets fix that mark eh?"

"Yes, thanks." After a while of silence, bandaging and such Suga spoke again

"Anyway, I should probably show you to the guest room, yeah?"

I nodded and walked to the living room to grab my stuff and got shown to the guest room, it was rather nice, it had a door that led to its own bathroom, a good sized closet and a desk. The bed itself looks like I could just flop right down.

"Remember that time I asked what type of blankets and that type of stuff you liked?"

"Yes, why?"

He pointed to some bedsheets and pillows under the nightstand "I got some of that for you, I knew you would stay here eventually so I wanted to make you the most comfortable."

The stack even had a nice little plush on top and the sheets looked amazingly comfy.

"Thank you, you really didn't have to do this all for me.."

"Nonsense! You're my child of course I did. I do the same thing for all my kiddos."

My head titled to the side confused, "Really?"

"Yeah Tsuki and Yamaguchi have their own room here too since their parents aren't great and they need somewhere to stay, Also Hinata shares this room with you when ever he's here."

"That's good."

'It amazes me how far he would go for someone like me.'

"Thank you, again, really, I am grateful that you would do this for me."

"No problem kid." Suga gave me a final hug and wished me a good night.

As he left I got my bed made, my Switch and my phone plugged in and got everything set up like I wanted, I sat looking at my phone and talking to Shoyo

---Texts---

Kenma: Sunflower Hinata: My little orange

My little orange: So, you're staying at Sugawara's and Daichi's?"

Sunflower: Mhm, they are really nice.

My little orange: That's good! Hey how about us and the rest of the team get together for lunch tomorrow? You know get your mind off of Kuroo.

Sunflower: Where at?

My little orange: How about Lonesome Dove Café? I can talk to mom about getting a large table booked

Sunflower: That sounds nice, sure."

My little orange: Ok! Lets get into the group chat and tell the others.

Sunflower: I love you Shoyo

My little orange: I love you too!

--------------Karasuno GC--------------

Tangerine: Hey guys!

Saltyshima: Why the fuck are you up at 2 AM

Yams: Tsuki relax! It might be serious!

Milk man: What is it boke?

Tangerine: Well, I'll have Kenma explain.

Sugamama: Is this about today?

Dad: I would assume it is

God: I wonder what happened

Simp: Yeah, I'm not sure.

Gaymer: Well, me and Kuroo got into a bad fight so I am staying at Suga and Daichi's place

Yams: Oh! What happened?!

Gaymer: I told him that I didn't like how he wasn't giving me attention and he yelled at me and slapped me.

Milk Man: Oh shit, do you want us to do anything?

Tangerine: Well, we were wondering if we can go to lunch at the Lonesome Dove Café tomorrow for lunch

Saltyshima: Cant make it-

Yams: Yeah me and Tsuki are going!

Milk man: Yeah I'll go

Everyone else: Same here!

Sugamama: I'll book the table! Its for 17 right?

God: I would assume so

Dad: We'll book it!

Tangerine: Also, Kenma are we still on for coffee?

Kenma: Yeah, are Yams, Kags and Tsuki still coming?

Milk Man: Yeah

Saltyshima: I guess

Yams: Ofc! Why wouldn't we be?

Dad: Ok, you guys get sleep.

Sugamama: Yeah, have a good night but if anything comes up, don't hesitate to call me or Daichi

Everyone: Night everyone!

--------------Real life--------------

I sighed happily wishing Shoyo a good night in our own private messages. I turned off my phone and turned to lay on my back on the bed and fell into a nice peaceful sleep. Instead of nightmares chasing me around my head, it was just me and Shoyo being friends and enjoying a nice day. It was a dream I never wished to end but alas, it sadly ended but it ended with Shoyo walking me home, seeing me off then I awoke.

I sat up, the alarm read: 6:00 I'm going to get coffee in a bit so I threw on a hoodie and gray sweatpants, and put on a choker with a cat on it, I also put on a little necklace Shoyo got me. I sighed, blushing at the thought of Shoyo.. Being in his arms, him running his fingers through my hair, wearing his hoodie... What am I thinking he doesn't like me like that.. But I can still dream no? I walked out the door to be greeted by Suga and Daichi

"Morning Kenma! Did you sleep well?" Daichi called from the couch

"Yeah, I haven't slept that well in a while." I said, happily

Suga stood up to go refill his coffee and turned to me with a smile, "Good! I'm glad to hear that, did I get the right blankets and such for you?"

I nodded, "Mhm."

"So you're going out with the others?"

"Yes, we do everyday when we have time." I explained

"Good! It's nice that you're socializing more." Daichi let out a happy chuckle before checking his phone.

"Yeah, I'll be back for lunch though, we're heading out at 12:45, right?"

"Yes we are, have fun Kenma." Suga waved as I put my shoes and left the house

It didn't take long for me to spot the Karasuno students coming down the street to come pick me up, while the others casually walked Hinata ran up, gave me a hug, said hi and waited for the others.

"Slow down boke!" Kageyama yelled

"Yeah we cant all run like we're on drugs." Tsuki commented

Yamaguchi chuckled, "I don't mind it, at least they let us catch up."

We all laughed as everyone caught up. We kept walking to the square where the coffee shop, after walking for a bit, with still about a 15 minute walk left to go, Shoyo, the orange haired, adorable first year, brushed his hand against mine, showing that he wanted to hold hands. I blushed but I slowly grabbed holding it lightly but securely.

"Hey lovebirds! Hurry it up!" Tsuki yelled from up ahead, from which I could see his green haired freckled faced boyfriend flick him lightly on the cheek to get him to stop being annoying for 5 minutes.

We caught up quickly and we were all just on our phones, sending stuff to each other and just talking about shit in the news,

"Holy crap you guys need to see this!"

"What is it?" I asked looking over at Yamaguchi's phone

"Apparently news is spreading about Hinata and Kenma being together even thought, you two haven't made it official, right?" He explained, everyone in the group shook their head and we just played off as dumb press and kept talking until we reached the square.

"Uh Kenma..?" Hinata whispered, which was unlike him

"Is something wrong?" Everyone else asked

Hinata pointed at a face I didn't wanna see..

Kuroo...

I didn't wanna see him.. What the hell would I say to him?! Like oh I'm sorry I left you because you're a piece of shit?

Tsukishima let out a groan, "Hey King."

Kageyama scoffed, "Don't fucking call me that."

The blonde ignored him though, "You wanted to have a word with Kuroo after yesterday right?"

The noirnette nodded

"Well, how about the rest of us get Kenma into the café and you have a talk with him so he doesn't question Kenma, since we don't want anything to happen." The words leaving the middle blockers mouth were rather sweet considering how he normally is.

"Sure, that's actually a good idea." Hinata agreed

"Thanks Tsuki~!" Yamaguchi gave a big smile and kissed the rim of Tsukishima's glasses before walking away, with the rest of us following.

We made it to the café scratch free minus the fact that we could hear Kageyama from a block away yelling at that fucking rooster. We quickly entered the café and got seated. I ordered a frappe, Shoyo got a Mocha Java coffee and Tsukishima and Yamaguchi got a Hawaii Kona coffee and a small cake to share. We were there sipping on our coffees when my phone started to blow up with calls and messages.

"Kuroos calling you, isn't he?" Shoyo asked, looking at my phone

I nodded, turning my sound off so it doesn't bother me

"You know when we go to lunch, if he's still calling you, you can just have Daichi deal with it! He's really good and handling calls like that." Yamaguchi was correct, I had seen Daichi help Shoyo a few times.

I nodded and continued to sip on my coffee. After another 5 minutes past, Kageyama came into the café with dirt smudging his face.

"Did our king get all rough and tough in the dirt with that rooster?" Tsukishima said, both teasing and asking

"Yeah, the guy wanted to fight yet, I kicked his ass. He's knocked out in the park at the moment." The raven haired boy sighed as he sat down

I looked over at Kageyama and nodded as a thanks. For the rest of the time we sat sipping on our drinks, Tsukishima was blushing wildly at the green haired boy offering him cake, Shoyo was still holding my hand and Kageyama was just telling the story of how he kicked Kuroos ass. We were having a good time and I was happy for the people around me, I checked my phone and spoke

"Hey its about 8:00 a clock, shouldn't we head back? We need to get ready for that lunch thing right?" I exclaimed to the rest of the booth

Everyone nodded in agreement. Everyone got up and threw away the drinks while Kageyama paid for everything which didn't happen often he just said, 'I have some money to spend.' or something. Although I highly doubt that's the real reason. We walked back and as we were walking we spotted Kuroos knocked out body, me and Tsukishima laughed a bit at it but kept walking.

"Thank you for everything today, guys." I said quietly as we were passing Yamaguchi and Tsukishima's houses, Yamaguchi gave Tsukishima a light peck on the lips before walking to his houses porch leaving a blushing tsundere Tsukishima on the sidewalk with the rest of us.

"Oh its not problem Kenma! Don't worry about it." Yamaguchi waved us a goodbye and entered his house with Tsukishima doing the same when we passed his house a block across from the his freckled lover.

Me and Hinata were the last ones to head home, with Kageyama walking to his place about 5 minutes later. Shoyo was being so sweet! Holding my hand, asking if everything was ok since yesterday, if I needed anything, if I had anything to wear for lunch or if I needed to borrow something of his.. He's amazing. Eventually we made it to Suga and Daichi's place, but Hinata seems rather hesitant to let me go.

"Is everything alright, Shoyo?" I asked, still holding his hands. Something in me could tell something was wrong, the normally loud energetic boy was suddenly shy and nervous like I was a lot of the time.

"Yeah I just wanted to do something before you went back inside.." His voice was no more then a whisper, which only raised my concern.

"What is it?" I asked

He didn't even say anything.. The orange haired boy just stared at me for a minute or two before planting a soft kiss on my cheek. My face burned up quickly, my pale cheeks looked as red as my jacket now, and all because of a soft delicate kiss by the boy I had crushed on for a while.

"I'll see you in a few hours, yes?" Shoyo said with a smile going from ear to ear, me following his example with a light smile.

"Mhm, I'll see you then Shoyo." My smile grew bigger with every second he stood there, with his hand holding my face, I felt so soft inside, it felt nicer then Kuroo's affection ever did... But I don't have to worry about him now, he's out of my life thankfully.

His hands slowly left my face and wished me a goodbye, I waved and walked to the front door of the house and entered, wanting to go play Animal Crossing and scream into my pillow out of gay panic.

Daichi was sitting on that couch snickering with Suga, "What's happening?" I asked

"Sooo you and Hinata hm?" Daichi chuckled, acting like a parent when their child gets a significant other, which at this point he and Sugawara might as well be.

"I guess, I don't know if we're dating or not.." I muttered, my cheeks and ears getting warm again.

"Well, do you want to date him?" Sugas tone light and curious

"I mean yes, he's the best person in my life right now." I explained, my brain however didn't follow my words, with my mind thinking about everything that happened until now. I was asking myself, 'Is he a friend? Does he like me or is he just being nice?'

"If you wanna date him go ahead, nobody's stopping you." Daichi said, being the supportive father figure he is.

"Thank you.." I whispered. I then walked over to the living area, taking a seat on a beanbag chair that I am not sure why they have.

"So who's driving us to the restaurant?" I asked

"Oh I can, my van cat fit all of you easily!" Suga-mama said with a grin as he got up to put a book back on the shelf

"Didn't you get that van SPECIFICALLY for stuff like this?" Daichi pointed out

"I mean yeah..." Sugas tone was one of embarrassment but also a little bit of pride in his voice.

After a while of talking, I went back to my room and just sat on the bed and relaxing on my Animal Crossing town, getting fruit, shells, flowers and making money to make this island look its best. While I was farming for sea creatures since those make me a good chunk of cash, my phone buzzed from the night stand. It was Kuroo, asking for me to come back home. A groan arose from my throat. I didn't bother replying and instead decided to follow Yams advice about giving Suga-mama or Daichi my phone at lunch later. I muted his number, not blocking it but I wont get the notifications for the messages. A smile grew on my face as I went back to enjoying the soft music of my animal crossing town that me and my sweet tangerine helped make together with one part of the island being his to design and the other was mine to design, and it worked really, really well!

After about 2 hours, I heard a knock on the door, Sugawara's voice could be heard from the other side, "Hey kiddo! We are gonna leave in a bout 13 minutes, get yourself ready, ok?"

I shouted an 'alright!' Back to him, saved my game, put the Switch back into its port and got out some clothes. While I never considered myself good with clothes and picking them out for events, Shoyo and the others often said my outfits were really good, so I guess that's something. Nonetheless I grabbed a t-shirt, a jacket and some black pants with white stripes down the side. I went to the bathroom, took a quick shower just to get and mess from earlier off of me.

After I finished showering, I dried my hair and put on my clothes. Once I finished that I pulled my pudding colored hair back into a small half up/half down look then made my way downstairs to where Daichi and Sugawara were waiting.

"You ready to go Kenma?" Sugawara asked

I nodded and we headed out to the car, I chose the middle seat in the very back of the van so I could be away from people.

Daichi got into the front with Suga to basically be his navigator, "So who are we picking up first?" Hinata since he's closest?" Daichi nodded and started pointing silver haired boy in the driver seat to his house.

He wasn't very far away just like Suga said, only about 15 minutes away. But by the time we got there I was about half asleep already, then again that was all the time. When he got into the car his eyes batted, looking for me probably, when he spotted me he got into the back next to me, buckled in and started talking to me.

"You seem tired.." The orange haired boy said, pointing out the obvious.

I only nodded to his words, it seems that nod was enough for the sweet boy since he put his arm on my cheek and gently put my head on his shoulder, "Here, sleep till we get there, I'll wake you up once we're there."

I smiled and curled up to him, well to the best of my ability anyway, after all I was wearing a seatbelt which restricted it a bit but I was still comfy.

--Sugawara pov--

I was grinning ear from ear at the sight that I saw from my mirror as I was driving to Tsukishima and Yamaguchi's place, "That's so cuteeee!" I squealed, quietly though I didn't wanna wake them up.

We eventually made it to Tsuki and Yams street to see them waiting on a bench with Yams ranting about something while holding Tsuki's hand.

"Hey kiddos, get in! We need to go pick up Kageyama!" Daichi said loudly out the car window.

They quickly got in the seat row infront of Hinata and Kenma who were still fast asleep. Daichi then started to point me in the direction of Kageyama's place once everyone was buckled in and chatting normally.

--Hinata pov--

I sat as still as possible so I wouldn't wake up Kenma who I could swear I heard purring like a cat. It was so adorable and I could die happy with him right here on my shoulder. After we made it to all our stops, with our final one being Tanaka, the one and only simp himself. Once he got into the car he saw me and Kenma the only thing he had to saw was AWW really loud for Suga to bonk him on the head. But eventually we got there and by that time Kenma was already awake since we went over a bad pothole and the bump from that woke him

Once we got there Yams was also asleep but he's a deeper sleeper then Kenma is and we all know from a sleepover we had a month ago that only Tsuki can wake him.

"You guys head inside I'll wake this idiot up." Tsuki's tone must have tried to sound mean but with Yams head resting on him we could tell he wasn't doing a good job.

We went inside and we got our table that was in a separate room in the back of the café. When Tsuki got there with a blushing Yams we ordered our drinks and started talking. I saw Kenma's phone buzz inside his pocket and I had a feeling I knew who it was,

"Kuroos calling you, isn't he?" I asked quietly so nobody could hear

"Mhm, should I give it to Daichi?" I nodded at Kenma's question and saw him walk up to Daichi and ask if he could answer the phone for him.

I know he wanted Daichi to answer it but Sugawara is too much of a bear mom to let him and will probably answer it himself and that's going to be a show

--Sugawara's pov again--

"Oh, what do you need kiddo?"

"Kuroo is calling me and I don't wanna answer, could one of you take care of it for me?" He seemed shy to ask for such a simple thing, Daichi was about to answer it for him but granted I was arguably the most mad I wanted to.

"I'll step outside and answer this, Hinata, kiddo, come with me would you?"

"Oh, uh, sure!" Hinata instantly popped up, Kenma handed me the phone and we headed outside

"Hello Kenma?" Kuroo started

"Nope not Kenma, this is Sugawara, I want to have a word with you." I said trying to stay calm but my patience was already as thin as a piece of yarn. I ended up putting him on speaker so that Hinata will hear it and pip in if he wanted,

"Put him on the fucking phone this has nothing to do with you Karasuno shits, this is me and Kenma's business not yours."

"Oh, so even though you made Kenma feel unsafe in his own home and he came to me and Daichi, it doesn't become my business?"

His voice grew to one of bafflement, "Wha- I doubt I made him feel unsafe all I did was raise my voice!"

Hinata looked pissed so I looked at him so he knew he could pipe in if he wanted and he wanted to, "He had a slap mark on his cheek! And you of all people should know he doesn't do the best if someone raises their voice like that!" Hinata yelled

"I didn't hit him!" There the rooster goes again, lying..

"Oh, yes you did, I have photo proof of it! Unless you want me to expose you to all the schools that we have played against including your own so they know what a piece of shit you are, I would suggest you leave Kenma the fuck alone!"

"Hand me the phone." Hinata whispered. I nodded and handed over the phone

"He's my boyfriend, I have a right to talk to him!"

"No the hell he's not! You don't deserve him! Kenma is mine, he has been for weeks since you started to treat him like shit."

"So that little fucking kitten has been cheating on me?! What the fuck!"

"You cheated on him with Levs fucking sister, shut the fuck up."

"..." I could hear Kuroo go quiet on the other end, no longer having an argument I would assume.

"I'm sorry.." He said finally after what felt like a year despite it in reality just being a few seconds.

I held out my hand for the phone back which Hinata gave it back, "That doesn't fix it, Kuroo. You still hurt Kenma physically, and probably mentally."

"I-" I didn't want to give this guy a chance to speak,

"No. Shut up. Never contact this number again." I said and hung up on him and blocked the number.

"Damn! That was really cool, aaand a little scary.." Hinata chuckled

"Why thank you~" I said, chucking along with Hinata before heading back into the café.

We walked back in and saw everyone staring at us in shock, "Uh is something wrong?"

"We heard all of that. Goddamn!" Noya exclaimed, looking like he saw god with his own two eyes.. I mean he's dating Asahi so he might as well have seen him already.

"Oh sorry about that, I snapped." I chuckled lightly

Kenma got up to get his phone from me, "Thank you." He whispered, I gave him a pat on the head,

"Its no problem Kenma!"

After that we went to sit back down and the rest of the day was normal, everyone had a good day eating and talking. After we were done Daichi payed the bill even thought multiple people including myself offered to pay it instead, we headed to the car and dropped everyone off.

"Hey do you mind if I stay with you guys tonight? I don't think Kenma would wanna be alone tonight." Hinata said, Kenma asleep on his shoulder once again.

"Of course! What ever makes him comfortable!" I smiled from my seat.

We made it to the house I got out first with Daichi while Hinata stayed behind to pick up Kenma from the car and carry him inside.

--Hinata pov--

The boy sleeping in my arms made me so happy. Knowing that he was safe and away from Kuroo. I knew that rooster wasn't right for him from the start, I don't know why, whenever I saw him red flags just went haywire in my head. Anyway, we got inside and I walked to the room and put Kenma onto the bed, I slowly backed off and got out some spare clothes that Suga kept here and went to change. Once I got back I walked to the bed and sat next to Kenma, once I did I saw his arm reach out for mine.

I smiled at the sight, I laid down and wrapped my arms around the pudding cup cutey who I had a crush on for a while. He was so warm and soft, I never wanted this feeling to end. I set my alarm since tomorrow is school day and fell asleep with Kenma curled up in my arms like the cat-like boy he is.

--In the morning--

I woke up before Kenma, I guess he's a heavy sleeper when I comes to not waking up at alarms... I lightly tapped his chest, he stirred awake, "Eh.. Shoyo..?" He muttered, his eyes opened fully now.

"Mhm, now get up silly you have school, right?"

"Oh, yeah I guess." He said quietly

I stood up, letting him wake up. I grabbed his uniform and put them in the bathroom and grabbed my own, "Your uniform is in the bathroom dear-" I cut myself off at the moment I said dear.

Kenma just sat up and smiled at me, "Thank you dear, I love you." How the hell is he so smug?!

My face was as red as a strawberry but I kept a straight face buuuttttt I am gay so its not easy, but I tried my best. I walked to the bathroom, got into my school uniform, shoved a clean volleyball uniform into my bag and walked out. I sat onto the bed, waiting for Kenma to come out of the guest bathroom, once he did I reached my arms out for a hug. Kenma smiled and gave me a hug, I gave him a peck on the cheek and stood up again.

"How are you getting to school? Nekoma's kind of far.."

"Oh, Sugas driving me." Kenma explained as we walked down the stairs.

"Hey kiddos, we're going to go get coffee so we can get Kenma to school on time! Get your shoes on!" Suga called from the hall.

We both put on our shoes and went out to the car I grabbed Kenma's hand as we walked. We got in and Suga drove to the Starbucks closest to the school, "What do you want?"

"Apple Pie Frappuccino." Kenma said quietly

"Ah secret menu! I like your style!" Daichi praised

"And for you, my tangerine son?"

"Matcha latte please!"

"How do you sound tired yet energized, Shoyo?" Kenma said, curled up on my shoulder

"Uh I don't know, I guess that's just my voice in the morning."

Kenma didn't say anything else, just relaxed on my shoulder while looking at his phone. We made it to Starbucks and Suga went through the drive through,

"Hello, can I get a Apple Pie Frappuccino, a Matcha latte, a Java Chip Frappuccino and a Iced Peach Green Tea Lemonade." Suga said, listing off the orders.

"Alright, pull up to the first window."

We pulled up and the coffees got passed around, "Do we need anything else last minute or are we ready to go?" Daichi asked

"No, I don't think so, do you need anything Kenma?"

"No." He shook his head next to me.

We made our way to the school, sipping on our drinks as we talked. Once we reached to the school, I kissed Kenma a goodbye before Suga drove off with him to drop him off at Nekoma before coming back. We walked into the building and the whole volley ball squad was standing in the entrance way with something behind their back. When me and Daichi went in, they whipped up the sign that read, "CONGRATS HINATA SHOYO!"

"Huh? What's this for?" I asked, very confused about the sign

"To congratulate you and Kenma dude!" Nishinoya exclaimed, running up to give me a noogie on my head.

"O-oh thank you!" I grinned at all my friends being supportive of me and my (unofficial) boyfriend.

We walked to class with the rest of the volleyball club following chatting with each other, dropping me off at my class before going on their way.

--Sugawara pov, 2 minutes after class ended--

I was sitting talking with a classmate about some homework the teacher had assigned when my phone rang, it was Kenma,

"Sorry *insert name* I kind of need to take this!"

"Oh its fine Sugawara!"

I said my goodbyes to my classmate and answered my phone when I exited the classroom, "Kenma, what do you need sweetie?"

Kenma's voice sounded shaky, sad almost from the other side like he had been crying, "Uh can you come get me?" My heart broke hearing that

I ran back to the classroom to grab my stuff, my bag, my keys, etc. "Oh of course! What happened if you don't mind me asking.."

"Kuroo started saying shit to the team, I don't wanna be questioned at practice, and Kuroo has eyed me down all day.. Me and him are always the last ones to finish changing I don't wanna be alone with him if I don't know what will happen."

The fact that Kenma even feels like that makes me sick.. "Alright, I will tell my couch I'll be late and I will bring you back to practice with me so you can hang out with us, ok?"

"Ok thank you, mom." Kenma said his goodbyes, when he ended the call I texted Keishin Ukai, our couch that I would be late.

I got into my car and drove to Nekoma to see Kenma waiting outside for me, "Get in kiddo!" I called.

Kenma quickly hopped in tears glazing his face, "Hey, once we get there I promise you we will do everything in our teams power to make you happy."

I kept driving and we made it back to Karasuno, we got out of a car and I walked with Kenma to the gym, I slowly opened the door and walked in with Kenma beside me.

"Hey guys.. We have a guest.." I announced quietly.

The minute I said that Couch Ukai looked at me, "Isn't that the Nekoma kid?"

Before I could answer Hinata ran up, "Oh my god! Kenma are you ok?! Who made you cry? Your face is red!"

"I-I'm fine Kuroo was just.. Being Kuroo.."

Almost the whole team piped up with some version of, "That bastard, that piece of shit, that motherfucker," Or something like it.

"Sugawara, Kenma sit down and explain what happened please." Couch Takeda called from the bench.

The whole team sat down instead of just us two with Hinata sitting off to the side with Kenma, holding his hand, peppering his face with kisses and just all around making him feel loved.

"So why exactly is Kenma here?" Ukai asked

"His ex was making him nervous and he didn't want to go to practice because of it so he messaged me to come get him, and I knew everyone would want to make sure he was ok so I brought him here."

"Its that Tetsurō Kuroo, right?"

Everyone nodded with murder in their eyes, "I'll can call the principal and fix stuff on the schools end, but if things are that bad, does Kenma have anywhere to stay?"

Daichi spoke up, "Yes he's staying with me and Sugawara."

"Alright, good." Ukai stood up and walked out

"Practice ends early! Stay safe everyone! Feel better soon Kenma!"

We all grinned and got our stuff together. Once we were ready to go we all hopped into my car, dropping off everyone at their houses,

"Thank you, Suga, Daichi, Shoyo.. all of you thank you." Kenma muttered from the back seat.

"Awh! That was so sweet! It's no problem Kenma! We will always love you!" I saw Hinata give Kenma more kisses and hugs from my mirror in the front seat. We got out and everyone went inside.

--Kenma pov--

"Hey Hinata?" I called from my bed, the boy popped his head in, his hair wet from a shower,

"What are we?" My cheeks lit up as I asked

"Well.. Aren't we boyfriends at this point? Or would you prefer another title?"

I shook my head, "No boyfriend sounds good."

Hinata sat down next to me, looking into my eyes and placing a hand on my cheek, "I love you, I love you so much Kenma."

I blushed at the words, I guess I'm still not used to that..

"I love you too, Shoyo."

I crawled into the tangerine boys lap and settled my arms on his chest.

"Thank you for being with me all this time Shoyo."

"Of course, you don't need to ever thank me for that."

I slowly fell into a comfortable sleep on my best friend- no on my beautiful, amazing, talented.. did I say beautiful already? Boyfriends chest.

----Now small snippets from all le ships featured--

Tsukishima x Yamaguchi

"Man.. This weekend sucked ass." Tsuki said from the couch

"I know. I know. It was, wasn't it?" Yamaguchi chuckled

"Question.."

"What is it Yams?"

"Could you wear the cute dino onesie I may or may have not bought you..?"

Tsuki looked at me his face turned red, "..........Fine, just don't tell ANYONE." Yamaguchi grinned ear to ear by that response

The green haired boy grabbed the onesie and Tsukishima embarrassingly slipped it on, "Oh my god you look so cute!" Yamaguchi squealed.

"Sh-shut up.."

"Gomen Tsuki!"

A few minutes later they were cuddling up to each other, Yamaguchi was in a heaven of cuddles and warmth. He felt loved as shit.

Daisuga

"Our sons are all grown up.." Suga exclaimed with a sigh while Daichi was on the couch sipping coffee with him watching some comedy on TV.

"Yeah, you really are a great parent figure to them dear."

"I mean some of them need that in their lives and I am more then happy to be that role."

"Mhm." Daichi nodded and held his boyfriends hand with one hand and sipped his coffee with the other.

"I love you dear."

"I love you too, sugar."

"Now excuse me while I expose Kuroos ass in every single team GC"

"Have fun with that dear."

aaand lastly, Kenhina!

Kenma grabbed his Switch, along with Hinata's which was right next to his, its orange case a custom one Kenma had made.

"Hey wanna play Animal Crossing?"

"Sure, whos island?"

"How about Nekoma's shared island? I wanna take all of Kuroos shit."

Hinata's eyes lit up at that comment, "I shall help!"

While Kenma was destroying the rooster heads stuff, Hinata was making patterns that led to Kuroos home that said stuff like, "Cheater this way ->," and "The home of a cheater"

"You're the best boyfriend ever Shoyo." Kenma said with a smile

"Uno reverse~"

Kenma curled up into a gay, blushy ball that fell into Hinata's arms

"You're so sweet and pure.."

"I mean I wouldn't say I'm pure but sure."

They both saved their games and fell asleep

--AAAND its over! I hope yall enjoyed, this is my first Haikyuu fanfic and I am hella proud of it! ~🏳‍🌈🧂Amber