#just getting tired of seeing posts about how you need to be careful and skeptical about images you see online now

[kvothbloodless]

I will say the whole "that's AI" "no it isnt" thing, the whole "AI is ginna make it impossible to tell whether a photo is real or not" thing, kinda drives me insane. Like. You remember photoshop exists, yea? This is nearly word for word the way the (only somewhat unjustified) panic about photoshop went. And its true! The existance of easily accessed photoshop Did make it slightly harder to determine whether a photo was real or not! You had to use some common sense and always retain some skepticism about anything other than a well verified image. But this didnt cause any like. Massive widescale issues.

So Im always just Baffled by this line of fear about AI cause like...this doesnt actually make the problem any worse? Photoshop is already extremely widespread and accessible? AI is probably not going to have a large effect on the number of well disguised fake images circulating, once the initial buzz runs out (alsp happened with photoshop, afaik).

Continuing with slightly more serious thing under the cut

This is also true for AI porn. Like, im not gonna get into the ethical debate about it, but regardless of anything else. Fake porn of celebrities already exists! There are in fact multiple websites dedicated to it. Using photoshop. A creep taking someones photos off facebook and using photoshop to make porn of them is Already an issue, which is why there are already policies about it, which can neatly be used with AI doing the same thing, because its functionally identical.

I cant remember the exact post, but there was one going around a while ago that essentially said "the barrier to doing [bad thing] isnt really how easy it is to do or how accessible it is, its people being willing to do it". AI is a decent step up from photoshop in terms of accessible ways to make decent quality fake images, but its a Miniscule increase compared to the one that occured when photoshop and social media became widespread. Since then, the barrier has been "how many people are willing to lie or be creeps", and AI isnt really going to have that big affect on how skeptical you need to be of important images that might be fake or how careful you should be with images of yourself online.

[cissyenthusiast010155]

Except Me ~S16!Emily Prentiss xFem Reader

Inspired by @captainchilly ‘s post. Felt like this needed a blurb/fic of Emily finally getting fucked after the events of Season 16. With a cameo of S16 Spencer Reid!

Mommy…Master List

Requests & Prompt-List

Warnings: NSFW, 18+!!, pet names, smut, eating out, fingering, age gap (all legal), sex, etc.

Enjoy (;

It had been a week since the Sicarius case had closed, and Emily still couldn’t get a wink of sleep.

She was restless. Too restless.

There was so much unknown in the balance… What exactly was going to happen with Lee Duval? What was Gold Star? How were Doug, the Atorney General, and Tara’s ex connected to it?

In light of all this, Emily decided she would go visit one of her oldest and most trusted friends from the BAU— Spencer.

It was restless, too quiet Tuesday when Emily was making her way to the university Spencer was currently lecturing at.

Being a professor fit Spencer well; he had found more community and even a girlfriend. Emily was truly happy for him. But she also missed seeing his hope filled face and being around his information stuffed mind.

She sighed, exiting her parked car, and making her way to the lecture hall in which Spencer was just about finishing his 8am lecture on behavior.

Emily silently entered the classroom and waited patiently in the corner for Spencer to wrap up. He looked like he was truly in his element, Emily thought as she watched him talk.

Spencer noticed Emily the second she had entered the hall. He had sent her a warm smile as he continued to teach, followed by a look of concern washing over his face.

Eventually, Spencer wrapped up and dismissed the class, and the students all exited the lecture hall.

Emily made her way over to Spencer, “Hey Reid. How’s teaching treating you?”

“Hey Em, really good, thanks. How are you, I heard about your recent, more difficult case?” Reid responded, voice laced with concern and care.

As the two caught up, Spencer led Emily into his office for more privacy. They both sat down.

Emily sighed in defeat, “So yeah… and now where trying to figure out what this gold star is…”

“Emily, have you been sleeping?” Spencer interrupted Emily’s finishing conclusions on the case.

“Uh… I’m trying. It’s hard. Why?”

They both knew why…

There was silence in the room between the two old friends for a while.

“I… have a suggestion…” Spencer hesitated.

“Yes?” Emily asked, her features perking up at the sound of Spencer’s mind working out some sort of possible solution.

“When’s the last time you got laid, Emily?”

“I’m sorry?” Emily chocked on her own air.

“It.. it might be beneficial…” Spencer went right back to his younger, stuttering self, trying to explain himself, which made Emily’s heart melt.

He cleared his throat, “It might be beneficial for you. Sex is often shown to help with stress relief and insomnia.”

Emily scoffed.

“I wouldn’t even know where to begin.” She said while rubbing her temples.

“I may have someone.” Spencer offered.

“What?” Emily asked, not fully registering what Spencer was saying.

“A colleague of mine, a professor L/N, has her own set of obstacles, but the point is that she could benefit from having sex as well.”

Emily was flabbergasted.

“Spencer… You do know that just because we’re both not straight, does not mean we will immediately like each other right?” She skeptically questioned her friend.

“No, no, I know. But, will you just meet her? Her office is room 116.”

“Spencer, you amaze me sometimes…” Emily sighed in defeat, “But sure, if it will satisfy you, I will go talk to your colleague.”

Spencer had a grin plastered on his face at her words.

As Emily walked out to go find you in room 116, Spencer called out, “You can thank me later!”

Emily huffed as she made her way through the campus to your office.

Spencer wasn’t wrong though… She desperately needed to get laid…

But she was tired. She didn’t want to go deal with a rejection from a stranger. Especially right now.

Eventually, Emily found your office. She knocked at the door.

“Come in!” You called, while grading your seemingly never ending stacks of papers.

Emily heard your words, opened the door, entered the room, and closed the door behind her.

“Hello, How can I help you?” You asked the stranger in your office, setting your grading pen down for the moment.

“I’m Emily Prentiss, Dr. Reid’s friends.” Emily introduced herself, shaking your hand.

Your face lit up at her words, “Oh yes! I’m Y/N. Spencer has told me a good deal about his old team at the BAU. Please, do sit, although I don’t know exactly what I can do for you.”

Emily smiled at your kindness.

You both sat, and she began, “This is going to sound weird, but…” Emily took a deep breath, damn she hadn’t been this nervous in years… why was she this nervous…?

“But Spencer asked me to come down her and see you.”

“Oh is that so? And why might that be?” You asked, skeptical of what Spencer was pulling this time.

“He thinks… he thinks both of us need to get laid… and that we could help each other with our mutually respective dilemmas.” Emily tried to explain in, in the most understandable way, but she was being distracted by the butterflies in her stomach and the wetness pooling in her panties…

“He wants us to fuck?” You bluntly asked.

Oh, Emily was done for once you uttered those words…

“Yes.” She managed to respond with a even voice, even though her legs were clenching uncontrollably…

“Hmmmm…” you mused, taking in the woman in front you, you had to admit… Spencer taste for you was spot on…

“And what do you think? What do you want, Emily?” You asked the older, seasoned woman.

God, she wanted to hear her name in your mouth again…

“I think your quite young…” Emily responded with a slight strain to her voice.

“Hmmmm, does that bother you?”

“Not if it doesn’t bother you…” she whispered, her eyes clouding over with need.

“It doesn’t…” you immediately, lightly spoke back.

“Well in that case…” Emily began, but was interrupted as you got up from your chair.

You went over to the door, and for a second Emily panicked thinking you were leaving, but then she heard the lock click.

You then walked back and over to where Emily was sitting, scooting her chair to face you and not the desk.

“What were you saying…?” You whispered, looming over Emily, your eyes darkened with desperation.

“Doesn’t matter...” Emily whispered, grabbing your blouse and crashing her lips into yours. She pulled you into her lap, as her tongue explored your mouth.

You moaned in response, straddling her on the chair.

Emily grabbed a fist of your hair and pressed your lips into her hers even harder, eliciting whimpers from both of you.

Both of your hips grinded into the other in desperate need of some sort of friction.

You pulled away first from the kiss, quickly knelt down on the ground, and hurriedly began undoing her pants.

Emily realized what you were doing and moaned at the thought, quickly helping you to remove her pants.

You tore off her soaked panties and spread her legs across the chair legs.

“Please, god… fuck me…” Emily pleaded, grabbing your hair again and thrusting her soaked cunt to meet your face.

You happily complied to her request, diving into her pussy, lapping up her wetness and exploring her folds.

Emily moaned and mewled in delight.

You skillfully tongued through her folds, drawing out lewd moans which went straight to your own core.

And soon enough you felt Emily’s walls clenched around your tongue as she screamed out in pleasure.

You looked up after lapping up all of her juices to find a panting, sex fogged goddess.

You moaned at the sight.

Emily met your desperate eyes.

“Get on the desk, will ya love?” She lustfully moaned.

You quickly got up, sitting your ass on the edge of your desk.

Emily got up from her chair, legs a bit wobbly which you cheekily grinned at.

“Oh don’t worry Baby. You’ll be the one who can’t walk at the end of this…” Emily taunted at your cheeky grin towards her legs.

You gulped.

She grabbed your knees and guided your legs open for her access.

“I love your outfit, but it would look so much better on the floor, don’t ya think?” Emily purred.

You bit your lip and eagerly nodded, desperately removing all of your clothing.

Emily watched you, her mouth salivating at the sight of you.

You sat back on the edge of the desk, legs wide open for her access.

Emily hummed in delight.

She then kneeled on the floor, never losing eye contact as she licked a strip of your folds, causing you to shutter and let out a whimper.

“Please… no teasing…” you begged, bucking your hips up to meet her face.

Emily grinned at your begging, and complied with your request.

She just went straight into your pussy, tongue fucking your aching cunt relentlessly.

You grabbed and tugged her hair which only seemed to spur Emily on even more.

“Oh God!” You cried out, feeling yourself climbing to the edge of your high.

Emily couple sense your fluttering walls and how close you were. She added her thumb to your clit, and you were done for…

You came on her tongue, crying out her name, eyes rolling back in pleasure.

You panted heavily and whinced as Emily cleaned your sensitive cunt up with her tongue.

She came up to your eye level with a mischievous little grin and a face full of cum to match yours.

Her lips crashed into yours once more. It’s was intoxicating, your taste mixing with hers.

Eventually, you both pulled away breathless.

“Damn.” Emily exclaimed, “We should do that again sometime.”

You chuckled at her comment and nodded, too speechless to form any words.

[devirnis]

Okay, after having a few days to process, I am allowing myself one vent post to get it out of my system and then it’s back to ✨positive vibes✨ only

If I see one more goddamn smarmy post about how “the writing was on the wall the whole time” (with the undercurrent of “you were too stupid to see it, I have the only valid interpretation”) I’m going to lose it

Had we not had 8x05, the breakup still would have bummed me out, but I would have said, you know what, fair, we didn’t see a whole lot of their relationship, a lot of it was fanon and headcanons. We had a good run. But we did get 8x05, apparently some of it filmed out of order knowing a breakup was coming, and what was the point? To be cruel? It felt like a slap in the face to people who liked that relationship.

They could have laid some groundwork to show some cracks in the relationship, but no. Ignoring disingenuous interpretations from people who have been rooting for the ship to crash and burn since day one, 8x05 established Buck & Tommy as a solid couple. Tommy gets along with Eddie, the three of them had great chemistry together. Tommy takes care of Buck when he’s hurt. Tommy thinks the curse is a bunch of bs (as does Eddie) but still went with Buck to have a funeral for a mummy. It’s like I watched someone cook an elaborate, delicious dinner for me and then they immediately threw it in the trash, and other people around me made fun of me for being blindsided and upset because I should have seen that coming.

I won’t pretend the general audience is a monolith who all have the same opinions. I’m sure there are people who don’t care and just shrugged their shoulders that another relationship of Buck’s fizzled out. But I have 2 friends who watch the show and aren’t Fandom Fans, and they are always my barometer for how people who don’t have brain rot (affectionate) feel about the show. One really liked the relationship, the other was neutral to mildly negative on it, and both of them agreed that it felt like the breakup came out of nowhere and made no sense given the context of the previous episode. So please stop pretending that it’s only BT fandom fans who have their knickers in a twist about how it played out.

If this isn’t leading to buddie, then I don’t want to see another love interest for either Buck or Eddie for the rest of the show. Tommy had so much potential to break the cycle of Buck’s love interests (and interviews from last season seem to support that they were aware of this and planning on utilizing that) and throwing it away feels like such a waste.

So yeah, instead of being just bummed, I’m pissed. I do not know if there was BTS drama or if Tim got some other grand idea for Buck’s storyline this season — but given how plots are adopted and dropped at rapid fire pace this season (something I was willing to forgive last season because of the shortened production timeline and fewer episodes), I’m highly skeptical that there’s any sort of overarching plan here.

I’ve never thought buddie would actually happen on the show, but I also never thought either Buck or Eddie would ever be anything other than straight, so I’d be happy to be proven wrong. I’m just a little jaded by seeing people doing a victory lap convinced that buddie canon is imminent when I think that they are giving the writers a lot more credit than they deserve for supposedly crafting this epic love story for the last five or so years when a lot of that is also just generous fanon interpretation. I need explicit confirmation within the show by the end of this season that at least one of them has caught feelings or I’m over entertaining the possibility it will actually happen.

I know the joy will come back. But I really hope the same plot lines playing out ad nauseam for every character stops because I’m getting a little tired.

[luzthethales]

Ok I finished watching sooby doo mystery incorporated today and I am currently obssesed (as you can see for my reposts and likes lol). But a particular thing that I can't get out of my mind is velma and marcie, specifically in the reset au.

There are so many questions in my head and I made this post to show my personal interpretation.

So the scene where Velma talks about the "Schrödinger's cat", Marcie seems a little bit suspicious of Dinkley, although she easily forgets and starts reading. What if she didn't easily forgot?What if she started trying to understand where the other's idea come from? So Marcie can't stop thinking about the Schrödinger's cat thing and she just heard that the mystery inc are going to leave town, so obviously she confronts Velma:

Why did you bring up the Schrödinger's cat?

Velma don't answer, she don't need to, Marcie can figure it out, and she do, that theory brings up different universes. Velma is acting different than she used to. That's why. Then Flench ask another question, the one she should've asked before: What happened? Velma's again reluctant to answer, not because she knows the other can figure it out, no, because she don't want to tell the love of her life her best friend what just happened, it was terrible she saw almost everyone she cares about die. She didn't saw Marcie's death, but knowing about it was still so painful, she didn't want her Marcie to have that pain.

But then she speaks again You can trust me, Velma. Dinkley looks into Marcie's eyes. They look so similiar to the other Marcie, the one who died protecting her. But they're not the same, they're less tired, she didn't have to go trough what her Marcie had to. But she was still Marcie, not the same, but close enough, alive. She then bursts into tears, the other conforts her no matter what you're still my girl.

Velma spend some time crying while hugging "hot dog water", god how she grown to hate that nickname, why can't people just call her Marcie? Her real name, not some stupid nickmane that the kids at school gave to her. Then she stops, she has to tell the truth to Flench. Even if it is hard, she deserves to know. So she tells everything, the curse, the entetity, Mr. E, how they grow close in that universe, even Marcie's sacrifice. Marcie look at her, shocked, but she still believes, even with all her skepticism in the supernatural. Velma would never lie to her. And she hugs the other girl again but this time not to console her but to show that she believes in her. In every word, she wouldn't believe if anyone else said it but Velma her best friend, the person she most cares about in the world. And Velma understands, she understands that this Marcie, although not with the same memories, it's still her Marcie.

Then they finally say goodbye, no, not a goodbye but a "see you soon", they keep in contact, even if they aren't at the same town anymore. They still love each other, even if they're not exactly the one they know.

Anyways I love Marcie and wish she had more screentime.

[itsthesinbin]

yo could you write like reader x ice king x magic betty

like i did like the reader being frozen before the mushroom war you did in one of the ice king x reader posts. so they know simon and they use that to help betty to get used to ice king and betty falls in love with over a date all three of them have. so like ice king now has two girlfriends and he’s so happy like doing happy dances flying around giggling making ice sculptures of reader and betty as gifts.

OKAY I REALLY LIKE THIS!!! 1: its cute 2: i was trying to figure out what to do with betty in this au 3: ice king deserves two girlfriends!!

as i wrote this it ended up more like.... how it started vs actual dating so feel free to ask for more :3

Ice King and Betty (Adventure Time)

At first, you were all for Betty trying to find a way to reverse the crown's magic. As much as you grew to love the Ice King, there was a nagging part of you that felt... wrong about it. Simon was in there somewhere- he certainly proved he was when he was back long enough to bring Betty into the future.

But Betty just... kept getting worse. Obsessed. Insane. It got the point where she actually ended up hurting him by trying to rewrite the crown, on top of kidnapping poor Gunther. You had to do something.

You caught her in Ice King's "the past" room one night, after Gunther woke you up. She was going through Simon's old things to try and find any clues. She almost ran when you found her, but you convinced her to stay. To hear you out.

"Betty... I know we weren't close back in the day, but you know I cared about Simon too- we were good friends. But..." you felt yourself get choked up. The only person who understood was Marceline, and that wasn't something you felt was appropriate to bring up with her. You didn't know her as well as you did Betty.

"But right now, he isn't here- you're hurting him, Betty," you pleaded, voice cracking. Her angry stare weakened, brows creasing in concern. You crossed your arms, pulling the blanket around you tighter.

"Messing with the crown like that- he was jerking around and his contorting and slamming into walls-! Do you want to do that to Simon?" Her shoulders fell, and her gaze dropped to the picture of them that she was holding. You could see her lip wobble. Slowly, you made your way over to her.

"But there has to be a way to get him back," she whispered like she needed to hear that there was. Almost like a child's wishful thinking. You wrapped your arms around her, hugging her tight. She returned it full force, burying her face into your shoulder with a harsh sob.

"If there is, this isn't the way... And you know that." Your own tears fell. Both of you mourned the man you knew, something you've done a few times since your revelation. You sunk to the ground with her, not hearing little feet plapping away from the door.

"And... Ice King's a good guy," you sniffed after a long cry, voice hoarse. Betty cleared her throat, wiping her eyes and blowing her nose. She looked at you skeptically. You smiled weakly in response.

"He really is. He's funny, he's sweet- sure sometimes he has bad days but... he's the nicest guy I've ever been with. I think you'd like him, if... if you'd stop looking at him as just Simon". You held her hands, silently pleading she'd at least agree to leave him alone- to stop experimenting on him.

"... I am?" You both jumped, whipping around to see a bed-raggled Ice King holding a sleepy penguin. He was looking at you with wide eyes, clearly surprised to hear such nice words from you. You sighed, getting up and helping Betty stand. You nodded toward him, and then he smirked.

"Well, I mean... duh! You'd never date anyone as rad as me! Plus, being with a king as his perks, huh, baby?" he winked. He shooed Gunther off to bed as you shook your head. You heard Betty sniff, and your smile fell.

"Hey, what's the weird lady d-?" "Uh.... Ice King, sweetie, could... you do me a big favor? I know you're tired but... I'd appreciate it." At your pet name, he visibly perked up. You felt a little bad knowing that he'd do anything you asked if you asked it like that, but you needed him right now. Of course, he said yeah.

"Could you make that little platform and take us flying? I can't sleep and... neither can Betty." You squeezed her hand. Ice King was delighted that you wanted him to do something like that- he was always happy to be useful. He motioned for you to follow him to the exit, where he made the platform for you to get on. Betty opted to fly next to you both instead.

"I know just the place, baby and lady! Stars get REAL pretty around here this time'a year!" He flew you away from the Ice Kingdom and past Finn and Jake's treehouse. Up to another mountain range nearby where the tip pierced the clouds. He was right- the stars were beautiful.

He kept the ice platform floating in mid air, sitting next to you. Betty hesitated, but at the nod of your head she plopped herself on Ice King's other side. You leaned against him, and he was surprised when Betty did the same. Ice King didn't even flinch at the extra attention, more than happy to just have people with him.

As you three watched the stars, you heard Betty crying softly again. You both looked over, but she was staring straight ahead.

"I think I'm willing to try... to get to know him," was all she could get out without fully breaking into sobs. Ice King hesitated, before putting his hand on her upper back. You reached across his lap to grab her hand.

"That's all I'm asking, Betty." Ice King blinked, confused, before putting two and two together. A grin crossed his face.

"Hey, and I'm a great guy to know- especially if you're bored! Watch THIS!" He snapped his fingers, zapping small statues into the ice in front of you. A tiny you and a tiny Betty in the style of music box ballerinas. They held hands, skating together across a small section of the platform. You saw Betty smile.

"Yeah... maybe you are."

[saralovesyouu]

Chapter 7 — “Forbidden.”

Summary : Days pass from the Hell of Mirrors incident, you can’t stop thinking about it. Hanako is no help, so what better option than to drag Kou with you!

Warnings : Not much, minor cursing here and there, reader going a bit manic and expressing signs of PTSD at some point, obvious implications that reader is female (ex. Use of she/her pronouns, etc.), mood swing-ish reader.

( A / N ) : I tried not to procrastinate but I got busy with work and stuff so I didn’t have much time. I didn’t let myself sleep tonight till I got this out. I will try my best to be more consistent with chapters and at least get these things posted every other week. This is proofread so enjoy!

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A couple days have passed since the Hell of Mirrors incident, and you’ve tried to find for another way back in. You tried every mirror possible, but none would budge. Hanako didn’t care much either, he said to just leave it alone for now and they’d figure it out another time.

Even Kou seemed a little odd about it. He wanted to see Mitsuba too, but it was like at the same time he was avoiding it. Part of you understood him though, you knew what it felt like to be forgotten before, and it was certainly not a good feeling.

“Can you hand me the sugar?” Satou asked, looking over at you.

You finally had snapped out of your thoughts, “Sorry, what was that?”

Satou chuckles “The sugar, can you pass it to me?” He repeats.

“Oh, yeah.” You nod, eyes scanning over the counter before finding the sugar. “Sure.” You grabbed the bag of sugar, and a measuring cup.

“We need one and a half cups of sugar.” Kou mumbled, eyes scanning over the list of instructions.

You nodded, and scooped up a cup of sugar.

Satou looked over at Kou, and Kou only shrugged.

“(Y/N), are you okay? You seem a bit zoned out..” Satou finally spoke.

“Yeah, just tired.” You excused, pouring the sugar. It was more than just being ‘tired’ — you were anxious. You wanted to see Mitsuba again, talk to him. But you didn’t know where to find him — and the Hell of Mirrors was not an option anymore because you couldn’t get in. Maybe you could ask Yako again?

“(Y/N).” Satou panicked “T-That’s too much sugar.” He yelped, quickly taking the measuring cup from your hands.

Flinching, you snapped back to reality “Shit— I’m sorry..” You muttered, pinching the bridge of your nose with a sigh.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Satou frowned, putting a hand on your shoulder “Usually you’re the one who’s the most focused out of all of us.”

“Yeah, I am, don’t worry about me okay?” You assured him with your signature smile “I’m just tired.”

Satou eyed you suspiciously, then glanced over at Kou who in turn only shrugged his shoulders. He then sighed, letting his hand drop back to his side.

“We’re your friends, don’t forget that okay?” Satou offered you a smile “So don’t feel like you have to hide anything from us. If you’re not feeling good you can tell us.”

“I know, I know,” You sighed, leaning forward and propping your elbows on the counter, burying your hands in your hair “—I’m okay, I promise. If I’m not, you guys are the first people I’m going to.”

Satou was skeptical but didn’t push the topic, nodding and going back to the batter. “We need to put in a little bit more of each ingredient to make up for the extra sugar.”

There you stood, in front of the mirror in the girl’s bathroom. Your hands holding onto the sink, staring into the mirror as if doing so would magically bring Mitsuba back.

“How long has she been there?” Yashiro asked, walking in through the bathroom doors and setting her bag down by the entrance.

“A while.” Hanako shrugged, he’s too busy playing hanafuda with the mokke again to care.

“Well you’re no help.” Yashiro sighed, walking behind you and placing a hand on your shoulder.

Your gaze didn’t falter, staring intensely at the mirror. “You think Yako will help me get in again?” You asked before Yashiro could get a chance to speak.

Yashiro raised an eyebrow “Again? By yourself? I-I don’t think..”

“I dunno, I don’t think so.” Hanako shrugged a second time.

You frowned, finally turning around to look at Hanako instead “Are you sure?”

“I doubt it but you can try.” Hanako simply replied, glancing up from his cards for a second to look at you before focusing back on his game. “She probably will if you keep asking her to the point of annoying her, go give it a try.”

Yashiro looked between the both of you “I.. um.. she shouldn’t be going alone, if that Tsukasa guy shows up, she could get seriously hurt or something.”

“Then get the kid to go with her.” Hanako suggested “I’m sure she’ll be fine. That Mitsuba.. (Y/N) was the only one he was trying so hard not to hurt.” He noted, “So I’m sure she’ll be fine. Worst case scenario, Mitsuba will probably just send her out again.”

“But—“ Yashiro tried to protest, concerned for your safety.

“Okay, thanks Hanako, bye.” You shouted as you grabbed your bag and ran out the door.

Yashiro frowns “Hanako, and if she gets seriously hurt?” She would feel responsible, having gotten close to you since the whole spiritual thing, she saw you as her younger sister.

“She won’t, she’ll be fine.” Hanako assured, placing his cards face down onto the space next to him and standing up “Now come on, you have to get to cleaning toilets!” He beamed, teasingly nudging her.

Yashiro’s frown deepened.

“Kou, Kou, Kou!” You called out, running up to said boy, who was currently with Satou and Yokoo.

“Oh, hey (Y/N)!” Yokoo hums, smiling at you with his signature smile.

“Hey Yokoo, Kou, come with me I need to do something.” You grabbed the sleeve of his shirt, tugging on it.

“(Y/N), are you okay?” Satou asked, raising an eyebrow at your eager.. whatever it was.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” You half heartedly answered, brushing them off. “Now let’s go!” You began practically dragging Kou with you, who in turn yelped.

“Oh okay..” Yokoo muttered, glancing at Satou.

“No idea, she was like this earlier, except zoned out.” Satou shrugged. “And she wouldn’t budge when I asked her what’s wrong.”

Yokoo pursed his lips, obvious concern written all over his face. “She.. it’s gonna affect her not letting anyone know.”

“Yeah.. I know. I tried getting her to open up but she kept saying it was nothing. It may just be nothing, but we’ve known her for a while to notice this pattern.” Satou mumbled. “I just hope it doesn’t get as bad as last time..”

“Let’s not look too much into now though. If she’s not okay, we have to trust she’ll come to one of us or all of us. And if she says she is we have to trust her on it, even if we think she isn’t.” Yokoo shrugged, fidgeting with his sleeves.

“Yeah I guess you’re right,” Satou sighed “I just wish she’d tell us what’s going on.”

.

.

“So what are we doing exactly?” Kou asks, trying to keep up as you sped through the halls.

“Yako, we’re going to Yako.” You look behind at him for a moment before looking straight ahead again “I wanna see Mitsuba again.”

Kou flinched and froze in his tracks, making you stop as well. He pursed his lips.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, you didn’t try to pull him along — not wanting to force him.

Kou frowns, looking away. “What’s the point if that guy won’t remember me anyways?” He mumbled, pulling his sleeve from your grasp.

Your gaze softened “Kou.. just because he didn’t recognize you doesn’t mean he doesn’t remember you.” You sighed, moving to wrap your arms around his torso.

Kou went stiff momentarily, then relaxed, his arms coming around to wrap around your waist as he buried his face into your shoulder, trying his best not to stain your school uniform with his tears — his shoulders trembled.

“I’ve got you.” You assured, leaning your head on top of his. “I promise, we’ll get him to remember you.”

Kou chuckled dryly “You can’t make that promise you know.”

“I know,” you smiled “—but I sure as heck can try to fulfill it.”

Kou took a deep breath, smiling. “So then what’s holding us up?” He asks, wiping the last of his tears with his wrist “Let’s go find us a kitsune.” He grinned.

“Nope, nuh uh, I won’t do it.” Yako frowned, crossing her little fox arms across her chest. “I only did it for number seven because it was emergency — I’m not gonna do it just say cause you say so.”

“But this is an emergency.” You insisted.

Kou joined in “Yeah, we’re on a mission to—“

“Find that ghost boy friend of yours? If he doesn’t wanna let you in you know he’s not gonna.” Yako sighs, trying to make herself comfy in the bookshelves.

“Yako, please. I.. I know you probably wouldn’t understand but this is important.” You pleaded, “All we wanna know is if he’s okay.”

Yako paused for a moment, thinking deeply on whether she should or shouldn’t. “Hmm..” she hums, her eyes shifting from you to Kou and then back to you. “Fine, but this is the last time I help you.” She sighed, finally giving in.

You and Kou both smiled widely, glancing at each other and looking at Yako again. “Thank you so much!”

“Don’t mention it, but this is the only time I’ll be helping you out!” Yako insists, when really she has a soft spot for the two and she definitely would do it again.

.

.

“Well, here we are.” Yako hummed, back to the liquid mirror-like portal from before.

You brought your hands up to slide them across the surface, watching it create ripples under your fingertips. “Last time we were here I got sucked in.” You mumble, dipping your hand in the mirror and flexing your fingers before removing your hand and letting it rest at your side again.

“Not this time, fortunately for you.” Yako pointed out, you hadn’t gotten forced in.

“So..” you turned your gaze to Kou “Here goes nothing, right?”

“Yeah.” Kou nodded, taking a deep breath in.

Three…

Two..

One.

Suddenly you were falling, reflections all around you with people — no, they weren’t people — entities of people you both knew laughing and mocking you both. Kou reached for you, holding you close to him as he protected your head. It started to get brighter and it felt like you were getting closer and closer to the bottom. That was what it felt like, until..

“Jeez, are you trying to get yourself killed?” A familiar voice scoffed.

You both found yourselves caught in the hand of a bony limb as it moved you towards one of the floors, and that’s when you saw him.

“Mitsuba!” You immediately cried, running towards him and throwing your arms around him.

“H-Hey, I get I’m cute and all but there’s no need to cling to me you perv!” The boy in question yelps, but there’s no denying the way he reluctantly wrapped his arms around her waist and the flush of his cheeks.

“He didn’t hurt you did he?” You asked, bombarding the poor ghost with loads of questions “Why didn’t you let me back in you jerk.” You pouted, punching his shoulder.

“Ow, ow, ow! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Mitsuba laughs, feigning hurt. “And no, I’m not hurt.”

“Good, you better not be.” You sighed in relief, letting yourself relax a bit.

Mitsuba looked behind you to Kou “Oh.” He muttered, making eye contact with the other “It’s you again.”

“Yeah, it’s me again.” Kou repeated, shifting from one foot to the other a bit awkwardly.

“What.. what’re you guys even doing here?” Mitsuba asked, gently grabbing you by the shoulders to push you off a bit.

“I dunno, we just wanted to visit I guess?” You shrugged, it was an obvious lie and a good cover up but Mitsuba seemed to buy it.

“Visit the Hell of Mirrors? Really?” Mitsuba lets a laugh-like scoff slip past his lips. “Yeah this isn’t really the type of place you’d want to visit.”

“..definitely.” You nod, “Okay fine, truthfully we just wanted to see you.”

“We?” Mitsuba inquired, raising an eyebrow as he looked between the two of you.

“You remember Kou, right?” You asked, grabbing Kou’s arm and linking it with yours. “He was your friend too.”

Mitsuba narrowed his eyes at Kou and frowned “Sorry, doesn’t ring a bell.”

Kou sighed, rubbing his forehead “Figured.”

Boy.. this might take a while.

.

.

The three of you ended up talking to pass the time, flipping through the pages of the yearbook from which Mitsuba had photographed the pictures within it, all that he did not seem to remember.

“Hey um.. earlier you guys mentioned something about Tsukasa doing something bad to me.. what’d he do?” Mitsuba asked suddenly, making the both of you look at him. “I mean, he’s the one who brought me back here so I wouldn’t disappear.. he can be mean and scary sometimes but he won’t hurt me.” And then at each other.

“Um..” you looked a little uncomfortable, shifting around in your spot. “It’s complicated I guess.”

“It’s really hard to explain, I have no idea how to put it in words.” Kou was equally uncomfortable.

“What? It can’t be that bad?” Mitsuba laughs, but his smile faltered as he realized you two weren’t joking. “Was it?”

You decided to be the one to tell him, taking a deep breath. “It was just after I got you to remember me, the day after, actually.” You began, fidgeting with your sleeves. “We were altogether trying to figure out your ‘unfinished business’ as Kou called it.”

“To help you cross over to the afterlife.” Kou added.

You nodded along “You had told us it was a probably a picture, so we got your camera and we went around different parts of the school to take pictures.” You continued “It was funny, especially since most of the time you were basically just bullying Kou.” You giggled.

Mitsuba smiled, yeah that did sound like something he would’ve done.

“I think I have the pictures? I don’t think I ever gave them back to Kou.” You admit, fishing into the pocket of your shirt, and there were the pictures in question. “Here, see for yourself.” You hand them over to Mitsuba.

Who in turn tenderly grabs them, looking at each of them individually.

The pictures varied. Some were genuinely beautiful, and the ones he took when he was messing with Kou made him have to stifle his laughter.

Mitsuba laughs “Yeah you’re right, I probably did bully him. And had a blast doing it.” He smiles, showing you guys the photo where — he assumed — he was trying to take a photo of some kittens and Kou ended up getting attacked by their mother.

You giggled at the memory, while Kou only pouted.

Mitsuba froze as he saw the picture of you and Kou, and his gaze softened. You looked so pretty to him, and.. there was Kou too, I guess. He stared a bit mesmerized but then cleared his throat, handing them back over to you. “A-And then what? You two didn’t do anything dirty to me did you?” He teased.

“No you pervert, we didn’t.” You sighed, but smiled fondly nonetheless. “We ended up going inside cause it started to rain, and probably gonna leave at that point since school had already finished by then. But that’s when Tsukasa found us.” You had to clutch onto your stomach to prevent yourself from throwing up, the nausea already settling itself in. “The rest of it was a blur. All I can remember was feeling a bit scared. No, that’s an understatement.”

“I was absolutely terrified.”

“He said something about how you left without his ‘permission’ and you looked scared too.” You continued, feeling your hands start to tremble, to which you clearly balled them into fists to stop them from shaking. “He..” the squelching noise and the sound of Mitsuba’s cry rung in your ears. “He hurt you.”

Mitsuba flinched “Hurt me?” He repeated in question, reaching forward to try to hold your hand, seeing as though you were shaking and you looked like you were about to cry. The second his fingertips brushed your knuckles, it all flooded back to him. The empty feeling he felt, the pain, the shock, the fear. It was drowning him. He quickly stood up. “No, no, no that’s not true, not true.” He mumbled to himself, backing up as he buried a hand in his hair.

“I blacked out after I yelled at him, he knocked me out when I tried to attack him.” You admit, voice trembling and small.

Mitsuba’s head whipped around to Kou, eyes watering. “Is he gonna hurt me again?”

“No, don’t worry Mitsuba.”

The two of you froze, Mitsuba flinched.

“I’m not here to hurt you, remember? I brought you back so I could grant your wish.” Tsukasa grinned from ear-to-ear, swinging his legs as he sat on top of the railing. He hopped off, inching closer to Mitsuba.

You stood up immediately, though your legs were shaky, willing yourself to stand next to Mitsuba, stretching out an arm in front of him. “I won’t let you hurt him again.”

“(Y/N)..” As much as Mitsuba admired your bravery, if Tsukasa was really as dangerous as you two claimed he is, he doesn’t want you to get hurt either.

“That’s funny,” A child-like giggle left Tsukasa’s lips. It didn’t last long though, quickly etching into a frown. “What makes you think you’re strong enough to stand against me?” He asks, crossing his arms over his chest. “Mitsuba, kick them out if you don’t want me to deal with them.”

“B-But Tsukasa..” Mitsuba protests.

“Mitsuba.”

Without another word, Mitsuba did as he was told, sending you both away. Just like the first time, you were dragged out through the mirrors. Yours and Kou’s protests fell on deaf ears.

“From now on, you can’t talk to them, ‘kay Mitsuba?” Tsukasa spoke commandingly, frowning upon said boy like a mother scolding her child.

Mitsuba flinched, mouth agape “But—”

Tsukasa didn’t let him finish “No buts. Do you understand?”

Mitsuba hung his head low in response. “Yeah, I got it.”

“Dude, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me right now.” You groaned in frustration, standing perched up on the sink and slamming your fists into the mirror.

“Hey, hey, let’s calm down a bit okay?” Kou yelped, “If we break something, Hanako will be upset.” He warns.

“Like hell if I care,” you frowned, turning around slightly to glance at him.

“Kid, what the—“ Hanako stood there dumbfounded. He sighed, floating up behind you and picking you up from under your arms.

“Put me down!” You protest, squirming in his hold.

Hanako dragged your squirming figure to a corner, setting you down. “Time out.”

“Time out?” You scoffed “I’m not a kid.”

Hanako hugged you, ruffling your hair. “You’re not, I know. Just cool off.”

You huffed, crossing your arms.

Kou frowns “He’s right, just sit still. Don’t do anything stupid.”

“This is stupid.” You retorted.

.

.

It wasn’t long before Yashiro arrived for her daily bathroom-cleaning duties, setting her bag down by the door. “What.. happened.”

It was definitely a strange sight. Kou and Hanako were just sitting with the mokke and playing hanafuda, and you were sitting in the corner just drawing shapes on the floor with your finger.

Kou sighed, setting his cards down for a moment. “Long story short, we got Yako to take us back into the Hell of Mirrors, we talked with Mitsuba, and just when he finally realized Tsukasa came back and forced him to kick us out. (Y/N) got on the sink and starting banging on the mirror again so Hanako put her in time out.”

Yashiro gave you a pitiful look. “(Y/N)..”

“I need to get back in there, there’s no telling what that thing might do to Mitsuba.” You speak before she could get a chance to.

“And there’s no telling what he might do to you if you’re not careful.” Hanako frowned “Kid, I care about you. Don’t go doing anything stupid that can get you hurt or possibly even killed. You can’t go up against a supernatural as dangerous as Tsukasa.”

You groan in frustration, burying your hands in your hair. “It’s all so infuriating. I want to do something about it, but I can’t do anything. I feel so useless.” You mumble.

“I know the feeling.” Hanako replied sympathetically, putting his cards down to put a hand on your shoulder. “I was scared too, when Yashiro got dragged into the Hell of Mirrors. I felt useless because I couldn’t get in, I couldn’t do anything, really.” He rambled on. “If you’re going to get into trouble like that, at least have a plan, and an exit route.”

“You didn’t have a plan going to save Yashiro.” You scoffed, but a smile found its way onto your lips.

“You get what I meant.” Hanako pouted, playfully shoving your shoulder. “Don’t dive head first into danger. Make a plan and then you can.”

“But you did it.” You quipped with a smirk, nudging him.

“Cause I can’t technically can’t ‘die’ a second time.” Hanako frowns, ruffling up your hair “You can. Be careful, figure something out and then you can try, okay?” He sighs “That boy will be alright, Tsukasa probably won’t destroy something that has the potential to destroy us.”

“Probably? That’s reassuring.” You snort sarcastically.

“I’m serious. Focus on one thing at a time.” Hanako groans, scolding you.

“Hanako’s right, you two could’ve gotten seriously hurt going in there alone without a plan.” Yashiro sighed, leaning on the bathroom stall door. “Tsukasa is dangerous from what I can tell, there’s no way you can beat him if he was able to kill number 3 in his own boundary.”

“I guess..” you mutter, standing up and crossing your arms.

“You guess? He knocked you out when you tried to interfere with him and Mitsuba.” Kou narrowed his eyes down at you, “They’re both right, no more dragging me with you if you don’t have a plan. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“Fine, fine, jeez. I’m not a baby.” You whined, a pout resting on your lips.

“No but you are reckless, and incredibly selfless.” Yashiro smiles.

“Uhh thanks?” You trail with an awkward smile.

“I don’t think that’s a compliment.” Hanako snorts.

As you both quickly got into your usual playful banter, Yashiro turned to Kou.

“Hey, keep an eye on her please.” Yashiro asks, her voice spilling with concern “I don’t want her to get hurt. I’m sure none of us do.”

Kou nodded “I will, I promise.”

.

.

It was getting harder and harder to sleep at night. Tossing and turning in bed, trying to get Mitsuba off of your mind but it wasn’t easy. He’s okay, they assured you, but why did you feel like he might be in deeper danger than he started? You need a plan, and fast. But what can you do? Tsukasa won’t allow you near him, and Kou will probably keep an eye on you for awhile to make sure you don’t go manic from the whole ordeal. But.. Kou’s not watching you at night, is he?

( A / N ) : Finally got this done!

Tag list : @tr-mha-fan

[pickinglilahs]

Blackeclipse for the soul

AO3 link, Part 1 (Have I been posting this?) Part 30; Part 31; Part 32

Remus woke to an empty bed.

Frowning and shivering slightly, he sat up. Looking around, he didn't see anyone in the room, and there was no light on in the bathroom. There was no light coming in through the windows either, but a quick tempus told him dinner had just started.

Shivering violently now, he hunkered back down under the covers, muttering a warming charm.

It didn't help.

Remus wanted to cry.

He knew his boys did a lot to take care of him and he honestly wouldn't blame them for taking a break and celebrating like normal teenagers. The party downstairs was probably in full swing by now; he truly wanted them to enjoy themselves.

But...

Had they really just left him there?

All alone?

Had they really forgotten him so easily?

Extremely tired and suddenly very overwhelmed, hot tears began spilling from Remus' eyes.

He rolled over, burying his face in the pillow, shoulders shaking from the cold and the sobs he refused to let out.

"Moonbeam?"

Remus hardly noticed the bed dipping beside him until he was forcibly rolled onto his back. Startled, Remus hiccuped and tried to blink the tears away. He brought a hand up to scrub at his eyes, still shaking.

"Oh, Mon Lune."

He was lifted from the bed and found himself wrapped in warm, strong arms. Remus wanted to pull away, to tell Regulus that he could go back to the party, that he was okay on his own.

But he physically couldn't. He was full-on sobbing now; body trembling from head to foot. Clinging desperately to the taller boy, Remus hated himself for needing this.

He had spent a decade's worth of Fulls by himself but just a few months of this and he had broken. Cerci help him if they ever left because he already didn't know how to live without them.

Regulus stroked Remus' back, murmuring into his hair, "I'm here, Mon Amore. I'm so sorry you woke up alone; I didn't mean to be gone so long."

Remus did pull back then. Still choking down sobs, teeth chattering, he tried "Y-you d-d-didn't ha-have t-to-to c-come check on m-me. Y-you sh-sh-should b-b-be cel-eb-br-br-ating with th-the oth-ers."

Regulus frowned at him. "Celebrating? Moonbeam, the last place I want to be is in a room full of rambunctious lions trying to talk to me. I only left to bring you food."

When Remus tried to protest again, Regulus cut him off, "I know you're hungry; don't even try to deny it."

True, Regulus didn't like parties. Or crowds. Or people talking to him. But that didn't mean he wanted to spend his evening with a tired, achy, shivering Remus.

Seeing the protest building, Regulus tried again, softer, "If you get to hug our hurt away, Mon Amore, James and I are allowed to do it for you too."

Remus looked at Regulus skeptically. He had a good point, but Remus was loath to admit it.

"And the only reason he isn't up here with us right now is because Kingsley thought you should make an appearance at the party. So 'you' are downstairs with James and my brother. I went down with them to the kitchens and came back under the cloak so people wouldn't think I was up here alone. Kingsley is up here ‘finishing an essay’ and will be back down in a bit."

He paused, brushing the hair out of Remus' face before tucking the boy back under his chin. "I'm sure James will be up shortly, he's probably just as worried about you as you get about him."

Remus, still trembling slightly from the cold, finally gave in. If either of them felt a fraction of what he felt for them, maybe he could let them take care of him, just for a little while.

~~~

Just as Regulus predicted, James joined them not 20 minutes later.

The two had hunkered down farther under the covers once Remus admitted to being cold. Neither had quite figured out why the cold was affecting him so much, but Regulus was little help against the bone-deep chill.

As soon as James entered the room, the sun came out from behind a cloud. It was like the flick of a switch; Remus stopped shaking and the warming charms suddenly kicked in.

Joining them under the covers, James almost yelped in alarm. "You're freezing, Moonbeam!"

Remus nodded, rolling over to latch onto James, who squirmed at the harsh difference in temperature. Wrapping himself around Remus, James looked over his head to Regulus, who looked positively relieved.

"I tried warming charms, body heat, everything. I was ready to set the bed on fire if you didn't come back in the next ten minutes." Regulus looked exhausted, but, underneath, James could see how hurt he was that he couldn't make Remus better on his own.

As if sensing Regulus' turmoil too, Remus rolled back over. He made sure James was wrapped firmly around him before reaching grabby hands at Regulus. Unable to hold back a smile, Regulus scooched over to wrap himself around Remus too.

Remus sighed contentedly and was instantly asleep once more.

With the sleeping boy tucked firmly between them, James spoke softly to Regulus. "There was only the one Full between when Remus and I found out, and when you joined us."

Glancing up at James, Regulus raised an eyebrow. He already knew this. James knew he knew this. So, why...

"For that one, though, he was still aching. Poppy and I were afraid that Remus and I had gone too long without using our bond. That it had been damaged somehow. I was terrified that he'd never be completely free of the pain, no matter what I did. He used to ache all the time—all month long—and he said it wasn't a big deal."

Regulus could only stare, his mind spinning with the implications.

James pulled the arm from Remus' waist to tuck one of Regulus' curls behind his ear.

"And then you came along and... he wasn't hurting at all anymore. It was like 'Oh. So, this is what was missing.' It wasn't that we were broken; it was that we were still waiting for you."

Regulus felt it, the love James was sending through their bond. He had rested his Marked palm on Regulus' cheek, holding his attention.

"I offered to be the one to go downstairs because I know you take away his pain better than I ever could. So don't you ever think that you don't help. That he doesn't need you. That I don't-"

James' voice choked off, and Regulus felt tears prick at his eyes. Turning his head, Regulus kissed James' palm softly.

Remus sighed softly in his sleep, nuzzling further into Regulus' neck.

Regulus closed his eyes as James moved his hand down to rest on Regulus' hip, squeezing tight.

What a mess the three of them were.

And not one of them would have it any other way.

[blouisparadise]

Upon request, today we have a rec list of BL fics where Louis and/or Harry are lawyers. If you enjoy our rec lists, please be sure to like and reblog this post to help spread the word. Happy reading!

1) Pretty, Perfect Angel | Explicit | 2514 words

Harry comes home late and wakes Louis up. Louis does something he wasn't supposed to and gets in trouble.

2) Helping A Friend | Explicit | 2961 words

Louis is very energetic and sometimes a bit too much for people to handle, but Harry finds an unconventional method that works better than meds.

3) Where We Start | Mature | 3728 words | Sequel

Being sick and tired of getting teased by all his friends for being the only virgin left in his group, Louis is determined to get fucked; he doesn't care who or where or how. He just so happens to get fucked by the infamous slut, Harry Styles.

4) You'll Wait For Me Only | Teen & Up | 9106 words

Harry nips at the bondmark on Louis’ neck, Louis’ hands go to his hips, grounding him. He allows himself this, knowing that his Omega needs it too. Harry pulls back, “Go on a date with me.” He rushes out, looking at Louis’ eyes.

Louis laughs and shakes his head. “No, Louis, I’m serious. We’ve bonded for life anyway, might as well try.” Louis looks at him, “You’ve been thinking about this a lot.” Louis points out, Harry nods. “Okay.” Louis says and walks out leaving Harry. “Okay what?!”

5) You’re All I See In My Mind (I Think I See A Lifetime) | Explicit | 16312 words

Kitten hybrid Louis gets kicked out of his house. With nowhere to go and a very cold and stormy weather outside, he ends up wandering into Harry’s shed to hide from the thunder and rain (he gets terrified by it). Harry hears crying from the shed so he goes to investigate.

6) Before We Knew | Explicit | 39830 words

Louis has been skeptical of soulmates for years so it seems like fate when he finally bumps into the owner of the obnoxiously large signature printed onto his skin since age sixteen: Harry Styles, a human rights attorney who is firmly against soulmates.

7) Somebody To Love | Explicit | 51471 words

A hesitant fist hovers, ready to knock on the hard surface, when suddenly the door swings open revealing a small child with a huge smile plastered on her face.

“You’re here, finally!” She beams up at him, haphazardly brushing her orange hair away from her eyes.

He can’t help but let a grin fill his face at her anticipation. Bunching his pants at his ankles, he crouches down to her level. “You must be Margret.”

“Actually, only my daddy calls me that when I’m in trouble,” she explains with an assertive tone. “So you can call me Margo.”

“Well, Margo, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Louis.”

8) Echoes & Omens | Mature | 100707 words

Echoes of the dead come in many forms. Their imprints forever tied to the ones who'd killed them.

Louis Tomlinson is able to track the dead using their echoes, they call to him. He's used that gift to aid Scotland Yard in their investigations, with the hopes of studying Criminology at Cambridge University. He's lived a life of privilege and good fortune as a Marquess, son of the late Duke Tomlinson, with his life mapped out since day one.

Until two terrible truths are revealed.

One, he's adopted.

Two, his biological parents are London's most notorious serial killers.

Against his family's wishes, Louis travels to Chicago to uncover the truth of their incarceration. Much to his dismay, his biological mother's Lawyer, Harry Styles, wants to take his case. Together, they work to uncover what really happened all those years ago, but perhaps more is revealed than they could've ever anticipated. Trapped in a whirlwind of portents and omens, Louis and Harry find themselves pitted against an enemy they'd not foreseen.

9) You Drive Me Crazy (But It Feels Alright) | Teen & Up | 102036 words

“Harry is not short for Harold,” he corrects, his voice as thick as molasses. He lowers his eyes to Louis’ sequined lapels, rubbing one between two fingers. “Is this small or extra small? It looks lovely.”

Louis breaks away from his grip with a petulant huff and pushes him back with two fingers.

“You’re mocking me. Again.”

Harry smiles and it's a real honest swoop of his lips this time. Louis’ stomach swoops with them.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

[sweetbillwriting]

Love Just Happens

30 - Part 14

Characters: The future's Bill Skarsgård and others close to him. The rest is my own characters. 

Setting: This story is set in the future but because it's hard to say how the world is then (and it isn't that important for the story) the future is similar to our time now, even with fashion and so on. 

Warnings: 18+, age difference, smut, alcohol, ageism, family problems, jealousy, talk about weight, body and looks.

She had her leg slung over one of his broad shoulders. One of his big hands pushed the other down on the mattress while his tongue circled her clit hard. She got the birthday girl treatment and was enjoying seeing her husband work hard in getting out a third orgasm from her. It sat deeper in her than the first ones but he had the patience to continue even if she seemed to glide away from her high every fifth second. 

“There! There!” She moaned when he speeded up his tongue movement. He continued to circle hard while her fingers grabbed his hair. He was tired in his jaw now but was determined to make her come again. She moaned loudly and he really thought he would succeed but then… The baby cried. 

Bill could feel Aurora’s orgasm glide through her fingers again but continued to lick her anyway. 

“Bill… We must…” she whined. Bill shifted his tongue with his thumb and looked up at her. 

“You know she goes back to sleep in a minute…” 

“She isn't home now…” Aurora whined and sat up. Bill looked up at her disappointed, not really because he wouldn't get to have her that close anymore but because he wouldn't be able to give her that third orgasm. He had determined to succeed with that and now he wouldn't. 

“I’ll take care of her… You're the birthday girl,” he said with a crooked smile and fixed his hard cock in his boxers. He stood up a bit clumsily and walked to their daughter that slept right outside of the door opening. They had rented a suite in the hotel in Havana and Isis slept outside of the door because the bedroom was so badly planned that they either needed to have her right outside the bathroom door or by the hot window. 

Aurora stretched out while looking at Bill walk away dressed in just a pair of patterned boxers. It was Versace and they were tacky as hell but he had got them as a gift from the company and they were too soft to not wear. She smirked a little because they didn't fit his personality at all but they were sexy, in a gay Hercules kind of way. She took up her phone to look through the birthday wishes she got. It was her 30th birthday after all. There were a lot of them in all the inboxes she had but also millions of likes on Instagram. She had just posted a picture of Bill's and her own hand with their wedding rings. Isis held both of their hands with hers. It was everything you could see in the Cuban sun but she knew it said a lot. She was a grown up. She was thirty, happily married and a mother. She wasn't the young pop girl many still wanted her to be. Life had changed. 

She also opened the link her manager had sent to her. It was the article and the photoshoot with her and Bill. 

“Hollywood's Mystery Couple!” 

The pictures were taken two weeks ago in a suite at Grand Hotel in Stockholm. She had first been skeptical to do it because of her post pregnancy body but had done it because it was together with Bill. 

She blushed when she saw the explicit picture of them. Both she and Bill had first said no to taking a picture of their naked bodies between white sheets. It was a blurry picture, taken through a gold framed mirror but it was obvious it was them. She straddled his naked lap while the white sheet covered the lower part of their bodies, it looked romantic and classy. 

The photoshoot was like a story. A story where they first fixed themselves for a party, then were at a luxury party, then came home and made love. It was nicely made and suited Bill's acting personality. 

Bill suddenly crawled up next to Aurora in bed with their daughter in his arms. She was awake and Aurora said good morning to her with a soft voice and several kisses on her little face. 

“Oh, it's already finished?” Said Bill, looking over her shoulder. 

“Yeah…” She showed him the picture of them in bed and he smirked a little. In the beginning of their relationship she posted some daring pictures of them that he had reacted to. Now he just gave the picture a liking smirk. Aurora looked at him with amusement. She didn't really understand why it was suddenly not a big deal but she didn't ask, it didn't really matter. 

“With such pictures we will see several Algot's around us…” joked Bill while watching Aurora take their daughter to see if she was hungry. Aurora had told him about what she had seen in Algot's phone, then he had just reacted in confusion and uncomfortability but now he clearly had worked through it. 

“What do you mean?” Said Aurora while helping her daughter eat. 

“That we are hot. Look at us.” 

Aurora made an amused sound and looked at her husband. He was hot. He got sexier every year. He felt more comfortable, intelligent and confident than when they started to date. She guessed she also had changed but couldn't believe she aged as well as him. She didn't even know if she could have any sex appeal without her “young girl image”. 

“It took some time for people to get how hot we are together,” she said and looked at a picture of them where Bill helped her zip up her long crystal adorned dress. He was dressed in pink pants and a white tuxedo shirt with his slicked back hair and lock hanging down in his face.

“Naah, it just took some time for them to understand you and Timmy wouldn't always give them gossip…” 

Aurora nodded a little. They had talked about Timmy in the article, that it wasn't easy being with him even if he was a wonderful person… She said he was a wonderful person to the journalist even if it wasn't really true, she couldn't talk badly about him now that he was dead. 

Bill kissed Aurora's shoulder. Timmy would always be a part of their story even if he didn't want him to be, it was just what the fans had decided, even if most of her and his fans loved them together. Few could miss how happy they were. 

“But you think Algot will let us be now?” Bill asked and looked at his wife with big eyes. 

“Yeah. Yeah. I don't think he wants to be around your daughter anymore… It's cringy when her dad knows he has a crush on him. And his wife.” Aurora gave Bill an amused look then they both laughed. It wasn't easy being a teenager but it was just too weird to not laugh about. 

The Cuba trip was everything they could ask for, even if they carried around a baby all the time. Quite a lot of pictures circled around of the three of them online but they wanted this experience together even if people were nosy. They celebrated Christmas and New Years together in the suite, decorated in a luxury Christmas interior. They just needed each other. 

Back in Sweden his daughters saw pictures of the little family walking the streets of Havana together. They looked happy, tanned and relaxed. The sun had made their father’s skin golden and Aurora's skin bronze while they were in Sweden with slush and rain. 

“It’s her 30th birthday this year. Let it go!” Said his oldest daughter to her younger sisters who looked at a picture on Aurora’s Instagram where she was standing against a pink vintage car in a white 50s style dress. She had Isis in a baby carrier on her chest so you could see a bit of the baby's dark hair and a small chubby hand. 

“It's not that!” Said Bill's middle daughter angrily and read the comments on the picture. Most of them were positive but there were also people writing that it was irresponsible of the parents to take their little baby to another continent. 

“Put that away now, you will also go on vacation soon,” said their mother who cooked alongside their grandmother while her daughters sat by the table, all three of them. She didn't really believe they wanted a vacation that bad but it felt easier than talking about the reality of having split parents, how he would have a life without them. 

Bill's middle daughter made a sound of irritation and stood up. 

“You don't get it! It will take one more week until I see her!” 

Her mother looked at her hurt. 

“Aurora?” 

“Yeah but mostly Isis! She grows every day!”  

Her older sister made an amused sound while texting with her boyfriend Ahmen. The sound made her sister look at her angrily. The younger sister just sat and watched them and swallowed hard. 

“You don't have the bond I have with her! You weren't there at her birth!” 

The older girl made an irritated face. She also loved Isis and missed the little baby but felt her younger sister was more obsessed. 

“Neither were you! Stop with that bullshit about you being her favorite! She's two months old, she can't even recognize us!” 

The loud voices made the younger daughter put her hands over her ears and their grandmother looked upset at their mom. She wasn't amused either that Bill suddenly was such a big part of her day again. Her daughter’s feelings had always been wild around him and now her granddaughters seem to be the same. 

“Stop it now! You will meet them in a week! You will not have missed a thing!” Said their mother with a raised voice and sighed deeply. At that moment she hated Bill. He could create whatever drama he wanted in his life but she didn't need it in hers, still his life spilled over onto hers and she didn't know how to handle it. 

××× 

Bill's daughters stood around the stroller and looked down at their little sister dressed in a white fur suit. She was awake and the binky bobbed in her mouth. It was the 5th of January and their father and his family were finally home in Sweden again. They met him by the pier to take the security boat to the island. Their mother stood behind while they cooed over the little baby. She looked at Bill who lifted the baby up in his arms and took out the binky from her mouth so they could say hello to her better. He looked proud and happy. Sunkissed and handsome. 

“Of course we missed you, but I think you have had a wonderful time with your mother, right?” He said and smiled at his ex. She gave him a strained smile. She wanted to show her irritation but didn't know what to say and it wasn't the right moment either. She gave the girl in his arms a small smile. She was awfully cute.

“I think the four of us will go on vacation in a few weeks. Somewhere warm,” she said to Bill who looked at her surprised. The girls mostly traveled with him. She smiled at her daughters but none of them looked so happy by the idea.

“That would be fun, right?” She said and smiled at them anxiously. They looked at their baby sister who looked at them with big brown eyes in confusion. It was obvious what they thought and Bill could see it too. They wanted to be with their sister now. 

“That sounds fun,” Bill said and looked at his three older daughters to make them say something but they just touched their little sister and when she started to make cute vocal sounds they laughed in excitement. Bill smiled at her. It was something she had started doing during the vacation. 

His ex cleared her throat. It was awkward for her to stand there watching them. She couldn't be a part of the sweet moment. 

“Where is Aurora?” Asked Bill's oldest daughter. 

“She’s at Mathias' studio. They're almost finished with the record,” he said and laid down Isis again. He looked towards the boat then at his ex and their shared daughters. 

“Time to say goodbye. It's soon time for Isis to eat and I guess you're also hungry?” 

They nodded a little and said bye to their mother. Bill also noticed how fast they went and how they rather wanted to look at the baby again. Bill let the oldest daughter take the stroller and with the help of a security guard take it into the boat. He turned to his ex after he had saw everything went smoothly.

“Your Barbie wife and baby doll daughter… I can't compete with you, Bill…” she said with an unamused laugh. Bill licked his lips and looked out over the ocean’s ice and how the sun reflected on the surface. 

“They will get used to her… Just like they did with Aurora.” 

She gave Bill a look. It wasn't just them, Aurora and Isadora, it was him too. She looked at his sculpted face and plump lips. He was happy, healthy and fun. He felt so much younger than her. 

When he had said goodbye and with graceful steps jumped on the boat she made a sound of frustration. She had never really believed she had stopped loving him but it wasn't the emotion she felt. She hated him. Him and his glowing skin and broad smile. He, with his flashy jobs and money. He, with his beautiful young wife and baby. He had just evolved, grown and become a better version of himself and let their daughters sit front row and watch his success. She hated him. 

××× 

April  

Isis laid on the baby gym on the floor with Istvan as a guard next to her. She didn't seem to look so much at the hanging animals but instead just kicked wildly and did her happy sounds, she laughed every time Bill answered her sounds or showed up so she could see him. He laughed at her too, where she laid on the floor like a package of joy. 

Aurora smiled at them from her spot on the couch, she sat with her laptop checking her calendar and mail. 

“Two months…” she said thoughtfully and looked up at her husband that sat on the floor. 

“Hm?” He looked at her confused. 

“I need two months in L.A.” 

Bill wiped the corner of his mouth and looked out in the air. 

“But…” he sighed and scratched his eyebrow. "They want me there in a month?” 

Aurora looked at him a bit annoyed. 

“I've said to you so many times I need this time.” 

“Yeah but… I didn't think this director would contact me,” he sighed. 

“Then you must say to him that he must wait a while.” 

Bill looked at Isis that seemed to shout at him. He was prepared for this to happen, that they would need to compromise but not this fast and not so he needed to say no to this kind of project. 

“Can't your mom help us?” He asked but regretted that at once when he saw Aurora's face. 

“We're not going to dump Isis on someone like she is a problem. Now we have a baby and we're the parents. We will take care of her, not my mom.” 

Bill swallowed hard and looked at their daughter regretfully even if he didn't really think the same as Aurora. Everyone took help from their family to be a babysitter. His other daughters had been taken care of by many different people. 

“I'll talk to him…” Bill said and looked down at his bare feet. Aurora looked at her husband who looked like he would start to cry any moment. 

“Are you okay?” She said worriedly. He looked up at her with a crooked smile and shrugged his shoulders. 

“Yeah. A bit disappointed, not going to lie but…” he sighed and smiled warmly at her. “You have your own career and now I must support you. It's your turn.” 

Aurora put the laptop on the coffee table and crawled down to him on the floor. 

“Thank you. We knew this would be a puzzle…” 

He nodded with a smile and leaned in for a kiss. 

“Yeah. But it will work. And I'm so proud of you. So proud to have such a successful, talented wife.” 

Aurora giggled and kissed him again. 

“I also think it will be fun to see each other's work. And have you there in mine. But you must shut up during meetings.” 

Bill laughed. He could be bad at that, or keeping himself from not making faces. 

“And my mom helps us the days we do the music video, okay?” 

He smiled and dragged her closer to him again. 

“Huuuu…” said Isis loudly and kicked around again so the bunnies on the gym jumped around. They laughed a bit while Bill hugged around Aurora's waist. She was skinnier than she had ever been with him and he did worry a bit but didn't say that, for the moment it wasn't anything big, even if he worried her ass would disappear. 

××× 

They went to L.A. a week later, after Bill's oldest daughter had said goodbye to their little sister again. The big feelings had calmed down but it was still very much around her, especially now when she was her own little person and laughed and explored. They slept at a hotel in Stockholm the night before the trip to be closer to the airport and his girls had come there for a fika after school. 

“But we can't help we have the most precious baby,” said Aurora with a smirk while they laid in bed. Bill laughed a little and looked down at her. She laid in a thin white nightgown between his legs. 

“I know! But she's so pissed at me, like she believed I've said to the girls they should annoy her!”  He said, about his ex. 

“She has three daughters between seventeen and eight, they will be annoying anyway.” 

“They're annoying with us too. Even if it is better. And Ahmen… They're sleeping with each other, right?” He looked at his wife intensely. He looked like a worried father even if his eyes were big and boyish. Aurora sighed and nodded a little. 

“But I really think they're responsible. We've talked about it and Ahmen is a trustworthy guy.” 

Bill sat up uncomfortably in the bed. He looked like he would get sick and swallowed several times. 

“Why didn’t she tell me?” 

Aurora sat up between his legs, close to his chest. “And why didn't you tell me?” He asked, hurt. 

Aurora looked at him with a bad conscience and sighed. 

“She didn't want me to tell you, but I said to her I would tell you but it felt unnecessary if you didn't suspect something…” 

He looked at Aurora, irritated. 

“But we're a team!” 

“I'm sorry but… I don't want to betray her either…” 

“But you said to her that you would tell me?”

“But it felt so unnecessary. I don't want to stir up something.” 

Bill sighed and hugged her closer. 

“Tell me next time something like that comes up, okay?” 

“Okay…” 

Carefully he dragged his hands over her back. He could feel her ribs. He swallowed a little and wondered if there were more things she didn't tell him. 

××× 

“You've lost almost a million followers on Instagram, your handbag brand you can put to rest and few are asking for a new record. Was this your plan?” Asked Dana while they sat in the record label's white couch group. “And this record you've done with Mathias … …” Dana sighed. “It's not what we expected.” 

Aurora smiled strained and fixed her baby blue off shoulder top. 

“I'm really proud of it…” 

Bill sat behind with their little daughter sleeping in the stroller. Neither Aurora or Isadora was ready to be apart so they would bring her everywhere, to her team's annoyment. 

“You've lost your brand. We don't have so much to work on…” said a man, who introduced himself as Redgy to Bill. 

Bill looked at Aurora carefully. She played with her long nails with a low gaze. She didn't really look like herself while four record label representatives looked at her with disappointment. He really wanted to say something, he hated that they could make his wife so small, even if she was the one paying their salaries. 

“So what do you think we should do?” She asked and looked at them with her big brown eyes. 

“Well… Why stop a successful concept? Your fans want pop. Sugar sweet pop.” 

“But you look wonderful now. I was a bit surprised when I saw the pictures of you two in that editorial. You didn't look like yourself…” said Dana and really tried to wrap in that Aurora's curvier body wasn't desirable. Isis made a whiny sound in the stroller. She didn't seem to like what they said about her mother. 

“We must save your career now. The last six years it has gone down hill…” said Dana and gave Bill a look. The time he had been in Aurora’s life. He gave her an irritated look where he stood and made the stroller move to calm Isis. If they could decide Aurora would have never met him and been the same girl, with a rapper boyfriend and no plans on a family. 

“Okay… Yeah, yeah. We can fix this,” said Aurora determinedly even if she felt herself break. She just wanted to show another side of herself but it was obvious they just wanted her in short skirts sucking on a lollipop. 

××× 

Bill put the stroller in the back of the car after having sat Isis in the car seat. Her mother sat next to her and made her laugh just by tickling her. Bill looked at them for a few seconds where he stood by the trunk. He could see Aurora's profile and how she smiled with her daughter but it was something else there. Even if she smiled brightly it looked like she would start to cry. He looked down at the ground sadly and closed the trunk. 

He knew his career was easier. If he took a break it didn't hang on fans for him to come back, just that a director thought he was good enough and he knew that he was good. His career didn't hang on his looks, his clothes or having an image. He just needed to be good at his work. Aurora was an amazing singer, a great songwriter and dancer but it wasn't enough. She needed to be that person her fans expected and look the way young girls wished they could look and at the same time so men would desire her. Bill played with the car keys a few seconds before opening the back door of the car where Aurora sat. She looked up at him confused. 

“Scoot in,” he said and waved his hand. 

“Why?” She asked and looked around, worried he was trying to hide from something. 

“Scoot in,” he said again and she did what he said. 

All three of them sat in the backseat, behind dark tinted window glass. Bill pulled up her in his lap while their daughter looked at them interested. Aurora looked at Bill with big eyes. She knew why he did this. He had read her like a book. 

“You don't need to do anything you don't want. They shouldn't make you feel like you owe them anything. Your talent have paid their cars, their houses and that Redgy’s fucking ugly haircut. You're one of the world's greatest singers. Fuck them,” he said determinedly and forced her to look at him by holding her chin. 

Aurora looked into Bill's hypnotizing green eyes and his words spun in her head. She let tears travel down her cheeks silently while she continued to look at her husband. 

“But I must save my career… I don't know who I am if I can't be a singer…” she said with a tear filled voice. “I must see what they want to do. Maybe it will be good?” 

Bill licked his lips slowly and took a deep breath.

“Okay but… You must stop when they want things you don't want to do…” he said worriedly and dragged his hands over her back. He could feel her ribs through the top. 

“And… This weight loss…” he said carefully while continuing to feel her spine with his fingers. Aurora's face changed at once, from being open, sensitive and intimate to hardened. She pushed away his hands. 

“Oh, so now you will start to complain about my body too! Thank you,” she said upset and tried to move away from his lap. Isis made a whiny sound of hearing her mother's raised voice and Aurora looked at her guiltily. The attention on Isis had made her stop trying to get away from Bill and he laid his cheek against her chest. 

“I'm just worried honey… I just want your best…” 

Aurora looked down at the top of his head and what she could see of his face; his nose tip, eyelashes and forehead. She kissed the top of his head and he hugged her body closer against him. 

“I know… I know…” Aurora cried again but wiped away the tears and took a deep breath. “But please, let me handle this by myself. I don't need you to save me. I don't need you to be my strong, big husband. I've handled my career alone my whole grown up life. I don't want your help.” 

Bill looked up at her. He didn't really know what to say. He had always helped the people he cared about in their career. His friends, his ex, his family. Aurora was the most important person in his life but she didn't want him to help. To help her felt like the most natural thing for him, it wasn't a sexist thing or that he looked down on her career, it was just who he was. He took offense even if he didn't want to but nodded as an answer. 

“Okay… Okay… If that's what you want…” he swallowed hard because he didn't feel like worrying about her health had anything to do with her career but shut up about that. It was her body and for now she was just thinner. Nothing to worry about, really. 

Aurora kissed him but that made Isis whine again and the both of them turned towards her with a smile. Bill turned to Aurora again while she tickled Isis again. Isis laughed adorably. Bill wished he could be in the moment but he had an inner worry. It didn't feel good and he couldn't say if it was for Aurora's health or if he was afraid to lose her, lose her to all the people that wanted a piece of her. 

×

[alias-sam]

Pierced by a Golden Soul

Chapter 7. Getting Patched Up

Platonic Jojo's x Reader

Summary: Fate is a bizarre concept with countless more bizarre implications. In life sometimes such extraordinary events happen that the only reasoning left must be fate. The tragedies that constantly befall the Joestar bloodline for example may be the unluckiest series of cards drawn in human history, or perhaps the work of a greater power. There is no way to tell for sure. Had Dio Brando or Jonathan Joestar moved slightly on a divergent path the world itself would be left very different. The fate or luck of the noble Joestar bloodline has led to destruction of evil likes of the Pillar Men and DIO. This story is of a similar caliber to that of the other Joestars (as I am sure you are familiar with them). This is a story of lost souls, compassion, hope, and above all fate.

Word Count: 2,492

(Crosspost from Wattpad, full fic is already posted there.)

You sat down and explained your experience from the night before, in as much detail as you possible could.

"I see..." Jotaro looked to be deep in thought. You awkwardly sat in silence, feeling pretty useless for not being able to identify the stand user in any way. "Y/n, this may seem like an odd thing to ask but, how did you get your stand?" Jotaro stared you, intent on getting an answer.

"I think I always sort of had it..." You trailed off. Was it as a kid? You couldn't remember exactly when it first manifested. "I never really used it until recently." You felt guilty about not investigating your stand's ability sooner, if you had, you might actually be able to do something helpful.

"Do your parents have stands or any other strange abilities?"

"Well..." you avoided Jotaro's eye contact, shifting in your seat. "My mother disappeared when I was little. I think when I was five or so? My father is a complete mystery. If either of them were stand users there isn't any way I would know."

Jotaro leaned back into his chair, seeming to be contemplating something.

"I have someone I think you should meet. He's a stand user like us and he may even be able to shine a light on your stand's ability."

"Meet?" You looked at Jotaro skeptically. "Like right now?"

"If it isn't any trouble."

"Actually, I feel like you need to explain a yourself better. No offense but I don't really know you. Yeah, you helped out yesterday, and I'm lucky as hell that you did, but other than that you're just some guy I met. For all I know you could be a kidnapper or something." The stand situation was a developing problem, and being new to such an environment made you vulnerable. You had made several mistakes already, you needed to be careful. Jotaro sighed. He looked tired, like he hadn't slept in a while. He slowly got up from the teacher's desk and made it so he was standing right in front of you.

"Your concern is warranted, but there have now been two violent stand users in the vicinity of your home. We need to find out what they're doing and why." Jotaro looked at you, almost pleadingly. "You seem to be at the center of this stand activity which as you've seen, can get dangerous."

"I-...." You trailed off. What real choice did you have? These stand users knew where you, and more importantly, where your mother lived. If you tried facing them on your own it definitely wouldn't end well. You were weary of Jotaro, but there was something about him that made you want to trust him. "I guess you're right." You relented.

"We don't have to see him right this second if you don't want to."

"I'll think about it. I need some time to process all that's happened. Just a few days ago my life was so... normal." You tiredly ran a hand down your arm, flinching slightly when you accidentally disturbed some of your many cuts and bruises.

"I understand." Jotaro nodded. "Do you still have that business card I gave you?"

"Yeah."

"Just give me a call when you have some free time." Jotaro stood up and started leaving the room.

"Wait...where are you going!?" You yelled after him.

"I'm going home." He said. "You coming?"

"H-hang on! Won't I get in trouble for leaving detention early?"

"You'll still be under my supervision for now. Plus, I'v never really given a damn about what teachers think." You were in disbelief at how flippant this guy could be, but you followed Jotaro out of the school nonet he less.

....................................................................................................

"If you don't mind me asking, what brings you to this area?" You were genuinely curious what would prompt someone like Jotaro to visit your small town.

"The man I mentioned earlier, he's had some health problems as of late. He used to live in New York but decided to move down here for the warmer weather. Im here helping him settle in with his wife. While researching this town I heard about the odd fishing situation, decided to check it out."

"Health problems? Are you sure this guy can help me?"

"Don't let his current state fool you. He's just as spritely as ever."

You ducked behind Jotaro when the two of you passed your house, "What's your problem? Aren't you going home?"

"I'm meeting up with someone first. I don't know what I'd say to Senora Jones if she saw me." Jotaro shrugged and proceeded up the road towards an apartment building. "Hang on." You looked at the address Jaya wrote on your hand this morning. The address was the same as the building Jotaro was heading into. "That's lucky I guess." You mumbled.

You and Jotaro parted ways when you reached Jaya's floor. Hesitantly, you knocked on the door. It took only a second for Jaya to answer it.

"Y/n?" She looked surprised. "You're a little early..." Jaya looked at a wall clock in her kitchen. "W-wait. Aren't you supposed to still be in detention?!"

"Yep." You mumbled without really thinking.

"What?"

"Uh-! No. The teacher let me leave early."  That wasn't a complete lie.

"I worry that you're real trouble sometimes." Jaya said before motioning for you to come inside. "C'mon. Let's see to those injuries." You followed Jaya into her living room, admiring the rather ornate furnishings. You noticed something odd though, it was deathly quiet. One thing you had expected when you came over was that Jaya's home would be as loud and happy as her. Yes, her apartment was nice, but there wasn't a soul in sight. As if she could hear your question Jaya spoke up, "My dad is at work. He won't be back until tomorrow morning, so we've got the whole place to ourselves."

"I see. I hope its no trouble that I'm coming over." You cluelessly followed Jaya as she waltzed into the kitchen. She grabbed a bowl of ramen she must've been eating before you showed up.

"Absolutely not! I invited you remember?" She hastily chewed the last of what you assumed was her dinner and threw the bowl haphazardly into the sink. Just about everything in the kitchen was spotless with the exception of her overflowing sink. There was also a familiar unopened box sitting on the counter. The cupcakes she had bought at the beginning of the week had gone untouched. "Just take a seat anywhere. I'm going to grab some things to treat those cuts." Jaya slipped into a nearby hallway.

You were about to do as Jaya asked when some pictures on the wall caught your attention. Curious, you found yourself looking at one specific photo. Jaya was standing in front of the famous Roman Coliseum with two men. She was smiling brighter than anyone you had ever seen. One of the men seemed to be her father, he looked young, but burnt out. You noted that Jaya bared little resemblance to the man. He was tall, with dark hair and striking green eyes.

What you found odd was the other person in the photo. You remembered Jaya mentioning she had a brother...was this him? She hadn't said much about him. He was tall like his father, with long platinum blonde hair like Jaya's and the same striking green eyes as his father.

"What are you looking at?" Jaya had unintentionally snuck up behind you. She looked over your shoulder at the photo. You didn't miss the saddened expression that flashed across her features.

"This is a family photo, right?"

"That's my older brother, Julius. And the other guy is my dad." She smiled, albeit it seemed a bit forced. "That picture was taken when we lived in Italy."

"This may be a touchy subject but... is he?" You pointed at Jaya's brother.

"He's... alive but, he was in an accident recently." Jaya sighed deeply. "He should be alright in a matter of days or weeks. Things just haven't been the same without him around." Jaya looked defeated and tired, her positive and boisterous social butterfly front coming down for a moment. You wanted to comfort her, but didn't know what to say. "I've been trying not to think about it." You placed a comforting hand oh Jaya's shoulder.

"I'd be happy to help keep your mind off of it for awhile. If you want to that is." A small but genuine smile crossed Jaya's lips.

"Yeah. I'd appreciate that."

........................

Jaya had you sit at her kitchen table while she carefully unwrapped your arm. An odd tingly feeling settled beneath your skin in every place her hands touched. You were trying to figure out if you were imagining it, but your questioning thought was interrupted.

"So, are you going to tell me how this actually happened or....?"

"It's..." you winced as Jaya dabbed some antiseptic on your hand where the bullet wound was, along with a few cuts from the shattered glass. "It's complicated."

"Well then it's a good thing I'm very understanding." Jaya re-wrapped your hand carefully with what looked like practiced precision.

"I.....don't think you'd believe me."

"Okay.... Was it a fight?"

"Technically, yes."

"Technically?"

"Like I said. It's complicated." You looked down at your newly bandaged hand, wiggling your fingers around a little bit. There was oddly enough no pain, honestly it felt like there were not cuts at all. Jaya asked you to take off your jacket so she could reach your upper and fore arm where you knew Metal Health had sliced you. You awkwardly set aside the jacket only to realize you were still wearing a long sleeve shirt.

"You don't want me to-?"

"Yep."

Hesitant, you took your shirt off. You felt extremely exposed as Jaya examined your wounds. She was about to start unwrapping the bandages you had put on yourself when she suddenly stopped.

"Is this a tattoo or something?"

"What?" You asked. She pointed at the area between the nape of your neck and your shoulder. "Oh that? It's just a birthmark. Nothing special." Your hand shot up to cover the area.

"Perfectly shaped like a star?" Jaya asked skeptically.

"People are born all the time with little heart shapes, and puzzle pieces. Heck, I know someone with a birthmark shaped like a little seahorse. What's so weird about a star?" You asked defensively.

"I don't know... It just seems like it would be an omen or something!" Jaya said, starting to fuss with your bandages again. "I've heard that birthmarks are supposed to show how you died in a past life."

"Are you insinuating I was... murdered by a starfish?"

"N-no!" Jaya laughed. "I just thought it was interesting, that's all."

Jaya's light demeanor quickly shifted to something more serious when she started messing with the bandages on your arm.

"Could you close your eyes for a sec? Ya'know, while I unwrap this? It looks painful."

"I'm not squeamish about blood." You responded flatly.

"Maybe, but you're my patient and I'm asking you to look away for a minute."

"Okay, fine. Whatever you say doc." You leaned back, closing your eyes as Jaya asked. The same tingling from earlier started happening again, but more prominently than before. This time you knew it wasn't your imagination.

Jaya started pulling out a bandage to cover your arm but out of curiosity you wrenched out of her grasp.

"What the-?" You looked down in amazement. All of the paper and glass cuts were gone, also, while not completely healed, the wound from Metal Health looked significantly better. What was once a gaping cut was now just a long scar. Jaya looked nothing short of mortified. "How did-?"

"It's.... complicated?" Jaya said, smiling nervously.

"Don't you DARE use that lame excuse on me!" You looked over your healed wounds curiously. Did Jaya have a stand or something? That was the only explanation you had.

"How about this: I'll explain how I healed you, if and only if you explain how, you got those wounds." Jaya proposed.

"Sounds fair." You motioned for Jaya to continue. No way in hell were you going first. She fidgeted a moment while trying to assemble the right words for a good explanation.

"Have you ever heard of hamon?" You shook your head. "It's a breathing technique that my family has cultivated for generations. It helps to channel life energy into objects or people. My maternal grandmother Elena Zeppeli taught it to my father when he married my mother. Its original purpose was to help destroy zombies and vampires but it also has healing capabilities. My dad works as an ER doctor and uses hamon from time to time. I want to do the same so he's taught me a thing or two.

"Hang on- zombies? Vampires? Those are real?" You were convinced Jaya was messing with you but she nodded her head very seriously.

"I haven't seen any myself since they're pretty much extinct now, but they were definitely real at one point."

"Suddenly I think my situation isn't so weird." You groaned, slowly thinking over what Jaya had just thrown at you. The girl leaned back in her chair, looking at you expectantly.

"Alright cough it up. What kind of trouble have you been getting into?"

"I have a stand." You said bluntly, not really caring if the statement made sense. At this point, you might as well let her get the confusion out of her system, even if you gave an explanation, it was going to sound bizarre.

"A what now?" Jaya raised an eyebrow.

"It's a physical manifestation of the soul, it's a lot like a ghost. I've had it as long as I can remember, but didn't have any reason to use it until recently. Different people have different stands, each one has its own special ability"

"Can you show me?" Jaya asked, seeming to be taking the news rather well.

"That's where this gets complicated...here." you summoned your stand. "It's standing right next to me right now." Jaya looked around and then back at you.

"I don't see anything." She said flatly.

"Only stand users can see stands. Like I said, they're pretty much ghosts. It can interact with objects but it can only be touched by other stands." You had your stand pick up the medical kit Jaya had been using earlier. The girl watched with wide eyes as the object seemingly floated around before being put back on the table. "I've been getting attacked by other stand users. My odd injuries came from their different abilities." You looked at Jaya, she didn't seem to be grappling with the story.

"Does it have like- a name or something?" She asked.

"The few other stands I've interacted with have had names. I haven't decided on one yet. Haven't really had the time."

"What does it look like?" Jaya asked.

"It's gold."

"Hmmm. Gold... and a manifestation of your soul.... How about Golden Soul?" Jaya watched as you slowly raised an incredulous eyebrow at her. "Hear me out! It's a simple name with no deeper meaning, but you have to admit: it's got a nice ring to it." She smiled cheekily

You glanced at your stand, looking for some sort of confirmation on weather it liked the name or not. Your stand looked at you and nodded.

"Golden Soul it is."

[starstruckodysseys]

hello it is time for me to bother you with my paranormal/ghost hunting/detective kids!!

incorrect quotes edition

bianca: in scooby doo, secret tunnels are always behind shelves and shit

taylor: could we not base our decisions around what does and doesn’t happen in episodes of scooby doo?

-

bianca: *beatboxing*

lillian: uh- my name’s lillian and im here to say, we’re the best ghost hunters in the usa-

*ghost makes a spooky noise*

lillian: wh-

bianca: *still beatboxing*

lillian: hang on, we have to get a response! uh- stop beatboxing!

-

taylor: wait a minute! we don’t go toward the weird, scary sound!

lillian: yeah, we do. we always do

taylor: *sighs* i really hate that about us

-

elijah: date a boy who forgives you for your past

sam: date a boy who disregards your cracker barrel arson charge

bianca: date a boy who was your accomplice in the cracker barrel arson

-

dani: i’m leaving for a few days, taylor’s in charge. i’ve left notes for each of you with instructions

lillian: mine just says “lillian, don’t”

dani: and i want you to apply that to every possible situation

-

sam: every conversation i have with you guys gets more and more absurd

elijah: you say “you guys” like you aren’t part of the group. well i’ve got news for you, pal. you’re already on the christmas card

- character descriptions under the cut this is a long ass post

anyway they were not initially for my murder mystery/etc thing i have going on in my google docs lmao

bianca’s the main character. she thinks ghosts and supernatural stuff are all complete bullshit, but she is a bored teenager with enough determination and spite that when kids start going missing, she decides she has to be the one to get to the bottom of it. also she’s bi + ace :)

lillian’s her best friend slash partner in crime slash platonic soulmate. she’s the believer to bianca’s skeptic, but she would actually kill a man to see a ghost. uh, no pun intended. she’s witty and sarcastic, but really does love her friends, even if she doesn’t show it. on top of being the number one ghost stan, she’s also the head of the newspaper club, and she’s always on the lookout for a scoop, so this is the perfect opportunity for her. she’s trans and a lesbian!!

taylor’s the other part of this detective trio but not the third friend of one thank you very much. he’s a believer, too, but more in the way that he thinks a ghost could kill him, so he’s terrified of them. he has issues with emotion, and he argues with lillian a lot, but he really is a sweetheart. when his crush makes a dare to go down to the supposedly-haunted boiler room and never returns, he pushes aside his paranormal fears and cracks down on the case. he’s trans + bi!

elijah’s a soccer star and one of the only decent popular kids… and also taylor’s crush. he’s a closet theatre nerd, too, but despite the rumors the theatre is haunted he’s a skeptic. not that that stops him from pretending to be a believer - which ends up being the thing that throws the entire school into chaos, anyway, since he’s impulsive and bold enough to risk a bet to go into the haunted boiler room, but never ends up returning. fucking loser (i love him). he’s gay!

dani’s the president of the environmental club and dear god just needs a break. she’s caring, the single braincell of the group, and nearly always tired from the ongoing shenanigans, but also always ready to lend a hand. she’s not exactly a believer, though not exactly a skeptic, either, believing that there’s no real proof either way, and she doesn’t exactly have time to think about ghosts, anyway. she’s an aroace icon!!

sam’s the school’s resident cryptid. it’s not that he isn’t there, he just lurks in the back, showing up places he probably shouldn’t be, and somehow always seems to know things. things he… shouldn’t know, really. no one knows how he does. he has a dry sense of humor - and speaking in general, really - that scares people off until you get to know him better. he’s bi!

hailey’s… not in any of these quotes and honestly not overall super important to the story (as of now), but she’s the girl’s swim team captain and student council vice president and definitely has her apples in way too many baskets. she’s a literal ray of sunshine, the absolute sweetest person you’ll ever meet, and the holder of the biggest case of comphet this world has ever seen. she’s a lesbian, if that isn’t clear enough.

[stormyoceans]

Monica my adoration for the boys is off the roofs today. Their easy going, respectful, understanding, caring, trying, comforting bond is very strong and very simple and normal at the same time so so special and unique. Just love how our own fondness is growing more and more each day, the same time they also become fonder and fonder with each other and it shows! The video where Sea brings the cake to Jimmy they both look extremely happy and it's just what we all need, happiness. For them and for us

THANK YOU FOR SAYING EVERYTHING IM FEELING AND WAY MORE COHERENTLY THAN I EVER COULD ANON MY HEART REALLY IS JUST BURSTING WITH FONDNESS TODAY AND I CAN'T SEEM TO BE ABLE TO PUT ANY OF THAT INTO WORDS

I KNOW I SOUND LIKE A BROKEN RECORD BUT. idk sometimes i say i feel like a proud mother of two and unfortunately im not even kidding ;;;;;; it's been such a pleasure to see them grow together in this past year, their relationship only getting stronger as they settled into it and learned more about each other. and the thing is.. i always keep a fair amount of skepticism when it comes to actors because we will never know how things are behind the cameras, but one of the reasons im so drawn to jimmysea is because their friendship seems SO GENUINE: they're comfortable enough to both tease and be affectionate with each other, they support each other through good and bad times, and most of all they just seem so full of joy every time they are together, even when they're working. and i will never get tired of saying that being able to achieve such a nice relationship with a 5 years difference between them is such an absolute feat!!!!!

also not to sound pathetic but their joy is so contagious!!!!! life is hard as hell but when i look at them i do feel just a little bit lighter. they are each other's safe place and ours too!!!!! and like sea said in his post for jimmy's birthday, i hope we can all stay together and be happy for a very long time!!!!!

[blockednddeleted]

Start of Something New

Hi.

It's December 16th 2024. 3:39 AM. The world seems to be on some sort of cataclysmic downwards spiral, heading to some kind of disaster that will have us remembering these horrible moments we're living atm as the idyllic "before times." So, now seems like the perfect time to start something new, to take steps on my personal journey of growth and healing by putting myself out there. Or rather, further out into the digital world, a world I've been desperately terrified of since forever...in a time of international crises and turmoil — I have excellent timing.

But the "right" time was never going to happen. And as the years have ticked on and I've gotten older and older, I realized the only person that's been holding me back from the things I want in life is me. This is something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time, and I’m finally doing it! Taking this step of creating a dedicated tumblr to share my art, my thoughts, and a piece of myself in this space.

Now, don't go misunderstanding me here, I've been on tumblr for ages. But I've existed mostly as a kind of lurker for way longer than I would care to admit. Rather than, say, being an active participant. I kept meaning to do that and *this* for ages. Sometimes I would get really close but then panic and bail. I struggle a lot with fear around putting myself out there. Well, all the fear really. The fear of being seen, fear of not being seen, fear of making mistakes, and fear of losing control. Fear, fear, fear. Fear has had more control over my life than me for too long now and I'm sick and tired of it. It was unfortunate that I first encountered this site when I did. During the really awful days of tumblr, when it was really really toxic. It really helped the fear have a unbreakable titanium grip on me for decades.

Not that the internet has gotten less toxic since then, if anything it's gotten even more dangerous and hateful. Though the vibe on tumblr does seem to have become a lot more chill since then. I may be wrong about that, but I was here for the fountain chocolate parrot thing, so I'm pretty confident. The main thing that's led to *this* has just been exhaustion. The constant fear takes a toll, and constantly being terrified is fucking exhausting. and seeing how I've nearly died in complete silence a couple times now, I'm at the point now that I'm like, fuck it. If I keep waiting for this supposed "perfect" moment my anxious brain constantly says there is, at this rate, I'll be dead and gone before it ever happens.

So here's to saying fuck it, let's do this!

I intend to keep this blog as a place for me to share my art, thoughts, and writing — personal, fandom-related, my own work, or otherwise. I already have an instagram which I've been posting to every so often. I don't really get a lot of interaction over there. But that was kind of why I started with that account first, I liked that it felt like a literal ghost town. I have no idea what I'm doing in that space, so weirdly, it felt safer than others. But I'm ready to come back to my home turf now.

I hope some of what I do here will resonate with someone out there, but even if nothing I do here reaches anybody, I’ll be proud of myself for trying. For daring to exist.

If you’re reading this, thank you for being here.

Here’s to starting, even when it's scary — hell, even when it's downright terrifying.

To finish this post off, I've included a little doodle I did the day after the election. That was a dark day. But then I crossed paths with a dragonfly. It was a rare encounter so I took notice. I'm not a religious person by any stretch of the imagination, but I do care to notice little things like this, even if the skeptical grouch in my mind wants to huff and wheeze about it.

So, that night, when I was feeling sad and remembered seeing the dragonfly, I looked up what it's been thought to symbolize and needing to create something, anything, as a reminder that this darkness was only temporary, that life was still worth living, I drew this. I didn't have my drawing things or even a blank sheet of paper. Only a pad of lined paper and some crayola markers. Bud I'm so happy I still did. It may not be perfect, or particularly pretty or skilled, but it's mine. And that's all that counts.

[brooklynbrunette]

Hi blog,

Been a while, but that’s the norm here. Lately I’ve been getting such a strong urge to write, to get all of my feelings out on paper (or doc, or tumblr post, whatever) but by the time I finish the work I have planned from the day, I’m to exhausted to think. These past two weeks have been rough. Lack of sleep, tons of headaches, and just having a mind that refuses to focus and nail a task one at a time, but rather stay in a freeze state when it sees the much bigger picture of everything I have to do.

Don’t get me wrong—yes I am stressed, busy, tired all the time, but I also think my mind being all over the place has to do with the fact that I am falling for a boy. I just haven’t really gotten the chance to sit and write and express my feelings on the matter. So here I am, four months into knowing the guy, one month into dating, and I don’t know if what I’m feeling is love or not, because I’ve never really loved anyone, romantically at least.

For the sake of not spilling names I’ll use initials: I was obsessed with E, discarded D, and lusted after V. I don’t even count L, although I have to say I am learning that he was kind of my only test-run at an adult relationship. He took me out on dates, walked me home, cared for me. It was sweet. But it wasn’t what I needed nor what I was ready for at that time. I was still very immature with my emotions and needed to “play the field” a bit more.

What I didn’t realize is how I almost talked myself out of my first date with K, now I can’t imagine my life without him in it. I am usually stressed, moody, angry, and even though seeing him means I have to sacrifice more sleep I really cannot afford to lose, he calms me. He makes my brain go quiet. And that to me is no small feat. I feel protected, I feel safe, and I feel like I can be soft around him. I’ve never felt that way before.

Which begs the question—is this what love is supposed to feel like? What are the signs? Am I in it? How will I know? SHOULD I know? Am I moving to fast? Will I regret this? And more and more questions pop up as I try to figure out what I’m feeling. It’s so odd. I feel like I can’t keep my hands off him, like I need his body heat to feel okay. But I’m so fucking skeptical.

I was always the one saying I wouldn’t conform to dating in the culture, because I couldn’t see it happening. I could never see myself yearning for the cute relationship where you talk about marriage and kids and futures. That. Was. Never. Me.

With K, I feel like my realities have shifted. I’m trying to do it all—to expand my goals and dreams for myself and my career while also standing by someone’s side. To not feel like I’m alone. To truly care about someone, and drop the act. And every time I think he’ll be afraid to know everything about me, he proves me wrong. Every. Single. Fucking. Time.

I told him how things with V ended, but I told him the whole story. I didn’t want to hold any details back because I felt like it was important to know: would this stop him from seeing me and thinking of me in such high regards? Would it bring him back down to earth? But no, he held my hand, he squeezed it when my voice was getting shaky, and he reassured me that everything was going to be okay. And whenever I find myself stressing out about work and wanting to do more, be better, screaming at myself that I’m not doing enough, I have that same notion in my head: no matter what, everything is going to be okay. And it is. It will always be.

So yeah, maybe I do love him or I’m still falling in love with him but as much as it enlightens me to get that out of my system, it terrifies me. I’m scared of how much I want to impress him, impress his friends, impress his family. How much I want to be perfect for him, but also perfect for all the people I work for. How my mind is so scattered that I completely missed an important work call that I should’ve been a part of. How I’m losing sleep and doing the bare minimum of work. How as much as I want to grow in my career, more work terrifies me because I’ll see him less. But on the flip side, it terrifies me that I find myself blaming him for my lack of constraint over my work schedule. My forgetfulness.

I have a lot I want to do with my life. I’ve stated it, written about it, typed about it. I know I was put here to make something of myself in whatever way, shape or form that I see fit. Right now I see myself growing brands, growing businesses, and being known as the person who comes into a company or a brand and flips it. Makes it better than it’s ever been. Brings more meaning to its message. I want to be known as that person. I want to turn myself into a brand. To be recognizable.

Recently I talked about my loss of respect for one of the women I was working with that I saw as a mentor. That loss has fueled me to be even better. I want K in my life, but not at the expense of my career. I want his affection and attention, but not at the expense of my aspirations. He’s been so supportive of me and I plan to be the same for him, and I think we’ll be alright. I just had to say that I will NOT change myself and my course.

I do have a lot to better about myself. I need to be on top of my game in all things me: self-care, doctor’s visits, personal time, gym routine, SLEEP. I can’t just give 110% to the people I work for. I have to give that to myself first. This right here is a reminder when I check back in to my blog - DO BETTER FOR YOURSELF. See how big of a difference it will make in your life.

[loremylove]

Heyaa, this is my first post!

A dedication to an RP with my friend who I lost contact with 😭😭

TW's: War, manipulation, mention of third reich, some dark topics ahead

Indonesia is in the office, handling some paperwork. He wonder how his friend is doing, perhaps he can drop off to his place after work.

Sighing at the amount of paper on his desk, Indo went outside of the building to buy more tea since he ran out of them and he cannot function without it.

After buying his precious tea, he goes back to his work with his tea in hand, ready to complete some more papers before he gets a call from his friend. He picks up the line, eager to hear from him since they had not spoken in a while.

"Hey, how are ya?"

"I'm good, work's being piling up."

"Damn, that must suck, i'm being ignored here, not sure why most are panicking"

Indo and Poland talk on the phone for a few minutes, catching up with eachother, the last time they talk was last month.  Then they go back to the topic beforehand.

“Have you tried asking around?”

“A bit, but there’s no clear answer on this front. There’s rumor of war with Germany, that they have advanced upon our front, but no clear answers- everyone is panicking and nothing is getting done,” Poland growls, frustration clear in his words, and Indonesia feels a pang of sympathy for his friend.

“War with Germany?” Indonesia asks, surprise and skepticism in his voice. Why would Poland fight Germany? Aren't they friends?

"Why are you on war with Germany, I thought you were allies"

"Do not speak as if we were friends."

Indo can't understand why did he respond like that, but he kept quiet.

"Sorry, I will not bring up that topic again."

"No no.. i'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped. I'm a bit.. stressed. Everything is a mess here."

It's the truth, with all the panicking soldiers behind him, he starts to become restless. Poland needs his coffee after this phone call.

"But,” Indonesia hesitates, choosing his words carefully so as to not further upset Poland. “It is strange, no? For Germany to attack so sudden and out of the blue?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Poland grunted bitterly, “The apple doesn’t fall from the tree, does it?”

Indonesia frowns, and though Poland cannot see him, he makes sure to make his disapproval known in his tone “Don’t say such things Poland, Germany is not Reich and you know it. He must have a rational reason for this.”

Even if Indonesia never met the german, he knows that not everyone is evil. Germany is no exception, Indo felt pity for him, to be regarded as evil and being compared to Reich.

"Come on you Pole, cheer up, i'm dropping at your house tonight."

"You haven't called me that since highschool, but sure, i'm cleaning my house I guess"

"You should, it's a mess there."

At the other end, Poland laughs, he feels so much better now.

“I could use your help, you know,” Poland says out of the blue, his words hopeful and trying to sound convincing. “A war is always more easily won with an ally or two.”

“You know I try l stay out of these things,” Indonesia frowns, not liking the weird kind of peer pressure Poland is trying to apply. He hates when Poland did this, it's not the first time he tried and failed to convince Indonesia.

“I know, I know,” the Pole sighs, sounding hopeless. “I just thought since we are friends and allies, perhaps I could rely on you?”

Indonesia tries to be polite to not offend his friend "Friends do rely on eachother, but. They can also refuse. That is friendship Poland, please respect my boundaries."

Poland is playing a dangerous game, but they both know who will come out victorious. 

Poland sighs, his voice sounded hurt, bitter, and dejected. “But this is about more than your boundaries, isn’t it? It’s about my life, my people, my nation. Shouldn’t that be more important, or do you not care enough about me over your selfish needs?”

Indonesia frowns, tired of this stupid manipulative game Poland is playing. He understands Poland is going though a tough time right now, but it is not an excuse for him to take out his anger on a friend who only wanted to support him.

Poland understood the horrors of war better than anyone, why would he want to drag Indonesia into that too and inflict pain on his people and nation? It was not fair. 

"Poland. Don't you care about me? My health? My people? Do you even care for me at all? Does our friendship over the years never matter to you?"

He press further. Poland is driving him crazy with all of this. He had enough, he will stop this before it escalated.

"If not. Then good bye. I will still go to your house, but remember my words Poland. Think before you act."

Indonesia cuts the line, he can't listen to Poland's voice anymore. The war change his beloved friend into something, something he's afraid of, something horrifying. Something he hope he will never become.

Poland slams the phone back on the receiver, angry and upset that his friend reject to offer any help. Maybe Poland could try to sway him when he came over to the house later, though it seems like Indonesia is being annoyingly stubborn.

He wonders for a minute if he had gone too far in pressuring his friend, but decides that he was justified for applying a bit of pressure. They we’re friends and allies after all, if Indonesia had called him for help, he would have gladly send soldiers, weapons, and aid. It is not fair that the feeling is not mutual.

Slamming his head hard to the wall, his eye twitch in anger. Why can't Poland understand what a simple NO means? Indonesia hates war, he hates the pain, Poland knows it, why is he dragging his own friend into it?

Indonesia can never understand Poland, why can't the world stay at peace? Why must war happen? He feels betrayed, toyed, hurt. Poland was his best friend, emphasis on was. Indonesia can't see him as that anymore, Poland is acting like his.. 

Shaking his head, Indonesia ignore the thought, it's better to forget than to forgive.

Poland runs a hand through his hair. He knows he will not be able to defeat the Germans on his own, he needs an ally, he tries to think of who to call. Though, he would feel bad forming another alliance besides with Indonesia, the two have been close for so long it would feel wrong to be an ally with someone else. He does not want to betray his friend, but he feels like Indonesia has betrayed him already.

"You will regret this, Indonesia." 

Oh he will. Poland will make sure of that.

"I hate you so much.. but I needed you."

Indonesia grips the table in front of him, breaking it in the process. Not even flinching from the splinters, he grabs the phone case, placing it somewhere else. 

"You are dear to me, also the bane of my existence."

He tried to calm down his heartbeat, he does not want to go on a spree again. Much less the hospital, either him being hurt or he visit the people he hurt.

"I wish you know how much you hurt me.. perhaps, you can understand- who am I kidding. You are no longer the Poland I know and love."

Indonesia returns to his desk, he needs to finish all the paperwork if he wants to visit Poland's house. Sometimes he dislike his higher ups.

[sneasedtomeetyou]

//I'm supposed to be trying to get back to sleep but I have a lot of thoughts about this watching the community grow and change. It's strange to say I was here before stakes tags and before published advice guides and before resource blogs and dedicated rotomblr ask games. I've watched and been a part of many of these things, and I know you have been here for a lot of this too so this isn't news to you hah. That said, I see a lot of those changes in my interactions over time.

When I started this blog I was in college and without a job, I could dedicate a large portion of my time to being in front of a computer and send asks in between essay writing or studying. With a full time job that has me on my feet all day and a house with subpar internet that sort of availability isn't possible anymore at least for me. I imagine similar life changes have happened for a lot of folks. And sometimes the motivation to do these larger scale things after constantly upping the stakes can tire people out. People move on.

Even before that though the decline in interactions was noticeable from the other end too. I used to regularly receive asks from anons with their own plot lines, asking Casi questions about raising fighting types (a concept that otherwise rarely comes up. I tend to forget Hisuian Sneasels are actually fighting types primarily, poison types secondarily) and their journey finding and raising a sliterwing. As far as I know plotlines like this didnt link back to an existing account, it was folks playing around with these ideas and seeing where they could go. Now if I get an ask from an anon that isn't ask game related it's someone putting their feelers out for a blog they're in the process of making—its an advertisement of sorts. Once it was actually a literal advertisement. I didn't post that one. That isn't a bad thing necessarily but it's a tangible shift in the thinking behind these asks. People are interacting because it benefits them or because a blog specifically asked people to interact through ask games and sometimes outright saying "this is an arc you can interact with. please send questions," rather than because they want to poke and prod at a specific character to see how they react to things.

And during that time I got a lot of presumptuous asks too. Ones that roped me into things I did not want to participate in, ones that crossed boundaries I didn't even realize I needed to set because this sort of community wasn't like other role-playing communities I had been a part of. For example, I didn't know I needed to tell people to not literally take Casi's advice on how to take care of real animals based on when she's talking about poisonous punching cat weasels. And there's an instinctual snarky response a lot of us adopted for reacting to asks that didn't align with our canon. Muses react skeptically to legendaries, they push back against contradictory headcanons on how certain pokemon or people behave. I do wonder if that culture of "presumptuous anons" and the snarky ways we reply to them gave the impression things were closed off and unfriendly to new users tho.

I do sometimes ask myself when I'm deleting my only disconnected ask in weeks where someone is shouting about ultra beast-human hybrids (this is not a real ask btw, no one is being put on blast here) if I'm part of my own interaction problem. If I wasn't so picky about my canon maybe things would pick back up again. Not sure if that's actually the case. Even as someone who doesn't check numbers often there was a very clear point in my activity where notes and follower counts stagnated when previously the growth was pretty absurd. I grew rapidly then just have been coasting off that for a while. Establishing new blogs after that became much harder. Back when I started you really could get popular of an ask game and a few memes that break containment. Especially when I'd go out of my way to send asks to whoever reblogged my ask game for the first few hundred notes.

A lot of the people here end up disliking each other for some reason or another too. That isn't even any sort of moral judgement, that's just life! You meet a lot of people that all have ideas of how this community can be run and inevitably you don't get along with everyone. The ways you write don't mesh, you write stuff they're sensitive to, or maybe you just have bad experiences with them. Once you start icing a few people out then you ice out people who interact with them and that snowballs into cliques. I recall at one point actually striving somewhat for finding that "canon bubble" of people who more or less had similar ideas for the pokemon universe and certain events so that we could write under that shared canon, but what that really is is finding a clique of writing buddies. Then you only wanna write with them because it's easier, there's comparatively less to negotiate with a regular rp partner over a complete stranger. Then they leave the community or leave behind particular muse(s) and suddenly that bubble pops and you sorta start over again. That can be hard to figure out after a period of time of interacting primarily with familiar people. It can be daunting on both sides. Your followers might not realize these are open calls for interactions, and you aren't sure how to begin to ask for that openness again.

Idk I'm tired and hope this doesn't come across as whiny. I'm more musing about how tangible that climate shift in the community really is. I don't even think I necessarily want the way things were to come back, but things have changed and people have noticed that.

//Kinda miss the early days of Pokémon IRL. Felt more open, and more like a community instead of a buncha different cliques tied together. Biggest thing is people interacted with each other more. More asks going around, more reblogs with commentary, more friendliness to the little guys. More... communal joy's the best way to put it.

//And like I'm an established figure who's been around since January last year. I've had multiple bigger blogs, I'm friends with people with bigger blogs, I'm able to get stuff off the ground with way less relative difficulty than other people. So while the shift's affected me, it ain't been as bad as it's been for the people WITHOUT connections. But I've still noticed it.

//And if my 200+ follower blog gets one or two asks at MOST from a given ask game, what do you think the newbie with 30 followers gets?

//Beyond interaction, there's also an issue with the community being less welcoming than it was before. Time was, when a new blog showed up, we'd pass around the pinned in ooc reblogs to get the word out. People'd send asks to greet the new person. And that doesn't happen anymore.

//People've even started refusing the "reblog if I can interact with you" posts, which were the one way left for newcomers to the community to discover others and be discovered and find their circles. And yes, a lot of the more recent ones have been barebones, without much detail on why you should be interested in that character. But that's ALWAYS been a common trait of those, and besides... saying anyone can interact with you is announcing your door is unlocked. Saying that this anxious newbie in particular IS allowed to interact is opening your door for them. Can they get in either way? Yes. But one of those options makes it much more obvious that the door can be opened, as well as coming across as much more welcoming.

//And is some of this rose tinted glasses? Probably, sure. No community's perfect, and there's ALWAYS big guys and little guys. But that doesn't mean that we as a community can't do better.