#learning this about himself he doesn’t like

[deadsetobsessions]

He’s existed for an eternity. He will exist for longer than that. Danny Fenton’s ruled the Zone longer than he’s been fully alive, by a long shot. Still half alive.

Immortal. He can’t die- not when he’s already half dead- and his age stays and stays stagnated. Un-aging. True immortality, unlike the claims of those newborn gods who borrow power from a deeper force than even they could comprehend.

A god dies when there are none left to venerate them. Danny dies when death ceases to be reality, which in itself is death…

It’s easy, once his mortal life had faded far away. He slips into roles- protection, of course, never forgotten- and traipses around to live in universes even as he kills them by simply existing. One day, a little fairy catches his eyes. It fluttered about meaninglessly, gathering dew drops and sap. It taught him two lessons.

“Why do you work yourself so?” Death had asked the little fairy.

The little fairy, only seeing the facade of a placid young boy that Death had donned to imitate the days where he was fully alive, had answered fearlessly. “I enjoy the work! My court needs those supplies, and I’m happy being able to help while doing something I love.”

“Oh.” Danny remembered being like that once. It was why his essence thrummed with Protection, even in Death. He had forgotten, even as a halfa, how to be alive. He knew how to be living, but he’d forgotten how to be alive.

Still, the boy had another question.

“Are you not afraid of me?” He’d met people like these before, on the rare occasions he personally guided souls, and they were unflinching in his presence.

“No, you are just a child. Say… won’t you tell me your name?”

“Danny,” Death answered truthfully. Death doesn’t like to lie. “Danny Fenton.”

“Danny-” the little fae freezes, malicious grin falling from its face as it trembled like the blades of grass it stole dew from. “No- no, no! Why- why can’t I take your name?!”

“I am also known as Death,” Danny admitted, watching as the fairy’s magic imploded on itself. One could not own death. He learns a lesson that day too. If he disguises himself, if death is disguised as harmlessness, as just ‘one more’, as an object of greed, those living would happily run towards Death himself.

As the little buzzing fae backed away, the flowers on its extremities withered. Danny caught its wrist before it could dart away.

“Tell the ruler of your court to come,” Danny said gently, ectoplasm easing away from the trembling little thing.

“Yes, yes, please, I will.” Danny released the fluttering thing and bid it leave.

----

"That's how you met Oberon?"

Danny laughed, plucking the little Robin from a jump and shadowing to the ledge two buildings ahead.

"Not so, little sparrow. That was how I met Tatiana."

"The queen?!"

"The queen. Remember this, if nothing else, when you play with Royalty, there is very little they wouldn't stoop to in order to ensure their wants."

"Okay. Does that include you too?"

See? Danny knew the little sparrow was smart, somewhere beneath that fanboy-driven dumbassery.

"Yes."

"Soooo... what do you want, Danny?"

"To know what it is to live again. Death tends to be cold, you see."

"...Can I help?"

A flash of fangs, a slow, meaningful smile. "You are already helping, little sparrow. Even your Bats are helping. I have not felt joy in centuries."

"Oh."

Robin's comms buzzed. "Ask him about how he met Oberon, Timsy!" Jason's voice came through loud and clear to Danny.

"Oberon?" Danny cut in, enjoying the vibrant activity his chosen nightlife observed. "Oh, I beat him at poker. Actually, I own a quarter of his palace."

[mywordstovictor]

I’d really like to see how they would have satirized these past years if the show had kept going. It ended before 2016 I think.

I’m imagining a several episode ark wherein Leslie has an enormous breakdown even by Leslie standards. Rapid cycles of activism and burnout. For one episode she becomes completely disillusioned with government and decides to live among the Pawnee racoons because they seem better at structuring society than humans, then in the next episode she stays up for 48 hours doing paperwork because bureaucracy has never failed her before. Leslie’s spiralling is the B plot of several episodes. Imagine cutting away to whatever the heck she’s doing as she reconciles with the failure of the systems she put her faith in.

Ann is a front line nurse, Leslie essentially tries to wrap her in bubble wrap.

Ron dips in and out for a bit. Then he comes back and it’s heavily implied that he did All of the assassinations/attempts of the past year or so. He believes public shaming would be more effective for getting people to follow health guidelines than government policy.

April sends politicians dead animals and terrorizes bigots. Serial killer/stalker behaviour.

Gary costs the administration millions by spilling hot sauce on something Important. He also accidentally exposes several instances of government and police corruption.

Chis has COVID anxiety. He also can’t cope with being unable to go on runs. Several shots of him running in place, in the dark in his house, mumbling to himself.

Donna and Tom try to be less consumerist and there’s an episode where they go through withdrawal together, then Tom has an ongoing ark where he convinces himself that he’s ridden himself of his materialist desires (he hasn’t). Donna gets really into supporting local businesses.

Andy learns what privilege is and the running gag is that he doesn’t understand any of the social justice language he uses but gets focused on using his privilege for good and consistently manages to make effective change.

Ben is the one who realized Gary had uncovered corruption. He spends much of his time in a corner, pouring over politician’s finances. He accidentally goes down an accounting conspiracy rabbit hole and is briefly convinced that the those bug parasites from that weird TNG season finale have taken over the US government. He also has strong feelings about modern Trek and Star Wars.

IDK but I feel like there would have been so much potential

PARKS AND RECREATION 5.05 Halloween Surprise

[soleilapproves]

Can I make a request for a pregnant y/n? Like jjk men and y/n get to the hospital when she goes into labor and they’re only expecting one baby but she ends up having twins? I’d love to know their reactions 😭🩷

Girl, realistically, I don’t think that’s possible with ultrasounds and stuff.

BUT, for the sake of the fic, let’s just say that you’re in a time period where ultrasounds don’t exist and physicians rely on taking your pulse or something to see if you’re pregnant or not.

cw: pregnancy, small descriptions of birth

Nanami is always a level headed and cool man. So when you popped out two kids instead of one, he had the most calm expression ever, only stroking your cheek and cooing in your ears about how well you did. Unbeknownst to you, he’s trying his best not to rip his own hair out. The house was only ready for one baby—one nursery, one nanny, one chest of clothes. Now he was going to have work just as hard to set up the same for another baby in a very short time. You don’t notice his hand trembling when the midwife tells him that there’s another kid in the equation, his main focus would probably be on making sure you’re feeling better considering that you’re in the most overwhelming phase of being a new mom. All in all, I think he’d be very scared, but he’d face this change head on and would try his best to be a good dad to both his kids (all while freaking out on the inside.)

Gojo would be elated! Double the trouble. While you’re in pain, moaning and crying while pushing out the afterbirth, Gojo is already giggling over his new children, both annoyingly being the spitting images of their father. The nurse would probably yell at him to settle down because he’s being a nuisance and send him out for being annoying, not gonna lie. But who can blame him? He’s just so excited to take both his babies home and shower them with all the love and attention in the world. There’s no doubt that you’re nervous and scared after birthing twins, you aren’t even sure how you’ll nurse them or give them attention at the same time, and seeing this, Gojo vows to make your life easier with the babies. The nannies would often complain that Gojo leaves them no work because he’s always enthusiastic to look after his little ones.

Out of all the JJK men, I think Toji would have the worst reaction. He would be freaking the fuck out and would not be shy about it. He’d be clutching on to your hand to prevent himself from fainting after the midwife yells that there’s another one coming. It’s not that he exhibits weaponized incompetency, he’s just genuinely scared of messing up twice the amount now. He’d definitely be insecure throughout the first month though, wondering if he’s even blessed enough to deserve two little angels and a lovely wife. But that doesn’t stop him from trying his best. He makes a LOT of mistakes, but he’s always ready to learn, albeit, he’s a sloppy student, but he tries and that’s what matters. The kids also say dad first so he feels like he did something right after all.

Geto is a certified twin dad. It was on his resume when he started dating you. He is not scared, and is in dad mode the second you both find that you’re carrying. So imagine his delight when there’s two babies instead of one in the cradle, both looking like they’re the most precious things on Earth. Very overprotective, especially two times as much since his babies are so beautiful, he would not let anyone in a three feet radius of his children during the first month and it took a lot of convincing to let him loose and decrease the requirement to two feet. They’re the apples of his eye and so are you. He’s surprisingly good at dividing his attention well so nobody feels excluded. He made you feel safe and secure since the beginning, constantly reassuring you that raising twins is light work. You wouldn’t know if you’d still have your sanity if he was not the father of your children.

Sukuna makes you want to smack his face while giving birth. While you’re there, having the most uncomfortable and painful time, Sukuna is laughing to himself while holding both his babies to his chest, all four arms supporting them. He begins to yell about how he has two heirs now and the midwife smacks the back of his head so he’ll quiet down. Too bad he can’t kill her because she helped deliver his tiny demons. He had already started imagining what he’d teach the kid when he found out that you were pregnant, but now that there’s two kids there’s going to be twice the fun. He imagines teaching both his kiddos how to fight, maybe if they have too much energy and are annoying him then he’ll make them spar with each other. He laughs to himself menacingly and you try not to worry about what the man is planning. He also does not clean dirty diapers and does not make you do any of that either. Will probably force you away from the kids if he has to because the poor servants can handle it. He just wants to you to remember the fun parts of parenthood.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

 book 7 chapter 12 part 3 thoughts!

***THIS POST CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR BOOK 7 PART 12 OF THE MAIN STORY!!*** This spans part 269 to part 294, focusing on Riddle.

Please note: this is NOT meant to be a summary or a translation; these are only my initial thoughts on the events that roughly unfold. There may be details overlooked or misunderstood in this post, so PLEASE do not use this as a translation.

They land in a new location! New assets and everything. Trey identifies it as Crimson City in the Queendom of Roses.

This update opens with Silver showing the first signs of fatigue. (He audibly sighs; Ortho shows concern.) Silver insists he is fine but advises they avoid battles.

Cater laughs at Trey’s expense. He has never heard him scream so loud!! They should go to an amusement park in the waking world together. This is ironic xhsnsvekakw because these two technically did go to Playful Land together 😂

Trey begins to worry about where his glasses have gone. Apparently they fell off while they were hopping to Riddle’s dream. Idia says searching for lost items in a dream can be difficult but Trey would have perfect vision if he thinks hard enough about it. (Me, sitting here: this is a dream. Can you not literally just conjure up a new pair by imagining it.) Trey’s vision is so bad (he’s squinting just to see people’s faces) and he’s had glasses since preschool, so it’s hard for him to do that.

Ortho suggests using S.T.Y.X. tech and data to make Trey new glasses. But then Ace interrupts and announces he snagged Trey’s glasses. He saw them while falling and brought them to himself using magic; they aren’t damaged. The others, even Leona, praise him. (… but I don’t, because what is this time wasting nonsense 😭 MOVE ON ALREADY…) For a first year, his magic control is very good. Is it because he’s dexterous from basketball?

In exchange for saving the glasses, Ace asks for a cherry pie at the next unbirthday party.

LMAO apparently Ace got to practice using magic precisely because of being in Heartslabyul. Changing the color of the roses + other unbirthday party prep is done with magic. Ace also quickly learned how to clean up using magic to avoid Riddle’s wrath when the dorm leader patrols.

UHHHHH a police car starts chasing them?? It stops and a policeman exits, pulling… R rIDDLE?????!!??!?!?!

THE HE c K Is tHIS… CAtER MiSTAKES HIM FOR a CUTE giRL OR A MAGICAM INFLUENCER (IN thE FULL bODY MODEL YOU CAN SEE FisHNETS ON HIS leGS)

He calls the police officer an “old man” and speaks in a different cadence than usual. Higher pitched and more childlike. UHHHHH RIDDLE USES RUDE SLANG TOO… It’s not slang I understand; Adeuce identify it as exclusive to the Queendom of Roses

Errrrrrr, so Riddle was arrested for singing in the streets. He says he doesn’t see why people have to follow the rules 😱

Ah, Chenya’s in this dream!! He was in the cop car as well.

vdkabsjsvsusbkxks OH MY GOD Trey’s sounding like a concerned father 👨 Riddle spots Trey and gets all excited; the animation of the live 2D models also implies Riddle is grabbing and clinging to Trey’s arm.

Riddle and Chenya got arrested for starting a “surprise live” in front of the police station. (A “surprise live” is a spontaneous musical performance done in the streets or in public; they’re common in Japan.) They’re in a 2-man band! Riddle is the vocals and Chenya plays bass. It’s hard to keep members because Riddle keeps changing what kind of music they play. He says it’s boring to play the same thing every day.

Riddle doesn’t recognize everyone else so they reintroduce themselves. xhdvsjwbwkw Leona is smart enough to just call himself by first name; the last name might have given away that he’s royalty. (Typically, giving only your first name is a sign of familiarity or casualness in Japanese culture, but I don’t think that was the intention here.)

Riddle asks them to play with him in his band. H needs a guitarist, drummer, and keyboard player! Backup dancers and composers are also welcome, but even if not experienced.

Cater coming in clutch again… He volunteers to play guitar and changes into his Pop/Light Music Club uniform.

THIS iS SO WEIRD… Riddle calls Cater “Cay-kun” and “nii-san” 💀 Cater is freaked out by this too, even though he told Riddle earlier it was okay to call him “Cay-kun”.

Cater lies and says everyone else with him is skilled at playing too. For example, Leona is as good as a professional at drumming!! Leona starts to protest but Cater shuts him up. They need to do this to investigate 🎵 I continue to be baffled at how active Cater is in this dream and the last two. Holy hell, leave some crumbs for the rest of us…

DROPS TO KNEES AnD WEE PS OTL LEONA CHSnges tO HIS DIRM unIFORM AnD DAYS SoME CORNh shIT AbOUT HoW hEmMa SkILLED At DRUMS (lying bitch) THERe’A SpArKLE EFFDcts AnD EVERYTHING

Adeuce and Grim bring up their VDC experience (+ how Rook gave them 100 points in beauty)! Ortho volunteers his synthesizing abilities. He also can do lighting and video production. Sebek has been playing violin since he was little because he admires Malleus (erm, though Harveston Sledathon showed us Sebek sucks at playing it sooooo—). Silver says his farther showed him how to play the ocarina.

Riddle is so excited to have so many different people joining him. No matter how many times he invites Trey, he doesn’t join the band. Cater teases Trey and says his singing for their dorm’s events isn’t bad.

Riddle suddenly invites everyone to his house for tea?! This alarms Trey, but Riddle insists his mom will be happy to see him.

Trey worries the strawberry tart he brought with him from his own dream will get them in trouble. Cater and Grim offer to eat it in case of emergency!

L ch avajGqian SRBRk 😭 He says Riddle’s mom can’f be anywhere near as fierce as Malleus’s mom…

Leona starts to say something but doesn’t finish the thought.

Aaaand here we are at the Rosehearts residence!! Look at all the family photos. (This is not what the home looks like irl; there aren’t this many photographs, probably because Riddle implies that his parents don’t have a happy marriage 😢)

WhAT YhD fuKKKJKKk

Riddle’s mom speaks in a much higher pitched voice and sounds so caring. (We don’t get to see her; it’s just a voice since she’s speaking from the kitchen.) She calls him “Riddle-chan” and is happy he brought so many friends.

Chenya notices the strawberry tart Trey brought in. Grim tries to eat it but Riddle explodes on him, saying that it is HIS. Riddle’s mom is okay with this 💀 and Riddle confesses he has tarts twice a week, even when it is not his birthday.

Riddle goes to have his mom slice the tart up. As soon as he leaves, Trey releases a HUGE breath. He was so nervous about Mrs. Rosehearts losing her temper. Ortho senses his vitals shooting through the roof and recommends he sits down.

They start looking at the photos on the wall. Oh, Riddle’s dad is there too. Ace comments that the focus of the pictures if Riddle while the parents’ faces are blurry. (Is it because Riddle cannot imagine what his parents’ happy faces look like 😭) One of the pics is 6th grade sports day (an egg balancing on a spoon race), another is them swimming, Halloween, etc. Riddle was able to have a happy childhood with Chenya and Trey; their families hang out too.

Lore about family photos time?? Cater’s sisters and mom of course love to take them. Ace’s mom shows baby photos in the house. Sebek’s dad wants to take pictures more than his mom does. Deuce’s mom uses her phone. He has the framed photos in the closet in his rebellious phrase but wants to take them out when he wakes up. Lilia has an instant camera and uses it to take pictures once a year on Silver’s birthday. The Shroud parents have family photos at their work desks. Ortho regularly sends them photos and videos of school events.

Leona’s special cuz he’s a ✨ prince ✨ A newspaper has a photographer assigned to the royal family. He’d take pics without permission and the public relations officer had to confiscate them. Leona naturally hates family reunions that are arranged just to enhance their image. They’re not fun and people just pretend to be friendly.

dbjsbsjwjens Leona doesn’t really have photos of himself when he was young but his mom and Kifaji would take casual pics. He hates when he gets pestered for photos… like his Ceremonial Robes vignettes! Apparently they want the pictures to decorate the private dining room, Mr. Kingscholar’s hospital room, etc.

Ummmmmmmmmmm… Trey ain’t lookin’ so hot…

He says he has no memories of what is in these photographs. He + Chenya only played with Riddle for a month or two before the tart incident, and Riddle went to a private school whereas he + Chenya were public.

Riddle drops 5 sugar cubes into black tea, plus plenty of milk and honey. Leona makes a snide remark about how it’s rude for the host to not take the guest’s preferences into consideration to serve them OTL (you’re so right, king—)

Riddle offers everyone a chiffon cake and butter cookies his mom made. But… hm? That’s weird. They taste strangely hard and aren’t very sweet. Trey automatically identifies the ingredients; they must be the healthy ingredients Mrs. Rosehearts actually uses irl, because Riddle’s imagination is pulling from memories of his mom’s cooking.

Chenya can use magic but… Riddle can’t?! His dad is a novelist who writes stories with his son as the protagonist and his mom is a housewife full time. Neither can use magic.

Riddle becomes upset that they’re whispering to each other. They should speak up at his tea party!!

HUHHHHHHHH Riddle says be didn’t go to school?????? And he hates studying?! Deuce shouts that he uses to hate school and studying, but at NRC his dorm leader and the teachers taught him well. dhsvsjjww Riddle hates books without illustrations, but Sebek counters that there are books that will suit his taste.

Riddle doesn’t want to read??? His dad will tell him stories orally while Riddle plays with toys. And he works from home, so Riddle can ask him whatever he wants whenever he wants.

Cater brings up play croquet at their dorm.

Uuuh Riddle becomes fed up with the topic and demands it be changed. No problemo, cuz Ace was gonna talk off the cuff anyway. People start to consider leaving the band due to Riddle’s inability to read the room and his lack of ambition.

Riddle gets mad and starts raging. In seeps the darkness. We try to leave but Riddle prevents them. The entire room they’re in becomes like… locked? So they cannot leave.

A simple color palette swap makes this look like a scene straight out of a horror game.

A bunch of tea rushes in from another room and everyone works together to close it. They dream form change out of their tea-Soaked clothing.

They deduce that the room itself is the NPC and it must have been pretending to speak in Riddle’s parents’ voices since no one ever saw them. The room where Riddle’s dad works produces a flood of manuscripts, whereas the kitchen is a torrent of black tea. Suddenly, a hand emerges from the tea…! IT’S RIDDLE’S MOM TRYING To DrAg ThEM IN

They hear humming and Chenya appears! Leona threatens to turn the house to sand BUT HE GETS COLLARED 💀 Trey tries to overwrite the collar with his own UM but gets collared too. “Anyone that tries to escape the house will be beheaded”, according to the dreamer’s will.

It’s hard for them to locate Riddle; the space keeps twisting and turning and the magic formula governing it keeps rewriting itself.

ERRRRRR the black tea in the room is increasing even if nothing is gushing in from the kitchen anymore… This truly is one big horror movie now OTL

They try to climb onto/into stuff to keep afloat. Then we hear someone crying… Riddle? His tears are what’s filling up the room. He says, “I want to get out…” UM???? Of your living situation????? (Not me laughing around Leona saying in his most insincere voice “We’ll help you, so show yourself”…)

Leona compares Riddle to a rose with thorns, hurting people indiscriminately. (Okay, oddly poetic when you’re on the brink of death but sure, pop off)

Trey begs dream!Chenya to please show them the way to Riddle. The other card soldiers speak up and talk about how strong and admirable of a leader Riddle is. Finally, Chenya agrees to show them a shortcut.

ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

We cut away to Idia’s dream?? He is preparing hacks and such for the final battle against Malleus. But um?? Is struggling to reconnect to Ortho and the others to provide support.

Suddenly, knocking at his door! Idia wonders if it is S.T.Y.X. staff???? UH-OH IT’S MALLEUS AND HE DEMANDS TO BE LET IN (he realizes Idia is awake)

We don’t get to see what happens to Idia; we cut back to the second layer of Riddle’s dream. It’s a ruined rose garden…

Ortho realizes the connection to Idia was dropped…

Riddle is berating some mobs (rule 372: if a red mushroom grows, the roses must be white). He has dream!Adeuce send them off to a punishment room where they have to write down rules 300 to 500.

Dream!Cater overhears some mobs whining. He and dream!Trey remind everyone Riddle is always correct and they should salute and follow him. Riddle has an evil laugh… and then has a smile as he says his mother was right all along.

Seeing this, Trey wonders if this is the future that would have happened if he didn’t get “lucky” and overwrite Riddle’s magic that one time.

Oh???? Silver says his father told him magic originally was a miracle birthed from a strong desire in the heart. He says that it was, then, no mistake that Trey’s Paint the Roses trumped Riddle’s magic. It was Trey’s own strong desire to stop Riddle that allowed him to turn the rose bushes into playing cards.

Chenya reappears and offers to show us more. He sneaks over, pulls on Riddle’s cloak, and makes him fall over?! Which pisses him off, obviously.

Riddle blows away the bushes we’re using to hide and is shocked to see doubles of his students. Leona gets fed up and confronts Riddle about how this is all a dream.

LMAOvvvvvsnbabzgajavaowkw Dream!Trey tells Riddle to not listen to Leona… LEONA IS A CORRUPTING FORCE AND A BAD INFLUENCE 💀 I want to argue, but… he sort of has a point…

Riddle commands we be captured and taken to the punishment room too. The mobs start to praise Riddle for everything he has done for them, including (for some reason) lowering their tension and giving them a reason to live????

Leona tells Riddle’s it’s empty and meaningless to be cheered on by an illusion. But Riddle insists he is happy this way. THIS IS SAD, he’s equating fear, respect, and love… What the fuck does this say about his own feelings towards his mother??

A bunch of Heartslabyul students descend on them. Without help from Idia, we can’t defend!! We tear off into smaller groups and run into the rose maze.

This is fr so sick and twisted 💀 Riddle is starting to wake, but dream!Cater and Trey tell him not to think of painful things. If he wakes up, everyone will hate him and he will be alone again—and Riddle doesn’t want that, right? So Riddle agrees, no one should be able to leave the world of dreams.

Okay so group 1 is Yuu, Grim, Sebek, and Ace. Group 2 is Leona and Deuce. Group 3 is Silver and Cater. Group 4 is Trey and Ortho.

Their phones don’t work so they cannot text or call each other.

Rule 63 is this: those who upset the queen in her court will be chased in the rose maze by card soldiers. If you try to climb or jump over the trees, they will attack you. In Diasomnia, there are thorns under the drawbridge that have a similar protective function. Though now, Malleus has a protective barrier around the dorm.

They hear Deuce calling out to them and Ace is suspicious. He tells Sebek, Yuu, and Grim to be quiet and let him handle this.

Ace goes up to Deuce and “reveals” himself to be darkness. Deuce is relieved and reveals himself to be darkness too. Ace, pretending to be darkness, tries to convince dream!Deuce that the real Deuce and Leona went “this way”. Unfortunately, Sebek concludes Ace was actually darkness and intended to betray us. So Grim breathes fire, melting away the wax (?) Ace was using to disguise himself as darkness and he realizes their mistake.

dbsjbsjw THERE’S a SiLLY TRUMPET SfX TO suMMON THE oTHER CARD sOLDIERS

They beat back dream!Deuce, but now too many soldiers are swarming them. Sebek accepts the onus for not trusting Ace and jumping to conclusions; he uses Living Bolt to clear a way for Yuu, Ace, and Grim to run away while he stays behind.

Now let’s bounce to Leona and Deuce! dgshevkw Deuce thought he was with Ace, Yuu, and Grim… but nah, it’s Leona! Leona tried to run off by himself, like in the opposite direction of the loudmouth Sebek www Instead he’s stuck with Deuce…

LEONA syING hE’S GONNA SMSvk RIDDLE

Omg Vargas Camp canon to main story??? Deuce talks about a sports club camping trip to the mountains led by Vargas.

Ace shows up acting relieved he found Deuce and Leona. REALLY starts glazing Leona up too, talking about how strong he is and how he could easily overpower Riddle if they act as bait. Deuce becomes suspicious because Ace wouldn’t say stuff like that, even if he thought it. He demands to know what Ace’s dream was—but Ace cannot answer, so Deuce knows this must be darkness?

Leona tells Deuce he will turn some bushes to sand; he should sprint through them quickly.

nuuuUquUUYYR hE CALLS bdeuCE A GOOD BOyYYYTG OTL (like, loyal dog/follower of his dorm) AnD HE DIESNmF DiSLIKE THAT OTL

Leona claims to be a kind prince LOL uhhh he does The Plan and Deuce escapes! Leona is left behind to fight off dream!Ace and his heart suit goons.

Silver and Cater run into what I assume is dream!Trey. Cater wants he and Trey (who are familiar with the ever-changing maze) to split up and search for the first years, but dream!Trey wants to stick together.

Cater asks Silver if he ever gets tired of fighting the darkness. How does he do it?? Silver confesses he almost gave into it many times but his friends were always there to pull him out of it.

Oh, Cater’s dad has been transferred for his job less as of late, so now he is able to have more long term relationships. Cater also reveals he used to room with Trey prior to third year (where they have separate rooms).

Lore drop, Heartslabyul is the second oldest dorm.

Cater tells a story about how he pitched the idea of transferring to Scarabia with Trey, which dream!Trey agrees with. Turns out, it was a bait laid out by Cater to test of this Trey was real—and dream!Trey fell for it! He admits that he started to suspect Trey was fake when Trey wanted to stay together rather than split up. Trey, who is an older brother, would always prioritize the safety of the first years!

AHHHHHH they’re being overwhelmed and they’re running short on magic :<

Last group to check in with is Trey and Ortho…! Trey shares more about the plants in the garden. They’re magical and must be grown by hand. Some of the plants move if you command them to, bur some others are stubborn. In spring, they have a concert with the flowers. Ortho says the trees in Pomefiore are raised similarly to the Heartslabyul plants.

OKAY SO. Pomefiore is the oldest dorm, then Heartslabyul, THEN Diasomnia. This all but confirms a fan theory that the age of the dorms corresponds with each dorm's irl film inspiration release date. From oldest to youngest, that would be

Pomefiore- 1937

Heartslabyul- 1951

Diasomnia- 1959

Octavinelle- 1989

Scarabia- 1992

Savanaclaw- 1994

Ignihyde- 1997

Aaaaah here comes the dream!Cater. He claims he escaped alone.

Trey discusses Cater’s magic and how it’s like casting 2-3 spells at once since Cater has to use magic to manipulate each clone. Thus, the power level of Cater and his clones goes down. Meanwhile Riddle’s UM can impact multiple people at once and he can spellcast quickly.

HUUUUH Cater applied to duel Riddle not too long before his third year? Wait no, that’s a lie Trey came up with to entrap dream!Cater! Trey knew it must be a fake because he doesn’t see Cater as the kind of guy to leave others behind and escape to safety on his own.

Trey tells Ortho to escape without him…!

That leaves us with only Adeuce, Ortho, Grim, and Yuu able to escape. They regroup and find their captured allies tied to rose trees. Trey begs Riddle to wake up.

Deuce suggests to use his UM to defeat Riddle, and Ortho volunteers to be Deuce’s shield (~10 seconds) while he aims, since Riddle’s UM does not work on Ortho.

Rare moment of development for Yuu??? They have dialogue options and can express that they feel useless, constantly being protected and not able to help.

Ortho asks us to protect Idia’s tablet. And Ace is entrusted to protect Yuu and Grim!

dbjsnsksks Deuce’s plan doesn’t really work out. Riddle starts spamming spells that throw Ortho off; Deuce can’t get his aim quite right.

Grim tries to scamper out to fight but Ace holds him back. Ace becomes increasingly frustrated that he keeps being protected by others (Sebek, Deuce, Ortho) and can’t do anything to help.

AhHHHHHH Ace has his own little depression flashback moment 🥺 calling himself pathetic, lame, useless… unable to save anyone at all. But then words start coming to his head…!! He disrupts Riddle just as he’s able to collar Deuce!

“I’ll take your best/most precious treasure. Joker Snatch…!”

HE COLLARS RIDDLE :000 Deuce uses his UM and shovk Riddle awake… I can’t believe the class 2E boys both got physically beaten into submission 💀

WOW Cater NYOOMS to Riddle and hugs him?!.?:’snwkgelek

Sebek offers to carry Ortho, but Ortho is super heavy.

UHHHH here comes the darkness… Adeuce rush over to help Riddle, even though he commands them to go to someplace safe. (SEBEK CALLS ADEUCE BY THEIR NAMES AND NOT "HUMANS"!!!) Riddle commands Trey and Cater to remove Adeuce and they do as he says; we of course follow after Riddle as he sinks.

Riddle has his moment squaring off against his Phantom. It's quite interesting; his darkness exclaims that he must hang onto the seat because he has nothing else. Everyone loathes him, so he has to do everything he can to cling to power. Riddle calls himself out for the tyrant that he is and expels that darkness.

Rule 1 of the Queen of Hearts: to stay where you are, you must run with all of your might. From now on, Riddle says he will do just that.

He resurfaces in his home and is approached by his mother, who claims he fell asleep while reading about crocodiles in the Nile River? (Wh-Why is the Nile River canon in Twst when that’s a real world location that should not exist in this one...)

Riddle summons his magic and collars his mother, making her melt away into nothing. He gets a really cool line...! "I refuse to stand in front of a door that won't open anymore. Even if the opening is as narrow as a keyhole, I will pry this door open with my own hand and move forward. I will walk forward, on my own path!"

THIS IS REALLY FASCINATING BECAUSE ALL THE WAY BACK IN THE EPISODE OF HEARTSLABYUL MANGA... THEY USED A DOOR AND KEYHOLE IMAGERY TO DEPICT RIDDLE COMING OUT OF HIS OB

Right as Riddle regains his senses, he crashes through the floor of his dream and... somehow lands where Idia is?! He's busy programming.

There seems to he… maybe a reference to Idia’s Bloom Broom vignettes??? Idia’s best subject is Summoning and he seems to have summoned Riddle to him? And Riddle says that he has read Idia’s research papers before; this was also mentioned in said vignettes (Riddle expresses an interest in his papers).

Idia tells Riddle that the Final Boss, Malleus Draconia, is waiting on the other side of his bedroom door...!

THAT'S IT, THAT'S WHERE WE LEAVE OFF???????? WE'RE DEFINITELY NEARING THE END, BOYS...

Okay, so first major thought I had!! Riddle’s dream confirms many of the thoughts I have ha about Trey and his feelings toward Mrs. Rosehearts and his own role in Riddle’s trauma. I have legitimately NEVER heard Trey sounding this panicked or scared, not even when Riddle was about to OB. Trey hurriedly rushes to put away the strawberry tart out of fear, just waiting for Mrs. Rosehearts to start shouting hysterically at him. Ortho even comments about Trey’s vitals rocketing. This definitely reads to me as Trey being traumatized by that whole incident 💦

BIG BRo CATER CONTINUES… Him making up the lie about Leona being a great drummer was so dumb but it worked!! And then he cares so much about Riddle when he finally wakes… would never run off on his own and abandon his friends… 😭 HNNNNGH CATERRRRrrRRRRR WhEN i CmgEFt MY gaNDS ON YOUUUUUuUUU

And holy cow, there was SO much symbolism in Riddle’s dream 😳 dream!Mrs.Rosehearts’s sweets looking good but is insincere and tasting terrible, as opposed to Trey’s tart which looks terrible from the rough travel but is made with care and tastes good… Riddle wishing for a happy family life so his house is crammed with photos… parents that are always emotionally available for him… not having the pressure of being a mage or having a legacy to live up to… the house being a place that locks them inside (because it might feel like a prison to Riddle)... Not just symbolism for Riddle's desires too, but also tons of Alice in Wonderland references!! ASFIHBAYOSFPADFIA I'D WASTE SPACE IN THIS POST LISTING THEM ALL OFF, BUT JUST KNOW THEY'RE THERE AND THEY WERE AMAZING FOR ME TO EAT UP AS AN ALICE IN WONDERLAND STAN

It’s interesting how Chenya here serves as sort of a helpful NPC to us, similar to Kifaji. His actions are a lot more dubious here; he’s not strictly good and spends most of the dream siding with Riddle. Chenya only swaps sides when we convince him. I wonder if he, too, represents some self-aware part of Riddle??? Since Riddle was later shown trying to maintain the dream world even when he learned it was fake.

They tried to recapture the glory of book 6 by having the characters split up. I'm not sure if it worked as well (since each was kind of short and repeated a lot of the same lore about the Heartslabyul rose bushes), but it served its purpose. The best part was definitely how the Heartlabyul students used what they knew of each other to figure out the fakes. It's a very effective but subtle way to show how they've become more familiar with one another. I feel like this update overall was very lore-heavy. We learned new stuff about the dorms' ages, their protective measures, their plants, etc.

It was interesting to have a rare moment of character development for Yuu? They barely get anything in way of characterization, so that surprised me. I wasn't expecting ACE to get his whole Depression Arc in the middle of Riddle's dream either--but I guess whining hard enough works, because he finally FINALLY got his UM!! Still not sure how it works yet. It seems to let him steal/borrow or copy other's UM??? But Sebek describes it as "it seemed like you and Riddle swapped magic". We have to wait for more details to drop in a later update. Can't say I like the name for his UM though; it makes me think of him stealing a clown's wig. ASDULBIADBSPSAB So proud of Ace; with this, we now have the UMs and chants for every one of the NRC students!

Overall, Riddle really surprised me. His dream ended up being roughly THREE TIMES LONGER than the average dream 💀 Not sure if I like that pacing, but at least this was fun to dissect. I like that they seem to have put extra effort into this portion, especially since the game is called Twisted Wonderland. It feels like a homage to the original story, especially since that novel ended with Alice waking up. I loved that Riddle has an inner child that he represses, but that even his desires are "held back" by knowledge he doesn't have... like his parents' happy faces or what his mom's homemade baked goods might taste like. It made me feel for him. ASDIUBASDASBDBPASIqryrqp I kind of feel like a proud parent reading his cool line about finding his own path at the end. It's very different than himself earlier in the dream, ignoring difficult topics and actively denying reality, where he fears he will be left sad and alone OTL Ndhdiwjekw Not sure if I care for his actual childish behavior though… Slightly grating to me.

THE HORROR STYLE PRESENTATION WITH MALLEUS REALLY UNNERVED ME. I would shit bricks if I was Idia too, dang... I'm on the edge of my seat for the next installment. S-Surely book 7 will have to wrap up soon, right? RIGHT?????

[gyubakeries]

𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 | x.mh

a/n: A BREAK FROM ANGST!!! this is very much needed, and the idea had been brewing for a while hehe. skye ( @etherealyoungk ) thank u for being my enabler. ally ( @lovetaroandtaemin ) , kae ( @ylangelegy ) and a ( @chugging-antiseptic-dye ) thank you for beta-reading <333 also tagging tara ( @diamonddaze01 ) and serena ( @gotta-winwin ) because we all are deprived of happiness..... also i apologize for the lack of artist minghao, i just needed to feed my angsty brain SOME FLUFF

word count: 2k contents: minghao x f!reader , art teacher!minghao , best friend!minghao , single mom!mc , friends to lovers , she has a son named junseo , the biological dad dipped lol , junseo is 6 , swearing , light angst , fluff , crack

“sweetie, two times two is four, not six,” you sigh, repeating the words all over again when your son makes the same mistake for the seventh time. it’s been an hour since you sat down with his math homework, and you’ve only managed to finish five questions. out of twenty.

“oh fuck,” your son mutters, erasing out the crude 6 he had written and replacing it with a 4.

you blink.

“junseo, what did you just say?”

“fuck,” junseo repeats with a smile on his face, and somehow, it feels even more shocking than the first time he said it.

“okay, listen carefully to mom,” you sigh. “that’s a bad word. you’re not supposed to use it. ever.”

“why can’t i say it?” junseo questions, like every other kid his age.

“because it’s a bad word,” you state firmly. “where did you hear this?” you ask him. ever since junseo was born, you’ve taken a lot of care to make sure he doesn’t learn and use any explicit language. whenever your parents or friends are babysitting him, you make sure to tell them to avoid any movies or songs with heavy cursing in them for this exact reason.

“hao taught me!” junseo reveals. “in yesterday’s art class, hao spilled his dirty paint water all over himself, and then he said… the bad word!” 

your eye twitches.

“xu minghao, i will kill you,” you whisper under your breath.

“mom! you can’t kill hao! he’s my best friend,” junseo gasps, completely believing your words.

“start looking for a new one then, sweetie,” you tell him, and it takes another hour for you to calm a crying junseo down by promising him that you won’t actually kill minghao.

the math homework remains unfinished.

—

minghao, your best friend, has been in your life since forever. he was there when you were the shy, introverted girl in high school with no friends. he was there when you had a ‘hoe phase’ in college. he was there when you got your first job. he was also around to see junseo’s biological father vanish from your life the day he learned about your pregnancy.

before junseo, you’d jokingly complain that minghao had been in your life for too long. but now, seeing how your son has labelled minghao as his own best friend as well, you can’t help but be grateful for his presence.

having been friends for almost all your lives has also granted the both of you the ability to read each other’s expressions flawlessly, which is why when minghao welcomes you and junseo into his apartment for lunch on a saturday, he knows that your death glare means he’s in trouble.

“hao!” junseo exclaims, hugging minghao tightly as soon as he enters the apartment. “i got my new drawing to show you! i colored it the way you taught me.”

“i’m sure it’s lovely, jun,” minghao smiles, giving the boy a high-five. “how about you watch some peppa pig now, hm? your mom and i will go to the kitchen to finish making lunch, okay? then we can look at your drawing.”

“okay, hao!” junseo agrees easily, and you couldn’t be more thankful for how obedient your boy is. 

once junseo was distracted by the television, you drag minghao into his kitchen and face him with a stern look.

“do you know what junseo said to me last week?” you glare at him, and minghao gulps nervously.

“uh, no?”

“he got his math homework wrong, and unlike any other kid his age, he says, fuck,” you recount the events of the previous week. “when i asked him where he heard it, he told me that you said it in front of him during art class.”

“oh, so that’s what this is about,” minghao sighs with relief. “god, y/n, with the way you’re looking at me, it feels like i robbed your house or something.”

“this is worse, minghao!” you counter. “you know how particular i am when it comes to junseo and cursing.”

“i do know, and i’m sorry,” minghao winces. “but it was an accident! i would never do it intentionally. why are you getting so worked up over it?”

your anger dissipates immediately as you freeze in place. minghao deduces your body language as a sign of you hiding something from him.

“there’s something else bothering you, isn’t there?” minghao asks, his voice much gentler now. “did someone do something at work?”

you sigh, knowing that keeping anything from minghao was a futile exercise. “yeah, this jerk kept trying to hit on me, even after i told him i was uncomfortable. he won’t leave me alone, and it’s pissing me off.”

“why don’t you tell your boss about it?” minghao frowns.

“there’s been budget cuts at the company, and they’re looking for any reason to fire people,” you explain. “with junseo’s school fees getting more expensive, i can’t afford to lose my job now. the stress of it all has had me in a bad mood. i’m not even that mad about the cursing, i’m sorry i took it out on you.” you admit to minghao, feeling a lot more lighter after sharing your burden with him.

“we’ve had too many arguments to apologize over something stupid like this,” minghao chuckles, but then his expression turns serious. “but also, if you’re struggling with his fees, why don’t you let me help? i keep telling you that i’m more than capable of paying junseo’s fees—”

“i don’t need your help, hao!” you cut him off.

“why not?”

“because it feels like you’re doing it out of some obligation,” you tell him. “look, i’m really thankful that you were there to support me when junseo’s dad left and i had no one, but i can manage junseo on my own just fine. i don’t want you to help me out of pity and—”

“y/n, do you think that i’ve stuck around all this time just because i pity you?” minghao interrupts you, placing his hands on your shoulders.

your heart stutters when your eyes meet his, and you’re reminded of yet another problem in your life.

the crush on minghao you had back in college which has somehow developed into something more over the years.

you’re afraid to label it, because it means that it makes everything real. labelling the flutter in your chest and the tingling in your palms whenever minghao smiles at you or offers to take care of junseo on nights where you have to work over time would mean acknowledging that you did have feelings for minghao, which was unfortunately another luxury you couldn’t afford.

not when minghao definitely saw you only as a friend.

“i— i just don’t want you to feel compelled to help me just because i’m your friend,” you stutter, looking away from minghao.

“i only help because i care for both you and junseo,” minghao shakes his head, trying to convince you with the sincerity in his tone. “you two are the most precious people in my life, and i’d do anything to make sure you were happy. so just let me help, okay? there’s nothing wrong in asking for help when you need it.”

your eyes well up with tears embarrassingly quickly, and you duck your head so that minghao doesn’t have to see you like that. minghao is quicker than you, however, and he gently holds your chin to lift your face up.

“are you shy about crying in front of me now?” he teases, but his eyes reflect a look of concern. “we’ve seen each other through every phase of our lives, y/n. you don’t have to hide from me.”

his words are enough to make your tears spill over. you’re quick to wrap minghao in a hug, placing your head on his chest while his arms hold you by the waist. he doesn’t say anything; he just lets you cry into his shoulder as he gently sways you and pats your back.

“i’m sorry i’m such a wreck,” you sniffle, pulling away from the hug. before you can get too close, however, minghao is pulling you in closer, and the lack of an appropriate, friendly distance between your lips has your breath hitching.

“don’t you get it, y/n?” his voice carries a hint of annoyance. “i don’t want you to apologize for being a wreck. i don’t want you to hesitate to ask me for help. i don’t want you to think that i’m obliging you by being in your life. i’m here because i want you. i want to be here for junseo, but i also want to be here to take care of you. have i not made it obvious?”

his confession has your jaw dropping open. your brain has turned to mush, and you can’t find it in you to string together a coherent response.

just then, junseo is padding into the kitchen, and it has you and minghao scrambling away from each other immediately.

“mom, i’m hungry,” junseo complains. “can we have lunch now?”

—

lunch is an awkward affair— for you and minghao at least. junseo seems blissfully unaware of the uncomfortable tension between you and minghao as he slurps away on his noodles and shares stories from school. you feel a little bad for zoning out in the middle of his stories, but you can’t help but replay minghao’s words over and over in your head.

however, the moment you tune into the conversation again, you hear something else that makes your head spin.

“— and she was asking me if i had a dad, and i said yes. but the girl said i was lying because my dad never accompanies my mom for any of the events at school,” junseo blabbers. “so, i asked mrs. lee who a dad really is, and she said that my dad is my best friend and a person i trust the most. he’s also a person who loves my mom, but she has to love him back too, and i knew i wasn’t lying! hao, you’re my dad, right?”

you choke on your noodles and minghao’s chopsticks clatter against his plate.

“oh, fuck.”

“minghao!”

—

“i can’t believe it took junseo’s constant yapping for you to reveal your feelings for me,” minghao teases, and you shove his shoulder playfully.

“and i can’t believe you swore in front of junseo. again,” you roll your eyes at him, and minghao presses a kiss to your temple as he mutters an apology.

the kiss has the butterflies in your stomach flitting around restlessly; it is a new development after all. soon after junseo’s declaration of minghao being his dad, you dragged minghao back into the kitchen to have a proper conversation, this one involving the truth about your feelings for him, and him asking you to be his girlfriend.

you had expected some sort of dramatic shift. dating your best friend of fifteen years sounds like it requires some sort of drastic change, but it feels surprisingly easy. in fact, it doesn’t feel like much of a change at all, not when having minghao by your side feels as natural as breathing.

“i’ll be more mindful of my words,” minghao promises, and you lean into his embrace, curling up closer to him on the couch, when junseo plops down right between the two of you, tv remote clutched in his hands.

“we’re watching how to train your dragon today!” he announces happily, and you watch with a fond smile as minghao and junseo engage in an animated conversation related to the movie.

there’s a flutter in your chest. there’s a tingling sensation in your palms. they’re all tell-tale signs of an emotion you’ve been hesitating to label all this while.

love, your heart tells you later on, when junseo and minghao have fallen asleep on the couch, junseo’s hands gently gripping onto minghao’s shirt and minghao’s arms protectively wrapped around him.

you find yourself agreeing with your heart. this feeling, it can’t be anything else but love.

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[guzmawife]

🍓: he had no job when i met him but now he works at a high school as an errand boy / security (his children attend said school). hes the guy they call in when a real teacher needs to use the bathroom so he can watch the class. or to retrieve some papers from the printer. go get me that thing boy.

🍒: probably just chilling at home with snacks and movies and fast food. or chillen at the beach. 🏝️

🍎: tapu cocoa.. we all know dis.. hot sweet drinks…

🍉: hes not religious other than believing that a higher power exists. hi arceus..

🍑: totally more comfortable giving gifts. hes used to taking care of others so it’s pretty natural for him to be giving. he has no issue receiving but its not rlly a priority since he didnt come from much so hes used to not rlly asking for much.

🍊: i make him peel it. he knows my paws and claws have to stay clean… he’s comfortable with getting dirty and i am not!

🥭: no i domt think so. his dad was a prick and said shit like. Youre not a woman so you dont need those. fuckkkk that guy.

🍍: probably him being mentally manipulated and abused! 😿 killing all the people that taught him he wasn’t anything and made him feel like he had to act out in order to prove himself to others. hhhggffg. he deserves to be loved.

🍌: he likes to be in the dark. das it. no specific reason why.

🍋: he would probably change his hothead nature bc he doesn’t like how quickly he gets upset and makes bad decisions. and his hairline.

🍋‍🟩: he tells people if you squish bugs more will keep showing up. as a joke. heehe. sorry im gonna squish them still im a pussy.. thats probably why they keep showing up though. i have an actual curse. maybe he’s right man…

🍈: he thinks fate is bogus and if you want something to happen you have to make it happen.

🍏: hes bisexual and questioning demisexuality, he learned of his bisexuality through being in denial of liking the same sex and being like. This is ruining my tough guy personality. This can’t be. but then it kept happening and he was like man fuck this whatever. what the hell sure. he became normal. he’s still figuring out the demisexuality, to put it simply he just doesnt want to engage in sexual acts with anyone unless he has a genuine connection to them. it also just feels better for him. sorry for airing out your business Anywayyyyyy. Anyway.

🍐: he’s a nail biter its kinda gross sorry man. his nails are short always so i make him do short nail tasks since my nails are usually pretty long. i think he bounces his legs sometimes too. he knows i hate that shit thou so he tries not to. usually i just leave so he can shake all he wants. then hes like what wait no….

🥝: he would totally let me do his makeup. we’re both pretty lazy when it comes to makeup so we don’t so anything complex. i just do mascara and corner highlights and SOMETIMES lipstick and that’s it. #autistic i cant stand having too much shit ok my face. this isn’t even about me brah. he does simple makeup too since he’s just not super experienced. he just tries things sometimes but he’s not a professional. he just wants to look cool.

🫒: he’s a big hugger he squeezes too tight but it feels good though…. (´ ω `♡) he likes to be hugged too! yey!

🫐: definitely more of an artist he actually keeps a sketchbook. right brained yeah.

🍇: if we never met i think he might still be getting himself into some trouble tbh. he’s pretty stubborn.

🥥: he draws he plays games. he works out. he cooks. i think he would want to get into gardening but his location doesn’t allow for it since it’s always fucking raining.

��: i think he would get me testosterone or something that i can’t possibly get safely right now. or like. my own living space. or some rare pokemon card / plush that costs more than an organ online. sigh. or probably 1 billion dollars. muhehw.

🌶️: he drinks ginger ale. ginger ale the ultra cure.

🫚: hes not picky. he cant eat beans bc hes allergic to them. but i dont think hes picky since he has to make sure his kids eat first. so he eats whatevers left from them. leftover amalgamation.

🥕: he didnt like them but he ate them anyway bc his parents were mean :(

🧅: he cries when hes angry like super fuming. and when hes thinking about his past. hes just mad at himself for what happened and how he handled things. Basically. getting manipulated and taken advantage of makes him upset and he cries. he doesnt cry at movies unless he relates to them.

🌽: does bugs counts as animal. He likes dogs. and isopods. and other sea creatures.

🥦: pet peeves are getting called ‘boy’ or ‘kid’. i used to call him boy all the time just by habit and he would Not like that. “I’m not a boy. I’m a man. stop callin me dat…” okaaayyy whatevar. he doesnt have an issue with me calling him dude tho. despite being his lover. which is a little funny. um what else. people not knocking before entering. leaving empty cartons and stuff in the fridge or cabinet. ppl telling him he looks tired. or people calling him old. not that he has an issue with old people (😽) but its like. How did you even reach that conclusion.

🥒: hes afraid of ultra beasts a little.. specifically uh whats its name. nihilego. that bird that i hate. middle finger emoji. hes like. a little more hesitant with UBs than regular mons. he’s also got a fear of getting lost.

🥬: beige flags auumm i hate his ugly fucking sunglasses. and when he says. ya boy (pinches the space between my brows). peeing with the door open. he does that thing where u can feel him looking at you waiting to turn around during the movie so he can kiss you. theres probably more. im very good at complaining.

🫛: he loves to think of new pet names for me to see how i will react. he’d be like. “goodnight honeypie” and id be like “oh…. yeah… 😽” he also likes them too but most of the time i just call him musham or guzma bc i like saying his name. then he’s like. Why dont you call me anything else…. (sad puppy eyes). he likes when i call him mumu or honey. i calll him princess sometimes but its rare. princess is like his top pet name for me. meeooww. sometimes i call him Boss. thats For when. Im teasing Him. That one Makes his Ears turn Red. For special Occasions. meow.

🫑: he’s had a number of near death experiences so he’s pretty afraid of death. he has no lofty life goals. he just wants his family safe. wants to travel too and have good genuine relationships.

🥑: not super niche but cosmetics and nail art. he also likes cooking and insects and drawing. just things he grew to like from being around his family. or trying to distract himself from his own issues.

🍠: he likes to go to the beach and sit listening to the waves (same). he also likes to paint his or others nails when he’s bored. “gimme yer hands i wanna try sumn”. yknow.

🍆: favorite scent is meeeeeee… i kid i kid. probably like. Ugh. baked goods. Sugar smell. Rain smell 👎🏾 i hate rain smell but he likes it. i don’t think he has any specific least favorite smells other than the usual like peepee and caca yknow.

🧄: allergic to beans

🥔: he makes japanese curry a lot. easy to make in large portions for his 75million children. i like rice so he usually makes rice dishes for me. i don’t cook very often but when i do its cultural foods since he doesn’t know those recipes. he likes those. yom. he wants to learn baking but just hasn’t had the chance or motivation.

🍄‍🟫: i think he would wanna be a mewtwo or something. super strong and cool nonchalant. if we’re talking irl mytho creatures, cerberus. that guy cool as shit. #swagger.

this took me three whole days to answer. enjoyable experience rlly made me think. sorry for any typos i used swipe typing for parts of this 😿.

@sylvie-wants-your-dogs hi : )

the ULTIMATE f/o infodumping ask game!

(this is gonna be a long one...)

🍓 - disregarding the career your f/o currently has, what other career would they consider going into, if given the chance?

🍒 - if your f/o and you spend a day doing anything, anything at all, what would they do and why?

🍎 - what's your f/o's favorite drink? any drink, alcoholic or non alcoholic!

🍉 - is your f/o religious? what's their opinion on religion or spirituality?

🍑 - is your f/o more comfortable giving or receiving gifts? why? do they have any preferences on gifts they like receiving?

🍊 - if you asked your f/o to peel an orange for you, what would they do?

🥭 - did your f/o have stuffed animals growing up? do they still have stuffed animals? do they have a favorite?

🍍 - if you could change any one thing about your f/os backstory/character, what would you change? why?

🍌 - does your f/o have a vendetta against The Big Light™? what kind of lighting do they prefer?

🍋 - if your f/o could change one thing about themselves, what would they change and why?

🍋‍🟩 - is your f/o superstitious? is there any habits they follow or quirks they have to follow said superstitions? like not opening umbrellas indoors to avoid back luck?

🍈 - does your f/o believe in fate? do they thing everything is preplanned out by the universe or a higher power, or do they think that the idea of fate is bogus? why?

🍏 - if you have any queer headcanons for your f/o, how did they realize they were queer?

🍐 - does your f/o have any nervous ticks or idle quirks they do? like mindlessly tapping on a desk or fiddling with their hair when they're stressed?

🥝 - would your f/o ever let you do their make-up? what does their make-up process look like? is it simple? complex?

🫒 - what kind of hugger is your f/o? do they give good hugs? do they like hugs? do they like receiving hugs?

🫐 - is your f/o more of a writer or an artist? would you say your f/o is more left or right brained?

🍇 - if you and your f/o never met, what do you think your f/o would be doing right now?

🥥 - what hobbies does your f/o have? is there any hobby they would like to get into that they haven't tried out yet? what is it?

🍅 - if your f/o could buy you any gift in the world, whether it exists or not, what would they buy you? or, if they could make you something, what would it be?

🌶️ - does your f/o have any remedies they follow when they get sick? like taking a shot of whiskey to get rid of a fever?

🫚 - is your f/o a picky eater? is there any foods they will not under any circumstances, gun to their head, eat?

🥕 - when your f/o was little, did they dislike vegetables? do they still dislike them?

🧅 - what makes your f/o cry? do they get emotional at sad movies or books? do they only get emotional under very rare circumstances?

🌽 - does your f/o have a favorite animal? what is it? are they scared of any animals?

🥦 - does your f/o have any pet peeves? things that just really really get on their nerves? what are they and why?

🥒 - what's your f/o afraid of? do they have any phobias? anything minor they're scared of?

🥬 - what are some beige flags your f/o has? so, not bad, but not nessecarily good either. just. "oh. you do This."

🫛 - how does your f/o feel about pet names or nicknames? do they like them? hate them? what are their favorites and least favorites to be called and to use?

🫑 - how does your f/o feel about death? are they afraid of it? is there anything specific they'd like to do before they die?

🥑 - is there any niche topics your f/o is interested in? what are they and why do they like them?

🍠 - what are a few of your f/os favorite pastimes or things that they do when they're bored?

🍆 - does your f/o have a favorite scent? why is it their favorite? do they have a least favorite scent?

�� - does your f/o have any allergies? food or otherwise?

🥔 - does your f/o have any food dishes they make often? is there any foods you make for your f/o that they enjoy?

🍄‍🟫 - if your f/o could be any mythological species, what would they be? if your f/o is already a mythological species, would they ever want to be human?

I recommend practicing reblog karma ! people love infodumping about their f/os :) I also recommend sending more than one emoji at a time,,, there are Many here...!!!

[solxamber]

For the event, could I request Leona, romantic, with "Waiting on the Sun" by Citizen Soldier? First time listening to this after discovering Twisted had me wailing in the car haha

i was crying at the club when i heard it... it suits leona so well oh my god

Waiting on the Sun || Leona Kingscholar

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞'𝐬 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭

𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠: Waiting on the Sun by Citizen Soldier

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 1010

𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐬: Mild Hurt/Comfort, Realization of feelings

Leona has never been one for dreams.

Dreams are a fool’s game, a glimmer of hope strung out in front of desperate people, forcing them to chase something they’ll never catch. He learned early on that hope was nothing but a pretty lie wrapped in a silver ribbon, and in the end, the ribbon always frayed.

The world never made space for second sons, and the sun never rose for men like him.

He should have stopped waiting for it years ago.

But somehow, you're still here—sitting beside him in the shade of a tree, legs stretched out, your presence quiet yet steady. You don’t say anything, and he doesn’t need you to. That’s what he likes about you. You don’t fill the silence with empty words or meaningless comfort. You don’t try to fix him, like so many others before you.

You just exist beside him and that’s enough.

Leona doesn’t remember when you became his safe place.

At some point, your presence became a constant, as natural as the way he stretches out on the grass for an afternoon nap or the way the sun burns through the endless sky. You were just there—like an inevitable force of nature.

And damn if he doesn’t resent how much he needs it.

Because he does need it. He needs you in ways he’ll never admit aloud, in ways that make his stomach twist and his throat tighten. You make it so easy to believe, even when he’s spent a lifetime telling himself not to.

Somewhere along the way, you learned him too well. You can tell when his bitterness sharpens, when his patience wears thin, when he’s barely holding onto the threads of his temper. You don’t try to drag him into the light, but you don’t let him drown in the dark, either.

Instead, you just sit with him.

Like now.

Leona exhales, tipping his head back against the rough bark of the tree. The weight of the past few days lingers in his bones, making him feel heavier than usual. The exhaustion never fully leaves—it clings to him like a second skin.

“I know what you’re thinking.” Your voice is soft, cutting through the stillness.

Leona cracks an eye open. “Doubt it.”

You huff, barely phased by his dry remark. “You think nothing’s ever going to change. That you’re stuck in a cycle you can’t break. That waiting for things to get better is pointless.”

He stiffens, the words settling deep in his chest like stones. “You got all that just from lookin’ at me?”

“I got all that from knowing you.”

That shouldn’t make his heart stutter the way it does.

He doesn’t say anything, just turns his gaze back to the horizon. It stretches on endlessly, a vast expanse of golden plains and open sky. The view should be freeing. Instead, it feels like a cage with invisible walls.

A future that will never belong to him.

A throne that will never be his.

A world that will never see him as anything more than the spare.

The sun has never risen for men like him.

“I know what you’re going to say next,” he mutters. “That I should ‘keep trying.’ That things’ll ‘work out’ eventually. That if I just—”

“I’m not going to say that.”

He stops.

You tilt your head, a gentle smile pulling at your lips. “I’m not here to tell you to change. I’m not here to tell you things will magically get better. I just…” Your fingers brush over the back of his hand, tentative and warm. “I just want you to know that you don’t have to shoulder it alone.”

His breath catches.

No one has ever said that to him before.

No one has ever meant it before.

Leona has spent his whole life carrying the weight of his own bitterness, his own resentment, his own failures. No one ever told him he could set it down. No one ever offered to help him hold it.

No one but you.

His fingers twitch under yours.

Leona has never been one for dreams.

But when he looks at you, he wonders if maybe, he’s been waiting on the wrong thing all this time.

He doesn’t realize he’s in love with you until much later.

Maybe it’s the way you laugh, soft and easy, like the world has never once hurt you. Maybe it’s the way you look at him—like he’s not a disappointment, not a failure, not a second son who never mattered. Maybe it’s the way you never push him to be anything other than who he is.

Maybe it’s everything.

But when he finally does realize, it hits him like a landslide.

And suddenly, he’s terrified.

Because what if he loses this?

What if he loses you?

Leona doesn’t pray, but he does now.

He prays that you never leave. That you never wake up one day and decide that he’s too much trouble, that he’s too broken, that he’ll never be what you deserve.

He prays that this feeling—the quiet warmth that seeps into his bones whenever you’re around—never fades.

And yet, he still can’t bring himself to say it.

Not yet.

The words finally escape him on a night like this—under a sky filled with stars, your hand resting lightly in his, your head against his shoulder.

“Stay.” His voice is quiet, barely above a whisper.

You shift slightly, peering up at him with wide eyes. “I’m not going anywhere.”

He exhales sharply, his grip tightening around yours. “No, I mean—” His throat works, the words catching like sandpaper. “Stay with me.”

Understanding dawns in your eyes, and for a moment, he thinks you might say no. That you might turn away.

But then you smile—soft, warm, home.

“Okay.”

Leona doesn’t believe in miracles.

But when you press your lips to his, slow and tender and real, he thinks that maybe the sun has been shining on him all along.

He just hadn’t noticed.

Masterlist ; Valentine's Event

[steddieas-shegoes]

never not thinking of you

for @steddielovemonth inspired by the quote "just in case you ever foolishly forget, i'm never not thinking of you" - virginia woolf

rated e, 18+, minors dni | 1009 words | no cw | tags: pre-relationship, friends to lovers, getting together, masturbation, handjobs

💭💭💭💭💭💭💭💭💭💭💭💭💭💭

Eddie’s hand moves faster, his grip tightening as he closes his eyes.

“Fuck, yes,” Eddie bites his lip, remembering almost too late that he has to be as quiet as possible. Steve’s in the other bed, and this motel room is not big enough to mask his heavy panting.

It’s Steve’s fault anyway, walking out of their shared bathroom earlier with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, water still dripping from his hair as he apologized and asked if Eddie had toothpaste since he forgot to pack some. Eddie barely managed to pull his own from his backpack and hold it out to Steve.

He pretended to be asleep the next time Steve came out of the bathroom.

That was a while ago, and Eddie’s been hard ever since. He kept trying to will it away, and even managed to almost fall asleep a while ago. But then Steve moaned in his sleep, quiet, probably just his body settling properly into sleep. It was enough for Eddie.

He knew he wasn’t gonna fall asleep until he got rid of the problem, but going into the bathroom would definitely wake Steve up, so he made the equally stupid decision to take care of it under the sheets of his bed.

He squeezes the base of his cock, biting the back of his other hand to stop a moan from escaping his throat.

Steve coughs. Eddie freezes.

People cough in their sleep all the time. Steve isn’t awake. He didn’t hear anything.

Eddie moves his hand up, rubs his thumb against the tip. He’s so wet, it’s gonna cause a mess.

“Eddie?” Steve’s voice is barely more than a whisper, like he doesn’t know for sure if Eddie’s awake and wouldn’t want to be the one to wake him if he isn’t.

He considers pretending he’s asleep, but honestly, he’s resolved himself to his fate. He’s never gonna come tonight, and he might as well be awake.

“Yeah?” He still hasn’t let go of his cock.

“Everything okay?”

“Yep.”

“You sound a little…worked up. Did you have a nightmare?”

Damn Steve. Genuinely, damn him to hell.

“Uh…nope. Just can’t sleep.”

The bed sinks next to Eddie and he wonders if maybe he did fall asleep and this is a dream. He’s terrified to turn his head as he feels Steve’s arm brush against his.

“Thinking too hard?” Steve asks casually, like he isn’t inches away from realizing Eddie’s hand is on his very hard, leaking dick.

“I guess,” Eddie hopes the answer is enough. He cannot possibly explain this to Steve and he doesn’t even want to try.

“What about?”

Steve’s looking at him; He feels the heat of his gaze on the side of his face. His hand is hot on his dick, almost burning him. All he can think about is Steve knowing he’s touching himself.

“Just the day. Tomorrow. Everything,” Eddie provides.

“Did something specific happen with the day to lead to you touching yourself in bed?”

Eddie groans. He moves his hand away now that he’s been caught, but Steve’s hand shoots out to stop him.

Steve’s hand is so close to his dick.

“What were you thinking about?” Steve asks again.

Eddie could lie, probably should lie.

“You.”

Steve’s next inhale is long, his exhale even longer.

“Me?”

“I’m never not thinking about you, Steve.”

Steve sits up, and the room isn’t quite dark enough to hide the look on his face. It’s like he’s learned the meaning of life, like someone told him a government secret. Which is silly, because he knows many government secrets, and most of the time his face did not look so awed.

“You do this a lot?” Steve sounds breathless. His hand shakily covers Eddie’s, a finger brushing against the side of Eddie’s dick.

Eddie nods, barely breathing. His chest constricts as Steve squeezes his hand.

“Steve, if you aren’t gonna be cool with my cum all over your hand, you probably should move it,” Eddie’s suddenly extremely close, something he’d been chasing for a while right at his– and Steve’s– fingertips.

“I wouldn’t have my hand there if it would bother me,” Steve laughs. “How long have you been touching yourself?”

“I think the first time was when I was 12? I didn’t know what I was doing though…”

“Eddie,” Steve laughs again, leans down to kiss his forehead. “I meant tonight.”

“Oh,” Eddie whines as Steve’s hand pushes his to start stroking his own cock. “Fuck. Okay. Uh, I guess really only a few minutes in bed, but I’ve been hard for…a lot longer.”

“Did you hear me in the shower?” Steve asks.

“Hear you?”

“Yeah, I thought I was quiet, but maybe the fan wasn’t loud enough.”

The words are hard to follow because Steve’s hand is hot against Eddie’s, giving him a handjob while also not. Eddie’s hand is still the one moving, but Steve’s is the one making it move.

This is new and Eddie’s pretty sure it’s the hottest thing that’s ever happened to him.

“Wait, you got off in the shower?” Eddie’s brain finally catches up to Steve’s words. “Why?”

“Because I’m never not thinking about you either, Eddie,” Steve grins at him, devilishly charming as always.

Eddie’s head is spinning and it’s not just because of the tight coil in his gut sending out warning signs that he’s gonna come any second. He’s floating out of his body as Steve admits that he’s apparently been thinking about Eddie in a not so innocent way, too.

A very sexy way, actually.

“Steve, I-” Eddie wraps his fingers around Steve’s wrist in warning. “I’m gonna come.”

“Go ahead, been waiting for it,” Steve encourages.

Minutes pass afterwards. There’s silence until Steve groans and rolls onto his back.

“Now I’m hard again,” he says.

Eddie’s ears perk up like a dog who just heard he’s getting a treat. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. You gonna do something about it?”

“Can I?”

Steve grabs his hand and pulls it over to his cock. “Please.”

[artsywarden]

Answers 🫀

Maude Ingellvar and Emmrich Volkarin

1. Maude fell for Emmrich during that infamous lecture. She was only a student then, and of course proffessor Volkarin didn’t know she existed.

2. Emmrich noticed he was in love with Maude one day during breakfast when he was so lost in her eyes he didn’t realize he mistakenly took Lucanis’ cup of coffee (to Spite’s amusement and Lucanis’ dismay) and drank the whole thing instead of his herbal tea.

3. They start spending time together almost immediately, since Maude already has a bit of a crush on him and he’s interested in indulging her academic curiosity. In no time those study sessions mutate into cozy conversations and late night cups of tea, where they discover they enjoy each other’s company a great deal. Everyone assumes they’re sleeping together, but at first they just fall asleep together and drool over ancient textbooks.

4. They’re both mourn watchers and they’re both huge nerds, they get along famously. She’s very enthusiastic about his work and loves to hear him talk, he enjoys teaching her what he knows and listening to her opinions. she’s very smart and sees things in a way he wouldn’t have thought before, so together they make a great team.

5. They’re both proud to be mourn watchers and enjoy studying together, talking about books, rituals and spirits, theories and the fade. People around them understand half of what they say.

6. Emmrich teaches Maude about botany, she doesn’t know much about plants but finds them fascinating and loves to see his eyes shine when he explains plant stuff to her. She likes to paint and since Solas left his materials at the light house, she’s been using the music room as her studio - Emmrich is terrible at painting but amazing at the piano, so he plays for her whenever she feels like listening to some music while painting. He poses for her too 🌝

7. They’re very affectionate, specially Emmrich

8. They enjoy long strolls around the necropolis’ gardens and going to the Opera together, Maude is very excited to learn Emmrich has a private balcony of his own.

9. Maude takes Emmrich EVERYWHERE, they make everyone else feel like a third wheel. They’re constantly drawing attention to things in the surroundings, picking up interesting artifacts to study later and of course: flowers (for Maude to admire and Emmrich to study)

10. Maude calls him Emmikins 🤭 he calls her his little gerbil in private and darling, sweetheart, dearest in front of everybody else.

11. Emmrich said he loved her first, not before battle, but one day when he saw her wrapped in a blanket studying a skull ,with a flower on her hair and a cup of tea (both provided by Manfred) . I think Maude thinks she loves him first, but is afraid to say it and Emmrich beats her to it.

12. Too many inside jokes to count. Between strictly Nevarra and Mourn watch related jokes to private jokes and made up words, they look insane to everyone else when they overhear them talking.

13. By Lana del Rey- Summertime Sadness

14. Emmrich gives her a necklace, a ring and a couple of other jewelry items Maude decides to put in her dowry. He picks up flowers for her all the time and she displays them in her room. Maude gave Emmrich an enchanted ring that gets warm when she kisses the other half of the set (a charm on a chain she keeps on her at all times). She picks up herbal teas for him to try whenever she has a chance.

15. Emmrich cried a for an hour, then slapped himself, washed his face and started giving orders at everyone as if they were his students: everyone had a task, something to retrieve, something to study, cooking duty. If they were going to get Maude out, they had to be organized and focused. There was no time to mop.

16. Maude knew in her heart Emmrich wouldn’t stop until he found a way to free her, or (she worried) be trapped there with her. He wasn’t going to leave her there alone.

17. Maude loves Emmrich’s mind and his kindness, he’s cute too but she’d love him even as a Lich. Emmrich loves her spirit and her wits- it doesn’t hurt that she’s pretty.

18. I’m a sap, so of course they’ll get married, have a couple of babies (Maude wants kids and Emmrich is happy to have a family and a legacy). They’ll live in the necropolis, I think they have quarters for married watchers and their families since most watchers never leave it. Emmrich will continue teaching and researching, Maude is being trained to replace Myrna some day as keeper of the seals. They keep Hezenkoss in a pedestal at the foyer of their apartment. They get a pet field mouse who kind of adopted itself one day by entering one of Maude’s pockets.

Questions for your Rook and their partner:

Does your Rook fall for their partner at first sight? If not, what moment made your Rook realize they're in love with them?

When does the partner realize that they're in love with Rook?

How long does it take for them to officially get together? Did any of the other Lighthouse members have any suspicions beforehand?

Do your Rook and their partner share the same faction? If so, does that affect their relationship at all? If not, what is your Rook's opinion of their partner's faction? What is the partner's opinion of Rook's faction?

Do they have different cultural backgrounds (e.g. a Rook who was raised in Antiva with Harding who was raised in Ferelden)? If so, do they ever share parts of their culture with each other? If they're similar, how do they celebrate their culture together?

What is their favorite thing to do together? Do they share any hobbies? Does your Rook teach their partner their own hobbies? Does the partner teach Rook theirs?

Are they a physically affectionate couple? Are they fine displaying those affections in public or do they prefer to be in private? If they're not, how do they prefer to show their love instead?

What does their ideal date look like? Do they go on much?

Does your Rook bring them out often? How are they like on the battlefield? Do they banter much?

Do they have any nicknames for each other? Who uses terms of endearment more?

Who says "I love you" first? What is the other's reaction? Who thinks it first?

Any inside jokes?

What song(s) do you associate with them?

Does your Rook get their partner any other gifts (besides the one already in-game)? Does the partner get Rook any? Any gifts that are particularly special?

What was the partner's reaction to Rook being imprisoned in the Fade? How did they cope? How did they react upon seeing Rook again?

How did your Rook react to getting trapped in the Fade and separated from their partner?

What is your Rook's favorite thing about their partner? What is the partner's favorite thing about Rook?

When all is said and done, where would they like to retire together? Is marriage in the cards for them? Children? Pets?

[delulustateofmind]

The SatoSugu brain worms are munching extra hard while I'm waiting for these cupcakes to bake

Gojo Satoru, the highly esteemed high school science teacher, has a problem. A very pretty, very foreign, very English-speaking problem. The new international English teacher - you - has barely been here a month, and yet he's already completely obsessed.

It’s a little inconvenient, considering he doesn’t know much English beyond some scattered phrases and science terms, and your schedules couldn’t be more opposite. Your lunches don’t line up, and your day ends earlier than his. It’s utterly tragic. The only solace he has is scrolling through your Instagram when he should probably be grading papers.

That’s where the real trouble starts.

One innocent day (innocent in theory, sinful in practice), Gojo stumbles across a particular photo - a shot of you in a bikini. A cute one, a little too revealing by Japanese standards, and way too much for his poor heart to handle. His first reaction? To press a kiss to the screen like a desperate man before common sense kicks in.

His second reaction? To stop you in the hallway between classes to warn you about it.

Because, listen, Japan has perverts. And you? With your soft skin and clueless charm? You’re prime prey. Not that Gojo himself is one of those perverts - he has class. (He says, with the screenshot of that bikini photo now securely set as his phone wallpaper).

You blink up at him, clueless.

Right. You don’t know much Japanese. And his English? Abysmal.

Alright. Time for charades.

With all the confidence of a man who has never been told no, Gojo puts his hands on his head like dog ears, tilts his head, and lets out a “Woof.” Then jabs a finger at the picture, then at you, then shakes his head.

The message is clear in his mind: Men are dogs. You should delete this.

Your response?

A bright red blush, a resounding slap to his face, and a stormy exit before he can even think of fixing his mistake.

Stunned, Gojo watches you disappear down the hallway, hand on his cheek, thoroughly bewildered.

What makes it worse?

The school psychologist, Geto Suguru, breezing past him, smug as hell, flashing a “How to Learn English for Adults” textbook in one hand and giving Gojo a casual wave as he tails after you.

May the games begin

[zumek0]

college bf! headcanons; kozume, k.

↪︎ headcanons, gn reader, fluff, a little angst but very mild, mentions of an unspecified argument but it gets resolved, allusions to an anxiety attack, mentions of marriage.

↝ summary: headcanons about your and kenma’s relationship.

College bf! Kenma who can take all his classes remotely but still takes two in-person electives so that you both can walk together to and from campus.

College bf! Kenma who isn’t one to wake up early (the earliest he can wake up is 10 a.m.) but makes an effort to do so when he knows you have an important exam so that he can have breakfast with you and wish you good luck.

College bf! Kenma who doesn’t listen to music that often (maybe sometimes has a video game's OST playing as background noise while finishing assignments) but still listens to every single song you recommend to him.

He always tells you his thoughts on each song (even if he doesn’t particularly like it).

College bf! Kenma, whose anxiety prevents him from openly showing you affection in public, but makes up for it by clinging to you constantly while in private.

College bf! Kenma who, after spending the night, makes sure to leave at least one hoodie at your apartment.

He insists that it’s so that he has clean clothes to wear if he needs them but then gets pouty whenever you wear one of yours instead of his.

College bf! Kenma who loves having you sit on his lap or between his legs while he games.

Usually, he rests his head either on your shoulder or atop your head.

Whenever he gets bored or his wrist starts bothering him (you cannot tell me he wouldn't have carpal tunnel syndrome, lol), he leans back and wraps his arms around you, letting you take control for a while.

College bf! Kenmawho cries when you two have the first “big” argument of your relationship.

He prides himself on staying level-headed in stressful situations and looking for solutions instead of panicking and falling into despair.

So then, why does he feel like this? Why does he feel so angry? Why does his skin feel uncomfortable? Why is his mind making up scenarios where you break up with him? Why does he feel like there’s a black hole where his stomach should be? Why does his chest feel like he’s on the verge of a heart attack? Why does he feel so guilty?

The last two hours repeat themselves over and over in his mind. Why did he say all those things? Why did he act that way towards you? Why did he hurt you like that? Why does he keep crying?

Eventually, you both calm down enough to talk and resolve the issue.

He decides that he never wants to go through that experience again.

Especially not if you felt even half as bad as he felt.

College bf! Kenma whose mom asks about you every time he calls her son.

If you happen to be around, she’ll always ask to talk to you for a bit (more like an hour and a half).

He's pretty sure she only calls him as an excuse to talk to you.

Eventually, he sends her your phone number and feels slightly offended that she doesn’t call nearly as often as she used to.

College bf! Kenma who keeps trying to convince you to move in with him as it would be more cost effective and convenient. 

College bf! Kenma who, when you eventually agree to live together, lets you search for a new apartment as you insisted on starting fresh.

College bf! Kenma who, when you move into your new place, you drag out to Walmart at 8 p.m. to buy two cups, insisting that they’re a symbol of this new stage of your relationship.

College bf! Kenma who finds himself wanting to become Fiancè! Kenma more and more everyday.

finally posting this after having it sit in my drafts for half a year 🫠 i also finally learned how to make my html text work for the colored words lol. reblogs and likes are appreciated!

—han

[altacctforastarion]

Astarion & Being taken care of

Minors do not interact, 18+ only.

Ft. Vague rewrites of the mirror and Araj confession scenes.

-it starts when you begin offering your blood. You do it anytime there’s a big fight, and he’s always grateful, and always takes you up on it.

-then when he starts talking about Cazador, you start to linger, talking with him about various things (usually camp gossip, or making ridiculous jokes) to get his mind off of things. At first he thinks you’re stupid, not understanding the gravity of what he’s talking about, but after a couple times he notices that his chest doesn’t feel so tight after your talks. He notices that you have him laughing easily, and that your laugh is growing on him.

-the first time you sleep with him, he’s expecting you to leave, or to just go to sleep where you lay, but instead you ask him if that was good for him, saying he seemed kind of out of it. He dismisses you, telling you he was holding back a little, but you see through it. “If you say so, but really, if somethings wrong I’d rather you tell me. We’re friends and I care about you, with or without the great sex.” You say it so easily, but it’s so foreign to him, you caring without the need for sex. He almost believes you then, but letting go of that trauma, letting go of what’s familiar, is impossible for him. He doesn’t tell you what’s wrong then, but he does start to tell you more in general.

-he starts to confide in you more often, he starts to drop the mask. If something reminds him of the past he doesn’t try as hard to hide it, and he lets you make your stupid jokes and he lets himself laugh instead of dwelling. If he’s feeling especially open he’ll even tell you his thoughts. And eventually you learn when to ask him about his sudden shift to anger or irritation, or why he’s avoiding a room that seems a little too much like where he’s been before. You also learn when to play oblivious, but he always knows you know.

-eventually he starts to return the favor, previously he’d comment or ask about whatever came to mind, if you seemed off, if you were too quiet, if you had an out of character reaction to something. But now he makes his own jokes, and at times you notice that he sometimes stands with one foot just slightly in front of you, almost like he’s guarding you, ready to stand in front of you if something happens.

-things shift a bit more the first time he gets hurt- badly hurt. He was knocked down in a fight and he just couldn’t get up, and as soon as you can you’re there, defending him, blocking attacks and casting spells to keep your enemies at bay while you help him stand, a hand on his back, supporting him. You use the last of your energy to heal him and give him one of your few remaining health potions to make sure he stays up this time. After the fight you check on him, even though with no energy and your own injuries you’re way worse off. You offer blood, knowing he needs his strength. For the first time he declines, and he’s snarky about it, talking about how with how filthy and covered in nasty cuts you are, you’d taste awful. That he wants something more fresh. He immediately follows his jabs by taking your pack, lightening your load. Claiming he doesn’t want you to lose the camps valuables. When you pass a river on the way back to camp, he tells you he’ll stand guard while you get cleaned up, and when you get to camp he’s immediately demanding for healing, telling them to heal you first because your blood is distracting.

-he starts to check in more, making sure your well enough before he accepts your offers for blood, and he starts to leave water and a snack next to you in the night. If you’re awake when he comes for your blood he’ll offer it to you while conversing, and your conversation doesn’t end until your snack has been eaten and your water has been drank.

-when he asks you what you see when you look at him, you describe him honestly, and he enjoys the way you stare, contemplating. He trusts that you’re being honest. And when you’re done you leave quickly, but you return soon after with a scroll of disguise, and offer to disguise yourself as him so that he can see himself. He doesn’t take you up on it then, afraid of what he’d see, but you leave the scroll with him, giving him options. He stares at that scroll often, thinking of how you’d use something so valuable just so he can have something he wants.

-when Araj tries to demand he drink from her you tell her to fuck off, and you would have fought her then and there, but you looked to him first, and at the shake of his head you tell your companions that it’s time to go instead. When you return to camp you can see that he has something to say, and to your surprise he invites you into his tent, requesting a private conversation despite everyone being out of earshot. Once inside he thanks you, and thanks you again for looking for his approval before you fought on his behalf. And then he confesses, telling you that he planned to manipulate you, that you deserve something real. When you’re finishing up your conversation, you hug him, face on his chest. You feel his arms hesitantly, slowly wrapping around you in return, and when you pull away he doesn’t seem like he was ready to let go. You tell him you’ll wait forever if he needs, and he’s surprised to realize he trusts you to leave it in his hands.

-eventually he drops some of the snark, some of his act, when you care for him. Sometimes he even lets you coddle him. When he asks you to accompany him to the river so he can bathe, you offer to wash his hair, and he lets you. You still get plenty of attitude, almost every single time, but he’s also vocal about how nice some things feel.

-when you are back to having sex, and you ask him what feels good for him, what he wants, what he needs, if certain things are ok, he feels so safe. He tells you that you don’t need to ask, but he loves that you do anyways.

-finally, after the biggest adventure of your lives, when he’s having a rough day or he needs help, or he just craves your company, he finds you, and he knows you’ll take care of him.

[potatodemon-beesensible]

CINDERELLA BOY SPOILERS ARE GONNA BE TALKED ABOUT HERE!!!!!!!!!

Honest to god hits. Just… the steel resolve and determination. I really like Buddy’s character as I find a lotta myself in him and this is really cool art. Represents it well. Love it. :3

Also really interesting dynamic with Chase. He gets more determined to be human after bonding so much with him. Not only wanting to be human for himself. But… much more so now wanting to be human for Chase. As Chase showed him like… love and appreciation. Before Buddy talked about the keys as objects and he genuinely grew as a character *through* how much Chase cares about the world around him. Now Buddy has a newfound appreciation for these things and genuinely cares about Chase. It’s really sweet to see and I love the art. ^^

Buddy’s a person who learned how to survive through selfishness and undercutting determination. And… he had that genuine good brought out in him by Chase. And he grows a lot throughout the story. It’s very well done in that. Like… you see it very organically and none if it’s shoehorned in. Whole story’s a masterpiece and I 100% recommend reading it on Webtoon. It’s the kinda thing where like… all the characters are good people. And they bring it out in eachother through genuine human care and responsibility. It’s like… so damn well done. I love it. The tension throughout the story is very real and there are outside threats that *test* the characters. That limit them in their situations. Make it so that they can’t do the right thing *all* the time. Also… it’s just really cool to me how Chase plays off of Buddy. Chase… is a very positive human being. Not blindly, he’s genuinely mature and feels responsible for those around him. He’s just always thinking forward in a… solution kinda way that may cause him to ignore his own problems. Or not notice those of others. Then there’s Buddy, always thinking of how things can go wrong and taking precautions. And… it’s really beautiful actually. I don’t wanna go into any more spoilers in this post… but I will say that Cinderella Boy shows just how beautiful and meaningful human care and effort can be. How people can bring out each other’s strengths and just… love for life. And it doesn’t sugarcoat any of the bad. It’s just… so perfectly written. I 100% recommend it. Also a lotta funny and lighthearted cute moments. A lotta gay going on in those pages… heh. Yea. I love it ^^

Like… Chase and Buddy’s relationship goes both ways in bringing out the other’s best sides and it’s just really cool to me. Chase can succeed because Buddy cares and covers for him when things are too much for him. And Buddy starts caring because of Chase. They’re just a great team ^^

Also boy love story yippee read it now. 🫵

Also… I simplified their relationship a bit in that last paragraph. And yea. Beautiful relationship. 100% recommend Cinderella Boy if any of this interests anyone. Also gtzel has some peak gay romance and really *really* cute gt art. Which is pretty much just romantic art of… eh. Point is that his stuff is gay and he’s awesome. Want the best for him in life. He puts a lotta care and effort into his stuff and he deserves the attention. Really great friend and an amazing person.

Also it’d take a while if I explained gt here ^^”

Big giant. Tiny human. They kiss. There we go. That’s your summary. With Zeal’s art specifically he has like… a really great household gay couple kinda vibe he puts in his pieces. Like they’re just living with each other and enjoying their day. Like… homey kinda cozy gay art. If one person was the size of a mouse. Like that.

There we go. That’s a basic summary for if anyone wants to check out his stuff. Also don’t be shy about giving him praise on his art if you like it. He appreciates it and he gets all excited and happy. ^^

Like… his art has the vibe of finding your bf in a bag of pringles and then letting him snuggle in your hand. That’s the vibe of his art.

“Don’t you want to be human again?”

“I do want it. More than anything”

[kkai-zen]

Hi! (please ignore this if you if you don’t like it) but if you feel comfortable, could you do childhood friend!ness x fem!reader. The idea is that they’re best friends but when ness joins bastard münchen he meets Kaiser (and because my entire personality is hating on him after chapter 289). He makes him isolate himself from his friends. As you can tell I want something really Angsty but with at least a happy ending. Other than what I said, you can do whatever you want with it and have a nice day. :)

hello!! thank you so much for the request, this one took me a while (ㅠ﹏ㅠ) hopefully ness isn't too ooc since i don't know him too well (guilty of being anime only lol), but i had a lot of fun planning the angst for this one and i hope you enjoy! 𓂃۶ৎ

as it was.

wc: 2.1k + childhood friend!reader x alexis ness + angst + implied happy ending + slight kaiser bashing + sfw

“Get out, you idiot!” 

Slam!

Even as a child, you’d put together the happenings of the house next door. On most nights, you could peer through the kitchen window, standing on your tippy-toes, and watch the front door of the house slam shut. If you squinted, you could see the curled figure of a boy your age hovering by its porch.

He seems so lonely like this, you tilt your head. You wonder what he’s thinking about, what his parents are like, why he lays down on the grassy lawn and draws invisible pictures in the air. 

Breath fogging the glass, you tap at the window loud enough for him to hear, and quietly trace a heart into the condensation. You can’t tell if he sees it.

“Time for bed, honey!” Your mother calls. Shooting a final, curious glance at the boy’s silhouette through your heart, you hop down the stairs to your bedroom. 

It’s only a couple days later when you see him wandering around outside again. He still looks sad, doesn’t he? You pinch your eyebrows together.

“Mama! Can I go outside ’n play?” 

“Sure, just don’t go too far!” 

And before you know it, with some child-like excitement nipping at your heels, you run up to the boy. 

“Hi! Would you like to play soccer with me?” 

His name is Alexis Ness, you learn.

He’s got a wild imagination, even for a child, yapping to you for hours about magic and illusions and now, soccer. You two would spend entire days kicking around a ratty soccer ball in the front lawn of your house, even on the scant few days Ness didn’t get kicked out of his.

Sun, wind, rain, snow—a day didn’t go by without you and Ness laughing and bickering, chasing each other around in the grass stamped flat from months of play. 

It wasn’t long before a year passed. 

“Hey, Ness?” You squint up at the hot afternoon sun, hand shielding your eyes as you lay back on the cool grass. 

“Huh?” 

“Magic is real, isn’t it?” 

“Course it is, dummy.” 

You frown. “How d’ya know?” 

He pauses, toying with the soccer ball in his lap. “Cuz of that feeling I get when I play soccer with you.”

You blink up at him with large eyes. “Feeling?” 

“Yeah,” he states, almost as if it were some obvious, undeniable truth. “Y’know, my chest gets all funny and my heart makes these weird sounds and my cheeks get sore from smiling so much.” Ness squishes his face in his hands, and you giggle. “That’s what magic is to me.” 

“Ness.”

“What?” 

“I think I believe in magic, too.” 

And he smiles at you—a real, wide grin that covers his whole face, and for a moment he shines brighter than the sun rays. 

“Told ya so!” 

The years slipped by quicker than you would’ve liked them to.

Subconsciously, you knew that you and Ness wouldn’t be together like this forever. It was only a matter of when it would happen, the dreaded day that he or you might vanish into adulthood, leaving behind the fond memories of flattened grass and soccer and magic. 

You still remember when he told you, with that childlike sparkle in his eyes, that he would be leaving to join Bastard München’s U-20 team. 

It was a snowy December day when he left, suitcase beside him, and you tried not to let him see the hot tears balancing on your lower lashes. You two were grown, you reminded yourself. You aren’t children anymore. This was always bound to happen. 

So why are you clinging to him, your tears spilling onto his new Bastard München jacket, holding back sobs? 

“Shh, shh, it’s okay,” Ness whispers into your hair, hand on the back of your head and a sad smile on his lips. 

You say nothing, squeezing your eyes shut.

“I won’t be gone forever, you know,” He reprimands gently, pulling your head off his chest. “Besides, won’t it be cool to see me on TV?” His smile is soft, and he wipes the tears from your cheeks with a warm finger. “Y-yeah,” you mumble, unable to meet his eyes. 

Both of you are silent for a moment longer, before Ness tilts your head up to look at him. “Thank you for showing me what magic is.” 

There’s a strange tension, a fire in his eyes, and your breath catches in your throat when he leans forward to press a delicate kiss to your lips. 

And before you know it, he’s gone. 

At first, the loneliness was bearable. You and Ness texted every day, every night, any moment he had a second to spare. It was enough to keep your sadness at bay, but it didn’t last long.

The change was gradual: the slow responses, the messages left on read, and then on delivered. At some point, days passed before a single text back. And one day, there were no more texts back. 

You justified it to yourself over and over. He’s a professional athlete now. This is his career. Of course he’s busy. 

A year ticks by without a single message. 

And when you run into him in the middle of town one day, you feel part of your heart crack open. 

“Ness? Is that you?” 

He’s noticeably taller, face sharper, and his eyes look sunken with that childlike sparkle missing. He was different, as if something had swallowed up his vitality, leaving behind only a porcelain shell that looked down at you with empty eyes. 

“Oh, it’s you.”

Ness barely noticed you. 

“Y-you’re back? In town?” You stand there, heart sinking lower, and lower again when he looks at you, wearing a slender smile that doesn’t match his cold eyes. 

“Yeah, I am, unfortunately.” 

“You could’ve- I mean- just, texted me, at least?” 

Your voice is trembling, and you’re not sure why. This is Ness, isn’t it? The boy you grew up with? Your best friend, and possibly even-

“What, am I your boyfriend or something?” 

His voice is deceivingly gentle for his sharp words, and they hit you like a slap in the face. Your heart breaks a little more.

“It would’ve been nice to at least know. Y’know, as friends?” Your voice still trembles, but this time it’s more out of anger than fear or sadness. 

“Friends?” 

Ness looks at you, quiet smile still on his face, betraying no emotion. “I don’t need friends. I have my team- no, I have him.” 

There’s no doubt in your mind that the him Ness means is Kaiser.

That blue-haired, rose-obsessed freak of a striker on Bastard München. You’ve seen all of Ness’s games multiple times, and you had to admit their chemistry was admirable. But even off the field, they’d been spotted together: after games, after practice, everywhere, with Ness trailing behind Kaiser like a puppy.  

“So- so he means more to you than someone who’s been friends with you for your whole life?” 

You can’t help the hurt and frustration that slips into your voice. But as soon as the words leave your lips, you regret it. 

Ness’s eyes narrow, and chills run up your spine. 

“Watch yourself. A nobody like you shouldn’t be insulting him.” 

And what’s left of your composure splinters apart. 

“Seriously, Ness? After all this time, you- he- ” you scramble for words, desperation and anger and fear gripping your throat. “We’ve been friends for years. Since we were children. Do you seriously not see me as a friend now?” Your hands close into fists. “For fuck’s sake, we grew up together!” 

He stares down at you with that soft cold smile.

“Kaiser was right. You’re a distraction.” 

You didn’t count the number of years that passed since then. 

Life goes on, doesn’t it? But you never realized a life without Ness would be so miserable. Quietly turning off your TV when his games aired, scrolling past news about Bastard München, about anything soccer related—it was too much for you to bear. 

It’s cold today, you quietly think, wrapping your scarf tighter around your neck as soft white petals of snow flutter over you. It doesn’t usually snow this early in the year.

With slow, deliberate steps, you dread the sight of your childhood home in the distance. It only reminds you of him, after all. Why’d you tell your parents you’d visit them? 

But you see a faint silhouette in the distance, a hunched shadow hovering by the porch next door, and a wave of nostalgia drowns you: the foggy window, the heart, and the boy. It feels like a mirage, a trick of the light, but as you approach the house, it’s exactly who you wished yet dreaded to see the most standing there, tattered soccer ball at his feet. 

“Ness?” 

Your voice is faint, as if you’re talking to yourself and not the man standing there. 

He doesn’t look real. Glowing in the cold light of the moon, snow frosts his hair, bags hanging under his eyes. He’s a ghost, an apparition, a figment of your desperate imagination. That’s what you think until he pulls you into a deep hug, and you feel the warmth of his skin on yours. 

You stand there, frozen still, his arms wrapped around you for too long a time before he pulls away. 

“I’m sorry.” 

His voice has the same light, gentle quality it always had, but something about it is different this time.

In all those years, you’d never seen Ness like this. He was a ray of sun, beaming and glowing with warmth, and then he was ice, cold and sharp and crushing your heart into pieces with its vice. 

But he was never this; haunted, trembling, almost as if he was about to splinter into pieces and out of existence. 

“How many years has it been, Ness?” You whisper. He doesn’t answer.

“How many? Since you left me for Kaiser?” There’s no bitterness in your voice, only a silent resignation that’s met with snowflakes and a whistle of wind. 

“I texted you. Every day for that whole year you were gone.” Your voice grows louder. “I watched every single one of your games on TV. I waited for you, every single day, hoping you would respond. And what did you do?” 

What feels like a lifetime’s worth of anger suddenly swells inside you, threatening to overflow, and you jab a finger into his chest. “Nothing! You did fucking nothing, Ness. I- ” you choke.

“You left me, after making those empty promises. Not even a text back? Are you fucking serio-”

“‘I hope you’re doing well, Ness. I loved your assist in that last game, it was amazing.’” 

You freeze.

“‘Take care of yourself, make sure to stay hydrated.’ ‘Look at this article I found! You and Kaiser really make a good pair LOL.’ ” 

Ness takes a breath, and keeps going. 

“‘Eat and sleep well, Ness!’ ‘Just got your jersey in the mail today!’ ‘Your form looks great, excited for your next game.’”

The words spill from his lips as if he’d been waiting his whole life to say them. And it’s several long, word-filled minutes later before he utters,

“‘Miss you lots, Ness. Come home soon.’ ”

You're speechless. “Are those…”

“Texts you’ve sent me. Every single one.” Ness says, his quiet voice hoarse. You say nothing, staring at him with shock. “I read them. All of them, a million times over and then again.” He reaches out to touch your hand. 

“It was hard to respond because of him. Kaiser. Made me feel like you were a distraction, when-” Ness swallows. “When in reality, you were the reason I started playing soccer in the first place.” 

His grip on your hand tightens the slightest bit. “I never forgot you. Not a single time. I only pretended not to because of pride and selfishness and a desire to please the wrong person.” 

You look at him and for a moment, all you see is that lonely boy from a lifetime ago. 

“I hurt you. But I- I promise you-” He clutches your hands to his chest, eyes filling with desperation. “I understand what I did, and it was wrong, and I fucked up, and I just- I regret ignoring you and treating you like that and- just, please, at least let me make it up to you.” 

There are tears sliding down his face now, and your heart lodges in your throat. 

“Will you let me back into your life? Even for just a moment?” 

And you say nothing, quietly stepping back, pulling your hands out of his. You catch the way his breath stops, the way his body freezes, the way dread settles over his face when you pull away. 

But instead of leaving, you bend over to pick up the soccer ball at his feet. 

“Hey Ness?”

“…y-yes? What is it?” 

You hold the worn ball out to him. 

“Will you prove to me that magic exists again?” 

[heliosunny]

HEAR ME OUT!!

How about yan! Anaxa with vampire reader?

Well he keep reader to study them? Or will he also go crazy for them like how phainon is?

:))

(if only its alright hehehe)

Yandere!Anaxa x Vampire!Reader

artist: amittoume

The marketplace was alive with the scent of fresh bread, sizzling meats, and the occasional waft of incense from the apothecary stalls. Merchants called out their wares, voices overlapping in a noisy symphony of commerce. But amidst the chaos, Anaxa remained still, his eyes tracking a single anomaly in the crowd.

At first, his curiosity had been passive. The way you moved, just a fraction too fluidly, like a ripple in undisturbed water. The way the sunlight never seemed to touch you quite right, as if avoiding your skin altogether. But he dismissed it. His mind was a well-ordered thing, a place for logic, not superstition.

Still, he watched. Not overtly. He was careful, a strategist before anything else. A passing glance here, a casual lean against a wooden stall there. And always, you remained… different.

Today was no exception.

The old merchant at the fruit stall hummed as he arranged fresh apples in a wooden crate, glancing between the two of you with mild recognition. “Ah, the usual for the both of you?” he asked, already reaching for the familiar selections.

Anaxa offered a lazy nod. “Might as well. It saves time, doesn’t it?” His voice was pleasant. A merchant’s best customer was a predictable one, after all.

You responded with a polite murmur, your fingers brushing against the wooden counter as you retrieved your purchase. For just a moment, your sleeve shifted, and Anaxa caught sight of your wrist- pale, almost unnaturally so.

His eyes lingered. But he said nothing.

The next time he saw you, the stars had replaced the sun, and the marketplace’s noise had faded into the quiet hum of the sleeping city. You weren’t among the stalls now. You were hunting.

Anaxa wasn’t one to follow blindly, but this? This was different. His sharp instincts told him to observe, to study, to understand what made you tick. And so, concealed in the thick underbrush of the forest, he watched.

A lone traveler wandered too close to the treeline, oblivious. The moment their heartbeat stuttered, the moment their scent thickened with something dangerously sweet, you moved.

Anaxa didn’t breathe. He didn’t even flinch.

Because now, he understood.

A vampire

“…How rare.”

The first time Anaxa let himself be seen was deliberate.

He had watched you long enough, learned your patterns, the way you always hunted alone, the precise moment you let your guard down after feeding. It was a delicate dance, and now, he was ready to lead.

He made no effort to hide when he stepped out from behind the tree line that night. The damp earth barely made a sound beneath his boots, but you still noticed.

Your head snapped toward him, eyes gleaming with residual hunger from your recent meal. He could feel the tension in your frame, coiled, wary.

But he only smiled.

“I had my suspicions, but seeing it up close…” His voice trailed off, as if he were merely admiring a rare jewel rather than a predator standing before him.

Your expression hardened. “You’ve been following me.”

There was no accusation in your tone, just fact. Good. That meant you weren’t the type to react emotionally. He could work with that.

“I wouldn’t call it that” Anaxa replied smoothly. “Let’s say… I’ve been studying you.”

Your fingers twitched. He didn’t miss how your posture shifted, weight balanced between retreat and attack.

“And what do you plan to do with what you’ve learned?”

“Now that...” he murmured, stepping closer, “depends entirely on you.”

The real trap wasn’t sprung with chains or cages. That wasn’t how Anaxa worked.

No, the first snare was temptation.

He offered blood.

Not just any blood- better blood.

You resisted at first. He expected that. You weren’t a fool, and you had likely learned to distrust easy gifts. But Anaxa was patient. He dangled it just close enough to keep you intrigued.

“Freshly sourced” he murmured, swirling the deep red liquid in a delicate glass. “No impurities, no decay. It’s leagues above whatever you scavenge from hapless travelers.”

Your throat bobbed, your fingers twitching minutely. He knew you were weighing your pride against your hunger.

You lost. The first sip unraveled you.

It was like tasting something forbidden, so impossibly rich that you felt your body react before your mind could even process it. A slow shudder ran through you, your grip on the glass tightening.

Anaxa’s gaze never wavered.

“Good, isn’t it?” he murmured, his tone almost gentle. “I can provide more. A steady supply. You won’t have to hunt anymore.”

You inhaled sharply, already realizing the offer wasn’t without a price. “What do you want in return?”

His lips curved.

“Your cooperation” he said simply. “Your… compliance.”

It didn’t happen all at once. That would be too obvious.

After your initial agreement, blood in exchange for cooperation—Anaxa treated you with an almost unnerving level of respect.

He never pushed too hard. Never forced anything. The experiments, at first, were nothing invasive. He asked questions about your abilities, your hunting patterns, your physical limitations. His hands, when they did touch you, were always careful, always controlled.

It was easy to forget the danger.

And then, one day, he led you outside.

You expected him to keep you hidden. Vampires were rare, after all-feared, whispered about in myths. But instead, he walked you through the city streets as if you were nothing more than an ordinary assistant.

People stared. You didn’t blame them. Even under the layers of clothing Anaxa insisted you wear gloves to cover your cold hands, a high collar to conceal your lack of a pulse, you were still different.

A man- older, his apron stained with ink and parchment, raised a curious brow. “Anaxa, who’s this?”

Anaxa barely slowed his stride. “A new subordinate” he answered smoothly. “They have potential, so I’m showing them the ropes.”

You blinked. That was… not what you expected.

But what surprised you even more was that people believed him. No suspicion. No unease. They accepted his words without question.

As you walked, you realized just how much influence he had here. His work extended beyond research, he had people’s trust. Merchants greeted him with familiarity. Guards didn’t stop him. Even those who worked in the deeper levels of the city’s archives let him pass without hesitation.

It was the first time you truly understood.

Anaxa wasn’t just intelligent. He was powerful.

The place where he worked, his private laboratory, was unlike anything you’d ever seen. It wasn’t cold and sterile like you’d expected. There was warmth here, books stacked in careful disorder, notes pinned to the walls with precise, elegant handwriting. There were vials of liquid too thick to be water, half-finished formulas scribbled in the margins of old tomes.

It was chaos, but it was controlled chaos.

“You’ve… changed a lot of things here” you murmured, glancing at the reinforced structures, the specialized equipment.

Anaxa hummed, satisfied by your observation. “Yes. I make improvements where necessary.”

There was pride in his voice. A quiet sort of satisfaction.

You didn’t know why, but that made you trust him just a little more.

When night fell, he didn’t let you leave.

“Stay” he said, as if it were a simple request. “I have further plans for you.”

Something about the way he phrased it sent a flicker of unease down your spine. But you stayed.

After all… you had no reason not to trust him.

Right?

The next experiments were… different. More intense. Gone were the idle conversations, the harmless observations. Now, Anaxa was testing you.

“How much blood can you go without before your body starts to break down?”

“How long can you suppress your instincts before they override your will?”

He never asked with cruelty. His voice remained calm, almost gentle. He explained each process before beginning, gave you just enough reassurance that you never felt outright trapped.

But the sessions lasted longer. And each time, he gave you a little less blood than before.

You didn’t notice it at first, but you began needing the next feeding sooner than expected. Your body started reacting before your mind could, reaching for the vial before he even placed it in your hands.

And Anaxa watched.

You weren’t an idiot.

The moment you realized what Anaxa was doing, calculating every drop of blood he gave you, ensuring your body craved more each time—you knew you had to leave.

You had observed him just as much as he had observed you. Anaxa was not a man of brute force, he was a man of strategy. He didn’t need shackles or locked doors to keep you here. He had something far stronger.

You weren’t sure when it had happened, but at some point, he had begun scheduling your feedings. Just long enough between them to weaken you. Just enough blood to keep you functional, but not strong. By the time you pieced everything together, your instincts were already betraying you.

The hunger was creeping in.

Your throat burned.

You waited until the latest round of experiments was over. Until Anaxa, satisfied with today’s results, left you alone to “rest.”

He assumed you would. You didn’t.

Instead, you forced yourself to move. Your body protested every step, but you shoved past the hunger. The door was unlocked, of course it was. He didn’t need locks, not when you were already trapped in a different way.

You slipped through the empty hallway, down the corridor, through the entrance, into the cold night air. You were outside.

At first, nothing happened.

No alarms. No sounds of pursuit. You pushed forward, sprinting through the winding alleyways, slipping past the few late-night stragglers on the streets.

The hunger clawed at your stomach, but you didn’t stop. You needed to make it to the forest. Once you were there, you could hunt, regain your strength- disappear.

The city gates came into view.

Your heart lurched with something dangerously close to hope.

And then, a voice spoke behind you.

“You’re struggling, aren’t you?”

He was already here.

You whirled around—nothing.

The street was empty. But you knew better. He was close.

A chill crept down your spine as his voice came again, this time from your left.

“I suppose I should be flattered,” Anaxa murmured. “You actually thought you could get away.”

You turned, scanning—where was he?

Your eyes darted to the city gates.

“Running won’t help you.”

The voice was directly behind you.

You spun just as something looped around your wrist. A thin, near-invisible wire. Your eyes widened. You hadn’t even seen him move.

Anaxa tilted his head. “You don’t think I let you walk around the city without precautions, did you?”

The wire tightened.

Your breath left you in a sharp exhale.

“That’s…” You swallowed. Your throat was so dry. “That’s dirty.”

“It’s necessary.”

You yanked, hard—but the moment you did, a second wire wrapped around your other wrist.

Your entire body jerked backward.

He stepped closer, slow and measured. “You’re hungry, aren’t you?”

His gloved fingers reached into his coat—a vial of blood. He let it catch the moonlight, let the rich crimson gleam just enough to make your senses burn.

“I can feel you shaking” he murmured. “Your body is on the verge of collapse.”

The hunger raged.

“You can barely stand.”

He took one step closer. Then another. The wires tightened, but his touch was gentle when he cupped your face.

“Would you like me to help you?”

Your fangs ached. Your lips parted, perhaps to curse him, perhaps to demand answers—but he pressed the vial to your mouth before you could.

“Drink” he said softly.

And despite everything-

You did.

You meant to resist, but the moment the vial of blood brushed your lips, something inside you snapped.

No.

Not that.

Not the artificial substitute he was rationing out like you were some starved pet.

You wanted something real.

Something fresh.

Something pounding with life.

Your body moved on instinct. Before Anaxa could react, you jerked forward, twisting against the wire restraints—and sank your fangs into his neck.

His breath hitched.

A sharp intake of air, but not a sound of protest.

It was nothing like the controlled doses he’d given you before. This was unfiltered. The raw burn of his lifeblood hitting your starving veins like fire, like something addictive, something forbidden, something you should have never tasted but now-

You couldn’t stop.

His pulse pounded against your lips. The scent of his blood flooded your senses, drowning everything else.

A shudder ran through him.

“…Interesting.”

His voice low, breathless, but not angry.

Your grip on him tightened. The heat of his body pressed against yours, the steady rhythm of his pulse hammering against your tongue—

Something in him changed.

You felt it.

His hands, which had been loose at his sides, lifted—gripping you. One hand fisting into your hair, the other pressing against the small of your back, keeping you close.

Holding you there.

Like he was enjoying it.

You ripped away, blood dripping from your lips. Your chest heaved, your mind fogged, but your body felt stronger than ever.

The hunger was gone.

Anaxa swayed slightly, an odd flush dusting his cheeks. His pink-green eyes, normally so unreadable, held something dark.

“…That” he murmured, almost thoughtful, “was new.”

Your heart pounded. You didn’t wait for him to recover. You ran.

For the second time that night, you made it past the gates.

This time, you were faster, stronger, your vision was sharper, your body buzzing from the rush of real, living blood surging through you. You could make it. You could finally—

Your body collided with something, no, someone.

A blur of dark uniforms. The sound of metal clinking.

Anaxa’s men.

Strong hands clamped down on you before you could twist away. The energy you had stolen from Anaxa was already fading.

You thrashed, baring your fangs, trying to summon the last remnants of your strength. But it was too late. They were prepared for this.

A sharp prick at your neck—

The world blurred.

“Restrain them. Bring them back.”

His voice.

Steady. Cold. Commanding.

You woke up back where you started.

The sterile scent of Anaxa’s lab filled your senses. The cool press of steel against your wrists and ankles. The soft glow of dim lighting overhead.

And in front of you was Anaxa.

You tried to move but the restraints held you back.

“…Awake already?”

Your eyes followed.

The bandages. Wrapped around his neck. Covering the very spot where your fangs had pierced him.

He should still be healing.

Except... He looked perfectly fine.

“…You heal fast” you rasped.

Anaxa’s fingers tapped lightly against the armrest of his chair. His gaze remained fixed on you, contemplative.

Then, he leaned forward.

“Your bite,” he murmured, “was… curious.”

You stiffened. His voice was light, but you caught it—the interest. The same quiet intrigue he had when he first realized you were something rare.

“…What did you do to me?” you demanded.

His smile widened, not an answer. But the look in his eyes? It told you everything.

He had discovered something.

Something about you.

Something he wasn’t going to share.

But you wouldn’t let him hold the silence over you.

You inhaled, voice steadier than you felt. “You know something.”

Then, as if humoring a child, he leaned back.

“I had my suspicions” he admitted.

His voice was light, casual, but you didn’t miss the way his grip on the chair subtly tightened.

“You felt it too, didn’t you?” he mused. “That rush? The way my blood settled inside you—how it burned, but not in rejection. How it… changed you.”

Your heart pounded. That was his angle. Whatever happened when you bit him, he wanted it to happen again.

He wanted more.

Your mouth felt dry. “It was just blood.”

Anaxa tilted his head. “Then why do you look shaken?”

You clenched your jaw.

His pink-green gaze glimmered, as if enjoying your reaction.

“Vampires are rare” he continued, “but not unheard of. I’ve studied them before.”

“But you?” His voice dipped into something softer, something darker. “You’re something else entirely.”

Anaxa leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

“Most humans wouldn’t have survived that bite” he said, voice almost amused. “They’d be drained. Feverish. Weak.”

You knew that. You’d done it before. Drained prey too fast, left them hollowed-out corpses with bodies too frail to fight back. Anaxa should have been the same.

But he wasn’t, he had endured.

No—more than that.

He had recovered instantly.

Like something in your blood had...

“Fascinating, isn’t it?” he murmured. “You feed off me, but instead of leaving me weak...” He gestured vaguely at himself. “I adapt.”

You gritted your teeth.

He was lying. Or at least, not telling the full truth.

He knew something more.

Most humans would have flinched under your glare. Most would have backed away at the sight of your fangs still stained with their blood.

Anaxa?

He was studying you.

Like he had already decided

He owned you now.

Your fingers curled into fists. “So what?” you spat. “You’re going to keep me locked up? Use me like some kind of—”

“Oh, no.” Anaxa chuckled.

That was the laugh of a man who had already planned everything.

“You misunderstand” he said. “I don’t need to keep you in a cage.”

He stood, slow and deliberate, pacing toward you.

The restraints held you down. The steel burned just slightly against your skin—silver-laced.

He knew your weaknesses.

Anaxa crouched in front of you. His eyes softened, not with kindness, but something far more dangerous.

“I already know how to keep you” he murmured.

His fingers lifted, grazed your jaw.

You flinched. He smiled.

Then, his other hand lifted a small vial. Deep red liquid sloshed inside.

Blood.

Not just any blood.

Yours.

Anaxa turned the vial in his hand, watching the light refract through it. “I ran a few tests while you were unconscious.”

Of course he did.

“It’s… different from what I expected.” He tapped the glass. “You’re stronger than a normal vampire. And yet—”

His gaze flickered to you.

“You need me.”

You froze.

“…What?”

Anaxa smiled like he had won.

“Oh, you haven’t noticed?” His voice dipped into something taunting. “You took my blood, and it filled you. Made you stronger. But now?”

His fingers ghosted over your wrist, where your veins ached.

“Now, you’re fading again.”

As soon as he said it, you felt it. The dull, creeping exhaustion sinking into your bones. The same hunger from before, clawing back like an old habit.

“You can feed on others, of course” he said. “Drink until they collapse. But it won’t be the same, will it?”

“No one else’s blood will do.”

That couldn’t be true.

He was just saying that to mess with you. Just trying to break you.

Anaxa leaned in, voice barely a whisper.

“You belong to me now.”

The words slithered into your mind, poisonous and inescapable.

Your body was already giving in.

No.

You refused.

He lifted the vial to your lips.

And in that moment, you realized the true trap.

This hunger.

This craving that only he could satisfy.

The first sip of his blood had already sealed your fate.

His free hand caressed your cheek.

“Drink” he murmured.

“And I’ll take care of you.”

You stared at him, at the man who had orchestrated this entire game, the man who had been testing you from the very beginning, the man who had won.

Your lips parted.

And the vial tilted.

[love-byers]

So my understanding of mike and Will is during their rain fight in s3 Mike was basically saying “I grew up and I moved on from you so why can’t you do the same” (please I need you to move on) to which Will responded with “no I don’t want a girlfriend I’m not ready to grow up and and move on from you” and then later on when El said she loved Mike he realized he was lying to himself. He hasn’t moved on he’s just been going through the motions. Trying so desperately to be “normal” that he lost himself (and Will). In that moment he wants desperately to go back to how things were. From the end of s3 to the start of s4 Will and Mike don’t talk but El writes a letter telling Mike how Will is doing and he learns that Will is making a painting for a girl he likes—he’s finally moved on. He did what Mike wanted. So Mike gets to California still thinking he can walk that “normal” path he’s carved for himself. Be a boyfriend to your girlfriend how hard can that be. As if to say “Will’s moved on and I can too, why not I did it before.” But Mike’s acting weirder than normal and it’s more obvious this time. His plan isn’t working anymore and he’s hurting them. Again arriving at the same conclusion that he had at the end of s3—he doesn’t love El (not romantically at least) and he doesn’t want to move on from Will. He can’t move on.

yep that sounds about right

i once saw someone describe the rain fight as mike saying "what's your problem? it's not like you wanted me" and will saying "but i did want you" and it broke my brain. and then in the epilogue mike puts it out there that he actually does still want will, and will affirms that he still wants mike as well.

and it's even more interesting when you consider that the rain fight and rink o mania fight are parallels. it's like they re opened the wound from the rain fight with all their horrible miscommunication. they both think the other has gone back on their agreement that they want each other. that's why it's so messy. mike blames will for their problems that day because if will hadn't gone back on his promise then it wouldn't have triggered mike into going back on his as well (or attempting to). mike is essentially like "you don't have the right to act shitty and make me feel guilty when this is all your fault in the first place" and will is like "well why are you mad over how i'm acting at all when you clearly don't even want me anymore" and mike is like "WTF YES I DO- i mean actually no i don't bc thats gay will whats your problem we're friends..."

messy messy gays they are indeed...