#leo reads worm

[ewingstan]

Another fun thing about arc 20: it was happening in Arcadia. The school that everyone knows all the Wards go to. So when Taylor was calling on the student body to form around her, a bunch of people who know they're classmates with some of the heroes in the room went up and helped Skitter anyway. They're looking at Clockblocker and Kid Win, and knowing that they're also students here (maybe someone they interact with often, underneath the mask), and getting in their way anyways.

Clockblocker is watching Kim from History class and Patricia who sits next to him in Social Studies aid and abet a criminal—what is it like going to school again the next day as Dennis? Running yourself ragged trying to keep things in the city from falling apart, then seeing a sizable portion of your fellow students—the people you're trying to protect—choose to help this villain over you? It shocked Taylor to hear them talk about how Skitter had helped them. After hearing her justify herself before the echidna fight, what's it like for Dennis to realize so many of his classmates feel like she helped them more than he did?

[saccharind]

from Prokaryote Season by Leo Fox

[ewingstan]

Hm. So by my reading there's two main criticisms of the genre going on here (op feel free to correct me):

Progression fantasy is founded on bizarre ideas regarding stakes and conflict, such as a reader never feeling frustrated that the main character doesn't solve X via the obvious solution Y. This often translates into a story having no stakes, as setting up a real believable threat to something a character values would require them not instantly being able to solve it, which is unacceptable.

Progression fantasies hold little real entertainment value because all aspects of the story are ultimately subservient to descriptions of how characters get stronger, without doing anything interesting besides making the reader feel cool and powerful

In my opinion, I don't really think that Worm falls victim to either of these criticisms. Wildbow is pretty good at setting up threats and framing them as real problems for a character. I talked about this in my post about the mannequin fight: Wildbow has the first fight Taylor gets into be one where she gets in trouble because she can't just bite her way out of an encounter with an armored enemy, and then later has a setpiece fight with the same enemy which is only solved by cleverly attacking a crack in the same villain's armor. This sets the audience up to believe that Taylor cannot really deal with armored foes and can only exploit their chinks, which makes her going up against a guy whose whole thing is not having any chinks in his armor feel really impressive.

It almost reminds me of the famous argument for why Spider-Man lifting a wall is impressive. Superman lifts up walls every other issue without it being presented as a problem, but having Spider-Man spend an entire issue talking about "agh oh god its so hard to lift up this wall....but theres so many thematically important relationships depending on me lifting it! I'm gonna think about how important those relationships are to me for another ten pages while muttering about how heavy this wall is!" And its all just framing and focus; a superhero is as strong as they need to be for an issue and the writers could have just had Spiderman lift up the wall and go about his adventures. Writers setting up a threat as a believable obstacle is all about how much they can sell the audience on it being a problem, which typically means how much a author can sell us on a character's weaknesses—we need to believe that Spider-Man couldn't lift the wall, and that Skitter can't deal with someone like Mannequin, for them doing so to be impactful.

A formulaic power fantasy, then, would fail due to not being willing to sell its characters as limited, or not doing so convincingly. Worm is pretty good at selling the audience on Taylor being limited, especially in the first 3/4ths. This is only highlighted by comparing it to Ward, falters in writing engaging action while for the most part having really engaging emotional conflicts. The text doesn't really bother trying to sell Vicky as being limited in a combat capacity, but spends a great deal of time selling her as being limited in a "healthy relationships with others" capacity. The brief sections where Ward's action gets really good, its in situations where the text has spent a lot of time making us think people would have limited combat abilities. The standout examples are an fights from Rain's perspective, since the text really likes talking about how much Rain sucks at fighting and how useless his powers are, and the Goddess fight, both because it dealt more directly with Vicky's well-established emotional vulnerabilities and because the whole prison arc was spent on selling Goddess as a powerhouse. While I wouldn't call Ward a progression fantasy, it's lapses into formulaic territory resemble the more pat examples of the genre because both suffer in the same way from not selling a character as limited.

As for the second point, while its obviously subjective, I don't think Worm can be criticized on the grounds of not doing enough besides create an escapist power fantasy. I've written before about how the setup of Worm's style of action meant that every advancement of Taylor's combat tricks and abilities necessitated an advancement in our understanding of her character. I wouldn't necessarily say this is necessary for an action piece to be fun; most JJBA fights don't end with anyone advancing as a character, and they still end up being engaging due to fun setups and creative uses of powers. But again, that works mainly because Araki is good at selling a threat as being a problem given character's limits.

I will say that I don't actually think that "everything is devoted to making the main character and reader feel powerful at the expense of thematic depth" can be applied to HPMOR, to the extent that I'm not sure it can count as a progression fantasy. It has the opposite problem, everything is devoted to showing why the main character's worldview is right. The character getting more powerful is always a result of, and way of showing the reader, how a certain worldview is rewarding and true.

Hell, despite what Yudkowsky himself says about how to write intelligent characters, most of the power progression in the series comes from the character thinking some thing Yudkowsky believes is true really hard until it helps him, rather than the character solving a problem. Rather than the story being devoted to power progression at the expense of themes, the story is devoted to expressing its themes through the power of the main character at the expense of Yudkowsky's own principles of engaging storytelling. Take the main examples of the character advancing:

Learning a super special kill-dementors spell after reflecting really hard on the horribleness of death and the greatness of the quest to vanquish it.

Learning how to do partial transmutation by thinking really really hard about how our perception of the material world is misleading, leading to a lot of speeches about the need to reconsider old natural-seeming assumptions based on scientific evidence

Defeating a big bad using a technique he learns in a much earlier scene, which itself was focused on the characters being sad that they couldn't figure out a way to use magic to cure Alzheimer's and led to a lot of discussion on the obligation to use power for others benefits.

HPMOR doesn't really suffer from putting "feeling powerful" before anything else at the expense of themes. It's built to make a reader feel correct about their worldview more than feeling powerful or intelligent, and suffers from being especially didactic about it and needing to show how they're right in a way that prevents the character from feeling limited or the reader from being especially challenged.

so back in the day i read HPMOR, right? like many people. and as it went on (& yudkowsky kept talking about his writing process on tumblr) it became more and more clear that this was fiction approached from an angle i had never really considered before. i had been vaguely aware of places like the spacebattles forum or the dark lord potter forum, where apparently people wrote stories that were mostly just a long-form way to debate “would the USS Enterprise win against a star trek star destroyer”, or whatever. yudkowsky kept saying wild things like “the point of this scene is to vicariously enjoy somebody solving a problem” or “all characters should always do smart things so the reader doesn’t get frustrated with them” or “i wanted to add a short arc where this character doesn’t instantly solve all his problems but i was worried it would alienate the reader”. (see also.) just like, expressing this conceptualization that the point of fiction was to… write a character stomping through a little fake world going from victory to victory so that the reader could enjoy the vicarious glow of having a hard problem presented to them and then immediately resolved. how smart you are for following the line of thought of the main character, who did this smart thing!!

so that was very weird, but it was mostly a singular kind of weirdness. another weird, out-of-touch artifact from the rationalists, like roko’s basilisk but harry potter fanfiction instead.

anyway a while back i stumbled across “Mother of Learning”, and i think my initial response to it was ‘this is less a story with a plot and more a series of obstacles that are presented to the main character to be sequentially overcome’. there was a furry webcomic years ago that was a calvin & hobbes knockoff – small child, stuffed animal companion who became alive when they were alone, whimsy, etc – only where calvin & hobbes left the premise unstated, this comic, roughly 30 strips in, had a whole plot explaining: okay so these are a special kind of magical creature that bonds with children. in this metaphor susie’s mr. bun is also a magical creature. eventually they start going on adventures together. my overall thought was like, oh i guess i was assuming this was a narrative framing device structured around the themes of the work, but actually this was all meant to be fully diagetic and fully explained as part of the work’s “worldbuilding”.

anyway mother of learning is like that but for groundhog day. the time loop isn’t an unexplained device used to inspect a character through a lens, it’s a dragon ball-style training chamber. there are “plot developments” as more information is revealed, but all of that takes a back seat to extensively and exhaustively describing every ability and technique that the main character learns and how they use them to be more powerful. mother of learning is 800,000 words long. the time loop is because they’re actually duplicates of the ‘real people’, in a pocket universe constructed inside of an eldrich monstrosity that was designed to be used every x years by some kind of fated hero to keep it sealed. the main character has to escape partly to make sure some evil cultists don’t unseal some stuff, but mostly so he doesn’t lose all his experience gains.

anyway so reading that brought me to royal road. (i’ve always found the name very funny since my main familiarity with the term is the phrase “there is no royal road to geometry - euclid”, aka there is no shortcut to learning something; you always have to put in the hard struggle of comprehension. it’s actually named after… something from a light novel or something? it used to be a fan forum for a specific work before branching out into a publishing platform.) anyway it’s a place to post stuff, like fanfiction.net or fictionpress or whatever. there is a strong genre constraint: they mostly want to hear about their protagonists getting endlessly more and more powerful, and sometimes collecting a harem of sexy women. it’s for that kind of fiction. reading a few stories there was very illuminating, in that finally i could place HPMOR in a genre: that of the ‘progression fantasy’, a profoundly self-indulgent and formulaic genre that’s mostly just an action story with a lot of the bits stripped away so they can describe how much more powerful the protagonist is getting. a subgenre of this is the 'litrpg’, which are stories with a diagetic video-game-mechanics layer. people are checking their stats and getting experience from killing monsters and leveling up and all that. a lot of them read like text LPs of videogames that don’t exist. where the author is, of course, executing a min-maxed run.

(there’s a lot of overlap here between progression fantasies and like, xianxia stories? cultivation stories are generally all progression fantasies, and so there’s a lot of overlap thematically.)

anyway so that was kind of a grim awareness of a dark corner of the literary world. this stuff is popular. royal road is pretty aggressively farmed by publishers wanting to license stuff so they can make ebooks or w/e; there are author patreons there that make like, thousands of dollars a month for writing chapter 1394 of “my character with a cool spear levels up more”. i’ve read a bunch of progression fantasies but i wouldn’t say i really enjoyed any of them, partly because a lot of them are really bad at like… constructing a narrative with any kind of stakes. it’s all gonna be jettisoned away in favor of talking more about level ups. it is actually almost exactly the experience of grinding for levels in an RPG: it’s not really fun, but it can be engaging in the moment, and also you get to see a number go up, so that’s like a reward.

(i started writing one of my own as a writing exercise b/c i wanted to try some short-paced serial work that wasn’t porn, and it shot up to uh #40 top-rated on the entire site. it was in the top 10 for a few days. i have some complicated feelings about that.)

recently, i’ve been reading a lot of, uh, gay incest teenage mutant ninja turtles fanfiction. a lot of it is incredibly overwrought. 200k words of characters pining guiltily over each other! soap opera antics with miscommunications and secrets! genre cliches piled up in a big heap and remixed! and like, fanfic as a genre can be real formulaic too, right? a lot of people who read&write fanfic don’t read much else, and there’s absolutely a 'house style’ for most fanfic. but when i read fanfic i get the sense that the authors are, you know, aware of some literary conventions, of the various aspects that make up a story, and they’re struggling to convey concepts and themes. apparently i’m responsible for inspiring somebody to write what i think is the only sincere donkey/shrek porn fanfic in existence, and personally i think that porn fanfic has a million times the literary and artistic merit as chapter 1400 of randitly fucking ghosthound, because porn, overwrought incest soap opera dramas, is at least saying something about the nature of human desire, whereas most progression fantasy stuff is an utterly self-absorbed thesis on “writing somebody cool and powerful is escapism so i can feel cool & powerful”, stretched out to a million words.

like i guess 'i want to feel powerful’ is an expression of human desire but it’s a particularly flat one. i think a lot about that bit in dead zones of the imagination:

Violence’s capacity to allow arbitrary decisions, and thus to avoid the kind of debate, clarification, and renegotiation typical of more egalitarian social relations, is obviously what allows its victims to see procedures created on the basis of violence as stupid or unreasonable. One might say, those relying on the fear of force are not obliged to engage in a lot of interpretative labor, and thus, generally speaking, do not.

[…]

To be more precise: violence may well be the only form of human action by which it is possible to have relatively predictable effects on the actions of a person about whom you understand nothing. Pretty much any other way one might try to influence another’s actions, one at least has to have some idea who they think they are, who they think you are, what they might want out of the situation, and what their aversions and proclivities are. Hit them over the head hard enough and all of this becomes irrelevant.

a fantasy of having power is, i think, fundamentally a fantasy of never having to know anything you don’t want to, of never having to deal with the consequences of your actions. i feel it’s a particularly grim thing to enshrine into a millon-word epic.

anyway, hi, i’m back on tumblr, i guess. who can say if this will last. i’m still not happy about the porn ban! for reasons hopefully partially explained by the whole bit about porn above. also the increasing sidelining of custom layouts in favor of a uniform interface. sadly even with that it seems like tumblr is basically the only well-travelled social media site that’s not a total algorithmic nightmare, although the first thing i did when i remade this account was to go into the settings and turn off like a dozen algorithmic switches that were all defaulted to 'yes’.

i ended up moving cross-country during the peak of covid b/c my former housemate started having screaming panic attacks literally any time somebody stepped outside the house (literally literally, not emphatically literally). i would not recommend it. now i live somewhere where 'fire’ is a season, which is introducing new complications to my life. we’ll see how things go from here.

oh yeah, also my icon has more points now. i leveled up V:

[wormspoodle]

drew them very quickly bc i found out they all had canon human designs in the 2nd power rangers crossover comic now

[therapeutic007]

🌟 The Savior Complex: When Helping Crosses the Line 🌟

Let’s talk about something many of us can relate to: the savior complex. It’s the instinct to swoop in, fix someone’s problems, and “save” them—whether they’ve asked for it or not. While helping others is a beautiful thing, there’s a fine line between support and overstepping.

What is the Savior Complex?

The savior complex isn’t about being kind—it’s about feeling a need to fix or rescue others. It can show up in relationships, friendships, or even at work. Here are some signs:

🌱 You feel responsible for someone else’s happiness or success.

🌱 You prioritize fixing others over taking care of yourself.

🌱 You feel validated or worthy when you “save the day.”

🌱 You struggle to let people solve their own problems.

Why It Happens

The savior complex often comes from a good place, like:

💛 Wanting to ease others’ pain because you care deeply.

💛 Finding purpose in being needed or helpful.

💛 Avoiding your own struggles by focusing on someone else’s.

But here’s the thing: over time, trying to “save” people can create unhealthy dynamics. It can:

Leave others feeling dependent or powerless.

Drain your energy and lead to burnout.

Prevent real, mutual connection based on equality.

What Healthy Support Looks Like

You can still support and uplift others without falling into the savior complex. Here’s how:

Listen without fixing: Sometimes, people just need a compassionate ear—not solutions.

Ask instead of assuming: “How can I support you?” respects their autonomy.

Set boundaries: You’re not responsible for someone else’s choices or outcomes.

Focus on empowerment: Encourage others to find their own strength and solutions.

A Simple Reminder

Being a helper doesn’t mean being a savior. True connection comes from meeting people where they are—not carrying them where you think they should be. 💛

_____ Overcome Your Saviorism Now !

[midnightkolrath]

Time for another chapter of 'Leo analyzing DMC stuff' with something that woke me up at 4 AM to think about, as a sudden ponder point

So, the series has a running joke of impalement, namely with Dante being impaled by some sort of sword. Mostly his own sword, though. This little running gag comes full circle in DMC5, when Dante laments on why he was given Rebellion and decides to impale himself with the handle that then proceeds to combine with the Sparda sword to unlock his Sin Devil Trigger form.

But thinking about this more, I realized that this sort of thing has been common, not just with Dante himself.

Though, I'm gonna start talking about his thing with DMC3 here.

With the DMC5 screenshot I've included with Dante's dialogue, plus thinking back about that very moment in DMC3, we know Dante unlocked his devil trigger thanks to Vergil through impalement of his own sword. This is THE main moment we see of a form like devil trigger be unlocked this way.

But, funny enough, if we fast forward into DMC4...we get yet another moment where we have our protag be impaled and awoken to atleast a FORM of their devil trigger...with Nero.

As a side tidbit, the details of this awakening are elaborated in the DMC4 novel, Deadly Fortune, where Nero recalls a dream he had after gaining his demonic arm, featuring a familiar voice (that we know is Vergil) that he remembers again as he went temporarily unconscious. (Though in the novel its implied he temporarily died before reviving...it states his 'heartbeat stopped', though the way its pictured in the game...who completely knows).

This moment of remembrance is what triggers not only the first (incomplete) form of Nero's devil trigger, but the reconstruction of the Yamato. This is the second time the domino effect of being stabbed (or perhaps simply overwhelmed in Nero's case...though Agnus did rub the salt in similarly to Vergil against Dante...not with his own sword but with a sword-like object...maybe its a parallel) resulted in the awakening of a devil trigger, or a newfound power.

Now, if we do the fun thing and roll both forward and back, we'll see that Dante and Nero weren't the only ones that experienced a power awakening this way. Thanks to Visions of V, we get a short flashback of Vergil's childhood. This included the very moment there was the demon attack that killed Eva and separated the twins, sending them on their own paths.

A VERY significant moment we (tragically) get to see is a young Vergil getting attacked by these demons, while he's alone. Its horrifying, but also shares a similar theme though much more brutally.

In fact, its similar to Nero's case, which involves impalement like Dante but grows into being overwhelmed to the point of helplessness. ALSO funny enough, its this bit of helplessness, of feeling that power is NEEDED to get themselves out of the situation they're in to survive for one way or another...that Yamato comes right to their side. When its needed most.

This is, for Vergil, an awakening to what would become his path to gain power at any cost, to never have to feel this helplessness again while also being haunted about the lack of strength he had to protect his mother.

Its interesting that this moment mirrors Nero's claim to yamato in DMC4, with even the desire and call for more power led to Yamato returning to its restored form and going to Nero's side. Like father, like son.

My original point, though, was how a funny ironic running joke of being impaled one way or another in this series apparently leads to awakening of power or resolve for the Sparda clan. This series has many running themes if you look for them, but this is one I've noticed lately. I wonder if Sparda himself went through something like this in his time (heh).

[serenhob]

Jttw Percy Jackson Au

(Jttw is fair use, this is possible) Btw this is me thinking of things as I go along So I was thinking, Hazel had been previously dead for ages so wouldn't it be nice if Frank and her (potentially others, like maybe Leo or someone) took a gap year to travel and show Hazel everything she's missed, in a calm no stakes environment. So they go touring round the states and eventually come to like, idk, Toronto or smth and suddenly are beset by monsters who come to kidnap one of them, idk who but one of the members of this roadtrip. And lo and behold when they go to rescue them who is also trying to save someone, Sun Wukong Now why would Sun Wukomg have trouble saving Tripitaka Here's what we know about him Sun Wukong: -Mischievous -Secretly very wise -Op -Except in water -also that one time that guy had an artifact that kept eating his hair monkeys

So reasonably speaking, they could totally be underwater demons stealing tripitaka to eat him (idk how he would be coping with that, water can't kill immortals right? Probs) So maybe Percy is the one getting kidnapped, which could be interesting as he always tries to be the one to save everyone else and i don't think, correct me if I'm wrong, he's ever been in the damsel position. So obviously, he can breathe underwater so he'd be fine. The underwater demons would need a motivation but isn't 'its the guy who killed Kronos and defeated Gaia' enough, probably not but we can work that out later. It could also be really interesting seeing Percy, who would probably want to escape by himself and be self sufficient, with Tripitaka who normally just hangs put waiting for monkey to save him.

Why is Tripitaka even there and getting kidnapped in the first place: Well I'm imaging he's immortal and he decides that him and Wukong could go down to the mortal realm to do...something idk maybe it could be related to someone or something in the percy jackson verse. Anyway, so they haven't been there in centuries so miss the mark, aiming for China but getting really lost and ending up in the middle of Missori (honestly I haven't got a clue about the states, I'm not American) so their off to complete the mission even tho modern 'China ' is really strange and different. And boom Tripitaka gets kidnapped. Cause of a combination of eating the golden cicada and whatever he was doing. So they all have to struggle with the water without Percy and come up with action plan to save him + slowly uncover what the demons are up to. We can have alternating chapters, with Sun Wukong and the Road trip buddies and then Percy in the water cave.

Maybe they want to sacrifice them or smth. Idk Please add to this if you want, or correct me on anything I got wrong :)

[just-the-dia]

I knew Anna Karenina was a masterpiece but didn't expect to be so impressed after reading it.

Leo Tolstoy antisipated future changes in the country as well as in the social life and created a very progressive story about life, about people and their thoughts, their attempts to find place in life, it's meaning and personal happiness. He showed how society influences people and their destiny, how rules and what is believed to be right may be in contradiction with what is actually right. The author makes readers think about a wide spectrum of things: from love and family issues, the state situation, moral and social obligations, to the existential problems and crises of faith. Love and hatred, happiness and devastation, family and lonliness, social and personal, right and wrong, life and death. As he said, Anna Karenina was about the present.

Anna Karenina, as I see her, was a controversial character- she may have behaved without a proper thinking, but did she have any option? It was her honor and dignity she gave up trying to become happy, her son whom she had to leave to be with her loved one, her whole life in exchange for love. It was an impossible decision. All her sacrifices led to the great fear- fear of being alone (remembering the reality of the 19th century, it would have been a horrible ending) , of becoming unloved by Vronsky. It was a tragedy, the final end, which set her free from social pressure and fear.

I find myself impressed by her bravery and strength but at the same time I'm not sure her way of leaving husband and son was completely morally right (in the beginning of the book it seems, she loved them and couldn't wait till coming back to them). But again, was there a choice? Were there other ways? - I doubt that.

She said to her brother : "You cannot understand. I feel I'm lying head downwards in a sort of pit, but I ought not to save myself. And I cannot do it." (in the original version, she was "flying in some sort of gulf" which I find a better metaphor).

We can only hope she found her peace after the end.

P. S. It's only my impression of the book and I may be wrong or could have understood it differently from you, so if you'd like to discuss the book or share your thoughts, please feel free to do it❤️

[alberta-sunrise]

In the meantime 🙊🙈

[mihai-florescu]

actually that is a question i had, was there a specific reason that leo didnt end up as one of the eccentrics ? i always accidentally group him in as one of them in my brain before i remember hes not. i assume if theres an answer its covered in checkmate or something so fdkdksj

Yeah, it's covered in checkmate lmao but basically. Oh i actually wrote a little something something about checkmate a few weeks ago, i can send it to you after this. I focused on izuleo so i don't think it's worth posting now, but i did touch on leo and eichi a bit too. Basically Leo was the prototype for what would happen to the eccentrics. The destruction of Chess was a result of the implementation of the dreamfes system. The reason he wasn't an oddball is because eichi met and took a liking to Leo before the oddballs had even been conceptualized (Checkmate actually shows Tsumugi and Eichi's first interaction actually btw, in a hospital room before Leo gets admitted too). Much like with the oddballs, Eichi admires Leo and is conflicted, he doesn't want him to actually break, but he needs it for his revolution... and there are multiple factors that then lead to Leo's downfall. I think that happens before Shu's execution even, but don't quote me on this part, it's just what i remember.

[gildedbearediting]

A Look At: The Three Hermits

The Three Hermits was written by Leo Tolstoy in third person past tense. The main character is a bishop on a ship with pilgrims, a fisherman, and the ship’s crew. The story starts with bible verses, Matthew 6: 7-8. Jargon included in the story would be cassock, steerman or helmsman, and benediction. A cassock is a full length garment that’s worn by Christian clergy and other members of church. A…

[ewingstan]

Take the following observations:

Taylor kissed Rachel to cure bonesaw's miasma (wildbow 2012, part 14.11)

Taylor could have spit on a bug and had it fly into Rachel's mouth to cure the miasma (@ty-bayonet-betteridge, 2023)

Wildbow has stated numerous times that neither of these characters are supposed to be taken as queer.

Taylor kissing a girl on the lips in a scenario when there were other options she likely would have thought of to cure her is Gay

These three observations all seem to contradict with each other, such that we cannot take them seriously without one of them giving. Most would place their doubt on 3, claiming that wildbow intentionally created a yuri moment for his readers and then backed away from the implications this would have on the larger story. However, careful reasoning reveals that there is no necessary contradiction:

A normally gay action isn't actually gay if all your alternatives in the situation would be more gay.

The most-often stated alternative for what Taylor could have done involved flying a bug down Rachel's throat.

Taylor's swarm is noted numerous times to be an extension of her body.

We can thus conclude there is no contradiction between are initial quartet of observations as long as we accept the following: Taylor having a bug fly down a girl's throat is more gay than simply kissing them.

With this out of the way, we can turn our attention to a section from 19.7:

We have an instance of Taylor doing what she was fully capable of doing in the miasma incident, and sticking a bug down her teammate's throat—in this case in order to stop talking. Based on our above reasoning, we can conclude that Taylor did the equivalent of dipping Lisa into a surprise kiss sloppy style to shut her up. The fact that this strategy worked and Sundancer did in fact nuke those guys is an important piece of evidence for my ongoing theory that Worm acts on the logic of a romantic comedy—

[pinkaditty]

Holidays with Ghouls (Sho Haizono x Reader; Tokyo Debunker)

please read:

okay. big news + life update: i got into a major car accident a little while ago. my first one ever! i am in a lot of pain so things may be slow-going for a while and ill be unable to commit as much time to writing due to the tangled mess that is dealing with modern insurance companies and recovering from my injuries. thankfully its not so bad to be hospitalized, but its bad enough to limit my activity for the time being. i am somewhat ashamed to ask, but if you like my writing, please consider donating to my cashapp: $cindyfromstarbucks! my car was 100% totaled, and im gonna need to save up for a new one, and my job doesn’t pay very much. thank you for your consideration! please enjoy, regardless! (this paragraph will be on my posts indefinitely, probably until i fully recover)

a/n: LET ME START THIS OFF BY SAYING IT’S ENTIRELY SELF-INDULGENT… i have a green thumb and i’ve been growing a small garden lately (limited space. i hate captialism.) and i just thought “hm. what if we grew fresh ingredients for sho’s food truck?” and the idea stuck and didn’t leave no matter how much i tried 2 shake it off. mc is basically written as me im not gonna hold y’all, but i kept it 2 a minimum so it could still be an ‘x reader’. 

summary: self-indulgent reader x sho. in which you do something nice for him and he struggles to return the favor. 

no cw! enjoy!

big fan of the “woman that is so wound up all the time and extremely professional and tries to keep everyone at arm’s length distance” x “guy that is only a few years younger than the woman but loves calling her by age-appropriate honorifics (i.e. noona, ojou, jiejie, madame, etc) and goes out of his way to teach her how to fucking relax every once in a while” trope and essentially if i were with sho that is how the relationship would go LMFAOOOOOOO

You used to have a bit of a garden before becoming a student at Darkwick. A part of you often wondered if there were people tending to your garden now so you could return to it, well kept and exactly as you remember it, when you were cured of this curse and got this anomalous ring off of you. You'd never really had the idea to plant anything here; you were much too focused on missions and other incessant errands the ghouls saw fit to send you on. You didn't like it, but held your tongue regardless. If all went well, you wouldn't have to deal with this after less than a year. 

You were fond of a few ghouls, though. Some of them were a nice reprieve from the other harsher and more selfish ghouls. Haku was a great example of that, and so was Subaru, his dorm's captain. You'd grown fond on the Jabberwock ghouls, as they were always kind and polite. You didn't really mind the Obscuary ghouls, either. Even if odd, they were good natured, and never turned you away. You appreciated that Rui had a bit of a green thumb too, and would often stop by to assist him with plant care. 

The one ghoul you were the most fond of, despite his less than agreeable best friend, was Haizono, or Sho, as he insisted on being called. Sho, despite his friend Leo, was actually pretty friendly. You enjoyed the time you spent around him, whether that was collecting supplies from the diner, or training with him, or even helping him meal prep for the following day for his food truck. It was fun, spending time with Sho. You're almost angry the idea didn't dawn on you sooner.

Said idea is why you carefully sift through the dirt in your compost container, careful not to split any of the worms with your nails. The potatoes should be done growing by now. The idea had dawned on you one day when Sho mentioned not having enough potatoes to serve fries the following day. Potatoes were an easy crop. And they took three months, at most, to grow. Sure, if worse came to worst, you'd die, but growing potatoes was a good distraction and encouraged you to plan for the future, as though you wouldn't die. After a few favors from Benji and some begging towards the chancellor, you had a small garden behind the chapel. Granted, you'd just started it three months ago, so it wasn't as full as your garden back home, but it was good enough. It was hidden from the rest of campus by the surrounding trees, ensuring no one would find the garden unless they had reason to cut around the chapel, which wasn't necessary considering the path out front. Not only did it serve as your little place of respite, it allowed you to do nice things for others. You were just growing potatoes for now, but it felt like enough of a starter, at least. You’d just planted some tomato seeds that you’d hoped Sho would also find a use for. 

Once done harvesting a substantial batch of potatoes, you wrap them up in plastic bags to look like you bought them. It would save you the embarrassment of having to explain that you’d grown them yourself. 

It’s pleasantly chilly outside, the still afternoon air heavy with promises of cold weather and a white winter holiday. Dirt remained underneath your fingernails from all that harvesting, but it was a small price to pay. Your heart pounded with anticipation and exertion as you made the trek to Vagastrom, heading for the nearby food truck. As expected, you find Sho sitting on one of his supply boxes, far underdressed for the cold weather. You can’t tell if he’s resistant to it or rebelling against it, but you can tell he’s cold. His cheeks and nose are tinged red and his eyes are squinted against the cold wind. You can even tell he’s sniffling with how often he inhales. You exhale both fondly and exasperatedly. The stubbornness of these ghouls was simultaneously attractive and irritating. 

You make it no secret you’re approaching, the bag of potatoes crinkling with your upbeat steps and your own runny nose sniffling in response to the cold wind. You place the bag of potatoes beside him with a heavy ‘thud’, to which he finally looks up, appearing jolted out of his thoughts. 

“Here,” you start, taking your scarf from around your neck and tying it around his without waiting for a reaction. “You must be an idiot to sit out in the cold with just your uniform on.”

“Senpai.” He greets you with wide eyes, watching but not protesting as you tie your scarf around his neck. He appears confused at first, his lips pursing at your actions, but seems to relent as he buries his face into the scarf. You watch as he settles into it, his eyes sliding shut against the cold wind, his nose and lips finding warm solace in the comfort of your scarf. Before long, he pulls it away, revealing himself back to the chilly air with a slight wince. “...No need. Thank you, though.” He glances up at you with a smile before rising to his feet and dusting off his knees. “Whatcha got here?” He gestures to the plastic bag before picking it up, far more effortlessly than you, and inspecting it. 

“Potatoes.” Your breath puffs out in a white cloud. “They’re for your food truck. I remembered you mentioned you were running low, so… I decided to help and buy you some.” At some point, you’d shifted your attention to the ground, toeing at a rock as you realized how ridiculous that sounded. Surely Sho could handle himself. He might even find your help embarrassing, when you really think about it. 

You sneak a glance at him and are relieved to see a small smile on his face as he observes the potatoes. He huffs out a light breath, his face visibly softening. “You didn’t have to do that.” He slings the bag over his shoulder, using his other hand to ruffle your hair and return the scarf. “Come on,” he turns around, headed for the door of the food truck. “You can help me prep.”

‘That’s only helpful if you’ll have any customers in this cold,’ you think to yourself, but decide not to say aloud. Instead, you watch the slow smile on his face as he nods towards you, and continues towards the truck. Crazy, how a simple glance of his could make your heart race. Something about the warmth of his smile, the feel of his fingers carding through your hair, and the leftover scent of his cologne lingering on your scarf tugged at your heart, just a little bit. 

You briskly follow after him, throwing the scarf back over his neck. “Keep it,” you say sternly, watching as he turns to you quizzically. “Have you seen the state of yourself in this cold?” The phrase ‘I want you to have it,’ lingers on your tongue, but you decide not to voice that, instead letting a small amused smile rest on your face. You vaguely gesture to him, your gaze flicking to his red cheeks and nose. He rolls his eyes, noting your point, and keeps the scarf around his neck, opening the side door to his food truck.

“Alright, fine. I’ll wash it and return it.”

As he steps inside the food truck, even from standing behind him you feel a wave of warmth. You follow, stepping inside, feeling the sweet relief of pleasant warm air and smelling the scent of roast chicken. The environment is warm and cozy, wrapping around you like a cushy blanket or a hug from a loved one. Sho closes the door behind you and you note your scarf is still around his neck. Something clicks.

“Wait a minute. You won’t need that.” You point to his scarf, your nose crinkling in mock displeasure. He instinctively flinches away, looking at you with a raised brow. He was seemingly already protective of your scarf, even though he’d only just received it. “Hand it over.”

“That’s hardly fair.” A crooked smile forms on Sho’s face and his brow raises higher. “Why do you assume I won’t need it?”

Indignantly, you gesture to the warm space surrounding you. Sizzling meat, a warm oven, and heaters in a corner, adjusting the temperature of the truck. “Vagastrom is literally right next to here. What do you need that for?”

He doesn’t answer directly, instead tilting his head at you. “I seem to remember a certain someone insisting I keep this scarf. Are you going to go back on your word?”

You clamp your mouth shut, remembering what you’d said and did earlier. He was right, you had insisted, even if only a little. You huff out a frustrated breath, crossing your arms and furrowing your brows. He laughs at your display, pulling the scarf off of him and tossing it on a high shelf of boxes you couldn’t reach. “Like I said, I’ll wash it and return it.”

You decide to swallow this loss. You had other scarves at the chapel anyway, and if he was going to use it, at least it wasn’t going to waste. 

You look around the space again before taking off your coat and hanging it on one of the hooks on the door. “Any plans for winter break? Will you be going anywhere?” 

“Nah.” Sho shook his head, checking on the chicken in the small oven before continuing to stir fry a vegetable medley on the stove, jutting his shoulder out towards the cutting board, covered in various vegetables. You wash your hands before heading over, carefully scraping at the dirt built up under your fingernails from digging. “Unless my… brother… goes, I’m not going. He’ll beat my ass if I don’t and he does.” A look of displeasure crosses Sho’s face, and you have to hold back a laugh at the thought of Professor Hyde chastising Sho for not seeing his family over break. 

You head over to the vegetables laid out on the cutting board, and start with the garlic, peeling it out of its husk. “Sounds like a struggle.”

He scoffs, pouring soy sauce over the vegetables and tossing them before scraping them off on a nearby to-go container. “Holidays are always a struggle with pushy family.” Despite his outward scowl, amusement lights up his eyes for a moment. 

You chuckle, having finished chopping up the garlic and moving to a green bell pepper. You slice it open, its seeds spilling onto the cutting board. “Your family’s pushy?”

“Yes, too pushy sometimes.” Sho shakes his head, shooing you to the side as he grabs potholders to pull the chicken out of the oven. “My brother’s more like my parents than I am.” He carefully places the roast chicken down on a short counter. It’s golden brown, stuffed with rosemary sprigs, lemon slices, and garlic cloves. 

He places it to the side, readying the frying pain and reaching for the peppers you’d chopped, tossing them into the oil. You finish a pepper and reach for a leek next, slicing it into thick chunks. Your eyes flicker back over to the chicken momentarily, rosemary stems sticking out of it like a tail. “The rosemary stems look like a chicken tail.” You voice the thought absentmindedly, smiling to yourself. 

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Sho glance over at the chicken himself. You hear a huffed laugh as he returns his attention to the peppers, sizzling in the oil. “Yeah, it does.” He’s silent for a moment before speaking up again. “Speaking of, it was hard to find fresh rosemary this time around.”

You look up, having finished cutting the leek. A confused expression crosses your face. “Where in the world would you find fresh rosemary in the dead of winter?” You look away, reaching for a carrot, slicing it thinly.

“Rosemary’s an evergreen,” Sho states flatly, reaching for the leek and garlic you cut earlier, mixing it in with the batch of peppers on the stove and stirring them. “You can find that fresh anytime. What’s harder to find, however…” Sho trails off, leaving the stove for a split second, reaching for the bag of your potatoes he’d placed on the ground earlier. He opens the bag and pulls one out, some dirt still stuck in the indents of its skin. “...Is fresh potatoes. They’re typically harvested in the fall.” He smiles at you, before turning away to rinse it off.

Realizing you’d been caught in a lie, you turn away from him, putting all of your focus on the carrot in front of you. You hear his footsteps slowly approaching before he places a freshly washed potato right in front of you, his hand shaking with mirth. 

“Come on, MC. Don’t think I didn’t notice the dirt under your fingernails.” He chuckles before turning back to the stove, stirring the vegetables again. You drop the knife with a clatter and hide your hands behind your back, too nervous to check if you’d missed any spots. 

You sneak a glance up at him, mistakenly making eye contact with him. His eyes gleam with amusement and his smile is soft and fond. “...It can’t have been that obvious.” You decide to admit to it, realizing the heat in your cheeks probably gave it away. 

“It wasn’t.” Sho nods to you, pouring soy sauce over the stir-fried mixture and tossing it before scraping that off in a different to-go container. “I just happened to notice the dirt when you handed the scarf to me, and your potatoes smelled extra earthy.” He takes the pan off the heat, moving over to the chicken and carefully cutting out the breast. 

It’s silent for a few moments, you staring at that freshly cleaned potato and Sho slicing through the chicken, placing the breast in one to-go container and the wings in the other. Sho finally speaks up, though his voice is low. “...You didn’t have to do that, you know.” You look up again, just to find him turned away from you, his ears turning red. Silence falls again as you watch him check off the to-go containers he’s finished. You assume he’s trying to distract himself from the obvious blush on his face, but you can’t say for sure. Something about it makes you feel similar, your heart rate picking up and your face reddening more. It wasn’t due to your embarrassment anymore. “I dunno, I’m bad at thanking people. Just, well…” Sho trails off, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck, hiding his face from you. His voice lowers significantly, and contrastingly, the blush on his ears brightens more. “Thank you. I know potatoes take a while to grow. And…” He trails off again and swallows thickly. You don’t bother asking him to finish his sentence. The implications of his words grow somewhat heavy in your heart, and you wring your fingers nervously. Of course it was profound, growing potatoes for someone when you’re doomed to die, now in nine months. The thought of dedicating your time to anything that wasn’t curing your curse was odd, but this distraction had done you well nonetheless. You didn’t want Sho to feel bad about it at all. You were certain that, if anything, the gravity of being recognized by a girl doomed to die was dawning on him. 

The words spill out before you can really stop them. “Don’t worry about it, Sho. I did that because I wanted to.” Confessing this was almost as raw as confessing your feelings, and your chest tightens at that thought, but you continue despite that. “You’ve been kind to me since after our first mission. And I’ve enjoyed spending time with you, including things as mundane as meal prep!” You gesture vaguely to the setting before you, hoping to get your point across. “I just randomly had the idea, and figured it couldn’t be so bad to act on it. It’s been a good distraction anyway, and what with all that happens here, a distraction does me some good.” Silence falls once more, and Sho finally turns to look at you, face flushed. He wipes his palms on his apron and worries his lip between his teeth, his gaze flickering between you and the floor. “...So what if I used up three months to grow potatoes? The time will pass anyways.” You turn away from him, looking at the washed potato. You reach for it and pick up the knife, beginning to cut it into cube chunks. 

“...I guess you’re right.” You can hear a gentle smile in Sho’s voice, and it warms you up internally, feeling thankful he’s accepted the gift. You glance towards him, giving him a smile, and catch him staring. There’s an odd glimpse of admiration in his eyes, which makes your cheeks warm.

“Go on and finish cutting the chicken.” You wave off his stare and jerk your gaze away from him, hiding your blush and focusing on the cubed potato. 

He scoffs and turns away, picking up his knife. “Giving me orders in my own kitchen, huh?” 

You don’t respond. You don’t need to. The warmth of the heaters settles into your skin and the warmth of the previous pleasant conversation settles into your heart. You glance down at the bag of potatoes that started it all. The eyes of the potatoes seem to stare up at you knowingly.

You’re carrying a short stack of to-go containers outside to Sho’s bike, Bonnie, your boots crunching the frosty path beneath you. Snow would surely be coming soon. You gently place the stack in the box on the back of Bonnie, careful to make sure none of them tip over. You hear more crunching footsteps and turn around to see Sho, carrying the rest of the boxes. He places them in the box as well and organizes them before securing the box with a few straps. He steps back and exhales, smiling to himself. You can’t help but smile at his pride.

“Now, to deliver these…” Sho approaches Bonnie and gets on, patting her twice affectionately. The gentle thrum of the engine comes to life in response. He looks to you and smiles, and you notice he’s wearing your scarf. “Sure you don’t want a ride back to the chapel?”

You eye the box of food already on the back of Bonnie and shake your head. You wouldn’t test fate today. Your eyes find your scarf again, sitting snugly around Sho’s neck. “Well, at least you have a use for it.” You say, resigned. Part of you wonders if you’ll ever get it back. 

Sho smiles, reaching up to touch the scarf. “Again, I’ll wash and return it.” He looks up to the sky, and you follow suit, noting the pale white blanket of clouds blocking the sun. “That said…” He starts, lowering his gaze to you again. “It is cold out. I may need this for longer than I expected.” There’s a teasing lilt to his voice and his smile turns crooked, as though suppressing a smirk. 

“...I’m not getting that back, am I?”

Sho shrugs, revving up Bonnie. “Who knows?” He smiles fondly at you one last time before speeding off, the wheels of Bonnie leaving tire tracks on the frosty path. You watch him as he leaves, his hair lifting in the wind, the tendrils of your scarf billowing behind him. You watch until he turns a corner and you can only faintly hear the rumbling of Bonnie’s engine. ‘I guess he really did have customers, even in this cold…’ You think to yourself, a faint smile growing on your face. You inhale the crisp cool air, feeling a bit cooler around your neck now that you’re missing a scarf. You idly look back up at the sky again, wondering if it really would snow today. Despite you enjoying the stillness of the winter air on Darkwick campus, the cold eventually bites at you, urging you to return to the chapel. Your footsteps crunch along the frosted path, following Bonnie’s tracks.

It’s Christmas evening, and things are finally winding down for the day. You’d been to Frostheim and made snow angels with Luca and Kaito, had coffee and played chess with Tohma, and Jin, despite himself, hadn’t asked you to run any errands for him today. You’d been to Vagastrom and exchanged gifts with Alan, tolerated Leo’s selfies with you, and looked around for Sho, but hadn’t found him. You’d been to Jabberwock and fed the animals with Haru, watched a romance movie with Towa, and played a holiday-themed horror game with Ren. You’d been to Sinostra and done some gambling with Taiga while Ritsu tagged along to ensure Sinostra’s reputation wasn’t damaged further, and had a surprisingly pleasant conversation with Romeo despite him saying your large coat made you resemble a slug. You’d been to Hotarubi and had tea and holiday sweets with Haku, Subaru, Zenji, and Lyca, who was visiting Subaru. You’d been to Obscuary and had Rui’s new holiday-themed drinks with Ed, chattering time away at the bar. You’d been to Mortkranken and reluctantly exchanged gifts with Yuri, aware of the fit he’d throw if you hadn’t gotten him anything, and pleasantly exchanged gifts with Jiro, reminding him to take good care of himself. 

Finally, after a very long, exhausting, and eventful day, you were back at the chapel, counting the vines growing under your skin, glowing lavender like the flower on the back of your neck. Some small flowers broke your skin and bloomed here and there, leaving the exit wounds somewhat inflamed. Granted, you didn’t have much time left, and these vines made that clear, but this holiday had been much better than you’d expected it to be. You appreciated the effort most of the ghouls put forth to make this holiday at least somewhat enjoyable for you, especially considering it may be your last. 

You sit by the fireplace in your room, watching the snow fall from the sky through your window. You had a tiny pine tree near your bed, decorated with handmade tinsel from the three Hotarubi ghouls and some small ornaments from Jin. You wore new pajamas from Romeo, though you weren’t sure how in the world he knew your size. You had a new bracelet from Taiga, who had originally forgotten who he’d gotten it for. On your nightstand lay a dreidel from Kaito and a snow globe from Luca. The hot chocolate you sipped on was a gift from Tohma, and some wine awaited you in your fridge, a gift from the Obscuary ghouls. You had a few new ugly holiday sweaters from various ghouls, Yuri and Ren included, and some not-so-ugly ones, thanks to Haru and Towa. A thick, heavy book about the origins of the laws of Japan sat on a nearby table, a gift from Ritsu that you had no plans to read. You had lit a scented candle from Leo, which you thought was surprisingly thoughtful, and had set aside the wax melts from Alan, planning to use them after the candle ran out. The new watch from Jiro was wrapped around your wrist, displaying the increasingly late time. In all of this, you wondered where your gift from Sho was. You hadn’t been able to spot him today, and the thought made you feel a little down. You’d wanted to spend some time with him today, but guessed he was probably too busy preparing Christmas dinner for all of Vagastrom and Hotarubi that he simply hadn’t had the time. You set your hot chocolate down on top of the accursed thick book and sprawl out in your chair, turning to the window again. Regardless, this had been a surprisingly wonderful holiday. The ghouls had given you gifts and willingly spent time with you, doing various fun activities and filling you with holiday cheer. It was a nice escape from the reality of your situation, even if it was only for a little while. 

You check the vines under your skin again, resisting the urge to scratch at where a new white flower had bloomed near your elbow. You could feel that, soon after the holiday season mellowed down, it would be back to reality, and you’d have to face your own death once again. Part of you dreaded the eventual change in weather and in the length of days, knowing your predicted end was growing near. But a part of you was also resigned to it. Regardless of whether you were due to die soon or not, this had been a nice holiday. And you could stand to live in the now, just this once. 

You carefully pluck the flower from your skin, wincing at the sharp pain. You bleed for only a few moments before it clots up. At least you could stave off the growth of the curse for now. 

You hear a gentle knock at your door. Physically, you’re too exhausted to have much more fun at this point, but mentally, you could use a pick-me-up. You head down your stairs towards the door, opening it crack by crack, trying to prevent too much of the cold wind from slipping inside. You peer through the open doorway, jolting in surprise when a familiar pair of dark blue eyes meet yours. 

“Hey,” Sho starts, lifting two boxes in his hands. “Thought you could use a warm holiday dinner.”

Your heart swells and all at once, a wave of emotion hits you. Sure, you didn’t have much time left, but that didn’t stop these ghouls from caring, and that was evident in the gifts piled up in your room, the fun you’d had all throughout the day, and the ghoul now standing at your doorstep, seeking more time with you. There was a reason he was your favorite. 

You swing the door open wider, unable to hide the smile that breaks across your face all at once. “I was looking for you, you know.” You cross your arms and narrow your eyes in mock disappointment. “Where’ve you been all day?”

“Cooking.” Sho lifts a brow and shrugs, tilting his head at you. He smiles fondly at you, and you notice he’s finally dressed appropriately for the season; a hat covering most of his hair, a matching coat and gloves keeping him warm, and your scarf, tucked snugly against his neck inside his coat. Yet again, you realize you are probably never getting that scarf back. 

“That scarf is still mine.” You gesture at his scarf, and he laughs, reaching up to brush the built up snow off of it. 

“And I’m still using it.” He replies, smiling wider. “So… Gonna let me in or what? It’s cold out here.” His breath puffs into white clouds, and you notice his cheeks and nose are tinged red again thanks to the cold. You smile and step aside, letting him in. 

You close the door behind him and he shakes off the snow built up on his coat. When he looks at you, his smile holds the warmth of a thousand candles and his voice holds the joy of a thousand holiday carols. “So… got any mistletoe? If not, we can start with gifts. Either works for me.” A blush covers his face as he pushes the boxes towards you, his smile growing wider and fonder.

You figure, regardless of how much time you have left, it wouldn’t hurt to spend a holiday with your favorite ghoul.

Bonus:

The gift, wrapped surprisingly delicately inside one of the boxes, is a knitted scarf in your favorite colors. It’s not bad, but you can tell it was done by a beginner. Holding it in your hands, a small smile grows on your face, and you sigh, totally resigned. 

By god, you are never getting that scarf back. 

“Well, thank you for your collateral replacement, but I expect that scarf back one day.”

Sho shakes his head, smiling as he chews on your shared meal, packed in the other box he was carrying. “No can do. It’s still cold and I still need a scarf.”

“I’m withholding the mistletoe, then.”

Sho huffs, rolling his eyes and continuing the meal. At his lack of a reaction, you purse your lips, thinking of another thing to withhold that might gift you a victory. Sho speaks, having swallowed his mouthful, “I can find other reasons to kiss you-”

“I’m withholding the potatoes.”

Sho looks at you in shock, dropping his forkful back onto his plate. “...I’ll think about it.”

Maybe you would get that scarf back, after all.

----------

a/n: it's done. finally it is done. finally! i've been writing this romance fic 4 a long while so im glad it is finally done

thank you all so much for reading!! as usual, i love likes, but especially comments, reblogs, and asks detailing how much you enjoyed my work!!! please feel free 2 fill up my inbox with whatever, i love talking 2 u all! but be warned my responses will be slow... im still recovering!

happy holidays 2 you all! i hope, whether you're surrounded by family, friends, or by yourself, that it's a wonderful and fulfilling holiday season 4 u. merry christmas 2 those who celebrate, and happy kwanzaa 2 those who celebrate that as well!! not very well versed in other winter holidays, but may they be joyous and merry!

[cupcakeslushie]

Important question, does the Foot/Saki/Leo think Three is Draxum's son or is he just the weird thing that follows him to their meetings sometimes?

I’ll draw it some of it officially in the comic soon—whenever Leo tells the whole family their connection. We’ve seen a brief glimpse of the two boys talking from Three’s perspective. But from Leo perspective it’s basically…

First meeting is Draxum only. The man looks shocked for maybe two seconds (if Leo wasn’t so well trained—and naturally good—at reading people, he might’ve missed it) but then it passes. Draxum shakes Leo’s hand but focuses on Saki for the rest of the negotiations. Leo doesn’t think very much of it.

Meeting two, Draxum brings his….assistant(?) to help carry all of the equipment they’re looking to sell to the Foot. Draxum offhandedly introduces the kid as “Three” which is super weird—but hey, the kid is weird as hell, so it fits. Draxum spends the meeting talking up his weapons and what they could accomplish by working together. While Three looks way too comfortable waving about said weapons, when prompted.

Meeting numero Three-o, Leo and Three are actually forcibly left alone together. Kitsune wants to discuss confidential matters with Draxum and Shredder—just them. Three talks nonstop the entire time, and only half of it makes sense. Leo blocks out almost all of it, while he tries to eavesdrop on what Kitsune is planning with Saki and Draxum. He’s starting to feel less trusting of her and her schemes.

Meeting four, Leo is recovering from his little coma, and is in a lot of pain. He’s only focused on standing upright. He snaps at Three when he can’t take any more, but then excuses himself, feeling bad, and also needing a break. Karai slinks in and he begs her to take his place for a moment. When Leo gets back, Karai—no surprise, obviously bailed after growing bored. Three remains mercifully silent for rest of their time alone, but he does look terrified when Draxum finally steps out, and they go to leave. Leo feels a twinge of remorse, but buries it and moves on.

Meeting Five is when Leo finally stops and listens to what Three is saying. Leo has caught glimpses of his own brothers (actual physical glimpses—not just his mind playing tricks, by bringing up memories that are better forgotten). Three reminds him too much of them. It’s very unsettling for Leo, who’s begun subconsciously fighting with Kitsune’s now enhanced form of spellcasting. But thanks to his coma allowing for Gram-Gram to solidify their connection without interference, he’s succeeding at pushing Kitsune’s magic away. So even though Three isn’t a part of it, he’s still like a neon sign that reminds Leo of his past…however, Leo is too scared to ask any questions that might open the can of worms he’s desperate to keep shut. Even though his mind is fighting Kitsune’s magic, there’s still a big part of him that is fighting even harder to hold onto his safe normal.

And that’s all their meetings. They happened over the span of a year—spaced months apart. Leo didn’t really spend more than a handful of hours with Three, and solely thought of him as Draxum’s assistant.

[theturtlelovers]

Hi! May I request, for the sentence prompts, number 5: “I’m not going to stop poking you until you give me some attention.” For a female reader with Donnie who are bf and gf, and the reader is saying it to Don?

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Pairing: Donnie/GN!Reader Rating: Everyone Contents: The reader is implied to be female in request but can be interpreted otherwise, Donnie licks icing off of pop tarts Warnings: None Wordcount: 666

Notes: Hehe, getting back to knocking those requests down! It'll be a while before I even consider reopening requests, though.

What you were doing wasn't particularly new. It had become a routine to lovingly annoy your boyfriend until he had no choice but to turn his attention to you. Because miraculously, the moment he did, he would see you fluttering your lashes and sending him a sickeningly sweet smile dripping with feigned innocence. If it were his brothers, Donnie would be ready to scold them to the point they'd regret even being in the same proximity as him. Yet, because of that victory grin you would flash when you got him to look at you, he couldn't bring himself to do so.

And it was very interesting because you'd always find new ways to grab his attention.

One time, you texted him that you needed assistance at your apartment. Being the helpful lover he is, he came over ready to lend a hand, only to find that you had lied and just wanted to have dinner with him. Although annoyed as his mind was already recalling his list of tasks, he realized how hungry he was and how much he yearned for your touch. So, he ate the home-cooked food you made and then stayed even longer for movies. 

Another time was when he hadn't emerged from his lab for nearly an entire week. While you absolutely respected the effort and dedication he put into his work, you missed him, and he seriously needed to take care of himself. So you sat next to him and started reading. Out loud. Very monotonously. And it was the Bible! "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth," you began, your voice droning on in a blank tone. "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.”

Donnie didn’t register it at first, but then he looked at you in absolute confusion.

"And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light," you continued, not missing a beat.

“What are you doing?” If he had eyebrows, they’d definitely be raised right now. In his confusion, he was trying to fight a smile creeping up.

You looked up from the overly thin pages of the scripture, a mischievous glint in your eyes. “What do you think? I’m reading till you love me again.”

The self-taught scientist rolled his eyes, his annoyed confusion forgotten. “Okay, okay, come here.” Then there was that smile.

This time, you decided to employ the most annoying yet basic tactic to garner his attention: poking him repeatedly. Leo had once again clumsily broken the toaster, and it was out of commission. Donnie wanted to be able to toast his Pop-Tarts before licking the icing off later, so repairing the toaster was an absolute must.

It was hard to do that, though, when you slid in like a worm (he’d still love you as a worm; you’d be beneficial in different ways) and started poking him.

The first few pokes didn’t bother him at first. They were so fleeting and feathery he didn’t really care that you were touching him. They weren’t impeding his work.

But then they got a bit harder. And longer. And it was actually affecting his ability to think since you were choosing to poke random spots.

“I’m not going to stop poking you until you give me some attention.”

Donnie took a deep breath and slowly turned to you. You blinked at him blankly. God, he was so lucky was madly in love and your cute face and pretty lips- Donnie’s eyes closed for a moment. He took another deep breath and released it with a small shake of his head.

“Well, you certainly have it now.”

You did your little weird giggle as if you were some sort of gremlin. “Hehe! What’d the toaster do to Leo this time?”

While he recalled Leo’s version of the grand battle he had against the appliance, Donnie couldn’t help grinning when he saw the same smile you always have. Victory once again.

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[rosenclaws]

I got the mental image of Leopold as a dad in my mind and now I can't stop thinking about it. He would be such a good dad!!! Like, supportive, doting, playful, protective. Imagine him with a toddler who's just baby babbling away and he's listening with full attention and eye contact. Gahhh! I want to have his baby, he needs to be a dad.

a/n: hello you have now infected my brain with the Leopold as a dad worm and it will never leave me thank you and as my payment u now get a drabble. Also I’ve made the executive decision for him to be a girl dad and his daughter is named after his mother. Okay thank you

wc: ~650

The best moment of Leopold’s life was the day he married you. Love deep in his heart as he said his vows. Promising to love you and no one else for the rest of his life. That you would be the one and only to capture his heart.

He meant every world and when he kissed you it was like everything fell into place. This is where he was meant to be.

The second best moment of his life was every single day with his daughter.

They’re all tied for second. Being a father was always something he wanted but to truly become a father. It was amazing.

“Dada!” He looks up from the morning paper to see his little girl waddling towards him.

“Oh my don’t you look gorgeous.” He smiles from ear to ear as he holds out his arms and picks her up.

Lifting her up in the air just to hear her giggles. She had a costume dress on and a little tiara. She was his princess so it was only fit she dressed like one.

“This princess refused to put on anything else.” You huff as walk down the hall. Leopold walks over to you and kisses your cheek. Then he kisses his daughter’s cheek.

“Is that true miss Adeline?” Leopold asks in mock surprise.

“I’m a princess!” She giggles and Leopold can’t help but agree.

“Are you going to be okay today?” You had gotten called into work for an emergency leaving your family plans for another day. You felt horrible but Leo assured you everything was alright.

“Of course my love, don’t fret I’ll handle everything.” You kiss him once more before heading out for the day.

“Now, what does the princess demand for breakfast?”

He can’t remember the last time he got this much quality time with Adeline. He swears up and down that just yesterday she was still a baby. The memories flash in his mind as she munches on her apple slices.

Holding her in his arms. Feeling his heart break at the sound of her cries. Wanting nothing more than to wrap her in his arms and protect her from everything he can.

Now she’s three years old and he savors every minute he can. Being sat on the couch as he listens intently to his daughters babbling. Smiling as she talks like she understands the whole world. He nods along and indulges whatever her imagination can create.

Soon she’s tired and the sounds of Cinderella play from the television. She stands on his feet as he dances around the living room. He hums the music as she laughs.

Leopold spins her around and picks her up. He remembers his first ball, learning to dance with his mother. Now he returns the favor. It may not be the 18th century but his daughter will be treated like royalty.

“M’tired daddy.” She yawns and rests her head against his chest.

So he takes her to her room. Letting her fall asleep in his arms, just like she used to. Sitting in the big chair by her bed, the same one he used to rock her in and read her bedtime stories. The one he’d sit in after she had woken up in the night and cried out for him.

He’d hold her tight and whisper that everything was okay. That he would never let anything hurt her. No monsters and nobody would hurt her.

“Well looks like you had a busy day.” He looks up to see you standing by the door.

A warm smile on your face as you take in the sight of your husband and baby girl. Leopold is everything you could have asked for as a husband and a father.

“Do you want to put her down and eat?” He shakes his head as Adeline stirs in his arms. Clutching his finger in her little hand.

“I think I wish to stay here a little longer.” You walk over sit on the arm of the chair.

Leaning your head onto Leopold’s head and slowly rake your fingers through Adelines hair. Leopold takes it all in.

So much time has passed in the blink of an eye that he wishes he could slow everything down and just live right here. He doesn’t know what the future may bring but he does know one thing.

He’s a lucky, lucky man.