#making group poses is actually very fun

[safaridays]

no, you don’t need to wear your mask/tail to school.

i wish young nonhumans didn’t feel compelled to be ‘out’ at school, especially when it’s a dangerous environment. i keep seeing posts along the lines of “wore my tail/mask to school! people berated/teased/put their hands on me, but it’s ok”.

no, it’s not.

like.. i understand a mask or a tail can be a very validating thing for some people. and i’m not saying NO ONE should wear them at schools. but i just keep watching this mounting trend of young therians insinuating you need some physical accessory or to do quads to be a ‘real’ nonhuman. and then it leads to things like this and it makes me incredibly sad.

i’d known i was alterhuman since late elementary school, actually. it’s a huge part of my life even now, years after graduation. there wasn’t a reason for it to be brought up, so i never did. it was a closely guarded secret to me, but it didn’t feel like a weight i was carrying. i always thought “no one needs to know i’m an animal if it jeopardizes my safety. so, oh well”.

“but, how will people know that i’m an animal?”

they probably will. they probably already do.

i was the designated ‘animal’ person my entire school career despite not ever handling animals in front of anyone. if there were pets, lost wild animals (baby rabbits, birds, lizards), or sometimes even loose livestock that got onto campus, it was always me who had to go tend to them.

everyone wanted me in their group in environmental science. if a project called for animal illustrations, the same thing would happen. it was certainly weird because i was also a ‘weird kid’ and not especially desired to be around outside of that, lol. but i was never harassed for it. it made me feel very validated, actually.

i had fun during gym running and fiercely destroying the opposing team in field hockey. i taught everyone which plants were okay to forage (and we snacked on them when we had to sit on the lower field for practice). every day i was hyperaware of the limbs i had that weren’t quite there. friends noticed my ears twitch and my nose wiggle at certain stimuli. i felt nice walking on two legs. i felt nice because i felt animal and i didn’t have to prove it to anyone.

really like… just do what makes you happy. i admire the bravery it takes to so earnestly wear your identity on your sleeve like that. that’s very impressive. however, there is NO obligation to do anything like that if you understand that there will be a reaction that poses a threat to you.

i want our kids to be safe, too. you don’t have to feel dysphoria over being discreet. sometimes it’s the safest option. and sometimes, that can be really fun, too.

study everything you can about your ‘type. wikipedia and animalia are good resources. ramble about them to anyone who will listen. jokingly refer to yourself as one in friend spaces. wear discreet clothes that remind you of your ‘type. find a nice private place outside where you can run and explore and look at plants and smell the air and feel like yourself. but by no means do you have to prove yourself. you know you.

[cuteandhughesy]

I’m Talking Nonsense | Mikko Rantanen

summary: everyone in the avalanche social media room knows that getting mikko rantanen to participate in content was a lost cause—that is until you showed up.

[word count] 4.3k

warnings: MATURE! flirting | lil bit of pining | mature themes | lil hot and heavy kissing | allusions to sex but no actual smut | read at your own discretion

a/n: okay…so obviously I started writing this before the trade—because nobody in their right mind was expecting mikko to get traded. but I digress, anyways! I originally wanted to post this on valentine’s day but in this moment of sadness, I knew all the mikko girls (myself included) needed this pick me up ❤️ to all you liking my old mikko fic—I see yall and we got this.

🎵 nonsense by sabrina carpenter

───────── ౨ৎ ─────────

mikko rantanen didn't hate social media — actually, no he did hate it. the finnish native always knew it to be invasive and impersonal, and he'd rather not have to look at fake happy, posed pictures and videos that make his life feel less than. and that's coming for a guy living as a professional athlete.

so when tiktok started gaining more traction and other nhl teams were making accounts for their respective teams—mikko was dreading it. he thought there was a level of privacy that should be respected, and having a camera shoved in your face is totally breaching boundaries. the thought of the avalanche making an account was just not something he wanted.

after a shitty practice—hell even a good practice—the last thing he wanted was to be asked if he thought he could land a plane, or if he believes in aliens...mikko just wanted to go home.

and mikko understands that the social admin was simply doing their jobs, but he couldn't help but fill with irritation anytime they'd approach him with the phone and mini-microphone and/or question cup. it was the quickest way to piss him off.

it didn't help that the avalanche fans were always in the comments asking about his noticeable absence. they wanted to see more of their assistant captain outside of gruelling post-game interviews and game highlights—they wanted the real and fun side of mikko they very rarely had the chance of seeing.

but that didn't change mikko's opinion of social media—he'd avoid the admin team at any costs, especially when he saw that stupid tiktok phone and various props he knew he'd hate to use.

that is, until you showed up.

the first time mikko saw you—standing behind the usual admin suspects with a nervous gaze and fiddling hands—he didn't think much of it. sure, you were pretty, but mikko thinks a lot of girls are pretty.

but then as the months past and your surprisingly warm and bubbly personality began peeking through your hard exterior shell, mikko begin feeling intrigued. you are always smiling, even if someone is giving you a hard time—when he is giving you a hard time—and you're constantly trying to bond with the players. you remember who these athletes are at their core—human, which a lot of people in your job description seem to forget.

the team quickly grew fond of you, and when they saw it was you in the hallway with a cup of questions, or in their locker room with that stupid tiny microphone—the energy would shift. that's just how you are though—vibrant and welcoming, and the guys feed off that energy and turn into a fun group of giddy boys.

even nathan mackinnon, who was almost as turned off by social media as mikko, enjoyed your company, doing silly things for tiktok's he'd never even dreamed of.

it had mikko's own exterior beginning to crack. before he'd be more apprehensive to the idea of participating in social media trends he had no clue about, but you and your grin had him changing.

—

lina, your co-worker looks at you over the top of her laptop, analyzing your soft face as you work on your own computer—editing a tiktok that needed to go up today. you're left with very minimal time, as the avalanche practice finishes in 5 minutes. which means in 15 you both have to head down for some more content.

it's the third time in the past minute lina as looked at you—you can feel her eyes burning through the middle of your forehead. slowly, your eyes trial up and meet hers, a questioning pull to your furrowed eyebrows. "you okay?"

she huffs—not in annoyance or impatience, but rather curiosity. lina flicks her red hair over her shoulder, and then crosses her arms—her gaze never leaving yours. "i'm trying to figure out how you do it."

you're even more confused now. "do what?"

lina snorts like it's obvious. "you've been here five months, y/n. it's been five months of watching you work with the guys and more specifically, getting mikko to work with you."

your lips contort into a confused pout—any more confusion and your head will begin to pound. you're not sure what lina is trying to imply, because as far as you know all the guys on the avs are extremely good with you and have never given you a hard time—that's just how they are...right?

"mikko is great." you hum dismissively, your fingers resuming their place on your keyboard as you continue the code in your side bar to enable the audio change in the clip—attempting to remove ross' loud voice from the background so you can better hear cale's answer.

"that's the thing," lina starts, eyes full of amusement as she leans over the table. "he's really not."

you pause. "what?"

"before you showed up, mikko was always turning a blind eye to me and nick. if we even attempted to talk to him the way you do—well, it never ended how we wanted it to." her face contorts as if she's reliving it.

one of your brows raise in question. "did he like...sentence you to a guillotine or something?"

lina disapproves of your humorous tone, sending you daggers across the meeting room table. she shuts her laptop, resting her elbow atop the logo as she puts her chin in her palm. "ha ha."

satisfied with her pointed response, you get back to work. but, lina isn't done. "he hates this kind of stuff."

"no he doesn't," you retort quickly. "mikko seems happy when I have questions for him. in fact, yesterday he came over to me and asked for one—said something about how they 'make his day bright'" you mimic mikko's deep accent to the best of your abilities, but you sound more like a drowning troll rather than the 6"4 winger.

lina's eyes widen comically—she can't believe what's she's hearing. "anytime I even point the phone in his direction he scowls and walks away. so what are you doing to get him to cooperate?" she eyes you quizzically for a moment before a devious lightbulb goes off in her head, expression morphing into a playful, teasing one. "are you fucking him?"

you squeak, and your cheeks heat up to an undeniable level of embarrassment. "no!" and it's true—of course you're not sleeping with mikko.

she raises her hands in surrender, but her smile doesn't let up. "I wouldn't blame you if you were, y/n. he's hot—like stupid hot."

"okay," you huff, covering your burning cheeks with your hands. "maybe you should sleep with him then."

lina snorts. "trust me—if I could get near him I would."

"you know," you start, "I really don't think what you're saying is true. maybe mikko didn't like it in the past, but I think he's changed his option on the social media stuff."

she raises her brow—almost challengingly. "think so?"

"yup." you hum.

"let's test it, then." lina chimes. "today i'll go up to mikko first, and ill do exactly what you would do when approaching him. and when he sends me away—which he will—then you'll go up to him, and we'll see what happens."

it's tempting—mostly because you're certain there won't be a difference in the way mikko acts towards you then he does lina. sure, mikko isn't always the most sunshine and rainbows when it comes to his personality, but he's always been compliant with you.

so although he's broody and definitely not in love with the idea of having a camera in his face—you're sure he's not going to turn lina away.

"you're on."

it's not 5 minutes later you're both packing up your respective things, preparing to make your way down to the locker room where the guys are surly anticipating your and lina's arrival.

the room is bustling with people—half dressed hockey players and pressing reporters fill the locker room, which creates a slightly hectic environment—but you're used to it by now. so neither of you seem suspicious, you ask a few of the other avs players your selected questions for the day. questions you and lina had argued about for the entire morning—she thought most of them were stupid, you thought they were was hilarious.

plus, the reporters are still swarmed around mikko's stall—the finnish native standing in the middle with a deadpanned look on his face, barley listening to them as they ask the same repetitive questions as usual.

you and lina get some good content from ross colton and josh manson, both players giving you ridiculous and enthusiastic responses to the absurd questions you'd earlier shoved in the alumni silver cup.

lina's mischievous look is back as the sea of middle aged reporters move onto their next victim—cale makar—leaving mikko by his lonesome. "i'll be back." before you can react, she plucks the phone out of your hands, effortlessly making her way through the room until she's in front of mikko.

you strain your ears, but it's no use as the chatter in the locker room is too overpowering, and you're unable to hear lina or mikko. miles wood gives you an odd look—eyeing the way you stand ridged beside his stall, gnawing your thumb as you watch lina talk to the blonde winger—but you don’t notice.

it's only a moment before lina turns around, her grin even wider than it was before as she makes her way back towards you. "your turn." she chimes, thrusting the phone back in your palms.

"what happened?" you question.

lina raises one her brows, pushing you in the direction of mikko's stall. "he didn't want to answer anymore questions."

"okay," you draw. "so maybe I shouldn't go over there."

lina continues guiding you in his general direction. "no it's actually exactly why you should go over there."

you don't get to argue any further as you're suddenly right in front of mikko—almost too close, and if you take another step towards him you're thighs will bump his knees.

speaking of thighs—mikko's are on full display. the huge, muscle carved limbs spread wide as he manspreads in his stall. the expanse of smooth, hard skin making you feel flustered and suddenly intrigued. your eyes flicker upwards, finding the icy blue ones of mikko looking back at you.

you swallow, a heat rising to your cheeks. "hi, mikko."

"hi, y/n." he says your name playfully, the faintest smile pulling at his lips. "you okay?"

you nod too quickly and immediately curse yourself for acting so uncool. you've never been this nervous around any of the avs, especially not mikko, but lina's comments about his looks earlier are lingering in your mind—leaving you flustered.

because obviously you are aware mikko is hot, but now you can't help but be really aware of the fact. damn lina.

"yeah," you clear your throat, clutching the cellphone tightly in your hand. "I was actually just wondering if you'd answer a question for tiktok? for me? promise it'll be quick."

his eyes flicker over your warm, hopeful face, and after a beat he sighs gently, a quick nod following. "yeah I can do that for you."

you can't help the way your eyes widen at his agreement. mikko seems oblivious to your shocked state, removing his remaining elbow pad and tossing it towards the back of his messy stall.

you catch a whiff of his intoxicating scent, and even with the sweat lingering across his forehead and soaking his branded undershirt, mikko smells so good. he's always been enveloped in a cloud of clean laundry and something slightly woodsy, and even though you're extremely professional, it never fails to make you falter.

you clear your throat and your head. "really?"

mikko runs the damp towel previously hung around his neck through his messy curls, making the appearance of them even more fluffy and soft. his eyes twinkle with amusement, a matching half smile blossoming on his lips. "yeah, really. why do you sound shocked?"

you make a tiny noise of confusion in the back of your throat, shooting a glance to lina over your shoulder. she sends you a triumphant look, brow raised like she knew that she was right.

she is right.

you look back at mikko quickly, "I just thought..." you trail off, brows pulling tightly as you think about the excuse he gave to lina—you're so confused. you've never noticed before if mikko had a certain favouritism towards you over lina, or even nick. I mean, you never paid attention to anything like that—but now you feel like you should be more aware, because this doesn't make sense.

"you thought..?" mikko raises one eyebrow, waiting for the second half of your sentence.

"nothing." you blink quickly, adjusting the phone in your hand. "sorry, let's just get to it."

you're still in some sort of shock for the rest of the day—the pieces of the puzzle in your mind loose and turned upside down as you try and understand mikko's dismissal of lina, or better yet, his compliance with you.

it had you further trying to solve the mystery. does mikko just prefer you? does he like your voice over your co-workers? maybe you smell like his favourite desert? does he like you? does mikko want to fuck you?

you're not sure where to pinpoint the source, but you're also determined to find the answer. with some help for lina, and even a little input from nick, you conjure up a plan—which lina finds the upmost entertainment in.

but you mean nothing but business. for the next few weeks it's only you who works with mikko rantanen—it's you asking him questions and having him participate in stupid games. and without fail, every single time you ask him, mikko complies.

so you get crazier with it. whether it's a questions about my little pony—a show mikko has never even heard of—or having him lift you onto his shoulder while a sabrina carpenter song plays through the tiktok recording—he is participating without complaining.

every. single. time.

it has your good friends, but ever so annoying colleagues theorizing.

"maybe he's got a thing for girls with her hair colour? can't resist them." nick chimes, sipping some piping hot coffee from an avalanche branded mug.

you roll your eyes, pulling open the microwave to grab your shitty frozen meal.

lina's laugh echos through the staff room, "mhmm...or maybe her eye colour." she sends you a teasing look before slurping some saucy noddles up into her mouth.

before you can respond nick pipes up again, "he definitely wants in her pants."

you take a seat beside lina—across from your male coworker—and send them both a slightly amused, but deadpanned look. "are you guys done?"

despite your attitude towards them, you can't help but wonder if their theories are correct. sure, mikko seems sweet enough—towards you anyways—but with the way you're barley pushing him into participating in stupid little tiktok's, has you pondering. mikko is nice...but not that nice.

is he just trying to get into your pants? and then forgot about you? the thought has you feeling angry, because you're not just some girl who he can treat nicely until he gets what he wants—absolutely not. and you're not going to let him treat you like a fool, just because he wants his dick wet.

the following day you’re determined to get answers and put your mind at ease. you like mikko—he’s a great guy—but you don’t want to feel like you’re being used. there was a team meeting and breakfast today, without the pressure of practice or a game—essentially an off day for the guys.

as the chaos of the dining room begins clearing out, only a few lingering athletes and staff members at some of the tables, you make your way across the room with a determined step, looking for mikko.

you catch the broad expanse of his back and blonde hair sticking out from underneath his beanie just as he slips out the door. you grumble to yourself, speeding up in hopes to catch him before he leaves the facility.

pushing open the rather heavy door to the hallway, you’re immediately greeted by his familiar laugh and gabe landeskogs smooth voice—spewing some dad joke that only mikko would find funny.

before you can sike yourself out, you march up to the two european teammates. “rantanen, I need to talk to you.”

they pause in their slow steps, conversation halting abruptly as both men turn to look at you. the sight of your hard expression and pointed gaze has mikko swallowing roughly, eyeing you with confusion.

gabe snickers quietly, the sound missing your ears, and pats mikko’s shoulder sympathetically. “last name, huh? good luck.” with that the avalanche captain stalks off, disappearing down the quiet hallway.

you cross your arms defensively, looking up—way up—at him, tone rough and determined. “are you trying to fuck me or something?”

“whoa whoa, just hold on a second.” mikko’s eyes widen, looking around the hallways quickly to ensure you were alone. even though he doesn’t see any physical bodies, mikko can’t be too sure—especially when he can sense the conversation is going in a direction that doesn’t need to be overheard.

he gently takes ahold of your wrist, guiding you towards the open meeting room directly across from the kitchen. the censor lights flicker alive as you step into the empty, quiet room—illuminating the once dark space.

mikko lets go of your arm, shutting the door with a soft click before turning back to you. he analyzes your face, eyes flickering over your still pointed eyes and the angry pull to your mouth. confused, he steps towards you. “are you joking with me?”

you raise your brows. “do I look like i'm joking with you, mikko?”

he shakes his head gently, like he’s trying to come up with a reason for your sudden coldness—you’ve never acted this way around him, and seeing you so irritated is rather strange. “why are you asking me that?”

he’s referring to the first question you’d asked him—rather angrily may he add. mikko is unsure what brought on the rather sexual outburst of a question, only because it’s so unlike you. in fact, one time ross colton tried to make a sexual innuendo with you, and you just about turned the colour of a ripe apple.

mikko thinks he must’ve done something—or said something to make you not only think like that, but ask him about—without so much as a blush on your face. you were serious.

you cross your arms again, defensive walls still built high. clearing your throat, you look away from mikko and towards the navy blue patterned rug covering the floor. “ why are you so nice to me?”

you practically whisper, timidly running your foot along the worn out carpet.

mikko blinks. “what?” he’s even more confused now—because why wouldn’t he be nice to you. you’re sweet, and respectful, and funny, and beautiful, and you’re you.

you meet his eyes again, expect this time there’s more emotion swimming in them, and you’re slowly coming down of your flurry of anger—left with fear and your own confusion. “like..,” you start unsure, “you only do the media stuff when i'm the one asking you to. are you only being nice to me so that like, you'll get in my pants?”

you’re right, he thinks. he only does media when you ask, but it’s not because he suddenly wants to if you’re the one asking, it’s because he can’t say no to you. mikko never wants to see you sad—he never wants to see the current look on your face when he can help it.

mikko shakes his head, slow and steady. “no. that's not why i'm nice to you.”

“no?” you parrot, the tiniest hint of disbelief in your tone.

“no.” mikko repeats firmly. “i'm nice to you because I like you.”

“like as a friend?” you gulp, arms falling to your sides as you’re no longer strong enough to hold them around yourself.

mikko doesn’t see the point of hiding his true feelings any longer. the thought of you thinking he had ulterior motives with his kindness literally makes his stomach hurt, and he can’t have you believing he’s trying to use you for his own benefit.

so with a gentle sigh, he takes another step closer to you, eyes softening as he takes in your hesitant gaze and red cheeks. “more than a friend.” mikko admits gently.

your face falls, “oh.” you’re in some sort of shock, looking up at the winger with parted lips and wide eyes. the way mikko is looking at you, so raw and real, has any lingering hesitance falling away, and your expression quickly shifts.

“yeah, oh.” the corner of mikko’s plump lip slides upwards, the beginning stages of a lopsided smirk growing on his flushing face.

he reaches towards you, slowly, hands enveloping the sides of your head as he holds you in his palms. mikko’s hands are so warm and big, completely covering your cheeks and ears—the feeling itself has you turned on.

your breath hitches as mikko’s rough thumbs begin running over your cheekbones, stroking your warm skin absentmindedly.

his tongue licks along his bottom lip, moistening the skin slowly. mikko swallows gently, not once taking his gaze off your flustered face. “but like, just so there’s no confusion, I would eat you out on the table until you’re crying if that’s what you wanted.”

you inhale sharply, stomach dropping with excitement and adrenaline. your body flutters at his words, “mikko.” you whine in a whisper, hands reaching out and resting against his hard pecks. you have no control of your hands, the need to feel him under your palms too strong. you begin running over his covered chest, his muscles tightening and nipples hardening under your deliberate touches.

mikko huffs shakily before he comes down, kissing you with as much passion he can manage. his lips are surprisingly soft and smooth, enclosing and teasing yours in a messy, hard way. the feeling has your stomach swooping further, toes curling in your shoes as the kiss grows harder—needier.

suddenly, mikko’s hands run down your body, passing over your ass with a firm squeeze. you moan into his mouth as his hands find the backs of your thighs, picking you up.

you gasp as he lifts you effortlessly, sitting you on the table like it’s nothing—mikko smirks at the sound you make, and he can’t help the way his dick twitches in his pants. his wet lips trail off your mouth, travelling over your jaw and down your neck where he continues giving you hot, and hurried kisses.

reluctantly, your eyes flutter open, running a hand under mikko’s beanie, gripping the base of his hair between your trembling fingers. “we can get in a lot of trouble for this.” you breathe.

despite your words, your hips rolls against his hardening length, your cores at the perfect angle with you sitting on the table to grinding together deliciously.

mikko pulls back, eyes glazed with lust as he grins. “I know. so we'll just have to be sneaky.” his words are husky, sending your blood pumping and head swirling with need.

he leans back in, giving you another eye rolling kiss. you push his hat off his head completely, giving yourself free reign of his messy curls, tugging the blonde strands as your heart desires.

mikko pulls you closer on the tabletop, further bumping your clothed heat against his. his large hands slide underneath the back of your top, running over your spine and fiddling with the edge of your lacy bralette.

you sigh trembly, disconnecting the kiss. “i'll have to stop asking you questions though. because now I really won't be able to control myself around you.”

the admission has mikko smirking, biting his lip seductively. one of his hands round to your front, groping your tit over your bra. “I turn you on baby?” he already knew the answer to his question—your hardened nipples and shifting hips giving him all the information he needs.

you laugh through a breathless exhale, and you gently hit his shoulder. “be serious. you'll have to tolerate lina, and start saying yes when she asks you to do things.”

“no promises.” he chimes playfully, hands running back down your torso—leaving goosebumps in their wake.

you give him a soft, serene smile, which as mikko following suit—looking at you the way he always has. “I really like you, mikko.” you admit gently, one of your hands running over his building bicep before sliding around to rest on his shoulder blade.

for a moment, his smile remains admirable, looking down at you like you’re the only thing that has ever mattered. mikko has been dreaming of the day you say those words, and actually hearing you speak them is just otherworldly.

but because he’s a boy, and you’re his dream girl with his spit coating your plump lips—he can’t help himself. mikko’s hand rounds to your front, dipping underneath the waistband of your leggings and sliding over your underwear. he thumbs your clit over the thin material, and your mouth goes slack at his touch.

he breathes, smirking at the feeling of your arousal soaking through your panties. “yeah I can tell.”

“shut up.” you huff, pulling him back in to continue your desperate kiss.

[shurisneakers]

unsolved (xiii)

Summary: Bucky doesn’t even believe in the paranormal. So who the hell thought it was a good idea to stick him in a series about everything haunted for the internet’s amusement? With his loose-canon of a teammate who has no concept of subtlety or shits left to give, to make things even worse. (Buzzfeed unsolved AU)

Warnings: swearing, frustrated bucky, obnoxious reader, forests, sabotaging

A/N: lmao so initially this was actually supposed to be released on Halloween last year bc it was the 13th chapter. but of course, The Horrors. so have a Halloween themed chapter in the middle of fucking April. good day to you all.

Previous part || Series masterlist

Bucky doesn’t do Halloween.

To be fair, Bucky doesn’t do most organised festive celebrations. 

But Halloween specifically, is not for him. 

He barely has energy to exist in real life, and now he has to do it with a costume? Like a little circus clown boy begging for claps?

No.

So even though the team has mostly done the most with what they can, and dressed up to celebrate the spirits of the holiday, he has chosen to stick to his usual.  

He begins to feel the guilt twirling around his stomach when he finally makes his way to the event ground. 

The whole Halloween fair felt like fall in a bottle. Rows of vendor stalls lined the main walkway, overpriced cider and hot chocolate competing for everyone’s attention. The air was thick with the scent of kettle corn, fried dough, and bonfire smoke, and at the very center of the fairground, a massive pumpkin display loomed. IT was carefully arranged, family-friendly, and absolutely begging to be destroyed. 

There were costumes everywhere. Kids sprinting between hay bales in bandages and plastic fangs, groups of teenagers posing for selfies in group outfits, couples holding hands.

It was nice. It might even begin to thaw his cold, solid heart. 

The groans and bullying that follows when he pulls up half an hour late is warranted but he holds his ground. 

Hands balled into fists, chest pushed out and sturdy, he takes his usual place next to you, bracing for impact. 

“You’re a bore,” you say without skipping a beat. “You’re like fun-antidote. Where is your costume?”

“I’m wearing a costume,” he says simply. “I’m A Guy.”

“Your costume cannot be guy. I knew this shit would happen. I had a costume delivered to you one month ago, where is it?”

“If you think I’m dressing like that Dr Seuss piece of shit, you’re deranged.” Bucky casts a look at you. 

He opened the package, saw the red stripes and closed it right back up.

“There’s no way you showed up with nothing,” Nat scoffs.

“Clint wore a full Pikachu onesie,” Wanda offers, joining the group with a powdered sugar moustache.

“That’s because Clint has no shame.” 

“I heard that,” Clint calls from somewhere. God knows where.

“You were supposed to,” Bucky fires back. 

Nat raises an eyebrow. “C’mon Buck. Not even a little face paint?”

“Do I look like a man who owns face paint,” he says dryly, glaring when he suddenly notices a little detail. “Why’s everyone looking at me? This one’s not wearing a costume either.”

He juts a thumb towards you. You narrow your eyes.

“I’m literally wearing one right now,” you say, gesturing to yourself. 

“You’re wearing a black t-shirt and combat boots,” he argues. “That’s clothes. It’s not a costume.”

“It’s a good costume,” Sam pipes up. “I get it.” 

You beam at him. “Thanks.”

Bucky glances at you, then at Sam, then back at you again.

Nat, leaning back against the table, exhales a short laugh. “Really nailed the details.”

“Right?” You glance down at your fit. 

She nods. “Very accurate.”

Bucky stares for a few more seconds, coming up short.  

Finally, he grumbles, “Whatever. Where’s the video shoot?”

“You guys are shooting a video here?” Wanda asks, tearing off a piece of funnel cake and popping it into her mouth.

“Yeah, I thought it’d be fun to go through the corn maze. Local legends say it’s haunted by the spirit of teenagers who got lost in there years ago and never returned.” You shrug. “I’m gonna attach a GoPro onto Bucky’s head and set him free in there.”

“You make me sound like a rat.”

“You’re the handsomest rat I’ve ever seen, baby. If I were a piece of cheese, would you want me?”

“Stop.”

“You’re really just gonna go in there together, huh?” Sam pipes up casually. 

Bucky looks at him weirdly, but Sam has the deeply self-satisfied smirk of a man about to be a menace.

You don’t even hesitate. “Yeah?”

“Uh-huh. Corn mazes have a history, you know? Just saying. ”

“A history,” you repeat. 

Nat, ever helpful, leans forward, resting her chin in her hand. “Classic teenage makeout spot.”

Bucky’s eye twitches.

“I wouldn’t know, I spent my teenage years blowing up buildings,” you reply. 

Wanda hums. “That’s what they all say.”

“Literally who says this.”

“You’re not missing out. It’s cold and itchy and the whole place smells like hay,” Steve chimes in, doing his best to aid the situation. 

Sam nods solemnly. “Yeah, but next thing you know, you’re lost with no cell service, standing real close, saying shit like ‘oh no, my flashlight batteries died, guess we have to huddle for warmth–””

Bucky groans. “It’s a fucking corn maze, not the catacombs. There’s no getting lost and huddling for warmth.”

Clint, appearing just in time to make this worse, tilts his head innocently. “Oh, you guys doing the Lover’s Lane?”

Bucky gestures aggressively at the fair map. “It says Field of Screams.”

“Sure can be a field of screams if this night goes well,” you add unhelpfully. 

Bucky turns to Steve, clearly expecting him to be the voice of reason.

Steve, unfortunately, is already hiding a smile behind his drink.

Bucky’s jaw clenches.

“Assholes,” he mutters.

Sam claps him on the shoulder. “Have fun in the murder corn.”

Somewhere in the distance, the haunted house’s chainsaw gag goes off, followed by delighted screaming.

Bucky adjusts the camera strapped to his head like a miner’s torch. “I thought you were going as the tennis ball from that threesome movie.”

“Costume didn’t deliver in time. So I found something better.”

“What are you supposed to be?” 

You ignore him, but there’s an amused expression on your face. “I know you think that because you’ve gotten to this point, you’ve gotten away with not having a costume. Unfortunately for you, I have come prepared.”

Before he can react, you shove a piece of fabric into his hands.

He holds it up, balled into his fist. “Is this–”

“The cape from the laughing gas group, yes.” You nod. 

“I thought I got rid of this thing, where the hell did you get it from?” He lets it unravel in all its unironed, crinkly wonder. 

“I would never let you get rid of a piece of art like this. Now look, you’ve got a solid costume.”

“I don’t need a costume.”

“Well, now you have one. Put it on.”

“No.”

“Put it on.”

“No.”

Five minutes later, he has a shitty full-length cape on as you stand at the entrance to a haunted corn maze.

The wind picks up just enough to make his cape move ominously. He elects to ignore it. 

You adjust the camera on your head, tilting it toward him.

“Well, well, well,” you narrate,. “If it isn’t the dark lord himself.”

“I hope the ghosts take you first.”

“That’s what I love about you, Buck. Always looking out for me.”

Bucky shakes his head, pulling the cape tighter around his shoulders when the wind threatens to blow it away.

The archway is wrapped in dim string lights, flickering unsteadily.

Beyond it, the corn stands tall and unmoving, the entrance swallowing the path ahead in a thick, oppressive darkness.

“Alright, you ready?” you turn to him.

He sighs. “Always.”

________

The night is alive.

The festival’s noise carries even through the thick walls of corn, muffled laughter and distant screams bleeding through the cracks, the occasional blast of music from a game booth still loud enough to reach you guys.

Teenagers run ahead, scaring their friends before the actors even get the chance.

Bucky walks beside you, hands tucked into the pocket of his cargo pants.

A breeze kicks up, rustling through the maze.

From somewhere to your right, a group of college kids run screaming out of one of the side paths, shoving each other as they trip over their own feet.

Bucky watches them, expression completely unimpressed. “They paid twenty bucks to get chased through corn by a guy in a mask.”

“We also have done that,” you remind him. 

You walk for a while in no particular direction, just following the winding, trampled-down paths. Nothing creepy has happened yet.

“I had a place like this growing up,” Bucky mutters, stepping over a stray piece of corn husk.

You glance at him. “A haunted maze?”

“A fair. Smaller than this, but same kind of deal. Seasonal. My parents used to take us before it got too cold.”

You hum. “What’d they have?”

“The usual,” Bucky says. “Rides, caramel apples, bad magic acts. There was a fortune teller I was scared of when I was a kid.”

“You were scared of a fortune teller?”

“She was fuckin’ aggressive for a woman whose entire job was pretending to read palms. I didn’t even want to do it. My parents paid ‘cause Becca begged, and then she got too scared to go near her. I got thrown in so it didn’t up being a waste of a few bucks.”

“Becca betrayed you.”

“Sold me out immediately.”

You laugh. There’s a faint smile on his face as he walks through the godforsaken corn. 

“I had a fair once,” you say.  “It wasn’t real. But they called it a festival.”

Bucky doesn’t say anything.

“There was a little town outside the facility,” you say, stepping over a raised tree root. “Once a year, they’d set up these tests. The whole thing was so weird. Gave us candy. Let us play games. Just to see if we could blend in.”

“HYDRA did something similar.”

You snort. “You guys ever do the winter carnival, or was that unique to usl?”

Bucky groans. “Always fucking Winter Wonderland or Halloweentown.”

You laugh, kicking at a loose pile of hay. “I used to steal candy.”

Bucky raises an eyebrow. “Without getting caught?”

“They probably knew,” you admit. “But they never stopped me. Maybe that was the test.”

Bucky hums, before saying gruffly. “Maybe it was just a win.”

You hold his gaze for a second. The careless upturn of his lip is enough to make you forget what nonsense you were about to say.

You wonder how much footage you’d have to edit out if it was just staring at his dumb, pretty face in silence.

A breeze shuffles the corn.

The distant scream of another maze runner echoes through the night.

It’s enough to snap you out of whatever the hell this is. 

The festival noise is still going strong, bleeding into the maze, distant music mixing with the hum of people.

You reach a split in the path. A fork in the maze, with two equally stupid-looking trails leading deeper into the field.

Bucky stops, tilting his head slightly, scanning both directions.

You, on the other hand, just pick a side based on what the vibes emanating from them were. 

“This way,” you say, already stepping toward the left.

Bucky does not move. “That’s the wrong way.”

“Excuse me?”

Bucky gestures down the right path. “That’s the way out.”

You fold your arms. “How do you know?”

“Because I do.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only answer you’re getting.”

You tilt your head. “Did you fucking map out the way to the exit?”

“No,” Bucky lies.

“That defeats the whole point of a maze.” 

“It’s called situational awareness.”

“It’s called being a control freak,” you correct.

Bucky exhales sharply. 

You gesture down the path you picked. “So what happens if I go this way?”

“You get lost.”

“Or.”

“No.”

“Or–”

“I’m not going the wrong way.”

“Fine. It appears that we have reached an impasse.” You pause, considering for a second. “I fear that our journey together ends here. Catch you on the flipside, partner.”

Bucky watches as you take a slow, exaggerated step backward down the left path.

“Are you seriously splitting us up?” he asks dryly. 

“It is not I who refuses to tread the path of integrity.” 

Bucky glares.

You take another step, arms crossed over your chest, combat boots pressed into the dirt.

He’s about to give in and follow your stupidass plan, when it suddenly clicks for him. Honestly, once he gets it, he’s embarrassed at how long it took. 

“Is your fuckin’ costume s’pposed to be me?” Bucky’s jaw drops open slightly. 

A grin breaks across your face and it’s enough of an answer for him.

“You’re fucking ridiculous.” He takes a long, hard look at your ridiculous outfit. “What is wrong with you?”

“I think I did great,” you say, pulling at the hem of your black t-shirt. “I even made sure the shade was right.”

“You think you’re hilarious.”

“I do, yeah. Now let’s get a move on.” You clap your hands. “This maze ain’t gonna solve itself.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you dressed like that.”

“Afraid people are gonna think we’re the same person?”

Bucky crosses his arms over his chest. You do the same.

“Stop.”

“I’m just existing, man.”

“You’re making fun of me.”

“Now who said that?” You narrow your eyes. “I’m dressed like the hottest person I know besides myself, you should take it as a compliment” 

Bucky mumbles something under his breath, taking a step towards the path on the right. 

“I see you’ve made your choice. The wrong one, but I respect it.” You salute.  “See you on the other side, Barnes.”

And just like that, you disappear down the path.

Bucky stands there for a few seconds in silence.

Then, grudgingly, he starts walking again, taking his route. The correct route.

The festival noise is still there, still steady.

Bucky isn’t worried.

Because, first of all, it’s a corn maze.

Second of all, he’s already sure he knows the way out. 

The first few minutes alone, he doesn’t think about it much.

He walks, eyes scanning the paths, the layout, the movement of people up ahead. 

Unfortunately with the way his brain is hardwired, It doesn’t take him long to see the pattern.

The jump scares are timed.

The actors cycle between three or four spots.

The lighting is only dim enough to be “spooky,” but there are clear emergency lanterns posted at every exit route.

All things considered, it’s shockingly easy to navigate, so he wonders what’s so haunted about it in the first place. 

By the time he reaches the third scare actor, he’s already figured out that they’re all positioned in the exact same intervals.

A few minutes later, the familiar mechanical rev of a chainsaw sounds through the corn again. 

Bucky sighs, already exhausted.

The actor jumps out from the corn, mask on, chainsaw lifted dramatically.

Bucky stares.

The actor stares back.

There’s a long, painful pause.

Bucky slips past him and keeps walking.

_______ 

“How much fuckin’ corn is there?” he mumbles by the time he hits the next split in the path.

He hasn’t heard from you in a while, which doesn’t make sese because he should have run into you at some point. He would never admit it out loud but he would rather your incessant chattering than silence.

Seemingly ten minutes into his neverending trek, he pulls out his phone to track his way back to Steve using the damn Find My Phone bullshit

No signal.

He exhales sharply. Taps the screen a few more times, holds it above his head and even rotates it a few times. 

Still nothing.

It’s annoying, sure. But beyond that, something about it feels vaguely unsettling.

 The maze wasn’t that far away from the fair. 

It wasn’t like he’d wandered into the woods. 

He should have cell service. 

He grumbles, putting his phone back into his pocket, continuing on. 

_________

The paths aren’t endless.

The entire attraction is contained within the fairgrounds, wedged between the parking lot and the hayride station, which means if he just keeps moving in a straight line, he should hit the outer edge eventually.

Or at the very least, run into a staff member making sure no dumbass teenagers try to cut through the corn and ruin the layout.

And yet he’s been walking for a while now.

No exits are showing up.

Which is annoying. Because he’s usually good at this kind of thing.

If he can navigate a city he barely recognizes, evade people trying to kill him, track movement through urban terrain with nothing but a loose trail, then he should be able to walk out of a goddamn festival attraction.

But the paths just keep twisting, folding back into each other. 

The maze stretches longer than it should.

EVen though he’d figured it out, Bucky doesn’t immediately notice it.

He’s too focused on just moving forward. Getting to the end.

But after another few turns, another five minutes of silence, it finally registers.

There hasn’t been a single scare in a while.

The last was what, ten minutes ago?

Before that, they had been stationed at every few turns, jumping out at whatever happened to wander through.

Bucky stops.

The corn doesn’t rustle the way it usually does. 

It stands tall and eerily frozen. 

Bucky tilts his head slightly and listens.

But the fairground is further away than it should be.

There’s still wind.

It's still chilly.

Like it’s been pushed back a little further with every turn he’s taken.

Which doesn’t make sense.

Bucky exhales, shaking it off, shaking it loose, refusing to acknowledge the stupid, creeping frustration in his chest.

This is fine.

He keeps moving because at some point, it has to end.

The sky is still clear.

The night is dark.

He rounds the next turn--

Agonizing minutes later, Bucky knows he should have found an exit by now.

Even if he somehow took the longest possible route, even if he completely lost track of where he was going, he should have hit the fairground again by sheer accident.

And finally, he sees something different.

A scarecrow.

Lying in the middle of the path.

It's an old, rotting, weatherworn thing that doesn’t belong in a festival attraction.

The wood is splintering at the edges. The burlap sack tied around its head is molded and sun-bleached. The hat it’s wearing is barely holding together.

And its arms, long and stiff and thin, aren’t stretched out the way scarecrows usually are, instead pressed tight against its sides.

Bucky stares at it.

A long, slow moment passes.

“What the fuck’s your deal?” he asks. 

It does not answer. Obviously. 

He stares for a few more seconds, raising his leg to step beside it and move on–

Something touches him.

His entire body locks up for half a second, reflex screaming at him to step back, to turn, to fight.

It’s barely anything.

A whisper of sensation, a brief, feather-light press against the metal of his wrist.

Not a grab. Not a push. Just contact.

And then there’s a giggle.

Soft, small sound that feels like it’s been yanked straight out of another life. 

It takes a secodn to register that his pulse is hammering now.

Because it’s been months of this. Of coming to terms with the fact that he wasn’t just imagining it.

Not from cold, clamping fear.

Something else. 

The giggle sounds again, a few feet away this time.

She’d been following him. Watching him. Waiting for a chance to get him alone and-- God, what?

What was she going to do?

His head snaps towards the sound, trying to zero in on it outside of the rustling of stems. 

When it floats by again, it’s further away. 

His feet move before his mind registers it. 

Soft peals of laughter, the same when he’d let her draw all over his sketchbooks, when he’d douse her in water from the hose, when his dad would throw her under his arm and carry her around. 

It doesn’t matter.

He rounds the corner fast, boots skidding slightly on the packed dirt.

The air is colder now than ten minutes ago, stinging his skin. Or maybe that’s just in his head.

The laughter leads him around another corner, and the weight in his chest grows more desparate.

Because if she’s there, he can tell her everything he’s been thinking of for months now.

That he’s sorry, that he’d do whatever it takes to get her to rest–

He opens his mouth to call out her name– 

He bounds down the path, heart hammering and eyes wide.

His feet skid to a halt, boots grinding into the ground when he almost collides straight into something.

Someone.

But no.

Face tucked behind a Jason Vorhees mask, fake machete resting on a shoulder.

Not her. 

“Woah,” it says, “the hell are you running from?”

Bucky stops immediately, breathless.

It doesn’t take even a second to register the voice.

In the same short second, it is gone.

The giggle. The touch on the inside of his wrist. 

It’s all gone.

And in its place, it’s you.

You’re standing like you’ve been waiting for him, mask lopsided, fake machete swinging lazily in one hand, like you just wandered in from a completely different reality. 

Fuck. He’d been sure. So sure.

But then it’s you, pulling the mask up till it rides up your forehead. 

“Look who finally showed up,” you say brightly, grinning like you haven’t been wandering the maze in abandoned slasher cosplay for god knows how long.

“I’ve been trying to find an exit for, like, half an hour. Got so bored I was about to float up and look for you from the sky.”

He doesn’t say anything, heart in his mouth.

He doesn’t smile.

He probably doesn’t even blink, head turning as he scans the area for any sign.

You cock your head at him. “...You good?”

“Yeah,” he says too fast. “Fine.”

She wasn’t here. 

You give him a look. One you’ve used before. 

He forces his hands to stay loose at his sides. Tries not to look like he’s still coming down from something. Tries not to think about the soft giggle he’d heard minutes ago, or how badly he’d wanted to find the source.

“You been in here the whole time?” he asks finally.

You nod. “Yeah. I got bored. The actors vanished a while ago. I found the mask and figured, why not.” You hold up the machete. “Also this. Very high-quality prop. Very stabby.”

He raises an eyebrow. Barely.

“I was gonna jump-scare someone, but no one’s been around.” You pause. “Except you, apparently.”

He's not entirely sure he's in the same plane of existence as you.

His gaze flicks over you again, with your mask, weapon, loose smile. Still completely unaware that he just nearly walked out of the last twenty years chasing a memory, only to find you instead.

He swallows. Pushes the feeling back down.

“Thought you said you were gonna levitate out.”

“I was!” You grin. “But then you showed up. How was your night? 

He doesn’t answer right away.

Finally he just exhales for the first time in what seems like years.

“It was fine.”

But the longer you look at him, the less sure you seem.

You study his face, squinting. “You look like you saw something.”

“Didn’t.”

You chew on that for a second, eyes still on him, before saying, “You’ve been weird, you know.”

Bucky tilts his head slightly.

“Like, not just tonight. After some of these shoots. Not all of them. Just… some.”

Bucky says nothing. He knew it wouldn't be too long before you brought this up.

You go on anyway. “At first I thought it was just your usual ‘why am I involved in this bullshit’ thing, but it’s not that. Not every time. Some of these places are different. You come back quiet.”

You shift the machete from one hand to the other. It feels stupid, suddenly.

“I haven’t said anything,” you add. “Because I figured if you didn’t want to be here, you’d say something. But you haven’t and if this kind of stuff screws with your head in some way, we can pick other places. Or we can stop the show altogether. We don’t have to keep doing this if it’s messing with you.”

You look back at him now. Direct. Steady.

Bucky doesn’t flinch.

It would be easy to lie. Easier than explaining.

So he clears his throat, looks down the path where the maze bends gently left. “Good to know.”

Something soft on his cheek tugs his face back.

He looks back at you, a small crease between his eyebrows.

You hold his face in place softly, but the look on your face is firm. "We don't have to continue the show. I'm being serious. It's not worth it if you--"

Bucky watches you trail off, but your hands don't let go of his face.

"I know," he says, voice a bit quieter, more tired.

Your gaze is intense, but he holds it. His throat constricts a bit when he swallows.

“Well. I was headed for apple dunking before this turned into a weird spiral. You coming?”

He knows you notice it.

Still, you don’t press. Just give him a small smile, search his face one last time before letting go.

“Yeah,” he says, letting out a deep exhale when you turn away from him.

“Good. I need a witness when I inevitably fight a twelve-year-old over a Fuji.”

“I will not take your side,” he manages to get out, following behind closely.

“Yeah, yeah,” you say, casting a look over your shoulder. “But you’ll reap the rewards when I win.”

Bucky opens his mouth to say something in return, but shuts up when you slip your hand into his, interlacing your fingers and giving it a short squeeze. 

His heart, poor fucking thing, probably won’t be able to handle another episode of racing tonight. 

“Come on,” you say, swinging it back and forth. “You can buy me some cider.”

Bucky says something snappy, sighs a little and tightens his grip on your hand. 

It takes a while before you finally see the fair.

You push a few stalks aside and sigh like you’ve just crossed a battlefield.

The fairground lights bleed brighter through the corn, the ambient noise getting louder with each step. 

Bucky's kept his grip on your hand, but slipped it into the pocket of his jacket because the night only gets colder.

“I can’t believe I almost had to fly over this stupid maze just to find you,” you say. “What would you have done if I hadn’t shown up?”

He shrugs. “Would’ve found a way out.”

“Oh?” you say, eyebrows lifting. “With what? Your ancient Boy Scout compass? Prayer? I was prepared to carry you out, you know.”

He snorts.

“Little rescue mission. One arm around your waist.”

He stops walking. “No.”

You blink innocently. “No?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Why not? I can fly. Kind of.”

“I would rather die in the corn than be carried out like a wet cat.”

“You’re being ridiculous. Hasn’t Steve ever gotten a ride from Tony? I don’t hear him complaining about sitting on his teammate’s back.”

“Like he’s on a fucking horse?” Bucky says, scandalized. “No?”

“You’re emotionally allergic to help.”

“I don’t need help.”

“I know,” you say, turning to grin at him again. “But I’m gonna offer it anyway. Just to annoy you.”

The stupid Jason mask is still swinging at your collar, machete tucked like a trophy at your hip. Bucky rolls his eyes but can't help a smile from slipping out.

“Anyway,” you say casually, “I’m just saying, if I hadn’t found you, you’d still be in there. They’d name the field after you eventually.”

He doesn’t respond to that, but you catch him shaking his head.

You swing the machete against your leg like a toy. “Would the team have come looking for you if I hadn’t?”

Bucky glances at you. “Eventually.”

“Eventually,” you repeat. “Cool. So like… couple of days?”

He shrugs. “Give or take.”

You nod sagely. “Okay. So if it takes you a few days to get rescued, I’m looking at what, two weeks? After someone trips over my skeleton by accident?”

He doesn’t look at you when he says, “That’s not how it works with us.”

You raise an eyebrow. “Us?”

He gestures vaguely. “The team.”

You scoff. “I literally had an entire PR team trying to erase me from the internet not too long ago.”

Bucky studies you with a sharp look for a few moments. You keep swinging the machete back and forth, one arm locked in place inside his jacket pocket.

“Do you think it was a coincidence,” he says finally, “that the week your article dropped, everyone just happened to go batshit insane?”

You blink at him. “What.”

“C’mon,” he says. “Steve makes a huge donation. Nat starts a fight on live TV. Clint breaks into a goddamn bank vault. Your story got the least coverage out of all of them.”

You frown slightly. “I thought that was just Avengers being Avengers.”

Bucky shrugs. “Nobody told anyone to do anything. They just did it loudly so you’d know whose side they were on.”

You fall silent for a moment. “Huh.”

He doesn’t push.

You don’t ask again, but you shuffle closer. He tries his level best to stay cool, and mostly succeeds.

The second you step out of the cornfield, it's like walking into a trap.

Scattered around the festival’s edge, half-lurking by the caramel apple stand and the booth selling “Blood Smoothies”, are most of the team, waiting.

Nat is nursing a cup of hot chocolate like it's vodka and watching everything with the faint smirk of someone who knew how this would end before it started.

Sam spots you first. His grin spreads instantly. 

“Generally when people disappear for a while, they show up with less clothes than before,” he calls. 

You glance at your mask and machete and Bucky tugs off the stupid cape. 

“Just in time for the main event. I was about to start placing bets.”

“On what,” Bucky mutters, already tired of this conversation.

“Whether we were getting a call from you,” Sam replies, “or the morgue.”

You shrug. “Por qué no los dos?”

Wanda drifts in with a caramel apple in one hand and a too-knowing smile at your hand in his. 

Bucky’s expression shutters instantly, mouthing. “Don’t.”

She shakes her head lightly, not saying anything. 

You’re still smiling, focused on the conversation at hand, “He got lost. I heroically rescued him. It was a very emotional journey.”

“I wasn’t lost.”

Steve finally wanders over, coffee in hand, squinting at Bucky like he's trying to decipher something.

“You good?” he asks, handing him a slice of pumpkin pie.

Bucky nods. “Fine.”

Steve looks between the two of you. Then at the mask. Then at the machete. “You two gonna go find other hauntings or are y’all done for the evening?”

“I’m going apple dunking,” you say brightly. “I’m about to ruin some middle schoolers.”

“Emotionally or physically?” Clint asks.

“Whichever’s funnier.” You shrug, nudging Bucky’s shoulder. “I’m gonna destroy some third grader and dedicate the win to you.”

"I don't know you."

You give him a bright grin, and wiggle your hand out of his to follow behind Clint.

Bucky doesn't like the sudden lack of warmth, but he finds respite in pie Steve has handed to him.

Bucky’s always liked the noise of fairs.

Not because he actually enjoys them and the overstimulation it brings, but because he can disappear into the background. Everyone's loud. Everyone's distracted. No one looks at the guy who stands still.

So that’s what he does now.

Leans against a picnic table, a second slice of pie in his hands that he hasn’t even looked at, while Steve stands beside him with a cup of something steaming and unremarkable.

It’s easy, the quiet between them. Familiar.

Which is probably why Bucky says it out loud before he thinks about it too hard.

“Do you remember PBJ?”

Steve squints. “The sandwich?”

Bucky exhales through his nose. “No. The nickname.”

Steve takes a slow sip, then looks at him again.

“Oh,” he says, softer now. “Right. What I called you and Becca."

"D'you remember why?" Bucky doesn't meet his eye.

"Wasn't it 'cause she couldn’t spell your name properly when she was little? Wrote ‘Jam’ everywhere. Used to drive you insane.”

“She got very smug about it,” Bucky mutters.

Steve laughs. “Only ‘cause you kept calling her ‘Peanut’.”

Bucky nods, tight smile on his lips.

“I’d forgotten about that,” Steve says. “God, Peanut Becca and Jam. You were so serious about it, too."

Bucky notes quietly, “She wrote ‘PBJ’ on everything. Lunchboxes. Schoolbooks. Hell, birthday cards.”

"I remember."

Steve elbows him gently. “Why’d you ask?”

They stand there a while longer.

The lights flicker in the distance.  

And there it is. That soft pang in his chest, sharp and sad and warm all at once.

Bucky hesitates. Opens his mouth to say something else–

“Gentlemen!”

You’re striding toward them with far too much confidence, holding a large, offensively purple stuffed bat in both hands like it’s a gift from a distant god.

“I bring tribute.”

You shove the bat into Bucky’s hands, grinning. “For being so brave in the cornfield. And for looking like you were about five seconds away from emotionally unloading on pie.”

The bat’s wings sparkle. Its eyes are mildly unhinged.

Bucky looks at it to you. “What is this.”

“A cherished new member of the team. And a gift to you.”

Steve’s face does something complicated behind his cup.

And for a second, Bucky just stares at the stupid plush thing in his hands, and tries to ignore the way his throat tightens.

Bucky huffs. “Thanks. It’s horrifying.”

“I know,” you say, bright as anything. “Try not to fall in love with me over it.”

He has the sick, annoying, grating feeling that it's a warning that's come too late, probably.

But he doesn’t say that.

Because you steal the rest of his pie.

And the ugly bat now rests on his bed.

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THANK U TO EVERYONE WHO BOUGHT ME A KO-FI FOR THIS SILLY FIC I FULLY EXPLODED WHEN I SAW IT

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[ohmygraves]

it started off as a prank.

soap and gaz were fooling around, really. nothing too serious, not expecting much from it. hell, the account was in soap's phone. ghost didn't even know anything about it.

the two created a tinder account for the lieutenant, just to see what kind of people would be so inclined to message a masked man like him.

photos were taken candidly, most of it from soap's own stash (don't ask). something more serious was cropped from group pictures, from either the bar or during a mission. gaz thought of the introduction, with little embellishments to make it more ridiculous. the goal was to see how many would swipe right to the scary, masked lieutenant.

of course, the sergeants were surprised to see so many match notifications, to the point that soap's phone would just erupt with notification sounds, even during briefings. safe to say, the poor scot got in trouble, and ended up turning off the notification for the app.

most of the matches seems to be coming from a place of lust, a lot of requests of one night stands or fuck buddies (what is it with people who liked masked men, the two thought). many seemed very forward and to the point with what they wanted. it was ridiculous trying to scroll through the first messages and reading them one by one.

but then there's you.

you: hello, i feel like i've seen you before. are you staying at the base near (location)?

soap and gaz thought your first message was interesting. it could be that you knew the lieutenant somewhere, or had seen him at least once. you seem to be a real person too, judging from your profile. photos of you indicated as such.

gaz wanted to call it quits, ghosts you just like every other match that they received, but soap wanted to take it a step further, even if gaz was completely against the idea. bickering for a while, soap ended up sending a text, and that's how you started talking to "ghost".

ghost: yeah. do i know you from somewhere?

soap had expected it to be a flirting attempt, though he was surprised to see an actual answer.

you: oh, i think i've seen you a few times outside of the base.

you: i frequent the café nearby ^^

oh, you're so cute and innocent, soap kinda felt bad for lying now.

ghost: i see

ghost: perhaps i'll see you sometime too? ;)

soap got addicted to posing as ghost. the two of you texted back and forth during his break, sometimes even at night. soap stayed up and missed some sleep just for some elaborate joke that kept going and going, and gaz was just tuning into the drama too.

everything was fun at first, not everyday the scot got to roleplay as the lieutenant, especially since the man was such a dry texter. it was funny trying to come up with an awkward reply or even just flat messages when talking to you. you were just so nice and oblivious to it though.

soap nearly lost his marbles when you asked to meet up in the cafe near the base, and asked when it was possible. you knew that soldiers frequently are given a leave, so perhaps "ghost" would love to meet you when he had the time. the scot was sure that he went too far this time, earning "i told you so" look from gaz even when he's clearly also enjoying the shenanigans.

they decided that it's finally time to come clean to the man in question.

ghost, of course, was furious. not only that this was a violation of privacy, soap and gaz had wasted a random person's time because of some elaborate joke that went too far. now they even want to meet with him too.

soap thought that the only way to fix this was just to inform you as well. it was only fair as you're also affected by this. hell, he didn't even know that his "casual" flirting (which was a loose term considering ghost's texting habits that soap adapted for this roleplay) would be enjoyed by someone, even getting the lieutenant a date too. the scot insisted that you two still meet anyway, and that he would be there too to apologize.

ghost, of course, was definitely against it. he had been dragged into this against his will, and it's not like he had the time too. why would he entertain the two sergeants who got him into this mess—

but perhaps just a cup of tea with a beautiful person like you would be nice... perhaps...

reluctantly, ghost agreed to the date, letting soap talk to you to set up a time and place. while looking at your pictures and the past conversations, he didn't seem to mind that he's now on some sort of a blind date...

[alastor-x-reader-stories]

To Rate a Hug - part 1 of ?

Tags: Alastor x Reader, Lucifer Morningstar x Reader, Humor, Antics, Fluff, Hugs, Reader is cat-like, shenanigans, Lucifer is a dork, Alastor is a petty bitch

part 2

“Who, in this room, is the most huggable?” Charlie asked, grinning ear-to-ear.

Your ears twitched, tilting your head at the question. “What?”

The residents of the Hotel were playing Truth and Dare as one of the redemption activities. Something about it being a good thing to be true to yourself and others? It was originally ‘Truth or Truth’ but Angel Dust complained saying if they had to play this game at all there should be a dare option.

You, being the hotel’s very own scaredy cat, only went with the Truth option. Charlie grinned, vibrating in her seat.

“Who’s the most huggable person in the room?”

You blinked. “Specify.”

“Huh?” The princess said “Um. I. What?”

“Do you mean who do I think would physically give the best hugs, who do I want to hug personally, or like, who I think is most likely to give me a hug?” You said, rocking a bit in your seat.

“Oh! All three?”

“Ok. Um.”

You scanned the room. Charlie was vibrating with excitement, waiting for your answer. Vaggie was watching Charlie more than you, a soft smile on her face. Angel Dust struck a pose, kicking one leg up in the air and shooting you a wink. Husk was pretending he wasn’t there. Nifty wasn’t paying much attention either, flitting about dusting and the like. Alastor hadn’t bothered looking up from the book he was reading and Lucifer… was staring right at you, vibrating much the same way his daughter was.

The Morningstars were so cute.

“Um. Okay, no judgement, though?” You said, grinning sheepishly.

“Of course, of course!” Charlie said with a smile, waving away your concerns.

“Wouldn’t be judgin’ ya unless ya told us who you wanted to f-“

Vaggie whapped Angel Dust over the head with a rolled up newpaper before he could finish that sentence. She sat back down and smiled.

“Go ahead, hun.”

“Okay…” you hummed, pretending you never thought about this before in your entire after life. You had. But that’s an embarrassing thing to mention so you pretended you didn’t.

“I’d say who seemed the best at hugs, physically, would be Husk.”

The cat’s ears twitched.

“Who I’d want to hug personally would be Alastor.”

One ear flicked to point in your direction.

“And I think Charlie’s most likely to hug me.”

“You’re right!” Charlie grinned, squishing you into a hug immediately and just as quickly letting you go. “I do love to give hugs!”

You chuckled, ears laying down bashfully. “Yeah, um, okay. Who’s next?

“You spin it, toots.” Angel said, shoving the bottle from Charlie to you. The group was using an empty wine bottle as the decider, and now it was your turn. You spun it and it landed on Lucifer.

“All right, Luci. Truth or dare?”

He jumped a bit like he forgot he was participating. Rubbing the back of his neck, he looked to the side and thought the floor was a lot more interesting. “Er. Truth?”

You hummed, tapping your claw against your chin. “Ooookaayyyy… Um. What’s your favorite color of the alphabet?”

“Well-“ He stopped mid-word, blinking one eye at a time. “….What.”

You cackled, unable to help yourself. “Well?”

“Answer the question, yer majesty!” Angel chimed in.

“Yeah, Dad!” Charlie said.

“But- What- how do I- I dunno, the number 5???”

You nodded sagely. “Good answer.”

“’Eh, I prefer-“

“Angel, I swear to heaven and back if you say 69 I’m going to rip your limbs off.” Vaggie growled.

The spider shrugged “I was gonna say 420, actually.”

“Ha! Weed.” You grinned. You’ve never actually touched the stuff because it smelled gross but it was fun to joke about.

Lucifer sighed and gave the bottle a spin. It landed on Husk.

“Right, Bar Cat, Truth or Dare?”

“I have a name, your majesty.” Husk snorted. “And. Dare.”

Lucifer grinned “Hee hee hee, okay. I dare you to… make me a drink!”

Husk rolled his eyes. “Coming right up.” He got up and left, then returned with a drink he passed to the king and sat himself back down, giving the bottle a lazy spin.

The old cat was really good at the art of misdirection. So if he carefully stopped the bottle with the very edge of his tail no one would notice. Except Alastor. But he didn’t mention anything because he wanted to see where this would go.

After all, he had it land on you.

You sighed, rocking a bit in your seat. “Truth.”

“Not even gonna consider a dare?” Angel said with a huff. “Kinda boring.”

You stuck your tongue out at him. He flipped you off. Life continued.

Husk sighed, leaning against his hand and humming as though he didn’t already know his question. “Ok. I guess… Why would I be the ‘best at hugs’?”

You sunk a bit in your seat. “Um. Well. Your fur looks soft…”

Alastor’s ear twitched again.

“…and you got those big ol’ wings.”

Lucifer found the wall interesting all of a sudden.

“…and you just kind of look like a care bear.”

Angel Dust burst out laughing. Husk’s ears went back, eye twitching. “Ex-fucking-scuse me?”

You ducked your head “I didn’t- I’m sorry I didn’t mean anything bad- I-“

Husk deflated, rubbing his face. “Right, right, m’bad.” He still looked irritated but managed to get his voice to sound indifferent. “…Why do I look like a care bear?”

“The hearts.” You said meekly, pointing a claw at him. “You have hearts in your ears, little hearts for your eyebrows, and your nose is shaped like a heart, and you have hearts on your hands.”

“…You know, they’re right.” Vaggie said, glancing over at the old cat. Charlie cooed.

“I never noticed that before!”

“I did!” Nifty chirped, scuttling on top of the table. “I did I did I did!” Her eye narrowed, pointing her feather dust threateningly at all those in attendance “But no one listened to Nifty.”

“Who’s Nifty?” You said with a shit-eating grin. The small little goober’s eye widened, surprise and wonder crossing her face.

“I’M Nifty….” She hummed, tapping at her chin.

You nodded sagely. “You are Nifty.”

…

“All right I’m done.” Husk said, pushing out of his seat and leaving. Charlie sighed. She thanked everyone for showing up and participating and the various people in attendance left for their own rooms.

You scurried off as soon as Charlie said you were done for the day and curled into your bed happily. Sweet, sweet privacy. Away from prying eyes-

“Hello there!”

You screeched, fur floofing up to the point you just looked like a puffball with eyes.

Alastor cackled. You crawled under the blankets to hide from him. Alastor was under the blankets with you, grinning. You flailed again, scrambling off the bed and darting underneath it. Guess where the fuck Alastor was.

Several more repeats of that later and you were laying face-down into your pillows with the Radio Demon standing over you.

“Well, that was amusing!” He said.

“I’m glad you had fun.” You muttered.

“I did, I did! Now, a question.”

“And now, an answer.”

“Very good. So. Earlier you had said that you wanted to hug me?” He leaned further towards you, quirking an eyebrow. “Why?”

“To annoy you, mainly.” You said flatly. Static surged. You flinched, ducking back under the blankets. There he was again, sitting on your bed with his legs crossed, eyes glowing brighter in the makeshift blanket fort. He had his hand on your back before you could dart again, keeping you in place.

It wasn’t forceful, though. You could sliver around if you wanted. What was awkward was how close he was to you now. Eyes shining in the dark, breath warm against your face, the smell of his cologne in your nose. And those fluffy ears squished slightly by the blanket.

The Radio Demon had no business looking so huggable.

“Now was that really the reason?” He said, eyes lidded. “From your reaction to our close proximity, I feel as though you were simply teasing me.”

“Partially.” You said. “I mean, yeah, it’d be partially to annoy you. But overall you just kind of seem really…huggable.”

He rose an eyebrow “Huggable?”

“Yeah?” You snorted “That’s what the question was about?”

Alastor leaned closer, voice dropping an octave as he purred “Absolutely nothing else you were thinking about?”

“Well now I’m thinking you need a lozenge.” You said, pushing him back “Voice sounded a bit hoarse there. And before you ask, no, I’m not that stupid and I know what you’re implying. But really that’s it.  You just seem really huggable.”

“How so?” He asked, voice thankfully back to normal.

Alastor had just been messing with you the moment prior. Usually those kinds of comments lead to certain kind of things. Though he would never partake in those ‘things’, the reactions of those who found him attractive were very entertaining. This just confused him.

You shrugged. “I dunno? I just look at you and go ‘mmm yep that’s a huggable person alright’. I mean. Assuming you didn’t hurt or kill me.”

“Oh, I might.” Alastor grinned. Your flight-or-flight instincts kicked in and you jerked back, being stopped again by Alastor’s hand. The instinct kicked in a second time when your face was suddenly pressed against his chest, a deep chuckle reverberating through him. “I jest, my dear.”

“You’re the deer.” You said. He chuckled again. “So. Uh. Is this permission to hug you…?”

“Ha! No.” He shadow-traveled out from the blanket fort and the thing crashed down on you. You reacted to this startling by running straight off the bed into the wall. Alastor’s cackle echoed in your ears as you de-tangled yourself from your blankets. You shot him a peeved look before gathering up your bedding and making yourself comfortable again. Alastor was gone by the time you were settled and you rolled your eyes and decided to forget about that encounter.

However life decided you weren’t done with the day yet. Someone knocked on the door. You groaned, melodramatically opening the door up.

“Uh? Bad time?” Lucifer said with a lopsided grin.

“Oh? Nah, I’m just being silly.” You said with a shrug. “What’ s up?”

“Uh. Well.” Lucifer said, rubbing at the back of his neck “You know, earlier, when you were saying Husk was the most huggable person ‘cause of the wings and stuff? I mean. I have wings.” He materialized his wings and spread them for emphasis. “And. Uh. So. I guess I’m wondering why I‘m not huggable….?” He ducked his head down, grin wobbly as more of his face turned red.

You blinked.

“Um. Sorry?”

Lucifer’s grin dropped entirely and he started flailing his arm around “No no no! You don’t have anything to apologize for! I’m sorry- I! Fuck I’m bad at this.” He sighed, running a hand down his face. You tilted your head, confusion beginning to cross into concern territory.

“Um-“

Lucifer disappeared into a cloud of sparkles only to immediately reappear right next to you.

“My apologies for my silly doppleganger.” He said, checking his nails nonchalantly. “In anycase, I have an important question for you.”

You snorted, crossing your arms “Ah, yes. Your doppleganger. Who is not you.”

Lucifer waved you off “Most certainly not, I am a superb mentlegan- Ah, FUCK!”

Lucifer poofed into sparkles again and reappeared on your opposite side. He dusted his shirt off “Whoops, there was another one of those imposters of mine. Sorry about that.”

You covered your mouth, trying to hide your laugh. “Yeah. There seems to be a lot of those right now.”

“Indeed.” He said, checking his nails. “Can’t blame them for wanting to pretend to be the King of Hell.”

“I dunno.” You said with a hum “I’ve heard rumors the King of Hell is kind of a huge dork.”

“Ah, yes- wait really?”

You laughed. He chuckled a bit, fidgeting with his sleeves. “Uh, yeah. My antics aside. Uh. Can I ask a question?”

“Sure. I see no reason why not.” You said with a shrug.

“Um. So. How would you rate my huggable-ness?” He said, grin snaking back up on his face. You smiled at him.

“May I get a sample for study?”

Lucifer’s wings twitched “Oh-Oh! Yeah! Sure!”

You chuckled and hugged him. He went tense for a moment, stock-still. Then the King of all of Hell practically melted into you, arms wrapping around you and squeezing tightly. Wings gently curled around you both. Soft and warm.

Overall, very solid hug. Only issue is you had to lean down a bit to do so.

[rosieyart]

okay, by popular demand (and by popular demand, i mean 3 people and my inability to keep my mouth shut) i am here with my saiou/ousai relationship + mini character analysis. this is an elaboration on this ask i got earlier !!

i should mention that i’ve only ever played through v3 once, so there is probably a lot i am missing, nuance wise and what not. i also haven’t edited this well, so it’s kinda just a word dump (sorry), so i’m not sure how understandable/coherent it’ll be. nor do i know how original my ideas are; there’s probably someone who’s dumped their opinions exactly like mine somewhere… in any case, here is my conclusion on why i think saiou is a rather intriguing ship and why i’m personally drawn to them, individually n otherwise ✌️

ouma kokichi. god what a complex character. some might argue otherwise, but i think his character and his arc throughout the game is not only hard to crack/understand, but integral to the v3 plot and overarching themes presented. well never truly know what he was thinking, and so many have already fought tooth and nail to defend or oppose him. in my humble opinion, however, the way i see it is this: ouma’s overall goal was to unite everyone against an active, obvious threat in the killing game. the mastermind was hidden amongst them, as they decided found out on, and by outing himself as the mastermind, making himself a clear and obvious target, it encouraged the remaining survivors to build trust within one another and fight together. kokichi realized very early on that no one was going to trust anyone as long as there was a hidden mastermind posing as a student within their group. he knew they weren’t going to get anywhere if they kept doubting each other — so in a very unorthodox way, he united them together. they didn’t need a friend, he realized, they needed an enemy. and by default, he sort of becomes shuichi’s nemesis as most antagonists in the games do.

i was on tiktok the other day and found this comment that i thought made a good point, regarding kokichi’s character and why people hate him.

though i am biased, i think it’s fair to say that in a world without the killing game, kokichi would want to be friends with shuichi. or at the very least, he’d be intrigued by him and push shuichi’s buttons to figure him out. i think it’s funny and such a nice detail to notice, but just as shuichi (and us, by default) are confused about kokichi and his actions, shuichi himself is actually a mystery to ouma as well. in the eng version, kokichi had shuichi labeled “trustworthy?” on his whiteboard meanwhile in the jp version, it’s “tricky/can’t figure him out.” in both versions regardless of translation, i think it’s fair to say that kokichi is intrigued and wants to understand shuichi better. one part of their dynamic i really love is the whole “i’m gonna annoy because it’s so fun and you react to said annoyances in ways i thoroughly enjoy.” and it’s fun, and silly, but i think it’s also kokichi’s way of figuring shuichi out. shuichi is… an anomaly. he’s an ultimate detective who’s supposed to search for the truth, yet he is ironically afraid of what he’ll find out. he has a knack for discovering and unearthing mysteries (he can’t help but connect two dots together) and yet he simultaneously is hesitant to discover more. he wants to find the truth, but is willing to tell lies in the classroom trials. this is a really fun juxtaposition with kokichi, who is notorious for telling lies and skirting around the truth like it’s the plague. and yet, they both want the same thing: to find out the truth and be done with this killing game. one is searching for the liars within their group, the other is finding out the truths.

this is one reason why i really enjoy saiou. one of the biggest themes for drv3 is the relationship between truths and lies. there’s the overarching “truth” of their world which is that it’s gone to hellfire and everyone but them are dead. the world ended. except, nope! that’s a lie! the *real* truth is that they’re in a killing game show. kokichi is known for telling lies, and so when he reveals the fire destroyed world outside and says that this is the truth out of the outside world, it’s ironic. kokichi knows there’s something else up, but he reveals the truth of the outside world to them (this, from what i understand/theorize, is ultimately to further everyone’s hatred towards ouma and help them form a close and trusting bond together, but the symbolism behind it is really interesting to me). “here is your truth,” he says, and they can’t dispute it as a lie because it’s right there in front of them. just like they couldn’t dispute gonta in the fourth trial.

except… what *really* defines truth? kokichi must’ve known the outside world was a lie, or that there was something more to it, otherwise why did he go through with his suicide in chap 5? to beat a dead horse: he tells a lie about the “truth” that is the outside world. we circle back to this lie vs truth theme in chapter six when shuichi starts questioning his sense of self. what is really true if he used to be someone else? if his memories and experiences are fake, does that make himself a fake human? a fake person? ultimately we come to know that it doesn’t matter — *he* gets to choose his own truth, even if there are lies buried beneath them. his memories may be fake, but his emotions and feelings aren’t. you cant fake the beating of your own heart or the pain you feel at knowing it’s all unreal, that it’s all a *lie*.

one thing i just thought was so so clever and genuinely helped me understand kokichi more was his friendship reward. for every friendship star completion thingy you complete, you get their underwear (💀) and a special skill to use in the trials. kokichi’s friendship reward is “kind lie.” he has a multitude of lies under his belt — real ones, hurtful ones, white ones, and ofc kind ones. you could argue his plan to deceive everyone as the mastermind was both a hurtful lie and a kind lie — he was ultimately lying for the greater good (imo). shuichi, despite being afraid of the truth, has no problem lying for the greater good either. i was so confused about the whole “perjury” aspect added to this game. i thought it was just another lame addition that didn’t make sense as a means of attempting to change it up a little in comparison to the last two games. but now i understand it’s greater purpose. lying is ultimately not a bad thing. not always, anyway. lying, as we find out, can help us pursue the truth. and i think kokichi knows this to be true in some ways, which is why he’s always acting so oblivious and naive at some times — or outright lying when he knows the truth is the opposite of what he’s saying. without a doubt, kokichi seriously helped move debates along during the trials. pretty sure whether you hate him or love him, people could agree to that. even if he appeared to be spouting nonsense or derailing the conversation, shuichi being the detective he is was able to slowly but surely understand (if only somewhat minimally) kokichi’s methods and thinking process. which is why chap 5 was so wild because it quite literally was all up to shuichi. kokichi single handedly put his trust into kaito to follow through with the plan, and shuichi to figure it out; NO ONE ELSE would’ve been able to figure it out except shuichi (except maybe maki but she was too stubborn to see thru to the truth). and that is like. holy shit??? that’s crazy to me and i think it shows that despite not trusting anyone and not knowing how it was going to turn out, kokichi took that gamble anyway. and it worked! except yknow. it also didn’t, in a way. all in all, the lying aspect of the trail grounds ties into the bigger overarching theme of choosing your own truth to live, and choosing what lies to believe in — good or bad.

side note: i think it’s so funny how mad kokichi gets when shuichi lies about seeing him in the virtual world in chapter four. had shuichi not lied, we wouldn’t have figured out it was gonta (or more likely, kokichi would’ve spoon fed the answer to everyone a bit more). gonta wasn’t supposed to have memory loss, and i have to wonder if not lying about kokichi would’ve made the trial go along if gonta still had his memories from the virtual world. in any case, when shuichi pulled the “yeah i actually did see you walk up the stairs” — the fact he LIED (mr “i’m searching for the truth so we can live and find the culprit” detective) to notorious king of liars ouma kokichi was so funny to me. like girl. ofc kokichi’s gonna realize you lied. and he did and he got so fucking mad over it and kokichi being petty like that and just saying “yeah okay gonta’s the culprit” is so funny to me. bro was LIVID he decided to just up and say the truth to be petty 😭

moving on, i think the big three characters juxtaposed with shuichi is something to note. those three being kaede, kaito, and kokichi. mayyyybe i’m looking a bit too much into this but i want to mention their relationship with shuichi and their character designs because it feels very intentional to me. a while back i discovered shuichi and kokichi have inverted color palettes — black with light accents vs white with dark accents. grey-ish yellow vs purple eyes. but the eye color inversion also actually applies to kaito and kaede, who, just like kokichi, have purple eyes. here is my argument: purple is an important color to the story, as it overall conveys a symbolism for trust and truth. if you look at those three’s color palettes, purple is a notable color. for kaito, it’s dominating. kaede, she’s a bit more desaturated, and kokichi it’s like his accent color. barely there, but noticeable nonetheless.

kaede is our first culprit (except she isn’t since her plan failed). she is trusting and sweet and kind and encouraging. she is desperate, *desperate* to find the mastermind first thing because she is heavily determined to help everyone escape. her color palette is a mix of purple and pink, with pink being more prominent and her purple being a more lavender shade. she’s desaturated in color, especially in her eyes, and i want to say this is likely symbolic of her desire to find the truth, yet her willingness to deceive others simultaneously. she’s not a bad person, far from it, but when she “kills” rantarou, she doesn’t own up to it immediately. she owns up to it eventually, but she also doesn’t take advantage of the first blood perk as a means of further trying to find the mastermind. she is willing to lie about her plan to shuichi (even if it’s lie by deception/not telling) and willing to take a risk to find and kill the mastermind. this, i believe, is why her eyes are so desaturated in purple; she is telling the truth, but it’s watered down.

kaito is almost the complete opposite of kokichi, but also not exactly the same as kaede. out of the three, he has the brightest purple eyes and the most purple on his body. he is a living, breathing, walking example of trust and truth. he wants to find the truth so badly and would never even THINK to tell a lie. would never even consider murder, even if it was the mastermind. his hair is purple, his jacket is purple, and his eyes are purple as all hell. purple, in my opinion, is a huge color resembling truth and trust. he *trusts* maki just because he wants to. he *trusts* shuichi just because he wants to. he wants to believe in them because he wants to find the good in everyone. his trust in them help bolster shuichi into a better mindset, especially after kaede, and encourages him to keep going. kaito might not be the brightest, nor the most helpful in the trials, but emotionally he is vital to shuichi. because he *trusts* shuichi.

kokichi has the least amount of purple in his color palette, but i think his purple accents are the most important out of all of the purple trio. if purple is the color of truth and trust, then having that color reflected on kokichi almost seems ironic and misinforming. except it isn’t. ouma kokichi, the notorious king of lies, is actually quite good at leading everyone towards the truth. the only purple on him is in the dyed tips if his hair and his eyes— almost like the truth his bleeding out of him, or rather just barely visible that you can’t make it out unless you focus hard enough. after all, at first glance i imagine everyone would take in the checkered scarf and the fact black and white is so prominent on him. i think it’s symbolic to have purple as his eye color. it’s a nice character design aspect imo, but it also harkens back to that one saying “the eyes are the window to the soul” or something long that line. despite what kokichi might say or do, the truth is in his eyes (literally). it’s silent and unassuming, but it’s there. his eyes are actually a brighter and darker purple than kaede’s. not as bright as kaito’s, but still something to note.

with all this being said, shuichi gets a difference sense of truth and trust from each of them. kaede provides him an equal dose of truths and lies, kaito gives him absolute truth, and kokichi gives him almost all lies to find the truth.

and i really, *really* love the dynamic between shuichi and kokichi with this whole truth vs lie theme. kokichi, as we learn in his free time events, loves to play games. he’s a bit childish but still extremely mature. his way of having fun is messing with people (though not necessarily in a mean way. after all, he makes the stakes extremely high and concerning, like killing yourself if you lose — but he still purposefully rigs each game so they end in a tie, or with shuichi winning. hell, he STABS himself, hurts himself, in the knife game that is in the final FTE and holy shit if that isn’t foreshadowing for chapter five idk what is. he is willing to hurt himself to avoid others getting hurt. obviously this can get more complicated when it comes to chap. 4. you could argue he hurt miu and gonta terribly and he should’ve died if what i said was true, but i would counter argue by saying the killing game would’ve gone on and on, just like tsumugi wanted, without his intervention there… still a heart wrenching trial nonetheless and gonta and miu both deserved better imo. but what would danganronpa be without unfair trials and bullshit like that?).

it’s this push and this pull, this dance, if you will, between shuichi and kokichi. kokichi is a trickster pulling various stunts and never revealing his hand, and shuichi is a detective trying to uncover his secrets. i think kokichi gets thrilled at the prospect of being uncovered like that — he lies and he lies and he *wants* someone to catch him. after all, in the love suite hotel his entire thing is phantom thief being captured by detective shuichi…… the fact he still says “because i love you shuichi” is fucking insane, but that’s actually not the most important part here. during the love suite, he brings up playing games again, just like in the FTEs. “you weren’t bored playing with me, were you?” kokichi asks. and then “are you mad because i toyed with you? don’t worry. i’m always thinking about you!—“ (bombastic side eye 🤨🏳️‍🌈) “—you’re always trying your best to catch me. i really have to give it my all to win .” and then shuichi points out directly after that he seems to be enjoying himself, despite being a “cornered criminal.” and that’s when kokichi admits that he *wants* shuichi to catch him. ….. oh boy the connotations here are kinda crazy but…. it gets even crazier. i cant believe this part is voice acted but here i’ll just link the video so people can watch. (from 4:32 to 5:10) a lot of this, esp towards the end, is likely for the whole romantic love suite hotel roleplaying thing going on to appease the audience playing the v3, but even still it’s such a fun dynamic. again, the push and the pull. it almost feels like a game of tag, the thing going on between shuichi and kokichi. except it’s hard sometimes to figure out who’s running after who. overall, kokichi is a liar and it’s hard to tell what he says is true, and shuichi is a detective hungry for truths.

side note 2.0: i think a lot of people hate saiou because it feels toxic and i can sorta see where they’re coming from: from a very bare bones glossing over their character dynamic, i could potentially see how they got to that conclusion, but i don’t think that conclusion did any real deep diving into their dynamic and characters. so no, saiou is not toxic. and also, it should be mentioned the moment shuichi shows signs of unease in the love suite hotel after kokichi shoved him over the bed, bro was up and out. kokichi respect boundaries and understands a no when he hears one 😁👍

tldr: truths vs. lies. games. purple = truths and trust. chasing after one another. saiousai cool ✌️👍

[ooooo-mcyt]

Sometimes I see people pose the question of whether Scott gives to others because he cares about them, or out of selfish desire, because it in some way benefits him to do so- and a lot of times this is posed with this implication that he's being manipulative, lying, or using people. But I think this is a false dichotomy and I find it a bit ludicrous.

Scott Smajor is kind, he's generous, he's fun and he's giving and he loves his friends so much. He cares, genuinely and deeply about people, he doesn't give up on them, he makes them feel special because they are special to him and he wants nothing but joy for them.

Scott Smajor is also a person who desperately wants control over his life, and in many ways, being diplomatic and giving helps him achieve that, which I'm certain is an underlying motivator, especially given his past experiences with immense loss and lack of control.

This is not bad. This is not immoral. This is not evidence he's in any way 'lying' or 'manipulating' when he claims to give out of love.

It's very human to want to act in a way that will give you personal agency and minimize the likelihood that you'll be hurt. Having personal desires doesn't mean you're dishonest or evil, and it's not a 'lie' or 'manipulative' to do good and generous things without being 'pure enough' while you're doing them.

It rubs me the wrong way when people view any evidence of Scott having motivations that aren't completely purely 'selfless' as a betrayal or moral fault, a sign of inherent corruption and deception, instead of just human nature.

Ironically, I think this- the concept of purity- is one of the things Scott himself struggles with immensely.

One 'rule' of Scott's character for me is that he will typically not allow himself to do something if he cannot justify it as being 'correct' (i think Scott sees 'correct' as anything that contributes positively to peace, safety, cleanliness, or moral standing of himself and his group). Scott will, in many cases, actively withhold his own desires, even if they're broadly non-harmful, and will actively do things he doesn't seem to want to do because they are 'correct' to do.

Scott, in many ways, finds stability and safety in repression, in fixating on purity of thought, action, and motivation, as if he feels it's necessary to avoid bad things happening to himself or his loved ones.

But that's not true. When people say Scott is 'selfish'- with the implication that he's manipulative- for having non-selfless motivators, that's wrong, and when Scott himself believes he's obligated to meet a standard of moral purity, that's wrong too.

The thing I think Scott actually needs to learn, the main 'flaw' I think he has in many ways, is that 'purity' doesn't exist, and that being a human being with human desires and motivations is good. It's okay to want things, it's okay to desire things for reasons that aren't 'selfless', it isn't deceptive, or manipulative, or wrong, you aren't a bad person, nor will the world end, if you fail to please someone, or if you want to keep something for yourself, or if you have desires that are just about you and nobody else.

Being a good person who loves the people around you and having 'selfish' personal desires are not mutually exclusive.

(half of this is actual character analysis and half of it is me working through my ocd through scott smajor. i have not slept in like twenty eight hours sorry for the current posting quality.)

[skay-ali]

The idea of ​​a very stubborn reader sounds very interesting.

like taking bad injuries in your life if it means being able to have fun and forget about your fucking family.

Thirteen is a great example of the new behavior she would take, trampling the rules and doing what she wants along with her friends, I also see her taking on the role of queen bee of her school.

always being the image of a perfect teenager with a wonderful life, that everyone envies.

Although I think her entire group of friends knows her true situation, I think they all know about each other's lives, something that makes them closer.

I imagine that all of them always have the same class schedules, they always go shopping together, pick-up parties every weekend or attend parties all together and abandon it to go to any of the houses of one of the girls in the group.

the idea that they are all cheerleaders together or have created a club just to be together.

Maybe it will become real that best friends get sick just like the movie Sweet and Dangerous.

Maybe in a small possibility that all of them gained some power or something similar and became heroines.

The point is that I see ___ being happy with her friends and her crazy life.

I can already imagine her entire family, from her brothers to her father, watching the young woman glued to her phone with a drink and dressed in a very different way from the strict and elegant one she had before, maybe that sets off her alarms.

ohhh just the possibility that all the girls have robbed a bank easily, embarrassing security by taking millions from the safe, extra points if they belong to the Waynes or some other millionaire family.

I can see all the girls enjoying their vacation after disappearing after robbing the big bank in their city.

the faces of the heroes who investigate the case when they see that only a group of girls achieved a great feat.

the look of the batfamily when they saw one of their own being one of the criminals they were looking for.

the moment when they realize that they actually ruined one of the family members with all their actions.

and reader seeing them with an angry face like "damn they are recognizing me as one of the best thieves, I am the center of attention, but they do anything to make you the important ones" when he sees them in the middle of their collapses and descent into obsession .

I think I like the idea of ​​criminal best friends better. like the girls being processed while Bruce and his fellow heroes watch as his daughter poses for the criminal record camera with her friends, as if her case and crime were not serious.

I don't know what a stupid idea in my urgency to write something and have fun.

[hees-wip]

𝐒𝐲𝐩𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐬. you were enjoying the party,full on,very happy of achievements that led you here today,at a party hosted by one of the most luxurious brands there is to exist in the world. But unbeknownst to you,your free going self,the way you were enjoying the drinks and sitting at a corner,watching everyone,someone had their gaze transfixed on you.

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞. smut. suggestive. blowjob,kisses.

𝐖.𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭. 2.9k+

Like,reblog and comment if you like it ><

The music could never be felt this louder,it was all fun and there was this celebratory mood echoing all round the club’s corner. What was a rookie group like yours doing at a club? Recently.one of your members got to be an ambassador for the infamous brand based on MIlan,Italy. Prada.

More specifically, the SOUND OF PRADA party. It was more than fun actually. Getting free passes and you wanted to tag along. And also get the chance to take a few shots in the name of your group’s first music bank show win.

When your bandmate first told you about this whole thing,you were just hoping that you could get to make new friends out of the ordinary. It would feel good to have friends from different industries because the parties of prada never underlooks the diversity in any case.

To be fair,it would only be a one time thing,seeing any of your label mates there. But it was entirely not impossible right? 

It was two days before the event,and your manager contacted a stylist for a day since your personal stylist was out of the city. So it was a bit of a relief that someone stepped in to help you this early. It took you only two hours to pick a dress,amongst the six dresses that were sent for your group.

After selecting your hair and makeup for the event,you were scheduled to have a one on one practice session with your vocal coach.

Sprinting to one of the vocal rooms,on your way,your shoulder bumped into someone as you were looking down to your lyric sheet.

“Oh– i’m sorry,I didn’t-” 

“It’s okay,no need to apologize”it was so quick,but you felt like you heard this voice before,but before you could look at him properly,he was already gone. You’ve only ever crossed paths with staff and other employees while searching for your recording booth. So what could be different this time?

You shrugged it off and went on with your day without second thinking about the interaction. You had to be in much more important places.

—-—-—-

The night before the event,you were scrolling through your socials,given that you had a day off,you thought it was no use going out and you were just lazy enough. One particular post,from ENHYPEN’s official account, catches your eye. 

As you swipe through the pictures of the dashingly handsome men wearing the outfits from a brand,of whom you don’t know names of yet,find yourself pausing for a moment to see the last slide of the one which was posted 3 minutes ago. Out of curiosity in your defense.

For some reason,you could not take your eyes off the man who posed for the camera.But as you look for his name in the tags,or mentions,there’s none,only a bunch of comments which are just words of insanity. His fans obviously. 

Examining the attractive features of the man,purely intentional but sometimes you just gotta admire and take side of your now disturbed hormones just because you just saw an unknown man one night. Moreover,your excitement topped every emotion when you see the other tags,which went by ‘#prada #SoundOfPrada’ 

So he is also going,great. Now you needed to make sure you looked extra pretty….and presentable,even though you didn’t have any initial intentions but knowing that he’s going too,you couldn’t help but feel a bit hopeful,giddy,and of course the butterflies.

You’ve never tried initiating the first move on any guy up until now,that you want the guy to be Lee Heeseung from enhypen,only. He had this aura of pure confidence intriguing your expectations further. 

What were your expectations? To be noticed by a man,by heeseung,and it didn’t take more than a second to know what could aid your little plan to victory.

And that's how your plan started.

——-—-—-

The slightly sweet and fizzy, cold champagne opens your throat up,and your lips thin themselves to acknowledge the aftertaste. From where you were sitting,you couldn’t spot your friend anymore. The flashes of the camera never slowed down,but luckily,you were away from all the chaos,seated in a secluded spot for you and her only. Maybe a person or two from other groups.

Being left alone at such a major party didn’t seem to faze you at all,that is until,your manager ushered you to stand in front of the silver railing which was supported by a small extended part of the floor,the length was only a little though,and you were instructed to go where the other artists and actors were.

After settling yourself there,you felt someone press their side to your exposed arm,the sleeves of the dress were just two thin straps barely holding on to your shoulder blades,they were supposed to remain droopy,but the warm moment of the encounter didn’t just end there. 

You were not dumb to realize that it was a guy. Could be anyone. And it was a risk to your reputation,to be seen all muzzled up with a guy at a party this big. No cameras were toning their flashes down as the music made everyone dance. 

Big question. Did your crush even know you? You’re not sure,to be honest it was all praying that he did. Even by a bit,hearing your name with such a voice would make your night and you’d be happy. Now having to feel the heat closing in on your skin,from none other than heeseung,you felt doomed.. 

Lee Heeseung was standing right behind you.

“You’re quite the attractor aren’t you?” his voice was husky,dipped in the effects of the sweet champagne you were sipping on earlier,but the hot breath colliding on your skin alongside his alluring voice,sent tingles all over your body.

You don’t dare look over your shoulder,too shy to catch his gaze burning through your skin right now. “I’m flattered,but what do you think you’re doing?” you hoped your question would come out confident….however,it was totally different from what your voice conveyed…shaky breaths and unsure words.

“Me? I’m doing nothing sweetheart”the name sends a line of shiver down your spine,hands gripping tightly onto the railing,his body weight pushing your stomach to press down hard on the horizontal support.

You just prayed no one was looking this way,or even catching this scene at the corner of their eyes. And your prayers worked charms. Because no one beside you or him seemed to notice the way he’s rubbing his rough hands up and down your waist occasionally,and so very naturally…

like he was meant to touch all over your body since the very moment he laid his eyes on you.

“I should be asking you that,sweetheart,what are you doing here with this–” his fingers pinch on the fabric of your short and tight dress,causing it to ride a bit up your thighs,exposing the skin there,but careful not to hurt you,”much fitting of a dress,hmm?”

Your breath hitched again when you felt his fingers teasingly play with the hem of your dress,”you don’t even know what you’re doing to me, baby”his face dips down to kiss the back of your ear for more than just a second,hands busy keeping your hips still.

He was so good at provoking you to snap and twist,grab his face and kiss him till his lips carry a bruise,a reminder that you were there before anyone else,kissing him like he was yours…So you plan to do exactly that…

“Tell me w-what i do to you” your hands reach down to hold his which were circling your waist,fingers entangling.

As much as you wanted to let it all go down in your head,it was indecent at best. The way his big hands were not so tightly grabbing the sides of your hips,in a way that no camera could ever catch a glance,he pulled you a bit towards the back. Your breath hitches for a mere second until you’re getting quickly dragged literally. “W-what–” 

The man whispered a long and stretched ‘shh’ placing his index on your lips,his chest now half way colliding to your back,as he swiftly guided you to a long and dimly lit hallway of the building. There was less crowd here and it was slowly building up the anticipation in you,because of how quick things with him were going.

Your heart thrummed as you felt yourself throbbing at the slightest of his touches,begging and aching for more. Slithering his cold hands inside your dress,he fondles your areolas,mouth latched viciously into the nook of your neck. Hot and warm tongue going in circles around your pleasure point that has your hips bucking onto his.

“God,looks like I was not the only one…” his smirk deepens,feeling your desperate attempts to get what you want from him. The agonizing pace of his actions driving you to numbness,or so he thought. 

It doesn’t take him a split second to unclasp your bra,piecing your senses back to yours and his surroundings. Your eyes widen in panic when he doesn’t pull away even after you try pushing him away,only deepening the kiss,sucking your lower lip in between his set of teeth.

“N-not here please” you don’t know how much of an effect your tone did to his resolve,shuttering it completely in one go,oh how good you sound when you plead like this,he wishes to hear this needy voice of yours forever..

“No? But this is so much fun baby” he continues sucking and biting on your skin,fighting for his life to not cum in his pants. You’re too goddamn sexy for him. 

“P-please…..not here” not detaching his mouth away,he turns you around and presses your face flat on the wall,your burning skin soothed with the cold feeling. Your mouth gapes open in shock feeling his index trailing down a line down your spine,poking at the clothed entrance. His tall frame towering you just about right,eyes gawking down at how your skin glows under the dimmed atmosphere.

“Baby… fuck,okay”he defeatedly goraned into your ear before tugging you both away much farther,walking in front of a door that led to a random storage room,one that belonged to the facility.

It felt like time was flying by the quickest ever since your encounter with heeseung,his thoughts and scent invading every part of your mind and body. The way he looks at you when you make a small sound,the way he’s not shy about kissing you,not shy from having you aroused in public,he’s phenomenal.

Leaving wet trails of dirty kisses on your almost bare body the second he locked the doors shut,had your resolve for holding back shattered. Your body never felt this heated,ever,every touch, every kiss,every sound he made,it only made you wetter.

“Been waiting to get you like this…you’re so pretty for me baby”his words come out rather fast,the urgency in his voice,flimsy hands,talk about what he said,a lot. A moan almost slips out of his mouth when your hand sinks down to palm his crotch.

The waistband of your panty’s pulled down in the next second,hot touch grazing over your wet folds. “Feel how wet you are?” His slick drenched fingers draw patterns on your lower lower stomach,just above your bud to help you get the idea how much you wanted this.

“Mmm..please”  he let out a silent curse,hearing your pleas were like heaven itself ringing in his ears,the tent in his pants growing tighter and more painful. “So…s-so wet for you”

“No,you’re dripping baby” he slides in a digit the tightest and warmest clench he ever felt on his fingers,as if they were forced to stay in,getting choked in heat. It was addictive. More than any alcohol anyone could ever consume..”making a mess on my fingers even though i’ve barely touched you….you’re so dirty,that’s what you are”

You accepted anything he said,telling you to hold your hands up while he undressed you,and you let him. The feeling of his hands all over your silky smooth skin,it was a reward,so pleasing,so arousing. 

One of your hands sneaked to palm his raging boner again,but this time,you undo his pants,meeting his smirk and lusted gaze halfway. His breathing ragged as your hand pulled the zipper down,his cock springing out,hard and leaking at the tip.

Your gasp was audible,warm breath escaping your lips as your eyes trail his hands, collecting spit to his palm from his mouth before stroking his cock,lust-filled eyes fixated on your spent lips. He smiles wickedly,a lewd mental image turning out to be his dream come true..you on your knees for him,chest pressed in,hands ready to please. You looked fucking ethereal.

Tapping the tip on your lips,prying them apart,sliding in teasingly,he feels the shiver run down his spine when you swirl your tongue in devious patterns,fueling the fire of need in him,for you. God, you were so obedient and he didn’t even have to tell you anything. “You’re so good at this baby……fuck”

He praises you with a ragged,whisper,words affecting your core. Your chest heaves up and down as your mouth keeps sucking every inch of his girth you could,tongue lapping up his slick,pooling a dirty scenario where your chin’s drippin’ with his cum. Yet,he doesn’t stop moaning,groaning,relishing. 

A hand is there at the back of your sweaty neck,forcing your throat to take him fully,gagging violently when the tip meets the end,too far past the uvula,it causes your eyes to roll impossibly back. He’s never fallen in love with the way he got blowjobs before. But this naughty encounter with you is set to change his mind,and he’s loving it.”Gonna cum down your throat baby- fuck. And you’ll swallow it all for me”It was not a request. It was a command.  

He fucking loves the way your throat works,gags,lets him push deeper. He’s about to break,about to cum. Keeping your head steadied,he jackhammers his hips,a relentless pace set to abuse your mouth in the most delicious way.”fuck..fuck-fuck!”

Your desperate hums and moaning resonates on every single vein of his cock,making it vibrate inside your mouth. You try to nod but the rough tug on your hair prevents you from doing so. He’s sloppily pushing and pulling out his shaft,so fucking close to his release. And with a loud growl,his hard on is  pouring streams of cream,coating the insides of your throat white and wasted.”f-fuck…yeah. That’s it baby..suck on it,clean up your mess like a good girl”

He watches you through hooded lids,as you eagerly swallow,dragging your tongue down on areas where you didn’t suck off his cum from yet,a gaze so loving yet so lustful,you didn’t even notice. But his eyes were shining while they were settled on the sight in front of him. You on your knees,corner of your lips covered in his own cum,lashes prettily wet,and your pussy throbbing.

It all makes him smirk. He pulls his softening shaft out of your mouth with a wet pop,helping you to stand up.Your breathing is uneven,his face was too close,his touch was now gentle compared to a few moments ago… His thumb was grazing across your cheek lovingly,which should be wrong.

Your back is pressed against a wall,no words exchanged between the two of you. You didn’t know what to say…not when heeseung was breathing with no distance in existence. “You’re… you’re amazing..and i know..this is not what we should be doing..but fuck-it..it has me craving for more” his face dips down to nuzzle on your neck. 

Placing wet kisses,suckling on the skin of your neck,you moan when you feel a bite there. It didn’t feel real at all. Your arms were loosely wrapped around his torso,keeping him close. You didn’t know why,but you pulled his face away and you had this sudden urge to kiss him. 

So you did. And the moment his soft lips crashed with yours,you melted. Dangerously. Large hands secure your face in their palm,the warmth sending your cheeks flushing.Heeseung never hesitated to express his needs or demands. Even now,the second you initiated the kiss,he delved in like it was his right. Like he had to hold you tight,and if he didn’t you’d slip away.

He could never let that happen. Not when he got a sweet taste of your lips,and your mouth.

[ozzgin]

Also I love your blogs sorry I’ve been spamming 🩷Hii Author, could you do another part for the small prehistoric reader, where she is actually really strong even though she’s small and innocent looking like stronger than Yujiro and Baki but she’s only really like that when she’s in heat. I wonder how the would react Yk 🤔

Sure! It’s been suggested in the comments as well and it does have a fun twist to it. Female characters stronger than the main cast is the one uncanonical construct that I deeply enjoy.

Baki Characters x Prehistoric! Small Reader Headcanons (II)

Featuring the Baki characters and a prehistoric but small sized reader that turns out to be unexpectedly strong.

[Baki Masterlist] [Part I]

The fighters keep a respectable distance from you in order to assure Pickle of your safety. They’d rather not pose as a threat to his mate, especially after seeing how protective he can get. He always keeps you under his watchful gaze, ready to interfere if you need to make use of his strength. At times he’s particularly anxious around you. Professor Payne has explained in more scientifically appropriate terms that you might be dealing with female specific issues. No one pressed it further.

This peaceful resolve does not sit well with Yuujirou. How very pathetic and boring that everyone concomitantly agreed to mind their own business. He itches for a little bit of action and what better way to rile up the prehistoric warrior than messing with his little protégé? He doesn’t want to risk fighting a half-assed Pickle, he wants the wrath, the readiness to kill. So with arrogant mockery he decides to give you a little nudge in front of everyone. Just a mere push, he does show mercy to weaklings like you. Baki is enraged and the other men join him. Everyone is waiting for Pickle to make his move, though bizarrely enough he just stands there, eyes wise in shock. Yuujirou didn’t expect this lack of reaction.

The Ogre is a man with battle experience and nothing can take him by surprise. It is to be noted, however, that sometimes a trade off for the sake of efficiency has to be made. A rational agent in artificial intelligence may have to take millions of variables into consideration in order to compute the most optimal solution and react to the environment. Realistically speaking, therefore, some less probable events are taken entirely out of the equation. So, for example, the idea that you would attack Yuujirou was not something his body expected to react against. The impact of your small fist was doubled by this element of surprise. His eyes roll back and his large body is thrown at quite the distance, leaving significant damage behind.

There’s a deafening silence that lingers for what seems an eternity. Baki feels a mild discomfort on the walls of his throat and he realizes his mouth has been hanging open for long enough that it almost dried up. Did you…did you just knock his father out with one single hit? He slowly turns his head to the other witnesses, wondering if this is a dream and the others will confirm it. Judging by the equally dumbfounded expressions surrounding him, he suspects fearfully that it is, in fact, something that just happened. Jack feels like he’s been kicked in the crotch. Katsumi is overwhelmed by a certain nostalgia, the nervousness he felt when he was a little child attending the Dojo for the very first time. Retsu purses his lips as a solemn frown creases his features. Tokugawa can feel the beads of sweat gathering in the folds of his wrinkled forehead.

The least impressed of the group is Pickle. Almost as if he expected it to happen, he walks up to you and grabs your shoulders before you can approach Yuujirou’s passed out body. Your face relaxes once again and you look up to him with a genuine smile, as if soothing his worries. You’ll stop here, no worries. You pat his large hands and turn around, prepared to leave the scene.

The frightful question now plagues the fighters within the arena: was Pickle protecting you from them, or has it been the other way round all along?

[yandere-paramour]

Oh....ohhh my baby 😭 your jamie & lil atalanta art is SOOOOO CUTEE 🥺🥺🥹 But it got me thinking......typically I can totally imagine in her case as a wealthy only child who grew up with parents who love her, her growth would be documented A LOT (or maybe just a normal amount?)

But what's the case for vivien & noelle? 🥺 I assume with their environment growing up they won't have as much childhood pictures as atalanta? Oh nooo now the thought makes me so saddd 😭 I have many pics of lil me that my mom took (and I begrudgingly pose cutely for every single one) and I love showing it off to people now whenever I find one (thanks mom)

I know the yans would love any pics of me but ngl if I show them MY childhood pics I'd bound to get curious and ask about theirs in return

You're right. Atalanta's childhood was very carefully documented. There are THOUSANDS of photos of her growing up, you can honestly put them side by side and see a linear progression of her evolution to adulthood. There are pictures of her being born, her preschool field trips, her kindergarten graduation, her sports games and debate tournaments, all going up until she was dropped off at college, and there's more continuing from there. Both parents have a rotating slideshow on a digital touchscreen photo shuffle in their respective studies and they would love to show you. It embarrasses Ata to no end.

And yes, she learned very young to always look adorable and perfect for the camera even if you feel like throttling someone. The Montclairs have a reputation to uphold, after all.

Childhood pictures of Noelle are few and far between, but she and Odette made out better than the younger girls Thérèse, Celeste, and Blanche (Noelle's little sisters reveal!!!). Her mother was too busy working a dead-end job and sucking and fucking to take pictures of the kids, but they do have a few baby and toddler pictures each, often with one or two sisters nearby, and a range of school pictures every year. Noelle doesn't like them much. All her childhood was spent as a skinny, bruised little brat with a choppy, uneven haircut and stained, ill-fitting hand-me-downs with holes in them from the clothing drive. Noelle never had anything new until college, and she doesn't like being made to be reminded of her shitty childhood. She does take pictures of the younger sisters now, but they're teenagers and hate it, but Noelle knows they will want actual good reminders of their childhood when they're older.

Vivien has some childhood pictures, but they're sporadic or lost to time. When he was very small, there were always "well-meaning" foster families wanting such a cute kid, and they would take him to fun places like the zoo or children's museum and take pictures of him. But they would inevitably get tired of his hyperactive and distractible behavior and they would get rid of him, sending him to the next family without any thought for his emotions or by sending on his pictures. Only a few families went far enough to develop the photos and give them to him. When he was older and had a somewhat worse reputation due to being taken in and returned so many times, he lived in a group home where no one takes pictures of you unless it's a mugshot.

However, he has tons of baby and toddler photos taken by his parents before they died. He was their first and only child and they adored him.

(Drawn by @sienna-brulee)

[xomakara]

Physical Therapy

SUMMARY |  Haechan sprained his ankle and is staying at the hospital. Being very horny and needy, he asks his pretty nurse for special treatment… PAIRINGS | Haechan/Fem!Reader GENRE |  smut, unprotected sex, dirty talk, fingering, public sex, nurse/patient RATING |  Mature LENGTH |  2,366 words AUTHOR’S NOTE |  Fuck, why do I have so many one-shots saved in my computer? Anywho, I hope you enjoy :)

Part 2 here

NCT Main Masterlist

“Haechan, you are an idiot.”

“…Shut up.”

“I can’t believe you sprained it.”

“…I said shut up.”

“You are such an attention whore. Now you have to stay in the hospital. How does it feel?”

“Guys! Will you shut up! Geez, it’s not my fault!” Haechan yelled at his friends. Leave it to Haechan to sprain his ankle before tonight’s party.

“Actually it is. You’re the one who wanted to impress that pretty girl.” Renjun said, raising both his brows at him. All because he wanted to show off his dance moves. Which really didn't make sense, since Haechan was a great dancer.

"I thought you were trying to impress that girl?" Chenle asked Renjun as he passed some soup to Haechan. “Weren’t you trying to serenade her in Chinese?”

"What are you talking about?" Renjun rolled his eyes, the others laughing. “I did no such thing.”

"How in the world could you sprain your ankle?!" Mark questioned, fussing over the younger man. "Dude."

"Should I keep you company?" Jisung asked.

“Good news is that my cousin is coming over to visit later! I'll bring you some of her homemade food later, since I know you all love her cooking. Have fun at the hospital.” Jaemin said happily, waving at Haechan before walking with the rest of his friends out of the hospital room.

Haechan gave them a surprise look. “Wait, you guys are going to leave me?!”

“….yes?” Jeno said, not sure if that question was a trick or not.

"We'll visit you tommorow, Haechan." Renjun nodded, reassuring him.

Haechan grumbled and glared at them. He crossed his arms. “Fine, leave me. Some friends you guys are. Can't believe you would leave.”

"Ahw, you'll be fine Haechan." Mark chuckled, patting him on the head. “Some of the nurses here are really pretty, you know?”

“We’ll tell them to take good care of you!” Jeno called out.

"Yeah, you'll be fine!" Jisung exclaimed.

"Recover fast! Haechannie fighting!" Jaemin pumped his fist in a victory pose.

Chenle waved and gave him a small smile. “Bye Haechan! Have fun at the hospital!”

"Guyssss!" Haechan whined, hoping that one of his friends would at least stay with him.

Haechan sighed once his friends left. Now who was going to give him the attention he needed? It wasn’t his fault that he wanted to show off his nice, smooth moves to that pretty girl. He wanted to get a chance to maybe…score something tonight.

Damn it.

There goes his chance of fucking a pretty girl.

He started to watch some TV. The hospital wasn’t that bad since he had a room to himself. The door opened again, and a very pretty woman entered his room. She was wearing a nurse outfit, showing off her generous cleavage. 

She gave him a cute smile.

“Hi there, I'm Na Y/N. I’ll be your nurse for tonight. If you need anything, just press the button.” You said, pointing at the button that was on the dresser. 

Haechan looked at you up and down before giving you a smirk. 

Oh yeah, he definitely loved the hospital now.

“Y/N, huh? Wait… Are you Na Jaemin’s cousin?” He asked, his eyes wide. “You’re the cousin that cooks all those delicious food for Jaemin, huh?”

“Oh, you know Jaemin?” You asked him.

“Yeah, we’re friends.” Haechan nodded. “I’m Haechan. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Oh! The one with the sweet yet unique voice whenever he sings? It’s nice to finally put a face to a name.” You smiled at him. “Was Jaemin here to see you earlier? I just started my shift but a few of the other nurses said they saw a group of very good looking men leave your room.”

“Yep, they left not too long ago.” Haechan replied. “I didn’t know you were a nurse.”

“I normally keep my job a secret.” You chuckled, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. “They don’t believe I’m a nurse because of my looks.”

Which was often true. People always thought you’de be too dumb to be a nurse. That your face and body could pass more for a model.

You didn’t know how or why, but after fighting with the other nurses, you won. The prize was to take care of the handsome young man in Room 127.

“Really now? That must be tough.” Haechan raised his eyebrow. “Well, I’m sure I’ll be in good hands with you.”

“I’ll get you all taken care of.” You smiled as you turned around, your back facing him. “If you need anything Haechan-ssi, just let me know.”

Haechan watched your ass until it disappeared out the door. Yeah, he was going to have fun.

“What’s wrong Y/N?” Minhee, your fellow nurse, friend and roommate asked, grabbing an apple from her plate before taking a big bite of it. It was lunchtime, and you were sitting on the table, your face lying on top of it.

“It’s Haechan! He’s such an... ugh! He won’t stop calling me. He’s getting on my nerves.” You were tired and hungry. 

It has been four hours since Haechan came, and you were tired as hell because of him. He made ridiculous requests. 'Oh nurse, can you help me change the channel? Oh nurse, where is the bathroom? Blah blah blah.' 

You were sick of it.

Minhee gave you a sympathetic look. 

Poor you. 

But she didn’t want to take care of Haechan. Plus you did win that bet. You said were going to cockblock her if she ever brought a man home. 

Hell no. 

Minhee was going to get some dick tonight after her shift. “Why don’t you text Jaemin and ask him what will keep Haechan quiet. He should know since they’re friends.”

You groaned, bringing your phone out of your pocket. “I know but still, he needs to stop pressing that damn button.”

“Maybe he wants and loves your attention. He must really like you.” Minhee said, giving you a teasing smile. "You are pretty."

You stuck your tongue out. “Being pretty doesn’t pay the bills.”

“Why don’t you just fuck him or something?” Minhee suggested.

You groaned again, showing her the text you got from your cousin.

Jaemin: Why don’t you fuck him? He’s been dying to get laid lately.

Minhee laughed. “See? No wonder your cousin and I get along so well. Great minds think alike.”

“Ugh…” You let out, your phone vibrated signaling that Haechan was calling you.

“Oh Y/N,” Haechan sang before pressing the button for the 100th time. “I need your assistance again.”

You groaned and entered his room again, not before shutting the door. You didn’t want Seulyong, the head nurse, to hear you screaming at a patient, especially if it’s Haechan. “What now?”

He gave an amused look. “Now what kind of attitude is that? Aren’t nurses supposed to be friendly with their patients?”

“Not if they're being an ass about it.” You muttered under your breath. “Now what do you want Haechan?”

Haechan moved his shoulders. “My shoulders are stiff. Can you massage them for me?”

If you could, you would curse and walk away from him. But since Haechan knew your cousin, you didn’t want Jaemin to complain that you didn’t take care of his friend. You went over to his bed. “Scoot back.”

He did what he was told, smirking at you as you sat on the bed. After a few minutes, Haechan moaned in satisfaction. You were really good with your hands. He felt his muscles being relaxed as you continued to massage his shoulders.

“Better?” You wanted to get over this. As soon as he nodded, you immediately got off the bed.

Before you could leave the room, he grabbed your wrist. “Yes, better. Can you do me another favor?”

You didn’t even reply. You waited for his request while yelling profanities inside your head. 

Damn him.

“I thought I felt a lump on my stomach. I don’t know what that means, but can you check for me?” He sweetly asked. 

Curse him for being so damn hot. 

When the hell did Jaemin hang out with other good looking guys?

You could perfectly hear the other nurses dying and telling you to do it. You waited until Haechan laid down on the bed, lifting up his hospital gown, revealing his perfect, solid abs and boxers to you.

Slowly, you touched his abs as Haechan shivered from your touch. You had to admit, his abs felt so fucking good with your touch. But you didn’t feel a lump at all. “I don’t feel a lump.”

Haechan opened his eyes. He was enjoying this. “Go higher, it’s somewhere around there.”

You went higher, revealing his solid chest. “Nope, don’t feel it.”

“Huh, I must have been imagining things.” He said, giving you an innocent look. 

You glared at him. 

Ugh, sneaky bastard.

“I'll go now.” All you wanted to do was go home and sleep this off. This has been such a tiring experience for you. Before you could leave again, he grabbed your wrist again.

“Wait, stay.”

Fuck, no you weren't going to stay. 

Sure, he was hot but you were so tired.

“Why? My shift is over. I gave you all the attention you need. It’s time for me to go home.”

Haechan frowned a little. The fun hasn’t even started yet. “You can’t leave yet. I need more attention, especially from a sexy, little nurse.”

Before you could protest, Haechan pulled your body on his bed. You couldn’t even react because he captured your lips with his, dominating it. 

It took you a few seconds to realize that you were actually kissing a patient. And your cousin’s friend. 

Fuck it. 

You knew what to do with this situation, like Minhee and Jaemin told you to. You kissed him back, not giving a rat’s ass that you were about to fuck a patient.

Haechan smirked. 

“I see you want my attention.” He said before entering his tongue inside of your mouth.

You just moaned for the cocky bastard. It was better to enjoy the moment than argue with him. Haechan’s lips were incredibly soft, almost pillowy. He deepened the kiss, the hand at the back of your neck bringing you closer. He felt your hand curve around his neck. He moved closer, lured by your response and a small, almost helpless sound you made as you opened your lips. 

Haechan was rubbing all over your body, and playing with your short skirt.

“You are such a bad nurse.” He growled before his right hand went inside your skirt, lightly massaging your clit with his thumb that was being protected by your very thin underwear. “Going around fucking all your patients, huh?”

“N-no…”

You arched your back and wrapped your arms around his neck. Dear god. Haechan looked at your exposed neck. Perfect. Leaning you closer, he began attacking your small neck, biting and sucking as hard as he could, making you gasp and clutched his neck even more.

“Haechan,” you moaned in front of his ear, turning him on even more. You could feel his hard member that was covered by his gown and boxers. You began grinding his body with yours, making him moan and wince.

Right now, he wanted to pounce and fuck your brains out right then and there. Instead, he pushed your panties to the side, and added not one, but two fingers inside your now wet pussy, his thumb continuing to massage your clit. “Does that feel good?”

“Oh god, yes…”

He thrusted hard and fast, hitting your g-spot again and again, making you melt and feel good. He moved his fingers to the side, up and down, forcing you to shudder. Haechan bit your bottom lip as he continued to stroke you with his pleasurable fingers.

After a few more strokes, Haechan finally took his fingers out, licking them in front of you. “You are so ready right now, noona.”

"What?" You pouted, slapping his chest in embarrassment. "Who's your noona?!"

Since you were straddling him, Haechan had expertly taken off your skirt and panties. 

How the hell did that happen?

“You are. Noona, can you help a patient out? I’m a very horny person.”

You couldn’t reply because he already thrust up inside of you, slowly. You knew he was teasing you, waiting for your reply.

“Yes, I'll help you out, Haechan-ah!” Haechan slowly hit your g-spot.

“I’m sorry. I can’t hear you.” He said, thrusting a little bit faster. “Damn, your pussy is sucking my cock.” 

He went inside of you again, making you arch, you moaning in pleasure.

“Yes! I'll help you!” You yelled. 

You prayed the other nurses didn’t hear the filth that was going on.

“Fuck, you feel good.” Haechan replied by thrusting inside of you faster now. Each thrust was filling you up with pleasure. Instead of laying down, he sat up in bed, making him go deeper inside your wet pussy. He continued to pound inside of you, making you whimper every time he hit the right spot.

You both came not once, nor twice, but three times. On the fourth fuck, Haechan could feel your walls clenching again.

“Haechan!” You screamed, giving him the satisfaction that he needed as you came for the fourth time. Haechan came as well, arms tightening around you as you continued to spasm in pleasure.

“Another round?” He asked, catching his breath as he gave you a cocky grin.

You lightly pushed off of him and got up. You wanted to, but there was no way you were going to do this for the fifth time. He was a very needy and horny guy. “No, now go to bed or something.”

You put your panties back on. You were about to put on your white skirt until Haechan grabbed it. He leaned towards you. “Tomorrow I need to be satisfied. Will you be here tomorrow to help me, noona?”

You bit your lip, blushing from his comment. 

Why did he have to fuck so damn good?! “Of course, I’ll be here Haechan.”

Satisfied, Haechan gave you back your skirt. He couldn’t wait for tomorrow. After all, you were his nurse.

[centrally-unplanned]

Oh since I mentioned it before and am catching up now, I thought I would explain why I think Severance is just a "fine" show - well produced, great sets, but thematically confused. It is trying to do two things that sit in tension with each other: be "capitalist drudgery" and also "sci fi corporate dystopia".

(Spoilers ahead) In the lore of the show you see people who get "severed" (Aka split brains that swap periodically with no continuity of memory between them) outside of the core group who work at the Big Lumen HQ - like a rich woman who swaps into her alt to give birth so she can skip the painful parts. This is the economically logical use of the technology, ethics aside it makes sense as a consumer good. Working at Lumen is often portrayed as a productive extension of that - we can get focused workers who can do sensitive tasks with minimal distractions and maximum corporate control, and the actual person can "skip" the drudgery of the work. If I told you just that, you would expect these workers to be sort of desk-chained, doing intensive work, probably clandestine in nature.

But we only half-see that - the other half is as Office Space pastiche of irrelevant busywork, vapid corporate team building, and a truly gargantuan amount of time spent totally fucking off in the hallways generally unsupervised. Those both are "anti-corporate" but they are very different critiques! Take the pregnant lady - she and her alt are not, in any way, closeted off from the world with no knowledge of who she is. Arranging that would be a colossal waste of time! The lady lives her normal life and then just swaps into her alt for unpleasant stuff, of course her alt knows the deal. In the same way, if these workers are, in their primary identities, completely free agents as they seem to be, there is absolutely no reason for their workplace to look the way it looks. Why wouldn't you tell Dylan he has a wife and kids at home who his work is putting food on the table for to help motivate him? Why are any of these people motivated by the dumb workplace incentives if - like Helly - they all have memories of the facts of the outside world? Why would these guy's primaries ever consent to have zero ability to ever perceive their other selves, even as they "come home" with bodily injuries? If the world was a Corporate Dystopia that would make sense, they have no choice, but Office Space isn't a corporate dystopia.

And Helly, what are you doing?! You don't live in a corporate dystopia, you run it, you are the CEO-heir of this whole company doing the Severance thing as a publicity stunt. So if it is a stunt, why aren't you stunting it? Tell your alt she is the heir of a massive fortune, we are gonna have fun here, give her a cushy job and pose for some pretty workplace-glam shots. Or, I don't know, just lie and say you got the severance surgery when you didn't! Why would you torture yourself into a suicide attempt for a photo op? Since the actual work they are doing is constantly portrayed as nonsense, the Office Space critique, she clearly wasn't needed down there for the actual job. Which isn't even that bad to do as a job, you could absolutely just pay people well and be honest and not-creepy and they would do it.

Now, I know that the work will likely turn out to not be nonsense in the Office Space way, but instead be part of some elaborate experiment or psyop or w/e. But then the coin flips back, if this is a CIA wetwork shop why are there Waffle Party Sex Dances in a Founders Museum? Why can these people literally just quit at any time?

I have no doubt that a writer could work double-time to fill all these holes in future episodes, but that is a minimal saving grace - thematics isn't about plot holes. Office Space is not a story of corporate power run amok, the bosses are just as powerless as the employees, and that is the point. Meanwhile if you want to tell a Black Mirror story, you tell that instead. As a viewer I am meant to feel like the "innies" are trapped and powerless, but I really don't because they aren't - their outies and the wider world are just being stupid. So I don't feel that emotion in the story when watching the episodes. You can't write around it now.

Admittedly some of this problem is downstream of a general problem in western "prestige" TV where they feel like they really need to JJ Abrams this whole thing with the mystery box plot. The show would be much improved if you knew the general stakes of this project right out the gate, and were watching the hapless workers trying to figure it out what you already knew. Then you could make those stakes align with your themes/tone and commit. The current drip-feed meanwhile just keeps things confused.

Doing that would also let you cut the episode count in half, but that is a problem with all shows - I can't really judge this one in specific for that.

[butterflydm]

WoT 3x06 Deep Dive (additional book spoilers)

spoilers through 3x06 of the show and A Memory of Light for the books (final book).

Everything that the show has been saying about the Dark Oaths that are sworn to the Dark One by regular people are, I'm pretty sure, a show-only situation. In the books, the Black Ajah swear oaths to the Dark One on the Oath Rod (replacing their old Oaths) and it's implied that part of the reason for that is so that they'll keep their 'ageless Aes Sedai' face. But regular old darkfriends are just stuck in it because of either their own character and choices, or good ol' sunk-cost fallacy. This change in the show does mean that it's much harder for a Darkfriend to choose to leave the Shadow, and that trapping a person into it young leaves them with few options.

It also makes it a stronger metaphor for extremist religious organizations which, since Rafe grew up in the Mormon church (as we learned on the 'making of' for s1&2 during the fan global event), I feel like was probably not a coincidence. "If you leave us, you lose your chance at eternal life" is a pretty big refrain in a lot of those high-control religions. We have three high-control groups in Wheel of Time -- darkfriends, the Whitecloaks, and the Seanchan. We've seen youth recruitment in both the darkfriends and the Whitecloaks; and the Seanchan system is embedded deeply into their culture.

The show choosing to have Elayne be the character to keep bringing the focus back to the danger that the collar poses to Rand feels like subconscious seed-planting on the part of the show. She mentions Rand to her mom ("I healed the Dragon Reborn") and now she keeps making sure that the danger to Rand is forefronted when they're talking about their mission here in Tanchico.

Tanchico also continues to feel like a mix of book!Ebou Dar and book!Tanchico, and we eat away at another Ebou Dar thing (Mat and Elayne are clearly getting along much better at the end of this episode than they were when they were trapped together on a boat during 3x05).

So, going over that list again, of the Ebou Dar things we have lost:

Renna is dead.

Seta is dead.

Suroth is dead.

Jaichaim Carridan is dead.

Aviendha and Elayne have already bonded over Aiel culture, which is their main arc together in Ebou Dar in the books.

Mat and Elayne have already bonded, with Mat realizing that actually she can be a lot of fun. Mat and Elayne having an enemies-to-friends arc was their main story in the Ebou Dar section of the plotline.

It feels like Egeanin's entrance from the books (where Elayne believes that she's being kidnapped for being the Daughter-Heir, though it's not a correct assumption in that case) was given to Thom's reintroduction here, with him stepping in to help Elayne out of a tight spot, so if they wanted to introduce Egeanin, it would need to be in a different way

Tanchico being given vibes similar to the Rahad area of Ebou Dar in the books

Now could they still do some of Ebou Dar with cutting all of this out? Yes. We still have Tylin (ugh), we could introduce Bethamin and give her all of Renna & Seta's stuff, we could do the Seanchan invasion with Tuon and Semirhage, and we could do the Bowl of the Winds. So this might be more about streamlining Ebou Dar into one or two episodes as opposed to cutting it out entirely. We will see! (if we get renewed for enough seasons)

In addition to doing some more Ebou Dar stuff, we also touch on Elayne's 'circus arc' from the books by how hard she embraces going undercover here, and we get a bit of the "gleeman's apprentice" stuff that Mat & Rand got to do with Thom in book 1, plus the idea of Thom having a female apprentice (though obviously with very different and a non-sexual context than the books had), plus the scene of Elayne singing on stage pulls at least one line from the books as well.

The show also has chosen to prioritize Min getting bonding time first with Mat, and now with Nynaeve, which I think is an indicator as to where they plan to take Min's character in the future. Bonding with Mat to improve their relationship for the Seanchan storyline at the very end. Bonding with Nynaeve improves the potential time in the future when the two of them are the ones watching Rand spiral down further into isolation and darkness, and trying to help him (basically taking what they're trying to do for Mat here, and applying it to Rand).

And so it continues to be interesting that we have not gotten any Min and Elayne bonding time. I do think that it makes sense to lean away from Min being in the polycule if they are still doing Min's Seanchan-ending from the books, because her being in the Seanchan empire while the others are all in Andor does kinda make it feel like she got the raw end of the deal after the epilogue ends (and I don't think the show will make Rand a deadbeat dad at the end, like the epilogue does - they've shown his affection for children and the desire for a simple life with his loved ones too strongly).

We might get some Min-Elayne bonding in 3x08, but it's pretty packed and I feel like we're more likely to get Min and Nynaeve helping Mat with his memories, while Elayne has a moment with Thom where she remembers him from her mother's court, so I feel like an Elayne-Thom and Mat-Min-Nynaeve split may be more likely for the events of 3x08. I think there might even be a shot of Elayne & Thom running from some trouble together in one of the trailers. Plus, we didn't get any initial reaction from Min when she was introduced to Elayne -- she basically just seemed willing to vibe along with whatever Mat's feelings about Elayne were.

We also get Min lying about one of her viewings in this scene! Very exciting for me! She never does this in the books and I kept wanting her to (especially after she hooks up with Tuon -- like, why are you so devoted to sharing every detail of every person's future with the empress of the Seanchan Empire? why don't you just LIE to her? well, this Min would just lie to Tuon and it makes me like her so much more).

So, Egwene's scene with the Wise Ones, where they call her out on lying to them: the way Egwene reacts here very much fits show!Egwene's behavior as a whole.

I saw people saying after 3x05 how good it was to see Egwene embracing Aiel culture and that is... not what I saw in her at all during 3x05, and this episode confirms that reading for me.

It's Rand who has embraced the Aiel culture much more than Egwene has. She has been interested in learning how to access her power through the Wise Ones' teaching so that she can stop what's happening to her in her dreams, so in this episode, it is Rand that we saw genuinely interacting with the concepts of ji and toh, while Egwene brushes off her lying to the Wise Ones as not important.

This does feel like a deliberate change that the show has made, but very much in line with also not having Egwene be all "the White Tower is my home" after only having been there a handful of months, the way that she is in the books. Show!Egwene considers herself loyal "to the Light" -- not to the Aes Sedai, not to the Wise Ones, not to Rand. And I do feel like that fits her overall story arc better, tbh.

It also makes sense to give the "acclimates to the Aiel culture" storyline to Rand instead of to Egwene, since it's more relevant to him and to his future. It's clear that the show is leaning more into Rand being curious and interested in his Aiel heritage, including having the walk through the columns affect him more deeply than it does in the books.

In 3x01, there were book fans who felt like the show needed to explain why Egwene didn't want to stay in the White Tower but show!Egwene never developed that fast affection & loyalty for the Tower that book!Egwene did, so no explanation was needed for me (and show-onlys were all expecting her to walk out on Siuan and were completely unsurprised by her attitude towards the Tower, from what I saw).

In retrospect, not developing Egwene and Aviendha's friendship feels like an early sign of this decision to make Egwene embracing the Wise Ones' teaching her as more of a pragmatic decision. It's Elayne and Rand, Aviendha's two future love interests, who are interested and invested in learning more about Aiel culture, while Egwene has her own separate path to focus on.

Given the limited time that the show has, it's a choice that makes sense, even if it does contribute to Egwene not having any friends in the Waste storyline (though that might have been a feature and not a bug for the plotting of the season -- much like how I feel like Mat was removed from Rand's plotline more to isolate Rand away from any of his close friends than for anything vital that Mat has needed to do in Tanchico, Egwene not being close friends with Aviendha might have been a narrative decision to help keep Egwene emotionally isolated while on this journey - now I personally think keeping Egwene so emotionally isolated hurt what the show was going for with the Randgwene break-up but... it is what it is).

And the show choosing to have the Wise Ones care more about Rand aligning with the Aiel than Egwene embracing their culture also makes sense.

(of course, they could also choose to have Egwene pivot and become "Aiel-hearted" later on, but as of what we've gotten so far, there isn't any groundwork laid for it yet, and since Egwene's storyline takes her away from the Aiel in the relative near future, I'm not sure that there's any long-term gain from them doing that storyline with her when it seems like there's a greater return in doing it with Rand)

Something I mentioned in the show spoilers only post is that we didn't get any breaks in Egwene's mask to show us the vulnerable woman underneath who is genuinely struggling with the idea that Rand might go mad -- and it reminded me of that being a major issue that I had with a book character. That's one of the reasons that Tuon falls so flat for me in the books -- her mask never falters, not even in her own PoV chapters. And that was kinda the issue that I've been having with Egwene re: her relationship with Rand this season.

Maybe this is them leaning on their "unbreakable" characterization of Egwene, but I feel like we really needed a moment of vulnerability from her earlier this season specifically on the topic of Rand and madness. Before we get her flat-out accusing him of having already gone mad in 3x06. We needed something before that. Or I did, anyway. As it was, she went from zero to a hundred real damn fast. I am hoping that we are finally let more into her emotional conflicts in 3x08, though I'm sure time will be tight.

During Rand and Moiraine's talk, when I closed my eyes and just listened, I'm pretty sure I hear a whispered "Ilyena" which was so exciting! I did not catch that on my first viewing at all. So if Rand is starting to have the beginnings of memories about Ilyena, that's another piece to throw into the pot of "things that were likely affecting Rand's behavior during the Randgwene break-up scene". Also -- the first whispers of Ilyena coming the day after he kisses Lanfear (the first time he kisses her knowing that she's Lanfear and having seen her as Mierin)... that is delicious. I don't think LTT approved of the kiss, you guys.

As for what the change in Faile's backstory does to Deira Bashere... similar to how I felt about the changes to Abell Cauthon, it literally doesn't matter to me. Minor characters exist to bring depth and flavor to more important characters. Deira needs to be a mother that is appropriate for show!Faile and how she interacts with the world, just like Abell and Natti needed to be the parents that were appropriate for show!Mat and how he interacts with the world. Bringing Faile to life and making her a good fit for Perrin is much more important than trying to stay true to book!Deira's characterization.

Theory about Melindhra: she is going to free Sammael from whatever captivity that Rand has placed him in during 3x08 (because I don't think Sammael is dead). It also seems likely that Sammael is the one who put the dragons on Couladin's arms, since he's working with the Shaido in this episode. This may mean that Asmodean is out entirely, or he may still be in but in a different kind of teaching role. We might get either Taimodean or Taimandred in s4. Could go either way! Depends on how long-term a baddie that Sammael is, possibly.

Relatively shorter post this time, since I was able to say most of what I needed to say in the show spoilers only post.

[sanjisboyfie]

one piece smau: vacation edition

— strawhats being a cute friend group once again

— male reader, everyone having the tiniest crush on him too but thats only if u swuint (im a very selfindulgent writer sorry)

— also i imagine robin, franky and brook to be older than the rest of hte crew, but not like crazy older. its probably not really relevant, but like mid twenties insead of their thirties and forties LMFAOA the rest of the crew is young twenties

liked by ._.[name], princesanji, and 10k others

dni_nami: pre-7hr flight question, how long until we all start killing each other? everyone place your bets

tagged: ._.[name], freeluffy, and princesanji

uso_pp: we barely made it through the airport without losing luffy, so i'm placing my bet on one hour.

[liked by ._.[name], roro.zoro, and 20 others]

-> dr.law: i'm surprised you even made it through airport security....

-> freeluffy: TOORRAOO YOU SHOULD'VE COME IT WOULDVE BEEN SO FUNNNN!!!

-> dr.law: hard pass. good luck everyone else.

._.[name]: i think it's gonna be fine !!! what's the worst that can happen tbh

-> dni_nami: i could list 100 reasons why this is gonna go bad and all of them involve luffy.

-> robinkills: [name]'s right, i think this trip is going to be very fun !

liked by roro.zoro, robinkills, and 11k others

freeluffy: [name] rented bikes for us, but he won't let me drive :/

tagged: ._.[name]

SUPERCOLA: good job [name] for saving his life, much appreciated

dni_nami: i'm begging you two to not crash and make the expenses of our trip go up even more

-> princesanji: always thinking logically, nami, this is why i love you so much <333333333333333

roro.zoro: pick up some sake otw back

-> ._.[name]: yesyesyes we all know thats the only reason why you came anyway, i'll pick some up

-> roro.zoro: what. no way. i definitely wanted to be sat on a hours long flight next to luffy and be living in a small apartment with all of my friends who dont know how to speak quietly and wont let me sleep even when its already early morning. what. i am so excited to be here.

-> uso_pp: alright we get it please stop

liked by princesanji, SUPERCOLA, and 8k others

robinkills: thank you [name] for winning me the prizes :)

tagged: ._.[name]

._.[name]: anything for you robin <3 aka the person thats keeping all of us sane right now <3

princesanji: HOW DARE THIS BAFFOON STEAL YOU AWAY ROBIN PLEASE LET ME TAKE CARE OF HIM, I WILL MAKE SURE HE NEVER BOTHERS YOU AGAIN

-> uso_pp: when is sanji going to accept the fact that [name] is actually apart of this friend group and that he is also more favored by the women we interact with

-> ._.[name]: dw usopp he only puts on a hard front, he ltr begged me to room with him so he could cuddle w me at night. he's just being shy rn

[liked by dni_nami, roro.zoro, and 40 others]

freeluffy: [NAME] [NAME] DID YOU GET ME THEONE I WANTED TOO??!?!?! REMEMBER I SHOWED YOU

-> ._.[name]: yes luffy :) we are otw back and i have the one you asked for as well.

-> SUPERCOLA: [name] the absolute goat in dealing with luffy and his absurd requests so the rest of us dont have to

liked by freeluffy, roro.zoro, ._.[name], and 9k others

uso_pp: morning debrief where we all share embarrassing stories, like how [name] almost stripped completely naked drunk last night because an ice spice song was playing on the karaoke.

._.[name]: alright genuinely why the fuck did that have to be the caption you put on the internet for the whole world to see

-> roro.zoro: no dont be embarassed [name] it was funny watching you try and copy her signature pose

[liked by dni_nami, robinkills, and 90 others]

-> dni_nami: don't think about even crossing me in the future, i have a video of the whole thing bby

-> ._.[name]: GOD FORBID A GUY HAS FUN

skullnsoul: i found [name]'s dancing and singing quite endearing

-> ._.[name]: thank you brook :') you're so sweet

-> skullnsoul: yes, although i feel like you're much too old to be wearing underwear with hearts as the print, [name]. i suggest buying new pairs of boxers :)

-> ._.[name]: what the actual fuck

liked by princesanji, uso_pp, and 11k others

dni_nami: i really wish you could hear sanji cursing [name] outin this photo

tagged: princesanji and ._.[name]

._.[name]: me when im literally following the instructions that hes telling me and i somehow still get yelled at

-> princesanji: do you even understand hwo cooking meat works? everyone would have gotten salmonella and food poisoning if i didn't teach you how

->._.[name]: yelling is never the answer sanji

-> freeluffy: I THINK [NAME]'S COOKING TASTED REALLY GOOD

uso_pp: they acc cookeedddd tho like our food was so tastyyy

[liked by princesanji, ._.[name], and 9 others]

robinklills: sanji almost shoved [name]'s head into the griller, it was funny

-> ._.[name]: HE WHAT ??!?!?! I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE THAT HE TRIED DOING THA TWHAT THE FUCK

liked by princesanji, ._.[name], and 12k others

roro.zoro: [name] told me to post this photo he took.

tagged: princesanji and ._.[name]

dni_nami: awww look all the boys finally getting along

[liked by robinkills, uso_pp, vivi, and 50 others]

-> princesanji: i would have much rather been in your presence my queen, i love you so much

-> ._.[name]: sanjii give up the bit for fucks sake

uso_pp: where was me and luffy's inv ??? ig its like that now ....

-> roro.zoro: you guys were playing mermaids in the pool at the apartment and explicitly told us to not interfere with your serious business

-> princesanji: and then you started getting mad at us for invitig you again right before we left

._.[name]: damn zoro u lookin mad fine in this photo shiiiitttt #smash

-> roro.zoro: i need you to make sure your door is locked later tn or else i cant promise you will wake up the next day

liked by dni_nami, vivi, roro.zoro, and 12k others

._.[name]: thank u nami for the photos

tagged: dni_nami

._.[name]: btw nami made me post this w that caption so it could "scare away the hoes"

-> dni_nami: im doing them a favor, they just dont know it yet cuz ur fucking insane

-> uso_pp: LMFAOAO

purrrona: can i bite it?

-> ._.[name]: BITE WHAT?????

-> purrrona: so is that a yes or a no?

-> uso_pp: professional dick rider alert !!!!

roro.zoro: why is your thirst trap the first thing i have to see when i open this app

-> ._.[name]: why are you acting like you weren't the first person to like this post???

[liked by dni_nami, robinkills, and 57 others]

portgasace: WHY THE FUCK WAS I NOT INVITED ON THIS TRIP?????

dr.law: id also like to thank nami for the photos

[wildfey]

Thoughts on the new investigations official art as I suddenly realised I had some (also I really like it! I actually think it's one of the best of the big AA group portraits and clearly a lot of thought went into where each character is in relation to their role in the plot and to each other.)

Images are all terrible phone screenshots sorry but I'm on my lunch break at work

1.

This is one of my fave official gumshoe images of all time. Up there with giving pearl a piggyback and fishing with Maggey. Look at them. I love them. Gumshoe and his lil puppy. Also a real cute missile. But also this is Edgeworth's game and Gumshoe is Edgeworth's friend (one of Edgeworth's closest friends - and we get to see the origins of that in aai) so it fits that we get to see the loveable gumshoe that Edgeworth sees here, right behind him, with his dog. It's adorable.

2)

AHH my faves. First of all I just love seeing Shih-na looking very cool and mysterious whereas Lang looks cool at first glance and then you look closer and realise that his pose is actually really stupid. It's very them. And they are obviously next to each other as always - Lang in front but pushed out to the side, whereas Shih-na is behind him and slightly hidden but she's actually closer to the centre which is a nice little metaphor for their positions in the plot. She's also next to Kay which is a clever nod to what we learn in aai.

(Also maggey and lotta in the background are cute too).

No notes really just nice to see new art of team Interpol.

3)

Okay so this is the bit I really do have thoughts on because positioning! Obviously Miles in the middle, it's his game after all. But having Gregworth and MVK in the background is just a fun choice - after all, they are literally his background! They are facing away from each other, going in opposite ways and Miles is in-between them! Just a nice bit of visual metaphor considering how much a theme of the games is his background and upbringing, and how Miles has to choose between these two opposing influences in his life and find a path between them (and both appear more in the investigations games then they do anywhere else so their size and influence is really significant here).

4)

And finally, Fran! Only her 13 year old design is on this poster, despite the fact that she actually appears as an adult in the game more but that makes sense, this is advertising and this is a unique design for aai. But I like how she's also in the background, she's a figure from Edgeworth's past, but in a much more active pose than MVK or Gregworth are - she remains an active player in his story, unlike them. Also she's placed next to Edgeworth and MVK, which makes sense considering their relationship.

Also I genuinely do just like this design for Fran - I think one place where aai really works is its character designs which are almost universally really well done and nice to look at visually. I like that she's a horse girl and you can tell. I like that it references her trilogy outfit but with a far less adult silhouette. It's just good.