#maybe i'll make a tag for this kind of shit

[chipsonthemenu]

me again, thouhht i'd give all 8 of my followers, 6 of which are mutuals i think idk i cant count, some zach updates

i have a fanclub of fifth graders (i am 14 and in 8th)

i am consdiering writing chapter 3 of baltcvp (that scu fic i posted)

also considering writing that one really disturbing jrwi riptide au i made

i am currently listening to my albatrio playlist (ask me if you want it leaked)

these are really boring zach updates

uh

i have state testing more next week

and a concert for band

im gonna sing weezer

specifically buddy holly

and also fucking field day

average new jerseyan week

yes i live in jersey

suffer with that knowledge

i might go roller skating today because riptide 100 delay n shit yk

this is such a random bullshit go post

might do a pinned post later i'm gonna have to remember all the blogs i saved shit from that i wanna put on it so i can give credit on jesus fucking shit

anyways those were your zach updates hope you enjoyed

[a-crimson-impressionism]

Something something "the episode of Midnight Burger where only half of the people could see the world-killer asteroid coming towards earth while the other half couldn't", something something "only half of the main characters being able to pronounce Leif's name correctly while the other half had NO idea and could not be corrected".... There's something about the signs being there all along of damage to the fabric of space time....

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

I don't even know what to call this AU, but... the one in which Amphibia times passes different from Earth time, and when they come back it's been 10 years, and the Wus are gone and Marcy ends up being fostered the Boonchuys... some more thoughts on it (original post here).

As you would expect, Marcy is the one doing worst here. She has PTSD and is working through it in therapy, but it's not easy. Anne's constant presence helps, though. Being alone with her thoughts isn't easy. When they first came back, she stayed with Anne in her room for a few months until the Boonchuys finished building another room for her (they expect her to stay for a very long time, sadly), but while having her own space was nice, nights quickly became very rough. She slipped into Anne's bed most times. Anne always made a point to always use the softest sheets these days, the ones she knew Marcy liked because they had a soothing texture.

Since Marcy and Sasha are still in middle school and Anne in highschool (their new age gap was a little weird at first but they got used to it after a few months), those two become incredibly close. Sasha could have very easily become one of the popular kids, what with her charm and beauty and cool scar with a cool fake backstory, but she'd rather hang out with the weird little nerd that likes C&C way too much. She still doesn't understand half of what Marcy says and most of it is kinda boring to her, but she tries to give it a chance and find interests in common. Gonna steal the headcanon from awiw that Sasha secretly likes anime, so they bond over that. They both try to get Anne into it now.

Likewise, Anne is sometimes questioned by her highschool friends how come she always wants to hang out with these two middle schoolers. Honestly, Anne doesn't see it as "hanging out with middle schoolers" because she doesn't really perceive much of a gap in maturity. They've all grown so much in Amphibia, and they grew together. Those two are frankly more mature than most of Anne's new classmates. Plus, the age gap isn't even that big, it's only a year and a half.

When people at school learn the Boonchuys are fostering Marcy, some start refering to her as Anne's little sister. Anne doesn't want to think about why that feels so weird and gross. It's an unexpected feeling - she and Marcy pretty much grew up together and were closer than most siblings, surely she'd be happy that people gave their bond such a huge importance, but the idea of Marcy as a sister... eeew (don't think about why, Boonchuy, just don't think about it).

New fear unlocked! Anne doubles down on her efforts to locate Marcy's parents, scared that, if they don't find them, her parents will end up adopting Marcy.

Marcy has read way too much weird manga to be phased by the implication until Anne spells it out for her, and she blushed red as a tomato. She doesn't sleep in Anne's bed that night, rolling the implications inside her head like a kaleidoscope.

Anne and Sasha are pretty shaken by the knowledge that their parents are 10 whole years older. Marcy still hasn't processed that her parents will also be 10 years older when she finds them but... one thing at a time. They make a promise to always be there for each other.

Marcy helping Anne with her high school homework. Sasha standing up to high school bullies.

Anne is so happy when those two finally get to highschool like oh god she missed them sm.

Anne and Sasha are devastated to find out all the music and boy bands they used to be into are no longer popular. Marcy is elated with how far videogames have come. Skyrim 24 year anniversary Ultra Delux Exclusive 4000k Return of the Dragonborn Special Edition looks soooo good!

Sasha's parents, in a surprising twist of events, are now friends. They get along fairly well and even take Sasha on little outings together. It feels suuuuuper weird to her but she missed them, and they clearly missed her and want to make up for lost times. It feels childish to go to the movies with her parents, but she'll accept it. It's kind of nice.

Marcy struggles a lot with being underwater, after the rejuvenation tank. Showers are fine, but baths are no-no. One very hot day of summer, though, they all go to the beach, and she tries to convince herself that it's fine, that she can get in the water, but as soon as it reaches her chest she's already scrambling to get out. She didn't want to make Anne and Sasha worry, but she just can't. Not even allowing herself to be distracted by the sight of Anne in her swimsuit helped. She's worried that she ruined a perfectly good day, but her friends quickly reassure her that she didn't. They all get cleaned and go to the mall for some ice cream instead.

Sasha hits one hell of a growth spurt two years after their return, now she has two inches on Anne, and teases her over it. That leaves Marcy like half a head shorter than them, which seems hilarious to those two for some reasons Marcy doesn't understand. Makes cuddling comfy though.

If Marcy was clingy before, she's even clingier now. She's always holding either Anne or Sasha's hand. She also becomes surprisingly affectionate with Anne's mom, after she found her crying or panicking several times. She's not scared to go for a hug whenever she's happy or excited, and they're always welcome. She's earned the privilege of being called "family", with scoldings and all. Anne's mom is very strict on "no gaming in the kitchen", and if she ever catches Marcy with her console while cooking, she'll take it away for the rest of the day. It's annoying, but for Marcy, it's oddly heartwarming to have an adult pay so much attention to you.

After they all came back, Anne's parents told her that, as the "oldest one" (yikes. It still sounds so weird), she had to be responsible for Marcy "as if she were her younger sister" (yikes yikes yikes yikes) and look out for her. She has no problem with the "looking out" part. It's what she's always done. But, seeing how poorly Marcy is doing during their first year back on Earth, she might exaggerate a little with the "responsability" bit, choosing to deal with a lot of things alone rather than burdering Marcy with them (or Sasha, who's now supposedly "younger" too). She's doing pretty well for some time, until one day she caves, and knocks on Marcy's door, teary-eyed, asking if she'd like to have an improptu sleepover. They watch a few movies, eat some snacks, play board games, read cringy wattpad stories to each other, gaze lovingly into each other's eyes while listening to romantic music, in a very no homo way. Anne curls into Marcy's chest and falls asleep like that. Maybe it IS better that her parents think they're more like sisters. They wouldn't be allowed to have sleepovers like this if they didn't.

[neverendingford]

skyglow:

(alternative title: photo dump of a midnight desert run)

[moe-broey]

Mani voice Collect My Pages

ELABORATE. ELABORATE FUCKING SHITPOST. That I simultaneously put WAY too much effort/thought into, while just. Giving up and half-assing it near the end LMFAOO

This was. An extremely funny characterization realization moment for me though, writing something else w Mani. The thought of, "Wait why the fuck does it have the same exact cadence of the Green M&M post???"

Anyways I absolutely cheated by editing this LMFAOO I'll put the typically edited version under cut! (For lighting/color correcting ect ect) Also a link to the post I'm reffing!

[bueris]

okay maybe I should seriously reconsider my path in life and sell my soul to marketing or journalism instead

[safyresky]

Winter's Rage Room

(aka, In Which Winter Invents the First Rage Room)

"What are you wearing?"

"Winter, you're not gonna believe this," Blaise said, turning on his heel excitedly. "It TURNS OUT when you let the royal tailor use her gift of future sight when making clothes, you get some really snazzy options. I mean look at this thing!" He said, whooshing his blazer out with an almost childish grin. "You love it, right?"

"You look sharp," she said, hopping down from the smooth, marble banister of town hall. She peeped up at him, smoothing the material on his shoulders. "And very attractive," Winter said, smiling when he flushed, a few sparks popping off of his fiery head.

"Don't think I haven't noticed your legs," he said, low, his breath warm on her forehead. "I see that you've also visited Sabine. What are you wearing?"

"She calls it a flapper dress," Winter said with a grin. "And I quite like it! It’s nothing like my usual cozy warm layers of skirts, but I thought it would be a fun change of pace. I mean, it’s not like the cold actually bothers me. And I was right! I feel fabulous. Look at the skirt! It's asymmetrical. And all of these beads!" She said, gleeful, plucking at one of several clicking necklaces hanging down her neck. "And it takes well to frost," she added, grabbing the skirt and pulling it out a bit. The frost she had added to the dress glinted blue in the sunlight.

"It looks great," Blaise said, admiring her. "You look great."

"Oh, stop it you," she said, with a little bit of pomp and a look that said actually, don't stop it, I quite like being fawned over.

"I will not," Blaise said.

"Good," Winter said, sizing him up. "So why red? It's not really your colour," she finished, finger on her chin.

"I know. I was impatient, and red was what she had on hand. There is an orange one in the works, though! And the shirt is orange too. I made do. But anyway, watch this. You're gonna love this. Ready?"

Winter blinked. "Sure."

Blaise's brow furrowed in concentration. The temperature went up quite a bit; and with a crack and a pop, the red of Blaise's blazer (ha) began to fissure, glowing a bright orange through the cracks.

"Ta-da!"

"Did you just lava your clothing?"

"Technically it's below the crust, so I think it's more magma right now, but yes! I did!" He said, fists on his hips, looking very proud of himself.

Winter giggled. Gently, she raised her hand, glowing white with her wintry magic, and touched a section of his jacket. It froze instantly, turning dark blue very briefly. There was a hiss, and a pop, and the ice melted off, the lava once more glowing on the jacket.

"Oh, that's rather fun, isn't it?"

Blaise threw his head back and laughed. "For you I imagine it's oodles of fun," he said, shoving his hands in the pockets of his pants. Pants that were tapered and fit well! No baggy pants covered by tunics, or worse, TIGHTS. No tippets, no boots (though he didn't mind boots all too much), his hair on FIRE and NOBODY telling him to put it out or else! "It's amazing, the things Sabine is creating," he said, starting forward again. "That everyone is creating. Together."

The town square buzzed. The magibeans looked so happy. They waved as Blaise walked by, sharing pleasantries and chattering amongst themselves. They were a colourful bunch; sprites with their hair elementally charged, giants in suits, a few fae breezing by in loose clothes that seemed to be one large swath of breezy material folded over itself creatively to create flowing, gorgeous, robe like gowns. Dwarves were taking kindly to a thing Sabine said were called jeans, excited at the prospect of a tough material to withstand the tough stuff they did—and that was just a smattering of the fashions that had begun to spring up all around the country.

Some magibeans carried various building supplies towards the hall; others rushed towards the shops with brightly coloured buckets of paint, chattering excitedly about how they were going to customize their storefronts, now that they could. Dryads and centaurs planted the most colourful assortment of plants you ever did see. Cobblestones were slowly being laid down, colourful as can be, the mist from the springs sparkling in the afternoon sun as it drifted through the city.

A weight, that the entire continent did not know it had been carrying, had been lifted. They could all breath again.

"You should see what my sisters have been doing in the new provinces," Winter said, following beside Blaise, her hands behind her back as she nodded politely at the magibeans walking by. Her head roamed back and forth slowly as she admired all the changes they had made since she had last come by to bother her partner after work. "Have you been south west yet?"

"No, not lately."

"Well, Spring and Summer have worked wonders on the border between those two provinces. The groves, the orchards, the fruit trees, the vines! Oh Blaise, it's gorgeous. And it's all over, too! The farmland in the east is suddenly flourishing; Autumn is beside herself with happiness! The scab is still scabbed, of course, but everything everywhere else is healthy and happy. Mother says that almost all of the vegetation on the continent seems to be flourishing, as are the people. Everyone is growing together. I'd almost say the entire continent is sparkling like it's a brand-new place. The Springs especially look as glittery as I have ever seen them. And we all have you to thank for that."

Blaise chuckled. "Well, it’s not just me. There’s a whole team of magibeans getting things in order. And…all of this? Well, it's the right thing to do," he said.

"Yes! It is! So why are you so sad?"

"Sad? I'm not. I'm not sad."

"Yes you are. I am very good at seeing sads, Mister Frost. I am an expert, after all."

Blaise stopped, glancing down at his feet, his face darkening. Winter stopped beside him, watching him carefully.

"They forbade her from using her future sight when working. Did you know that?" Blaise finally said, looking up in the distance at the springs.

"Oh."

"Queen Frost apparently had a certain aesthetic she wanted to keep to, and she made sure it was enforced." He huffed, steam coming out of his nose.

Gently, Winter grabbed his arm, hugging it tightly. She felt his muscles flex in her little arm embrace. She squeezed back.

"It seems there's quite a bit to unpack there."

"Not really. Queen Frost was always just. Like that," he said with a shrug, Winter releasing her hold on his arm. She rested her hands in the crook of his elbow, looking up at him. "What more is there to unpack?"

"Do you ever think about yourself, Blaise?"

"What d'you mean?"

"I mean," Winter said, letting go and stepping in front of him, a little hill of snow happy to come into existence and give her a boost so she could stare directly into his eyes. "You put everyone first," she said, smoothing the round lapels on his jacket. "Everyone. But what about yourself? When do you have time for yourself?"

"When I'm with you," he said, gently caressing her face.

"Oh please," she replied with an eye roll, gently taking his hand off of her cheek and holding it in hers. "We both know that you always put me first."

"I thought you liked being the centre of attention," Blaise teased.

Winter laughed. "Pish posh. I like attention, yes, but I like you even more," she said, booping his nose. "And that's why I waited for you after work today! I am taking you on a date," she said, confidently, crossing her arms with a satisfied smile.

"Oh really?"

"Yes," she insisted. "I even dressed for the occasion," she reminded him, readjusting her arms to make sure all the bracelets she was wearing clinked.

Blaise smirked. With a tap of his foot, the snow below Winter melted.

Her smug exterior dropped; with a cute little meep, she found herself stepping down rather forcefully. She grimaced, already dreading the horrid feeling in her ankles that would rattle around for a bit when she hit the ground.

But, before she could even brace for impact, Winter was suddenly engulfed by a pair of very warm arms right around her waist, and pulled forward. Unscrupulously twirled about, she found herself pressed into Blaise's just as warm chest. She looked up, ready to bite, Blaise's bemused look stopping her in her tracks.

"I'm sorry, was that a-did you just meep?!"

"You melted my snow step!" She said, flustered.

"That was the cutest sound I've ever heard!"

"Blaise, my snow step!" she said with a cute little pout.

"Gods above. That meep could soften the hardest of hearts!"

Pouting, Winter squirmed, pulling herself up and seating herself on Blaise's forearms. He adjusted accordingly, supporting her as best as he could while trying not to think of her...well. Butt. Her butt.

She crossed her arms, still pouting. "I'm trying to be all suave, like you usually are, and you are making it very hard to do so!"

"You think I'm suave?" Blaise asked, genuinely.

"I think you are many things," Winter replied, her gaze softening. "And suave is one of them. Smooth, too. And sculpted. And sweet and kind and caring and also, very annoying. That poor snow step never did anything to you!"

Blaise chuckled. "It got in my way of you," he said, placing her down gently.

She cleared her throat, flushed, and dusted off her dress. "Now then. May I continue?"

"Go right ahead," Blaise said with a wave, shoving his hands back in his pockets.

"Great, perfect, thank you." She shook her arms, the beads and bangles clinking back into place. "You look out for everyone, but I don't think you look out for yourself much. This latest undertaking of yours has been lovely! Very lovely. Look at how this world is breathing now! There's so much colour, and laughter, and freedom...but I'm sure it's been bringing up all sorts of feelings for you, and I have just the thing for processing them," she said, excitement lighting up her delicate little features.

Blaise looked down at his shoes, thoughtful. Dismantling the monarchy and the, frankly, insane rules they had enforced had been a very long road. A century in and they had barely scratched the surface; eager to breath new life into the city, Blaise and Mother Nature had decided to tackle the "etiquette" rules, for lack of a better term. The governors of the new provinces had agreed, and things were going swimmingly.

But Winter was right, though Blaise didn't want to say it. Saying it would make it all real, and he didn't think he could weather the emotions all of that would bring up. The LAST thing he needed was his political career tarnished by an angry outburst when it had only just started.

"How did you know?”

"Your shoulders," Winter said, tilting her head. "They're more squared up, as of late. And you've been clenching your jaw. And all of you is so tense. I mean, you are rather muscular—"

"Oh ho ho, am I now?"

"Shut up," Winter said, flushing and looking away.

"Muscular, sculpted—"

"Annoying," Winter reminded him, still looking away.

"Sorry, sorry. I'll...tone it down a notch."

"Not stopping, though?"

"Nope! Never."

Winter laughed. "Good. I like when you tease. Just not when I'm trying to be very very nice to you!"

"You're always very very nice to me."

"Well. You're worth it," Winter said with a little shrug.

Now it was Blaise's turn to flush and look away. He cleared his throat. Winter rubbed her arm. They glanced back at one another; opened up their mouths to speak. Realized the other was speaking. Laughed.

"You, uh, had something in mind?"

"Mhmm," Winter said, nodding a little too fast, fingers pressed together. "Come along with me?" she asked, holding out a hand.

"Always," Blaise replied, grabbing it.

"Excellent!" And, with strength he had no idea the season possessed, Blaise was dragged away from town, towards the North.

---

"So I started doing this thing, many many centuries ago," Winter began, running alongside the trees, dragging Blaise behind her, “when it all became too much," she finished. She stopped briefly, glancing around the snowy paths in the foothills, pulling Blaise along once more when she found the path she was looking for. "Though I barely recall it now, it was very hard after the Call to go from the life I knew to the life I have now."

Blaise tugged her hand, stopping her in her tracks. Squeezing it, he looked at her softly. "What was it like?" he asked. "I never...things didn't change much for me at all after the Call. I can't imagine what it was like…would’ve been like...I kind of envied you and your sisters, in all honesty."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Blaise replied, looking away and rubbing the back of his neck. "I, uh. Well, you see what I've been doing. With everyone. And I've told you about my family. It's not that I don't love them, or anything. It's just. Not the same as what you have. I’ve always wanted that.”

"I can hardly blame you. Mother Nature is a wonderful mother, and I love all of my sisters dearly. Even Spring. I'd never consider them anything but. Nevertheless," she said, taking a careful step forward. "It was a hard adjustment to make, especially when you're so little and don't quite know what's going on."

"Tell me about it," Blaise said, genuinely, as they continued at a much more reasonable pace. "Please. That is, if it doesn't, ah. You know. Upset you, or. Or anything."

"Well, I can hardly recall them now, but I…I loved my parents. My mother was…she was as cold as her title, and she kept that cool facade up to everyone she interacted with. Except for my father. She let her guard down with him. He was rather silly," Winter said with a soft laugh. "My memories are so faint now, but I remember he'd do such silly dances, make such funny noises, and he'd have the most pointless spells at his disposal, that did nothing practical—but they made me laugh. They made her laugh. And I suppose for him, that was all he really needed.”

"He dressed silly too, if I recall correctly. I think he came to the castle more than once in slippers."

Winter laughed. "They were bunnies! With ears! The Snow Queen hated them. But I think that just made the Winter Warlock love them more! And I do believe that deep down, Bianca found everything he did endearing. Otherwise I'm sure she wouldn't have named me after him. It was nice, I think. I don't remember feeling not nice," Winter said with a thoughtful frown as the path twirled upwards, hand still clasped in his. "Not until after the Call."

She stopped walking, looking out at the valley below them. It sparkled in the sunlight, the snow fresh. The trees were weighed down with blankets of snow, bowing low to the ground as the wind whistled in that calm, peaceful way it did in the winter. Off in the distance, one of the four rivers that branched out from the Springs sparkled, ice chunks floating along it. Everything seemed so much more...beautiful, in the winter, Blaise thought, eyes settling on the top of her head.

"It was scary," she continued, taking a seat on the edge of the path. Gently, and quietly, Blaise sat beside her, squeezing her hand and paying full attention.

She smiled up at him, squeezing back. "Bianca carried me out of her castle so fast. Winter followed behind us. I remember watching the pink light hit our home, and the towers tumbled; my little room was gone in the blink of an eye. The pink light bounced off of everywhere. Winter hurried us along, but he couldn't keep up. Bianca tried to go back for him, but he wouldn't let her stop. It was the fastest goodbye I'd ever experienced with him. And the final one, to boot. Whoosh!" she said, lifting her hands. "Pink light engulfed him, and he was gone. Just like that." She sighed. "I hid in my mother's shawl the rest of the way."

"I'd be scared too, if I were you."

"Really? You'd be scared?"

"Uh, yeah. What, do you think I don't get scared?"

Winter tilted her head, surveying him with a mix of curiosity and thoughtfulness, the corners of her mouth twitching as she tried to hold back a smile, eyes alight with mischief. "Perhaps," she finally said, the grin peeking out.

Blaise laughed. "I've been scared before! Plenty of times! Honest!"

"I'm not so sure I believe you," Winter said. "But we'll dig into that later."

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you can't wait to tear me apart, but not in a fun way! In a sort of I need to study you kind of way."

"Is that not fun?"

"Well, I don't know! I'm the one being studied! And not in the fun way!"

"Which is?"

"Y-you know," Blaise said, blushing. "Your place or mine? Let me get a closer look at your face? With my whole face? That sorta thing?"

Winter choked back a laugh, a hand covering her mouth, her face fast turning red. "Blaise! You absolute scoundrel."

"Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment!"

"I take them as I go," he teased, squeezing her hand.

"Don't worry, darling. I'm not going to dissect you. As much as I love all your muscles, I quite miss the soft bits that are around when you're not holding a ton of tension in your everything."

Blaise sighed. "I know you do. So do I,” he admitted, scooting closer to her. Finding comfort in the cold press of her skin against him. “What happened next?”

"Hmm?"

"After your dad..."

"Oh! Right! Well, my mother brought me to the little hideaway they made for me, to keep me safe. You know, just in case. And she made sure I was cozy and set for the long term and, well, the Call caught up to us. She gave me a kiss, a smile, and uttered last words I don't remember because that's when it took her, too,” she said with a sigh, laying her head on his shoulder. “I was alone. And of course, after that, when the sky turned back to stars and the pink was gone, I wandered. Went back home—it was gone. Wasn't sure what to do until Summer started melting all the snow. Their snow, that I had watched them place down together. Helped them with, even. It was very upsetting, and I stopped Summer in her tracks and told her so right then and there! Her reply? ‘Oh snap! I found you! Let’s get going!’ And she brought me home to Tara and the other seasons, and now here I am, quite happy with Mother Nature and my sisters."

"But between that?"

"I was very unhappy. It was the very first time I ever experienced a frozen heart," she said. "I was sad. Sad that my parents were gone. I'd never see them again. And I resented them for it, the older I got. I was so sad, and post thaw I was so upset and angry, so...I found an outlet for it," she said, hopping up. “And that’s why we’re here!”

She stepped into the air, almost falling before ice formed just below her foot, stretching down the mountain. “Race you, hotshot,” she said, and down she went. "Try to keep up!" she shouted back, as she formed ice path after ice path, zig zagging down the mountainside.

Blaise grinned. He hopped up, took a few steps back and, with a running start, jumped, landing on the ice and sliding down just as fast as Winter. The pair laughed, twirling around one another until they landed in the valley, clothes dishevelled, hair windswept, and faces flushed.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine! I do this all the time! I’m the professional." Winter said. "Oop! Careful dear, it's slippery," she added, grabbing Blaise's arms.

"I'm good, I'm good," Blaise said, steadying himself and looking out at the wide valley before them, clinging to her forearms. "It's beautiful," he said, breathlessly.

"I know! I do great work and all anyone ever does is complain about how cold it is. Where's the respect for a season, hmm? My sisters don't get half the sleet I get!" she huffed, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, while the view is lovely as I do quite the amazing job, that's not why I brought you all the way out here. Watch," she said, placing a finger up in the air before Blaise could speak.

He let go of her arms, holding his up in surrender. Stepping back a pace or two, he gestured Winter forwards with a hand.

A grin, an absolutely feral grin that Blaise adored (he loved how unhinged she could be) slowly spread across her face. He stepped back again for good measure, watching as Winter cracked her knuckles, tilted her head side to side (cracks coming from her neck), and turned around, facing the pristine valley.

She stuck her arms out to her side, her fingers outstretched. She bent down a bit, her legs wide in the snow. She inhaled; held it, then exhaled. Her fingers curled in, hands glowing, and the ground below her began to shake.

The rumbling grew louder; the shaking stretched out farther and farther, until the snow all over the valley was bouncing around, the undisturbed blanket of white splitting.

There was a crack, and a shink; then another, and another, until the valley was echoing with low thrums and hums, and up Winter’s arms went, the snow exploding below her as giant pillars of ice burst out of the ground. They intersected with each other, tall and crooked, some forming arches with one another, others nearly colliding as they stopped moving, settling in their new places. Snow gently fell off the tops of the pillars, landing on the ground with multiple muffled plonks.

Winter turned around. "Ta-da!" she said, presenting the handywork.

"Look at that. Wow," Blaise said, with a low whistle.

"I know. I'm a gift to magibean kind and so underappreciated in my time."

"Not by me you're not," Blaise said, kissing the top of her head, and gazing over her at the mess of icy stalagmites, chin resting on her head, her shoulders trapped in a hug.

"So. Ah. An outlet, eh?"

"Big time," Winter said, squirming out of Blaise's embrace. "Watch and learn, hotshot," she said, skipping into the minefield. "I'd come out here, and I'd think of everything that had happened. I'd think of how rude it was that my parents just left me alone, how AWFUL it was, how they couldn't just say no to all of the stupid fae and their different factions and their dumb war, and I'd get all worked up and then, BAM," she said, with a flawless roundhouse kick into the nearest ice block. It cracked. "And then again," she said, kicking it with her other leg. The fractures deepened. "And then I'd finish them," she said, pressing her hands together and driving them right into the middle of the fracture.

In seconds, the ice shattered, fractals falling down to the ground. The top of the pillar came crashing down, shattering the little icicles that remained until it all fell into a heap, icy dust fanning out from the impact zone.

"Oh wow," Blaise said, his hair, embarrassingly, briefly flickering. He cleared his throat. "Is that how you got all, you know," he said, gesturing to Winter. "Slushy again?"

"Not at all. It's how I processed things," she said, grabbing the ends of his jacket and pulling him closer. "The slush was thanks to you," she said, booping his nose with hers and hopping backwards, leaving Blaise significantly flustered. She grinned.

"Oh," Blaise finally said, a goofy grin splitting his face. "Oh wow."

"So now it's your turn!"

"My-what? My turn? For what?"

"Property damage!" Winter said, chipper. "And I know just where to start," she said, pushing him towards the closest slab of ice. "Sabine."

"Sabine?"

"Yes. Royal tailor, gifted with foresight and forbidden to use it."

Blaise's face darkened again.

"Ou, yes, there we go. Tell me about that," Winter said, hopping up and sitting in the air, a pile of snow twirling up to meet her halfway.

Blaise placed a hand on the pillar in front of him, flat. He frowned at his reflection, looking away. He cleared his throat. "My brother and I were always held to such impossible standards. Exactly the same ones, too. And if I did something wrong, he got the blame for it too. And vice versa, though the former happened a lot more than the latter. And it’s not like I was doing anything wrong!” he said, smacking the ice below him. “I was just trying to be my own person, but goddess forbid I didn’t act exactly like my twin.”

“And then Sabine…”

“Yeah! The fuck!” Blaise finally said, the source of all magic choosing to ignore the swears sure to continue coming from this section of the country. “I thought it was just Pyros and I that had to keep up appearances,” he began, pacing back and forth, hands waving about as he spoke. “But apparently it WASN’T just us! It was almost the entirety of the royal court! And I had no fucking clue!” he said, a flaming kick shattering the icy pillar in front of him.

Blaise blinked, watching the pieces melt into the snow.

“Huh. That did feel kind of good.”

“Right?!” Winter said from her perch in the snow. “Keep going darling. The field’s yours.”

“Finding out everything my parents banned or forbade unnecessarily has been exhausting,” Blaise continued, pulling his hands down his face. “Sabine not being allowed to use her sight? Tip of the iceberg! Dave wasn’t allowed to float because goddess above forbid he appear higher than the King! And! Queen!” he said, both titles punctuated with a flaming punch, whoosh, CRACK, pop-pop-pop to the next pillar, the ice melting quickly and collapsing in on itself. “All sorts of magibeans employed within the castle weren’t allowed to do ANYTHING!” A hot slice through the air, the pillar beside him split in half, falling down on its now severed bottom half with a smack. It slid down to the ground slowly, in an almost comical fashion, landing on its side in the snow. “There was NO intermingling between stations and levels, no talking to the court unless they spoke to you first, and that was just within the castle walls, LADY of the Springs!”

One, two, three more icy pillars went down, the shards of ice hitting the snow with dulled thunks. Chest heaving, Blaise paused for a moment, back against a pillar as he focused on his breathing. “It was no way for anyone to live,” he said, quietly. “I know that because it’s how we were living! And just knowing that it wasn’t just us?” Blaise looked up. “It’s infuriating.”

Behind him, the pillar he was leaning on started to crack. It looked a bit shiny; wet. So did the ones beside it.

“How I was living,” Blaise realized. “Because that’s the thing, isn’t it?” he said, straightening up. “Pyros was fine with the way things were. I mean, you saw what he did! After I quit my studies, he just—he was fine. Just fine with the way they ran things. He saw no problems with it at all. But I did! But every time I spoke up or had a thought or reacted differently from Mom and Dad and my brother, it was an immediate lecture. That’s not how things work, they’d say. Or that’s just how it is. Or we do these things for good reasons. Like hell they did!”

He sprung off the slowly melting pillar really suddenly, his staff appearing in his hands. He stabbed it into the ground; it glowed brightly, and with a high-pitched squeal, a torrent of flames burst from the blue gem at the center, absolutely annihilating the pillars within its radius.

“Woo. Toasty,” Winter said, standing beside Blaise now. “I didn’t know staffs could do that!”

“They can do a LOT of things, when you’re actually allowed to experiment. Watch this,” Blaise said, pulling his staff out of the snow and giving it an exuberant (and definitely unnecessary) twirl. He grasped it by the base. The wood began to shift; slowly, it morphed, until it resembled a club.

“Oh, bravo!” Winter said, with a delighted little clap. “I bet you can’t get a hunk of ice across the valley.”

“Bet you I can,” Blaise said with a grin.

“Kisses if I win?”

“You mean when I win?”

“You can talk the talk, Mr. Frost, but can you hit the hit?”

“Isn’t it walk the walk?”

“Well, yes, but you will be hitting one of these lovely pillars, will you not?”

“Watch and learn, Ms. Winter.”

She stepped back, gesturing Blaise forward now.

With a grin, he hefted the bat staff in his hands, giving it a preemptive swing. Satisfied, he tightened his grip, and, bringing it as far back as he could, whacked the pillar in front of him.

It shattered; chunks of ice went flying. With another quick swing, Blaise hit one before it could fall. It went soaring across the valley. Shading his eyes with his hand, he watched as the chunk arced in the air, sunlight sparkling off it, before landing in a heap just before the riverbank.

“Boom,” he said.

Winter laughed, eyes crinkling at the corners, face flushed. Blaise shifted his weight; he watched her fondly, his staff returning to its default form just in time for him to lean on it as he watched the season laugh. She exhaled, finally, flushing when she noticed him staring at her.

Briefly, she looked down, smiling very big at the snow for a moment before composing herself. She cleared her throat, glancing back at the fiery man she absolutely adored, and tilted her head. “I know that what your parents did wasn’t fair to any of the magibeans.”

“It wasn’t. And I just let it happen,” he admitted, kicking a piece of ice that had settled by his foot. “And it wasn’t just within the castle grounds. It was the entire continent; every subdivision, every noble under their charge, they all had to adhere to these impossible standards, stifling their very essences just to keep two, quite frankly, useless magibeans happy! And I just let it happen.”

“Oh, Blaise. You are so very silly.”

“Excuse me?”

“What could you have done? You were so young, and as much a victim as everyone else was,” she said, stepping closer. “It wasn’t fair to you, either,” she finished, resting her head on his chest.

She could feel him sigh, the weight finally falling off of his shoulders. “It wasn’t.”

“And nobody blames you, darling! Nobody. You were just trying to survive.”

Dismissing his staff, he grabbed Winter, pulling her in tightly. “I know,” he said, trying hard to keep the tears out of his voice. “I know.” He gave her one last squeeze before breaking the hug, his hands resting on her shoulders. “But it still wasn’t fair. And the worst is, you know, they had the ability to make things fair for everyone! But they didn’t,” he said, his face darkening, his hair burning higher.

“But you do,” Winter said with a soft smile. “And you are. And it’s most definitely going to be a very long road ahead, but you’re doing what you can now. It is enough. I know you don’t feel like it is,” she continued, shrugging his hands off of her shoulders and grabbing them in hers, “but it is. I promise. So you should stop beating yourself up about it all, alright? And instead, beat up all of this,” she said, gesturing with both her hands and his, towards the field of half melted ice pillars.

Blaise smiled, squeezing her hands tightly. “You are so good to me.”

“I know,” she said, with a silly little grin.

Blaise laughed, sweeping her right off of her feet and pulling her into a tight hug. “Thank you,” he said, quietly in her ear. “And I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she whispered back, pecking the side of his head (since that was what was closest to her). “I understand. And I’m here for you, Blaise. Always,” she said, giving him a little squeeze. “You don’t need to take responsibility for everything; you don’t deserve to. You deserve to treat yourself better.” She pulled back enough to look up at him and smile. “And you’re already working wonders, now that you no longer have to survive. Now that you have the opportunity to make a difference, and can make a difference, you are.”

“And everyone who can help is helping,” Blaise said. “It’s…nice.”

“It really is! We’ll all be okay, Blaise dear. You’ll be okay.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. And I’m always right,” she said, with utmost certainty. “Now then. Property damage?” she asked, gesturing out to the field of pillars.

“Property damage,” Blaise agreed, grabbing her hand. “Shall we go misplace a bunch of aggression?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” she said, taking his hand and launching them both into the field.

---

Time passed; hours, minutes, neither really knew. Time practically stood still when they were together. And certainly it felt as though it was now, as they lay down face by face in the snow, surrounded by tiny little beads of half melted ice chips. The moon glowed in the sky, the stars sparkling brightly. The once smooth blanket of snow was well trodden, now, flattened to the ground and frozen solid in some places.  

They had collapsed together, catching their breath as the remnants of the last few pillars melted away, feeling a lot lighter now that they had exploded a ton of ice while venting about everything that had happened. A shooting star passed high above them, chests finally slowing down as the pair caught their breath.

“I believe someone owes me kisses?”

“Oh yes! I do, don’t I?” Winter said, springing right up and throwing herself on top of Blaise.

“Oof,” he said, reaching up and pulling her in close. “You take my breath away.”

“That’d be the body slam I just did,” she said, kissing the tip of his nose. And then his forehead. And then his cheek. And then the other cheek, and then any itty-bitty speck of space she could find on his face. Nowhere was safe. Nowhere.

Not that he minded, of course; he only minded when she stopped her onslaught.

“Excuse me. I was promised kisses? Plural?!”

Winter laughed, crossing her arms on his chest and leaning on them. “I am aware.”

Blaise quirked an eyebrow, throwing his hands behind his head and staring at her, suspiciously. She was plotting; he knew it. “Well, where are they?”

“Hmm. Good question! Either at your place, or mine, I should think,” she said.

“OH! Nice throwback,” he said.

“Thank you kindly,” she replied, watching as his brow furrowed in thought for but a moment.

“Yours is closer,” he decided, hair igniting as, with a devious smirk, he grabbed her around the waist, wasting no time whatsoever in poofing them right into the pile of blankets and plethora of pillows that covered her bed.

---

(The next morning, he found himself awoken by Summer’s very loud barge into Winter’s room. His fellow summer sprite’s eyes grew wide when she realized he was right beside Winter, and she screamed, excited.

“Ou, Winter! You go girl! Get it!”

“Get out get out get OUT!” Winter yelled, throwing a bunch of pillows at her sister.

Summer cackled, running right out of the room. “WAIT UNTIL I TELL SPRING AND AUTUMN!”

“DO NOT!” Winter yelled back, hopping out of the sheets and giving chase.

Blaise chuckled. He loved staying over at Winter’s place).

---

I started writing this a month ago?? According to my drafts??? I was coping with some HORRORS and using Blinter to do it. Finally finished it today! It is DELIGHTFUL and I am HOPING that the horrors that INSPIRED this are finally finished for now. Or at least getting better. RELATIONSHIPS ARE HARD, ESPESH WHEN UR PARTNER IS VERY BLAISE CODED AND HAVING A ROUGH GO OF IT AND YOU CAN'T ACTUALLY MAKE A GIANT FIELD OF ICE FOR THE BOTH OF YOU TO SMASH UP BUT GOD YOU WISH YOU COULD!

Anyway.

This is roughly a century or so after the War of Succession (Millennia War, Civil War, I've given it like 70 names lol). So they've been together for a hot (pun intended) minute! I imagine they get hitched shortly after this and, well, you know, this happens >:).

Enjoy the fluff!

[transgender-catboy]

I love my friends

[nivq87]

related thoughts:

my butterfly chasing has me tinkering with my tumblr blog page, and it's a wip atm (the html needs a LOT of adjusting atm) and my about and tags pagers are pretty out of date. so, I'll try and work on that over the week I suppose

my complaining tag hasn't been used in a few years. at first I thought I was just trying harder to keep the negativity off my blog (which I also do) but then I was actually reading some of the posts and. oh gosh. those were some Big emotions I was dealing with. Glad to not be That guy anymore. Your 20's really just kinda suck, but since you're out of your teens it feels unfair because you should be Beyond such angst. but. nope. apparently it'll keep going a bit longer. Fascinating collection of posts over the years as a retrospective.

[supercantaloupe]

ao3 stats game

tagged by @malcolm-f-tucker, ty!!

Rules: Give us the links to your wonderful words with the most hits, most kudos, most comments, most bookmarks, most words, and fewest words.

expect this to be skewed towards d20 bc while i haven't written much for that in a while it is easily the biggest fandom i've written anything for

Most hits: The Disappearance of Adaine Abernant - dimension 20 (fantasy high), 2,637 hits

Most kudos: ^, 193 kudos

Most comments: Extra Credit - dimension 20 (fantasy high), 73 comments

Most bookmarks: ^, 54 bookmarks

Most words: Starlight - oklahoma!, currently sitting at 34,091 words.

Fewest words: The Symphony of Hadestown - hadesotwn, 191 words. my first posted fic ever! look at her, she's so tiny, lol. my next shortest clocks in at exactly 400 words longer; even when i'm trying to be brief i tend to go on a bit, haha

i shall tag @tragedyposting @theresa-of-liechtenstein @kingfisherkink @grasslandgirl and @druid-for-hire! idk who else of my mutuals really uses ao3 at all so i'll just leave it there lol

[afkaskus]

I was tuning my violin and I realized why I don't like my voice

When I start talking my voice is an A⁴ (the most perfect note with 440Hz), but out of tune (like 454-457Hz, it doesn't reach an A# with 466Hz), and then it goes to a less out of tune C⁵ and keeps variating in out of tune notes but always comes back at that out of tune A, and never hits a perfect note...

[the-acid-pear]

Why did my cooking dream get hijacked by my brain making a William Afton oc and au what was that about.

[avatarchic]

— FOREIGNER

How the Karasuno boys would react to meeting Shoyo's foreign cousin.

— starring. karasuno boys x foreign exchange student!reader (separately), student teacher!reader in ukai's

— tags. fluff, first meetings, pining

— warnings. use of 'pretty' and 'cute' to describe reader, but no pronouns are used, you slap ryuu in his LOL, mild suggestive comment in ryuu's if you squint

— requested? yes! thank you so much for your request this was fun to write :)

— notes. some of these are longer than others sorry ADHKWH my biases are showing a lil // this ended up being a first meeting + how they act when they start crushing on you, but it they're so cute so i didnt wanna change it lolol

daichi is whipped for you from the start

he doesn't show it (or he doesn't think he does) but he's attracted to you the second he lays eyes on you

he's extra sure to be polite to you, too embarrassed too show his brasher nature in case it scares you off

he loses his backbone whenever you're around

he needs to scold some of the first years for goofing off, but you're standing there? he's all sunshine and rainbows

when he finds out that you're a foreign exchange student, he's over the moon

he subtly finds out your classes from shoyo, who of course doesn't realize his intentions as he blurts out your schedule happily

he checks up on you often, making sure you're adjusting well to japan because "what kind of captain would he be if he let his underclassman's cousin have a hard time?"

the team is none the wiser, except for maybe koshi who sees through his shit immediately

he has a habit of patting your head as a greeting, even if he's just passing you in the hallways even if you complain about him messing up your hair

overall, he's super soft with you :)

sawamura daichi! was annoyed when he met you. shoyo hadn't shown up to practice and wasn't answering his phone, which left the captain ready to send the orange-haired freshman to an early grave. after kei made a smart remark that he saw shoyo lingering near the school entrance, he was on a mission to give the boy hell.

kei was right, of course. when daichi made his way to the entrance, he saw shoyo right away. he stomps over, lips parting to lecture the younger male about responsibilities when his eyes ghost over you. he stops short, shoyo's name barely dropping from his mouth as he pauses.

when you both turn to him, daichi feels his breath catch in his throat. it was clear that you weren't from around here. your odd sense of dress stuck out like a sore thumb—not to mention he had never seen you before. but if anything, he thought you were pretty.

"you're late for practice," daichi states lamely, barely managing to tear his gaze away from you to glower at shoyo. "i ought to put you on cleaning duty tonight."

the threat fell on deaf ears, shoyo's large grin unfaltering as he wraps an arm around your midsection in a tight hug. "captain! sorry, sorry," he apologizes, though the wide grin on his face told daichi he wasn't serious. "my cousin texted me that they were here, so i had to say hi!"

at his words, you finally snap out of your stupor, offering daichi a small smile. "i didn't realize he had practice. i wouldn't have called him out if i knew."

daichi presses his lips together, feeling his ears warm at your kind tone. "it's okay," he says softly. "i'll let him off for now. it's nice to meet you—i'm sawamura daichi."

when you introduce yourself, he finds himself repeating your name in his head.

"oi," he clears his throat, turning to shoyo with a deadpan expression. "c'mon. we're late enough already." daichi turns to bow his head at you politely, quickly turning around before you can see the warmth in his cheeks.

your sweet voice calls out a goodbye, and daichi decides then and there that he wants to get to know you better.

"hey, hey—why are you so red?"

"you're gonna shut up now if you want to go home early tonight."

koshi didn't realize you were shoyo's cousin until after he got to know you a little

he couldn't help it—when he saw you he just thought you were super cute lmao

he fumbles a bit in front of you

he really really tries to be a cool, calm, and collected person but sometimes he embarrasses himself by saying odd things or staring at you a little too long

when he does figure out you're related to his underclassman, he takes the opportunity to get to know you better

and when he finds out you're in his homeroom? even better

the type to arrange study session together with you every weekend just to spend time with you

he actually invites you to watch their practices and games before shoyo does LOL

the whole team knows about his feelings and he doesn't even care, constantly throwing an arm over you shoulder and hanging around you during downtimes

wants to impress you, so he gives it his all (and then some) whenever you're there

his sets get more accurate and he even blocks more hits than he would've before

he really wants you to think he's cool

but if you compliment him, he's exploding on the spot

suguwara koshi! had no idea you were shoyo's cousin when he met you. you looked nothing alike and your personalities were completely different. despite you being a complete stranger, the lost look on your face amused him.

you met koshi when shoyo accidentally stranded you at the train station. you were supposed to take the same train to his house, but he didn't notice you weren't right behind him when he stepped into the train car. the last you saw of the tangerine-haired boy was the back of his head as the doors closed on you.

you were standing there in a panic, though no one stopped to check if you were okay. shoyo had you hold his schoolbag while he dragged your suitcase along, and when you tried calling his cellphone you heard it buzz in the bag that hung on your shoulder. for the life of you, you couldn't remember which stop to get off or which streets to take to get to his house.

"are you lost?" a gentle voice asks you, pulling you from your anxious thoughts.

your eyes meet and koshi can't help but think you're cute as hell. you look doe-eyed in your panic, rounded eyes and parted lips. when you don't answer right away, koshi's cool demeanor switches and he stumbles into an embarrassed frenzy. "wait, can you even understand japanese?"

thankfully, you do, having learned it from shoyo at a younger age. you blink away the remnants of your panic with a few hasty nods. "yes, sorry. my cousin accidentally left me here, and i don't really know how to get to his house..."

koshi calms down at your insistence, chuckling to himself. "do you know the address?"

you wince, "no."

"alright," he says in a way that he hopes is soothing for you. "i can keep you company while you wait for him to return, then. it'd probably be nicer than just standing here by yourself."

when you agree, he hides his smile. he asks you several icebreakers, such as your name and your favourite colour. with every passing second, he only thinks you're even cuter than when he first saw you.

eventually, shoyo does come back, panting and heaving as he runs up the stairs to the station platform. his bright eyes widen when he sees you together with koshi. "oh, sugawara? you've met my cousin?"

koshi meets your eyes with a grin. "i guess we'll be seeing each other more often."

honestly asahi doesn't even acknowledge you when you first meet

he doesn't find out you're shoyo's cousin for weeks, so you're really just another classmate to him

you don't even talk to each other until like a month or so after you transferred

and even then, your conversations are short

he's polite to you when you work together, but he doesn't really try to become friends with you

don't get him wrong! he thinks you're nice and pretty, but he is too damn shy to initiate anything with you

you kinda think he hates you at first, but after you realize that he's just not an outgoing person you relax around him

when he does find out you're related to shoyo, you end up seeing each other more often out of class

you show up to more practices, even if you're just sitting on the benches doing homework

shoyo even drags you along whenever the team meets up outside of school to hang out

as a result, you and asahi eventually grow closer and he opens up more bit by bit

he doesn't actually start crushing on you until graduation nears

he realizes it when he hears you cheering his name at one of their bigger games

he thinks his name sounds prettier coming from you

he doesn't initiate any skinship with you, but he's always asking about your day and checking on you in his own ways

will absolutely combust if you even so much as brush pinkies as you're walking together

azumane asahi! first met you in class. like koshi, he doesn't know you're related to shoyo initially. when the teacher introduces you, making you write your name on the board, you don't have the same last name as shoyo. he doesn't really pay much attention to you, minding his own business as he takes out his notebook and pens.

several weeks pass and your homeroom teacher announces that you'll be partnering up for a group presentation. your first real conversation with him goes as expected—you exchange contact information and go your separate ways when the bell rings.

he thinks you're attractive, but he's too shy to actually act on those thoughts and he just pushes through the project, interacting with you as little as possible.

it's only when shoyo forgets his volleyball uniform at your house that asahi figures out you're related.

he sees you first, standing in the gym entrance while you wait to be invited in. you look hesitant as your eyes cast over the several members of the volleyball club, your gaze landing on asahi. when recognition flickers behind your eyes, he thinks you're there for him.

he opens his mouth to greet you, but before he can even utter a word, an orange blur runs past him. you're almost knocked on your ass as shoyo tackles you, excitedly calling out your name. "what're you doing here?" he asks you, tilting his head as he releases you from his death grip. "you never come to practice."

"you left your uniform at mine," you explain quietly, pulling the clothing out of your bag.

there's a moment of silence, before all hell breaks loose. the others scream and yell at shoyo, yuu and ryuunosuke shaking him by the shoulders as they demand why they weren't informed about his girlfriend.

even asahi's jaw drops at the thought of you, his classmate and group partner, dating shoyo, of all people.

"we aren't dating!" you exclaim, shaking your hands in front of you adamantly as disgust paints over your facial features. "we're cousins."

as the club eventually quiets down, you meet asahi's gaze over the commotion. when you offer him a bashful smile, he can't help but return it.

as expected, yuu is also whipped for you the second you meet

he swears on his life that he has never met someone as perfect as you—not even kiyoko (which says a lot)

at first, his attraction to you is entirely physical and he doesn't hide it

he compliments you every time he sees you he even compliments your outfits even if you're just wearing the karasuno uniform

he practically begs shoyo to bring you to practice just so he has an excuse to ogle at you and profess his 'undying love'

you'd probably make good friends with kiyoko, bonding over the second years' unabashed feelings and loud professions of love lol

though he's completely smitten with your looks, yuu doesn't learn a thing about you until like two months after your transfer

he realizes it when koshi asks if he knows anything about you and no, the fact that you're pretty doesn't count as something

during a late night run to the nearest convenience store, he runs into you

you're dressed casually, and he realizes it's actually the first time he's seen you outside of uniform

he thinks you're very cute in your bunny pajamas

he approaches you with koshi's words in mind, and asks if you want to hang out for a bit

your hang outs become a common thing, and eventually it's your weekend tradition to meet at the convenient store after sundown

after really getting to know you, he realizes that he likes more than just your appearance

shockingly, once he figures out his feelings for you, he tones down a lot

he would stop confessing his love for you every moment he could, but he gets casually affectionate with you

he'd always stand close enough for your shoulders to touch and would absentmindedly guide you places by taking your hand

he's never had a real crush on anyone before, so he's feeling it out with you

nishinoya yuu! has hearts in his eyes the moment he meets you. shoyo brought you to practice one day, excited to introduce his favourite cousin to his teammates. he had all but dragged you to the gym by the wrist, ignoring your insistent utterings that you can walk on your own.

"this is my cousin!" shoyo announces the second he bursts through the doors in true hinata shoyo fashion. you were the last ones to show up, so the entire team was there to witness you getting dragged in by shoyo. "they transferred here from overseas."

yuu feels the world stop once he glances over at you after receiving a particularly harsh spike from tobio, freezing into his squatted position. his world becomes a romcom movie—he swears someone must be blowing a fan in your direction with the way your hair sways as you walk into the gym. he might even be seeing the air sparkle in your presence.

he's absolutely starstruck with you, and he makes no effort to hide it as he bounds over to you. he takes your hands in his, looking at you with wide eyes as he takes you in. he can hear someone groaning, maybe daichi, as they mutter something along the lines of "he's at it again."

"i'm nishinoya yuu," he introduces himself. "you're really cute!"

your mouth opens, but no words come out as you simply stare at yuu in surprise. shoyo had given you a brief rundown of his group members, and you realize that this might be why he warned you about the libero in particular.

even when daichi smacks the back of his head, apologizing to you quietly, yuu remains in his lovestruck gaze.

you stay to watch their practice, at both shoyo and yuu's insistence, and yuu makes a point to be even more extravagant than usual. you can't help but laugh at his boisterous rolling receives and the way he calls out ridiculous move names.

oh ryuu. typical ryuu.

the first words he ever speaks to you end up with him getting slapped

like yuu, he thinks you've been blessed by the gods with your looks and he makes it clear to you when you meet

he asks you to go out with him, only to blatantly check you out right after, which earned him a smack to the face

eventually, he does apologize for his behaviour, though you don't accept it right away

when you tell him that you hate guys who treat others like eye candy, he's sure to tone it down for you

of course, a man can't change overnight

he still flirts with you, and with other women—he can't help it ;( him n yuu are menaces

however, when he's not being an absolute pest, he gets to know you

he learns about your interests and hobbies, and finds himself indulging you in them (who would've thought he'd end up enjoying the art of bracelet making?)

when you become close friends, you become his person

he goes to you whenever he wants to talk about something, and he lends an ear whenever you need to vent

he asks you about your home country often, wanting to know more about your life before you came to japan

he'd even go out of his way to do things for you that remind you of home whenever you start feeling homesick :)

it's not until well after graduation when he realizes that he might actually like you

tanaka ryuunosuke! was mid confession when you met. shoyo had brought you to one of their games, and just as ryuunosuke was getting on his knees to ask kiyoko to marry him, his eyes fall on you.

it's almost astounding how quickly the second year moved from the glasses-wearing beauty to you, appearing in front of you in an instant. before shoyo can even introduce you, he stares you down with a steeled expression, his eyes narrowing.

"you're the prettiest person i've ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on," he claims in his most serious tone. he takes your hands in his as he presses his lips to your knuckles. "please go out with me."

there's a collective sigh as the team turns away at his antics. you, on the other hand, feel your head pound in irritation. "excuse me?"

ryuunosuke doesn't hear the vexation in your tone, or chooses to ignore it, as his eyes trail over your features. even when you're staring at him in an angry disbelief, he thinks you're incredibly pretty. however, as his eyes drop lower and lower, his mind enters a less-than-appropriate headspace.

the feeling of your hand connecting with his cheek rips him out of his lewd daydreams. you didn't slap him hard, but the sound echoed over the loud chatter of the audience members anyway. "you pervert," you utter, gritting your teeth as you turn on your heel. you barely tell shoyo good luck as you all but stomp off to the bleachers.

ryuunosuke stares at your back, holding his reddening cheek in mild awe. yuu nudges his side. "don't tell me you're into that, man."

he at least has the grace to blush.

to be honest, you and tobio do not get along until much later

it's not because you're related to shoyo it is

he just genuinely has no idea how to talk to you lmao

you meet him on the first day of school with shoyo

the realization that he may be teammates with the very guy he had practically berated in middle school took priority over greeting you tbh

it's only after their initial fight when he realizes that you, a complete stranger, saw him yell at shoyo as harshly as he did (even if shoyo didn't have many nice things to say either)

he's kinda embarrassed abt it tbh

like?? you had to see him like that?? he's mortified

so when he joins the volleyball club and you're a manager, he avoids you like the plague

when he talks to you, he accidentally comes across as if he hates your guts (he doesn't, he just cannot properly converse with people to save his life)

your relationship is extremely terse for months, since you get pissed off at his behaviour and he doesn't know how to act normally around you

he doesn't warm up to you until one of their games later in the season, where the morale is low and the team is hanging their heads

you give them an uplifting speech, telling the team that they're stronger than they think

it's the first time tobio looks at you in a pleasant light, and he merely puts a hand on your shoulder to say thanks as he makes his way back to the court

slowburn as fuck tbh he might not even realize he likes you until you're about to graduate (cut him some slack he's only a lil slow)

kageyama tobio! barely acknowledges your existence when you meet. you had moved to japan before their first year at karasuno began, so you showed up with shoyo to the first day.

of course, tobio recognized shoyo immediately from their encounter in middle school. shoyo had dragged you to the gym to go with him to sign up for the volleyball club, insistent that you try to apply to be a manager or something. tobio was there, about to spike a volleyball.

the second shoyo and tobio lock eyes on each other, they're at it like cats and dogs, and you're left standing there in confusion. seeing shoyo as angry as he was is shocking to you and you wonder what the hell this other guy must've done to rile up your sunshine cousin so much.

tobio doesn't even look at you as he argues with shoyo, not meeting your eyes until after the fight has 'calmed' down. he stares at you quietly for a moment before averting his gaze, grumbling something under his breath as he leaves to retrieve the volleyball shoyo made him drop.

he doesn't say anything to you as you talk quietly with daichi about becoming a manager. he vaguely overhears shoyo introducing you as his cousin, but he's too annoyed to listen.

later on, when him and shoyo are finally accepted into the club, and you're brought on as a manager-in-training, tobio still ignores you.

you don't have your first conversation until a week later, when you corner him after practice. "what is your problem?" you demand, your hands propped on your hips. "i know you don't like sho, but you haven't said a single word to me since you joined the club."

tobio flushes in embarrassment as he stares at you. he doesn't mean to, but his eyes narrow into what could be perceived as a harsh glare. "i don't have anything to say," he says truthfully, his voice coming out colder than necessary.

when he rushes off to hide his growing fluster, you're left standing there confused.

you and kei barely interacted at first tbh

he had never seen you before and it was the weekend when you met so he had no reason to assume you'd ever talk again really

even after finding out you were related to shoyo, he didn't bat an eye

after all, he's not exactly going over to the orange-haired boy's house for sleepovers lolol

but to his surprise, you're in his classroom the next monday morning as a foreign exchange student

your classmates rush to you, overwhelming you with numerous questions about your hometown, and it's clear to kei that you're flustered

you meet his gaze over the crowd of people, and for a moment you're shocked to see him

however, before either of you can do anything, you get bombarded with even more questions

to your surprise and his, kei scoffs as he approaches your crowded desk

"can't you see you're bothering them?"

the gaggle of students dissipates with embarrassed apologies, leaving you and kei alone

your relationship with him from then on is odd

there's an unspoken agreement that you both don't like being bothered by other people, and you lowkey bond over it

he would never admit you're friends, but he comes to your rescue often

if you can't understand a phrase or if you don't know the answer to a question in class, he'll quietly help you out (but don't bother asking about it, 'cus he'll deny it vehemently)

when you start hanging out during practices, he ruffles your hair and rests his arm on your head regardless of your height

making fun of you is his love language (not that he'd ever admit he has feelings)

tsukishima kei! meets you when you're babysitting natsu. the team had been out getting ice cream (as per koshi's insistence—for team building), leaving kei in a sour mood because he would rather be anywhere than here.

"shoyo! sho!"

the whole team looks over, seeing a little girl who is the spitting image of their short middle blocker running toward them. kei's expression drops even more, because there's two of them?

shoyo almost drops his ice cream cone with the way the little girl jumps on him. "what are you doing here?" shoyo asks, scrambling to catch his sweet treat. "where's—"

before he can finish his sentence, another figure comes running at them, out of breath. "natsu!" you scold airily as you make your way up to the team, hunching over and resting your hands on your knees as you try to catch your breath. "jesus, don't just run off like that!"

you look up at shoyo from your hunched position, letting kei get a good look at your face. you're flushed, sweat beading on your brow bone and lips are parted as you breathe harshly through them. it's clear to the blond that you've been running around for some time now, something that makes him snort into his strawberry ice cream cup.

"sorry, sho," you wince, practically dragging the little girl, natsu, to your side. "she ran off while i was paying for her snacks. she probably saw you through the window." you vaguely gesture to a nearby convenience store, holding up a bag of candy.

you talk with shoyo for another moment, before turning to the rest of the team. your eyes briefly meet kei's and he arches a brow at you. you apologize for interrupting them, but daichi insists that you're fine and that you and natsu can hang around since you're there anyway.

as a result, you and kei end up standing near each other as the group converses. kei had been hanging a little bit away from the others, minus tadashi of course. you end up near him by coincidence—you don't know the others, and the three of you end up quietly sitting in acknowledgement that you didn't want to talk.

my darling baby tadashi is a mess when you meet <3

he was practicing his volleyball skills when he accidentally whams you in the face

he'd feel guilty about it for a while (even if you insist you're fine) and would use it as an excuse to buy you drinks from the vending machines lol

"this is the fourth drink you've bought me this week??"

"i have to make up for hitting you somehow :((("

becoming friends with tadashi is surprisingly easy, given how shy he can be

it becomes a habit to meet you by the vending machines before practice

the time in the halls between classes and volleyball are spent getting to know you

he asks a lot of questions about what it's like in your hometown and the differences in your culture

i don't think he'd start liking you until after you also get close with kei though lol good luck

the first time he sees you joking around with the tall blond, he thinks his heart is about to beat out of his chest

you must be an angel, he decides as he watches you get along with kei

the three of you form a trio and you end up spending more time with them than shoyo LOL

kei absolutely knows about tadashi's feelings and takes every opportunity to tease him about it whilst you're blissfully unaware

he's so so smitten around you after he realizes he likes you

the type to look at you like you hung the stars in the sky yourself and to becoming maddeningly red whenever you so much as make eye contact with him

yamaguchi tadashi! hits you in the head the first time he meets you. he was in the gym alone, practicing his float serve. you pushed through the heavy metal doors just in time to get slammed in the face with a ball gone awry.

he feels his heart drop to his toes as he quickly rushes over to you, asking if you're alright and if you need to see the nurse. his panic only worsens when he realizes you're bleeding from your nose.

although the hit shocked you, you're left watching in amusement as tadashi scrambles to find something to stop your nosebleed with. when he eventually returns to you, having ran from the boys washroom to grab a wad of papertowel, he apologizes again softly.

"are you okay now...?" he asks when your nosebleed finally stops. he looks almost like a kicked puppy, his hair falling limply into his eyes.

even after you reassure him that you're fine, tadashi still wears his guilt like a crown. he offers to buy you something from the vending machines, and does so despite your insistence that he doesn't need to.

"you can accept it for my sake," he says sheepishly as he offers you the cold can. the two of you converse quietly, with you introducing yourself as a new foreign exchange student.

"oh!" he suddenly lets out, looking over at you. "did you need something in the gym?"

"i was looking for my cousin," you sigh. "he said he was in the volleyball club and i haven't been able to find him at all today."

he's shocked when he finds out that you're shoyo's cousin—the boy had talked about you earlier in the week when he found out you were transferring to karasuno. as you talk, tadashi thinks to himself that shoyo never mentioned how cute you were.

your first meeting with keishin is awkward

ltrly knocks you off your feet when he runs into you

he's kind of brash when he meets you, not caring if you think of him badly because of it

you don't have much of a relationship at first—your work pulls you to the classrooms after all, so he doesn't really see you around often

the next time he sees you, you're stomping into the gymnasium mid practice with an irked expression

he's about to tell you off for interrupting practice, but he quiets when he sees you make your way to your younger cousin

he only watches in amusement when you tell him off for his horrid grades

when shoyo turns to keishin for help, he only shrugs with a lazy grin on his face

"sorry, little man, you heard 'em. no volleyball games until you raise your grades"

to shoyo's chagrin, you and keishin make a terrifying pair for him (and the other three idiots lolol)

you only really start hanging out with him when you end up making a late night run at his convenience store

it's the first time he sees you in casual clothing and the case of beer in your hands makes him laugh

"you wanna share that?"

he becomes your drinking buddy every other weekend, and he grows to cherish the time you spend chugging back cans of beer with him

keeps his feelings on the downlow, but as time goes on even the boys realize that their coach has a soft spot for you

ukai keishin! bodies you the first time you meet. the man doesn't realize his own strength until he literally knocks you flat on his ass after he turns a corner and bumps into you. his eyes go wide when the books and papers in your hands go flying, falling around you in a frenzy.

"shit," he curses under his breath, bending down to pick up your things. "sorry 'bout that." his voice is gruff as he speaks, collecting your papers without much care. when he returns them to you, some of them are scuffed and crumpled.

as he's handing you your things, he finally gets a good look at you. you're dressed more formally than he is by a mile. he holds a hand out to help you to your feet, his brown eyes falling to the lanyard around your neck.

"you new here?" he asks, jutting his chin out to gesture to your nametag. student teacher is typed above your name and picture.

you nod deftly, brushing off any dirt from your dress pants. "i started today. and you are?" your eyes meet his, and he knows you're silently scrutinizing him. he's much too old to be a student, you deduce easily, but he's dressed far more casually than any other other teachers.

when your eyes drift up to his bleached hair, he snorts. "i'm the coach for the volleyball club," he grumbles. "i don't need to be wearing fancy shit like you."

he sees your eyes light up in recognition as he analyzes your face with crossed arms. "the volleyball club? you must know my cousin then. hinata shoyo?"

keishin deadpans at you. "you're the runt's cousin?"

©AVATARCHIC please do not plagiarize, repost, translate, or copy any of my works.

[brainrotcharacters]

can I also add, for the rest of the class, that for someone so physically feral and zip-zappy during combat, the inside of Logan's mind/trauma is so peaceful and organized?

and for someone who, by all accounted weapons of twin swords and twin guns, objects of precision and accuracy btw, the inside of Wade's mind/trauma is messy and chaotic?

rewatching Deadpool and Wolverine and there's something to be said about how Wade's head was messier than Logan's

[kisskuni]

“who did this to you?”

↳ he finds you injured / “who did this to you?” trope - [diluc, kaeya, wriothesley x gn!reader]

tags: injuries + mentions of blood/reader gets hurt. swearing. threats to kill people lol.

notes: wooo first genshin post.. i need to catch up on this game

diluc ━━━

the way adelinde stood outside of the winery, hands playing nervous with each other and shifting her weight, told diluc that something was wrong. his brows were pinned as he approached her.

“everything alright?” he asked, trying to keep his voice even and calm but there was a hint of worry underneath. something was wrong. something was definitely wrong.

adelinde cleared her throat before speaking, “y/n arrived about half an-”

diluc didn’t need to hear the rest. he moved past her and into the house, calling your name as he moved up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time. he was already rolling up the sleeves of his dress shirt; what exactly was wrong he didn't know, but he was more than willing to get his hands dirty.

he knocked on the door to your shared room only once before clicking the door open. there was a nurse next to the bed, but she wasn’t tending to you at the moment. she looked a little startled as he entered, but he paid her no mind.

he was kneeling at your bedside in a second. the nurse had taken a few steps back to give him space. he held your hand in his, his lips pressed against your knuckles.

“are you okay? what happened?” he asked, a little breathless, his eyes moving over you. there was a bandage wrapped around your abdomen, but he didn’t see any other injuries.

you nod and swallow dryly. “yeah… yeah ‘m alright.”

"bullshit." he mutters under his breath, eyes wandering over the wound. he wants to get a better look at it, but he knows the bandaging is fresh and he doesn't want to disturb it.

"i'll be fine, diluc... honest."

"who did this?" he asks, his voice suddenly a lot lower than before.

"...what?"

it almost startles you, the way small, almost unnoticeable flames flicker along the skin of diluc's forearms. his voice is calm, but strained, when he speaks, "who?"

"it was just some treasure hoarders, i'm-"

"where?"

"they're dealt with, diluc."

he stares at you for another few moments, eyes watching your face as if searching for some sort of sign that you were being dishonest. finally, he shuts his eyes, takes a deep breath, and opens them again. this time, when he speaks, his voice is much softer and caring than before.

"do you need anything?"

"i'm okay. some water, maybe?"

"of course," he hums, moving to press a kiss against your forehead. "just get some rest."

kaeya ━━━

you were supposed to be back an hour ago.

and yet, you weren't back.

he hates that he's pacing, hates that he feels so helpless. he should go find you. he should tell jean he's leaving, that he's not going to work for the rest of the day, that he's going to the outskirts of mondstadt to-

"kaeya!"

his head snaps up, his gaze falling to you. you were limping, why were- oh. there is a gash across your hip, bloody and staining your pants almost black, fading into red at the edges.

he's at your side as quickly as he can be. he's holding your shoulders, a silent plea not to move, not to put weight against the wound.

"shit- what happened? who did this to you?"

you swallow thickly, panting slightly. "just- i ran in to some people-"

"what kind of 'people'?"

"people that got taken care of, kaeya. i promise."

he stares at you for another few moment, a muscle ticking in his jaw. then he nods and moves to your injured side. he grabs your arm to drape it over his shoulders and around his neck, his other arm wrapping around you and pulling you into him.

"we're getting you inside, and safe, and then i'm going to make sure every last one is properly dealt with."

you shake your head at him, but don't say anything. you're grateful for the support on your leg and you weren't about to complain. slowly, he helps you hobble back to the city and slowly deposits you into an infirmary bed.

a nurse ushers kaeya away, and he spends the next twenty minutes pacing outside of the building, his arms crossed. finally, the door opens, and the same nurse sticks their head out of the door, "kaeya? you can come in."

he moves back into the building, maneuvering around people and equipment to kneel at your bedside.

"hey..." he says softly. his hand comes up to your face, back of his hand running affectionately across your cheek. "you feeling alright?"

you give him a small smile. "i'm fine."

"you are," he affirms. "but i still intend on finding the sons of bitches."

you frown at him, though it holds little heat. you study him for another moment before you give him a resigned sigh, "near cape oath."

he presses a kiss against your forehead, already standing up, "i'll be back before dark, my love."

wriothesley ━━━

wriothesley did not consider himself to be a violent person.

today, he was about to be.

it was the way you stumbled into his office, looking so worn out, blood draining down your face and down your chin. your lip was busted and a gash broke the skin near your temple, crimson trickling down your face and dripping onto his floor.

he’d been by your side before you could even utter a word, letting you lean against him and forcing you to sit on the floor. his thumb ran over the blood, as if trying to convince himself that this was real. that this had happened. likely in the fortress, no less.

had it been? no. there was no way. no one would harm someone so blatantly important to the duke… right?

he was pulled from his thoughts by a gentle grumble from you.

“give me a name.” he said, without really thinking about it. his voice was stern, and cold, and left no room for argument.

“what?” you blinked hard, seemingly trying to ground yourself.

“shit.” he cursed under his breath, helping you stand back up. why the hell you had come looking for him before medical attention, he’d never know.

still, he held you against him and helped you to the infirmary, whispering sweet affirmations under his breath the whole way. his string of ‘you are gonna be fine’s and ‘everything is gonna be alright’s dissipates as he slowly lowers you into an infirmary bed.

he straightens, arms crossed over his chest and a scowl twisting his face.

“who did this to you?” wriothesley asked again, this time more firmly.

you shake your head. “is… okay, wrio-”

“give me a goddamn name.” he asks again, and then his voice softens. “please.”

you watch him for another few moments before nodding and letting the person’s name fall from your lips. a muscle in his jaw ticks. he looks down to one of the melusines.

“i’ll be back in an hour. you tell me if they so much as twitch a finger weird.” he orders. he doesn’t wait for a reply, his jaw set as he moves out of the infirmary.

[caeruleophile]

I know nothing about the media with which you've fused with BrBa, but I don't care because it brings me much joy to see it.

Oh, thank you so much, i'm SOOOO happy to hear that!! <3 Tbh i needed to hear that bc my dumb brain thinks this au is cringey....... 😞 But i'm glad that you people like it!!

Also, if you don't really know about that piece of media... well, i'm not a really good explainer, but TVtropes has a great page about it!! You can learn something about the characters, the lore and other stuff. It also has a wiki page, if i'm not mistaken!! And the name of this media is Nu: Carnival - yaoi H-game with gacha mechanics (not for minors btw). I kinda recommend it!! It's really good.

I still don't know why did i choose to crossover these two completely different media, but if you like the result, then i made everything right lololol ✨