#no cause my favorite part is like none of the characters in the books do

[giftedpoison]

when you read a book series and you don’t know anyone at all who has also read said series, so you must go to the fandom which coincidentally is actually a really big fanbase despite the fact that it is a self published trilogy from 2013.

But also a concerning amount of them speak russian for some reason and now you’re like, do I have to learn russian? Is this my life now?

[shira-cosmic-star]

hello! i hope you're doing well 🫶

may I request hcs with vagastrom + Lyca, Jin, Jiro x short s/o please?

i hope I'm not disturbing you 🙏

thank you 😊

Too short to handle

Tags: Fluff, Gender Neutral, Comedy, Romance, Slice of life, Supernatural, and Tokyo debunker headcanons 

Characters: Leo Kurosagi, Sho Haizono, Alan Mido, Lyca Colt, JIn Kamurai, and Jiro Kirisaki. 

Warning: None 

Word count: 2,811

-------------------------------- 

Leo:

Mc was in their own room when they decided to decorate it. After saving enough money to buy a few small things. A poster, LED lights, their favorite color window curtains and small room decorations. Though, there is a small problem. They can’t react the places they want too. It also doesn’t help that they only have a step latter and still couldn’t reach. 

Frustrated, they huffed and pouted. “How on earth can I hang this up if I can’t reach!” They stated, angrily. Then, a small “ding” chimed. It was their phone, they placed the item in their hands, right on the bed. Picking up their phone. It was a text from Leo. He needed them so he can use his stigma. MC groaned, “Do you need me now? I’m kind of busy.” 

“Yes, hurry up!” Leo eagerly told them. Leo and MC have been dating for a short while. How? Well, a lot of patience and understand from both parts. Both have their flaws, their moments, and all. Leo, often more than MC. But, after learning why he is the way he is. MC have gotten a better understanding of Leo. Leo, for MC’s sake, had to learn how to break a few bad habits. He’s still learning, but he’s trying.  

As MC heads over to him. They couldn’t help, but flashback to how their relationship was in the past before they started dating.  

[Flashback] 

“I can’t stand you.” MC told Leo, through tears and their fist balled up. MC have had enough. The mean words, the disgusted face he makes towards them, and now, the lies about MC being his romantic partner. They saw a lot of mean comments of their appearance. How they can’t be worthy enough to stand next him. Or even close to him. It was getting to MC. They have stormed into Vagastrom to tell Leo off. Leo, being Leo brushed it off and told them that they should be grateful that others are jealous of them. Even told Mc that it was just a few trolls, they can handle it.  

Although, what Leo wasn’t expecting was them to tell him off. It actually struck him hard when MC said that. It stuck with him for a while, he actually felt bad. So, he went to make it up to MC. That is when MC began to see another side of him. So, from that point they started to get closer and closer. Of course, MC confessed first. But we all know Leo felt the same way. 

[Flashback ended] 

“What are you dozing off about?” Now sitting on the couch together. Leo looked over to his lover. They have been quiet almost the entire time. 

“Hm? Oh, just how our relationship was in the past before dating.” They told him while holding a smile. They gently rubbed their thumb on the back of his hand. 

“You’re not still mad at me, are you?” He scrunched his face. “I said I was sorry...” Leo then began to pout. 

“I’m not mad, it just something a kind of cherished now. We started off basically enemies to lovers!” MC excitedly worded. 

“Stop reading those kinds of books. They are getting to your head.” Leo told them, MC ignores him and laughs. 

“By the way, you said you were busy earlier. What were you doing?” He looks at MC with his eyes curious as a cat. He was growing bored and spy on Alan got nowhere. 

“I bought a few things for my room. But I can’t reach the places I want...” MC sighed frustratedly. He begins to give them a cheeky smile. More like a devilish smirk. Leo began to laugh lightly. “Because your short~” He teased them. This caused MC to glare at him while pouting. 

“Well excuse me mister, I can’t help it!” Both have now begun to lightly bicker. Leo grabs their hand and pulls them back to MC’s room. He lays down on their bed and plays on his phone. MC, on the other hand went back to placing the lights on their wall. Leo watched; he wore a small smile as he watched them struggled. He then, takes a short video of them. He’ll post it later, but his lover needs help. So, he gets up, takes the lights and hangs in up for them. Leo was standing behind them. When Mc turns around to face him. Leo leans down to steal a kiss. 

“You’re so cute~” He whispers in their ear.  ———————————————————

Sho: 

MC were horribly known to be clumsy. MC’s boyfriend Sho seen it too. He couldn’t help but find it cute. Not only were they clumsy; they were also short. Sho saw they height differences. MC was about 5 something or shorter. Meanwhile, he was a walking 6ft tall. When they held hands, he noticed how small MC’s hands were compared to his. How their arm bend while walking and holding hands with him. When they do the dishes in his truck or kitchen in Vagastorm; he noticed how small they looked. Often, he would place things out of reach. Only to see them reach for it or beg him for help. Some would say it's a power thing. When it’s only because he wants to see them pout cutely as they ask him for help. 

On this day, it was for the same reason. They have woken up in the morning and have planned to make breakfast. It’s going to be pancakes, toast, eggs and bacon. As Sho tells MC the items they need. MC sets off to grab each one. Only problem is, the flour is too high for them to reach. They stretch their arm out to reach but couldn’t. Then they tried again on their tippy toes. No luck, discouraged, they begun to feel annoyed and frustrated.  

They looked over to Sho. His back was turned to them as he sets out the things. He needs to make the food. Mc walks over to him and tugs on his apron lightly.  

“Huh? What up?” He asked, he fought back the grin. Sho knew what they needed but played it off. Mc looks up towards him and held a sulked look. 

“I tried reaching for the flour. But I can’t, it’s too far up...” They pointed to the flour on the high shelf. Sho chuckled and rubbed their head.  

“Don’t worry, I’ll grab it.” He got the flour and sets down on the counter table. After mixing all of the ingredients for the pancakes. Sho asked them to pour small amounts of the onto the pan. While MC was focused on not spilling it. He had come up behind them to help them. His chest pressed against the back of their head, his hands completely covering theirs, and his arms easily reached around them. To Mc, it was like Sho was one giant teddy bear. Though, he wasn’t buffy like Alan. He was still showing off his well-toned muscles. 

It made them feel safe and warm. So, Mc leaned against him, resting their head on his chest. They felt him chuckled, Mc looked up towards him and Sho had leaned down to kiss them. 

This caused them to blush, using their sleeve to hide their blush from him. 

“Too cute to handle” Sho told himself.  ——————————————————-

Alan: 

It took a while for Alan and MC to make it official. Alan is an awkward giant, who is extremely strong. His height alone is enough to intimated just about anyone. Now, that he has a romantic partner. He starts to realize how tiny they were when standing next to him or in front of him. It wasn’t like he noticed that much when he first met them. He towers over most people on campus. Yet, when he pays a lot of attention to his lover. Alan couldn’t help but feel more protective over them.  

Physical touch was hard on Alan. He craved to touch his partner. Not in a sexual intimate way. More in a romantic intimate way. One time they compared hands with one another. MC asked if it would be okay to compare sizes. Confused and cautious, he slowly gave them his hand. MC lay his hand on their thigh with the back of his hand faced down. MC then placed their hand on top of his. Their hand felt soft and soothe compared to his rough working hand. Alan, admired their hand as Mc takes their thumb, gently rubs his palm. They giggled and placed their other thumb on his palm. Both, gently and slowly massaging his palm. 

“Hehehe, I’ll need both to massage your hand.” They told him as they looked into his eyes. Their touch was delicate as a warm embrace. Every time they held hands. His heart beats faster, his face grew warm, and his hands began to feel wet with sweat.  

That’s not the only time his heart beats faster. When they first cuddled together, after watching a movie. They rested next to him with their head on his chest. His arms gently wrapped around them was they snuggled closer to him. In his eyes, it was like a child cuddling next to their favorite giant teddy bear. Alan smiled at the silly, but cute idea. Before his tiredness catches up to him. He whispers softly to MC, “I love you,” and pressed a tender kiss on the crown of their head, then fall into a peaceful slumber.  ——————————————————

Jin:

MC and Jin have a special type of relationship. This isn’t the typical, shy MC with a cold king type of man. No, these two bicker and tease a lot. What about? Mc’s height and of course MC insults Jin back. Jin loves to tease his partner. It was always about that cute and flustered face they make. Once MC was tasked to reach something from a high shelf. They were asked to get it for Tohma. Jin, so happens to be walking by to see his lover. Up on their tippy toes, trying to reach the book. 

“Need help?” Jin asked as he leans again the wall with his arms crossed. MC looked back over their shoulder to see their boyfriend smirking at them. This irked them, annoyed by that handsomely smirk. They huffed and told him no. 

Jin watched as they struggled to reach the book. MC as stubborn and hot headed as they can be. They started to use the bottom shelf as a stool or latter. They placed their foot on the next one to climb higher. Jin tsked and walked towards them. “Idiot, get down from there.” 

“Almost got it.” They stated as their arm stretched to reach for the book. The shelf began to shake as they move higher and higher to reach. When they got close to grabbing the book. Jin had physically picked them up and set them onto the floor. He grabbed the book for them.  

“Tsk, don’t do that again.” He told them sternly. As he holds out the book to them. He gently bops them in the head with the book.

MC pouted and complained, Jin tsked again and rolled his eyes. Once Mc stopped, the room was quiet, they then walked close to Jin, grabbing him by his tie and pulled him down. Gently placing a sweet kiss on the cheek. Once they were finished, they quickly ran to Tohma to give him the book. 

“Tsk, Idiot you couldn’t give me an actual kiss.” He smirked with his cheeks slightly red.

———————————————————

Lyca: 

Lyca isn’t good with human like things. Mainly because he doesn’t understand them. So, to help him understand more. MC decided to show him movies. They were slice of life type of movies. Whenever he had questions, MC would answer. Though, when it comes to romance movies. Lyca was completely lost. Why would anyone do that kind of stuff? The kissing, hugging, holding hands, dancing in the rain, piggyback rides, sleeping next to one another and etc. He didn’t get it; he was told to keep distant from girls. Not because they gross or awful. It's not like cooties were a real thing. Though, he probably believes in them.  

“Because they are making memories Lyca. Sweet and intimate things are often memorizing. They make feel light and free when you are with the right one. They can also make you feel safe. Many people want to feel that way. Loved, cared, admired, protected, safe and warm. Or maybe they want someone who understands them. Someone to be their ride or die. There’re many forms of love, many ways to express it. Maybe one day when you find the one, you’ll get it.” 

Little did Mc know, he knows he found the one, it was them. After watching the movies, Lyca would ask them if they can act out certain scenes. The dancing in the rain, hugging, holding hands, and piggyback rides. 

It started with dancing in the rain. It was at Jabberwock, Towa made it rain but it wasn’t thundering. So, he asked them to dance like in the movies. He was blunt, but shy about it. But they danced, MC taking the lead by slowly moving around while holding his hand and waist. Then it was the piggyback rides. Since MC was tiny compared to him. That makes them lighter to hold. So, they jumped on his back and ran with them on his back. They laughed as his playfully twirl and jumped around. Then they held hand while watching a movie. This time it was a scary movie. They cuddled closely to his side as a scary scene played. One arm wrapped around them easily. Lyca noticed how tiny their hand is, he smiled without them knowing. Pulling them closer to him as if he was protecting them from the scary monster on the screen. 

 Once MC stayed over and Lyca handed a shirt to them. It was his shirt. They put on the shirt and walked out of the bathroom to show him. The shirt swallowed them. It was huge on them, but he found it endearing. As time goes by, they began to act more as a couple. MC shared deep feelings for Lyca, but Lyca fell for them harder. He wanted to act out more of these scenes. But as a real couple.

———————————————————

Jiro: 

When Mc was with Jiro.  In this case, they got hurt. While sniffling and pouting they walked up to Jiro and asked for help. Jiro set them down on the table and pulled one of their knee length socks down to uncover the scrap. They had accidently slipped outside and cut their knee on the cement pathway. It had rained prior to that day. So, there he was to prevent germs and dirt from infecting the wound. As they sat on the table. Jiro grabbed the cotton swab, water, carbon peroxide and a band-aid. He bends down to their knee and began to clean the dirt off first. Then he took the cotton swab and dabbed it with the peroxide. He gently soothes them and told them that it’ll sting a bit. 

He began to place the cotton swab on their knee to kill all infection and germs. Once he was finish, he placed a band aid on it. He remains on the ground bent down to their knee. He spoke quietly to them. Telling them that they are okay now. Jiro then picks them up and set them down on the floor. MC has calmed down from the pain. Jiro turns around to grab a sucker for them. Unfortunately, this caused Jiro to elbow them on the forehead. They groan in pain as Jiro didn't realize he what he had done. He heard them groan. But thought it was something else. He turns around and finds them holding their forehead. 

“What’s wrong? Headache?” He asked. MC glared at him as they tell him. 

“You elbowed me in the forehead.” They explained. 

“Oh, sorry about that.” He hands them the sucker and picks them up in his arm. 

“J-Jiro! What are you doing?” They were shocked by his action. He lightly chuckled as he brings them into a kiss to make it up to them. Due to the height differences, it is easier for him to pick them up to give them a kiss. That way, he wouldn’t open up any of his scars when he bends down.  Plus, he gets to see them all red when he picks them up. But when he kisses them, he can feel them melt in his arms. It was a sight to see in his eyes. His cute little lover, sweetly moved by him. 

---------------------------------------------------

(unedited)

So sorry this took me a long time. I know I said was going to post this last week. But when I got to the last 3. I couldn't write for them because I didn't want to write the same thing over and over again. So. I was really struggling with ideas. I do, however hoped this is good enough for you all. Please leave a like, comment, or reblog this. Reblogging posts helps a lot. Thank you kindly for your love and support.

[definitelynotafurinasimp]

Them finding you asleep in public

characters: Fu Xuan / Herta / Himeko / Kafka / March 7th / Natasha / Pela / Qingque / Serval / Tingyun x gn!reader (separate)

warnings: none

a/n: The urge to write a lot more than 1 or 2 paragraphs for some characters was really strong, but I managed it because I am a man of dedication, focus and sheer will… 

that and because I knew this would take far too long if I didn’t contain myself.

Also, there are some characters I still don’t know too much about, so if I got something wrong about their personalities, then I’m sorry

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Fu Xuan

Did you have no idea how stupid you looked while sleeping like this in public? If anyone else found you like this, they’d take you for a lazy bum with no shame, but luckily for you, Fu Xuan knew you well enough to know that at least the first part would be a misconception. Nevertheless you looked stupid. Stupid and a little bit cute. So stupid and a little bit cute in fact that she couldn’t stop herself from pulling out her phone and snapping a picture of you, only for the flash she forgot to turn off to wake you up, causing you to slowly look up at her while rubbing your eyes, in turn causing the Master Diviners face to heat up.

“D-Don’t fall asleep during working hours! …what am I going to do with you..?”

Herta

Sleeping people normally were none of Herta’s concern, they were neither interesting to study, nor entertaining enough to waste her precious time on them. But considering how much of a help you were with her research, it would have been rude not to spare you from the embarrassment of being seen like this by a whole lot of other people. It also helped that she was just about to start an experiment and needed a suitable guinea pig helper.

“Wakey-Wakey. How terrible to be bored enough to fall asleep even though you’re living on my space station. Lucky you! I have just the job for you”

Himeko

Himeko was a researcher first and foremost and one of the most important tasks of any respectable researcher was to observe. It was the first step towards putting together a scientific theory and thus something she was all too familiar with. So whenever she found you sound asleep on one of the astral express’ couches, she did what she did best: observe. Was it with a cup of coffee in hand or some random book she got her hands on.For whatever reason watching you sleep put her mind at ease, like watching one of those cat videos March liked to show around to the rest of the crew. To varying degrees of excitement.

“Theory: the couch is even more comfortable when tired”, Himeko stated to herself before pressing her hand against the couch, feeling it before letting out a small yawn, covering her mouth with her free hand before nodding to herself. “Theory seems possible. I’ll need to test it more often”, she spoke while slowly putting her head on the cushions, tiredness, no matter how much coffee she drank, rolling over Himeko, only for her to quickly nod off herself, her head not far from your own.

Kafka

Truth be told, Kafka would have preferred you were awake. There weren’t many things one could do with a sleeping person, but as waking you up was out of the question, other ideas quickly began swirling through her mind, until finally, her brain decided on one.

Putting on one of her favorite lipsticks, she gave you a quick peck on the cheek, making sure to leave an imprint of her lips, only to find herself unsatisfied with the results. If you were lucky you’d notice it once you went to the bathroom in the morning, by which time you would have already passed the rest of your crewmates, and while she doubted that they’d have any reaction to it, one imprint would have certainly been enough to make you embarrassed about it.

That being said, adding one or two more couldn’t hurt.

March 7th

Seeing you sleeping in such a public place like the parlor of the astral express wasn’t something March got to see every day and while the urge to take a picture of you with her camera was compelling, she knew that there had to be made preparations beforehand. Before long, March pulled out a marker before carefully drawing a silly mustache and monocle on your face, making sure not to wake you up in the process. You were probably going to figure out the culprit relatively quickly once you looked in the mirror, but as long as she got a silly photo, March didn’t really care.

And a silly photo she got.

Natasha

You were always trying your best to keep whatever child was currently bedbound inside her clinic entertained, never leaving their side until they had long fallen asleep. And while Natasha appreciated it, the sight of you and the children causing her heart to melt each time, you fell asleep while leaned against the bed more than once.

In such moments Natasha would have loved to carry you to bed, the floor being a lot colder than a blanket, but that would only wake you from your dreams, something she didn’t want to be responsible for after seeing you take such good care of others. And so all she was able to do was cover you with a blanket of your own before making a mental note to repay you the following day

Pela

While you always indulged Pela in her hobbies, her requests of painting a picture of you always fell on deaf ears, you always finding a reason or excuse for her not to, too embarrassed by the idea of being painted. So finding you asleep like this was like a godsent. Locking the room to make sure you didn’t slip away before she got her notebook and pens from her room, Pela made sure to return quickly before beginning while you were still asleep.

After all, what you didn’t know couldn’t hurt you.

Qingque

While she had been sent to find you by Fu Xuan herself, you having reportedly been sent to get something from the abandoned storage, only to not return, her boss ought to have thought twice before picking Qingque for the task of retrieving you. So when she eventually found you, having nodded off on an old couch in one of the corners of the building, the prolific slacker couldn’t help but notice how comfortable it looked. And while many would have felt ashamed for even thinking about sitting down next to you and closing their eyes for five minutes while on work, Qingque had no such inhibitions.

It didn’t sound like Fu Xuan needed you that urgently, so it wasn’t like she was going to get fired for this… probably.

Serval

When Serval found you slumped over one of the desks in her workshop, passed out from what seemed to be exhaustion as the mechanism you had tried solving these past couple of days lay next to you, not much closer to completion than it seemed yesterday, she couldn’t help but smile at your dedication to the craft, or so was the reason she would have given if she wasn’t having difficulties retaining her composure at the sight of your sleeping face

A part of her wanted to squeeze you till you popped, or at the very least displayed signs of doing so, finding what she saw in front of her as adorable as a puppy, yet she decided against as much as touching you. Neither wishing to wake you up nor to accidentally breaking one of your bones. She needed you in her audience after all.

Tingyun

If you had been Ying Juan, Tingyun’s next course of action would have been as clear as the sky on a sunny day. Snap a few pictures to sell to all kinds of Fangirls and make a quick buck. But considering you weren’t anywhere as popular and she had her qualms about the idea of anyone else getting to see you sleeping this peacefully, her conscience beat out the businesswoman inside of her.

That being said, just because she wasn’t going to let anyone else see you like this, didn’t mean she was going to let this opportunity for a nice photo slip, pulling out her phone as taking a picture in one swoop before putting it back and once again walking out of the room, making sure to close the door behind her.

[thelosers-club]

HELLO so I heard people talkimg about Stan having OCD and I just really really needed to clear up misconceptions about OCD and Stans character so if you like stan uris or mental health studies at all this might be fun to read for you

none of this is like drama relatef at all it was just a fun little thing i wanted to do so i could learn about mental health and my favorite characters at the same time

sorry if none of this makes sense i wrote it all in one go at 2am (feel free to add any info you want or clear up anything i might've explained poorly)

This started because I was sick anf tired of people saying stan has ocd because that just doesnt make sense towards any canon material (If you want to headcanon him as it, that’s fine, but please read through this so you can do it more accurately) and it seemed to be just a dramatic stereotyping of what OCD is.

After doing research, reading the literal DSM’s sections on OCD, I’ve come to the conclusion that: I was right, Stan very very much does NOT have OCD.

People said he has it because in IT 2017, he makes sure to clean the windows properly, and in the book he has germaphobia. That’s about it. I looked at other things I tried to find as evidence for him having OCD, but I couldn’t find anything else that fit. And this is not a case of opinion because I like to be as absolutely objective as possible in these types of things and see no point in anything otherwise

So anyway, I’ll try to put this all simply because if I get too complicated I’m gonna get lost and this will turn into a rant on literally anything because currently I’m unmedicated for my adhd

Why does Stan not have OCD? To put it simply, he does not fit any of the criteria. I do think he has germaphobia, but I believe that to be part of his autism (as it’s very, very common in autism) and/or anxiety.

To delve into that a liittle bit more, the OCD criteria is this:

A. obsessions or compulsions, such as recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, images, that are, at some point, intrusive and inappropriate and cause distress. the thoughts, impulses, or images are not simply excessive worries about real life problems. the person attempts to ignore/suppress such thoughts as to neutralize them with some other thought or action.

Thinking back on the book, which is what I like to adhere to as much as possible, Stan does not have these thoughts recurrently enough that it is affecting his life. I can see that he has a fear of dirt and ick which sometimes spikes when he’s stressed, but otherwise he is able to go through his day to day life easily enough with these thoughts.

Other diagnostic criteria to fill up the cracks in this is that the obsessions or compulsions must be time consuming (taking up more than 1 hour a day) or significantly interfere with the person’s normal routine and functioning, or social activities or relationships. Stan is not shown doing things like this repeatedly and, in my mind when I try to follow stephen king’s writing and ideas as much as I possibly can, I do not think he would if the book were longer either.

But, I very much think these traits are there; And they fit perfectly into autism traits. I think right now is a good time to note that autism gets mixed up as OCD quite a bit because they have overlapping traits.

Now to defend my case for why he might have Autism;

He acts to put it quite simply, insanely fucking autistic. Alllll the fucking time. That man is incredibly autistic there is no denying this

His whole character is set on the fact that he is a very black and white person, very very rigid, and you can’t deny it because he literally killed himself over finding out he was wrong about the guidelines and rules he made up for the world. he is so autistic

A common trait of autism is having an abnormal way of speaking, like a weird rhythm, and Stan’s tone WAS described as pleasant but it was also described as abnormal and such..

Look at how much he likes birds. it feels a little obvious to me here lol

the meltdowns he’s had because, again, his routine and rules were interrupted

He was insanely good at math/accounting which I think also has to do with the need for rules he has, math is ruled and never changes 4+4 will always be 8 yada yada

Also stan just in my headcanon world has very very limited romantic and platonic feelings and I think thats common in autistic folks because we’re so different from other people

anyways im tired and i think you all get it by now if youve watched any of the movies or read the book Stan acts quite autistic. i swear im not self projecting pleas

[forthegothicheroine]

How Other Great Detectives Would Solve the Riddler Murders

A series I do sometimes. This is based on The Batman (2022). I will be assuming that none of these universes have already established superheroes and supervillains unless it's also in that canon.

Sam Vimes: The Watch as a whole might solve the case, but Vimes is going to be in the wrong headspace. Carcer was bad enough as playful serial killers go, but a serial killer who liked Sam Vimes and wanted to be his best buddy? I think that would make Vimes need his own stay in Arkham.

Sam and Peter: This one is my favorite, it works so horribly well! The Riddler, having been a huge fan of American Vandal, addresses his messages to these two teenage goobers (and it is in fact in the form of vandalism.) Selina ends up saving their lives due to secondhand embarassment when she sees them trying to interview Carmine Falcone about whether he was on any Gothamite subreddits. (Oswald Cobblepot was happy to talk to them about it!) It all comes down to whether the pressure of stopping a serial killer causes the boys to bloom or break, and I'd like to hope it would be the former.

Phryne Fisher: I totally get why the Riddler would fixate on and write letters to Phryne, she's a very good person to fixate on and write letters to! (I've often said she's like if Catwoman were Batman.) Phryne sleeps with Selina and gets surprisingly flirtatious with Oswald. Having already taken down a cocaine ring, she knows enough to honeypot her way into the lower floor of the Iceberg, and very narrowly avoids death at the hands of Falcone. She can solve riddles easily enough, though I don't know if she'd put them together in time to stop the flooding of the city. I'll call this success with a similar casualty rate to Batman's.

Sammy Keyes: This one is a real dick move on the Riddler's part. Addressing your serial killer messages to a tween girl who'd been involved in catching other criminals, thus revealing she's living in an apartment illegally and potentially getting her taken away by social services? It's absolutely something he would do to make a broader social point, but still it's a serious dick move. I think Sammy is way out of her depth here but I want her to succeed because I love the idea of subsequent Sammy Keys books having recurring characters that include the one cop slightly sympathetic to her, the junior high mean girl, and the serial killer who sends her cryptic letters from incarceration.

L: I just know that somehow this is going to involve Edward Nasthon, Forensic CPA, being on the team to catch the Riddler and him and L having a vaguely but unconsumatedly homoerotic dance between friend and enemy. I don't think he'd want to kill L, though, since he'd rather have him alive to acknowledge him as the smartest coolest guy ever, so I'll give L the edge here.

Jane Marple: No matter how I twist it, I just can't see a scenario in which the Riddler would send serial killer messages to Miss Marple. Instead, I think Edward Nashton would just meet her at a tea shop, they'd have a friendly conversation about the novel she's reading, and then she'd call up the police and tell them she's found the Riddler.

Columbo: This isn't a great setup for Columbo, since his method of detection is all about catching people in their lies, which is hard to do with a killer who is a nobody and who keeps to the shadows. He would definitely put Falcone away in the course of the investigation, but I don't know if that's enough to stop the grander scheme in play. If he does catch him, though, he would stop the flood because Edward Nashton would be SO vulnerable to casual conversations about hypothetical approaches to crime.

Philip Marlowe: I think Marlowe would kind of work his way backwards here. He'd get deep into the grime of Gotham, end up stopping a plot to flood the city, follow that up by an investigation into the mob and unconsummated sexual tension with Selina, just barely escape getting murdered by Falcone, get hit on the head by Cobblepot and have hallucinations involving penguins with umbrellas, then finally catch Edward Nashton, the petty little nobody who killed people to make himself feel like somebody.

Dale Cooper: This is a good case for Cooper, lots of subplots that lead into other subplots, nothing overtly supernatural but a vague general feeling of curses and doom. He would find deeper meaning in all the coded riddles that pointed to dark truths about the universe, topped off with dreams of cats and penguins doing his taxes. I sure hope the Riddler is willing to wait for all that before flooding the city, because Coop works at his own damn pace.

Hercule Poirot: I can see Poirot fitting in to the art deco Gotham of the animated series, but the modernist urban grime of the 2021 film is viscerally unpleasant to imagine him in. He could solve the riddles and aid the police, certainly, but more than any of the other detectives, my mind is rebelling against my attempts to imagine these people in the same room at the same time.

Sam Spade: Selina Kyle hires him to help get her friend out of a jam at the same time as Cobblepot hires him to get a few murders discreetly solved before the cops get too nosy, and then Falcone tries to have him whacked when he gets too close on both accounts. The Riddler would take him completely by surprise, but I'm having so much fun imagining Edward Nashton looking up at him with big Peter Lorre eyes and babbling about what crime really means that I'll allow him to at least stick around for that. I think he can get out of this still alive, but it would be a close call.

Kinsey Milhone: Why her, she wonders? Sure, she's a detective, but she's hardly a household name. She goes through all her files to see if this could be connected to anything she's ever worked on, and lo and behold, back when she was an insurance fraud investigator, they always worked with a forensic CPA named Edward Nashton. Now, what could have ever become of that guy...

Sherlock Holmes: Sherlock Holmes either immediately solves this or fails utterly, and it all comes down to how quickly you think he could decode things using a computer.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Who do you think are the ten core characters of the series? Is there a difference for you between importance to narrative/narrative roles and regularity in appearance for you?

Yeah, appearance count and narrative role aren't the same thing. Like, a character can be super plot-relevant or relevant to the themes but not have much on-page time.

And it's a damn hard question. Like, HP has so many characters, but a lot of them are like, random NPCs, so let's see if I can do this without bias for my favorites (since the bias is here). The order isn't necessarily in the right order, but it's the order in which they came to my mind.

The first 3 core characters for the plot/narrative are obvious:

1. Harry Potter

2. Voldemort

3. Dumbledore

I think Harry is an obvious choice as the main character and narrator. I don't think he needs further explanation.

Dumbledore and Voldemort are examples of characters who technically don't have as much on-page time but are so incredibly integral to the narrative. I mean, in book 7, Voldemort is barely there, and Dumbledore is dead, but both of them are still at the helm of the narrative.

So, yeah, these gotta be the top 3.

The next 3, I think, are:

4. Ron Weasley

5. Hermione Granger

6. Severus Snape

Like, Ron and Hermione are Harry's best friends. They are super integral to the plot and narrative of the books and appear more than any other character besides Harry. Ron represents the wizarding world, he is the main member of Harry's surrogate family (the Weasleys) so he's so incredibly integral. Hermione is the brilliant muggleborn, she is eleven both for her active part in the story and also for what she is in this world with the blood status tensions.

Snape, while not appearing as much, is instrumental to the narrative as a whole and to how the plot goes down. Snape, as the double-triple agent that he is, is also pretty representative of the story's themes of love and sacrifice, which supports his narrative importance.

Then, the final 4 to reach 10 are a bit of a struggle for me, and I feel my biases rearing their head, but I'd go:

7. Sirius Black

Sirius is the first real parental figure who's competent and whom Harry truly trusts. Sirius' existence is both important to the themes (the black sheep of the Black family) and more so to Harry's personal arc. His death and Harry's grief over it are so prevalent in Harry's story far into Deathly Hallows. Also, he's relevant to the Secret Keeper plot and James' and Lily's deaths.

8. Reberus Hagrid

Hagrid is the person who introduces so many of the ideas we know of as part of the Wizarding World. He's Harry's (and ours) first guide to the magical world and remains instrumental in getting Harry and Co useful information throughout the books.

9. Peter Pettigrew

I mean, none of us would be here without this rat. He got James and Lily killed, he resurrected Voldemort, and he then accidentally saved Harry at Malfoy Manor. He's surprisingly important.

Number 10 was the hardest, and I considered a few characters, but I decided to go with:

10. Lily Potter

Lily has little to no page time. We don't know about her as much as we know about James, but I think she's more integral to Harry's story. She represents love strong enough to rebound a killing curse. She saved Harry, and her sacrifice protects him quite literally throughout the books. It's why he defeats Quirrell in book 1, it caused Voldemort to keep him alive long enough to escape in book 4, and it's potentially why he came back after dying. Lily and her death are big themes in the books for what it represents and what she represents more than just her as a character.

Both Lily and James haunt Harry's narrative, but I feel Lily does so a bit more. There's a reason "you have your mother's eyes" is emphasized so much. Harry at his core, is more similar to Lily than James. That and the love Lily represents are core aspects of the story.

So, these are my picks, I tried to be as objective as I could, 🤷🏻‍♀️

[zhongyeet-me-to-the-moon]

Diluc x Reader(or can be more characs)

Where they find reader crying over a book and I really wanna see how they’ll react

It’s just such a cute little scenario I think about everyday whenever I read some of my books

This is hella cute tho. I to, am a book cryer and I have a lot of feelings about this w a lot of characters.

Catching you crying over a book

pairings: Diluc, Al haitham, Wanderer, Kazuha, Arataki itto, x gn! reader

type: bullet points

warnings: none

masterlist --> x.

Rules --> x.

Diluc

After a long day and him telling you to go ahead you found yourself in your usual spot, a loveseat that Diluc got for you to be placed near the fireplace.

It was another night of "one more chapter", the previous all ending leaving you needing to know what happens next, and at the pinnacle, Diluc finally come in, quietly just in case you did fall asleep.

But instead, he comes in right as you shot up from the chair, a first it was cause he thought he scared you, instead finds you so engrossed in the book you didn't even hear the slight noise he made from getting scared at the sudden jump.

Instead, he sees you tearing up and pacing a bit, fingers already on the next page waiting to turn it as quick as possible. He chuckles a bit, trying not to interrupt. The pacing stops at a particularly strong point on the page, tears freely falling and no sign of you trying to wipe them as you read on.

Goes to get some sleepy-type tea for the both of you.

Sets the tea down on the table next to the love seat is when you finally notice him, jumping a bit at him suddenly appearing in front of you.

"Ah- hey, Diluc! When, when did you get in?" You quickly wipe your tears, hoping not to worry him over something a little embarrassing to cry over.

"Oh not too long ago, " He lies a bit, smiling knowingly as you not so subtly try and hide the wiping of tears.

The usual routine of asking about each other's days begin, till it finally gets to your book and you're eyes sparkle when he finally asks about it.

Loves listening to you retell the events with such excitement, and thinks it's the cutest thing.

Al Haitham

Now Al Haitham isn't one to indulge in non-fiction books. He didn't see the point in them.

The key point is didn't.

But seeing how animated you get when you're face full in a book, might just give him at least one reason to like them.

He can't work when you read though, cause he easily gets distracted by you're ever-changing face and the tiny mumbling comments you make each time.

When you're quiet is when he's actually concerned. Looking up though and seeing you tear up, oh boi.

He's shocked the first time it happens because he can't really wrap his head around crying over something that isn't real so he asks if you're ok thinking it has to be something else. When you tell him about a part in the book it does nothing to quell his confusion, but he is relieved it is nothing serious.

After a while, he finds it really cute, especially cause you don't notice him watching you when he's right in front of you.

Especially more when you do notice and immediately try and wipe the tears, you get a small chuckle out of him every time.

He won't say anything, just shake his head with a smile and goes back to work.

Wanderer

This man will not admit he likes non-fiction books, and will always tease you for being so expressive while reading them.

"You've read that book a thousand times, how can you cry at the same part every time?"

"Shush you, I like this part is all."

Does love as you try and justify yourself by retelling the events in the book, you're defensive voice exclaiming "How could you not tear up?!" as you talk so passionately is his favorite pass time.

Any time he catches you crying over a book he just shakes his head and goes on with his day, less you tell his to shush up cause "it's just getting good." and he's interrupting it.

Quietly hands you a handkerchief in passing to do his own things, and a glass of water to keep you hydrated.

Kazuha

This man does not say anything for a while.

Thinks you're the most beautiful when reading, and even gets his hand on a kamera to take pictures while you do. Puts every one in a journal with little hearts and poems written around it.

After pretends to walk in like he just got home, kissing you on your cheek.

Definitely loves reading with you so as soon as you see him you scooch over and let him snuggle close while you catch him up on what's happening.

Buys lots of books of many genres just to see you're reaction to all of them. He's the best at picking out books to read. Hands down.

You'll apologize for getting all sappy over something silly like a book and he just chuckles lovingly.

"What's so embarrassing about enjoying something so much it moves you to tears? it's certainly one of the most beautiful things about you I think."

Arattaki Ito

Let's face it, this man does not read like he should. Nothing past reading for kids or signs at food stands at least.

Loves you're attention but knows to be respectful when you want to read, so instead distracts himself with other things in the mean time.

Will however forget the reason he left was to let you read. And this man does not come home quiet.

The type of guy to immediately come in, no greeting, and sometimes forgets to take his shoes off cause he just has to tell you about what just happened.

"BABE! You are not going to believe this, me and the gang just- wait why are you crying?"

Gets real serious at first thinking something happened, especially because his loudness always makes you jump no matter how much time has passed being with this man.

After you tell him you were just crying about something that happened in the book he lets out a sigh of relief along with a quick "don't scare me like that." before immediately asking what happened in the book that led to the crying.

This man isn't big on reading but if it catches his interest is more than willingly hop in your lap and let you read to him the rest of the way.

[alexitheslayer02]

Fandoms: Please Read, I will rant a bit, but this is also a thank you to Lies of P and Jttw fans/fandoms. Be patient with me because I do go on a tangent hhh

So far, the fandoms I felt the most comfortable around have been the Lies of P fandom and the Jttw fandoms. I have not felt unwelcome with these fandoms, and that is a first. For context. I have seen Bnha (or Mha, aka. My Hero Academia), Creepypasta, ASOIAF/GoT. [Note: I'm a former member of Quotev, and I was young when I started interacting with fandoms. I was like, eleven to twelve, and not supposed to be on the internet at that time] Now, I know people have to know about some of these fandoms. Some are fairly infamous. My experiences with the ones mentioned above, specifically bnha and creepypasta, have lead me to say things like "I am a fan of the media, but I am NOT part of the fandom", because I never really felt welcome in the fandom, OR, people assumed things about BECAUSE I was in the fandom. For example. Bnha. Now, I hate confrontations. I hate conflict, and I just don't like to get involved in it. And I honestly could not care less what people ship because it's none of my business, that's their business and it's fictional characters. Bnha had the BIGGEST ship war I have ever seen when i got into the fandom. The war of Bakudeku was intense and brutal, to the point where I was like "fuck this shit I'm out". Cause some folks got mad at me for trying to play Switzerland.

Now, Creepypasta. This was my first fandom, and the people I met and interacted with were, thankfully, the chill half of the fandom. The casual enjoyers of the stories. This was during my phase when I was really into horror. I still am in all honesty. I watched horror films a lot. My dad is a big fan of horror. Specifically, my first slasher film was the og A Nightmare on Elm Street. Then my first paranormal film was The Conjuring. So there we go. Now, my problem here was, I was chill. I just found the stories fascinating as an aspiring writer. The characters were interesting to me at the time. My favorite was Candy Pop and BEN Drowned. What happened was people harassed me for being a fan. Cause apparently the fandom is infamous for being, fanatically, unhinged. These strangers, whom I never interacted with, claimed I was a "murder simp" because my account was BEN Drowned themed at that time. I would never simp after a murderer. I know the difference between right and wrong. But apparently, these people were so convinced of my supposed guilt, that they reported me, and I had to create a new account on Quotev, (you can join Q without an email). I never went Creepypasta themed again, because I was scared of getting harassed again, and I almost lost complete contact with my girlfriend (we were only friends back then, again, I was twelve at the time).

In the more recent months. ASOIAF has been frustrating to me. It has amazing fanart. I adore the series. My favorite characters are Robb, Arya, and Jon. I fucking hate so many of the fans though. Specifically how they talk about GRRM when it comes to Winds of Winter, like... I get it. You want to read the book, some of you have been waiting a long ass time. But as an aspiring writer, and someone who tries to be a decent person, it deeply bothers how they treat the man. WRITING IS HARD. The man was depressed because he had friends die back to back and had to rewrite the entire book. And I doubt anyone saying "he'll die before he finishes the series" is helping anything! Patrick Rothfuss' fans are another fanbase I have a grudge against for how they treat the author, and I have not even read Mr. Rothfuss' books. That man is a manic depressive and a perfectionist, yet fans keep shit talking him for not completing his book. WTF people, what is wrong with these so called 'fans'? Shit talking is not gonna make people write faster, in fact, if I was the writer anyway, I would be less inclined to write with those people on my case, I would get depressed! *cough*

Anyway.... I digress. I have problems with ASOIAF fans. SO what was the point of me bringing those other fandoms up? Because Lies of P and Black Myth Wukong fandoms have been so nice and so chill with their own brand of chaos that is honestly beautiful. Literally when it comes to the fanart cause my LORD these two fandoms in particular have some GORGEOUS fanart, I absolutely ADORE these artists! And like, they've been so welcoming as well. While I have not directly interacted with a lot of Lies of P fans, since it was before I officially started blogging, but I met some really nice people in comments. As for jttw, when I started blogging my reading progress with Journey to the West, I had a really fun conversation with someone who read it before. And when I saw a particularly gorgeous piece of fanart (it was for lmk, which I still have yet to watch), and the artist and I had a fun conversation as well about art and the show in question. WHICH, if I can find it, I will watch it with my little brother. I am intrigued because of what the artist said, I also talked to my girlfriend about it, and she said it was good. So don't worry lmk fandom, I'm gonna be on it soon. But yes. The Lies of P, and Jttw fandoms (including Lmk and Black Myth: Wukong, cause it all sort of merged into a beautiful amalgamation XD) have been real nice to me as far as first impressions go, and it is such a huge relief to me. This is one of the few times I can say I actually feel part of the fandom instead of a "fucking tourist" (as the Dragon Age devs would call me -_-)

Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you to these wonderful, chaotic people ^^ Some honorable mentions to certain people I talked to. (@un-dermask by the way is the artist in question. I highly recommend checking them out, they have some beautiful artwork for lmk, as well as an interesting au for the undertale fans)

(@weaverworks is the kind soul whom I spoke to while blogging my Journey to West progress. DON'T WORRY, I will continue to read it. I just have some work to get done. Though I don't guarantee I will blog it as much as I did yesterday. We'll see.)

[especiallythewomenandthechildren]

As If Destiny (part eight) 🌹

Part Seven 🌹

Warnings: Parent death, sibling death, death and brutality (it is the hunger games after all) characters may be ooc. Reader may not be your fav this part. I read the book a while ago but don't really remember much of Snows way of thinking (I mean I know its toxic and insane but yk the other things) so I will mostly be basing off the film and my own thoughts. Also I can't spell for the life of me so be prepared for bad spelling and grammar. Enjoy loves!

⋆✦⋆⋇⋆✦⋆⋇⋆✦⋆⋇⋆✦⋆⋇⋆✦⋆⋇⋆✦⋆⋇⋆✦⋆

The air of the station was stale, as if taking the simplest of breaths would cost a significant amount of energy. It felt as though even the bugs buzzing around in the spring weather were flying in slow motion. Maybe it really was the air, or more likely, the atmosphere of your mind.

You felt nauseous and dizzy at the arguments that split your soul. The tributes were to arrive today, naturally, Jessup with them. Were you here to give the best first impression or to size him up? A part of you wanted to save him from the horrors, but the lately very loud voice has been telling you that he deserved it. Especially a boy from District Twelve, around the age of those who murdered your brother in the dense woods of the small district.

Your long time waiting for the train arrival was spent trying to settle that internal struggle to no avail. You were staring straight ahead onto the empty tracks when something felt different. The peacekeepers were still stoic, tracks still echo-filled at even the slightest noise. But a slight breeze was felt behind you. When you turned around, that breeze of fresh air happened to be a certain blonde with irresistible eyes.

He was in the rouge academy uniform, as were you, and he held a pristine white rose in his hand. He had clearly expected the station to be empty, so the sight of your drained eyes made him suck in a breath.You let out a tired laugh at his appearance.

"So are we allowed to be here, or are we both going to receive whatever nightmare Highbottom has set up for us?"

Coryo walked to stand next to you as he retorted back with a sly grin.

"At least we will go through whatever the punishment is together."

"Ah, yes, nothing shakes the trouble duo!"

He took a sideways glance at you as he started chuckling.

"Trouble duo? That's really the best you thought of? I thought you were the poetic one."

He joked at you as you gasped in mock offense.

"I'm sorry, do you have any better names for us?"

Yes. Yes, he did. But none of them had to do with Highbottom or any mocking moniker. His personal favorite was "couple." The others were a bit ambitious and would be used in the far future, such as President and First Lady. Not a bad ring to it. But he wouldn't voice out his desires, even if he was on his death bed. Especially after what happened in that hallway yesterday.

However, you were too busy observing for the upcoming train to notice Coriolanus's gaze. When you turned around, he didn't shift away his gaze.

But you didn't question it. Maybe because it has become familiar and a comfort these past weeks. You had ammunition of reasons such as his hyperobservation to explain these glances. Not a single one of them hit the real reason.

The blonde was fidgeting with the rose slightly, which made a slight laugh creep past your lips. It took him a second to realize the cause, but when he did, he slightly blushed.

"I would have gotten you one too if-uhm, I knew you would be here."

Your lips curved into a shy grin at his flustered words.

"I'm not the one you need to charm, Coryo; you did that a long time ago."

You noticeably were avoiding his eyes, and he let it be because he was quite sure he was turning as red as his uniform.

"Can I ask why you are here, Coryo?"

He seemed a bit taken aback at your sudden question. Of course, he knew the reason he was there: to win the Plinth Prize. To do that, he needed Lucy Gray's trust, and this was just the way to do it. But he feared his reasoning was a bit too harsh. It was the last days of this girl's life, and he was just seeing her as a means to an end. Coriolanus didn't want you to think of him as heartless or worse, that he would be using your trust as a means to an end as well.

So he simply replied that he wished to gain the odd girl's trust, and this seemed like a good way to get a head start. You nodded along, agreeing that she seemed like the character who wouldn't do anything without trust.

Although, your eyes seemed to darken after his reasoning. He couldn't decipher the look completely, but it was clear guilt was a factor.

"Y/N?"

Your faraway eyes and mind locked into his at hearing his soft voice.

"Why are you here?"

You stared at him, slightly getting lost in the ever-shifting color in his eyes. You looked downwards as you breathed out.

"I don't know. I wish I did. Something told me I should come, see him for myself. Maybe it will help clear my thoughts on everything here. And I know a part of me wishes to find something in him to justify his murder."

You bitterly admitted. You were still glanced down when Coriolanus responded.

"This isn't your fault; you know this, right? You didn't choose him, and you didn't make the games."

He let it sink in for a moment, enough for it to visibly break through your guilt-made walls. Coriolanus waited for you to finally regain the will to look up at him.

"And if anyone has reason for the things you are thinking and feeling, it's you. They still want us dead. The Capitol says the war is over when it's far from done. I mean, come on, these kids are the next generation of rebels. It's either them or us."

His tone started out light and soft but quickly turned to stone. You wanted to argue with him, to shout at the top of your lungs that they are innocent and no part of the massacres you suffered. But how could you? How could you fight your exact sentiments?

You knew he was right, no matter how much it hurt your morals. They were old enough to feel fear. Old enough for that fear to become hate. Hate to violence.

And they were old enough to kill. The minimum age for the Reaping was twelve. You and your classmates had the ability to take a life at half that age.

After that, the long-awaited train began pulling into the station. You've only ever seen a train in person once. When you gave miniature hugs to your uncle Averic and freshly fourteen-year-old Octavious.

You were only five at the time, and the upcoming horror of the Dark Days were still a few months away. There were others there saying their goodbyes, but you weren't focusing on them. Or how they began filtering out as the time for departure came closer. You were still clinging onto your older brother's legs as your mother, aunt Fiora, and uncle Averic seemed to be in serious talks.

"Otto?"

The young boy seemed to be trying to listen in to their conversation, and it took a little slap to his leg to get his attention. When his eyes, which were the same shade of yours, landed on your own, they softened from his prior harden state of focus. He knelt down to your height as he turned all his attention on you.

"Why are you leaving?"

The boy had to take a shaky breath. He had slightly hoped you would just accept your mother's reasoning that he "just had to go." But, of course, you, being too attentive and curious for any kid your age, just couldn't let his absence go. In reality, he didn't have to leave. He had forced himself to be involved. It took every stretch of persuasion to convince his uncle to let him come along to what was being described as "a small rebellion."

He wasn't to do anything but take note and follow his uncle's lead. Otto dreamed that within a year, he would be given his own battalion, and the next, be his own commanding general. It was not extremely unusual for a young man of age sixteen or seventeen to be in command. Averic Emberidge was a living example. And like his maternal uncle, Octavious Vaun had great military promise. He had life promise.

He had promise.

And a promise given to his young sister. That he would come back.

Otto achieved his goals of military prowess. But the young man, no matter how skilled or trusted, broke his promise to the person he loved most.

But back then, the promise was fresh and believed to be easy to keep. The platform was empty save for one family by the time your own was forced to part. Your mother and aunt switched between the two members who would be off in District territory. You stood back and watched the goodbyes as a man approached.

He was tall, broad, and commanded the air of the room. As if even the rules of the universe had to bend to his will. He had two children and an older woman trailing behind him. All four had bright and magnetic blue eyes.

The Snows were not easy to miss, not even miles away, as though their powerful aura was felt in all areas of proximity.

He stopped right in front of your mother, who stood in a deep green fashioned vintage day dress. The beautiful woman still looked forward, slightly past her brother's shoulder.

"Cloria. Fiora."

He gave a nod after each name. The former turned to him with those still captivating eyes. The latter rolled her own pair at his presence. He acknowledged your uncle and brother as well, but they would have time for conversation later. They were all to be on campaign together after all.

Crassus and Cloria broke away for a very brief discussion while you still stood a bit away from the group. Your uncle noticed you and your lack of an official goodbye and smiled in invitation. You sprinted into his now-open arms as he spun you around, much to your oblivious enjoyment. When he set you down and grabbed your arms to make you focus on him, his prior smile dissolved into a grave thin line.

"Hey, kid."

Uncle Averic's voice wasn't the joyful one you were used to. You knew then that you needed to listen up and closely.

"I know you are a tough little girl. I saw how you beat up your brother, after all."

You smiled proudly while the aforementioned beaten boy scoffed. He was referring to the past few weeks in which Otto taught you how to fight. It was safe to say he wasn't expecting your level of skill and dedication. The fourteen-year-old just wanted you to have basic defense skills, but your speed of skill accelerated the lessons considerably.

"But y/n, things are going to be a little different now. I need you to watch out for your mom and aunt Fi, okay? I know Rhayen will be there, but you are responsible too. You are smart and strong, kid, just don't be reckless. Your mom doesn't need any more stress."

Your uncle struck his hand out, and you shook it in agreement. It didn't hit your young mind all that you would have to endure to keep this agreement.

Your mother and Crassus seemed to be finishing up talks, so you turned to Otto, who seemed to be holding back tears as the gravity of the situation hit him.

"Hey."

His still-changing voice broke. He scooped you up in his arms as he stared down at you.

"I will write all I can back home, and I'll make special letters just for you, okay? I'll draw out the words for you."

You could read, and at a very accelerated level for a girl your age, but Otto was already missing the days where you would draw out what you were feeling in situations you couldn't speak out loud.

"No! I want words, I can read Otto! I want hard words too!"

He laughed at your little pout of demand. Your determination to push yourself even in that small way was one of the many ways you motivated him throughout the war. Otto knew you were waiting for him, so he rushed to come back. But even his speed could not make him outrun fate.

Your mother had come back and had taken you - begrudgingly - out of her oldest child's arms. You watched them board the train and watched the adults' reactions. Each had a different expression.

The older woman who was with General Snow, who you would eventually call Grandma'am along with her grandchildren, looked proud; she looked overconfident and a bit arrogant. Fiora was on the brink of biting her finger off as she bit nervously at her nails.

And your mother. Her eyes were scanning the train, but they saw two worlds. One where the three men would come back, unscathed and victorious. The other was grim and the unfortunate reality of only the news of their death coming back.

You remember as you scanned the faces, all which were focused on the now-departing train, one was staring back at you. Even all those years ago, Coriolanus was always a face of comfort and reliability. Across the platform, you two bore into the soul of the other, trying to make sense of any of the chaos around them. Your family began walking towards the west exit while his the east.

The distance grew and grew, but so did the intensity of your connected gaze. Neither seemed to want to let go. As if you both knew this would be your last look for three years. The last look as unscathed children.

But those children grew up. And you were back on a train platform with those ever-searching blue eyes. Though, no longer did he search for sense or his father, but now for his ticket out of poverty. A ticket in the form of a fascinating brunette.

He walked towards the now-opening doors of the cattle train. The smell was foul, but you followed him. Some tributes got out, either by their own or forced out. A bat also flew out which you noted. The tributes looked at the Capitol duo with a range from curiosity to murderous intentions. You went down the near entirety of the vehicle the two from District Twelve appeared. Jessup got down first and helped Lucy Gray down by her waist.

You and Coryo sucked in a collective breath. Any last-minute nerves had to silence themselves because it was far too late now to back out.

Jessup immediately noticed you both and sent a glare. He stepped closer to Lucy Gray in protection while she was busy taking in her surroundings. The movement of Jessup and his noticeable stare past her made the girl turn.

She was quite beautiful; the screens didn't do her justice. She had coffee brown eyes, matching colored hair, and clear, tanned skin. But it was her expression that added to her beauty. She was clearly suspicious, to which no one could blame her, but as she raked over both you and Coriolanus's forms, she had a slight grin of curiosity.

It was quite a contrast to her fellow tribute, Jessup. His eyes were sharp, and he was clearly displeased at your presence.

But you cleared your throat anyway, although Coryo beat you to speaking.

"Welcome to the Capitol."

He held out the rose for the girl, who took a long good look at it before taking it.

"We are your mentors. It's nice to meet you both."

You said sweetly and had a small smile to which the girl returned but fell flat on Jessup. You put your hand out to Jessup, but not surprisingly, he left you hanging. You gulped down your embarrassment and bit your lip, signs of uncomfort ot unnoticed by Coryo. Lucy Gray looked you both up and down as she sized you up.

"When I was little, my mama used to bathe me in buttermilk and rose petals."

She took a petal off and stuck it right in her mouth. She gave it a good taste followed by a smile.

"Tastes like bedtime."

You turned to Coriolanus, who was still wide-eyed at his tribute's actions. You didn't know exactly what to expect when you came here, but it surely wasn't this.

"So what do our mentors do?"

It seemed like Lucy Gray was going to do all the talking as her friend stayed stone-faced besides her.

"We do our best to take care of you. Lucy Gray, Coriolanus is your mentor while Jessup, you are stuck with me."

Lucy Gray nodded along and examined her mentor once again. Jessup examined you as well but not in the pondering way his companion was. Rather, he looked like he was thinking venomous thoughts of you and as if your being was yet another punishment he had to endure.

Any further conversation was interrupted by several peacekeepers motioning for the two from twelve to get moving. Lucy Gray looked over her shoulder and wished you both luck on that front while she was being pushed towards a small vehicle along with the rest of the tributes.

Coriolanus already began asking the silent peacekeepers if we can escort them, but none were willing to answer. You followed him aimlessly, ready to start your exit and walk to the Academy. You both still had classes today, even though they were modified to center around your mentorship. But Snow wasn't willing to give up.

When a tall and lanky boy tried to make a run for it and distracted the peacekeepers, a certain look overtook Coriolanus. Everything seemed to be blocked out, just him and the door to the truck. You had a feeling what he was going to do and cursed him once you saw his legs start pumping.

I hate you so much, you idiot Coriolanus Snow.

Your chant of dislike was all you could think of as only a split second after him, you followed him into the abyss of the vehicle that held twenty-three (Wovey yet a year away) teenagers who wanted you both dead. A desire they might just get once the doors shut, trapping you in.

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As soon as Coriolanus landed on the truck, he went directly towards the back. Your legs weren't as tall as his, so it took enough effort from you to get on the truck that you fell onto the floor. That was when Coryo noticed you had joined him. His eyes widened in fright, and he moved to pick you up when another tribute shoved him against the back wall. He let out a painful groan as he tried to charm his way out of the situation.

The tribute holding onto him was even taller and considerably broader than the blonde boy.

"I'll kill you right now."

He snarled at Coriolanus and was backed up by a sick girl.

"He killed a peacekeeper back in eleven."

You learned that the peacekeeper killer was named Reaper, and the ill-looking girl was named Dill.

The threat on Coriolanus's life made you get up in a second and get ready to stop any further action. But as soon as you landed on your feet, your position mimicked Coriolanus's as you were being shoved by Coral, the girl from four. You knew she was Festus's assigned tribute and she seemed like a clear delight with her wicked smile.

"I call dibs on killing her."

Her breath, with the scent of fish still lingering, fanned all over your face. But unlike Coriolanus, your face didn't show any fear or desperation. You held her gaze with a glare of your own. You've fought off a lot more menacing figures than her.

While you had no fear, Coriolanus was taken over with terror.

"Don't you touch her!"

He made a move against Reaper, who shoved him back even harder against the wall. His struggle made the red head girl holding you laugh.

"Aw, how cute. Your boyfriend tryin to help you, princess."

Your hostile glare deepened at that. She had so much confidence in her ability and power over you. And while she was much stronger than you, she was sloppy. She didn't even hold back your hands or disarm your legs. You could easily throw her off if she made a move.

Lucy Gray watched the events unfold and glanced at Jessup who seemed okay with letting their mentors suffer fates similar to their inevitable ones. She didn't like not doing anything to help them. They were supposed to help her and Jessup, right? They would be at a clear disadvantage if something happened to them.

Plus, you and Coriolanus were interesting; nothing like what she imagined Capitol kids to be like.

As the rest of the group agreed on the murder of the academy students, Lucy Gray piped up.

"Y’all got family back home? They’ll kill them if you hurt them. Then you."

She made sure her message was clear. The thought of their families being hurt made them pause, as well as the instant death. In the Hunger Games, they at least had a shot at living. Reaper loosened his grip, and she continued.

"Besides, he’s my mentor. I might need his help."

She nodded her head towards the disgruntled mentor. She didn't mention who you were mentoring because she hoped Jessup would speak up. She knew Jessup didn't necessarily care for you, but he knew you might be some sort of help. The dark-skinned boy didn't get to speak up before Coral, however.

"And you a mender, princess?"

She shoved you again, which made Coriolanus flinch, but Lucy Gray motioned with her eyes for him to stay in place. His involvement would only make things worse.

"Better hope I'm not yours."

She didn't like your answer if her teeth-bearing snarl had anything to say about it. Something about it fueled your fury.

"Do you know why they call it the Hunger Games?"

You beckoned her with a slight smirk that angered the aggressive girl across from you.

"I'll still kill you."

She threatened you as she didn't know where you were going with this. The unknown was a disadvantage to her and fueled her fear.

You asked again, and the sweet-hearted Wovey answered instead.

"Because there is no food."

She answered confidently and in that sweet voice, which felt so wrong in this environment. You didn't want to go ahead with your plan of words, but when Coral turned back from looking at the little girl to you, the fire was back.

You stared straight into the angry eyes of Coral with a menacing smile.

"Oh no, there is plenty of food. I mean, look around. I see twenty-six bodies of food."

You could feel the girl's arms shudder, and you saw the rest of the faces go pale. But you weren't done.

"Hunger stands for the hunger in one's eyes. Once that bell rings, that hunger takes over. Hunger for blood, corpses. For survival and victory. And if you lose focus for just a second-"

You made quick work as you shoved Coral's arms off of you and placed them behind her back. You have now reversed places as she struggled against the wall and beneath your far more forceful and effective hold. Attention was still hooked onto as you finished your lesson.

"You're dead."

Your quick move shocked the entirety of the truck, including Coryo. He knew you could fight back from your younger days by the pestering of Festus, in which you gave him a solid black eye for days. Yet, he didn't know just how good you were, much of it still from your brother's teachings and occasional lessons from Rhayen.

You were ready to let the girl, who still wore her scowl but couldn't hide the fear behind her eyes, go. Although, you bent closely in front of her face to let her know your last message.

"You better thank your lucky stars I'm not in that arena with you. I already won my games."

You hissed out the now positively infuriated teenager. The other tributes ranged from absolute horror of you to confusion on your last statement and how you were so cutthroat. No one expected children of the Capitol to have this in them.

The entirety of the truck's eyes were on you, except Lucy Gray. She looked to Coriolanus to examine his expression. She wanted to know if this was all a front or your sweet nature on the station was. The best way would be to see what the boy, who clearly knew you, thought of the situation. His face was not expressing fear or confusion like the others, but rather a sad look of understanding.

All of the Capitol struggled most definitely during the Dark Days and still with its legacy and effect. But you were one of the few to suffer nearly all the horrors it brought during the war and the only one who still lost after it. The rest of your classmates seemed to move past the traumas, but not you. Maybe it was because of your mother, but it always seemed to play out on repeat behind your still-shining eyes.

Lucy Gray's eyes bounced from Coriolanus's face to yours again. She seemed satisfied and understood. You weren't bluffing. Though, as she looked again at you, she saw your eyes soften. You realized all you had done and said. You had felt threatened, and it had just become instinct to take control of a threatening situation. It hit you that you just became Coral. It was clear she was scared of being here, and her menacing demeanor was a defensive mechanism. And your haunting words were yours.

Lucy Gray took note. Maybe she and Jessup could trust you. But all of a sudden, the truck began shaking harshly and began tipping as the doors opened into the bright light. It shocked you, and due to being closer to the door, you were one of the few to fall. You fell silently but locked eyes with Coriolanus as you did, which was enough for him to let go as well. He was already slipping anyway as Lucy Gray hung onto him, and the truck began tipping.

The mentor was able to land without a scratch and checked on Lucy Gray, who was the same. She looked to her friend, who dusted himself off from where he landed a few meters away from her. Coriolanus watched her make it to Jessup when he began frantically looking for you.

You were more in the middle of the area, which he soon realized was the Capitol zoo. He scoffed at the insult to the districts as he rushed to your side. However, you weren't as lucky as those in the back. You had landed face first into some rocks, which busted a nasty cut above your eye. You had swatted away Coryo's helping hands and slipped off your academy blazer to dab at the blood.

"Huh, look at this. Capitol bleeds."

Your head snapped up to meet the mocking Coral. Coryo looked as if he was going to pounce on her, but you pulled his arm back. He helped you up as you looked past his shoulder.

"What in the world is the weather guy doing here?"

The quite loud presentation voice of the notorious Lucky Flickerman was heard as he tried to get your and Coriolanus's attention.

Lucy Gray and Jessup had moved towards you two while Coral walked off. When Coriolanus heard that he was live for all of the Capitol, he began to panic. His breath became rapid and shallow. You were quick to grab his cheeks to make him look down to you.

"Coryo. Look at me. It's nothing you haven't done before. I'm here with you, okay?"

You waited for his nod to smile back at him, which calmed his nerves considerably. Your tributes watched on, slightly amused. Lucy Gray felt charmed by your clear looks of affection, although it hurt her due to her own recent love troubles. Jessup felt amused that the girl who was just threatening Coral was so taken by a skinny, lanky, and pale boy such as Coriolanus.

You both turned to the other half of your makeshift group.

"Lucy Gray Baird, Jessup Diggs, let us introduce you to our neighbors."

You beckoned them forward, while you opened your hand for Lucy Gray, who took it with an amused tilt of her head. Jessup and Coriolanus shared a look, in which the latter looked at the former's hand and was swiftly met with a clear "no" at the thought of the two mirroring your actions.

When you reached the edge of the cage, you noticed two small children. Coriolanus moved to the other side of Lucy Gray while Jessup moved to you, still a bit back. However, your attention is quickly taken by the questions of Lucky Flickerman.

"Who are you two? What are you doing in the cage here?"

Coriolanus responds and explains the situation to Lucky while you and Lucy Gray focus on the children in front of you.

They seem very taken by Lucy Gray, and she is quite the charmer. She captures the attention of all around with her honey-like voice and witty answers. Soon enough, Lucky focuses on her, eager to learn all about the strange girl. She explains the Covey and the importance of her beautiful dress.

"This dress was my mama’s so it’s extra special to me."

You glanced at her with a shared sympathy as she informed the ignorant host of her mother's passing. She felt your stare shift and turned to you as you gave her the slightest of nods. You didn't know if she understood its meaning, but her knowing eyes crinkled with a smile that let you know your message was well received.

Lucy Gray had a good feeling she could trust you. Maybe if she somehow won, you two could be good friends. She was a charmer and well-liked in twelve, but she didn't really have friends besides the Covey; who were more family than friends.

"Do you know the wonderful mentors for me and Jessup? Seems we got the cream of the cake 'cause no one else even bothered to show up."

You took a gulp and forced a smile as the camera visibly moved to focus on you.

"Well, we've met Coriolanus Snow, yes?"

Flickerman paused to ensure he got the blonde's name right and was met with a nod.

"And who are you, young lady? And did you get that nasty cut from the other tributes when you jumped in the cage? Were you told to jump in?"

His questions flew a million miles a minute, but you responded with grace.

"Hello there. My name is Y/N Vaun and oh no, I fear I am quite clumsy."

You covered up the fact that you might have had your neck slit if not for Lucy Gray.

"And the game makers didn't tell us that we couldn't. They just said that it was a mentor’s job to introduce our tributes to the citizens of Panem. And we thought, well, if they were brave enough to be here, then why shouldn’t we be, too?"

You looked up to Coriolanus to assure your answer was sufficient enough, to which he agreed. Lucy Gray did have one adjustment though.

"For the record, I didn’t have a choice."

Which you couldn't help but tilt your head to the side in agreement to her statement while Flickerman opened up again.

"For the record, I think you both are about to be whisked away."

Suddenly, two strong peacekeepers began dragging you away with Coriolanus. You fought them off to freely walk on your own as you noticed Lucy Gray stop him and whisper urgently, to which he agreed.

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The walk to the academy wasn't too far, but your pace was set quite fast. You and Coryo were already going to attract a lot of attention; missing class for an assumed press event with the tributes was a big no. Your dash to the prestigious institution was a silent conversation between you and Coryo. There didn't feel like much to say as you both were too far in your heads.

Coriolanus turned to you slightly as the question that's been burning in his mind came out.

"Why did you jump in the truck with me?"

You didn't even hesitate as you answered him, still looking forward.

"Are you seriously asking me that, Coryo?"

When you were met with nothing but silence, you turned to him.

"You jump, I jump. You throw yourself in a cage filled with people who want to gut you? Expect to have a friend with you. Maybe it will make you think before you do something stupid next time."

Your answer and vow of companionship caused a satisfied smile to overtake the handsome boy's features. It stayed there for some time before your now dark voice piped up.

"Do you remember the station?"

Your sudden question broke the prior silence. The fair-skinned teen looked at you in question.

"The station we were just at?"

He felt as if he missed something. The thought of being out of the loop unnerved him. You motioned that the recent setting wasn't the point of your question as you elaborated.

"No, I meant right back when the rebellion started. That day when they shipped off."

The heir of Snow's face scrunched up as he thought of the memory; one of his first clear ones. Young Coryo was so confused with all happening around him. Crassus rarely acknowledged the five-year-old's confusion while grandma'am kept on repeating curses about the rebelling districts. Though, as always, Tigris tried to calm down and help her little cousin. She wasn't that much older but she was old enough to understand; her uncle, the sole provider of their family, was to be off across the country. It worried her beyond what her youthful face would show. A face constantly lit up with the warm smiles her young cousin elicited.

But there were moments, although few, where Tigris's attention was elsewhere besides Coryo. One of them being on that now demolished train station, where she watched Crassus Snow depart from the Capital and eventually, their lives. It was in that moment where Coriolanus didn't look to his cousin for comfort but rather the girl with curious and wandering eyes. He had seen you before, but that was the day you truly entered his life. The young man laughed sweetly at the memory.

"You refused to look away even as we were being pulled away."

"Hey, you didn't look away either!"

You retorted back to the reminiscing adolescent. His eyes were still glued forward as you neared your destination. Out of his peripheral vision, however, he noticed a solemn demeanor took you over.

"Funny how different my only two train experiences are."

You laughed without humor, a grim noise.

"The first time, I had the privilege of ignorance. Hands were clean. And the people. Nearly every person I loved in one place. Fast forward today. I'm all too aware of the blood dripping from my hands, and I keep on making it gush."

You paused to take a bitter breath while refocusing your eyes straight ahead. You both were nearly to the entrance of the academy campus.

"Not a single one of them made it out alive. The only one was you."

The boy in mention furrowed his brows at your statement. It didn't strike him until now that you were right. Every member of your family on the platform that fateful day is six feet under. And by the way you spoke, so was little five-year-old you. The thought of your absent family made him reflect. His life wasn't easy in the slightest, but he did have his loved ones, no matter how little the number was. Sure, his grandma'am was a bit eccentric and not whole in the head, but she was a reminder of the glory indebted to the Snows. She was, most of the time, a sweet grandmother and a constant pillar of support.

And of course, Tigris. His life was mostly filled with darkness, metaphorically and literally with the high cost of electricity. But Tigris was always a light shining bright. Guiding him when he was lost in the slightest bit. He left that station with nearly the same family he has today, excluding his cold father. And even though his absence was a painful reminder of their living situation, Tigris often reminded Coryo that was given a chance to be a better person without his father's controlling and cold nature. A chance she tried to make possible at every possible moment.

But you didn't have a single member of your beloved family anymore. It was true your father was alive, but Coriolanus knows he has all but officially stepped out of your life. A move that made the young man resent and hold a place of disrespect in regards to your father. Your feet had carried you through the vast academy doors and down the hallways leading to the class you should have been in half an hour ago.

It was when you were mere feet from the door when a realization hit him. You said everyone you loved was on that platform and he was the only one to live. wait. did you just- does that mean-

"Your little excursion was in violation of about five different Academy rules, Mr. Snow and Miss Vaun. Chief amongst them, endangering a Capitol student."

You had entered the domed classroom, and Coriolanus couldn't further question your prior statements. You had ascended up the stairs with Coryo following close behind. You turned to question Dean Highbottom, who didn't even look up at your presence.

"Neither of us forced the other to go. We went on our own accord."

You responded back to the dean still focused on his papers.

"I don't care how or why it happened. You both put yourselves in danger regardless. I’m moving for the Gamemakers to disqualify you as mentors immediately."

You scoffed at his actions in disgust. He really jumped at any chance to make Coriolanus suffer. Highbottom has now become a plague you now have to deal with as well. Young Snow didn't appreciate his operation against him and you as he questioned his validity.

"You said we had to get our tributes to perform, not that we had to stay away."

"I’ll add insubordination as well."

Coriolanus opened his mouth to retort back when he was cut off by a chilling voice.

"Snow and Vaun fell down in the cage."

The ever-infamous Volumina Gaul appeared with a devilish smile playing on her bright red lips. She crept closer as she continued.

"Snow fell down in the cage but it landed…"

Her riddle was quickly figured out by the pair who answered at the same time.

"On stage."

The quick and correct reply made her wicked smile grow impossibly more.

"You’re good at Games. Maybe one day, you two will be Gamemakers like me. You are quite the pair."

The decrepit Casca Highbottom turned to watch the interaction and grumbled at the head Gamemaker's implication.

"If the Games continue at all."

"Oh, they’ll continue. With performances like young Mr. Snow and Miss Vaun's in that zoo."

The eccentric woman made her way to the end of your row as she questioned.

"Which one of you had the idea to jump in the cage with the tributes?"

You and Coriolanus knew neither of you had an idea that you would end up there. That doesn't mean the brave (and stupid) idea to jump in the truck came from nowhere.

"Coriolanus was the one."

You were quick to respond that the boy couldn't cut you off to mention your own involvement. That doesn't mean he didn't have his own speed in answering.

"Y/N was the one who fended them off, though. She also was the one who thought of presenting Lucy Gray after gaining her trust."

To say Dr. Gaul’s already peaked interest didn't skyrocket would be an understatement. She remembered her surprise, an emotion that appears very little in the woman's life, at seeing the two academy students in the zoo. Their elegance and charisma in their performance were extraordinary. And to see how fast they are to jump to the other's defense and bolster made the peculiar woman ache for more. She may have found not only one but two promising students.

"Holding her hand, Y/N? Introducing her to people? You make it look as if we’re one and the same as those animals."

The disgust was clear in Clemensia's voice as she spoke. She was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt when it came to Sejanus, who lived most of his life in the Capital after all. But straight district? That was a whole different level of abhorrence.

Said district - not district boy had his own opinions to voice.

"Coriolanus and Y/N didn’t show those people anything they didn’t already know. That the tributes are human beings. Just like us."

He paused to let the idea sink in for the snobby children of the Capital. You and Coriolanus were not surprised at his little outburst, but that doesn't mean you were happy with it. You were very far from it. Sick and tired of constantly hearing the saintly nature of those in the districts. But the curly-haired boy continued.

"That’s why nobody wants to watch the Games. It’s because people know deep down that winning a war 10 years ago doesn’t justify starving people’s children, taking away their freedoms, their rights."

You stayed silent as your nostrils flared, and your teeth ground against each other. You weren't sure where all this anger came from, but you assumed part of it was all your memories of the war becoming so clear lately. The constant yapping of Sejanus that they are oh so innocent while you remember otherwise did not help the blood boiling. Your symptoms of rage did not go unnoticed by Dr. Gaul.

"And what do you think, Miss Vaun? Are the inhabitants of the districts human or animal?"

The entirety of the class focused on you as you took a second to compose yourself. You took a deep breath, and instead of looking at the woman who proposed the question, you locked eyes with Dean Highbottom.

"They are obviously humans."

The man's eyes seemed to have an odd look of relief at your response, but you weren't finished. Your eyes didn't blink nor flinch as you bore into the older man's eyes. "

Animals are incapable of reaching a man's level of sinister."

The recipient of your gaze flinched at your tone and words. It felt as if you stabbed a blade straight into his already shattered conscience. However, your answer sparked new levels of interest within Dr. Gaul. You seem to be more of a promise than you initially let on. Sejanus was far from impressed by your answer. You never spoke out against the districts before; what caused you to now?

"Some of those kids were two years old when the war ended. The oldest of them were only eight! They didn’t have enough to become sinister."

His tone implied the thought that your description of the districts' "humanity" was ridiculous. The people outside of the Capital were good. Far better than those within it, clearly. But Sejanus's blind opinion of them brought you to new levels of anger. You scoffed out a breath of pure disbelief as you turned to stare straight into the brown eyes of the boy.

"Too young? Eight is quite old enough to do sinister things. Look around, Sejanus. You think any of us, who, by the way, were those eight years old, survived by playing with our dolls?"

You paused, trying to compose yourself, while all pairs of eyes were on you. Well, all except Sejanus. You two have never had a quarrel. If there was anyone who the rest were certain would back up Sejanus, it would be you. But here you were, spitting words of venom and unfortunate truth.

"Death doesn't discriminate by age. War doesn't discriminate by age. Each and every one of us here had to become soldiers and survivors by age five." You paused, "Does that sound like humanity? Like the pure good you preach about the districts? They are just like us. Whether or not you want to see it. You claim us evil and we might be. But tell me who do you think caused us to be so harsh? If we were able to kill at six years old, I am quite sure those sixteen-year-olds wouldn't bat an eye. If you don't believe me, let me ask Otto."

The mention of your brother caused the already dead silent classroom to stiffen. Even Highbottom, who disliked yet another reminder of Cloria Vaun (or Emberidge, depends on what memories), had to throw back another shot of morphling. Sejanus was already uncomfortable with your sudden shift in demeanor and your public argument. His discomfort increased when you began using the words "we" and "us," but the mention of Octavius Vaun made him freeze. You rarely mentioned him and if you ever did, you couldn't bring yourself to say his name. You never gave the full details of his death, but you told him enough to know it was a subject never to be brought up. Now that you did, he, along with the rest of your class, knew you weren't going to be able to be controlled.

And you weren't. You didn't let up your hold on attention for a good while as you kept going.

"Hmm? Or how about we ask all of our classmates that should be here? All those people who should be our friends, lovers, siblings? What about those infants who died before they could take a breath because their mothers died of starvation? Let's go ask their corpses, huh! Oh wait, right. Just go around and ask the Capitol population. We didn't have a body clean-up system back in the war. What do you think we did with the bodies?"

The slow realization and remembrance of whispers of the war crept back to Sejanus's mind. Your voice was steady as you continued.

"We had to get whatever nutrition we could, no matter where it came from."

Clemensia had turned deep shades of green at the mention. At the memories.

"Y/N, please stop."

Her wobbly voice and discomfort did the exact opposite of her pleas. You took a look around the classroom to see your peers avoiding eye contact with you and looking one step away from barfing. The sight made you laugh in dark hysteria as you now addressed the room.

"Really?! That's all it took? Ten years? Ten years and you forgot everything! Now that you don't have to throw the last words of your loved ones in a fire to keep warm! These pristine uniforms and marble classrooms enough?! You forget when you had to survive for weeks off of a single rat carcass? When you had to fight deranged old men for a half-empty bag of moldy peaches for your entire family? When your only drink was your own blood? No memories!? No memories of the insanity causing people flinging themselves off of rooftops and others beating the vultures to cut up their corpses!"

Your voice was in a full, rage-fueled yell by the time you finished. You would have continued if a hand on your shoulder didn't signal to stop. You looked up, ready to fight whoever it was, until you realized it was Coryo. You expected him to be embarrassed of you, maybe angry. But he wasn't. His eyes seemed to be glowing with understanding and a shared irritation. After a minute of you calming down, a voice perked all too happily.

"My, my, what a declaration!"

Dr. Gaul was all too eager at your fury. Her blood was on fire with excitement at your sentiments. The question she initially came here to ask you and Coriolanus was finally ready to be asked.

"What are the Hunger Games for?"

The woman looked between you and Coriolanus, eager for an answer to which the latter responded.

"They’re to punish the districts for their uprising, to commemorate the end of the war."

Her smile was gone at the disappointing answer.

“Commemorate the… Dull, dull, dull. Punishment can take myriad forms. Why not drop bombs, cancel food shipments, stage executions? Why Games?"

Her question was not met by either of the two students she wished but rather the clear sympathizer in the form of Sejanus Plinth.

"Shouldn’t we be asking ourselves whether or not they’re right in the first place?"

"You have a problem with my Games?"

Any answer was intercepted by Dean Highbottom who has more than enough of this discussion and development.

"Perhaps the Capitol students are ill-suited to be mentoring tributes. Perhaps the Game’s time has passed."

It was then when you regained your voice.

"It clearly hasn't. The Games, whatever their ultimate purpose, is a reminder. To the districts, most definitely, but also the Capital. It is clear that most here wish to forget and hide away the horrors we've endured. Forget all you wish, but the districts won't. They have to suffer what we did and we have to remember why."

Dr. Gaul was taking in your answer. And it clearly pleased her, whether that be a good or bad thing. That curiosity and thrill continued as Coriolanus added in some suggestions.

"Maybe we should be viewing those tributes as human beings. I mean, you saw those kids in the zoo; they just… they just wanted to get to know Lucy Gray. If we need people to watch, we should be letting them get closer to the tributes before the Games. To make the stakes personal."

As your apparent partner continued, the gears in your mind started turning.

"Who will watch the Games if they care what happens to the tributes?" Arachne questioned. And you were the one to answer.

"Everyone."

When you answered, Coriolanus looked to you with a ghost of a smile on his lips as you understood.

"You wanted them to be spectacles? What's better than letting them share their characters? Their lives, dreams, regrets. Biggest loves and losses. If you want people to watch, they will when they have people to root for and against."

Young Snow was quick to pick up after you.

"And if we bend a few Capitol laws, we could even have them place bets. The winner of the arena may not be the same as the winner of the people."

You jumped back into the conversation with a slightly more chipper tone.

"Give them interviews to learn who they are. Maybe we can even do skill tests. If you use Coriolanus's betting system, it can give even the weakest of tributes more of a chance. People would not only be able to bet on who they like the most but who has more of a chance. Not to mention they would have the power to change those odds."

Dr. Gaul was at all-time levels of elation at the pair. She knows promise when she sees it.

"I’d like you to write up a proposal of these thoughts tonight, Mr. Snow and Miss Vaun. "

You turned to look at said Mr. Snow when a certain raven-haired girl stood up from her seat next to him.

"Wait. You mean you might actually use their ideas?"

Clemensia thought her two high-achieving friends' ideas would just be left floating and not actually implemented in one of the most important events of the country.

"If it’ll help the ratings, why not."

Dr. Gaul’s words made the realization hit you like that cursed cattle train. Your ideas were shared in a slight haze of excitement and lingering fury. If your suggestions really were implemented, you may have just subjected generations of children to death.

Your revelation was clear on your face as Sejanus looked up to who he called his closest friend. He felt slightly betrayed by your outburst, but more so confused. Though, his anger and confusion dissipated a good amount when he saw the horror of realization upon your face.

On the other side of the star pupils, Clemmie slightly shuddered as the outlandish Gamemaker turned her cold gaze upon her. The young woman put on her charming smile as she tried to weasel her way into success.

"Coriolanus and I are class partners, Dr. Gaul. We do all of our assignments together."

You shared eye contact with the girl's partner who seemed to be just as skeptical as you. You turned in Dr. Gaul's direction, which also happened to be Sejanus's. You looked down and saw his face look glossy and hurt. A pain that transferred over to you at the sight. But that would be for a later time. For now, you looked up and informed the Gamemaker that you would be doing your proposals on your own.

The classroom was filled with the manic laughter of the woman. Doubt started filling up your veins at working with the prominent figure. Her bright teeth shone bright as her diabolical smile grew.

"It’ll be an interesting test."

A test of intellect, character, and survival indeed.

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You and Coriolanus sat at a small table on the edge of the cafeteria. You wished to be nowhere near the prying eyes and gossiping mouths of your peers. But apparently, Lucy Gray asked for food, and you couldn't let her or Jessup go hungry. Yet, you were now an active hand in their death.

That ever so active voice in your head kept on screaming against your heart. Your napkin was full of the food that used to reside on your plate, and now you were just waiting for Coryo, who came in a bit later than you. He was fast and smooth in his movements and was barely deterred from his actions when a voice rounded your table.

"You trying to fatten those kids up so you can finally start taking bets? Make sure they look lively enough to make good interviews?"

Sejanus spewed his remarks as he sat down on a chair at the head of the table. You glanced down in shame, but the words didn't bother Coriolanus.

"You think they’ll give those kids a scrap if we don’t give them a reason to do it? How do you think your tribute will have a chance if he can’t eat?"

You looked between the two. Sejanus seemed to concede at that point while Coryo kept on stuffing the napkin. The brown-eyed boy's voice seemed to soften in pain.

"He was my classmate. Back in two."

You sucked in a sharp breath. It was already hard enough for him to be a part of the game, especially being given a tribute from his home district. But his own classmate? If you were Marcus, you wouldn't spare Sejanus a glance or a word. And that was the worst part. Sejanus would try to help in any way he could, but the situation he was in, "the lucky one," wouldn't make it very easy to gain the trust of his former classmate. Coryo stopped his movements to look at the only boy he could call a solid friend.

"It’s not your fault it’s him."

You both knew that it would still sit on his conscience, no matter if he really was to blame or not. His scoff said it all.

"See, I know. I’m so blameless, I’m choking on it. My father bought him for me, you know, at the Reaping, just so he could show me that I could never go back to two."

You couldn't believe it. It was common information to you how much Starbo tried to change his son. That doesn't mean you expected him to go to such lengths.

"Maybe you could use that to your advantage."

Sejanus whipped his head to you as he squinted at you. The girl in front of him wasn't the same angry one in the classroom. No, this was the same one who he called his best friend for years, yet it just confused him even more as to why you would suggest that. You were quick to elaborate when it seemed that neither boy caught on.

"You want the Hunger Games to end, right? You can do something about it. No real change will happen unless it happens in the Capital. You are one of the few who can actually do something and one of the even fewer who wants to."

Sejanus seemed to be contemplating your words when Coriolanus added on.

"The best way to change it is to be subtle. Small little changes and actions cause enough damage over time."

Sejanus looked down at his two friends' laps and looked back up with a smirk starting to form.

"Like napkins of food. Make them strong enough to be remembered. Quite the rebels."

His smirk seemed to be contagious as it spread to Coryo. You had a smile as well that only grew as Coriolanus spoke again.

"Oh yeah. I’m bad news."

His eyes were on you the entire time as a blush crept on you. Your teeth couldn't help but show as the three of you got up and started your walk to the Capital Zoo.

Like your morning walk with Coriolanus, this walk was short but a bit more cheery as your little friend group conversed. You feared Sejanus would hold your prior actions against you, but he understood, as always. Well, that and Coryo's explanation on how you both expanded the odds for the weaker tributes instead of making it worse.

You and Coriolanus were recalling the earlier events of the morning that didn't appear on live television.

"Wait wait, you did what to her?"

You were holding back a laugh as Snow described how you switched up Coral and the overdramatization of it.

"Okay, first of all, I did not knock the life out of her. And she was getting on my nerves. Like if you are gonna threaten someone, at least do it right!"

The two boys shared a look and laughed a bit at you. A laugh that was swiftly met with a glare.

"Wanna see me execute my threat, Plinth?"

He was quickly grabbed by his sleeve by Coryo to ensure his friend's safety. You turned forward with a smug smile at their fear while they walked a good meter away from you. Soon enough, however, your little moment was met a swift end as you reached the zoo.

There were far more visitors than this morning, but many seemed to be a ways away; the tributes being watched from afar. You and Coryo spotted your two tributes on the far left side of the area, laying their backs on a large rock. Marcus was on the other side, so your trio split as Sejanus tried so hard to get him to take the food from his hands. A task that was unsuccessful.

You got closer and saw Lucy Gray smile at Coryo and the food he carried and promised he kept. She noticed the napkin of food in your hands as well, making her smile grow.

The singer walked to the bars while Jessup stood behind, still pensive at your presence.

"Is that for us?"

She took the two napkins out of the Capital students' hands, handing one of them to her friend. He didn't even give the food a glance as he bore into your eyes, displeasure evident.

"I’m not hungry."

You had a polite smile prior, hoping to get off on a better start this time. But his refusal made it slightly deplete. You understood why. You and the rest of the Capital students here, which now included Arachne, must have seemed like a cruel joke life played on him. You were willing to walk away, maybe try to focus on helping Coriolanus with Lucy Gray if Jessup refused you.

But Lucy Gray refused the boy who protected her to go hungry. She pushed the food into his hands like a mother would to her child.

"You think I can’t hear your stomach growling, Jessup Diggs?"

He looked between the food, his friend, and you a good number of times before he surrendered to his growling stomach.

Satisfied, Lucy Gray turned back to Coriolanus and seemed to settle in across from him. You doubted Jessup recreate the friendly posture, but you sat down a bit further down from Coryo. She wasn't much further from Arachne, who seemed to be playing a torturous game with her tribute, Brandy.

Your face contorted in disgust at her actions. The girl was going to already struggle, what is the need to play with her hunger?

"You sure you don't want to play with me first?" You turned your head from the perusing scene to the new voice. In front of you stood Jessup Diggs. He stood there, analyzing you as if you were a puzzle that had no connecting pieces. Your eyes moved down the concrete you sat on as you let out a soft, sad laugh.

"Already bad enough I'm not in there with you. Don't need to rub it in any further."

He squinted his eyes down at you. Every statement that has come out of your mouth has only served to confuse him more. From your very first meeting, the truck, earlier when you were in the cage, and now. Arachne's moves and character were what he expected when he was traveling to the Capital. But you and Coriolanus (and a recent brunette curly-haired boy on the far end of the zoo) were the anomalies. Lucy Gray told him to accept your help as she would her mentors, which was reasonable enough.

But why did it seem like she actually trusted you two? Sure, you jumped in with them, but it seemed for more personal gain than their tribute's benefit.

You looked back up to a questioning Jessup. He didn't understand what you meant that you should be in there with him.

"What's the difference between us? I happened to be born in the right place, I guess."

Your nonchalance intrigued him more than it brought fear. You may be just putting up a facade to make him trust you, but what would be the point? He was gonna die soon enough.

Jessup, much to your surprise, sat across from you as he gobbled down the food. He noticed you looking down and eyed you suspiciously. You just lightly smiled and promised to get him more if he would accept. He turned his head from side to side in thought, which caused the left side of his neck to be exposed. A dark and deep mark appeared against his skin, which caused you to have an instinct to reach out and help.

However, your sudden movement towards his neck caused him to back up rapidly. The action caused Lucy Gray and Coryo to look over in fright. But neither of you looked back as you stared at him apologetically while he eyed you again.

"Sorry, I just noticed and worried me."

You mumbled it quietly, which was oddly enough, reassuring to Jessup. He did see the worry appear in your facial features. The emotion was too deep and genuine to be faked. He slowly got back to his original position.

You kept your hands to your sides as you looked over his wound. Your eyes moved from his neck to his deep brown eyes.

"It looks new. Can I ask what it's from? I may be able to get some medication."

Jessup wondered how much was available to you at just a snap of a finger. Were you the type of person to do that? His assumption of the Capital made him believe so, but your personal actions proved otherwise. Especially your little stunt with Coral.

"Bat bite. Got it when covering for Lucy Gray. Rather me than her."

Your eyes went from warning to a softened glow. He didn't like the feeling of trust building

"I don't want medication though. I want to go out my way."

You couldn't help but smile at his conviction. If he didn't get medication, there was no way he would be able to survive. But that didn't seem to bother him.

"Jessup, if it's from a wild bat, there is a likely chance you can get rabies. Are you sure? It does wild things to those infected."

The effects of it bothered Jessup slightly. He didn't want to die as a deranged man he couldn't recognize, but he didn't want to give the people who took everything from him the satisfaction of his death. He shook his head in assurance, and you were ready to drop it when a thought sprang through your mind.

"I am willing to drop it, but please, be completely sure if this is what you want. Do you have family back home who need you?"

The mention of his family made him clench his teeth, and you were sure you messed up. You were quick to apologize, but that didn't erase the pounding thoughts of the boy's family.

"The only thing they need me for is to clean their gravestones."

Your gaze was sympathetic, but you turned it away. You knew what it felt to be looked at like a kicked puppy after people learned of your mother's passing. You were sure a man like Jessup wouldn't be very fond of pity.

"He looked a lot like you."

Your head went through whiplash due to the speed you turned to the boy. Your eyes were now the analyzing and questioning ones. You motioned for him to continue; to make sense of his statement.

"The boy who killed my family. He couldn't be any older than me, sixteenish. He had your eyes."

Your breath seemed to speed up as it dawned on you what he could be saying. That sweet little Otto was capable of murdering an entire family. Then again, what would he think of your actions in the war? Jessup took in your reaction as he cautiously continued.

"Don't think he don'it before. Kept looking back and forth between my pops and brother. Like he was begging them to change back time."

You were no longer looking at the talking boy, but it was clear you were hanging onto every word. Your eyes fluttered around as you tried to make sense of the new knowledge.

"He had reason if that makes you feel better. They were rebels and took out a good number of Capital forces. Just those two on their own."

He didn't hide his proud smile as he didn't even realize it appeared for a few moments. When he did, he was ready to see you storming off, glare knives into him, or plan ways to make him and his fellow tributes suffer. But you were just looking at him, a sad smile on your lips. You couldn't blame his smile. It was his family succeeding in their beliefs, no matter how it pained you. It wasn't as if you were sentenced to a bloodbath as your final moments.

The lack of aggression you presented allowed for Jessup to precede.

"They stood proudly as they were accused of their crimes. He gave them a chance, but they didn't say a peep. The boy with your eyes was shaky as he raised the gun. My momma couldn't hold back and ran into the gunfire. In just three seconds, my entire family erased. Glad they didn't shoot into the floor."

His face shifted from pride to bitterness to a hollowed smile.

"Always check the floorboards of twelve. Never know what you find."

You wanted to pipe up when you heard the disgruntled grunts of Brandy and the mocking laugh of Arachne. It had paused for the majority of your conversation with Jessup because Arachne was busy being interviewed by Lucky Flickerman. Though now she was back, her little game was resumed.

It burned your blood at seeing her cruel game. No one would ever describe Arachne as nice, but she would never stoop this low. Unless they were the district, apparently. You quickly muttered an apology to Jessup as you got up and walked unamusedly to the red-haired girl. Your hand swiftly snatched the glass bottle before it disappearedinto the bar to tease the starving girl again. Arachne looked up to the intruder, and a deep scowl appeared when she saw your face. Behind you, the sun was bright, as if casting a halo down on you. Oh, how fitting for little miss perfect, the sour girl thought.

You turned to Brandy and gave her a warm smile as you gently laid the bottle down next to her. Her eyes narrowed at your act and were glazed over in dehydration. The girl's hands were lightning as they snatched the drink and gulped it down as fast as was possible.

You left the tribute to her drink as you were met with the nasty stare of Arachne Crane.

"Feel proud of yourself for making her suffer even more? I mean, come on, Arachne!"

You huffed at her, irritated at her childlike behavior. Your back was turned as you began walking back to your own tribute when her voice sneered.

"Wonder what dear old Otto would think of you taking care of the same animals that chopped him up into tiny little—"

At the sound of your brother's name, you had turned back, and as she continued, so did your strides. But it was the sound of glass shattering that made you jump into action.

Physically jump as you pushed Arachne out of the way of the oncoming bottle. Brandy had a clear shot to the front of her mentor's throat but due to your speed and slightly turned position, it didn't hit her target. Instead, the broken bottle jammed itself within the side of your neck as your knees buckled on impact. You felt around the area as hot sticky blood poured all over your fingers.

Your hearing began getting muffled, but the gunshots were piercingly loud, as was the sound of your attacker's body hitting the ground. You saw red around you, unsure if it was one of your fellow students or even more blood.

Black dots began spotting your vision as you fought to keep them open upon the orders of someone. You weren't sure who, but whoever the saving angel was, they were doing everything to keep you conscious. No screams came out of your mouth, but warm salty streams across your cheeks, mixing in with the now pooling blood.

The lack of audible panic made your internal one settle slightly. Your mother surely screamed herself on the path of death as did your aunt Fiora. But then again, maybe your brother died without a squeak.

Your eyelids felt as if they were being welded shut against all your will power. You turned your head to the left, which was the side that hadn't been stabbed. The last thing you witnessed before you lost all reality was a head of pretty white hair with matching gorgeous blue orbs. His mouth kept on moving and forming words, but no sound pierced your ears.

You felt his hands around you, cradling your gushing neck. His hands looked as if permanently stained with red dye as he moved them around frantically. In such movements, his hands happened to fling your now apparent rings in front of your view. The two golden ones on the outside seemed mostly clear if the blood overtook her. That accursed silver of a thousand snowflakes glistened under the sunlight. As much as a ring being drowned in blood could.

Your eyes flickered from the bloody snowflakes up to the eyes of a bloodless Coriolanus Snow. A Coriolanus Snow who begged you to open up your eyes. Who attempted to will it into existence before he was pulled off by peacekeepers. Your body was hastily put on a stretcher and sent straight to the Capital hospital.

Not a single blink occurred from the blue frozen eyes of the Snow heir. How is it that it was only this morning when you were on the other side of the cage? Safer on that side.

Snow was on the verge of a breakdown. One of anger and of fear. He was only mere feet away. Only a few feet away and you still might lose your life because he wasn't careful. A promise was sworn internally within that calculated boy that day.

Never again will you be choking on your blood while he stood aside with nothing happening. You were not going to suffer the same bloody fate as your mother. You would not suffer. He swore the vow repeatedly as he rushed through the streets to meet your unconscious body. The world can take his money, parents, even the Plinth Prize. He would refuse to give it anymore.

He would not give up on you.

He would not give you up.

A/N: so sorry for it being so long! Not very carefully read I'm so sleepy I'm seeing things help. Pls lmk your thoughts. Much love !!

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@notyourwildestdream 🌹@darktrashsoulbear🌹@fantasylovestoryme 🌹@nekee-lilac02 🌹@a-avengerparker 🌹 @queenofshinigamis 🌹@darlingisntit 🌹

[doodle-do-wop]

Kotlc theory: spoilers for Stellarlune

I'm probably gonna slap this on discord cause I like rambling to my friends but it felt like a fun theory to drop here anyway

It's a very very VERY long plot point that I honestly kinda maybe somewhat thought about the first time it popped up but the missing star stone Gisela had commissioned into a hair thingy

Biana mentions her dad taking her to buy a comb once when she was young and that was that up until Stellarlune when the star stone is essential now for Elysian and Biana, brilliant girl that she is, has a theory about the stones and as per use, she's right. Whenever Biana has a theory there is like a 90% chance she's right or she was still right but just slightly missed the target. So it turns out Biana has had the star stone this whole damn time sitting in a box because little baby Biana didn't think it was pretty/it wasn't the one she wanted

But Cyrrah purposefully gave the star stone to Biana and yeah it could just be because no one would think twice about some little kid having what is essentially the government's biggest secret in a jewelry box for who knows how many years but could Biana have been essential to Elysian in some other way besides being the keeper of the place?

Had Alvar ever been ordered to snoop through his family's jewelry because Gisela heard they bought something from Cyrrah but everyone just shrugged her off because she's crazy and paranoid and none of Della's jewelry was special but womp womp Gisela uses her brain for something other than kicking kids and she right

I know Biana is Shannon's favorite plot device for moving things along and Dex is her favorite when she remembers he exists and needs to set a kid on fire (I really hope Dex doesn't die in the final battle because if anyone is going down to an exploding glittery rock it would be Dex but knowing him and fire Dex might survive this) but I genuinely think Biana might still have a foot in the door with this whole Elysian thing

And yeah, big shocker I'm talking about Stina again, but where the fuck did this kid get a book on BATTLE STRATEGY??? How did this 'cowardly' character who has only been in ONE FIGHT THAT WASNT EVEN GIVEN TO US IT WAS JUST SPARK NOTES NEVER TO BE TOUCHED UPON AGAIN( Shannon when I catch you Shannon) HOW DID SHE OF ALL THE CHARACTERS WHO HAVE NEARLY LOST THEIR LIVES USE THAT THING INSIDE HER SKULL CALLED A BRAIN AFTER ONE BATTLE AND THINK "hey i should learn battle strategy" WHEN NO ONE ELSE DID

Shannon hates me, it's true, she stuck a sticky note to my door that says 'I hate you Doodle-xoxo go piss girl (Shannon)' and I saw her in a Mazda waiting for me to read the note and then dramatically burn tires as she drove off, so I know this blonde woman will do SOMETHING that will make me wanna throw book 10 into the ocean. It will probably be the page count of the book for the number of 'last time on Shameless' filler paragraphs. But she'll do SOMETHING to piss me and only me straight off and it's gonna have something to do with Stina I feel it in me bones.

Cause where did she get a battle strategy book????? Who did Stina go up to and say 'hey does my library card work for goblin writings on battle strategy?'. Elves don't have those types on books they're allegedly peaceful but I mean if they made themselves forget about Nightfall and Elysian the elves might have a super secret dark history of battle strategy.

Biana, Fitz, Tam, Linh, Wylie, Stina, Dex, (I don't even remember if Keefe was there I just recall the Horse Girls and Sophie punching stained glass while Marella shows her support for the LGBT) and the rest of the adults who have so far been nerfed beyond nerffing

Unless Shannon decides she needs a book 11 book 10 is about to be the longest book I've ever had the misfortune of laying my eyes on or worse, broken into two book parts

Shannon can't drop cookie crumbs no more she can only drop the full fucking box of cookies so that battle strategy better come in clutch like the deus ex machina I know it's going to be but I also think it's hilarious that Sophie and the gang leave Stina to her own devices for maybe less than 24 hours and Stina managed to set up a full armada in that time.

Shannon had Stina do far too many things in Stellarlune that are never touched upon/mentioned after they're said and once again, she can't drop crumbs she can only drop the whole cookie. Stina in Stellarlune volunteered to 1) talk to a psychopath 2) search through Kenric's library for a crystal that still wasn't found and 3) read battle strategy while calling herself their strongest asset

Stina has to have something up her sleeves and it better be something big or I'm fighting Shannon in the park lot again. Stina could have gotten the book on battle strategy from Kenric's library tbh and asked to check it out or she was only allowed to read it in Kenric's library. Who knows. I think it's hilarious that Oralie might've had to report back to the council that Stina Heks is reading battle strategy books. Lord only knows how Timkin handled telling the Collective his daughter is reading those books.

Can't believe Stina might be a deus ex machina in book 10, I will go crazy if book 10 is too long and has to be broken up into two parts. I still feel like Biana plays a bigger part because she always does. And this has gone from theory to nonsensical rambling but that's just how this blog rolls

[winterwhisperz-blog]

hi there! can i ask for headcanons of the touchstarved lis reacting to a mc serenading or singing a love song to them? thought it’d be cute!

EEEEE Omg yes tysm for the ask!! This was such a fun prompt to write 😭

I ended up uhh, accidentally making these more like one-shots rather than just headcanons—so I’ll have to split these up into parts. The first batch is Ais and Leander so I hope you enjoy them !!

Warnings: None really, characters just might be a accidentally a bit ooc.

Notes: Gender-neutral MC, fluff.

Alright les get into it !!

How The LI Would React Fo An Mc Who serenades them/sings them a love song

Ais

Okay okay okay okay- so, this is my first vision.

Bear with me as I attempt to articulate this.

You and Ais have just left a night at the tavern, where the conversation of love novels and plays was brought up. The chilly air of twilight is fading into a grey, murky morning. You both are a bit wasted, (if you don’t drink, then blame this on literally getting no sleep.) and as the earlier conversation resurfaces in your mind, you make a comment about how you’d do all those dramatic theatrics far better than those characters in the books.

And since this is with Ais, who imo probably takes anything as a challenge, smirks at this comment, his red eyes piercing the hazy fog of dawn.

“Oh yeah? Are you going to sing for me, Sparrow?”

Chuckling, you give a lazy shrug. “Sparrows are song birds, right?”

He quirks a brow, grin widening as he evidently waits for your promised performance. But your head is pounding with exhaustion, and when you open your mouth to sing, a loud, eye watering yawn is the only thing to come out.

You wobble on your feet, knocking lightly into Ais’ chest, somehow still warm even in the cold air. You feel his laugh before hearing it. “Hmm, maybe later. Let’s get you home first.”

And even though forgetting what happened after Ais guided you home and helped you to bed—you awoke, your mind ringing with your earlier promise. And since I’m guessing this MC is a theater kid, you aren’t going to rest until you fulfill your claim of being better than those sucky, frog croaking characters in those books.

So throwing on your clothes, you get the instrument of your choice, spend the rest of the day rehearsing, get some flowers and head over to Ais’ place when evening closes on the horizon.

Ais can only be explained as being utterly amused when seeing you dramatically throw open the doors and toss him the flowers. You see him about to make a comment, and put a finger on his lips, shushing him.

Your performance is obviously, extraordinary. The words slip from your lips with ease, a smile brightening your eyes when watching Ais’ adoring expressions.

ALRIGHT

that was my first vision— now for an Mc that’s a bit more timid, and less likely to do the previous performance—

I can see you kneeling on the floor of Ais’ place, Princess snuggled up on your lap as you sing a little tune you’ve been making up for the past few days.

Bandaged up fingers gently petting her head as she lets out a few soulless style purrs of contentment.

Ais overhears this, taking a few moments to take in the sight cause OMG THATS HIS FAVORITE PERSON SINGING TO HIS PET

But once you seem to be done, singing drifting to a low humming, the sound of his footsteps snap your eyes upward, where you see his usual smirk playing on his lips. “Didn’t know you could sing.”

A flash of embarrassment spreads across your chest—you aren’t used to people hearing you. You keep your eyes on Princess, clearing your throat and trying to respond but getting a bit tongue-tied. You end up muttering, “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”

His lets out an amused breath, and settles down next to you. For a few quiet moments you both give Princess MUCH DESERVED attention, before Ais lets out a little whistle that perks her up, stretching before leaving your lap. Before you can even protest, Ais replaces her weight, plopping his head in the center of your lap. Eyes closed contently, a smile twitching as you let out an annoyed huff.

“My turn.” Is the only thing he says, leaving no room for arguments as he makes himself quite comfortable.

And even though you pretend to be annoyed, it’s honestly really cute. With a roll of your eyes, you start combing your fingers through his hair. “Why do I put up with you?”

“Mmm, because I introduced you to Princess.”

“Ah, there it is.”

With a fond laugh, you end up singing the same tune to Ais, warmth blooming in your chest as you watch as the tension melts from his shoulders.

AWWWWW

ALR

So there was Ais. NOW

UNTO LEANDER

Leander

We’ll start at the Wet Wick, it’s a night full of laughter, dancing, and chaos. It didn’t take the crowd much convincing to get out the instruments and break into drunken songs and shanties. The bartender frantically swipes cups and mugs off the counter as piles of boots stamp across the wood, stomping to the bustling rhythm.

Leander is talking with the Bartender, trying to calm them down as they gesture to the rowdy bunch messing up the tavern. Seeing his stress, you try to find a way to keep the energy, but douse it enough so the crowd doesn’t end up bringing down the roof.

You grab the nearest instrument, climb unto a table, and clear your throat. It’s been long enough that you’ve already gotten most of the Bloodhounds respect, so the mere sound gets the majority to quiet—the scattered noise snuffing out as they get harshly shushed.

All eyes on you, especially the toxic green of Leander’s, you feel your confidence flicker for a moment before you straighten your back and try out a few tunes on your instrument. Mustering up your best confident smile, you dramatically gesture to Leander, who looks curious, amused, and definitely a bit confused.

“I would like to dedicate this song to our dear Leander, and—“ You shoot a glance at the Bartender and wink. “And our lovely, ever so gracious, patient host.”

The crowd laughs, lifting up their drinks with encouraging smiles. The bartender massages their temples, though you spot a hint of a grateful smile before you dive into the corniest, sappiest love song known to man.

****

ALR

Now again, unto an mc who’s a bit more shy.

It’s been a long day, and it shows on the both of you. Though Leander’s eyes always look like he hasn’t once slept in his entire life, you can tell by how slow he moves that he’s more exhausted than usual. He leads you to your room, stopping at the door to unwrap your bandages, pressing a kiss to your knuckles.

You almost want to ask him to stay this time, in hopes you can get him to sleep. At least for a few minutes. But when you open your mouth, you feel the words die on your tongue. It ends like every other time, you say goodnight, he leaves—begrudgingly—and you go inside your room regretting not saying anything.

But this time, as you’re washing the dirt of the day off your face, you keep thinking about him, how tried he looked—nope, you gotta find a way to get that man to sleep.

Drying off your face, you slide your door open and start your search for Leander. The tavern is buzzing with the usual energy, but he’s not among the crowd. Carefully avoiding everyone, you slip behind the counter and into the back.

(I have like, no idea what the back looks like—but for the snippet, I’m guessing it’s some kinda kitchen.)

You see him, his large figure shadowed by the dim light. You can hear a faint humming as he sluggishly cleans off grime from one of the counters. Taking no notice of you yet, you inch closer, listening as the humming turns to quiet lyrics.

It’s a love song you know, sounding deeper, almost solemn in the tone of his voice. It’s calming, soothing, though it makes you feel a little sad.

You walk closer, closer—until you bend over his shoulder, chiming in with a more cheerful take on the song. He flinches, head whipping round—eyes widening in shock before softening at your face.

“Oh, Mc, I thought you went to bed.”

You shrug, “Can’t sleep.”

His brows furrow in concern, tired eyes looking over yours. Before he can say anything though, and before you can lose your confidence, you plunge for the first words to come to mind. “Not without you.”

His eyes widen again, blinking.

That…did not sound nearly as subtle as you had hoped.

Heat rushing to your cheeks, you plow on. “I—mean you just, look really tired. And I’ve never really seen you sleep before—not like I would’ve watched you or anything. But look, everyone needs to sleep at least a little. So I was wondering if you would be okay with coming to my room tonight. Does that sound weird? I didn’t mean for it to sound weird—“

Leander’s laugh helps ease your embarrassment a bit, and he reaches for your hands, eyes glinting with adoration. “Well if you’re the one inviting me, how can I say no?”

If you knew it would’ve been that easy, you would’ve asked a lot sooner.

When Leander settles next to you, you reach for him and guide his head to rest over your chest, fingers stringing through his hair as you try to soothe the tension still in tightening his shoulders. You don’t ignore how frozen he feels, or how his heartbeat never slows enough to ease into sleep.

You kiss the top of his head, softly singing the song from earlier. Hoping it will help.

The night stretches on, and though your efforts put him at ease, you fell asleep before he ever did. His eyes only flickering closed for a few precious moments before he jolts awake. Leaving in the morning before you can worry over him again.

TA DAAAAA!

I’m so sorry those turned out to be long 😭 next time I do headcanons I’ll make sure to make them actual headcanons— but yes! Thank you so much for the ask !! The next batch will feature the rest of the LI and I’ll try to make them shorter.

For now though, I hope you have a wonderful day, find a heart shaped cloud, play your favorite game and that your pillow is cold on both sides! 🫶

[sunnyie-eve]

1 | Friends

Series: Significant

Paring: Colby Brock x Original female character

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1.3k

| MASTERLIST |

~

2014

"PEN!" Penelope heard her name being yelled by Sam so she goes to where they were.

"Thought you guys were recording?" She eyes everything.

"What's Colby's favorite TV show?" He asks her so she looks at him then Colby.

"Really? You called me for that? It's Regular Show." She tells him then goes back to what she was doing.

She had no clue why they invited her over when they planned to film for their YouTube channel. Because while they did that she just sat around on her phone or watched TV alone till they were done.

Penelope and Colby have been friends a lot longer than he and Sam were. They knew each other because their families were friends so they kinda grew up together. Then in Middle School, she knew Sam a bit more before Colby started hanging out with him in High School.

Getting bored waiting for the guys, Penelope just gets comfortable on the couch, "I should just go home but then I'll have to hear them bitch about leaving." She huffs closing her eyes cuddling a pillow.

By the time the guys have finished their video they wanted to go out to eat so they rush to Penelope just to see her sleeping. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Colby smiles at Sam.

"She's going to hate you." Sam pulls out his phone to film him for a vine.

"She'll get over it. I'm her favorite person." He stretches a bit waiting for Sam to tell him to go. "Nellie Belly!" He screams jumping onto her causing her to scream as he startled her.

"You're such an asshole!" She shoves him off her into the floor. "You too, Sam." She covers her face.

"You love me." Colby kisses the side of her head as he gets off the floor. "Come on. We want to go eat." He parts her knee.

Penelope moves her hands to glare over at Sam, "I said you will hate him." He puts his phone away after posting the Vine.

"I hate you too for not stopping him." She sits up throwing the pillow at him.

"Shouldn't fall asleep." Colby tells her from the other roll.

"Shouldn't invite me over when you plan to film a video." She gets off the couch, "It's pretty boring while I wait alone." She joins him in the other room.

"You can always come watch us."

"In that tiny space? Ha!" She laughs at him as she gets a notification seeing what they posted to Vine. "I really hate you both." She huffs seeing a few negative comments about her that she always saw since they first showed her.

She, to herself, was a tad bit heavy and cubby compared to the guy's slim fit body so it was obvious when they were next to each other. She's always been a tad bit bigger and taller than all the girls growing up. The boys knew about her insecurity and always told her she was just fine and ignore the bad stuff said about her.

They all take Colby's car to go eat and Penelope didn't feel like eating and Colby could tell since she wasn't looking at the menu, "Hey, you are fine the way you are. You can't starve yourself because of randoms online." He speaks up as Sam goes to the bathroom.

"You don't get it."

"Penny, you aren't no 800 pounds like a comment said. They're just jealous of you." He gives her a look.

"Yeah, right. Jealous of me." She laughs at him.

"Yeah, because they wish they were in your place being friends with us. Plus you say it like you look like some old ugly fat witch who eats kids in story books, which you are not. Nowhere near either." He tries to get her to understand taking her hand into his.

"As much as I appreciate that... You have to say that because you are my friend." She gives him a smile.

"Excuse me, I'm your best friend and no I mean it." He moves from his side of the booth to sit next to her pulling her into his side shaking her.

"Look who it is... taking my leftovers?" Penelope's ex stops at the table on his way out with his new girlfriend.

"Tyson, how can she be leftovers to me when I've known her since we were babies?" Colby glares at him.

Colby has always hated Tyson and told Penelope multiple times when she dated him that he wasn't good for her. He would treat her like shit and talk bad about her behind her back. Plus he cheated on her with whom he was dating now.

"Eww, you're here." Sam comes back to the booth.

"Babe, can we go?" The other girl tugs on his arm.

"In a minute."

"No, minute. You should go now. She's your ex because you cheated on her with that thing on your arm." Colby stands up making Tyson laugh and leave them alone. "I can't believe you dated him for two years." He takes his old seat back.

"If I remember correctly, you introduced us." Penelope gives him a look.

"Well, yeah but not so you guys can date. I hated him back then and had no choice to do so because he walked towards you." Colby explains to her.

"Can we not talk about Tyson, please?" Sam says as the waiter comes over.

"Plus I asked you if should I say yes to our first date and you told me to go for it." Penelope adds after they order their drinks.

"Only because you looked happy about it! If I was honest with you it would hurt your feelings because you're sensitive, Penny." Colby huffs.

"Wow... So how do I know when you're being honest about how I feel about things said online? Excuse me." She gets up and goes to the bathroom to call her sister to pick her up.

Sam just looks at Colby, "Really, dude? We know how insecure she can get, and you go and call her sensitive?" Sam slaps his shoulder.

"I didn't mean it like that though..." He says as Sam sees her leaving.

"Excuse me." He gets out of the booth as Colby moves for him so he goes outside to check on Penelope. "Penny, you know he didn't mean it like that right? He loves you to death so he wouldn't lie about the other stuff. When it came to Tyson then he just wanted his friend to be happy about her first date."

"I don't care. I just want to go home so Harper is coming to get me." She lets him know.

Sam sighs pulling her into a hug, "We care about you. If we didn't we wouldn't be a pain in your ass. We love you so much, Penny. It's just us three." He tells her as her sister pulls up.

"Love you too. Tell Colby, I'll talk to him later or tomorrow." She tells him getting in the car so Sam goes back inside.

"Harper came to pick up Penny taking her home. She said she'll talk to you later or tomorrow." Sam takes Penelope's old spot.

"I fucked up." Colby groans.

"I told her you didn't mean it like that. That you love her to death so you wouldn't lie about the other stuff. And when it comes to Tyson then you just wanted your friend to be happy about her first date." Sam tells him.

"I should have told her no then to save her from him."

"But you didn't because it was the first guy to show interest in her and she was over the moon." Sam adds.

"He wasn't the first... I've stopped others because I knew how they were. Tyson just beat me." Colby rolls his eyes.

"You've stopped other guys from talking to Penny?" Sam's eyes widen.

"Again, I was doing her a favor."

"That's not for you to decide though. You can't stop every guy from talking to her if they find her attractive or interesting. You're her friend, not her protective brother, father, or boyfriend." Sam gives him a certain look.

"I know..."

[definitelynotafurinasimp]

Congrats on 1.5k! Super proud of you! If it isn’t too much of a hassle #12 with Lynette if neither of them are taken?

“Aren’t those my Clothes?”

characters: Lynette x gn!reader

warnings: none, just fluff

a/n: This post is part of my 1500 Follower event, if you want to read other works belonging to it or want to request something yourself, you can do that here.

Anyway, thanks for the congratulations and I hope you enjoy!

Lynette

While Lynette liked her and Lyney’s stage outfits, something she would never say otherwise, not wanting to witness one of Chiori’s lectures again, she had to admit that they weren’t exactly clothes she would consider wearing in her time off, loungewear fitting her usual afternoon activities such as relaxing and reloading her batteries much more. And fortunately for her, she knew a person with a fantastic track record of picking the most comfortable clothes to wear at home.

When you opened your front door, only to be hit with the smell of someone’s favorite tea almost instantly, your eyes were quick to land on a particular pair of shoes. And while you had no problem with Lynette coming over to your home to relax after a successful show, even when you were away, giving her a copy of your keys for exactly that reason, the sight of her silently sitting on your couch while drinking her tea and reading whatever book she found in your bookshelf had something about it that just felt… off.

“How was the show, Lynette?”, you asked, her ear twitching for a moment before she looked up towards you, her previously focused look softening as she greeted you with an easy to miss smile.

“It was fine, nothing out of the ordinary”, she responded briefly, an answer you were happy to hear considering what happened last time her show didn’t go as planned. As the two of you continued to exchange a few words, you saw down besides her, only to notice her folded up clothes in the corner of your eye.

So that’s what felt strange! Your brain finally came to the same conclusion any normal person would have ended with immediately after looking at her.

“Hey Lynette?”, you called out her name, causing her to face you with a curious look on her face, “Aren’t those my Clothes?” Whatever responses you had expected, a shift back to her book and a casual nod of her head definitely wasn’t one of them.

“May I ask why you decided to don my clothes? Did you miss m-”, you teased, only to be cut off by her response.

“I like clothes that have your scent”, she said completely stone faced, causing your face to open in shock as your face filled with a deep red. Only for the entire mood to change when Lynette gave you an amused smile.

“Is what you wished for me to say, didn’t you? Check your pocket”, Lynette continued, you complying with her command almost instantly, only to pull a card out you were sure wasn’t there before, causing your eyes to widen in awe.

“As you might have heard already, distraction is the key ingredient to magic”, the magician explained without looking up from her book, a small blush and smile lingering on her face that filled you with nothing but adoration for her.

What a great magician you had the honor to date. To plan things out this much in advance to pull of a trick when you least expected her to, her change of clothes and bold words serving as one big distraction for her card trick.

…or maybe, it was the other way around?

[hatsunevitu]

when kyle was 16, his parents (mostly dad) decided that he had to understand how money are earned by hard and honest work, so they cut off his pocket money and gave him an advice to finally find a part-time job. kyle didn’t mind it much, so after a week or two of choosing the right option he decided to stick to something as peaceful and less stressful as possible, so he chose to get a job at the local library as an assistant. he already had experience in working with literature and students books – he was tutoring his classmates for a year by that time, plus the librarian was his mother’s friend so he didn’t expect any difficulties to get into his way.

until cartman learned about kyle’s new work and decided it was his moral duty to go into the library that he has never visited before and pester kyle every goddamn day. because kyle couldn’t do anything to stop this since he wasn’t allowed to start conflicts as a worker there. it also was prohibited to shout at the library so most of the time he was cursing and threatening cartman in a whisper. neither was he allowed to kick him out because the librarian truly believed that every child has the right to be in this sacred temple of knowledge.

and it was terrible.

every day kyle was expecting another trick from cartman – either it was total reorganising of the books on shelves from alphabetical order to matching colours, or a request to find a very rare book that only was in the library in one copy somewhere in the farthest corner of the room at the highest shelf – only to realise cartman absolutely knows this book has been missing for, like, three years by now.

kyle: Can you please stop bothering me?! You don’t even read books!

cartman: Sure I do! But paper books are sooo last century, I’m into e-books now.

kyle: THEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THE LIBRARY EVERY DAY, YOU SADISTIC ASSHOLE?

cartman: Making your life even more miserable and complicated than it already is?…

kyle: Why am I even surprised? I should’ve really guessed.

AND THEN one day kyle sees cartman in the library and mentally prepares for another portion of mocking, but surprisingly for him, cartman doesn’t even look at him, says simple and brief “hi” and goes straight to the reading hall, grabbing one of the books on the shelf. kyle can’t help but feel curious, because he’s never seen cartman so concentrated and serious – at least not the last few weeks. he sneaks up to him from the back:

kyle: What, have you finally realised what you’re actually supposed to do at the library?

cartman, shivering a little: You’re not supposed to scare the shit out of your customers too, huh, Kahl?

kyle: What even is this book? Knowing your tastes, I won’t be surprised if it’s, like, fucking Mein Kampf or something like that.

cartman, rolling his eyes: It’s none of your fucking business. And I wouldn’t read Mein Kampf, who do you even think I am?

and then kyle grabs cartman’s book and with surprise sees that it’s one of his most favorite books (i’m not sure what exactly it is but my personal hc is that kyle is really into dystopias and stories with political controversial subtext…), and he really can’t help but start discussing it with cartman. after, like, a whole half an hour of kyle infodumping him with the history behind this book, he realises they actually have pretty similar taste, and cartman’s analysing skills are so great he really understands all of the hidden messages in books, and they, well…. eventually start hanging out in the library discussing books they’re reading rn. to the point where kyle almost forgets about his other duties at work ‘cause he gets really consumed by all these discussions with cartman.

and he tries to tell about this to stan and kenny but they both just laugh because these two nerds who have finally found a conversation partner are fucking hilarious.

+ bonus about their preferences: they both are really into morally grey and/or generally antagonistic characters. and although it’s totally predictable for cartman, he was really shocked when he realised kyle adores “bad” and “immoral” characters as well (we aaaaaall know why…)

also i think kyle is more of a “plot” person who really enjoys reading about how the world in the book works, meanwhile cartman mostly prefers digging into characters, relationships between them and their psychological traits and traumas, yk? and it really helps, because each of them often notice little details the other might’ve missed.

[cornie-heesan]

Part One: "Leave me out in the forest to rot"

Staring| non idol! Bang Chan x fem!reader

Featuring| Other members of stray kids as supporting characters

Started| April 30, 2024

Ended| ???

Part| 1/???

Word Count| 789

A/N| This is going to be a multi-part fic where each chapter will come with it's own set of warnings to adequately fit each one.

pt. 2| All of my writings are works of pure fiction. In no way are they representative of the idols mentioned in them. If you don't like them, don't read them.

pt.3 The writing style of these parts will vary depending on the situation. Some parts may be written in 3rd person 'You' form or through the perspective of a narrator.

WARNINGS| none really, besides cussing because I am the way I am. This part is short. Trying to ya know, set the scene with this series lol

There are certain things that some would consider the simple joys in life. For example, reading a book, painting a picture, or even listening to a favorite podcast. However, those who do not enjoy some of these activities would rather you suffer a horrible day and spill an entire hot pot of coffee where coffee is not intended. 

Y/N is one of those simple pleasure kind of people- whereas her coworker Jeongin is one of the world’s biggest haters of her happiness. This is how the three opening baristas of The Cup House start their morning. Agonized screaming, cursing, and a whole batch of coffee wasted.

“Yang Jeongin, I swear to god when I get my hands on you- your ancestors will detest your very existence!”

“Fucking bite me, Y/N! I am not listening to that stupid podcast anymore!”

Felix watches in pure horror as the youngest of the baristas throws a dirty dish rag at Y/N- only adding fuel to the fire. From his couple of months working here, Felix has determined that the relationship between you and Jeongin borders on homicidal siblings. If one of you is worked up, then the other is right there to make it worse than it needs to be. 

“Guys! We literally open in two minutes!” Felix tries his best to start cleaning up the coffee around the two of you bickering- next thing he knows you’re standing behind the counter in nothing but the lacy bra you told him about over the weekend. 

“I swear to go Jeongin when I tell Mr. Kim about this bullshit he’s revoking your access to the fucking tips.” 

All the commotion leaves all three baristas too distracted to hear the bell above the door. Y/N and Jeongin are bickering back and forth as Felix tries to hand Y/N a dry shirt to cover up with before any customers, let alone their boss see what’s happening.

“Wow… When Han said there was interesting service here, I didn’t think he meant this.” There’s a low whistle that causes the baristas to freeze- before turning to the two men on the opposite side of the counter. Jeongin and Felix recognized them as two of the employees from the music store across the street- a place they frequented often on their shared days off.

Y/N tries to keep her blush at bay when her eyes met those of the purple haired customer- he grins sheepishly trying to keep his eyes at a respectful level. Damn this man and his cute fucking dimples. Y/N snatches the shirt from Felix before glaring at Jeongin "Fuck you, Innie," her shoulder checks his as she storms by- blush crawling up her neck.

"Did we just witness a breakup?" Changbin snorts leaning against the counter "If I ever dated Y/N- I want someone to leave me out in the forest to rot." Jeongin scoffs before turning towards the kitchen to make a fresh batch of coffee. Chan watches him wide eyed before meeting Felix's already exhausted eyes- "They are friends through Y/N's younger brother. So like, by proxy they have to dislike one another."

Chan slowly nods, "but, why was her shirt off?" still confused about what The Cup House was all about "IN, spilled an entire batch of black coffee on her. I didn't stop their fighting in time to stop the strip show, unfortunately." Felix sighs grabbing the cups for their regular orders.

"I'd smash" Changbin smirks in the direction Y/N wandered off towards before a heavy slap landed on the back of his head "Shut the fuck up Bin,"

"Wait," Han stops the music playing throughout the store "You guys walked in and Y/N just had her shirt off?" He can't believe that "The one day I don't offer to go get the coffee!" He yells before getting a response "Dude, she didn't even spare me a glance. I doubt she would've noticed you with the way she was going in on Innie," Changbin snorts

"But she's so mommy when she's yelling like that" there was no hesitation with Han's response. He's always had a bit of a thing for women who yell and degrade him. Chan's eyebrows furrow as he looks away from his laptop. "You two need professional help," he says while grabbing his headset to pull over his head.

"Goooood morning, ladies and gents it's Chan,"

"Binnie"

"And ya boy Han- thanks for tuning into 3racha. All things music and a little bit about our personal lives," at this Changbin snorts "More like ninety-five percent our personal lives and five percent music."

"So, here's my first question out for the twitter audience- how would you react if the cute barista across the street was just serving you in her bra?"

So, this is part one. I wanted to use this as an introduction to the series. Also, to introduce the personalities- somewhat- of all those involved. You'll learn a bit more about the personalties of Chan and Y/N the further we get into this.

[pleaseburger]

Are you like, fr about recommending trrpg systems? Cause BOY I'm in the market for one. I've only tried Dnd (too rules, too expensive, too genre locked) and Fate which I'm still feeling out but I'm getting the feeling it's too freeform for the players I'm DMing for. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it, I guess.

Anyway, if none of that made a system spring to mind, just tell me about your favorite/go-to system and why it's that one!

of course I was!! this is my purpose as a micro influencer!!!

you have basically asked me the equivalent of "I have tried pizza, which is popular but I did not like, and tofu, which is too open to all the possibilities in the world (fate is good and cool, like tofu). what should I try eating next". so hopefully you see why this is hard to answer

I have been playing Starforged as my main game for the last year or so. it's the sci-fi fork of Ironsworn (which is free btw :3). ironsworn is lovely cause you can play it as a GM with a table full of players, or co-op with other players and NO GM, or even just by yourself!! the rules are split up into mini rules packages called "moves", which trigger whenever you do something in the game and then have their own varying outcomes that can suddenly change the game in ways no one expected.

characters in ironsworn are defined by Assets instead of a class or a big list of skills; each asset is like a superjuiced D&D feat, empowering you to do really cool stuff or even *giving you completely new moves that are unique to your character*. whenever you're feeling stuck, the Oracle tables are there to jump-start your imagination. my playgroup loves asking the Oracle for her opinion on stuff all the time. you can run a game of Ironsworn/Starforged as a GM with absolutely zero prepwork and be okay because the moves and oracles are there to support play.

my absolute favourite RPG is HEART: The City Beneath. it's gorgeous, haunting, evocative, and tragic. the core of the game's engine, the Resistance system, is a tension builder and drama generating engine, because as the players Do Stuff, they build up stress to their resistances, and then after building up too much stress, the dam breaks and it all comes crumbling down in a juicy dramatic consequence, which the book has like a hundred options for you to choose from if you cant think of anything interesting right away.

your character's background comes with a bucket list of things you could do (like eating something you really shouldnt, or getting a landmark named after you), called Beats, and then you pick 2 of those Beats every session. if you do either of them, you get a new ability from your class! it's very cool because it inherently tells the players what kind of cool stuff they can do, encourages them to do it by rewarding them for taking action, and it makes prepwork *very* easy for the GM because the players have to tell you exactly what they want to do the next session.

the classes in HEART are also some of my favourite archetypes out of any game I've read. the deep apiarist, who has hollowed out their body to be a host for a hive of psychic bees, can do things like get through tiny gaps by letting their hive chew up their body and rebuild them on the other side. the vermissian knights are basically an order of cursed paladins that are obsessed with creating a failed train network that was planned hundreds of years ago but never came to be. there's a gun wizard class. and all of them have a dozen abilities that are all enticing; no features that boil down to being a +2 bonus to attack rolls, you want to collect as many of these things as you can.

but the best part of game is the setting itself, the Heart. it's a red wet heaven under the surface of the earth, a rip in reality where a strange otherspace has crawled in. whenever someone enters it, it tries to build itself in the image of their desires, but it does this slowly and badly. everyone has a different theory on what it is. what this means for your game is that even though the heart has a very strong identity and hits a specific feel, it shapes to the style of GM you are and the desires of your players as the game unfolds. every table's Heart is just a little bit different.