#ooooh yeah is there ever anger

[byanyan]

WHAT TYPE OF LONELY ARE YOU?

loneliness born of anger

you learned from a young age you are not like others, and others hate you for it. you've been mocked and tormented your whole life, and it birthed a violence in your heart. you yell at your younger siblings when they slip up. you don't want them to suffer the same fate you did. at once, you are both miles above and miles below your peers. you are not polite. people no longer dislike you because of you, but for your biting words. it's better this way, after all. at least now you know it's your own fault.

tagged by:  surprise i stole it, please follow my example

[gh0stsp1d3r]

nah cause all i can think abt it rafe being an absolute DICKHEAD to everyone but you. like he 180 changes when ur around and it completely baffles everyone.

OOOOH yes. everyone tellin you “he’s a dickhead, I don’t get why you’re with him.” And youre like “wdym? he’s the sweetest boy ever.” because you nd him and literally like this everyday

his friends hate it sm. I imagine it would go something like this

🪷 ꪆৎ 🕊️‧₊˚♡︎

Everywhere Rafe went, you followed. His friends never had the balls to say anything and just let it happen.

At parties, he was drinking and leaning in his chair, talking to Barry, who currently smoked a joint. A man sat in front of them, offering them an amount of money for the gold from the cross.

Rafe shook his head at the offer.

“That all?” Rafe asked him, unamused.

“I mean,” the dude scoffed. “How much would you take for it?”

“This bar is at least 5 grand. If you don’t got the money, fuckin’ stop wasting my time.”

“How is that five grand?”

Rafe rolled his eyes, irritated as he shut the case the gold was kept it. “Yo, what the fuck did I just say? Stop wasting my time. Get the fuck out.” He nodded, the man scoffing and shaking his head, standing up and walking away.

Rafe seemed irritated, his eyebrows furrowed and his face rested in an annoyed expression. That was until he glanced up and saw you walking towards him.

The man that had tried to buy the gold pushed past you, making you furrow your eyebrows at his rudeness.

Rafe had seen it, his irritation and anger bubbling once again. You just shrugged it off as you continued your stride to your boyfriend.

And he saw your bubbly demeanor, bouncing around happily as you walked towards him with the sweetest smile. He melted, the corners of his lips twisting up to form a smile. You fell into his lap, clearly drunk as you slurred out his name happily, hiding your face in his shoulder.

“Hey, baby.” He mumbled softly and quietly, hands rubbing circles on your legs.

Barry raised his eyebrows at Rafe, Rafe motioning for him to leave, his old glare back before he turned his attention back to you.

“You tired?” He asked you quietly.

“Yeah. Wanna go home, Rafey.” You whined and complained. And with anyone else, the nickname would have had someone 6 feet under.

“Alright. We’ll go home. Lemme just clean up here, Kay’?” He patted your ass softly, gently getting you off his lap.

“‘Kay.” You mumbled tiredly, rubbing the sleep from your eyes and waiting, but before he could even turn around to you, you were fast asleep on the couch.

He sighed, shaking his head and smiling again to himself.

[myafterlifeisbetterthenyours]

Hello, can we have Blitzø, Husk, Rosie, Sir Pentious and Valentino(separately) as a couple, it seems that he is cheating on him but in the end it turned out that they misunderstood him, how would they react to his mistake with his S/O?

Misunderstanding

Blitzø

Blitzø sat in his van, as he had for the past hour, a scowl across his face.

He'd followed you from the Cafe you always went too, then after seeing you on the phone he followed you all the way to some random ass fucking building.

He watched as you knocked, the door opening to reveal some Imp hunk, and you eagerly greeting the guy before walking in, you wrapping an arm around each other.

He was pissed.

But not just regular pissed.

He was Royally Pissed!

But more than that... he was hurt. Really hurt.

The Imp drove home depressed. Anger. Fury. Sadness and regret all sloshing around in him like too much BeelzaBrew. The Imp analysing your entire relationship.

He thought you had a happy relationship. Sure you fought, but it was never anything serious. And you always had the best Make up sex.

He drove around, with no real aim, his body on auto pilot. Just driving. Mindlessly. Completely unsure what to do.

He'd go home, of course after stopping by a drive through liquor stire, the man stumbling into your shared apartment, the man walking in before freezing.

Your calendar...

Marked on the calender was fucking (ANNIVERSARY). And sure enough, checking his phone, it was today.

Blitzø had a full breakdown, drunkenly crying as he curled up on the couch, the poor Imp crying his eyes out between heavy swigs of alcohol.

About an hour would pass until you got home, suspiciously large package in your arms.

You snuck into the apartment, getting everything set up until you found him curled up on the couch, the man grasping a bottle, with even more scattered about, the man sadly blubbering to himself.

Youd approach him, reaching out. "Babe, are you alright?"

He'd slap your hand away, man jerking up on the couch, the man glaring big sad daggers at you.

"Well, if it isn't the big faaaaat cheater!"

He was clearly drunk off his ass, so the accusation of cheating wasn't as painful as if he were sober.

He'd stumble to his feet, jabbing his finger at you. Or rather, in your general direction.

The Man was drunk off his ass.

"Ooooh yeah. Everybody thinks the Blitzø is some sorta, Uh... dumbass man!" He burped, man snifling. "But iiiiim noo a foul..."

You give him a minute, ignoring his verbal typos, before reaching out again, telling him gently.

"Blitzø. I think you need to sleep off your little drinking session before we talk."

But as soon as you placed a hand on his shoulder, he'd smack it away, and with the most righteous fury you'd ever seen in the man, screamed at you.

"I FUCKING SAW YOU WITH HIM!"

The man stumbling back tears in his eyes. "I saw you with that fucking bastard... I saw... I saw you..."

You stood there for a good minute before sighing, you telling him softly. "Wait here."

Youd walk into the kitchen, flipping the light on to reveal the humble spread you'd put out. And grabbing the 'package' carried it over to him.

The large 'package' was covered by a cloth, you placing it down before him, telling him simply.

"Open it."

Blitzø stared at you before looking down at the package, the man glaring daggers at you before reaching out and snatching the cloth off of it.

It revealed a magnificent portrait of Blitzø, the Imp riding a Hell-Stallion.

Blitzø's eyes bulged, the man staring dead at it for a solid minute, the man not even noticing himself dropping the bottle.

Youd set down, pulling him into the seat besides you, you taking his hands in yours.

Holding his hands you'd tell him softly. "The man you saw was an art teacher. I've been seeing him to learn how to paint."

You spoke slowly, making sure he heard you.

"I know we don't normally go big on Anniversary gifts, but I wanted to do something special, so I took some lessons so I could paint that for you."

Blitzø took a minute, looking between you and the painting before he burst into tears, the man pressing his face into your chest as he tearfully apologised.

"IIIII'mmm soooo soooorrrryyy!" He sobbed, drunkenly clinging onto you.

"I- I- I- didn't mean to!" He stuttered, blubbering. Youd just hold him close, gently patting his back as he sobbed into your chest.

You just soothed the poor man, hugging him close as he had his drunken meltdown.

He'd quickly cry himself out, soaking your shirt and apologising all the while, you just telling him it was alright, gently patting his back.

Eventually he'd pass out, man out like the dead, you carrying your drunken idiot of a S/O to bed, making sure to be prepared fortyhe inevitable hangover.

And sure enough, the next morning Blitzø endured a awful hangover, though even as he groaned and threw up he was still profusely apologising, the man feeling even worse when he saw the painting and everything you'd set up for him.

Of course, you didn't care, you were just happy the situation was resolved peacefully, you tending to your poor idiot of an S/O. Letting him curl up with you on the couch as he slept off his hangover, making sure he drank plenty of water, hand running down his spiky, bald dome of a head.

Husk

Husk felt miserable.

And the most surprising part about it, was that he was miserable.

Since you'd arrived at the hotel, he'd been in significantly better spirits. But for the past couple weeks you'd been disappearing for long swaths of time, often staying out till later in the evening.

Husk wasn't an idiot.

And while he did try to drown himself in alcohol, knowing fully well he couldn't die of liver failure.

Though he had lowered his drinking significantly since your arrival into his life, the man actually, and it was hard to say but, you'd made him a better man.

But he wasn't a stupid man.

Back when he actually cared about people, he'd been cheated on plenty, though that may have been mostly his fault as he'd always put too much attention on his drink, rather then those people he cared about. Something he had tried to change with you.

But you still found someone better...

He wasn't surprised. The drunk of a tomcat was a poor excuse of a partner.

He'd be slumped over the bar, as usual, drunkenly grumbling to himself, man downing a bottle of what he hoped wasn't paint thinner as he laid there in his drunken brooding.

The man grumbled, rubbing his eyes as tears stung his eyes, the man wondering what was wrong with him.

Why did he always lose everyone he loved?

Youd walk into the Hotel, approaching the man, in relatively good spirits. Seeing him splayed out, drunkenly grumbling to himself, you grew curious.

Walking over, youd pull up a stool, you sitting there for a long minute before you started getting concerned, so you reached out, placing your hand on his.

Husk jerked up, you jumping back in surprise.

Husk stared at you, you asking him simply.

"You alright babe?"

Husk just stared for a long, pregnant moment. Before looking away, the man sighing as he slumped forwards, man wiping his face.

He'd stand there for a fee moments, not looking at you, only for him to ask bluntly.

"What did I do...?"

You stared at him, not sure I'd you'd heard him correctly, so you asked.

"You alright-" though you didn't get to finish as he blurted out.

"What did I do?!" He snapped, man almost in tears. "What did I do? What did I fuck up?!?!"

You stared at him, genuinely unsure of what was happening.

Youd wrap your hand around his, asking him bluntly.

"What are you on about baby? What did you do?"

Hunker diiiiidnt like that response.

The man yanking his hand out of your grasp, whipping away from you, the man wiping his eyes.

"What did I do?!" He snapped. "Why wasn't I good enough for you?!"

At that things slowly started to connect.

"Baby... do you think I'm cheating on you?"

Husk paused, thinking 9ver your tmstatement before turning and staring at you.

"Your... not cheating on me?" He asked, the cat caught of guard.

You, with a gentle smile, shook your head, telling him. "Nooo baby, I'm not. I'd never cheat on you."

Husk stood there for a moment before bringing up your regular absences, the long stretches you'd spend out of the hotel.

To which you'd sigh.

After a moment, taking your seat, you'd tell him that you weren't cheating. You explained that you'd just met an exe from before you'd died. You weren't sleeping with them, but you had been spending time with them.

Not for sex but just... just to remember when you were alive. When life was good and you were in your prime, back on earth.

You apologised for keeping it a secret. It was selfish but it was kind of your escape from the constant shittyness that littered Hell, something to block out the horrors you witnessed on the daily.

You apologised for hiding it. Holding his hand tight as you sincerely apologised for not telling him.

Youd tearfully tell him you loved him, and that you were so sorry for making him think you didn't.

At this point it'd be a completely intoxicated Husker that would comfort you, the man pulling you into a hug. A hug you'd eagerly accept, you tearfully promising to never make him feel like that again.

Pulling him close before you'd share a kiss.

Said kiss would grow rapidly passionate, you eventually ending up behind the bar, you straddling the cat, the two of you pulling off manoeuvres that would make Angel Blush.

And in the end, all worked up and steamy, you'd curl up with each other behind the bar, the Kitty cat holding you close as you drifted off to sleep.

Needless to say it was awkward when Charlie found you both the next morning.

The situation not helped by Angel whining about missing out on the whole thing.

But with your tomcat close by, the both of you sharing a blush as you all pretended what had most definitely happened, did not happen, well, at least you had each other.

Rosie

Rosie wasn't one to beat around the bush.

She'd wait for you at the entrance to your home, the Amazonian sized demoness, sat back in one of her beautiful sitting chairs, the sort you'd find in a Victorian manor, just waiting for you, teacup in hand.

And upon walking into your shared home, shed confront you.

"Well Hello darling, you've been out a while."

She spoke coldly, you immediately knowing you were in the shit.

With a timid smile you'd begin. "Hello dear, your up late!" You spoke, trying to hide your rapidly growing anxiety.

Rosie didn't lighten up, the lady in red telling you bluntly. "You smell like cigarettes." He leaned back, a scowl crossing her face. "And you reek of alcohol."

He'd place her cup down, frowning deeply, black pools glaring at you.

"Where have you been (Y/N)?"

Your face would contort into an awkward smile, you scratching your kneck as you released an awkward laugh.

She didn't laugh.

Instead Asking bluntly.

"Why are you laughing!?" She snapped. "You think this is some kind of joke?!"

"Running around, reeking of alcohol and cigarettes, returning at all hours of the night." She snapped before looking away, growling out. "Do I mean so little too you?"

At that you snapped to attention, gawking for a second before blurting.

"You think I'm cheating?!"

You blurted, rushing over to her.

"Baby! Sweetie! Love of my eternally damned afterlife." You reached out, cupping her cheek. "I am not cheating on you."

Rosie staring down at you, asking gently.

"Then what are you doing? Why are you out at night? Why do you reek like cigarettes and alcohol. Why have you been so secretive before disappearing all night?"

At that you sighed, nodding your head.

"Rose, my love, I have a confession." You began, running a thumb over her cheek. "Put simply, I can't drink any more tea."

You sighed, feeling like a weight had been lifted.

"What?" Rosie asked, clearly bewildered.

"Rosie my love, I love you. I love our home. And the aesthetic. And all the pottery and plating and all that stuff. But well, I've been going to a sports bar."

Rosie paused, clearly confused.

"Baby, I miss TVs. I miss modern, mass produced comfy couches. I miss the depleted unsustainable economy of a life you probably never saw."

"I miss cheap beer and overly salty peanuts and wings smothered in addictive sauce." You sighed, almost shuddering.

Rosie sat there for a moment, clearly confused before asking bluntly.

"If thats all it is, then why all the secrey darling?"

You gave another awkward smile, scratching your head. "Well, I know you don't like the 'false decadence of a unurned age of self indulgent walfwits', and I don't want you to, I don't know. I didn't want you to feel like I was choosing the cheap, crapy food and drink over you."

You finished solemnly, looking to the floor.

Rosie, seeing this sighed, reaching out before pulling you in close. "I'm sorry for thinking you were cheating darling."

You chuckled, telling her in turn. "And I'm sorry for not telling you darling. I promise, I'll be more honest from now on."

Rosie chuckled, and you leaned in for a kiss.

Before your lips met however, she pressed a finger to your lips, telling you bluntly.

"I'm not kissing you while your breath stinks of beer and cigarettes."

To which you broke into laughter, stumbling to your knees, head in her lap, giggling away.

"I love you Rose baby~" You purred, looking up at her.

Rosie just smiled back, running her hand through your hair.

"I love you too darling... even if you are an idiot."

The both of you breaking into laughter, you simply laying there, a pleasant mood filling the air.

Sir Pentious

Pentious was a mess.

Bottles of wine were strewn about his airships sitting room, the snake man sobbing as he drunkenly gulped wine from a bottle.

He'd wipe his face, forearm already soaked through with tears.

"Why doth you need to be a loutous betrayer!" He yelled.

It was perhaps his most unique quirk. The man liking to incorrectly imitate old Shakespearian speech when drunk, often saying thing that sounded almost right, but most certainly weren't.

Hed lay there, wallowing in self pity for who knows how long until you'd finally find him. Having searched the house you'd find the empty wine rack, already knowing something was wrong.

And while you'd already checked every place in the manor before, the trail of wine bottles had given his 'sactuary' away.

Youd knock on the steel door before gently sliding it open.

"Hello dear..." You began, staring at the wiggling mass of snake that splaid out before you. "Is everything alright?" You asked softly.

The snake snapped towards you, grabbing you, before throwing you onto the fainting couch he had splaid out.

Youd blush as he drunkenly scowled.

"Ooooooh~ like you don't know!" He drunkenly slurred. "Like you don't know why I'm drinking, you and that *hic* man... that bastard you've been seeing."

To which you'd stare at him, blushing as he leered over you.

Rubbing your face, you'd sigh, leaning forwards and gently cupping his face.

"Penty... he's a tailor." You sighed softly. "I'd never cheat on you."

You finished, but the snake simply stared at you for several moments, processing.

"Tailor... but what about all the... well I saw you undress?" He stated, conflicted.

Youd sigh, gently slipping out from under him ast you stepped out of the room.

Pentious would gulp down the rest of his bottle before you stepped in.

Youd be wearing a rather skimpy, of seductive, version of his outfit. The piece just covering enough to be seen in public, though obviously meant for the bedroom.

"I uh, I thought it'd be fun for... ya know... the bedroom~"

Pentious, red faced, smirked. His body recoiled, priming for a strike, and with the finesse of a heavily intoxicated snake, he snatching you up once more, throwing you onto his bundles up tail, his long lower form gripping you, holding you down.

"Well... I guess I've got to punish you~" He purred, leaning in.

"P-punish me?" You stuttered, face flushed as the man pinned your arms above your head.

Pentious smirking, face flushed lightly as he leaned in, hot breath on your neck as he purred.

"Of coursssssse~" she hissed, tongue flicking your neck. "You run around, scaring me to death~ Making me think the worst. "

His hands ran down your chest, tail sizing as it held you down, leaning in close before smirking, hot, wine tainted breath on your neck as he suddenly bit you.

Youd moan, the man injecting just enough venom to get you high. A speciality of Pentious', the man having used his vemon on your more then once~

But now, he was smirking, domineering you with little effort, tail bound, venom high, he'd trail kisses down your body, kissing you all over.

Youd be at his mercy, the man teasing, torturing you with the promise of pleasure, making you submit to him.

By the end of the night, you'd be a quivering, gasping and moaning mess, Pentious smirking victoriously as you lay besides him, face red, bite marks littering your body as you softly moaned and writhed in pleasure.

With a sadistic smirk covering his face, your legs wrapped around his snake hips, he'd lean in, whispering as he always did when in control.

"Don't worry darling... I'm not halfway close to being done with you~" He purred.

Valentino

Valentino was not happy.

You were deceiving him. Lying to him.

And that could not stand. He was out of the loop. And he hated being out of the loop.

Well that wasn't entirely true.

Truth was, you were telling him you were doing one thing, while you actually did something else.

Though he want sure why you bothered with the deception. He had more informants and eyes then anyone in Pentagram.

Well, except maybe Vox, man had eyes in almost every damn device in Pride, so he probably had him beat in that department.

But well, he knew you'd done something involving your anniversary. More then likely relating to a gift for him.

Though he'd intentionally not found out what it was, the man still liking some surprises in his life.

He'd watch you "sneak" into his penthouse, you smiling and giggling like an idiot. The man smiling as he watched you 'sneak' into his penthouse, covering something in your coat

"Welcome home darling." He spoke smoothly, smiling as you froze in place.

Youd turn suddenly, hiding thr gift behind your back.

"H-hey! Val! Baby! Didn't, uh, I didnt know you were home." You spoke awkwardly, scratching your cheek awkwardly.

You smiled a broad, awkward smile.

Val held back a smile, flushed with adoration, but couldn't express it, not wanting to let you on.

"I know." He spoke coldly, snuffing his cigarette before standing, you shrinking under his imposing form.

Reaching into his coat, you leaned back, eyes closed, expecting the worse.

"Happy anniversary sweetheart."

Opening your eyes, you'd find his hand extended, a white box with a big red bow atop it.

Staring at it for a moment, you'd look up at him with a cocked brow. The man simply smiling back, giving a little smile of his own.

Suddenly it snapped into place.

"OH!" You gasped, almost jumping in place.

Holding the present you'd turn rigid, before slumping, looking down you spoke glumly.

"Oh... Well... I'm guessing you know what this is then?"

Val just chuckled, reaching out and cupping your chin. "A gift. Anything else? I'm in the dark." He finished smoothly.

Youd release a relieved sigh, hand to your chest. Looking up at him you'd smile, leaning in and kissing his cheek before looking down at your present.

"Here, hold this." You told him, holding the present out to him.

Taking it from you, he watched as you turned around, lifting the rectangular present up, before carrying it into the other room.

When he tried to follow, you'd call back. "Nu-uh! No peeking! I'll tell you when you can come in."

To which he just chuckled, rolling his eyes as he leant against the door frame.

And so, standing there for a minute or two he'd wait for you, hearing you as you scrambled around, something glass shattering, your little mumbles and curses making him chuckle.

And so, after some waiting you'd call out.

"Come in."

After which hed step in, looking around the room until he spotted something on the wall. It was obviously your gift, covered in some sheet.

And so, turning to you, he'd give you your gift again, which you subsequently placed down, eagerly leading him to your gift.

Normally, he would have taken great insult at that, but given he was as interested in seeing your gift, as you were excited for him to see it, he decided to let it slide.

And so, with an eager nod from you, he'd tear the sheet off, the man stupefied.

It was him. Or well, a painting of him, and a handsome one at that. It was him sat back, his ever present luxurious coat complementing his stern face as he smoked a cigarette.

He stared at it for several moments before he turned to you, you utterly shaking in excitement.

"Do you like it?!" You asked, almost bursting at the seems.

"No." He spoke bluntly. He let it hang in the air for just a moment. Before reaching an arm out, he'd twirl you into his grasp, the man planting a deep passionate kiss. "I love it~"

Hearing it your smile came back in full force.

"Well that's good, cause I painted it." You spoke with a goofy giggle, puffing out your chest all proudly.

Now that took him off guard.

The man showing a rare flash of surprise, as he snapped between you and the portrait, That flash of surprise enough to make you giggle up a storm.

"Yyyyyep!" You grinned. "All those 'outings' were lessons. Been seeing this professional artist for lessons and now-"

You turned proudly, smiling at the present.

"I think I did the source material justice."

Val stood there for a minute, before the man scratched his cheek, telling you in a playful voice. "Well, for once I think my gift is outclassed."

Hearing that you'd release a gentle snort, rolling your eyes.

Picking up his gift, you'd step forwards, gently cupping his cheek. "Dont worry baby, its from you. I know ill love it."

Val smiled, gently kissing your palm as you pulled back, letting you open the gift.

It was a small red box, the words 'Love you forever~' etched into the top, the smooth rosey wood that expensive kind of glossy.

Opening said gift, you'd find a rather beautiful golden locket, the simple gold heart having the words 'My Love Forever~'. "Oh, babe, it's beautiful." You gushed, hand to your chest.

Val stepped forwards, still surprisingly meek as he took it from your hand, binding it around your neck before pulling up up, holding it in his palm as he showed it off. The man easily opening it open to reveal images inside.

The left was a beautiful image of you and Val in a loving embrace, you recognised it from one of your first dates. It was a good memory.

And in the right, well, let's just say it was a raunchy image of a very undressed Val, the man smiling a very Val like smile.

And so, clicking the locket closed, you smiled, taking his hand in your own.

"Ya know... I've been wanting to do one of you in your 'natural glory' for a while now~" you spoke, making sure your intention couldn't be missed.

"But first." You began, grabbing his fuzzy collar, pulling him towards the bedroom. "But first, I think I need some... physical refrences~"

Val, simply smirked, man shedding his coat as you made it to the bed, where the two of you... tried out some positions for your next piece.

[pjsk-writin]

A request that's gonna be quite angsty but there's really no way that I'm going back now that I'm typing this, can you do poly vbs with a reader who's in a similar situation like mafuyu? Like how Mrs Asahina (ain't no way I'm calling her mafumom) restricted mafuyu from activities that are connected to niigo or music, so readers mom is basically just pulling a Mrs. Asahina move, and like how would vbs help reader during this momment?

ooooh yeah, i got you! mrs. asahina sucks and i hope she explodes. but as for this req, i hope you like it! <3

◇ TRAPPED - (Poly!) Kohane Azusawa, An Shiraishi, Akito Shinonome and Toya Aoyagi x Reader

Honestly, all of them felt like something was off for a while now. You couldn't stay out with them too long, and when they asked to go over to your house, you'd politely tell them they couldn't

All of them want to respect your boundaries, of course. They love you, and nothing would ever change that...Except finding out just how controlling your mom is, of course

All of them are very tempted to give her a piece of their minds. You're the best partner they all could ask for, and the woman who calls herself your mother dares to treat you like this?

But, Kohane has to reason with everyone that lashing out would only make things worse. So, they come up with a plan of action to help you as best they can

They agree that they can't act too hastily, but the moment that your mother's control becomes too much, they're prepared to help you out

In terms of who to stay with, An will be your best option. Her parents definitely won't mind the company, and you could probably help out around Weekend Garage

Kohane is your biggest emotional support through everything. She's there to listen to how your mother's treatment has been making you feel, and validates it all

Akito is there if you want to be angry. He's all for rage towards parents, and is more than willing to help you vent your anger as best you can

Toya is there to help soothe you. He's a quiet supporter, offering you the space to talk all while listening with attentiveness. He may not have the words, but he's a comforting presence

Overall, the four of them work together to help support you through everything. You can expect a cuddle pile with them in An's bedroom as they all reassure you that you made the right decision in leaving <3

taglist ! ; @fayeelikefairie , @akitofixated , @starry-sky-melody , @akiyamasmizuki , @lovecord25 , @memoriesmelody , @mccnstruck

[localcryptic]

7 and 29 for Ripley and Tal? :]

ooooh these are two of my favorite questions from the list >:) thank you for asking!

7: Describe them in three words. Now let them describe themself in three words.

Tal: i would describe them as a paranoid vengeful ghost. they very rarely feel 100% real/grounded/connected to the world, and i wonder what they think their life will be once they're done with their unfinished business? i doubt they've considered it at all.

tal doesn't like to talk about themself, and they would make a lot of excuses to not do so, but after some thinking they would settle on tired, hardworking, and anxious.

Ripley: i see ripley as defiant, terrified, and passionate. he puts his whole heart into everything, which only makes it more terrifying when everything goes wrong. better to push everyone away and never face the vulnerability than to risk that heartbreak again.

if you tried to ask ripley to describe himself in three words, first he'd tell you "No," (probably while flipping you off), then he'd try to get out of it like "okay, three words: 'some fucking guy?' is that good enough? how about 'self proclaimed cunt'." with a lot of complaining and eye-rolling, he'd say "pissed-off, tired freak." (he's not good with words. and did i mention the defiance? yeah.)

29. What recurring dreams do they have?

(other than the sidestep typical recurring dreams, of course.)

Tal: tal dreams of faceless people and body-less hands. they dream of being the last person on earth. in their dreams, they always run too slow and speak too quietly, and even when they try to scream, it comes out as a stage whisper. they dream of glass boxes, display cases, a Los Diablos out of a museum diorama where the clouds are too fluffy and the light is too fluorescent. the people are plastic and the eyes are gawking back at them through the glass.

on the rare occasion they have a good dream, they dream of Ortega. simple pleasures. skin against skin without fear. on a good night, they could feel her hair in their fingertips as they braid it. hear her laugh recorded in a memory and remember the warmth as they press their lips to the back of her neck. on a good night, they could feel vivid, real and whole for a moment. but mostly, in their dreams, they are nothing. faceless and static and alone.

Ripley: ripley is especially prone to nightmares. being trapped. restrained. paralyzed. nightmares about the buzz of hot metal against his teeth, about freefall. the suspense of weightlessness, and the dread, because he knows what will come next, by universal law. he dreams of falling. falling. falling. a landing that knocks the wind out of him, hitting his head against the cold exam table beneath him, writhing, strapped in place. he dreams about blood in his mouth and a smile on his face.

he dreams of an endless cycle. trapped → escaped → free → captured → trapped. he isn't sure which part of the cycle he is in by the time he wakes up. he dreams of cinderblocks. and running. running as fast as he can, as far as his legs will take him, hoping those familiar restraints don't come for his ankles, dragging him down. dragging him away. dragging him back.

in his good dreams, he feels powerful. he has sunlight on his face and wind in his hair. his lungs are full of fresh air and he doesn't have anything to be afraid of. he still runs in these dreams- he can't imagine a life where he isn't running from something. but his weightlessness is ever fleeting joy and pride, without all the weight of guilt and anger he's used to. he wakes up from these dreams just as shaken as he wakes up from nightmares.

(sorry for the unbelievably long answer and THANKS SO MUCH FOR ASKING!!! the ask list is here!)

[lyrakanefanatic]

I mentioned in another post how Xander max and gigi can’t be left alone bc something ALWAYS happens, so here is the fic I made for just that!

Grayson takes a sip of his wine, glad that the dinner party is almost over. Him, Jameson, Nash, Avery, Libby, and Savannah were all invited to a “special” dinner party, and with all the drama surrounding us lately, Alisa made us go, leaving Gigi, Max and Xander at home. I’m mid chewing a perfectly cooked steak when Xander calls. “Excuse me for just one moment.” He said, getting up and walking towards the doorway. “Hello?” He says, answering the phone.

“Hellohihowsthedinnerpartygoing.” A nervous gigi speedily responds. I frown.

“It’s good. Is everything okay?” He asks, growing suspicion. “As okay as everything okay would ever be okay!” I hear Xander yell in the distance. My frown deepens as my suspicion grows.

“Gigi, what happened.” I demand. “Well, there was a situation with the microw-“ She says, getting cut off by the sound of smashes and glass clattering. My eyes widen. “Xander?” I yell into the phone. No response. I try again. “Max?” He said.

“Everything is perfectly fine! This microwave is just in need of a beating.” Max yells, before he hears another smashing sound. I grimace, before levelling my face into cool neutral anger.

“What the hells going on?” He demands.

“Me, max, and Xander all wanted to try and make a robot together. We all did pretty good, but we needed a bit of heat to turn it on, and I figured a microwave would be the perfect place to start.” Gigi said casually. Grayson could physically feel the years being taken away from his life.

“You figured a microwave would be the perfect place to put a robot?” He shouts. Gigi snorts.

“Okay, I can see now how it might have been a bad idea. But to be fair, you’re dirty rich. Can’t you just buy another microwave?” Gigi asks. All anger at this point has been placed by pure annoyance. Grayson drags a hand down the side of his face.

“That’s not the point! The point is, you could have gotten blown up. Or the whole kitchen could have been lit on fire! What were you thinking?” He demands.

Xander snorts. “That maybe you shouldn’t have let the idiot brigade stay home alone?” He jokingly asks. “My mistake.” Grayson says in deadpan. He hears another smashing sound in the distance.

“Is the microwave still on fire?” He worriedly asks.

“Nope!” Came max’s voice. “This is just very therapeutic!” She says cheerfully.

“Max.” He said, using his most stern Grayson Hawthorne tone, the one that said I mean it. “Put down the bat. Now.” Xander and gigi both made ooooh noises.

“Brrr. Fine, Elsa.” Max begrudgingly said. He heard a small clattering sound, and was sure she had dropped the bat.

“You do realize that Alisa is going to kill you all, right?” I ask them, a smirk plain on my face. There’s silence between them, before max speaks up. “Well, better that than the microwave.” She says, trying to be cheerful.

“No it’s not.” Grayson says.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

——————————————————————

btw this is my first fic ever so I’m sorry if it’s bad 😭😭 I didn’t rlly know how to end it too so yeah sorry 😭

[padfootastic]

No, tell us about the dorm parties and Lily finding out about them, pretty please

ooooh a tag question! love these too hehe

okay so. a lil bit of backstory: i had a semi-wild teen life, ykno? like. not as crazy as ~american high school movies but in the context of the country i grew up in? pretty unreal. there were parties and alcohol and weed and a lot of hooking up. so much petty drama. so much irreverence.

point is: i dont like it when teens are portrayed as some pure, untouched, prudish creatures who've never heard of fun or drugs or sex. it just doesnt fit with what i know.

and i fully believe that hogwarts--a boarding school where kids have MAGIC (which really just means unending possibilites)--was a place where the students went wilddd. one of the ways? dorm parties. u have these private spaces for just you and like. 5 others. u can do a shit ton with ur wand. why wouldnt u use it for parties ykno?

so yeah, i think the common room had larger parties after like. quidditch wins and end of exams, but bc its more people and more younger kids, u had to be more careful. dorm parties tho? smaller, more intimate, and ur with the people u know/trust so crazier shit will happen.

the marauders were invited to a lot of them in the girls dorms (and vice versa) and ykno. they went to a lot. bc teen boys and girls. it was all very scandalous--booze and short skirts and shirts unbuttoned off their shoulders and hazy smoke filling the room and lipstick marks smeared over chins and necks and the like--and incredibly fun. just kids being kids, yeah?

lily, though. i've long been playing w the idea that her friendship w snape (and chastisement of james--and sirius, to a lesser extent) came w a substantial social cost. her defending someone who was so shady didnt win her any points and i hc as her a person who hid her insecurity w self righteousness (on top of just. being a bit of an abrasive person) which didn't win her additional favors. so even her dormmates maintained a certain distance and the dorm parties didn't often include her. she only found out accidentally when she went up to the room it was happening in to get a book back and saw everyone buzzed out and dancing and more relaxed (intimate) than she'd ever seen.

it was genuinely a huge shock when she saw the boys sprawled across the room in varying stages of undress (james had a girl and a guy on a thigh each, arms wrapped around both waists; sirius was hanging upside down w a joint dangling from his lips and its a wonder he didnt choke himself to death) and she squeaked out of the room in a moment of severe cultural shock.

it was only later that she worked herself into moral outrage and just. hurt-filled anger type stuff, ykno? her roommates sort of had to give her a reality check in that moment. the marauders only blinked at her in bemusement, amused at her high-handed attempts to manage them.

[sunnybunny2468]

answering a entire ask game for one oc because i can (but its probably only gonna be miley)

(use the link for a key!!)

🌈 orange and grey, mainly neon orange and darker shades of grey (not black, more of a #48494a than a #acadb0 if that makes sense)

👁️ from how i see it? a moody teen who's only like that to counter his best friend. and while that's semi-true, he is meant to be a bit more than that.

💝 eeeeh....he just puts on a grey hoodie and calls it a day 99% of the time. he's always cold.

⚠️ 'incredibly paranoid and easily provoked, interact with caution.'

🌨️ outside with his camera, taking photos of anything that catches his eye, and probably napping in a few places while he's at it.

💙 somewhat messy, a few posters and a desk + spinny chair, closet, and a messy as hell bed

👖 i mean. hes in hs.

☕ he likes soda, cherry to be specific, but also can do with energy drinks sometimes. not often. he would refuse to ever sleep if he had them more.

🧁 8/31/2007, with his friend group. his parents try to leave something for him (one works day shift leaves a gift, one who works night shift gets a cake) but he spends the day with the rest of the quartet. Bri especially makes sure she wears something miku related (since him and miku share a birthday)

🧠 fight. easily fight. though he moreso.....either makes the other person try to hit him so he can dodge and blame it on them, or lets them tire themselves out.

💭 ooooh boy. inferiority complex, anger issues, paranoia, yeah hes doing great. a lot of shame, since he doesnt really feel like he's a good or worthy person.

💔 absolutely hard. he can come around to it after a WHILE, but forgiving himself is off the table.

❗ keeping his friends from other people bullying them, taking photos of important things, and just staying alive.

⚔️ he tries to stay out of it, unless it's someone he cares about or a unfair fight. then he steps in and ends it by either surprising the other person or scaring them off.

🌍 eeeh. he doesnt give a shit. he's not dying, is he? and he's a bad person, right? why worry about a way to redemption when you know you're already damned?

🌊 ...he really wants to take care of animals. cats, specifically. sadly, animals don't like him much, so he doesn't think it's possible.

✨ taking photos of his friends and keeping them physically. it's something to remind there are people who spend time on him and want him around. helps his self-loathing.

🧶 photography. he loves photography.

🍪 rain, somewhat flowers, and fire/smoke.

☔ he loves it. in his words, 'it keeps everyone else inside, so it's just me and my umbrella.'

🌲 his friends houses, but also a abandoned gazebo he found in the woods while taking photos. he goes there when he feels like being 100% sure he's alone.

⚡ no, not really.

🗡️ his camera, maybe?

💛 awkward as FUCK. he'll push lavender instead, he knows he's bad at it.

🧡 eeeeh. if you're trusted, absolutely.

👁️‍🗨️ don't. just dont. he HATES it.

🐺 he's alright with it. not for too long, but for a bit, sure.

🔅 cursing. LOTS of swearing.

🌱 (doing it from from ic dialogue) "Eh?- Early memory?- ...I guess meeting Bri is early enough. She approached me, pulled me up from my seat, and dragged me out to go play with her! ....I was looking for an excuse to talk to her, don't worry. Sometimes I wonder what would've happened to me if we never met...."

🐰 eeeeeh. depends on the person.

🍁 autumn. he likes it being cool but not too warm.

🌕 he'd be a standard orange fox. he loves them.

🦷 ......probably not. i hope.

🐉 dragon.

🐸 a lot of sarcasm, snide remarks and teasing.

🚷 he's blonde and has blue eyes (i have brown hair and hazel eyes)

📓 'I’ll take all your pain, so you’ll escape and leave someday' 'I’ll bear the weight for your sake', 'Your compromise is my invitation to fight', 'But don’t forget with whom you are associated, Which sounds unfair, but fair play is overrated', 'It’s not about the strength, it’s about where you strike', 'I’ve weaponized my helpless spite, Now how about that pride of yours?', 'A matter of morals, of course, Poor little boy can’t solve all his problems with force', 'It’s karma, dude!', 'I’m an undead hero', 'Pressure, pressure! A slick rhymed hooligan', 'Me, the result of blame-shifting, no, can’t find that funny, With just one mistake and I’m out of chances', 'Flames closing in, are both sides losers?', 'Let’s raise umbrellas as we shade the world from rain'

[byooregard]

1 8 18

1. character everyone gets wrong

I could say lots. no one gets any of them like i do. biggest ones uhh akechi but that's more half half and because I have extremely specific opinions on him. makoto because no one's willing to actually explore her character. haru because people see her axe and go ooooh she's full of rage!!! she's out for REVENGE when her whole arc is about how she can't properly express her anger and negative feelings & it doesn't really get resolved when . okay next number

8. common fandom opinion everyone is wrong about

the way people treat haru and her dad's death and her feelings about it is sooooo. haru isn't an angry person. she has issues expressing and coming to terms with her anger! she has a complex relationship with her father! I think she would hate akechi over it but I do think that boiling it down to just she's angry at akechi for killing her dad she's like. got so much shit I'm losing the track. I hate how p5 and most fanworks put her at the center of the whole like "do we forgive akechi" thing when futaba is there . also. they will go yeah futaba forgives him just like that but haru has to go on a whole arc about it and will be mad forever. sorry. I'm normal

18. it's actually criminal that the fandom is sleeping on...

MAKOTO NIIJIMA. MAKOTO NIIJIMA. she's such a character ever but everyone sorts her into 'the responsible one'. guys it's not her fault that atlus wrote a story about how one must work outside of the corrupt system instead of trying to fix it from the inside and then made her a cop

[beeejayy]

spirit from soul eater

🏳️‍⚧️😇🧸🪢🖕🫂👗💤

Anon whoever you are I'm in love with you.

Accidentally made this long sooo

🏳️‍⚧️ a gender hc- HES TRANS HES TRANS I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL. he is ftm TRUST ME.

😇 a hc about his religion/lack thereof- oh boy okay this dude? Yeah he definitely grew up religious. But now since he's literally besties with death Spirit doesn't really give a shit but he does still get religious guilt on bad moments of his.

🧸 a hc about his childhood- not good. Yeah not good. I hc he was born in the more uhh red states of America. Maybe Texas, south Carolina or even California. Spirit definitely was THE religious kiss ass kid before joining the academy. His mom acts a lot how I hc Kami to be which uh. Yeah I won't get into that. Spirit's father was absent and he was forced to go to church every time he did something his mom didn't like. After he even HINTED at wanting to be a boy he'd get sent to his grandparents place.

🪢 a hc about their family- okay this is basically like the last one. He was TOTALLY either the oldest child or middle child. He was in charge of raising his siblings and if he had an older sibling they DEFINITELY were the first one to find out he was a weapon and wield him for a while. His mom called him many bad names and sent him to the academy thinking it was a place to get rid of his ability, they kinda never showed up again after dropping him off though. His siblings accepted him as trans btw.

🖕 a hc relating to anger- ONG OMG OKAY OKAY SO I HC HIM HAVING ANGER ISSUES BECAUSE I HAVE THEM. He can get violent when angry, he's not a violent person by any means it just happens and usually happens when he's by himself. Stein though when Spirit is drunk and Stein jokes or presses his buttons too much about the dissecting thing, Spirit will start hitting him. Stein thinks it's funny tho.

🫂 a friendship hc- alright so this will never happen but it COULD IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE SO MANY PROBLEMS but Marie and Spirit COULD BE FRIENDS THEY COULD. Realistically Marie wouldn't want that at all. I've talked about this before with someone but they're like different sides of the same coin. Okay I'm gonna stop because I'm going to make this a really long fucking post but. They could be friends they'd bond over women and other shit TRUST ME.

👗 a hc about their clothes- everything he wears has a cross on it. If it isn't his clothing it's the cross necklace he wears under his shirt. This is pretty short but yeah. Spirit mainly likes his regular attire even if he's very sweaty under it. He does like Stein's clothes even if the stitching is tacky to him. Spirit doesn't really care about clothing much, his drawers are very empty.

💤 a hc about their sleep- ooooh boy. Spirit is still a heavy sleeper, he DEFINITELY snores LOUD. But does get a lot of nightmares, he wakes up a lot in the middle of the night, always feels cold he hates sleeping. He usually falls asleep accidentally on his couch or on the floor. Though, sorry about adding Stein in these but if he ever moved back in with Stein he'd enjoy sleeping next to Stein. At first he couldn't do it he'd sneak out to the couch or have VIOLENT nightmares but after a while trusting Stein wouldn't hurt him he'd be pretty good.

Wow did not mean to make that that long. Thank you SO much for the ask I genuinely love talking about Spirit Albarn.

[unsleepingtales]

Mall Madness! Holy fucking shit that was absolute madness. This episode started off pretty comprehensible and then became Not That.

The set looks so good!!

There’s no after bit. Ominous.

Look at their haaaaats

Cloaca mini is iconic

Cassandra mini Cassandra mini Cassandra miniiiii

THACO BELL

All the store names are incredible. Thank you for the battle set tour.

Oh my god this got intense quickly

Horrifying! I am so uncomfortable :)

Hold MONSTER??

What does that mean though Brennan. No spoilers but what does that mean.

Ooh editing!

This is heartbreaking actually

It’s not zeitgeist this is just a Beardsley Bit.

(It’s my favorite Beardsley Bit)

BRENNAN.

The other shoe has not yet dropped?? Bro??

Oh does time act all weird in the synod

Kinetic Jaunt <3

What are you Doing

Oh my GOD Lou

👀 you wanna jump on a table.

‘Does she need scratchies?’ ‘Ooh, you don’t got cats.’ (As a cat owner I felt this in my very soul)

I love arcane trickster mechanics so much

Is he FLOSSING

The amount of just. Pained groans. Coming out of the players this episode.

Why are they attacking them???

So mature I love them

Banged out that first level spell 😏

That’s fucking gross.

That’s horrifying!

You thought he was just doing it for shits and giggles

Allyyyyy

The dome art is great. Love bloodbath and beyond behind Brennan

I love that they’re trying to protect Cassandra

Silvery barbs baby!

(I love silvery barbs I used it a few sessions ago to stop someone ripping off our barbarian’s arm and I hadn’t told the dm that I took it in our last level up so the look on his face was delightful)

“This ancient mall” as if this is not an incredibly new development

Emily what are you about to do

Conor Counterspell <3

WHY

Awww

I need Cassandra to be okay. Please.

Fig loves an intern

This is so bad

ZERO INITIATIVE???

Oh my FUCKING god that post was righttt

Gorgug Thistlespring you genius I love you <3

Ooh the red energy is moving on the dome background love that

Gorgug!!!

Kristen. Kristen.

Also Ally I get where you’re coming from I really do but you’re level ten. There are so many opportunities to raise your dex between levels one and ten. This is a bit. I LOVE AND RESPECT THE BIT.

NAT FUCKING TWENTY THATS BEARDSLEY BLESSED MOTHERFUCKER

Minus three to dex, also in real life

Ooooh okay okay

We honor nat 20s on this show!!!

The character ability is I Read The Handbook

Are they what now

Oop

Forty one damage each?!

Goddamn

Hello??

What????

Brennan fully broke Emily with that. This is like Murph with the yorbies.

YEAH I JUST SAID THAT!!

What the FUCK Brennan

WHAT

What the fuck 😭😭

This is insanity

Girly said I think I need to go to the hospital 😭

Body or mind!!!

I’m losing my shit oh my god

The pride armor?? That Gilear took?

Oh nooooo

You did that sheet babe

Love the little field notes notebook <3

She’s so buff and still has no idea how to attack

Ok so these things are sentient

This is sick as fuck. Siobhan you’re the coolest person ever.

Look at Zac’s dice bag! It says Gorgug Thistlespring on it!

Rip Conor counterspell you were a real one

Oh god oh fuck

Oh nooo

Like she’s about to pounce!!

Zac and Siobhan are cat owners they know

Aaaaaaaaaaa

Oh my god

Horrifying. Horrifying!!

I love Fabian sooooo much

WHAT

Oh noooooooooo

Oh SHIT

We’ve had the box of doom out so many times this session

They’re already down why do you need to attack them????

NOT BEARDSLEY SINGING THE CLOWN MUSIC

Bardic Shrimpspiration 🥲

Oh my god that is so many dice

Clap if you believe in fairies

Yeah the statistics on that weren’t great.

Brennan said skanking in the most pensive voice

“I’m done talking to you” gorgug is excellent

Oof. That right there is what we call an oof.

(Listen the drawback to dating people with good music taste is sometimes you want to still listen to their playlists after you break up. It’s fine.)

I love it when gorgug tries to reason with unreasonable people

How many different Cassandra minis??

Anger is so powerful and it can be so destructive or helpful depending on so many awful factors aaaaaa

Beardsley has gotten good at d&d it’s incredible

I love this show so much

Oh my GOD

Now is the time for a Beardsley roll

FUCK

FUCKKKKK

Girlieeeeeeeeeeeee

Oh my god

The hands and the face that Ally does-

Big money no gilears big money no gilears

Oh my GOD

Babe he has given you so many rolls this is just fucking cursed

The cat brothers meme with Conor and Colin Counterspell

NINTH LEVEL CIRCLE OF DEATH

I am so stressed

What? For what? You did this for what???

WHAT???

Gross???

Are they gonna fucking. Redo this battle. And throw the party.

Hey hi hello what the fuck

Oh my GOD FUCK OFF FUCK ALL THE WAY OFF

I will break you in a way that none who loved you will recognize the ruin I have wrought. Brennan. Brennan stop.

Did Adaine lose her job :(

Has YES! been haunting Cassandra??

Where did Emily get a blanket from

Jesus.

Ohhh it was derisive

What an insane thing. We’re so back. And also what the actual fuck.

The slow zoom on Ally 😭

Fig and the Hangman <3

Murph is so committed to the goblin hisses <3

It wasn’t weird that I did that!!

The thousand yard stare

GSA STRONG

Does the hangman have a radio

I’m sobbing what the fuck is happening

NAT FUCKING TWENTY

Where was that when they were trying to save the god

Through fucking gritted teeth ‘I love my friends. I love my friends.’

What the fuck is going on

‘Religious awe’ wild way to put that Brennan

What the FUCK man

He’s too buttery!

Sooooo much property damage

Kristen is so goddamn traumatized and everyone is having a weird time.

So next week looks fun. I have no idea what thoughts are in my head right now. Gonna need to rewatch that tomorrow and see if I can pull some coherence from it. Most of it seemed to make some kind of sense at the time.

[useless-bi-otch]

Cookies'n Cream - Chapter 31

Last chapter / MasterList / art by @aneenasevla

Chapter 31 - Part of Your World

TIMELINE: This chapter takes place at the same time as Heavy Bakery’s Chapter 33, under a different POV. You can read it here

.

Thankfully, the building where the match would take place wasn't even ten minutes away from the hospital where he was. Okubo sighed, parking the car, now more angry than sad. Ooooh, when he had the chance to be alone with that bleached fucker, he was going to beat the ever loving shit out of him…

"It's easier for you to get said beating when those three figure out what you had to give up to come here..."

Okubo told his conscience to shut the fuck up. It was already difficult not to collapse right there, only his anger and anxiety for his friend's situation moving his legs, making him practically march towards the building's entrance, which was a place whose construction had been paralyzed indefinitely. He circles around, looking for the back entrance. There, under the shade of some trees, was a pair of frowning security guards guarding what appeared to be an emergency exit.

Okubo headed there, and he didn't have to do anything, the guys already knew who he was. They just moved away a little for him to enter, which he did almost at a run, snorting like a rabid bull. He noticed that there was a ladder that went down, so he went down, down, down… and found the immensity of the place strange… Ohh, it was an anti-storm sewer. As it was nearing the end of summer, the place was quite dry, and therefore safe for a Kengan match. He had to admit, the locations were always pretty unusual.

He soon heard the rising, vibrating sound of several voices, all speaking at once, excitement hovering in the air that smelled of sweat, cigarettes, expensive perfume and alcohol. Not to mention the distinctive smell of sewage, which was literally shit, but which served to distract him from his thoughts. It didn't take long before he saw a small crowd gathering, forming a circle around an area next to one of the huge pillars, where the fight was likely to take place.

"Excuse me… I'm comin' through…,' He was muttering, trying to find gaps to get into the middle of the crowd, taking advantage of his large size. He looked around, looking for familiar faces, familiar voices...

“…did you give him the address?,"  And those familiar voices finally reached his ears, closer and closer.

"Yeah, he texted me about ten minutes ago."

"Damn it, I can't stop wondering whether or not this was a good idea..."

"Would you rather he heard it from someone else, Kaneda? The news of the fight would spread within the association, and he'd be pissed if he found out that we kept it from him. I'm already tired of this drama..."

“Yeah, me too,” Okubo says, slightly louder for the other two to hear. And Kaneda and Himuro turned around and saw him with a very serious face. "I'm here. Where's that secretive motherfucker?"

"Okubo!," Kaneda exclaims, moving forward quickly. "You're right on time. Rihito's fight is about to begin..."

"The idiot is getting ready in one of those rooms that used to be used to keep cleaning supplies inside the building," Himuro explains, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pants pocket. "We talked to him a little, and then he told us to piss off because he needed to concentrate..."

"Oh, I know," Okubo crosses his arms. "Now he needs to concentrate, right? But when it comes to ignoring bureaucratic service, he's the fucking bast. I came running to help, but you can be sure I'm pissed as fuck."

"See? I told you…," Himuro snorts, lighting the cigarette and taking a drag. Kaneda sighs.

"We know, Okubo, and that's within your rights... but you know Rihito didn't do it out of stupidity. You were going to meet your girlfriend's parents, and this is serious business he didn't want to ruin."

"I SAID THAT…!," He stops, breathing deeply, and then normalizes his voice. "I said that I could postpone the meeting, I said I could make an excuse and put the blame on my coach, whatever. But nooooo, he had to leave me in the fuckin' dark- do you know how ridiculous that is?! I could’ve met Tomori's parents any other week! They’d understand!"

“We told him the same thing, but he wouldn't fucking listen!," Himuro growls, blowing smoke through his nostrils. "You know how that bastard gets when he puts something on his head, man. Nobody can change his mind, not even by trying to beat it outta him," He sighs. "Now there's nothing we can do. Leave the beating for after this match."

“Yes, and you bet it'll happen,” Kaneda nods. And then he asks, worried, "But what about Tomori? Himuro turned white when he realized that she was by your side during the call..."

"…," Okubo sighs, his emotions returning, but he holds them back, putting his hands on his hips, lowering his head, uncomfortable. "I told her everything."

Himuro and Kaneda widen their eyes. "What?!"

"Holy shit, man," Himuro puts his hands on his head. "Did she start questioning you after the call? That's it?!"

"Yeah, I was in the car with her," he waves with his hand. "Then I saw you calling, and you never call, so I thought it was an emergency and I answered it. And it was an emergency, but you spoke and then she heard everything."

"I didn't know she was with you in the car!," Himuro justifies himself, almost dropping his cigarette. "I thought you were still at the party and that you excused yourself to answer it, not that you were already leaving!"

"There was an emergency, we were going to the hospital, her father has heart problems and he felt sick. I still don't know what happened to him, but I hope he's okay…," He was worried. He didn't know how Tomori's father was doing, but he doubted she even wanted to talk to him.

"Huh? Is this serious?," Himuro widens his eyes. "Did your girl's father seriously decide to have a heart attack the very first time you decide to visit?! Holy shit, Egghead, the universe sure as hell can't make up its mind with you! First it fills you with luck, then throws you into a streak of bad luck…”

"Don't talk like that, Himuro," Kaneda huffs, disapproving. "But dammit, Okubo… I hope it's nothing serious. But that explains why Tomori didn't come, we thought you'd end up bringing her along, after having no choice but to tell her the truth."

“It was some crazy stuff. Now… I think the match is about to start and- Oh, look, it's Ohma. True, he's going to fight today…," he smiles, but they both notice that he doesn't really look happy. On the contrary, his chest retracted, his shoulders lowered… It wasn't normal for him. "How about we go greet him, guys?"

"Uh… sure, let's wish him good luck too," Kaneda nods, Himuro and him exchanging a dismayed look. "Okubo, is everything okay? Did- Did her father feeling sick during your first visit affected you that much?"

"Uh, more or less," Okubo blushes, as he walks towards Ohma. "I don't know what happened to him. The old man is one of those stubborn people who doesn't like taking medicine and thinks he's invincible. Tatsu, Tomori's brother, started insisting that I show them some of my moves with him as a volunteer, then insisted so much that it pissed me off enough to accept. The old man literally felt sick from laughing so hard," He laughed a little, mostly because of the ridiculousness of the situation. "Blood came out of his nose and everything, so we got desperate and ran to the hospital."

Himuro laughs out loud, while Kaneda puts his fist in front of his mouth and tries to cover his laugh with a cough.

"Oh my goodness, hahaha...!"

"So technically it was your fault? Holy shit, if everything ends well, Rihito will love to hear that story," Himuro shakes his head. "The day Okubo almost killed his girl's dad the same day he met him, hahaha!"

"Himuro, you shouldn't laugh at this..."

"Shut up, you hypocrite, you're laughing too!”

"Yeah, but it would've sucked if I'd killed him for real. Tomori, besides being hurt as she already is, would threaten me with death…," he gets closer and looks up. "Hey, Ohma!"

Ohma turns from where he was, a little too quickly, and looks at the other three. "Oh. It's you guys," His tone came out a little dry.

"Jeez, what's up, bro? Are you pissed about something?"

"Yeah. I am. Not with you though," he looks somewhere in the doorway, then at them. "Have you come to see my match?"

"Yes, Rihito's too," Kaneda nods. "He's going to fight today."

"Oh, I see…," Ohma looks around. "And where is he?"

"He is…," Himuro starts to say, but he is interrupted by the sound of several voices roaring with excitement in unison. As they turn around, they see one of the Kengan association referees stepping into the middle of the circle, which immediately widens as the crowd collectively steps back to open the diameter. Kaneda's eyes widened a little.

"Rihito's match is about to start! I want to see it closer..."

“Shit! Do you want to see it too, Ohma?"

"I will, but I can watch from here just fine." He leans against a box in the corner, arms crossed. "You can go."

Okubo is surprised but nods and goes with the others. A part of him desperately wanted to cheer Rihito on, while another part wanted to step into the makeshift ring and beat his ass himself.

"You asshole... if you lose this one, I swear I'll punch you until your nose comes out of the back of your head!"

"Fighters!," The Referee raises both arms. "Assume positions!"

"Here he comes!," Kaneda exclaims. And sure enough, from the left side of the ring, there came Rihito, barefoot and wearing only his leopard-spot-print shorts. And he wasn't smiling, baring his teeth menacingly like he usually did. Okubo couldn't remember ever seeing him so serious and tense before a fight.

"Yeaaah… he's going to the slaughter," Himuro comments. "Let's see what he's going to do.”

"And who is his opponent? Oh, damn...," Kaneda hisses through clenched teeth when Rihito's opponent enters from the right side. The guy was huge, easily surpassing seven feet in height, with the build of a grizzly bear and probably an equivalent weight. He had black hair cut short, a bearded chin, and a scar running diagonally across his face from his left cheekbone to the right side of his jaw. And from the look of it, he was just as interested in getting this over with quickly as Rihito was.

"This one is Okada Shinsuke. He joined the Association last year, from what I've heard," Himuro takes another drag on his cigarette. "Even though he's technically a rookie, he's already accumulated six wins, with no losses in between."

"That is, an opponent that Rihito cannot underestimate," Kaneda frowns. "And the worst of all is that he seems tense…"

"Yeah, no fucking wonder...," Okubo tightens his arms, frowning. "There's things at stake, many important things..."

"You two know the rules! I want a fair fight, you hear me?," The referee commands, and both nod, serious, measuring themselves with closed expressions. "In position... Beeeegin!," And he lowered his arm, the open space filling with roars of encouragement that echoed like in a baseball stadium.

Rihito is the first to step forward, aiming a powerful side kick into the crooks of his opponent's knees, his teeth clenched. Okada plants his feet on the ground, wincing at the pain but immediately countering with surprisingly fast punches for a man that size, one of which narrowly misses Rihito's face. The audience, as usual, went wild.

"Cave his fuckin' face in, damn it!"

"Show us the Razor, Superman, give him another scar!"

"Show him, Okada!," A man in the middle of the crowd, smaller and better dressed than the disheveled men around him, applauded with a mischievous smile. "It’s high time someone kicked that cheater out of the Association…"

Lihito grits his teeth harder, a vein standing out in his temple. This distracts him for a few seconds, and he almost gets punched by his opponent. He dodges in time, but feels he has let his guard down for an attack of opportunity, and gets a knee right in the stomach. The blow left him breathless, his eyes wide. Okubo grits his teeth, feeling the pain.

“Come on, man, you can do more than that,” he murmurs tensely.

"Ahahaha! You became a businessman, let the profit get to your head and neglected your own training, right?," The well-dressed man chuckled while the audience roared and cheered around him. "Going back to being just a fighter would be the best thing for you, so just let Okada put you in your place already!"

"What's with that asshole?," Himuro grunts, shouting in sequence, "Get up, Rihito! You're leaving your flanks unprotected, damn it!"

"I have no idea, it must be another businessman," Kaneda clenches his fists, also shouting, "Focus on the legs, the legs! Try to throw him off balance!"

Lihito tried to do just that, but Okada seemed more prepared now, bending his knees to not give his opponent any openings as he continued to attack. He still looked like he was in pain, so Rihito's blows still left an impact, but it didn't seem to be enough to give him any significant advantage.

"Son of a bitch... stop kicking and attack me like a man!," Okada roars, advancing towards Rihito in an attempt to grab him in a bear hug, and almost succeeds. Okubo, Himuro and Kaneda scream in alarm when Okada manages to grab him by the side, putting pressure on with his arms, and they even hear ribs creaking, dammit...!

Rihito seems to go blind with pain for a few seconds, his eyes glazed over. And then, with a roar, he thrusts his head forward, hitting Okada's face with his forehead. The big guy immediately lets go of him, clutching his bloodied nose as he snarls in pain.

"You fucking bastard...! You're dead meat, you piece of shit!"

There were more deafening roars from the audience, shouting unintelligible things as Rihito tried to catch his breath, panting. Holy shit, he didn't even look like himself...! And Okubo just couldn't stand it.

"Damn it, Rihito!!," He screams, his hands cupped in front of his mouth. "What the fuck are you doing?! Show him hell, Superman!!"

Rihito's eyes widened when he heard his voice, turning his head to the side immediately. And he freezes in place, astonished, as their gazes meet.

"Okubo...?!"

And he is interrupted when Okada's leg comes full speed towards him, hitting him full in the side of his body, hard enough to throw him sideways to the ground, right on top of his left arm. And a collective roar goes up in the crowd as the bigger man uses that opportunity to straddle him and try to cover him with a hail of punches.

"Rihito!," The other three idiots scream together, "Holy shit!"

"Aaargh...!," Rihito raises his arms in front of his face in an attempt to defend himself from the punches; the screaming was such that his ears ached and rang. And the asshole in the suit just laughed all the while.

"That's right, stay there on the dirt, where you belong!"

"Son of a...! Get up, Rihito! Resist, dammit!," Okubo screams at the top of his lungs. "Use your hips to unbalance him, make him dismount! You can't fucking give up now!"

"Come on, Rihito, react! He opened gaps in his lower body!," Kaneda even jumped, swinging an arm, while Himuro flicked his cigarette in the air.

"Use your legs, damn it! We didn't come all this way to see you lose! Get up, asshole!"

They could see, as if in a trance that slows everything down, the fire starting to return to Rihito's eyes, his sharp canines grinding as if they wanted to bite, tear flesh, tendons...

“Get up, you bastard, get up! I'll forgive you for lying to me if you get up!,” Okubo thought almost desperately. “I screwed up one of the best things that happened to me for you, damn it! Make it worth it, you-”

"GET UP AND FUCKIN' FIGHT BACK! GO RIHITOOOOO!," they all hear a scream in the crowd. "Don't just stand there, beat his fucking ass, damn it!"

Okubo looks ahead, towards the voice, and doesn't believe what he's seeing.

"Guys… are you seeing what I’m seeing?!," Okubo points out, holding Himuro and Kaneda by their shoulders, almost as if supporting himself so as not to fall.

And on the other side of the circle, right in front of them and seeming to stand out from the crowd even though she was so small, there she was. Her hair was even thicker and messier, her pretty face sweaty and flushed as if she'd run like a madwoman to get there in time, her expression twisted in a triumphant fury that didn't seem to suit her.

But it was still Tomori. No doubt.

"Tomori?!," Kaneda and Himuro shout, stunned, while the audience screams when Rihito, with a roar, throws his hips to the side, managing to knock his opponent off. And he takes advantage of his confusion to hit him on the side of the head with a circular kick, practically throwing him to the side, in an exact imitation of what had been done to him.

"THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!," Tomori yells, punching the air. "That's what mommy likes, dammit! Give 'im hell, Rihitooo!"

"Go, boss! Beat his motherfucking ass!," More familiar voices scream, and they all see at that moment that Tomori was being flanked by Ivan and Komada, Rihito's two employees, as if they were acting as her bodyguards. "We took a while, but we arrived!"

"Yeah! Win this one for the sake of our jobs, please!"

Okubo rubs his eyes, still in disbelief, blinking and gaping. This... this could only be a dream. Tomori was there, cheering, like the fanatic that she was, as if she was a regular attendee. He feels an unfathomable urge to smile, and he does, feeling his cheeks damp and his chest sink in, but in a good way. He feels his feet moving by themselves, from behind the crowd, still looking at Rihito, but trying to go to her side.

He wanted to cheer for his friend, yes, but cheering with her was even better.

Rihito, meanwhile, seemed to have completely renewed himself. He spits some blood onto the floor, cracks his neck and smiles. The fierce, scary smile they all knew so well.

"Sorry mate, but there are too many people rooting for me. If I lose now, I'll be fuckin' hanged. You understand, right?"

Okada growls angrily and charges like a bull.

"Fuck off, you piece of shit!"

And the fight goes on, even more brutal, but this time, Rihito's strikes were much more firm, decisive and technical, and soon Okada found himself being dominated, forced to go on the defensive. The businessman shrieks indignantly.

"What the fuck, Okada! Don't let that dirty mutt get the upper hand, you're far superior to him, you-"

"Mutt is that roadkill you call hair!," It's Tomori who snarls in response, and the man's eyes widen, stunned, when she flips him the bird. "Have you ever watched a real fight in your life?! Rihito has much more technique! This match is as good as won, so shut your pie hole and just watch!"

Ivan and Komada laugh heartily when the man blushes indignantly.

"Why, you vulgar little girl! Who do you think you are, you-"

"She's my girlfriend, shithead," Okubo snarls at the businessman. "Mind your tongue when talking about her, or we'll have three matches instead of two today."

Tomori turns to him, surprised, as the businessman turns white as a sheet. He takes a couple of steps away, his legs a little shaky.

"O-Okubo Naoya? You can't threaten a businessman, you stupid gorilla! Do- Do you want to be penalized by the association?!"

"I don't know, I already broke some rules today…," He touches Tomori's shoulder, frowning threateningly. "Are you going to give me reasons to break others?"

The man swallows hard. And then he slips through the crowd, all crouched, walking like he's shit himself. Ivan laughs with satisfaction.

"Well done, no one could stand that svoloch¹ anymore."

"And this girl here is your girlfriend, Okubo?," Komada asks in surprise. "We thought she was with Rihito..."

"Nah, Rihito is just a friend…," Tomori smiles at Okubo, panting, her hair sticking a little to her forehead because of the sweat. "This is my boyfriend."

Okubo smiles, looking at her, disbelieving his ears. It was as if his face was going to tear at the sides.

“YEEEES! I'm still her boyfriend!"

He hugs her sideways, trying to contain the sudden emotion, the relief. Was there anything more motivating than that?!

"Thank you…," he says only to her, then he raises his voice. "Come on, Tomoh, let's help this idiot finish this bastard once and for all," and he starts screaming. "Go, you son of a bitch, finish him off! Break that motherfucker!"

"Smash his face, don't show him any fucking mercy!," She screams too, and on the other side of the circle, Himuro and Kaneda could only laugh, disbelieving.

"A match made in fucking Heaven, Kaneda, just as you said."

Rihito no longer heard any of what was happening around him. He kept attacking Okada, pushing him further and further back, forcing the audience to move away so they wouldn't be hit. Okada growled and snorted, getting more and more cornered and looking furious about it.

"Bastard...! It's not just you who's good at foot work!"

He swings his leg around for a roundhouse kick, grinning as he feels it hitting flesh hard.

"Did you like that, you...?"

And then Okada's eyes widened, shuddering as he realized his leg had caught Rihito's hand, raised to protect his face. Rihito holds it, smiling almost maniacally.

"If I liked that? I loved that!"

And in a rough, incisive move, he throws his arm all the way down, his fingers hard and bent as if they were exposing claws.

Okada staggers back, gasping, paralyzed in mild shock. And then the audience goes wild as blood, red and thick, squirts from the huge gash in his chest like a fountain, staining the floor, pillars and even the clothes of the nearest unlucky ones. The man falls to the ground, screaming and shaking as he clutches his chest.

"Damn it, there's the Razor's Edge!"

"Where is the medical team? He's bleeding like crazy!"

"Yeah, that's what we fucking came for!"

The medical team immediately rushes to Okada's aid, while the referee, sweaty and out of breath, raises an arm in the air.

"It's over! The winner is Rihito!"

Rihito throws his arms in the air, roaring in triumph as he takes the audience's ovation. Himuro and Kaneda yell too, throwing punches in the air. Okubo also raises his arm high. 

"Fuck yeeeeees!!!!!," he yells at the top of his lungs, while Ivan and Komada go straight to hug their boss, lifting him in the air, too happy to care about anything else.

“That’s it! He saved the fridge!,” then he looks at Tomori and she looks shocked. He stops at once. "Tomoh? Are you okay?"

She doesn't respond right away, her eyes wide, her face a little pale. She swallows hard.

"What... What was that? How did he...? My God, so much blood...!"

“Oh… I told you these matches were brutal,” he tells her, trying to sound reassuring. He didn't know exactly how, but he had to try. "It was… it was one reason why I didn't want to bring you along, Tomori. The carnage here runs wild... sorry..."

She takes a deep breath, in and out, pressing her hands to her chest. And then shudders, shivering.

"Yeah, you... you weren't exaggerating... what kind of trick was that? He just made a one-arm movement, and then… damn, I don't understand anything," She shakes her head. "Come on, let's- let's just go compliment him, please…"

"Uh… yeah, let’s go…," he babbles, not quite knowing how to act, almost as if he couldn’t understand that she’s there. "I think he can explain it better to you, if you want to...," then rationality comes back like a rubber band. "But... no, seriously, how did you get here?!"

She also seems to wake up from the shock, staring at him in surprise. And then she turns red, playing with a lock of her hair.

"Ahaha, so… I forgot my phone in your car. I only noticed inside the hospital," She looks to the side, pouting. "And I thought I wouldn't be doing anything wrong if I tracked my own number with one of those apps..."

"Huh?!," Okubo blinks. "So you tracked me with your phone?!," he takes a step to the side. "Now it's official, woman, I'm afraid of you, ahaha."

"Hey, I tracked my phone, which I, by the way, didn't forget on purpose," She points at him, puffing out her cheeks. "I… I wanted to see this for myself. I felt like I wasn't going to understand, to accept it, until I watched a match like that. And if you didn't take me, then I'd take myself."

He was silent for a few seconds, thinking about what she said, as they headed to the makeshift ward. "I… I knew you'd be impressed, and I was afraid that it would make you… you know… give up on me. You have every right to do so, but I…," sighs, defeated. "I got anxious… I'm not brave when something very important to me is at stake."

"… I disagree," She says after a few seconds. "Because you were honest with me, even with the possibility that I wouldn't accept it and decide to break up with you. And you still came to support Rihito, even with that fear troubling you. You need a lot of courage to do that. And to be a great friend too."

He widens his eyes, blushing, and then he smiles, looking away, scratching the back of his neck. "Ah… I… I hope so. I had to be here. And here we are… I hope all of this… uh, well… has at least clarified what kind of person I am. This is my dark side, Tomori. This…," He opens his arms, as if showing her. "This is the underworld, and it's a part of me, just like Ultimate Fight is. My friends are from here, and they are the best. Would you… would you accept this dark side of me too?"

She looks at him with an unfathomable expression, again seeming to see right through him. And then she sighs, smiling with some exasperation.

"You accepted my dark side, right? It's only fair that I do the same with yours," She sighs again, more deeply. "The truth, Naoya... is that I wasn't exactly mad that you were part of something like this. I was more upset because... well... because I allowed myself to be vulnerable and let you see a side of me that I don't show very often. I was upset to think that you weren't doing the same, opening up to me like I had to you. I... I want to be part of your world as much as I want you to be part of mine," She holds his hand, looking at him with those huge eyes, warm like melted chocolate. "Even the things that aren't so right... because that dark side of mine also likes those things, haha."

He exhales in a weak laugh, hugging her sideways with the same arm she held. "I'm glad for that, Tomoh… and relieved as fuck too…," Okubo remembers. "Oh yes… what about your father? Everything okay with him? Well, if you're here then I guess it wasn't that serious, but still..."

"Don't worry, he's fine. It was a hypertensive crisis," She nods, letting him put an arm around her shoulder as they walk through the dispersing crowd, heading towards where their friends are. "He was still being treated when I left the hospital, but Mom commented that it was a matter of time because he keeps forgetting the medicine and not following the diet the doctor prescribed. He's going to get an earful, a new dosage of diuretics and a free visit to the nutritionist every fortnight to regulate his diet. He wasn't happy when he found out he's going to have to give up the beer until it stabilizes," She comments with an air of laughter.

He sighs in relief again. "That's good to know. Now…," he looks at the place. "Let's see how our other stubborn fella is doing."

"Yes, let's go. But... what about the other guy?," She looks over her shoulder, a little worried, at the pool of blood that Okada had left behind when he was taken to the makeshift ward. "Will he be okay? That was a lot of blood, dammit..."

"He'll be fine. Worse things happened at a Kengan match," he waves his hand. "And the medical staff is the best in all of Tokyo. There are pharmaceutical and medical insurance businessmen here, sponsoring everything."

"Holy shit, this really is more than just a back alley fight club where rich people place bets, right?," She makes a face, looking to the side. "To think that so many influential and important people are part of this... probably even the police are involved in this, right? My God...," She sighs tiredly when he nods. "It's too much for my head to process. I'm going to need some time..."

"I told you, Tomoh. It's a lot to take in," he walks into the ward. It was basically a cleaner stretch, higher up, of the sewer, where very sophisticated stretchers for something improvised were there, with equipment from a mini-ambulatory. And Rihito was on the first of the gurneys, being treated for bruises by a doctor, Himuro, Kaneda, Ivan and Komada watching from the sidelines.

"Thanks, dude, but I think you better go take care of that Okada guy," He commented, shuddering every time his injured parts were touched. "His blood spilled even on me..."

"And whose fault is that, huh?"

"Mine, I tried to be practical and make him more symmetrical, giving him a scar that went in the same direction as the first one, hehehe!"

"He barely saved his company and his position as a businessman and already went back to making stupid jokes…," Himuro comments. "Didn't even wait a day…"

Rihito frowns at him.

"You have no right to demand anything from me, Himuro. Not you and not that lil' fucker," he points at Kaneda.

"Jeez, I didn't say anything! Is this how you thank the friends who came to support you?"

"This is how I thank two bigmouths!," He points to the two of them this time, indignant. "I told you not to tell Okubo about my match, damn it! And on top of that he brought Tomori with him, that big head…"

"I didn't bring anyone!," Okubo raises his voice to him, approaching the makeshift bed. "She came on her own and because she wanted to. And I didn't say where I was. And you!!," he points to Rihito. "You hid your match from me! I said I could postpone meeting her parents, you fucking idiot!"

Rihito's eyes widened, his mouth opening but not making a sound. Himuro and Kaneda just watch in silence, serious, as Ivan and Komada exchange confused glances.

"Huh… can someone explain what's going on here?"

"I'll explain," It's Tomori who speaks, approaching the stretcher too. "Rihito hid from Naoya that he had a match scheduled for the same day as my father's birthday party, to which he had been invited. He didn't want Naoya to miss out on meeting my parents. But then Himuro called him, told him the truth and he decided to come," She looks at Rihito. "And I decided to come too."

Rihito swallows a little, frowning and staring at his legs stretched out on the stretcher. He snorts and frowns at Himuro next.

"Did you tell her too? Are you fucking high or something?"

"I didn't know she was listening at the time, damn it," Himuro grunts. "But yeah, she knows now, so whatever. And I won't apologize, Okubo wouldn't forgive you if he missed your match and found out later."

"Yep. You needed him here, Rihito, as much as you needed us and these two,” Kaneda nods at Komada and Ivan.

Rihito growls a little, hating being cornered. The doctor, having satisfied himself that he was all right, decided that this was a good time to make a strategic exit, quickly pulling away from the stretcher. Rihito took that opportunity to raise his voice.

"I should be the one deciding that, not you, damn it! And you!," He turns to Okubo. "What the fuck are you doing here? And with Tomori, no less! You were supposed to be at her parents' house, having a fraternization of in-laws or whatever they call that shit these days..."

"I was having one until her dad looked like he was having the beginning of a heart attack and we had to rush to the hospital!," Okubo points back. "But that's beside the point, the old man is fine, what matters is that I was going to take Tomori to the hospital and suddenly Himuro dropped a bombshell on me! You could have told me!"

"What- heart attack?!," Rihito's eyes widened and he looked at Tomori in astonishment. She waves her hands quickly.

"At first we feared it was the case, but it turned out to be just a high blood pressure spike! He'll be fine, he just needs his meds and some rest," She guarantees. "And when Himuro called and said those things… Naoya ended up having to tell me the truth. And at the same time he said he needed to go watch your match," She runs a hand through her hair. "And seriously, I... I wouldn't have been upset if he had declined the invitation because he had another matter to attend. There'd be other opportunities for him to meet my parents. But an opportunity to support you in a complicated and crucial moment... well, he'd only have this one…”

Rihito stares at her with his mouth agape, blinking a few times. And then he grits his teeth, muscles straining as he grips the plastic lining the gurney.

"Damn it, I... I already screwed things up for you guys once! I wasn't going to do that again!," He justifies himself, turning to Okubo. "And you are already an anxious wreck, I thought it'd only get worse if I made you think I was making you choose between me and your girlfriend! I don't want to do this. Fuck, I...," He stops shouting, shrugging, looking lost. "I thought I was doing the right thing, that's all."

Okubo shakes a little, tense. "Bro… It was all set for me to say things, everything was organized, I had even made mental notes to tell Tomori everything, but you had to be…," he pauses, Rihito cringing with his scolding, but he takes a deep breath and normalizes his voice. "You just had to be my best friend, right?"

The tension slowly leaves Rihito's body as he realizes what Okubo had said. His green eyes get even bigger, even seeming to ripple. And then he snorts and turns away, his bottom lip quivering almost imperceptibly.

"Stop- Stop with this sissy shit! I- I just did what you would've done for me too, no big deal..."

"I know, that's why I'll thank you," he sighs. "Now I think that… things are more or less resolved. You managed to win the match, Tomori knows everything and accepts it all," he turns to her. "I think…? Anyway, I'm fine. I don't have an ounce of anger anymore. Just let me know next time, I'm anxious but you shouldn't hide shit from me because of it, otherwise I'll get worse. And about the fine…," he crosses his arms. "I'll help you pay it," he raises a hand when Rihito opens his mouth. "No, you won't make a peep about that! If your company goes bankrupt, there will be no reason to have saved it, right? Accept it as an investment."

"We told you, idiot," Himuro snorts as Kaneda lets out a small sigh of relief.

"I'm glad this is finally over..."

Rihito now definitely looked like he was about to cry. He sets his mouth in a hard line as Ivan and Komada rush closer, agitated.

"Take it, Rihito, even if it's only half of the total!," Ivan encourages. "Then you'll have less weight on your shoulders and you'll be able to work more calmly."

"And fight too, because this one was very close!," Komada nods. "The debt that remains, we'll help you pay as best as we can, even if it's with more work."

Rihito shakes his head vehemently.

"No! I'm not gonna make you work overtime to pay off a debt that was my fault in the first place, guys..."

"Don't give us that 'no' crap, we'll help you and that's it, cyka blyat²!," Ivan crosses his arms, and Tomori had to admit, it was pretty funny to see employees giving ultimatums to their boss. "Get a grip, you gave us a job when we were at rock bottom! Do you think we wouldn't want to reciprocate in some way?"

"Ivan..."

"Okay, accept my help as payment for almost killing me that time, then," He points to the huge scar on the side of his neck. "Is that good enough?"

Rihito grunts, hiding his face in his hands, and they could well imagine it was because he was ashamed of tears.

“Uuh… yeah, fine! If- If I really don't have a choice..."

"... Huh? He almost killed...?," Tomori, who was already getting emotional, widens her eyes too. "My God, where did I get myself into…"

"I told you," Okubo rolls his eyes. "This is a shit show…"

Rihito seemed to remember that Tomori was there. He looks at her, all embarrassed.

"Uh... so, it wasn't Okubo who brought you then?"

"No. He left me at the hospital before coming here," Tomori explains. "Then I realized that I had forgotten my phone in his car, so I borrowed my sister-in-law's phone to do some tracking."

Her, saying that with complete calm, was probably what completely stunned the men.

"You tracked his phone?!," Himuro and Kaneda exclaim, to which Rihito points indignantly at her.

"See? I told you they're worse than a detective when they decide to investigate shit! But seriously, how did you get in here? There are security guards at the entrance..."

"I know! I tried to explain myself in the beginning, saying that I was with Naoh and you guys, but they didn't seem to believe me...," Tomori blushes, scratching the back of her head, "Damn, I thought I was gonna have to... I don't know, show 'em my tits or something like that to be able to go in, hahaha!," She laughs out loud, almost hysterical, ignoring their astonished expressions. "But then these two arrived and helped me, one of them even being Ivan Karaev, the Russian Reaper himself!," She smiles at Ivan and Komada. "Thanks again!"

"You're welcome, miss," Ivan waves with one hand, all happy for being recognized, while Komada smiles, all flushed. "We heard you giving Rihito's name to security and we thought you were a friend of his. It wouldn't hurt to lend a hand if the boss had his eye on someone," He laughs. "We just didn't expect you to be baldie's girlfriend."

"Yeah… I'm just a friend of these three," She smiles more tenderly. "And that's why I came too."

Okubo stared at them angrily, but then stopped, relieved that she didn't show them anything after all. But just thinking about her doing that made his blood boil...

"You see that, you jerk?," He mutters, crossing his arms. "She cares about you too."

"Of course I do! Aren't we friends now?," She smiles at Rihito. "That fight was great, Rihito! I- I still don't quite understand what you did at the end, and all that blood made me a little nauseous, but it was still amazing! I will definitely want to see more of your fights! From all of you," She smiles at the others, practically vibrating. "My God, I was right! Apart from the businessmen stuff and the risk of death, this Kengan association is a dream of mine that has come true!"

"Freaking nutcase...," Himuro and Kaneda say at the same time, affectionately, and Tomori just laughs. Rihito stares at her with the expression of someone who would kiss her on the mouth if she wasn't already committed to his friend.

"Uugh, you...!," And Tomori yelps when he pulls her by her arm, giving her a bear hug that made her gasp with lack of air. "Thanks, Tomori! And at the end of the day, I don't regret what I did, because thanks to that, you guys finally compromised! I'm so fucking happy..."

"Hey, hey, hold on! You can hug her, but if you cross that limit with my girl, you'll get your ass beaten!," Okubo threatens, half joking, half serious, while the others just laugh. Tomori ends up laughing too, patting Rihito on the shoulder.

"You're- You're welcome. But about the fact that we compromised... it was very close, actually."

"Huh?,” He looks at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well... I thought for a minute that all of this might be too much for me... that it wouldn't be worth having a relationship...," She admits, trying not to feel too bad when Okubo shrinks beside the stretcher, looking upset. "Naoh understood that. And yet... he decided he was going to watch your match and support you."

Rihito releases her in surprise, looking like he can't believe it. Even Himuro and Kaneda also weren't expecting this, all of them staring at Okubo as if they had never seen a more absurd thing in their lives.

"Dude… is this serious?," Rihito babbles. "The best thing that happened in your life in recent years, according to yourself... and you came here, even knowing that she could..."

"Yeah. A few minutes ago I was thinking that I had really screwed up, that Tomori was gonna break up with me, that I'd given up… but really, I… I don't need to say anything else, you idiots! Are we friends or not?," he approaches Rihito, pouting, his eyes shining with tears wanting to come down. He averts her face, closing his eyes, reaching his hand to him. "You're my partner in crime, damn it. Of course I wasn't going to let you down."

Rihito sniffles loudly, the sound coming out like a pig's snort. He reaches out and squeezes Okubo's hand tightly, nodding like a dog shaking itself.

"Yeah! Thanks for the support, Bowling ball Head!"

"You're welcome, you bleached faggot!"

"... That's it? I could've sworn they were going to hug each other or something," Tomori comments, sounding bored, while Ivan and Komada also wiped tears from their eyes and Himuro and Kaneda shook their heads.

"If you wait for that, you'll get tired," Himuro sighs, and Kaneda shrugs.

"Yeah. Just accept that they're idiots and this will never change, it's easier."

"Shut the fuck up!," Lihito shouts. "Now that you know the whole story, you can all go fuck yourselves-"

Suddenly, everyone heard a whistle sound.

"Hey, it's the next match," Okubo says matter-of-factly, and then he widens his eyes. "Shit! The next match! It's Ohma's! Let's go watch, guys!"

"Oh, another match?," Tomori exclaims excitedly, immediately forgetting her exasperation. "I want to see it, I want... Wait, Ohma?!," She screeches, widening her eyes. "Shit, it's true! Ohma's also part of this, isn't he?!"

They all flinch, especially Okubo, who now finds himself the target of several glares.

"Fucking loudmouth!"

Okubo gets a little embarrassed. "I, Uh...," He then gets pissed. "Aaarrgh! Screw this! She's with us now, so it doesn't matter if she knows more or less," He looks at Tomori. "And I'll let you climb on my shoulders to get a privileged view."

That seemed to be enough for Tomori to swallow that other bombshell more easily. She pumps her fists in the air happily.

"Yes! I'm in!”

"That easy...?," Ivan and Komada murmur together, blinking. Rihito laughs to himself, getting up slowly to grab a shirt, while Himuro and Kaneda just nodded in agreement.

"Like we said: freaking nutcase."

 * * *

"… IT'S OVEEEER!," The referee announces. "And the winner is Tokitaaaaaa Ohmaaaaaaaa!!"

The audience cheered and the floor shook with the voices of the spectators. What a show it had been! Ohma was still undefeated, but it was a close victory, which was always one more reason for the stakes to rise and the money to roll in.

And of course, for the audience to go wild, especially those who knew The Ashura personally.

"Hell yeah, Tokita!," Rihito screamed, throwing his arms up. "You fuckin' did it! I want to see that same performance when I get my rematch!"

"Hahaha, let’s say hello to him!," Okubo laughs, still looking at Tomori on his shoulders. "I met with him before and he needed to concentrate. But now the fight is over, so we can congratulate him."

"Yeah, let's go! Damn, it was amazing! I knew he was strong, but not that much...," Tomori comments, amazed, her hands on Okubo's head to support herself. "I wonder if Kanny knows that he's..."

"That he's part of the Association?," Kaneda looks up at her. "Why? Did she and Ohma get that close?"

"I wouldn't be surprised. Tokita making friends with the owner of his favorite bakery would be expected," Himuro jokes.

"Yeah, and he has a natural magnetism for making friends, I'm not surprised either," Okubo walks with her on his shoulders, as if she weighed nothing. "And she fed him, so it's a win-win situation."

"Ahaha, yes, that's partly it, but… uugh…," Tomori sways on his shoulders, needing to hold on to his neck so as not to fall. "You- You can put me down now, love, the match's over and my legs are still working, hahaha!"

Okubo only now seems to realize the fact. "Oh, uh, okay…," he bends down for her to go down. "But I was enjoying it, ahahhaha! You can stay there whenever you want," He smiles at her. And then he realizes something. "You called me 'love'...," He grinned like an idiot.

"Uh… I did?," She blinks, blushing a bit. And then she shrugs, giving a cute little giggle. "Oh my gosh, I did! But- But it's the truth, so I won't take it back..."

"Hehehe," he smiles, hugging her from the side. "I love you too…"

The other three just stare at the couple, a bit exasperated.

"Dude, I swear to God…," Himuro starts.

"That's what we're going to have to put up with from now on…," Kaneda continues.

"Arrgh, I can't stand that sissy shit," Rihito makes a face, his tongue sticking out. "That fuckin' fag... finding a girlfriend was enough for him to became the biggest sap ever."

"You helped them, now deal with it," Kaneda laughs, and Rihito and Himuro go ahead with him. Okubo laughs, and looks at Tomori.

"So, Tomoh… I think we have a new hobby, huh?"

"Which one?," she asks somewhat rhetorically, smiling.

“Making these idiots squirm with disgust and envy when we're together."

She laughs as they walk. They arrive where Ohma was with Kazuo and Kaede.

Rihito approaches Ohma. "Hey man, what's the deal?"

Ohma apparently wasn't listening, talking to the other two, when suddenly his phone rings, and he answers it so quickly he looks desperate. "Kanami?"

The mention of her friend's name makes Tomori raise her eyebrows, like a dog's ears.

"Is Kanny calling him...?," She wonders, confused, as she approaches. They were still a good few steps away and people were still crowding around them, so it was hard to get through that sea of ​​people to get to him. "Ohma!," She tries to call amidst the noise, but...

Suddenly he hung up, grabbed the sweatshirt and bolted while putting it on. Kazuo and Kaede almost bump into him in their haste.

"What is it, Ohma? Wait!," Kazuo runs after him. "What happened?!"

"Ohma?," Okubo frowns. "Shit, what's gotten into him?"

Koga and Ryuki, who were closer, heard Kaede and looked at each other, running too. Tomori feels her spine shiver and her blood run cold. Okubo feels her shiver at his side, and maybe everyone else's, especially after they both said Kanami's name.

"Let's go," Okubo announces, while also starting to follow the other. "Guys, let's get in my car before we lose them! If Ohma mentioned Kanami and he's so desperate, it can't be a good thing!"

"Alright! Hey!," Rihito exclaims over his shoulder to a group of fighters nearby. "Let Ivan and Komada know that there's an emergency, so they won't be lost than as a goose when they come back with the beers we ordered, please!"

The small group of men noded. And after that, they all quickly followed Okubo, Tomori included, having some difficulty keeping up with their momentum, but being propelled by that foreboding feeling, creeping up her chest and squeezing her heart like an icy claw.

It was just her luck that she was fearing for the safety of a loved one for the second consecutive time, on the same night. And she could only pray that this time, like the first one, wouldn't end in tragedy.

NEXT CHAPTER

[duelingdestiny]

@industrialpegasus it happened in the night. Malice didn’t know how it happened. Only one moment he was watching the movie and the next he was starring in it, with Atem screaming in his head.

He cracked his neck and anger immediately seethed through him. That bitch Azami tried to kill him. While he hated Atem with all of his hate, he needed the body so…yeah she was gonna die.

He bounced excitedly. “It’s been a while since I got to take a knife to someone.” He blushed a little and held his cheeks. “I hope I’m not TOO rusty.

Once he found his way down into the dungeons “Fucking labyrinth. Surprised I didn’t run into the Goblin King.” He snickered. “That would be Peggy wouldn’t it?”

Annnnnywaaaays. Once he found her, he made, well not quick work of her. In fact after gagging her with a shadow tendril, he spent hours torturing her. By the time they found her? There wouldn’t be enough to scrape up with a fucking spatula.

Now that he was out, it was time to SHINE. He would pretend to be Atem and see how many people he could take out before someone noticed. Peggy was DEFINITELY on his list. Atem would cry a whole fucking Nile if Malice could manage to slit his throat. Ooooh maybe he could get the other eye.

First thing was first. He needed a shower he was covered from head to toe in insides that were now on the outside. And he needed to deal with the security. Oooooh and makdd we sure everyone was trapped on the island. It could be like a horror movie! Best Halloween EVER!

[spiderman-homecomeme]

I posted 2,278 times in 2022

257 posts created (11%)

2,021 posts reblogged (89%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@karinaisloud

@cocoamoonmalfoy

@abc2411

@forasecondtherewedwon

@rejectofsociety

I tagged 1,164 of my posts in 2022

Only 49% of my posts had no tags

#spideychelle - 160 posts

#petermj - 159 posts

#ask games - 63 posts

#peter parker - 40 posts

#mj watson - 35 posts

#nwhspoilers - 28 posts

#yes - 26 posts

#anon - 25 posts

#yeah - 22 posts

#petermjane - 21 posts

Longest Tag: 98 characters

#it's also weird bc my art posts are always showing up in the tags at first but then disappearing??

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Smutty fic recs?

BOY HOWDY DO I

OOOOH yes!! here are some of my fav smut fics, some classics and some newer!

needless to say, all of these fics contain smut

--

until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky by @tvfanatic97-2 - honestly already one of my fav petermj fics. a porn-as-plot coming (heh) of age relationship study w on-again-off again petermj. it's *chef kiss* amazing

5/12 chapters

15k words

'Cause Girl You Earned It by @jenniboo311 - like!!! damn!! dom!peter in this is so so good, and the dynamic between the two is so wonderfully written

one-shot

4.5k words

Craving Your Touch by @anarchyduck - a little dom!mj!! as a treat!! peter gets blindfolded and thoroughly enjoys it :)

one-shot

960 words

Reckless Behavior by @spideysmjs - a friends to lovers where peter and mj are competitive about who's the best at oral. what ensues is hot and hilarious

one-shot

9.7k words

a peculiar offer by @spideyxchelle - mj asks peter for a favor, she wants to have a baby, and peter, being the excellent roommate and friend he is, offers to help. a sexy, and also very very sweet fic!!

one-shot

5.1k

Caught by @procrastinationpony - THIS FIC okay!! mj gets caught in peter's bed and it goes very well indeed !!

one-shot

3.4k

the way you make me feel by abusedtrademarkemoji - you may or may not need a minute to lie down after this one. the dirty talk and the slightly dom!peter is exquisite.

one-shot

3.9k

when you give that look to me (I better look back carefully) by @mjonesing - a fwb fic (that's due for an update EMILY) that i know is going to destroy me. another instance of porn as plot (or porn w plot that comes later, as em's tags say) that's fun and sexy!! and peter and mj are big ol' idiots in it. amazing.

4/10 chapters

18.9k

this coupon is good for... by flying_snowmen - a classic!! when will this fic return from the war? fair warning, it hasn't been updated since 2020, but it's still worth the read!! mj gives peter a coupon book for a gift, not realizing it's for sexy favors dsjlakfjd

See the full post

213 notes - Posted February 7, 2022

#4

Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years?

218 notes - Posted January 1, 2022

#3

✨SQUISH✨

241 notes - Posted April 17, 2022

#2

See the full post

365 notes - Posted January 26, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Do you ever see a take so bad it makes you viscerally react to it? like imagine watching nwh, hell the whole home trilogy, and your only takeaway is that MJ was a “useless, boring character” or that she did nothing to help Peter?? Sorry you can't understand the fact that people don't need to have powers to help someone?

Because can we talk about this scene? 

Peter is wrought with guilt after everything that’s just happened. MJ holds his face as she tells him “we’re gonna get through this and we’re gonna get through this together.” She holds his hand. She comforts him. She just sits with him. 

It’s not always about being able to fight. It’s about emotional support. It’s about helping your friend/lover stay true to themselves even in moments of wild grief and anger. 

The other two spideys show up at first to SUPPORT PETER. Not to fight.

So many times throughout this movie, Peter’s loved ones (May, Ned, AND MJ) keep him grounded when everything is falling apart. 

if you honestly can’t see how important that is to Peter and you think it’s just about being a good sidekick, then you don’t understand the character.

MJ does this throughout the entire movie, and it’s from the very beginning; right after the identity reveal in the crowd, at Peter's apartment, on video chat, on the roof. And that's just in the first twenty or so minutes. 

She becomes the optimism he needs and makes him hope when he becomes jaded after May’s death. 

there is no Spider-Man without the people he loves and the impact they've had on him. And in the MCU, there is no Spider-Man without MJ, Ned, and May. Even with the ending, Peter carries May's moral compass, kind heart, and sense of responsibility; Ned's loyalty and humor; and Michelle's love and optimism, forward with him. He's able to continue being Spider-Man at the end because of May's words to him and because Ned and MJ are okay.

And I don’t even wanna get into the whole “MJ Watson’s not coming back/oh well she lost her memories!!” thing bc that itself is a post for another time.

819 notes - Posted January 1, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[jimsandfruit]

Ring (Darkstache)

Summary: Darkiplier has held onto this little pink ring for long enough. It's time for him to finally take the next step, no matter how daunting it feels.

Word count: 900+

Tw: None, I think. Just tooth-rotting fluff

Five small pink crystals of rose quarts arranged in a circular pattern around a small diamond, resembling a flower. A golden band, circling the flower of crystals, resembling slightly overgrown vines.

A ring, that had resided under Dark's hardly used bed most of the time for months now. He had gained the bravery needed to purchase but lacked the bravery for the next step.

They were an entity that was created out of nothing but anger and the need for revenge. The idea of Darkiplier in love felt like the perfect example of an oxymoron to him. Yet here he was, sitting on the edge of his bed, cradling the small pink box in his hand for the third time this week, trying to figure out how to ask.

He took a breath and stuffed it in his pocket. This was getting ridiculous, and had drawn out far longer than necessary already.

But as the other egos started entering his life, he found a capacity for love. He found himself losing the need to destroy Actor. He found a need to protect the others. It softened him, and Dark honestly couldn’t be more thankful. He was no longer just a broken entity with one consuming goal. They felt real emotions now. Not just rage.

He was finally alive, but that didn’t mean he was used to it. The joy didn’t make the ring any less scary.

Some of the more astute egos had been pestering him for a while now. Little playful taunts here and there, about how he should just ask the question already. Wilford would surely say yes, so why was he so terrified?

–

He and Wilford have been together for years now. Everyone knew it was coming. They were all just waiting on him. Years ago he wouldn’t have ever entertained the thought of love. Years ago he was still focused solely on taking care of Actor.

Yet now he was focusing more on Wilford's weight gently leaning on him. The texture of his fur coat pressed up against Dark. The smell of bubblegum and cotton candy, with a hint of gunpowder. The way Wilford waved his free hand as he spoke.

Wilford looked over “Yeah?” He asked lightly.

“Would you mind accompanying me on a walk through the garden? It’s nice out, today”

Wils eyes lit up “Of course, gumdrop! One sec, let me grab my jacket!” he said, dropping his cards and running off to his room.

Bing noticed Dark straightening out his tie or suit more than usual. His almost nervous body language. His occasional deep breaths.

“Ooooh are you finally gonna do it?” Bing asked with a sly grin.

Dark glanced at the group of egos, who now all had their eyes on him, all with varying levels of excitement and anticipation.

“I swear if you all try to spy, I will ground every last one of you till next year” Dark scolded

The Jims looked very disappointed, showing they had had every intention to do so.

“Fine, fine. Everyone knows it’s gonna go well anyways. Go sweep your man off his feet” Bing said. Despite being somewhat teasing, there was a decent amount of sincerity and support in his tone. Yancy, Bim, and Illinois chirped in their own genuine agreement and support, causing Dark to feel deep gratitude for all of them.

Even if they had been a little intrusive throughout this whole process, he couldn’t help but feel happy that he was supported in this big scary step.

“Thank you” He said with a brief nod, still unsure about how to respond to such overwhelming positivity, and headed to the back door to wait for Wilford.

Soon, he saw his boyfriend barrel down the stairs, pulling on his pink fur coat. Wilford hooked his arm around Dark's arm and grinned “Let's go” He said happily.

Dark chuckled softly at Wilford's ever-constant enthusiasm, and headed out into the garden. “How’s your day been, my love?” Dark asked as they walked.

“I finally found out where my candy stash has been disappearing to! Turns out Dr. Iplier has a MAJOR sweet tooth.”

“Is that so?” Dark asked, a little amused.

Wilford nodded, leaning into Dark a bit as they walked. “Yeah. Which is so hypocritical considering that he insists candy kills you. Granted he says EVERYTHING kills you so I guess that’s not saying much...”

Dark could hardly focus on Wilfords words. Not that he didn’t enjoy Wilford's ramblings. He always loved hearing Wilford's excited explanations of typically mundane things.

“What a coincidence,” Wilford said with a grin, “I have something to ask you too”

“Wilford?” Dark asked, walking into the living room, where Wil was currently playing Uno with the Jim Twins, Bim, Bing, Illinois and Yancy.

Soon they reached a point of the garden that was as far from the Manor as they could get. He felt Wilford let go of his arm, presumably to pick a flower or mess with a butterfly he found. He took the free second to take a breath and reached into his pocket.

He pulled out the box and opened it, taking a shaky breath, “Wilford, I have to ask you someth-”

Dark froze when he finally looked at Wilford. He was on one knee, holding a small black box, with a dark crystal holding soft tints of blue and red, encircled by a black metal band. 

Wilford kept speaking about his day, full of energy. The energy that completed Dark.

[parcequecestnotreprojeeeet]

Hi, it’s me, Fanfic Anon #2. This one was inspired by the reporting this week that Emmanuel was none too pleased with that infamous passage in Bruno’s latest book, which made me think of the rumored book he wrote, which inspired this little fic. Hope you all enjoy!

"The nerve of that man!" He huffed as he threw open the door to his wife’s office, stomping with a frustrated pout towards the free corner of her desk, slumping against it.

"The nerve of whom, chéri?" She asked, slipping her glasses off her nose, and using her finger to mark her spot in the paperwork she was reviewing before his interruption.

"Bruno!" He replied, his voice tinted with the tiniest hint of a "duh" to it.

"What’s he done now?" She asked with a gentle smile, trying to calm him.

"The man had the gall when I pointed out how inappropriate some of the passages in his latest book were for the Minister of the Economy to be making, because who is going to take that man seriously now in a business negotiation, to say it was no different than what I’ve done!"

"What?" She laughed, stunned, wracking her brain to even begin to conjure what Bruno meant.

"That’s what I said! And he said, and I quote, ‘it’s not a secret you’ve written your share of naughty fiction.’"

"Ooooh," she breathed out, a blush coming to her cheeks as she realized what was meant. "That book."

"Yeah. That book," he sighed, the anger finally leaving his body now that he was able to unload with his best friend.

"Hang on a minute!" She exclaimed, herself now getting heated, "no one has ever seen that book but me!"

"And the woman who typed it and make its existence public."

"And the woman who typed it," she allowed. "But she didn’t share any of its contents, not really. She didn’t talk about the contents of that chapter where you bent me over that -"

"Brigitte!" He interrupted, not wanting the rest of her sentence to be overheard potentially by her aides in the room next door.

She laughed at that, laughed at how he had absolutely no problem being down right filthy in private but was so protective of their intimacy he cutoff any potentially embarrassing conversation where prying ears could be found. "Well, I can confirm it was certainly better written than the one thing I know about his latest work."

"Damn right it was!"

"Just ignore him, chéri," she consoled gently.

He sighed, a smile finally tinting his lips as he joked, "everybody’s a critic."

Hellooo fanfic Anon #2! ❤️

Hahaha you read minds because you I read that Emmanuel was not happy about that scene, I also thought “says the dude that wrote an entire erotic book but was just lucky that it never came out” 😅😂 And I do wonder if Bruno actually thought the same 🤭

Brigitte teasing him tho hahaha love it!

Thank you so much, fanfic Anon #2! ❤️❤️❤️