#or what if it’s a third option where he’s never thirsty but he does need a lot of water so he gets dehydrated a lot

[valewritessss]

So if we had to choose, would we choose that Percy needs more water than the average demigod or that he needs less water than the average demigod?

[immortaljackal]

@lovepurposed asked: [ mulberry ] what tips would you give someone with writer's block?

💌 colourful interview [ meme - accepting ]

Right, that most infamous and meme'd horror to all writers…

Only… one thing I've learned over the decades is that sometimes… writer's block isn't a lack of inspiration or word constipation or whatever your first thought about it might be.

Sometimes, it's executive dysfunction. Sometimes, it's depression. And it can be difficult to discern which, if either, or even a third secret thing. So my first bit of advice is ask yourself where you are in terms of your mental health as to whether there might be something making writing more difficult than what you want or expect it to be.

I don't talk about this often, but when I got away from my abusive ex, I had a whole saga of novels fully written in their first drafts and in various stages of being edited and rewritten. He found every copy - physical and digital - and destroyed them. This was before I had reliable cloud storage at all, so I lost pretty much everything for the entire four book series.

That very series is where Layla originates. She started out as a side character, one who didn't even show up until over halfway through the second novel. I was so discouraged by the loss of all that work, that I stopped writing for years. I even stopped joining tabletop roleplaying games and LARPs because I lost all drive for character creation and world building…

This, coming from someone who has won NaNoWriMo multiple times over the years, who has been writing as a hobby since they were eight years old. To have all words just stop… It wasn't for a lack of wanting to write, or a lack of ideas. I was simply too consumed by depression to write.

After I moved out of state, I was able to get health insurance, and I was quickly prescribed anti-depressants and therapy. Those helped. The words didn't come back right away, but it helped. I got back into roleplaying online with friends. Eventually, I gave roleplaying on tumblr another try.

Layla was the first muse I brought to tumblr, when I thought I might never write again. She became the new protagonist of the total rewrite of the series, turning things on it head and putting her at the front of the whole thing.

So if you're struggling with writer's block, start with yourself and your needs first: Are you hungry? Thirsty? Sleepy? In need of going to the toilet? In need of a shower? In need of some social interaction? In need of some random fun? In need of some new scenery? Treat yourself like a Sim and get your basic needs in check first. You might find that's all it takes.

If it's still hard after you've taken care of the basics: Is there something in your current environment causing you distress? If so, can you do something to alleviate it in any way to at least reduce its impact on you? How's your mental health? Are you feeling anxious? Depressed? Do you have someone you trust and are comfortable with to talk to about it? Again, do so if you're able. If you have the means, even consider approaching therapy as an option, as talking about things in general with a professional can help.

Now, if it's a simple lack of inspiration, or words are too hard? Writing manuals, like those from Writer's Digest, can be a lifesaver. As can the various blogs with prompts - and not just rp starters, but like the ones for fanfic and original works that you find on Dreamwidth and such.

Having trouble remembering a word? Try Tip of My Tongue.

Need ideas for where to start? There are tons of random scenario generators, first sentence/paragraph generates, etc. available for free online. Any little thing can be a spark in the right direction, if all you're missing is an idea. Let yourself scroll through artwork. Take a virtual tour through a museum. Listen to a podcast. Spin around in circles.

Give yourself permission to write poorly, then do it. Open a separate document somewhere and write the first thing that comes to mind. Does it suck? GREAT! You still wrote something! Save it, set it aside (not in the trash bin), and start another doc. Write something else. Rewrite the same thing, but slightly different. Turn left instead of turning right.

Whatever's throwing off your groove will pass. Sometimes it can be more stubborn than other times, and that's usually when it's a sign of mental health things. Don't be afraid to ask for help for those things.

Hell, try thinking about the other stuff you probably need to be doing that you've been putting off for whatever reason. I have seriously motivated myself into writing in order to avoid doing those other things. Brains are weird, so just try things until you find what works.

It's okay to get frustrated. It's okay to get discouraged when the words don't want to flow easily. Unfortunately, there's not a Drain-O for Writers to unclog things when the words get stuck.

And sometimes, the best thing you can do for yourself is just step back and let yourself not write for a little bit. Creative burnout is a bitch, so give yourself time to rest and just daydream a while. Read a book. Listen to music. Watch a movie. Play a game. Make your favourite hot drink. Eat some ice cream. Dress in drag and do the hula.

And remember, just because the words are harder than usual in that moment, they'll come back to you eventually. Even if it doesn't feel like it for a while.

[wanderinginksplot]

Hiya, I was wondering if I could please request 3 (Echo) with B+O (Injury/sickness recovery + first kiss)? I don’t really mind who’s in recovery or whether it’s 501st echo/bad batch echo, I just thought these prompts would lead nicely into a confession between our two main characters; also I just want to say I love your writing!! ❤️

Aww, thank you so much for the request and for being so kind, Anon! Sorry this took forever, but I’ve been stuck in an idea block for a week or two, and I ended up writing about four different versions of this. You’re very sweet, but you probably shouldn’t be nice to me, because apparently, it makes me write one-shots that are way too long. So here’s a 2700 word one-shot...

Also! It ended up being a tad spicy toward the end. Nothing anywhere close to M-rating, but more than I usually write in one-shots.

Echo + Injury/Sickness Recovery + First Kiss

The first time you met Echo, you didn't like him very much.

You were in the medbay for a sickness that was taking Coruscant by storm, hitting nat-born GAR members especially hard. As a nat-born intelligence officer, you had been ordered to the GAR's main medbay, which had been sub-divided into large bays full of cots. Almost every cot was filled with GAR personnel who needed treatment for the same sickness.

It wouldn't have been bad if you had been able to take the meds right away and start the healing process, but you had been on a dangerous mission and fought the sickness off for longer than you should have. It had worked and you had survived your mission, but you were severely dehydrated. The medics - all clone troopers, by that point - had ordered you to stay until you were fully healed and they could get your fluid levels back where they should have been. Faced with no other options, you had agreed.

And then the 501st had arrived. 

Through your IV, you had gotten through half a bag of a liquid you preferred not to think too hard about. The medics promised that your meds would be kicking in soon, and you would feel much better before the day was over. For the moment, you felt nauseated and every part of your body ached, especially your head.

When the troopers came in, their white armor painted with blue accents in various styles, they were so loud that the rest of the medbay went quiet. 

One of the medics, his hair shaved short to show off a set of intricate tattoos, hurried up to them as he pulled off his gloves. You could hear his hissed question from your bed on the other side of the large room. "What are you idiots doing here?"

One of the men beamed at him. "We're in trouble!"

You scoffed to yourself. You had no difficulty believing they had gotten on someone's bad side. 

The tattooed medic rubbed his temples. "Hardcase… what did you guys do now?"

You had heard stories about the rowdy 501st from other operatives. They were supposed to be a nightmare to work alongside, all explosions and heroics without any grasp of subtlety. 

One of the other men stepped forward and seemed to be offering an explanation, but he did it in a voice pitched low enough that you couldn't hear him. You were grateful for that, and did your best to fall asleep.

It wasn't to be, however, as one of the 501st made his way down the row of beds in your direction. He chatted with some of the other patients, laughing loudly at their responses. By the time he reached you, you could have cheerfully put a blaster to the 5 tattooed on his temple.

"And how are you doing today?" the trooper belted out. 

"In a lot of pain, actually," you snapped at him, a visceral response to the effect his voice had on your roiling stomach. "Can you please talk more quietly?"

There. A please. You were being polite.

"If I'm quiet, does that mean I can stay over here with you, pretty lady?" he asked with a wink, settling onto the foot of your bed.

You eyed him stonily. You felt revolting from the effects of the sickness, and you were wearing a GAR-issued medical gown besides. ‘Pretty’ was an attempt at flattery, and not even a believable one.

"Fives," the medic with the head tattoos admonished, stepping up to your bedside as well. "Stop. She doesn't feel well and she doesn't need you hanging around, making it worse."

"Me?" Fives asked, sounding both shocked and offended. "We both know I only make things better, Kix."

You sighed and wished with your whole soul that they would both go away. You just wanted to sleep.

"Besides," Fives continued, "We were ordered to help in the medbay. You wouldn't want me to disobey orders, would you?"

From the look on Kix's face, he had lined up a scathing retort that you were dying to hear, but you needed to make a brief announcement. "If this conversation continues right here, I am going to vomit."

You had never seen two grown men move so quickly. You would have smiled if you didn't feel so rotten. 

"Echo," Kix called softly with a worried glance in your direction, beckoning yet another trooper over.

This one had no tattoos, but you vaguely recognized him as the only trooper you hadn't been able to overhear earlier.

"Get Fives away from here," Kix ordered. "Keep him productive and occupied, but don't let him talk."

Echo nodded and gave you an apologetic nod. "I'm sorry about him," he said, indicating Fives, who looked deeply offended.

"Please," was the only response you could muster, cradling your head delicately in your hands. From the bit of your peripheral vision that wasn’t blocked by your palms, you watched his shoulders slump slightly as he towed his brother away. When you finally fell asleep, your dreams were full of Echo’s disappointed face along with strong feelings of guilt.

The second time you met him was only a few hours later. You were having fever dreams. The medication had apparently worn off and no one had noticed. In your dreams, you had called a medic over a dozen times, but you always woke to find that you hadn’t said a thing, and fell asleep again before you could.

It was one of these shallow, fitful dreams that Echo interrupted. “Hey. Hey! Shhh, you’re having a nightmare. Wake up.”

Thoroughly confused by the world of the surrounding medbay, you squinted up at him. “Echo?” He nodded and you launched right into the speech you had prepared in your sleep. “I’m sorry I was rude earlier. I just… my head hurt, and you guys are loud, and-”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for,” Echo assured you, crouching by your bedside to put himself on your level. “The 501st - and Fives in particular - is very loud. It’s our best quality.”

You snorted at that and Echo’s kind face broke into a warm smile. “You should get back to sleep. It’s really late. Or early. I’m not sure which, but everyone else is asleep, and you should be, too.”

“I think I need some meds, actually,” you admitted. “I feel like death.”

Echo frowned and reached up to brush his fingers over your forehead, flinching back almost immediately. “Kriff, you’re burning up! Hang on, let me grab a medic for you.”

You nodded, but grabbed his wrist before he could leave, “If you bring me some water, I’ll love you forever.”

It was just a childish hyperbole, something you and your family had said whenever you had asked for a favor, particularly a minor one. Echo didn’t seem to have the same connection with it, based on the way he had frozen in place and was staring at you with wide eyes that flashed between your face and your grip on his wrist.

Clearing your throat, you released him and corrected yourself. “I mean, please? I’m very thirsty.”

Echo turned around a moment later and you sighed, hoping your hot face looked like the flush of a fever.

You were half-drowsing when Echo came back with Kix in tow. You jumped a bit when Kix said your name, and Echo was quick to soothe you. “Easy, easy. It’s just us.”

He handed you the biggest glass of water you had ever seen and retreated halfway across the medbay before you had chugged half of it.

The next day, you were actually feeling better. Granted, ‘better’ was a relative term, but you didn’t actively want to die any more, and that was something. The only thing messing up your day was the lingering awkwardness between you and Echo. Every time his circuit around the room took him past your cot, he would avoid your eyes. 

From your calculations, he looped around the gigantic medbay room every six minutes or so. On his next lap past, you softly asked, “Echo?”

You had meant to be subtle and quiet, but you were still a bit less hydrated than you should have been, and it came out as a horrifying croak. If someone had called your name in that voice, you would have immediately run away, but Echo just turned slightly and looked your direction.

“I’m sorry for last night,” you apologized.

“You already said that,” Echo reminded you gently. “The 501st is loud. I understand why you weren’t happy with us.”

“Not about that,” you forced out, half-wishing you could just let him think you had been delirious with fever and thus not responsible for anything you had said or done. “I mean that I’m sorry for saying the whole love you forever thing. It was a joke, but I feel like it landed poorly.”

“There’s no need, really,” Echo told you. He smiled then, a small sad smile. “We clones don’t get to see much good in the universe. Not with this war going on. Even though you were joking, it was nice to hear something like that.”

You stared at him, trying to keep the poker face the GAR had hired you for.

“Besides,” Echo said with a laugh, “if you want to see how a bad joke really sounds, hang out with Fives for a few minutes. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to see the difference!”

You chuckled at that and the smile he gave lit his whole face as he continued his patrol. You watched Echo leave, thinking hard. It was ironic that this was the conversation where your heart had melted just a touch. It wasn’t love, not yet, but this third exchange left feelings that were inappropriate considering that you had known him for less than a day.

That night, you couldn’t sleep, betrayed by all of the napping you had done during the day. Echo was patrolling the room again and noticed you on his fourth lap.

He crouched by your bedside once again. “Can’t sleep?”

“Nope,” you admitted with a sigh. “Can you?”

Echo frowned. “I can, but I’m on watch right now.”

“On watch,” you repeated skeptically. “For what?”

“Someone has to make sure the patients are doing okay while the medics sleep,” he explained. “It’s a very important job.”

“Your brothers are all playing sabacc in the corner,” you pointed out. “Go join them. Or, better yet, get some sleep. I haven’t seen you take a break yet.”

“You were unconscious for over half of the day,” Echo reminded you. “I could have been on break then.”

“You weren’t,” you told him confidently. “Because you wouldn’t have known that I slept the whole time.”

Echo frowned. “You’re too smart to work for the army.”

“Intelligence officer,” you explained simply. 

Lifting his eyebrows in exaggerated shock, Echo leapt to his feet and gave a dramatic salute. You pretended to aim a kick in his direction and you both dissolved into muffled giggles in an attempt not to wake any of the other patients.

“If you won’t try to sleep, at least sit down?” you requested, indicating the foot of your cot as you struggled to sit up so you could move out of his way. “You’re stressing me out. I can’t be expected to get better if I’m stressed.”

“We can’t have that,” Echo teased. He helped you sit up before he did anything else, but the awkwardness of the position left him hauling you up by your armpits. You were thankful that you had found the strength to walk to the sonic shower that day, at least. “Not like I can get sick from you, anyway.”

Echo sat talking with you for hours, even after his brothers had all drifted off at their sabacc table. Before you fell asleep again, he brought you another giant glass of water. You accepted it with a smile. “Thank you, I really appreciate it.”

He nodded and left so you could get some sleep. By the time you had finished the glass, he was on the other side of the medbay and couldn’t hear you mutter, “Love you forever.”

For the next few days, Echo lived by your bedside. The conversations you had made you laugh so hard that you went into the occasional coughing fit and got the evil eye from Kix. So, you were less pleased than you had expected to be when Kix told you that you could be discharged the following day.

That night, you couldn’t sleep. Getting your sleep pattern back under control was going to be the biggest struggle, you reflected, staring at the massive beams supporting the ceiling.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” Echo teased, walking up. “Shouldn’t you be asleep?”

You waved a hand around dramatically. “I’m trying to commit these beautiful surroundings to memory. If I’m leaving tomorrow, I’ll need to remember the enchanting way the dust clings to that wall over there.”

Suddenly serious, Echo asked, “You’re leaving tomorrow?”

You nodded, and couldn’t tell if it was your imagination, or if he really looked disappointed. Still, he mustered a smile. “I’m glad.”

With a falsely offended gasp, you replied, “You’re glad I’m leaving? That’s rude!”

“No, I mean-!” Echo sputtered, grimacing at you when you started to laugh. “I’m glad you’re getting better. Even if you’re just as mean as the day I met you.”

“Yeah, I’m terrible,” you agreed with a grin. 

“You are not,” he countered immediately. “You’re sweet and funny and- I’ll miss you. Selfish, huh?”

“I’ll miss you, too,” you admitted. “I guess we’re both selfish. But, hey, you’ll finally get some sleep now!”

“I suppose I will,” Echo said with the ghost of his usual smile. “At least we can have one last overnight conversation. Unless you’re too tired?”

You rolled your eyes at him. “Sit down, Echo.”

The two of you talked for hours that night. The medbay steadily got more silent and your eyes began to ache. Try as you might, you were still recovering from your illness and the point came when you couldn’t fight it off any longer. You fell into a light doze as Echo was talking.

You were dimly aware as he finished his sentence and waited for a response, but you couldn’t make yourself say anything. Echo gave an amused sounding hum and stood from your cot. You immediately missed his warmth, but felt like he was still standing by you.

Soft lips pressed against your forehead and left as Echo started to move away. “What was that cop-out bantha dung?” you asked blearily. 

Echo jumped a bit and stared down at you, but you were half-asleep, impulsive, and you knew what you wanted. You sat up to grab his shoulders and brought him back down to you, kissing him with as much fervor as an extremely tired person could muster.

He kissed you back, opening his mouth to release an almost-soundless groan, and you were suddenly wide awake. With both of you actively participating in your embrace, it didn’t take long for the pair of you to get carried away. 

When you finally broke apart, it was only because someone had cleared their throat sharply. 

Echo pulled back, bracing on his forearms to look up at Kix while you peered at the medic from under Echo’s chest. When had he gotten on top of you? His hip brushed against your upper thigh and you abruptly didn’t care anymore.

“I take it you’re well enough to be released from here?” Kix asked, a raised brow accentuating his smirk. 

You glanced around to find that half of the medbay was awake and staring at you and Echo with expressions ranging from bleary bewilderment to amused approval. Some of Echo’s brothers were awake as well, though their faces ran heavily to outright shock.

“Uh, yeah. I’m ready to go home,” you agreed, glancing up at Echo. “Wanna come with me?”

Echo nodded and glanced up at Kix. The medic shrugged and looked at the ceiling. “No, I have no idea where Echo went. He worked several around the chrono shifts and then he disappeared. I assume he went to get some well-deserved rest. Sign here.”

The last part was directed at you and you obligingly scrawled your name on the datapad he was holding out in your direction. 

“Your personal effects are in the front room,” Kix informed you. “Drink some water now and then, would you?”

“Of course, thanks,” you said absently, attention already stolen away by the fascinating blush creeping up Echo’s cheeks. You slipped out from under him and grabbed his hand to tow him behind you. “C’mon. You’re gonna love my apartment.”

---

A/N - ahh, why did this end up being such a novel? Sorry about that! If you want to read similar works, check out my masterlist or make a request based on this post (or make something up and I’ll do my best!). Thanks for reading!

[undercoverwizardfanfiction]

Mud is Thicker Than Blood:

Sick Day

Summary: I said i’d put all the little shorts I have about the Mud Dogs and Donnie in one story, so here it is!

Gift for: @void-inked-pen birthday a while back. They are a amazing friend and a source of inspiration for me

Characters: Donatello, Loathsome Leonard, Mickey, Dastardly Danny, Myra, April O’Neil

Pairings: You’re in luck! all the pairings for this fic are just past this door [gestures to wall that has a badly painted door under it and the laundry basket above it that’s suppose to be some sort of trap]

“What is this supposed to be?”

Even though Len had been using as polite of a tone as possible, Danny still gives him a heated glare. He uses his spatula to scrape the blackened flat pastry off his frying pan and onto Len’s plate with the consistency of a dried brick. ”They’re called crespelle’s. My Dads used to make them for me and my siblings all the time.”

“Are they supposed to be…” Mickey pokes it with his flipper, “rocks?”

Danny lets out another angry huff. “I couldn’t remember the ingredients, alright??” he says, flipping another burnt disc onto a plate. Len uses his chopstick to poke at the burnt food. For someone who had known the sting of hunger many times and learned to not be picky, he finds himself wondering if he can sneak out back and compare the taste of the burnt disk to dirt.

The sounds of footsteps tells him the last member of their little family was coming down to join them. “Morning,” Danny calls. ”I got a nice big breakfast for my only grateful family member with taste!” Danny says as he starts stacking another plate.

Donnie is pulling on his hooded cardigan as he reaches the bottom step, eyeing the breakfast with a concerned eye. “Doooo I want to know?” he asks before looking to Len with a look that clearly says ‘remember how I never forget ‘best parents day’? you owe me’. It takes more than a little willpower to keep from laughing but manages to duck his head to hide his grin before turning to Danny.

“How about we spare my kid this time? He’ll never hit his height goals if he eats this.”

Danny unties his apron and stomps over and pours himself a cup of coffee all while grumbling about ‘uncultured swine.’ This time Len can't stop the snort that escapes him this time but when Donnie takes his spot at the table his smile falters as Donnie pours himself a cup of hot coffee. Leaning over the mug with a sigh, his normally dark jade complexion feels a shade lighter than usual and more than Len’s comfortable with. “You feeling ok?” he asks, moving his chair to Don’s side of the table. He puts an arm around Don's shoulders and without waiting for an answer he presses the back of his hand to Don’s cheek. The teen squirms at the contact but was unable to pull out of his grip.

“Dad, Dad, I'm fine I just didn’t sleep well. I had a bad dream again.”

“Why didn’t you come get me? You could have slept in my bed.”

“You got home late last night, I didn’t want to wake you,” Don says, still trying to twist his head away from Len’s hand.

“I’m the Dad here, Donnie. I’m supposed to worry about you, not the other way around.” But when he’s unable to find anything close to a fever he pulls away. He looks to Danny hoping he’d see something Len missed but the rat shrugs at him.

“Is it still ok to go tutor April today? Please? I’ve been cooped up here all winter.”

Len wants to say no, but sighs at the pleading look Donnie gives him. It had been a longer winter then usual, he didn’t blame his son for needing some space. He was no longer a five year old but he still had a hard time telling him no for no good reason. “Yeah, but if you start feeling sick you come home ok? Or ask Myra to help you home.”

“Yeah, yeah I know.” As Donnie downs his last bit of coffee he stands back up. Len had turned to poke at his breakfast again when he feels Don's arms wrap around his collar bone and rest his cheek on Len’s head. “I love you Dad. Thanks for being obnoxious and worried.”

“Aw. Love you too, silly gecko.” Len pats his arm in reciprocated affection. Donnie grabs his shoulder back and hurries out the front door. “Have fun!” Len calls after him. Only then did he look back to Danny. “He looked pale right?”

“Yeah but honestly it could have been the breakfast,” Mickey says, picking up a disc, “I even felt sick when I saw it.”

“First of all screw you,” Danny points at Mickey with his spatula, “Second of all, if he’s not feeling well he’ll come home. And third of all, next time you all can make your own crespelles.” Danny drops his last disk onto a plate when the shattering of ceramic fills the air. The three thieves blink at each other for a sec before Danny raises up the food slowly to show the plate underneath had been cracked in half from the sheer force of the crepe. With a defeated sigh, Danny drops his spatula. “Ok whose all for throwing these at trees and seeing if they shatter??”

Len and Mickey both raise their hands with a grin.

(#)(#)\/(#)(#)

“Donnie?”

Despite the softness of April’s voice Don jumps so hard his elbow hits the stack of April’s school books. It’s only by his reflexes that they don’t join the rest of April’s dirty clothes on the floor. It takes him a few moments to regather his scattered thoughts before looking to April. ”Did you say something?”

“Yeah, your name, like five times.” His oldest friend peers at him from over her glasses. “Are you sure you’re feeling ok?”

Donnie would have rolled his eyes if he wasn’t painfully aware of the migraine that would return if he did. Unfortunately, it had been haunting him ever since he woke up that morning. “For the last time yes. Uncle Danny made breakfast and it's just hurting my stomach. Now, the compound would be 23.6% more effective if you set the witch fire to exactly 129 degrees cinder.” He scribbles on the paper for a few moments before sliding it over to her. April casts him a suspicious look before looking over the paper again.

“If you ever convince your Dad to let you go to school, my Alchemy teacher would cry tears of joy. Again.” She pauses “They cry a lot.”

Don tries to smile but his aching head only allows him a half grin. As April starts adding his notes to hers he reaches for his yunomi of tea, not thirsty so much as needing the warmth for a subtle cold that clings to his skin.

There’s the sound of a door opening downstairs followed by the sound of a woman shrieking and dozens of items hitting the ground. ”A-April dear!!! I could use some help!” calls the unmistakable voice of the Mayor of witch town.

April was already out of her seat. “Coming Mom!” she calls hurrying for the door. “Don’t do my homework Dee!” she calls behind him.

“I would never!” Donnie says [even though he had already been reaching for her note book]. A few years ago he had the brilliant business idea, in lieu of being able to go to school himself, to do students' homework for them for a small [not so small] fee.

Of course before he could even launch his venture his Dad had found out and outright forbade it.

This time he’s unable to stop himself from rolling his eyes. The effect is instantaneous as the lights in the room become painfully saturated. He tries to cover his eyes but his world is already spinning.

It’s the last thing he feels before he blacks out

(#)#(#)

“I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed,” Len says in a tone that can only come from nine years of parenting experience. It does its job on Mickey who’s shoulders bunch up to the sides of his head, and even though Danny is trying to pull off ‘I don’t know how you think you can guilt trip me’ by leaning back in his seat. But it's hard to look innocent when the two of them are covered in mud.

“IT WAS DANNY’S FAULT!!” Mickey shrieks pointing at the rat. “After we knocked over a tree with one of his crepy things he told me that he knew alchemy that would make mud into chocolate and-and-“

Danny’s ‘calm bad boy’ dis option went out the window (which was also broken because of a wayward flying crepelle). “Who the hell raised you to be a snitch?!” the rat hisses.

“You did!! I learned it from watching you!”

The rat opens his mouth to argue before thinking. “Ok fine but I always taught you to get paid first.”

Len slaps a hand down his face. Normally he and Danny have reversed roles but he should have recognized that wild look in the rats eyes when Mickey was using one of the leftover crepelles as a tool sharpener. But Len, forgetting they were not in fact grown men but children pretending to be adults, had left them to their own devices.

There is a knocking on the door that makes Len sigh again. ”I have a fourteen year old and he has more common sense than you two.” He says in a way that is probably supposed to make them feel ashamed, but Mickey snorts loudly with his flippers over his mouth.

He opens the door to a flash of light that forces him to cover his eyes for a moment before his eyes adjust to the familiar form of the mayor of Witch Town. “Myrah?” He rubs at his eyes. “What’s going on?”

“I need you to come get Doniel, he has a fever and passed out while tutoring April.”

Len felt as though a cold chill had passed through his body, it was the only reason he hesitated. “Y-yeah just give me a sec.” He ducks back into the house, where Danny is already waiting.

”Len what’s-“

“Donnie passed out, I need you to come with me,” already the air of lighthearted teasing and jabs went out the window. Len is back down the stairs with a quilt from Donnie’s bed as Danny is grabbing his coat and tossing Len his. He almost feels bad for Mickey who can only watch on as the two exit. Myra waves her wand, the bright light from earlier returns, creating a portal in front of them. Len barely waits for the portal to form before stepping through. A moment later he is standing in the familiar oversized living room. He had been to the witch family house many times and each time was always surprised how disproportionate all the furniture was, (which made sense considering how tall Amaranth was).

The child in question was lying on the bright pink sofa under a thick blanket. There was a washcloth hovering over his head, every few seconds wiping at his brow. April looks at them when they enter with panic in her eyes. “I don’t know what happened Lenny, I went to help mom with groceries and-and when I came back-“

“Its ok April, it's not your fault.” Len takes her place by Donnie. His son's brow is furrowed underneath a layer of perspiration. Even though he already knows the answer, he presses the back of his hand on Don’s brow. His already racing heart is now beating so fast it almost hurts in his chest. He replaces the blanket Myra had given him with the one he had brought, wrapping him up in it before scooping him up into his arms.

“I’m sorry Len, if Amaranth had been here she could help but...” her fingers tap together anxiously as she watches the child in his arms. Len was always touched by how much Myra and Amaranth cared for Donnie. He never felt the need to have a partner (though he and Donnie both made enough ‘mom’ jokes about Danny to last a lifetime) it warmed his heart to know someone outside his family loved Donnie almost as much as he did.

“I know, thank you.” He moves past the mayor to where the portal was and in another flash he's back in front of his house where Danny is waiting. The rat reaches out and takes him around the shoulders and herds him inside. “He’s burning up Danny, I-I don’t know what happened, I felt his forehead his morning and he was fine, you saw me do it.”

“I know, I know.” Even though Danny claimed that he didn’t remember any of his medical training he’s already looking over Donnie. Trained eyes looking for anything that could tell him what was wrong. After a few moments Danny says to Len, “Get him into bed I’ll be there in a sec-“

“Ah-shouldn’t we put in him some ice?”

“No, the last time we tried that he almost went into shock before I stepped in. He’s a turtle, he can’t handle it.”

“I-I know.” Len unconsciously cradles Donnie closer to his chest protectively. He could still remember the terror of the time when Donnie got the Fall Flu and had a fever that burned his hand. They had gotten so desolate they had put him in a tub of ice to combat it. They had thought it was working until Don had fallen into a deathlike stillness. It was only then Danny had realized Donnie was going into shock and pulled him out so quickly they had knocked over their makeshift tub.

Now Len couldn’t tell if the shivers he was feeling were from Donnie’s sleeping form or from his own fear. Not until Danny put a hand on his shoulder and forced him to look into his eyes. “Can you get him to bed please? I’m going to mix together some medicine that Amaranth taught me and I’ll be right there, ok?”

Len nods “Ok, ok.” He lowers his cheek onto Don’s scalp as he carries him upstairs. It's only when the parent and child are out of sight does Danny let out a shaky sigh, running a hand over his scalp under his hat and forcing himself to calm down. He had never realized how much he depended on Len keeping a calm head. He hadn’t realized just how much he depended on that til they brought Donnie in. During missions Len had an eerie calm about him that he thrived off of. But it was moments when anything threatened the health or happiness of his child that threw Len in the deep end and forced Danny to step in.

“Mickey,” he says without looking behind him, knowing the poor eel was fluttering around not knowing what to do. “Will you please go upstairs and keep Len calm? Help him how you can til I get there.”

“Y-yeah ok.” The eel hurried to do as he was told. In that moment Danny allowed himself one more sigh before reaching under the cabinet and pulling up an old beaten box, filled with herbs and remedies he had swiped from houses over the years. He pulls out a notebook he had filled with some of Amaranth's recipients and pulls out a mortar bowl and pestle. Picking through a few jars of tiny shards and grinding them together before taking out an empty incense holder and pouring it inside. He made sure to secure the lid and take up the glass bottle under his arm before hurrying up the stairs.

A part of him had been scared that Len’s own fears would drive him to ignore his warning about the ice, but he entered Don's room just as Len was pulling a blanket over him. “Good job.” Danny moves past him to kneel by the bed, turning and handing the incense to Mickey. “Can you light this please? It’ll help clear the bacteria out of his lungs.” As he was twisting open the glass bottle he heard Mickey spark behind him before the smell of lavender filled the air (he ignored Mickey gagging behind him). He tips the tip of the bottle to test how much liquid was inside. Luckily, they still had enough for Donnie (he’d have to steal more later). He dabs his thumb with the light pink liquid before running it across Don’s burning forehead. ”There.”

“Is he ok?”

Danny had to commend Len on not asking him a million questions. He reaches back and pats his old friend on the knee. “The Willow Extract should help take his fever down, but if It doesn’t help in a few hours we’ll go to witch town.” He doesn’t get a response, but when he turns to look at him, he sees Len staring at his son. His dark eyes full of concern and fear that only a father could have. Danny stands up and steps back. “Len why don’t you sit with him for a bit, and I’ll make you some tea.” He makes eye contact with Mickey and jerks his head towards the door. After taking a moment to pat Len on the shoulder he follows him out the door.

Len finally lets his face drop into his hands with a shaky breath before the sound of a weak cough reaches him. When he looks up again he was filled with relief to be looking into Donnie’s feverish dark pink eyes. “Hey,” says a weak voice.

“Hey baby boy,” Len sits up on the edge of his bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Like someone tried to kill me with one of Uncle Danny’s devil pancakes.” He barely has enough wind to finish his sentence before he has to gasp for air. “Will you sit with me please?”

Len can't help but smile, holding the side of Don’s face with his hand for a moment before climbing over him and laying on his other side. Don turns his head and tucks his head underneath Lens chin. “I’m s’rry,” Don mumbles, “I-I didn’t know I was sick.”

“I know you didn’t, you’re not a good liar remember?” Len lowers his cheek onto his scalp. “You get that from your Uncle Mickey.”

“And you?”

“Nah, I’m a great liar,” he smirks down at Donnie, “I’m not going to teach you how to lie though until you turn eighteen,” he pauses, “Hundred.”

Donnie lets out a laugh that sounds more like a raspy balloon, but Len can tell he’s trying not to fall asleep again. He rubs Don’s arm over his blanket. “Get some sleep, I’ll be here when you wake up.” The teen gives a nod of acknowledgement before rolling towards him. A few moments later he's fast asleep again, breathing easier than he had been a few minutes ago.

[queen-of-my-goofball-army]

Sakura's First Guitar Lesson

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've posted some writing here because most of the time I use my a03. For Sk8Tember writing athon I originally wanted to do Fairy Tale day which is tomorrow. However, since I'm currently in the middle of changing up my writing style from first person to third person to try and be a better writer I thought that it would be for the best that I pick Instrument Day because guess what? Today is my birthday! I'm now officially 22 years old even if I don't look or act like it. I'm here to celebrate my birthday with everyone by sharing my new writing with all of you.

Songs mentioned in the fic:

La Via Strangiato: Rush

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK1hmDpa8bo

The Long And Winding Road: The Beatles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR4HjTH_fTM

Let It Be: The Beatles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDYfEBY9NM4

Sakura Nanjo rocked back and forth on her heels outside of the music studio that she had her first lessons in. Since she told her parents that the thing she wanted to do more than anything in the world was to learn how to play the bass guitar just like her hero, they had been encouraging. Haru even found that he had a profound interest in learning how to play the drums. In reality, he wanted to do it so that his sister wouldn’t feel alone in wanting to try something new. He would never admit that to her though. There were some things that his sister did not need to know. She would never let him live it down if she knew the actual reason why he was so adamant about learning to play the drums.

“Sakura, if you keep doing that you’re going to wear yourself out. I know that you’re excited but it’s really starting to freak me out.” Her best friend, Miya Chinen, reminded her lightly with that same small smile that he often had when he was around her. He couldn’t help but find this childish and excitable side of her adorable. She would always be cute in his mind but especially when she got excited about the simplest of things. Like learning how to play an instrument that had always spoken to her.

“I can’t help it! I’m excited, I’m nervous, part of my brain is screaming at me because what if this is a really bad idea and what if I’m not any good at this thing that I’ve never tried before and change is terrifying and-“ He lightly put his arm around his best friend cutting off her word vomit. She only got like this when she was way past nervous and her brain to mouth filter failed her.

“Change is scary but it can also be good for you. You told me so yourself that this is something you’ve wanted to do for all your life right?” Sakura nodded her head nervously trying to stop this anxiety from bubbling up inside of her. With the recent diagnosis of aspergers syndrome she’s still learning to cope with the help of her friends and family.

“Well yeah, I’ve always loved the idea of playing music. Especially bass guitar because of my fixation on Rush and on Geddy Lee as a whole.” She argued and he just chuckled lightly at his best friend. Leave it to her to want to do something that could potentially become life altering just because her favorite singer did it too.

“Then I think that it would be a great experience for you to have if it’s something that you really want to do. It’ll make you happy and give you a hobby that you didn’t have before. You really need to have more hobbies other than cooking Saki.” She sighed knowing that her best friend was right as she looked over at the music studio.

“I know that it’s bad. But this could be something that I get really passionate about. I already know that it won’t necessarily be easy. Nothing really ever is easy for me.” She looked down at her skateboard tracing the end of her Haku dragon sticker before sighing slightly. Nobody ever did anything by being anxious about every little change that they came across. If that was the case then most of her favorite music would have never come to exist.

“Skating came rather easily for you after you got those grips for your feet. You just needed to distribute your weight easier than the way that you were.” Miya argued lightly hating that she would get like this sometimes. She shouldn’t ever have the need to feel sad. He preferred her when her ruby red eyes lit up with happiness rather than downcast and saddened like they were right now.

“Yeah that doesn’t mean that I’ll be good at this though… what if all of this is just me being childish?” She just sighed burying her head in her hands. Now that she had been told to stop being so overly excited the dread was starting to sink in. Her playing bass guitar? Yeah and the moon is secretly made of cheese.

“I don’t think that it’s you being childish. I think that it’s you trying to make yourself into a better version of yourself. You’re clearly not happy and you barely do anything for yourself simply because you want to. Saki you can’t know that you suck at something if you’ve never really tried it before. I know that you can do this because you’re the bravest person that I’ve ever met. You can literally do anything that you set your mind to. If you can dream it you can do it.” He comforted her and watched as slowly the light came back to her eyes.

“You’re right! I can do this, and I’ll be good at it as long as I work hard enough at it. I know that I can do this.” She clenched her left fist and shook it up at the sky daring anyone to tell her otherwise. If you asked Miya, this was the first thing that he really noticed about her that was different. He never met anyone that was as determined to do their best until he met Sakura. Her determination to defy every obstacle inspired him to push past his limits as well.

“That’s the stubborn best friend that I know and love.” He lightly teased and she looked down at her lap picking up the instrument that was there. The second that Kaoru found out his beloved daughter wanted to learn to play bass guitar he found the best one that he could through hours of off the clock research. He wanted his little girl to be happy and if this is what would make her happy and confident in her own wicked way then he would do everything that he felt within his power to do so. The guitar that he had eventually chosen for her was a lilac colored and sparkly one that he thought just suited his little girl’s personality.

“Shut up, I know I’m super stubborn already. It’s why me and Haru struggle so hard to see eye to eye because he’s just as stubborn as I am if not more.” She huffed a breath thinking about the argument that her and her brother had gotten into last night. It had been about something so stupid but it had just got blown way out of proportion and now she wasn’t sure if things were going to be awkward around him for a while. It had been about who was going to make dinner that night and Haru just blew up at her. Of course, never to back down from a fight the only thing that Sakura did was yell right back at him.

“He’ll forgive you eventually Saki. He always does you’ll go home and there will be forgive me cookies on the table for you. Besides he’s usually the one who yells first and knows that you will yell back. I’ve never once seen you actually pick the fight with him personally.” Miya hated when Haru would purposefully try and ruin her mood. He knew that he was just going through his own personal hell as he was still in the early stages of transitioning but he didn’t need to take his anger and aggression out on her.

“This one was really stupid though. It was just over who would make dinner since dad had to be at the restaurant late and mom was working late surprising absolutely no one ever.” Kaoru had always been the type that worked long hours even at the cost of not spending a whole lot of time at home with his children. He did the best that he could with the time that he was given and had mandatory time with them on weekends but the house was most of the time silent except for the twins. And sometimes they just couldn’t be around each other without a screaming match breaking out.

“You guys are the kids of Cherry and Joe, it would be weird if you guys didn’t fight constantly.” Miya tried to joked just to hear her laugh, which it worked. The first thing that really drew him to her was that laugh. That loud and open sound when she was well and truly tickled by something or the more quiet sound that he got right now when she was emotional.

“That’s true, come on, I’m thirsty all the sudden and want to get a drink before I have to go in for my first session.” She stretched getting off of the concrete and offered her best friend a hand up off the ground before she stepped onto her board.

“Arizona sweet tea?” He offered her that option and she nodded her head with a small smile on her face. She had fallen in love with her best friend’s sweet tea that he had gotten her addicted to after they got introduced to each other.

“What are you going to do while I’m doing my session?” Miya gestured to his backpack where he was hiding his switch that he brought with him today. He knew that he’d want to spend the afternoon waiting for his best friend to finish her session.

“I’ve got my games in here don’t worry about me. I want to spend the afternoon with you. You’re my best friend and I want to support you in any way that I can.” He encouraged her as they pulled into the connivence store so that they could get their tea and some snacks while they waited. This was a huge deal for her and he wanted her to know how much he supported her.

“You’re going to be amazing Sakura. I know that you will be because you constantly give everything that you can into your interests.” Miya knew that she could do anything that she put her mind to because if his best friend was anything it was bound and determined to do her best at every little thing that she tried. Even if she found that she wasn’t as interested in the idea of playing her favorite instrument as she made it sound both in her head and in the music she listened to, she wouldn’t back down without a fight. That stubborn nature combined with her kind heart had him being pulled even deeper into her orbit.

“I sure hope that your right cat-boy because I am so nervous right now. As was prevalent by my earlier word vomit.” He just smiled softly at her doing his best that he could to be her support system as much as he knew that she was nervous.

“Sometimes your nerves stop you from doing things that you’re really good at though. They stopped you from making genuine friends before now didn’t they? Being nervous about something is considered totally normal. But you can’t let those nerves run your life Sakura. Otherwise you’ll never get anywhere. If you let nerves stop you then there’s so much you can’t really achieve.” He knew the amount of almost crippling anxiety that she struggled with. He had only ever wanted to support her and push her further. As they stopped in front of the music studio and she took a deep breath opening the front door and hearing the sound of somebody in one of the rooms practicing.

“Hello! Are you here for a lesson or just here to see what kinds of facilities we offer here?” Sakura lightly yanked on her ponytail just to try and ground herself.

“My mom scheduled my appointment, it’s Sakura Nanjo. I want to learn how to play the bass guitar.” She told the clerk and Miya just squeezed her hand sympathetically. Talking to people that she didn’t know was never a skill that Sakura had excelled at. Haru was always the people person not really her.

“Oh that’s right!! Your mother did call in to our shop so we’re excited to begin to teach you. We’ll have your teacher be with you in just a moment. You’re welcome to look around. He mentioned that you’d bring your own instrument?” She nodded her head holding up her guitar sleeved she had walked her with her.

“He bought it for me a few days ago and came home with it the day before yesterday!” Sakura showed her the guitar that her mom had bought for her that matched her personality.

“That is really pretty!! It does seem to match your bright and bubbly personality. Are you here for lessons too or just moral support?” Miya put his arm around his best friend’s shoulders supportively with a small smile on his face.

“I’m just here for the moral support factor. She struggles with nerves and anxiety and I thought that it would be easier for her if she had me here to support her.” He reasoned and she smiled gratefully at her best friend. Despite only being friends for a few months she knew that there was something unique about the video game obsessed boy next to her. Something that was life altering and that she wouldn’t ever want to change.

“That’s really sweet of you!! I’ll go and tell your teacher that your ready to learn.” The worker went off in search of the bass guitar teacher and Sakura’s ear twitched lightly.

“Are you hearing La Villa Strangiato?” Her ear was always in tune to when a Rush song was being played around her. Miya couldn’t help but laugh lightly at her as he had been hearing it since they had come into the studio. She must have been way too nervous to notice that somebody had been playing a song by her favorite band.

“They’ve been playing it since we walked in. Want to go and see who it is?” She followed the sound of the guitar as it led her to a spare room where a girl with dark hair and baby blue highlights was playing a guitar. She was wearing a different school uniform than the one that they were wearing. It had a music note on the band around the arm. Maybe she went to a music school of some kind? Whomever she was, she was clearly absorbed in the music that she was playing. And what’s more than that, she was a good. Good from years of clear practice at her craft and good from knowing exactly what she was doing. Miya accidentally leaned into Sakura’s side a bit too far trying to get a better look at the girl and knocked her over. The girl that as playing the instrument suddenly stoped and looked over at Sakura who was on the ground.

“Sorry Saki!” He frantically apologized offering her a hand and helped her to dust off the back of her skirt.

“Are you guys new? I thought that I closed that door!! Sorry if I was playing too loud, my dad runs the studio here I don’t take lessons.” The girl apologized very clearly worried that she had distracted them from something.

“Sakura is here to get lessons but she’s a huge rush fan and knew exactly what you were playing. She wanted to see the person that was playing La Villa Strangiato.” Miya explained to the girl lightly put off by the fact that the girl instantly took Sakura’s hands in her own.

“A fellow Rush fan?! At long last!! I’m Kayla Sunohara!! Super awesome to meet you Sakura.” She introduced herself excitedly and Miya just possessively gripped her hand.

“I’m Sakura Nanjo, this is my best friend Miya Chinen. How long have you been studying Alex Lifeson?” Miya buried his face into Sakura’s shoulder, trying on a whim to keep the possessive nature that he was feeling come up his spine. She’s allowed to have other friends and not just me. She should have a female friend who likes the same style of music as she does. It was only a matter of time before Sakura made another friend that wasn’t just me. She’s too nice for me to keep all to myself like that.

“Oh I’ve been studying his work since I first started playing when I was seven!! What about you? You interested in studying Geddy Lee?” Sakura gripped her bass guitar a little bit firmer in her hands nodding her head.

“That’s so cool…” She gushed and Kayla just laughed a bit waving her hand up and down in a dismissive manner.

“It’s not really anything that fantastic, I’m nowhere near his level and I probably never will be. But his guitar is what inspired me to pick up my own. What about you? Why did you want to learn bass?” Miya couldn’t help the halfhearted glare that he was sending to the other guitarist. He didn’t know why, maybe it was because he hadn’t had friends in so long but he wanted all of Sakura’s attention on him.

“Sakura?” The lady in the front of the studio called her name and she instantly lightly hugged her best friend noticing the slight stiffness in his appearance.

“Miya, I have to go. Is there something wrong?” He shook his head at her putting on the fakest smile that he could muster at the moment.

“I’ll be alright, I’ve got my games and I’m going to play these games with Sunohara.” He lightly told her and she just sighed a little bit.

“Look we’ll talk later cat boy alright? Don’t do anything stupid like start a fight or whatever.” She lightly told him with a small smirk on her face going out of the room and carrying everything over to the room.

“Miss Nanjo? I’m Shizuko, I’m going to be your teacher.” She took a deep breath just trying to do the final calming of her nerves. “I’m Sakura, it’s nice to meet you.” She bowed before her teacher with a small smile on her face carrying the guitar.

“It’s nice to meet you as well. Why don’t you come with me and we can figure out what you want to do and why?” As her teacher led the way she couldn’t help but look at everything with this sheer ease of wonder and light.

“So, why do you want to learn how to play bass guitar?” She sat down in the chair in front of her putting the guitar on her lap lightly.

“I want to play guitar because I was deeply inspired by Geddy Lee. My dad he raised me on Rush because that was what he loved back in high school.” Her teacher listened to her speak passionately about her love of the music that had inspired her to get through the day.

“My little sister has been studying the art of Alec Lifeson for a majority of her life. So I totally get that you can be inspired by the lead singer. He’s a big inspiration for everyone that ever felt like they didn’t fit in. She’s going to probably take over this studio one of these days.” Shizuko bragged about her younger sister that was now bonding with Miya over a shared love of video games in the spare room.

“I met your sister! She was playing La Villa Strangiato in another room. I thought that she was really amazing at it too. She’s really talented.” Sakura exclaimed her praises towards the other main guitarist. Her teacher just laughed a little bit already foreseeing a future friendship between her newest student and her younger sibling.

“You really know your stuff if you knew the exact song that she was playing. Music has always been something that brought us closer together as a family. Performing has been something that was passed down through the lines. Our dad taught us when we were just little kids so it’s always been a big part of our lives tighter. So what do your parents do?” She put her guitar on the floor knowing that this would just be an initial interview to see what she wanted to do and why.

“My dad he runs an Italian restaurant, Sia La Luce by the marina that’s what I’m going to do when I get older too. That’s what I was doing until both of my parents decided that I should be allowed to be a teenager for a little while. I’ve wanted to play bass guitar ever since I first started to deep dive and I really learned what music was and what instruments did what. It wasn’t just Geddy Lee. I’ve been inspired by countless other artists as well.” She reasoned and the teacher just smiled to herself. She had a feeling that this student would excel really far at the guitar. She also thought that her sister might finally make a really good friend.

“Do you do well in school? Do you have any other interests?” She nodded her head with a small smile on her face thinking about her lessons in skateboarding.

“I’m currently learning how to skateboard finally. My parents both do it and compete in their own ways. My brother picked it up like a fish to water. I’ve only recently started to learn how because a friend wanted to teach me. He’s the first friend that I’ve ever made. I was relatively well liked by my classmates but we weren’t ever really friends. I do pretty good in school depending on the subject. I’m mostly good at math and English but struggle with science. That’s my brother’s area of expertise.” Sakura talked about the little things in school that she enjoyed doing.

“Science isn’t for everyone and it’s not your fault that you aren’t very good at that class. I’m sure that yo excel in other areas. Who are some of your other heroes in music that aren’t behind Rush?” As important as having one hero was, Shizuko knew that she wouldn’t get very far if that was the only genre of music that she wanted to play.

“The one that my mom got me hooked on from a young age was Queen so I’ve always admired John Deacon. He was the quiet one so not a lot of people really think about how important he was. He was both an incredible bass player but he wrote some of Queen’s most iconic songs. Also, Paul McCartney has always been one of my favorite musicians for The Beatles and for Wings. Really I found a lot of different musician heroes that I could aspire to one day learn more about. I have a recent diagnosis of aspergers that caused me to rethink a lot of what interested me.” Sakura was still just ever so slightly self conscious about what had interested her. She’d had so many people judge her that weren’t Miya it felt like. Shizuko couldn’t hep but smile softly as this young tween in front of her reminded her so much of her when she was younger. From the admiration that she had of all these different styles of bass guitarists to her naturally shy disposition.

“There’s a lot of really beautiful Beatles songs, do you have a favorite one?” She nodded her head with a small smile on her face.

“My favorite is The Long And Winding Road. Many times I’ve been alone and many times I’ve cried anyway you’ll never know the many ways I’ve tried. It reminds me of my relationship with my brother. We get into a lot of really heated arguments but at the end of the day he’s my twin brother and I love him.” The entirety of Let It Be was her favorite non-Rush album of all time and it was one that she listened to consistently when she was alone in her bedroom. Her parents got her a record player when she was eight because that was the item she most desperately wanted. Ever since then she’d been collecting records and she shared it with Haru.

“You sing really, really well for somebody your age. That takes a lot of talent, have you ever done it professionally?” Do my friends in Italy count? We’re kind of a band I guess and I always love singing with them. While Sakura had friends before Miya, they didn’t live in this country. Rather they all lived in Italy. They were the only large group of people that had welcomed her into their group.

“I have a couple of friends in Italy where my dad did his studying for his restaurant. We go back every summer just about and my friends and I we sing. I’ve always appreciated singing because it was something that I could control. It could be loud or quiet. I could train it to sing in different styles.” She explained her dynamic with her small group of female friends that welcomed her with open arms years ago. Found family movie nights on Friday’s were something that she always looked forward to even if it was earlier in the afternoon for her then it was for them.

“I don’t know very many young girls that are that into singing. They do it for fun a lot of them but none of them that do it for fun are very good. Not unless they put in the effort. Talent takes effort. You have to put in the work and make the commitment in order for talent to come from that. Taking on an instrument is a pretty big commitment especially with the guitar. Sometimes you just want to throw the thing against the wall and call it a day. But then you get back to it and you’re suddenly able to do it and you feel this sense of self worth and accomplishment.” Shizuko tried to make her young pupil see things from her perspective. She had lost a lot of younger students because they weren’t serious about the instrument. Once they saw the first sign of struggle they threw in the towel and gave everything up.

“I’m willing to put in the work. I just need a teacher to show me how things work.” Sakura never did anything halfway. She was either all in or had absolutely zero interest in the task at hand. She had grown up around the sound of a bass guitar coming from every room in the house in some capacity.

“I can tell that you’re one of the serious ones about this otherwise you wouldn’t have stayed after that talk. Most of the students leave because I’m “too harsh”. I just want people to try their best and to succeed in the areas where they should.” The teacher ranted and Sakura couldn’t help but laugh a little bit. That threat hadn’t even begun to diminish her joy at the idea of simply being here.

“My mom is a lot more scary than that so I’m used to the idea of being threatened. Music has always been a part of my life and now I want to learn how to play it.” She said confidently and by the look on her face Shizuko knew that she had found a gem in the rocks.

“That was why I wanted to learn how to play bass too. I grew up hearing it with my dad because he loves all different kinds of music really but it was a whole lot of Beatles, Rush, Queen, Heart, and a lot of other artists that just seemed to flow out of the windows. I’m glad that you came in today Sakura. I can’t wait to start teaching you. We’re just going to gloss over the essentials today.” Sakura looked at her teacher one question burning in the back of her brain. “What is your favorite Beatles song?” Shizuko blinked a little bit in confusion before a small smirk appeared on her face.

“My favorite Beatles song is Let It Be. Has been since I was a little kid, Mary was my mother’s name. She died last year so it’s been kind of a rough point in my life. But that song has always gotten me through bad times. And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me. Shine until tomorrow let it be.” As Shizuko told her new student about her song obsession Sakura’s heart warmed. It was such a beautiful story that she couldn’t help but love it.

“I’m sorry for the loss of your mom. That really must have hurt something awful. Is it just you, your dad, and your sister now?” Sakura pulled her hair back a little bit further with a small smile on her face playing with the ends of her ponytail.

“Thank you so much sweetheart that makes a lot to me. My dad has a girlfriend, they were divorced for a while since Kayla was younger. It was a bit of an experience for me to deal with but we’re still a family anyways.” Shizuko reasoned and her student just smiled sympathetically at her. She had no idea what it would be like if there was a fight that just pushed things over that sometimes tightrope edge that her parents walked on. When she was younger she feared that one day one of them would fall off the tightrope and it would end their relationship. That it would go out in a burning inferno and that one fatal argument would end their bickering relationship. It wasn’t until she got a bit older and wiser when she learned that their love language was bickering.

“I’m glad that you were still able to have that family. My family can be a bit loud and chaotic personally. It’s a lot of bickering and a lot of arguing sometimes about the simplest of things. But I love my parents even if half the time it’s like I’m the parent and they are the children under my care. My twin brother isn’t really that much better.” Shizuko laughed openly at the idea of this family as she could completely visualize it. From what she had gathered when she had spoken with Kaoru Sakurayashiki the man seemed like a complete overprotective but at the same time loving mom figure.

“So you have two dad’s right?” She nodded her head getting out her phone and showing her a picture of them all skating together.

“I have two dad’s. My brother and I were surrogate children because they wanted kids with their own DNA. To keep things less complicated when we were kids me and Haru decided okay your mom and you’re dad. It’s been that way ever since. Our family dynamic is a bit unique because of it but I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if they weren’t my parents. They bicker like people that have known each other their entire lives because that’s what they do.” She settled against the back of the chair that she was currently in.

“Do you and your brother bicker a lot because of the fact that your parents do?” Sakura sighed heavily playing with her index fingers. She hated the fact that she had instantly been called out like that.

“Well… yeah we kind of do. Both of us are naturally stubborn types of people and sometimes it gets to be rather explosive. If it’s a day that we don’t get into at least a little spat well then that’s a miracle I feel like. We’ve really put our parents through hell these last several years especially.” She picked at the hem on her skirt just wishing that she could finally get along with her brother. It was so hard for them to see eye to eye though. Half of the time she had no idea what he was thinking and why he was doing the things that he was doing. She just wanted to help and every time that she tried he exploded on her.

“Sometimes siblings just don’t get along. You’re one of the lucky pairs if you don’t fight every time that your put in the same room together as children. My sister and I still fight a lot because we’re just different kinds of people. I’m sure that it’s the same way with your brother and you.” The older of the two of them felt the pain that the younger one went through like it was her own. There was a time a few years ago where a positive relationship between her and Kayla seemed like a wish on a dying star. It was just plain not going to happen.

“I want to be a better sister to him. I know that I do. I also just really want something to bond with him over. He wants to learn to play the drums.” Her teacher smiled at her instantly feeling that sense of love that Sakura had for her brother.

“Now that we’ve gotten all of that personality stuff squared away I know how to properly teach you. We’ll put primary focus on songs from the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s rock n’roll because that seems to be the genre that you enjoy the most. I appreciate the taste it’s a welcomed change of pace. I get so many people that tell me their favorite artist is somebody more modern.” She got her own red guitar that looked familiar enough to the young tween in front of her.

“That a version of Brain May’s red special isn’t it? For the bass guitar?” Shizuko grinned openly at the girl in front of her for recognizing the iconic guitar.

“My dad also happens to make guitars here so I asked for this one to be custom made once I started teaching. It’s always been my favorite guitar that’s an icon so I asked if he could take that concept and make it into a bass guitar for me. I used to do band when I was in school and now I’m going to college for music theory.” That guitar had gotten the teacher through a lot when she was younger. Everyone has their little things that they’re obsessed with and for Shizuko that would definitely be her guitar. She couldn’t live without it.

“That sounds like me with my cookbook. I can’t go anywhere without it. My mom calls it my grounding object because it helps me to stay calm and it helps me to remember my goals and ambitions. I want to one day make food that will make people happy just like my dad. If that means that I have to do the same training that he did in Italy for four years then so be it. Whatever it takes to make people smile when they eat my food.” Whatever it takes to make Miya happy when he eats my food. I want to keep making meals for him that he’ll love. I want to get him on a healthier diet. She shook the thought right out of her head, now was not the time to start thinking about Miya. It was the time to start learning the basics of the instrument that had always inspired her.

“Your mom mentioned that you have a recent diagnosis of aspergers?” She nodded her head unzipping her own guitar and showing it to her teacher.

“I got it a few weeks ago when it was still summer break. We went to Hokkaido to get it in a beach town since my family and found family wanted to go on a small vacation.” The shiny guitar that was in her hands made Shizuko smile softly. It was obvious that everyone in the familial unit that made her heart happy.

“Does that boy that was with you, is he in your found family?” She blushed a bright pink and her teacher couldn’t keep back the cackle of laughter from leaving her.

“Miya is my best friend, I’ve only known him for a few months but he’s… well he’s everything to me. I never had a friend before him really. I was popular enough with my classmates but was never asked to hang out when I wasn’t in class. That was fine with me but I never really thought about how deep down lonely I really was. Loneliness started to get to me and I was depressed every time I would go to school.” As Sakura talked about what she went through during these last few months the sadness in her voice was evident. She had spent the last couple of months just half alive until she met Miya who had brought life and color back into her eyes.

“I’m sorry that happened to you sweetheart, I know that you’ve struggled a lot during the course of your life. Sometimes we just need to wait until the right person comes into your life. I didn’t meet my best friend until I was eighteen and she’s been there for me every step of the way. I only had rent-a-friends during my entire childhood.” Shizuko reasoned and she played with the ends of curly hair with a small laugh.

“He’s easily the best thing that has ever happened to me. We do everything together now and he’s been teaching me skateboarding.” She lifted the guitar that was in her hands and put it over her lap. Shizuko demonstrated the first cord that she would be teaching her and Sakura easily copied the same note. She was instantly feeling the energy that she was actually really good at this job.

“Skateboarding can be very difficult but I know that you must feel very passionately about the art from. It can be a lot of fun actually. My friend’s and I used to do it all the time when we were back in high school. I still skate because it’s rather simple to get from place to place that way.” Shizuko reasoned with the young girl as she showed her the chord again and Sakura hit it with ease. The teacher was surprised at the amount of talent that the girl clearly had for somebody that had never touched a guitar before. It was something that she was just clearly passionate about.

“I was never really able to do it until a friend of mine was able to make me a custom board. I had to have little divots for my feet to go so that I could maintain my balance. I have really bad balance normally so trying to do that on a skateboard was just a plain old recipe for disaster.” Sakura laughed a little bit at the pain of the moment as the timer on Shizuko’s phone buzzed.

“We spent most of the session today learning about each other so that we can better work together through this experience. I know that you’re going to be one of the best students that I’ve ever taken on. I’ll see you again next week?” Sakura nodded her head zipping up her guitar before her teacher stopped her.

“For right now, I think that I should keep the guitar here. It’s probably difficult skating with it right? I can have my sister drop off a rental at your house since she’ll probably be one of your closest friends.” Her teacher reasoned and she handed the sparkly guitar to her teacher.

“Thank you, I’m looking forward to you teaching me as well!” She looked down at her shoes with a small smile on her face. Sakura bowed right before she left the room easily picking up her backpack with a small smile on her face as she heard Miya’s familiar laugh.

“Hey! I finished my session. What did you two get up to?” Sakura flopped onto the ground next to her best friend and he instantly put his arm comfortably around her shoulders. He had missed her despite her only being gone for a small amount of time.

“We were just playing some Crash Bandicoot!! Your friend is really good at video games. How did your first session with my sister go? Was she too hard on you? She can be a lot during first sessions. I try to be a lot more open minded and friendly with my students.” Kayla mentioned off handedly as the pinkette just shook her head.

“No she was actually really, really cool. I liked my studies quite a bit and I’m excited to come back next week. I’m hungry for dinner though, you coming cat-boy?” She lightly ruffled his dark hair as he nodded his head against her shoulder. As much as he knew that she had to make new friends and that it wouldn’t be just the two of them forever and ever he would always be protective over her. She might be her friend but I’ll always be her best friend. Nothing in the world can change that.

[tosikoarts]

SFW Alphabet | Sugimoto Saichi

You can check tosikowrites tag for more. Hood guy is next in line. Warning: there’s a lot under the cut.

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

The more cruelty you encounter in life, the more efforts you put into bringing something to oppose it and establish the balance. Perhaps, this is why Sugimoto is so caring in relation to his partner. He treats them with warm affection as he does with Asirpa or Shiraishi. They are his friend and one of his second family, not by blood but by spirit.

At the very beginning, Sugimoto is terribly awkward: to hide the blush, he has to pull his favorite cap directly over his eyes and turn away. If he does something and the person he is interested in is watching, everything will surely fall apart. It does not matter how good Sugimoto is in his work, he is cursed to disgrace himself in front of them. But, on the other hand, he is so happy to see their broad smile and hear them burst into laughter. That’s why he loves to sneak up and mercilessly tickle them until their eyes fill up with tears.

Sugimoto rarely uses words to show his affection, at least not in a classical way. “I care about you”, “I like you”? No. First of all, if he ever tried to say that, Asirpa or Shiraishi or (worse) Ogata would pop out of nowhere and ruin the moment. Second of all, why be so trivial, when you can veil the same meanings behind the intimate conversations about life and death, war and peace, friends and enemies? Sometimes he inserts phrases with implications that make sense only to Sugimoto himself or someone close to him. You know, that would be nice to share dried persimmons after gold hunt ends…

Oh, the other special way of showing his love is being dumb together! It's always nice to mess around, prank someone (try not to get shot tho), simply grimace and stick tongue out to show cruel world that you don’t care.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

Time spent with Sugimoto is divided in three equal parts: in first part you need to get him out of trouble, in second part he has to bail you out, and in third you both stuck in the weird situation in which role of savior is passed to someone else. Pleasant bonus: everything ends well with no people harmed. Usually.

A type of friend that will follow you through the thick and thin. Even in questionable situation, Sugimoto will stay by your side. It is important for him that person remained true to their promises as well and stuck by him no matter what happens.

With a wild and unpredictable life, Sugimoto needs friendships that do not require constant contact. One day he disappears to knock on your door months later but established ties have to stay there. Every reunion ends up in huge celebration with consequences of The Hangover.

How would the friendship start? There is a plenty of options but the most possible ones are: a) Sugimoto’s group stays in the new city and person happens to be one to host them; b) Sugimoto manages to lost all of his belongings including clothes and money and person happens to pass by. Second one is more likely

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

“I can't protect you without holding a sword. I can't embrace you while holding a sword.” This proverb works well with gun and riffle too. Sugimoto prefers to cuddle only in complete safety when there’s no chance for uninvited blood-thirsty guests to interrupt them. Prefers sitting positions in which he can rest his chin on the top of their head and, also, pet their back. He is such a sucker for good cuddle session that he can’t stop smiling all the way through.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Yes, sure! Small cozy house surrounded by fruit trees overlooking the river is his little secret dream. All Sugimoto wants is sitting on the sun-warmed porch with loved one, holding hands, fingers intertwined, no poisonous thoughts on the mind. He is mediocre cook, knows some recipes but like any soldier cooking they lack finesse. There are few favorite dishes he rotates like miso soups, udon, fried fish, and onigiri. He doesn’t care about cleaning so you can expect bare minimum in sweeping and washing dishes.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

He doesn’t seem like a person who takes it easy so ending relationship is something he is afraid to do. Hell, running under the rain of bullets and blood wasn’t that hard. No matter what words he chooses result will be the same: they will be hurt, they will hate him, they won’t want to see him ever again, and conscience will gnaw Sugimoto for his harshness. He just takes one deep breath and spills everything in under the minute, ending monologue with a deep bow and “I am so extremely sorry” in a loud desperate voice.

After years, Sugimoto keeps their dimming photo as a reminder of all they had. If their passes cross again, he won’t be able say a word because of a lump in the throat. He may fall for them one more time.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

After six months of relationship, Sugimoto is ready to slip some questions about the marriage in the dialogue and ask them about the vision of future together. If they are positive, he would propose on the first anniversary. If not, that’s okay too, he can wait until they are ready for a next step. When the day comes, everybody knows about proposal. They whisper and giggle behind Sugimoto’s back because he looks like a mess, happy grinning mess, walking from side to side with the most expensive pawnshop ring clenched in his fist.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Hurting someone he loves is Sugimoto’s worst nightmare. His whole being was dragged through hell and back and sometimes hidden pain can splash out on loved ones. You can physically feel weird aggressive aura coming from him in those rare vulnerable moments. That’s when Sugimoto surpasses emotional baggage and presses them tightly against his chest. No soldier can be soft baby, not after what they’ve seen, but Sugimoto does his best to be gentle with them in every way.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

Sugimoto uses hugs as greeting, as comforting, as apology. Wherever possible, he will pull his loved one in hug. They are very warm and tight, accompanied by stroking on the back and pressing his cheek to the other person’s cheek. Truly, in the beginning you can feel how he trembles with joyful excitement and holds himself off in order not to come off too needy. After a long time apart Sugimoto may just knock them down in bear hug, completely forgetting about hectic world around.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Around the same time he is ready to propose so half of the year. However, Sugimoto never says the coveted three words aloud, replacing them with simpler ones “Well, yes, I like them very much... I really like them. Well, you know” when talking with others. At some point Asirpa will surely begin to actively push him towards confession, as well as Shiraishi. It all turns into the game in which they both keep an eye on Sugimoto and his loved one: Asirpa keeps swearing in ainuic because Sugimoto is such stupid indecisive sisam, and Shiraishi gives him thumbs up like. Bro. Just do it already.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

You don’t want to make that man jealous.  If he notices anyone hitting on his loved one, he’ll by their side in an instant, frowning, with small dark wrinkle between the eyebrows that does not bode well. Sugimoto immediately strikes a confident pose between possible rival and significant other, jokes passively-aggressively, and if this poor soul insists, he will take them out to have Mano-a-Mano moment. On the other side if it’s loved one who acts flirtatious Sugimoto will act childishly. Almost petty. Oh you a want a kiss? Go ask that man you talked to type of petty. He doesn’t really mean it but he definitely expects both explanation and apology.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Sugimoto’s kisses vary from slow and passionate to fast and shy depending on the situation. Through the day trying to avoid unwanted attention he may give them peck on the nose or cheek. In more intimate atmosphere Sugimoto doesn’t care where to kiss. He just does. From head to toes and all that jazz. Taking into account how many scars there are on Sugimoto’s body and how sensitive they can be (nerve damage is a bitch) he loves to be kissed along these darkened lines. Gently and with cautious.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

Initially, when encountering child, Sugimoto is overwhelmed with enthusiasm. It slowly dies down when he realizes how capricious kids can be and how loud they can scream. He tries his best with babies (fails) but has more luck with older children, like Asirpa’s age because, thankfully to acquired experience, there is already a rough understanding of their psyche. Anyway, Sugimoto still needs someone to reminder him that not everybody is so independent, and smart, and self-sufficient. And, yes, it’s one of his dreams to become father, and not just father, but amazing, proud, cool dad. He will 100% cry when his kid makes first steps, says first dada, and smiles at him too.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Even after Sugimoto decided to settle down, his heart desires adventure. No matter how lazy the morning is, which, incidentally, is not often, he will find a moment to offer to go somewhere. Incredibly beautiful sandy coasts and crystal clear water beckon to the south, Kanazawa looms with magnificent castles and temples in the west, the capital of Tokyo beats with life in the east. North is always calling, north is much more than a direction. In the mornings, Sugimoto likes to talk about the future, about plans, while breakfast is getting cold in the pot. He never leaves home without a morning kiss goodbye.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Usually Sugimoto comes home tired so he needs time alone, but after this, he is ready to start household chores while talking about his day. He likes to embellish events to make his loved one have a good laugh. Otherwise, evenings with Sugimoto are spend on the fresh air: he is one of those people who jump into the yet cold river to open the swimming season, or go look for mushrooms in cool weather to enjoy the forest view.

When one of the acquaintances pops up on the horizon, he always goes with them and his loved one to a diner for a strong drink and latest news. Sometimes such nights last longer than expected. Tipsy merry Sugimoto stops right on the doorstep of the house, turns around, crushes on the ground, and invites them to do the same. Does he remember the names of the constellations? No. Will he show off and introduce them to a loved one? Absolutely.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

Pretty open about his past from the beginning because he never had a dark mysterious background at the first place. Any questions you ask Sugimoto will answer with straight truth. Well, maybe, he’ll hold back some facts that may put person in danger or distress like extreme violent incidents from the army days. In addition, Sugimoto doesn’t need special moments of revelation to open up, he is just consistently outspoken.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

In everyday life, Sugimoto appears laid-back, you need to try hard to piss him off. Little troubles don't bother him much, he quickly cools down if unforeseen situation occurs. However, once someone starts to bully his loved ones, his hair spikes up and the formidable Sugimoto the Immortal shows up. Trust me, he is not averse to shouting and kicking some ass.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

Either way he is inattentive or his memory is that bad but Sugimoto manages to forget almost everything about his loved one. It is not on purpose, you can see him listening very carefully to your words, but it happens. After conversation ends, his brain goes in “no thoughts, head empty” mode, and, no matter how long he stands in front of grandma’s flower stand, Sugimoto can’t remember your favorite flowers. Don’t start me on dates. Reminders the day before are essential if you don’t want to hear “Wait, what do you mean what day is it today?” on your anniversary.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

First meeting. He giggles nervously when talking about it since not only Sugimoto got to show off in the buff but also brought menace in the form of 7th division on their place. Who knows what was more shameful? While apologizing for unfortunate inconveniences, Sugimoto felt a spark between them, subtle chemistry, that was growing stronger the longer he watched their lips moving. On the day of departure he pulled a cap lower and promised to see them again but this time he was going to bring something more pleasant than Tsurumi’s hellhounds.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Sugimoto is as protective as a personal guardian. He is sensitive to a change in general atmosphere and can easily sense evil intentions even if person hides behind a mask of geniality. In that case, Sugimoto warns his loved one about his misgivings and refuses to leave their side. For example, he’ll be extra wary around Ogata and you can tell he is almost waiting for a mistake to stab him between the ribs. Sugimoto doesn’t expect to be protected by anyone but if they do shield him, he’ll have one more reason to be proud and give thanks to heaven for such amazing partner.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

With his hectic lifestyle, Sugimoto has no other option than to make every meeting special. There is not much he can do to surprise them with expensive gifts, like jewelry or clothes, but he can pick a modest bouquet for them or save unique things from endless journeys. Even if it’s just outdoor recreation or evening spent in each other's arms Sugimoto tries to make it unforgettable. If he remembers about anniversary (see Quizzes), he will involve other people in order to do something exceptional. As an absolute sweetheart, Sugimoto puts a lot of effort to make his partner happy, happier tomorrow that today, every day.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Do troubles follow Sugimoto wherever he goes or does he choose the path with the highest number of adventures? It doesn’t matter because either way his life is a mess consisting of dangerous ventures and questionable acquaintances. It may be fun in the beginning but if you are not ready for continuous strength tests and psychological thrillers, relationship with Sugimoto will become a pure torment.

In addition to this Sugimoto never makes plans for the future. He has assumptions about where he will be tomorrow and, possibly, the day after tomorrow but nothing more.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Sugimoto doesn’t give his looks a lot of thought. He tries to keep clothes in wearable condition and wash them from time to time, especially beloved scarf and cap, but if there are some spots on the outwear, Sugimoto won’t give that much attention. If we talk about overall appearance, uncountable scars do not bother him either. One more, one less, at some point you stop noticing their present, even on the face. Complement Sugimoto on how scars adorn a man and you’ll get a smug smirk in response.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

So heartbroken and dejected that Sugimoto can’t contain himself and seeks confrontation with everybody around. No matter if they had to leave him or they were deceased, he seems to be on the edge all the time. Irritated. Overthinking. He looks for a time alone, subjects himself to extreme challenges to get all negative emotions out. Sugimoto gets attached easily, no wonder he feels so torn. Takes about three months to cool down and year more to stop thinking about them. If anyone dared to take significant other from Sugimoto the Immortal, he will find this person and make them pay. Sugimoto is merciless in his revenge.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

Sugimoto has a clear understanding of his own mortality. Screaming lungs out doesn’t cancel it, layered wounds do not give him resistance as cumulative effect. So one of his wish is in case of his death during the skin-hunt, he doesn’t want anyone to bring this message to his loved one. It may seem cruel from one’s perspective, but he wants to support an established name of a warrior whom death itself could not defeat.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

Unreasonable blind violence, both to people and animals, disgusts Sugimoto to the core. Protecting yourself from the attacking soldier, bandit, bear is one thing, justified and valid, but taking anger out on innocent stranger or scared animal that did nothing to deserve such suffering is too much. If person is also proud of it, they will receive unbelievable amount of backlash.

Egocentrism and mind-games. First one comes from the bitter experience. You can't expect the universe to revolve around you, there are millions of people, thousands of fates, and they all depend on each other, they work just because another one exist. Show him a person that acts like a center of the world and Sugimoto will run run run. Second one is tightly connected to egocentrism since to force world build around yourself, you have to force it. Often it’s done by manipulation. If person tries to have him wrapped around their finger, Sugimoto will confront them once. There won’t be a second time.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habit of theirs?)

Military orders are so ingrained in Sugimoto’s brains that his organism automatically shuts down at the same time every day. He wakes up at dawn, fresh and full of strength, and there’s not a chance he will fall asleep again.

Never remembers dreams and is thankful for this. He has no dreams but gloomy nightmares, filled with people who are no longer alive, sounds of firing canons and harrowing screams, bombed-out trenches and blackened bunkers. They force Sugimoto to jump up in bed in the middle of the night, covered in cold sweat, breathing like a cornered animal. At such moments, he checks for loved one by his side and watches their chest going up and down with each breath. It calms him down a little but not enough to put him back to sleep.

[titania-xo]

Richard Ellington

BIRTHDAY :: October 26th - Arriving in the final throes of the Libra-Scorpio cusp, Richard is every bit the braggadocios, critical, and passionate man as is written in his stars. His veela bloodline only bolsters his astrologically-appointed good looks and sexual prowess, Scorpios being the masters of the, ahem, nether regions. While at first blush he can appear cool to the point of apathy, he is inherently callous and poised to sting when anyone or anything falls below his lofty standards. Richard is capable of greatness, and intrigued by his girlfriend's lust of ascension, but the stars foretell he must learn far more self-discipline: natural charisma must become diplomacy, aggression must become determination, and dissatisfaction must become aspiration. If not, he'll remain in the cycle of perceiving his life's happenings to be out of his control, dictated by extenuating circumstance, which leaves his oscillating between moody sulking, overindulgence in beautiful diversions, and destructive havoc. Overall, Richard Ellington is - difficult, but for those willing to withstand his dramatics, he'll make it worth their while. Then again, there's always the old allegory of the scorpion needing to cross the river ...

WAND :: From the outset, Richard knew he wanted a visually stunning wand. While morning on about the history and tendencies of various woods, the shopkeeper pulled multiple options, some the boy refused to even take in hand based on their aesthetic. Eventually, the elderly man paused for a moment before once again disappearing into the shelves. When he returned, he placed before Richard a sleek box, revealing a 14 1/4" silver lime wand housing a dragon heartstring core. The boy was instantly taken with it, snatching it up immediately, so captivated by its beauty that he'd almost forgotten to try it, without prompting. After several assurances to his father that it was indeed genuine silver lime, the shopkeeper mentioned something about that particular wood being an ideal match for seers and legilimens - whatever those were. Unbeknownst to anyone, however, was exactly how apropos the core of the piece would turn out to be: "While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner. The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental." (source)

AMORTENTIA :: It's a cliche, and Richard knows as much, but his amortentia is reminiscent of his first infatuation: Clarice, and the delicate, practically floral scent that always clung to his pillowcase when he'd woken up in the morning after she'd already left for work. The next fragrance is likely just as predictable: Georgine's essence, which is richer, almost spicier than her older half-sister, a scent he once had to diligently rid himself of with hasty showers but in which he now revels. The third element is not dissimilar to the deep, masculine earthiness of expensive leather; he can't quite place it, not for lack of trying, but rather because it's relatively impossible to recognize one's own distinct pheromones. Each layer is pleasing enough on its own, but what sets Richard on fire is the way each complements the other, swirling and playing so intoxicatingly that he truly goes a bit weak in the knees.

BOGGART :: Richard's boggart takes the form of his darling Georgine. She is furious and blood-thirsty, lunging at him with fangs bared. He is less terrified of the idea of Georgine draining his very life from his body, and instead deeply unsettled by the creeping suspicion that if it came down to it - if that was truly to be the end of his natural life - he wouldn't even put up much of a fight.

PATRONUS :: While the man has never come anywhere near conjuring his patronus, Richard likes to imagine it would be a fierce creature along the lines of a wolf, or a panther, maybe even a scorpion. If he ever did attempt to conjure one, he'd be enraged to see that all of his work had manifested itself in "a bloody swan?!" A black swan, to be specific: uncommon, striking, elegant - and vicious.

Mirror of Erised & Writing Sample below the cut - minorly NSFW ...

MIRROR OF ERISED :: Studying his own reflection, even during sex, is far from unfamiliar territory for someone as vain as Richard Ellington - but this ... this is new. To start, he's not actually having sex, not at the present moment; he's standing completely alone, staring into a mirror, yet somehow his reflection is in another realm entirely, very much so not alone. He's sweat-soaked and breathless, fingers gripping his companion's hips in a way that will surely leave dark, watercolor splotches of bruises in the morning, moving inside of the gorgeous other. But what's making his mind completely explode is that the other, the one digging fingernails into his arms, completely blissed out, gazing at him like he's a god - that other keeps changing, shifting, transforming with every rhythmic thrust: Georgine ... Adairia ... Clarice ... Garwain ... Celestia ... Georgine ... Adairia ... Clarice ... Garwain ... Celestia ...

WRITING SAMPLE :: What takes probably five seconds feels like five lifetimes: the unmistakable sound of a key in a deadbolt, the gasp from the woman who feels so impossibly perfect right where she is that he can’t help but reach for her as she pulls away, the swishing and swirling of bedsheets as she clambers to get away from him, which they both know has never been her forte. He blinks at the ceiling as one, two of those seconds tick right by, not waiting for him to catch up with the reality of the moment, but he does manage to bring himself up on his elbows. He can’t stop this, he can’t redress and chase the flush from his cheeks and remake a bed and pretend he wasn’t just inside his fiancée’s younger half-sister.

But he can stare it down. He can watch it all implode. He can do that much.

It takes another five seconds/lifetimes to watch her come through the door, seeing them, catching them, taking in the way he’s so completely shattered their life together. Maybe her life in its entirety, he considers, forcing himself to keep his blue-grey eyes on her face as she works through all the emotions one might expect. He’s not sure which emotion he’s feeling at the moment, so instead he shuts them down entirely, offering little more than a barely-there shrug of his right shoulder.

With another five seconds/lifetimes, she’s gone. It’s over. Her diamond is on the dining room table, which - thanks to the modern layout of the London flat he’s definitely overpaying for - sits directly between where she stands at the front door, and where he watches from the bedroom. Maybe a more traditional floorplan would have saved his relationship, bought him some time, given them a chance. Maybe he knew that if she ever deemed to come through the door at a time dictated by anything other than her goddamn work schedule, she’d see exactly what he’d been up to in her absence. He doesn’t let himself wonder if her sister knew too.

But he does manage to tamp down the hint of a smile threatening to tug at the corner of his lips. He knits his brow in what he’s pretty sure looks like shame. He can do that much.

[sxfterhearts]

11. [3:21 pm]

The leaves rustled above your head in the warm spring breeze, a pleasing melody that drifted into your ears as you sat under the tree, waiting. The late afternoon sunlight filtered through the leaves, creating a mosaic of shadows on the ground around you. You closed your eyes, basking in nature’s gifts. In a distance, the school bell sang in a high-pitched voice, signalling the end of the school day for the rest of the students.

As it was already Friday, your entire year was allowed the option of either staying in school for study period or to go home and revise for the national exams. It came as no surprise that most students preferred to go home and engage in other activities not related to studying, such as window shopping or catching up with friends over a hearty meal.

You couldn’t blame them, though. This year was the most stressful academic year yet, and it was totally understandable to take a break once in a while. However, you couldn’t afford this luxury as you had a Chemistry test next Monday, and you stayed back to attend tutoring sessions with your teacher.

All your classes had ended. On a normal Friday, you would already be on the bus back home with your best friend who lived across the road from you, a cup of bubble tea in each of your hands. But today wasn’t a normal Friday.

Today, someone promised to meet you after school – a boy. Now, this came as quite of a surprise to you because, for one, you went to an all-girls school. The only males you came into regular contact with was your male teachers or your father.

Another thing was that you didn’t know who this someone was. He had passed a note to you via your friend, under the instructions of her boyfriend, who attended the all-boys school close to yours. All you knew about this mystery person was that you were to wait for him at the park outside your school, and that he had careful, immaculate handwriting.

Also, he was late. The note said he would be there at three. It was nearly twenty past, and you were starting to think about leaving.

You drummed your fingers against your thighs absentmindedly, humming along to the song playing through your earbud in your right ear. Out of habit, you took the left earbud out to listen. Along with the cheerful notes of your song, there was also a bird chirping somewhere in the tree. A car honking, probably to urge students to cross the road quickly. The school bus groaned as it opened its doors to eager students, looking forward to the start of the weekend. A dog barking on the sidewalk. Rushed footsteps, muted by the grass.

The footsteps increased in volume by the second, until finally, it stopped. You were acutely aware of tired panting as the owner of said footsteps caught their breath. The patterns created by the leave’s shadows ceased to exist. The person must have been standing behind you, you concluded.

“Noona,” A voice called. You turned your head, looking up at the towering figure that was Kim Yugyeom. “Sorry I’m late, it’s just,” A pause for a deep breath. “Practice ran overtime, the hyungs didn’t let me leave until we absolutely nailed the choreography.”

“Kim Yugyeom? You wrote me that note?” Confused was an understatement.

The boy standing before you was someone you’ve only seen three times in your life. The first time, when you went bowling with your friends and they invited their boyfriends, who extended the invitation to their group of friends. The second time was during your interschool basketball competition, where some of the boys from their school came to cheer your team on. The third time, not too long ago, was accidental. You stayed a bit too late at the community library to study for a midterm and missed the last bus home. Just as you were pacing around the bus stop, about to call your parents, the boy spotted you across the street. He recognised you as a friend of his hyung’s girlfriend, and had kindly offered you a ride home. You politely declined at first, but then you remembered that your mum was babysitting your cousin’s daughter and your dad was working overtime that night. You accepted gratefully, promising to pay him back in the future with a drink. Yugyeom assured you there was no need for that, and spent the rest of the car ride making light conversation about school. Honestly, you didn’t think you would see him again so soon.

“Yeah…” He loosened his tie slightly and undid the top bottom. Wiping the sweat off his brow, he explained, “I didn’t want to text you or anything because I haven’t asked for your number. I mean, I could’ve got it from Jackson hyung, but I didn’t want to invade your privacy like that. I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all.” You shook your head quickly, touched by his thoughtfulness. “But, I have to ask, why did you want to see me?”

“About that…” Yugyeom looked down at his feet, sporting a small grin. “I’ll tell you later. Do you want to go for bubble tea? There’s a shop near my school where I can get a discount.”

It was as if he read your mind. Getting bubble tea on the way home was your tradition on Fridays, and your best friend was sad that you had ditched her for a boy. “Sure, I go there every Friday anyways.”

“Really? How come I’ve never seen you there?” He helped you up on your feet as you slung your backpack over your shoulders.

“It’s probably because I go after school ends, I stay for study period with my friend. When do you go?” You walked past the school gates side by side, your hands on your backpack straps, his in his pockets.

“Ah,” His face lit up in realisation. “These past two weeks we’ve been staying til seven or eight to rehearse, that’s probably why. And before that I’d go right after the lunch bell rings and head to the basketball courts.”

You nodded. The walk to the bubble tea shop was short, consisting of questions along the lines of “how are you?” and “what subjects do you do?”. To be honest, you didn’t know much about this boy. Yugyeom was a friend of your boyfriend who studied in the all-boys school affiliated to yours, a year below you. He lived and breathed dance, and was always drinking iced-chocolate.

Today, you also learned that he was a part of a dance team before high school, had an older brother, and couldn’t stand the taste of coffee. You, on the other hand, were an only child, consumed two cups of coffee daily, and was also in the same dance team a few years back. It has been awhile and you’ve long since given up on your dreams of professional dancing, but you vaguely remembered thinking Yugyeom looked oddly familiar when you first spotted him across the bowling alley. There was no way you would’ve recognised him though, as the two of you were a year apart and placed into different groups.

The sweet fragrance of brown-sugar coated pearls filled your nostrils as you stepped into the store. You greeted the girl behind the counter, your classmate who recognised you from your weekly trips.

Turning to the boy beside you, you asked, “What are you getting? It’s my treat.”

Searching for his wallet in his pockets, he furrowed his eyebrows. He urgently patted his blazer pockets, trouser pockets and back pockets. A sigh left Yugyeom’s lips. “I’m gonna kill Bambam next week…” He muttered. “It’s alright, noona. My friend has my wallet. You go ahead.”

“You sure?” You quirked your eyebrows, finding his flustered expression cute.

“Yeah, I feel bad. I made you wait and now I can’t even buy you a drink. I’ll make it up to you next time, okay?”

“Don’t worry about it, Yugyeom. Go take a seat first, I’ll join you later.”

You gave your full attention to the cashier, giving her your regular order, a large Pearl Milk Tea with less ice and less sugar. She gave you a teasing smile as she keyed it in. You weren’t particularly close, but you were in the same study group for Chemistry and chatted briefly about the upcoming test while she prepared your drink.

Once she was done, you sipped happily on the sweet concoction while making your way towards Yugyeom, who had taken off his blazer and was sitting with his back facing you. You were curious about the purpose of his meeting.

“Noona, you’re done.” He put his phone away and looked towards you as you took a seat. “What did you get?”

“Just the normal milk tea. Are you thirsty? You can have some.” You offered, pushing the drink across the table.

“Thank you,” He smiled sheepishly. “I’ll only have a sip.” Before you could stop him, he picked up the drink and placed his lips on the straw. You watched, surprised, an unused straw in your hands.

“I was going to give you another straw…” You mumbled.

Yugyeom’s eyes widened. “Shit, I’m so sorry. I thought-” A panicked look flashed across his face. “It’s just, me and the hyungs, we share drinks all the time. I didn’t think you were saliva conscious. Should I get you another straw?”

“It’s okay,” While his actions alarmed you because, yes, you were saliva conscious, his words made you forgive him. “You didn’t know, it’s fine. I have another straw here.” You poked the straw through the drink when he handed it back to you hastily.

“I’m sorry, next time I’ll buy you another one next time, large, with any topping you like. You can choose the most expensive ones too.”

“Yugyeom, it’s fine.” You reassured him once more with a smile. “Now, what did you want to tell me?”

“Right,” He smiled mischievously. “Our school’s senior ball is coming up soon, and the student council asked us to do a performance. The hyungs and I, that is.”

“That’s great! I don’t mean to sound rude but, what does that have to do with me?” You wondered where this was going. It wasn’t uncommon for boys in their school to ask girls in yours as their ball date, but you didn’t know why he mentioned the performance specifically.

“See, we have a plan. We as in, all of us except for Jaebeom hyung. You know, the one with four piercings who sticks out his chin when he’s angry?”

You laughed at that, flashing back to bowling night, when Jaebeom’s team lost to yours by a point and all the boys made fun of him for his angry chin. “Yes, Lim Jaebeom, the b-boy?”

“Yes, him!” Yugyeom was clearly excited that you were engaging in his storytelling. “The thing is, he asked your class president to be his date for our ball, with our help, of course.”

“Last week, right? The entire school heard about it.” You laughed fondly at the memory. The class president was also your close friend, so she gave you and the girls a detailed account of what went down. “Who would’ve thought, your school’s bad boy and our school’s star student.”

“Jaebeom isn’t a bad boy,” He defended. “He just dresses like one. Deep down inside he’s a softie who loves cuddling while watching romcoms. Anyways, that’s besides the point. The rest of us are trying to help him to ask her out as his girlfriend.”

“What?” You exclaimed, surprised by the news. “He’s serious about her? He wants to be with her?” It was hard to determine whether he had serious feelings for your friend, because he seemed like a player. “Are you sure about this, Yugyeom? I know the two of them went to the same kindergarten and primary school, but does he really feel that way about her?”

“Yeah!”

“Positive? How do you know? You didn’t get his consent for this plan of yours…” You trailed off, uncertain. You didn’t want this to be some sort of big show to put on in front of the entire student body, for the sake of popularity. While you were happy for your class president that she was asked as his ball date, you didn’t want her to get heartbroken by such an act.

“Didn’t you notice the way he looks at her? There’s been at least three other girls who confessed to him this semester and he’s turned them all down. Every time she comes to watch our performances, Jaebeom always tells us about how he made eye contact with her from the stage. He is the only girl he talks about, ever.” He rebutted, clearly passionate about defending his friend.

“What about that girl?”

“What girl?”

“The one he posts on his Instagram stories, that girl… Nora?”

A part of Yugyeom was slightly jealous that you followed Jaebeom, and not him. “Nora is his cat, Y/N. There is no other girl. And since when did you follow his Instagram?”

“His cat?” It made sense, you suppose. “I don’t, I just saw a screenshot.”

Yugyeom leaned forward, interested by this new piece of information. “Wait, so you’re saying she screenshots his stories and sends them to you?”

“It’s common. That’s what girls do, Yugyeom.” You smiled, watching him put the puzzle pieces together in his head. Your reluctance to agree, in case your class president got hurt, and her talking about Jaebeom with her friends. It made sense.

“She likes him?” He asked, hopeful.

“Doesn’t matter, I’m not saying anything.” You sipped silently on your drink, chewing the pearls while Yugyeom’s mind raced.

“But you should tell me! It’ll make the plan so much easier.”

“What is the plan, anyways?”

Yugyeom launched into this elaborate explanation about how at the end of the performance, there was going to be a surprise couple’s dance, and after the song finishes with Jaebeom taking centre stage while twirling his date, the boys would hold up cardboard cut-outs of the words “Be my girlfriend”.

You nodded. It wasn’t a bad idea, albeit slightly cheesy, but you knew your friend was into that. “Does each of the boys have a date to the ball?”

“Well, not exactly… All the hyungs do, except for me.” He said in a soft voice.

“Your plan’s not going to work then, if you don’t have a date.” You stated matter-of-factly.

Yugyeom struggled to meet your eyes. “That’s sort of where you come in.” You froze. “Do you want to be my date and dance partner for the ball?”

You looked at him in disbelief. Sure, you were flattered that he asked you. You had watched their performance videos in the past and Yugyeom, although the youngest in their dance team, was undoubtedly the most experienced dancer. Being his dance partner meant you had to be at a certain level of dancing proficiency to be able to keep up with him. You were also somewhat amused that he asked you to be his date.

“I know it’s a lot to ask, and we don’t really know each other that well, but this is solely because of Jaebeom. I promise I won’t try to spike your fruit punch or make any unnecessary advances. We’ll just be partners for the night, and then we can carry on like nothing happened.” Yugyeom reached his hand out for a handshake, hopeful. “Besides, you’re one of the most competent dancers I know.”

“You’re just saying that to make me say yes,” Your eyes crinkled into crescents as you laughed. “Okay, I’ll do it, partner.” You clasped his hand in yours, shaking it firmly.

Yugyeom returned your eye-smile with his own, pumping his fist in celebration (for more reasons than one).

part 2

[i-stan-nct-and-satan]

Not Broken (Jaehyun mafia au pt 8)

Not Broken Masterlist 

Jaehyun X Reader

Trigger warning: like a slap or two, mentions of abuse

The adrenaline rush was short lived, but my body was still shaking due to low blood sugar I was experiencing as a result.

I couldn't help but just lay on the floor thinking about how I got myself into this situation, and not like I had a choice in what position I was in.

What could I have possibly done to deserve this? Besides the obvious fact that I killed a gang leader, why was I put in that scenario in the first place? If this was punishment for trying to steal for survival then God is an asshole. I might not have been the best person, but I wouldn't say that I was that bad either.

The pain was immense. I could barely see out of my left eye due to the swelling. I wondered what I looked like. I definitely had a black eye, if not two, but I imagined that I looked like a sorry sight.

I couldn't even cry. Despite lying on the ground for the past I don't know how many hours, I was more exhausted than I had ever been in my whole life. My mouth had a bitter metallic taste in it, probably from the blood. Breathing wasn't hard, which was good, but I kept coughing really hard. God, I was thirsty. So, fucking thirsty.

Suddenly, I hear a noise coming from the stairs.

Please be Winwin, I thought to myself. But after hearing the sound of several pairs of footsteps coming down the stairs, I knew that wasn't the case.

"Is our little kitten sleeping?"

My eyes widened in fear as I recognized the voice as the man who did this to me.

My breathing started becoming shallower and I panicked. I thought of pretending to be asleep but that didn't work last time, and I didn't want to piss him off any more than I already had.

I was facing away from the stairs, but I could see three shadows cast on the wall as three figure approached me.

"I asked you a question, Kitten. Don't make me repeat myself," the shadow snarled.

"I-I," I hesitated. I didn't know what to say, but I didn't want the gang leader to view my fear as disrespect. Who knows what he would do to me if I pissed him off anymore?

Laughter was all I heard. He could sense my fear and it pleased him.

Despite feeling disgusted by his laughter at my paralyzed state, I felt a bit of relief knowing that my pathetic attempt at answering him didn't result in any sudden bashings.

My relief was short lived as I felt my body being hoisted up by unknown arms and thrown onto their shoulders. I didn't try to resist because I knew that would get me nothing. If anything, resisting them would lead to my seemingly fast approaching death, coming even sooner.

I thought that I could get through anything as long as I found a way to survive, but now I'm doubting myself.

Maybe death would be better than whatever fate had in store for me today.

As the person carrying me starts walking, I see that Jaehyun isn't the one carrying me since he and Yuta are whispering to each other in the middle of the room.

The person carrying me leans forward, throwing me down into one of the non-broken chairs in a harsh manner. I look up to see Doyoung smirking at me.

He reaches into his shirt pocket and takes out a small key. For a brief second, I think that he's going to free me from the chains that were digging into my hip bones, but he merely rearranged them so that I was chained to the chair.

"Doyoung," Jaehyun called.

Doyoung looked back at Yuta and Jaehyun. His boss motioned for him to join them, so he swiftly made his way over.

I couldn't hear them, but I could see that they were talking to each other.

POV third person

"Okay so here's the plan," Yuta began.

"Remember, first we are going to find out about her connection with Lucas, then we'll find out what happened the night of Ji-eun's, I mean IU's death."

Jaehyun and Doyoung nodded in response.

"I think that we have a good chance at getting her to talk, but..." Yuta turned to Doyoung.

"I don't think we should hurt her. At least, not at first." He finished.

Annoyance grew on Doyoung's face.

"Doyoung," Yuta warned.

"Fine. Whatever." Doyoung rolled his eyes.

"I'm thinking that she is either protecting Lucas due to them having some sort of relationship or she is too scared of Lucas killing her to tell us where he is," Yuta explained.

"Does she not think that we'll kill her if she doesn't tell us where he is?" Jaehyun interjected a little too suddenly, before quickly regaining his composure.

Yuta and Doyoung gave each other a look.

"Boss, do you really think you should be down here for this?" Doyoung questioned.

"Not you, too," Jaehyun sighed, pinching the top of his nose out of annoyance.

"Listen. I'll let you two do your thing. I won't interfere. I trust that you both are fully capable of extracting the info we need," Jaehyun coldly instructed the two interrogators, letting them know that he wasn't asking permission.

Jaehyun took a seat in the corner of the room farthest from Y/N and just stared at her. He was furious with the position he was in.

I need to get my shit together. I've never looked so weak in front of my men before. My father would be disgusted with me if he were alive, and it's all because of her and that bastard. He thought as Yuta and Doyoung continued discussing their interrogation methods.

"Follow my lead," Yuta instructed before making his way over to Y/N.

Y/N's POV

Jaehyun's stare was terrifying, but at least he wasn't near me.

Yuta said something I couldn't hear before they started walking towards me.

Doyoung pulled a chair up and sat in it backwards, arms crossed, resting on top of the chair's back. Yuta remained standing.

"So princess," Yuta started, using the same flirty voice he had used on you at the show.

"How are you?"

The question threw me off completely. I had no idea what to say in response to such a simple question. Obviously, I wasn't "good" with the state that I was in, but his question seemed so genuine, like he was asking a friend he was honestly concerned about. I just stared at him.

"He asked you a question," Doyoung spat out as he started to get up from his chair.

"Doyoung, calm down," Yuta rested a hand on his shoulder, urging him to remain seated.

Yuta turned back to me.

"You must be in a lot of pain, right?"

Still not knowing how to respond, but not wanting Doyoung to bite my head off, I merely nodded.

Yuta walked over to the first aid kit that Winwin had left on the broken pool table and started rummaging through it. Doyoung just kept staring at me. Doyoung's stare was intimidating enough to almost make me forget that his boss was also burning holes into my head.

Yuta returned holding a bottle of water. He opens the bottle of water then he extends his seemingly empty hand towards me.

"Open," he instructed.

Confused, I look down at his hand to see a small white pill, similar to the pills you get from the doctor after getting your wisdom teeth pulled.

He sees the hesitation in my face.

"Relax princess, it's just an Oxy. It'll help with the pain," he states softly.

I open my mouth and he places the pill on my tongue. Then, he brings the water bottle to my lips. I drinking as much as I can, trying not to let any of the liquid spill due to the awkward angle. Yuta pulls the bottle away from my mouth and I breathe heavily.

"Wow, you really chugged that didn't you? Don't worry. You can have more. Just drink slowly."

Yuta brings the bottle back to my mouth and the process repeats until the bottle is empty. I'm still dehydrated, but the water did remedy my dry throat.

Yuta's suddenly caring nature is comforting yet confusing. I don't know if this means I'm safe for the day or not.

"Now isn't that better?" Yuta smiled at me and in that moment, I couldn't feel the pain from yesterday. Either that or the Oxy was kicking in faster than I expected.

"So, you know why you're here. We know about you and Lucas and what happened that night. We just want you to fill in some of the gaps for us." Yuta spoke quietly, as if he were doing his best to not be heard by his boss or even by the man with blue highlights sitting next to him.

"Now these guys wanted to use more violent means to get you to talk, especially this guy right here," Yuta uses one hand to not so subtly block his other hand as it points to a scowling Doyoung.

"But from what I can remember, your face is far too lovely to subject it to any sorts of permanent mutilation and I think yesterday was enough pain to last a lifetime. Am I right?"

I looked up at him as I processed his words.

"But here's the thing," He continued.

"The only way that I can promise that your pretty little face won't be further....um mutilated, is if you answer our questions honestly. Understand?"

I remained silent.

Yuta sighed.

"Look, you're going to have to speak in order to answer us," He reminded.

"If you don't, then I'll be forced to let my friend here use his own methods of questioning, and I guarantee you do not want that. Now let's try again. Do you understand, princess?"

I swallow hard and notice that my throat has suddenly become dry again.

"I... I understand," I finally reply.

"Good!" Yuta exclaims.

"Let's get started."  

"First question. How did you and Lucas meet?" Yuta asked.

I knew that I couldn't be honest if I wanted to get out of there alive. I couldn't let them know that I killed Lucas. Somehow convincing them that there was a mistake and they had the wrong person was my only option. I knew that if I said anything that they knew was untrue, that I would be screwed so I decided that telling them pieces of the truth, was my best route.

"At Kitchen Beat Bar," I answered.

Yuta looked at Doyoung and nodded.

So, they are testing me. I thought to myself.

"How long have you known him?" Yuta continued.

I didn't know how to answer. How long have I known him? I only met him once and now he's dead. And did he say have or had? No, he definitely said have. Are they testing if I know he's dead?

"Y/N?" Yuta noticed my perturbed face

Fuck, I have to give him an answer that doesn't let them know that I know he's dead. Well I did meet him three years ago so...

"Sorry, I was counting. I've known him for three years, but we only met once," I finally responded.

Yuta looked at me as if he was surprised by my answer.

"Do you remember the exact date you met him?"

"I remember that it was September, but no, I do not know the date,"

Yuta raised an eyebrow.

"September three years ago?" Yuta asked, seemingly more to himself than to me.

He looked at Doyoung.

"What was the nature of your relationship with Lucas?" Yuta continued questioning me.

I looked up at Yuta confused by the question.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Yuta looked at me and smirked.

"Well, at first we thought you might have been in love with him, but your story so far suggests otherwise."

"In love with him?!" I can't help but cry out at the suggestion that I was in love with such a vile man. I realized that I had to be more careful with my answers. I couldn't just blurt out anything. I have to be smart with my answers.

Yuta's eyes widen along with his smirk as if he were amused by my answer.

"Interesting! And here I thought that he was your boyfriend. I mean it would have made sense since he gave you that necklace, but the fact that you met him around the time the incident occurred, it seems like you're telling the truth, princess."

Oh no. I'm an idiot. I just confirmed their suspicions with my answers. Now they know that I was with Lucas before he was killed. If they thought we were dating then maybe I would have been able to convince them I didn't kill him. I'm so stupid.

"Let's move on to that night, shall we?" Yuta spoke up again.

"What night?" I asked in an attempt to feign ignorance.

"Don't play dumb princess. I'm talking about the night the murder took place," Yuta cooed.

My heart dropped to my stomach. I didn't know how to act, where to look at, what to say, or how to breathe. I was fucked in every sense of the word.

Yuta saw my reaction and he knew he caught me.

He stepped closer to me and I was afraid he was going to hurt me or something, but he just walked behind me and brought his lips to my ear.

"You do realize we have you, right?"

My breathing stopped completely as I waited for his next words.

"You wanna get out of here alive, don't you?"

I nodded.

"It's not too late for that. You can still live to see outside of this room, princess. All you have to do is tell us everything you know. Understand?"

What did he mean? Does he think I'm stupid? There is no way that they are going to let the girl who killed the leader of their associated gang go free just because she was honest about it. The only thing I can do now is tell them the truth and hope they give me the mercy of a quick death.

"I understand."

"Were you hired?"

"No."

"Then why did you do it?"

"It was an accident."

"Princess, I've seen the body and I've seen the texts. That was no accident."

My eyes dart to the mafia boss in the corner as I process what Yuta just said. He noticed the puzzlement in my eyes, but remained still.

I turn my head as much as I can to look at Yuta.

"W-what texts?"

Yuta laughs as he repositions himself in front of me.

"The texts you sent to draw IU out of the ball that night. We've all seen them. We know that you told her to meet a girl matching your exact description. Are you trying to tell us that it was a different foreigner?" Yuta laughed at his sarcastic suggestion.

"Who is IU?"

Everyone in the room's gazes shot to meet mine.

A loud screeching sound entered the room as Jaehyun stood up from his chair, pushing it back.

"Boss?" Doyoung and Yuta both questioned in unison as the pink-haired man started to walk towards me.

I was so confused. Who was IU and what did she have to do with me killing Lucas?

My thoughts were interrupted by a hard slap to my already bruised cheek.

My ears started ringing again.

"Now you start lying?" the man demands.

"You had a chance to get out of here alive and you decide to suddenly screw yourself by pretending to not know who my sister is? Gee, you sure know how to piss me off," he continued.

"What? What are you talking about?" I cry out.

Jaehyun grabbed a fist full of my hair and pulled it back forcing my gaze to move to the ceiling. In my peripheral vision I see him raise his other hand and I brace myself for another hit, but it never comes.

"I'll give you one more chance. There is no way that you are going to survive to see me leave this room, but if you admit what you did and help tell us what we want to know, I'll make it quick."

Seeing that I was as good as dead no matter what I did, I knew there was no point in resisting any further.

"I killed him!" I confessed as tears were streaming down my face.

"I killed Lucas! I'm so sorry." I continued, choking on my sobs.

The fist that was holding my hair retracted, but I didn't notice. I was too panicked of what would happen next and I couldn't control myself. I just kept talking in hopes that after hearing me out, that they would realize I was just a girl in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"He was going to hurt me! I didn't mean to kill him! I just wanted to get away! Please! You have to believe me!"

I looked up but could barely see due to the combination of my swollen eye and the tears which filled them.

I only heard silence as I tried to blink away the tears.

I felt hands touch my face, not in a rough way, but not in a gentle way either. I stopped blinking to see that Jaehyun was the one touching me. He looked frightened by me. His expression was made up of pure shock, but he looked like he was analyzing me as if to try and read my mind.

"What did you say?"

I looked at him and said nothing. Confusion and fear leaving me paralyzed.

"What the fuck did you just say?!" He roared.

I flinched, but he kept my face in place. I hadn't noticed, but he was kneeling so that our gazes were at the same level.

"I killed Lucas," I repeated.

Yuta and Doyoung remained silent.

"You killed Lucas?" Jaehyun repeated my statement quietly under his breath, just loud enough so that all the people in the room could hear.

"Please don't hurt me," I begged

Jaehyun released my face and stood up.

He merely walks away, heading up the staircase, with Yuta and Doyoung hurrying to follow him as he leaves the room.

I was unable to feel grateful that, unlike what Jaehyun had said, I lived long enough to see him exit the room I was being held captive in, because just like that, I am alone again, even more confused and frightened than before.  

[tobi-the-crazy]

Wisdom teeth

Seeing as my stitches finally got removed and how popular my two thirst posts for transformers has gotten I decided to write my first fic, and not even on my writing blog because everyone needs to know hoe serious I am about robopussy

There’s three options after the beginning, the three bots mentioned in the og post... Enjoy you thirsty robofucker.

You can request shit on my other blog! @tobi-or-not-to-be

WARNING: NSFW CONTENT AND MINOR KINKY SHIT... Idk what counts as minor anymore tbh.... BUT NOT UNDERAGE MINOR.

~~~

Ten days, it took ten days for those damn holes in their mouth to heal enough to get their stitches removed, but the satisfation of being told they could begin doing hard physical labor was music to their ears, because they had a certain bot in mind they wanted to spoil rotten.

Walking down the halls of the lost light numerous bots made their best effort to avoid them and go the opossite direction of where they were headed, as the smile on their face said it all, and no one wanted to be around for what would happen.... Poor Ultra Magnus’ audio receptors still haven’t recovered.

But as they got closer to thier target, the grin on their face took on an almost evil look to it, as they planned to more than make up for lost time.

Swerve:

 Swerve was not expecting this. When his dear human had come to him after getting the stitches removed saying they wanted to celebrate he though a movie night was planned, or maybe a cute date. 

But here he found himself strapped to the berth, blindfolded and interface panel open, his dear human stroking his thighs lightly.

“I missed this so much baby, seeing you be such a good boy for me. Look at how wet your little valve is for me. Such a pretty valve, does baby want me to play with his tight little valve?” Shivers ran through his entire body. He knew the rules. He knew he wasn’t aloud talking yet, and he was supposed to wait, but dear primus did they make it hard.

“Such a good boy, following the rules... Good boys get rewards.” He didn’t have time to process what was said, the only thing he could proces was the feeling of his partner eating out his valve like a starved man.

They were merciless, and unlike usual, they held back nothing. His first overload hit him like a crashing wave, as he was used to having to wait for it. His fourth overload left him shaking without an end in sight, and they still showed no sign of stopping.

Swerve know they could go for a long time, their session usually lasted a long time, but he didn’t realise that when not denying him of an overload they could draw more from him that he though possible, pain or no pain.

By the time he finally came to he felt nearly raw, every part of him on fire due to over stimulation. He didn’t know what day it was, where he was or his name. But he did know that he was in for a lot more, the deep chuckle that came from his partner told him as much.

Fort Max:

Fort Max was never the one to start anything in the relationship, not even the relationship itself. That job would go to his human partner, who was much smaller and much more confident. So he was used to taking a less dominant role, but this was something new.

“Look how pretty you are, so perfect for me. Does baby want me to touch him? Touch his pretty little tight valve?” The strained moan he gave was answer enough for his human lover because they were on him in an instant.

But this time something was very different. He was used to them going slow and praising him every single moment they weren’t eating him out slowly and lovingly. But this time they were intense, not that he minded, pleasure clouded his senses to quickly for him for form an opinion.

“Look how wet you are, baby you could almost drown me with how wet your pussy is.” That was also new.” Please... Please don’t stop.” His human did not need to be told twice.

He was so overwhelmed her hardly even noticed his first overload hit, it was the second one that hit him so hard he was sure he was going to offline, and as much as he would hate to admit it, he tapped out before he could reach his third.

“Too much?”“ G-give me a moment.”“ hmm, ok. If you think you can go on then I should warn you I plan on using my new toy on you, and you won’t be getting a wink of sleep tonight.”

Fort max had a choice to make, and he wasn’t sure what was scarier, the fact he knew he would likely pass out, or that he was actually considering it.

Rung: 

Rung would like to say that he was good at picking up on a person’s intentions, but when his beloved human walked into his habsuite he was terrified, as their face betrayed nothing.

When a grin broke out on their face and they announced that the stitches had been removed... Well Rung knew then and there what he was in for. What he did not know was just how intense it would be.

They had agreed before that bondage was ok, they had agreed sensory deprivation was ok, they had agreed that dirty talk was most definitly ok... Rung did not take into account what it would do to him if his partner used all three at once.

“So good, you’re so good for me Rung. But you’re making a mess, look how much your pretty valve is leaking everywhere. Am I gonna have to clean it up for you?”“ P-please.” He could hardly get a single word out but his partner just hummed.

“Please what? You have to use your words Rung. What do you want?”“ Your mouth... Use your mouth on my valve.”“ I’d be happy to.

The feeling was amazing, after being teased for so long the near instant relief he felt was amazing, and his first overload took him... But then they didn’t stop. They kept lapping at his valve, laying kisses and sucking, he felt his head dizzy, and soon enough his second overload took him.

It may have been at overload 6 or seven that he had to call it quits. He was an old bot, and he was nearly sure that his spark would give out if he reached another overload. but the moment he had uttered the semblance of the word ‘stop’ all contact ceased, and the blindfold was taken off.

“You ok babe? I didn hurt you did I?”“ N-no... Just intense.” His human lover slowly undid the binding and went about getting him some energon.

“Wanna stop for the night? We can cuddle and watch Legally blond again?” As they came back with a small ammount of energon and the proposal to indulge in his guilty pleasure he couldn’t help but agree.

He would have to keep in mind how intense his human could get.

[cordytriestowrite]

Tequila and Terror

Loki x Reader

Halloween Theme One Shot

Summary: How about Halloween party where Loki shows up in his Jotun form and she falls for him as is? Requested by @wolfsmom1

There was a chill in the air as the month of October was coming to an end. Usually you would be excited for the drop in temperature but outside the popup bar waiting for Loki you wished it were warmer. The fake blood congealed on your face and arms made you shiver as a breeze tunneled through the side street and your nude flats, while working for your costumes need for bare feet, did nothing to stop the cold from seeping up to your toes from the sidewalk. 

Maybe this wasn't a good idea, having your third date with Loki on Halloween at the pop up bar Terror and Tequila, but you love Halloween and Loki was new to the concept and it seemed like a good idea at the time. 

"Come on Loki, it'll be fun!" You had pleaded with him, pointing your laptop screen in his direction. 

"It's a pop up bar so it's only open on Halloween."

His frown grew deeper as he pointed a long finer out a block of small text. 

"Costume required." He grumbled. 

"Yeah they have a costume contest too! Just come looking scary. Like, if it scares you, that's your costume."

Loki pursed his lips in thought, eyes roaming the page you were still presenting to him. He relented with a defeated nod. 

Maybe he was standing you up. Thinking back to that night on your couch you can see everything with a new perspective, see how you had basically bullied your recent romance into this event. Goosebumps erupted that had nothing to do with the late night and low temperature and everything to do with what could very well be the end of a promising relationship with someone you liked very much. 

A trio of axe wielding murderers gave you furtive looks as they walked around you and into the venue. It was getting packed and if you didn't get in soon you probably wouldn't get in at all. Your feet shuffled as you weighed your options. You could go inside and forget about Loki, after all this pop up was only here for the night. You could go home and crack open a much cheaper bottle of tequila and ruminate on the relationship that ended too soon. You could keep waiting and hold on to the hope he would eventually show up and then feel the slow drain of disappointment when he never does. 

The sounds inside the club were too loud for you to hear footsteps approaching. You subconsciously gripped yourself tighter as the night got colder. You watched your long sigh exit your mouth in a puff of fog. It wasn't that cold was it? You looked up just as your name was called.

Your eyes met those of a bright blood red. Your pulse quickened with a rudimentary flush of fear. There was something familiar about this person before you that kept you from running. You looked deeper, imaging the blue skin pale and smooth, the red eyes as a mirthful green. 

"Loki?"

He tried to smile but his mouth didn't do much more than quirk upward with a twitch. You assumed he could not move his face too well under the makeup and prosthetics. Knowing now who he was you openly ogled his costume. Your fingers reached up to gently run along a raised piece of skin.

"This is amazing makeup, Loki. How did you come up with this?"

He grabbed your fingers and yanked them from his face. It didn't hurt, but it was forceful enough to snap you out of your staring. 

"This is me. The real me. The monster."

You met his eyes and your heart sank. Beyond the shocking red of his iris you could see a weighty burden of pain and uncertainty. There was a vulnerability to Loki that left you empty and cold. You didn't want to feel this way, didn't want him to feel this way. With a steadying breath you stepped into Loki and wrapped your arms around his chest. He was freezing cold and your body reacted as if it had touched a block of solid ice. Your mind screamed for you to withdraw but you couldn't being yourself to flinch away from the man bearing his soul to you. 

"You're not a monster, Loki."

"Ye-" 

You didn't let him argue back. Your lips were planted firmly against his in an effort to keep him from saying anything bad about himself. You could feel the soft sigh of his relent against your mouth before Loki kissed you back. His arms wrapped around you and a shiver ran up your spine. You thought you would turn into a popsicle if you stayed in this embrace any longer, but who were you to pull away from the man who kisses like he is the god of it?

Eventually you couldn't even feel the cold anymore, which was lucky when the kiss turned heated as your mouths opened and tongues began to move with each other playfully. A high pitched squeal coming from the entryway of the club finally permeated your singular thought of kissing. Loki kept you close, leaning his forehead against yours.

"Thank you." He whispered.

Loki's skin was pale again, his eyes your favorite hue of green. You let your fingers run along the now smooth plane of his cheek. He didn't pull back from your touch. 

"Wanna skip the bar and go back to my place?"

Loki chuckled, looking beyond you to the crowded club.

"Absolutely!"

Loki practically dragged you away from the venue making you giggle and quicken your pace to keep up. Once you're next to him he adjusts your hands and interlaces your fingers. 

"Not to offend you love, but I'm not sure I am a fan of this holiday."

You look over at him, already thinking up ways to change Loki's mind.

"You'll come around on it, Loki."

Permanent tag list

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[theonewiththefanfics]

Hawkins’ Charm (Part 7/?)

Synopsys: They had gotten out of Hawkins. After all the shit that had happened, all the heartache and pain, Billy and the Reader had gotten away from that hellhole, building their life in California as he had dreamed. But when Max’s graduation rolls around and they go to celebrate, it’s as if the Upside Down was just waiting for all of them to return. And it has a bone to pick.

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x f!Reader; platonic!Steve Harrington x f!Reader

Genre: angst, lil bit of fluff

Warnings: blood, mentions of injuries and death, fighting, swearing, mentions of sexy times, but not smut

Word count: 3337

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT CONDONE BILLY’S ACTIONS AND THE THINGS HE’S DONE! THIS IS BASICALLY AN AU, WHEN REALLY LOOKING AT IT! SPOILERS FOR S3! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!

It was like the air had suddenly been sucked out from the world, leaving him a heaving, dizzy mess in the void.    His dad. His old man. The person that was supposed to love him unconditionally but had been abusing him since he was a little kid was the one the Mind Flayer was using as a host.        “I’m gonna kill him,” Billy seethed. “Did he touch you?” he doublechecked every inch of Y/N’s body. “I’m gonna fucking murder him.”        “Billy, he didn’t do anything,” she put a hand on his cheek, and he practically melted, taking in a shuddering breath and nodding. “I didn’t even see him. I’m alright.”        “Was he,” he gestured vaguely around, “you know, possessed when we went to his?”        Y/N shrugged. “I don’t know, but he was by the time that whole thing at Tina’s happened. But Billy… he knows… about Clara. I tried to keep them out of my head but,” her chin wobbled, and Billy had to keep his composure.    “He’s so strong,” Y/N whispered. “Like, not to say what happened to you wasn’t horrible and painful and bad, but he’s,” she shook her head. “He’s so fucking strong. I don’t know how we’re gonna stop him. If we can stop him.”        They thought the Mind Flayer might have evolved, they knew it could, but with the way El had struggled against the small piece inside of Y/N, she couldn’t even imagine what battling against the full force of that thing would be like. 

       “We gotta close the Gate,” Hopper said. “It’s our only option.”        A murmur of agreement spread through the people in the cabin, Billy’s attention still on Y/N as she flinched when she reached for the glass of water Robin had offered. She practically gulped the whole thing in a second. Only then did Billy realize how thirsty he was too, but he could wait.        “Is my mom,” Max’s lip quivered, making Y/N look at her, and Billy reached for his sister's hand squeezing it in comfort, something that just five or even three years ago he would’ve never voluntarily done. “Is my mom one of them?”        When Y/N shook her head no, Max almost sagged to the floor in relief. “I didn’t feel her. He has a lot of others under his control – Tina, Tommy, Vicky, pretty much everyone else that didn’t leave the party that night… they drugged the punch and knocked everyone out, and then Neil helped them bring the rest to Benny’s where… ya know… they got possessed and shit…”        Y/N groaned trying to stand up, but when her knees buckled, she opted for staying on the bed.        “How does your back feel?” Robin asked, making everyone remember that before being possessed by a Mind Flayer, she’d been dragged away by a monster with knives for fingers.        “Like a Demogorgon wanted to make a skinsuit out of me,” Y/N shrugged and hissed at the pain. Without it possessing her, she was back to herself, and it meant she was back to feeling things and not just ignoring the unpleasant itch in her back. Billy was instantly in action mode.        “Okay, we need to clean those. Don’t want you getting an infection.”        Joyce was immediately on her feet. There was an old bottle of vodka, she’d found in Hopper’s room from that day when she’d ditched their ‘date but not date’ to instead go to Mike’s science teacher, and she went to grab it.        “Vodka doesn’t have an expiration date,” she muttered to herself taking a clean cloth as well.        “Here,” Joyce gave both of those things to Billy, and Y/N sighed.        “This is gonna hurt like a bitch,” he warned soaking the rag with the alcohol and reached for one of the leather restraint that had been wrapped around her wrists.       “Yeah, I’m kinda expecting it to,” she grumbled and bit down on the belt. With one final nod, Y/N readied herself, and he pressed the cloth against her wounds.        Searing hot pain erupted throughout her body, and for a second Y/N’s vision went completely white. She grabbed onto the sheets and fisted them between her fingers, holding back the scream. Honestly, she’d rather be possessed by the Mind Flayer than feel every single time the alcohol ate at her wounds.        And oh god, when Billy had to peel away the scabbed over parts… Y/N thought she’d pass out. Hoped she’d pass out. Childbirth had been easy compared to the torturously slow movements as each crusted bit was ripped from the gashes leaving them open to the air.        She spit the belt out to the floor and growled, “Hurry the fuck up!”        “Sorry, sweetheart,” Billy murmured seeing Y/N’s face scrunch up as he dragged the cloth across the third out of five slashes. “But I gotta be thorough.”        It dragged on for five more agonizing minutes before Billy and Joyce deemed Y/N’s skin would not rot and fall off her back. For the time being at least. She’d definitely need to see the doctor first thing in the morning.    “I think these might need stitching,” Billy trailed a careful palm along the two of the deepest gashes.        “Yeah, nope,” Y/N shook her head heaving and shuddering, and Joyce applied a compress to her back. It had some sort of a cold salve on it, and it instantly relieved her blazing skin. She’d been the only one smart enough to remember about El talking about Y/N’s wounds, so while everyone had gathered tons of tinfoil, Joyce had bought a first aid kit and some other things that she considered might be necessary.    “Thank you for cleaning them up, but I ain’t letting you anywhere near me with a needle and thread,” Y/N smirked.        “Wha- hey!” he exclaimed. Usually, he’d slap her arm playfully, but this time he opted out on it.        “Do I need to remind you when you tried, keyword tried, to sow up Clara’s dress?” she gave him a pointed gaze and shook her head, smiling as Joyce muttered a ‘men’ underneath her breath.        Steve who had joined their little group once the gross stuff was out of the way, crossed his arms and snorted. “What happened?”        “I ended up having to throw it out,” Y/N gestured at Billy. “Because cross stitch is so hard.”        “It wasn’t that bad,” Billy protested but accepted his defat and helped to wrap the layer of gauze around Y/N’s back. Immediately it got soaked and turned a scarlet color, but it was better than leaving the scabs on with millions of possible infections underneath them. And the red was a much pleasant color than the pitch black. “She’s just being dramatic.”        “Frist of all,” Y/N hissed and pointed a finger at him. “I’m allowed to be dramatic. At least right now. Second of all, you managed to sow the dress to your jeans, and then, when I told you to just cut the thread off and pull it out, you cut a hole into the dress.”        “It was a stylistic choice.”        “Yeah for what, her third arm?”            It seemed insane to be bickering about what were now minuscule things. A ruined dress. Billy’s inability to sow. Him being in absolute denial about it. Insane, but nice, given how the actual things they needed to worry about were the possible invasion of their world by an interdimensional alien, a Russian army opening up the Gateway between the two universes and her father-in-law being the main henchman.        “How do we explain this to Clara?” Billy nudged his chin towards Y/N's back, and her eyes widened.        “Fuck,” she swore under her breath. “I hadn’t thought about that…”    There was no way she could just brush it off, and their little Terminator had to know everything. It had been an interesting enough conversation when she’d asked about her dad’s scars, but now when her mom would arrive home with a destroyed back was not something, they thought they’d have to deal with.        “You might also wanna figure out what to say to mom,” Alex said as he stood to the side, arms matter-of-factly crossed over his chest.        “What? Why?”        Alex’s eyes widened. “Graduation’s in like a few hours, and you're gonna show up like that?”        That’s when the rest of the kids also remembered Friday was just three hours away, and graduation only fifteen.        “Oh, shit,” Max muttered sharing a look with Mike, Dustin, Will and Lucas. El hadn’t gone to a public school, having been taught by Hopper and then Joyce at home.        “Well, we can’t go,” Mike said. “This is bigger than some fucking graduation.”       “Hey, watch your mouth!” Hopper said pointing at the teen. He was still in the mindset of ‘keep the door open three inches’, no matter if four years had passed.        “I think going might be our best bet,” Y/N butted in. “Or at least, you have to go.”        “Not to be rude, ‘cause I know you went through some pretty dramatic shit,” Lucas said, “but Mind Flayer versus getting a piece of paper,” he made a gesture as if he was weighing the options with his hands. “The Mind Flayer wins.”        Y/N shook her head and stood up, leaning heavily against Billy. “He still needs to keep up the appearances. I mean when Billy was possessed, he went to his job at the pool, so I can guarantee he’ll be at the school. And that’s when we can strike.”        The thought of attacking the Mind Flayer and bringing the fight to him, instead of how it usually had been with it striking first, made everyone perk up and start talking, but Billy didn’t join in, even though he might have the most cause to.        Instead, he tugged on Y/N’s palm making her attention flit just to him and look at his furrowed brows. It seemed as if the formulation of the words on his tongue were the hardest ever, but in the end, he got them out.        “What did you mean by ‘the three of us…?’ When you said you wouldn’t let me taint the three… of you…”        “I don’t know…” she shook her head. “I have no clue where that came from.”        “Do you,” Billy swallowed harshly and wrung his hands together, “do you think you might be pregnant again?”        That thought had crossed her mind, but Y/N didn’t think it to be plausible. Every time they’d had sex they’d been very careful, as they weren’t planning on having another kid. Sure, Clara hadn’t been planned either and turned out to be the best gift ever, but they were doing really well at that moment, so another gremlin would be quite jarring.        “I don’t think so… I had my period right before leaving.”        “Yeah, but we did have a lot,” he emphasized the word and smirked, “of fun at the motel in the morning. And when we got to yours in the shower… and before going to Tin-“        “Okay, you don’t need to recount every time,” Y/N chuckled feeling heat crawl up her body. “I remember, I was there.”       “You better, otherwise, I’d need to remind you.”        She tilted her head to the side. “I wouldn’t complain about that. Like at all.” A beat passed before she spoke again. “If it was though…” Y/N bit down on her lip. “Would you want it? Another kid? Would you want one?”        Billy snorted cupping her cheeks and giving her a sweet kiss. “If you’d ask me to run through Hell barefoot, I’d fucking skip through it with a smile on my face.”        “So, would that be a yes?”        “You’re such a dork,” he shook his head, the affectionate grin never leaving.        “Yeah, but I’m your dork.”        He scoffed. “You better fucking be.”        “We’ll figure it out…” Y/N nodded her head as if affirming herself they would. “If we get out of this alive.”        “When,” he growled back. “When we get out of this alive. Don’t you dare talk that way.”        She rolled her eyes. “I’m just being realistic.”        “Well stop it then.” He grumbled like a toddler being told he couldn’t have any more candy. “Be optimistic.”        Y/N scoffed. “Yeah, because you’re not only Keg King, but the King of Optimism as well.”        He watched her bring Nancy’s given shirt over her head and helped the woman let it slip over her body.    Billy loved that body with every inch of his being. He loved each and every birthmark, scar and dip, and now it had been completely rearranged by some monster. There was nothing in the world that would make him think of Y/N as anything as beautiful, but a small part in his head screamed at how much he hated the rips that would scar over at some point. They had been his fault. His ugly marks on her gorgeous body.        “Where’s uh where’s your ring?” Y/N asked, clearing her throat and bringing him out of the pondering. This was so not the conversation she thought she’d ever have. It was like they’d had a silent agreement to never take the golden circlets off, so seeing his finger bare, with a pale line around it, made her stomach churn.        “When you were missing, I asked El to help find you. She needed something that had a connection to you…” he shrugged flexing his fist. “This was the only thing I could think of.”        “And why haven’t you put it back on?”        It seemed like the question completely shifted the mood, and Billy let out a sad chuckle. “ ’Cause I don’t think I should.”        Y/N’s eyes widened. “What?”        She could feel tears burn at the edges of her eyes, but Y/N was not going to let them fall. Instead, she cleared her throat and repeated the question in a much softer tone.        “That day when we got married, I promised to protect you. I might have not said it out loud, but I promised it to myself.” Unlike her, Billy allowed himself to fully feel the emotions, a drop rolling down his cheek.    “And I failed. How can I put it back on, how can I promise that to you, when I broke it in the first place? I know it wasn’t you saying all those things, that it was the Mind Flayer using my fears against me, but it had a point. I don’t deserve you. Or Clara. For years this whole life has felt like a dream, like a fluke that I’d gotten so lucky. And now I know it is, ‘cause there’s no way I could ever deserve you or your forgiveness.”        Y/N thought she’d be sad and hurt by his words, but instead, she was just pissed. “Forgiveness for what?”        “For this whole thing,” he gestured at her torn-up body. “Had it not been for me, you wouldn’t have been possessed by that fucker. Had it not been for me, we wouldn’t have gone to Tina’s. I wouldn’t have gotten drunk and pissy, and you wouldn’t have had to wander off into those fucking woods… this whole shit’s my fault…”        Her lips were pursed into a very thin line before, Y/N nodded. “Okay, so answer me this – did you know the Gate was open?”        “N-no,” Billy stuttered out not sure where the conversation was going.        “Did you know the Demogorgon and the Mind Flayer were back?”        Once again, he replied with a soft ‘no’.        “Did you have any clue any of this would happen?” her voice was getting louder with each word.        Billy hid his face in his palms but shook his head no.        “Then why are you punishing yourself?”        “Because who else am I supposed to punish?!” he exploded jumping up. “You?! I was the one who put you in danger, I am the one with the shit father who’s even shittier now! All of your biggest problems in life have been because of me, and now whenever we’ll go to the beach, whenever you’ll take a shower, I’ll have to see those fucking marks on your back that you wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for me!”        Y/N was practically shaking as she stood face her husband, despite the tendrils of pain rippling down her back.        “I did not sit by your hospital bed for two whole days while you were unconscious, I didn’t spend my last summer here with you in the ICU for you to say this bullshit to me,” she seethed and moved closer. “Now, you’ll listen to me Billy Hargrove, we’ve been through so much shit, it’s insane. I could write a novel about it and still, there wouldn’t be enough pages to tell the full story.”       Her gaze was piercing, and he couldn’t pull his eyes away from Y/N’s. No matter how much Billy wanted to, it was impossible as every word found its mark, yet he still listened to her, still nodded along and let the tears slip down his cheeks, his wife’s soft thumbs brushing them away.        “I did not go through childbirth, through doubting myself if I’m a good person, let alone a mother; I did not go through this shit, only for you to tell me that you don’t wanna wear that ring anymore, cause guess what? I’ve fucked up too. That day at the pool when we got into that huge argument and the whole Mind Flayer shit happened to you? I blame myself for that.”        Billy’s mouth dropped open in shock. “But – but it’s not. You had nothing to do with it… it just happened, it was bad luck.”        “Exactly,” a painful smile of relief made her lips pull up hoping he'd get where she was going with it. “I know it wasn’t my fault, I can’t control the Mind Flayer, but I still blame myself. Maybe if I’d been more understanding, maybe if I’d tried to work it out, it wouldn’t have happened... you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”        His hands shook as he settled them on Y/N’s waist, pressing his forehead tightly to hers. He’d never even considered that she blamed herself for that summer’s events. He never even entertained that idea, ‘cause it was simply untrue, so he didn’t spend time on it.        “You blame yourself for this, and I blame myself for what happened to you... even though it was neither of our faults... So,” Y/N let out a shaky breath, “put that fucking ring back on your finger, or I swear, I’ll serve you some divorce papers.”        Billy chuckled, pulling back from the embrace to fish out the ring from his pocket, but not before pulling Y/N in for a passionate kiss. Fuck, did it feel good to kiss her again. “Yes, mam.”        Beautifully, as if it was made to sit at the base of his left ring finger, the piece of jewellery slid on and stayed there. As it would forever.        “I love you,” he whispered pecking her lips.        “I love you too, dumbass.”        “Whatever you say Mrs Dumbass,” he bit on his bottom lip and glanced down at her. “You’re an amazing person, by the way. And an even better mother.”        Y/N mouthed a ‘thank you’ against his lips before caressing them again.        “You two okay there?” Joyce asked peaking inside the bedroom as they stepped back from one another.        Only then did they realize when the argument had started everyone else had left the room to give them privacy to work things out.        Billy nodded, smiling over at Y/N. “Yeah, we’re alright. But I think we’ll be even better when we decide what to do with the whole Upside-Down thing.”        “I think I have an idea,” Y/N sighed and, leaning heavily on Billy’s shoulder they entered the living room where everyone else was.        Max raised a concerned eyebrow, thumb between her teeth, and when their eyes met, she gave the redhead a small but assuring smile, making her heart lift from her feet back to her chest, knowing that everything was okay between the two.        Hopper opened his arms and then put them on his hips. “We’re all ears.”

Tags (crossed out wouldn't take): 

Hawkins’ Charm tag list: @genius2050 @aiifandomsunite @ashleymarieriffle @littlefool-smalljester @infinitelycharmed23 @llcalumllhoodll @benevolentgemini @rxmanovbby @euphoniumpets @krazykatykat456 @believerofall @ccidk @babechief @meganmj @blackhood5sos @fml9603 @noodlenerd101 @universefinds @kuroidesuchloe @im-a-stranger-thing @grxxn-gardxns @springholland @beforethebraces @robinisourlesbianmom @queeneliza108 @neenaw-neenaw @lexisntthatweird @choicesismylife @mckenzie2020 @kcd15 @snuggleducky @reckless-sofia @didyouseetheflair @silver-winter-wolf @jay-ta-blog @hopeless-lovex0 @anyasthoughts @robinismyqueen @yeah-butyourenot-dacremontgomery @mcrganstarks @psychoticobsession @cutehipstergirl25 @sbfandom @mickmoon @jackyfrost01 @txhmine @dark-princess99 @morgangrice18 @changingmylifestyle367 @sweetdayme4427 @alowexpectation @sexyvixen7 @golddvstwoman @evelynfreakinaddams @sunfucked @sataninsatin @queenbbarnes @venomavocado @rangotangomango @psychosupernatural @sereiins @frickin-bats @bandsruinedmylife @thee-brunette-princess @queenskyster @aspiring-fangirls-world @gracethegeek9902 @katiexdacre @dreamwavej @escaping-reality21 @void-fire-rose @slvtherinseeker @paranoiadestroyah @arromite @jojo-buttercup @danarysstormborn @graveyard--baby--666

Forever tags: @lumelgy @palaiasaurus64 @supernaturalbaesduh @breezy1415 @crazy--me @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @sea040561 @staryeyedgirl @deathbyarabbit @s-c-a-r-e-d-po-t-t-e-r @reblogger-not-a-blogger @m-a-t-91 @dalilx @i-need-a-hero-i-need-a-loki @maladaptive-ninja-returns @averyrogers83 @in-the-end-im-still-trash @gallifreyansass @dewy-biitch @avxgers @unlikelygalaxygiver @sweet-ladyy @magicwithaknife @ollyoxenfrees @bnhvrdy @tvwhoresblog @celebsimagines @thatkindofgurl @sj-thefan @teenwolflover28

A/N: heya! Sorry for the delay on this part, but I had such a full weekend that I just didn’t have the time to write or post, but I hope you enjoy this part. The next one might be the last or close to that, but I have a few other Billy imagines in mind, so if you wanna be tagged in any of the future fics drop a message (whether Hawkins’ Charm tag list, Forever tag list (means you’ll be tagged in EVERYTHING or just Billy’s :) )

ALSO! HOLY SHIT WE HIT 6K!!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!! THANK YOU!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE THERE ARE SO MANY OF YOU THAT LIKE WHAT I CREATE AND IT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME THAT YOU’RE STICKING AROUND :****

P.S. my tags are always open

P.S.S. what did ya think? :)

[zikadraws]

Ok then... It's gonna be really complicated, but let's go for a

🌙LM4-PROJECT🌙 CONCEPT PRESENTATION (part 1).

(Better say it now : it's gonna be a LONG post.)

Alright, so let's start with the main new character of the project ; and just because you can't really airdrop a character without any context, I'm going to try and summarize the global story of the game concept.

Sooo please meet :

Basically a doctor, vet, researcher and detective for ghosts.

A kid who, at her time of living, once managed to solve an important ghost crisis menacing the equilibrium between the living world and the Beyond Dimension (long story short she appeased and cured corrupted ghosts and helped them to destroy what corrupted them).

Her act got the attention of the forces that were in charge of this equilibrium in the first place in the Beyond Dimension, so when she passed away nevertheless due to pitiful life conditions, they offered her to become a really special type of spirit ; some sort of saviour, who reappear when ghosts meet dark times, who help them solve their problems and play ambassador with the Humans if necessary, by being reincarnated. (She was absolutely bewildered, but she rolled for it.)

So she did it, and became a really powerful-skilled ghost helper, getting reincarnated when needed, under the following system : she reappears where she can somehow get to the problem, but they don't have a body or soul ready for her, so her reincarnation quality depend on if there's people where she lands or not :

- like if there was no one around, she rolls with her original body, but has no soul so no emotions ;

- if there was one person, she possess their body and got their soul so feelings, but that process consumes (and kills) the unfortunate host in the end ;

- or (extremely rare), she collides with two persons, in which case she forms a soul out of their both, leaving them enough to survive and leaving her with a body mixing their both DNA, a bit of their personalities (and her original characteristics of course, just like a newborn actually), so she gets everything and nobody dies ; BUT that case is only possible if the persons's souls share a strong bonding link with each other, which is why she almost never got this in millenaries.

- (She also is deeply related to the Dark Moon.)

---

ANYWAY. These informations were here for a better understanding of the story, which comes now (the most summarized I could do) :

- It begins on a soirée at Peach's castle, where they celebrate Luigi's victory on the hotel's anniversary. Everyone is here, including notably Princess Daisy, E. Gadd and even all of our favourite ghosts.

- Light ambiance, congratulations, strangely evasive allusions from E.Gadd about how's King Boo doing, when suddenly, Luna is getting reincarnated. Just near Luigi and Daisy, who were ''just being dance partners''. And yeah you guys guessed : she gets the third reincarnation option, and becomes the child you saw in the picture. (She's extremely stunned herself.)

- Everyone freaks out, she very awkwardly explains them who she is and what she do (''no I'm not some random evil entity, chill out'') and then declares she's here because apparently an extremely important ghost figure has been abnormally weakened, so she had to take care of them asap.

- Everyone turns out to the usual ghost specialist, E.Gadd, out of reflex : then it appears he sneaked away during Luna's speech. She gets it first and hurry them to escort her to his lab : where they catch him while he's packing some weird equipment, and crystals of the same type of KB's crown, and also from the old mine in LM2. King Boo himself was surexposed to it, which that was what got him horribly sick. E.Gadd flees through a portal and breaks it before they could even react.

- So yeah : the main antagonist of the game is this time E. Gadd. We discover that he used Luigi so he could get his ghost research to another frightening level : like when they return to the new hotel for a first level, they realize that the walls and rooms and everything is stuffed with sensors and ghost studying material- and when they get to the roof, they have to leave in emergency because the whole building fucking teleports god knows where. Which was obviously planned for something like that.

His reasons will be discovered around the two tiers of the game.

- They also realize he greffed some ghosts with mind controllers. They are the enemies in the first two mansions, (I'd talk about that in another post), along with robots and gooey thingies. After, they (Luigi) have to ride through the Evershade Valley, to prevent anymore damage, and have to capture boss victims of ''ghosts controllers'' and free-minded but scared and recalcitrant ghosts.

(I didn't heard of the Experiment AU when I got this idea, just to clarify. Sorry.)

- Meanwhile Peach and Daisy host the now homeless ghosts (who are in-game randomly wandering in the castles, doing their shenanigans and the player can interact with them :) ), while Luna took E. Gadd's usual role and guides Luigi (kindlier and with better humour, and even some interventions of the ghosts and others), takes care of the rescued-captured ghosts and above all of King Boo whose health represents an important issue.

The game goal is to save and protect the ghosts ; and destroy E. Gadd's installations and stop him. (Tho KB did not stop to hate Luigi for crap. He will get you to remember it.)

The game includes almost-open world after the two first mansions (perhaps) and also the return of the Game Boy Horror from the first game (and its comments).

---

Here, it was basically the global plot of the story. Hope it sounds interesting to you, because it still is really unsure. If you have questions, ask away.

I'd like to talk about the game playable mansions and zones after, if it does.

Aaaand let me end that first part of that LM4-project presentation with a completion of character personality development for little Luna :

- As she is reborn from Luigi and Daisy's souls and being, she inherited some of their appearance traits and above all, from their personalities : so she's in the same time extremely sensitive and insecure and a volcanic & revendicative bonehead. An epic combination.

- She got the Luigi's Death Stare™ and she uses it frequently (as for some nervous tics from him too) and gets easily excited like Daisy ;

- She's by nature determined (especially to help, wether you like it or not), fast-minded and thirsty for discovering, and knows how to adapt if a situation or ghost requires so.

- Even though she got a shit ton of knowledge from her previous reincarnations, adult problems still pass completely up her head. (That's why she didn't get why Luigi and Daisy were so flustered when she told them about the soul bonding condition thing. At least, not at first.)

- She has the same abilities as ghosts (like flying, telekinesis, passing through the walls, and a little bit of possession and mind reading) and can go feral black-eyed ghost if pushed too far (happen more often now that she has Daisy's temper). But she knows where to put the limit.

- Serpci knows her personally and Hellen got once obsessed with her ; so knows a lot of stories about her. May talk about it from time to time from her prison.

- Likes to wears dark, phantom-themed clothes. And mainly green, lately.

- Can take radical decisions from time to time.

- Loves every ghost, including boos.

- Socially awkward, but quick to make friends.

-...that's all I got for now.

(...Yeah she's basically a fanchild, I know... Problem, buddy ?)

---

Alriiight--- so that was it.🎵

Let me know what you thought and perhaps we can go further on the lore !

...(Thank you.).

[abacys]

7 Days to Die - Play Conditioning

I’ve been thinking about 7 Days to Die a fair amount recently. I got the game in mid-to-late 2016, shortly before the Alpha 15 build was released. I enjoyed it for a while, but after a couple of days, I moved on to other games, as I am wont to do. However, last year, I decided to revisit it and try out surviving on my own again. While I was wandering around the world, my father happened to ask what the game was like. He used to play his fair share of video games, but hadn’t stuck to anything much in recent years. He had tried out some games here and there, Civilization VI comes to mind, but never played for very long. I mentioned a few aspects of the game I thought he would find interesting and recommended that he try it out. Now I have over one hundred and fifty hours in the game, he has banked almost nine hundred, and various family members and friends have spent hundreds or even thousands of hours playing. This has left me wondering what exactly it was that had pulled them so far into this experience that other games had lacked.

The first time you play a new game plays a large role in how you will interact with it as you get further in. The experience at the beginning of the game will contextualize the rest of your time playing. This concept is an element of game design known as Play Conditioning, invented by Harris Brewis, also known as HBomberguy.

First, I should explain what 7 Days to Die is. 7DtD is a post-apocalyptic, open-world survival horror game published by The Fun Pimps, released in 2013. From some statements made by the developers, it is revealed that the third world war has devastated the earth, with nuclear weapons destroying most traces of civilization. In the fallout, a virus of unknown origin has spread, bringing the dead back to life as zombies. Your task is to survive in this increasingly hostile environment. The game takes place in Navezgane, a fictitious county in Arizona, known as “one of the last true Edens on Earth.” 

Now, let’s take a look a way that the first hour of gameplay might play out.

You wake up in a forest near a road that has a frame of a car and various pieces of trash strewn about. you are greeted with a note with a threat written on it, a few basic supplies, and a short set of tutorial quests to get you started. You get to work on completing the quests. 

The sun is now higher in the sky, and the tweets of the of the birds has quieted down.

After you complete the quests, you're pointed in the direction of the nearest trading post, but are otherwise left to your own devices, free to do what you want in the world. Unfortunately, that feeling doesn’t last. 

You quickly notice that you only have one can of food and water, which do not seem to recover much.  As it is the first day of the game, there are two options to to get more. They are to try to make it to the trading post or scavenge for supplies in various locations throughout the land. You take the second option, as you have nothing to purchase food with.

The sun is now directly overhead, and you can now hear wind whistling through the trees.

Upon finding a house, you enter and try to find food to prepare for the coming days. Encountering a few zombies, you to take damage and start bleeding. After beating them back, you use the only bandage you have. This recovers some of your lost health, brings the maximum back up from where it had fallen, and stops your bleeding. Now there is no way of recovering lost health other than waiting, and nothing that can help you if you start bleeding again. You gather some of the supplies now that the area is clear, and obtain some food, water, a cooking pot, and a painkiller in case you have to get into another fight. You set out to find some weaponry in order to be able to manage future encounters more safely.

The bright sunlight has given way to the dimmer yellows and oranges, and you can now hear crickets start to chirp.

You come across a new house, and spot a few boxes on the roof. You go through the building, dispatching the zombies inside with caution. Recovering lost health with the painkillers generates a lot of thirst, requiring you to drink more of your water. After making your way through the building, you end up on top with the stockpile of goods, and a large group of enemies protecting it. Fighting proves difficult, causing an infection and more wounds that you will have to deal with when you get more medicine. Luckily, you can now loot the containers they are guarding, providing you with a better club and bow, and a little more food to tide you over.

While you walk to the trader, an ominous noise plays, and the clock at the top of the screen strikes 22:00.

It’s now night, and you spent the whole day focusing on gathering supplies. This is when you find out the consequence of not staying indoors. Zombies now are faster and stronger, and you don’t have shelter to deal with them. Running away from the nearby zombies that have picked up on you existing takes a lot of time and stamina, increasing your hunger and thirst, making it harder to continue running. Trying to fight them is punishing, causing you to lose a significant portion of health. Now crouching around, trying to sneak past all of the enemies that are around you, there is little that you can do to avoid the feeling that you are powerless until the next day. Any sound you make can draw zombies to you. Trying to go to a new house will just put you in close quarters with more enemies. The only thing now is to sit and wait in the darkness, preparing to run at any time that something notices you. Besides that, you just watch the clock.

After a painfully long amount of time, you hear a tune play, marking 4:00 and the end of the night. You survived though the first full day. However, now you are infected, wounded, starving, thirsty, and without shelter.

Not only does this set a mood for the game, but it also trains the player on how they should play the game by punishing prioritizing the wrong things. The game gives them the base concepts of what they need to survive in the quests, such as getting weapons, clothing, a place to stay, and a way to make food, but don’t enforce those concepts too strongly, allowing for more player freedom. That doesn’t mean that every option the player can take is a good one. Many things they can do, like going into places they are not prepared to enter or engaging in too many fights, will kill them. If they don’t find shelter, they will be in a very dangerous position come nightfall. If they don’t get ample amounts of food an water, they will be less equipped to deal with the tasks they need to handle, or they will just die of starvation or dehydration. The game teaches the player to strike a balance of their needs by making it tangibly more difficult to play and showing what is needed to fix that added difficulty. Every time that the player starts over, or continues past a difficult period of survival provides more knowledge on what they should do to survive, but the first steps give them a baseline of get food, water, and shelter, while avoiding many of the unnecessary risks that you can take. Making the game more difficult or killing the player work as great deterrents to careless play, and showing the steps on how to avoid that help to train the player on what they should do to survive, while not just stating it outright, giving them more of a feeling of actual personal growth and learning to survive in a harsh world.

Even if this is only one aspect of how someone comes to interact with a game, I still think it is very important to how people come to interact with it. There are other things I may come to talk about in the future regarding this, as there are many other things that I believe contribute to the interest this game pulled to those I know. If you can, I would check out the game yourself to see what I mean, and I hope that this admittedly long piece of writing provided some food for thought about these concepts.

[undercoverwizardfanfiction]

ROTTMNT FANTASY AU

Mud is Thicker the Blood (1)

Sick Day

Summary:Compilation of Donnie growing up being raised by his adopted family the Mud Dogs

He had been feeling fine that morning, but thankfully he has a family to take care of him

Gift for: @void-inked-pen birthday

Characters: Donnie, Loathsome Leonard, Malicious Mickey, Dastardly Danny, April O’Neil, Myrah

Pairings: You’re in luck! all the pairings for this fic are just past this door *gestures to wall that has a badly painted door under it and the laundry basket above it that’s suppose to be some sort of trap*

yes this is the same story twice. but this one shows up in the tags so it stays

“What is this supposed to be?”

Even though Len had been using as polite of a tone as possible, Danny still gives him a heated glare. He uses his spatula to scrape the blackened flat pastry off his frying pan and onto Len’s plate with the consistency of a dried brick. ”They’re called crespelle’s. My Dads used to make them for me and my siblings all the time.”

“Are they supposed to be…” Mickey pokes it with his flipper, “rocks?”

Danny lets out another angry huff. “I couldn’t remember the ingredients, alright??” he says, flipping another burnt disc onto a plate. Len uses his chopstick to poke at the burnt food. For someone who had known the sting of hunger many times and learned to not be picky, he finds himself wondering if he can sneak out back and compare the taste of the burnt disk to dirt.

The sounds of footsteps tells him the last member of their little family was coming down to join them. “Morning,” Danny calls. ”I got a nice big breakfast for my only grateful family member with taste!” Danny says as he starts stacking another plate.

Donnie is pulling on his hooded cardigan as he reaches the bottom step, eyeing the breakfast with a concerned eye. “Doooo I want to know?” he asks before looking to Len with a look that clearly says ‘remember how I never forget ‘best parents day’? you owe me’. It takes more than a little willpower to keep from laughing but manages to duck his head to hide his grin before turning to Danny.

“How about we spare my kid this time? He’ll never hit his height goals if he eats this.”

Danny unties his apron and stomps over and pours himself a cup of coffee all while grumbling about ‘uncultured swine.’ This time Len can't stop the snort that escapes him this time but when Donnie takes his spot at the table his smile falters as Donnie pours himself a cup of hot coffee. Leaning over the mug with a sigh, his normally dark jade complexion feels a shade lighter than usual and more than Len’s comfortable with. “You feeling ok?” he asks, moving his chair to Don’s side of the table. He puts an arm around Don's shoulders and without waiting for an answer he presses the back of his hand to Don’s cheek. The teen squirms at the contact but was unable to pull out of his grip.

“Dad, Dad, I'm fine I just didn’t sleep well. I had a bad dream again.”

“Why didn’t you come get me? You could have slept in my bed.”

“You got home late last night, I didn’t want to wake you,” Don says, still trying to twist his head away from Len’s hand.

“I’m the Dad here, Donnie. I’m supposed to worry about you, not the other way around.” But when he’s unable to find anything close to a fever he pulls away. He looks to Danny hoping he’d see something Len missed but the rat shrugs at him.

“Is it still ok to go tutor April today? Please? I’ve been cooped up here all winter.”

Len wants to say no, but sighs at the pleading look Donnie gives him. It had been a longer winter then usual, he didn’t blame his son for needing some space. He was no longer a five year old but he still had a hard time telling him no for no good reason. “Yeah, but if you start feeling sick you come home ok? Or ask Myra to help you home.”

“Yeah, yeah I know.” As Donnie downs his last bit of coffee he stands back up. Len had turned to poke at his breakfast again when he feels Don's arms wrap around his collar bone and rest his cheek on Len’s head. “I love you Dad. Thanks for being obnoxious and worried.”

“Aw. Love you too, silly gecko.” Len pats his arm in reciprocated affection. Donnie grabs his shoulder back and hurries out the front door. “Have fun!” Len calls after him. Only then did he look back to Danny. “He looked pale right?”

“Yeah but honestly it could have been the breakfast,” Mickey says, picking up a disc, “I even felt sick when I saw it.”

“First of all screw you,” Danny points at Mickey with his spatula, “Second of all, if he’s not feeling well he’ll come home. And third of all, next time you all can make your own crespelles.” Danny drops his last disk onto a plate when the shattering of ceramic fills the air. The three thieves blink at each other for a sec before Danny raises up the food slowly to show the plate underneath had been cracked in half from the sheer force of the crepe. With a defeated sigh, Danny drops his spatula. “Ok whose all for throwing these at trees and seeing if they shatter??”

Len and Mickey both raise their hands with a grin.

(#)(#)\/(#)(#)

“Donnie?”

Despite the softness of April’s voice Don jumps so hard his elbow hits the stack of April’s school books. It’s only by his reflexes that they don’t join the rest of April’s dirty clothes on the floor. It takes him a few moments to regather his scattered thoughts before looking to April. ”Did you say something?”

“Yeah, your name, like five times.” His oldest friend peers at him from over her glasses. “Are you sure you’re feeling ok?”

Donnie would have rolled his eyes if he wasn’t painfully aware of the migraine that would return if he did. Unfortunately, it had been haunting him ever since he woke up that morning. “For the last time yes. Uncle Danny made breakfast and it's just hurting my stomach. Now, the compound would be 23.6% more effective if you set the witch fire to exactly 129 degrees cinder.” He scribbles on the paper for a few moments before sliding it over to her. April casts him a suspicious look before looking over the paper again.

“If you ever convince your Dad to let you go to school, my Alchemy teacher would cry tears of joy. Again.” She pauses “They cry a lot.”

Don tries to smile but his aching head only allows him a half grin. As April starts adding his notes to hers he reaches for his yunomi of tea, not thirsty so much as needing the warmth for a subtle cold that clings to his skin.

There’s the sound of a door opening downstairs followed by the sound of a woman shrieking and dozens of items hitting the ground. ”A-April dear!!! I could use some help!” calls the unmistakable voice of the Mayor of witch town.

April was already out of her seat. “Coming Mom!” she calls hurrying for the door. “Don’t do my homework Dee!” she calls behind him.

“I would never!” Donnie says [even though he had already been reaching for her note book]. A few years ago he had the brilliant business idea, in lieu of being able to go to school himself, to do students' homework for them for a small [not so small] fee.

Of course before he could even launch his venture his Dad had found out and outright forbade it.

This time he’s unable to stop himself from rolling his eyes. The effect is instantaneous as the lights in the room become painfully saturated. He tries to cover his eyes but his world is already spinning.

It’s the last thing he feels before he blacks out

(#)#(#)

“I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed,” Len says in a tone that can only come from nine years of parenting experience. It does its job on Mickey who’s shoulders bunch up to the sides of his head, and even though Danny is trying to pull off ‘I don’t know how you think you can guilt trip me’ by leaning back in his seat. But it's hard to look innocent when the two of them are covered in mud.

“IT WAS DANNY’S FAULT!!” Mickey shrieks pointing at the rat. “After we knocked over a tree with one of his crepy things he told me that he knew alchemy that would make mud into chocolate and-and-“

Danny’s ‘calm bad boy’ dis option went out the window (which was also broken because of a wayward flying crepelle). “Who the hell raised you to be a snitch?!” the rat hisses.

“You did!! I learned it from watching you!”

The rat opens his mouth to argue before thinking. “Ok fine but I always taught you to get paid first.”

Len slaps a hand down his face. Normally he and Danny have reversed roles but he should have recognized that wild look in the rats eyes when Mickey was using one of the leftover crepelles as a tool sharpener. But Len, forgetting they were not in fact grown men but children pretending to be adults, had left them to their own devices.

There is a knocking on the door that makes Len sigh again. ”I have a fourteen year old and he has more common sense than you two.” He says in a way that is probably supposed to make them feel ashamed, but Mickey snorts loudly with his flippers over his mouth.

He opens the door to a flash of light that forces him to cover his eyes for a moment before his eyes adjust to the familiar form of the mayor of Witch Town. “Myrah?” He rubs at his eyes. “What’s going on?”

“I need you to come get Doniel, he has a fever and passed out while tutoring April.”

Len felt as though a cold chill had passed through his body, it was the only reason he hesitated. “Y-yeah just give me a sec.” He ducks back into the house, where Danny is already waiting.

”Len what’s-“

“Donnie passed out, I need you to come with me,” already the air of lighthearted teasing and jabs went out the window. Len is back down the stairs with a quilt from Donnie’s bed as Danny is grabbing his coat and tossing Len his. He almost feels bad for Mickey who can only watch on as the two exit. Myra waves her wand, the bright light from earlier returns, creating a portal in front of them. Len barely waits for the portal to form before stepping through. A moment later he is standing in the familiar oversized living room. He had been to the witch family house many times and each time was always surprised how disproportionate all the furniture was, (which made sense considering how tall Amaranth was).

The child in question was lying on the bright pink sofa under a thick blanket. There was a washcloth hovering over his head, every few seconds wiping at his brow. April looks at them when they enter with panic in her eyes. “I don’t know what happened Lenny, I went to help mom with groceries and-and when I came back-“

“Its ok April, it's not your fault.” Len takes her place by Donnie. His son's brow is furrowed underneath a layer of perspiration. Even though he already knows the answer, he presses the back of his hand on Don’s brow. His already racing heart is now beating so fast it almost hurts in his chest. He replaces the blanket Myra had given him with the one he had brought, wrapping him up in it before scooping him up into his arms.

“I’m sorry Len, if Amaranth had been here she could help but...” her fingers tap together anxiously as she watches the child in his arms. Len was always touched by how much Myra and Amaranth cared for Donnie. He never felt the need to have a partner (though he and Donnie both made enough ‘mom’ jokes about Danny to last a lifetime) it warmed his heart to know someone outside his family loved Donnie almost as much as he did.

“I know, thank you.” He moves past the mayor to where the portal was and in another flash he's back in front of his house where Danny is waiting. The rat reaches out and takes him around the shoulders and herds him inside. “He’s burning up Danny, I-I don’t know what happened, I felt his forehead his morning and he was fine, you saw me do it.”

“I know, I know.” Even though Danny claimed that he didn’t remember any of his medical training he’s already looking over Donnie. Trained eyes looking for anything that could tell him what was wrong. After a few moments Danny says to Len, “Get him into bed I’ll be there in a sec-“

“Ah-shouldn’t we put in him some ice?”

“No, the last time we tried that he almost went into shock before I stepped in. He’s a turtle, he can’t handle it.”

“I-I know.” Len unconsciously cradles Donnie closer to his chest protectively. He could still remember the terror of the time when Donnie got the Fall Flu and had a fever that burned his hand. They had gotten so desolate they had put him in a tub of ice to combat it. They had thought it was working until Don had fallen into a deathlike stillness. It was only then Danny had realized Donnie was going into shock and pulled him out so quickly they had knocked over their makeshift tub.

Now Len couldn’t tell if the shivers he was feeling were from Donnie’s sleeping form or from his own fear. Not until Danny put a hand on his shoulder and forced him to look into his eyes. “Can you get him to bed please? I’m going to mix together some medicine that Amaranth taught me and I’ll be right there, ok?”

Len nods “Ok, ok.” He lowers his cheek onto Don’s scalp as he carries him upstairs. It's only when the parent and child are out of sight does Danny let out a shaky sigh, running a hand over his scalp under his hat and forcing himself to calm down. He had never realized how much he depended on Len keeping a calm head. He hadn’t realized just how much he depended on that til they brought Donnie in. During missions Len had an eerie calm about him that he thrived off of. But it was moments when anything threatened the health or happiness of his child that threw Len in the deep end and forced Danny to step in.

“Mickey,” he says without looking behind him, knowing the poor eel was fluttering around not knowing what to do. “Will you please go upstairs and keep Len calm? Help him how you can til I get there.”

“Y-yeah ok.” The eel hurried to do as he was told. In that moment Danny allowed himself one more sigh before reaching under the cabinet and pulling up an old beaten box, filled with herbs and remedies he had swiped from houses over the years. He pulls out a notebook he had filled with some of Amaranth's recipients and pulls out a mortar bowl and pestle. Picking through a few jars of tiny shards and grinding them together before taking out an empty incense holder and pouring it inside. He made sure to secure the lid and take up the glass bottle under his arm before hurrying up the stairs.

A part of him had been scared that Len’s own fears would drive him to ignore his warning about the ice, but he entered Don's room just as Len was pulling a blanket over him. “Good job.” Danny moves past him to kneel by the bed, turning and handing the incense to Mickey. “Can you light this please? It’ll help clear the bacteria out of his lungs.” As he was twisting open the glass bottle he heard Mickey spark behind him before the smell of lavender filled the air (he ignored Mickey gagging behind him). He tips the tip of the bottle to test how much liquid was inside. Luckily, they still had enough for Donnie (he’d have to steal more later). He dabs his thumb with the light pink liquid before running it across Don’s burning forehead. ”There.”

“Is he ok?”

Danny had to commend Len on not asking him a million questions. He reaches back and pats his old friend on the knee. “The Willow Extract should help take his fever down, but if It doesn’t help in a few hours we’ll go to witch town.” He doesn’t get a response, but when he turns to look at him, he sees Len staring at his son. His dark eyes full of concern and fear that only a father could have. Danny stands up and steps back. “Len why don’t you sit with him for a bit, and I’ll make you some tea.” He makes eye contact with Mickey and jerks his head towards the door. After taking a moment to pat Len on the shoulder he follows him out the door.

Len finally lets his face drop into his hands with a shaky breath before the sound of a weak cough reaches him. When he looks up again he was filled with relief to be looking into Donnie’s feverish dark pink eyes. “Hey,” says a weak voice.

“Hey baby boy,” Len sits up on the edge of his bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Like someone tried to kill me with one of Uncle Danny’s devil pancakes.” He barely has enough wind to finish his sentence before he has to gasp for air. “Will you sit with me please?”

Len can't help but smile, holding the side of Don’s face with his hand for a moment before climbing over him and laying on his other side. Don turns his head and tucks his head underneath Lens chin. “I’m s’rry,” Don mumbles, “I-I didn’t know I was sick.”

“I know you didn’t, you’re not a good liar remember?” Len lowers his cheek onto his scalp. “You get that from your Uncle Mickey.”

“And you?”

“Nah, I’m a great liar,” he smirks down at Donnie, “I’m not going to teach you how to lie though until you turn eighteen,” he pauses, “Hundred.”

Donnie lets out a laugh that sounds more like a raspy balloon, but Len can tell he’s trying not to fall asleep again. He rubs Don’s arm over his blanket. “Get some sleep, I’ll be here when you wake up.” The teen gives a nod of acknowledgement before rolling towards him. A few moments later he's fast asleep again, breathing easier than he had been a few minutes ago.

[fluffyvillain]

The Bond

Chapter: 3/?

Summary: Mila is left to pick up the pieces of her shattered heart.

Pairing: Henry Cavill/OFC

Warnings: None

A/N: I just hope that you are enjoying this story.

"Is that you, honey?" Elaine sprawled on a couch, watching a movie.

"Yeah." Henry washed his hands and then joined Elaine, putting her feet on his lap.

"How was dinner and why are you home so early?" She paused the movie she was watching.

"Terrible. She wasn't some old lady, she was something like 25, 30 and," he threw his head back, "she was a complete lunatic."

Elaine set up and caressed his biceps. "What happened?"

"Do you remember that waitress who served us champagne when we entered the room last nigh?"

"Yes."

"Well, it was her."

"But she paid 10.000$ to have dinner with you."

"Exactly and I called her out for that, telling her that she won't get anywhere with me."

"What did she say?"

"That nutcase told me she was my soulmate."

Elaine jumped from the couch. "What?"

"That's absolute bullshit, I didn't feel a thing." He took Elaine's hands in his, kissing them softly. "Even if she were, I wouldn't care. I believe in a right to choose and I chose you."

"I'm not sure that you can even fight that. If it is possible, I will choose you, against anyone. But, what if she is your soulmate?"

"Even better, that would mean that soulmate bond is nothing compared to love I feel for you." He pulled on his lap, wrapping his arms around her. "I love you so much, you don't have to worry about anything."

"I love you too, but..."

"No, buts. It turned out that she owned the restaurant where we had dinner and that means that she was crazy enough to choose to work as a waitress only so that she could meet me. I told you, she's insane."

When Mila finished a half bottle of wine, she figured she shouldn't be alone. She called her best friend whom she has known since kindergarten. "Hey, Ruth, what are you doing?"

"Nothing really, what's happening? You sound a bit off."

"Can you and Blake come over? I have something to tell you."

"Sure, we'll be there soon."

Mila managed to finish the whole bottle by the time her friends arrived. She welcomed them, hugging both of them at once. "My frieends," she kissed Blake on the cheek first and then she kissed Ruth. "Two soulmates who found each other in high school, that must be wonderful."

"What's wrong, Mila?" Blake was shocked to see her in such a state, Ruth, on the other hand witnessed a few such moments, mostly when she missed her parents.

"Only everything, my darlings. How about you go sit by the pool while I get us some drinks."

"Okay." Two spouses and soulmates followed Mila with their eyes until she turned to the kitchen. They made themselves comfortable and waited for her to come back.

She came back, holding three glasses and a bottle of vodka and Baileys. She pored Baileys for Ruth and vodka for Blake and herself. Both of her friends waited for her to say something. "I found my soulmate."

"Honey, that's amazing. Finally." Ruth bottomed up Blake's glass of vodka and hugged her friend who was hasn't moved from her chair.

"But, buuuut, listen to this. He didn't find me."

Ruth returned to her seat. "What do you mean? I've heard that some people never meet their soulmate, but not this."

"That's a better option, trust me. I think that I'm going to explode, or better yet, implode. I did some online research before I called you, there have been approximately a hundred documented cases like mine. In some case, it was sort of delayed recognition, about 7%. After some time, their soulmate bonded with them after some major even in their life, like they needed to wait for something. For the rest, well, nothing, things remained the same for them." She downed her second glass of vodka, pouring the third one.

"So, there's a chance that you will bond eventually?" Blake tried to calm her down, even though he knew chances were slim.

"No, nope. I bid on a charity auction to have dinner with him, only to have him call me psycho and that he already loves someone. Which I've freaking felt every second since I first saw him. You two know what it's like to feel each other, only in my case, I'm the only one with the feeling." Third and fourth glass were gone too.

"Who is he? Do we know him?" Ruth moved to sit closer to her friend, drawing soothing patterns on her shoulder.

"Henry Cavill." There went the fifth one.

"Shit." Blake couldn't bite his tongue and his wife shot him a death glare. He also bottomed up a glass of vodka.

Ruth and Blake stayed with Mila until 2AM and they would've stayed the whole night if they didn't have to go to work in the morning. Mila was wasted, but at least she didn't feel anything anymore. Her friends helped her go to bed, Ruth tried to take off her dress, but she refused, she just jumped on the bed, rolling over duvet, pulling one side with her, wrapping it around herself.

She woke up around 2PM with a nasty headache, feeling thirsty and as soon as she opened her eyes, Henry's feelings kicked in again. Shit. Her hand reached her phone, she was surprised to see a dozen of missed calls and even more messages from Ruth, she wanted to make sure she was okay. Mila called her back, assuring Ruth that she was fine. Once she was done, her bare feet touched the floor, she took of her dress, staying only in her underwear. She grabbed a towel, but instead of going to shower, she went for a swim, just after satisfying her thirst.

She dove in the pool and swam lap after lap, until she could barely keep herself above the water, so she relaxed and started to float with her head under water. She stayed like that until she started to getting dizzy. This could take away the pain. She held her breath until her lungs felt like exploding. What the hell am I even doing? She pulled her head up, taking a deep breath her lungs desperately needed.

Then something inside broke, she got out of the pool and a dam that was holding back her tears cracked, one lonely tear portended the waterfall that followed. She felt hopeless and helpless, she couldn't see any way out. She cried in her towel for quite a while, staining it with makeup she didn't take off last night. She vaguely remembered feeling desperate like this when she was a child, her aunt and uncle used to take to therapies to help her cope. That's when she decided to try to do it now too, maybe someone could help her.

She took a long hot shower, desperately trying to block Henry out of her mind and soul. Efforts put in by her were in vain. When she was done, she opened her laptop, going through same web pages she read regarding her situation, trying to find any mentions of any kind of a therapist. With a bit of luck, she found one rather fast. She Googled his name and found his contact.

She punched in his number right away and doctor's assistant picked up, she explained to her that she couldn't make an appointment since the doctor lived across the country, but she wanted to have sessions via Skype. The assistant turned her down, explaining that doctor didn't work that way, but she was desperate. She explained her situation and the assistant called doctor right away, knowing how interested the doctor was in this matter, so Mila's call was soon transferred.

"Helo, Mila. I'm doctor Leitmann, my assistant explained your situation. In your case, I will make an exception and we can do therapy over Skype."

"Thank you, doctor, I feel like I'm going out of my mind."

"Close your eyes and take deep breaths, think about your favorite place, that's the best advise I can give you for now. Sort of like meditation. Does this time tomorrow work for you?"

"Thank you. Yes, that will be perfect."