#putting these here so i can find them later

[yunazxxx]

am i making you feel sick? — daniela avanzini

you grew up with the saying "don't talk to strangers, you might fall in love." and you really never understood it, you were from a small town, everyone knew everyone, so you never cared for it. until a new family moved in, and you met their daughter.

now playing : stangers by ethel cain <3

(📓) cannibal!daniela, victim!reader, cannibalistic love, possession, quickly falling in love, reader admires daniela a lot, kind of stockholm syndrome?, kind of old timey country mention, small abuse mention, reader has a overprotective mom, daniela slits reader's wrist at some point, blood mention, cannibalism, cutting/ dismemberment, gorey details, reader goes missing, small kidnapping mention, daniela goes to jail, drug usage mention, heavy etc mention.

(💚) based off a few songs from the preacher’s daughter album by ethel cain. — and since it has to be said for legal reasons NOTHING in this fic is factual. daniela is not actually a cannibal nor would she hurt someone to the point of where this FICTIONAL STORY mentions. daniela is actually a sweet girl so please i beg all of you who reads this to NOT blow this out of proportion. this was for pure fun and what came to mind. i love daniela and all the girls of katseye so dont think this is something to throw shots at them or her. — and again, if you dont like whats mentioned here or cant handle it, i do always have multiple other fics on my page that might fancy you. - as stated again, NOTHING in this story is true. this is PURE fiction.

(wc) 3k— prev katz works

—

you opened your eyes in this dark room. it felt cold, and oddly wet? the floor was kinda covered in something, you slowly inched your way around, trying to find some type of light switch but every love hurt your body so much.

you were in excruciating pain, you tried your best to stay quiet though, search for a light and one came on, it was insanely dim but it worked.

that liquid you felt just a while ago, was blood. your heart sank for a minute, looking around and taking this area in.

you were going to try to find something to help you stand but you heard a door open.

“oh you’re awake” — you heard the voice say, you looked up and saw those same hazel eyes staring back at you, the ones of your lover.

.

.

.

.

.

being from a small town, it’s expected that everyone knows everyone and every place in that area. — so it was really no surprise that everyone was shocked, especially you when you looked across the street one morning and saw a new family moving in.

you hurriedly went downstairs, asking your mother if you could go over and welcome the new family but you thought about it because ever since you were young your mother always said “stranger danger” and whatnot, but again small town. — in your mind, that would be more of a big or main city thing than anything else, right?

she agreed actually, and let you go over there. while walking outside you spotted a blonde woman carrying some boxes inside when she turned around and stopped when she saw you, it was pretty bright out so she kind of had to squint to make out your figure.

“hi” she said, a soft smile coming from her, which made your heart almost jump out of your chest, “hey, welcome to the neighborhood” you said — you two were talking for a while before you heard her father call out her name, “daniela! bring your stuff in so we can start unpacking” and she excused herself to go in, “i’ll catch you later?” she said and you smiled, “yeah, that’d be nice”

while walking back home all you could think about was her eyes, they reminded you of something you’ve seen before but you couldn’t get it. — you could never put your finger on what exactly they reminded you of.

later that day, when the sun was down a knock came at your front door. you went downstairs to get it, only to see the same blonde woman from before, “hi!” you said, and she just smiled at you.

you walked out on your porch to talk to her, and you two got to know each other more, “do you think i could get your number?” she asked, and you willingly gave it to her. — but again, you continued looking into her eyes, so you just had to ask, “is that your natural eye color?” and she nodded, “yeah, it actually is”

you two again, continued to talk, and daniela began to show and explain her jewelry, but she wasn’t really going into much detail with a lot of things, because well, the last thing on her was actually explaining them to you.

it’s not like she didn’t want to, she just felt a way towards you, one she really never felt before — you felt it too. but it had only been a day, you both weren’t going to just throw that out there.

the next few months felt like a flash, you two were going almost everywhere with each other. from her family trips, to your mother’s family reunion, to spontaneous parties with her friends, just everywhere you can think.

your mother knew you loved her, she could see it in your eyes but something about daniela worried her. a random sunday came around and you told your mother that you'd be leaving with daniela to some other place, and move in with her. what made this so odd was the fact it was sent via text.

you were an adult so it's not like she'd tell you no, but it wasn't safe. you barely knew her, and that text didn't sound like you at all. your mother tried her best not to overthink it, but only if she knew what was to come.

daniela had taken you out the night prior, to some kind of acidic raid party, honestly you didn't even remember half of the night. she had given you something, lying saying it was some kind of candy, but it wasn't any kind of candy. it had a bitter aftertaste, daniela stayed next to you watching as you slowly got loopy and began acting funny.

the bartender asked if you were alright, it made him worry seeing you like that, honestly he thought you were a minor who had a fake id and he was wondering if he should begin giving you water instead but daniela took her with you, mouthing "she'll be fine, it's just her first time here" and he nodded.

he knew daniela, hell, she was a regular. she and the bartender got closer overtime, the more he saw her, and to be honest she helped him pull dudes while he helped her pull girls, so they were pretty close.

daniela pretty much had to pick you up to get you to her car, which wasn't much. she sighed to herself, hating that she couldn't stop her cravings but also because she's about to tear you from your mother, forever.

while she drove, you would come in and out of sleep, one time you said her name but she just shushed you, "please, this is already hard for me" she softly said, and ran her fingers through your hair at the red light.

you fell back into your slumber while she continued to drive, finally when she made it home, she took you into the basement.

the timing was perfect, her family was out and would be out for the next year to handle some business leaving daniela home alone.

she dragged you inside, taking you downstairs and chaining you to the random pole. the latina stared at you after doing so, this was so much harder for her to do this time. she really loved you, hell she couldn’t even stand the thought of you accidentally hitting yourself on the wall and here she was, having you chained in her basement.

she just kissed your forehead and went back upstairs, going back outside to properly park her car. she came back in, and flopped on the couch, sighing to herself. this was harder for daniela, which as different for her.

she was normally able to do this and get on with her life, hurry and end the situation, despose of the body and more but with you, she couldn't just do that. but as time passed, she began sharpening a knife.

while she did this you began waking up, your state was groggy. she came downstairs with the knife, “oh baby, you’re awake” she softly said.

she came and sat next to you, resting your head on her lap while cooing to you. “dani.. wha.. what happened?” you asked, your voice was slow and you could barely get words out fast enough.

“it’ll all be over soon, my love.” — words you heard from her over and over again that night, each time you asked.

one night, after she came home from being gone for hours, she came into the basement. daniela took the knife and asked for your hand. daniela looked into your eyes, her hazel ones being brighter than usual.

she then placed the blade against your wrist and kissed you, pulling you attention from the sharp blade ripping into your skin, slicing past your veins and almost hitting your bones.

you screamed in agony as this happened, crying to daniela begging her to stop, but she just licked the blood and began squeezing at the wound to pour all the blood out into a jar. "shh baby" daniela softly cooed, her hands holding a tight grip on your wrists.

"i love you (y/n), so much" daniela softly whispered, she brought medical bandaid wraps and wrapped the cut on your wrist. "i love you so much" she mumbled as she kissed you all over your face and neck.

her teeth grazed your neck, she softly nibbled at it, “i’m sorry beautiful” she softly said, then parted away from you. — your voice couldn’t come out, you wanted to say something but it was almost like you couldn’t speak.

she left upstairs then came back down with a glass of water and gentle smile on her face, “here baby, drink this” she said and you took the drink and began to drink it.

your vision began to blur almost immediately, daniela’s smile only becoming larger by the second. you just remember seeing black.

it’d had been weeks since you remember actually being awake all day, and you felt like it was driving you crazy. you really couldn’t peace the days together, it was all the same routine each time.

you were so frail, it honestly felt like you weren’t alive anymore. you hadn’t moved around in a while, after daniela woke you up, you were in her car.

“now i need you to lie and say something happened, we were partying and someone drugged you last night” daniela said, speeding to a nearby hospital.

“what….?” you got out, and daniela sighed, and put her fingers on the bridge of her nose, “please don’t fucking act stupid.” she continued to speed up, you watched as the miles per hour grew from 65 to 100 within the span of three minutes.

“dani, hey, okay” you said, trying to calm her down, which she did begin to slow down. “i don’t want to hurt you anymore (y/n), i love you” daniela mumbled to herself making you look at her, “i know you do”

when you two finally made it to the hospital, they put you on an iv, and took you to the back. they daniela back there after a while, but she soon had to leave, meaning you’d be out of her care for days now.

she came to check on you as often as she possibly could, and that was your routine for a while. until the last day you were in the hospital, you checked yourself out and decided to tell them about what daniela had done to you.

they had contacted the police, but somehow daniela knew someone who had worked in that hospital. it was a friend of hers, and they told her. that exact friend helped you out of the hospital, and you saw daniela’s car pull up in front.

you tried to run away but her friend held you until you were in the car with daniela, she smiled at her before you two drove off.

“d-dani its not what you think, i was under anesthesia and i just-“ she didn’t even look at you, “shut the fuck up” she drove somewhere remote, and unlocked the car doors.

you looked at her, your heart was racing, you were scared what she was gonna do. “i’ll give you a ten second head start” she calmly said, you got out of the car and began to run, trying to find your way to the nearest person or car or whatever.

daniela had a knife in hand, while also carrying a gun in case she needed to use it. she followed the way you ran in, but she was quieter than you, daniela came from behind you, and all you felt was a knife pierce your side.

you screamed as you fell down, daniela holding the knife against your neck now. “you’re so pretty, why’d you have to do this (y/n)? we would’ve been so perfect together” daniela said, a sick smile on her face.

she slide the blade across your throat, tearing your skin and continuing to cut at your neck until your shirt and her pants were dripping in blood.

she dragged your body back to her car, placing you inside of the body bag she brought along.

she changed her license plate to the one her friends gave her, she lied and said she’d be “going out of town” with you for a while if they don’t see you two for a long time but it was all a lie.

she drove back home, she felt empty. she didn’t like the way this ended. the drive home was silent, she continued looking at your body through her mirror, something in her head saying that you’d come back and wake up and you’re actually sitting in the front seat right next to her.

once she finally made it home, she carried you back to the basement and put you inside of the freezer. it was an extra she bought a while back, just to have in case and here she was using it.

as time inched closer to when her family would be making it back home, she knew she had to get rid of your body. she began sawing at parts of your body to make it easier to get rid of, but she couldn’t continue using the same technique.

she began eating your body, she was sick in head. she would sometimes leave plates in front of your mothers place, or just show up and be there for your mother while she searched for you helplessly, not knowing that you were right there in that plate of food she was eating.

daniela could only handle eating so much, each time she’d get sick and throw it back up, honestly, this made daniela so dehydrated and since she’d never leave due to the fear of your body getting found, she was becoming pale.

but finally, one early morning her family returned. she wasn’t home, she was working a late night shift. her father had went down in the basement, and saw the huge brown dried blood stain and the dripping liquid from the freezer.

the basement had a sickening smell to it, he puked as soon as he got down there. he walked over to the freezer, thinking they might’ve left some meat down there and didn’t put it up properly — only to open it and find your body.

he screamed, and his wife had never heard him scream like that. she ran down the stairs only to stare at the same scene that he was looking at.

they called the police, she was crying uncontrollably while he was just frozen. daniela pulled into the driveway around the same time, or just a few minutes after the police made it there.

“daniela avanzini?” one of the officers asked her, and she nodded, “you’re under arrest under the suspicion for the murder of y/n l/n” and he put the cuffs on her.

daniela panicked, “no wait, you have me mixed up with someone, you have to” — your mother was outside of her house, giving her statement when she watched daniela getting arrested and her heart sunk deep inside of her chest.

daniela looked at your mother, her eyes were so different now. your mother broke down right then and there, the officer tried consoling her but your mother couldn’t handle it.

they kept daniela in the back of the car while they began carrying the freezer out of the basement, and your mother threw up. “that’s her, isn’t it?” your mother asked, her voice was shaking.

the cop knew it was against regulations to tell her but she was your mother, “we believe it to be, ma’am.” —

later at the police station, they tried to get daniela to tell them a valid alibi between the hospital visit until today, because she was seen on cctv picking you up from there.

she said at some point, when she took a stop you ran out of the car and went somewhere, she didn’t know where.

but they pressed that they found a body, your body, in her basement. they had forensics search her car for your dna while others while at her place checking for any of your dna.

they had called your mother to come and identify your body, but you were badly decomposed, and there wasn’t much of you. your face was so hard to notice. they had to use dental records to identify.

once they identified it was you, and successfully got the dna from the car and her place, they just needed her to confess, they hoped she’d confess.

but she continued to deny, “y/n is somewhere out there, please you have to believe me” daniela sobbed out to one of the cops while they were taking her into her holding cell to await trial. —

your mother felt sick to her stomach for months after this lost, she couldn’t even sleep properly. thats when everything began to play in her head, the last few months.

you were missing, you went to the hospital but then for weeks daniela had been eating you. during those weeks she went over to your mothers house.

your mom decided to read the papers, see what the media’s been saying and the police did release a statement, admitting that she had eaten parts of your body.

your mother felt sick to her stomach, she vomited. she read what daniela said about it in an interview, saying that consuming you gave her food poisoning because you were already rotting when she began to eat you.

“the freezer down there was almost never working” daniela said, “so the body began to decay pretty quickly, and it was so hot down there. i’m surprised she lasted so long” — your mother felt so heartbroken, it drove her mad.

on the night she finally got to sleep, you came to her. you thanked her for giving you the life you always wanted, always begged for even though you both were never in the best situations all the time.

[julietcpulet]

LN 5 epilogue: The moment, the aftermath and the anime.

I’ve seen people being concerned for how things will be portrayed if the anime makes it to the LN 5 epilogue where Jinshi and Maomao have their undoubtedly most intense moment of the series. If the anime gets renewed for a season 3 it’ll have to cover this as the first two seasons have done 4 light novels so if we get even one more it’ll be expected to make through light novel 6, which is great material. Do I expect that some people are going to see Jinshi’s behavior as toxic, assault and the like? Yup, probably ramped up 1,000% from the frog scene even. Do I think the anime will tone it down from the light novel? Yes I do. They’ve added things here and there to other scenes and in ways I think it’s helped, with that moment and its nuances I don’t see them going all the way there. Also, there’s lots of fan debate on translation so I wouldn’t be surprised if the animators take a light tone just to keep from siding one way or another on how it was translated. That being said, here’s why I’m not that worried even if the whole scene is shown: because sometimes we need the messy moments for the growth to happen. (Spoilers under the cut)

First, some perspective. An analysis on the moment itself.

People can argue that this one moment in Jinmao history is a bit too messy but I don’t think so. For one, I don’t think Jinshi was truly trying to hurt Maomao. Yes we see him put his hand on her throat and pull her hand behind her back, however he quickly releases both, his one hand to twine in her hair and the other to pull her closer when he kisses her. The point of both was to get her attention. This scene starts out in a somewhat similar fashion to the frog scene but it is much more of a breaking point for the two of them than that. Just like with the frog scene, Jinshi has something vital he wants to communicate with Maomao. The whole reason for her being there is that she’s a marriage candidate, she is even wearing a hair stick Jinshi had made specifically for her, one with a moon and a poppy. (Moon Prince and the girl who likes poison, since poppies represent poison, anyone?) But when they begin talking on this subject Maomao, like before and always, evades and won’t admit she knows she’s his real choice for a wife and this is a proposal. Instead she even has the audacity to suggest he marry Lishu, who at this point even Maomao knows has feelings for Basen and wouldn’t be a good choice for Jinshi given her nature and his. To me it’s this continual evasiveness that gets Jinshi to grab her attention again by putting his hands on her in a more aggressive manner. For Maomao though, we’re finally given a glimpse at why her responses are likely instinctual over emotional and why she appears to almost “shut down” in the face of an advance. It’s because we see that her brain has been taught to view everything from the perspective of the pleasure district, she even later says she was “indoctrinated”. Horrifyingly, her sisters subjected her to sexual conduct when she was young to learn the ways of a courtesan to the point of tears and so when she’s in a situation where anything sexual happens she doesn’t see it as an opportunity to express herself but instead to retreat and only find a way to gain the upper hand.

Remember too that Maomao admits from the beginning that Jinshi “isn’t the type who would lay a hand on a young woman” and this doesn’t make her change her opinion. She even says out loud when he says “I wasn’t actually going to hit you”, “I know.” She can jump around his actions but knows whatever he’s doing isn’t about hurting her, it’s about getting a reaction out of her, which is why she denies him that satisfaction. We see once Maomao takes any kind of initiative Jinshi backs off, showing his only real goal was to have her show any reciprocation towards him at all. Especially when we see his perspective at the beginning of LN 6 where he’s looking back on the interaction and realizes Maomao’s detachment, we understand what he wants from her is not simply sexual engagement. He wants her to feel something and not be “like trying to shove a curtain…simply roll with it.” To me this expresses why it’s not “assault” in that Jinshi wasn’t trying to harm, harass or have sex with Maomao. He releases her when he thinks she’s kissing him back and his excitement over the interaction is over when he sees her face and realizes that she was completely devoid of feeling like usual and just playing along to whatever end she thought was expected of her.

Why is this pivitol for Jinmao? Understanding them. Growth.

Because it’s where we finally get to see why these two cannot seem to get on the same page about love or mutual feelings. Without it they’d just keep doing the same old push / pull song and dance forever. The quote before he reaches behind her head gives us a clue to all of it.

“That word, that simple four-letter word with its o and its e, was sometimes called vulgar, and sometimes turned out to be nothing more than a game- but some people said it was impossible to live without.”

Maomao is talking about love, what she sees in Jinshi’s eyes, what she’s trying to avoid and how we’re supposed to see them both playing it as a game because right now they can’t see it as anything else just yet. If you read on into LN 6 we see that Jinshi’s whole goal was basically to “triumph over” or to get a rise out of Maomao in some way, which he miserably admits he failed at. She remained unmoved and defeated him soundly. But that’s the whole point of this moment between these two is to show that they’re both still viewing love this way, as a “game” where one side has to win and have the upper hand to be successful. It’s why Jinshi tries to push Maomao to show him emotion and then Maomao is the one to have “victory” in the end by using what her sisters taught her but with absolutely no feeling behind it. Even during their interaction we get a glimpse that Maomao seems pleased Jinshi was jealous she had been dancing with Rikuson, “So he had been watching them!” (To me meaning she wanted him to notice.) So there may not be complete lack of feeling on her part, just a twisted sense that it has to be manipulated. Jinshi’s view of love comes from watching palace women and men play political games for affection and status. Maomao sees love as dangerous and deceptive, many times the only form of it leading to harm and abandonment in the pleasure district. So both of them have no real concept what it means to love someone other than to try and get one over on the other, it’s about power, control and hiding what you actually want. Without this understanding on our part, as the readers and audience, that Jinshi and Maomao have troubled histories and a distorted view of love, we would just see the way they handle one another as abusive. You need this scene and others like it to get a glimpse into how they actually operate, what they're hiding and what the aftermath does for them.

From the moment to the aftermath, where change happens.

It's in the aftermath we see real change for the two of them. Jinshi realizes he was conceited and a part of him believing that because others respond to him favorably he could get Maomao to do the same. Maomao doesn’t evade him in the same way as before either. Yes when they reunite in LN 6 Jinshi still offers her an antler and they engage in their typical back and forth complete with Maomao trying to reason herself out of being Jinshi’s choice but it’s lighthearted and both are far less intense. Maomao’s want to rationalize Jinshi’s choice as purely political without feeling helps her reason why he might want to pick her. It gives us a glimpse at her self esteem being so low that she has to say “He’s got strange tastes, though” to understand why Jinshi would pick her over other women she’d consider more desirable to him. It’s telling too that Maomao is quoted as thinking,

“Maybe he was hoping she would come right out and say she loved him, but quite frankly, Maomao wasn’t at a point where she could bring those words to her lips. The best she could manage was that she wasn’t without a certain affection for him."

It’s telling because 1. It says she isn’t at that point she can bring the words to her lips, not that she doesn’t feel love for him. 2. It still states clearly she has affection for him. This goes to show that Jinshi’s prodding can have an effect on Maomao. Being the kind of shut down person she is due to her background, she in effect can almost need someone like Jinshi who’s willing to push her outside her comfort zone to get her to admit to feelings she’s unwilling or even at times unable to fully voice. Even in the next moments where he tickles her and she lightly objects but lets him, it allows even more walls between the two to be bridged. It’s not aggressive like what happens in the LN 5 epilogue but more like what two true lovers might do in playfully getting to know one another. And it still proves the most effective way in getting Maomao to open up because their conversation here leads to the first real confession Maomao makes about her true fear and it’s made as clear as it can be that it’s not marrying Jinshi himself but that in doing so she doesn’t want to become Gyokuyou’s enemy. This revelation by Maomao sets off a lot of what happens in the next novels for them and it wouldn’t have happened had Jinshi not pushed Maomao to stop ignoring she was a marriage candidate and instinctively shutting him out. By letting Jinshi in, not hiding what she’s actually thinking, even this little bit, he takes that knowledge and tries to do all in his power to keep her from being afraid of a future where they’re together. But without the moment in the garden of the LN 5 epilogue there would be no Maomao opening up and no Jinshi realizing he needs to do what he can, not to prove his feelings to her but to prove it’s possible they can work and she won’t be in a tough position.

"For you, I will remove every obstacle that keeps us apart. One day. Just know that." - "I won't let what you fear come to pass. I swear it."

An important detail: star crossed lovers.

I think this quote that occurs just before the LN 5 epilogue moment is important to mention because it ties into a theme that becomes relevant with Maomao and Jinshi going forward, that of the star-crossed lovers.Maomao is looking up at the dark sky and it’s possibly one of the most romantic observations she makes. Some may say I’m reading too much into this but if you’ve read Hyuuga’s novels you’ll know the details are where are the goodies are.

“The sky seemed so vast. There was no moon, making the stars to shine all the brighter. Three of them shone brightest of all. Perhaps those stars were the two lovers, and the river that separated them.”

This is likely referencing the myth of Altair & Vega, those are their western names but it’s a Chinese ancient myth about a celestial princess who falls in love with a mortal and they end up being placed as stars in the sky, separated by the Milky Way only able to see one another on occasional days (that’s my brief description, worth looking up if you want to know more). So I don’t think it’s coincidence at all Maomao references the stars being two lovers (Jinshi & Maomao) and the river that separates them (likely the empire or even Gyokuyou because she keeps requesting Maomao at her side.) I don’t think it’s that far a stretch to make. And this comes before they have this intense, highly charged moment in the garden as almost lovers. Completely misunderstanding each other yes, hence the river between them they have yet to cross but I think that’s why nothing can be taken at such face value here because even a quote like this can add such depth. Hyuuga does this again with the star-crossed lovers motif in LN 6 where in the same antler scene she has Maomao notice Jinshi looking at the book that falls and it’s Romeo & Juliet. How this relates to the LN 5 scene is that the star-crossed lovers are mired in tragedy, misunderstandings, missed opportunity. But as we see in LN 6 with the moment Maomao & Jinshi speak about Romeo & Juliet is they both agree about wishing for a different ending (I talk about this in another post). So my thought here is without the LN 5 epilogue, without having them be the stars separated by the river, having them face these difficulties, we also wouldn’t get the ending they’re both working so hard towards.

Finally, the anime: striking a balance.

So why should we actually look forward to a moment like the one in LN 5 being shown in the anime? Because it's not just about that moment but about everything it represents and leads to for these characters. Without this singular moment that's fraught with so much unresolved tension, feelings and decisions, Jinshi and Maomao would've never been pushed to discuss what needed to be between one another. They've both had too messy of upbringings to do so in any natural way. Maomao almost needs Jinshi to needle her to get her out of her self-imposed shell and he likewise needs Maomao to shut him down sometimes to prove his conceited notions aren't always on course. But without a moment like this we wouldn't have gotten a truth from Maomao that leads to down the road her admittance that she's merely afraid her feelings are too lukewarm compared to Jinshi's.

"It was a heat like molten metal. She wasn’t sure what to do with it all for the temperature she could return was no more than that of lukewarm water."

In effect showing that it's her sense of inferiority keeping them apart more than it is a lack of actual desire on either side. With the anime, I expect them to strike a reasonable balance. There's too much internal monologue that I don't think they'll be able to capture it all. The frog scene for me showed they were able to walk that tight rope between intense behavior and romantic advancement like the scene is meant to convey so if it would be the same team handling the garden scene I'm not worried at all. I think the anime's that are willing to stick to the canon, regardless of plots that may seem a bit edgy or not fit within modern standards, tend to be the best ones. So far Apothecary Diaries anime has stuck closely to the light novels and I would be surprised if we got to this moment and they deviated too much, they've handled much darker topics than this. I worry more about people's reactions to it but even then I anticipate the arguments that will coming along, hence this long winded explanation haha.

In truth, were this reality, would I recommend a girl friend stay with a guy like Jinshi, no I wouldn’t but I also wouldn’t recommend and guy friend stay with someone like Maomao who never listens and eats poison. Sometimes people take the fun out of watching two characters who are close to reality but don’t live in it play out an interesting story. I fully expect people won’t get the nuance in that scene and even I could read too much into it myself but I’m just looking forward to more seasons if we get them. However the anime decides to portray it should be good if we get there and I hope my analysis has made sense, even if it’s a bit long as always 😂.

[cottonlemonade]

Marriage Of Convenience [finale]

word count: 2667 || avg. reading time: 11 mins.

pairing: post-time skip!Kuroo x chubby!Reader

genre: fluff, friends to lovers, slow burn, slice of life

warnings: tooth rotting

synopsis: Marriage is not a big deal, right? Anyone can do it and it comes with a whole lot of benefits! That's why your friend proposes to you one morning with all the elegance and romance of an empty pudding cup.

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7]

“How long has he been standing there?”

The shop owner looked at her employee, then followed her gaze to look at the young man outside studying the pre-arranged flower bouquets in deep serious thought. With a quick check of her watch, she said, “About 15 minutes.”

“Shouldn’t we help him?”

“He’s been avoiding eye contact, I think he’ll run if we get too close.”

The employee snorted and went back to sorting through a new shipment of twigs and greens, snapping off broken leaves before placing the long, pristine stems into a water-filled bucket, while the owner went over the books.

“Oh, he found one!”, the employee whispered excitedly as the man outside bent down to pick one of the bigger bouquets, “Nevermind, he put it back down. - Wait, nope! He took it again. - Hello, sir. Did you find what you were looking for?”

The young man nodded and paid with a friendly smile, then grabbed his carry-on and left the store, ringing the small bell above the door as he did.

“Do you think it’s for his girlfriend?”, the employee wondered, watching the man halt in front of the store and looking down at the flowers.

“Oh, is something wrong with them? Looks like he is talking to himself. - Eh? He just - did you see? He just gave them to an elderly woman. - Aaand he’s gone. - Wait no, nevermind. There he is again. What's up with this guy?”

The shop owner looked up once more, watching the obviously emotionally torn man pick up a much smaller bouquet this time, with only a handful of the same flowers.

“Hello again, sir.”, the employee greeted with every ounce of non-judgmental professionalism when the man placed some cash on the counter, “Excellent choice. Do you need it wra- Oh, no? Alright then, have a nice day! - There he goes. Weirdo.”

You jumped off the couch when you heard the keys slot into the front door, then remembered that “playing hard to get” was a thing, and so simply walked instead of ran down the corridor.

“I’m home.”, Tetsuro announced unnecessarily.

“Welcome back.”

“These are for you.”, he said, holding out the flowers, before adding with a nervous chuckle, “Don’t eat them all at once.”

“What?”

“Nothing. - So, how was your weekend?”

“Pretty good. Did some laundry.”

He nodded, mildly impressed.

“Did you use the new fabric softener?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“Very soft.”

Very robotically, Tetsuro stretched out his hand to touch your sleeve.

“Very soft.”, he confirmed.

Rocking slightly on the balls of your feet, you waited, and when he didn’t say anything either, you gestured vaguely behind yourself.

“I’ll… let you come inside and put these in some water.”, then turned on your heel and stiffly walked to the kitchen.

“So.”, he said a few minutes later, taking the seat next to you in the living room, hands on his knees, rubbing them awkwardly back and forth. You weren’t any better. You had your fingers slotted between your thighs and focused on a fake plant on the TV console.

“So.”

“We’re attracted to each other.”

“Yup.”

“Hm. You sure?”

“100%. Crazy about you.”

“Huh. Same here.”

“Sorry.”, you said with a frown.

He placed a hand on your shoulder for comfort.

“Don’t beat yourself up. Neither of us could have possibly seen this coming.”

“I know, but what are we going to do?”

“If you give me like two hours, I’ll put together a new PowerPoint?”, he offered.

“Honestly, I think I just really wanna kiss you.”

His head snapped to the side, and his eyes widened.

“If you want.”, you added quickly.

“I-“, he cleared his throat, “You sure?”

“Hm mh.”, you finally tore your eyes away from the plant and looked at him, almost squirming in your seat from giddy excitement.

He turned to the side to face you for a better angle, shrugging with equally flustered laughter, “Yeah. - I mean, yeah, this is normal. We’re married. Would be weird if we didn’t.”

“Absolutely. Really, we’re being weird by not … kissing and stuff.”

“Completely agree. I can imagine our neighbors must have been whispering about this for months.”

“Are you stalling?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.”

“You don’t have to-“

“Oh I want to.”, he assured you, and you saw his adam’s apple bob in his throat as he swallowed before he grabbed the back of the sofa and leaned in.

“Waitwaitwait-“, you had your hand against his chest to hold him back and could feel your heart pounding up to your ears, while his beat just as hard beneath your fingers, “My lips feel a bit dry.”

His eyes dropped to your mouth without him moving an inch.

“They look fine to me.”, he said in a low tone you’d never heard before. Somehow, your nervousness seemed to have calmed him down.

“Nope, definitely dry.” With shaking fingers you fished a tube of lip balm from your pocket and he watched patiently but with a cocked brow how you thoroughly and slowly applied it.

“D-do you want some?”

Without waiting for an answer, you touched the tip of the balm to his perfectly smooth lips, but your hand was so shaky that you smudged it a bit. He smirked and, with his other hand, gently grabbed your wrist to steady you. Since he didn’t hold you in place, you could apply the balm more easily, absolutely mesmerized by how shiny and even more inviting his lips now looked.

“And?”, he asked teasingly once you were done, not letting go of your wrist.

“I don’t think this is your color.”, you used your thumb to wipe it off again, feeling electricity surge through your body at the touch, “Do you want another one?”

“Now who is stalling?”, he chuckled.

“I’m just saying, I have a bunch more in my room, I can-“

In the midst of your ramble, you had tried to get up off the couch, but his hand tightened on your wrist, pulling you to sit back down. Your breath hitched.

“It’s gonna be okay.”, he said quietly.

“I know.”, you murmured.

You had kissed your fair share of people in your life, but somehow had really underestimated just how strong your feelings for him had grown in such a short amount of time.

Nothing mattered anymore. Nothing but the feeling of him, the smell of him, the taste of him.

You involuntarily hummed into the kiss, feeling him smile against your lips. A blind grab for his collar let you pull him closer, and he shifted, hand moving from the back of the couch to your waist to hold and squeeze as you lay back, him towering over you.

More so on instinct than anything else, the tip of your tongue slipped between your lips when he pulled away, decidedly out of breath.

“You good?”, he asked.

You wished you could take a picture of your husband’s blush, his lips tinted and smeared from your lip balm.

“Yes.”

“Sublime.”

Tetsuro lowered himself again, deepening the kiss while you giggled, and he loosened his grip on your wrist only to entwine his fingers with yours.

Your lips were still plump and tender from the kissing, and while the shower got rid of the remaining lip balm smears on your mouth and neck, the sensation was now permanently burned into your brain. Your husband stood next to you in the bathroom that evening, brushing his teeth alongside you, every so often making eye contact in the mirror, only for both of you to look away with shy, frothy smiles.

“Oh!”, he said suddenly and quickly rinsed out the foam before straightening again, “I forgot to give you your present!”

You began bouncing excitedly on the spot as he hurried out of the bathroom, giving you enough time to finish up your own brushing.

“Close your eyes.”, came his voice from outside the open door.

“Why?”

“Because your husband asked you.”

“But you didn’t ask-“

“Just close your eyes, darling.”

There was fluttering in your stomach at the nickname, accompanied by some deep satisfaction that this previously trivial endearment now turned you into goo. You did as you were told.

“Closed?”

“Yup.”

You heard the shuffling of his slippers on the floor and a moment later felt him step behind you.

“Okay. Open.”

It took you a moment to focus because seeing him so close behind you in the reflection was rather distracting. The necklace dangled from either side of his large hands, hovering over your shoulders. Your eyes widened when you recognized it.

“How did you…!”

“I called ahead and they had it in Osaka.”, he said and maybe it was just your imagination, but his usual grin seemed a lot softer than before.

You didn’t know what to say. All you could think of was to raise your hand and just kind of wiggle your finger to show off the ring.

“It matches.”

“It does, doesn’t it.”

When you were too frozen to move, he held the delicate chain in one hand to brush your hair out of your neck, the soft touch of his fingertips made you want to lean your back against his chest, but that felt counterproductive, so you finally reached up to help him. He inched a little closer to fiddle with the clasp, and his breath grazed your skin, making your poor heart pound once again.

“All done.”, he said quietly, his hands moving to rest on your arm and hip. In the reflection, you watched as he hesitated, his lips so close to your shoulder that you felt the heat radiating from them.

“Do it.”, you encouraged gently.

Your eyes met in the mirror.

“Do what?”

“Whatever you wanted to do just now…”

Unfortunately, you caught the glint of mischief too late and so couldn’t stop him before he bit you. It wasn’t painful - more a nip than a bite - but you yelped on instinct, and he leapt out of the bathroom with you hot on his tail.

In the hallway, he spun around, waiting to pounce, and you shrieked again in delight when he wrapped his arm around your waist, his hand dipping into your doughy middle, and he nommed you again.

“Sto-hoop!”, you laughed. Your husband turned you to face him and cupped your cheeks in both his hands, peppering your forehead, nose, and lips with pecks before beaming into a longer, minty-fresh kiss. You swayed from side to side as he maneuvered you backwards until you were trapped between him and the wall. With fistfuls of his shirt, you tugged him close to you, your head swimming from his honestly straight-up unfair kissing skills.

“Thank you.”, you said sweetly when he drew away for air.

“Looks pretty.”, he noted, and from the way he looked at you, it wasn’t clear if he meant the necklace or the blush creeping along your cheeks and ears.

“Ahem… yeah. We~”, you lengthened the word, “should go to bed.”

“Really? Oh okay. Yeah.”

He followed you to your door and didn’t halt where he usually did.

“Uhm, Tetsu?”

“Hm?”

“Goodnight?”

“What? I thought… shouldn’t we sleep in the same bed?”

“Why?”

“I dunno, feels right? It’s fine if you’re not ready, though.”

“I mean… I guess I am, but I didn’t think it would happen… now.”

“So, when you thought about me this weekend…Was this not the first thing on your mind?”

“Well, yeah, but I’m trying to be mysterious and aloof here.”

He laughed and gave you another kiss.

“We’ll wait then. Today was a lot, I get it.”

More kisses were placed on your lips, and one last one on your forehead.

“Sweet dreams, darling.”

You chewed the inside of your cheek as you watched him go down the hall to his room.

Kuroo lay awake - of course, he did. If he weren’t so hellbent on staying quiet so you could sleep, he would have yelled into his pillow and flopped around on his bed as if he were doing the worm on the dance floor. He had known for weeks now that he was in love with you, but initially had no intention of ever bringing it up to not make the marriage uncomfortable. The sheets rustled when he rolled over and looked out his window, finding patches of night sky between the tall buildings to focus on. Tokyo was never actually quiet, but at least the honking had ceased, and the rushing of the cars turned into soothing white noise. Without thinking about it, he reached up to touch his lips, suppressing a new wave of need to woop and cheer into the darkness of his room. It didn’t take long for his phone to be in his hand, and he scrolled through the weekend’s texts between you and him, grinning wider and wider until… bzzt.

“Hey, so I wanted to ask”, began the text from you, “if you need help with your silk bonnet? I know the first couple of times can be tricky to put it on.”

He shot up and yanked the perfectly fastened bonnet off his head, before replying, “Oh yeah, I’m really struggling here. Thanks, darling.”

Stupidly, he smoothed out his sleep shirt, looking around the room in the small light of his bedside lamp he switched on to check if anything needed to be tidied. When he heard your bedroom door open, he just shoved his entire hamper into his wardrobe and was just straightening some stray papers on his desk when you knocked.

Just like the first time, he sat on the edge of the bed, looking up at you while you fumbled with the fabric. He would have liked to grab the backs of your thighs to pull you in, kissing the softness of your tummy, but figured he should keep it casual.

“Voilà.”, you said, running your fingers along the hem to make sure no hair was untucked.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

His eyes landed on the necklace that you hadn’t taken off yet. It sat right on top of an already fading mark he left on your skin when he had gotten carried away on the couch.

“So… okay. I’m gonna go back. - Sleep tight!”

“Wait.”

“Yeah?”

He tried to come up with an excuse for you to stay longer, but it all sounded idiotic in his silk-bonneted head. But not to worry. You beat him to it.

“You know, actually, on second thought, I don’t feel comfortable walking all the way back in the dark by myself.”

He quickly caught on and played along, nodding with pretend earnestness.

“I think it would be for the best if you stayed the night here. For safety. Would make me feel better, personally.”

“Of course.”

“You get it.”

You lay down side by side, your hands so close to each other on the comforter that your pinkies were barely touching.

“Sooo… lights out?”, he asked.

“Not yet.”

He turned to look at you with a nervous but teasing grin.

“I thought you wanted to sleep.”

“I do. - I do… but…”

“But?”

“I wasn’t done getting kissed yet.”

“I see~ Well”, he reached out to brush a strand of hair behind your ear, “we can’t have that.”

“It’s gonna be okay. It’s gonna be fine.”

“At this point, are you saying it to me or yourself?”, he asked, highly amused, and watched you fix your hair in the reflection of your phone for the hundredth time.

“Both. I think. - Where did I put the fruit?”

Your husband gestured simply at a large, fancy basket at your feet on the doorstep.

“Right.”

He smiled and gently grasped your chin between his thumb and index finger, tilting your head for an easy kiss.

“He likes you. Don’t worry.”

And without waiting for a reply, he rang the doorbell, hoisting the fruit basket into his arms.

“Tetsuro?”, Mr Kuroo blinked in surprise, “Y/n dear. What brings you two back so soon?”

Tetsuro shrugged, “Hey, dad, so, funny story.”

art: @freaka_loonyz on Instagram, X, Pinterest and TikTok

taglist: @etsuniiru @nocaffeineallowedtome @princessshart @aldebrana @grassbutneo @melimelisworld @yatoatyourservice @ranscutedoll @remiratboi @armeenix @doodle-with-rhy @bingbongsupremacy @theloveonagiseishiroslife @bakingcurosity @changkleta @nifflermini

The absolute biggest thank you to @haikyu-mp4 for listening to me ramble about this story for months, encouraging me through writer’s block, editing and brainstorming ✨🫶🏻

And thank you to every single one of you who read it til the end and for your comments and reblogs. You are amazing! I hope you liked it 🌱

[chrismybouncyhouse]

I don’t like sharing

Warnings: smut, jealous!matt, oral (f!receiving), pet names (pretty girl, mama, baby), (idk what else to put)

Summary: you’ve been close with the triplets for a while now. You’ve always found Matt attractive in ways you know you shouldn’t. After spending the month with them you find out that the fantasies have been mutual

The time has finally come. You get the spend the entire month with your best friends, most importantly.. Matt. But let’s be honest, you were nervous as hell.

You just landed at LAX, finally having connection, you feel your phone vibrate in your hand. Looking down it’s a message from the group chat with the triplets.

YAPPERS✨

Matt💙: be there in 15 kid. Got the other idiots with me so be prepared.

You giggle at the text rolling your eyes playfully before responding.

You: lol okay, just got my bag. I’m under 5F.

As you see the car pull up you can feel your heart race. It wasn’t like you hadn’t spent time with them before but it’s been a while since you’ve seen them. Chris gets out to open the trunk for you and putting your suitcase in the back before bringing you into a hug.

“Damn kid, I missed you!” Chris says rocking side to side. You laugh “I missed you too Chris” before you could even pull away, Nick is yanking Chris back hugging you tighter than ever, “mmph- missed me, huh?” You say laughing breathlessly due to the tight hold he has on you. He laughs letting go “YES! It’s been forever!” You look over his shoulder seeing Matt patiently waiting for his turn. “Hi” you say just above a whisper before you sling your arms over his shoulders engulfing him, in a very obvious flirtatious hug. His hands find there way around your lower back returning the hug “Hey pretty girl”

The ride to their house was fairly quick due to the conversation never dying. “Alright, let’s get your shit inside, Its late and im tired.” Chris says grabbing your bag out the back. Slinging yourself out the backseat you see Matt waiting patiently. “You good, love?” The eye contact was heavy, you could hear your heartbeat loud in your ears. “Yea, just tired, that flight was long and packed” you say, lazily walking in the front door.

“Soo, y/n, you’re sleeping with me. I need my cuddle buddy” Chris says with a big ass grin on his face. Giggling at that big stupid grin, You feel Matt’s eyes on you. Turning to look at him, his expression seems- off? Maybe, jealous? Not thinking any deeper into it, you simply agreed with Chris.

The past couple of nights you’ve been sleeping with Chris. Simply a platonic relationship, filled with cuddles at night. He was always fairly touchy but it never bothered you. But Matt? There was always something different with his touches. The lingering feeling after he has his hand on your waist to scoot you over, or when his hand lingers on your thigh while you all watch movies. Maybe it wasn’t anything, just simply your attraction towards him.

You and Chris were hanging out in the living room, head on his lap while you watched tv and he scrolled through Tik Tok. You had a blanket draped over your bottom half, Matt came in and lifted your legs, sat down and placed your legs on top of his. His hand planted on your thighs, drawing lazy circles with the tips of his fingers. “You sleeping with dick face over here tonight, or can I have my turn with you?” Matt says gripping your thigh causing your breath to hitch. Heart pounding, thighs clenching and avoiding eye contact, you respond. “I was going to but yea, I’ll sleep with you, kid.” He responded with a satisfied hum and continues his small circles on your thighs.

A few hours later you find Chris asleep, hand in your hair from playing with it previously. And you weren’t far behind, slowly dozing. Matt noticed your eyes grow heavy, he stands up, stuffing his phone into his pocket “c’mon sleepy, let’s go to bed” you look up at him slightly huffing, due to you being tired, before standing up to follow him to his room, leaving Chris with the blanket trying not to wake him up. As you both entered the room, Matt closes the door with a soft click and the faint noise of the lock flicking.

You climb into the bed not even bothering to cover up. Matt got in next you, back against the headboard. you look over at him and just then he tilts head slightly to maintain the eye contact. “Come” he pats his lap, eyes flickering from yours to your lips. “What?” Feeling your body heat and your cheeks blush. “Please mama, come sit”. You felt your stomach do a somersault and your core clenching around nothing at his words. “Matt..” you whisper, lifting your body slightly to look at him fully. “Y/N..” matching your tone, shifting ever so slightly in his position. Getting up and shifting to straddle him, he glides his hands up your thighs, watching his own hands, and stopping once he reaches your hips.

“Matt?” Shifting slightly, his grip tightened on your hips. earning the softest groan from him. You can feel the wetness between your legs grow. His eyes finding yours “I really missed you. You’re always sleeping with Chris” your breath catches in your throat “I missed you too, I didn’t know you wanted me to sleep with you. I always sleep with Chris when I’m here” “mm..” worry planted on your face at his response. Just when you were about to respond he grabs your jaw and pulls you down, lips almost touching and your hands planted on his chest.

A small whimper escaped through your lips. Matt removing his hand from your jaw and planting both hands on your hips, guiding you in the way he wants you. Feeling his buldge where you need him most. “Mm- Matt” speaking breathlessly, screwing your eyes shut at the friction. “Look at me, baby” he says in a low growl, and you do as you’re told. “Such a good girl, huh? Do you have any idea how long- mm- I’ve wanted you on me like this?” He grunts between words. “Hate seeing you and Chris all over each other, giving him all your attention.” Grabbing your throat and pulling you down once more lips ghosting your ear as he whispers “I don’t like sharing, baby”

He then planted his lips on yours. Slow, needy- no. Desperate. Tongues dancing together, grinding yourself against him. “I need you Matt.” Just then he flips you over, hand trailing down til he reaches the waistband of your sleep shorts. Looking at you, silently asking for permission. You nod frantically.

Your shorts and panties find their way to the floor, and Matt gets comfortable between your thighs. Planting hungry, wet kisses up your thighs til he finally reaches where you need him most. Hooking your legs over his shoulders, he flattens his tongue over your clit. Your hand immediately finding his soft curls. “Fuck..” breathlessly leaving your lips as your chest rises and falls at every tentative swipe of his tongue.

“You taste so fucking good” moaning against your sopping cunt. The vibration sending a jolt through your body. He brings two fingers to your entrance, slowly slipping them inside you. Pushing them in and out of you, curling his fingers, and his tongues pace never wavering. Earning a loud moan from you “M-Matt.” Your grip tightening in his hair. Grunting against your cunt, he speeds his pace. “I-I’m gonna- fuuuck- cum.” Feeling that band in your lower stomach tighten. “Cum for me baby. Fucking make a mess all over me.” His fingers still fucking into you at a rapid pace, just then the band snaps. a loud pornographic moan escapes you, squirting all over his face and hand. A grunt coming from Matt “Fuck-“ Slowing his pace, guiding you through your orgasm, dragging every last drop out of you.

Slowing pulling his fingers out of your drenched cunt bringing them to his mouth to clean them off. He leans over and kisses you. A soft whimper leaves you as you taste yourself on his tongue.

Feeling his aching cock press against you, you try to reach for the waistband of his pajamas, he stops you. “Next time baby. I got all I needed from you tonight” you nod your head as he gets up to get a wash cloth to clean you up.

“I was serious- about sharing.” Matt spoke after laying down next to you. “I know baby” you say sleepily, draping your leg over him, getting comfortable. His hand finding your waist, kissing you one last time before he drifts off to sleep.

Your best friend just ruined you.

Im sooooo sorry if this is ass. It’s my first fic <3

[staliamazing]

Bet On You

@into-the-jeggyverse | prompt: white | wc: 951

James Potter loved Regulus Black. That much was clear. The general consensus in the dorm room that evening however, was that it would be nice if he could love him a little quieter.

"When the sun's out, his curls glisten in the light. Honestly, they glisten."

"Congratulations," Remus responded sarcastically, having already bared witness to James' speech about his skin, his voice, his smell.

"His eyes. Even those little white bits are beautiful."

"Jesus wept," Remus groaned, putting a pillow over his head.

"Mate, are you sure you didn't drink a love potion?" Peter asked once again as he walked over to James and ripped the glasses of his face to get a better look at his friend. "Pupils are a normal size, still ugly as a Moonkuckles's backside though." He returned the glasses to James' face as the latter feigned offence.

With a hand to his heart, James cried out. "You wound me, Wormy. Sirius will be back shortly, I need to get it all out. Remember what happened last time I dared mention anything vaguely positive about Regulus? I still have the bloody bruises to prove it!"

As if on cue, Sirius Black strolled into their dormitory and made a beeline for his boyfriend, who was still lying in his bed with a pillow where his face should be.

"Boys, boys, you're supposed to tell me when Moony over here tries to end his suffering via silky down!" Sirius threw the comment to the rest of the room as he mounts Remus, swiping the pillow off the bed and peppering his lover's face with kisses.

James sternly watched the interaction from where he was sitting, irritation bubbling inside him. He fiddled with a spare piece of parchment, squeezing it so tight it ended up as a crumpled ball in his hand. If Sirius and Remus were allowed to openly defile each other in their shared dorm room, a place which was supposed to represent the sacred bond of the four young men's friendship, why was the smallest hint of James' affections for Regulus rejected? By Sirius, at least.

Refusing to watch Sirius slobber over Remus' face any longer, James yanked Pete by the robe and led them both down the stairs.

"Fancy a game of chess, Prongs?" Pete asked as he settled into a chair by the fire.

"Hmph, maybe later, Pete. Seeing as those two have made the dorm an utterly foul affair I think I'm gonna take a walk, see if I can find-"

"Regulus?"

James smiled at him sheepishly. "Back in an hour?"

As promised, the tall Gryffindor returned in an hours time, accompanied by a particularly infamous Slytherin.

"Reckon we could find something three-player, Pete? Reg here will be joining us."

With a quick glance to the stairs that led up to the boys sleeping chambers, Peter nodded and walked over to the games cupboard, cautiously yanking at a box about halfway down until it broke free.

After a couple of rounds, Regulus had the two Gryffindors in a chokehold. He had won every single time and was much too nonchalant about his success in a game which Peter had called "easily one of the toughest to beat". Growing more comfortable in the unfamiliar territory of the rival common room, he now had a single leg draped over his boyfriend's thick thigh and was biting his lip in concentration as he prepared to make his next move on the board.

"Game night without us? I'm heartbroken." A voice called from the stairwell at Sirius and Remus appeared at the base. Peter stood instantly, face scrunched in preparation for Sirius' lecture on betrayal. "At ease, Wormtail. Nothing wrong with a friendly game or two. Mind if we join?"

Remus followed as Sirius took a seat at the table, but diverted at the last second to fold onto the couch, grabbing a small book out of his back pocket.

"Regulus," he nodded across the table to his brother, who silently returned the gesture. "Mighty comfy there I see," Sirius motioned to where James and Regulus' legs made contact.

"Alright, enough. You need to quit being so dramatic." Regulus snapped, then paused. "So, I have a proposition." He added, keeping his leg firmly attached to his boyfriend's. Tighter now, even.

"A proposition, he says", Sirius replied, leaning in.

"If I win, you stop giving James a hard time about us being together. If you win-"

"You break up?"

"No. If you win, I'll wear red to the next Quidditch match."

Both James and Sirius gasped.

"Reg, are you sure about this?" James whispered in his ear.

"Peter, deal us in." Regulus announced to the table.

"You're on, little bro. Someone grab the tissues because this emotionally stunted Black is about to cry like a baby."

Approximately ten minutes later, there was outrage.

"You little fucker! He's cheated, he must have!" Sirius cried, pushing his pieces away from his side of the table in protest.

Regulus merely smiled, folding up the game board and dumping it back in the box along with the pieces. He leaned over to kiss a very obliging James on the cheek and stood to leave.

"Come on, boyfriend. Let's go snog in the astronomy tower. Remus and Peter both stifled a laugh, while Sirius mouth dangled open in shock. James practically jumped across the table to join Regulus as he began to walk out the portrait hole, grabbing his hand as they went.

"No way you would've actually done your end of the deal." James said as they made their way to the tower.

Regulus shrugged. "Maybe. Could I wear yours?"

James blushed, pulling Regulus hand until their arms touched. "Whatever you want, love."

[a-queenoffairys]

Code Lyoko Chronicles 2.0

The Code Lyoko Chronicles are a series of 4 sequel books originally released in Italian in around 2010. Set a short while after the season 4 finale, parts of book 1 recap a story similar to the TV series but with a number of small changes (there's no RTTP for example) while the gang uncover some new secrets in the Hermitage that set them on the path to finding Aelita's mother, Anthea. But XANA survived and is coming back for revenge, and the gang's investigation into the secret history of Franz Hopper, Project Carthage and the Supercomputer puts the men in black on their trail as well, not to mention the shady Green Phoenix organisation who funded Hopper's work.

The books were published in a number of languages, but not in English - so that's where the fans come in. As one of the first translation projects we did for CodeLyoko.fr, finishing in 2014, the original completed English release was pretty rough. 10 years later, armed with more translation sources, better resources and many years of translation experience, I decided to take another crack at it. And after many months of hard work and procrastination, I've produced a version 2.0 that I'm pretty happy with.

Links and notes on the various changes under the cut!

New translations!

My co-translator Kelsey and I didn't have a lot of serious translation experience when we picked up where Rhys Davies left off in his English translation project, and we were definitely prone to making mistakes. And it didn't help that for books 3 and 4, a few things got lost somewhere in the process of the text being translated from Italian > Spanish > French > English. I revised our original translation and this time I referenced multiple sources to try and make sure I got the interpretation right. It won't be perfect, but it's definitely better than our original attempt!

The second half of book 2 was based on the official French version, which I discovered was slightly condensed and abridged to lower the page count. The new English translation expands the text to restore the parts that were omitted. I also changed the title from The Nameless City to The City with No Name - there was never an official English translation, but I did find a marketing document with the titles listed in English, and that was the only one that differed.

Here's a page comparison with a few changes, mostly minor, but one big change to the context of Odd and Ulrich's conversation. With my apologies to Kiwi for the original mistranslation.

New formatting!

I got better at formatting Word docs and realised I should have the text alignment set to justify. The books look a lot neater now!

Accessibility!

I added alt text descriptions to all the images, and the PDFs all have a proper table of contents now so you don't have to scroll to the end of the book to find the navigation.

(Note I don't have a lot of experience with detailed image descriptions and I haven't done much testing with a screen reader - feedback is welcome from people who know more about it!)

New scans!

The centre of each book has several colour pages with images and text to supplement the story, and some of the original scans were quite small or had part of the image disappearing into the spine of the book. And the only way to fix it seemed to be to obtain physical copies of the books (probably in Spanish), pull the pages out and scan them flat. So I did. And I think they look great. (Black lines added to hide spoilers.)

My original intention was to upload these to CodeLyoko.fr, but I haven't been able to do that yet, so for now they'll just be available on Google Drive. This translation wouldn't have been possible if not for the other people on the fanslation team - not just my fellow translators, but also all the people who worked on scanning, formatting and editing. Special thanks also to Rhys Davies for kicking off the English translation. You can read more about the Chronicles and the fanslation project here on the website. (Yes I still need to revise the translation of those pages too. Someday.)

So yeah, it's taken a while, but I'm glad I can finally put out a better version of these books for people to discover. Enjoy!

Version 2.0 PDFs here! (Google Drive) ePub versions coming soon.

[eldritch-spouse]

“Let go of me!” A giddy concubus is fondling and dragging you to god knows where. You look around for someone to save you and you lock eyes with a fluffy haired succubus “Please help me!”

[Fast forwarding a little.]

TW: Implied previous sexual assault

" GET AWAY FROM ME- "

The noise that came out of your mouth wasn't so much screaming as it was more the high-pitched bleating of an animal cornered by a starved wolf. Knowing that its only chance of survival is to hopefully be loud enough to scare away certain death.

Between the violent shaking and the blood ringing in your ears, it's difficult to even see who was in front of you right now. You can hardly breathe past a clamped windpipe.

" .... 's okay, please.... I know... gone... "

The voice seems feminine, soft. You can feel her presence right before you, a looming body casting a suffocating shadow. Her stature, her power, you're going to die today. In this shitty dingy little alley dirtier than a seeping trashcan-

I'd not by the first one that laid his hands upon you, then by the demoness that rent him apart before your very own eyes.

Nowhere is safe.

None of this was meant to happen, you just got lost, you just wanted to find your way back, you just wanted it to stop-

" Hey! "

Of all the ends you could possibly meet, to become just another lost soul in the bowels of Hell-

" Wake up! "

Speaking of soul- Yours damn near jumps off your body.

Firm, warm hands grasp the sides of your face. You attempt to look up at the demon, but all you feel is the wetness in said hands, the stench of metal, the way it marks you.

It seems to burn against your very skin, making you whimper and retract desperately.

" Shit- I'm sorry, baby. "

When repeated patting sounds, you assume the monster woman is wiping away blood.

She tries again, this time grasping your arms, attempting to uncoil them from their protective stance around your midsection and chest.

" Please, please talk to me. We can't stay here long, okay. Look at me. "

It's hard to.

The pounding in your ears has yet to quiet down, moving feels impossible. Reddened eyes track the demon in front of you.

This scantily clad woman with a gray-ish skin and white, fluffy accessories. Well, they used to be white, now drenched in a vivid crimson. You hear the cattle bell around her neck rattle past all the noise and slowly cast your gaze upwards, meeting long lashes around vibrant turquoise eyes.

A succubus, this can only be another concubus.

Although her expression carries great worry, all you can see is yet another assailant ready to take what they want. Someone else who's going to put their dirty hands on you. She killed the incubus harassing you, but is she any more worthy of your trust? For all you know, she wants you for herself.

Reminded of the power their eyes hold, you inhale and bore holes into the stained floor.

" My name is Lemoana. Moana, if you want. Can you tell me your name, baby? "

Clawed thumbs ever so gently try to rub the tension off your trembling hands. They feel soft, she looks soft.

You squeak the truth under your breath, hoping to appease her, willing to do anything to come out of this alive.

Her next question is softer, more serious.

" ... Did you come to Lust willingly? "

It's too much.

The shame, the fear, the disgust- You burst out wailing, suddenly clinging to the very succubus in front of you, clawing at her just to be sure that she can keep you safe.

Who cares if she'll put you through something worse later? None of that seems to matter now.

Hopelessly, desperately, you want to believe Lemoana massacred that incubus because there's an inkling of good in her. You want to believe that she's here to help, to protect someone like you- Defenseless and miserable.

" Fuck... Poor girl. It's okay. "

The succubus' embrace is comforting, though such comes as no surprise. She pats your back lovingly and tucks your sticky, puffed face into the crook of her neck, where her droopy horns and fluffed hood shield you from the world.

It's unclear how much time passes with the demoness simply kneeling before you, allowing you to sob and sniffle like a baby.

" ... Better? Can I take you home with me, sweetheart? You need a shower, something to eat. Me and the girls can help you figure things out later. "

The noise you make against the woman's shoulder is more of a reactive mumble than anything.

She stands slowly, pulling you along. You refuse to take your head off her front.

" No one will bother you ever again. Not when I'm here. "

You couldn't see the toothy grin on her face.

Perhaps it's for the best.

[williceunleashed]

I've been having major autism on an AU version of Dardanne so I think it's time I share it here !

Basically, the AU is about Ghetsis never finding N and looking for a replacement for years. He ends up setting his sight on a vulnerable but compassionate kid, whom he calls Miséricorde, and makes them the replacement spear head of Plasma. N grows up amongst Pokémon, until he is found by Alder a few years later. N has a happy childhood, and becomes the protagonist of BW1.

AU will be tagged as #miséricorde au ! The AU version of Dardanne, called Miséricorde, will be tagged as #oc: miséricorde !

TW : Abuse, violence, cult stuff (Plasma Classic™), dysphoria

More infos under the cut !

TW : Abuse, violence, Cult stuff, dysphoria, Ghetsis in general

For this summary, Miséricorde is gendered as she/her before BW1, during BW1 and BW2, and is gendered as he/him post BW2, following his own development and experience with gender.

Early life :

Same as Canon Dardanne. She was born in a rather wealthy family. Her father was the Kalos water Gym Leader, but got dismissed after the League learned of his treatment of his Pokémon and family. Their family moved to Unova after that.

Ghetsis sees that as a great opportunity to find a replacement for the "child who talks to Pokémon" he never found. He becomes a family friend by helping the father become Unova's water Gym Leader thanks to his connections. He witnesses the unhealthy dynamics in the family, and quickly concludes that the middle child would be the best option for his plan, being the direct descendant of an excellent battler and having great compassion for Pokémon.

One day, said middle child goes missing. Her parents look for her, worried as she left without even taking a Pokémon or a bag with her. Ghetsis comforts the family.

Ghetsis returns to his home, in which he has taken in the daughter, saving her from her abusive home life. For better or worse.

Plasma Time :

Quickly after Ghetsis rescued the girl (This is literal kidnapping, don't let Ghetsis fool you), he starts to put his plan into motion. He realizes how hard it's going to be for the girl to have a special bond with Pokémon, but he manages to find a solution. He tells the girl that she might be worthy of a great destiny, but they need to test this hypothesis. If the girl lets a previously abused Pokémon attack her without trying to retreat or fight back, she'd prove her special bond to Pokémon and her compassion to them.

Girl passes the test. Ghetsis quickly persuades her of her special bond with Pokémon, and renames her Miséricorde. Her title becomes Martyr, as her bond is based on shared suffering with Pokémon. Ghetsis would never let her be a Queen, because in his opinion she isn't even half of what N is.

In general, Ghetsis has some very sexist biases and educates all his daughters (Miséricorde, Anthea and Concordia) to be nurturing, kind and gentle. He is upset that the spear head of Plasma isn't male.

Miséricorde grows to dislike her body and the way it changes as she grows up. She envies the men around her, but her concerns about her body and gender are quickly shut down.

Miséricorde goes through a lot of academic classes, like N does in canon, under the supervision of the Sages. She considers Ghetsis like her adoptive father and refers to him as "Father".

Several more "tests" happen. Ghetsis calls them "purity tests", and they are meant to ensure that Miséricorde still doesn't fight back or retreat when she gets attacked by Pokémon, showing her "compassion and love for Pokémon". This process ensures that Miséricorde is pure of heart enough to awake and wield Zekrom.

Her scars are hidden by makeup whenever she exits her room.

When Miséricorde is around 16, Ghetsis feels like she has been brainwashed enough to start training her properly in battling so she can take down the League and Alder.

BW1 journey :

At 20, Miséricorde is let back out into the world to gather the badges. Her face scars are hidden by makeup.

In Accumula Town, she finds a now adult N, and challenges him. N wins, and she feels confused at this outcome. She still acts friendly towards him. N hears Miséricorde's Pokémon, and is confused at how weary of humans they are.

She meets N again in Nacrene City. She challenges him, and he wins. She doesn't seem that surprised at the outcome, and congratulates N, saying she can't wait to battle him again and win next time. She leaves without more explanations.

Next encounter is in Nimbasa City. When N runs after the grunts who were bothering the Day Care owner, Miséricorde intercepts him and starts a conversation. At this point, N is worried about Plasma and knows something is off with Miséricorde. He drags her in the ferris wheel and demands answers. Miséricorde is honest and tells him about her being Plasma's Martyr, and that her end goal is to separate Pokémon from mankind with the help of Zekrom, to ensure Pokémon safety and well-being. N is shocked to hear that, having probably never encountered abused Pokémon before. He tries to persuade her to put an end to her plans, but she politely refuses. She battles him to allow the grunts to escape, and N wins.

N meets Miséricorde in Chargestone Cave. They have a short heart to heart conversation, talking about their mutual life goals. They battle, and despite Miséricorde having the upper hand for a good part of the battle, N wins. Miséricorde thinks of N as her best opponent yet, congratulates him, and leaves.

They have another encounter in Mistralton City. Miséricorde meets N when he exits the Gym. She tells him she is sorry that her plans are going to separate him from his team, but that it is for the best of everyone involved. It rains, and the water damages Miséricorde's makeup, allowing some of her face scars to show.

In Dragonspiral Tower, Miséricorde awakes Zekrom and takes control of him. When N arrives, too late, she still gives him the opportunity to challenge her later by sending him to find Reshiram, giving him a chance to battle her fairly one last time.

When N arrives to the league after finding the White Stone, Miséricorde has already beaten Alder. She summons the Castle, which raises out of the ground and boxes in the League.

While the Gym leaders, trainers and Alder fight the grunts, N manages to infiltrate the Castle. He finds Miséricorde in the throne room and challenges her. Miséricorde seems happy to have one last fair fight against N.

N wins, and despite knowing that his victory is shattering all her plans and endangering the liberation of Pokémon, she still congratulates him through her tears.

Ghetsis is enraged. He berates Miséricorde. When he realizes N is the "child who talks to Pokémon", he tries to have him join Plasma to replace Miséricorde. N refuses and battles Ghetsis, winning.

Miséricorde flees with Zekrom and her team. After beating Alder, N leaves Unova in search for her.

BW1/BW2 time gap / BW2 :

Miséricorde heads back to Kalos, where she originally came from. She settles in the Pokémon Village. She sometimes goes to Snowbelle City to retrieve items. Wulfric takes pity on her and often brings her what she needs for free.

N manages to find Miséricorde after years of searching. Despite the bond they created in BW1, she refuses to follow him back to Unova for a long time.

After a few months of debating, Miséricorde accepts to go back to Unova with N. They don't really settle for long, as quickly enough, they both realize they have to stop Ghetsis. They save Nate/Rosa from Kyurem, but Miséricorde's Zekrom is fused to Kyurem. N battles Black Kyurem, then Ghetsis, and wins.

Post BW2 :

With Ghetsis and Plasma defeated for good, Miséricorde is left with no life goals and no identity. She struggles with her gender for a long time, before finally coming out as a trans man.

Miséricorde doesn't want to join the Safe House, feeling uncomfortable with the grunts' devotion to him. He joins Alder and N's household.

Miséricorde attempts to release his Pokémon, but they stay by his side. Zekrom is more of a free spirit and can leave for days, but always comes back home.

N and Miséricorde finally officially get together, despite having what can be considered a romantic relationship beforehand👍

Fun facts :

"Miséricorde" is French for mercy, compassion, forgiveness.

Miséricorde retains almost exactly all of Dardanne's canon personality !

Miséricorde daydreams a lot and rarely gets out of his fantasy world as a coping mechanism to protect himself from the damages done to him in Plasma. It can be hard to grab his attention sometimes.

Miséricorde doesn't nickname his Pokémon, feeling this would be disrespectful to them.

Pokémon Team :

Archeops : Miséricorde's main Pokémon partner. He was given to him as an little Archen when Miséricorde became Plasma's Martyr to keep him company. Archeops as a special signification, being a fossilmon, his existence is possible only due to human interference, just like how Miséricorde was made into the Martyr by Ghetsis.

Zekrom : The legendary dragon of Ideals. Miséricorde has a tendency to cuddle him and pet him a lot, which makes Zekrom feel a bit embarrassed. He secretly enjoys the affection.

Carracosta : Another fossilmon gifted by Ghetsis. He is a quiet and calm Pokémon, but really well trained and a great battle pokémon.

Cincinno : She was also given to Miséricorde as a mincinno by Ghetsis. It's very likely she was abused in the past. She doesn't like humans outside of a very few.

Liepard : One of Miséricorde's first pokémon with Archeops and Galvantula, she was given to him by Ghetsis at the start of his journey in BW1. Liepard is mischievous but good-hearted.

Galvantula : He had been used as little Joltik for one of Miséricorde's purity tests. Miséricorde had insisted to see the Pokémon again, and ended up bonding with him. Joltik seemed to regret having harmed Miséricorde and started trusting him. Ghetsis allowed Joltik to join Miséricorde's team.

[insight-chronicles]

Chapter 4 - Challenge Accepted

Word Count: 4.6k Content Warning: Swearing, Action, Mild Violence, Mentions of blood Summary: After a conversation with Jinwoo, you need to let off some steam

Authors Note: First time writing any kind of fight, so I hope it comes across well! Really wanted to get that in there so I could improve my writing skills beyond the romance/fluff stuff cus I’ve got an idea for a later chapter that really needs it.

AO3

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Thanks to the holiday weekend, and therefore the lack of staff on duty, you had been too busy to think too much about your disastrous date, your failed plan and of course Him. But it was Tuesday, again, and that meant you were back in the cafe sipping your chai latte listening to Aera complain about how busy the cafe had been over the weekend, and how people expected places to be open and running at full capacity on holiday weekends, despite no one wanting to work them. You'd already given her the lowdown on your date on Friday night when she knocked on your door once she’d closed the cafe; she’d been yawning the whole time but was determined to know what had happened. Aera had taken one look at your dishevelled look, hair and clothes all skewed and crumpled, eyes rimmed red from tears, turned around and stomped back down the hall leading to outside. You’d called after her, but she ignored you in typical Aera fashion, and you were in no state to go after her yourself. Instead, you tried phoning her, but it went straight to voicemail, you tried again, same result. You half expected not to hear anything until the news reported that a local coffee shop owner had attacked the head of a Guild. Instead, the next thing you know, there was another knock on the door, and there she stood again, but this time with tubs of ice cream in hand.

The two of you had sat on the sofa for the rest of the night talking whilst some crappy action film played on the TV, even though neither of you were paying attention to it. Turns out she was set to go beat up Yoonho, but thought she should get the details first so she knew how bad to make it hurt, you were glad she hadn't just gone out guns blazing. She was especially glad when she realised it would have been for no reason at all and your tears had nothing to do with Yoonho. You were even more glad when she didn’t push you for details when you said it was your past that had caused the tears. You had only just stopped crying, and you really didn't want to start again.

“Anyway, I'd better go get back to work, you wouldn't imagine how much coffee we used over the weekend, so I need to sort out getting some more in. As it's quiet, do you want another?” She gestures to your mug, you glance around the room and see that only 2 other tables are occupied, so few that you can block out their emotions and relax. Enjoying being out of the house for once, you nod. “Awesome, I'll get that made and bring it over before I start doing the inventory. And before you say anything, no you will not be paying for it.” She walks away before you can reply. You learnt a long time ago that there was no point in arguing with Aera, instead, you'll put the money for the extra drink in the tip jar when you leave.

As you wait for your drink, you pull out your book, you open it to find you're still on the same chapter you were when you tried to read it last week. You’ve been too exhausted and emotionally drained to read this past week.

“Here you go darling, pop your head round the back when you're leaving, will ya?” Aera places a fresh mug in front of you and gives you a hopeful smile.

“Of course I will, thank you for this.” She waves her fingers at you in goodbye as she leaves.

“Ah ha, you can't use the excuse that you are just leaving this time.” So much for reading your book, you place the bookmark back on the same page and take a deep breath before turning to the voice. Jinwoo. Why is he everywhere?

“Well, I could, but that would be a waste of a perfectly good drink.” The smile you give him is tight and forced. Despite all the signals telling him the opposite, he sets his drink down on the table and slides into the booth opposite you.

“You fascinate me, you know.” His elbow finds the table, and he leans his head on his hand, gazing at you intently like he's trying to solve a puzzle.

“Gee, that's just what every girl wants to hear.” There's a forced cheeriness to your voice.

“Well, what can I say? I'm a master of seduction.” You scoff, “Almost every other girl in the city is throwing themselves at me after the broadcast of the Jeju Island Raid. But not you. You seem to be repulsed to even be in the same room as me.” You roll your eyes at his conceitedness, “And you see the thing is, it's not even like you hate me because I didn't get to the island quick enough. You hated me before then. You hated me when you healed me 6 months ago. I want to know why?”

“Can your fragile ego not cope with one woman not falling at your feet?” you fake pout at him.

“My ego is anything but fragile, and you seem to know it based on the jabs you’ve made at me. You seem to know something I don't.”

“Who do you think I am, some stalker?”

“No, but you know something. Have we met before? You said you knew me when we last met. What did you mean by that? How do you know me?” You just stare at him, not entertaining this line of questioning. “Is it some fascination with Hunters? S-Rank Hunters? I know you went on a date with Hunter Baek.” was that, jealousy, you could hear in his tone.

“Why would I have a hunter fascination? I work at the association, I'm around them all day, why would I also want them in my personal life?”

“Hey, don’t ask me. You’re the one going on dates with them and saying you know me when all we’ve had is a couple of minutes' worth of conversation.” Jinwoo shrugs, a smug look on his face like he won a prize.

“Look, I don't want to play this game with you. If you say you don't know me, then, fine, you don’t know me. But don't expect me to hash it all out for you, not here, not now.” You finally managed to tear your gaze from his electric blue eyes. Even before he changed, you found them mesmerising. Now, everything about him has levelled up. You startle at the thought.

Leveled up? Could he be the player that joined? No, the System hasn't said anything. No EXP bonus. Nothing. It can't be him. Can it? It might explain why you have no perception of his feelings; maybe that skill doesn't work with other players. You've never met another player before to test the theory. The thoughts run rapidly through your head, barely giving you time to think about the first before another one occurs.

“What do you mean, if, I don't know. Before 6 months ago, I have no recollection of ever meeting you before. If not here and now, and when and where? I want to know. This connection, our connection, is driving me insane.” He reaches across the table, entwining his fingers with yours, pulling your hand away from the death grip you had on your mug. Sparks fly over your skin where he touches you, your nerve endings alive with electricity, sending pulses of pleasure up your arm, straight to your heart. He feels like he used to. He feels like home. No, you shake yourself, you cannot let yourself be pulled in by him. He forgot you; he doesn't deserve your forgiveness.

“Nowhere and never. You don't get to make me live through it again because you conveniently forgot. I'm not reliving that for your entertainment.” Despite this conversation bringing up the same memories as on your date with Yoonho, this time you're not on the verge of tears; you just want to punch something. Maybe you'll join a squad and take on a gate this afternoon.

“Look, bab-”

“Don't you dare ‘babe’ me.” You tried to keep your anger in check, but by the look on his face, you were not doing a very good job. His gaze zeroed in on you eyes, damn, were they glowing? You squeezed your eyes shut, trying to calm yourself, only to realise he still had hold of your hand. You wrench it out of his grip.

“What the-” it was said under his breath, but you still heard it. “How are you-” wrong line of questioning, please don't ask. You knew his grip had been too strong for a normal person to have been able to pull out of, but you had done it anyway. His phone was ringing in his pocket, but he was too busy staring at you, mesmerised.

“Aren't you going to get that?” You say, clearing your throat.

“Huh, oh yeah.” As if only just realising it was his phone that was ringing. “Hello. Okay.” His eyes don't leave yours, capturing you there, ensuring you don't leave while he's busy. “What's that got to do with me? Well, I'm in the middle of something right now.” he has the audacity to wink at you. “Can't you find someone else? Alright fine, I'll be there as soon as I wrap this up.” He still holds your gaze as he pulls the phone away from his ear and hangs up without looking. “Sorry, darling, but something has come up.” You breathe out a sigh of relief. “Don't look so relieved, this conversation is far some over. I want to know everything, “He says up bracing himself on the table as he leans over so his face is only inches from yours. “About you strength, your healing skills and about everything you won't tell me. I will not let this go. I will find out.” The threat paralleled Aeras, only this one made all other threats seem like jokes. And you were on the wrong end of it. Part of you was intrigued to see what lengths he would go to to get the information, another part of you was terrified to find out. You let out a shaky breath, it mingled with his in the air as you realised he had gotten even closer. Close enough to kiss you. You looked down at his lips, flashbacks to the kisses you used to share flood your mind. You could only imagine how much better he had gotten, and he felt so good before.

Snapping your eyes back up to his, you saw he too was looking at your lips, maybe wondering the same thing. Unfortunately, for him you would not have improved, having been with no one since he abandoned you. As if sensing your eyes, he met them with his own, glowing an electric blue that you knew meant he was just holding his power in check. The shadows of the room seemed to have a mind of their own. Writhing and twisting, awaiting order from their master. You knew if you looked in a mirror, you own eyes would be glowing green, meeting the challenge he had placed at your feet. You would not go down that easily. You would fight him every step of the way after what he did to you.

Suddenly, he pulled back, seeming to get himself under control. As gracefully as he could, he slid out of the booth and stormed across the cafe. Glancing back over his shoulder as he yanked the door open,

“This is not over”, were the last words you got from him before he used his speed to vanish to wherever he had be called to. You slumped back in your chair, letting out a breath as you did. All the tension leaves your body. That man, that infuriating man.

You sat at your desk later that day, anger and restlessness still filling your muscles. There was only one thing for it. Opening up your internet browser, you looked at listings for raids. There were a few that would have worked for you to be able to let off some steam, but only one A-Rank gate. It had been a while since you had been on a raid, and you’d leveled up a few times since then, so it would be good to test your new strength. There was a party that needed another member to help carry their gear, which gave you, an E-Rank Healer, a good excuse to join their party. Nobody would take you seriously as a fighting member of a party or even a healer.

Contacting the Captain, he seemed hesitant to accept you, but there was no one else who had applied, so you got the location of the gate and the time to meet them. A quick glance at the clock showed you had plenty of time to get there, but you had a thing about being late, so you closed out of your browser and shut down the computer before making your way to the bedroom to change.

At the back of your wardrobe sat your hunting gear. It had been through a few different iterations over the years, with the most major one being when you became a player. The first few level-ups lead to some…drastic, changes in your physical appearance. You'd finally settled on a black long-sleeved top with cut-outs that left your shoulder exposed, tight black trousers and knee-high combat boots with built-in dagger sheaths. A utility belt sat around your waist, allowing you to carry almost anything you needed quick access to, such as health potions, food and teleportation stones. The utility belt was easier to explain the having access to the Systems' never-ending inventory. You finished the ensemble with a long black cloak complete with a hood that did a good job of hiding your identity from the people you had met through work. You didn’t share your name with everyone you met, but they would have seen your face, and as it's frowned upon for association workers to raid gates without approval, and you were technically a retired hunter, you shouldn’t really be doing this. You shrugged at your reflection in the mirror, oh well, you had to let off steam one way or another, and raiding was more fun than going to the gym.

You arrived at the gate with time to spare, perched against a nearby fence to wait for the rest of the party to arrive. It wasn’t long before a group made their way down the street to the gate.

“Right, this is it,” one of the part members spoke, you assumed it was the Captain from the authority in his voice, “We just need to wait for the E-Rank to arrive.” They obviously hadn’t seen you in the shadows, just as you were about to step out and reveal yourself, something made you pause. “Why’d you have to get an E-Rank?” A member of the party questioned.

“Yeah, now we’ll have to spend the whole time making sure they don’t get killed.” Came another voice.

“And all that would take is them to trip over something!” The first voice responded laughing, causing the rest of the party to break out in hysterics. It was the same everywhere. E-Ranks are the lowest of the low. They’re a joke to the Hunter community, and there was no way to prove them wrong because, quite frankly, it's true. Most E-Rank hunters have no business being in a dungeon, especially not an A-Rank one. But that doesn’t make it hurt less.

“Hey now,” It was the Captain’s voice, “We don’t have to worry about keeping them alive. What happens in a dungeon, stays in the dungeon. If they die, they die, that's not our fault. They knew what they signed up for when they joined the raid.” You should have known better than to hope the Captain would have been different. With a sigh, you stepped out of the shadows.

“Nice to know you all think so highly of me.” Your voice was flat, and you refused to show them any weakness. They, on the other hand, had the decency to at least look a little guilty, well, all except the owner of the first voice. A Tank, if you had to guess by the way he was dressed, a typical Tank based on his attitude. You locked eyes with him, even without the hatred in his eyes, you could feel his contempt for you. This was going to be fun, you rolled your eyes.

Clearing his throat the Captain spoke, “Right, uh, so you ready to go?” you nodded in response, “Good, this is the bag of stuff for you to carry, lets go then.” without hesitation the captain drops a heavily ladened rucksack at your feet and turns to walk into the gate followed swiftly by the rest of the party, with you following closely behind adjusting the straps of the bag as you go.

You yawn as the party stops to rest in a clearing before continuing to trek through the forest in search of the Boss.

“Oh, I'm sorry, are we keeping you up?” the group's Healer snarls at you.

“What do you have to be tired about? You haven’t done anything!” It’s the arrogant Tank again. You haven't bothered to learn any of their names, after all, it's not like you’ll be joining their party again. That was a rule of yours: if you were going to go into gates, you could never go with the same party twice, it ran too big of a risk of someone discovering something they shouldn't. He wasn’t wrong; you hadn’t done anything, you yawned because you were bored. Only one beast had appeared at a time, making it easy for the party to take them down without you being able to join in. What you needed was a big battle; multiple beasts at once would mean they were all distracted, and you could test out your new speed and strength. You hoped you’d at least be able to have some fun when you found the Boss, but that wasn’t going to happen at this rate. It felt like you’d been walking in circles for hours, never getting any closer to the source of magic you could feel in the distance.

You dropped the heavy bag you were carrying to the ground, letting your irritation get the better of you. You were spoiling for a fight, and if that had to be with members of the party, then so be it. Rotating your shoulders, releasing the tightness they held from supporting the bag, you took a step towards the Tank, only to pull up short. A massive source of magic was coming through the trees at speed. Turning slightly to face the oncoming threat, you dropped into a fighting stance.

“Ooo, look at this. Little E-Rank wants a fight!” You were too focused on the actual threat to care who said it.

“Oh, shut up. There’s something coming.” You didn’t take your focus off the woods before you.

“I don’t feel anything.” It came from the Captain as he walk up to stand beside you, facing a threat he didn’t believe existed.

“Focus. Something’s coming this way. And fast.” you felt the curiosity emanating off the Captain, there was an undercurrent of disbelief tainting it, but after several moments, almost too many, the Captain turned to the rest of the party and called battle stations.

Just as the party were getting ready to fight, a huge beast burst from the tree line. This was unlike any beast you had seen before. It had a huge lion's mane that steak out behind it as it ran towards you, but its face was too human to call it a lion. Whilst it was running, it used all four legs, but as it skidded to a halt when faced with the party, it stood on its back legs, stretching to its full height. Stood upright, it was taller than the trees that surrounded them.

“What the fuck is that?!”

“How did we not feel that coming?”

“How did the E-Rank feel it was coming?”

The questions came thick and fast, but there was no time for answers. Great swiping claws reached just inches from them as the beast attacked.

“Positions!” yelled the Captain, taking his eyes off the beast for a moment to check his party had heard him. It was enough time for the beast to aim another strike at him, sending him flying past you and into a tree before slumping to the ground. You followed the movement, double-checking the rest of the party were handling their own before running to his aid.

Sliding to a halt on your knees beside the Captain, you assessed his injuries. Four massive gouge marks lined his chest. If he wasn’t treated fast, he wouldn’t make it out of the gate. You had sworn to yourself that you would never leave a man behind. You now had the power to heal people even when on the brink of death, you would not allow yourself to waste it.

“Gods, damn it. Why’d you have to be such an asshole to me?” It's so much easier to heal people when they’d been nice to you.

“S-sorry”, his response was quiet; he didn’t have long. Knelt in the dirt, cloak spread out around you, you rubbed your hands together, warming them slightly before laying them flat to his torso. Covering as much of the wound as possible, direct skin contact was the best way to heal a wound without scarring. Closing your eyes, you channelled your mana into your fingers, visualising the injury and knitting it back together. In the back of your mind, you could hear the fighting that happened behind you, subconsciously you kept track of where in the clearing the fight was, tensing when the clashes and shouts got closer, before relaxing when they retreated again. Your perception skill allowed you to pinpoint everyone based on their emotions. The arrogant Tank was on the front lines, forcing the beast back away from the Healer who was helping a Mage who had been wounded. The beast was surrounded, but somehow still winning the fight.

Bursting through the defensive line the creature took a swipe at your undefended back.

At least, it thought it was undefended. At the last second, you took a dagger from its sheath in your boot and sliced. The paw that should have ended you instead landed, severed, next to you. The beast let out a roar of pain, swiping blindly with its uninjured arm only to be met by a shield, halting its progress. You turned to see the arrogant Tank looking at you with pure confusion. “What the-”

“Not the time.” You looked back down at the Captain to see that his wounds had healed with no visible scarring. The Tank pushed the beast back, straight into the path of an incoming attack spell. Flicking your dagger to remove the blood from it, you stood, slow and with purpose, weighing your options. The party knew, there was no going back now. No pretending you were some weak E-Rank. You might as well end this and hope they agree to keep your secret.

You take a deep breath, now is a good a time as any to test out you new skills. One foot in front of the other, you crouch slightly, stooping to collect the dagger from your other boot. You always loved dual-wielding in games, and it gave you a slight thrill to try it in real life. With one last scan of the area, you launch at the beast, using your speed to catch it off guard with a slice across the chest before ricocheting off a tree on the other side of the clearing to slice across its back. Landing in a three-point pose, you see the beast is stunned and confused, looking around to find the source of its wounds. Letting out a breath, you leap into the air above the creature's head before dropping onto its shoulders to slice your daggers across its neck, severing everything major. You feel the body beneath you wobble and tip as the life leaves it, as it tumbles to the ground, you jump off, leaving enough space to ensure you don’t get crushed under its enormous weight. A quick check over yourself makes you realise you're not a breathless as you should be, you have gained more stamina than you thought. You walk over the fallen beast and wipe your bloodied daggers on the scraps of cloth that cover its body before sliding them back into the sheaths at your calves. Straightening, you glance around at the rest of the party to ensure there are no more injuries that need to be taken care of. Instead, you are met with 9 pairs of eyes, all looking at you with a mixture of confusion and awe. Shit.

“What-” Starts the Captain, still struggling to get to his feet from the base of the tree you left him at.

“What the fuck was that!?” the Tank interrupted, he seemed to be the only one seething with anger, everybody else frozen in shock. You remained silent, unsure of what you could say to make this better.

“Hayoon, calm down, I’m sure there is a logical explanation,” the Captain, now on his feet, set his hand on the Tank's shoulder before returning his attention to you, “right?”

“Umm, I don't really know what to say.” You avoid eye contact, looking at anything but the 9 people who wanted an explanation out of you.

“How about you start with the fact that you are clearly not on E-Rank Hunter of any kind.” The Captain gives you a pointed look.

“I mean, technically, officially, I am an E-Rank.” You fiddle with the edge of your cloak.

“So you tricked the assocaition somehow?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

“I, um, well, I was an E-Rank when I got assessed but I trained and shit and now I'm, not?” you grimace at the weak answer.

“Wait so you reawakened?” A Mage across the clearing spoke

“Um…sure”

“And based on your reaction, the association doesn't know?” You shake your head, “And you don't want them to know.” You nod. “So you need us to keep your secret.”

“Yeah, basically.” You gave the Captain a hopeful look, knowing he gets the last say on what the party would, or would not, say.

“Give us a moment.” The Captain gestured to the rest of the party and walked off into the woods. You looked down at your hands, they were covered in blood, you could feel the adrenaline pumping through your veins slowly dissipating, leaving you trembling slightly. You wiped your hands on your trousers in an effort to get rid of the worst of the red, this was why you wore black. You had to walk through the city after this, and you didn't need anyone asking why you were covered in blood, and blood didn’t show up on black. You were still trying to get the staining off your hands when the group reappeared out of the trees.

“Okay, we'll keep your secret. It's the least we can do after you saved our lives. And, by the looks of it, took out the Boss single-handed.” The Captain shrugged before clearing his throat, his voice returning to the authoritative Captain he was before the fight. “On that note, we'd better harvest what we can from the nearby area. Now the Boss is defeated, it's only a matter of time before the gate closes, so we need to get out of here quick.” Everybody nods and gets to work.

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@nightmarewasteland

[liobi]

I wrote a dumb little fanfic about Stelle based off of @thedeerus 's superhero/villain fanart and like. two paragraphs of worldbuilding.

Title; I only see you when I'm dreaming

Whispers and hymns filled the air while the sweetly singing sun pulsed in tune with your heartbeats, despite the both of you putting time in a chokehold. You both could feel it slowly wresting control away from you, but you couldn’t let that happen, you couldn’t let this one loose, not when you both finally-

He looked at you. He gave you his stupid, dumb, giant smile as he reached and touched the golden cancer with his bare hand. “Sorry, Stelle, catch you later.” 

“Caelus!” 

He vanished. The room rattled as the Future opened up its maw and swallowed him and the golden cancer whole. You stuffed caffeine pills down your throat as fast as you could, you needed them to be able to focus on time without him. You jumped back one minute. Then two. He wasn’t there. He wasn’t there because he had ripped himself from the timestream towards a far flung future and no matter how far back you went, you’d never find him. 

He had left you behind, and now you were all alone.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” You turned, and a black cat that hadn’t been there previously at this time now stared deep into your eyes. “However, I can promise if you follow me, I will take you to a future where the two of you are reunited.”

You said okay, and that was that.

.

.

.

.

Stelle awoke to leather clad fingers gently tracing down her cheek, tucking some loose hair behind her ear, and gentle purple eyes met her own. “Kafka…”

“Time to wake up, sleepyhead.” Kafka smiled, giving Stelle’s cheek a little pinch. “I need you to let go of Bladie and Silver Wolf.”

Stuck in extremely awkward poses, singular limbs frozen in instances of time, Blade and Silver Wolf glared impatiently at Stelle. She couldn’t really tell how long she had trapped them there for, but judging by the look they were giving her if she didn’t let them go immediately she was either going to wake up in the future with a non-lethal stab wound or banned from all social media and online games. Kafka was seemingly unaffected by the chokehold Stelle had over the time in that space but she could feel the whispers at the edge of her consciousness, guiding her to make her powers absent wherever Kafka’s arm traveled. 

Like unclenching her jaw after a restless nap, Stelle relaxed and her hold over time vanished, dropping Blade and Silver Wolf into a disheveled pile in the narrow walkway of the motorhome. “Wait if you both are here then who’s driving-”

The motorhome hit a pothole at full speed, tipping and swerving the vehicle as Firefly screamed from the driver’s seat “Can someone please take the wheel from me?!” Blade and Silver Wolf rushed to the front as fast as they could stand. 

Stelle felt the deep, purring warmth on her chest before she looked down to see a black cat curled there sleeping happily. She looked back to Kafka. “Do I really have to get up now? Can’t I have like… five more hours?”

“Aren’t you supposed to say minutes in this situation?” Kafka laughed, moving closer to the couch-turned-bed. “Lift your head up.” Stelle obliged. Kafka told Stelle what to do a lot, and she liked it too, but she never used her powers with Stelle. She slid into the space where Stelle’s head had been and pulled her head back down onto her lap this time. “You’ve got a big role today, superstar.”

“I think superstars should get to sleep in.”

“Maybe so.” She laughed and Stelle knew she was in, more naps with Kafka’s lap pillow, best day ever. Stelle closed her eyes and Kafka slowly stroked her hair, dragging fingertips from her forehead to the crown of her head in a slow, steady rhythm. It was almost hypnotic. “Another dream about your brother?”

Stelle didn’t provide an answer. 

“Would you like me to make it so you don’t have any dreams?”

Stelle rolled her head closer to Kafka. “But then I might miss out on a dream about you.”

Kafka laughed again and shifted, bringing her head down to Stelle’s. Stelle kept her eyes closed but could feel Kafka’s breath against her lips. “Why would you want a dream when the real thing is right here?”

From the front of the motorhome, Silver Wolf squawked. “Oh my god, why do you two weirdos have to flirt in public-”

.

.

.

.

A giant ball of ice cold water burst over Stelle’s head, cruelly separating her from the sweet dream of her breath and lips and “Danny what the fuck?”

An impassive young man stood outside the broom closet, several similar water balls floating behind him. “Rehabilitation facility (prison) regulations state that residents (prisoners) must complete assigned tasks (unpaid labor) given to them in order to help residents (still prisoners) build a sense of community and ownership (Stockholm syndrome) of the space they (are prisoners in) inhabit, not take naps in (my kingdom) the janitor’s closet, are you going to stop interrupting me (no) anytime soon?”

Dan Heng looked at Stelle like she was a racoon he’d found unexpectedly eating out of his fridge. When she’d first arrived a month ago her interjections would cause him to stop and wait for her to speak her piece before he tried to continue, but it didn’t take him very long to learn to ignore them. Frankly most people at the correctional facility had gotten used to her efforts to make them either drop their guards or annoy them enough they slipped up. 

Stelle hoped her crew was waiting for her, she wouldn't be left behind again, she would never be all alone again. She was leaving tonight and failure wasn’t an option.

.

.

.

.

.

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And then she failed.

[bi-bats]

for the prompt ask game— 41 for JayTim?

Oh gosh. A year and a half later 😂 hi Livvy!! Thank you for the ask 💚

I found a bunch of these drabble prompts when I was organizing my WIP folder and some of them were almost finished - since you write like your hand is on fire, I wanted to come back with your prompt first. You're an incredible writer and the way you just go for it is inspiring, so thank you for sharing your works. And in return, here's an answer to your prompt:

41 - "You did all this for me?"

You can read it here on Ao3 or below the cut here on tumblr. Thanks for waiting so patiently 💚

Tim’s bag drops to the floor with a thunk. If he could be, he would probably be worried about whether or not he just broke the screen of his laptop, but he doesn’t have it in him. He’s had a long fucking day.

His pile of shoes are lined up by the wall, neat and tidy, and it’s not a surprise. It’s a signature move of Jason’s. But the tornado that his living room had been — well, it looks like another tornado spun through in reverse and put everything back where it belongs. It smells incredible, too — sweet and salty and cheesy and oh — grilled cheese and tomato soup.

There are blankets and pillows piled high on the couch and the TV has his favorite episode of the Next Generation pulled up — the one where Q loses his powers and tries to join Starfleet — and the lights are dimmer than he remembers, some of the harsh white bulbs swapped out for warmer yellow ones. He’s surprised how much more comfortable it makes his space. 

All of this is surprising, actually. But the most surprising thing is that in front of a steaming pot on his stove and a plate with two grilled cheeses on it, Jason is standing there, looking like Alfred just caught him sneaking into the manor. 

“Shit,” Jason says, but it doesn’t seem like he quite meant to say it. 

Tim raises an eyebrow and Jason’s cheeks flush. That panicked look doesn’t go away.

“You’re home early,” Jason says, like that clears anything up.

Tim opens his mouth to answer, because his body seems to know he should do that. His brain hasn’t quite caught up, though, so he just sort of stands there with his mouth open while Jason’s blush spreads down his neck.

By the time he manages to get his brain to start working again, Jason has stopped blinking at him and started moving. The only reason he doesn’t make it out the door is because Tim grabs his arm when he tries to walk past him. 

“You… did all this for me?”

Jason’s eyes latch onto the door like maybe if he focuses hard enough, he’ll find himself on the other side of it. 

“It’s not a big deal,” Jason says, and it sounds like he’s been repeating that one to himself for a while.

“You swapped out my lightbulbs.” 

“They were white LED bulbs. It was oppressive.” 

“I know, I complained about it a few weeks ago.” 

A muscle in the side of Jason’s jaw pulses. He still won’t look at Tim. 

Shit. Shit. 

“We need to talk,” Tim declares, because he knows what happens after this if they don’t . 

Jason disappears for a little while, with a hastily written and thinly veiled excuse for pulling away. He answers Tim’s messages, but he can’t take calls, and then eventually Tim stops messaging, because he wants to give him space if he needs it. And then one day, Tim’s swinging over a street or sneaking through a building or catching his breath after a fight, and he spots a glint of red. And even though he knows he should know better, even though it isn’t the first or fifth or fifteenth time this has happened, even though his gut clenches with something angry — his heart beats a little faster in his chest. 

And a few days later, he inevitably flicks on the lights in his apartment and sees that his shoes are lined up by the wall. Or he pulls into one of his garages and finds Jason’s bike parked in his spot. Or he turns a corner and nearly slams into Jason’s chest, has to wrestle his anger with one fist and his excitement with the other, while Jason snickers and he tries to get his heart to stop pounding.

And then Jason makes it up to him. 

Then things are good for a while. Easy. Everything is backup in the field and tech projects — Jason’s always got something that could use a little work, something with low enough stakes that it doesn’t keep him awake but high enough importance that it isn’t a waste of time — and showering the grime off together and wringing an orgasm out of each other, and then eventually it’s waking up next to each other and home cooked meals and waiting to watch the new episode of whatever they’re watching and all the things that would make Jason run if Tim called it what it was: domestic. 

But he doesn’t have to call it that, because inevitably they run into something too domestic for Jason’s comfort anyways, and suddenly Tim’s throwing out spoiled vegetables and piling paperwork all over the counters and chucking his shoes into a pile at the door again.

And that’s what’s about to happen, unless Tim forces some words past the knot in his throat.

“We don’t need to talk,” Jason says.

“Can we?” 

“Why? There’s nothing to talk about. It’s not a big deal.”

“I’m not asking to talk because it’s a big deal, Jason.” 

“Then why do we need to talk?” 

Tim grits his teeth. He knows what Jason’s doing. Trying to wind him up, piss him off. Get him to snap at him so they can have a fight and call it, and then Tim won’t even try to get in touch with him while he fucks off to wherever he really goes when he’s decided he doesn’t want to play house anymore, and then he’ll come back in a few weeks, once there are lines for him to cross again. 

“Because we never talk about it. We never talk about anything!” 

“It’s—” 

Tim interrupts him, squeezing his eyes shut and pinching the bridge of his nose. “If you say it’s not a big deal one more time, I’m going to make it a big deal. So if you don’t want that, bite back your snarky asshole attitude for one goddamn second, please.” 

He hears a little frustrated-resigned huff and opens his eyes, looking around the apartment. This is… it’s a love letter, isn’t it? Jason is all acts of service, Tim knows that, and he doesn’t say anything because if Jason knew he’d noticed, he would have stopped. 

Tim’s eyes lock on the steam floating off the pot on the stove, and he makes himself say something he’s thought about saying a million times, but never really considered admitting. 

God, he hopes he’s right.

“I fucking hate it when you leave,” he mutters.

The muscles of Jason’s bicep tense under his fingers, and he sees Jason freeze from the corner of his eye. His heart starts pounding harder with every word tumbling out of his mouth. 

“I just… I like pissing you off with my inability to cook and I like getting annoyed when you flaunt your height over me and I really like fucking you, and I really, really like spending time with you.”

He spots Jason’s throat working from the corner of his eye, feels his own face heating up.

“It’s just frustrating! Because then you turn back up and we start fucking around again and it takes forever for things to go back to normal, and then they finally do for just long enough that I think maybe I don’t have to worry about you disappearing again, until one day you do something that gives you cold feet, and you run off again. And I just… I really don’t want that day to be today.”

Tim finally forces his eyes off the tomato soup and onto Jason’s, his gut clenching tight with uncertainty.

He was expecting to see panic, considering Jason’s been looking panicked since he walked in, but he wasn’t expecting to see fear, and shit, maybe he did miscalculate somewhere. 

“I’m just tired of you playing with my feelings,” he mumbles, already bracing himself to hear what he didn’t want to hear. His eyes skate back to the pot — at least he’ll have some solid comfort food for the night of wallowing he’s about to have.

“I—” Jason starts, his voice cracking on the word. He has to swallow before trying again. “I’m not playing with your feelings.” 

At the look on Tim’s face, Jason keeps talking. “Nonono, I didn’t mean — fuck. I’m listening. I just didn’t know you had feelings. Not like — not at all ! Just. You know. Like that. For — me?” he says like a question, his eyes seeking confirmation in Tim’s. 

Tim flushes.

“Look, if you want to do the fucking around thing and that’s it, then fine. We can do that. But if you’re going to do stuff like this, I can’t… I really need you to be clear with me about what you want. Please.” 

There are only so many seconds of silence he can bear staring at the pot of soup, so he lets his eyes skip back to Jason’s, finding them wide and scared and so goddamn green. His throat keeps working, like he’s trying to get some words out, and god, Tim was stupid for trying to get Jason to talk to him. If he’s ready to talk about something, he’s fine with communicating, but if you beat him to the punch? 

The pounding of his heart marks the passing time as they stare at each other, as the fear pools in Jason’s eyes, as the vice of his jaw clicks tighter shut, and finally, Tim can’t take it anymore. 

“Look, I’ll make this easy for you. Thank you for doing all this for me, it’s… it’s really kind. I’m going to pour myself some of that soup and turn on that episode of Star Trek, and if you want to join me, I would really like that, but I am going to read into it that this is not just fucking. And if you’re not comfortable with that, if you want to go, you can go ahead, and we can keep fucking around if you want, but stuff like this has to stop. We’re either fucking, or we’re more, and I can’t keep guessing. It’s not fair. So I’m going to let go of your arm, and you… do whatever you want,” Tim sighs, not quite sure that he managed not to sound bitter about the last few words. 

What’s the point of even saying them? Jason always does whatever he wants. 

Tim lets go of his arm, watches Jason’s pupils dilate as he feels the cool air against his fingers. Then he steps around him and pushes up his sleeves as he heads to the stove. 

A cacophony of thoughts whirs in his head too loud for him to pick any one of them out as he ladles his Campbell's into the bowl Jason pulled out. He can barely hear the sound of Jason’s tight, shallow breathing, and even though he hasn’t looked, he knows Jason hasn’t moved. 

Wait , he thinks as he picks up the plate and brings his food to the living room. Wait , he thinks as he kicks up his feet onto the coffee table and tracks down the remote. Wait and see , he thinks as he clicks play and picks up a grilled cheese. 

The sounds of the Enterprise filter in through the speakers, and Tim makes it a little quieter. He picks up his sandwich and is about to dip it into the soup when he hears it — the creak of the linoleum floor of his kitchen. 

His breath catches as he listens, hearing sharpening until as he waits to find out if he’s about to hear the front door or not. 

That’s not what he hears. What he hears is Jason’s footsteps getting closer, and the sound of his breathing, shallow and quick. He comes around the couch and hesitates, his gaze palpable on Tim. 

Tim keeps waiting, refusing to let himself react one way or the other. Jason could still turn around and leave, after all. So Tim holds the sandwich and stares at the screen and waits, and waits, and waits, until the show has made it to the goddamn intro and he can’t take it anymore. 

He drops the sandwich back on the plate and grabs the remote, pauses, and turns to Jason. 

“Look, I’m not asking for—” and then he stops, because the look on Jason’s face isn’t what he was expecting. He doesn’t look panicked anymore. He doesn’t look frightened, or awkward. 

No, the look on his face is a mixture of determination and longing and — there’s something else he can’t place.

“Tim,” Jason says, and his voice is thick and gruff and low, heavy with something that Tim’s never heard in it before.

“Yeah?” His collar is too tight and his feet are hot and he’s gripping the remote too tightly and Jason is staring at him, intensity rippling out of his gaze.

“Do you want me to stay?”

Tim’s gut seizes, all the nerves he’s been trying to ignore suddenly reaching up and grasping tight around his stomach. Of course, he thinks. Of course, of course, of course, you absolute moron. Who wouldn’t?

His mouth opens to say yes, and it snares on something in his throat. It’s funny, how even though he just demanded the same thing of Jason, even though he can see how much Jason cares for him in all the things he does, he can’t get the words out.

The last thing in Jason’s expression falls into place; it’s suspicion. And suddenly it clicks — Jason’s been putting love in everything he does. It’s in the shoes and it’s in the sandwich and it’s in the fucking sheets. 

And Tim doesn’t know how to do that. He doesn’t know how to write his feelings into the moments of a day. He doesn’t know how to scatter the evidence, the proof, for Jason to find. He doesn’t know how to cook it into a sandwich, how to wipe the counters with it, how to make the bed with it. 

He swallows and holds Jason’s gaze. 

“Yes. I want you to stay.”

There’s a brief moment where even though Tim knows he’s right to admit it — he couldn’t give you an exact calculation but he knows he wouldn’t take the risk if it wasn’t well over 90% in his favor — his gut still clenches again, his brain screaming that he fucked up and Jason’s going to leave after all and it’ll be all his fault that he lost the one thing in his life that made things easier — 

And then Jason’s stepping forward. He drops down onto the couch, right next to Tim, gravity displacing the cushion and making him bounce slightly. Jason reaches to pluck the remote from his hands, but he grimaces once he’s holding it. 

“Ugh, you got it all greasy.” He stands again, reaches across the table for a paper towel, and wipes it off. Then he presses play and drops it back on the couch next to him as Picard’s speech floats between them. His arm falls behind Tim’s shoulders and he stares at the screen, watching the intro scene that they’ve seen over a hundred times like it’s brand new. 

“Stop staring at me,” Jason says without looking away from the screen. 

“Sorry,” Tim says, his eyes shifting to the screen. “Are you… staying?” 

“I’m here, aren’t I?” Jason asks, lifting his hand up in a little ‘see?’ gesture, before he drops it back on Tim’s shoulder. 

Relief floods through him, the tension in his muscles relaxing as he melts into the couch, into Jason’s hold.

“It’s not a big deal,” Jason says, and Tim knows that out of the two of them, he isn’t the one that Jason’s trying to convince.

“Okay,” Tim agrees, forcing himself not to grin like an idiot. But he feels pleased, content, relaxed in a way he hasn’t in months, since before the first time Jason left. 

He leans into Jason’s shoulder and tucks himself into the space there, letting Jason wrap around him. 

“Did you buy wonder bread for this?” Tim asks, right before he picks up a sandwich half and swipes it through the soup, takes a bite. It’s crispy and buttery and warm and it tastes like comfort. His eyes water, and he tells himself nostalgia has nothing to do with it. The food’s just hot.

“And Kraft slices.”

A short, sharp laugh squeezes past the lump in Tim’s throat, easing it a little. “Wow, you do like me.” 

“Shut up,” Jason says, blush creeping down his neck, and now Tim can’t help grinning like an idiot. “ You like me .”

“Of course I do. Look at all this,” Tim says, waving around the apartment at all the things Jason did. “You swapped out my lightbulbs. You bought me that cheese you hate because you know I like it. You do that thing with your tongue. You’re boyfriend material.” 

Now Jason’s blushing all the way up to his ears, and Tim grins wide.

“It’s not cheese, it’s cheese product , ” Jason says, and Tim lets it go. They can worry about the labels another night. Jason probably still needs some time to think before he’s ready to talk about it, and that’s fine — Tim will wait.

“You’re not even a little curious about the tongue thing that I’m referring to?” 

“No. Maybe. No, we’re still on the cheese product,” Jason says, but he’s smirking, because he does, in fact, know exactly what thing Tim’s referring to. 

“It’s delicious.”

“It’s nostalgic. There’s a difference,” Jason argues, rekindling their argument from last week. He grins, his gaze going soft when Tim lets out an exasperated sigh and launches into the same speech as he did last time, and yeah, as long as Jason keeps looking at him like that, Tim’s happy to wait.

[grapejuice32]

Ghost Stories

Daryl x loner!reader

more loner!reader here main masterlist here

word count: 864 a/n: based off of this ask here, let me know what else you want to see from them

The whole group was sat around a fire in the grassy area outside of cell block C, the sun was low in the sky, the air growing chilly as people went around the circle, taking turns telling ghosts stories. You tried to remain impassive, your face still and offering an unimpressed look to the group, but Daryl could see through it. He had a clear eyeline to the way that you were clenching and unclenching your hands in your lap, one of your tells for when you were nervous. The air between the two of you had been a bit awkward since the night he’d slept in your cell the week before. You were feeling conflicted about him after the short conversation you’d had with Maggie, and it’d caused you to put a small distance between the two of you. Daryl felt just as strange, he kept finding himself longingly looking in your direction before clenching his jaw and looking away until he looked back at you a few minutes later. That’s how the past week had played out, and the whole group could feel the tension and were trying their best not to acknowledge it. 

You were trying your best not to give away your growing nervousness as the stories older and became less gory and more scary. By the time everyone had begun to clear off to bed you were feeling quite paranoid. You felt slightly ridiculous as you walked to your cell, looking over your shoulder subtly for any looming figures, considering you killed the walking dead people on a daily and yet were scared of a few ghosts stories. Daryl was following behind you while keeping a distance, not wanting to alert you or make you uncomfortable. You walked at a fast pace back to your cell, slamming the door behind you as if it would keep any spirits from entering the gloomy room. You heard Daryl settle down on his mattress outside of your cell and you wished that you would follow suit in your own bed, but instead you found yourself just sat on the edge of your bed, your leg bouncing up and down. You felt utterly ridiculous, but you couldn’t help it. You’d spent so much time alone both before and during the apocalypse that you’d grown paranoid over things like haunted buildings, ghosts, demons and the like. Daryl could practically picture the way you were sat, able to hear everything from where he lay. He sighed and stood up, he pushed open your door, causing you to jump until you saw it was just him. “Oh, uh, hey” you nodded, trying to be nonchalant, “you okay?”

“Was gonna ask you that, can hear you freakin’ out from over there.” He gestured to over his shoulder, pointing at his mattress on the floor outside your room. 

You pursed your lips, face flushing red with embarrassment at being caught, “Don’t say a word okay, and don’t you dare make fun of me for this.”

He raised his hands up to show his innocence, his head dipping slightly, “Wasn’t gonna make fun. I get it. I saw a chupacabra once, so.” 

“What?” You froze up at his words, your eyes wide.

He nodded, “Yeah, so ya’ fine.”

“How is that supposed to make me feel better?” You asked incredulously, your words lined with fear and paranoia.

“Cause ‘m still here,” he shrugged.

But you shook your head in disagreement, “No, absolutely not. Because now I know they exist.” 

He sighed and took a step further into your cell, “What’m I s’posed to do to make you calm down then?”

You looked away from him, your eyes now drown to the sheets on your bed as you fiddled with them sheepishly, “Can you um, can you sleep in here? Please?” You mumbled under your breath, feeling slightly ashamed it was you that was proposing this again. 

He just nodded and left to get his stuff, the sounds of him dragging his mattress into your cell causing you to look up at him before finally settling into bed. It was quiet for a few moments, your view of him obscured by the darkness blanketing the room. “Daryl?” you whispered softly into the warm air. 

“Hm?” You could tell he was tired from the quiet sound of his answer. 

You cleared your throat before speaking again, glad that there was no light in the room to let him see your face properly, “Can I sleep down there?”

He exhaled lowly, nodding before realising you probably couldn’t see so he just hummed in response. You were quick in your movements as you got out of your bed and pulled your flimsy mattress onto the cold floor, pulling it up beside his in the cramped room. “Thank you,” came your sleepy voice once you’d curled up under your sheets beside him. 

“Just don’t ignore me again, couldn’t stand that shit.” He muttered, his voice slurred with sleep.

“Only if you promise to protect me from the chupacabra’s.” You said, not really taking your words into account now in your half-asleep state.

You heard him turn over, his back no longer facing you. “Always.”

a/n: requests are open

[raphael-angele]

Harry and Tonks being very chaotic siblings/cousins

Wolfstar Raises Harry AU

Harry: UNCLE SIRIUS!

Sirius: *sighs* Yes, Harry?

Harry: Can you please tell your nibling to give me back my broom!! She stole it and hid it!

Tonks: And I'm telling you, I DIDN'T! You leave your stuff everywhere! And you expect other people to find it for you!

Harry: I do not!

Tonks: *mock laugh* Oh really? What about your slippers? Or your backpack? Or maybe your jacket? All of which I found

Harry: You only found them cuz you tripped over them!

Tonks: Which proves my point exactly!! I wouldn't be tripping over them if you wont leave your stuff lying around!

Harry: Oh please. You trip on air half the time

---

Remus: Who ate the chocolate from the stash in the cupboard?

Harry:

Tonks:

Harry: It was Dora *points to Tonks*

Tonks: WHAT, it was not! Uncle Moose, I love you but those chocolates are way too sweet for me.

Harry: Uh huh, likely story. Don't listen to her, Uncle Moony, I saw her eyeing that cupboard last time she visited.

Tonks: I was eyeing all of the cabinets cuz I was trying to remember where the plates were!

Harry: Uh huh, uh huh😒

Tonks: Oh please, Harry ate the last pumpkin pasty

Harry: *gaaasp* I told you to keep that a secret!!!

Remus:

---

Harry: *barges into the guest room where Tonks is staying* I need help

Tonks: Uh oh, what did you do?

Harry: I may or may not have...*mumbles*

Tonks: What?

Harry: ...I tried to make the garden gnome do the macarena but uh-

Tonks:

Harry: I blew up the garden😐

Tonks: 😦

Harry: ...help🥺

Tonks: What do you want me to do? I can't do a reversal spell on that! I'm not that advanced!

Harry: YOU'RE IN 5TH YEAR!!

---

Kitchen: a mess

Tonks and Harry: *covered in flour, chocolate, other baking ingredients*

Remus: *trying not to have a heart attack* What. Happened?

Tonks:

Harry:

Tonks: We were trying to make a cake cake for you and Uncle Stars.

Remus: And how did that end up in this?!

Harry: We were trying to make an Exploding Cake

Remus: ...and exploding cake...

Tonks: Yeah. We figured it was just like a regular cake and a spell makes it explode in a way to make it nice.

Remus:

Tonks:

Harry:

---

Sirius: I'm home

Tonks, with pink hair: Hey, Uncle Stars

Sirius: Wow, someone experimented with their looks

Tonks: Yeah, wanted to try something new.

Sirius: Well you look great. Where's Haz?

Harry: I'm here :) *has a green streak on his hair*

Sirius: ...YOU DYED HIS HAIR TOO?!

Tonks: Wh- HE SAID YOU WERE OKAY WITH IT!

Sirius: And you believed him?! Dora, he's 10! And green?! Are you kidding me?!

Tonks: What's wrong with green?

Sirius: Oh, what isn't wrong with green? Shoot, what am I gonna tell Remus?!

---

Harry: Uncle Moony, this one. *hands over the cereal*

Remus: Okay, we got cereal, some tissue, some coffee-

Tonks: Here's that detergent, Uncle Moose.

Remus: Thank you, Dora. Just put it on the bottom cart.

Later at checkout:

Cashier: That'll be £30.75

Remus: Huh? No, I'm pretty sure it should be £24.50

Cashier: Uh, no, £30.75

Remus: ... *searches through the items and sighs*

Tonks:

Remus: *pulls up lip gloss* Dora...

Tonks: Please?

Remus: *gives it back* Put it back.

Tonk: Ugh, you're so unfair

Remus: You can borrow one of Sirius'

Cashier: It's still £25

Remus: ... *goes through items again*

Harry:

Remus: *pulls out push pop* Put it back

Harry: Aww :(

---

Tonks: UNCLE MOOSE!

Remus: *sighs* What is it this time?

Tonks: Harry stole the glitter pens you gave me!

Harry: Why would I steal your glitter pens?!

Tonks: To spite me!

Harry: You can't prove anything!

Tonks: Your diary says otherwise

Harry: Wh- UNCLE MOONY, DORA LOOKED AT MY JOURNAL!

Tonks: It's a diary.

[bitingdrivers]

Put that guy in a situation! Specifically 4) Mind meld/telepathy/mind reading if you wanna :) - 🧚🏻

hi fairy anon!! thank you for sending me a prompt (from here) this one stumped me a little ngl! but im ok with the result!! hope you like it :)

Back in the 90s a group of scientists supported by half the world came up with a new experimental drug. 

“Help us elevate and enhance the human existence!” the taglines touted, followed by a list of places where you can “participate in the study” and an even bigger package of consent forms, non-disclosure agreements and other documents that meant to free the government of any responsibility if anything went wrong. 

“Enhancement and improvement of human life” was a very ambiguous and stupid way of saying we will give you superpowers. 

Just in the following year after the study started, around 3% of the world's population had superpowers – super speed, super strength, super agility and other human qualities you can add “super” to. 

The serum was mostly common in third world countries, but you could still find a facility or two in Europe that can provide you with an injection. 

That's what Max’s father did. Tracked a supplier, made an appointment and signed a ton of papers so his son, who hasn't even learned how to walk yet, could get a shot that gave him superpowers. 

Jos hoped for super strength or increased stamina, already making plans about how the powers are going to help his son move to Formula 1, and later, win the World Championship. But following the trajectory of Max’s life, he disappointed his father, and instead of developing super speed or agility, Max had telepathy. A power entirely useless, except for hearing Max’s father yell at him without Jos having to actually open his mouth. 

When the year 2000 came, the study was quickly closed and swept under the rug after a big violent attack happened involving superhumans who thought they were messengers of God, and not a result of a fucked up experiment set up by their government. 

Any remaining drug supplies were destroyed, but the government couldn’t do anything with the people that already had it, so a part of the population was left having powers, passing their superpower genes to their children. It's not uncommon, maybe 1 in every 30 people has some kind of power, but if people learn you have superpowers, they treat you like a circus monkey, asking you to show them your tricks. 

That's why Max prefers to keep quiet about his telepathy – it's not a cool power like flight or invisibility, and people tend to freak out when they learn that Max can read their thoughts, covering their ears (why, Max doesn't know. It's not like the thoughts come out of the ears?) and running far away – also pointless, considering Max can't read someone's mind if they are farther than a couple meters away from him (Max had the best time of his life with the social distancing during the pandemic, even with how short it was). 

Max is not the only superhuman on the paddock of course – people with super strength are always in demand, and some second or even third generation superhumans just find their way into F1, but, as far as Max is aware, he is the only driver with powers. 

Probably not all the parents are willing to inject their child with highly experimental and dangerous drug just so they can drive cars in a circle.

The topic of superpowers is very popular and their PR teams always have one or two games involving guessing or rating powers, so when Daniel gets a card with “which superpower would you want” printed on it during the recording of one of their "On the couch” videos, Max is not surprised. 

Daniel laughs and knocks the edge of the card against his chin while he thinks. “I don't know,” he says, while a list of powers runs through his head, looping on invisibility. 

“Probably not invisibility. How can I deprive the world of this beautiful face?” Daniel jokes, framing his face with his palms. “Also, I had a friend in school who was invisible, and it was always weird seeing just a set of clothes walking around. All of my hot bod work outs would go to waste!”

Max laughs, listening to Daniel's voice in his head think of more superpowers. Flight, shapeshifting, laser vision, telepathy. 

Max jerks, the word echoing in his mind.

“Maybe telepathy? So I can always know if someone has a crush on me,” Daniel laughs. Max looks down to his lap. He has a card with a question they already answered, the edges of laminated paper dig into his palms.

“Or to learn all the secret secrets of all the teams. Help with the strategy,” Daniel continues, waving his hand around, elaborate scenarios already unraveling in his head. 

“I think it's boring,” Max says, looking back at Daniel. “Reading thoughts is useless and what if people around you hate you? You would hear all of their thoughts. It's a very stupid power,” he admits, concentrating on his own voice echoing in Daniel’s head.

“Okay, then what power would you have, Maxy?” Daniel asks. His mind floods with super speed and strength and probably all the powers Max’s father hoped he would actually get. 

“I would not want one. I would want to be a normal person,” Max replies, looking down on his hands. “It's easier with no powers.” 

Awh rings in Max’s mind as Daniel coos at him. 

“Well,” Daniel takes a dramatic breath, “It's time for me to reveal my secret,” he says with a forlorn expression, pressing his palm to his chest. 

“I am– I have– I can read minds, yeah. Max’s hatred for telepathy made me come out, reveal my powers,” Daniel stumbles. “I will prove that telepathy is cool to you, Maximus,” he announces, putting his fist up. 

Max chuckles. “Okay.” 

“Good,” Daniel nods. “Now, think of a number, any number. Actually, think of a number from 1 to 10.”

Daniel’s mind floods with numbers, like he is the one meant to think of one. 

“Okay, you have your number?” Daniel asks. 

Max nods, even though he didn't think of one. 

“Cool,” Daniel says and proceeds to make a face like he's constipated. He brings his pointer finger to his temple and stretches out his other hand to touch Max’s forehead. 

Max laughs at his strained expression; tries to distract himself from the feeling of Daniel’s fingers on his skin by listening to the numbers going through Daniel’s mind. 

It keeps looping on three, so it catches Max off guard when Daniel announces, “Sixty nine! Maxy, I said 1 to 10!” He huffs in mock disappointment.

Max giggles, trying not to miss Daniel’s fingers when he brings his hand back. “Well, it's of course a nice number,” he grins. Daniel smiles back at him.

“But you are not correct, Daniel,” Max continues, digging his fingers into the edges of the card in his hands. “My number was actually three.”

Daniel groans, “Ah! I knew it was!” he cackles, pointing a finger at Max.

“I know,” Max says quietly. But Daniel doesn't hear him, already reaching for the next card.

“Assign a power to each other,” he reads from the piece of paper. “Okay, a lot of powers questions today, guys,” he says to the room and shakes his head. 

“We of course just discussed this,” Max says, looking at the camera. “I am a normal person and Daniel can read minds.”

It would probably be better this way, if Daniel had telepathy instead – he would know all the stuff that Max usually can’t say, wouldn't have to make Max admit to it. 

Sometimes Max wishes that his powers worked in reverse, so that people around him could hear his own thoughts. Max is bad with words, they don’t always come out the way he wants them to, so it would be better if people around him just knew. 

What’s the time, I’m hungry, rushes through Daniel’s head. Max looks down at the basket half full of the cards.

“We will do one more question,” Max announces to the media team and picks up the card. 

It happens rarely, but sometimes his telepathy becomes very useful.

[ammoknightsofficial]

Translating the Dev's Headcanon Spread for Kyle's Family

Alright, so, I've gotten my hands on the Monster Hunter Stories 2 Art Book! That means it's time to translate This Image, piece by piece! The text on this is quite small, and the halftones can interfere with legibility at times, but I managed, for the most part. I'll be including notes for each section, particularly anything that may seem like an odd or interesting choice, for Maximum Transparency!

Everything's Under the Cut!! Have fun!

母：優しく穏やかな女性 // The Mother of The Family. A Loving, Gentle, and Quiet Woman.

I've chosen to write this in full sentences, rather than the original format, since that feels easier to communicate. You may notice that "Gentle" is both Green and Blue, and that's because 優しく and 穏やかな both communicate a kind of Gentleness, with 優しく being more like "Tender" and 穏やかな being more like "Calm".

カイルがまだ幼い頃に病にかかりこの世を去ってしまう // She Fell Ill when Kyle was Very Young. She never Recovered, and Passed Away when he was still just a Child.

Before I Get Into Translation Notes - I Have Some Thoughts.

I'm going to be fully transparent - this part is one of the main reasons I got the book. I had my suspicions that she was terminally ill and died when he was young, but I didn't want to make any absolute statements until I could properly translate this passage. I had basically no doubts about it, though - this particular scene here is absolutely striking, and communicates what's going on extremely well even if you can't read it. Kyle's too young to understand what's going on. He thinks a flower will make her feel better. Meanwhile, you have the second youngest brother that's just barely old enough to know, and in that horrible point where he understands what's happening, but doesn't know what to do or how to handle it. Then there's the middle child, with enough emotional intelligence to know that comforting the second youngest and not dissuading Kyle's - the youngest of them all - attempts to help is the absolute best course of action here, to keep everyone strong while their mother (tries, and fails to) fight(s) her Terminal Illness. It's really amazing character work, all in one simple image.

This explains a lot about Kyle's actions during the course of the story. It's kind of difficult for a lot of people to understand why he reacts the way he does to his father getting injured, but with the context that he watched his mom die of a Terminal Illness when he was practically just a baby, and was powerless to do anything about it... It really makes sense, doesn't it? On a personal level, I mean. It also puts this post-game line into some new perspective...

"I'm not putting on a brave face" is such particular wording, and such a particular reassurance to give. He's had to before, and the way he's saying this almost implies - to me, at least - that maybe the player character is intended to, perhaps, know about that bit of history. That's all Speculation, though - I just find it an incredibly interesting string of implications.

As for Translation Notes...

The main thing that may seem out of place is the fact that "She never Recovered" is in both Red and Green. That's actually nothing special, it's just the fact that her illness and her death are being linked together in this passage. She died because of her illness - not because she got, I don't know, eaten by a dragon or something later, in some odd unrelated event. She was Terminally Ill, emphasis on Terminal.

カイル家族イメージ　―　作中には出てこない設定イマージです // Headcanons about Kyle's Family - These are Characters + Character-Establishing Headcanons that Do Not Appear in the Story.

Apologies for putting the Document Title all the way down here. I wanted to talk about Kyle's mom first, lol. I've already explained my reasoning for translating イメージ as Headcanon. I don't think anything else is all that noteworthy.

A Chart Depicting the Developers' Ideas for What the (Living Members of the) Family Looks Like. In Birth Order, we have...

長男：真面目・優等生　―　23年

First-Born: Serious + An Honor Student - 23 Y.O.

次男：自信家・明るい　―　21年

Second-Born: Self-Confident + Cheerful - 21 Y.O.

三男：優しい・賢い　―　18年

Third-Born: Kind + Wise - 18 Y.O.

四男：勝気・負けず嫌い　―　16年

Fourth-Born: Determined + Hates Losing - 16 Y.O.

Me, personally, I think the birth order sounds right, but I'm not a huge fan of how young everyone is. The Fourth-Born looks 19-21 to me, the Third-Born looks in their mid-20s, so on and so forth. But that's partially just the fact that I, myself, am currently in my 20s, and generally really prefer writing + drawing adults. Straight up, I clocked Kyle as being at least 18 when I was doing my playthrough of the game, but this image seems to imply he's about 15. Extremely weird thought to me. I will personally continue writing him as an adult, and his siblings as generally way older than the Devs are estimating. That has no bearing on this piece of Dubious-Canon, however, just something I wanted to mention as a bit of an oddity to me.

Also, the second Kanji in the Birth Orders actually specifies that they're all sons (男), but I'm using the Gender Neutral forms of the Birth Order terms just because I find that more comfortable and less clunky, personally. No other reason.

And, no, I don't really know what that bit of handwriting next to the Third-Born's head is. I also currently cannot fully decipher what this passage (originally below the Headcanon Spread) means, though that's likely just a Skill Issue.

If I figure it out, I'll likely Reblog this Post with an Update, but for now, I think I've covered what I can.

Thanks for Reading!! Hopefully you found this interesting, and maybe you found it useful!! The print on this spread was really, really small, and at times quite frustrating to decipher - hell, I just straight up gave up on the above passage - so any comments or compliments in the notes will be appreciated!!

[greenbunny7]

Prev

First

Prequel

Tw injury and blood. Take care of yourself

The walk to the Journal was pretty uneventful (boring). Y,Stan thought he might as well strike up a conversation. "Soo about the Stan o'war ll."

"Stanley, can we please not have this conversation right now." O,Ford says, picking up his pace

"So, we can have it later?" Y,Stan says. He couldn't figure it out for the life of him. "I just don't get it. Why- how-?"

O,Ford just kept walking

"Just ignoring me then, got it."Y,Stan says

O,Ford rolls his eyes

They walk in silence for a while after that

He didn't want to change the subject, but Y,Stan knew he wasn't gonna get answers, at least not to those questions, not yet. "Oh yeah, why do we need to Bill proof the portal? what even is a Bill?" Y,Stan asks.

O,Ford stops walking for a second."Bill was..." There were a lot of things Bill was to O,Ford. A monster, a mistake he never should have made, the reason the end of the world happened, what kept Ford going all those years in the portal even if it was just so Ford could kill him, the reason O,Ford had to erase Stan's mind- Finally O,Ford decided on "Bill is the reason I put all those warnings in the Journals."

"Warnings? What warnings?" Y,Stan inquirers

"Well... I may have... wrote them... in invisible ink." O,Ford says

"Ford, you are the dumbest genius ever." Y,Stan says. "So this Bill guy sounds like bad news."

"That's putting it mildly. If he gets to our world... We can't allow him to get to our world." O,Ford says. With fear in his voice

Y,Stan didn't like the sound of that. It reminds him of how his Ford was acting before he- before the portal incident. "Ford was, was Bill the reason you were... when I first got here, I mean." Y,Stan says

"Why I was so paranoid? -Well, is it paranoia if your worries are justified. But yes, that was... because of Bill." O,Ford says. It was also because of his own foolishness, but O,Ford didn't think Y,Stan would want to hear that

"Oh, he is going down." Y,Stan says furiously

"He already did. In my time, at least. Last I heard of him, he was in forever therapy at the edge of the universe." O,Ford says

"So, a fate worse than death." Y,Stan says

"I can only hope so. You only know about what he did to me, and that was the least of his crimes." O,Ford says with a bitter taste in his mouth. "He's also a yellow triangle with a bow tie and a tophat... I should probably mention."

An extremely confused sound "???" Was all Y,Stan could say

"Oh look were here!" O,Ford says

"Wh- Ford, you can't just- Bill's a triangle?!" Y,Stan says

"Yeah, Stanley, keep up. Now here." O,Ford says, handing Y,Stan a shovel. O,Ford starts to dig up the Journal

"You're impossible." Y,Stan says

"No, just highly improbable." O,Ford says, as he uncovers Journal 2

Y,Stan pecks up the journal, examining it. He opens it to a page in the middle, the portal page. Y,Stan stares at it, as if he looked away, the Journal would disappear right there in his hands. Just yesterday, Y,Stan would have given anything to find it.

After a moment, O,Ford puts a hand on Y,Stan's shoulder, causing him to snap out of his daze. "Let's... let's go home." Y,Stan says, softly

O,Ford just shakes his head in agreement. And repacks the shovels

~~~

On their way back to the shack, they came across a cave

"We were just here for the Journal, we probably shouldn't-" Y,Stan says

O,Ford was already in the cave."I thought I saw an anomaly!" O,Ford shouts

"Ford! that's a bear! And it has cubs!" Y,Stan yells

"Well... I've found myself in a rather precarious situation. This is fine," This is not fine. "Just stay over there, Stanley. I can handle this." O,Ford says. Turning his attention back to the bear. O,Ford starts to draw his gun. It was just a warning shot, so O,Ford could escape

The bear roared and raised its paw, ready to attack

Y,Stan didn't listen to O,Ford. Instead, he jumped in the way of the bear's attack. "Ford! Look out!" Y,Stan yells

O,Ford registers a second to late. He already shot the gun at the bear, at Y,Stan

~~~

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest

It wasn't a long walk to the bunker O,Stan could find it easily enough. just a stone's throw away from the shack, really. He'd passed by that tree so many times. To think all those years, it was right there

O,Stan had two objectives now get Y,Ford back, and make sure the twins still exist in the future. The first one was simple enough. After all, it had been O,Stan's objective for 30 years, O,Stan thought that by now, he was pretty much an expert on getting the thing. The second one, however... was a little more complicated. None of them were familiar enough with how time travel worked. O,Stan didn't care he'd do whatever it took to accomplish both his objectives

O,Stan opened the little hatch on the side of the tree and flipped the switch in it, opening the secret compartment containing Journal 3. O,Stan took it out to look at it. It wasn't all that worse for wear

At least it looked a lot better than the Journal 3 of O,Stan's time. That thing was held together by pure spite and pencil shavings. O,Stan had almost ripped its spine out just by trying to copy the portal page. This Journal 3 still had too many dark stains for O,Stan's liking

O,Stan closed the tree and secret compartment. The walk back to the shack was just as short, and O,Ford, & Y,Stan weren't back yet.

O,Stan notices a scar on his arm that looked like claws? that definitely wasn't there before."That's probably not good." O,Stan shrugs to no one in particular. What exactly was Y,Stan & O,Ford up to?

It wasn't late enough to start worrying, so O,Stan decided to look for something to do until they got back. He had used most of their food for breakfast. Someone would have to go into town soon. O,Stan's thought was interrupted by shouting coming from the front yard

~~~

Everything happened so fast O,Ford didn't have enough time, but Y,Stan seemed to fall in slow motion. "Stanley!!!!!!" O,Ford screeches. The whole world went still, as Y,Stan hit the ground.

The bear roared again. O,Ford quickly scoopes Y,Stan up in his arms and books it out of there

Y,Stan was still breathing he's still breathing O,Ford repeats in his head. Stanley is still breathing. O,Ford notices even unconscious Y,Stan still has Journal 2, clutched to his chest for dear life, although it now had blood on its cover, Y,Stan's blood.

O,Ford doesn't stop running until he reaches the shack. "Stan!" O,Ford yells. "Stan!! Get out here!"

"Ford? What happened!?" O,Stan says, taking in the sight of O,Ford running towards him while holding Y,Stan's bloody body

"There was a c-cave and a bear and cubs and, and Stanley he-" O,Ford says, hyperventilating as he rushes to the couch and sets Y,Stan on it.

"Whoa, slow down there, Ford. There was a bear? Did it attack mini me?" O,Stan asks, putting a hand on O,Ford's shoulder

O,Ford ripped off his sleeve and uses it as a makeshift sling, tying it around Y,Stan's arm. O,Ford turns his attention back to O,Stan, looking him directly in the eyes."Stan, I messed up."