#ren party but that was the last time I hung out with them so maybe this is a good idea bcus then we can hang out and it’ll be fun?

[bengiyo]

Minato's Laundromat 2 Ep 9 Stray Thoughts

Last week, we went to an onsen! Shu made Asuka study, and Minato made everyone awkward. We missed a golden opportunity for some hot spring action (unlike Be Mine, Superstar), but Minato got drunk enough to admit that he doesn’t want Shin to leave and wants Shin to call him Asuka. We make progress in this show, but it’s so slow. I ache for Minato and Shin. At least Asuka seems to be settling into his dynamic with Shu.

Oh my. Shin’s 19th birthday is coming up. Of course Shin suggests they stay together forever as his birthday gift.

Noting that Shin has not switched to calling him Akira yet.

Aww the swim team made a card for Minato and all thanked him.

I wish I had time to support my old school’s Academic Games team. This is making me nostalgic.

I’m glad Minato has been able to develop a functional relationship with Sakuma-sensei because Sakuma’s open sentimentality is really so beneficial.

Asuka got all A’s! Time to get it in!

Working? Minato, you better give that boy a smooch if you’re gonna keep looking at him like he hung the moon!

I’m so proud of Shin. My man even manages to flirt over a crossword puzzle.

Of course Asuka and Shu are on an architecture walk as a date.

WELL HELLO THERE, TAKAMATSU ALOHA. I am having so much fun with the BL cameos lately. (Takamatsu played Ren in Tokyo in April is…)

Okay, well that date was so cute.

I love Minato doing a surprise party for Shin. And now we’re wearing festive hats!

Minato got them engraved couple’s bracelets. Finally, an overt expression of his affections that Shin can take with him.

Minato finally asked for Shin to give him the physical affection he usually dodges, and yet he still panics in the Now Kisstm moment.

Maybe it’s because I just finished the Pornogrpaher series, but I think they should just shove each other’s hands into each other’s pants to release the tension and work through that instead.

Minato, you can’t just give that man the James Kirk double-shoulder grab if you’re not going to kiss him.

Good, we finally said the things and have agreed to stay in the house together. What nonsense is coming next?

Oh shit! The kiss from the preview wasn’t a fake out!

Now, what in the hell is this????

What in the Jack o’ Frost is this?????

Okay, besties, I’m gonna be honest. I have been really patient with Minato’s slow progress because I see so much of myself in him. However, I despise amnesia plots in romance dramas. Only Jack o’ Frost has ever done this in a way I genuinely appreciated. I understand the dramatic tool this presents, because now Minato is the one with stronger feelings than Shin and the new dynamic forces Minato to be the one who pursues him. Still, it has always felt contrived and stupid to me. I am not happy about this development.

[vgckwb]

P5R: Rebel Girl (A FeMC Story/P5R Rework) Chapter 165: Mistakes, Not Malice

Late into the night, the SIU director was on the phone. “Well, it looks like The Phantom Thieves got to Okumura…I was worried for a second, but it seems like the plan should progress as normal…Yeah, call him off. I’ll handle things on this front…The last thing we want is suspicion, especially when we’re this close to everything…Of course sir…Goodbye.” He hung up.

The director smirked. “I don’t get to do this often. I’m going to relish this. Now, what kind of darkness should I send Okumura?”

The next day after school, Ren got a message from Jose.

Jose: Hey. Can we meet somewhere?

Jose: I need help processing something.

Jose: Also, you’re gonna wanna hear this.

Ren: Um, sure.

Ren: Anywhere in particular?

Jose: Let’s go to leblanc.

Jose: I have a lot on my mind, and I need to process things.

Ren: Is everything OK?

Jose: Everything’s fine.

Jose: I’m just stunned.

Ren: Well, alright then.

Ren: See you at Leblanc?

Jose: Of course!

Jose: Seeya!

Ren put her phone away and headed to Leblanc.

Once she and Jose were settled in, Jose seemed listless. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Oh, um, well…” Jose said. “Something happened, and it’s…complicated.”

“Go on…” Ren instructed.

Jose nodded. “Well…you know how Cho and Tama’s families have been fighting for 100 years?”

“Yeah.”

“And that they started getting along and dating after being forced into detention by a teacher?”

“Uh-huh…”

“Well…” Jose continued. “It turns out that teacher, Mr. Takahashi, is a lot more involved than at first glance.”

“How so?” Ren asked.

“That’s a long story,” Jose said. “So here goes.” He took a deep breath. “So when the school was first founded, it held a contest to see who’s painting would get put on display for a party The Emperor was hosting. Naturally, this was a coveted position since it gave artists a chance to be judged by The Emperor himself, and maybe even make a whole thing out of that connection.

It turns out that the two most likely candidates were Cho and Tama’s great-grandparents. It created an intense rivalry between the two of them. However, when it came time to present their pieces for the contest, both the Hirai and Inoue submissions were sabotaged. Naturally, they two blamed each other, and both of them lost not only their chance to meet The Emperor, but also their prestige.

However, it turns out that Mr. Takahashi’s grandfather was the one who sabotaged both paintings, knowing that Hirai and Inoue would fight. He also won the contest, and eventually got a position as a painter within The Emperor’s Household. He let the Hirai and Inoue families delve into a bitter rivalry over who sabotaged who, while reaping the benefits.

Mr. Takahashi’s grandfather confessed this to his family on his deathbed, and Mr. Takahashi felt guilty about this. So he did what he could to try and make up for it by getting Cho and Tama to become friendly.

However, after Cho’s father threatened to pull Cho out of school, he decided he needed to come clean about the situation to the whole school. This is a big deal, since it ties into the school’s founding and prestige. Everyone was shocked. And right now, the school is running an investigation into the situation and Mr. Takahashi."

Ren was stunned. “Wow… That is a lot.”

“You’re telling me… Jose said.

“So…how do you feel about this?” Ren asked.

“...Well,” Jose said, “it’s complicated. A part of me feels like there should have been Phantom Thieves 100 years ago to stop Mr. Takahashi’s grandfather.”

Ren giggled. “Well, I wouldn’t say you’re wrong.”

“But mostly, I’m thinking about why. I know they had a lot riding on this contest, and I know it was a blow to their esteem, but that kind of hatred, living for 100 years, I don’t…I don’t understand it.

Mr. Takahashi’s grandfather was willing to destroy two families to get what he wanted, but those two families were willing to destroy each other at all costs even after everything was said and done. How can humans live like that?”

Ren looked at him. She sighed. “I don’t have an answer for that.” Jose looked up. “But I’m not someone with the ability to hate that much. Like, there are people that make me angry or resentful, but I just don’t have it in me.”

“Hmmm,” Jose said. “Honestly, I think that’s more helpful than giving an answer.”

“How so?” Ren asked.

“Well…” Jose said. “It shows people are different. Like, us versus the palace rulers. Or Cho and Tama and their families. Or Mr. Takahashi and his grandfather. His grandfather didn’t care what happened to anyone else, so long as he got what he wanted. But Mr. Takahashi wanted to help people, even though it blemished his family’s reputation.”

Ren chuckled again. “You’re getting it.”

“Still, to think humans are this varied…” Jose said.

“There’s over seven billion of us,” Ren said. “If we were more similar, it’d be weird.”

“I guess that’s true,” Jose replied. “But it’s funny. I’m thinking about it now, and a lot of the really bad people tend to think of other people as just one thing. Madarame thought of his students as his property. Kaneshiro thought of others as his ATMs. Okumura thought of his workers as robots. But people are more than just that.”

“Hm hm,” Ren giggled once more. “It sounds like you’ve gotten the hang of things. I say hold on to that feeling and let it guide you. That’s your key to understanding humanity.”

“Hmmm,” Jose said. “Hm hm.” He smiled. “I think that’s only half right.” Ren was confused. “That feeling is one key, but I think you and the rest of the Thieves are the other key.”

Ren blushed. “Eh heh, well… I think that you all are my key to understanding humanity too.” The two continued into a little giggle fit.

Aeon-Jose: Rank 9

The two of them had a late lunch/early dinner at Leblanc, and then Jose headed back to Kosei.

Meanwhile, Hiroki was feeling miserable. He had spent pretty much all day vomiting or regretting everything. “Ugh…” Hiroki muddled. “I don’t know what feels worse: my stomach or my heart.”

There was a knock at his door. “Master Hiroki,” a butler said, “you have company. Miss Makoto Niijima and Miss Kisa Hagiwara.”

“Send them in…” Hiroki said with as much energy as he could muster. Makoto and Kisa entered. “Hi.”

“Hey Hiroki,” Kisa said.

“We brought you some school work,” Makoto said. “As well as some tomato soup.”

“Thanks,” Hiroki said.

“Do you want the work first, or the soup?” Makoto asked.

“I’ll take the soup,” Hiroki said. “I’ve barely eaten all day, and I could use something.”

Makoto nodded and took out a thermos. She poured some of the soup into the top cup and gave it to Hiroki. Here.”

“Thanks,” Hiroki said. He took a sip. “Hm. Seems unusual. Where did you get this?”

“Oh, um, well, I asked your friend Haru to make it,” Makoto said.

Hiroki was surprised. “WHAT?!” Kisa giggled.

“Well, she came to me because she was worried about you,” Makoto explained, “and now that I’m worried about you I came to her. She offered to make some fresh tomato soup to help you feel better.”

“She said she wanted to bring it to you herself,” Kisa interjected, “but since her father’s heart got changed by The Phantom Thieves, she wants to be there in case anything happens."

Makoto nodded. “She also said that the soup might not be that good.”

“Hm hm, of course she would,” Hiroki said. “It’s fine. It’s just what I needed.” He sighed. “I’m really pathetic.”

“Where did this come from?” Makoto asked.

“I thought I could do everything, but I fell face first,” Hiroki said. “I…I just wanted to help, and I ended up complicating things.”

“I know how you feel…” Makoto said.

“Me too…” Kisa replied.

“I dunno,” Hiroki said. “I feel like I REALLY screwed up.”

“Listen,” Makoto rallied. “I think that we all make mistakes. And we all suffer for it from time to time. But we’re the student council for a reason. We want to help people and do what we can to make a difference. Yes, there are limitations, and yes, sometimes we stumble, but I think what makes a person good isn’t whether or not they fall, it’s whether they get back up.”

“Hm,” Hiroki mirked. “Spoken like a true student council president.”

“Yeah, well, you should start practicing,” Makoto said. “After all, when I’ve graduated, that’s going to be your role.”

“WHAT?!” Hiroki said. “But-”

“Shhhh,” Makoto said. “You need to rest up.”

“But…” Hiroki continued protesting.

“I know,” Makoto replied. “You made a mistake. But I just said that doesn’t matter. I know you. You have a heart of gold, and the willpower to help people when they need it. There’s no doubt in my mind that I want you to take over.”

“For what it’s worth, I think you’ll do a great job,” Kisa said.

Hiroki was stunned. He looked at his two compatriots, and then down at the soup. Haru made this soup for him. Despite everything, his friends knew him for who he was, and not for some dumb thing he did. He smiled. “I accept with honor.”

Makoto smiled back. “Well, we should let you get your rest,” she said. “We’ll leave your school work on the table over there.”

“Thanks,” Hiroki said.

“Goodbye,” Kisa said. “Get well soon.”

“I will,” Hiroki said. “Thanks again.” The two girls left, leaving Hiroki alone with his soup. He continued taking sips. “Ah.” He looked at it again. “Hm. I feel like once I get up, I’ll have the energy to say something…”

Makoto messaged Haru.

Makoto: Thanks for making the soup on such short notice.

Haru: It’s no problem.

Haru: Did Hiroki like it?

Makoto: He loved it.

Haru: That’s good to hear.

Haru: I haven't had much of a chance to do something like this, so I was worried things wouldn’t turn out well.

Makoto: I’m sure he would have loved it even if it didn’t.

Haru: I don’t know about that.

Makoto giggled.

Makoto: Listen, Hiroki really cares about you.

Makoto: I think Hiroki likes knowing that you care about him too.

Makoto: And that goes beyond taste.

Haru: I guess you’re right.

Haru: Thanks for taking it to him.

Makoto: No problem! I asked after all.

Haru: Right.

Haru: I hope he gets better soon.

Makoto: Me too.

Makoto: How’s your dad?

Haru: He’s resting.

Haru: Although, he’s been talking with some of his staff about setting up a press conference.

Makoto: Well that’s good.

Makoto: Are you prepared for what will happen after?

Haru: I don’t think any of us can be fully prepared.

Haru: But I’m trying my best.

Makoto: I guess that’s the best any of us can hope for.

Makoto: I’ll talk to you later.

Haru: See you then!

After Haru sent that message, her doorbell rang. She decided to go answer it.

She opened the door. “Hello?”

“Ah yes,” said the man. Haru looked at him. She didn’t recognize him. “Hello young miss. I take it that you’re Haru Okumura, yes?”

“That is correct,” Haru said, a little on edge. An assortment of different people had been coming over to check in on her father after they had heard The Phantom Thieves came after them, but she was still taken aback by just how many people her father was in league with.

The man noticed this. “Ah. My apologies. I’m a friend of your fathers, as well as the director of the Special Investigations Unit. I heard he got attacked by those Phantom Thieves yesterday. I wanted to make sure he’s doing OK.”

“He’s…doing fine,” Haru said. “He’ll appreciate your concern.”

“Well, I have a little more than just concern for him,” the director said. He held up a cake. “I made this cake for him to eat when he gets better.”

Haru took it and smiled. “I’m sure he’ll love it.”

“Of course,” the director said. “It’s a very special recipe. It’s to die for.”

“You must be an excellent cook,” Haru said.

“Oh, I don’t mean to brag,” the director said. “When you have 17 grandchildren, knowing how to bake a delicious treat is a necessity.”

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” Haru said. “I’ve been wanting to learn how to cook more myself.”

“Well, best of luck to you on that,” the director said. “And best of luck on your father’s recovery.”

Haru bowed. “Thank you.”

“Well, I should get going. The SIU is a very demanding place.”

“I’m glad you made time to come out here yourself.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” the director said. “Anyways, bye.”

“Bye!” Haru said. The director walked away, while Haru turned back into the house. She was going to put the cake in the fridge for later. “I wonder what it tastes like. I’m sure father wouldn’t mind if I had a little taste.” She placed the cake on the counter and grabbed a fork. She came back to the cake, used her fork to grab a small piece. She put it close to her mouth, but she stopped suddenly.

She suddenly felt fearful and uneasy. She looked at her fork, and then the whole cake. She started going pale. She ran the fork under some water, and the piece on it went down to the garbage disposal, which Haru promptly turned on.

Later, Haru was out in the backyard. The rest of the cake was on the stump she usually chopped firewood on. She grabbed her ax, and then chopped the cake into several pieces with multiple strikes made with intensity. Once Haru was out of breath, she stopped.

Later that evening, Ren got a message from Mishima.

Mishima: Hey, you got a minute?

Mishima: I've got some info for ya!

Ren: Sure!

Ren: Where do you wanna meet?

Mishima: Let’s meet at the diner, as per usual.

Ren: Sounds like a plan.

Ren put her phone away, and headed out.

On her way, she and Mishima bumped into each other on Central Street. “Oh hey,” Mishima said.

Ren chuckled. “Hey.”

Mishima chuckled back. “I think we can just exchange info here. I don’t have that much. Just one target, but this one’s a real doozy.”

“By all means,” Ren said.

“OK, this guy has been going around posing as a homeless guy,” Mishima said. “But he’s been killing people.”

“Um…no offense, but that seems like a lot,” Ren said.

“It gets worse,” Mishima said. “He says he’s doing it to assist The Phantom Thieves.”

“WHAT?!” Ren said, incensed.

Mishima nodded. “The people he kills are jerks, but this is a step too far.”

“At least,” Ren replied.

“So, you’ll take care of it?” Mishima asked.

“Yeah,” Ren said. “I don’t want people thinking we’re just a bunch of murderers.”

“Of course!” Mishima sai. He then grew sad. “Hey…was I…going in that direction?” Ren was confused. “I mean, I wasn’t ready to kill anyone, but I felt like I was trying to use you for my own ends.”

Ren smiled. “Well, luckily, it didn’t work.”

“Yeah,” Mishma said, embarrassed.

“Do you know why it didn’t work?” Ren asked.

“Well…” Mishima pondered.

“AHHHH!” The two looked in the direction of the scream.

“What was that?!” Ren asked.

Mishima grew worried. “Akiyama.” He rushed over, and Ren decided to assist.

The two of them found Akiyama being held at knifepoint by two gangsters. “Now now, just hand over the money.”

“I don’t have it!” Akiyama protested.

“Well that’s a shame,” the gangster said.

“Maybe we should just ask your little girlfriend,” the other one said. “Perhaps she’ll have the money.” Akiyama looked scared.

“HEY!” Mishima called out. The three of them looked up. “Stop this, RIGHT NOW!”

The gangsters looked at each other. “Or what?”

“Or I’m taking your photos to the police!” Mishima said. “I think they’d recognize your faces!”

“You got some nerve, kid,” one of the gangsters said.

“What are you doing?” Akiyama asked.

“Can it!” the other gangster said.

“What makes you think we won’t just cut you down with him?” the first gangster asked.

“Wel…” Mishima froze.

Ren stepped up. “I have an assault record,” she said.

The gangsters looked confused. “You’re joking.”

Ren shook her head. “He was tough too. Taller than me. And I laid him out on the pavement!”

Mishima smirked. “And if you think SHE’S scary, just wait until you meet the person she’s dating. They work out every day, and can do all sorts of things. Why, if you even gave my friend her a little scratch, there’s no telling what they’d do.”

The gangsters were nervous. “Man, eff this, this isn’t worth it.”

“Keep your stupid money!” the other one said. They left, at first walking, but then they bolted.

Mishima sighed. “I’m glad that’s over.”

“Hey!” Akiyama said. “Why’d you do that? You could have gotten yourself killed!”

“Am I just gonna let you get killed?” Mishima asked. “Or your girlfriend?” Akiyama didn’t have an answer. “Look. I know you don’t see me as much, but that’s no reason to let someone just get killed. I had to try, you know.”

“R…Right…” Akiyama admitted.

“No, do you mind telling us what happened?” Mishima asked.

Akiyama hesitated. “...They…were harassing my girlfriend one day. I stepped in, but then they harassed me. Apparently, she borrowed money from them, and they aggressively wanted it back. I paid them, but it wasn’t enough for them. Even after the original debt was up.”

“I see,” Mishima replied. “Do you have their information?”

“Yeah,” Akiyama said. “Why?”

“I think The Phantom Thieves may want to pay them a visit,” Mishima said.

“Are you sure?” Akiyama said.

“Of course,” Ren said. “Jerks like that are prime for a visit from The Phantom Thieves.”

Akiyama nodded. He sent Mishima a message. “Alright, that’s their info.”

Mishima got the message. “Alright. I’ll post it on the Phansite, and keep the circumstances on the downlow.”

Akiyama nodded. He stood up, and started walking away. Before he was gone, he turned and said “You know, you’re actually kind of cool.” He then left.

“Woah,” Mishima said, shocked. “That’s…that’s the first time Akiyama said something nice about me.”

“Well, it’s true,” Ren said. Mishima smiled. “So, I think you just answered my question.”

“Hm?” Mishima said.

“About why you didn’t follow that path,” Ren said. “We all have our moments of weakness. But you just proved that you’re not just your weakness. You rushed in and saved someone who might not have done the same for you. If that doesn’t convince you that you’re in no way like that murderer, then I don’t know what will.”

“I…guess that’s true,” Mishima said. “Eh heh. I’m still getting used to not being a failure.”

“Well, I think it looks good on you,” Ren said.

“Yeah,” Mishima said, embarrassed. “And hey, we got ourselves some more targets!”

“THAT is always a plus!” Ren said.

Moon-Yuuki Mishima: Rank 8

“Well, I think I better jet,” Mishima said. “I’ve got a bunch of stuff I need to do.”

Ren giggled. “Same. Later!”

“Later!” Mishima replied. They two went back to their homes for the night.

[boygirlctommy]

trying to ask people to go to a concert w me this is stressing me OUT

[bonbonthedragon]

Meeting You Changed Me (6)

Dad!bakugou x fem!reader

A series

Summary: When Bakugou leaves an ugly divorce, leaving him as a single dad he never can imagine himself finding love again, not when he was never actually in love. People manipulate and lie and he can’t trust anyone but those close to him and now protect what he has left. But maybe...just maybe he can give her a chance.

Warnings: heavy angst, some fluff, mentions of guns, cursing, blood, death

Note (PLEASE READ): based off the song When the parties over by Billie Eilish - recommended listening to it if ya want to cry some more to this part- ALSO this is counted as a part but it’s a background on (y/n)- update this weekend is next :)

Series Masterlist

1 year and 4 months before

Thursday, 9:15 pm

Don’t you know I’m no good for you

“Sweety you’ve got to learn how to sleep in your own bed. Like a big boy”

“B-but-“

(Y/n) sighed, her hand leaving Ren’s and moving to his cheeks “buba it’s going to alright, I checked the closet, closed your curtains and you have your blankie-” she brought up a small stuffed bunny “and Aimi is here to keep you safe” she smiled. The boy took the bunny and hugged it tight to his frame, but never letting go of his mothers hand. Her heart broke at the sight, but (y/n)’s mother was right, Ren needed to learn to sleep in his own bed and break this habit of his before he is too old. It was something she didn’t want to do, because he was too her comfort, but it had to be done eventually, and he was 6 after all, almost 7. Bringing his hand to her chest, he could feel her heart beat. (Y/n) then let go and went to grab the hearing aid behind his ear, gently removing it and setting it on his nightstand. She signed to him.

‘Good night, love you’ and she moved her hand to his chest over his heart and kissed his forehead

‘Love you too’ he sighed back, though his lips were still tugged down.

Giving Ren a weak smile, (y/n) leaned back and stood up. With the light out and the small night light on, she watched as Ren tucked himself in and closed the door until it was cracked enough for the kitchen light to still show through. She walked the halls and turned off all the lights in the spare rooms until only the kitchen light and few candles filled the small apartment. Sitting at the kitchen table, she opened the mail.

“Late notice...late notice....late notice” she grumbled, setting the bills into a separate pile “jeez” she sighed, running her hand through her hair. Aki jumped up onto the table, the feline purring as she rubbed up against (y/n)s arm “what are we gonna do?” She said, almost asking the cat.

I’ve learned to loose you, can’t afford to

9:30 pm

“I really hate to do this, he just gets so scared.”

“Well,” (y/n)’s mother’s voice rang through the phone “it’s better this way. Can’t have him doing what you did. It annoyed the heck out of your father when you still climbed into bed at 10.”

“Yes but...I don’t mind him there, he’s always been there, mom.”

“Your the parent (y/n), you need to teach him that your not always going to be there. If he cant learn to go to school without needing you, he needs to at least learn to go to bed with out needing his mother.”

“He just gets so lonley, and he doesn’t like school because it’s hard for him. Especially with his hearing, making friends is difficult.”

“Speaking of friends,”

“Mother, not right now-“

“When was the last time you went out?”

“You know high school was tough-“

“And how are your bills? Are you caught up?”

“Uh-“

“You said you started that cafe of yours. It better be getting some business. We didn’t help you pay to buy that place for nothing-“

“Good night, mom. Tell dad I said goodnight too.” And she hung up.

(Y/n) changed clothes and got into the queen bed, the room too quiet and eerie. When she got tucked in she turned over, pulling up the covers for Ren to climb in under- oh...right. Sighing she put them back down, and suddenly the bed felt too cold.

12:00 am

“M-mama” Ren croaked to get his moms attention as he didn’t have in his aid, clutching his bunny close, again tugging her blankets

“Bubs?” She awoke, sitting up and signing ‘what are you doing up?’

‘Can I please sleep with you’ he signed back

Oh her heart hurt for him. But he had to learn, and do did she. ‘You know what we talked about, baby. I can tuck you back in though?’ She saw his bottom lip wobble for a second before he hesitated and nodded. She smiled best she could and rubbed his cheek softly ‘that’s my strong boy’

3:40 am

A loud thud made (y/n) wake up, eyes shooting open at the abrupt sound. Low grunting came from the kitchen as she heard the front door close and it made her skin crawl. Only her and Ren lived in the tiny apartment. Swinging her feet over the edge, she opened her drawer and pulled out a small pistol she kept close. As much as she wanted to blame the cat on the noise, the voice that she heard was most definitely not a meow. With her feet carefully planted on the ground, she began to stalk out of her room slowly not to make a sound, gun at her side.

“Mama!” Rens voice broke the silence as he screamed best he could

“Ren?” She shouted, hurrying her steps “Ren!” She knew he couldn’t hear her but she count help but panic “Ren!”

“Hey shut it brat!” A man yelled, then a slap

“Stop! Ren!” She rounded the corner and immediately went still. Every bone in her body shivered at the sight. Despite this, she held up the gun and pointed it straight at the man. “S-stop! O-or I’ll s-shoot!”

The large male had Ren under his arm, head in almost a choke hold but not enough to hurt him. Tears ran down his red cheeks and his hands held the mans arm to keep him from holding him any tighter.

(Y/n)’s body began to shake viciously, her aim faltering greatly. But she found it in herself to hold up a hand ‘do what he says’ she signed

Ren nodded and the man tightened his grip, making Ren cough “what the hell did you do?” He barked at her

The woman strengthened her hold on the small revolver, trying hard not to shake “n-nothing-I swear! J-just please- please don’t hurt him- w-what do you want?”

“Tch- as if I’d tell you.” He didn’t seem bothered one bit by her weapon “now move if you know what’s best for ya, lady”

She gulped loudly and her hands begin to shake again. She took classes, she knew how to fire the damn thing so why won’t her hand move? She could get a clear aim without hurting Ren, so why the hell won’t her finger pull the damn trigger? Before she could comprehend the man moved and suddenly Ren was thrown on the bed and her back was to the man. He held her close, her arm that held the pistol painfully twisted behind her, struggling against him. He roared as he fought with her, but he managed to grip the gun and-

A sharp pain stabbed straight through (y/n)s stomach and she stilled, falling to the ground with a loud cry. Her ears rung painfully and her head became fuzzy, blood rapidly leaving her body and seeped through her night shirt.

“Mama!” Ren screeched

“Quit your whinin’! Damn” the man swore under his breath, “this wasn’t the plan.” He turned and Ren froze. He looked around and grabbed the boys school bag, slinging it over his shoulder. While he did that Ren grabbed his blanket and bunny before the man again grabbed him and began out the room, stepping over (y/n)s body. The stranger stalked through the apartment, Rens wrist caught in his hand as he tore the place apart, until he found a stash of money, the wads of cash stuffed in a drawer. He smiled “bingo” he then shoved the empty school bag in Rens small arms “put the money in the bag! All of it!” Ren starred at him, trying hard to understand “I said put the money in the bag!”

His eyes shifted to the money and the bag and nodded, remembering what his mother said to him. He did as told and began to fill it quickly. Too engulfed in the adrenaline, the man didn’t notice as (y/n) stood behind him, smashing a large vase over his head. To her horror, it did nothing to his enormous frame. He turned, much more furious than before and screamed, shoving her effortlessly against the marble countertop as she howled in pain. Ren cried out and stopped what he was doing, but it only made him more angry.

Sirens began whaling in the distance. Smoke filled the mans nose and he turned abruptly to see that he had shoved her where a candle had sat, now knocked over and flames spilling onto the wood floors. It quickly spread to the walls. With the flames and police showing up, the man picked up the now singed bag and the child and mad a run for it out the door. (Y/n) wouldn’t give up though, as she managed to pick herself up and limp out after him just as he reached the door. Like hell he was getting away.

“Come...back!” She croaked, holding onto the metal railing of the staircase.

“Ms.(L/n)!” A horrified neighbor shrieked, coming up by her “I called 911!”

“N-no I gotta- he has my son! Ren!” Her weak voice did nothing as she attempted to yell over the edge

“But your wounded!” The older woman panicked “you need to sit down!”

“No! Go away! I-“

Sirens became louder and dozen police cars appeared around the small complex. Just as the man reached the bottom, Ren tightly in his hold along with the bag, he was surrounded.

“Let the boy go!” A hero shouted, who had just showed up

The man held up (y/n)s pistol “move or ill shoot!” And he pointed it at Ren

“No!” (Y/n) screamed, a gasp soon following at the seering pain flying through her. It didn’t help that her body was littered in black bruises and her head was fuzzy. She can’t let him hurt Ren. Anything but that. Shoot her! Not him! God please!

“Put down the gun or we will have to seize fire!” A officer shouted

“N-No! M-My s-son!” She leaned over the railing more, fighting off the worrying neighbor “that’s my son! Don’t shoot!”

The large man took the gun and pointed it toward the officers and then- it was all over in a flash.

(Y/n) scream tore through the quiet night and before anyone could move she had ran down the stair case. More screams sounded behind her of horrified neighbors and pedestrians and the talking of officers on call and to one another. The pain in her head and abdomen compared to nothing in her heart, all she could do is breath heavily and gasp for air as it felt as her own breath left her lungs. She ran to the two, shoving the unconscious man off Ren, who was now a bloody mess. The sight made her whole body go cold.

Tore my shirt to stop your bleedin’

She grabbed him and moved his limp body to her lap, throwing her shirt over her head, leaving her in her sports bra in the cold air. She bunched it up and held it over his chest, pushing down enough to try and stop the blood from rushing out. “Please-please-please” she craidled him in her arms “please don’t go- please” she cried, hot tears pooling down her cheeks and dropping onto his face. She grabbed his arm gently and held it to her heart. His eyes were becoming half lidded, but he still took no effort to move. “Ren- bubs- baby- oh god” she cried

“Ma...”

“I’m here- I’m-“ she held up her hand, letting go of his arm ‘I’m here baby’ she signed, taking his hand again and holding it. He made no response as his eyes began to shut. “Ren_’ she panicked, ditching the shirt and holding him closer “R-Ren- h-hey—“

But nothing ever stops you leavin’

She shook him gently, but nothing “Oh my baby-“ (y/n) began to hiccup as she tucked her head into his neck “my boy! Please god no! My bubs- my-“ a hand found her shoulder and she turned. An officer.

“Miss-“

she slapped his and away, standing quickly but still handling Rens body with soft movements “no! You did this! You-! You...” she bowed her head “you hurt my son...”

The air grew eery as everyone witnessing the scene grew silent. The officer tired again, taking his hat off his head and holding his to his body “ma’am-“

She fell to her knees, Ren still in her arms “...how could y-you... he did nothing wrong ...” she looked down at him “I-it’s ...okay...” she tucked a strand of hair behind his ear “it’s gonna be- b-be alright.”

Soon firefighters had arrived and they ran quickly too the smoke. (Y/n) didn’t know how much time had passed but she was soon sitting in an ambulance, Ren still in her arms and multiple nurses trying their best to get her to let go so they could check him and her. But she already knew he was gone...

Hero’s were the bullshit of society.

4:02 am.

—-

9:15 am

A knock sounded from her hospital door. After a while a police let himself in. Though (y/n) didn’t notice one bit, not did she care all that much, sh only starred at her lap, ignoring the pain shooting through her belly, or the throbbing in her head.

“Ms.(L/n) I uh-“ the man stammered with his words, shifting uncomfortably “ma’am , I came here today to apologize on behalf of the Osaka police force. It was wrong of our men to open fire, especially with a child at the captors arms-“

“It’s fine”

The man froze, jaw clenching “it’s not, there’s uh...there’s some people who would like to apologize personally when you are comfortable and well again. Including the hero’s Firestar, Takagi and slugger, who were patrolling near the area and didn’t reach in time or didn’t act on scene. I am sad to confirm though we were only able to recover a few items in the fire to your apartment. Including what we assume is your cat, she’s a calico?”

(Y/n) nodded weakly “Aki ”

“Well I uh-“ the man swallowed thickly “I am again very sorry for your loss”

“Please just get out...”

“W-wa-“ he caught himself, nodding and putting his hat back on “have a good day ma’am”

“W-wait-“ she held her head up and he stepped back into the room “what do you have on the man who tried to take my son”

Disclaimer!- I promise everything will add up as the series progresses :)

Tags:

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@otaku474 @atsunflower @missalienqueen @ms-winnie-mathews @dis-baku-bitch @smellslikenonsense @artist-bby @ushislittlewife

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[just-another-obsessed-fangirl]

slow motion, double vision in rose blush (Renora College AU)

Summary: Ren doesn't need alcohol to know how gorgeous his best friend is or to admit to himself (kind of, sort of) that his feelings towards her aren't exactly platonic. Apparently, he just needs it if he wants to be unable to ignore those facts.

Warnings: Drinking alcohol, some suggestive thoughts

Fic under the read more or can be read on AO3 here

I wrote this for Flower Power Week, but I didn’t see that there was a rule to keep works PG-13 until I was almost finished with this fic, and I figure this fic is already inherently a bit more mature than that, so I don’t think I should use the tag or tag the blog.

Hope you enjoy!

Parties wouldn't really be considered Ren's "thing".

 He much prefers the slightly-hectic-but-relatively-calm get-togethers of his friends that they manage to schedule every week or so amongst all their university classes. But it was the end of some particularly grueling midterms and everyone in their little friend group (and apparently, everyone on campus) had wanted to let loose and let wild after being cooped up with only their textbooks and their stress for so long. So that, and not enough displeasure at the plan to do anything about it, is how Ren ended up in the corner of the front room of some frat house with a red Solo cup in his hand.

 He doesn't know where most of his friends have gone. Ren hasn't seen all of them in one place since basically when they first arrived and Yang had shoved shots of - Ren hasn't drunk enough alcohol in his life to know for sure, but he would assume it's whiskey - into each of their hands. He didn't have much desire to down it in one go like most of the group, would rather let its burn come in little bursts than have all of the pain all at once. By the time he had finished it, Yang had taken Blake somewhere promising to dance, Ruby heard a rumor of a ping pong table and had set off to find it with Weiss so they can challenge each other, and Jaune and Pyrrha went… somewhere. The only friend who hadn't wandered off was Nora, who immediately upon finishing her shot had started pouring ice, orange juice, and maybe a tad too much vodka into a Solo cup.

 She had immediately come back to his side, expressing how much this was needed for her after midterms. Nora then starts rambling about what lengths she had gone to in order to make the information stick and the stomach aches she got from the stress and how she was shaking during her last test partly from how little sleep she had gotten in the past month from projects. At least, that's what Ren was pretty sure she was talking about. The music was so loud that he had to lean in pretty close to hear what Nora was saying, and even then he couldn't pick up half the words said. Which was a shame, because as much as people seem to believe he just ignores her, Ren does listen to everything his best friend wants to say, and he likes listening to everything she says.

 Nora must've noticed how close Ren was leaning in, or his discomfort at the loud music, as she then grabs his hand and walks them somewhere else, still talking all the while. The farther they walk, the quieter the music gets, the more Ren can hear Nora. They arrive at some far-off corner and Ren is more than content to stay there and listen to Nora for the rest of the night. But then a girl dressed more like she was going to a full-out rave rather than a college party rushes up to Nora and begs her to be her partner at beer pong.

 "Kobalt and Ivori are ‘too cool’ for it, and Flynt's our DD, so obviously he can't drink, and you're fun enough and I bet you'd be super good at beer pong-"

 Ren can tell Nora wants to say yes, but she keeps looking at him from the corner of her eye like she doesn't want to leave him alone. If he really had heard her correctly, then she is certainly deserving of some fun right now, and it might be a little awkward standing here alone but it wouldn't be the worst thing.

 "You should go," he says.

 Nora turns her head fully to him. "Are you sure? You gonna be okay here all by your lonesome?"

 Ren gives her a little smile. "I think I can manage."

 "Great!" the girl says with a clap of her hands. "So it's settled". She grabs the cup that Nora was holding and hands it off to Ren. "Now be a good boyfriend and keep this safe for her."

 Nora's face flushes, and Ren can feel that he does too. "Oh no, Neon, we're not-" but before she can continue her denial, Neon yanks her away to the beer pong table.

 They're a little ways away, but they are perfectly within Ren's eyesight. He can see that they're playing against Sun and Neptune. He doesn't know them too well but he hasn't known them as anything other than friendly. Well, Jaune might disagree at least where Neptune's concerned, but it's been ages and he's since got over his crush on Weiss, so he's probably okay with him now. They start their game and on her first try, Nora lands the ball cleanly into one of the other team's cups. She jumps and pumps her fist in the air, showing off that usual bright beautiful smile in her joy that always seems to lighten up every room and flood Ren's insides with warmth.

 He looks away a little, not wanting to acknowledge what that feeling really meant, even if he had finally admitted to himself that what he had felt for his best friend wasn’t exactly platonic. The admission itself is a barely-there kind of thing because no matter how much Ren would prefer it, he couldn't be in complete denial over it for the rest of time so he'll just settle for being as close to that as possible. Nora's his best friend, what they've had since they were kids - it's good. For the most part, he's completely fine with the way things are and Nora seems to also so why potentially ruin or try to change something that's practically perfect already? Before he could uncomfortably spiral into that thought process anymore, mercifully, he is interrupted. But not so mercifully, that interruption is from Nora, laughing so loud and wonderfully that Ren just plummets even deeper.

 Something funny must have happened. Or maybe not. It doesn't seem to take much to send Nora into a fit of laughter. He likes that about her, that she can let joy or other emotions in so easily and that she doesn't really care about how it may look or what others might think. He's glad there isn't some insecurity that keeps Nora from laughing so often. She has such a nice laugh and Ren likes knowing she's happy and it's nice that she does it so much. And her lips are so pretty, especially when she smiles. He can't help but keep his focus on them. That is until she throws her head back, showing off the nice smooth skin of her neck. Ren then starts to wonder what it would be like to press his lips to the side of it and just how she'd react before he realizes the nature of just what exactly he's thinking.

 His mouth goes dry. Without thinking, he raises Nora's cup to his lips to make it go away but it isn't until he's already swallowed and surprised himself with the hefty burn it leaves in his throat that he remembers what was in that cup. Yeah, he definitely took a much bigger sip than he should've, and there is definitely too much vodka in that. But the orange juice masks the taste of it for the most part and the ice soothes away a good amount of the burn, so it's definitely not the worst alcoholic drink Ren's ever had and might actually be one of the more pleasant ones. He takes a smaller sip of it out of a measured curiosity.

 Ren's eyes drift back to Nora. If he had any sense left in him, he'd focus on anything else, keep trying to avoid feelings he doesn't want to feel and thoughts that might be inappropriate, or definitely inappropriate. But it's as if Ren's field of vision can only narrow down to just her. There are clouds of pink on the edges of what he can see, threatening to fill up the entire room, and it seems as if the only way it won't happen is if he keeps Nora right in the center, where all her movements seem to be in slow motion.

 She picked a green top tonight, a color more associated with Ren more than Nora. She bears a little more skin in this top too, the two spaghetti straps unable to hide the nice, toned muscles of Nora's arms and shoulders along with her delicate collarbone. Ren had already noticed this top when everyone was on the way to the party, trying to figure out if it was new as he's pretty sure he had never seen it before. He must've been more obvious than he should've, because Pyrrha had nudged his shoulder then, giving him a coy little smile. "Green's a good color on Nora, isn't it?" Pyrrha had said, as if he hadn't already known that. Nora doesn't have a lot of green in her own wardrobe, but Ren does, and the times when she has worn the color were usually because she was wearing his clothes. She's done it often enough - stolen his sweater to fight the cold in the café while they were studying, hung his jacket from her shoulders walking around town, switched into one of his tees and sweats when she needed to crash at his dorm for one reason or another. It always feels nice seeing Nora in green, especially when it's his green. Ren would let Nora borrow his clothes any time just to see it more often.

 Nora's skirt is still her signature pink, but without the usual volume or swish ability that she loves so much. No, this skirt is… tighter. It clings to the shape of her quite well, accentuating her curves very nicely. She's doing a little dance right now, and it looks like she's singing too. Nora's a really good singer when she wants to be but he can't imagine she's deciding to be that right now. She bumps her hip against Neon's and spins around, does some shimmying movement. Ren's mouth goes dry again. He's starting to feel really warm. He should look away. Nora's his best friend. He shouldn't be getting mesmerized by the movement of her hips or tracing his eyes over the muscles of her arms, or even noticing how her outfit and especially that skirt, while she’s dancing, makes certain areas of Nora more prominent and - okay Ren's taking another drink. He's taking another drink because he needs another drink, because he needs to stop ogling Nora and thinking these kinds of thoughts about her.

 The burn hurts. It's a deserved punishment.

 He's a little woozy right now but he still feels guilty. Nora is beautiful. She's always been beautiful. Ren has known that even before realizing he liked her in that way. But that doesn't give him or anybody else the right to objectify her like that. It's obviously not like her being gorgeous is the only thing to Nora, and neither that nor the idea of them being physical together are why Ren fell in love with her in the first place.

 Love.

 Well, that is… definitely true. It's definitely true but Ren doesn't think he's ever admitted that much to himself before. In fact, he knows he hasn't because emotions are uncomfortable and scary and often irrational and he doesn't like dealing with them especially when it could ruin probably the most important relationship he has. Why did he have to realize this now? Why did he have to realize this at all? This is uncomfortable. He might be panicking. He feels off balance. Ren takes another drink just so that he can distract himself from all of this but it doesn't quite work by the time he's finished off the rest of it.

 There's nothing of this too-much-vodka concoction left and it is immediately apparent to Ren that that was not his brightest idea. He doesn't really drink too much, even at social gatherings. Their friends usually appoint him the designated driver, and he doesn't mind. If he does drink, he'll usually stop by the time he feels a hint of a buzz. This was… more than a hint. He's more off-balance than before, the room sways a little more and he thinks it's grown even pinker. His head feels cloudy. And this is the longest a burn has stayed in his throat. And he is so warm. Ren leans his back against the wall for some stability.

 His eyes come back to Nora because if Ren couldn't stop it before, he can't stop it now. She's still there, being beautiful and charming and full of life, laughing with the people around her, and of course Ren is in love with her, how could he ever try to deny that fact. Neptune comes up to her, leans in kind of close to say something. Ren doesn't like that, or the way he's looking at Nora. Maybe Jaune was right about him. Maybe the problem with Neptune is that he's too friendly. Neptune points his thumb somewhere and - wait, is he pointing at him? He must have because Nora immediately turns her head and catches Ren's eye. There's some expression on her face and she immediately sets off in his direction.

 There's something in Ren that tells him to act casual and he raises the cup to his lips one more time but is immediately reminded of the fact that there's nothing left in it so he figures he just looks stupid.

 "Hey," Nora says as she stops in front of him. "You okay?"

 Ren looks up from his empty cup and pushes himself off the wall. He probably used a lot more force than he should've and stumbles a bit, which Nora remedies by putting her hands on his shoulders. She laughs a little, and he can't help but feel even warmer.

 "Guess that answers my question," Nora giggles some more.

 "I'm fine," Ren says. He is very aware of how her fingers are splayed out on his shoulders, the pressure she's putting that's just enough to still him. It keeps him calm, but also doesn't, and his heart is beating so hard she must feel it where her hands are.

 Her eyes scan over his face. "I've never seen your face so red." Ren's sure it only gets redder then. "How much have you had to drink?"

 He wordlessly brings his attention back to the empty cup in his hand, which Nora follows. "You drank all of it?" she points at the cup, her eyes widening. "Ren, I put a lot of vodka in that!"

 Ren blinks a couple times, having to more manually process what Nora said while he was trying not to stare at her mouth. "I can tell," he says, maybe a couple of seconds too late.

 Nora raises an eyebrow. It's another cute look on her. "You don't really drink that much. There a reason why now?"

 There's genuine concern in her voice when she asks that question, and it's so sweet and Ren's heart beats a little faster and he wants to take that concern away from her. But he doesn't think answering that question truthfully is going to help that. Ren's pretty sure the best-case scenario of saying 'you're pretty and I love you' to Nora is causing her confusion to the point of distortion.

 "I was… thirsty." And that's really about as close to the truth as he can get. Ren shakes his head, but not too hard because the room is moving too much already and… ouch. "I'm sure you've had more tonight," nodding towards the beer pong table. She must've, shouldn't she? Is it just his alcohol-addled mind or does Nora not seem any bit of drunk at all?

 She scoffs. "Maybe not. Sun really doesn't like putting too much beer in those cups. Besides, that's beer, not hard liquor. And I'm more experienced with it than you, so it takes a bit more to get me down. I've had more practice."

 Nora shoots him a cheeky grin, a little closer to his face than she was before. She leaned in a bit when she was talking, migrated her hands closer to the base of his neck. It's nothing new. Nora being so physically affectionate is one of her trademark qualities. And Ren's happy to let her do that to him at any time, but he knows he generally seems unresponsive to it. But what if he responds to it now? He's not going to, he's absolutely not going to, but it's easier to fall into that daydream than usual. Ren could wrap his hands around Nora's waist, lean into this little space between them to ultimately close it. He could press his lips to that grin on her face, and Nora would be a little surprised, but in no time at all, she'd be kissing him back. She'd wrap her arms a little easier around his neck and she could press herself a little more against him, the idea of having any distance left between them as unappealing to Nora as it is to Ren.

 "Uhh, Ren?"

 He falls out of the daydream. "Oh! Ah… umm… huh?" She hasn't been saying anything. Ren has been very focused on Nora's mouth for the past couple of minutes, so much that he had missed the blush on her face. He must've missed something happening. Did he say something? The thought of that mortifies him to no end.

 He might've been emoting his thought process on his face because Nora chuckles. "Yeah. That's definitely more alcohol than you're used to." She grabs his hand and leads him over to a couch nearby. Nora lightly pushes him down next to the armrest. "You stay right here," she says firmly, but full of fondness. "I'm gonna get you some water. And I probably need some too." Nora pats his cheek a little, brushes it with her thumb. Ren almost leans into it but she pulls away too soon.

 Nora turns around and goes in search of some water, and characteristically of him tonight, Ren can't help but keep her eyes on her, until he's forced to because there are too many people in that direction. He sighs, sinking into the cushions as he closes his eyes, feeling the warmth bloom in his chest. She's just so caring. Nora is just so caring and she loves people so much. And she's not afraid to give away all that love and care, to allow people to really see that that's what she feels for them, does it without a second thought. That's one of the big things, Ren thinks. That's got to be at least one of the big reasons why he fell in love with Nora.

 She comes back to him with two large water bottles in her hands. Nora tucks one under her arm in order to open the other, which she gives to him. Ren takes it and continues watching Nora as she settles right next to him, sitting down then kicking her legs up onto the couch. She leans back into the cushions and shifts herself more towards him, letting her head rest closer to his shoulder. Nora moves her head a bit to drink some water and then it actually touches his shoulder. Ren loves her so much. Moments like these are so small, and it's not like they don't happen between them very much. But maybe one day Ren will be brave enough to let them happen a lot more often, and those moments will have a slightly different meaning between the two of them than it does now.

 She looks so pretty in this light. Nora looks pretty in any light.

 Nora catches his eye again. She pushes her hand up beneath the water bottle Ren had forgotten that he was holding. "Drink up."

 And who is Ren to refuse her? He starts to sip his first non-alcoholic drink of the night and already his head is starting to feel less like it's filled with cotton. He drinks until the room feels still again, until everything stops looking like it's in slow motion, until there's no more pink clouds on the edges of his vision. Before he knows it, Ren's finished the whole bottle and his throat feels the best it's been all night.

 Despite the lack of pink clouds and an apparent increase in sobriety, Ren still keeps looking at Nora. She's giggling now. He doesn't know what exactly is so funny but that doesn't really matter.

 "Feel better now?" She asks. He nods because he doesn't know just what he'll admit to her right now if he allows himself to speak. "Great. I'm glad they set out those really big water bottles. That really saved me another trip. And you probably didn't drink enough that you'd need ibuprofen or something. I would've said to take some just in case, but I'm not sure what taking meds when something isn't really wrong with you could do to you. I think you should be fine now. Don't think you'll wake up in the morning with a hangover."

 Ren just keeps looking at Nora, without a word. He doesn't need them right now. He doesn't think he needs to do anything else besides look at Nora and hear her talk for the rest of time.

 But something must be wrong because Nora turns her head away a little, shrinking a bit into herself. "Are you mad at me?"

 That surprises him. "No," that is very much not what he was feeling towards Nora right now. "Why would you think that?"

 She heaves out a heavy sigh. "Neptune said you were staring at me the whole time we were playing." Ren's heart stops a little. Nora keeps shrinking down and her voice feels smaller.  "I don't know- I just figured you might be angry at me for leaving you alone at a place I know you'd rather not be."

 Ren straightens up, shifts fully towards her so she can more easily believe what he's about to say. "I told you to go," maybe he's leaning more forward than he usually would, makes more direct eye contact with Nora. "And being here isn't too bad. I just- uh- I uh-" He puts his head down a little, taking some time to find the right words. How does Ren explain the staring? That he just loves the way she exists and who she is and she deserves good times and it's nice when she gets them?

 "You were having fun," Ren brings himself to look back at her, says these words in all earnest. "I like when you have fun."

 That takes her back a little. Nora's eyes widen but her face softens. For one terrifying but almost hopeful moment, Ren thinks she might've understood what he really meant underneath those words. She smiles and brings her hand up to his face. She uses a couple fingers to sweep his bangs to the side. Ren's eyes almost close at the contact.

 "You're so sweet," Nora says, almost like she's in disbelief. "You wanna go back home? I can walk you back."

 "Are you sure?" That does sound like a good idea to Ren, but he doesn't want to take Nora away from something she enjoys just for him. "I'm honestly fine here. I know you were really stressed, I don't mind if you wanna unwind a little more."

 Nora smiles a little wider. "I think I've had a good amount of unwinding here already. If I stay here any longer and leave you unattended, who knows how many more screwdrivers you'll drink." She moves her hand from his forehead down to his cheek. "And you need to get home safe. For the most part, you seem all right now, but I just… I need to make sure."

 Ren leans into the hand Nora has on his cheek. It's a bit more than he'd usually do, but it feels right. "Alright then."

 "Can I crash at yours' too?" she asks. Ren chuckles a little at that, because when has Nora ever needed to ask that.

 "Of course." And then some daydream starts again. They get back to his single dorm and it'll be just like the other times Nora's slept over there. She'll switch tonight's outfit out for some of Ren's pajamas and she'll look just as good, if not better to Ren. They'll lay down and fall asleep in his bed, and that's all they'll do tonight. And then the morning comes and there's no trace of alcohol in their systems and everything's in the clear, and Ren will kiss her, soft and sweet. Nora will kiss him back because she has wanted this just as much as he has. He'll keep a hand on her cheek and maybe she'll tangle her fingers in his hair. Then maybe they end up never leaving the dorm that day, or even the bed. They'll talk, of course. They'll say what needs to be said, about their feelings and anything else. It's decided between them that Nora can sleep at his dorm a lot more often. And when she does, they don't need to struggle as much to fit together on this twin size XL bed, because Ren can wrap himself around her and they can let their legs get tangled together. He can wake up and bury his head into the hollow of Nora's shoulder and just breathe her in. The next time they see their friends, Ren and Nora won't act all that much different, but it won't take long before they realize something's up. They'll get it out of them, and they'll be happy, and then they'll be mercilessly teased because how did it take you two this long? Ren will get a bit embarrassed, but Nora will take it in stride. She'll kiss the blush on his face, and he'll just blush harder, and she'll laugh a little until he does too.

 But Nora in this reality grabs his hand and forces him to stand. He doesn't know if it's just how much he was in that daydream or if he's still a little buzzed from the alcohol, but it's a little disorienting as he makes movements.

 Before he knows it, they're out the front door and into the cold night air. It's a little windy out. Ren wishes he had a jacket to give to Nora.

 They walk at a leisurely pace in the direction of his dorm. Their hands are still intertwined, their arms swinging in between them. They don't speak, not uncommon at all for Ren but a little surprising from Nora. Ren might've wondered at this if we weren’t lost in his own thoughts.

 How close is that daydream to reality? How close could that daydream be to becoming reality? Is it just Ren or are there enough pieces in place for that to happen? All this time he's been worried about losing their friendship, what they already have. But what kind of future could they have? What could they gain? Is all that Ren really needs to do is get over himself?

 Maybe he's still not in his right mind. It certainly can't be that easy. But he can recall a few times when he's caught Nora looking at him. And maybe some of the comments she's passed off as jokes had more truth to them than she lets on.

 Everything about this still feels scary, but not as scary as it was before. He is at least very lucky to fall in love with such an incredible, amazing woman who's already his best friend. He doesn't know what will happen, but he does know what could. And yes, that may include losing the person closest to him. But as devastating as that is, there's another possibility that is at least that amount of wonderful.

 He peers at Nora from the corner of his eye. She's tucking some hair behind her ear to keep it from flapping in the breeze. Her hand is so warm in his.

 Ren's not going to do anything like confess to her tonight. Or the next morning. But looking at Nora, and holding her hand, and thinking about the good possibilities - he thinks he's starting to build up the courage.

[auncyen]

chasing dumb ideas from work lol

-

Ren’s Palace takes the form of a video game world, bright and zany.  The Shadows have their silhouettes color-coded according to difficulty, the cognitions are NPCs repeating stock dialogue--Mona pops up surprisingly often, considering he and Ren haven’t really hung out since May--and some of the logic used to progress is worthy of a click-and-point game.  Which means it’s lucky they have Futaba with them, since she’s the only Phantom Thief who understands the logic of click-and-point games.  Still, it’s such a breeze that it takes only three hours to reach the center of the stage, and Oracle complains they never even left the hand-holding tutorial.

Ren’s shadow smiles at them when they arrive, and hands Ryuji a controller for the P4Storm his parents took away from him and sold after his arrest.  “Wait--is this the Treasure?” Ryuji blurts.  “We didn’t give you a calling card, though.”

“Hmm...we did talk with him about what he thought the distortion might be, though,” Futaba muses.  “He’s the NPC who knows the most about our methods, so that might have accidentally triggered the effect.  Good thing we moved fast.”

The shadow nods at Futaba’s explanation.  “I didn’t want to give you guys too much trouble.  You’re my friends, after all.”

“Dude, you gave us no trouble at all,” Ryuji says with a laugh.  “You’re way too nice for your own good!”  Still, in this case, he’s relieved it’s not coming to a fight.  Ren’s a friend, and he hasn’t seemed all there lately--they might have curbstomped his shadow if it’d come to that, and wouldn’t that feel awful.

Ren’s shadow smiles shyly, and waves them off before disappearing in bright light.  The PT make their usual escape.  The Palace crumbles.

So does the controller in Ryuji’s hands.

-

Despite the alarm the crumbling treasure causes for the entire group, Ren seems to take his change of heart just fine, doesn’t even throw himself a week-long slumber party like Futaba did.  He stays home from school one day, Futaba reporting that he seems a bit sleepy but nothing too serious, and then the next day, Ren gives Ryuji a fist-bump and smile outside Shujin.  Ryuji grins and tackles him into a headlock.  He’s so glad the change of heart didn’t hurt Ren.  Ren’s his best friend.  The Phantom Thieves might have given Ryuji a reason to stay at Shujin and not drop out, but Ren’s pretty much an honorary Thief anyway, and he’s been running with Ryuji, and helping him deal with the track team’s problems, and he’s just so good at knowing exactly what to say to make people feel better.  Ryuji’s thrilled he could help Ren for once.

And then, days later, he gets a text from Makoto during class, which he knows is urgent because Makoto texting during class: “Ren is still logged in the MetaNav on my phone for some reason.  The location and distortion have been erased, but his name is still there.  Is anyone else seeing this?”

Yusuke starts typing.  Futaba and Ann chime in well before him that yes, they see it too.  Ryuji opens the Metanav on his phone.  Ren’s name is glaring on the screen, a partially-complete entry that shouldn’t be there at all.

“Class was that bad?” Ren asks when Ryuji trudges out of his classroom, prompting the blond to immediately shove the phone in his pocket.

“Uh, yeah,” Ryuji mutters.  “Hey, Ren, can we talk about the--uh--you-know-what?”

“The completely unsuspicious you-know-what, yes, what about it?” Ren answers, because oh good the change of heart gave him his sarcasm back.  Actually--that would be good news.  It means the change of heart worked and the Metanav’s got some random glitch.  “Let’s get off school grounds first.” 

Ryuji manages to only jump a little when his phone buzzes.

When he checks, the Metanav has accepted “school” as the distortion’s location, even though the Palace was actually at the scramble in Shibuya and, more importantly, doesn’t exist any longer.

They go to Leblanc, where Shiho and Futaba are both waiting to talk to Ren as well, which helps Ryuji with the conversation ahead.  It’s...kind of hard to muddle through ‘hey, we were trying to help you with your heart, but something might have gone wrong and we don’t know what’.  It both helps and doesn’t that Ren stays calm the entire time, doesn’t get worried or pissed off that they might have screwed up.  Wouldn’t a distorted person get mad?  Wouldn’t a normal person at least be nervous?

Then again, Ren’s always had nerves of steel underneath the nerdy glasses.  It never made sense to Ryuji why he didn’t awaken to a Persona when Ryuji and Ann and Shiho all could, not until they found his Palace.  He’s got the guts for it.

Futaba openly prods Ren on how he views the school, and he shakes his head.  “This must be a glitch.  You guys have already helped me.  I feel better, and everyone else has only needed their heart changed once.  Why would I be different?”

Shiho purses her lips but then agrees.  Ryuji feels a little antsy, wants to push but also wants to trust Ren, and even if the change of heart didn’t work for some reason, his friend is pushing back now.  Ren’s not hurting anyone.  His heart is his call just like Futaba’s was hers, and even the hacker, for all her curiosity, respects that.  They gotta drop it.

But it stays on the back of Ryuji’s mind for weeks as the entry stays in place, 2/3s complete, and everyone else is worried too because they all like Ren and something does seem a little off about him--like he’s trying too hard to be normal, to convince them everything is fine--and then apparently one morning, right before class starts, Ren startles Ann by leaning over her shoulder and drily reciting: “Ren Amamiya, Shujin Academy, theater”.

The keywords work, Ren supplying them is taken as an implicit request, and there’s a good chance their calling card timer is already running just like the first time, since Ren knows how they work after tagging along for most of the first Palace and helping them with supplies for later ones.  So they go.

-

Ren’s second Palace is a theater.  It’s completely different from the video game world, with dark, muted, traditional colors, yet unmistakably Ren’s, and Makoto has to get their navigators back on task several times because Morgana and Futaba are going nuts theorizing (because who has a second Palace to begin with?).  Luckily Shiho doesn’t have much trouble leading the group through anyway.  Once again, Ren’s Palace is weirdly easy.  The Shadows aren’t color-coded any longer, but they also don’t seem to care about the Thieves as long as they don’t interrupt the show on stage.  It’s...an improv show, Ryuji thinks?  Yusuke says it might be an avant garde direction on a play.  (Ryuji has no idea what the difference would be.)  What happens is Ren’s shadow is always acting, and sometimes a cognitive audience member will leave their seat and join him.  All of the Thieves are there, even Morgana, which the cat seems touched by, plus Mishima, and Ms. Kawakami, and Ms. Chouno, and Ryuji is about to question why Ren has the hots for so many teachers when Ushimaru gets up and that thought becomes cursed, and the newspaper club girl, and that cute gardening club girl, and actually, Ryuji still thinks Ren has some kind of bias for hot girls going on here.  Even if the (former) stalker girl is pushing it.

That’s probably nothing to do with the Palace distortion though, since Ren’s interactions are always a simple back-and-forth with the cognition: they request something of him, even if it’s just to talk, and Ren obliges them admirably, or sometimes he acts as though he’s ignoring them at first, only to swoop in at the last second and give them something even better than they asked for.  It’s interesting maybe the first couple times?  Morgana stands out again because his cognition nags Ren to study and make infiltration tools, something Morgana says he’s never done, which makes sense because Ren is one of those aggravating people who never needs to study to ace exams and Shiho’s always made the infiltration tools just fine.   After Morgana, though, it just falls into a predictable pattern, and the only reason to keep watching is to see who else comes up to stage.  And once cognitive guest stars start repeating, the Thieves are out.  Every improv act has been slightly different, but the flow is so obvious that it’s become mind-numbingly repetitive anyway.

They sneak past security into the back halls and find a dressing room.  Futaba and Morgana both detect the Treasure inside.  There’s a white-and-black domino mask sitting on a vanity in a dark corner of the room that both navigators swear up and down has to be the Treasure.  It almost seems appropriate for a Thief mask.  Maybe because Ren’s seen most of the team’s?  It fits the theater setting, at least, but...

“Are we just...taking this?” Ann questions, with an uncertain look around the dressing room.  “Seriously?  His Shadow’s not even going to talk to us?”

“I would not complain about us being proper thieves and going undetected for once,” Yusuke points out.

“Okay, point, but it just...feels like I understand Ren less than I did before the video game place.”  Ann sighs.  “I thought he was just a quiet guy, but he saw part of Tokyo as a game?  Now he’s acting with everyone at school?  I wish I got what it actually meant...”

“We can ask him about it later,” Shiho reassures her.  “Right now we just have to take the Treasure.”

That suits Ryuji.  They take it.  The Palace collapses.

The mask crumbles in Shiho’s hands as soon as they reach the real world, and she makes a small noise of distress.  Morgana and Ryuji spit out the same curse in a rare moment of heartfelt unity.  Futaba, on the other hand, just whips out her phone.  “Hey-hey,” their navigator says, “Guess who doesn’t want to leave the Metanav?”

-

Ren is sympathetic with his thief friends not being able to steal a Treasure, which feels wildly inappropriate to Ryuji because it’s Ren’s heart in question here.  Ryuji thinks in his shoes, he’d be losing his mind.  Ryuji’s in his own shoes and he’s still losing his mind a little, because the only answer the group can come up with for what’s going on is that Ren’s somehow got three distortions.

No, sorry.  It’s that he has at least three.  Three may not be the magic number.  Ren doesn’t seem to think it is, anyway, because now he puts down his foot.  “I’m not hurting anyone.  I’m fine.”

“Yeah, you weren’t even down for a day like last time,” Futaba mutters, giving him such a suspicious look that Shiho nudges the girl.  Ren is their friend, and he’s been helping them be Phantom Thieves.  They’ve got no good reason to antagonize him.

Ren gives her a long, silent look before shaking his head.  “You guys should be figuring out your next target.”

They should be.

They do.

Ren helps them less with supplies this time.  Ryuji wonders if it’s because of the distortion, and then he catches himself and realizes he’s been wondering if everything with Ren is because of a distortion or not.  It’s probably not even Ren’s fault.  They’re just not talking to him about Thief business as much, since...yeah.  The only upshot might be that Morgana has been making some effort to get to know Ren better.  Because Morgana was a jerk when they first found him--he’s still a jerk sometimes, but even Ryuji would say he’s gotten a lot better--and he pretty much brushed Ren off in favor of people who were actually awakening to Personas, like everyone else.  They never really argued or anything, though, and apparently judging by Ren’s Palace...s, Ren’s fond of him, and Morgana seems to have finally realized that sometimes, making friends is its own reward, even if they can’t wield kickass Personas.  So that’s a thing, now, Shiho passing Morgana off to Ren so they can trot off and do whatever people do together when one of them is a cat (apparently watch movies, get food, fish, and just talk).

And that’s why when Morgana says “I think I know Ren’s keywords” at the start of a Phantom Thieves meeting, Ryuji blurts out “I thought you stopped being an asshole” with a disappointment so deep that it kind of surprises him, because, wow, he really had been expecting that Morgana was just trying to be nice and not obsessed about Palaces and Treasures for once, huh?

Morgana blinks at him across the table.  “I have never been an asshole,” he says, outright lying.  “Though there are a few things I could say about you--”

“Morgana,” Shiho says, heading off that argument.  She looks upset, too.  “We don’t have any reason to pursue Ren’s Treasure.  He’s not hurting anyone.  He...seems to be doing all right,” though the hesitation is audible in her voice, and quickly followed with, “and even if he isn’t, it’s his heart.  You’re not getting a unanimous vote here, and if this is why you’ve been friendlier to him lately, I... don’t know what to say, except that I thought you were better than that.”

There are two Phantom Thieves who can scold Morgana and actually make him feel ashamed: Ann and Shiho.  Sure enough, she lands a critical hit; Morgana’s ears pin back, and he nearly ducks down under the table to escape her stare before stopping himself.  “I’m not asking for a vote,” Morgana says.  “If we took his treasure it’d probably just crumble again.  But I want to check if I’m right about the keywords.  It could be critical information.”

There is a long moment of silence.   As much as Ryuji’s still pissed off at Morgana, he can’t deny being curious.  If they at least knew the keywords, even if they didn’t go in, they’d understand Ren better, right?  Though...after how the last two distortions went...

As it turns in, they go in anyway, because Makoto taps on her phone to open the Metanav, places it in front of Morgana, and when he utters “Tokyo, Metaverse,” the app responds “beginning navigation”, and--

“Fascinating,” Yusuke says.

“That’s not the f-word I’d use,” Ryuji says.

“Huh, Kaneshiro’s Palace is here,” Morgana notes, because that is indeed an effing bank flying through the sky, narrowly avoiding a blimp.  The cat continues getting down to business despite the absurdity of the situation he just launched everyone into.  “That means both that he’s seen it, and that his mental map of the Metaverse isn’t accurate.  It might be based on his most recent memory?  We never brought him in the bank, though.  What do you think, Or--”  He stops when he actually turns to Futaba and sees her face.  She’s paler than usual.  “...Oracle?  Are you okay?”

“My Palace is there,” she says, pointing in the direction where Yongen Jaya would lie.  The golden tip of a pyramid gleams over dozens of other riotously colorful, stylistically mishmashed buildings.  “How does he know what my Palace looked like?  How does he know about any of these?  There’s at least two hundred--maybe three!”

Three hundred palaces is a stupid number of Palaces for anyone to personally remember, but it’s especially stupid for a guy who doesn’t even have the Nav on his phone.

-

the idea: “if persona users simultaneously having a Palace can be justified with wildcards having multiple personas (for one to turn into a shadow while the others remain to use), what kind of shitshow would Ren create if all his Personas just--” and then ng+ shenanigans wandered in

[rwbyvein]

Firen Lhain: Chapter 804: Phoenix:  Part I / III

Fed, dressed, and caffeinated, RWBY + JNR sat around the table with their cards in their hand. A tiny noise could be heard.

"I do believe we are under attack." Ren voiced.

"You call that an attack?" Yang asked, "More like a cry for attention."

Ren's face was slightly judgemental before returning to a much more neutral look. "Indeed."

"Aurora?" Weiss asked.

"Mistress." Aurora affirmed, and walked passed the table to the staircase.

"Aurora was here?" Nora asked, "She's like always here."

"Indeed." Ren stated.

"Almost as much of a stalker as Ilia." Nora continued.

"That's your cue to come out." Blake said, and a Ilia returned to her ordinary colouration, appearing in the nude.

"Oh, shit, I mean, Hi Ilia, I mean?.." Nora tried to say.

"I assure you she meant no offence." Ren said from beside her.

"No." Ilia said. "I don't know why I would take offence. Honestly, I do have a terrible habit of stalking Jaune..."

"I wouldn't say terrible." Jaune said to her, and she looked at him with disbelief.

"Why Jaune?" Ruby asked her.

"Because he gives me strength?" Ilia asked, "How to describe it? He is solid."

"That he is." Yang added.

"Implacable." Ren added.

"And he is the one who has most taken me under his wing." Ilia stated.

"He has indeed done that." Weiss added.

"I'm so sorry..." Blake pleaded, but Ilia held up her hand. There was a pregnant silence as she breathed in deeply.

"You don't have to apologize." Ilia stated, "I know what I asked for. I know that you denied me. I know that you don't want to give me the false impression. I understand why you want to keep me at a distance. I'm following you because I don't have any other choice."

"You don't need to..." Blake tried to say.

"I'm not doing it because I don't have a choice." Ilia pleaded, "I just don't know what choice to make."

"She's here to learn how to choose?" Ruby asked.

"That seems a decent summary." Weiss stated.

"I fell for Adam." Ilia continued, "Not like Blake did, personally, no, I fell for him spiritually."

"Personally, she fell for Blake, right?" Nora asked. Ren sighed while placing a hand on her shoulder, letting out a grumbling affirmation.

"I know how toxic, and diseased, and destructive, and spiteful Adam is." Ilia said. "I just need help finding the difference between him, and what we thought he was."

"Which was?" Nora asked.

"Justice." Blake stated. Ilia nodded.

"Jaune might not be justice, but he his fairness." Ilia said, "And maybe that's what I need help with?" she asked.

"And for the record," Jaune interjected, "while she might - technically - be stalking me, like all the time, I actually count on it, nowadays."

"Indeed?" Weiss asked.

"Well, it has saved me a couple of times." Jaune said.

"He does have like a really good point." Yang added.

"Question?" Nora said, raising her hand, and everyone turned to look at her, "If Ilia gets to be naked, does that mean the rest of us get to be naked, or is she like special?"

Everyone looked at Jaune as he hung his head in his hands. He then breathed in deep as he looked at Nora. "You know what?, she is special." Jaune stated, and Nora seemed to accept that.

"Because it's for her Semblance?" Ruby asked, and Jaune nodded. "That makes sense."

"So?" Yang asked, "Just so we're clear, everyone can wear less clothes because of their Semblance, right?"

"From the girl wearing short-shorts and a tube top?" Blake asked.

"Didn't see you complaining." Yang replied.

"Not complaining." Blake voiced.

"Then what?" Nora asked.

"I believe," Ren interjected, "she is pointing out that Yang is already, shall we say, scandalously dressed?

"You judging, yo?" Yang asked him.

"Not in the slightest." Ren said with a smile.

"Sorry." Yang replied, "You're just like really hard to read. Still weird having Jaune staring at a naked woman who's not, you know, us?"

"I concur." Weiss stated. "Though I am perhaps not as well advised about relationships such as ours."

"Meaning?" Ruby asked.

"We're writing the rules as we go along." Blake stated.

"I'm pretty sure not staring at other naked women should be one of them." Yang added.

"It's not like he told her to get naked?" Ruby asked.

"Alright, true." Yang replied. She then looked at Ilia, "If she's going to be naked and not, you know, chameleon, could she pretend to have clothes?"

Ilia shifted to give the impression we was wearing a teddy with stockings, garters, and long gloves.

"I am not sure if that is any better." Weiss stated, "Jaune-dear seems to be even more enthralled."

"Maybe General Ironbutt can come up with something?" Yang asked, and everyone glared at her. "General Ironheart?"

"Implying he has heart?" Qrow said as he walked into the room, followed quickly by Aurora. "I think your little friend has something to say to you."

"Indeed." Aurora stated. "It seems Cinder would like to speak to you."

"About?" Weiss asked as the others quickly stood up. She found Jaune standing up, who effortlessly lifted her to a standing position.

"Everything." Aurora simply stated.

"And Yang?" Qrow asked.

"Yeah?" Yang replied.

"I like Tinman." Qrow said with a smile.

"Okay, yeah, but General Tinman sounds kind of weird." Yang stated.

"Perhaps mechanical onomatopoeia?" Weiss asked.

"General Clank." Blake added, as the group turned to the stairs.

"I like it." Yang said, and stepped towards the stairs, and then paused, looking at Ilia. "And naked-butt?"

"She does like stalking me." Jaune casually said as he reached the stairs, causing Yang to do a double take.

"Shit, man, now that you've got confidence, I don't know if we can keep up with you?" Yang asked.

"The secret," Weiss quipped said from a few paces behind him, "is to anticipate his movements and respond before he makes them."

"Uh-huh?" Yang asked, "It sounds like Little Bit is rubbing off on you."

"Perhaps she is?" Weiss said with a light blue hue.

* * *

RWBY + JNR + Qrow, Ilia, and Aurora walked out into the garden.

"We apologize!" Emerald shouted.

"She might," Mercury interjected, "but I'm not! You didn't exactly give us a choice!"

"What?!" Jaune harshly shouted, "Do you want?!"

"To talk, obviously!" Cinder snapped.

"Maybe a little less bitter and harsh." Mercury voiced.

Cinder glared him before looking back to the others, trying her best to smile. Jaune walked towards her. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Oh, you know?," Cinder asked, "everything you hoped and feared."

"And why the hell are you waiting until now?!" Yang shouted.

"Last resort." Cinder stated. "I has hoping to just disappear, but what I'm going to say here will ensure that Salem hunts us to the end of Remnant."

Jaune looked between everyone else, and they all looked back at him. He looked at Salem for a moment. "I want Neo here." he said.

"How could you?" Emerald asked, and Cinder's good hand flew up to silence her. "I'm sorry."

* * *

Jaune walked down the stairs with his thunderous footfalls. Taiyang and Raven quickly jumped to their feet, Raven trying her best to act innocuous. Jaune looked at them curiously before giving Neo a questioning look. Neo puckered up her lips and made smooching noises. Jaune looked at Tai and Raven before shrugging, and walked up to Neo.

"Alright, so, long story short, Cinder's going to spill the beans." Jaune said, and paused, letting it sink in. She then looked at him questioningly. "I want you there?" She gave him a double take and then looked at him like he was the dumbest person in the world. "Maybe?" he asked. And she gave a him a shocked look. "But I don't want to kill you?" he asked, and she gave him the same look once again. "Okay, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to rip the cell bars off, and then I'm going to hug you, and if you're on your best behaviour, I'm going to tell you where we hid your possessions."

A hundred expressions passed Neo's face as she processed this information.

"Are you going to say anything?" Raven asked Taiyang.

"If it was up to me, they wouldn't have kept them in the first place." Taiyang nervously said. "I'm really just doing the best I can."

Jaune took a step towards the cell, and Neo's head snapped to him. Her conclusion was that he was obviously lying. Her faith waned slightly as he grabbed the first bar, and all of her senses failed her as he tore it off. Bars rained down behind him, bouncing around the room. Taiyang looked at them fearfully. Raven looked at them curiously. Neo had taken full leave of her senses, and it took some time for them to return. When they did she found herself in his arms, arms that seemed to encircle her completely. He then stepped away, and her thoughts had not caught up on her.

"Alright, so, the rules are simple, no trying to kill Cinder." Neo angrily protested. Jaune was turning away but paused and turned back, "Or Ruby." Neo angrily pouted.

"Well, whatever's happening," Raven said as Jaune turned around, "I think we should join the party." She then turned to follow Jaune.

"We both know how much of a party girl you are not." Taiyang said, turning to follow her. Raven tried to act angry but found herself smiling.

Everyone had arrived in the garden except Taj who was waiting in his airship, assuming that... something... was going to happen. Jaune walked into the centre of the garden, Neo trailing behind him, while on the other side Cinder walked in as well. It then started to rain.

"Oh, super!" Jaune shouted, "Don't I have such great luck!" he cried as the noise started reverberating off the walled garden.

"We can probably blame this one on me!" Qrow shouted.

[between-two-fandoms]

Who We Used To Be (Ray/Rose/Trevor)

As told by myself and @thesevenumbrellas tag teaming the whump in the 18+ JatP discord. Sev I swear we operate on the same braincell levels, we do be clowning. @bobbywilsonsupremacy  let us know what you think of this! I know you and I both hardcore ship Raybse.

Cover was created by @thesevenumbrellas​. Please don’t steal it.

This post got long so fair warning.

We wrote this in a discord server over the time span of hours so there’s some mistakes but i’m too lazy to go back and fix it all. Basically we tag teamed on a Raybse Trevor Wilson-centric whump story and can destroy a fandom with a single touch.

You’ll understand once you click the cut.

Don’t Steal Our Writing (but please reblog this to spread it around).

Trauma Time.

major whump warning

(Ren) Okay so if we're gonna be starting at 90's ot3 my children ray/bobby/Rose know that Ray is a panic bi and loves both of these humans very much with his whole ass heart.

(Ren) He takes pictures of his girlfriend and boyfriend while they’re on dates because he wants to capture the moments he was happy the most. Bobby always shed away from the camera burying his face in Rose's shoulder or leaning in for a kiss. Anyways as time goes by Ray notices Bobby's change in behavior. From being his go-happy-trauma boyf to being caught up in the music scene, often out at all hours to parties and label meetings only to come to to sleep on the couch, not even sharing the bed like he used to. It reminds Ray of the time when Bobby was grieving his boys. Ray hates it, but he loves bobby so he pushes his feelings aside to try and arrange more dates for the three of them to go on together.

(Sev) Ray waking up to only Rose in the bed and not Bobby, and it feels too cold in bed without him. So he'll try to call him, because it's 3am and he's supposed to be home and he's not. And Ray remembers what happened to Bobby's bandmates, and he can't admit it out loud but he's worried. Because what if that happens to Bobby? He knows it was a freak accident! What are the odds of it happening again?? But he can't shake that feeling when Bobby doesn't come home at night and Ray stays up all night worrying. Anyway he tries to call Bobby and Bobby doesn't answer. He'll leave loads of voicemails, trying not to be pushy because he knows Bobby doesn't respond well to that. But he's worried. He'll say "hey please call me when you get this." and then ten minutes later try again "hey just text me that you're safe okay?" He can't sleep because Bobby still isn't home. It's 5am. He has to go to work in two hours. Rose keeps telling him to go to bed but he can't.[2:58 PM]Bobby finally texts back. "I'm okay! Was playing with some friends, the gig went over time and then we went to  party." Ray wants to be angry because seriously? No phone calls because he was at a party? But he knows that'll just push Bobby away more!

(Ren) And so Ray has all of these festering emotions that boil down to worry and concern at the core but he's just so scared hes losing Bobby cause he never really had his own family to begin with and then one day when Ray comes home early from a photoshoot he can hear Bobby and Rose fighting over Bobby signing the contract that says he wrote Luke's songs but Ray just hears yelling before he even opens the door with his name thrown into the mix and then he gets even more scared because what if he loses Rose and Bobby? if he lost both of them he'd be destroyed. So he doesnt knock. He doesnt go home. Instead he walks around the city until he was supposed to go home originally and he opens the door and there's a sort of eerie silence in the air.

(Sev) Trevor’s unable to shake the feeling that something terrible will happen to Rose and Ray because he's with them. His entire family were killed in 1 night because he wasn't there with them. So at first he's clingy as fuck to Rose and Ray because what if something bad happens when he's not there? What if what if what if... But as time goes on the thinking flips. Maybe it's the music industry that's the problem. It's these weird connections in his head of if he's too successful, bad things might happen. But he can't quit music like that, he can't give up on Luke's dream. He owes his boys to become successful. So instead he distances himself from Rose and Ray. That way they won't be caught up in whatever bad thing is going to happen to him. He distances himself and he waits for it all to drop. He waits for the universe to punish him again.

(Ren) And the universe punishes Bobby when the tension between him and Rose tightens so much he knows there's no going back from it but he's not admitting to stealing the songs because he didn't. He helped Luke write all of the songs more than Alex and Reggie ever did, staying up late with Luke after fights with his mom and Bobby didn’t want Luke to be alone so yeah, he wrote the songs. Maybe not as much as he claimed but he sure as hell made sure his brother wasn’t alone so that counted for something right? And it did. Until Rose kicks him out of bed because she's pissed he'd even consider stealing music and he cant tell Ray because of the NDA the label got him to sign at a party when he was drunk and the only reason Rose knows about it is because she was there when he signed the damn thing and so Bobby pulls away from Ray because isnt it going to be easier in the long run? If he doesn’t attach himself to Ray who'll just get angry at him like Rose did?

(Sev) It's the guilt that grows inside of him every passing day. They're my songs too he tells himself over and over again. But during the dark nights, three glasses of whisky in when the world is getting hazy... even he can't believe the lies he tells himself. He fucked up Sunset Curve. He fucked up his friends' memories. And now he fucked up the only good thing he'd ever had. Ray texts him nonstop. He doesn't understand why Rose kicked Bobby out and he doesn't understand why Bobby listened. Bobby can't take Ray away from Rose. He's fucked up and a terrible person, but even he can't do that. He doesn't give Ray his new address. He refuses to meet up even for Ray to give him his stuff back. All Bobby can do is hold onto Ray's sweatshirt he stole away and a bottle of perfume the same brand Rose always wears. He cradles these things in his arms and cries.

(Ren) And that's the last he sees of Ray for all of 5 years, 20yr old puppy-dog eyed loving precious ray who Bobby would run to the second Rose says its okay. But rose never does. And then Bobby meets a cute blonde and six months later the barista shows up on his doorstep shoving Carrie into his arms calling her a bastard child. Carrie is not a bastard child Carrie is his and he loves her the second he sets eyes on her and so Bobby turns into Trevor when the new year rolls around and he starts his own album. It doesn’t do as well as Luke's his first album did but it was his. And then one day Trevor signs Carrie up for dance because Trisha from first grade made fun of her for not being able to do the splits and on the way out of the dance studio Trevor bumps into Ray, a terrified looking girl clutched to his leg. Carrie doesn't miss a beat. "Hi! I'm Carrie let's be friends!" and Carrie drags Ray's daughter off and Trevor shifts awkwardly and is suddenly 17 again but Ray's eyes still twinkle like the did when they were kids and he's still wearing eyeliner so Trevor almost missed it when a flicker of recognition crosses Ray’s face and a smile quirks at the corners of his lips and he says, "hi im Ray, thats my daughter Julie. Wanna go out for a drink?" With that same mischievous glint in his eye that made Bobby fall in love with him in the first place.

(Sev) Trevor almost stops breathing. He should say no. He knows he should say no. He's an awful person. He doesn't deserve someone like Ray. He never deserved either of them. He knows that. But can't force himself to say no. Maybe it's the twinkle in Ray's eyes. Maybe it's the soul crushing loneliness he's felt ever since he left them. Or maybe it's the way Carrie and Julie are giggling in the corner like they've known each other all their lives. He says yes. The drink ends up at a family friendly restaurant with both the girls in tow.

(Ren) Rose shows up because Ray the asshole apparently texted her while he was in the car saying he met one of Julie's friend's parents and wanted to go out on a date (keeping things pg ofc) aklsdf. And when Rose does show up Trevor sees how... sick she looks. How much paler she looked than she did all those years ago how - he still knew he loved her even if she still decided she hated him.

(Sev) The mood drops quickly. Trevor wants to ask about Rose, but not in front of the kids. Ray wants to ask about their past, but not in front of the kids. Rose... Rose who holds all the answers... doesn't know where to start first. She had never regretted not telling Ray the truth. She never wanted to change Ray's perception of Bobby like that. Ray who looked at their boyfriend as if he'd hung the moon. Ray who stayed up worrying all night until Bobby came home. Ray who held Bobby through countless nightmares... But that makes the truth staring them in the face so much harder. Because she never gave Ray the choice. She realized that a few years too late after she catches Ray staring at old pictures of Bobby in their photo albums. She'd made the choice for him. And then there's Trevor... still beautiful, staring at her with so much concern her heart breaks all over again.

(Ren) The tension doesn't fly over Carrie's head like he hoped it would, she talks to Julie about My Little Pony and Pokemon and High School Musical and their mutual hatred for Trisha from school but Carrie's hand never lets go of his and he finally plucks up the courage and stretches his arm out and says "we're vegetarian for the most part, hope that's okay." And a smile quirks at the corner of her lips and she asks "for the most part?" and Trevor nods and Carrie pipes up from her seat saying "daddy hates hot dogs,” in that blatant fact kind of way kids say things without realizing how problematic it could be. It wasn’t her fault though, Trevor has yet to tell her about her uncles, about how he was in a band, about how they were going to be legends.

(Sev) Rose and Ray both freeze at Carrie's voice. He doesn't know if the girls notice, because he's too busy trying to fight back the panic in his throat. It's been a long time since anyone had brought up ... what happened. It's easy to pretend it didn't happen when his name is Trevor and no one knows him. But these two people know him. They know him more than anyone else ever has. Even the boys. The truth hits him hard at that moment. A truth he'd been avoiding for almost two decades. Ray and Rose know him better than even he knew himself. Maybe that was why Rose had been so furious with him, or why Ray continued to chase after him even months after he moved out. Trevor hides the building panic and sudden realization with a smile. "What an I say," he said as causally as he can. "I'm a picky eater." A few hours later they end up back at the Molina's house. Bobby has no idea how it happened. -No, Trevor has no idea how it happened, he scolds himself. He's Trevor. He has to be Trevor. Trevor got him this far, Trevor made the difficult choices. Bobby was the one who got his friends kill and destroyed the best relationship he ever had. Still, it becomes harder and harder to remind himself of that. To stop himself from slipping into the comfortable shoes of Bobby, boyfriend of Ray and Rose as if the past 17 years had never happened. He finds himself on their sofa, a sofa that brings back memories both good and bad... he finds himself in a familiar home, his old studio just a short walk away, his ex's giggling in the kitchen as they make his coffee the way he's always liked it without asking for a reminder.

(Ren) Trevor can remember the day he stopped drinking the coffee Ray made for him, the morning after his first fight with Rose, when he wakes up cold because Rose basically cocooned herself around Ray's body, keeping her back turned to him and as much as he wanted to reach out to Ray, to hug him and comfort him and tell him it was all going to be okay... everything was too stuffy and too tense and deciding he just had to leave because he was going to suffocate otherwise.

(Sev) He should leave, just like last time. What was he even doing here? He should take Carrie and- Then Ray's in front of him, pushing a hot cup into is hands. "The girls are playing upstairs," he says. His voice is so calm, so understanding. "We don't have to talk if you don't want to." Trevor almost laughs. Because that's so like Ray. Almost a decade without answers and he's giving Trevor the option to ignore it all. To pretend like nothing ever happened. But he can't be that selfish again. So he shakes his head. "I'd... like to talk to you... to both of you."

(Ren) And then suddenly rose is eyeing him sus but he's been putting this off for to long and honestly fuck his label because they screwed him over one too many times for him to still even consider their relationship anything other than employee-client1[4:06 PM]and so Trevor takes a sip of Ray's coffee holy shit how did go so long without it?! and he explains it. he explains everything.

(Sev) Ray doesn't speak as Trevor explains. He never interrupts or even look surprised. His face is completely unreadable. He doesn't move until Trevor's done. And then once he is, he only stands up to start pacing the room. Trevor's oddly reminded of Alex as he does so,  and the memory is enough to make him flinch. "This... this is what you two have been hiding from me for so long?" he asked, voice brittle. "This is... this is what cost us... I mean..." But he can't finish. Ray just shakes his head, back to both Rose and Trevor.

(Ren) Suddenly he's seventeen again. Seventeen and a mess in Ray's arms burying his face into the man's chest finally feeling the weight of the world lift off of his shoulders and suddenly Rose is hugging him from behind, her too-skiny bone arms snaking around his chest and hugging him tightly threatening to never let him go saying "amour," and pressing a kiss to the back of his head, "amour we never stopped loving you."

(Sev)It's like no time has passed by the time he's done crying his eyes out. They're all huddled on a sofa that was always too small for three. Trevor's in the middle, clutching at them both as if they're going to disappear on him. Ray sits with his legs underneath them, his arms pulling the both of them into his chest. And then there's Rose, suddenly so much more delicate than Trevor remembers. She sits half on his lap, curled into them, her fingers knotted in his hair. "I can't believe you two kept this from me," Ray whispers. There's no anger. He doesn't think Ray's ever been capable of being angry. "I'm sorry," Trevor whispers, throat raw from tears. Ray answers with a firm kiss to his temple. "We wasted so much time..."

(Ren) Trevor just lays between them in their bed, nothing sexual and nothing tense it’s just them being together and Rose playing with his now-long hair, braiding it right down the middle despite it being too long for others to braid. Her fingers feel nice as they tug at his roots, familiar and a sense of calm washes over him. He lets ray fop on top of him like they used to, burying his head in his chest just listening to his heart beat, his steady constant breathing because Ray used to be afraid one day he'd wake up and Bobby would be dead too. Rose humming lightly, soft lullabies that chased away dark thoughts and Trevor just finds it so comforting, a feeling of home he hasn't had since the day he left and so he wraps his arms around Rose and Ray tight, promising himself he won't screw up his second time around.

(Sev) It's a few hours later when he speaks again. The girls are asleep in Julie's room (delighted at their surprise sleepover.) Ray's almost nodded off, head resting against Trevor's chest. But Rose is wide awake. She's laid out, tangled between them, eyes focused on something far away. He can see it more clearly now. The tremble in her hands, the way she's so still, the circles around her eyes. He takes her hand in his. "What is it?"

(Ren) And Trevor wants it to be a prank, he wants the sinking feeling in his gut twisting around his heart, the same feeling he had the morning of Sunset Curve's Orpheum performance coiling up his spine to go away. He wants everything to be okay, that he told the truth, that he was forgiven, that the universe was finally on his side for once but of course it's not because when has it ever been.  Rose's fingers run lightly over his knuckles and Ray wraps his arm around him from behind, his hands resting against Trevor's chest, something solid for him to focus on and as a tear starts to roll down Rose's cheek he reaches up to brush it away, running his hand through her hair only to pull out a clump as he pulled away but he couldn't run when his instincts to run kick in like they always used to do when situations turned emotional, bury it in his mind and lock up his worries like he always did but this wasn't going to be something he could run from.

(Sev) Life is not the fantasy or a fairy tale. There are no happy endings, only happy moments. He'd like to say they picked up right where they left off, Rose lived until a ripe old age, and they never fought again. But he'd be lying. It was hard to fold their lives back into place again, especially with Carrie and Julie. To just pick up after their seventeen year old selves was an impossible dream. But they could do breakfast. And breakfast became dinner. Dinner became one date which became two which became many. It took trouble and care, but they slotted themselves back into each other's lives again. There were lunch dates, and movie nights. There were late night wine dates and early morning coffee dates. They found their happy moments. A decade of separation had smoothed out the rough edges. If Trevor stormed out after a harsh argument, he'd return the next day with flowers and apologies. If Rose snapped and lost her temper, she'd take herself off for a walk to cool down. If Ray was bothered by something, he'd speak up instead of pushing it all down. They found their happy moments. And when 1 month became 1 year, they celebrated with moving boxes and a new, bigger couch. When 1 year became 2, they celebrated with promise rings and whispers of a better future between light kisses. 3 years became 4, became 5, and so on... They found their happy moments. But life is not a fantasy or a fairy tale. Their story ends in a hospital. Rose dies with both her husbands at her side, with both her daughters and son clutching on her hands. She dies with a smile on her face, knowing she is not leaving them to suffer alone. Ray and Trevor grieve together.

(Ren) And this time the girls are the ones who get into the fight but Trevor and Ray are there for Julie and Carrie no matter what they're fighting over carrie told julie she liked flynn but julie said flynn was hers first and doesnt understand how she can feel squishy love for two people. And this time the girls are the ones who get into the fight but Trevor and Ray are there for Julie and Carrie no matter what they're fighting over carrie told julie she liked flynn but julie said flynn was hers first and doesnt understand how she can feel squishy love for two people. They stick to their daughters through the worst of it but they don’t let the girl’s fighting rip into them too. It’s not what Rose would’ve wanted for them, it’s not what she would’ve wanted for Julie or Carrie either.

(Sev) And when Julie plays with her ghost band, it's much earlier that Trevor recognizes who she's playing with.

(Ren) Luke’s mad at first, ofc he is but after everything is explained and out in the open Trevor finds himself at home in a building that never felt like home despite the fact he grew up in it.

[jj-lives]

Wild Inktober - Bmblb

Okay... i may have had a hard time with this word prompt. I was trying to play with Yang acting wild and Blake appearing so. But when writing it kinda took another route... oops. Oh well.enjoy!!!

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For some reason, even though Pyrrha had been her best friend for two years, Yang rarely hung out with her friend group. From what Yang had heard none of them took the physical education route that they had. This meant Yang never had a single class with any of them so no reason to socialize with them; other than them being her closest confidante’s best friends.

Which was why when Pyrrha started begging her to come along she couldn’t, in good conscience, refuse. Parties were never really Yang’s chosen scene, though the last one she’d been to was in highschool. She was all for trying new things and from what she’d garnered the boy Pyrrha was crushing on would be here. After the amount of time Pyrrha spent listening to Yang’s problems; well the least she could do was show up and see if she could help her friend out.

Pyrrha met her down the street from the party as Yang refused to leave her bike anywhere near the drunken crowd.

“I’m so glad you came!” Pyrrha spoke once Yang cut the engine.

“Did you honestly think I would bail?”

“The thought did cross my mind.” She admitted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear nervously.

It was a side of her friend Yang was unfamiliar with. To see Pyrrha anything but confident and sure of herself didn’t make sense. She always held the answers, always knew what to say and what to do. She must really be hung up on this guy to have lost all her poise.

“Well look at you!” Yang exclaimed, taking a stop back to look her friend up and down. “You’re hot.”

Pyrrha blushed as she swatted at Yang’s arm.

“Alright, that’s enough.’ She laughed but Yang was glad to see she was standing tall once more.

Making a mental note to keep an eye on her, they walked the couple blocks to the party discussing their Physiology projects. A redhead called Pyrrha’s name as they neared the apartment building designated to house this weekend's festivities. Behind the girl stood a man with a pink highlight dyed into his black hair. Yang recognized the two immediately as Pyrrha’s friends; Nora and Ren.

Nora reminded Yang of a stronger, more hyperactive version of a member of the highschool gang she used to hang out with. Both were in your face with their excitement, but where one always came off as kind of superficial Yang didn’t mind Nora as much. She was loud, but at least she seemed to be good for a laugh. Her boyfriend was the exact opposite. Ren rarely spoke but always seemed to be enjoying himself. Yang took the pair as a more go with the flow types.

“Are you two ready for the party of the century?” Nora asked excitedly, bouncing on the spot.

Ren placed a firm hand on her shoulder and she soon quieted to a barely noticeable vibration.

“This is a the only thing she’s talked about all day.” Ren said with a shake of his head.

“Let’s get in there then.” Pyrrha suggested. “Before she breaks free and goes without us.

Yang laughed but soon realized no one else was joining her.

“She thought you were joking?” Ren asked Pyrrha.

“Well she doesn’t know Nora like we-“ Pyrrha turned from Ren to look at through the growing crowds. “Where did she go?”

“Oh no.” Ren sighed, jogging to the apartment’s front door he slipped between some students coming out.

“You were not kidding.”

“Nope.” Pyrrha laughed. “Ren will find her. I’m sure we’ll meet up later.”

“This happens often?” Yang questioned as they squeezed through the packed entrance themselves.

“More than you would think. For someone normally so loud, Nora is able to sneak away without being noticed a lot.”

They grabbed some drinks from the first room they came to on their left.

“Each floor will have a room with drinks and the rec areas of each floor all have a different theme.” The preppy girl behind the drinks table explained. “Have fun.”

“This is a little more organized than I’d imagined.” Yang mentioned as they entered the first floor rec room.

“I’ve been to a few. Some weekends it's a free-for-all but some buildings actually put effort into their planning. I tend to enjoy these ones. They attract less police.”

For several minutes Yang followed Pyrrha in and out of several rooms and up flights of stairs. When they reached the third floor Pyrrha stopped so suddenly Yang nearly spilled her drink down the back of her green shirt. She would have felt horrible if she had. It was obvious Pyrrha put a lot of effort into her look tonight. Her hair was down instead of up in its usual ponytail, but she’d taken the time to curl the usually straight locks to frame her face perfectly. Yang would never forgive herself if she ruined her friend’s outfit tonight.

“What’s up?” She asked, stepping around to stand beside Pyrrha. “Why did you stop?”

“It’s him.” Pyrrha breathed, pointing to a blonde guy across the room. He was playing pool with three others. He was decent looking, Yang would give him that, but knowing Pyrrha wouldn’t have it so bad just for looks he must have some other redeeming qualities. “What do I do?”

“Go talk to him?”

“Yang, that’s not-“ she stopped talking to down the rest of her drink. “I need another drink. Let’s go.”

Yang was pulled back into a crowded hall, through a crammed doorway and her still half full glass was replaced with a full one before she could protest.

“Hey, slow down.” Yang pulled at Pyrrha’s wrist to stop her chugging the second drink as fast as the first. “Let’s just go back in there and sit down for a minute, okay?”

“I can’t with him in there.”

“You have spoken to this guy, haven’t you?” Yang asked for clarification. She couldn’t help if she was walking in blind.

“Don’t be silly. Of course I have.” She finally allowed Yang to guide her back to the open rec room and allowed herself to be sat in view of her crush. “But that was in classes, and we spoke almost solely regarding projects and tests.”

“Then how do you know you like him if you haven’t had an actual conversation with him?”

“How did you know you liked this mystery girl I’ve yet to meet?”

Yang’s jaw went slack.

“You made your point.”

“It’s just the way Jaune carries himself, and the conversations I’ve overheard him having with his friends.” Pyrrha admitted. “It may make me a stalker but I just like him. Okay?”

“I got you!” Yang pulled her into a quick one armed hug before leaning back to observe what she had at her disposal. “We are going to get you that one on one tonight.

Pyrrha blanched, speaking up to dissuade Yang from making any plans.

“I love you, girl. This is why you wanted me to come. Isn’t it?”

Pyrrha sighed, resigning to her fate. “Maybe. I don’t know. But I wanted you to socialize more as well.”

“You had ulterior motives?” It pulled a smile from Yang as she elbowed Pyrrha playfully. “Well thanks. I guess I have been kind of a hermit lately.”

“Lately?” Pyrrha’s voice was high with surprise. “Try always.”

“You may want to be nicer to the girl working to get you and Prince Charming time alone.”

“If you accomplish that I will forever be in your debt.”

It was clear Pyrrha didn’t think the odds of Yang succeeding were very high. But Yang loved a challenge. Step one was getting said guy away from his friends, but as she watched she realized that was going to be harder than she first anticipated. They were worse than a group of chicks. Jaune never seemed to be alone. Wherever he went someone else tended to follow.

One thing became clear the longer Yang observed. Jaune was definitely looking their way more often than anywhere else. Perhaps this wasn’t such a one sided attraction as Pyrrha thought.

Taking a break from pool Jaune and one of his other friends broke off from the group and made their way to sit at one of the tables along the far wall. But something else caught Yang’s attention as they moved. A familiar form sat alone, curled up in a chair in the corner of the room.

“Blake,” the name dropped from her lips.

“Where?” Pyrrha leaned forward, eager to see this girl that had been all Yang could think or talk about for weeks.

“In the corner, but don’t make it obvious you’re looking.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.” Pyrrha laughed. “Is she reading a book? At a party?”

“I didn’t take parties as her kind of scene.” Yang couldn’t believe it. This was the absolute last place she thought she would run into Blake.

“You should go talk to her.” She nudged slightly out of her seat and for a split second she entertained the idea, but she was here for Pyrrha not herself. First things first.

“I find your advice hypocritical when you won’t follow it yourself.” Yang stood and stretched. She never was the type for staying in one way for too long. “I’ll be right back.”

Pyrrha protested being left alone but did as she was asked. Yang hurried to get two more drinks. She had hoped her leaving would give Jaune the chance to approach Pyrrha but it seemed he was being just as stubborn as her friend. Trusting her instincts she strolled past Pyrrha and came to sit at the table Jaune and his friend were occupying. Pushing both drinks below Jaune’s nose she tested him by smiling at him.

He reacted just as she thought, staring blankly at her, though seemingly a little confused at her abrupt entrance into his personal space. His friend on the other hand did the opposite.

“Hey, babe. Do-“

Raising a hand she cut him off.

“I’m not here for you.” Yang leaned back and folded her arms across her chest. She never took her eyes off the boy across from her. “You know my friend, Pyrrha?”

“Yeah,” he coughed, a blush forming across the bridge of his nose. This was perfect. “We had a few classes together. She’s great! And smart. She-“

“Ugh,” Yang made a face, turning towards the blond guy next to her. “Is he always like this?”

“Unfortunately, yeah.” Jaune’s friend shook his head in disgust. “He is hopeless, but even more so with that chick.”

“Don’t call her that. She has a name.” Jaune defended.

“Well those drinks are for you and her.” Yang nodded to the two cups she placed down. “So can you go talk to her please. I hate seeing her alone.”

“I-I-I wouldn’t… I mean, what would I say?” Jaune stumbled on his words.

“I would start with hello, myself.” Yang looked over to Pyrrha, who was trying her hardest not to make it look like all her attention was taken up by their little interaction. “She got all dolled up tonight. You don’t honestly think she’s going to be able to sit there very long without another guy gaining the confidence to speak to her. Do you?”

With a new determination Jaune grabbed both cups and made his way across the room. The smile Pyrrha shot her way as Jaune sat across from her was all the payment she needed.

“The name’s Sun-“

“Nope.” Yang stood, leaving the other to drag himself back to his group of friends.

She made her way to the corner Blake still claimed. As she neared, Yang noticed most students were giving the area a wide berth as they maneuvered around the different games tables. It was easy to see why when anyone who got within three feet of Blake received a deadly glare for their intrusion.

Yang was not looking to upset Blake, especially since their last run in didn’t end on a positive note. But she wanted to stick around for a bit in case Pyrrha changed her mind and needed an escape. She sat in a chair near enough to Blake that she could strike up a conversation but angled the direction of her friend.

“Were you going to say hello?” Blake voiced after several minutes passed.

“I thought about it.” Yang answered, eyes still glued on the back of Jaune’s head. He turned to catch her eye, having felt her stare. Good at least now he knew to behave.

“Decided against it?”

“You seemed preoccupied with your book.” Yang explained, finally tearing her eyes from the new couple to look at Blake. “Besides I wasn’t in a hurry to be on the receiving end of one of those glares I saw you giving everyone.”

“If you saw that, I wonder why you decided to approach in the first place.”

“Because I live on the wild side?” Yang figured faking some confidence couldn’t be a bad thing. Her heart was hammering in her chest and her mouth was going dry with nerves but something drew her to keep talking. To keep Blake talking. “Why are you at a party if you aren’t going to partake?”

“You forget?” Blake’s incredulous tone reached her ears. “This is my apartment and my room has so graciously been volunteered as a coat room.”

“Oh,” Yang became flustered that she’d not recognized the building. “I didn’t notice the address. I met Pyrrha down the street and we walked here. I am sorry you’re being put out like this though.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m sure Weiss or even Ruby and I could have let you stay over had we known your place was being confiscated.”

Blake closed the book and set it in her lap.

“They knew, and offered.”

“Oh.”

Why was she so hard to talk to? It was normally easy for Yang to start up meaningless conversations with people. But maybe that was the issue. She didn’t want to have a meaningless anything with the girl she was sitting next to.

“How is Rosco?”

Blake smiled at the reminder of her dog.

“He is good. Back home with Mom and Dad.”

“I’m sure he misses you.” Yang returned the smile but Blake’s disappeared at her words.

“Why would you say that?” She questioned.

“Because it’s true.”

Yang could have come out with any cheesy line about anyone missing a face as pretty as Blake’s, but she didn’t think Blake was the kind to appreciate that kind of forwardness; at least not from someone she barely knew.

“And your classes are all going well?”

“Yes.” Blake sneered. “Why are you suddenly so interested in my life.”

“I’ve always been interested,” was her honest reply.

Blake opened her book and began reading once more. It certainly looked like she wanted nothing to do with her, but something nagged at the back of her mind. There were times Blake seemed more than happy to entertain her. In the mall and the short interaction when they’d collided on the street. And she never ignored her when Yang spoke up when Ruby and Weiss were with them. There were times Blake was willing to open up, but others it seemed she was not just a closed book, but a locked one.

And Yang couldn’t help but wonder why.

“You invited me running, did you not?”

“You don’t give up do you?” Blake responded, throwing the book on the small table between them. “Most people would get the hint I want to be alone. Why don’t you?”

Yang shrugged.

“Because, sometimes what’s shown to others is just a mask. And it’s got to be lonely keeping people at arm's length all the time. Right?”

Blake studied her for several moments but before either could continue the conversation there were police sirens ringing out on the street. Blue flashing lights came in the upper windows and there was a shout for everyone to leave.

Pyrrha’s frantic eyes found her and Yang nodded for her to leave with Jaune.

“I guess that’s my cue to leave.” Yang took a few steps towards the stairs before turning back to Blake. “It was nice seeing you again, Blake. I hope to see more of you, okay? Anytime you need to escape-“ Yang waved at the mess the other students were leaving behind in their haste. “-this, feel free to come over. Ruby and I would be happy to have you.”

“Thanks.” Was Blake’s only response as she rescued her book off the table and brushed past Yang to head to her room. She paused at the entrance to the hall. “I’m going running tomorrow. It may not hold up to your exciting wild lifestyle, but I’ll be leaving here at ten if you want to join me.”

“If you ask me, risking your wrath to get a few sentences of conversation may be the most dangerous thing I do all semester.” Blake rolled her eyes but the small smile Yang could see she was trying to hold back told her Blake may be enjoying Yang’s pushy side. “I’ll see you in the morning.” Yang called through the closed door.

The smile the interaction elicited was so noticeable Pyrrha pulled her aside when she exited the building.

“Did you get a date?”

“No, but we’re going running tomorrow.”

“That’s great!” Pyrrha exclaimed.

“What about you and boy wonder?” Yang asked, seeing Jaune still hanging back but looking their way.

“He’s going to walk me home,” She ducked her head in embarrassment. “But he asked me out next weekend, once our cardio test is over.”

“I am so happy for you.”

Yang wasn't sure her smile could get any wider after leaving Blake but here she was, proving herself wrong.

“Well Nora was right about one thing I suppose.” Pyrrha winked as she backed towards Jaune. “The party of a century.”

“You got that right.” Yang laughed. “You better take good care of her!” She yelled at Jaune and he jumped, hurrying Pyrrha along to put more space between him and Yang.

Making her way to her own ride parked down the street Yang took one last look up at the apartment’s third floor. She could have sworn she saw a pair of amber eyes looking down on her. She waived just in case before hurrying to her bike. She needed to get a good night’s sleep if she was going to be up and in any shape to run in the morning.

[vgckwb]

P5R: Rebel Girl (A FeMC Story/P5R Rework) Chapter 50: Stirred

On Saturday, Makoto was called into Principal Kobayakawa’s office. “You wanted to see me sir?”

Kobayakawa was indignant. “I hear you’re asking about Kamoshida. Why is that?”

Makoto grew slightly indignant herself, but kept a level head. “Well, you wanted me to investigate the Phantom Thieves, right? I figured that since we didn’t know of their possible existence until they sent Kamoshida that calling card, then the Phantom Thieves, if they do go to this school, might have an ax to grind with him. Hence the interviews.”

Kobayakawa glared at her. “I guess that makes sense.”

“Is there an issue with my explanation?” Makoto asked. “Because if there is, it sounds like you don’t want people talking about Mr. Kamoshida.”

“Well, it’s just old news at this point,” Kobayakawa deflected. “I don’t want to stubbornly dwell on the past and all.”

“Yeah, but if you want to know who these thieves are, this has to be a part of it,” Makoto instructed. “So what do you want? Do you want to protect Mr. Kamoshida, or do you want to know who the Phantom Thieves are?”

Kobayakawa was about to burst. Begrudgingly, he said “I want to know who the Phantom Thieves are.”

“Very well then” Makoto said, leaving the office.

Once Makoto had left, Kobayakawa smirked. “You want information, Miss Niijima? You’re going to get it!”

During the day, Ren was being treated like a celebrity due to her interaction with Akechi, with both pros and cons. The students divided themselves up between pro-Phantom Thieves, and by extension, Pro-Ren, and Pro-Akechi factions. When it came time for lunch, it was almost too much for her to bear. “Ugh. I almost miss being isolated from everyone” Ren moaned.

“Hey, it’s not so bad,” Ann said, trying to cheer her up. “Besides, things move fast in the city. Who knows, by Monday, this interview thing will be old hat.”

Ren gave a goofy smile. “Thanks…”

Just then, someone burst into their class. It was a male student with shaggy orange hair and purple glasses. He looked around with his gaze coming to a halt on Ren. “Ah ha!” He walked over to her. “Miss Amamiya, the woman of the hour. I am here on behalf of the student council, and I would wish to speak to you.”

Ren was exhausted with the attention. “If it’s about the interview…”

“No, this is about something else,” he explained. “We’ve been conducting interviews at the request of the president. And personally, I’m on your side with that.”

“Oh, um, well, sure, I guess then” Ren said, confused, but figured that this might be better than the constant attention.

“Then let’s head up,” the student council member said. He started walking and Ren followed him. As they were walking, he said “By the way, my name’s Hiroki.”

Ren was perplexed. “No last name?”

“Meh” Hiroki cheeped. “It’s not my thing.”

“Well then, if it’s all the same to you, would you mind calling me Ren?” she asked.

“Of course,” Hiroki smiled. They made it to the student council room and sat down. “So, Ren,” Ren chuckled slightly at him emphasizing her name, “if it’s alright with you, I’d like to talk about Mr. Kamoshida.”

Ren was surprised. “Mr. Kamoshida?”

Hiroki nodded. “We’re investigating the incident to see how we can prevent such a thing from happening again.”

Ren was a tad suspicious, but decided to go for it. “Um, sure. I guess the starting point was my first day here. I’m a transfer student, so that was a little ways into the school year. Anyways, as I was heading over to a crosswalk, there was another girl standing there, Ann, although I didn’t know her at the time. Anyways, Mr. Kamoshida pulled up and invited her into his car. Soon after, he invited me as well. Ann looked hesitant, so I decided to hop in to make sure nothing happened.”

“Wait, you took a ride with a stranger to protect someone else?” Hiroki said, interrupting her. Ren nodded. “I gotta commend you on that. That’s pretty bold.” Ren slightly blushed. “Anyways, please continue.”

“Well, nothing really happened in the car,” Ren continued. “After that, Ann and I hung out all day, and we became fast friends. After school though, Ann had to leave for a bit, and Kamoshida called me to his office. It was there he tried to make a move on me.” Ren looked down. “I have a bit of baggage from my hometown, and Kamoshida was hoping to exploit it to get what he wanted.”

“Oh my” Hiroki said. “Did anything happen?”

Ren smiled and shook her head. “Before anything could happen, Ann and Shiho stopped him. Ann whisked me away and then apologized profusely and then told me about the kind of person Mr. Kamoshida was.”

“I see,” Hiroki noted. “Did anything else happen?”

“Well, I did save a different student from Kamoshida’s advances,” Ren said.

“Could you tell me their name?” Hiroki inquired.

“Sumire” Ren answered.

“I see” Hiroki wrote it down. “And that’s it?”

Ren nodded. “I think Ann and Shiho’s interruption was enough to dissuade Kamoshida, at least for a bit. Besides, I wasn’t here for long before the Phantom Thieves sent out that calling card.”

“Right,” Hiroki agreed. “Well, thanks for coming in. I know this couldn’t have been easy to talk about.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Ren said. “If it’s to make sure a new Kamoshida doesn’t spring up, I’m all for it. Besides, Dr. Maruki has told me I should work on opening up more.”

“You’ve visited Dr. Maruki?” Hiroki asked. Ren nodded. “Huh. Maybe I should give it a try then.”

“By all means” Ren said.

She got up, but before she could leave, Hiroki shouted “Wait!” Ren was surprised. “Uh, I just have a personal question, if you don’t mind.” Ren tilted her head. “Not about you, just something I’d like to know for myself.”

“O...K…?” Ren said, still confused.

Hiroki sighed. “What do you get the girl who has everything? To, you know, show her your affection.”

Ren was still weirded out, but it did seem like he just wanted some dating advice. “Well, the one thing not to get the girl who has everything is a contract with a sea witch” she joked.

Hiroki laughed. “Yeah, I guess it was a bit unusual to spring that on you. Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Ren said. “And good luck with your girl problem.” Ren left.

Once she got back to class, Ann asked her “What was that about?”

“Kamoshida” Ren answered directly.

“Really?” Ann asked. Ren nodded. “Why?”

“I’m not sure,” Ren said. “But they say it’s to help them prevent another Kamoshida-like incident.”

Ann seemed distrustful. “I want to believe that, but…”

“Yeah…” Ren agreed. “Still, even if they are being honest, it is better not to tell the truth about the whole Phantom Thieves thing.”

“Right,” Ann agreed. Almost immediately afterwards, they got a message.

Yusuke: Can we meet up?

Jose: Yusuke…

Sumire: What for?

Yusuke: I’m just frustrated is all.

Yusuke: Dorm life isn’t turning out like I’d hope it would.

Ryuji: I get it. Ya need to blow off some steam.

Ann: Come to think of it, we haven’t had an initiation party for Yusuke yet.

Ann: Or really, Sumire and Jose.

Jose: We went to that diner.

Ryuji: Yeah, but that was more to hammer out the details of us going forward.

Ryuji: We need to really celebrate you joining the team.

Sumire: I see.

Ren: As much as I would love to, I’m afraid I’d get recognized wherever I go.

Yusuke: Ah, yes, I did see the interview.

Yuuke: You did wonderful, by the way.

Jose: Yeah, it’s all everyone talks about here at Kosei.

Ren: Ughhhhhhhhh.

Jose: Something the matter?

Ann: Ren-chan’s not a fan of the attention.

Ren: I’m not used to it.

Ryuji: Well, I mean, I guess it wouldn’t be much of a celebration, but how about we just head to your place?

Ren: That’s fine, I guess.

Ren: Come to think of it, I do have a hot pot in my room.

Yusuke: Hot pot, you say?

Yusuke: It’s settled then.

Ryuji: ...Someone’s excited.

Ann: We’ll meet up at Station Square after school, OK?

Sumire: OK!

Yusuke: Works for me!

Ryuji: Alright.

Jose: OK!

Ren: Very well then.

They put their phones away.

As they were heading out, Hiroki met up with Ren and Ann. “Hi, um, Ann.”

“...Hello?” Ann said, taken aback.

“If it’s alright with you, would you mind coming with me to the student council room?” Hiroki invited.

“Ummmm, OK?” Ann said, still confused.

Ren giggled slightly. “Don’t worry, Hiroki here doesn’t bite.”

“Of course,” Hiroki said, grinning like an idiot.

Ann laughed. “OK, OK.” The two left. Ren took out her phone.

Ren: It’s gonna be a bit.

Ryuji: Why’s that?

Ren: A student council member is interviewing her.

Ryuji: WHAT?!

Sumire: Oh yeah.

Sumire: I should have told you. They’re interviewing people about Kamoshida.

Ryuji: Why?

Ren: They say it’s to prevent another Kamoshida from happening.

Ryuji: And you believe that?!

Ren: Well, so long as we keep quiet about us being the Phantom Thieves, there’s no harm in humoring them, right?

Ryuji: I guess…?

Yusuke: I agree. If they are noble, then this is fine. And if they aren’t, you can push them toward nobility.

Sumire: Right. I guess.

Ren: It shouldn’t take too long.

Meanwhile, Hiroki and Ann entered the student council room, each taking a seat. “So, um, do you know why we’re here?”

Ann nodded. “Ren told me you’re asking people about Kamoshida.”

Hiroki smiled. “Very well. Do you feel comfortable talking about him?”

Ann fidgets. “I’m not sure, but I guess I’ll go for it, if this is to help you prevent another Kamoshida.” Hiroki nodded. Ann was still a little hesitant. “Ever since coming to this school, Kamoshida has been a shadow lurking at every turn. As head of track and volleyball, he had dominion over my two best friends. He manipulated them to get us to split up. He also approached me several times pretending to be innocent. But I’m a model, and I could tell what he wanted right away. I kept brushing him off, but he kept insisting. Eventually, he tried using my friends to get what he wanted from me.”

Hiroki sighed. “I've heard a lot of similar stories from people today, and yet it never fails to send chills down my spine.”

Ann was surprised. “Huh.”

“Anyways, continue,” Hiroki instructed.

Ann nodded. “I didn’t know what to do. I was perpetually stuck between a rock and hard place. I didn’t think the school was going to do anything about Kamoshida, so I kept trying to delay what I thought was inevitable.” Ann smiled. “But then one day, Kamoshida invited me into his car, and another girl came along with. I was frightened by this, but soon we became close friends. However, Kamoshida called her into his office, and I was at my wit's end.”

“So, what did you do?” Hiroki asked.

“I rushed over there,” Ann said. “Luckily, nothing had happened, but I was so scared that I had betrayed my new friend’s trust,” Ann started crying. “But she said it was alright. Later, she told me she came into his car to protect me. Isn’t that something?” Ann smiled. “Ever since Kamoshida entered the scene, things seemed bleak. I felt like I couldn’t do anything. My friends and I were in his grasp. But I wasn’t about to let someone else fall there too.”

“I see,” Hiroki said, jotting it down. “Did anything else happen?”

“Ummm, I’m not sure how to answer that,” Ann said. “I mean, I know the Phantom Thieves showed up sometime after that, but…”

Hiroki chuckled slightly. “I meant with you.”

“Oh, no,” Ann answered. “Not really. But after Kamoshida confessed, I felt freer than ever.”

“Hm,” Hiroki said. “Well, thank you for your time. I’m sure this wasn’t easy.”

“Yeah” Ann said. “But if it helps…”

“Right,” Hiroki said. “Speaking of, your friend Ren has some nice words about Dr. Maruki. If you’re still feeling overwhelmed, or if this opened any old wounds, I’d suggest paying him a visit.”

Ann smiled. “Yeah, she’s told me as such. And I’ve been thinking about it. I might go soon.”

“Well then, have a good rest of your day,” Hiroki said. Ann nodded and walked out.

Once she met up with Ren, Ren asked “Well, how’d it go.”

Ann was thinking about how to answer that. “About as well as you’d expect. I mean, I had been in Kamoshida’s sights for a while, so there was a lot to unpack.”

Ren frowned. “I’m sorry.” “Don’t be sorry” Ann insisted. “You’ve done so much for me. You’re basically my hero.”

Ren blushed immensely. “Thanks.”

“Anyways, we should get going,” Ann said. “We don’t want to keep them too long.”

“Right” Ren nodded. They both headed to Station Square.

Once there, they saw everyone else. “Yo” Ryuji greeted them. “How’d it go? You OK?”

Ann smiled. “Yeah. It is a lot, but I think I did OK.”

“Lady Ann…” Morgana said, popping out of Ren’s bag.

“I’m sorry” Sumire blurted. “I should have said something earlier.”

The three other Shujin students were taken aback. “It’s OK,” Ren said, trying to calm her.

“Yeah, Kamoshida’s A LOT, even with a proper warning” Ryuji stated.

“Yeah. Don’t beat yourself up over it” Ann said. “Really, it’s fine.”

Sumire smiled. “Oh. Right. Speaking of warnings, had I known Akechi was going to be the interviewee, or that you were going to the TV studio at all, I might have told you about him.”

Ren smiled. “That’s fine,” she said. “I like charging into things head first sometimes.”

Sumire smiled back. “I can see why Akechi found you so engaging.”

Ann also smiled. “But you know who else we met?”

Sumire became inquizitive. “Who?”

“Your dad,” Ann answered.

“That’s right,” Ryuji said. “He thanked us for being your friend, and wanted us to thank Jose and Yusuke as well.”

Sumire was embarrassed. “R-Really?!”

“He actually talked to me twice,” Ren said.

This surprised Ann and Ryuji. “When was the second time?” Ryuji asked.

“After the interview,” Ren replied. “When you two left, Akechi came up to me with an offer of friendship. He came up to us and we had a little chat.”

“And you said ‘no’, right?” Ryuji asked. “To being friends with Akechi.”

“I actually said ‘yes’” Ren informed him.

“WHAT?!” Ryuji reacted.

“Well, he seemed nice enough,” Ren said. “Besides, he’s not totally against us, just if we abuse our power, which we won’t.”

“I think that makes sense,” Jose said. “It’s more of a fear than an outrage.”

“Fear, huh” Ryuji reflected. He stared at the dirt.

“What’s wrong?” Yusuke asked.

Ryuji looked up. “N-Nuthin’.”

“It’s OK, we’re all friends here” Ren said, assuring him.

Ryuji looked at her. “Not here. We’re too public.”

“I see,” Ren said. “Well, shall we head over.”

“Of course!” Yusuke said. “I cannot wait for this hot pot!” The gang started walking over to Leblanc. “By the way Ann,” Yusuke began. Ann looked at him. “If I decide to leave the dorms, would it be OK to live with you?”

Ann, Ryuji, and Morgana panicked. Ann blushed. “Of course not!”

“Huh?” Yusuke said, surprised.

Ren seemed a tad confused. “I’m not sure he’s the type to do what you’re thinking.”

“Well, maybe, I guess…” Ann trailed off. “But it would be a bit awkward. I mean, there would be times when it would be just the two of us.”

“Yeah…” Ryuji added.

“Oh. I didn’t know” Yusuke said.

“It’s fine,” Ann said.

They reached Leblanc. Yusuke looked up. “This is where you live?”

“Yup” Ren said. She opened the door.

Sojiro turned around. “Huh. I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.”

“I’m just bringing some friends over,” Ren explained. “Is that OK?”

One by one, everyone started walking in. Yusuke stepped in and took a considerable look around. “Ah, you have a new guy with you,” Sojiro noted.

“Yup” Jose said. “He’s my senpai at Kosei. He’s been feeling a bit anxious, so we thought some time amongst friends would be helpful.”

“Ah. Where are my manners?” Yusuke said. “My name is Yusuke Kitagawa.”

“I see,” Sojiro said. He saw Yusuke looking around. “My name’s Sojiro but you can call me ‘Boss’ If you’d like. So, anything strike your fancy?”

“Huh?” Yusuke said. “Oh, sorry. I’m just perplexed is all. I’ve never met anyone who lives in a dining establishment.

“Heh, well, it takes all kinds,” Sojiro said.

“I’ll say,” Yusuke said. He looked over to see a set of stairs. “Do you live upstairs, or does she?”

“I do,” Ren said. “Sojiro lives in a house close by.”

“Ah, I see,” Yusuke said. “...Wait…”

“Before you ask, it’s complicated,” Sojiro said. “Moreso with me than with her.”

“Thanks boss,” Ren said. “So, if you don’t mind, I noticed a hot pot upstairs. Mind if we use it?”

“That old thing?” Sojiro responded. “Go ahead. I almost forgot it was there.”

“Sweet. Thanks” Ren said. “Well, you heard the man, let’s get this set up!” The gang headed upstairs. Ren and Ryuji got the hot pot down. “Alright then. I suppose ingredients are next. I’ll go see what we have, and what we need. Does anyone have any preferences?”

“Nah!” Ryuji said. “I’m sure whatever we make will be delicious!”

“Anyone else?” Ren asked.

“I’m with Ryuji-senpai,” Sumire said.

“Well, then I guess it’s settled,” Ren said. “I’ll be right back.” Ren went downstairs.

Ryuji looked around. “What’s up?” Jose asked

Ryuji was taken off guard. “Well, it’s just, we haven’t really been up here before…”

“Yeah…” Ann realized. She also looked around. “This place is...a bit different than I expected. But like...good different?”

Sumire looked around. “It’s not traditional, but I guess it works.”

“I’ll say,” Yusuke noted. “I wonder why she doesn’t live with her father.”

“Well, that’s more her place today” Ann said.

“But didn’t he say it was more on him?” Yuske inquired.

“Oh” Ann said. “No, Sojiro isn’t her father.”

“Huh,” Yusuke noted.

Ren came back up. “OK, I’m missing a few ingredients. Who wants to come with me to get some?”

“I’ll go,” Yusuke offered. “I’d like to know more about this place you call home.”

No one was expecting quite a dramatic take on it, but they settled into it quickly. “OK, sure” Ren said. “Anyone else?”

“Nah, we’ll hold down the fort here,” Ryuji said.

“Alright then Let’s go Yusuke,” Ren said. The two of them left to grab some ingredients for the hot pot.

While in the grocery store, Yusuke asked “So, why are you living there?”

Ren turned her attention to him. “Oh yeah. I guess you wouldn’t know, would you. It might be better to explain things when we get back, since I don’t think Jose knows either.”

“I see,” Yusuke responded. “Very well. Let’s continue.” Ren and Yusue picked out some more ingredients and headed back. Once upstairs, Yusuke declared “Alright! Let’s make some hot pot!”

The gang began making hot pot. Ren took charge since it was her room and Sojiro’s pot. She wanted to be careful, while listening to the group to get some good input. Once they finished, they began serving it.

“MMMMMMMM” Ann deighted. “This is SOOOO GOOOOD!”

“Indeed,” Yusuke said. This is DELICIOUS!”

“Boy, I’ll say,” Ryuji said. “Maybe you should become a professional.”

Ren swallowed her latest bit of hot pot. “That might be a bad idea. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be the only cook with a record.”

“R-Record?” Yusuk said, surprised.

“Oh right, Yusuke doesn’t know,” Ann said.

“Yeah” Ren said, “but I did promise to tell him.” Ren smiled. “So, basically, what happened was one night in my hometown, some guy was trying to force this woman into his car. I decided to try and stop it, but he fell down and had me arrested for assault.”

Yusuke was incensed. “Surely the woman would have said something.”

Ren shook her head. “The guy had immense sway. He even had the police leave his name out of the report. Once I got out on probation, my parents thought that with my already turbulent school life, things might become too much, and so they arranged for me to stay here.”

Yusuke was stunned. “Huh.”

“To be honest, we’re all kind of like that, at least a little,” Sumire noted. “I mean, you already know about my trauma, and we all know yours.”

“I suppose that’s true,” Yusuke said.

“Yeah” Ryuji said. “We’re all just a bunch of misfits here. I think that’s what makes us good thieves.” Ryuji looked at the floor.

“Ryuji?” Ann asked.

“Ah, right,” Ryuji said, refocusing. “I was just thinking about what Jose said earlier. About how that Akechi guy might be motivated by a fear of us. I’m just… My mom practically lived in fear of my dad until the day he left. She’s still kind of afraid of him. Not that she’d ever tell me. But I see it.” Ryuji looked at his hands. “I get why someone might be afraid of what we do, but I don’t want people to fear us. I don’t want to use what we have to scare people.”

Everyone went a little silent. Yusuke then spoke up. “As someone who also lived by fear, I can assure you, what we do is different. The people we are fighting are more about using fear to get what they want. When we reject their scare tactics, we are ripping off their mask to reveal the pathetic people they really are.”

Everyone was stunned. “Woah!” Ryuji said.

Ann smiled. “Well, so long as we’re talking about this sort of thing…”

“You too?” Yusuke said, surprised.

“Well, I don’t have anything quite so extreme,” Ann explained, “but… I dunno. I’ve always felt out of place. People only see me for my looks most of the time, so they think that’s who I really am.”

“Ah! I’m sorry” Yusuke said, bowing.

“...Uh, what for?” Ann asked.

“When I asked to paint you,” Yusuke said. “At the time, I didn’t know much about you, but I was taken in with your look and your energy. Forgive me.”

Ann smiled. “You’re fine. In fact, you’re a lot better than a lot of other people. A lot of the time, they don’t think to ask me what I feel, or care what I think like you did, they just want me as they see me, without any input from me.”

“Oh” Yusuke said. “That sounds difficult.”

“Yeah” Ann said. She smiled. “However, after finding people like you all, I finally feel better and more confident about what I want, and putting a voice to that confidence.”

“Way to go Ann” Jose said.

Yusuke looked at Jose. “So, what about you?”

Jose smiled. “Well, I don’t really have much.”

Morgana joined in. “Yeah, Jose and I are kind of in the same boat.”

“How come?” Yusuke asked.

“Well, Mr. Morgana and I aren’t originally from this world” Jose explained.

“Right…” Yusuke said. “I remember now. You did explain that.”

“I’m here as an assistant to Ren, and Jose was exploring Mementos until some shadows raided him” Morgana reiterated.

“So, we’re both looking at humanity from the outside in,” Jose continued. “I’ve been tasked with learning about humans, and the Phantom Thieves have been helping me.”

I see” Yusuke said. “Hm. Delightful.”

“Huh?” Ann asked.

‘Forgive me,” Yusuke continued. “I was being selfish. At the first sign of trouble with dorm life, I intended to turn tail and run. But hearing your stories made me change my mind. I felt so alone in my torment from Madarame that I forgot other people have hardships too. So, to follow your example, I need to face things head on, instead of running from them. Besides, I doubt the dorms will be as bad as Madarame.”

“Yusuke…” Ann said.

Ren smiled and clapped. Everyone who could clapped too. “Great job Yusuke.”

“Huh?” Yusuke said, confused.

“You’re taking your first step into the real world. I know it can be hard, but we’ll be with you every step of the way” Ren continued.

Yusuke was stunned, then smiled. “I see. Thank you.” The group continued eating.

Fool-The Phantom Thieves: Rank 4

They spent some more time together, but pretty much once the pot was empty, everyone started heading home.

As Ren was just getting ready for bed, Ann messaged her.

Ann: Hey.

Ann: I know I’m not the one who determines these things,

Ann: but I remember at our last celebration you told Ryuji, Morgana, and I that you were a lesbian.

Ann: Why not this time?

Ren smiled and blushed ever so slightly.

Ren: It’s not that I don’t want to.

Ren: There’s just another compilation.

Ann: Complication?

Ann: What do you mean?

Ren: ...Sumire…

There was a minute of no response.

Ann: Oh. OH. Huh.

Ann: Well, I hope you can tell her one day.

Ren: I hope so too.

Ren: I’m just...very afraid.

Ann: I don’t think she’d hate you or anything.

Ren: Right.

Ren: Still…

Ann: Yeah, I doubt any of this is easy.

Ann: But you know I’m always there for you.

Ren: Yeah. Thanks.

Ann: Any time.

Ren smiled, put her phone down, and fell asleep.

The next morning, she got up, and headed downstairs for breakfast when she noticed something new. The original “Sayuri”, the one they stole from Madarame’s palace, hanging up in Leblanc. “You like?” Sojiro said. “That Yusuke boy came by this morning and asked if he could hang it up here. I asked him if he really wanted to. He seemed dead set on the idea. Honestly, that kid marches to the beat of his own drum. But then again, look who I’m talking to.”

“I see,” Ren said. She smiled.

“He also gave me this message for you,” Sojiro said, handing her a piece of paper.

Ren took it and began reading. “Ren, Thank you for yesterday. It really helped me put things into perspective. I wish to continue serving the Phantom Thieves, and yesterday really gave me the chance to truly understand what that means. I will not run away or back down. I will face these challenges head on.

As for the painting, the legacy of the ‘Sayuri’ is pretty much tainted. However, it is such a beautiful and masterful piece of art on its own that I cannot let it go to waste. It then hit me: You and the ‘Sayuri’ are similar in this way. You’ve both lost your place to belong. So I decided to emulate you and place it here, so that it can gain a new home, and hopefully a new purpose. I hope you and the Boss take good care of it. -Yusuke”

As Ren read it, she wiped a tear forming in her eyes. “Thank you. I needed that perspective too.” Sojiro just looked on, smiled, and whipped her up a cup of coffee.

Meanwhile, Yusuke was looking at the picture he had taken of the “Sayuri” in Leblanc. He eventually decided to send it to Kosuke. When Kosuke got it, he smiled and said “Right where it belongs.”

[kyloathing]

Aching Soul

KYLO REN X READER GREAT GATSBY AU | CHAPTER 2 Tea & Thorns

warnings: swearing, ns/fw

words: 3.5k

Kylo wants any excuse to see you again, so he convinces Rey to bring you over for afternoon tea.

For three days Kylo told himself you were unattainable. Your heart was already promised to another. He wouldn’t get to kiss you the way he wanted. To touch you. To feel you.

Even so, you were all that plagued is mind. 

For three long days, seventy-two agonizing hours, he had thought about taking Poe’s place. Keeping you all to himself.

What was he even saying? You had only had one conversation in the last almost two decades. He needed to see you again and he knew just who would orchestrate that for him. 

“Hello?” Rey spoke, voice gritty from having been abruptly woken. 

Kylo cleared his throat and immediately Rey knew who it was. Her eyes rolled yet somehow it was a palpable action on the other side of the phone. Opting to skip small talk, Kylo jumps right into his proposition. “How do you feel about lunch this afternoon?” 

The line was silent and then a bit of shuffling was heard. “Kylo, it’s 7 AM.”

“I rise early.” Was the only explanation he gave. Truthfully, he couldn’t hold in his anticipation any longer. The faster he brown nosed Rey, the faster he could get to you. 

She sighed, but ultimately relented. “Fine. As long as you never call me this early ever again.” The phone clinked down onto the cradle. 

Just like that, Kylo and Rey were out on the highway on the sunny early Fall day. It was just warm enough to leave the top down on the Rolls Royce and the pair drove in comfortable silence, wind whipping past their faces. It wasn’t until the car was stopped at a stoplight did Rey speak up. “So...” Her mouth twists in thought, as if she were carefully plotting her next words. “When are you going back home to visit the family?” 

Family. He could’ve scoffed at the word. Family loved each other. They loved him enough to ship him off to Oxford with his uncle. No calls, no letters. He was only home a week when he got summoned by the draft. That was the only time they seemed to care. It didn’t matter. By the time he was discharged, he had changed his name. He had become someone new. 

“This whole Kylo Ren charade has to be getting old. How many of the people you surround yourself with even know your real name?” She asked. 

It was just like Rey to say something like that. She was an orphaned teenage girl when Leia practically latched her onto her bosom. The only reason she had left the nest was to get one of those clerical jobs only women in the city could get. Rey was their prized child. They were proud of her. Of course she could boast their love. Of course she wanted to carry their name. Solo. 

“I’m not that person anymore.” 

The wind increased in volume as the car increased in speed. Silence once again crept up on them, but this time more tension filled. Luckily for them both, they were soon pulling up in the restaurants parking lot. 

It was a swanky little place, often occupied by Kylo’s associates and other shady characters. The only reason he had picked the place was because the owners gave the people in the business a fifty percent discount and they made a damn good steak. 

Food was ordered and they edged into that small talk Kylo hated. Rey told of her office gossip and the like. He feigned interest to the best of his ability. 

“So really,” Rey asked between a bite of potato salad. “Why did you invite me out? You aren’t the ‘let’s get together and catch up’ type.” 

He was very transparent and he hated it. Rey knew him too well. Probably all that time she spent with his mother. 

“That girl from the party, you’re friends, yes? What do you know about her?” 

For only a second Rey is puzzled. The night was admittedly a blur. There were so many people, so many names being passed around. Then, she remembered how you had droned on about your conversation with Kylo and how fascinating you thought he was. “What in particular?” 

The question tripped him up. What was an articulate way to say any and everything? He wanted to know what designer you liked most. What perfume you wore. What he could do to make you happy. 

“She’s engaged.” He says simply. 

Rey hums in understanding. That’s what the hoopla was about. He’d taken interest in you, maybe even beyond friendship. What he didn’t know was Leia had often spoke of her disappointment in your moving. The woman had hoped once Kylo returned from his studies the two of you would be wed. Knowing this,  against her better judgement she decides to give him the full details of your relationship. “They’re to be married soon. No date yet. Poe doesn’t want press storming the venue.” 

Oh how Kylo couldn’t stand that pompous asshole. He’s just some hot shot pilot that’s fronting the new airplane manufacturing company, The Resistance. Snoke hated them because he feared if air travel became recreational, it would bite into business. Kylo hated him because he walked around and spoke like he owned the city.

“But — and this conversation does not leave this table, you understand? — Her husband steps out on her. She knows, of course. She won’t tell me who it is, but I’ve seen love letters addressed to him from a mysterious ‘F’. Maybe a Felicity? Francesca? Anyways, she’s alright with it. It was always a marriage to keep up appearances. They’d been together for a few years, it only made sense.” Rey explained. 

He was stepping out on you? Why in the world would you stand for that? You deserved so so much better! He’d love you with all his heart, cherish you even. Why did that asshole have to place a ring on your finger first?

“What of it?” She could tell he was plotting something, but what exactly? 

“I thought she was interesting. I’d like to have tea with her. Friday afternoon.” His question sounded more like a demand, as was his nature. The Kylo Ren didn’t ask for things. Rey was clearly wrestling with the idea in her mind. Unsure whether she should open up the door for him to reenter her life. “Rey, I pay your fucking rent! You won’t do one little fucking — “ 

“Calm down.” She cut him off before he could transition into a full temper tantrum. “We’ll be at your house at 3 PM.” He was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Rey spoke again. “On the one condition that you’re completely honest with her.”  Her voice lowers. “ None of this Kylo Ren bullshit. Use your real name.”  

The truth? That terrified him. What if you didn’t feel the same about Ben Solo? Even worse, what if you shun him for lying to you? It was only a small lie. A one time lie. He would make it up. He —

“Alright.” He said in spite of his inner monologue.

Maybe we can finally make use of that porcelain tea set you own.” 

=

The work week came and went and somehow the fear in the pit of his stomach hadn’t relented. That Friday afternoon reluctantly Snoke let him leave early because he expressed he had ‘prior engagements’. 

So, here he was running around his home ensuring everything was in pristine condition for you. His wait staff had already prepared the tea cakes and laid them out on ornate doilies as well as polishing the tea set so one’s reflection could be seen. 

He nearly jumped when he heard the gate buzz. He sat at the small circular mahogany table in the sun room and cleared his mind. All trace of worry washed from his face. He called for the sugar and cream to be brought in alongside the tea as the two women waltzed into the sun room, accompanied by a sweet older butler. 

His eyes were immediately drawn to you. The shape of your jaw, down to the pearls that hung at your neck, down further to the peach ruffled tea dress you dawned, and finally resting on the simple brown heels you wore. Rey saw how closely he eyed you, but you were none the wiser. 

“Oh, Mister Ren thank you so much for allowing Rey to bring me along for tea.” You smiled with delight. “Hopefully, I don’t just talk your ear off this meeting as well.” 

Kylo smiled softly. “It’s wonderful to have you. Please, sit.” He moved quickly to pull out both your and Rey’s chair. 

“Cream and sugar?” 

Two full hours after your arrival and everyone was chatting and laughing. Even broody Kylo managed a chuckle here and there. However, Rey’s patience was growing thin. He had agreed to be truthful with you. Still, he had yet to explain his circumstances to you. 

Rey kicked him under the table, which fills Kylo with rage. “My apologies.” She squinted at him, trying to convey her threat. 

Kylo rubbed his sweaty palms on his slacks. Above all he just didn’t want to disappoint you. He downed the rest of his cup of tea, before lowly saying your name. Your eyes lit up as you took in his expression. He appeared as cool as ever. “I haven’t been — ” 

He was cut off by one of his servant’s peeking their head in. “Miss Solo, phone for you.” Rey nods, and strides off toward the rotary phone in the next room over. 

You seemed to entirely forget he had spoken before and marveled at the garden visible through the window to the left of the table. All bushes of blood red roses looked after meticulously. “You certainly keep a beautiful home Mister Ren.” You beamed. 

He winced as you continued to address him with an honorific. It felt too impartial. He would tear up the entire garden of roses for you if it meant you’d call him darling like you used to when you were younger. When he was still Ben. 

“Thank you.” A hint of a smile tugged at his plush lips, but nothing you’d notice without staring and you certainly couldn’t bring yourself to look him in the eye. “I hope your fiancé has no problem with me keeping your company.” 

Your head cocked to the side in confusion, as if you couldn’t fathom why your husband would be concerned. In an instant your smile was back, but much more forced this time. “Oh no, Poe is off gallivanting with some colleagues. He’s glad I’m getting out these days.” Colleagues. You knew exactly where he was. With his secret lover somewhere outside of town. Finn, you believed his name was. You were happy for him and didn’t want him to be forced to reveal his carefully guarded secret to an unforgiving, intolerant world. Nonetheless, knowing he would never love you left a pit in your stomach. You were a pretty thing meant to make him look full. Like an umbrella in a Mai Tai. Like flowers in a vase. Easily replaceable. 

Kylo Ren was so beautiful. His messy, yet effortlessly beautiful shoulder length coal colored hair. Those honey brown pools in his eyes that you wish you had the gall to meet. The moles and freckles that dotted his skin were like constellations you desperately wanted to map. You wondered if he had any in spots you couldn’t see with this much clothing covering his body. More importantly, he held no binds to any woman, or man for that matter, and he was here. He was here and he felt so familiar. 

“You seem to be awful interested in my husband.” You began, hoping to steer the conversation away from Poe and bait Kylo into spilling about his romantic life. “You have a lady, Mister Ren?” You batted your eyelashes and leaned across the table, appearing far more interested now. 

He couldn’t help but scoff at your words. Women threw themselves at him. Sure he may have entertained a few with drinks and sweet talk, maybe even gave them some late night loving, but nothing had ever gotten farther than that. “Haven’t had the pleasure of meeting someone as sweet as yourself.” He modestly flirted, his ears becoming dotted with color. “And Kylo is just fine, doll.” 

You nodded eagerly, letting his name dance along your tongue to test it. He bit his lip to keep from saying anything further. At least it seemed you didn’t take offense to his comment. 

Then, Rey was walking back into the room. She sighed loudly, to draw both of your attention and began to gather her coat. “My boss needs me at work. Someone misfiled something or other and now I have to dig them out of their mess.” She pushed a few messy brown hairs back into place, expecting you to stand and join her. 

“Kylo can drive me home, right?” You had seen the black Rolls Royce out front. Might as well put it to good use, right.

Rey shook her head. “Come on, we don’t want to impose on Kylo.”

However, he quickly interjected. “No, it’s alright. I don’t mind having some more time for conversation.” 

Rey’s eyes narrowed at him for a long while, but once she saw your pleading eyes she sighed in defeat. “If that’s what you would like to do. Call me when you get home, then.” You nodded. After goodbye hugs were given, Rey was out the door. 

“Would you mind if we walked out to the garden? The roses are positively divine and I’d love to see them up close.”

Anything for you, was his immediate thought. Instead, he was nodded and standing to usher you beyond the sun room to the grand patio doors. Light poured in through the glass panes and gave a delicate warmth to your skin. You glanced over at Kylo, watching as the sun caught his beautiful brown eyes making the brown and green flecks more obvious. As he swung the patio door open, the gust of outside air had you breathing deep. 

You rushed over towards the red roses you had admired from the other side of the window, bending over to take a whiff. Your hand darted out to pick one, only to make you jump back and cry out in pain. A thorn had pricked your thumb. 

“Oh!” He was rushing to your side and taking your hand to inspect. It wasn’t an injury worth noting, but it had his heart racing nonetheless. “I should have warned you of the thorns.” 

You shook your head. “It’s alright.” His hand was still holding yours and neither of you had any intention of breaking away. 

Guilt was once again compressing his lungs while he looked over your face once more. He needed to tell you the truth. Deciding to make his move, he breathed your name out and the dreamy look in your eyes dissipated. 

Your shoulders slouched as worry crept onto your sweet smiling face. He couldn’t stand it. 

“When I asked if we had met before, I already knew the answer.” His words seemed to catch in his throat. It was awkward explaining that everything about yourself you’ve mentioned thus far is a lie. He just didn’t want to hurt you. “We did meet. Nearly two decades ago. Then, you knew me as Ben.” He surveyed your face for a response, but your expression gave no indication of your thoughts. “I guess, I’m still Ben. I don’t know. Things just aren’t the same.” He began to hurriedly explain.

Then, you began to laugh. Chest barreling laughter that echoed throughout the courtyard. Were you laughing at his cowardice? Were you mad? He couldn’t tell. As soon as hurt flashed in his eyes, you were quick to pull him in a close embrace. 

“I knew there was something so familiar about you!” You exclaimed, making his heartbeat slow its rapid pace. “Why didn’t you say anything?” Your eyes had filled with tears and you looked up at him with a grin. 

The question had no right answer. At least, not one that came easy to him. “It’s complicated.” Was all he offered. “Have to keep up appearances.”

You released him from your embrace, and again turned back to the flowers. This time, careful of the thorns, you picked one. “Well, Ben — or Kylo? I’m not sure which you prefer — I’ll tell you a secret in exchange.” You plucked a petal and crushed it in your fingers. “I was devastated when I moved. Fifteen year old me was head over heels for you, but daddy got transferred to a new station and...” You trailed off, smiling wistfully. You tucked the freshly picked flower behind his ear. “I would’ve married you if you had asked. Would’ve done anything for you.” 

In an instant, his lips were crushing against yours. He kissed you long and hard, as if he would be eighteen all over again and have you slip away from him. His tongue eagerly moved to explore your mouth, and you let him. The soft moan you made against his lips had his pants tightening. 

The kiss was broken so he could look at you, flushed and disheveled. Unsure of the words to say next. “Do you want to...come upstairs?” He spoke them for you. You nodded eagerly, internally kicking yourself for seeming too excited. 

Taking you by the hand, he ushered you up the large winding staircase leaving you no time to admire the marble flooring. You shrunk seeing a servant’s eyes linger on your entwined fingers, but Kylo snarled at them causing them to scurry off to make busy somewhere else. 

His bed was a California king, fitted with grey thousand thread count sheets and a beautiful black silk duvet on top of it all. The windows were fitted with blackout curtains, leaving the room rather dark. Even in the tiny bit of light you had, Kylo was wrapping his hand around your right breast. You squeaked from the surprise of the action, but leaned into it. He recaptured your lips, tasting you once more. He backed you towards the foot of the bed, making you collapse back onto it once your thighs hit the edge. You looked up at him, watching his chest rise and fall with his lips red and swollen. He admired your body against the backdrop of his duvet for only a minute, before pulling your dress up and over your head. 

He was shocked to see you had come to his home wearing no bra. You had practically prepared for this moment. Tossing the thought to the back of his mind, he moved to allow his mouth to explore the expanse of skin between your breasts, sucking and nipping at the spot against your sternum. You couldn’t help but squirm, forcing him to hold your hips in place with his big hands. 

“Fuck,” He swore against your collarbone. “I’ve thought about this so many times.” The admittance was an absentminded one. He was so caught up in his lust and the thought of being inside you, he couldn’t contain himself. 

Your eyes followed as his fingers deftly dipped inside your panties to collect the slick that had built up. Kylo’s heart practically skipped a beat when he felt how wet you were for him. After slipping your panties down your hips, his index finger slipped into your entrance and his thumb began to work over your clit. You gasped in surprise and jutted your hips up to grind against the digit. 

“You’re so fucking wet.” He spoke through gritted teeth. “I’ve gotta get that pretty cunt all ready for me to fuck. I bet you’d love that, huh?” 

Gasping, you choked out a “Yes!” making him dig his thumb into your precious clit even harder. 

“You’re such a little slut.” His middle finger slid into you, craning upwards in search of that little spot that would make you see stars. “You’re cunt is so needy, as if it hasn’t been filled in so long. Practically begging me to fill you.” With a rough thrust of his fingers, he hit your g-spot and made you shout. His pace was unrelenting and rather forceful. You could feel yourself nearing that overflow of bliss and attempted to convey that to Kylo amongst your moans and gasps. Even so, he didn’t need your words. He could tell by the way you clenched around his fingers. 

“Cum for me.” He breathed into your ear and you fell undone. You gushed around his fingers, hips rolling into his hand to get everything out of the orgasm that you could. His fingers fucked you through the waves of bliss and tears welled in your eyes. He was right, it had been quite some time. 

Once it appeared you had caught your breath, his fingers slid out from between your thighs and slipped into his mouth. He sucked your juices from his fingertips as if they were the finest wine he had ever tasted. Then, removing them with a pop, he spoke up. “We’re not done yet.” 

Kneeling down, he pulled your legs over his shoulders and shoved his nose in your pussy. He inhaled deeply, committing the scent to memory. 

You two certainly were not done. 

[queertazsecretsanta]

A gift for @tobytrashoftrash, created by @primatechnosynthpop!

Some Kravitz/Taako/Magnus for you! Enjoy!

~~

The sun was sinking low in the horizon, casting a dazzling array of soft pinks and purples and oranges across the sky. Down on the ground, a fresh dusting of snow coated the landscape. Although the view of the outdoors was obscured by frost on the classroom windows, it was clear that it was shaping up to be a beautiful evening. Taako's students squirmed in their seats as he ran through the final magic lesson of the semester, and he had to admit that he was getting pretty antsy as well. The sooner he wrapped things up and sent everyone home, the sooner he could finally finish his long-overdue Candlenights shopping.

"…And so you move your casting implement like this," he addressed the crowd of fidgety students, swishing the prop wand he used for class demonstrations. "And just like that, you can whip yourself up a tasty holiday treat! This spell can be a real lifesaver sometimes--like when Susan promised to bring desserts to your Candlenights party and then flaked out at the last moment, just as an example."

He cast a glance at the clock mounted on the wall behind him. The hour hand was gradually approaching the 3, although the minute hand was lagging behind between the 8 and the 9. Eh, what the hell, he thought. Close enough.

"Okay, it's time to head home," he said, clapping his hands together and putting on a big theatrical grin. "Remember what I've taught you and, uh, don't party too hard? Nah, scratch that, party as hard as you want. See you on the flipside!"

At that, he heard a faint whoop from toward the back of the classroom, although he wasn't sure which one of his students it was. With a bemused smile, he tucked his prop wand into his purse, which he slung over his shoulder while his students gathered up their own supplies and jumped out of their seats. He hung back for a moment, giving his students the chance to file out first, but didn't lag behind for too long. He had places to go too, after all.

Immediately upon stepping outside, Taako was caught off guard by just how low the temperature had already dropped. It had been hovering around zero degrees celsius earlier that day, but judging by the way the wind nipped at his ears, that number had significantly dropped since then. Fighting back a shiver, he zipped up the winter coat which Kravitz had insisted he wear despite how dorky it looked and stuffed his hands in the pockets. The hood was a little cumbersome to fit around his ears, but he put it up nonetheless. He then scurried down the walkway away from his school as fast as possible. Kravitz was still at work, which of course meant that Lup and Barry were still working as well, and Magnus was probably out doing some shopping of his own, so this would have to be a solo mission. It was more convenient that way, really; shopping alone meant that nobody could peek at what Taako was buying for them.

A few metres down the sidewalk, his stone of farspeech crackled to life in his purse, broadcasting a loud but muffled voice. Without slowing down his brisk pace, Taako took the stone out and held it up to his ear to hear better.

"Hey, Taako," Magnus's projected voice greeted him. "I've finished carving Kravitz's present, so if you wanted to come home and put some enchantments on it or whatever, this would be a good time."

"Sorry, Mags, it'll have to wait," Taako replied. "Making friends was a mistake, because I've got a billion fucking people to get gifts for and today is the last day before all the shops are gonna be closed for the holidays. I'll get home as soon as I can, though," he added. "Love you, bye."

He turned the stone off and tucked it back into his purse just as he approached the store that would be his first place of interest: HMV (the store name, of course, stood for "Handy Magic Valuables"). Inside, the shelves were looking pretty bare as a crowd of shoppers milled around, filling the shop with a dull rabble that thankfully drowned out the chipper holiday tunes playing over the intercom. He made a beeline for the Kenny Chesney records and selected one he was pretty sure Merle didn't already own, then perused the selection of kid's movies, scanning the shelves for the flick Angus had mentioned wanting to own. The kids' section in particular was already pretty thoroughly picked clean, and for a moment he was afraid that the item he was after was already sold out, but upon glancing one aisle over his eyes landed on a copy of Detective Pikachu haphazardly tucked in amongst a bunch of remastered classic horror movies. While he was looking at that particular selection, he picked out the cheesiest-looking one he could find (something about a ghost shark that looked like it had been made on the budget of two cents and some pocket lint) as a gift for Barry. In the checkout line, he picked out some novelty socks with a rude saying on them for Lup.

After leaving HMV, he headed over to Fantasy Home Depot to pick up some stuff for Hurley and Sloane. On the way, he got another stone of farspeech call, this time from Kravitz.

"Hello?"

"Hi, babe, it's me," Kravitz said--he insisted on introducing himself that way no matter how much Taako made fun of him for it. "The Raven Queen is letting us off work early for the holiday, so I'm calling to let you know I'm coming home a bit early."

"Can she do that?" Taako asked.

"Well, she is a goddess, so she can do whatever she pleases."

"Yeah, I guess that tracks. So," he said in his least suspicious tone possible, "Are you home yet, or…?"

"Not just yet, but I'm about to head home." Kravitz paused, and when he spoke up again, there was a teasing note to his voice. "Why, are you and Magnus planning something you don't want me to know about?"

Taako bit back a string of curses, instead setting for grinding his teeth even though everybody and their goldfish told him it was an unhealthy habit. Yes, in fact, Magnus had set aside a half-hour every day for over a month to carve Kravitz a brand-new piano. Taako, meanwhile, had been scoping out all the local pet stores, planning to surprise Kravitz with a new cat and Magnus with a new dog (in addition to the Candlenights feast he cooked for both his boyfriends every year). Sure, it was a pretty big investment, but Taako's financial situation was better than his younger self could ever have dreamed--and besides, even if that wasn't the case, it would still be worth it to see the looks on his boyfriends' faces. He had no idea what if anything Kravitz was planning for Magnus, and what either of them were planning to do for him; his boyfriends were surprisingly adept at keeping secrets from him, probably because they knew him better than the average person.

"Um, no, we're not planning anything in particular," he lied. "But I'm actually out doing some shopping, so if you want to come rendezvous with me at Fantasy Home Depot, maybe we can pick out some gifts together. How's that sound?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he bit back another even louder string of curses. Shit, no, he can't be with me when I head over to the pet store!

"Um, scratch that," he added before Kravitz could say anything in response. "I actually just remembered that I left my, er, my scarf at the school. So if you could pop over there and see if you can find it, that would be great. Okay, love you, bye!"

He cut the call off in a hurry as he headed into Fantasy Home Depot. On previous years, this had been his destination when it came to shopping for Magnus, and for Kravitz he had usually gotten some sort of novelty item shaped like a skull. It was amazing how the same goof landed every year; he almost wondered if Kravitz would be disappointed not to receive a skull-shaped drinking glass or lawn ornament or whatever this year.

He had already bought a new compass for Davenport and a glitzy novelty ornament for Lucretia, and Ren had insisted that she didn't need any gifts (although he still planned to prepare a special tray of sweets as a gift for her, that still meant he didn't have to buy anything for her aside from maybe a couple of baking ingredients). Once he had picked up the power tool and canister of engine oil that the battlewagon racers had requested, the only shopping he had left came in the form of two fuzzy little companions for the men he loved.

~~

When Magnus had taken it upon himself in mid November to start carving a grand piano from scratch, he had been pretty sure he wouldn't get it done in time for Candlenights. Two weeks into the project, when it had just been a big old block of wood hidden away in his workshop with what barely seemed like an indent in it, he had made a secretive late-night trip up to the Fantasy Bargain Shop and bought a skull-shaped lamp as a backup gift in case things fell through. Now, though, as he stepped back to admire the product of his work--a flawlessly carved grand piano, varnished and freshly painted black--his chest swelled with the pride of a job well done. Now all he had to do was check on Taako's gift to make sure everything was in order, and they'd be good to go.

Just as Magnus turned to leave his workshop, he heard the distinctive ripple noise of one of Kravitz's portals opening upstairs. He scrambled for a sheet big enough to cover the piano and hastily tugged it into place, making sure the gift was sufficiently hidden before heading upstairs to greet him.

"Hey, Krav! How was work today?" he asked, running up to Kravitz and giving him a clap on the back. "Taako is out doing some shopping right now, so he probably won't be home for a while."

"Yes, so he told me," Kravitz said, a note of something like irritation in his voice. "He also told me that he had accidentally left his scarf at his magic school, but I looked all over the place and didn't see any such thing. And wouldn't you know it…" He swiveled his head towards the dining room; Magnus followed his gaze to see Taako's scarf draped over the back of a chair. "Do you suppose he was trying to delay my coming home for some reason?"

"Could be," Magnus said with a shrug. It was only after he had spoken that he realized that was definitely Taako's motivation, probably to prevent Kravitz from seeing the piano. He repeated his shrug with a little more emphasis, then laid a hand on Kravitz's shoulder and gently guided his line of sight towards the fridge. "So, I was wondering if those liquor candies Merle gave us were any good," he said. "Why don't we get into them and see for ourselves?"

"Your restraint truly knows no bounds," Kravitz said, flashing him a teasing smile. "But I really would like to know why Taako wanted me out of the house so badly."

"Um, could be that he was embarrassed by how dirty it is," Magnus said. "We haven't had time to do much cleaning, you know. So we're gonna be real busy tomorrow if we want to have anyone over."

Even as he spoke he internally winced at how unconvincing a lie it was--if only Taako himself was there to think of a good cover. (Or he could just tell him the truth, he supposed, but that would ruin the effect and he really did want the piano to be a surprise.) Sure enough, Kravitz didn't exactly seem convinced; he crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow at Magnus.

"I live here, darling. You think our boyfriend would lock us out for such a reason? Back when I first met him and he was more guarded, maybe, but even then--"

"Or it could be a different reason," Magnus interjected, blurting the words out a bit more loudly than necessary. "We just don't know! But, for real," he added, "Don't worry about it. I promise you, it is nothing to worry about. On a completely unrelated note, welcome home, but please don't look in my workshop."

"Why, what's in the workshop?" Kravitz asked. "Other than that piano you've been carving, of course. Tell me, is it a gift for someone? Of course you know that I don't play piano, only the violin and the occasional woodwind instrument, but…"

He kept talking, but his words didn't reach Magnus's ears; his brain completely shut down for several seconds upon hearing the piano mentioned in such casual terms. When all of what Kravitz was saying caught up with him, his blood froze over. Shit. Fuck. Goddamn it. He knew about his surprise gift? Had known about it basically the whole time? And what's more, he didn't even want it as a gift--wouldn't have any use for it! Even beyond the matter of Magnus's hard work potentially going to waste, what was he going to get for Kravitz now? (He still had no clue what Taako was planning to get for either of them, so even if he did run out and get something now, it may well end up being the same thing Taako had bought for him and he really didn't want to repeat the fiasco of two years ago, when he and Kravitz had both bought Taako the exact same brand of confectioners' sugar.)

"Um, if you'll excuse me," he interjected, grabbing his stone of farspeech off the coffee table in a swift and hopefully not too obvious motion. "I need to go check the mailbox."

With that, he darted outside into the cold winter air, slamming the door shut behind him before Kravitz could respond. His back pressed against the door, he bent over to catch his breath. The cool air stung at his throat as he panted, and his exhales curled up in front of him in little puffs of white, the same colour as the snow. Once his heart had settled back down into its proper spot in his ribcage, he dialed Taako's number on his stone. Luckily, Taako picked up almost immediately, answering with a casual "Yeah?"

"Oh, Taako, this is bad," Magnus hissed, glancing through the window to make sure Kravitz wasn't listening in. "Kravitz knows about the piano I carved for him, and he says he doesn't want it as a gift! Well, he didn't directly say that, but he told me he doesn't play the piano, so he couldn't use it even if we did give it to him. What should I do? Are you almost home?"

"Oh, shit, that's tough," Taako said, letting out a low whistle. Magnus could picture him wincing and adjusting his hat, if he was wearing it--although a glance inside through the window revealed his signature wizard hat hung up on a hook next to his cloak of the manta ray, so perhaps he was going hatless that day. "Um, I'm still not gonna be home for a few minutes, so hang in there 'till I get back, okay?"

"Wait, babe, don't hang up yet," Magnus pleaded. "He's your boyfriend too, remember? Don't you want him to be happy with the gift he gets?"

"Course I do," Taako replied. "That's why I'm out picking up something for him right now. And listen, Maggie, I'm sure Krav won't hold it against you if you just end up giving him a hairbrush with a skull decal on it."

"You know, that's funny; I was just about to ask if I should give him the skull lamp," Magnus said.

Then he paused, listening to the background noise on Taako's side of the call. It sounded like he was in a pretty busy shop--of course, all the shops would be busy right about then--but the weird part was that he could hear what he swore was barking. Quite a lot of barking. And maybe some meowing and other noises too? Brows furrowing, Magnus pressed the stone directly against his ear so he could hear better.

"Hey, you're not at a pet store or anything, are you?" he asked.

"Just here to admire the exotic birds," Taako said. "Listen, though, I've really got to stop lollygagging around here at this pet store that I'm not buying anything from, and head on into the other store next door, which sells other non-pet stuff that I'm gonna buy. Catch you later."

Although Magnus grumbled to himself, initially discouraged when Taako ended the call, his boyfriend's words quickly gave him an idea. Tucking his stone away in his pocket, he stepped off the back porch out into the yard, where Taako and Kravitz had hung up several birdfeeders (he had carved some of said birdfeeders himself, and yet the storebought ones always seemed to be the most popular, which plagued him with irritation). It was too cold out for the yard to exactly be bustling--for once there wasn't a squirrel to be seen--but a few ravens were hopping around at the bases of the birdfeeders. Locking his eyes onto one of the birds, Magnus dropped into a crouching position. It was time to put some of his rogue training to use.

~~

By the time Taako finally got home, Kravitz was anxious enough that he jumped at the sound of the doorbell. From downstairs, he heard Magnus yell "I'll get it!" followed by the sound of his footsteps thundering upstairs. In that time, Kravitz had already come to the door; he held it open for Taako as he walked inside without even stopping to kick the snow off his boots first. Taako carried two shopping bags in each hand, and he was balancing a large box with holes in them under each arm. Kravitz regarded his boyfriend with mild concern as he staggered inside and set down first the boxes, with an unexpected gentleness, and then the shopping bags. Stooped over all his purchased goods, Taako's torso heaved with the weight of exhausted breaths.

"Are you alright, love?" Kravitz asked, unsure whether to chuckle or be worried. "It looks like you've done a lot of shopping."

"Yeah, no shit," Taako wheezed. Then, straightening up and wiping sweat off his brow: "So, have you got everybody checked off your list yet? Cause judging by how the shops were looking, you've got about ten minutes before the whole city is completely sold out."

"No, I've already got all my holiday shopping taken care of," Kravitz said (he had given his fellow reapers their gifts at a holiday party the week before, and the presents he planned to give his boyfriends weren't exactly the kind of things you could find at a store). "Do you need help putting these away?"

He cautiously bent down, reaching for one of the shopping bags. Taako made no move to prevent him from grabbing it, so he took it as a sign that the contents of the bag (a large drill tool and a vinyl record) weren't for him. He set about putting the items away while Taako caught his breath. Nothing in the bags was particularly heavy, so he guessed that the heavy things must have been the boxes. He circled back to try to grab one of them, but Taako's gaze snapped up at that and he moved to stand between Kravitz and the boxes.

"Sorry, Krav, this stuff's off-limits right now," he said. Then, glancing over his shoulder at the two boxes: "Although… hmm, how would you and Maggie feel about opening your gifts right now? That's probably make a few things easier."

"Oh, that's a great idea!"

Magnus's exclamation from behind them made Kravitz jump; he hadn't realized he had come upstairs. Turning to look at him, he appeared to be hiding something behind his back, and was hopping from foot to foot with a big nervous grin.

"I mean, only if you guys want to, of course," he added quickly.

An odd noise almost like a squeak sounded from somewhere in the room, although Kravitz couldn't tell where it was coming from--behind Magnus's back? From inside one of the boxes? Maybe even… no, surely not both. Kneeling between the two boxes, Taako glanced between them, making a soft anxious clicking sound. Kravitz raised his eyebrows but didn't comment. He had a building suspicious as to what at least one of the gifts Taako and Magnus had was, but he hoped he was wrong considering what his own gifts to then were. It would make it rather redundant, and more pertinently, they simply couldn't afford to support that many…

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan," Taako said, interrupting his train of thought. "What do you say, Krav?"

"Er, yes, that's fine," Kravitz said, flashing Taako a smile. "Let's get right to it, then."

"I've actually got my gifts for you two right here," Magnus said--yep, definitely hiding something behind his back, and there was an odd strain to his motion as he stepped forward that suggested he was having trouble holding onto it. "I was originally going to give Kravitz something else, but that didn't work out, so I kind of had to improvise, but considering your whole grim reaper deal I think you'll like it."

"Didja get him some skull trinket?" Taako asked. "Cause, hey, that's my job!"

"Huh? No, this is something different," Magnus replied. Neither of them seemed bothered by the fact that this exchange was transpiring directly in front of Kravitz himself. "Anyway, um… on three?"

"Hold on," Kravitz interjected. "I need to open a portal to the astral plane first."

Ignoring the others' bewildered reactions, he summoned his scythe into his hand and swished it through the air in a broad but purposeful stroke. A rippling hole in the fabric of space-time opened up before him, through which he could see the vast expanse of the world beyond. Bending down, he patted his knee and whistled into the opening. Somewhere amidst the inky blackness, two undead being perked up their heads and scampered over towards him. It hadn't been easy talking the Raven Queen into letting Kravitz give his boyfriends undead creatures for Candlenights, but he was certain that the payoff would all be worth it once he showed them the skeletal pets.

"There, now," Kravitz cooed to the skeletal dog and cat standing before him. He gently scooped them up into his arms, then closed the rift so as not to let anything else in or out. "Alright, on three, you said? Three, two, one--"

He turned around, skeletons in hand, to see Taako opening the boxes and Magnus revealing what he'd been keeping behind his back.

There was a beat as the three men stared at each other, their initial expectant grins at each other quickly fading. In Taako's corner, a greyhound puppy waddled out of the box on the left, and a sleek tuxedo cat stepped out of the box on the right. Magnus, meanwhile, held a raven in one hand and what looked like some kind of a strange weasel in the other. He and Magnus both slowly lowered their acquisitions to the floor, where the skeletal animals and the living ones all scampered toward each other and began sniffing each other--aside from the raven, which hopped over to Kravitz without wasting any time. He recognized it as one of the ravens who frequented their backyard; those corvids always had taken as interest in him, and the feeling had been mutual even before Kravitz had begun serving under the Raven Queen. The flesh cat trotted over towards him as well, while the skeletal one gravitated towards Taako and hopped up onto his lap. The weasel-like creature (maybe it was a mongoose?) followed it, albeit with a bit more caution. Both dogs practically charged towards Magnus, and he let out a delighted laugh as they jumped up at him. He fell back, allowing himself to be bowled over; Taako looked up from scratching the skeleton cat behind its spectral ears to give him a fond smile.

"Well," he sighed, "I guess we should've checked with each other first."

"Indeed, this is certainly… well, it's a lot," Kravitz agreed. The cat headbutted his leg as if to agree, or maybe to argue. "Although I must say, I do appreciate the thought."

They looked over at Magnus, who was rolling on his back with laughter and letting the dogs clamber on top of him and slobber all over his face. Taako grimaced at all the dog saliva, and the mongoose (which had now hopped up onto his lap) chittered with disapproval.

"Gonna be hard to look after them all," Taako went on as the mongoose scurried up his arm and onto his shoulder, and the skeleton cat curled up into a ball in his lap and started purring. "I mean, I bought food and supplies for the flesh boys, natch--" He nodded toward the cat at Kravitz's side and the greyhound pup, which was now sitting down directly on top of Magnus and licking him on the nose. "--And I dunno if these bone babies of yours are gonna need much upkeep… but still, it just seems like a lot, right?"

"It is a lot, is the thing," Magnus agreed from his position underneath the dogs. His hands didn't falter from petting them for even a second. "Probably impractical to keep them all, right?"

"Not to mention how dirty the house will get," Kravitz agreed. "Cleaning will be a nightmare with six animals running around…"

He looked down at the raven perched on his leg, and was met with a pang of surprise at the discovery that he was stroking its head. A glance to his side revealed that he was stroking the cat as well, and it seemed to be thoroughly appreciating the gesture; it repeatedly rubbed its head against his leg, purring.

"Yeah. Mm-hmm. Right. For sure," said Taako, in the distinctive tone he slipped into when he got distracted. "We really shouldn't… I mean, we messed up, good goof and all, but…"

He trailed off, and they lapsed into silence save for the purring of the cats, the sound of the dogs licking Magnus's face, and the soft shuffle of the mongoose making itself comfortable in the crook of Taako's shoulder. None of them stopped petting the animals even for a second--Kravitz wasn't sure he could bring himself to pull his hands away even if he wanted to. Finally, after what felt like simultaneously the most relaxing and the most stressful two minutes of his afterlife, Taako let out a heavy sigh and broke the silence.

"We're keeping them, aren't we?"

"Yep," Magnus replied without a moment's hesitation.

"Oh, we absolutely are," Kravitz agreed, breaking into a grin at the confirmation that the others were on the same page as him.

Taako grinned too, and although Magnus's position in relation to the dogs blocked the view of his face, he laughed again--less giddy now, but with just as much joy. Moving carefully so as not to disturb the pets, Kravitz scooted forward and laid his hand atop Taako's. Then, holding his gaze with an affectionate smile, he brushed back Taako's hair and leaned forward to kiss him.

"Joyous Candlenights, love," he murmured.

"Aw, geez, Krav," Taako mumbled, lowering his face as a furious blush spread over his cheeks. "No need to get so sappy…" He darted forward to kiss him back, then pulled back with a grin, still blushing even though they had kissed a thousand times before. "But, yeah, same to you, babe."

"Hey, what about me?" Magnus asked in mock offense. He gently lifted the dogs off of himself and sat up, edging over toward Taako.

"Sorry, dear, no kisses for you until you wipe all that fucking dog slobber off," Taako told him, giving an exaggerated shudder. Despite his words, though, he raised himself up off the ground to give Magnus a kiss on the top of his head. "And happy Candlenights to you, too. To both of you."

A great warmth swelled within Kravitz as Taako sat back down between him and Magnus. He looped an arm around each of their waists and drew them in close, smiling far brighter than he normally let any of his emotions shine through. Outside, the wind was still blowing as cold as ever, and dark clouds covered the moon, carrying the promise of a heavy overnight snowfall. Here and now, though, the three of them were warm and safe and happy--or rather, the nine of them. Yikes, that really was a lot of pets, wasn't it? Still, looking between his companions and the animals, Kravitz decided they could handle it. In any case, no matter how things turned out in the long run, this was a night that they were sure to remember for a long time to come.

[auncyen]

001 - Ann & Ren/Akira; 002 - Morgana

this time I will c/p both templates at the start so I remember to do both lol

Ren/Ann

when I started shipping it if I did:

I was interested in it from my first playthrough, though I actually romanced Makoto that playthrough due to timing with confidants (I was...not too great with confidants my first playthrough, though I would like to say I only missed by three in the end).  Romanced Ann my second playthrough and was happy.

my thoughts:

Like Ren/Ryuji, these two make me happy as a sort of “opposites attract”, where Ren appreciates Ann’s bubbly nature so much for helping him get out of his head for a bit and Ann doesn’t mind his reserved nature because of how thoughtful he is (until he’s keeping secrets on Christmas Eve and then it drives her a LITTLE nuts)

What makes me happy about them:

They’re pretty much my two favorite characters in p5 (though the competition for the top spots is fierce XD) and I think their differences make things interesting, so it’s fun to pair them just from that, but also thinking about Ren letting himself be silly with Ann is nice!

What makes me sad about them:

Because the game doesn’t let who your girlfriend is affect too much mechanically (which is a bit understandable in terms of difficulty implementing it...), it’s a little awkward if you romance Ann ASAP and they just...seem to go through the entire game with it apparently being a secret?  I think it is believable for them to keep it quiet for a while (maybe not wanting to make a big deal out of it in case they break up, or Ren worrying that any decision involving Ann will immediately lead to suspicions of favoritism once people know, or just not wanting to upset Mona/Ryuji/Yusuke, depending on what Ren thinks the other guys’ feelings for Ann are), but I would hope that by mid and especially end-game, they’d be comfortable enough with each other and the team to say “hey, yeah, we’re a couple”.

(Of course that would get in the way of harem route.  But harem route is dumb anyway.)

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

Sometimes I feel the ditziness for Ann gets...way too overdone?  It’s a hard balance to strike because she canonically isn’t much better as a student than Ryuji and it’s implied she has trouble staying on task on her own, but she definitely can stay on task in a group setting and she’s insightful at times.  I can get her getting down on herself sometimes (there’s little moments in canon that seem to imply she does) but when fic actually makes it seem like Joker has to...babysit her or something it’s like nooooooo.

things I look for in fanfic:

I guess just going with above, the sense that they’re equals and both making decisions to better themselves.

But also fluff.  I love fluff. 

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

Ren: Ryuji, Haru, Yusuke

Ann: ...Ryuji with the caveat of a bit of development?  Like I don’t think I’d hate a different PT romance for her but I haven’t really been interested in any of them.  (Ann/Shiho is kind of so prevalent and usually presented like it’s just some automatic thing that I’m just “meh” on it.  I like them fine as best friends.)

My happily ever after for them:

I really would like Ann to finally figure out what acting is XD and be able to work as an actress.  I’m not sure if it’s something I see her sticking with long term, but I do think her career would be spent in the public spotlight, with her making sure to take lots of downtime in private to be with Ren and keep herself sane.  Ren could go a few ways--became a local politician out of sheer spite over bullshit policies, is a journalist in the politics section because he’s good at stumbling into all sorts of trouble and getting people to open up to him so it’s never been a dull moment....not sure.  They have a nice apartment where Morgana is staying with them (having long gotten over his crush by this point).

who is the big spoon/little spoon:

Ann initiates more often as the big spoon but every once in a while, Ren decides he needs to snuggle her close and is the big spoon. 

what is their favorite non-sexual activity:

...Cuddling.  Though I’m also amused by the idea of them playing team-based games easy for couples to play, like pictionary (ESPECIALLY pictionary--Ren’s drawings look fine, Ann’s look like an imaginative first grader’s...this would go one of two ways--Ren having fun lightly teasing Ann as their team goes down in flames because he can’t make heads or tails of what she’s drawing, or Ren astounding the other team because he can.)

Morgana

How I feel about this character:

So Ann and Ren are my top two characters; Morgana is third.  (Again, the competition for top spots is pretty fierce--Ryuji, Haru and Yusuke are all right below this, and I like Makoto and Futaba pretty well too.)  ...Part of that is probably because he is a cat, but it’s also just--he definitely comes off to me as a younger, caring but bossy sibling to the protagonist, and it’s just cute???

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

...I don’t...really...although actually in one fic where Ren’s hometown was Inaba and Morgana was trying to become human, I h/ced him having a crush on Nanako, who would be pretty close to the age I h/c him being equivalent to.  (I think they were just slightly off by a year or two?  I’d have to figure out her age again.)  ...But like even in that fic idea he didn’t actually get with Nanako.  In fic where he turns human there are a couple ships I’d be willing to read, but personally I feel like all the PT would probably see him as a younger brother.  ...and also be a little hung up on the fact that he’d once been cat-shaped.

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

Ren & Morgana brotp for life.  Morgana probably gets in trouble with other PT at some point for keeping secrets about Ren’s more dangerous activities, but he and Ren have a code.  (The code is “snitches get stitches”.  They are both a little terrible sometimes.)

My unpopular opinion about this character:

I just think he gets bashed way too much.  I have literally seen posts where Ryuji is excused on certain things for being immature, still a teenager, and then Morgana is bashed, and it’s like ?????? Ryuji has sixteen years of life experience over Morgana!  If Ryuji deserves that sympathy (which I think is fair, he does), Morgana deserves it as well, if not more!  Where in Mementos was Morgana supposed to pick up life lessons on being mature?

(Granted I think it’s perfectly fair to be irked at the writers for making Morgana the character he is, because they certainly could have made him mature if they wanted to with some handwavey reason.  Just, from an in-universe perspective, ...he actually could have been way worse with the background he has.)

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

Let him be human!  Kind of still on the last point but I also think it’s understandable for Morgana to not always approach issues maturely because there are literally only seven people he can talk to so god help him when he needs to ask advice on an interpersonal conflict because there could easily be no neutral party for him to ask.  I just feel like him being stuck as a cat hamstrings him so much in terms of potential development which like...I guess ATLUS wants a mascot character, but in-universe?  Feels kind of cruel of Igor unless there wasn’t an option on how to make Mona.

...There were ship questions in this meme but I’m taking those out lol

a headcanon fact:

He can’t talk to normal cats, but he does understand them better than most humans do (though he doesn’t understand them perfectly himself--he is still a product of human cognition, not feline) and that’s part of why he gets so upset about the cat abuser.  He people-watches a lot when Ren’s with confidants, but he has once or twice gotten attached to strays in the area and done his best to try to help them, most likely by leading them to friendly humans, or leading the friendly humans to them.

[rosepetals-flyingbirds]

Moving on. (2/3)

Pairing: Kylo x Reader, Poe x Reader.

Word Count: 2k.

Warnings: An abusive relationship so if its a trigger for you consider not reading, angst and maybe some tears.

PRIOR CHAPTER.

The thing is, Kylo Ren is the love of your life. And you know you are his, but it wouldn’t work.

You tried all you could do be with him, you stood when the work hours became bigger, when he started to get frustrated, when he forgot important dates as your birthday or your anniversary.

But the worse thing was when he got mad and yelled. He never laid a finger on you, but had days he was so mad that you thought he would.

With Poe was completely different, when things got tough in his life, he didn’t push you away as Kylo, no, he pulled you closer.

When problems came Poe would sit down and fix the problem trying to find a solution, which was amazing because that is how couples should be.

You loved Kylo too much, so much that you forgot to love yourself.

Kylo yelled? ’He is tired, things are tough at work.’

Kylo got home at 02 AM after ignoring all your worried calls? ’He needs space to think.’

Kylo stopped caring if you were happy or stopped asking about your day and life’s problems? ’He has too much on his mind.’

Kylo literally traveled when you were sick in bed? ‘He has to, his uncle needs him.’

Kylo sat to eat the dinner you cooked and only ate two forks of it before throwing in the trash? 'Well, maybe he ate something a work.'

The relationship reached that point. But you saw it wasn’t his job that was destroying your relationship, it was him.

Once Rey was making a party to celebrate her anniversary with Finn and since Kylo was going to be late anyways you went there and had fun with your friends Finn, Carissian and Poe aside Rey’s other guests.

It was at a club and even though your heart was sad because of Kylo ignoring you, you placed a smile and made sure to enjoy your night.

You were dancing with Carissian when he excused to grab a drink and left you alone, ignoring it you just kept dancing and having fun.

Someone touched your arm and started to dance with you, the guy asked if he could join and you found the fact that he asked cute and knowing he was Finn’s friend he was probably nice, and it wasn't sexual moves, the guy weren't even touching you.

But yet the next thing you saw was the man being pulled back and being punched by Kylo. You widened your eyes and went to help the man on the floor. He was trying to understand what happened, it was too fast. You looked at Kylo mad at the stupidity act. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Kylo scoffed. “With me?! I wasn’t the one grinding my body against someone else, who isn’t your boyfriend by the way.”

You hated to fight in public, and of course the DJ had to stop the music.

“Not here.” You said but Kylo was with a mocked smile on his face.

“I decided to go home earlier to spend a fucking time with my girlfriend but what do I find? A piece of paper. Just to find you here grinding into that fucker!” He yelled, tears prickling in your eyes.

Poe came running and tried to calm Kylo down only to be pushed away, Kylo looked you up and down before he scoffed, he started to yell again but when the security came he left.

You stood there completely ashamed of the situation, eyes on you made you feel like you were dirty. Finn and Rey came running to calm you but you needed to breathe.

And the only thing you could worry about was: Kylo.

Leaving the place you searched for him, he wasn’t there, worry grew on you.

Thoughts about him driving mad and what would that would lead to. At that moment you assumed how bad he was making you. He went to meet you at the party and punched a man that was only being nice to you, yelled at you in public and destroyed your night, well, your friend's night.

You couldn’t go back to his apartment, but you hadn’t another place to go.

Taking deep breaths and cleaning your soaked face you walked inside and asked Rey if you could stay at her house. She answered with an ‘of course’ and you asked for the keys, she tried to go with you but you declined and said she had to celebrate her anniversary with Finn.

To resume what happened that night was: tears. You cried to sleep thinking about how much you loved Kylo and how things got into that.

The day that followed you woke up with your eyes terrible swell and a terrible headache due to the incessant crying.

You had to go to work but your clothes were at home which you shared with Kylo and you couldn’t see him yet. You needed space.

But you couldn't skip work. It was 08 in the morning and you waited til 10 to go back fully knowing Kylo had a meeting with some Chinese associates that he wouldn’t miss.

Even if the evil thoughts made you wonder if he had found some girl to put his frustrations on, or how maybe he was trying to end things, that is why men start to act so stupidly, right? You had to go back.

Finn asked if you wanted him to drive you but you declined and thanked them for the abode.

You grabbed an Uber and seeing the look the driver gave you duo the terribly broken appearance you ignored and was happy that the app allowed to give the adress before, in that way you hadn’t to talk besides the good morning.

At your house... well... Kylo’s, you got surprised when you saw him sat on the couch. Your breath hitched and you tried to run to the bedroom to grab your things. “Y/N.” He called and you shook your head. “We need to talk!”

Grabbing your clothes and entering the bathroom locking the door you took a deep breath. “Not now Kylo.”

You could hear him taking deep breaths, trying to control his feelings. “Please.”

He begged silently and you knew how hard that was, but you couldn’t magically forgive him.

He needed to do more than that.

After your shower and placing makeup to cover your drained-of-life face you left the place only to see Kylo sat on the floor waiting for you. “Listen I’m sorry-”

You rushed through the bedroom to grab your purse and tried your best to ignore him. “Kylo I’m late.”

His steps paused. “You will walk away?”

"I need to be there today-”

Before you could finish he started to walk around rubbing his face. “I lost the chance of my career and you WILL WALL AWAY?!” You flinched at his loud tone of voice, there he was.

You looked up at him with a punch on your heart, he was sorry because he lost the meeting, not because you were being destroyed day by day. “Kylo I love you, but you have no idea how much you're hurting me right now. Goodbye.”

You walked out before he could say something else.

That day at work was stupid, you couldn't focus and you even thought of going to a hotel after, you didn't want to see him and didn't want to be a burden to any of your friends.

A part of you, a really big one, wanted to suck up and go back to Kylo ready to fix things because you loved him too much.

Another one wanted to find a hotel and stay a few days alone to put your thoughts in order.

And the last one was yelling for you to look up for yourself, Kylo was never the prince charming but at least you were sure he loved you, but you weren't sure anymore. And the way he has been treating you lately wasn't acceptable.

                  …

Poe was… a friend. You met him because of Finn. Once you hung out at the Finalizer that was a bar that belonged to your friend Phasma, and Poe was there so you two had a lovely conversation.

Kylo came back from his travel to Japan and texted you asking where you were, you told him and a few minutes later he appeared ready to take you home. When he did so, you smiled and kissed him, glad to see him again after a week far, but Kylo stared at Poe for a few seconds before placing his hand on your lower back and taking you home.

In the car you asked what was that, it couldn’t be pure jealousy. Kylo explained that Poe used to be his friend, but Kylo always felt aside because Leia liked the young pilot too much.

Leia worked in the council and was important in the city government, Poe was a pilot there and they were friends despising the age difference, even Han liked Poe.

When Kylo told you that you understood, of course Kylo’s parents didn’t love Poe more than their own son, that was Kylo’s mind playing tricks.

But you didn't treat Poe differently because of that, whenever you saw him with your friends in common he was a great company.

And when you and Kylo broke up you locked yourself from the world for a few weeks, it was terrible.

You lost weight, your hair and nails grow weak, you couldn’t stop crying, you couldn't eat without being nauseated.

Gladly you had to go back to work so you put your mind at place and decided you couldn’t allow Kylo to still make you feel bad even after you two weren’t together anymore. Your phone was filled with pictures of him and you, filled with texts, photos of the flowers he used to bring home, of the trips you two made, the dinners he took you to because he wanted to show you off, the girl that was too good and too kind for Kylo Ren.

You deleted it all, it was an impulse and you knew you would regret later, one stupid part of you thought that he would change, he would apologize and you would forget that ‘ugly phase’ of your relationship. After all, he was the love of your life.

But it didn’t happen.

You asked for an advance salary because you needed to rent a apartment, they did, happily. And you had some extra money saved in the bank which helped.

A few friends offered you their house, like Phasma and Rey, but you needed your own space.

Needed to put your life back in order.

And when you went to the bank you saw some extra money, as a nice person you called the agency and asked what was it, seeing the place it came from you grunted. Skywalker Enterprises.

When you started to date Kylo he always tried to pay for everything, even before he received a good salary, before you two lived in a fucking penthouse.

It was nice of him but you hated to feel like you were taking advantage of him in some way, hated to feel useless. So you told him you would pay for something, the power light and water was paid by the company so you said you would pay for the food. In Kylo’s heart, he would pay everything for you, you could quit your job and stay at home being pretty for him but you didn’t want to lose your independence.

You knew he wouldn't be the one to send you the money, he was too proud, and he wanted you back home. It wouldn't make sense for him to send you money to rent a new place.

So you called Luke instead. He was amazing and treated you like a daughter rather than 'niece-in-law’, he called you for a lunch and you made sure Kylo wouldn’t be there, Luke was clever and you didn’t want some surprise. Luke promised it would only be you two so you agreed to go.

He said how sorry he was and how much he would miss to have you around, you nodded sadly and you asked him to retrieve the money, he didn’t and explained that Kylo was worried where you would live since you had no place to go.

You told Luke you didn’t need the money, and you found a great apartment already, Luke didn’t trust you and said he wouldn’t take the money back. “Then it will stay there.” You said.

“Then it will.” Luke answered and ate his lunch with a smile.

Smiling back at him you shook your head. “You know, you and Leia are so stubborn, I guess that is why Kylo is too.” You giggled but your smile faded slowly at the thought.

With the passing of days, you found a new apartment, since your things were on Kylo's you sent Rey and Finn to grab them, apparently something happened between Rey and Kylo since she was extra mad at him.

Your friends took your stuff and you slowly decorated the new apartment with your taste. Of course wasn’t as spacious nor prettiest as Kylo’s, but it was yours.

It was very hard to get used to wake up alone. To sometimes smile seeing something and looking around your place unconsciously searching for him.

But you had too.

...

At Phasma’s pub, you smiled when you saw Poe there, he was carrying a guitar and he politely talked with you, you apologized for the prior occasion you two saw each other, about Kylo’s behavior in the club.

Poe knew Kylo’s temper and told you that you had nothing to be ashamed of.

Later that day you watched Poe singing, you didn’t know he did so and looked at Phasma perplexed by his sweet voice. “I know, he is a catch.” She winked and you rolled your eyes, a small smirk placed on your face, you definitely weren’t ready to move on.

And use someone as nice as Poe to distract your mind wasn’t the right thing.

For the first day in a long time you had a good time, the drinks Phasma prepared and Poe’s sweet voice soothed you and made you feel relaxed, the heaviness on your shoulders wasn’t so onerous.

That day Poe walked you home, you were a bit dizzy and he didn’t want you walking alone in the late hours.

“You are so talented! I know you are the best pilot, but a singer? You are the whole package.” You shamelessly said, the alcohol on your system didn’t hold any thought back.

“Thank you, I guess.” He blushed and linking your arm on his, you were almost stumbling in the streets.

You took a deep breath and pouted. “You were Kylo’s best friend, what happened? I mean I know what happened," You giggled. "Kylo is possessive, and since Leia and Han love you he was worried and insecure, probably.”

Poe didn’t want to talk about Kylo. He knew breakups are tough and he couldn’t make a move, he was just being a gentleman accompanying you home, but the fact that you thought he was 'a catch’ was making things more difficult.

It wasn’t Poe fault that the first time he saw you he got stuck.

It was on a barbecue at Finn’s old house, he was over and you arrived with Rey holding a tray of muffins. Poe helped you with the tray and felt his heart clinging on a good way when you smiled.

Finn saw the look. “Nu uh! Don’t even try, she has a boyfriend;”

Poe smile faded but his eyes were still staring at your across the room talking politely with the other guests. “Yeah, I thought so, who is the lucky guy? Or girl? Do I know?” He asked sipping his beer.

“Actually you won’t believe how small that world is.” Finn said and twisted the meat an chicken making sure he wouldn’t burn the food, he wanted to impress Rey after all. “Remember your best friend? Kylo Ren?” Finn pointed the spatula at your direction. “Well, Y/N is his girlfriend.”

Poe widened his eyes and coughed when the beer hit the wrong place. He looked at his best friend trying to find any hint of jokiness. “You are lying.”

"Oh, trust me. I wish I was. Y/N is Rey’s friend but also is mine, I love her. And we used to hang out all the time, but after Kylo? Its like he locks her in his castle.”

"Why? I mean, she doesn’t look the type that would date someone for money.”

Poe was puzzled, Kylo wasn’t the healthiest person to have a relationship with, why would you be willing to date an arrogant man? “Trust me, she is not, she really really loves him. How? I don’t know.” Finn hated Kylo, he worked with Han and Chewie -Han’s best friend, Chewbacca was his nickname and Finn never dared to ask his real name- and every time he saw Kylo the man was extremely arrogant.

Poe’s face went fully sad and Finn tried to cheer him up. “Ey, who knows someday? I mean, sometimes love ends, and who knows you and Y/N gets together? It would be great, we could hang out as couples.”

“Who knows.” Poe answered but didn’t hold many hopes.

That was the first time Poe saw you, he was amazed at how nice you were and wondered how Kylo Ren managed to win such a nice girl.

...

It wasn’t to turn in relationship between the two of you, it just happened.

After getting over Kylo, which took eleven months, Rey set a few dates, seventy percent of them you called before giving some stupid excuse, but after more three months alone you needed some action, you needed to be touched and allow yourself to forget Kylo.

But men were so boring, even the one that has traveled the whole world and spoke four different languages, he wasn’t…

(…) he wasn’t Kylo.

Each one was boring but Rey and Finn took you in and said how much they missed having you around, Poe was nice and kind… and after 9 months you tried to move on, Poe cared enough that he respected your time, respected your heart and when you finally allowed to be loved and touched by him he knew he couldn’t mess this up.

Dating Poe was different, was calmer, his work hours were smaller and you would always be on Phasma’s pub on Fridays hearing him sing.

Your days were brighter and you laughed more.

In one exclusively Friday helping Phasma delivering the drinks you wondered about one Friday you cried to sleep in Phasma's house after a fight with Kylo.

It was after a stressful day at work all you wanted was to take a relaxing bath with Kylo and sleep for 2 weeks straight.

But when you stepped inside the place it was empty.

Of fucking course it was.

Frustrated tears left your orbs at every step you gave, Kylo doesn’t love you anymore, you knew that. It wasn’t a phase, and as more you ignored it, the more you would get hurt.

After a hot shower and washing your hair trying to help you in some way, you walked to your shared room.

You sat on the edge of the bed and you looked at the photo it had of you and Kylo when Luke called you to Christmas, the night you met Leia and Han. Kylo had a lovely family, even if he didn’t believe so.

You let a frustrated sigh and touched your heart, this was bad. Deciding to break your heart, even more, you grabbed his notebook to see the photos.

The albums saved of each year you two spent together.

But when you opened you saw his e-mails and messages open. You didn’t want to intrude but well… you did.

A woman’s name was in the recent ones, she had sent heart emojis to his number, so these messages were also on his phone.

Widening your eyes you opened and read the messages trying to find a context, maybe her dog died and Kylo sent his condolences.... "Please God let it be her dog being dead."

You scrolled up and saw the messages:

'The dinner yesterday was amazing.'

Reading over and over you tried to find a reason, maybe she was a partner of Luke and Kylo made some agreement. But yesterday was the day you stood awake till 2 AM waiting for him, didn't matter if you were dead tired, and when he got home he ignored your worried state saying he worked til late with Hux.

Reading and reading you saw how easy Kylo was answering. He was having an affair.

It hadn’t anything that implied sex but if he was having dinner with that woman and lied to you. It was pretty damn obvious.

On his e-mails, the big part was with sketches of the works and new deals.

But another woman was thanking him for helping her with a new job, thanking him for giving her a job.

But he don't hire people, Hux does that and Kylo never took part saying he hated all the bureaucracy that followed.

The door opened and you heard keys being thrown at the plate near the door.

When Kylo entered the bedroom he just looked at you, no “good night” nor “hello”.

Looking at him taking his suit off you wondered about the messages. “Who is Emily?”

Stopping his steps he shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know.”

Scoffing you bit your lower lip. If it was nothing he would at least tell you who she was. “Then why you had dinner with her yesterday?”

Realizing it was his computer on your lap and not yours his face grow angry. “So you meddle in my stuff now?”

"Don’t throw the guilt on me. Who the fuck is Emily, Kylo?”

“She is an associate, you don’t need to bitch about it.” Widening your eyes at his words you got on your feet leaving the notebook open above the bed. It took a lot of control to not smash it at the window!

“Bitch about it? Fuck you!”

He grabbed his notebook and closed the tap throwing in the nightstand. “Since when you mess with my stuff?” He yelled making you flinch.

“You know what? Sorry if I missed my fucking boyfriend and wanted to see some photos because all we have now is this: memories! SORRY IF YOU GOT MAD THAT I DISCOVERED HOUR AFFAIR WITH THAT WHORE!”

"DON'T CALL HER THAT!”

Your heart was hammering and you felt like you would have a heart attack, you scoffed and rubbed your eyes trying to clean the tears. You walked a few steps away from him, your hands were literally trembling with nerves. “So you are seeing someone else?”

“You act like I can’t have a fucking friend, but hang out all the time with Finn you do.”

“Finn is Rey’s boyfriend! Matter fact why I would a cheat on you? Or what? Will you say that I and Rey have an affair too? Or maybe the baker downstairs? Or your uncle? How about Han himself?”

Kylo rolled his eyes and scratched his hair tiredly. “That is why we don’t talk anymore! You are impossible to deal with!” Seeing how his expression was annoyed and not sad you knew you had to leave.

“I can’t do this.” Walking to the expansive closet you started to grab your clothes.

"SO WHAT, YOU WILL LEAVE?" He yelled and followed you, Kylo saw the bag on your hand and how you were throwing your clothes inside of it. “Stop it.” You didn’t and searched your other personal belongings. “I SAID STOP IT!”

He ordered but you didn’t obey you only closed the bag and walked out of his reach.

Kylo pulled the bag strap strongly and it made you lose your balance and fell to the floor. The impact hurt your butt but your tears weren’t because of it.

Kylo looked at the scene and bit his lower lip, it wasn’t supposed to be like that, extending his hand to your reach you quickly slapped it away.

You got on your feet and grabbed your phone, wallet not looking back at him before you left the place.

When you closed the door you slid down and sat on the floor placing your hand over your mouth trying to muffle your sobs. The next thing you heard was Kylo’s screams and things being thrown away breaking on the walls.

But what saddened you the most was that he didn't even tried to reach you.

Emily was an associate, and Kylo wasn’t having an affair, he had kissed her a few times but didn't have sex. He never touched her in that way when you found the messages in his notebook and you two fought because of it.

But after the day he yelled at you in the club he went to her house, when she opened the door Kylo didn’t lost time before attacking her. She gladly threw herself at him and allowed Kylo to take all of his frustrations on her.

He left quickly after and head home regretting what he did.

On the day after when he didn’t show up at work and stood at home waiting for you, he had time to think about everything, regret and remorse were eating him alive. Ren wasn’t good at describing what he felt, but he wanted to at least speak with you. But when you appeared and ignored him and only grabbed your things to go to work he got mad, he lost a day of work, a day that had a important meeting and you just walked away.

Later that day he sat down and wrote all that he felt on a message, he apologized, told you he loved you with the same intensity as he always did etc, etc, et cetera.

And as a fool in love, the words hit you and you forgave him, so you tried again… but then one week later that you two were trying to fix things he saw the Emily girl in the groceries, Kylo was in the yogurt aisle and you on the other side grabbing some other items when she called him. “I missed you last week, waking up and you weren’t there. I mean how wild you were I at least expected for some breakfast, or morning sex to be what? The fourth round?” She shamelessly flirted and Kylo's eyes searched for you, when he found you were leaving the cart in the middle of the market storming out of the place.

Of course they had sex, you were stupid to believe him.

Kylo apologized but just the idea of him touching someone else wounded you deeply. It was the very last drop, you had to break up the toxic relationship before it broke you.

But when you started to leave and he didn’t allow, you saw him with other eyes. He was fuming, mad at himself and how "easily" you would leave him.

Kylo placed both hands near your head against the wall cornering you between his arms. He apologized repeatedly and went to kiss you but you dodged, you didn’t want to kiss the lips of a traitor, and when you dodged his eyes went black and all he saw was red.

He yelled and punched the wall near your head, it was so so near that you felt the air it made. You were scared of him, scared and that wasn’t something a relationship should have.

When you finally left, Kylo knew you wouldn’t be back.

Blinking the small tears that formed you heard Phasma calling you. Setting a smile and enjoying the presence of your friends and Poe -calling him boyfriend was still weird- you had a great night and was happy you were doing your best to move on.

Even if it was the hardest thing you ever had to do.

                              …

@needyomnivore

Next.

[adropofimagines]

For Persona 5, could you do some headcanons for the Phantom Thief boys' bachelor party please (a/n: who is invited, what do they do, does it involve strippers, do they get drunk, etc.)?

This is actually a pretty interesting request! I hope I can do it justice!Also, just as a side note, I didn’t include Morgana, but I did include Akechi even though his time on the team was short-lived.

- Mod Mitsuki

[ Phantom Thief Boys and their kinds of Bachelor Parties ]

Akira Kurusu / Ren Amamiya / Joker

So, I feel like when it comes to Joker, his Bachelor Party would really vary depending on how (the player) made his personality.

So, if he was the type of guy who dated multiple of the female confidants in (the player’s) version of him, he would probably be a bit of a party animal and have strippers at his party.

He’d drink, be his charming self, and while he wouldn’t do anything too extreme to be considered cheating, he might get a little frisky and flirty.

However, if (the player’s) version of him was loyal to one girl, he’d have a more calm party.

Plenty of drinking and friends, but no strippers. 

He might get drunk at that sort of party just due to the fact that Ryuji would probably push him to do a few drinking challenges just to liven things up.

Honestly, with friends like his, he’s gonna be really hung over after his party.

Also, I feel like, for games, you’d get a lot of wacky party games that looked good on paper, but were really bad ideas irl.

In the end, I feel like a Bachelor Party for Joker would always have a layer of craziness to it, regardless of who he was.

But, in the end, it’s all good fun and he’s actually really looking forward to the wedding.

Ryuji Sakamoto / Skull

Okay, so, if Ryuji is hosting the part or it’s his party, he’d totally be the type to have strippers.

He’s one of those guys who would see the Bachelor Party as the last hurrah before being locked down, so going out with a bang would be his priority.

He’d invite his fellow Phantom Thief bros, Yuuki, and maybe even a couple of guys from the track team if he’s on better terms with them.

The way he sees it, the more, the merrier.

Dude would be a party animal! Drinking a lot, dancing a lot, making dumb choices.

Someone would really need to calm him down.

Of course, he’s not completely immune to reasoning during the party.

If this is his party before he’s getting hitched, he won’t do anything to disrespect his partner without them knowing.

Like, he might have strippers at the party, but he’s not going to do anything extreme with them.

He might drink, but he’s not gonna let himself cheat.

While he may cringe at some of his actions the next day while he deals with a hangover, he won’t do anything he’ll regret.

So, in short, the dude would have one crazy Bachelor Party and go wild, but he won’t lose control because he loves his S/O too much.

Yusuke Kitagawa / Fox

I see Yusuke as the type of guy who’d have a tamer Bachelor’s Party.

Just him and his close guy friends, some nice drinks, and maybe a fancy place like a museum or high-class bar?

It may be a party, but it’s honestly just going to be more of a gathering.

He probably saved up quite a bit of money for this, to pretty much everyone’s surprise.

He also wouldn’t drink himself stupid. He’d get a little tipsy, but that’s about it.

Ryuji would probably call his party boring, but Yusuke doesn’t really agree with his whole idea that a guy “needs to go out with a bang” before getting married.

Weddings are supposed to be a time to celebrate the love a couple has for each other and the vow to share that love together for the rest of their lives in his mind, so he sees no reason to think of it as a cage.

If games are to be played, they’re probably more of “look back at the past” games than crazy drinking games.

Honestly, his type of Bachelor Party would just be a nice, cozy gathering where he and his close friends celebrate the future marriage rather than party it up before he’s “chained up.”

A lovely and beautiful Bachelor Party.

Goro Akechi / Crow

A lot like Yusuke, his Bachelor Party would be more on the calm side, but really big.

Arguably, you wouldn’t really call his Bachelor Party one at all.

Due to his reputation and his role as an Ace Detective, his party would have a lot of work colleges and important people that he honestly wouldn’t really care about.

In fact, the party would be a more obligatory thing than something he actually wanted to do.

Sure, he’d put on an act and drink, but he’d honestly much rather be spending the time with his S/O, the one person who actually loves him regardless of his true self and makes him feel happy.

He’d be very careful of his appearance at the party, since there would probably be cameras due to his celebrity status, so he’d be sure to not let anyone see him in a bad light.

Honestly, out of everyone listed, Goro’s party is probably the only one that isn’t wanted by the person it’s for.

He’ll try to enjoy himself, but he’d much rather not be there.

Get this boy some proper friends to show him a good time, please.

[jj-lives]

Injury - Inktober fanfic

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

Yang leaned up against the lockers behind her, shoulders slumped, dragged by the weight of her exhaustion. She let gravity do the rest as she was pulled down. The floor was hard and the cold metal sent a shiver up her spine where it connected with her bare skin, her shirt riding up as she collapsed. That was the worst exam of her entire life. If this was what she had to look forward to in her third year, she wasn’t sure graduate was going to be a moniker she would ever earn.

Yang stretched her arms high above her head, trying to pull the strain out of her trapezius muscle. It had been bothering her all day. She blamed falling asleep on the couch whilst studying. Waking in the most uncomfortable position of her life she’d barely enough control over her body to roll off her temporary bed. Everytime she moved her head in any direction or arms higher than her shoulders there was an accompanying pull all down her neck and into her shoulder blade. It was absolutely killing her.

“That was not a fun test.” Pyrrha spoke up, closing the classroom door behind her. Yang could still see a handful of her classmates struggling to answer the questions before time ran out. She knew they had little of that left and she pitied them. Pyrrha sank to sit beside her. “How do you think you did?”

“Failed,” she said through a groan as she rolled her shoulders.

“I’m sure you didn’t do that badly.” Pyrrha smiled, pushing her with her elbow. Yang sucked in a breath as the movement aggravated her muscles once more. Pyrrha was quick to apologize. “Is it getting any better?”

“Yeah,” Yang lied. “I’m sure it’ll go away after a night's rest in an actual bed. I am never sleeping on the couch ever again.”

Pyrrha stood, holding both hands out to her, “Let’s get out of here. Sitting on the hard floor like this isn’t going to help your condition.” 

She let Pyrrha drag her to her feet. A concerned look was aimed at her even as she tried to bury a grimace behind a smile of her own. It was nice of her not to make a big deal of the small injury, even if Pyrrha could tell how much it was bothering her. Yang hated being babied, which Pyrrha learned long ago. 

“How did you do?” Shouldering her bag she changed the subject. Pyrrha’s clipped footfalls were quick to trail after her.

“I did alright, but a couple questions definitely tripped me up.” She continued only after Yang tipped her head in acknowledgement. “Do you want to get a coffee?”

“Where the hell do you think I was leading us?” She chuckled and Pyrrha joined her.

It was a kind of ritual with them. After every test, exam or major project and presentation they would go to the cafe on the far side of campus. It was the least busy of all the shops on the grounds. The walk was completed in comfortable silence, both replaying the exam back in their heads. Yang wished she’d studied more, though she knew she hadn’t failed -as she told Pyrrha- but she didn’t want this affecting her average in the class. It was difficult enough to keep her GPA where she wanted it. They were both competitive, which wasn’t odd to find of the students in the Athletics college, but both felt the need to excel not only physically, but also academically. 

“We’ll focus more on Kinesiology the next couple of weeks.” Yang looked up from her trainers, surprised to see Pyrrha holding the door to the cafe open for her. She needed to stop autopiloting like that. The test was over and there was nothing to be done now besides look to the future. “My treat today.”

“You owe me for kicking your ass in that race last week anyway.” 

Pyrrha waved away her cockiness. “If that’s how you want to remember it. You want the usual?”

Throwing her a thumbs up, Yang wove her way around the chairs to the back corner to claim their usual spot. There were only a handful of students taking up the other tables. Most were single occupants, studying with laptops, texts and notes strewn across tables for four. One was reading a newspaper and there was a dark haired girl reading near the fireplace along the opposite wall. Her heart stopped for a beat; it was long enough for Yang to realize she’d never seen the other girl before in her life. 

“What’s up?” A mug was placed on the table, vapors snaking up from the froth. “You look like you saw a ghost.”

“Not a ghost.” Careful lips pressed to the cup as caramel sweet caffeine slid over her tongue. “Thanks.”

Pyrrha’s gaze followed where Yang’s was a moment before. Understanding crossed her features but when she turned back she didn’t mention what they both knew. Yang was relieved. She could barely put words to her reaction to Blake in her mind, there was no way she could yet speak any of it aloud. 

Pyrrha spoke up, talking about her weekend with Nora and Ren, how they all went to a party just off campus. It was easy to fall into the innocent tales of Nora challenging everyone to arm wrestling competitions, or how Ren was secretly very good at beer pong. It was simple. And it succeeded in what Yang assumed was Pyrrha’s goal. It distracted her.

“You have to come with us one weekend.” Pyrrha voiced, calming from a fit of laughter.

Yang took a steadying breath. It did sound like fun. “I don’t know. It isn’t exactly my scene, ya know?” 

“You only say that because you haven’t experienced it.” Pyrrha pointed out. “And it doesn’t have to be a party. You could come the next time we all hang out. Sober,” she added, thinking that was Yang’s problem.

“I’m not against drinking.” She rolled her eyes. “I just don’t like the idea of a bunch of drunk assholes eyeing me up like I’m the answers to all their wet dreams.”

“That’s disgusting.” 

“Exactly. Which is why I’m not in a hurry to experience it.”

There was a moment of silence. “You know I wouldn’t let anyone touch you, right?”

“I don’t doubt you for a second. I’ve been on the receiving end of your right hook, remember?” 

“That was an accident. You moved the mat in the middle of my swing.” Pyrrha took a sip of her cappuccino, glaring at her over the cup’s rim.

“Maybe, but I wore that bruise for two weeks,” she teased.

“Don’t exaggerate.” Drumming her fingers on the table, Pyrrha stole another look at the girl reading in the corner. “You need to socialize more. I worry about you.”

“I know.” Hands wrapped around the comforting heat of her own cappuccino. “You’re a good friend for that and I appreciate you more than you know.”

“But?”

“But, I…” Yang grimaced. The truth was she didn’t have a single reason to refuse Pyrrha’s offer. There were plenty of times she invited her for study sessions, or to join her and her other friends doing exactly what she and Pyrrha were doing now, getting coffee. There were no excuses that could logically explain why Yang held back from getting to know Pyrrha’s friends. “I-”

“I think that you’ve become accustomed to being alone.”

“Ruby lives with me.” she rolled her eyes, brushing the idea aside.

“That’s recent, and she’s hardly home anyway. You told me as much.”

“There’s nothing wrong with liking solitude.”

“No, but you don’t like it.” Pyrrha deadpanned. The green of her eyes peering into Yang’s accusingly. “You say as much when you complain how quiet the apartment is, or when you tell me of your boredom. I’ve heard you speak of your high school days.”

“What does that have to do with what’s so obviously wrong with me?” She knew she was getting defensive. She could feel it in the way her muscles tensed and her jaw locked, in the sound of the forced words pushing passed her clenched teeth. She also knew Pyrrha didn’t deserve any of it.

“Yang.” Voice lowered, Pyrrha placed a gentle hand on hers resting on the table. “Nothing is wrong with you. But you were always surrounded by a lot of people up until you moved here and I know you miss that.”

“Yes, because why wouldn’t I miss being surrounded by superficial barbies, and eager to please puppet boys?” Yang tapped a finger against Pyrrha’s wrist. “I’d much rather a friend that cares about me, not my body or looks or what I can do for them on the basketball court.”

“I do!” Her voice rose in indignation.

Yang laughed. “I know. I would rather have just one of you than a hundred of the type I hung out with in highschool.”

Placated with Yang’s compliments Pyrrha relented. “Fine, you don’t have to come out with us. But I don’t think making more friends like me would do you any harm.”

“There’s no one like you, and we both know it!”

A soft smile was Yang’s reward. “Save your flattery for your lady love.”

“What if I’m trying to seduce you?”

“You’re doing a piss poor job.”

“That hurts, like a knife to the guts kinda hurts.”

“That would imply you have any, we both know you haven’t the guts to ask that girl out.” Yang’s jaw hung low, impressed with Pyrrha’s comeback. “Should we test your spine too, or has that abandoned you as well?”

“Let’s not get nasty.” Yang pouted. “If you don’t like me that way you could have just said so. No need for slinging insults.”

“You deserve it.”

Yang could still see the worry behind her friend's smiling eyes. “I’ll come out with you- not this weekend!” She quickly added when Pyrrha looked at her excitedly. “I promise I’ll agree to an outing. Just one.”

Pyrrha settled, leaning back in her chair. “I’ll have to make it worth it then.” 

Yang had a feeling she would live to regret her words. She could see the wheels spinning in Pyrrha’s mind. 

“Thank you.”

Yang could only nod, knowing that all jokes aside, Pyrrha was only thinking of her well being and she’d been such a great friend to her. If this one thing could help her friend worry a little less than Yang would agree to it.

A sudden crash of a cup breaking behind the counter ripped through their silence. Both spared a hasty glance to the young girl behind the till who was beat red with embarrassment. Yang hissed at the strain the sudden movement caused, pain flaring up once again.

“Are you sure you will be alright?”

“You’ve worried over me enough today, don’t you think?”

“Not really. If I don’t do it who will?”

“You make a good point, but the strain will go away with sleep.” Turning her gaze out the window Yang could see the sun was already setting and dusk was sweeping its way across the campus. “Speaking of sleep, it’s getting late. We should probably head out.”

“Yeah,” Both stood and collected their things before exiting the building. “Meet in the library during our break tomorrow?”

“Yeah, we can go over what we remember of the test and try to get a head start on the next section.”

“Sounds like a plan.” 

They split up, Pyrrha to her dormitory and Yang to the parking lot, hoping she remembered where she’d parked. 

Taking a shortcut through the Arts building would save her a good five minutes rather than taking the long way around. She didn’t visit the building often, only having had one class in it during her first year. It was nice enough and Yang enjoyed looking at the sketches, paintings and sculptures previous students had completed over the years. The building housed a few art exhibitions a couple times a year and Yang realized, as she came up to a group blocking the hall to her escape, that was exactly what was happening now. She thought the paintings on the walls looked more professional than usual.

Sticking to the wall, Yang skirted the majority of bodies, excusing herself when she had to brush up on anyone too closely. She was sure that the last guy had heard her ask him to move but remained planted, ignoring her as one of the sculptures would, so she had to press very close to pass him. The smirk he sent her as she passed confirmed the creep she pegged him for. She wished he was a sculpture she could topple over. She’d take pleasure watching him break into a million pieces. 

As she shot him a look of her own she noticed a familiar figure in the middle of the crowd. As if sensing eyes on her, Blake looked up from the notes she was taking. Yang lifted her arm to wave and gave her a wide grin. It was a surprise when her greeting was readily returned, with almost as much enthusiasm. She was glad that Blake didn’t seem as reserved around her as before, even if they hadn’t had another chance to hang out since the movies. Yang could tell they were in some night class of sorts or an on campus field trip, so she gave Blake another wave and continued on her way. She was bound to come around at some point, seeing as every one of Ruby’s stories involved both Weiss and the girl behind her.

Pyrrha’s earlier comments filled her head. Had Blake not been in class would Yang have had the guts to talk to her? Would she have the backbone to stand there and ask the girl out? 

The skittish way she seemed to react to Blake told Yang that her friend was probably right. Nothing short of a neon sign from Blake letting her know she was interested would be enough to give Yang that push she needed. 

Maybe Pyrrha was right about everything. Maybe she was getting too comfortable in the past two years of her solitude.

Hopefully it wasn’t too late to rectify that.