#saw no issues personally though hope there were none elsewhere

[copia]

final vessel coat outing of the year didn't get me heckled by football fans so taking that as a huge win

[frangipanilove]

I don’t really understand how Beth would’ve ended up in all these different places. Is it because of the Commonwealths? The CRM? I’m confused and hate to say so cause it should be obvious but I’m feeling lost on it. I guess I should just trust “Beth is alive” and we’ll see her again. Just frustrating how long we’ve waited for her.

Hi friend, sorry it took me so long to get to this. I’ll try to answer, even though it might not be the kind of answer you had hoped for. I’m not really sure what you mean by “all these different places”. I personally don’t have any fixed opinion on exactly where she will show up, geographically. I expect there to be lots of hints and symbolism referring to her in Daryl Dixon season 2, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I believe she will literally show up. She might, but I’m not relying on it.

If your question is about the logistics of world travel, I don’t think that should be a problem. For starters, remember this is fiction. If tptb wants something specific to happen, they can just write it. We’ve seen that technology for world travel exists in this universe. We’ve seen advanced military technology like chinook helicopters, that were able to cross the North American continent without any issues. We’ve seen Daryl cross the Atlantic on a boat, we’ll see Carol do the same with a small plane. In FTWD we once saw Strand communicate with an astronaut on the International Space Station. Also in FTWD, we once saw them rehabilitate an old aeroplane and fly it out of a nuclear waste zone. We’ve also seen them travel by using a hot air balloon (shaped as a beer bottle, no less, and I’ve written about the incredible symbolism of that elsewhere)

For what it’s worth, people were crossing oceans centuries and millennia ago, and while I don’t think Beth’s on a viking ship or a balsa raft, humans have always migrated, and I don’t think a zombie apocalypse is enough to stop that drive. People will travel if they have a reason to, in real life, and certainly in fiction.

Tptb have also dropped hints of international trade throughout the seasons, with references to coffee (which only grows under very specific conditions), exotic fruits like pineapple, and also sugar cane. While none of that guarantees the presence of an international trade network, it does indicate the existence on one. At the very least, it renders it plausible that one COULD exist.

Also, Major General Beale from TOWL mentioned the CRM has spies everywhere, and I don’t remember his exact words, but I believe he mentioned overseas territories. So I wouldn’t worry about the logistics of travel. If TPTB want Beth to show up somewhere specific, they can just write it.

But there’s one thing we have no real insight into, and that’s the business part of the equation. Remember, TWD is ultimately a business, and if Beth is to come back, it will be because someone made the business decision to bring her back. And we can’t know what goes on behind closed doors at AMC. We can’t really know why she wasn’t brought back a long time ago, and we can’t know IF she’ll be back at all. We can’t really know for sure that EK even wants to come back. We can speculate, analyze interviews, social media posts etc, but it will still only be speculation and our subjective, biased interpretation.

And that’s what we do in TD, right? We watch the show and look for ways in which the symbolism tells us Beth is coming back. There’s an extensive symbolism framework present in TWDU that would help facilitate her return, and I like to believe it’s there for a reason. But ultimately no one can know for sure.

So I’m afraid I can’t guarantee that Beth 100% for certain will be coming back. I watch the show and I offer my interpretation of the symbolism, but you’ll never hear me make any promises, because I don’t think anyone can.

I understand the frustration, but for me, I’m a fan of the entire franchise, I love the main show and the spin offs and the entire TWDU, and I’ll continue to watch my favorite show regardless of whether or not Beth comes back, and that helps. I’d love for her to return, and I do believe that’s the story the symbolism is telling us, but I enjoy the show immensely regardless.

I hope this helps, but I’m sorry if it wasn’t the answer you were hoping for. Would love to hear more of your thoughts though 🥰

[cosmcther]

Do not mind the woman half-heartedly chasing after a handful of Lumas who have snatched her bow and are using it as a makeshift ribbon streamer. Jae's clearly had a lot on her 'wow my life's got a lot going on' plate and holds more exhaustion than usual in her eyes, but but no sensible person could get mad at a bunch of Lumas at the end of the day.

     It's another busy day. By the Comet Observatory's library is the celestial mother to be found. A steady path of pacing is made back and forth, a book or four currently in tow as she strides. It's a veritable holster of knowledge she's housing, one of many dusty tomes in hand for eyes to scan across, finish reading some pages, close the cover, and swap the book in the chamber for another. Humming and hawing... she was looking for something, clearly. Here and there, sparks of cosmic energy would alight near the fingers.

     Swap texts, source some more magic, click her tongue, and then—

     —A whip of action at her front, leatherbound bindings jostled from the wind of rapid motion. Ah, it was children at play with some newfound streamers. Cute... There's a small smile that breaks through a face of placid focus. And to her point of focus is the woman seconds away from returning to. But at the sight of a naked-headed Jae lagging behind the game of chase, one she most assuredly did not sign up for, it didn't take much else to connect the dots. Just like that, her personal stock of books are all closed and done away with, a pathway of magic carrying them back into the library proper without a second thought. She would return to her business later, a more present issue needed her attention.

     From the floor and to the skies — It's a shuttlecock's launch as Rosalina's form flies with stardust tracing her movements~. A smooth rise, a quick coasting by Jae's side for a short and wordless nod before speeding up— saying don't worry, she'll take it from here.

     Mid-flight, as the Lumas' free-roaming drift further and further throughout their home, one Star Wand is produced by a pop of celestial energy. Its five-pointed head released a small and slight pinging noise upon presentation. It began to flash a slow pulse of yellow light. It... slowed the racing rugrats down as though it were magic. Yet it didn't seem like magic. At least, none that would directly force the Lumas to steady their roll. It looked moreso like an in-house signal of sorts...

     Hmm, think Police sirens, perhaps.

     Fitting, too, for the children's bodies bobbed to the sound with that ever-familiar childhood wincing of 'Uh-oh... Busted...' as soon as they heard it. And starry-night eyes finally glanced around at their mother, knowing that the jig was up.

     After that? Compliance. A return of the snatched bow. A joint apology as their round bodies all bowed in remorse. 'Soooorry Miss Jaaaae' would they say, a nodding mother figure standing behind them all the while. And as they left, a few more Lumas would join the squadron now wandering off, those newcomers deciding to loosen some whistling bits of laughter at their friends who had gotten in trouble.

     Rosalina sighed, attention returning to her visitor. "My apologies, Jae." Reverence laced her tone, a small apologetic bow of her own being ushered forth. "My attention was elsewhere at the time, otherwise I would have noticed sooner. I hope they didn't have you running ragged for too long. To chase is to play, and it was all but a game from their youthful points of view. Please forgive them."

     ...But to a further point, the phrase 'running ragged' did truly seem applicable to the woman at her front. With the trouble sorted and peace restored, only then did sights properly look at Jae. And for a moment, a mind would worry that her children honestly did have Jae running hither and dither for the better part of a day. But eyes pried— sights saw no signs of physical exhaustion: sweat, shortness of breath, what have you. Far from it, Jae was a fit girl with all of the tournament fighting and running about that island of hers. No, it all seemed internal.

     Now, she held the aura of 'tired but getting through it' in her day-to-day, the concept seemed a packaged deal with one such as Jae. But those half-lidded eyes spelled something more in this particular scenario.

     Her hair jostles with a tilt of the head. That brief examinatorial squint sees itself out, making room for sights of simple maternal concern. "Is everything all right, Jae?" Ah, the dreaded question.

[angelatmidnight1]

Hello, this is for the match up game with any of the Apex Legends characters!

(No tickle lol)

Okay, so first, my name is Sam or Samantha, just thought I'd mention!

● I'm social butterfly with crippling social anxiety :,)

● My humor consists of dad puns, sarcasm, and probably whatever a 13 year old boy would laugh at.

●I'm a avid artist and art appreciator, and I want to work in animation!

● I love video games, specifically story based ones. My favorite is Undertale!

●I get distracted pretty easily unless under tense, stressful situations.

● I have anger issues and can lose patience quickly, mostly with situations and less with people.

● I'm the therapist friend and can give some solid advice for situations, but I don't know how to comfort people.

●My love language is a mix of quality time and acts of service.

●if I'm in a social setting with people I'm familiar with, my energy goes from 0 to 100. I'm an ambivert basically.

●I love helping people in any way shape or form, watching someones face light up is great. :)

●I love animals, and I really want to work at an animal shelter.

● My confidence is little to none, but I try to make it seem I'm well put together whether I actually am or not.

(THANK YOU IF YOU CONSIDER THIS AT ALL I LOVE YOUR WORK)

A/N: Hi, I'm so sorry this is late! I matched you up with Seer. I also used this bit of lore as inspiration. I hope I characterized you okay. But, if this story's not to your liking, let me know and I can try to write something else.

A Welcome Change

You and Seer are kindred spirits. With a passion for the arts and empathic hearts, you’ve been best friends since childhood. But ever since Obi’s last interview, you’ve seen and heard less from him as he works hard to provide more philanthropic work for Boreas. Angry by the callous treatment of your friend, and unwilling to watch him work himself into burnout, you visit Boreas to assist him in his work. After a challenging day, you try to redirect Obi’s thoughts with what you know best: arts and humor. 

“Biko, step forward, my friend. There is nothing to fear.”

Obi was speaking to the next person in line inside the soup kitchen. You stood a few feet away from him, offering the man a smile, though your mind was elsewhere. You’d volunteered your time to help Obi with providing food to Boreas, and you didn’t give helping him a second thought. That wasn’t what was on your mind, though. Instead, you were thinking about the circumstances that brought the two of you there, and a slight frown crossed your face. 

You’ve been, and I quote, “spouting inspirational phrases.” The people of Boreas can’t fill their bellies with inspiration. 

Lisa Stone was saying during Seer’s last interview. You’d watched it on your tablet. You’ve rarely, if ever, seen Obi so uncomfortable. He could normally take any situation and make it positive. But that wasn’t the case here. 

I’ve been looking over your transcripts from your last few games. You don’t mention Boreas, or steps to change its fate, just your “outcasts”. Have you spent any time doing philanthropy work on Boreas? Or is most of your time spent participating in the Apex Games? 

Seer didn’t answer. And, what Lisa said next made you livid. 

I see. I wonder what your fans think of that.

Your frown turned into a grimace. You knew just as well as Seer’s fans that there wasn’t anyone living in Boreas with a heart bigger than his. You’d told him so, telling him that he gave people hope. But Obi believed otherwise. Since comforting others wasn’t really your thing, you offered to help him with anything he needed done. You didn’t mind helping at all; in fact, you enjoyed it. It just broke your heart that Obi questioned the good he’s done. 

Suddenly, you felt someone shaking your shoulder. You flinched, nearly dropping your ladle, only to relax a bit when you saw Seer’s hand. 

“Sam?” Obi asked, giving you a concerned look. He gestured to the man that was across from you. “This gentleman has been waiting.”

You blinked, staring back at the man. He was an older individual, looking to be in his fifties or sixties, and he appeared nervous. You didn’t know if that was because of you or Obi, but it didn’t matter. You scooped a helping of food onto his plate, giving him an apologetic smile. 

“Sorry about that, sir.” You said, putting your ladle down to hand him some napkins. “There you go, enjoy.”

With that, the man walked away. There was a lull in the line, so Obi spoke to you again. 

“Is there something on your mind?”

“Nah. Well, actually…” you started, taking a breath. When you spoke again, you did so in a quieter voice, so even the best eavesdroppers couldn’t overhear. “I just keep thinking about what Lisa said to you, about how wrong she was. You’ve done plenty for Boreas, Obi, whether you’d like to admit it or not.” 

“That is kind of you to say,” Obi sighed. He walked around you to gather some empty plates. “However, I cannot deny her claims. I should have been providing support to Boreas sooner, instead of focusing solely on the Games.”

You frowned. “One reporter doesn’t speak for Boreas, Obi, and her the least of all. Please don’t let her get in your head too much.” You said, walking up to his side. You gently put your hand on his arm. “You’re being too hard on yourself.”

Obi, nodding silently, broke contact to bring the plates into the kitchen. Now, it was your turn to sigh. You put on new gloves and rotated the food. There was the quiet hum of chatter and the sound of silverware against dishes…all until someone came into the building in a hurry.

“Well, where is he, then?”

Came an angry sounding voice from the front of the room. You raised a brow and peeked from over the counters. There was an obviously disgruntled man at the entrance. An uncomfortable murmur sounded over the room and, since Obi was in the back, you decided to approach him. You slipped your gloves off and walked up to him, forcing a small smile onto your face. 

“Hi, who’re you looking—”

“Not you, piss off.” The man snapped, startling you. He got closer to you and you took a step back, unsure of what he’d do, if anything. “Where’s Seer? The one who’s dragged all of us into this mess.”

Instead of answering, Seer walked up behind you and moved in front of you, putting space between you and this angry individual. 

“I am here, and please do not speak to her like that.” Seer answered in a politely firm tone. He heard the commotion from the back and, more importantly, your increased heart rate. “What seems to be the problem?”

The man scoffed. “What, did you walk here with your eyes closed? Boreas’ gone to hell, no thanks to you.” he accused. “Maybe while you were prancin’ around the Games like the show pony you are, you forgot that we’d have to deal with whatever shit you’d bring in. Just like that reporter said.”

Seer frowned. “Boreas’ current state saddens me, that much is true. However, I am here to help the people in whatever way I can, starting with—”

“With what? A cup of soup?” The man glanced around dramatically, as if trying to get support from the others, but it didn’t come. So, he angrily went on. “If you think this means anything to people you’ve left to die, then you’re better off going back to your Games.”

You couldn’t stay quiet anymore. You moved to stand beside Obi. “Boreas is his home just as much as yours. He is trying to help! Which is more than you’ve done in the thirty seconds you’ve been here.” You spat. “Obi doesn’t owe you anything, or Lisa, since you brought her up. And yet he is here doing something, helping those in need. If you can’t see that his heart’s in the right place, then maybe it’s you who’s the problem.” 

The man stood there, mouth agape, not fully expecting you to step to him. You would’ve gone on if Seer didn’t stop you. 

“Thank you, Sam, I believe we are done here.” Obi spoke up, putting his hand on your shoulder. He took a look at the others in the room staring at the three of you, wide-eyed. You followed Obi’s gaze and then looked back at the man. 

You glared, but otherwise did your best to reel in your anger. “If you’re not here to eat, then you should go.” 

With that, the man left. You exhaled deeply, not realizing that your hands were shaking. You stuffed them into your pockets and headed towards the back of the room. Obi followed close behind. 

“Sorry about that,” You said over your shoulder. You turned around to face him. He didn’t need to see your hands to know that they were still shaking, and your heart was beating a mile a minute. “I just—he came in so rude, I couldn’t let him talk to you like that..”

“No, no. You do not need to apologize,” Seer answered. “I only wanted to thank you for speaking up for me. It was brave of you.”

You took one of your hands out of your pockets, dismissively waving your hand. “Ah, it was nothing. You're my best friend, Obi. Of course I’m gonna speak up for you.” You started to smile, but it quickly faded. “I just hope I didn’t make things more difficult for you.”

Seer shook his head. “You haven’t. Your response was justified. And I am grateful to have someone like you by my side. It has been a trying time as of late.”

“I can imagine,” you nodded. Then, in an attempt to lighten the mood a little bit, you gently nudged his arm. “Maybe what we need after this is a quick trip to Paradise?”

You gave Obi a knowing look, which made him chuckle for the first time since you two arrived. He smiled. “I agree, that would be wonderful.”

Once you and Obi were finished for the day, the two of you rode a train from Boreas to Solace. Since evening was fast approaching, the sun chased the train and cast shadows along the windows. It would take a few hours to reach the city, so you and Obi decided to play a game that you hadn’t played in what felt like forever.

“There.” At one of the train stops, you pointed at a restaurant across the street, where someone was eating a sandwich. “See the one there, eating? Let’s draw em’, except the rule is…everyone else around them has to be super tiny.”

Seer raised a brow, then chuckled. “Sometimes I am envious of your creative mind, Sam.”

“I can’t tell if that’s supposed to be a compliment or not,” you answered, raising a brow back at him. Obi peeked up at you from the brim of his hat and smirked. 

“I suppose that can be up for interpretation as well.” He chuckled again at the mock offended look you gave him, only to laugh when you lightly kicked his leg. 

“Oh, you’re hilarious, Obi.” You deadpanned. “Seriously, so funny. Anyways, time’s up when we get to Solace City.”

Seer nodded. As the train pulled off, the two of you began to draw on your tablets. There was a comfortable silence as you worked on your drawings. It wasn’t until you were a few stops away from Solace City that you started talking again. 

“Whaddya mean my people could be more proportionate?”

You scoffed without malice, pointing to your drawing. A part of the game included critiquing each other’s work, but it was all done in good fun. “If everyone’s supposed to be tiny except the guy eating, then my crowd’s totally proportionate!”

“Ah, but does that mean all of the small people have to be the same size?” Obi responded. He gestured to what he drew. “The people I’ve drawn are all smaller than the one eating, yet keep their individuality by being slightly taller or smaller than those around them.”

You pursed your lips and playfully huffed. “Alright, fine. I’ll give that one to you.”

The game continued even when you got to the Paradise Lounge. But instead of people, you chose your own subjects to draw. Obi was chuckling as you explained another one of your drawings.

“Listen, all I'm asking is if you’ve ever seen buns like these,” You snickered at your own joke, gesturing to what you drew. You’d drawn what you ordered to eat from the bar and was especially impressed by your shading. But the pun was there, and you couldn’t help making it. 

“I have not, well done.” Obi chuckled. He took a sip of his drink and after a few more strokes along his tablet, he turned it around to show you. But, instead of a drawing, there was something about an Apex Games celebration. Your brow furrowed in confusion. 

“I apologize for changing the subject,” Seer began. “But I was wondering if you would like to attend this with me. I was not planning on attending, but Ramya has insisted on my presence.”

“Well yeah, I think it’d do you some good to go,” You answered, the confusion still clear in your tone. “But, that’s for the Legends. I’m not a Legend, Obi.”

Seer smiled. “In my eyes, you are. You have helped me a great deal, and I would love to introduce you to my colleagues.”

[fan-written]

Meet cute Monday

---

"Is that a Crossword?"

---

It wasn't the screech of tires that caught her attention first. That was pretty common around Gotham. The yelling was too. And she had barely glanced at the black van that squealed past her at a speed sure to be unsafe. Even the gun fire was barely a note in her mind after she absently gauged it's distance.

No, by this point Marinette was used to all that.

What she wasn't used to was a boy leaping out of the window of said van and rolling to a stop at her feet. In her civilian form at least.

She blinked down at him in surprise, her mouth slightly agape. Intense, dark eyes blinked back up at her and she noticed he was less of a boy and more of a man. Probably a year older than her at most.

She also noticed he was rather handsome and his lips alone made her want to sketch. She quickly shoved that thought out of her mind, though. After all, he did just jumped out of a vehicle of gun toting probably criminals.

"Is that a crossword book?"

Marinette jerked slightly, shocked that he spoke to her. She blinked once more at him, looked at the puzzle book in her arm, glanced at the direction the van went, and finally returned her gaze to him.

"Yes?" She had to double check that it was, because that really shouldn't be the first question someone asked after jumping out of a moving van. "I, are you alright? You just-" she gestured to the road then down at him. "And now you're here. Should you really be asking about my puzzles?"

A gun shot and an engine roaring interrupted his reply and they both looked up to find the van turing back around the corner, racing towards them.

"Fuck!" The stranger quickly stood. He turned and almost ran into her in his haste to run. She barely caught the flicker of surprise that she was still there before he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a sprint. The small alley way he pulled her into already felt safer since the van wouldn't be able to follow.

"Fuck, I'm so sorry about this," he called out over his shoulder. "Really. It's just, they saw you and who knows what those shithead's would do to a beautiful girl like you. Especially since they saw you with me."

Marinette stumbled the first few steps, but easily settled into the run after that. She sent a silent apology to Tikki as her bag bounced against her leg. "Why would being seen with you be a problem?" She asked, desperately hoping he wouldn't look back at her. If he did then maybe he'd think her blush was just from the sudden exertion and not him calling her beautiful.

"You don't know?" Unfortunately he did glance back then and Marinette caught the pleased smirk tugging on his lips before he turned back to guide them. "You're holding hands with Bruce Wayne's most recent adopted son. I'm worth big money to some of the criminally minded."

"So you were kidnapped?" She tried to keep her voice normal, but now that he'd pointed it out all she could think about was how his hand wrapped entirely around her wrist. Honestly she wasn't that surprised it came out more like a squeak.

She tried to tug her arm away since she was keeping up fine without it, but the Wayne boy suddenly turned into a small alcove. The harsh yank on her arm that followed pulled her clumsiness to the forefront and she tumbled gracelessly into his hard chest.

Marinette opened her mouth to question him, but he shushed her with a finger to her lips. Instead he pressed her deeper into the corner, behind him. She subtly moved her purse so she wasn't squishing Tikki.

The shadowed corner was small, barely enough for one person, let alone two. It might have just been his body blocking the light, but Marinette felt that it was darker than it had been only seconds before.

Everything was still. She breathed shallowly, matching the Wayne in front of her. Both trying to silence their heaving chests begging for air so the could listen.

Several feet pounded down the cement from the direction they just came. Wayne turned around and lifted his hood up from his black jacket. Marinette could barely make out his eyes in the darkness. Would the goons even see them if they could hardly see each other?

Marinette held her breath, head tilted so she could listen as they ran past their hiding place. Her hands tightened around the shirt and book she held within them. Her body though settled into a relaxed state, ready to attack or defend if necessary.

She didn't notice, but the Wayne had done the same.

Finally, after what felt like hours but was only seconds, the sounds of the kidnappers were gone. Marinette let out a long sigh and rested her head against the chest in front of her. It had been a while since she had to hide like that. Most of the recent Akumas had to be fought head on.

She probably would have stayed as she was to collect herself if she hadn't felt like she was shaking. Marinette couldn't quite figure out why since she'd stopped having panic attacks after every life threatening experience years ago. Then a pair of arms tightened around her and she remembered she's not the only one around.

Marinette jerked her head back, and slammed it into the wall behind her. The muffled laugh escaped for half a second until a hand buried it again. She absently rubbed her new goose egg and glanced up into mirthful eyes. The heavy darkness seemed to have dissipated and she chalked it up to the fear of being caught.

he shouldn't be laughing though. She shouldn't laugh too. None of this was funny. But it kind of was. It's not every day she gets attractive men throwing themselves at her feet.

And that's the thought that got her. Because once an Akuma made all men do just that.

The first giggle escaped and her face matched Wayne's now, with wide eyes and a hand covering her mouth. They both had another staring contest, but this time it was broken by laughter.

"Sh-shhhh! They- they might come back," she whispered.

Wayne nodded but neither of them could stop, especially when they looked at one another. "I know," he said between gasps. "It's not, it's not even that funny."

Marinette shook her head, but couldn't answer because another bout of giggles took over. Finally she gave up and rested her head against him just so she wouldn't look at his face again. She could feel him lean into her, relaxing against the wall, but keeping them safe if the villains returned.

Slowly the laughter died, occasional giggles escaping like hiccups as they calmed down. Marinette sighed again, more out of breath from their laughter than their run.

"Running from life threatening situations usually doesn't make me that giddy." She kept her face down, afraid she'd laugh again if they shared eye contact.

He hummed and she could feel it against her cheek. "Yeah, I don't think I've ever reacted like that. Wait!" He pulled away and she had no choice but to look at him. "How many life threatening situations have you been in if you know what your usual reaction would be?"

She shrugged, hoping he would take the non answer. She doubted it, based on the look he was giving her, like she was a puzzle he needed to solve. "What about you?" She deflected. "You know your usual reaction too."

"I'm a fuckin' Wayne. Of course I've been in these kind of situations before." His deadpan stare told her he wasn't fooled, but she was off the hook for now.

"Oh yes," she snapped her fingers. "The newest Wayne Adoptee. You mentioned that, but I still don't know your name. I mean, you did run off with me, and now you've got me pressed against the wall. That's like first date material right there." She smirked up at him, hoping it would distract him.

Instead he grinned back, happily taking the challenge issued. "Duke Thomas-Wayne. And you, ma'am, must have had some shitty first dates if you think this would count as one." He looked her over as if finally taking in her appearance. His eyes paused on the book in her arm, before returning to her face. "And you definitely deserve something better."

She blushed, begging the shadows to hide it but knowing it was futile. She refused to lose their verbal spar though. "W-well, maybe I haven't found anyone worth better?" She cocked her hip and lifted an eyebrow.

Duke chuckled, just as pleased as her with their banter. "I might be able to change your mind, if you don't mind giving your name?"

"Marinette," she said while holding out her hand. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You've left quite the first impression Monsieur Thomas-Wayne. I don't often have men leaping out of cars to meet me."

This time his smile turned sheepish, but not for long. "Well Miss Dupain-Cheng," he gently took her hand, "it's not every day I find myself staring up at a goddess. One who even shares a favorite hobby of mine." He gestured at the puzzle book. "But maybe we should continue this conversation elsewhere." He glanced behind him at the empty ally way. "Hopefully without any villains nearby. Maybe at a coffee shop?"

Marinette nodded, pulling her hand from his. Finally he stepped away and Marinette could breath. Somehow she was genuinely flirting. And it was working!

She grinned up at him, far to happy for the situation they still had to successfully escape from. "It sounds like a date!"

[thewhitefluffyhat]

My Interests Weren’t Ryukishi’s

So okay. Higurashi Sotsu, the anime, ended up kind of a mess. But we still have Higurashi Jun, right?

…Well, I’m personally tempering my expectations.

Because here are the things I was most interested in for Sotsu:

An actual SatoRika romance, not more frustrating “just friends” nonsense like we see in the tons of other anime.

Exploration of the trauma of looping and its effects on Rika and Satoko.

A clear and satisfying emotional throughline to Umineko.

A reasonable expectation is that Jun will fix the repetition and pacing problems of Sotsu. If we’re really lucky, it might also fix the unsympathetic Satoko problem. (And I’ve heard that witch!Satoko’s characterization in Mei is already a little better than the anime, so this seems very possible…!)

But regardless, I don’t think it will actually give me any of these things I was so excited for.

Because, given Ryukishi’s comments in the post-finale interview and elsewhere, I have to conclude these were all things Ryukishi wasn’t actually interested in exploring.

On SatoRika

I already wrote at length about my feelings on Ryukishi’s “it’s not yuri” comments regarding Satokowashi when they were first translated. Thus, I wasn’t surprised when Sotsu’s finale went all-in on emphasizing Satoko and Rika’s “”friendship.”” There really was no other way to interpret the interview comments, so this anticlimax of a denial was inevitable. (At least it wasn’t the worst scenarios I imagined...)

But what makes the lack of romance in Sotsu especially disappointing is that it feels like the final nail in the coffin for any hope of canonically romantic SatoRika, or even any unambiguously romantic LambdaBern interactions - in the entire franchise. If an anime directly focused on Satoko and Rika’s relationship didn't go there, I can’t see Jun, or Mei, or any future work doing it either.

And it's hard to overstate how much that sours my interest in the series. After finishing Umineko, I saw WTC as one of those few works that didn't tiptoe around queerness. It's one of the major things that made me treasure it over things like Touhou and Madoka, for daring to have its lesbian characters in an actual relationship. But now? Well, nothing can erase the other queerness in Umineko. But SotsuGou sure destroyed my trust in the rest of WTC.

On the trauma of time loops

Oftentimes, in WTC and elsewhere, time loops are a metaphor for a character’s mental journey or issues. That’s one way to interpret Umineko, for example. And the loops might even be a metaphor in Sotsu too, a fantastical extrapolation of Satoko and Rika’s fistfight when they returned to Hinamizawa.

In Umineko, this conceit worked. Mostly because regardless of being a metaphor, the characters did treat the events of the loops as though they mattered (hello, Beatrice’s ultimate fate), and because Umineko is thematically a story about how and why we tell stories.

But in Higurashi, the time loops are simultaneously more tangible, yet less affecting. Rika’s character in particular is almost entirely shaped by her being a looper. Except when suddenly, it isn’t.

I’ve mentioned before that Rika never telling anyone about her experiences, never truly grappling with the effects of what she went through was one thing I found very unsatisfying about Higurashi’s original ending. Especially given Umineko, where the horror of looping is implied to be fundamental to why Bern (and possibly Lambda) are as broken as they are.

So I was very happy at the possibility that Sotsu might finally tackle this topic.

But, in the end, Ryukishi doubled down on the same things that bothered me about the original ending. When the witch/looper personality goes away, the trauma associated with it does too, for some reason.  

How does that happen? Does the witch disappearing mean that the character completely forgets the loops? And why should I have cared about the events of those other worlds, if none of it mattered to any of the characters?

Who knows, because Ryukishi isn’t interested in that kind of hard magic worldbuilding! We’ve now had that ending with both Rika and Satoko, so I doubt this glossing over is a mistake.

But what’s especially frustrating here is that it feels like the story is trying to have its Fragment effects both ways. The finale in SotsuGou strangely involves Rika and Satoko leaving the world where they fought and going back in time so Satoko can avoid St Lucia and so she’s in a timeline with Nice Teppei. But in the same breath, it suggests that all the horror of the loops and any violence experienced within don’t affect Satoko or prevent her from enjoying her happy ending. So the positive consequences of the loops were required in order to get the happy ending, yet the negative consequences vanished with the witches. 

Convenient, but extremely unsatisfying!

So… okay, does that mean that if we’re interested in the experiences of the loopers - that is, if we’re interested in the Rika and Satoko we’ve been following for 90% of the anime’s runtime - we should be caring about the witch characters rather than the humans in the final timeline? Well…

On the Cross-WTC Connections

Given the giant tangle SotsuGou made out of the meta timeline, it honestly it feels like we're now in even MORE need of a Bern/Lambda/Featherine origin story to clean up all of the horribly messy loose ends. Except given how much emphasis Ryukishi puts on his characters being more like representations of themes or actors playing roles, I don’t think we’ll ever get one.

It’s very weird, to me. Moments like Lambda talking about her and Bern’s past in Umineko, or lines like Eua being disappointed Satoko/Vier doesn’t remember her in SotsuGou heavily imply that these meta characters are more than just repeated collections of tropes, that there is some interesting continuity and personhood to get invested in between them. And yet, just like the SatoRika romance - if there was ever an opportunity in the series to go all-in on exploring these characters, this was it. But instead we got a handful of questionable scraps.

So perhaps the most disappointing part to me about SotsuGou - even over the lack of SatoRika - is how it suggests that it's meaningless to have that investment in the witches. That they don't actually have consistent motivations or personalities or even a coherent timeline to their existences. It might just be random winks and nods that don’t add up to anything.

If, like me, you were invested in the continuing development of the time looping lesbians that SotsuGou seemed to be about, well, you’re probably out of luck - on all three counts. 

[lightsaberupmybutt]

Three’s a Crowd - Reader/Ben Solo/Poe Damerson (Modern AU)

alright so Ben/Kylo is a big ego kid in this, because of course. Also, Rey is ACTUALLY Lukes daughter in this, making them cousins. Ive fiddled with the plot okay sue me. 

Summary: Poe, Finn and their roommate have been living in a harmonious tenancy, but when Finn decides to move out for a year of travelling, the two are left with no option but to look elsewhere for their third body. Rey Skywalker, a friend of the group, proposes her cousin for the role. He's in a band, wears all black and all in all is somewhat of a social reject - but he's also all theyve got.  

“I think that one was actually somehow worse than last weeks” You tell Poe, as he pours himself a juice and settles down next to you on the sofa. You'd just finished showing around another possible roommate and you felt exhausted in every sense of the word. 

“How can he be worse than the neo nazi?” Poe shot you an unbelieving look and rolled his eyes, kicking his feet up onto the coffee table and knocking some of your papers in his wake. 

“Alex was a she, and they asked if they could hang their deer head in the front room” you grimaced even thinking about it, weren't all artsy college students supposed to be vegetarians anyway? why did you have to get saddled with the only blood thirsty one on campus. 

“Thats not so bad”

“Poe she showed me a picture of her taxidermied cat”

“Oh”

You had tried to find a polite way to stop her from passing you her phone, but you were too nice to make her feel uncomfortable, and now the image of the long dead tabby would remain behind your eyes for god knows how long. 

“was she hot?” You shook your head, causing Poe to sigh wistfully. 

“Not hot enough to cancel out her obsession with dead bodies anyway” you informed him, the hopeful look from his eyes gone. 

“Face it Poe, were doomed” You let your head fall into your hands, Poe letting out a laugh before wrapping his arm around your shoulder. 

“Hey we’ll get someone! who wouldn't want to live here?” You knew his question was rhetorical but when looking around the cleaner than usual flat, you had to admit it was missing something. Bare spaces on the walls from where Finn had taken down his pictures, the empty side of the kitchen counter that had once houses his overpriced coffees. You even missed picking up his empty cups after him, the room feeling like it had less character without them. It truly hadn't felt the same in the flat since Finn had left, and although Poe concealed it well, you could see it was getting to him too. Poe had, after all, known Finn first; Finn managing to get a very drunk and outspoken Poe out of a sticky situation he had found himself in when running across a local gang in a dive bar. The ‘first order’ as they so called themselves, had an infamous reputation around campus for being trouble makers and general doers of bad deeds. Ever since that night they had been an unstoppable duo, until they met you of course, and their duo became three. 

You loved Finn, and you knew told miss him like hell, but you also knew that Poe must be feeling that ten times over. 

“You wanna do something tonight?” You asked, changing the subject before his mind  drifted to where yours had. 

“what kind of something?” he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, 

“Gross” 

“hey I'm serious!”

“what about Razor Crest, they are open late, we could grab some drinks and meet up with some people” 

Razor crest was the only worth while bar in town; it was certainly nothing to write home about, but it played fairly decent music and it had a marginally less sticky floor than others. Additionally, your other friends lived just over from the humble saloon, making it the perfect watering hole for you guys. 

It didn't take much convincing before you had Poe out the door and ready to socialise. Upon arrival, he headed to the bar while you were waved over by Rey, who had already found a booth and was already at least a few drinks in. 

“Look, i think i have a solution to your roomie problemo” She told you, peeking over her straw, a gleam in her eye that made you feel not all too confident in her yet to be spoken plan. 

“Go on” you told her, cautiously. 

“My cousins back in town” She told you between gulps. 

“The weird one?” You asked, 

“Hes not weird, just ...eccentric” the last word was more of a question, but you could tell she was on a roll, 

“He's just joined one of the college bands and Auntie Leia says him and Uncle Han are butting heads” 

“ah cool, weve always wanted  live music in our own flat at 2 am” Poe injected, rejoining the table and placing a drink in front of you before taking a sip of his own. 

“hes not BAD at it, he just plays loud i think” She corrected him, “anyway, he's not a total twat, I'm sure he would be considerate of your sleep schedules” 

“didn't he try and stab you with a stick when you were five” you asked her, you'd heard stories of this cousin before and none of them were quite savoury, 

“that was ages ago! he's like way old now” she was starting to slur her words, but you had a feeling this was something Rey was quite set on. Rey was stubborn, and when she got something in mind she would move hell to make it happen; she was also your best friend, and someone you trusted the judgment off. Had she gotten you into some weird shit in the past? sure. 

Did you have any other options; nay on that. 

“Fine, get Han or Leia to bring him round at some point next week and one of us will give him a tour” You tell her, and she lets out a little happy shrill at her own personal win. Poe, not so much. 

“Speak for yourself, weirdo cousin can see himself around” he crosses his arms and pouts, you give him a little nudge. 

“Hey, maybe you'll be best mates” you offer, but when he shoots you a death stare you go back to your drink.

The family turmoil must have been more vicious than Rey had let in on; It was barely the next morning before you had a tall, intimidating male knocking on your door. 

“Hey!” you offered him, in as cheery a voice as your hung over self would allow.

He looked down at you from his towering height, but gave no verbal response. 

“You must be Ben?...”  He offered you the slightest nod you'd had ever seen in response. Okay so, not much of a talker, noted. 

You waved him in, shutting the door behind him. God, he looked even bigger inside? is that possible? Rey had failed to mention the sheer height on the boy. You'd seen pictures of her and her aunt and uncle, it seemed like Ben was a scientific and biological mystery. Like how did he get clothes to fit? did he have to shop somewhere special or

you were snapped out of your thoughts by a clearing of a throat. 

“So, how much is the rent” so he DID have a voice, 

You informed him automatically, still part dazed. 

“Ill be in by the weekend” he told you, and with a nod he moved past you, making his way back to the door.

“But wait .. y .. you haven't even seen your room yet?” You stumbled, dumbfound by the lack of foreplay. The previous people you had shown around were full of questions; they wanted to know the ins and outs of the place. Ben had seen all of the door way and the front room and he was already signing the lease. 

“See you then” he didn't stop, hand on the door knob as if you hadn't spoken.

“But i don't have your phone number” you don't know why that came to you first, but it was true. At no point had Rey offered you direct contact with Ben, probably assuming he would. It seemed reasonable, that you'd need his number before he moved in, didn't it? Poe was always texting you about random shit in the flat, arguably too much, but it seemed like the norm for people coexisting in such a small space. 

He turned back at you and gave you a confused look, 

“why would you need my number?”

“erm... to talk to you” your condescending tone not completely masked, 

“but ill be living here” he stated, which, he had you there. 

Before you could even think of a response  he was out the door.

True to his word, Ben had his things over by that very same weekend. Although it was unsurprising considering just how light he packed. In fact, other than his bass and musical equipment, you couldn't really think of anything he had actually brought with him to the flat. You got to meet his parents when they dropped him off, both of whom seemed leaps and bounds more conversational than their son. Ironically, you got Leia’s phone number before her sons; her telling you to message if you ever needed anything. It felt like an indirect jab at Ben, a ‘if he fucks up let me know’, but you digress. The tension between Ben and his dad was blatantly obvious, them sharing no words before he got back into the car and Ben into the house. He did give his mum a small hug goodbye though, and you thought you saw a small tear in her eye before she managed to wipe it away. 

Since his move in, Ben had kept painfully to himself. You barely saw him at all in those first days, just heard him through the walls the odd time he dropped something - or saw a plate or cup gone from their places in the kitchen. To be honest , it felt more like a paranormal haunting than a new roommate. Poe was vocal of his apprehension to the situation, sharing glances with you when you would both be in the living room and you'd see ben scurry by or passive aggressively texting you when his favourite cup had been used by someone who wasn't him. it was a relatively small issue, but Poe had blown it so out of proportion that you had ordered a new set of cups from Amazon and sent him the link, shutting him up for a while before he found something else to complain about.

it was the fifth day before you actually bumped into ben again. He was on the sofa with his base set up, twiddling with his amp. The sight surprised you so much you physically jumped back, causing him to look up. crap. act cool. act cool. 

“hey” you offered him

“hi” hi replied back, looking back down at his amp. 

right, yer. his space, give him his space. Just get your stuff and go back to your room. don't speak to him, leave him alone. he clearly wants to be left alone. 

“nice day isn't it” you wanted to cover your mouth, the words coming out against your will. Truthfully, you had no clue why you said it. You hadn't even looked at the weather this morning. Its just what people say right? 

“Erm” his eyes shot to the window and then back to yours,”no”

sure enough, it was pissing it down outside. The sky was actually comically grey and you'd have laughed if you werent so angry at yourself. You were unsure of what to do, and he was still looking at you, almost assessing you. His eyes were so serious and dark they felt like they were burning tiny holes into your skin. shit, you had to speak now right?

While regretting every single life decision that had brought you into this kitchen at this time, Poe sauntered into the room like your night in shining armour, ignoring Ben all together and coming straight over to you, placing a big arm around your shoulders. You saw Ben drop his head back down to this bass, and you used all your might to not let out a sigh of relief.

“Tonight, I'm taking you out” He offered, a cheeky gleam in his eye. 

“Are you now” 

“Razor crest, drinks and dancing, be there or be square” He lists off as if he's a paid promoter, causing you to let out a giggle. 

“Whos invited?” 

“just the gang” he said, causing you to shoot him an eye roll, knowing full well you ‘gang’ consisted of all of three people, yourself and Poe included in that number. 

but then you remembered, there was another person now, whether they liked it or not. Poe’s eyes followed yours to Ben and then back to meet yours again, you saw the realisation change to disgust, as he shook his head silently at you. 

you knew this look, the ‘don't you dare’ look, the ‘not in 1000 years’ look. But you couldn't help it, your lips were moving before you could stop them for the second time this morning. 

“Are you free tonight, Ben?’

The look of sheer betrayal on Poe's face made you wince, surely he'd understand right? he knew you well enough to know your verbal diarrhoea  problem. 

Ben didn't even look up, but he did let out a small laugh that felt quite antagonistic. 

“i dont go to Razor Crest” 

“i don't go to razor crest ugh” Poe mocked, causing Rey to let out a hysterical giggle, and you a sigh. 

You'd been out for all of three hours and you were all already feeling the effects of the alcohol. It was late and the bar was jam packed with students all raring to go. Poe had been making eyes at one particular red head  almost all night and you were half surprised he hadn't already made his move. Poe put out, it was a fact. You and Finn had at one time made a fridge chart for him, a gold star awarded every time he brought  girl home. Whether the goal was to make him feel proud of his conquests or embarrassed, you still weren't 100% sure, but after a month or so you had both lost count and given up. You told yourself it didn't bother you, that he was just a friend, and that he owed you nothing, but every time he left you at the bar for another girl something stung inside; something you pushed deep down but regrettably was still there none the less. 

Sure enough, as the night progressed, you and Rey ended up fending for it alone, and instead of feeling sorry for yourself you decided to do the responsible thing and drink more. 

After the third round of shots, Rey calls it in. 

“I think I'm gonna be sick” she tells you sheepishly, and you can't help but belly laugh in response. She starts to shuffle towards the door and you go to follow.

“Hey don't leave on my behalf” she tells you earnestly, but you wave her off. 

“Nah I've had my fill, I'm starting to forget which flat number i live at” you tell her, causing her to giggle this time. 

You both stumble out the bar, past the smokers and up the cobbled road towards her flat. She unlocks her door and lets herself in, not before giving you a drunken hug and a sloppy kiss on the cheek. 

As you ready yourself to make your way back to your own flat, you come back past the bar entrance; a particularly prominent cobble causes you to trip ever so slightly and gain a whoop from a group of boys who were passing round a box of marlboro straights. 

You suddenly realised just how dark it was and just how alone you were. Most nights you wouldn't stay out this late, and if you did, then you'd normally be walking back with finn. You let out a shiver, a mix of both the cold night air finally breaking through your drunken daze and a smidge of fear. The Razor Crests entrance lights were getting progressively further away, and although you know that you only had a maximum of a half mile walk back to your home, it felt like ample distance to get kidnapped or murdered in, most probably both. 

How many true crime stories started with a young drunk girl, scantily clad and out alone at night? You could hear the police reports now, which photo would they use? you prayed it would be a hot one, at the very least one after your thin brow phase. 

Being literally bumped back into reality, in almost a cruel humorous way, you felt yourself walk head first into a figure, their arms coming out to catch you as the sheer momentum bounced you back. 

Oh god, I'm dead. I'm literally going to die.  

“Hey, chill out” The voice made your heart beat both slow and race again, 

“Ben?!” you shrieked, voice hoarse through pure anticipation of your thought to be demise 

“Are you okay” he asked, and only then did you realise you were shaking like a leaf. 

“Im fine” you let out in a small voice, looking down at your shoes. You could feel the redness in your cheeks through pure embarrassment alone. This was not an ideal situation for him to see you in, and you kind of started to with that he had been a murderer, at least then you wouldn't have to deal with the second hand embarrassment in the morning. 

“What are you doing out here”

“why are you out alone” 

you both asked simultaneously,

“I was coming out for a smoke” He told you, flashing his tobacco pouch at you from inside his coat. His very warm looking coat, might you add. Another shiver ran down your body. 

“Im coming home from Razor Crest” you tell him, trying to be matter of fact but slurring your words just enough to spoil the show. 

“Yes obviously, but why are you alone” he shoots back in some what of a patronising tone, it wouldn't sit well with sober you and it definitely doesn't go down well with drunk you. 

“Im a big girl” 

“clearly” he makes, making extra sure to look you up and down from his towering distance above you, causing you to huff. 

“well i can take care of myself” 

“you shouldn't be out alone around here, its not safe” he ignores your response, looking you dead in the eye. 

You feel something inside you flutter, a warmth that you can't quite control. Okay, ben might be weird and a bit annoying it would seem, but he was handsome, thats for sure. The limited light danced off his strong features and dark shaggy mop of hair, making him look both dangerous and appealing. 

As if you were standing here mentally flirting with the idea of being with Res cousin; you made a mental note to punish yourself for the ludicrous thoughts in the morning. 

“Okay well I'm going home now” you tell him, attempting to push past him, but his large hand finds its way to your forearm and pulls you back,

“yes, you are, come on” If what he said before was patronising, he was now speaking to you like you were a dog he was walking. 

“go have your nicotine, ive got this one covered” you tell him with a mock salute, causing him to roll his eyes. He lets go of your arm and you take your win, trying to step confidently away without falling. You're proud of yourself for handling the situation when you realise he's following all  of 10 steps behind you, rolling a cigarette in his hands while holding a filter between his teeth. 

when he catches you looking, he nods down to his hands, 

“want one?” he mumbles between his lips, still holding the filter pride of place. 

“no thanks” you snap, picking up pace. 

Ben smirks at you, but you miss it, too focused on not embarrassing yourself and keeping your feet in line. 

[utterlyinevitable]

Hey hi! Can you do a hc about what happened in the time jump for the li routes to fix this mess? Make the lack of progression make sense! please and thank you

I shall try!

Though I’m only going to do Ethan, Bryce and Rafael (TBC in another post). I have never played Jackie’s route and don’t feel comfortable speculating. 

Ethan x MC During the Time Jump 

After the gala, things seemed to be going well. Ethan dismantled the Diagnostics Team and wasn’t MC’s direct superior anymore. 

They thought everything would be fine. 

But no, Ethan was still an attending and MC a resident in the same department. 

And that kiss looked too familiar to be the first time anything happened between them. 

So people started to talk. 

Rumors started to fly about MC sleeping her way onto the best cases and Ramsey giving her preferential treatment.  “Have you seen the way he looks at Dr. Lao? Actual hearts in his eyes.” “She’s the only person he wouldn’t fire for talking back to him.”   “I saw them leave Donahue’s together once last year. You think it’s been going on since then?” 

Ethan and MC did their best to ignore the incessant gossip, they were much too busy helping as many patients as possible to pay attention. 

Two weeks after the gala the gang celebrated Thanksgiving. 

Ethan was invited and joined without pushback. 

He sat at the island talking with Sienna and Rafael as they waited for MC to arrive from her errand that was taking longer than expected. 

It wasn’t as awkward as he would have thought, getting to know MC’s group was rather enjoyable. 

Well, that was until Keiki and Bryce arrived. 

Keiki was very standoffish with Ethan, giving him the full inquisition. 

He took it in stride, brushing off every time Bryce apologized for his sister’s behavior. 

MC and Ethan spent Christmas with Alan at Ethan’s place after a long shift. They hadn’t explicitly confirmed their coupling with his father, using the cover of “having nowhere else to go” to explain why they’re spending the day together. 

Ethan had only spoken about MC and barely even touched on the depth of his feelings for her in the odd conversation with Alan about his personal life.  

Alan knew better. He sees the way his son looks at MC and how attentive he is to her needs; whether it be a new napkin or a top up without batting an eye. No to mention, this wasn’t the first time he caught them cozying up in Ethan’s kitchen. 

Word still spread around the hospital, even quicker now that Ethan and MC were confirmed to have spent the holiday together. So much, to the point that they could not ignore it any longer. 

Ethan and MC and her friends tried to squash as many rumors as possible. Telling everyone that they’ve only started dating. It was part of the truth.  “They hooked up the moment she was cleared of the toxin. One of the nurses heard them. MC is loud!”  “That’s ridiculous. MC went right to sleep the second I wheeled her out of there,” Bryce informed. “And seriously, the kiss at the gala was the first time they got frisky.” 

They were able to buy some more time. The amount of patients coming through Edenbrook’s doors tripling and keeping everyone busy. 

MC spent New Years with her friends while Ethan worked. 

He made it to her apartment just in time to kiss her at midnight. 

Eventually the most salacious of rumors made their way to the board. 

Edenbrook still had ~7 months of life left and accusations like this could not be brushed under the rug. 

Ethan was called into a meeting to assess the claims not long after. 

He blew a gasket - face and ears red with rage at the laundry list of claims brought against them.

The board threw around the notion of a sexual harassment case. 

Ethan assured them that would not be necessary. Their current relationship was more than consensual. 

The board would have loved to believe them but in the current climate they could not afford another lawsuit and are proceeding with extreme caution. 

Ethan was advised to keep distant from MC until the investigation was concluded. 

MC was called in a few days later. 

She said the same as Ethan. 

Things were awkward that entire week they had to stay away from one another to prove their point of not interfering with their professional relationship. 

The case was cleared quicker than both thought possible. Luckily, all their friends and close colleagues vouched for them. 

Ethan and MC received the email of no wrongdoing just before their shifts ended one night.

The night they got the news wasn’t the happy reunion they were expecting. 

She met Ethan at his place - ready with a set of lingerie she was saving for February. 

MC was so excited. But that all ended over takeaway when Ethan spoke of the thoughts that had plaguing him since his meeting with the board. 

Needless to say, Ethan never got to see the outfit. 

The evening ended in them arguing about where she should apply to residency and how he doesn’t want to hinder her career. 

MC stormed out and gave him the cold shoulder for a while. 

Their fight lasted well past Valentine’s Day. 

MC did send him a text to thank him for the flowers and food basket he sent. Other than that it was professional business as usual between them. 

Both Ethan and MC threw themselves into their work, letting the days turn into weeks and neither of them acknowledging their issues. 

They let the fight simmer down and let themselves down along with it. 

They didn’t fight for their relationship, they didn’t talk anymore about what it all means for them. 

MC loves Ethan and would choose him and staying in Boston for him over a better opportunity elsewhere. But after everything, she’s dejected. She’s put so much effort into their relationship over the last two years that there’s no point to fight for something he’s not willing to meet halfway on.

Ethan knows MC leads with their heart. 

That’s why he wouldn’t tell her. That’s why he couldn’t tell her he’s madly in love with her. 

He doesn’t want to ruin her career anymore than he has already, doesn’t want the rumors festering within Edenbrook to follow her wherever she ends up. Doesn’t want her to give up a very promising career for whatever this is. 

He’s also not going to admit he’s a little scared of what it means if she did stay. It’s easier for him to push her away in the name of her career than admit he’s absolutely hopeless without her. 

MC’s night on the town with her friends ended up at the helipad on top of Edenbrook. Ethan heard the commotion of their dancing and loud music and went to investigate. 

The gang invited him to join and he looked at MC for permission. 

She smiled and shrugged, the fight forgotten and the nostalgia washing over her tipsy state. 

He grabbed and beer and sat next to her. He lamented on the view and when MC told him she was glad he was here Ethan grabbed her hand. They relished the feeling of their skin on each others after what’s felt like years. 

They welcomed the silence and just being in each others company. 

Slowly the group trickled out, leaving Ethan and MC alone.  “What did you get up to tonight? Besides trespassing.”  “We did some applications then said ‘fuck it’ and went out”  He didn’t comment on application although he was itching to know where she hopes to end up. So, Ethan changed the subject, “You look beautiful. That dress really suits you.”  “Thank you.” 

They sat still in unsettled silence. The nightly breeze picking up and Ethan mindlessly rubbing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. 

They went to speak at the same time, MC letting Ethan continue: 

“Will you come home with me?”  “Is that a good idea?”  “I’d like to make the most of the time we have left.” 

MC looked at him, their eyes locking. 

She knew it wasn’t a good idea - she’d fallen into him one too many times. Every time she was scorned.  

But maybe tonight she’s diluted her inhibitions enough to indulge in one last goodbye. 

They went back to his place and they didn’t talk at all. 

Very few words were exchanged in the seconds their lips parted. 

Small pleasantries were exchanged in the morning along with light kisses everywhere but on the mouth. 

Ethan drove her back to her place the next morning to keep prying eyes from catching them coming to work together. 

MC wished she regretted sleeping with him again. 

The moment she got out of bed she missed his heat and the way he wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled into her neck as they slept. 

It was heaven. And MC didn’t ever want to come back down. 

MC was still applying to programs all over the country, hoping she’ll find a new match somewhere. Ethan’s recommendation letter could only carry so far. 

Ever since that last evening Ethan and MC refused to acknowledge the fault staring them in the face. 

Instead, they took things one day at a time. 

They kept their friendship alive after months of ignoring one another. 

They’ve texted, they’ve almost sexted. They’ve gone out for coffee. 

But they never had another sleepover. 

Whenever they got close, their internal siren would wail “they’re leaving they’re leaving they’re leaving” and immediately someone would make an excuse to stop much to both their disappointment. 

It was for the best. They knew that. They convinced themselves to be true. 

Edenbrook’s last day came and Ethan was understandably shaken. His career he had devoted his entire life to ended. This creature of habit has to rebuild and it’s terrifying. 

He had a number of hospitals and research centers send him offers but none of them felt right. None of them were Edenbrook and none of them were the team he and his mentor built, and none of them had his favorite person. 

So Ethan was set to take a few months sabbatical; spend more time with his dad and at the opera and just enjoying the life he has been too distracted to live. 

Later that day while waiting for labs for the Bloom Case, he wanted to strangle his father for inviting MC on the quick trip to Providence. 

He also never expected her to agree. 

Ethan had never taken a woman home - and they weren’t really in that close of a place for her to nosey around his guarded past. 

It was disconcerting and strangely familiar to have MC by his side in his childhood home. His past and present meshing beautifully. 

And that scared Ethan. 

Standing in his childhood home watching Alan and MC coo over baby photos, Ethan never wanted a domestic life more. He wanted to show her everything and have her do the same. He wanted to do all this in twenty years with his own family. 

He was coveting things he had thrown away. 

And then she kissed him and for a split second no hope was lost. 

When the lights of Edenbrook finally went off that fateful day, MC grabbed his hand. 

It felt like the only thing to do. 

He was the most important part of Edenbrook - for MC Ethan was Edenbrook. 

Their romantic past aside, they became friends here. He was the reason she was here in the first place - at Edenbrook and practicing medicine. It was only fitting that he’d be at her side when this chapter closed. 

“I’m going to miss you,” she said so sincerely his heart didn’t know whether to shatter or swell.   “For what it’s worth, I feel exactly the same way about you.” 

The silence hung for a while as they watched the last of the lights switch off. 

She broke it with the most visceral question: “So. This is really it.”  “For some things.”  “And what about... other things? Am I going to see you again now that we don’t work together?” 

It was the question they’d been volleying and avoiding for months. The time came to finally put a decision to it. 

MC was still unsure where she was going. Ethan will be spending more time with his family. Things were still so complicated. 

“It’s impossible to say what the future will bring...” Ethan opted for one last life lesson to close their mentor/mentee relationship. 

Her features, mood and hopes simultaneously fell. This was really the end. 

A part of her hoped they could compromise. They only had one another a few times, there was so much more to explore between them. 

She kept her eyes glued down at their shoes, “Oh...”  “But I can see as far as tomorrow. I’ll see you then?” 

He had the ghost of a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. 

After what felt like ages, their eyes locked. Both clear as could be. 

“I’d like that.” 

MC left to meet her friends while Ethan stayed to say the emotional goodbye to his home of the last 11 years, to the place that made him who he is. 

Ethan and MC went their separate ways with a promise of tomorrow.     

[o-w-quinlan]

Digimon Adventure: (2020) Final Thoughts

Considering I stopped reviewing this series episode by episode months ago, they’re more positive thoughts than you’d expect, though still not all that positive.

To summarize, this is an entertaining series with plenty of individual good aspects and great episodes that nevertheless leaves me cold as a whole. Much as I enjoyed following it week to week, I can’t say I recommend this series to anyone but hardcore Digimon fans, or hardcore fans of the wider “monster” genre.

Action

It felt appropriate to start with this, considering a focus on action was what the initial interviews promised, and they delivered in spades. It wasn’t perfect or too consistent, there were several times when the Digimon not evolving when they could just broke any tension the fights had, but this series had some of the best fights in any Digimon anime. Anything in the first 3 episodes, Greymon/MetalGreymon vs MetalTyranomon, SkullKnightmon vs Greymon and Garurumon, Mugendramon vs DoneDevimon, Mugendramon vs WarGreymon, Millenniumon vs the dragons, Omegamon vs Abbadomon Core… all of them among the best things the franchise has to offer in terms of action scenes, which after so many series where fights were solved by having a protagonist Digimon evolve and one-shotting the enemy, comes as a breath of fresh air (to be fair, this series also had a lot of that, but it had actual great fights to compensate).

Worldbuilding

Another thing promised in interviews was the use of Digimon from all over the franchise, and not only did they deliver, but they also included plenty of references to the “null canon” to enrich the experience for the most hardcore fans. The series made sure to constantly emphasize the savage nature of the Digital World, bringing back the Tamers worldbuilding of Digimon consuming weaker Digimon in hopes of achieving evolution. Along the way we saw a lot of allies fighting back against this status-quo, from things as overt as Leomon organizing a resistance or Petaldramon protecting weaker Digimon from the all-consuming Entmon, to less dramatic stuff like weak Digimon settling down to live together, or the mere presence of a restaurant where everyone can rest for a while of the hardships of their world.

The biggest flaw here was in how the series handled its antagonists. With very few exceptions, every single enemy Digimon in the series lacked dialog, whereas nearly every single ally Digimon could speak normally, and this disparity cheapened the whole thing, because instead of coming across as “this mentality is normal for this world”, it came across as just your normal “everyone lived together in harmony until the villains attacked”, which is very much not what the series was telling us.

Characterization

That brings us to the next point: the lack of personality for most villains. I joked elsewhere that Minotaurmon from episode 19 was the most compelling villain of the series, and that’s not completely a joke. Almost every single villain of the week was flat, plenty of the “main” villains were lacking in dialog (Algomon in the first few episodes, Nidhoggmon, Millenniumon) or turned mindless halfway through (Devimon, DarkKnightmon). Negamon/Abbadomon in the final episodes managed to benefit from this by being the embodiment of an “instinct”, but in general this meant a mook-of-the-week like Minotaurmon managed to be a highlight among the villains simply by having dialog and non-trivial desires.

But what of the protagonists? The popular opinion is that everyone is far blander than they were in the original series, and I agree. But rather than comparing it with the first series, let’s look at what it had to offer to us. Where in other Digimon series, the backstories and issues of the protagonists and their reactions to what’s going on around them make for most of the drama, in this series the drama comes from the villains trying to destroy everything, and for the most part that means the protagonists only need to be distinct and charming on their own, no necessity to create conflict between them. There is an overall character arc for all of them, though: accepting and interiorizing their new duties towards the world they had ended up stranded on, getting to know and love the Digital World. Was this well done? Not really.

Taichi and Takeru, for example, were so much the embodiment of the stock shonen hero that accepting their place in this new world didn’t really reveal anything about them we hadn’t already seen from their first few appearances.

Jou got stuck as an unfunny punchline 90% of the time, to the point of damaging his few “serious” moments in some of his focus episodes. His development of becoming assertive was compelling in theory, but it got muddled with so many unfunny and uncomfortable hotsprings jokes that the impact was lost.

Hikari started as an even more blatant plot-device “mysterious character” than she was in the original series, before unconvincingly changing to cheerful little girl afterwards (the whiplash between her in episode 33 and her in episode 34 was something else), and only really managing to settle into a compelling character in her last focus episode (58, defending the Digitamas from the Bakemon and SkullBaluchimon, which to be fair is a great episode and probably the best showcase for Hikari as a character in any product or continuity).

Koushiro was mostly fine, although we all remember the several times the series seemed to promise it might do something with him (his uneasiness when his family was mentioned, or that line about having to “face the darkness of his past” in the HerakleKabuterimon episode) that ended up being nothing.

Mimi is the fan-favorite, being charming in nearly all her appearances and having some of the best focus episodes, and it’s mostly deserved. If there’s anything I criticize from her, it’s that her focus episodes don’t really add up to anything.

Yamato was fine, started out as a stock shonen rival before becoming the single most chill “lone wolf” in any Digimon series, probably because of what I said before of the conflict between the protagonists no longer being the source of drama. He gets a slow development of caring only for his brother to starting to care for other Digimon for the sake of Sora and Gabumon to caring about the Digital World just as much as everyone else.

Sora was made fun of by a certain section of the fandom for having the worst focus episodes early on, and I agreed, but having finished the series I can’t get rid of the impression that her focus episodes, while perhaps not that good on their own, when taken as a whole explore her character the best of any other. Yeah, this mostly means exploring her compassion (these are not very multi-dimensional characters), but they deepen and deepen both her impact on the Digimon she saves and how she is impacted in turn by them, moving her away from saving others through her combat prowess to saving others by empathizing with the grief of another caring soul, and by the end I honestly ended up considering her my favorite character (despite none of her episodes making it to my list of favorites).

As for the Digimon… it’s following in the footsteps of other Digimon Adventure products by not really having much of interest for the Digimon themselves except for Tailmon.

Overall, for the most part the main characters were decent, but besides Mimi and ultimately also Sora, I don’t think they’re very memorable. All of them start out promising, but never really improved from that promising start (again, except for Sora).

Pacing

And now we get to the biggest problem of the series: Pacing. I’ve seen it stated elsewhere that this series was more episodic than most (any?) other Digimon series before it, and part of the backlash it got was from not being as serialized as fans expected it to be. This isn’t exactly true. From episode 16 (Eyesmon) to episode 24 (DoneDevimon), this series was as serialized as any other Digimon series has ever been, with nonstop escalation that demanded you keep watching it week after week. Then, from 25 to 35 (Angewomon) or 36 (BlitzGreymon), it pulled slightly back from that never-ending escalation, but was still pretty serialized. It was only afterwards that it became heavily episodic, and by that point it wasn’t expectations set up by previous series that hurt it in the eyes of the fandom, it was expectations set by this series itself in its first half.

Not that the episodes themselves were bad. Honestly, I found myself significantly more entertained by the episodic later half of the series than the serialized first half. Maybe it was because they didn’t feel the need to convince me they were the most exciting, tense thing I had ever seen when they were clearly not (hello, Mamemon episode), or maybe it was that there were more than just endless fights to them, but I normally ended up those episodes entertained and satisfied, whereas with a lot of episodes from Eyesmon to BlitzGreymon, I mostly just felt frustrated after watching them. I agree with the criticism that, when seen as a whole, breaking momentum so hard for so long after months of never-ending escalation wasn’t the right choice, but when seen week after week, I can’t see this change of approach as that bad of a thing.

Conclusion

I think that sums up the series for me. On a weekly basis, it’s pretty entertaining. It’s when seen as a whole that the problems really become clear. There’s been some speculation in the past few weeks of how much the current situation in the world might have impacted the series, but ultimately, I have to judge what actually happened, and I can’t help the impression that this series ultimately left me with nothing of substance after it was all said and done. Like, I enjoyed this more than, say, Appli Monsters, but Appli Monsters have things that stick with you after it’s over. Not so much here, unless you’re a hardcore fan that loves the Omegamon lore this added (which I am, btw; love that Omegamon lore). I don’t think I can recommend this series to anyone who isn’t a hardcore Digimon fan, or at least a hardcore fan of the wider “monster” genre.

One thing I’m grateful to this series for, though, it’s the commercial boost it has given the rest of the franchise. I’m not going to credit it for all the successes it currently has, after all the Card Game would have fell off by now if it wasn’t genuinely well-done and the Vital Bracelet happened because of years of the virtual pet division progressively building up its audience after it had nearly died off, but it’s undeniable they wouldn’t have sold as well without this anime advertising the franchise week after week. Next week, we’ll have the first episode of Digimon Ghost Game, the first time since 2001 that we have a Digimon series being immediately succeeded by another. If that isn’t a sign of how well the franchise is doing right now, I don’t know what is.

Favorite Episodes: 1 (Tokyo Digital Crisis), 6 (The Targeted Kingdom), 12 (Lilimon Blooms), 20 (The Seventh One Awakens), 32 (Soaring Hope), 42 (King of Inventors, Gerbemon), 49 (The God of Evil Descends, Millenniummon), 56 (The Gold Wolf of the Crescent Moon), 58 (Hikari, New Life)

[sugarmaplewings-fics]

Midnight Ball

Pairing: Todoroki x reader

Warnings: None

Author’s Note:

Day two of Sugar’s Spooky Days/Fall Special

Hehehe I have managed to finish something! Can’t say as much for the Kirishima one, so that might have to be late :(. I should have that one done sometime over the weekend though, so fingers crossed!

I also may or may not have been thinking about Heartless by Marissa Meyer while I wrote that first bit 👀👀 (read it, it’s good, especially if you want to sob your eyeballs out like I did)

I hope you like this one! It was fun for me to write!

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.

You had insisted on not coming to this party.

You, of course, had said this as if you had a choice. Really, as someone with your status, you should have the power to make decisions for yourself. But nooo, as the only daughter of the Marquess and Marchioness, it was your duty to attend the king’s bi-annual masquerade ball. Bother.

So, here you were, all dressed up with little intention to dance or even have fun. You clung to the sides of the spacious dancefloor, hoping to keep to yourself enough that no one would try to talk to you. It was truly dreadful what some of your fellow nobility could come up with for small talk. Exchanging formalities and remarking on politics, only then to run off into a tangent on whatever subject may have recently captured their trivial attention.

You longed to be elsewhere—in a library perhaps, or in your garden, working on sketches in your notebook. Gracious, come to think of it, maybe sleeping would even be the better option. It was dreadfully late.

The king always insisted on throwing such parties as these so late at night, stretching all the way to early hours of the morning. You’d gotten plenty of rest prior in preparation for this autumn Midnight Ball, but between the lack of meaningful interaction and your desire to be elsewhere, you found yourself capturing yawns in your gloved hand.

Your childhood best friend didn’t seem to have this problem. You could see her now, indigo skirts swishing around her ankles as she danced with some green haired man. You couldn’t quite tell if you had ever seen him before, but he was probably from some foreign kingdom. You’d certainly hear all about him tomorrow.

You began to grow antsy at your position on the west wall. Your heels were beginning to make your ankles ache, and your mask was growing progressively warmer with each breath. A glance towards the banquet table told you that the coast was clear for you to browse the selection of food laid out, but your corset made you think twice. Your handmaiden had done it so dreadfully tight.

Curses. Not to her, she had done nothing wrong. Maybe at your mother, who insisted on lacing it up in this way.

You chewed at your tongue. Maybe a walk in the courtyard would clear your head. It would definitely be cooler and not so bright. If you were lucky, you may even be alone.

Gathering your (F/C) skirts in your fists, you strode to the door to the outside, ducking through small gatherings of people and curtseying to the guards positioned at the exit. You knew you had made the right decision as soon as the night air hit your face, a cool October breeze seeping behind your mask and ruffling the feathers that adorned it. A full moon lit your path as you walked further into the manicured gardens. You’d been around here before, yet you still allowed yourself time to admire the hedges and trees closing off spaces of land. Flowerbeds were artfully placed wherever they could fit, although you could tell that most of their plentiful blooming yield had already gone back within themselves for the frosty winter. What you were truly interested in was a small pond located in the back, hidden behind a few bushes at its side.

The clear pool laid stagnant before you as you knelt down to look into it. The light of the moon bounced off your bejeweled costume mask, causing the water to sparkle even brighter beneath you. A large koi fish took notice of your signal, lazily sliding its stout, tri-colored body towards the surface in hopes that you may have brought it some food.

“I’m sorry, little friend,” you whispered to its expectant gaping mouth, “I don’t have anything for you.”

You watched him for another moment, little splashes made by the fish’s fins breaking the stillness of both the silent night air and the pool’s surface.

“You’ve upset him.”

The sound of an unfamiliar voice made you start. You straightened, brushing off the front of your skirt. Turning, you saw the figure of a man standing a few paces away from you. His build was lean and strong, and a mask of his own glittered in the all-encompassing moonlight. It was difficult to make out any identifying features, but a part of you just knew that he was intangibly handsome.

“Sorry?” you said, trying to compose yourself.

Perfect. This was just what you had been trying to avoid: interaction. Maybe he’d go easy on you and let you leave soon, or maybe he could have something genuinely worthwhile to say.

“That fish,” he clarified. “He’s hungry.”

You pursed your lips together in thought as you stole a glance back at the pond. Your koi friend had retreated back to the depths of his home as soon as you had turned your back. The air hummed with silence once more.

“Is he, though?” you asked. “He probably gets fed just as well as any other creature living on the grounds.”

The mysterious man shrugged. “True, but perhaps that’s the most joy he gets out of life.”

“Oh.” You stood there awkwardly for a second in silence, trying to think of a response. “That’s a little . . . grim.”

“Sorry.” He shifted. “I’ve always felt bad for fish.”

“How so?”

He took a step closer to the pond, bending a bit at the waist in order for him to see into it better. “They have less freedom. Little to do, nowhere to go . . . sometimes they remind me of myself a bit.”

“Oh?”

“I’m not terribly fond of my father.”

You blinked, wondering if he was going anywhere with this.

His eyes finally snapped up to yours. The moon caught their shades perfectly, drawing out hints of color that would normally be lost to their own depths. It struck you suddenly that you had seen these eyes before; one a steely silver while the other was a lovely cerulean that nearly seemed to glow. Where had you previously seen these eyes?

“Sorry,” he apologized again. “I didn’t mean to overstep.” He straightened up to properly face you, his posture rigid and practiced, just as you had seen all the other noblemen do your whole life. “My name is Shouto Todoroki, son of Duke Enji Todoroki,” he said, piercing eyes growing a little glassy at the voicing of his own name. He bowed to you, and around the top of his mask, you took notice of his perfectly split bi-colored hair. “My lady,” he said.

“Shouto?” Yes, that was right. You’d met him a few times as children, playing together while your families held council meetings. It had to have been nearly ten years since you’d seen him last, and to be honest, he’d grown into quite the man.

“Yes?” he answered, uncertain.

“It’s me,” you said, lifting your mask a bit to better show off your eyes and features in the dim light. “(F/N) (L/N).”

You watched as he did a double take; eyes scanning you from top to bottom as he put a name to your person. “(Y/N) . . . wow, it’s been a long time.”

You chuckled, fiddling with the material of your skirt between your fingers. “You’re not saying I’m old, now, are you?”

He snorted, his posture relaxing. “Of course not, my lady.”

You began to chat, settling in beside him as you wandered around the gardens together. It was only now that you realized how much you had missed your old friend, finding it shockingly easy to talk with him. He spoke of his father and how he intended for Shouto to take his place in power when his time came. You noted the bitterness he carried in his voice, vaguely remembering the emergence of the issue from the last time you’d conversed. He listened to your own life updates, interested in your hobbies and what you had to say about life and time. In fact, it nearly felt as if no time had passed at all, and you’d remained close throughout the years.

The light of the castle began to creep upon the path ahead of you, and you noticed that you’d circled the entire perimeter of the gardens. Music from the ballroom floated to your ears, and you recognized the tune. Influenced by your improved mood, you began to hum along to a few of the notes, nodding your head to the light, peppy rhythm.

Shouto took notice of this, eyeing you with a small smile gracing his usually stoic face. He sped up just enough to come up in front of you, causing you to halt in your tracks. He bowed before you again, one hand behind his back with the other outstretched for your own. “If I may, could I have this dance? This is your king’s ball, and I believe that my lady deserves at least one before the night’s end.”

An unexpected heat climbed to your cheeks. Why were you suddenly feeling this way? Your childhood friend had certainly grown into quite the handsome young man, but you couldn’t ever remember thinking of him in this manner. He’d only ever shown kindness and respect towards you, and it was only now beginning to weigh on you how much you liked him. But this weight wasn’t in any way unpleasant, in fact, it made you feel giddier, almost light and intrepid. What could one dance together hurt?

You rested your hand in his, the fabrics of your gloves sliding together as your fingers met. His head turned up so he could once again make eye contact, drawing your offered appendage to his lips. They brushed over your knuckles, feather light, and you found yourself wishing that the silken material could have been removed. How soft were his lips truly?

Shouto walked you a few paces away onto an open area in the grass, the fragrance of greenery and crisp evening air wafting through the space. Every surface was bathed in a fine layer of moonlight, giving the world a dark, silvery glow. Shouto’s skin gleamed pale and resembled porcelain, eyes shining behind the contrasting shadows of his mask.

With your palm in his, he guided you closer to him, his other hand alighting on the small of your back.

“The moon highlights your beauty remarkably so. I’ve never felt this . . . enamored by someone.”

You shivered at his words, the gentle intensity of his gaze boring into you. You began to fall into step with the music wavering in the background. The cheerful rhythm made your heart soar as you glided over the grass with your partner. He led you through some practiced steps, others entirely new. Your skirts swirled around your ankles, adding an extra flare to each of your movements. The sound of the hidden orchestra was distant and thin, and yet there was such a feeling that instilled through you, almost as if the music had seeped all the way to your marrow.

You watched as Shouto’s face began to relax into a little smile, twirling you this way, dipping you over his strong arm, pulling you back into his chest. The whole ordeal took your breath away, and even in the cool night air, your cheeks began to ignite in a palpable warmth of their own. Time slowed, and it was as though you’d been his dance partner for centuries, finding a rhythm and flowing together as one.

That is, until a shooting pain fired through your ankle, causing you to gasp and stumble. Shouto caught and steadied you in his arms before you could fall very far, worry clouding over his face.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

You grimaced, shifting your weight on your feet. “It’s my heels,” you explained. “Sorry. They’re not the most . . . practical.”

“Here,” Shouto said, offering you his arm. “Take them off. You don’t need them out here.”

Your face heated once again as you leaned on his outstretched appendage, fishing around in your skirts until you found your foot. Within moments, you were free, feet bare in their thin tights, discarded shoes unbuckled and placed neatly aside on the grass. The both of you found a stone bench nearby, and you sat side by side to help ease the strain on your feet. While you took this bit of a breather, you remarked to yourself how much taller Shouto was compared to you. The sight of how much he’d grown over the years, mixed with this newfound urge to rest your head against his broad chest . . . .

“Are you feeling better now, my lady?”

(Y/N). Your name was (Y/N). He could have just as easily called you as such, and yet, the formality set your heart aflutter.

“Yes, I believe I am. Actually, I’m feeling much better. This party was so dull until you happened upon me.”

Shouto’s smile returned, the slightest shine appearing on his upturned lips. “I haven’t enjoyed myself this much in a long time either. Thank you for accepting my offer to dance.”

You hummed and flashed him a genuine grin of your own.

He averted his eyes suddenly, a new tension gripping his shoulders. “I know we haven’t talked in years,” he began, “but if you didn’t mind, I would like to get to know you again, (Y/N). Our kingdoms aren’t too distant, and I would like to write to you sometime when I return home.”

Your smile widened. “That sounds lovely. I’d love to keep in touch with you.” You let your hand wander over to his, taking it up in your fingers.

Shouto smiled again at your touch, raising your joined palms to press another kiss to your knuckles. “I look forward to your response,” he said, lips brushing against your gloved fingers as he spoke, eyes locked on yours.

You could still hear the band playing in the ballroom. To the king, the night was still young, and the party would continue for some time longer. Within moments, you were on your feet again with him, twirling your body to the tempo of the strings and winds. With stars serving as your only audience, you danced with your newfound partner until the early hours of the morning under the light of a full hanging moon.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.

Taglist: @aahilovetheatre​ @heartpaw12​ @todoroki-waifu​ @basicaegyo​ @iiminibattlehero​ @katsugay​ @nabo39​ @pyrofanatic​ @sendhelpimstupid​ @sokkasangel​ @xoxopam4​

[saviorinsilk]

Jealously

A/N: I'm not entirely happy with this one but I hope you enjoy it!

Words: 2 203

Ship: Cordelia x female reader

The loud old clock chimed 1 AM, the sound seeping through the walls of the upstairs bedroom. I sat on the floor of one of the girl's bedrooms. Her name was Emily and she had arrived to Miss Robichaux's Academy a few weeks ago. I usually kept my distance from the other girls, preferring to stick close to Cordelia, Zoe, Queenie, Madison and Misty. Nan and I didn't get along very well but we put up with each other. She had a problem with me being with Cordelia and I wasn't thrilled to be around someone who had a problem with my personal choices but I was civil, for my lover's sake.

Some of the other girls had the same problem as Nan and they thought it was fun to make another person feel like a waste of space. They thought it wasn't appropriate for Cordelia and I to be together, given the age gap. I told them that it was none of their business if there was an age gap of 2 years, 20 years or 50 years. I thought sticking up for myself would have helped the situation but it just made it worse. I was miserable and Cordelia could tell and she hadn't been too happy about it. She tore into them in a morning meeting and I had to admit that it felt amazing to watch those bitches squirm in their seats, Her anger turned me on. I liked a strong woman and that night we had had the best sex I think we ever had, even to this day. They had left me alone after that, leaving me to finally be able to focus on studying my witchcraft. As I learnt to hone and expand my abilities, Cordelia grew adamant that I consider teaching alongside Zoe and Queenie. She had managed to somehow convince me in the weeks that followed and I'm not going to pretend that her sexual methods of persuasion hadn't been the reason I finally conceded. If it made her happy, it made me happy. When a new witch arrived at the coven house near the beginning of the month Cordelia had put me in charge of showing her around and helping her settle in. I was nervous at first but as the days went by I actually started to enjoy myself quite a bit. I had never realized how much I liked helping people. Maybe it was because I saw myself in her, scared and confused at the fact that this whole world actually existed, Or maybe it was because people had been taken care of me my whole life and it felt nice to finally give back. Whatever the reason, I threw myself face first into the new task. Maybe sleepless nights had followed, collecting all the books from the house library that I thought would be a good place for Emily to start learning. Cordelia was surprised but thrilled at my new passion but it had definitely affected our relationship. She wasn't the first thing on my mind anymore and I couldn't help but feel guilty for it. She had reassured me numerous times that we had our whole lives to spend time together and I needed to put my all into this if it was truly what I wanted. It also turned out that Emily and I had quite a lot in common and I felt myself enjoying her company over even Zoe, who was the person I was the closest to other than Cordelia. I found it very easy to talk to Emily as if we had been friends for years. I could tell her anything and she would just listen, not get so worked up and try to fix the issues, as Cordelia did. I felt myself spending more and more time with Emily over the few weeks she had been living at the house. I stretched my arms above my head, yawning as I stretched my stiff body. It hadn't been until the clock sounded that I realized how late it was. I had promised Cordelia we would spend some time together tonight but she was likely fast asleep now. I cursed under my breath, rubbing my strained eyes. Emily sat on the floor, leaning against her bed, her nose buried in the book about the history of witchcraft that I had given her to study. Her dark brown hair was pulled up in a high ponytail that had once been tight but now pieces had fallen out and her whole head was a frizzy mess. She was still in her black dress, long sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She was a cute girl but she was young, no older than me. She may have had the confidence of a lion but she was a far cry from the strong woman I desired. I let the book I had been reading fall closed, the sound of the hardcover slapping against the wooden floor breaking the silence that we sat in. I had been staring at it for so long that my vision was blurry as I looked around the mostly empty room. She was the cleanest person I had ever met and the open space of the room unnerved me. I readjusted my sore legs, becoming aware of the damp material that sat between my thighs. I hadn't picked up a word that I had read, as I had been daydreaming the whole time, not able to concentrate at all today. I was refreshing myself on The Salem trails for the class I was teaching in the morning with Queenie, but I hadn't learnt a thing about the gruesome slaughter that had taken place in 1693. My mind was elsewhere, deep in the dirtiest places of my mind, my face buried in the most intimate parts of Cordelia. It had been a while since we had been together in that way and I had been having wet dreams every night I went without her. Annoyance filled me, the unsatisfied feelings putting me in a dark mood. I glanced at Emily, who sat unmoving as she read, her face full of wonder at the words of magic she was processing. "I think I'm going to head to bed Emily, "I said, forcing myself to sound cheerful. I pushed myself off the floor, still holding on to a sliver of hope that Cordelia was still up so I could quench the desire that squeezed my core unforgivingly. Emily raised her head lazily, her face finally appearing from behind the large book. "Huh?" She asked, clearly too lost in what she was reading to have heard me. I closed my eyes briefly, breathing forcefully out my nose. It's not her fault you are aggressively horny, I reminded myself. "I'm going to bed," I repeated, painfully forcing a smile. I'm sure she could sense the annoyance radiating off me so I picked up my book and walked towards the door which was only a few steps away. "You should get some sleep to Emily. You have been working really hard this past week. You have to guard against burning yourself out." I said quietly as I turned around to face her once again. Also, that way you don't hear me fucking your supreme, I said in my head. I hated being controlled by my desires and I always got feisty when I did. Emily shrugged but flashed me a toothy smile, her face lighting up as she gazed up at me. "Thanks miss Y/L/N. You are such a great teacher and friend." She said, her voice way too perky for this hour of the night. A genuine smile spread across my tired face and I felt my cheeks flush a few shades darker than my usual light skin. Cordelia had told me the same thing many times but hearing it from someone that I was actually teaching was very different. Cordelia was my girlfriend and even though I knew she meant was she said, part of me couldn't help but wonder if she had been embellishing my abilities because she was in love with me. Emily, on the other hand, had no reason to say it if she didn't truly believe it. "Thank you, Emily. That means a lot to me. I having a bad habit of doubting myself and knowing that I'm not doing a completely terrible job definitely helps me feel more confident." I said my head over my heart. "And please, call me Y/N. Miss Y/L/N makes me feel like some kind of authority figure." I chuckled, making a disgusted face. Plus, your headmistress likes to call me that when her fingers are wrapped in my hair, I told her in my head. Thankfully Emily wasn't blessed with the ability to read minds, unlike Cordelia. I had learnt I couldn't keep anything from her very quickly. Emily laughed along with me and then brought her book back up to her face and bit her bottom lip. I raised an eyebrow at her, unable to gauge the look on her face. "As you wish Y/N. I never want you to feel uncomfortable. The other girls were right, you are very sweet." I barely had time to process the fact that she had just said that the other girls had actually said something positive about me before she spoke again. "But they didn't warn me about just how beautiful you are." It took a moment for my mind to begin to function again after I heard her words. What had she just said? I thought I was all right looking but no way was beautiful the word to describe me. Cordelia was beautiful, I was average, even if Cordelia told me otherwise. I knew that even if my cheeks hadn't been red before, they were a deep crimson now. I could feel the heat that gathered there and I wasn't quite sure what to say or do at that moment. "I-I ah..." Was all I managed, shifting my weight awkwardly. A different type of heat burnt in my core and I wanted nothing but to get the hell out of the barren room as quickly as I could. "Miss Cordelia is a very lucky woman. Too bad you like older women 'cause I wouldn't mind getting to know you better." Emily's words were distant in my ears as if they were coming through a vent. I was so stupid. Of course, she had feelings for me. What kind of friend wants to sit on the same side of the table as you, never breaks eye contact and goes red every time you compliment them? A friend who likes you more than you like them, that's who. I felt the distressing wrench of guilt fill me. I should have been with Cordelia tonight, not daydreaming about her while I sat in some girls room. I was disgusted in myself and felt as if hearing the words Emily had spoken made me deserving of a scarlet letter. When Emily winked at me before looking back at her book I thought I might puke. There was nothing wrong with her but the mere thought of being with someone other than Cordelia made my skin crawl. After a few uncomfortable moments of standing there probably looking like a deactivated robot, I turned and almost ran from the room. The door slammed behind me and I winced, hoping it hadn't been loud enough to wake any of the sleeping girls. My body slumped back against the wall and I closed my eyes, trying to collect myself. Cordelia had been right. A few nights early she had been quiet and when I asked her what was wrong and she had replied with something that shocked me. She confessed that she was jealous of the time I was spending with Emily. I told her that there was nothing to worry about, that Emily just needed some extra help. I had shot her down, almost annoyed at her for thinking I would keep spending time with the young witch if I thought there was even the slightest change that she felt anything towards me. Cordelia had been satisfied with my response and now, standing out in the hallway, my heart racing I wished I could take back those words. I breathed deeply in an out, repeating a relaxation mantra that Cordelia had taught me under my breath. The attempt was futile though. No spell was going to fix my state of mind right now, I had far surpassed the level of stress that something like that could help with. I needed one thing and one thing only. Only she could fix the storm that was brewing inside of me. I forced myself up and stumbled down the stairs on shaky legs. I felt as if the journey continued on forever but when I finally reached the door to the bedroom that Cordelia and I shared, I took one last deep breath and entered the room, this time making sure I closed the door quietly behind me, thankful to be back in the comfort of our room.

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[ms-demeanor]

I think you mentioned the higher male suicide rate as part of why it's clear that depressed men have less support. Just saw wikipedia's list of stowaways, they are all men. Shootings, extreme sports, entrepreneurship, etc seem dominated by men. Meanwhile, women attempt suicide more, but in less violent ways. I had no friends or support as a woman and failed to kill myself because of cowardice. Maybe I'm an outlier but do you think the ability to die may not be indicative of having less support?

You’re not an outlier; that actually describes part of why more men die by suicide. “Cowardice” may not be the right word, though: men who attempt suicide tend to have higher suicidal intent than women who attempt suicide generally do.

Men who are depressed are also more likely to have an issue with alcohol dependence than depressed women and are more likely to self medicate (which is, again, partially due to centuries of history insisting that men have to be strong providers and should not seek help or show weakness - it sucks that you didn’t have support but at the very least as a depressed AFAB person your are much less likely to be called a pussy and told to man up and get over it for reporting symptoms of depression than a dude is) which leads to higher impulsivity and may be related to why men have higher suicide rates while women report more suicidality.

Anyway, these weird incursions into my inbox every three months to tell me that I’m making you feel bad because I believe (based on lots and lots of studies) men generally have less access to mental health resources and community support for the use of those resources than women generally have is, like.

It sucks that you’re hurting. Stop using the fact that you’re hurting as a weapon to try to have this argument with me. It’s invasive and upsetting and you’re presenting a very sad anecdote and I’m sorry for you but that doesn’t cancel out data?

The fact that you experienced a lack of support while seeking help for your mental health IS actually reflective of *most people’s* experience with seeking help for mental health. As it turns out mentally ill people are treated really badly by society regardless of gender. Data indicates that women are more likely to seek treatment for depression than men and are more likely to be supported in seeking treatment and are more likely to have a more robust social life than men do, all of which helps to treat depression and none of which is universal to the experience of all men or women with depression and seeking treatment.

Your individual experience is your individual experience and what I am discussing here are systemic issues and you keep trying to “gotcha” me with shit like “do you think the ability to die may not be indicative of having less support?” when I have never talked exclusively about individual support (though I have discussed building support systems at length) and have always discussed this in broad sociological terms in addition to talking about individual support systems.

I knew a kid who killed himself on the railroad tracks behind my high school. I actually know TWO kids who did that (and at this point four boys have killed themselves on those railroad tracks. We need a crossing guard there or some shit). One of them had recently lost his mother to suicide, one of them had two loving parents and several siblings he was close to. Both of them are just as dead. Neither of those cases, in isolation, proves anything.

So “ability to die” in terms of suicide comes from suicidal intent, which is in a lot of cases tied to increased impulsivity, increased feelings of isolation, feeling like there’s no one you can talk to or ask for help from, feeling like nobody would miss you and nothing would change if you were gone.

But completely aside from all of that:

Hi, this is my inbox on my personal blog. I don’t know why you feel like taking an accusatory tone with me while revealing details about your personal struggles with depression and suicidal ideation, but have you considered that randomly stopping by to tell me about how harmful I am for you and how I’m invalidating your experience while you reveal more and more personal details about your suicide attempts/depression is A) not very good for you and B) not very good for me either and might be considered kind of a dick move?

You sent me a link to a reddit post and asked my thoughts, I gave you my thoughts, and now you keep coming back here to use your history of trauma as a bludgeon to argue with the opinion you asked me to give.

I’m sorry you had a shitty time of it. The fact that you had a lot of trouble getting help doesn’t erase the fact that statistically speaking men are less likely to get access to mental health care for a wide variety of reasons including everything from internalized toxic masculinity to cultural taboos against showing weakness or discussing emotion to being less likely to be assessed for symptoms of depression by medical care providers than women are. 

Before coming back here I would strongly recommend that you consider whether doing so is good for you or if this is a form of self harm that you’re engaging in because it clearly doesn’t seem to be a form of positive catharsis.

I hope you are building a network of supportive people, whether that is paid professionals or trusted friends who do not ignore or dismiss your mental illness.

But yelling at me over whether or not you wanted to die hard enough is a pretty strong indication that I am *not* part of your support network so I’d recommend that you look for help elsewhere.

[earthpodd]

I Hope We Will Never Have to Take Back What We Said in the Night

Fandom: My Engineer.

Pairing: Ram/King.

Word Count: 3,3k.

Summary: Unceremoniously, King let himself fall onto the mattress with his arms extended and eyes gazing up at the light blue ceiling.

"Ah! So comfortable!" As if he was not already being too imposing, he went on to grab one of Ram's pillows and hug it against his chest.

"Come, Cool Boy, lay down with me," he said, while patting the spot on the mattress right by his side.

Or the one in which King is not sure about his feelings, but spending the day with Ram might be just what he needs to open his eyes.

Author’s Note: Okay, this has been a wild ride. I haven’t written anything in quite a long time, so I’m most definitely rusty. All of the mistakes are my own, though I do thank @gulfkanawut for helping me find typos and fix a few odd-soundings sentences (you’re amazing, twin!). Tittle is from “All Eyes on You” by St. Lucia. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this. I love my boys and wanted to contribute to the fandom somehow.

Read on AO3.

"Cool Booooooy," King called out in desperation, his gaze locked down and legs frozen, unmoving. He was surrounded, ambushed, with no place and no chance to run.

It was the first time he had been to Ram's house, and despite having heard about the dogs, he didn't expect them to get anywhere near him.

"Cool Boy!!!!!"

The urgency in his voice didn't seem to work in making Ram return any faster, and even though the dogs were doing nothing but sniffing at his trousers, King was still scared shitless. Every second near them was a reminder of that one time he got attacked in his childhood.

Relief crossed his face, albeit momentarily, when his saviour finally showed up, carrying with him a few sachets of dog food.

With just one look, Ram got the dogs to move away from him and sit obediently on the corner of the living room.

King didn't notice at first, but behind Ram there was a boy, looking at him amusedly, as if he was holding back his laugh. 

King recognised him as Ram's brother.

"What are you laughing at?"

He sent Ruj a dirty look and expected him to cower, like that one time he threatened to send him back to school, before finding out he was Ram's brother, but that didn't happen. Instead, it seemed to do the trick and Ruj finally burst into laughter.

Much like with the dogs, all it took was a look from Ram for Ruj shut up, covering up his laugh with a cough.

When Ram then pointed at the corridor with his chin, King saw Ruj shake his head. It was like the siblings were having an entire conversation with just their eyes, without uttering a single word.

Curiosity sparkled within him. His relationship with his sister was nowhere near anything like that, but again, him and Ram had different personalities.

Patting his clothes to get rid of any lingering dog hairs proved itself to be a useless task. There were none in sight and King couldn't even use that to cover up the embarrassment he felt with Ruj's witness of the scene.

"Cool Boy, let's go study," he called, placing a hand on top of Ram's shoulder and putting an end to the silent discussion between the brothers.

The action seemed to settle the issue as Ruj soon left to go wherever it was he was going. Probably his room.

Turning to him, Ram only had to take one glance at his hand for King to remember it was even there. He had grown accustomed to touching Ram in order to communicate with him.

Sometimes it was hard always having a mostly one-sided conversation, but he couldn't seem to be bothered by that. It was worth the effort. Ram was worth the effort.

The thought made him remember the aftermath of that one time he took Ram to his flat and his sister ambushed them.

"When are you going to introduce your boyfriend to mom and dad?" Kumfah was never one to beat around the bush, and sometimes King didn't know whether he loved or hated that about her.

Despite telling her many times that Ram was not his lover, she still kept bugging him about bringing him home to meet the folks.

Honestly, it was not the first time she had gotten caught up in one of her fantasies and let it merge with reality, but it was the first time King had a feeling she could maybe be right.

"Aaaaawwwwwwhhhh!!!~"

The shrieks and squeals were sure to turn him dead one day, and King made sure to show his sister she was being too loud by popping a finger into his ear and massaging it as if it was hurting.

"Are you thinking about him? Of course you are! Look at your face! Aaaawwwh!! This is so cute. My brother finally got a boyfriend…"

King didn't even pay attention to the rest of Kumfah's onslaught of words, but she was right about one thing. He was, indeed, thinking about Ram.

He wondered what he had to endure on the ride back home with Kumfah. Poor Nong.

Shaking his head as if he was actually having a conversation with himself, King finally looked back at his sister. "You're being too loud."

Kumfah pouted at him and all he could do was sigh, turning his attention elsewhere. He was glad their mom hadn't heard the word vomit his sister just spewed. He was not ready to have this conversation with her yet.

First he needed to figure out his own feelings.

A hand pulling on his arm brought him back to the present, and from the look of slight exasperation on Ram's face, he had probably spaced out for a lot longer than he had intended to.

"I'm going, Cool Boy," he gave Ram a soft smile and finally started moving towards the table with books and notes splattered across the surface.

The whole point of his visit was so he could help Ram study for his exams. Not that King himself didn't have his own exams to study for, but this gave him an opportunity to spend some time with Ram away from others.

"Okay, let's start with this one here."

Grabbing one of the notes, King took but one glance at the equation and started marking with his pen where it had gone wrong. "You forgot to invert the signals here…"

Their study session went on much like that, with them leaning close to each other and King explaining to Ram how to fix his mistakes and prevent them from happening again in the future.

King was very patient and always paid attention to the expressions on Ram's face so he could tell whether he had understood what he was explaining or not, and which part.

The quietness made him think that Ram was probably every professor's dream. He didn't talk, he was attentive and willing to learn.

Those were all great traits in a student.

"Mom told me to bring these for you."

It wasn't until he heard Ruj's voice that King even noticed Ram had stood up and was visibly looking a bit pressed.

He tried to make him sit back down by reaching for his hand, but the moment their fingers touched, Ram moved away an inch.

King tried not to read too much into it. It was not like Ram had ever seemed bothered by their shared touches, or even uncomfortable.

In a second Ram was gone down the corridor, and in his place was Ruj, now sitting across from King with a teasing expression that could only mean trouble while placing a plate full of snacks on the table.

"Why is my brother always shy about you?"

The question came with a straightforwardness that could match that of Kumfah.

Thankfully for King, Ram chose that moment to come back into the room.

"Where did you go, Cool Boy? Bathroom?" He asked, so he wouldn't have to respond to Ruj's question. In all honesty, he was pretty much the one feeling shy now, and he didn't even know why.

Ram answered him with a mere shake of his head and then showed the juice bottle he had in his hand, offering it to King.

"Oh, you went to get it for me?"

He really couldn't help smiling fondly at the gesture. King didn't think Ram even still remembered that time they went out to have dinner together for the first time.

Ram, as per usual, doesn't respond, and just averts his gaze, shyly looking away from him and raising an eyebrow at his brother instead.

Ruj just sighs, as if he had been told he couldn't watch his favourite drama anymore and gets up from the table, moving back into the corridor. "If you keep trying to stay alone with him I'm gonna tell mom he's the one always making you shy."

As the threat hangs out in the open, King's sees the same semblance of desperation on Ram's face that he saw when they were ambushed by Kumfah.

On second thought, maybe their relationships with their siblings were alike, after all.

-x-

"...and then you just have to do that and you're done." King explains, looking intently into Ram's face to see if he understood the explanation. 

They had been been studying for the past six hours and just now they had finished going over everything Ram needed to study for the exam.

Saying that they were tired would be an understatement. King had even started rubbing his eyes to draw away some of the tiredness.

Standing up, he started gathering his things, shoving them into the bag he brought with him. "I'm going home now, Cool Boy."

His words seemed to have fallen into deaf ears because no sooner than he had finished his sentence, a hand was already pulling him back down.

The questioning glance he threw at Ram was responded with a tilt of the other's chin, gesturing towards the clock hanging on the wall. It was already a little past eight in the evening.

"Don't worry. I can still catch the bus. It's not like I live very far from here."

Ram just gives him a hard look and shakes his head, as if saying that he was having none of that.

The gesture inspires some fondness in King's heart.

"If you want me to stay, then you're gonna have to treat me to dinner."

King is all grins and playful glances, wondering what would be the reaction he was gonna get from his Cool Boy.

As he should have expected, Ram quickly got up, dragging him along as he started moving to the front door. At this point King was already used to this habit of his of dragging him places.

"You know, you don't have to always drag me to get me to go somewhere with you. You can just ask," he didn't expect to get a verbal response for this, so he was visibly shocked when he heard Ram's voice.

"It's easier this way."

"Did you just talk to me?" It was always both a surprise and a joy when he got Ram to talk to him. He could still count on his fingers how many times he had heard his voice. They were not many.

In response to that, Ram only stared at him impassively, and resumed the fast pace of his walking. King didn't even know where he was taking him.

"Where are we going?" He asked at last, but Ram just kept dragging him out of the apartment building until they reached a small food cart with an old lady operating it.

The old lady smiled broadly as soon as her eyes landed on Ram, her arm raising to wave as she greeted. "Nong Ram. You finally come to visit auntie again."

Ram just smiled back shyly, greeting the old lady in a polite way with the wai before he walked closer to the cart to take a look at the menu.

As if only noticing him now, the old lady turned her gaze on him, her eyes now becoming full of mirth as she asked. "Who's the handsome boy you brought with you? Auntie's never seen you bring anyone here before. Is he your lover?"

This was starting to get ridiculous. Why did everyone always think they were lovers? They didn't even do anything couples usually did, at least not as far as King was concerned.

Ram only shook his head, but King caught a glimpse of something in his eyes, and, for the first time, he couldn't decipher it.

Brushing that thought aside, he finally took a look at the menu Ram was holding out for him. The old lady no longer seemed interested in asking questions, but she kept looking at them like she knew something was up.

"Just some Pad Thai is fine with me," he concluded, handing the menu back to Ram and looking around to avoid the old lady's knowing gaze.

Ram signaled that he wanted two of it and then just stood to the side, waiting, with his arms folded across his chest and a blank expression on his face.

He was the picture of a Cool Boy.

The tattoos and the unapproachable vibe he gave off just added to that, yet King much preferred the glimpses he got of the boy under the façade. The one that was protective and caring, shy yet still sweet, and who enjoyed messing with others for fun.

That was the Ram he wanted to see much more of. But the question was, why did he want that?

He was so distracted, thinking of an answer to that question he didn't see Ram approach.

"Go!"

Wow. Two times in a day. This must be some kind of record for them. King had never gotten Ram to talk to him more than once in a day, and even then it was a rare occurrence for Ram to grace him with his voice.

"Cool Boy, are you in a good mood today?" King wanted to make sense of why Ram had even talked to him again.

Were they finally starting to grow closer?

For some reason, instead of answering his question, Ram just started walking ahead.

Was he shy?

-x-

"Here! Eat this, Cool Boy," King offered as he tried to feed Ram with his chopsticks. He was surprised he even let him and obediently opened his mouth to accept the food.

They were back in the house, just sitting at the counter on the kitchen as they ate together. Ruj had joined them at some point, but was mostly keeping to himself.

"Why are you eating ginger? You never eat it when mom makes it."

Maybe King spoke too soon. Ruj was definitely no longer keeping to himself and was now staring at his brother in disbelief, as of it was such a big thing that Ram was eating ginger.

"Is it because it was P'King who gave it to you?"

Ram chose that moment to take a sip from his glass of water and ended up choking. His face heating up in all shades of pink. He was looking pretty bewildered, like a deer caught in headlights.

His brother seemed to enjoy teasing him.

"Wait until I tell Mom about this."

King decided it was about time he acted in his Cool Boy's defence. "Hey, kid! Shouldn't you be sleeping by now? It's time children go to bed."

He tried to put as much authority as he could in his voice without sounding too imposing. It was Ruj's house after all, and he was still just a virtual stranger. He couldn't go around giving orders.

"I'm still telling Mom!"

And with that he left the kitchen, almost in a hurry.

King followed him with his gaze, and when he was sure Ruj was gone, he turned to look at Ram. "Are you okay, Cool Boy?"

The whole choking scene seemed long forgotten and Ram was back to fiddling with his chopsticks.

"Eat your food. It's gonna get cold."

Okay, maybe he was still shy.

King just grinned and then went back to eating his food, throwing subtle glances at Ram every now and then.

-x-

"You're not making me sleep on the floor, are you, Cool Boy?" King asked with the hint of a teasing smile playing on his lips as he watched Ram rummaging through his wardrobe for blankets.

"This bed is big enough for the two of us."

Unceremoniously, King let himself fall onto the mattress with his arms extended and eyes gazing up at the light blue ceiling.

"Ah! So comfortable!" As if he was not already being too imposing, he went on to grab one of Ram's pillows and hug it against his chest.

"Come, Cool Boy, lay down with me," he said, while patting the spot on the mattress right by his side.

Ram looked at him as if he had grown a second head, but eventually joined him in bed.

As soon as he did so, King shifted around, like a hyperactive kid, until he was laying horizontally across the bed and with his face near Ram's torse.

He held his chin on his hands and just stared down at Ram, who was staring up at him.

They kept that staring game of theirs going until King just up and decided to lay his head down on Ram's chest, his face turned so he could still look at his Cool Boy as he did so. "Why is your heart beating so fast?"

Or was it his own that was pounding against the cavity of his chest. He couldn't really tell.

Slowly, and oh so reluctantly, he watched as Ram slowly reached for his head. He stopped midway several times, but then, finally, his fingers found King's hair, softly caressing his tresses.

They stayed silent, but it was like all of their words were conveyed by that touch alone.

King sighed, maybe wistfully, maybe in defeat.

He had come there looking for answers, and it was now time to accept his fate.

"Cool Booooooy…" He softly nuzzled into Ram's chest, drawing his face even closer to the other's own. He didn't know what he wanted to say, or even if he wanted to say anything.

Turning his body yet once again, he half laid on top of Ram's torso with his palms spread across his chest while his chin was propped atop them. "What are you doing to me?"

Did he even need an answer to that?

Ram, for his part, remained silent, only gently threading his fingers through King's hair, like he was caressing something precious.

"Did everyone know before us?" Before me?

He thought of the girls from the bus, of his friends, Ruj, his sister, and even the old lady from the food cart. They could all see it before King came to terms with it himself.

King thought he was perceptive, but in the end he was the biggest fool. He had fooled himself into thinking that his interest in Ram was nothing beyond the challenge of getting through his walls.

When did that change? Or has it never been just that?

"Stop thinking."

King had to chuckle. It had been so hard to even make Ram look his way in the beginning and now it was already the fourth time he had talked to him just today. How things had changed.

"What am I supposed to do then if I can't think?" The question was purely rhetorical, but still he looked deeply into Ram's eyes for an answer.

Their faces were so close…

"Eeeeeeek! Cool Boy…" His face was absolutely heating up, and he tried to escape, maybe hide his embarrassment, but Ram's grip made him stay exactly where he was.

Ram's face was decisive, eyes sharp yet calming, and King couldn't help giving in then.

It was brief, just a mere brush of their lips, but enough to make his heart start pounding crazily once again.

He didn't even notice his eyes falling closed, yet he had to open them to look at Ram, to really look at him, the way lovers do, the way he didn't let himself do before.

"Now I'm the one who's shy."

His voice was barely above a whisper, but he didn't care, he knew Ram had heard him and had understood what he was trying to say.

"Sleep!"

It was the only response that he got and the only one that he needed as he adjusted his body so he could lay with his head on Ram's chest and his arm drapped over him.

Ram's heartbeats were going to be his lullaby, and tomorrow, well tomorrow was going to be a new day for them.

King couldn't wait for it.

THE END.

[vikingsagine]

My Religion (Ubbe x Reader)

I like Ubbe, I think he’s hot. An underrated character, he is the least corrupted one of Ragnar’s children. Like come on! He just wanted to live happily with his brother’s as a family but then, sh*t happened like always. I can’t with this guy! He’s too hot for me! 

Part One > Don’t need to read, it’s just to see how things started. I write these so you don’t need to start from the beginning because I personally kind of hate that, but just gives enough background <

Summary: You took up lessons with the Viking man and discovered new found desires, sins. 

Warnings: Sexism, Ubbe being a sexy.

@ivarthebloodyking​ @soleil-dor​ @affection-rabbit​

You have learnt, to say the least. 

Over the course of the past week, you grew to learn the world of a Viking. Not completely, but had a hint of its differences. Your first lesson with Ubbe felt like a brush with death. He stood you in front of a tree and threw axes, telling you to stand still and to not be afraid. Of course, you didn’t take it well and actually screamed and tried to run away. But eventually with more explanation from Ubbe, you sort-of willingly complied. 

The next lesson was more brutal. Ubbe handed you a weapon and said, ‘Defend yourself,’ then attacked. No remorse and no mercy. The man easily beat you over and over and over again, leaving you a bruised mess by the end of the day. You cried many times but did not quit. 

Days followed after the other and things grew easier, more tolerable. He taught you to wield other things, a shield, a sword, a spear and an axe. But none caught your interest. They didn’t make you feel empowered or wanting to voluntarily hold it. 

However, there were many other lessons you experienced during this time. Not just violence, tears, pain and a respectable resent. It was an attraction. 

It all started when you were trying to sharpen your weapon without really knowing what you were doing. Ubbe grew annoyed and caught your hands in his own, angrily pressed himself to your back and took control of your actions. Of course, you don’t remember what he had said and was instead a blushing mess. Stiff and tense, his breath fanned over your cheek. While his calloused hands grasped your delicate fingers with no grace or tender care. Though small and simple, your heart pounded.

***

You were trying to explain to Ubbe about Adam and Eve, the serpent and biting into the forbidden fruit.  “How could they not have known they were walking around naked?” Ubbe interrupted, staring at you with furrowed eyebrows and a disbelief look. You huffed.

“Because they didn’t know shame, they had no knowledge of good or evil.” Ubbe frowned, unsatisfied with your answer.

“Even a complete idiot would know when someone’s dick is hanging out.” You let out a shaky breath, combing your hands through your thick locks. “I mean, if Adam and Eve didn’t bite into the fruit, you and I would be naked right now?” You felt your cheeks warm, his blunt behavior catching you off guard.

“Well, technically yes.” The corner of his lip twitched, timidly sliding his eyes down your body in a suggestive way. You consciously crossed your arms and tried to ignore his heated gaze. You felt your stomach flutter, your thighs clenching together as your body reacted in a way it shouldn’t. You turned scarlet red, deciding to tear yourself away from his hooded blue orbs. 

Shame. Your attraction taking over your body evoked a pining desire, one that would be deemed punishable under the eyes of your Father. That is when you saw how serious your issue of attraction is. Perhaps it would have been fine if you were betrothed to him and he was a christian man, following under the light of God. Or your Father accepted him. But under all three, he was not. Ubbe is a pagan, believed in more than one God and was nothing but an animal. 

***

Now here you were, positioned by your Father and Mother, intrigued in the flicker of bodies. In all the great banquets you have attended with your parents, this was the first that was so lively. Men and women alike joined in, dancing to the rough drums and horns of the vikings. People drank and laughed. Others sat and ate, observing their joyous behavior. And there were those who sat and judged, clear sight of discontent and resent towards such acts. One of which was your Father, mumbling about ‘pagans’ and their unholy grace. 

From across the room, you found the sight of your viking mentor. His sandy blonde hair tangled in messy braids, a cup of alcohol pressed against his lips as he spoke to the blonde woman next to him. The strong shield-maiden from the town. You frowned, jealousy creeping up on you. They looked comfortable with one another, they were lovers after all. You huffed and turned your attention elsewhere in hopes of killing the hurt inside.

“What do you say, daughter?” Afton broke your chain of thoughts. There stood one of the older men, a smirk tugging at his lips as he held his hand out to you. “Do you accept?” Clamping your mouth shot, you stared at the man before you. He was dressed in fine clothes, cheeks rosy from alcohol and blonde hair shining. You gave him a small smile, standing up to accept his offer to dance. He led you to the floor and pulled your flush form against his body.

“I am surprised you are not married, you are beautiful.” The lord whispered into your ear, his hand dipping down the small of your back and to your waist. His breath smelt of meat and mead, two flavors that did not go well together.

“My Father doesn’t accept anyone so easily.”

“That is understandable.” This made you furrow your eyebrows and glance up at the thin man, staring up at his large nose and dim blue orbs.

“How so?” His fingers began to slither lower down your side and you squirmed slightly.

“For the future of his legacy, he can’t trade you for any man.” You tighten your grip around him and clench your jaw. A swarming wave of bubbling anger rose, one that would not subside so easily. “It is better to give your daughter away to a man who is wealthy and strong and capable like me.” You bit back your need to roll your eyes as he grinned suggestively. “Because you don’t have any brother’s, the only thing a man can do in his position is pray to God for a grandson.” Your blood ran cold. 

“Thank you for this dance my lord.” Stepping away from the belittling being, you bit back your tongue and gave him a sickly sweet smile. Even though there were many other things you wanted to do to him. Now isn’t the time nor place. “I am sure my Father would have enjoyed it.” 

“You are not excused.” His soft and clammy hands gripped your forearm, tugged you towards him and glared at you. Daring you to cause a scene and scream. “Just because you are beautiful and your Father is the priest, he will not take so easily to your misbehavior.” His large hand cupped your bottom, grinding himself into your lower region. “Now play nice like a woman should.” This crossed your line and in one swift movement, you pushed your palm against his lips and dug your knee into his groin.

“You should be thankful that I chose to dance with you.” You seethed between your teeth and watched as he curled over in agony, hand clutching his genitals. Because of the loud music and the swirling crowd of people, no one saw the spectacle which is fortunate for you. You took a fistful of your dress and gracefully stomped away, sure to not cause any curious glances. 

“You-” The lord leapt out to grab your form but was instead pushed back by the body of another. Ubbe. His eyebrows twitched and then his lips flickered a smirk. You watched in awe as he glared down at the poor excuse of a man, bright blue eyes challenging him to make another move. Instead he stood straight and glanced between you and Ubbe, skeptical but frightened. “Get out of my way pagan, I could have you killed for this.” The lord attempted to barge forward but instead was pushed back by the firm stance of the viking, his body never wavering. 

“Leave.” One word, his tone threatening and dangerous. It went straight to your core, making it clench and stir. There were few of those who noticed the skepticism, some of the bystanders who stared with zipped lips and the group of vikings Ubbe was once with. When you drew your attention back, Ubbe was looking at you with an easy smirk. “I saw your little move there, are you sure you are a Christian?” You followed his figure out of the mass of people, standing a few metres away.

“Thank you Ubbe.” You glanced over to your Father to check if he saw, he did not. Too occupied with one of the other men, discussing something that seemed serious. 

“I’ll have you know that King Alfred wants to have me baptized.” This piqued your interest. You studied his appearance, dressed in his thick layers of clothes and leather. Beard soft and your fingers itched to feel it, to tug it. 

“That means you must renounce your beliefs.” He perched himself onto a beam, leaning against the wall and both of you were out of sight. He took a sip of mead, eyes flickering to your face and the others.

“I know.”

“What will you do?”

“I haven’t decided.” Ubbe drew in a large breath and sat up, patting the space next to him. You obliged, resting against the wall just as he did. He leaned over and held out his cup. “Drink.”

“No, I can’t drink alcohol.” You pushed it away. He frowned, blue eyes absorbing your appearance. You are all too aware of proximity, you felt his leg brush up against yours. “My Father does not allow it.” Being persistent, Ubbe forced the cup of liquor into your hand and concluded.

“My Mother told me when I was younger not to sleep with the slaves, I didn’t listen.” You gaped at him in disbelief but also in embarrassment. Ubbe waited for you to drink the cup of foul liquor, edging you on with his piercing blue orbs. Reluctantly obeying, you took a sip and scrunched your face up in disgust. 

“Ew.” Ubbe laughed, pulling it from your hands and sculled it down like it was water. You knew better than to be here in the open with Ubbe, if people saw or more specifically your Father, he would have Ubbe killed and would probably deem your behavior sinful and the sway of the devil. “Is she your wife?” Ubbe surprised from your question, he followed your gaze to the woman you spoke of, Torvi. A lot of people assumed they were lovers where in fact, they were really close friends almost like brother and sister. 

“Why? Are you jealous?” Ubbe intended it as a joke to make you grumpy and glare. He found it cute, your small self scowling in an attempt to threaten his larger and powerful being. He expected to be corrected but instead your cheeks turned a bright pink and you looked away. Oh, the viking smirked and inched closer. 

“No, I’m not jealous. Envy is a sin.” 

“Ah, I see.” Testing the waters, Ubbe pushed his leg more firmly against yours, waiting to see if you would remain still or move away. You stayed. “No, she is not my wife but we are close.” You didn’t know whether to feel gladden or disappointed. 

“Oh, so you are...lovers?” With a forced monotone voice you locked eyes with the viking. A mistake on your side because you were instantly bewitched by the thirst behind his sky-like specs. Your lips parted and your thighs clenched. 

“Do you think we are lovers?” He leaned in, daring you to cower and sink further into your shell, but something kept you still. Whether it be your burning core or the fluttering in your stomach, you didn’t want to move. 

“Yes.” 

“Does it bother you?” Swallowing hard, you glanced down to his lips, chapped and pink. You wanted to taste them, feel them, fight with them. Ubbe traced his finger down the side of your face, drawing out a subtle shudder. It was small but he noticed. 

“N-no.” He made a clicking noise and jerked back, leaving you in the absence of his remaining touch. As silly as it sounds, electricity coursed through you just from his touch. It left a hot burn on your cheek. “It doesn’t bother me.” 

“Shame, I was thinking of kissing you.” 

“W-what?” You were flabbergasted, staring at Ubbe with big wide doe eyes. There were many things that took you by surprise. When you found your Father sleeping with another woman, a slave girl, or when you found out where babies came from. They left you stunned but not like this. 

“Torvi is a good friend.” Ubbe stood up and hovered before your conflicted being. “But we wouldn’t want to taint your christian lips, hmm.” And just like that, he was gone. Disappeared into the sea of people and left you a confused, wanting and guilty wreck.

This man made you feel emotions. Slithered like the devil’s snake, lulling you to take a bite of a forbidden fruit. And if you did not pull yourself together any sooner, you feared you would lose and succumb to temptation.

[cncgalatea]

PREVIOUS TIME [3]

DISCLAIMER: Inazuma Eleven characters and the entire thing is entirely not of my own creation and thus belongs to its respectful owners. I only own the plot, the never-before-heard characters, and other things that I’ll say so. Please enjoy.

The Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Liverpool, UK

"Hmmm..."

"She's waking up!"

"Call the nurse, you idiot!"

SLAM!

"Are you alright? Can you speak? Do you see the number of fingers am I holding? What do you smell? Can you feel it? Do you know who you are? Or even better, do you know who I am?"

I heard different noises, but the most prominent ones would be the questions that an unidentified male would throw right at someone within the room. He kept screaming questions after questions as I can hear a second person sighing and hitting his or her skin. I can hear shuffling around the room as I start to slowly open my eyes. I blinked slowly, trying I adjust to the lighting of the room. I then saw an unfamiliar face as I stared at the male with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. His nose is a little crooked, probably due to a brawl or accident, that I do not know of.

He looked older than I am. Maybe by a 6 years difference?

The male then leaned forward, so near that all I can see now is his dark brown eyes and how he looked as if he is... a kid? I then tuned their argument out, not wishing to hear their shenanigans that would probably wake the dead. What? Now that is a new kind of difference. Am I in some-

"-hospital?" the woman asked incredulously. I felt like her voice is strained. This is utterly different from the one I'm in. It's not loud so perhaps I am in a private hospital quarter? Before I could even descend myself further into my thoughts, a door opened, the hinges creaking loud that I fear it might wake the dead. A man wearing a doctor's garb was by the door, a stethoscope at his neck, and a nurse with dirty blonde hair by his side.

"Greetings, young lady. How do you fare?" How do I fare? A man is by my side hurling questions after questions at me. How do you think I fared doctor? But of course, I can't speak properly for the time being. So I just remained silent, feigning ignorance at what the doctor states. "I see. So your auditory functions are still well. Nurse Caitlynn is here to assist you in your recovery, young lady. These fine gentlemen and lady rescued you from a cryo-pod of old age. Further investigations are still conducted about the place you were kidnapped but for the foreseeable future, I'm afraid you have to stay here." The doctor stated, his voice telling me that he is at least sympathetic. It is all too blurry for me but I can see the figure of a woman in white, or at least it is a woman, heading towards me.

"Nurse Caitlynn is here to see you through your recovery ma'am, as well as the rest of the hospital staff. Now, you waking up, heck, you with a heartbeat is already shocking as it is! All I need to do is to monitor your condition and it may take a long time for this to happen so I hope that you would be alright with this, ma'am. Not to worry though, these lovely folks are all nice and friendly," not really, these fellow men and woman are all strangers to me, oh dear doctor of no-name " so no need to be afraid young miss. Now, Nurse Caitlynn will begin her usual check-up in your vitals, I hope you don't mind." I remained silent, my face didn't betray the emotions that are welling up inside of me.

The rest then came as a blur for me as I once again tune everything out. I then tried to recall any past events that I could remember before waking up... none. I know certain words and mannerisms as if it is by instinct. Yet, I still have difficulty even understanding what the doctor was talking to me about. It felt like I was physically present in the situation yet my mind is elsewhere. I have no clue about what a certain thing that he is spouting about but it sounds crucial just by going off about scientific names of certain chemicals that I know are medicinal. Or as far as I know, IS medicinal. I couldn't quite tell, science is not of my expertise.

The three strangers that I woke up to strangely acted as if I would break and thus, have been treating me like glass. I have no clue whether to be grateful to them thinking of my well-being or act offended as if they underestimated my worth. Yet, I cannot blame them for the thought they now have of me as I recover. I cannot actually tell on how many days or months I have been in this hospital room, recovering, going through therapy and interrogation by the police (and they aren't as helpful as they have yet to believe) but I can tell that I have yet to reach a year inside this sickening white room. I have managed to get a grasp of the language, though the difference might be there, it is still English, but more different in a sense I have yet to grasp on. I manage to whisper only, though I can barely finish a sentence without coughing due to the soreness of my throat (and it could possibly be also due to the many, many years I am in a coma-like state inside a water tank, frozen).

I also underwent physical therapy to get a better grasp on my body and even then, I knew that it wasn't enough. I still felt restless despite my body aching and shaking from the pain that I am in. I would indulge myself in the current affairs as well as the history of various countries around the world, from England down to the political issues in Africa. I understood less of it due to the nurses' insistence that I am less exposed to a strange device that is a phone. Truly fascinating, it just hurts my eyes more. Unlike with the TV where it is placed at a safe distance away from my eyes, this one hurts more like a needle being pierced on my eyes, except the needles are felt in my head.

No one bothered correcting the scared male when he visited me later claiming I was an alien that was kidnapped (or aliennapped in his words) and that the royal family has decided to hide this horrid secret of theirs, calling it a dirty royal secret. The nurse gasped while the girl hit him on the head, their other serious male companion just telling me to ignore the "Bozo with the brain of a child". Then three more months passed by like a dream, and I managed to move my body like a typical healthy child and I manage to learn subjects that am confident will fare me in the future. Another couple months passed and I finally am ready, as the kind doctor has stated...

[oneyeartoparty]

Meeting At Long Last - Chapter 4: The First Few Days

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24753607/chapters/66923116

The kitchen was quiet as Lily entered. Gone was the scent of cooking food, the shouting chefs, the boiling water and sizzling oil. It was replaced with the smell of soap and sloshing water as mops were pulled and pushed across the floor. The breakfast rush had just ended, and so only a few of the stations were still in use, with the rest closed for cleaning or left unused.

She made her way to a small, unoccupied section of the kitchen; one meant more for the preparation of smaller meals than the grand feast that was regularly made elsewhere in the room. Stopping in front of a well-worn wooden cutting board, she placed down what she had been holding.

Lily inspected the ingredients before her with a careful eye. Since Thatch had kindly offered her access to the ship’s food stores, she was able to take her pick of the available food. The more significant issue she faced was finding what she needed. The food storage area was necessarily large and filled with an abundance of ingredients, from the mundane to the more exotic and strange. It has taken her almost half an hour to locate everything she needed, and she made to sure mentally note where she pulled everything from, for future reference.

Despite the abundance of ingredients, she was held back by her lack of adequate cooking skills. Her childhood cooking experience consisted of sticking some meat over a fire and making rice, so she had been woefully under prepared for surviving long term while sailing the sea. Luckily, she had encountered a few well-meaning sailing merchants who taught her the basics of cooking and food preservation before giving her some small rations and sending her on her way.  

While it was only a few days into her stay on the Moby Dick, she thought it best to get started practicing her cooking while food was plentiful, and she had some spare time. While she doubted anything would happen during her stay, she didn’t want to be caught out if it did, especially if she ended up stranded one of the more mysterious islands in the New World.

It didn’t take long for her mind to stray once she got started cooking. She had practiced many times during quieter periods in her journey, and so muscle memory took hold, allowing her to reflect on the last few days of her stay. 

Things had been calmer than she had expected. Ships sailing these waters expected to be harassed by Marines, pirates or a combination of the two, but the Moby Dick faced no resistance as it cut through the ocean. Lily had sighted a few ships as they traveled, though they were too distant for her to see any identifying features. All of them were sailing away from them like they had hit an invisible barrier and were bounced back.

Then there was the crew. Many had approached her to introduce themselves and see how she was doing. None asked about the mask, and Lily attributed this to Thatch keeping his promise to ensure no one would ask, though, no guarantee could stop the staring. There were fewer stares than she expected. No doubt many of the crew had seen stranger sights and saw her as ordinary in comparison. Of those who did stare, some were more subtle, only choosing to take glances when they thought she wasn’t looking or paying attention. Others openly gawked, or reacted in obvious shock, like one cabin boy who stared at her wide-mouthed when she was walking back to her room one afternoon. The boy’s reaction didn’t surprise her; she had seen many children react the same when they saw her. 

What had been surprising was the attempts of some of the crew to flirt with her. It was odd for someone like Lily, who was so often considered a freak, to be flirted with. The first time it has happened, it was shortly after she had sat with Marco and Ace on the ship’s railing. A woman approached her; she had a slender form with wavy but thin brown hair that traveled down to meet her elbow and eyes that matched the brown of her hair. Despite her slender form, she had apparent muscle, visible through the bulky red reefer coat and blue jean she wore. She made her intention known quickly, but didn’t get very far, nor would any of the others, as Ace would appear to glare at anyone who tried as if a mere attempt at flirting with her caused him to appear to put a stop to it instantly. 

After the fifth flirting attempt, Ace started to spend more time with her, and while he wouldn’t admit it, it was a clear sign the flirting was bringing out his overprotective brother side. Lily didn’t mind; she enjoyed her brother's company, especially after so much time apart. If he had other duties, he would often leave Lily with Thatch. While he had initially been wary of his fellow Commander due to his reputation, he quickly came to trust Thatch with Lily when he saw that he wouldn’t follow in some of his crewmate’s footsteps. 

Overall, the crew of the Moby Dick had been kind to her, and while Lily appreciated their kindness, each new person she met caused her anxiety to spike. She wasn’t used to being approached so freely, and so often by strangers, and while she tried her best to speak with everyone, she would sometimes lockup and find it difficult to respond. 

Thankfully, most of them would notice and take their leave, or Ace, Thatch or Marco would appear and whisk her away to an empty part of the ship and sit with her for a while until she felt better. It was something she deeply appreciated, and she made a note to try to find gifts for them all before she departed the ship.

Today had been a rare day where the three were elsewhere, leaving her to her own devices. She had spent her time sorting her bags, taking stock of what she had saved from her destroyed ship. Sorting through everything, she noticed a cookbook she had salvaged. Flicking through the water-damaged pages, she saw some recipes that caused her empty stomach to rumble. And so, she made her way to the kitchen to prepare them. 

“Interesting dishes you’re making Lily, though they’re a bit basic,” Thatch said from beside her, pulling Lily from her reminiscing.  

“Basic?” she asked, secretly not shocked by his words.

“Yeah, it’ll do for keeping you alive, but that’s it. If your living and fighting in the New World you need more than that. You need to be re-energized and revitalized. Anyone with basic cooking skills can put something together, but only the best chefs can make something that both keeps and makes you feel alive.” 

There was truth in his words that Lily couldn't deny. After all, she had experienced the effects of his cooking since she had come aboard. Every meal gave her more energy than anything else she had tried before, and it made getting through the day much more comfortable.

“I can teach you a few different things if you’d like,” he offered.

“Thank you, Thatch, that would be wonderful,” she happily replied.

Getting a lesson from an expert chef and spending some time with a friend. I think today is shaping into a good day.

Cooking with Thatch was a learning experience. His love of cooking came through with every action he made, and it was apparent he took joy in sharing his craft with others. He took the time to explain every step and went over things she had trouble mastering. Despite her occasional slip-up, it wasn’t long before they finished, successfully making two dishes she had seen in the recipe book.

The food now sat on a divided plate, a serving of spicy beef rice occupying the red side and a summer salad on the white. They both looked scrumptious, better than anything Lily could prepare by herself. Still, while she had help, there was an undeniable touch of her in both dishes, and she felt proud she had a hand in creating them.

“Both look great! Thank you for your assistance in making them, Thatch,” Lily said, delight ringing in her voice.

“It was my pleasure, now which should we tr-“.

“Ahh crap!” a male voice shouted from the other end of the kitchen, interrupting Thatch.

“Is someone in trouble?” Lily asked, tensing up slightly.

“No need to worry. That sadly familiar yell was the new cook screwing up the soup again. I’ll be back in a minute.” He said in a huff, walking toward the direction of the shout.

And so, Lily began to wait. It took mere minutes after Thatch’s departure for an odd impatience to take over her. She wanted to wait as he had asked, but after all the work they had put into making this food, she couldn’t let it go cold before someone could taste test it for her.

“I’ll go and find Ace and see what he thinks,” she said to herself as she grasped the plate and turned toward the exit.

Exiting the kitchen, she began to make her way towards Ace’s cabin, a skip in her step as she looked forward to seeing her brother’s reaction to her new creations.

She didn’t encounter anyone on the walk to the cabin, and soon she found herself standing in front of the door to her brother’s quarters. Not wanting to risk dropping the plate, she used her foot to tap the door lightly.

“Ace? Are you in there?” she half-shouted through the door.

There was no response. Not that she was surprised. Ace could easily be somewhere else on the ship or napping, becoming almost dead to the world as he dreamt what she hoped were pleasant dreams.

Undeterred, she decided to knock one final time before searching elsewhere.

Again, nothing.

Could he be training, maybe? He did say he was meeting with members of his division today, is he doing that now?

Hearing footsteps, she turned to see Marco walking toward her. He wasn’t wearing his usual outfit. Instead, he wore a light grey, long-sleeved sports shirt; the first few buttons left undone to show the top of his tattoo. His pants were made of what Lily thought was cotton that had been dyed black and stopped just below his knees.

He looks like he’s trying to relax today. Maybe this is a rare day off for him?

“Hello, Lily.” Marco greeted.

“Hey, Marco,” she cheerfully replied.

“Looking for somewhere to sit and eat?” he asked, inspecting the plate.

“No, Thatch assisted me in making some food. It's my first attempt making something like this, so I was looking for Ace to taste test it for me.”

“Why didn’t Thatch taste it?”

“There was a soup emergency that he had to go handle. Since he was busy, I decided to go find Ace instead.”

“You won’t have any luck finding Ace. He went racing off on his Striker when he heard one of our ally ships needed help. I tried telling him Izu was already on the way, but he was gone before I could even start speaking.” Marco grumbled.

She sighed “That’s typical Ace. He can be a hot-head sometimes.”

“I don’t hate him for it. It's how he show’s he cares, and I will admit it’s kinda endearing.”

“So, my brother has rubbed off on you? It’s the same with Luffy. Those two always seem to make fast friends no matter where they go,” Lily chucked.

“It wasn’t that smooth a start for Ace here, but it did work out that way, and we’re all glad it did. I think the ship would be empty without him setting things on fire.”

“Changing the subject, since the fire starter isn’t here, would you try one of these for me? The red side is spicier if you’re not a fan of spice.” She asked as she lifted the plate, moving it closer to Marco.

Marco looks between them. “Which is which?” 

“Sorry?” 

“I can’t see colour.” 

It took a moment for her to realise what he had meant. “You haven’t found your soulmate?” 

He shook his head. “Not yet, though I have been looking.” 

His words caused her to panic internally.

I’ve screwed up! How could I be so inconsiderate when he’s been so kind? He’s going to hate me now.

“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed as I did. It was horrible of me,” Lily muttered, her anxiety serving to dampen her voice, making it come out as a whisper.

“Please Lily, there is no need to apologies for not knowing, especially when its something like this.” 

She was relieved. She would hate to have offended Marco. While they hadn’t spent much time together, she felt that had a bond already, and given how few close bonds she had, she didn’t want to lose it.

“Does it impede you at all?” she asked, allowing her curiosity to take over momentarily.

He shook his head. “Not really. Most things that would be a struggle have a colour-blind variant, and I can always ask for some help if it doesn’t. If anything, the worst part of it is knowing I still haven’t found them.”

“How long have you been looking?”

“Since I was young. It’s one of the reasons I set out to sea. I’d be an orphan my entire life, surviving with the scraps I managed to get my hands on. Looking back on it now, with everything I’ve done, it was more existing than living. There were happy moments, but it was no life for anyone, especially a child.” 

His eyes shifted, turning to watch the ocean as it arched up and down in the wind. Though he only stared out for a few seconds, she saw a visible calm come over him.

“And so, when I was twelve, I decided I didn’t want to be alone, that I wanted to find that one person who might want to stay by my side and create a family. I still haven’t found my soulmate, but I did find a family. I think I was the most fortunate I’ve ever been when I boarded this ship on the day I left my home island. “ 

 I can’t let me him be without his soulmate, not after all the kindness he’s shown me.

“I’ll help you look,” Lily exclaimed.

He looked perplexed. “Help me look?” 

She nodded. “I won’t be with you for very long, but I do my best to help you find your soulmate.” 

Marco beamed. He seemed ecstatic at the offer. 

“I’ll gladly accept that offer, Lily.” 

Lily sighed, “It might not be much of an offer unless we stop on any populated islands.” 

“It’s a coincidence, but we’re stopping at one of our islands tomorrow. If I remember right, they’ll be holding a festival to celebrate the first harvest of the year. They get a lot of traffic from nearby islands too. So, want to go with me?”

FrEAK

They flashed in her mind again, their claws ripping her confidence and bravery apart and letting the anxiety and fear seep in. It made what had been so simple now impossible.

If I try to help him, I’ll be a burden. I should never have offered, knowing what I am.

“Sorry, Marco, it might not be the best idea. I apologies for the trouble,” the second she finished speaking, Lily whirled around and began walking away, nearly dropping the plate she had forgot she held.

“Wait, Lily!” Marco called from behind her, concern in his voice

She stopped the guilt from hearing his obvious concern causing her halt. She hated worrying people, and this was no exception.

Marco quickly appeared in front of her, leaning down they were face-to-face.

“What made you so upset? Do you not want to go to the festival?”

She shook her head. “I do, but, how could I? Every village or town I go to I get ostracised because of my mask. They think I’m some horrible criminal or…”

“Or?”

“A freak, a disgusting freak.”

There was silence for a moment “Lily, can I hug you?”

She weakly nodded, expecting a quick, pitiful embrace. Instead, she noticed the weight lifted from her hands as Marco gently took the plate and put it beside the door.

Then, with a speed that Lily surmised could only come from an expert hugger, he gave her a gentle smile and hugged her.

He was warm and soft. It wasn’t like Ace’s warmth, which with his new devil fruit was nearly overwhelming, nor was near smothering like Luffy’s ecstatic hugs. This was a pleasant warmth, experienced when sitting in the sun on just the right day, with grass dancing along your exposed skin. It was a feeling Lily wanted to get lost in. But soon, Marco ended the embrace, stepping back, but remaining close.

“I’m not going to ask what you went through and I’m not going to ask Ace either. I want you to tell me when you’re ready if you ever are. Until then, know that I don’t care if anyone looks down on me for choosing to spend time with you. I’m happy to do so even if it means I’m an outcast for it. Besides, I’m a pirate. I’m used to the looks and judgement, its sort of a job requirement.”

She wanted to doubt him. It wasn’t the first time someone used pretty words and promises to gain her trust. But she also knew people, it was a necessity for her, learning how to properly ready people. And that’s how Lily knew that Marco was sincere.

I think I can let myself trust him a little.

“Also, I should mention this isn’t an ordinary festival. It customary to dress up, so you won’t stand out, if you still want to go, of course.”

A smile only known to her, appeared on her face. “I’d like that a lot.”

A smile returned to his face. “Then I’ll come to get you once we dock. It should be around midday, so keep an eye out for me around then. For now, would you let me escort you back to the kitchen? I’m sure Thatch is wondering where you went.”

With a nod from Lily, the two began to walk together. It was a silent walk back, both of them far too preoccupied with thinking about tomorrow to speak. They were so distracted in fact that neither of them had remembered to pick up the plate that now sat next to Ace’s cabin door.