#she likes food but can't eat it so just sorta looks at it them gives it to her friend

[crayonurchin]

I have come to the realisation that the warforged I play as it just if Kronk was mormon and self-conscious

[luveline]

hi sweetheart , ur amazing , was wondering if you could write an eddie & roan fic , where whereas eddie was in the hospital that one time , its r’s turn , not to serious but definitely something youd fine yourself worrying about ! and ed and roanie r so worried , sorta like the scene from the work trip 🥹

PLS i love u angel

thank you for your request, ilove u! eddie and roan —dad!eddie juggles his daughter roan, nearly step mom!you, and his own rollercoaster emotions when you end up in hospital for a few days. 4k

cw hospital stay, seizure recovery, temporary paralysis

Eddie's never been this tired in his entire life, and he can't sleep. 

He looks up at his bedroom ceiling (your ceiling, your house), hands under his back in the same clothes he wore yesterday. She'll worry if I show up looking like a slob, he thinks eventually, getting up to shower. The last thing he wants to do when he can't take care of you is take care of himself, but he has to, because that's what you'd want if you were home. 

Roan is stirring by the time he's dressed again. He tugs his socks on and walks across the landing, residual steam from the bathroom warming the air, his hair dripping a cool path down his back. 

He creeps over a mess of things that hasn't been touched in two days. Roan's eyes fly open at the sound, but she sees him and they squint to a more sluggish expression, little hands rubbing sleep from her eyelashes. 

Eddie thinks maybe she thought he was you. 

"Hey, bubby," he says, as loving and bubbly as he can manage, "did you have a nice sleep?" 

"Can we go see Y/N now?" she asks hoarsely. 

Eddie sits on the side of her bed and pulls her effortlessly into his lap. She's boiling from the sheets, her hair curled tight at her neck from the heat. 

"Remember what I said yesterday about visiting hours?" He strokes hair from her face gently, an arm wrapped around her waist to say I'm here. "They won't let us in until nine, and it's not eight yet." 

He drops his nose into her hair. 

"Maybe we can go get a really yummy breakfast," he suggests, thinking about you. You're probably awake, and if he's lucky you've eaten your own breakfast, but it's more likely you've refused it if you're as lethargic as you were yesterday.  

"I don't want diner burgers anymore," Roan says. 

Eddie gives her a kiss and her back a rub. "No, I bet you don't. Sorry, sweetheart, it's not nice having the same foods for two days in a row, is it? That's my fault." 

"It's okay. Let's make waffles." 

He kisses her forehead, taking a contemplative breather, just the two of them in their quiet house, her body a familiar weight in his lap. The sun is up and shining through her window, sunlight across the floor and her spilled toybox. It doesn't quite reach them on the bed, and Eddie snorts at it. Of course it doesn't. Home without you isn't sunny.  

"Waffles," he agrees. 

They make waffles with leftover strawberries and squirty cream. Roan is perky enough to want to have some straight from the can, giggling a storm when he plops a dollop of it onto her nose. He gets her ready as she eats, brushing her knotty hair and changing her pyjamas for a striped long sleeve shirt, wool leggings, and a dungaree dress you'd begged him to buy for her. The front pocket sports a small embroidered Russian doll. 

She should've had a bath, but it's getting on, and Eddie wants to get to Hawkins General dead on visiting time. She's not dirty, just her hair isn't as nice as it could be. He figures the universe will forgive him. 

He really has to see you. 

Getting Roan into the car rehashes a fresh memory. The day before yesterday… things should've been normal. Eddie was walking out of the shop, keys swinging around his finger ready to see his girls for your usual Friday plans: movies on the couch until one or all of you falls asleep. He's thinking kettle corn, a sheet of a dozen donuts, a gallon of Roan's favourite grapefruit juice and maybe another punnet of strawberries so she can dip them in chocolate and sugar. 

But Wayne jogged out after him calling his name. There was a phone call from your work, your coworker frantic. 

Eddie blinks and shoves his keys into the car, listening to the engine sputter, trying to focus. A tonic-clonic seizure, seven minutes counted before it stopped. You were already in the ambulance when they called. 

"What do I do?" Eddie'd asked, frozen to the spot. His heart pounding unsteadily in his chest, the image of you in convulsions behind his eyes. "What do I–"

"You go to the hospital," Wayne said, because of course that's what he had to do. 

Wayne vowed to pick up Roan and Eddie got in the car. His hands shook so bad he couldn't turn the key at first, but he managed it, and he got to Hawkins General in one piece, and he didn't panic at the reception desk asking if you'd been checked in yet. 

Eddie doesn't think he'd described you as looking small before, but you looked small. They laid you out in a snug bed with square orange stickers on your head, chest, and arms, unconscious. You didn't wake up for hours. 

And that was normal, Eddie reminds himself now, the car huffing and puffing its way down roads he's been driving on for almost a decade now on autopilot. You had a standard generalised tonic-clonic seizure. It started from nowhere, though they later found your blood sugar had been very low. That was deemed the cause. Eddie blames himself for it in a hundred different ways, remembering that morning, how he'd made you late for work cuddling you when you should've been getting ready. 

You skipped breakfast. He thought you'd have something on the way, but you never did. 

It's my fault, he thinks, then and now, the same thought that's plagued him for three days. 

"Do we wanna talk about how we feel today?" Eddie asks, tearing himself away from the aching remembered fear and back into the present. Five minutes until he gets to see you again, until he knows for sure you're alright.

"I feel okay. I want to see mom." 

"We're almost there. You have your flowers from the back yard?" 

Roan waves her picked daisies at him assuredly. Eddie hadn't thought to buy you flowers. He could barely manage the essentials; pyjamas, toothpaste and lip balm. He forgot to get you a toothbrush. He forgot underwear —he had to go back to the store. It was a disaster. 

"What about scary feelings?" Eddie asks softly, reaching back to make a grab for her knee. 

"You said she's okay now." Roan sits forward. "What if her arms stop working again?" 

It was only one arm. You could've come home yesterday if you hadn't been experiencing a weakness called 'Todd's Paresis', a paralysis of the limbs. You slowly regained functionality of it throughout the day, but your headache and confusion remained. 

Eddie thinks that was the worst part. You, in bed, crying because you didn't understand. His eyes burn and well with tears every time he thinks about it. Eddie, I feel sick, you'd mumbled tearfully, reaching for his arm, smudging his tattoos between your careless fingers, I don't know what's– why are we here?

But you were genuinely going to be fine, even if you were scared. In the same way Eddie's going to be okay, and Roan will be, too, as long as he makes sure this isn't hurting her as it's happening. 

"Baby, I promise you her arms won't stop working again. When she had the seizure," —he doesn't like using a big word like that with her, only there's no alternative and she needs to know— "her brain was confused. It was confused for a couple of hours, 'n' when she woke up her body needed time to catch up." He doesn't know how true it is, but it's for Roan to understand her feelings, not to help her medicinal education. "When we said goodnight she could wave bye to us, yeah? So don't worry about mommy's arm." 

"I'm worried about mommy's everything." 

"Yeah?" Eddie feels a mixture of stress at her admission and relief as the hospital parking lot creeps into view. "You want to tell me?" 

"What if she gets another one?" 

"Another seizure?" Eddie asks, turning the wheel. All he has to do is drive into the lot and find a space without crashing. 

"Will she have to come back to hospital?" Roan asks. 

"Yeah, she would have to come back. But… okay, sometimes, people have lots of seizures all the time, and they aren't dangerous. Sometimes they are dangerous," he amends. "But lots of the time they're not. So if she did have more, I would make sure she didn't get hurt and we would have to be brave all over again. We can do that, can't we?" 

He parks the car. 

Roan doesn't look as though his explanation helped. Eddie's running on an empty tank, scrubbing his hands through half dried hair and wishing he was better at this. He gets out of the front seat and opens her door, unclicking her straps, helping her down onto her feet. 

"Babe, I forgot your jacket," he says, surprised at himself as he realises she only has two layers. "Are you cold?" 

She holds out her arms and assesses for herself. "I think so." 

"You'll have to come inside my hoodie. Shall we do that?" he asks with a grin.

Eddie picks Roan up, has her cling to his neck, and zips his hoodie up over her body, their head sticking out of the hole all squished together. She's a laughing mess as they cross the lot and head into the main building of the hospital, infectiously happy as she calls him, "so silly, daddy." 

They do look silly, but Eddie's glad he forgot her jacket. It's nice to hear her laughing like that after such a tough weekend, far from the one he'd pictured. 

He tries to set her down after they've entered the elevator, but she won't go. He holds her tighter instead. 

"We're going to be nice and quiet on the ward 'cos there are other grown ups here, and some of them are in a lot of pain," he reminds her.

"We should've brought flowers for everybody." 

"How many do you have, sweetheart?" he asks, watching the floor number tick upward. 

"I have, um." She pulls her hand back from his neck, four rumpled daisies choked in her fingers. "No, I can't give them to everyone else, I only have enough for mommy." 

Eddie's noticed a very high ratio of 'mommy' when compared to Roan's usual mix these last few days. If anyone asks who her mom is she says it's you enthusiastically, but if she's talking to you face to face she'll call you whatever she feels like. Mom tends to come out more when she's tired, when she's feeling adored, or when she's upset, but that isn't to say she won't call you mom at random moments. Why is the window glass all blurry, mom? I didn't 'member to feed Lucky, mommy, you have to get the fish food. Mom, I need more soda. 

Roan was too old when you met to mistake you for her mother. You're growing into the title. Roan's growing into using it. 

"That's okay. You keep them all for mom," he whispers. 

"We won't show anyone so they don't feel left out," she whispers back. 

"Good plan." 

When Wayne brought Roan by the first night, she was just happy to see you both. Unlike when Eddie burned his arm, you weren't alert enough to be in any pain, and so she didn't have to be scared of that. Wayne kept his cool when he picked her up, mitigating most of the panic she probably would've felt had Eddie been there. She wasn't happy to see you unwell, but she wasn't scared. She hasn't cried. 

Eddie knows from experience that a lack of tears now doesn't mean they aren't coming. 

You're sitting up in bed, showered, in a fresh pair of pyjamas with a cup of coffee held between two strong hands. You have a magazine on your knee. Even your hair looks nice. It's a goddamn miracle in Eddie's eyes —he nearly drops Roan. 

"My Munsons!" you say happily, putting your coffee on the tray table wheeled over your bed. "What the heck, you told me you'd be here at nine and it's nine oh seven. I thought we loved each other?" 

Oh thank fucking God, Eddie thinks. You're okay. You sound yourself again, no pain, no hazy confusion. 

"You're conjoined," you say, smiling. 

Eddie scrambles to unzip his jacket. Roan throws herself out of his arms and on to the end of your bed. You push your tray table and coffee sloshes everywhere in your rush to make room for her. 

"Good morning," she says, slamming into you. Eddie winces at her force, and Roan must recognise her brutality, saying, "Sorry, I hugged you hard." 

"That's okay, I like hard hugs," you say, wrapping your arms around her. 

Eddie gets his knee on the mattress to grab you both in his own hug. Tears burn in his eyes. He doesn't have the wherewithal to blink them back, dropping his lips to your forehead. "I was so worried," he says, unable to hide how high and fraught his voice is. 

"Eddie," you murmur softly. "My love, it's okay. I'm just fine, you didn't have to worry about me." 

"But I did, you were–" He clears his throat. "I love you." 

"I love you too," you say, your hand crawling up his front. You curve your palm around his neck. "Baby, I'm so sorry." 

Eddie laughs and sniffs, sitting back on your bed to wipe his eyes with his wrist. His hands are shaking. "It's okay, it's alright. I don't want you sorry for nothing. We just wanted you to get better. Isn't that right, Ro?" 

Roan picks her head up from your neck, tears pumping down her face. 

Eddie's heart hurts seeing it, even if he was expecting it. You, on the other hand, hadn't had that foresight. You look at her like she's split you clean in two. 

"Princess, what's the matter?" you implore, cuddling her back into your chest. "I know it's really scary being here, lovely girl, I know. It's okay." 

Roan doesn't explain herself, just sobs little sobs into your shirt, clutching you as though she's worried you'll push her away. 

Eddie puts his hand on her back. 

"I'm sorry," you say softly, sounding weak yourself.

"Don't be sorry, are you kidding? It was my fault," Eddie says. 

"What?" 

"I made you late, you didn't eat breakfast–" 

"Eddie–" 

"Don't fucking say sorry–" 

"Eddie," you say again, rubbing Roan's back. You give him a soft look. 

"Sorry," he says. He takes a big breath, victim of an overflow of emotion. 

Eddie slides further up the bed to get a better hold on Roan where she's being hugged. "I'm very sorry for cussing, baby. How are you feeling, huh? Happy to see mommy with both arms, is that it?" 

"So happy," she sobs, pushing her lips closer to your ear and her flowers into your neck. "I brought you flowers to help you get better but you're better already." 

Eddie doesn't know what to do besides pat her back and cling to you.

After a big healthy cry fest, you lay back in your pillows with Roan propped against your front, speaking at a much more acceptable volume considering your three neighbours in the room. You rub her back with one hand and feed her hard pretzels with the other, passing your pinky finger over her cheeks as a makeshift handkerchief to collect the last of her tears. Her daisies wilt in a cup of fruitless water on the nightstand. 

"Is that what all the fuss was about? You worried daddy wasn't gonna enable your snack addiction?" you ask fondly, 

"Dad gives me lots of snacks. We had Benny's two times yesterday and then we had ice cream with every topping for after dinner." 

"I'm glad he's been spoiling you," you say. 

"Too much Benny's, wasn't it?" Eddie prompts, meeting your eyes with a bemused grin, his head twitching with a headache that doesn't fit the mood. "She said to me before breakfast she didn't want any today. We had waffles in the waffle maker and blueberries and strawberries." 

"With squirty cream," Roan says, opening her mouth wide for another pretzel. 

You indulge her and feed her. 

"You didn't enjoy burgers for lunch and dinner?" you ask. 

"We had Reuben sandwiches and loaded fries for dinner, it wasn't as torturous as it sounds." 

"It sounds delicious," you say, kissing Roan's pale forehead. "I wish I'd been there to steal all the bacon bits off of your fries. Now I'm better, maybe we can go and have them again, give me a fighting chance."  

"No!" Roan says with a laugh.

"No? So selfish, Ro, you know I want whatever you're eating." You kiss her crown and adjust your arms around her.

"Now you're better, I think we should have the, um, the special curry dad makes with rice and peas." 

"Oh, yeah?" Eddie asks. "Mom's better so dad can go back to his life of serfdom. That's awesome." 

In actuality, Eddie would make you complicated, exhausting meals multiple times a day for the rest of your life if it meant you didn't end up here again. He has a strict breakfast plan forming in his mind as you speak.

"They said they were gonna check me one last time and if I'm okay I get to go home. Soon as the doctor can come and see me and make sure I look okay," you say, planing a pretzel past her mouth and into your own with a self satisfied smile.  

"You look beautiful," Eddie says, squeezing your knee. 

"Dad! I was going to say that!" Roan stands up from your lap and pushes him. "You steal everything!" 

"I do not! 

"You do! You stole my strawberry at breakfast and you took my soda straw last night!" 

"I did do both of those things but that doesn't mean I steal everything," Eddie says, looking up into her face happily. 

She has fire behind her eyes, even though her lashes are still wet and clumped together from her earlier tears. Roan harrumphs at him. "You do. You stole one of my gingersnap cookies–" 

"Baby, those were mine. Uncle Wayne got them for me 'cos they're my favourites and I was upset," he says, laughing. 

"Well. Why did you let me have them?" 

Eddie finds her hand to roll her fingers. "Because I'm good at sharing, something you never learned how to do." 

"Don't listen, bubby," you say, tipping pretzels into your mouth. "You're a good sharer." 

In the end, the doctor comes by and tells you to stay until the shift changes for a last set of observations. Eddie and Roan stay just past visiting hours to wait with you, Roan now firmly wedged in his lap, you with his hoodie over your shoulders. In all the chaos, he didn't remember to bring your jacket either. 

"This is why we're getting married," you say. 

"Why, so someone remembers to put jackets on you both?" he asks ruefully, Roan in his lap, your bag packed and ready to go at your feet. 

"No…" You tip your head toward your shoulder a touch. "Because you've done such a good job looking after me, sweetheart. You really have. Thank you for taking care of me." 

"I think the hospital did all the looking after," he says. 

He tries uselessly to shove down that awful feeling again. The memory of you prone in bed with your IV and your heart monitor beeping. It felt like it was beating behind his eyes. 

It's easier to forget now you're feeling almost one hundred percent again. Your hand at his elbow, in your nice white and blue pyjamas, content to be going home again. 

"That's not true… I can't imagine how tired you are right now. If it were you in here, for three days…"  

"Only two," he says. "Today doesn't count." 

"It absolutely counts." 

You pout for a kiss that Eddie eagerly gives you. He kisses you, your cheek, your ear, a line of gratitude because he doesn't care how tired he is or how hard this was. You're better. You can rest at home. 

"I'd be a mess. Don't feel bad about the jackets or start thinking you did a bad job," you say, combing your fingers through his hair. You scoot back to look him in the eye, a ridiculous amount of fondness lining your own, your pinched brows. "You did awesome. A-plus for everything."

"It's not over," he says, stroking Roan's arm where she squirms in his lap, bored. "You're on bed rest, I don't care what the doctor says. And you're taking time off work. Promise me." 

"Promise," you say, holding your hands up. 

"Can I have the time off too from school?" Roan asks. 

Her big doe eyes and her tiny frown would convince him if he hadn't already thought about it. 

He squeezes her chubby cheeks in his palms. "You need a few days to feel better," he agrees. 

"Really?" she asks with a gasp. 

"Yeah, really. You've been really, really brave." He kneads her cheeks gently. "You're such a good girl. You're my brave girl." 

"Super brave," you agree, cheek on Eddie's shoulder. 

Roan sits back with a proud shrug, arms wrapping around her stomach. "I was a bit brave." 

Eddie chucks her under the chin with his knuckle. You get discharged a little while later, Roan and Eddie like a small parade pushing your wheelchair. You hate the attention, complaining to the nurse lightly that you can walk to the car without falling. No one wants to hear it. 

"You're legally required to take it easy for a few days," Eddie says. "You promised me." 

You slump back in the chair. "Fine. Ro, come and sit in my lap, at least? This hospital is a maze, I need company while they find our way out." 

Roan loves that idea. She sits on your knees, back to your chest, your hands around her waist like a seatbelt. 

"Can I push her the rest of the way? I'm sure you're busy," Eddie says to the nurse. He says it so nicely, so politely, that despite his tattoos and his long hair, she doesn't put him in the 'hooligan' box as people tend to do. She hands you over.  

Eddie waits for her to round the corner before ducking down, your backpack in the crook of his elbow, hands tightening around the wheelchair handles. 

"Girls. You better hold on tight. I'm sick of this place and we're leaving right now." 

"Don't you dare." 

"All arms in the ride?" he asks, charging up his push. He takes a preparatory step back. "On three. One, two–" 

"Three!" Roan shouts. 

Eddie races you down the hallway, your nervous laughter so loud it bounces off of every wall on the way out.

[babybluebex]

ok wait but now imagining paul not so subtly trying to get dom to ask out costar!you 😭😭 like imagine dom's just too nervous to ask you out to dinner or something after wrapping up a scene and paul's like 😒 and ASKS FOR DOM 💀 so paul going "hey, dom invited me out for dinner, which of course i'm flattered, but im a bit too old for him.....you should take my place!" and dom in the background looking absolutely mortified. cue confused reader !!

i also have been hallucinating this one small moment where you finished filming a bit later in the day compared to dom so you didn't get to eat yet. you show up to your trailer and see dom and he's like "finally im starving! burgers or pizza?" and you're like "girl what." and he's like "you haven't eaten yet and i wanted to eat with you" and you're just like "WHAT!" (🥹) and he's like "so pizza AND burgers?"

idk i need to go to sleep.

ugh my FAV idea is paul and da'vine watching you two being IDIOTS who don't see that you're falling for each other, and you tell da'vine how much you like dom but you're too nervous to say anything, and dom tells paul that he doesn't think he's good enough for you, and paul and da'vine collude to get yall together bc CLEARLY yall aren't gonna do it on your own

just little things at first, filming a scene outside and paul mumbles to dom "she looks cold... maybe you oughta give her your scarf" and dom does it without hesitation, and you smile at dom and paul is like success, or you and da'vine are cooking (bc ALL THE FOOD IN THE MOVIE WAS REAL AND AT LEAST PARTIALLY COOKED BY DA'VINE) and she "accidentally" overcooks a pan of brownies, and she says "go give them to the boy, he'll eat em" and you do, and dom is all red in the face and adores the gesture, and da'vine is back in the kitchen thinking like those kids are SO dumb

and it escalates in their poking and prodding, and dom tells paul one night "i just— i've never had any luck with girls" and paul is like "jesus christ, kid, see the writing on the wall! for the past six weeks, you've been worshiping this girl and she's been the same, and we wrap in a week, either ask her to dinner or shut up about it!" and he settles down and goes "sorry, that was mean. what i meant was��" but the snap of reality was exactly what dom needed to get off his ass, and he goes and finds you that very moment, and you're sitting chatting with da'vine, and you smile at dom as he enters the room "hey man! what's up?" and you notice his red cheeks and the intense look on his face, and you start to ask what's the matter, but he beats you to it, grabbing your face and kissing you, and you initially push him away "what the hell?" and he just all in one breath says "i think you're really beautiful and you're funny and silly but so caring and passionate, you take care of me even when you don't need to, because why would you need to, i'm a grown man, i can take care of myself, but i love the way you play with my hair and fall asleep on my shoulder during movie night, and we wrap in a week and i don't think i could live with myself if i didn't at least tell you how i feel, and paul says you feel the same way, and i usually believe whatever he says without hesitating, but i sorta worry he's wrong about it, so—" and you kiss him again to keep him quiet and you can't see her behind you, but da'vine is grinning bc fucking finally

and dom is a SWEETHEART when it comes to that second part. you had to film a scene that went on longer than expected, and dom has been wrapped for the day for a while, and the shoes you wore for the scene hurt your feet and you're tired and your body hurts and you just wanna lay down, and you get to your trailer and see the light on inside when you know you left the light off that morning, and you go in, and dom's got it all set up for you, an ocean of blankets on the couch and a pizza on your counter, and he's on the couch, remote in hand, navigating thru netflix, and you're like "the fuck is this?" and he's all puppy eyes at you "i knew you had a hard day, so i wanted to... i don't know, make it easy or something. i got your favorite pizza, and i washed these blankets so they smell nice and they just came out the dryer so they're still warm, and i'm trying to find that show you like but i can't find it, how do you spell 'derry'" and your face crumples up as you start to cry, and dom's face goes WHITE and he shoots up "oh god, i'm sorry, what did i do?" and he comes over and gingerly hugs you, and you cry into his neck and can barely gasp out "n-nothing's wrong, i-i'm just tired!" and he shushes you "maybe a little hangry too?" and you just "mhm" into his skin "that's what i thought, honey, c'mon sit down, i've got you" and that makes you cry harder and he's just sorta "... i'm really bad with girls, do you want me to let go and kick rocks, or..." and you just whimper "i've never had a boyfriend be so nice to me" and dom feels his heart shatter "jesus, really? what sorta guys have you been dating? cuz i— look at me, baby, look into my eyes— i like you. a whole lot. but i care about you too, and i care about the fact that you feel like shit and had a bad day, and because i like you so much and i care about you, i just wanna... just wanna make sure you're ok. ok?" and you sniffle and nod, and he ducks his head to get his face in your lowered eyeline "ok??" and you sorta huff out a laugh "oh, c'mon, you can do better than that. i'm not letting go of you until you give me a real laugh. even if it's fake, pretend it's real" and you roll your eyes and he sorta shakes you "c'mon, you can do it. or do i need to start singing at you? because i can!" and you start to slink away from him, but he pulls you in close and kisses your head "go get into some pjs, i brought one of my shirts for you to wear, it's on your bed with those sweatpants you wear all the time" and by the time you get changed and grab a slice of pizza and get settled on the couch in dom's arms, you realize he's not eating "you're not hungry?" "nah not really..." and it's only after you're full that he reveals the truth to you "i haven't eaten all day. i wanted you to eat all you wanted and not have to worry about me :)"

[magicknightriderjellyfish02]

WIP Wednesday (and a belated Mid Autumn Festival ficlet)

~o0o~

Di Feisheng stared at the mooncake on the table then to the little girl beside him waiting impatiently for his verdict.

"Don't keep your daughter waiting." Li Lianhua said, gently slapping his arm.

Di Feisheng had faced many foes before but he never knew fear until each time he had to taste Li Lianhua's cooking. And now that his own daughter is learning from his husband, that fear grew exponentially.

"It's not as bad as the dumplings." His eldest son whispered.

Di Feisheng shuddered. The dumplings from the previous winter solstice not only left a bad taste in his mouth but also gave him stomach issues for a day. After gulping down any form or resistance and hesitation, he picked up the mooncake and took a small bite.

"Does father dislike the food I made? He only ate so little." The little girl asked, her eyes already starting to get watery.

"I'm sure he's going to eat more. Right, father?" Xiao Liang said. He flashed a fox-like smile that made him look so much like Li Xiangyi.

"Yes. One, big bite" he felt the weight of Li Lianhua's hand on his shoulder.

The little girl's eyes sparkled and she bounced on the balls of her feet. Di Feisheng, resigned to his fate bit a huge chunk of the surprisingly hard mooncake, tasted the unfathomable mix of flavors and forced it down his throat.

"Did you like it?"

Di Feisheng, who had just gulped down a bowl of water given by Xiao Liang nodded. The girl shrieked happily and clung to him.

"Was it delicious?"

Di Feisheng picked up the girl and sat her on his lap. He wiped away traces of flour on her hair, smiled widely and nodded.

"It's the best one ever. Even more delicious than what your father makes" the girl giggled and hugged him.

"Chunyu is joking. I made the mooncake taste bad on purpose"

Di Feisheng, surprised, stared at his daughter.

"I had a bet with gege if you'd also lie to me if I make a bad dish. Winner gets ten taels" he laughed at this explanation

"And? Who won?"

"Well..." She shyly held out her hand, palm up.

"Chunyu has no money and gege said I'd have to do his chores if I can't pay. That will tire Chunyu so much!" She started sniffling, burying her head into Di Feisheng's chest.

Di Feisheng fished out the money from his sleeve and handed it over to the girl who counted it.

"I have five taels more!!!" She jumped down and went to her older brother.

"Okay, now that's done, get the real ones we made and go outside" Li Lianhua said.

Soon, the four of them, plus Hulijing were outside the small hut, enjoying the brightly lit sky. Thankfully, the new mooncakes were the ones gifted by Li Lianhua's shiniang and were very tasty, much to everyone's (except Li Lianhua's) relief. The parents tried to constantly thwart the attempts of the siblings in getting their hands on the exquisite wine gifted by Tianji Villa, culminating with Chunyu even using Beifeng Baiyang in one of their attempts. But after that they all settled back to watching the moon while Li Lianhua hummed a folk song.

"It is getting brighter each year" Di Feisheng said, he looked at Li Lianhua, smiling.

"It is indeed" Li Lianhua replied, stroking the head of their children who have fallen asleep.

The two of them smiled at each other, remembering a similar conversation some decades back. Di Feisheng leaned in to give Li Lianhua a kiss.

~o0o~

This is sorta kinda part of a fic I'm working on. I'm just currently on a mission to give A-Fei the best life as a retired Jianghu uncle

[prism-empurress]

Siffrin goes to Day Treatment

Hey! Here's some writing drabble where Siffrin...goes to a mental health group like I do! This takes place sorta in an AU? Modern day + colors. Enjoy and give me your thoughts on it, and I might continue!

Siffrin was not permitted to take his dagger with him. Or any wood carving tools. Or the safety pins on his cloak. So, he decided to wear something casual; a black turtleneck with a red and black plaid coat, ripped black jeans, simple socks, simple black gloves and checkered slip ons, as well as his eyepatch. Not wanting to be without a hat, he pulled a red beanie out from his closet and put it on.

They looked at themself in the mirror. They looked relatively like a normal human, they thought. Just a casual, run of the mill…person.

Deep breath in….deep breath out…

It was going to suck to be without his cloak. It wasn't a security blanket, but he found comfort in the weight it had on his form. Being without it…he felt strange. But the plaid coat would suffice. They enjoyed running their fingers across the woolen inside.

This was stupid. He was going somewhere to be social and learn people skills for a few hours. Didn't he do enough of that while on his big adventure?

But…Odile did mention a few concerns she and the others had for him. Like how meek he was when ordering food at a restaurant. He was perfectly fine killing monsters, but when it came to interacting with beings of the same species, he just…froze.

They acted in a few theatre plays, having enjoyed them for as long as they could remember, but that was different than interacting casually. With their fellow family members, they were just fine…

So why is he TERRIFIED when it comes to strangers?

"It's just a few hours, monday through friday." Mirabelle told him, once he got accepted into the day treatment program. "And when you come home, you'll have accomplished something HUGE."

"What." Siffrin retorted.

"You'll have stepped out of your comfort zone into entirely new territory! And when you come home, you'll get to relax!" Mirabelle beamed at them.

"Can't I just be a city protector by killing monsters?" Siffrin groaned.

"Well…there AREN'T any monsters. Not here anyway. Besides, isn't facing your fears the same?"

"With monsters, you protect people from them." Siffrin rolled his eye.

"Siffrin. Just give it a chance." Mirabelle begged.

Groaning loudly, Siffrin shook that past conversation out of his head, and sat outside, waiting for a bus to arrive. He didn't want to do this at all. But he knew it was good for him. His past few jobs ended in disaster, which he blamed himself for. So, it was Mirabelle's idea that he enrolled into a day treatment program for his mental health.

And they weren't going to be in one place all the time. This day treatment program had outings all the time! They went shopping, they went to scenic areas, they engaged in various other activities. And in the building, there was a craft room. Siffrin only got a small peek inside of it, but he saw all sorts of art supplies. Paper, pencils, markers, paints, he could draw to his hearts content in there.

But there was one problem, besides the socializing aspect.

Lunch.

Lunch would be prepared each day, for all the clients to eat.

For as long as Siffrin could remember…he struggled eating most foods. They were able to choke down a majority of it. But it required a lot of effort to get it down and keep it down. Siffrin strongly preferred Bonnie's meals, but as Bonnie was resuming education back in Bambouche, they were unable to cook meals for him that he'd be able to bring with him to group.

Isabeau came up with the idea to bring simple, easy to prepare meals with him. Stuff like 3 minute mac and cheese in a cup, ramen, oatmeal, a sandwich…stuff that didn't require a lot of fuss or preparation to make. But Siffrin said it wouldn't be a big deal, he can eat meals like everybody else, he doesn't want any special treatment.

If they could just get through lunch, then the rest of the day… they could either be outside and birdwatch, or head to the craft room and draw, or participate in the day's outing once everybody had finished their lunch and cleaned up. The outings seemed exciting, but those were rarely in the mornings.

A bus pulled up, the one Siffrin had been expecting. The door opened noisily, making him grimace, but he stepped up to it and got inside, sitting near the front. Nobody else was on the bus, just him and the driver.

The driver smiled warmly at Siffrin, as the door closed.

"Hello, Siffrin. I'm Josephine."

"Hey." Siffrin spat out clumsily, adjusting his hat.

"First day at group, right? I know you're probably nervous, but it'll be a good time, I promise."

Siffrin smiled sheepishly, as the bus began to move.

"There's five other clients you can talk to if you want. Most of them are older, but I think a couple of them are around your age."

"That's nice." Siffrin said quietly.

"In the mornings we talk about various subjects. Coping mechanisms, for example."

"Well uhm…I usually wear a cloak, but…" Siffrin held out part of his jacket, "This is the next best thing. It's soft."

Silence. Siffrin breathed a little easier… but there was a knot in his stomach for what was to come…

[laugtherhyena]

In a dra/sdra2 zombie apocalypse au, who dies/gets infected first, who was the one who spread it all, and who are the modt lilely to survive? (All on your opibion)

Well someone has been watching those infection Aus going around huh? I've been having a blast watching those but pulling the strings on who does what is a litte harder.

First off, here's how I'm going with the virus:

-Infection spreads only through bites, afterwards there are 4 stages the person goes through in the zombification.

-Stage 1: Starting stage after the person is bitten, they're still acting fine since the infection is just starting to settle in and hasn't started spreading much further from where the bite is. it's the only stage in which amputation can stop the virus from spreading, tho this needs to be done as quickly as possible after the bite.

-Stage 2: Virus is already running through the person's blood system and become very tired as their muscles begin to ache, they develop eyebags under their eyes and their skin starts becoming pale with a slightly greenish hue. This is the first stage in with the infected can spread the virus to another person, it's also where they start feeling hungrier than usual.

-Stage 3: The hunger is starting to become unbearable as the person's body begins rejecting most types of food, they can't sleep and now their skin has gotten greener with an itchy sensation all over. This is where the person's sanity really goes downhill and the decay of the body begins, all the scratching leaves open wounds that only get worse as the infection progresses.

-Stage 4: Final stage, by now the persons mind is completely gone and they're just mindlessly wandering around and trying to eat people to quench their hunger. They're the most aggressive in this stage, however it doesn't take much longer until the decay makes their bodies fall appart completely and the zombie dies of "natural causes" per say.

Anyways, this got really long so I'm putting it under the cut. Taking their chronological ages for this btw (Aka: Dra cast being younger than most of the Sdra2 people)

-Utsuro and Akane:

Utsuro was the patient zero of the infection, spreading the zombie virus as a way to throw the world in despair while remaining fine as his devine luck made him asymptomatic. Roaming around the desolately city watching the chaos unfold, always accompanied by his loyal servant; Akane Taira, who is by now a stage 3 zombie whose devine luck slows down the spread of her infection significantly and leads to her retaining most of her sanity.

She strives to be the perfect servant for her master, carrying out his orders and acting as a "bodyguard" of sorts. Sometimes she wonders if her former classmates manages to escape safely, other times she wishes to see them as decaying zombies.

-Since I'm talking about the luck people here's Nikei, Hajime, Emma and Iroha:

Their devine luck is steadily running out, looking for Utsuro is no longer an option with all these zombies around. The voids stick together in hopes that the remainder of their luck acts in unison and gives them a better shot at surviving this mess.

As their leader, Nikkei is always trying to think of safer ways to traverse the city and places for them to get supplies or steal steal from other survivor. He's stressed pretty much all of the time but tries to control his emotions to not end up lashing out at his friends, he doesn't always succeed. Hajime is the closest they have to a doctor due to his knowledge in health while Emma tries to get keep the group's morale so that they don't all go insane, not an easy task when her own sanity is starting to go down the drain.

They lost Iroha pretty early on, she was very scared, jumpy and paranoid, which led to her lashing out at Nikkei and the others out of frustration (sorta like she does in the void theater segment) then storming off where she was attacked and killed by a hoard of zombies. The remaining 3 voids swear to stick together and survive no matter what.

-Mikado and Kokoro:

Mikado was getting in contact with Kokoro for his future plans and when the zombie outbreak happened, he stayed by her side since they were pretty much stuck inside her laboratory for a while because of all the zombies outside.

Kokoro is scary smart, however, curiosity surely gets the best out of her. So she wants to study the zombies to see how they function, how the infection spreads and affects the body, maybe even try to find a cure in the way. She has chemical components, protective suits and a lot of things to keep herself safe, and since Mikado is stuck with her she makes him work for her so she shares these supplies with him.

So for a while all he had to do was lure zombies into this designated containment area and collect samples from them for Kokoro to study, while also bringing some dead ones in too from time to time so she can dissect and study them as well. But nothing good lasts forever, Mikado was bitten by a zombie he thought had died while collecting a blood sample, Kokoro takes this as an opportunity to start testing possible cures on him.

She was able to develop a solution that keeps his infection from spreading beyond stage 2 (the one Mikado had reached by the time she first tested this solution on him), but there's been no progress on one capable of reversing the effects of the virus so far. Probably because Kokoro's lab is starting to lack a few things by now, not that this will stop her from continuing her research tho, if someone's gonna find a cure it's probably her.

Anyways, back to the Dra cast. This whole apocalypse starts in a similar way to how the cast gets captured in canon, Kisaragi brings them to the foundation's place without knowing Utsuro and Akane (who is at early stage 2 now) are the causes of this mess. The two of them let a bunch of zombies in and reveal themselves as despairs, at this point the class ends up getting divided as they lose track of where the others are.

-Group 1; Yamato, Mikako, Teruya, Satsuki, Haruhiko: It was a hard decision but seing as zombies were everywhere around the facility, they couldn't risk staying for very long to try finding the others. Yamato directed the people with him alongside several other foundation members that hadn't gotten bit towards some helicopters where they left the island and headed towards a secret underground facility/bunker.

So they're safe, but obviously worried about the others. Yamato manages to contact Tsurugi via some kind of communication device early on and hearing that he's got a lot of their clasmates still with him makes them all a little relieved, Yamato sends the coordinates of the bunker to him so that Tsurugi can bring him and the others there safely, he also tent to talk him whenever he has the time to make sure everything is going well and even send supplies to their location when needed.

Because i imagine Yamato would absolutely be overworked on this, trying to keep the people at the bunker safe and sane while getting news from their friends still outside while ALSO trying to find a cure himself. Which is a lot harder to when he is very unwilling to bring infected into the bunker to make tests as in depth as Kokoro is doing. His are done by shooting zombies around the area on the surface with a dart that has one of his solutions and a microchip onto it, he keeps track on these zombies to see if it does anything. Not very precise, but the safety of the people in the facility is more important to him than that.

Mikako also helps with it from time to time but most of what she does is keep check of the people in the bunker and make sure they're ok, while also being in charge of checking and disinfecting anyone that's gonna enter the facility and coordinating ocasional missions to go outside and gather more suplies. Where are these supplies coming from? Otori mart of course! Hence why Teruya also helps with these missions by telling them which stores will have certain itens and where to find them.

As for Satsuki and Haru, I don't think they're doing much, sorta just trying to settle in the facility and reassuring the other people there that they're safe down there. I like to think Satsuki maybe pulls up some performances to boost morale of the people at the facility and make them smile even if just a little.

After getting separated from Yamato and the others, Tsurugi took the lead in guiding his classmates to safety after deciding that they should head down and try to leave the island via boat, but things don't go so smoothly as the group is followed by a hoard of zombies. Kakeru, Mitch and Kinji stay behind to hold back the zombies while the others reach the boat, Maki wanted to stay behind with them as well but Higa insisted that she should go with the others to protect them.

-Group 2; Tsurugi, Kiyoka, Ayame, Kanata, Kizuna:

The remaining members of class 79 stick together as they traverse through the city, making contact with Yamato via Kinjo's two way radio and getting the coordinates for their location. Tsurugi effectively becomes the leader of the group, though his weird morals tend to make him pretty cold and rather unsympathetic during the apocalypse, prioritizing their survival above all else while being somewhat paranoid about the infection and possible traitors like Utsuro and Akane.

Back in the foundation's island Ayame had gotten bit by Taira while in denial that she could have helped cause this, she tried to get Akane to "snap out of it" and return to her senses, but it didn't work out. Seeing as Ayame had gotten infected Tsurugi wanted to put her down to avoid more casualties, which was not taken well by pretty much everyone else in their group, except for Rei who begrudgingly took his side she figured keeping Ayame with them would be risky.

Thankfully, Kanata stepped in and begged to be allowed to try doing something to help Ayame and if there was nothing she could do to save her she would let him go ahead and kill her. They headed towards an abandoned hospital where Kanata performed mant tests on Ayame and ultimately decided to amputate her armnin an attempt to stop tye infection from spreading. She monitored her closely for tge next few days and was overjoyed when she didn't show any signs of infection afterwards.

Because Kizuna is not doing well either, a few weeks into the apocalypse she became absolutely terrified of zombies and the virus which led to her becoming extremely paranoid and scared that she could get it and turn into one. She was never bit, but her anxiety and paranoia makes her afraid that maybe she has gotten it somehow, she constantly asks Kanata to do check-ups on her and asks if what she's feeling is normal or if she's turning into a zombie.

Ayame is.. not doing very well. Her mental health has gotten pretty bad after learning the truth about Akane, she blames herself for not having been able to "see her true colors" despite being so close to her and is generally really hurt over her betrayal of them since she had feelings for her.

Currently she doesn't talk much, doesn't eat much and doesn't do much, which bothers Kinjo since she could have been very helpful due to her talent if she had the strength to be a more active member of their group. Kanata tries to help her mental health improve even if that's beyond her field of knowledge, she's essential always near her and Kizuna to keep an eye on them and reasure them that they're gonna make it to the bunker.

She pretty much doesn't sleep anymore, something Kinjo uses to the group's advantage and tends to leave her in charge of looking over them while they sleep for the night, if she sees or hear anything strange she can wake him up and he'll know what to do from here on out.

With Kanata being their only medical professional and Ayame and Kizuna not being in the best state of mind, Kinjo and Kiyoka are the ones who do most of the work for the group. They scout areas they're about to head towards next (since their goal is to reach the foundation's underground facility, they're always on the move) to see if their safe and look for suplies and food. Maki is essentially his right hand woman and voice of reason a lot of the time, she also taught the other girls how to fire a gun, just in case whatever base they are currently staying in gets attacked while the her and Kinjo are out.

-Kakeru, Higa and Kinji:

While Kakeru and Mitch were killed by zombies back in the Kisaragi foundation's island, Kinji managed to free himself and reach the roadway, unfortunately he was infected in the process. Knowing that he would eventually lose his mind to tye virus, he decided to not go after the others from his class and instead dedicates the time he has left to giving a proper burial to the dead people and zombies he finds on the streets, praying that their souls are able to rest in peace.

Kinji's infection has reached mid stage 3, his memories are starting to become foggy, keeping his sanity while resisting the hunger is becoming harder and harder.

-Rei:

She stayed with Tsurugi's group for quite some time but eventually left after a huge argument with him and generally being fed up with having to deal with them. Having the coordinates to the foundation's bunker written down in a notepad, she decided to find it on her own, believing she could get there way faster without having to wait for a bunch of other people.

She was certain that her intelligence and problem solving abilities would be enough to get by, however, in these situations safety is in numbers. Rei had a close call in the city when she stumbled upon zombified versions if her parents, unable to bring herself to shoot them, she was attacked but luckily a group of survivors came to help her before the worst happened.

She stayed with them for the night, having her minor injuries treated by the father of one of her classmates. While she was offered a place in the group by their leader, Rei refused, adamantly sticking to her goal of making it to the bunker on her own.

She made it out of the city, but is starting to run out of supplies and ammo.

-Setsuka and her crew: Working as a detective for a good while before the apocalypse and having the devil's eye to help her, Setsuka is a master of stealth and doesn't have a hard time at all avoiding zombies by traversing through some safer routes. She set up a base in an abandoned warehouse and overtime managed to rescue a handful of people, these being Ryutaro, Midori, Keisuke, Minako and Yoruko.

Things were going as smoothly as they could be for a while until zombies broke into the warehouse and the crew had to leave in a hurry, Minako was killed in the process and Yoruko was bitten in the ankle, something she only took notice of late at night. When the others woke up the next day, she was nowhere to be found. Ironically, it was while the group looked for her that they met Hikaru, who could possibly have saved her from the infection the same way Kanata did to Ayame.

On a good note, now that they have a medical professional, Hikaru can take care of Midori and tell them what kind of medicine they should look for in this situation, the two of them tend to stay at their new base most of the time (set on the roof of a tall building, stairs barricade to prevent zombies from getting up. The group climbs down usinga rope whenever they need to leave) while Setsuka and the boys go around to gather food and suplies.

It was in one of these small missions that they met Rei and agreed to give her some of their food and a place to stay for the night in exchange for medical supplies. While she was asleep, Setsuka rummaged through her backpack and found the notepad with the coordinates for the underground facility. She used the devil's eye to record it and now there is a new group heading towards the bunker.

-Kanade and Hibiki:

Hibiki panicked and ententered her puppet stage early on into the apocalypse, Kanade found that delightful, now she has her sister all for herself and no facades to keep on at all since the world has gone to shit. Her focus is not on surviving or making to a safe shelter, she's just having a blast brutally murdering zombies all over the place and people too whenever she sees that they have something she wants or simply managed to get on her nerves.

Zombie or human, Kanade likes to sign her work, other survivor have learned to recognize corpses killed by her not only for the guresome ways in which they were left for display, but also for a music note symbol carved in their foreheads. Every once in a while she will be sent to eliminate people or specific trade groups that Syobai considers a threath to his business, in exchange, he allows her to take any weapons he wants from his stock and stay in his shelter if she desires.

The person Kanade talks with the most is Hibiki, which is more like talking to herself by now since she remains unemotional and unresponsive to anything but direct orders from her.. Or is she..?

Either ways, if one hears singing around the bloody city streets, it's better to run away immediately.

-Shinji and Yuki:

Shinji was on a business trip outside the city when the apocalypse started, he was attacked and his car was destroyed by zombies when he tried to come back there when the outbreak was in its peak. In the outskirts, he stumbled upon the place Akane and Utsuro had locked the real Yuki in. Took a while but he eventually managed to free him, the boy was scared and confused, it took a few days Shinji to explain things to him and for the reality of the situation to settle in his mind.

Although scared Yuki is determined to reunite with his mother, just how Shinji wants to find his wife and daughters. Together the two of them are making their way back to the city, with Shinji promising himself he'll do anything to protect the young boy, who is like a son to him by now.

-Syobai:

Being a broker during the apocalypse sure has its advantages! Since money is pretty much worthless now, Syobai makes a living by trading goods (weapons, clothes, medicine, shelter, drugs, whatever you want, he probably has it) by things of his interest, be it food, other suplies, information or even services from people. Though a handfuls survivors tend to avoid doing business with him, aware of the dangers that come with the deal.

Most of his goods were taken from other traffickers/criminal organizations after they were attacked and killed by zombies, so Syobai has a lot in hands to trade and lots of contacts he made during this mess to keep him up to date on the situation, always gotta be one step ahead of the curve you know.

-Yuri: Stage 2 infected, he achived his dream of sacrificing himself to save a woman!.. Now what? His health is deteriorating fast.

[joyerisjoy]

Seraphim Showcase: Gender Sisters

Ava tried to escape the presence of the other Exorcists, making her way towards the Peruvian buffet. Seeing Adina was not what he wanted to experience tonight, not when all he wanted to do was distract himself from his unending thoughts.

Despite this, all he could hear was her mocking voice. He was a stupid, pathetic thing, someone that messed up a friendship with one of his best buddies all because he couldn't stop being afraid that she'd leave him too. God, he wished he brought another pack of cigarettes with him to the event.

As he reached the table, he noticed he was breathing heavily. No, not now. Not in public. Can't break down. So don't. Just stop, just stop...

"OH SHIT, A RAT!"

Drawn by the sound of screaming, he noticed some partygoers running away from the platter of papas rellenas. Upon a closer look, she could see that there was a white rat eating the entire supply.

"Hey, I know you!" He said to the rat, "You're one of Papa's buddies! How you been?"

He talked with the rat a little bit, which calmed his nerves a little. Still, she wished she had someone she could turn to - someone who could actually talk back.

The line for barbecue is practically wrapped around the block, so Sadie and Lute opt for appetizers and fresh fruit first.

They both turn their heads at the sound of the screams. By the time Sadie finds the source of the commotion, all she can see is Ava standing all by himself, or so she thinks, where there should be throngs of Winners lining up for food.

Oh, god, what did he do?

She hands Lute her plate and rushes over. As she approaches she can hear him muttering something.

“Uh, Ava? Who you talkin’ to, bud?”

“Oh, Sadie! Great to see ya!” She says, turning to see her, “I just found one of Papa’s street buddies here!”

She gestures towards the rat.

“She and him go way back. He brings her ‘round often. So often that I think I might take her in. How’s that sound, mi pata?”

The rat squeaks happily in response.

Sadie’s eyes glitter and she smiles.

“Ohhhh, da wittle babyyyy! May I give you a little scritchy-scratchy behind the ears?”

The rat squeaks at her as well, so Sadie scratches her head.

“Looks like your little family is growing!” She chuckles. “Anyway, sweet party, huh? I can’t believe I’ve never come to any of these before.”

“Yeah, it ain’t too bad. I’ve been to a few a’ these before.”

He tries to focus on what’s happening right now, but his troubled expression betrays him.

“I don’t usually like goin’ though. Not when I can get drunk myself, ha!”

“Yeah, fair enough.”

She pets the new rat friend again, applies some hand sanitizer that was nearby, then grabs a piece of Yuquitas Rellenas from the buffet table.

She studies Ava for a moment and frowns, concerned.

“Hey, you alright? It sorta looks like something’s bothering you. If it’s the crowd, I heard there’s a quiet room around here somewhere.”

“Yah, all good here! I think all I need is just a good drink to really get in the mood for a party. Say, ya up for another round a’ beer shotgunning? Betcha I’ll win this time!”

Ava puts on his best front, not wanting to tell Sadie about his thoughts. He wanted to forget, just for a little while. Booze would do the trick. It was the next best thing to smoking.

Sadie laughs and grins, then turns her head and glances behind her to where Lute stands a few paces back with their plates in her hands.

“Alright, but I’m only racing you one this time. Lute’s already way less than thrilled to be here, so the last thing she needs is to carry me home.”

She reaches under the table to where the beer is (the alcoholic selections are kept under the tables and are sorted according to their corresponding ethnic cuisines) and grabs them each a can of Cusqueña. She tosses one underhand to Ava.

“I ain’t about to lose either! Not with my girl watching! On the count of three, then?”

Catching the can, he grins back at her. “Ya got it!”

“Uno, dos, tres!”

On “tres”, he and Sadie start their little competition. Breaking it open with his teeth, Ava quickly chugs the whole can. He finishes a second before Sadie does, and so he cheers.

“Hah, looks like I win! This calls for a celebratory drink!”

He pulls out another can from underneath the table and begins to chug.

“Damn!”

She chuckles as she concedes defeat, and uses her forearm to wipe some beer fizz away from her mouth.

“Must be losing my edge! Nicely done.”

She watches as Ava victoriously chugs the second beer, then as he reaches for a third and guzzles it just as quickly as the first two.

“Hey, slow down, champ! Why don’t you eat something before—”

It’s no use, Ava grabs a fourth beer and downs it. He’s knocked all of them back in extremely quick succession.

“Fuck, that’s good!”

He tosses the emptied cans to the ground, starting to feel a bit dizzy. For some reason, it wasn’t working as well as he thought it would. He still kept thinking.

“Ahh, don’t worry about me Sage-Diggity,” he slurs, “Ya know me. Ava El Carbón isn’t a lightweight!”

He laughs, trying to convince her and himself that everything was fine.

On the other side of the party, Sarai awkwardly avoided Ava and Sadie. She kept stealing quick, not-so-subtle glances from the corner of their eye, her mouth feeling dry.

She promised Sadie she'd make an effort to talk to Ava. But tonight obviously wasn't the night for that! He was having fun! With his good friend! No way she could just ruin that for him! Obviously she had to wait at a better time for any such conversations.

"Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean to!"

A little person bumped into her. To Sarai's annoyance, it was that small orange Exorcist.

"You again?" She said, her wings raising defensively, still holding a grudge over the whole incident with Sera, "Is this a habit of yours?"

Tess flushes, intimidated by the tall Seraph's bluntness.

"Well, hello again to you too." She murmurs, "Uh, how's Sera?"

Sarai eyed Tess. "Sera should be none of your concern. Care to tell me how in this grand event you manage to bump into me again? Some might just accuse you of being an obsessive stalker of mine."

"What! Fuck nooooo!" Tess exclaimed. She was a simp but not that desperate. "Just how far up your own ass are you!?"

She regretted that as soon as she said it.

"Ah, I didn't mean that. What I meant was...Aha, shit..."

Sarai wasn't entirely wrong. Tess had been staring a bit too much at them from across the Promenade. But to her credit, she had stopped looking when she went to go find a quiet place to retreat from all the commotion as she was trying to avoid the party altogether. She may be a rude, elitist bitch, but Tess couldn't help but be absolutely taken by Sarai.

Maybe if she weren't so...her, we could get along.

"Excuse me, Exorcist?"

Nope. I just ruined any chance at a decent friendship with my big mouth again.

"...Tess. My name's Tess." She squeaked out. If this meant she was getting into trouble again, she did not want it. She was already dreading when Lute had told her she had to figure out a just punishment for her over the whole "pocket sand" incident. (But Tess could've sworn she saw the Commander hold back a smirk when she recounted why she had summoned Tess to her.) She looks around and sees Ava slamming back a few beers with Sadie, and very awkwardly points to them. "I think I'll just...go over there...with my Exorcist friend!"

Sarai noticed Ava once more, and her initial anxiety returned.

"W-wait, excuse me," Sarai said to Tess, suddenly becoming nervous, "You're friends with her? That Exorcist?"

Taken aback by the Seraph's sudden shift in demeanor, Tess looked at her and then at Ava.

"Ava? Yeah. We're not like super close, but we've talked a few times before and vibe pretty well."

Sarai instantly regretted her lashing out. Sheepishly, she asked Tess, "This may be a strange request...but could you lead me to her? I have some...matters I must discuss with her."

If she were anyone else, Tess probably would flat out refused. But in that moment, Sarai looked like a completely different person, like someone that was unsure and kind of lost. And also, she was still very hot. Maybe this could be how she'd amend her mistake of accusing her of being up her own ass! (Even if such an accusation was true.)

"Sure, I can do that. Follow me. Uh, please, Your Highness."

Tess motions for Sarai to follow her through the crowd. It feels strange, to be leading an all-powerful high and mighty Seraph through the crowd. And Tess couldn't help but be a little curious about what Sarai could have to discuss with Ava. Were they friends? It was hard to imagine Sarai being cordial enough with anyone that wasn't another Seraph to actually form a bond.

Nervous, Sarai follows Tess and approaches Ava. They’re taken aback by the sight of Ava’s drunkenness, and by the sight of the rat on her head.

“A-“

She remembered she was in public, in the eyes of many. After her talk with Sera, she was a thousand times more cautious about letting others know about her relations with Exorcists. But it was too late to back out now. She had to save face somehow.

“Exorcist Ava,” she said, trying to sound professional, “I wish to speak with you.”

Ava looks up at Sarai. She feels a jab of irritation at Sarai referring to her as “Exorcist Ava”. There was a time when they were just Ava and Sarai to each other, no need for titles. Suffice to say, she wasn’t happy.

“Ayyy Your Royal High Ass,” he chuckles, “How’s it hangin’? Finally remember us little people exist? Guess that’s easy to forget when you’re built like a damn skyscraper.”

Already, she was aggravated. It was clear Ava was going to make this difficult.

“It would serve you well to show more tact in public,” she answered coolly, “Especially to a Seraph that wishes to speak with you. If you’re done with your little taunts, then follow me to a more secluded area so we can talk like real angels.”

Ava laughs humorlessly.

“No no, princesa. Anything you wanna say to me, you can say right here, right now. This is Heaven, ain’t it? We’re all real angels!”

He feels his temper rising. He knew how he got when he got drunk and angry. It wasn’t a good combination. He was aware of the rat on his head and how nervous she was getting. He gently took her off and looked around.

Then he saw Tess, a familiar Exorcist. Without a second thought, he approached her and handed her the rat.

“Hey, you’re Tess right?” He asks her, “We live across each other in the dorms, yah? Couldja hold her for me?”

After giving her the rat, he goes back to face Sarai.

"Wh— Oh!" Tess jumps a bit nervously upon being startled by the exorcist, but her heart rate slows just a bit when she notices how nervous he looks.

Confused, she takes the rat into her hands, letting the creature climb onto her shoulder and cloak herself in her long red hair — even the animal is nervous.

"Hey, Ava, wait!" She calls out as he leaves, but Tess isn't sure he hears her. "Shit..."

"You've gotta be quiet, okay?" she whispers to the rat, reaching up to stroke her fur gently.

There are so many people on the scene now that Sadie doesn’t really know where to start. She nods at Sarai as a means of greeting her. It’s… something… to see her again.

Sadie really just wants to be eating pierogis with her fiancée right now, but this is important. Although she doesn’t know why, she does know that Sarai and Ava have needed to talk for a long time now, and that her Best Bridesbro is in no condition for a productive conversation at the moment. She cautiously approaches him and speaks calmly.

“Hey, buddy? Try to cool off a bit, okay? I reckon Sarai comes in peace.”

“Sage-Diggity, don’t worry about me, I’m chill as fuck. Hell, I feel better than I have before. And I got lots to say.”

He turns his attention to Sarai.

“So what say you, O Great Seraph? Come to call me “lowly” again? Wanna tell me more about how I’m “unfit to stand beside” ya? I’m all ears, princesa!”

He bows mockingly, staggering as he slightly loses his footing.

“I knew this was a terrible idea,” Sarai scoffed, “You are completely inebriated. I make the effort to finally speak with you, and this is how you act? I don’t know why I even bother.”

“Why do ya? Ya made it pretty clear the first time that you had no use for me! I heard ya perfectly!”

He notices the guilty expression on Sarai’s face and laughs dryly.

“Oh, don’t pretend like ya feel bad. You loved doing that to me, didn’t ya? You’ve been wantin’ to say that to me ever since we met! Just couldn’t wait to throw me out, eh?”

“That’s not true! Stop your lies! Why else would I have let you come around?”

“Haha, that’s right! You let me hang around! Cuz nothing gets by without your approval, does it, princesa?”

His head ached, his heart felt like it was going to explode. Not even he had realized how much he wanted to say until now.

“Just admit it! You were always embarrassed of me! Why else would ya tell me that we can’t be seen together? Why else would you just refer to me as “that Exorcist” whenever Sera came around? For fuck’s sake, I’m your sister!”

“Ava! Quiet yourself!” Sarai hushes her frantically, aware of all the eyes of the crowd, “We’ve talked about this! You know how the Council looks down upon Seraph/Exorcist relations! I was only doing what was best for the both of us and our reputations! I don’t know how many times I have to explain this to you!”

She says this in a hushed, nervous tone, terrified that news of this would get back to Sera. After their last meeting, she was not eager to have the High Seraph discover she personally knew another Exorcist.

Ava flies up, staggering, as she meets Sarai’s gaze.

“All ya ever wanted was someone that made ya feel better about yourself. “Ay, my life sucks, but at least I’m not Ava!” Right?”

He staggers, and lands on the ground.

“Did ya think I was blind to how you ashamed ya looked whenever you were around me? Ya think I never picked up on how much you wished you weren’t stuck with me? God, you’re dumb.”

He chokes back a sob.

“But fuck…I’m the moron here. Cuz I really let myself believe that you weren’t like the others. I thought you were different. I thought you wouldn’t be like dear old ‘Dina.”

“But nah. All you Seraph bitches are the same. All youse care about is your clout, and ya don’t care about pathetic bastards like me.”

He angrily storms off without another word. He said all he wanted to say.

“Ava… Ava!”

Sadie’s calls after him are of no use. She takes a step forward with intent to go after him, but then stops, absorbing everything that he had said to Sarai. She turns to her, now.

“You’re Ava’s sister?”

She thinks for another moment.

“YOU’RE MILAN’S SLAM PIECE?!”

Sarai stood frozen as all eyes were on her. Looks like the cat was out of the bag.

“I…um,” she says, trying to answer Sadie, “I am not…”

What was the point? Out with it.

She sighs.

“I would prefer a less vulgar term…but…yes. I am…involved with Milan. And…Ava is…my sister.”

Sister.

The word lingers in Sadie’s head. As do some of the other words exchanged between Ava and Sarai.

Embarrassed. Ashamed. Wished you weren’t stuck with me.

She thinks of her own sister. She thinks of the terrified look on Josie’s face as their living room burned below them. She thinks of the way Josie clung to her as she carried her outside. She thinks of going back into that apartment and not making it back out. She thinks of how she’d do it all again in a heartbeat.

A heat stirs up in the depths of her belly that she hasn’t felt since her arrival in Heaven. Fire gathers at her clenched fists. Her eyes flash red as she shoots Sarai a nasty glare.

“You… you BASTARD.”

“I made decisions that resulted in the END OF MY LIFE in order to protect my sister. And THAT is how YOU treat YOURS?”

She is trembling. The fire crawls up her arms.

“You make me SICK. What kind of low-life thinks of their own sister as a burden? As an embarrassment? As dead weight? As DISPOSABLE?”

“You oughta be fuckin’ ashamed, alright. Ashamed of yourself. I don’t give even half of a drop of rat piss about Heaven’s goddamn hierarchy, and neither should you. Ava is your sister. You think that’s an inconvenience for you? You think he’s not WORTHY of you?”

She’s been so at peace lately that she forgot; she’s an angry crier. Warm tears gather in her eyes.

“You think you’re TOO GOOD for your own sister? CHECK YOURSELF, BITCH.”

That being said, she storms off as well, leaving a trail of smoke and embers behind her.

As much as she wanted to respond, Sarai knew there was truth in Sadie’s words.

She had always made it a point to hide their sisterhood with Ava, never wanting any of her Seraphim colleagues to know that she was even friendly with her.

As much as she hated to admit it to herself, Ava was right too. She had been embarrassed. And she had thought herself better than the Exorcist that only wanted to be her friend.

The crowd was loud. There were whisperings among those who had watched the argument, while the rest seemed too engrossed in their conversations to care. She had to get out.

She walks away, hoping to find a good supply of absinthe to keep her busy.

Tess' features pull into a tight frown as she glances back at the rat on her shoulder. She tries not to think about everything she'd just witnessed with Sarai, but... It's hard.

Milan, though? Of all the decent exorcists crawling around the barracks, she picked Milan to be less of a prick to? That's what Ava's friend had put together, right? Were they a thing?

Tess sighs, marking yet another pathetic crush off of her list. At least attempting to entertain the idea of a seraphim was bold, even if she never got past a few sentences. Bold for her, at least.

The rat makes a small noise, dragging her wandering mind back to reality.

"What do you think, squeaks?" she asks as the animal hops off of her shoulder and back into her hands. "Wanna go find your... Dad?" She realizes she still isn't quite sure whether this rat is a pet or something Ava had just picked up off the street. Still, she doesn't seem too bothered either way. "He looked pretty shaken up."

With one last concerned chirp from the rat, Tess stands, chasing after Ava.

[arcanemoxhi]

✨After Work ✨

// Vi x Fem Reader (+18) //

MDNI or I'll steal your tooth fairy money!!

Summary: You come home after a difficult late night. For some reason, you can't sleep so you decide to read some books you haven't read in a while as you wait for your wife. Soon after, Vi comes home to find you awake. She misses you so much, she can't contain herself~

A/N: I had this idea for a while now and God why is this woman fictional 😩 I hope my writing is good so ight enjoy bye bye ✨ also I may or may not have proofread this

Warnings; Top!Vi x bottom!reader, rough sex, hickeys, a lil degrading, sloppy kisses, praises, a lil mommy kink, begging, strap on!Vi, feral Vi, reader!receiving, Vi!giving.... Uh, I think that's it.

"Ugh."

So annoyed, you fall into your comfy bed. You don't think twice of your work clothes, just that you're so damn comfy in your shared soft cold bed at home. You'll remind yourself of your clothes and bags at the door later, but right now you rest upon your wife's pillow hugging it. You take a deep breath, smelling in her scent. It makes your heart beat faster reminding yourself how happy you am to come home to a wonderful woman like Vi.

It was only a year or two ago when you two got married. The wedding was beautiful and it was small affordable wedding for us. Vander helped pay for the venue and food. The drinks came free on Vander's behalf. Powder and Ekko took care of the decorations. Silco was even kind enough to play the piano for you as you walked down the aisle in your gorgeous dress. He was a quick replacement due to the fact the musician cancelled really quick unexpectedly. It was still kind of him, though.

You open your eyes after re-living that moment. You finally get up to take a hot shower, hoping that all of work would just wash away. After your shower, you clean up your work bags that fall at the door. You walked into the kitchen to have left overs of Vi's attempts at dinner one night. You still loved it, it came out great with a few burnt pieces. But you didn't mind. You enter the living room after eating some food in the kitchen. "why the hell aren't I tired...?" You sorta wondered, but shrugged it off and took the time to gather ur favorite books placing them onto the bed. You put on one of Vi's new hoodies that came out the dryer, read them in the bed all cozy with some tea.

You can tell time has passed with your 2nd book in hand. Without much thought, you can hear the front door open and close with keys jingling. A big groan from the front echoes in the hall, followed by the sound of metal falling on the ground. "babe?" You call out and lean to peek out the bedroom. A smile grows on your face as you see your wife emerge from the living room into the bedroom. Your heart pounds each time you see her, she's so sexy and wonderful. "damn, hey, angel." Vi smiles and walks over to me, sorta limping.

"you aren't hurt, right?" You tilt your head.

"No my feet kinda hurt, that's all. And I miss my baby," Vi cups your face into a soft gentle kiss that gets a little wild mid way until you stop her halfway. She pouts and she kinda pulls you out the bed by your thighs. She stands in between your legs. "What's with you, huh? I know you didn't miss me that much." Vi chuckles lowly and rests her head against yours. Her head is cold, she embraces your warmth.

"God, I fucking missed you. I love you so damn much," Vi begins to give you heated sloppy kisses as her hands sneak into the back to your head. You didn't think that she would have some energy, especially after her late night. You cup her face to stop her and look her in the eyes. "I love you too, Vi" you sweep her hair aside, "Do I need to ask how was work? You groaning at the door told me a lot." You laugh and kiss her nose. She sighs and rests her head against my shoulder. She sneakily slips her hand under the hoodie, starting to knead your chest a little, while she explains her day running around Piltover and some extra work in the Lanes. You are trying your best not to moan at her callous hands, but damn was she so fucking good.

"Aww, I'm sorry baby. You deserve some cuddles," you giggle, "Take a shower and then you can rest in your favorite spot." Also known as your chest. She was obessed with your heartbeat. Then again she's always been the protector, some comfort for her is well deserved. Vi stands up properly to look you in the eyes, but just by her glance, she was hungry for you. You take a deep breath, trying to avoid her seductive eyes and give her kiss. "come on baby" you get up from the bed standing in front of her, only in her hoodie and your (f/c) underwear. You don't think twice as she pats your ass hella hard, you yelp. She smirks, "My, my~ Already wearing my new hoodie, hm?" Vi touches your hips, as her hands ride up your torso inside your hoodie. She attempts to kiss your neck more, but you stop her. "No, no. Go take a shower, you horny thing." You smirk back as you walk out her hands. Vi tilts her head down, looking at me with seduction in her eyes. This only triggered something in her to have you tonight, despite how late it is. The way she got her eyes on you, you are certain there's a puddle in your underwear.

Eventually, Vi exits out of the shower and walk out the bathroom with her towel only on her head. Her bare body exposed as she looks at her dresser and then immediate eye contact with you. She smirks as she sees your eyes trailing her body. Embarrassed, you look away immediately, putting your books away to the side of your bed and laying back down on the bed.

"No, I saw you staring" she giggles, getting into bed with you, her nude muscluar body starts to graze u. "V-Vi!" You laugh as she hovers over you and starts kissing on your cheek. "Mm, did anyone see my marks I laid on your neck?" Vi hums as she bites her lip excited of the possibility, proud of her previous night efforts. "yes and too many people fucking asked," You laugh as she lays her forearms by your side, throwing her legs over you. "do you know how late it is, angel?" Vi hums as she runs her hand up the hoodie, and starts toying with my nipple. She leans on one of her forearm, examining your face as she lays kisses upon you. You run your hands up her strong biceps and wrap them around the back of her neck. You bite your lip trying to contain yourself and find an answer to her question. "hmm, baby? Why were you up so late? My baby girl wasnt waiting for me, right?" Vi begins to lift up the hoodie and lick your now hard nipples. "V-Vi~" you moan as her hands and tongue caresss your chest. "Ahh... Ahh...~ I just couldn't sl-sleep, baby..." You grip her hair as she keeps tending to your breasts. Vi kisses her way down to your now drenched cunt. You moan out her name louder as she gets closer, starting to beg her to take care of you. You didn't expect her to be in the mood, but she sure as hell got you in the mood very fast. Vi sets herself in between your thighs, leaving bites and sloppy kisses. She bites your underwear and takes them off with only her teeth. "Someone's feral this late..." You pant out little laugh as her hand continues to tease your nipple. Vi watches as you pussy twitches from the cold air hitting it. "fucckkk... baby girl~ you're so wet for me and all I did was tease you just a little bit" Vi smirks in a cocky way, knowing she can make you horny in a matter of seconds.

"Ahh, ahh!!" You cry out for Vi, gripping her hair as she devours you so damn loud and sloppy. You pant out, indicting how close you are to releasing. "Vi, Vi please~!!" Your mouth forming into a circle as you get so damn close to your release. Instead of Vi being so kind letting you release, she sits up from your thighs. Her mouth is covered with your wetness from all her sloppy eating. She moves away, watching you pant and whine. Vi opens her dresser, immediately grabbing what she wants. She puts her legs through her strap on as she catches you, trying to rub yourself for your release. "Nuh uh" Vi pulls you by legs to the edge of the bed. She starts palming your ass repeatedly. You whine after each hit. "naughty girls don't get good rewards. Trying to make yourself cum without my permission, how naughter of you~~" Vi flips you over so your legs are hanging off the bed. "now you don't get to see Mommy's new toy~"

"I'm sorry mommy~" you say softly, trying to turn to her to view her new toy. Vi interrupts your attempts by pushing your head into soft bed. "no no, naughty girls don't get to look." She proceeds to grip your thighs and levels you to her false cock. Your moan muffled in the bed. "I got a new gift a few days ago, I was very excited to show you but you had to go do something very naughty? My naughty slut~" Vi slaps your ass a few more times. "I'm sorry, mommy" you moan out a bit loudly to her, pleading for forgiveness. But it all makes sense. That's what made her so damn horny, no matter how tired she was coming home, she was showing her new toy. Without much warning, you feel the tip entering and it begins to stretch your insides. This is a new cock and it's bigger than the last. You nearly scream out into the bed. "Mommy!!" You groan out for her. "Use your words~ What's the matter, darling? You want something?" Vi starts kissing along your back and you can feel her smirk against your back. "P-Please, fuck me mommy..." You look back at her.

"Your wish is my command" with one final slap to your ass, Vi fully inserts herself. You scream out gripping and almost tearing the sheets. Vi was still gentle, making sure she wasn't hurting you. She waits until you are fully okay with the size. She kisses the side of your cheek. "just let me know angel, when your ready baby" Vi says gently as she moves your hair out of your face into her fist. You love how Vi was always gentle with you, even from the first time you two had sex. She genuinely thought she was hurting you the first night, until you had to reassure her. Now she always wants to be as gentle as possible with you. You grab her hand and look at her. "Go for it..." You bite your lip and brace for her endless pounding.

"What a good slut you are for mommy...! Taking me in~ You wanna cum again for me, baby~??" Vi whispers in your ear, with a fistful of your hair lifting your head up. She kisses ur ear lobe while she waits for you to settle. You're a quivering mess with tears in your eyes after she let you cum twice by now. You're obsessed with her new toy, and Vi was frankly glad it was worth it. You nod, a babbling mess and the only words you can comprehend is "Vi" or "mommy". Like your rooting for her in a boxing match. "God damn, I've ruined this cunt. It has my new shape and all, no one else's. All mine." Vi growls in your ear lowly as she begins to pound you slowly but rough. Vi was trying to take her time for you to catch up, though she can't contain herself with all your moaning and incoherent babbling. Vi lifts you up, one hand on your waist and one under your thigh, as she sits on the bed. She holds you in a full nelson. She loves taking care of you, pounding you till all your problems went away. She knew you needed this, she even took a step ahead of you and called out for you as she did for herself. The next day was gonna be filled with her spoiling you with aftercare and kisses and your favorite food. Vi had it all planned out for you, but she continued to live in the moment with you as you cried out for her. You tried to cover your mouth, but her hand immediately stopped you. "no, no, use that beautiful voice, angel. I love hearing your beautiful voice," Vi talks into your ear as she bounces you faster on her lap. You don't know what do grab with your hands so you reach behind Vi's head and grab her hair. "Vi, vi!" You moan out as you start shaking again. you're panting starts to grow. "Please, Vi!"

"please what? Come on, angel, I know you can use those pretty words." Vi speaks as she gives u hickeys on the back of your shoulder. "I wanna cum, Vi!" You scream out as u grab her hair. Vi hums and chuckles at you crying out for you. She's gone a little feral for you, but she hears you and won't have you waiting any longer. Vi let's you cum on her false cock. She watches u as u collapse against her and your head throws back against her shoulder. Vi kisses ur neck lovingly as you relax and come down from your high. Vi slowly takes her false cock out of you, "Shit, babe. You left such a creamy mess. I'm proud of you, I knew you could do it. You deserve it, (Y/N)..." While you're still laying there catching your breath, Vi lays you down as she takes off her strap and cleans you up since you're unable to move. She kisses up your thighs and rubs your tummy. "Good job, baby girl," Vi curls up to your body. "I love you, Vi..." You were able to mumble out. "I love you too, (Y/N)." You two take in each other's presence by resting. You smile as you kiss her head.

" .... Uh..."

"what, Vi?"

"Look outside." After Vi pointed out the window, you turn and can see the sun coming up. You face turns hot as you look back at Vi. Vi starts laughing at your shocked face. "Don't worry, babe. I already called out from work for you and I. Today is just gonna be us cuddling and doing everything you like inside." Vi kisses your cheek at your stunned face at the time it is. "You did this on purpose." You poke her abs. "Ehh, maybe." Vi laughs again as she rest her head on your chest. You too drift off to sleep in for the day.

~~~

A/N: I hope y'all enjoyed ✨ it's sorta proofread all the way through, okay enjoy now I'ma work on the royal Knight!Vi x Princess!Reader muah muah muah kiss kiss for you bye bye

[oxygenbefore1775]

can you please do warriors at thanksgiving dinner or christmas dinner doesn't matter just some sorta family gathering please?

thanks

oh sure can do - thx for giving me some wiggle room with this req cuz i have no idea what christmas/thanksgiving dinner should look like so family gathering it is

AoT Warriors At A Family Gathering

Annie

is the only one to watch TV playing in the background

whenever a quarrel breaks out (as it frequently does), Annie secretly records it on her phone

abysmally poor in acting out charades so her teammates always have a hard time guessing whatever word Annie is trying to show with her lack-luster movements

when setting up to snap a group pic, Annie gives the next-standing person bunny ears - usually it's Pieck since they are both standing at the front due to their height

Bertholdt

comes a couple of hours early to help with preparations because he knows what havoc certain warriors can bring

also brings baked goods from home for everyone to enjoy

gets into an argument with Porco about some conspiracy theory but will immediately back down as soon as their conversation becomes heated (mainly because of Porco since he can't keep his disagreement to himself)

when playing games, Bert often teams up with Annie and Reiner since it'd be the most versatile team and up to any task - that means, Bert often has to fight Gabi to get Reiner on his team

Colt

offers up his parents' place (since they left the city for the holidays) for the gathering - everything to win over the likes of the cool kids as Colt sees the warriors

always makes sure that everyone's plate and glass is full and frequently goes back and forth between the kitchen and the main room to bring more food

prepares a bunch of games/activities for the guests and gets very upset if the warriors don't show due interest to it

when playing games, Colt wants to be on the same team as Zeke but ends up being mostly a dead weight since Zeke'd be the main brain power

Falco

very displeased that the gathering is taking place at their home

greets each guest at the entrance to explain the rules of the household expecting that these rules are to be followed - in reality, Falco is too mild for policing the guests and enforcing the order so he opts to appear slightly annoyed whenever things aren't going his way

follows every suspicious person (aka Gabi, Porco and Zeke) around the house to prevent any damage to the property they may cause

eventually Falco warms up to the guests and becomes an active participant in the discussions, although he tries a bit too hard to get them to talk - mainly, he tries to strike up conversation with the most untalkative person at the table aka Annie with little success and gets a bit discouraged by her coldness

Gabi

learns that Falco would also be attending the gathering and convinces Reiner to let her tag along

Gabi just has to try every dish at the table and eat all of the dessert - at one point, Reiner had to pull her aside and tell her to leave some for the others

plays Wii sports with Porco - turns out, they are both shit-talkers so every match they have is a cacophany of boasting and insults

would fight Falco if she finds out that he's been intentionally losing to her in the games so that she could win because Gabi finds it incredibly belittling

Pieck

brings most of the alcohol since she knows there won't be any that she'll like

if the warriors decide to play a trivia game, Pieck is automatically forbidden from teaming up with Zeke or else those two would be too powerful in their random knowledge and easily win each time

would probably fuck with everyone by sneaking her way to electric panel and turn on and off the power supply repeatedly

sticks around till the end of the gathering to help with the cleaning (and also to eat the leftovers and drink up the remaining booze)

Porco

greets the kids with a handshake like adults and leaves commentary about the firmness of their handshakes

while playing Wii with Gabi, Porco crashes into the firniture multiple times trying to catch a virtual ball

blocks Reiner out of the group photo by standing right in front of him or accidentally lifting up his arm to cover Reiner's face

Porco is basically looking for a verbal fight since every now and then he'd insert an extremely controversial thesis into the dialogue canvas in hopes it'd spark the continuation of the conversation

Reiner

spends an unhealthy amount of time talking to Colt about Gabi and Falco discussing their recent achievements - mostly it's Colt talking at Reiner and Reiner agreeing with whatever statement Colt is putting out for him

finds an old table for table football and spends the majority of his time around the thing, playing by himself or occasionally having matches with Annie

when splitting into the teams for the upcoming games, Reiner hates to have Bert and Gabi fight over him so Reiner teams up with the mildest of the guests, Pieck

leaves the gathering the first out of all the guests since Gabi was getting too feral and was hard to control

Zeke

like Bertholdt, also shows up early - but not out of the kindness of his heart; Zeke just doesn't like arriving with the majority of guests

at this point, Zeke's been frequenting the Grice household so much that he feels himself at home there and just roams the place freely - no room is off-limits for him

during pre-gathering time Zeke opts to sit either in the kitchen or the main room - wherever the commotion is the biggest - just to watch the preparations from the farthest corner of the room

Zeke would often mention in passing that he has a list of his favourite warriors that he is updating regularly (spoiler alert, colt and pieck are always making it into the list)

[nilboxes]

Yingxing/Dan Feng first meetings, chance encounters, one night stand.

Complete for now, will add more in the future.

Read at AO3

Extensive notes below

I had this little daydream of Yingxing being alone during the holidays and I wondered if Dan Feng ever tried to shake off the preceptors and attendants to go do something wild like eat some children's treats he was probably denied as a little high elder to be and boom fic happened

Little Yingxing really gives me all the feels, like being such a young kid and throwing himself into the art of blacksmithing is equal parts hardcore but also really tragic. I had to write out what he was thinking as a kid, and how he coped and I wish I could have snuck in some more Baiheng mom moments, because I really think she basically adopted him lol

I thought long and hard whether or not Yingxing would have had black hair when he was younger and the white hair is supposed to signify that he's middle aged, so when he became Blade the de-aging was more pronounced, or Blade's dark hair is something else entirely, like a side-effect of his immortality, but I liked the idea of the dark hair when young and then he probably turned gray early, like in his mid-thirties

To get into the headspace of Yingxing, I just imagine he's really Mr Superovercompensating. I feel like some of his arrogance is bravado early on, but the more and more he is able to accomplish his goals, the more he actually, honest-to-goodness believes in his ability to achieve, but the overcompensating is still there I think, since he's got no one to actually support him on that front growing up, save perhaps Master Huaiyan.

Speaking of Huaiyan, it's a little jarring to me that they don't ever really mention him. We don't even have a glimpse of what master and student were like, so I filled in the gaps. I do feel like Huaiyan being old by the time he took Yingxing in would have had so much experience teaching that Yingxing was able to learn really quickly, but Yingxing also had the knack for it from day 1, so those things combined and made Yingxing some sort of blacksmith monster prodigy.

I researched a bunch of stuff Chinese people do during festivals while writing this and I should have known (being Chinese myself) that most of it is really just... special food... probs some fireworks if it was really a party, but most of it is just special food. I was looking for some activity, but eh, the eating special food worked well enough because it's just enough reasoning for Dan Feng to go out and buy all the food anyway

Writing Dan Feng is really fun, but also really sad. I found it easy to get a hold of his character, but digging deep at his motivations, his desires and what makes him tick really make me feel super bad for him, like, there's a lot going on in there and how Dan Feng keeps it all together is actually a feat in itself.

While I was writing this, there was this post floating around how people lacking emotional warmth like sweets and I'm like wow Dan Feng... and I wonder if he does like the sweets, or can't admit them? I do feel like he does enjoy light desserts tho, not super sugary stuff.

Anyway, I am definitely going to write out more, but also going to mull over what and how. Possibly the dinner at the restaurant scene. Wonder if I can sneak in a scene of Baiheng pleading with Jingliu to go ask Dan Feng to pull some strings. JIngliu probably goes to challenge Dan Feng so that he could lose and use his influence to get a table at some dumb restaurant lmao suddenly I am reminded of Dorsia the restaurant from American Psycho.

Also, last, but I totally didn't expect to write explicit scene for this one, but I guess it sorta happened because I felt Dan Feng was just a little desperate to gain some connection to "the world beyond" rather than just be in his high elder bubble, and eager young Yingxing was just perfect for it. I do think he sorta regrets it though, because now he knows what he's missing out on. Possibly fun to explore in the next one.

[changelingsandothernonsense]

For Sydari and Teldryn: 11, 33, and 45!

Time for me to actually work on them as a couple!

11. Do either try to hide their emotions if upset? Can the other still tell?

Sydari has been trying to express how she feels verbally. She used to drown her sorrows out in a skooma-enhanced haze but a very close call made her stop doing that. She's gotten better at talking about it but it doesn't come naturally. She's afraid she'll be judged and tends to just... word-vomit the problem.

When she's upset she'll be silent, fuming, calculating Teldryn knows this because he does it too. Her shoulders tend to slump and she shrinks back into herself quite a bit. She becomes small, and it scares him a little, she's usually so bright and energetic. He's not used to her getting quiet like that, that's his job. He's, he's not good at the emotional stuff but he knows when she's quiet, she needs comfort. He can manage that. He can listen. He likes to feel needed, it's become another addiction.

Teldryn has so much turmoil locked up that it'll just spill out. He's in a near-permanent mood. He mostly relies on drinking his feelings until he passes out. He'll do it again as soon as he remembers why he started doing it in the first place. If he's mad he has some trouble controlling his pyrotechnics. Things have a tendency to catch alight.

Sydari has started to notice that the alcohol isn't just harmless fun. He's taken it too far a few too many times but he won't tell her why. She's been trying to coax it out of him. Something that happened in Morrowind a long time ago. Like a really long time ago. If she's honest, she's a bit confused because his timelines don't match up. He doesn't look like he was "around before Red Mountain". She's confused by it and she can't get any info out of Geldis or Aphia about it. Something about "when he's ready, he'll tell you", she just wants someone to give her some insight.

He's been trying to tell her in his own way, he thinks leaving some history books around might give her a hint. He doesn't know that she can't read the language in any of those tomes that he's left on her nightstand.

When she finds out it's explosive.

33. Who's the better cook?

Sydari is the one who does the cooking when they're on the road, Teldryn has almost no sense of taste and his sense of smell is iffy unless the scent is particularly pungent. If he's cooking he'll add way too much chili oil to the food, it's all he can taste. Everything just tastes like ash, ash and salt. If he's cooking no one else can eat the food. It's absolutely ruined. He doesn't think that that's everyone else's problem. No, Sydari makes the food, she'd actually like to taste something outside of burning! Ideally, the two of them would hit Geldis up for food. Geldis is the cook. Geldis actually knows how to cook, that's why he runs the inn. Plus he knows how to cook for Teldryn's preferences (You add his preference at the end, at the goddamn end with plating!).

Severin Manor has colour-coded dishes now, and so does their travel gear. It's been switched way too many times and Teldryn can't deal with dairy so... It's better if their things are separate. Separate but together.

45. Can they fall asleep without the other?

They're used to sleeping alone, they've always slept alone. It's been an adjustment since they're both quilt hogs and they spend a lot of time in the cold. Teldryn tends to hug during the night and he runs hot. It's a constant fight between being too hot and then freezing after kicking off the blankets...which then get stolen.

Sydari talks in her sleep and flails a bit. She's also a light sleeper so every noise wakes her. Teldryn snores and sleeps like a log. You can't wake him, he's dead to the world.

They have their own separate beds and their own rooms. This is mostly because they travel together prior to actually defining their relationship (it just sorta merges into a romantic thing organically, they kinda do things a bit backwards though, certain milestones happen out of order, get forgotten and then happens again... whoops).

When they actually do make things official towards the later part of the Main Quest they compromise. They're doing a lot of travelling between holds so the tent situation remains the same. They just put up one tent, one of them takes watch whilst the other sleeps. If they're staying in a tavern or in one of Sydari's homes they use two blankets. They kinda get used to their weird way of sleeping, so when Sydari leaves to go to Sovngarde and Teldryn can't follow her well he stops being able to sleep of his own volition. He stops sleeping, Sydari isn't sleeping much either but for different reasons.

They'll get their normal, one day.

[bubblepopsims]

J: “hey mom.” A: “Hey jujubug!”  Her father chimes in from the background “HEY MY JUJUBUG!” A: “Ahaha your father says hi too! Oh, I am so excited to see you, I was so sad when you didn’t come for Thanksgiving!” J: “Hi Dad. Yeah I know I'm sorry.. it has been a little stressful, to say the least! But I can't wait to see you guys.” juju stated with a hint of nervousness in her voice, she didn’t know how she was going to break the news to them but one thing she knew was that they always supported her A: “So is Izzi coming? Does she.. I mean do they have any food allergies or anything?” Juju smiled softly at her mother adjusting her wording. “no they do not, not picky at all. I honestly think they need your cooking. Izzi is on the skinny side.”

Alma laughed and shook her head “There is nothing wrong with that! I was just asking so I could make my famous stew! It's that season!” Juju hums practically drooling at the thought of her mother's cooking. “god I can't wait to eat your cooking again. I think that’s what I miss the most.” Alma gasped dramatically “Why I’d never.. I would have thought it would be our lovely faces! Only using us for homecooked food I see.” Alma Chuckles happily, able to know exactly what face Juju is making. J: “you are annoying but I love you. So we are getting a rental car and drive down the day after tomorrow. We should be there around early evening? Is that okay?” Alma hummed “Yes of course jujubug. It gives me time to get your old room ready. We sorta didn’t touch it since you left.” Alma stated a bit ashamed and embarrassed “but your father did build a new bed so you guys will be set!”

J: “mom..?” A: “yes? Whats up sweetie?” Juju contemplated telling her right then and there but shook her head “Nothing I am just excited to see you..” A: “Aww my baby.. I am excited too, and so is your brother he has not shut up for a second since we told him you were coming.” J: “oh how is that little bugger!” A: “Very nerdy he is currently into that wizard movie and the space stuff.” She huffed and laughed “ I mean we literally had to talk him out of going as a whole rocketship for Halloween.” An: “ he looked like a penis..” A: “Andres ! we cant say that about our son.” J: “what?? What did dad say?” Alma groaned and turned away moving closer to the phone “ Your father said it looked like a penis….” Juju burst into laughter the tears quickly followed just imagining her kid brother in a costume that was in the shape of a penis “Oh my god.. the imagery has to be the best part!” A: “ oh no don’t you start now too!” Andres laughed “Ah yes that’s my daughter.” Alma gave him a look and rolled her eyes “You guys are unbelievable.” J: “ you love us.”

Meanwhile Izzi is just having a relaxing shower XD

previous - next

[fandomandangstlover]

oh!! since i just rbd that post about him tell me more about cannibal engiee! -if not him then maybe ramble about pyroland engiee? [also hiiiiii hii dell i hope u are doing well today!! ^o^/] -plushpyro

HIII HELLOOO YES YES AH'LL LUV TO TALK ABOUT THEM!!!!!; ← is going to talk about both of them //& ah hope u havin a gud time too!!!

cannibal engineer (he/they for now) <3

okay this man. his team was starving to death because of the shipment of supplies stop being sent to the base & well. things were running out.

so, starved & sleep deprivation from trying to get in contact with their superiors, dove out into the New Mexico Dessert & basically tried to get to Teufort. unfortunately? he didn't get there. he did, however, get to a little house out in the middle of nowhere.

so, with his car ALSO running out of gas, he pulled up & ended up asking the couple that lived in the house for food.

he was.. unfortunately declined. something about.. well, he doesn't remember. what he does remember, however, was blood on his hands & the couple's bodies still warm. an horrific idea popped into his head after raiding the whole house for supplies, which. wasn't a lot. so, with the memories of the slaughterhouse that his father runs, he.. took care of the bodies. took the meat, all of it that's on the body, kept it cool so it wouldn't rot. changed clothes. burnt everything down when he had everything of importance out, so no one would know.

when he's back to the base, with new gas that he stole, his body went on autopilot. he put everything away, barely registering the questions that his teammates had, lying through everything, & started cooking. he was .. a little spacey. almost burnt something on the stove when Heavy decided that, yeah he needs help cooking.

so everyone was fed that day. they thanked him, they thanked him when they didn't even know who they just ate. & he didn't tell them. he couldn't. he can't. he can't he can't he just can't.

- he's heavily fucked from this. he may or may not ate a bit of the bodies before actually cutting them up. so there's the fuckery from that too.

- he used to love meat. now everytime he thinks of it, he can only sees his victims' faces before they die.

- Spy has suspicions. she will figure it out at some point.

- Engie kills on the daily now. mostly to fed his team. goes out & finds whatever town that's out there & just.. "borrows" some of their residents.

- likes roses <3

Pyroland (they/them, fine with he/him) go brr my beloved

- loves, LOVES stickers. will stick them to everything & everyone.

- is besties with their Pyro & close to their Soldier. Pyro because of their shared Pyroland Vision, Soldier because he was with them in the Respawn Limbo.

- Pyro (any/all) is sorta like their caretaker. it looks after Engie whenever they're around & they hang around her a lot. Pyro is more aware of what's not food & so it makes sure that they don't break their teeth trying to eat a wrench.

- Soldier (he/him for now) is close friends with Engie. they love eachother in a way that they know what they've been through & doesn't want eachother to be alone in it. goes to eachother whenever they remember things.

- eyes turn from hearts to white dots whenever gets snapped out of their Pyroland state/when traumatic memories start resurfacing. Respawn is not to be talked about around them. same with discussions of the Aftermath of Death. they have seen it. there was nothing.

- still fights. is just more brutal with it. yes they're very aware that they're killing, yes they enjoy it, yes they know it's their job.

- loves sweets!!! mostly lollipops & gummies. they have built gummy sentries too :3 working on a Dispenser that gives gummies as well as heals & ammo.

- everyone on their team now wears pink. because it's funny.

oughh.. feel free to ask more!!!!! ah luv them sm & would love to work on them more

[chasingperception]

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love museums. The big, grand, famous museums to the smallest, quirkiest, off-beaten-road museums. So when I learned that there are two museums that I hadn't been to yet, just down the road from where I get my hair done, I was excited. I could get my hair done, go to the museums, check out a few other shops in the area I was interested in, and then grab some vegan food from an evening vegan street fair I like to frequent.

Well, I was hungry after getting my hair done, so I parked near the museums, walked over to a nearby coffeeshop and got a drink and some food. I wanted to eat in the gardens by the museums, so I walked back to the museums, but there was no open benches in the shade by the museums, so instead I ate at the nearby train station where there was shade.

I was just playing on my phone, enjoying my food, sitting on a bench in the shade, when I hear someone calling out. I look up, and there's some guy in an SUV, calling to me, "Hey, you need a ride somewhere? I'll give you a ride." I, of course, say, "No, I'm good, thank you." and go back to playing on my phone.

And then he asks again.

I, again, say no.

And again. He asks. This time, more cajoling: "Hey, c'mon, I'll give you a ride."

So now I'm more forcefully saying no and raising my voice. "No, I don't need a ride."

I think he might've asked again, but at this point, my brain is screaming at me "This is weird!" and I can't remember if he said anything else.

He gives up and drives off. I watch, as he stops in the middle of the road as two women cross the street in front of him, going from one museum to the next. I thought I heard him talking to them, waving them to get in his car, but they walk across the street and he drives off.

I am on edge at this point, so I toss the rest of my drink and head into one of the museums. As I do, the two women are leaving in a car, so I ask them if he tried to get them in his car, and they say no, so I thank them and go inside.

Inside the museum, I text my group chat about what happened, and start making plans to let the police know what happened. The police stations are all closed for the weekend, and nothing on the online reporting system felt like the right category, so I called the non-emergency police line and spoke with the dispatcher who answered. I told her everything I could remember, used pictures from my phone to narrow the time to a 30 minute window, and she told me an officer would call me back to take a report.

I wasn't expecting a call until Monday, since it wasn't an emergency, but an officer did call me back not too long afterwards. He asked me for as much detail as I could remember, and agreed that it was weird. When he asked me how often I take the train and how often I'm at that station, I realized he was trying to figure out if someone was going to look for me again at the station. Which was kind of unnerving. We spoke a little bit more and he told me that he would check videos nearby for license plate info and look into it, and that they would have more patrols in the area over the next few days.

After talking with the officer, I was kind of lamenting to myself that I hadn't taken a picture of the guy or his vehicle, that I couldn't remember anything beyond the color and maybe-sorta the make of the vehicle, and that I couldn't remember much detail about the guy.

But then I realized... that moment where my brain said "This is weird!"? I was taking stock of what I had in my bag I could use as a weapon (nothing), who was around who would hear me scream (a couple of gardeners, a block a way, working in the museum's garden), how far away I was from the guy's vehicle (about 20 feet away, enough that if he got out of his vehicle, I could make a dash for the closest museum door), and I had closed my game app and was opening up my phone app.

So now I don't feel all that bad for not remembering details, because I realize: my brain was processing "If this guy tries to force me into his vehicle, what are my options?"

So... good job, brain! Self-preservation first.

My brain has been in overdrive since it happened (about 12 hours ago now, I'm too wired to sleep.) And, the more I think about it, the creepier the situation was. The two museums sit across a road from each other. That road ends at the train station where I was sitting, in a T-intersection. If you're driving between the two museums, and you turn one direction, you go into a parking structure. Turn the other way, and you hit a dead-end. So there really is no reason for anyone to drive to that spot unless you are going to the museums, or you're getting on to a train, or you're picking someone up from a train.

It also certainly didn't feel like other times guys have tried to hit on me from a car while I'm walking. I've rolled my eyes and laughed at those attempts - but this put me on edge. I wondered if the two women hadn't been listening to him as they crossed the street- is that why they said no when I asked if he tried to talk them into his vehicle? Because I know at first, I hadn't realized he was talking to me, I was off in my own world playing a game on my phone while eating. And there was a guy on a bike who had ridden past, that I think looked at me - what if it was that same guy and he had gone to get his vehicle?

I know some people will think I over-reacted by telling the police what happened, and that's a bullshit thing to think. I mean, even I was second-guessing myself until I spoke with the officer. However, I feel much better now, knowing that I did call. Yeah, maybe I took up some of the officer's time and he's going to spend some time watching video footage from the area and find that I did over-react. But maybe, the officer finds something and prevents something awful happening to someone else in that area.

I just know that if I were to hear about something terrible happening to another woman there, and I hadn't called... I'd feel like shit.

[sugar-plump-gal]

Thoughts on the jades and teals of hiveswap doing vore and where they’d like up as gut sluts, horngry preds, unwilling prey, awkward pred, etc.?

Shit, picking just a single thing for any of them is tough. A lot of it depends on context! Lynera would be WAY different if the other person was Bronya or Daraya, y'know?

That being said, Lynera mostly depends on three things; How angry she is, how flustered she is, and whether or not she's angry/flustered enough to get past any hangups or embarrassment about vore! Sometimes she eats someone in a moment of blind rage, sometimes she's so subby that she practically climbs down someone's throat, and sometimes she's so excited or frazzled she just gobbles someone up because they were too hot to resist! Whatever the case, if she's the pred, she'll try extremely hard to ignore her meal, fail completely, and eventually grind against her own stomach in a mindlessly horny fervor. As prey, she'd struggle a lot if she was on the angrier side of things, but eventually that'd also turn into mindless horny squirming. Half the time, the pred won't even notice when 'struggling' turns into 'furious masturbation.'

This is going to get obscenely long if the others get answers even half that size so! The rest will be below.

Daraya is a lot more predictable in how she acts; She's mean! Whether she's pred or prey, there's going to be a lot of insults and mockery; The only difference is whether she's smiling or frowning as she says it. Maybe she thinks you're cute, maybe she thinks you're annoying, but either way she'll want to make you squirm. If she can get free food out of it, or get out of work by being someone else's food, even better! She's not above shoving herself down some poor troll's throat if she wants to take a nap and/or mess up their day, but she's the pred more often than not, more than happy to eat someone if she's so much as peckish. Either way, having a stomach in the way isn't going to stop her from making fun of how tasty you are/how small your stomach is/how hard you squirm/ect. Despite all the teasing though, she's not exactly a master pred herself and will probably just go find somewhere to lie down so she can nap and/or fondle herself and her prey.

Bronya is, in a word, repressed. She gives everything to her job, even when that means skipping out on sleep, meals, dates, or anything else that gets in the way of her work! As a result, she can get sorta... Impulsive, if she doesn't take care of herself. She tries to focus on her work, honest! It's just that, eventually, the others start to look more like potential snacks than peers, or she gets so touch starved that every inch of her can't help but want to be completely encased in the warm, gentle embrace of someone's stomach. Again, she REALLY tries to restrain herself, but a girl can only get so horngry before someone gets shoved down a gullet! She, more so than pretty much anyone else here, can definitely handle herself as a pred. She'll be embarrassed that she lost control, sure, but the squirming weight in her stomach won't phase her anymore than any other meal.

Tyzias and Stelsa are both much, much less vorny than the jades. Tyzias especially doesn't usually eat anyone, and only rarely lets herself get eaten- Usually at the prompting of an especially hungry friend. If she indulges them, odds are she'll bring whatever she was studying in with her and just keep reading inside their belly. Occasionally, if she's so sleep deprived she physically can't stay awake, she'll ask to just curl up in someone's stomach for a while, if only to avoid passing out in the library.

Stelsa is similar, yet an inverse; She's almost never prey and, although she's a predator significantly more often, she rarely seeks it out. Instead, it's usually a matter of convenience! If she's running late and needs something quick to eat, or if she's especially famished during her workout routine but doesn't want to stop, she'll probably just gulp down whoever she can so she can carry on with her business. It's not as effortless for her as it is for Bronya, but she's fit enough that the extra weight doesn't really slow her down- So long as they don't move around too much, at least. If they do, it doesn't take much to turn her into a moaning, vorny mess, something that's caused disaster at countless business meetings.

[causalitylinked]

▓┊˚ ✦ ⇢ REI-CHAN. ( mugunghwc )

    she didn’t think of herself as the most adequate person to be giving out any advice, or judge someone when it came to the moves they pulled, but even rei knew that approaching a stranger—a woman, in specific, at such speed, would raise a couple of alarms. her smile said enough ; somewhat strained over the awkwardness of the situation, before deciding to move on & address a subject that caught quite her attention, & that was the mention of staying at a hospital ‘ again ‘. rei couldn’t help her curiosity & showed it through in the way that she tilts her head, staring somewhat puzzled.

    “ah, well… i wouldn’t dare to say i could send you to a hospital.” when it came to her strength, there were definitely some improvements, as well with her agility which made her quick in her steps, but nothing worth bragging about, or feeling overly confident with. there was still plenty left to learn, but hopefully one day would come in which she no longer had to rely on an exterior force to aid her.

      at his suggestion, she stared somewhat bewildered because she was used to doing this kind of thing by herself. if there was something that rei tried to avoid was being a burden to others, which often led to her trying to do herself, without asking for help even when needed. “it’s fine. i can carry them myself.” rei argued & brought a smile upon her lips. “i’m not as weak as i look.” a cheeky comment was let out, which was supposed to bring some humour while stating some truth to it. if there was something she was used to carrying, it was grocery shopping bags… & taro. “maybe you end up grabbing some stuff for yourself?” said as a means to show she didn’t mind if he tagged along, as long as he didn’t feel obligated to help her.

    Sure enough, perplexed blinks of his own would gradually roll off his eyelids. Did what he suggest really seem all that strange? Truth be told, Kobato thought offering to carry the grocery bags happened to be the gentlemanly thing to do... or at least, it would be according to Gin, who happened to be way more popular with the girls for some reason. Rei, however, seemed really quite content to do so by herself. Either way, he'll soon bring himself to sheepishly shake his head.

    "I ain't saying you're weak. I was just tryna make it up to you and maybe kill some time a little," Kobato then admits. Based on the way she reacted, though, he couldn't help getting the sense she was a very sheltered lady. Why, as a matter of fact, she couldn't even tell he had been flirting with her at first! "But aight, if you say so," Kobato finally adds upon not wanting to press the issue. Still, the moment Rei brought up buying a few things for himself, he's quick to bring his forefinger and thumb down beneath his chin with a pensive look meandering it's way through his expression.

    "...Not gonna lie, my mother always handled the groceries and the cooking, so I never really had a good reason to buy any; in fact, the convenience store is usually my go to place if I ever wanted energy drinks," came Kobato's eventual confession. "Seriously, I can't even remember the last time I set foot into a proper supermarket. 'Course, I used to snack on a whole lotta junk food when I was much younger; only, I sorta stopped as I grew older and no longer have the drive to really eat stuff outside of lunch or dinner anymore... making me a bit stumped on what to exactly buy."

    Why, it's during times like these that Kobato realized he had simply been going through the motions of life all along... existing, but not exactly living the way he was supposed to. Honestly, it was as if he bore the empty husk of a man, for the emotions he should have had... simply weren't there. Heck, even the idea of going to the grocery store didn't excite him, let alone invoke much feeling in him, to the point where Kobato had to wonder... was he actually broken in some way? After all, prior to the original Astral Syndrome occurrence, he never used to be this empty inside.