#she might not be able to live w herself anymore

[honeylations]

KIM MINJEONG x FEM!READER

Prompt: Minjeong, your best friend (and secret crush), lied to her parents about having a girlfriend. You didn’t expect that YOU were the girlfriend. Let’s see how your heart plays out.

Warnings/Notes: loser nerd Minjeong, g!p Minjeong, eventual smut, best friends to lovers

A/N: more loser Minjeong because she’s so cute

‘Sorry, will be a few mins late!’ Was Minjeong’s last text before you found yourself sitting alone in the Uni’s library for what was supposed to be exam prepping.

However the ‘few mins’ that Minjeong said ended up being almost half an hour and you were close to ditching the plan for a matcha latte, but the taller girl touched your shoulder which almost sent you into cardiac arrest.

“Jesus Jeongie! Don’t sneak up on my like that!”

“I’m sorry for making you wait! Something happened at home so I couldn’t just leave” she sighed and sat beside you.

She was wearing her oversized Minecraft shirt and baggy jeans. Complimented with her old and extremely dirty converses that you told her to throw away. Her short hair was tied into a mini ponytail and her adorable black glasses were taped together in the middle after she accidentally got hit with a basketball in the face.

Oh your adorable nerdy Jeongie :(

“Wanna talk about it?” You asked softly once seeing her stressed state.

She nodded cutely. Like a little puppy. But that thought went out the window when she rested her arm around the back of your chair, leaning closely so no one else would hear what she was gonna say.

Your stomach started to do flips from the close proximity. Her big eyes looked into yours desperately, like she was asking for help.

“Please don’t get mad, Y/n-ie”

“What’s wrong Jeongie?”

She sighed once more and looked away for a split second before meeting your eyes again. My God, she was so hot.

“I may or may not have told my parents that you were my girlfriend…”

That’s when you lost your voice. The air around you felt thick and there was only one way you were able to respond.

You punched her face.

Minjeong grunted and fell out of her seat from the sudden blow. She held her cheek and turned to you in shock. “What the hell Y/n!”

“Are you kidding me Minjeong? What the hell happened for you to lie like that!”

She stood up, still holding her pained cheek. “Both of my sisters got girlfriends leaving me stuck like some virgin loser with no life! What else was I supposed to do? My parents are on my tail and I couldn’t let them know that I’m still refusing to have some human interaction while playing with legos”

You threw a small tantrum. “So what, we just hold hands for the rest of our lives?”

“Look, I just want you to come for dinner tonight. Have some simple conversations with them and it’ll seal the deal. They won’t bother me anymore after”

She was making it harder for you to say no. You wanted her so bad as your girlfriend since you first met but not in the situation she has currently put you in. Letting go of her face, she walked up to you and gently rubbed your shoulders.

You looked up and felt the butterflies again. Why couldn’t the girlfriend thing just be real instead?

“Please Y/n-ie. I really need your help”

Well that was enough to convince you. Talk about being whipped.

“Alright Jeongie. But you owe me big time”

“Yes yes of course! Thank you!” She cutely celebrated and pulled you in for a tight hug.

“I’ll send you my parent’s address. Come at 7 okay? You can even sleep over my dorm afterwards”

“That sounds nice. I haven’t slept over your dorm in a while”

She shrugged. “We get too busy nowadays”

“Yeah we do. Do I have to dress nicely?”

Minjeong looked up to think for a moment before nodding. “Might as well. I’ll dress nice too”

“Alright. Let’s start studying”

You stood at the front door and rang the bell, quickly adjusting the short tight dress just in time for Minjeong to open the door to greet you.

You found yourself stuck in a trance as your best friend revealed herself in a black button up and slacks. The top 3 buttons were undone to reveal the chain necklace you gifted her ages ago.

Minjeong wasn’t wearing her glasses either and her short brown hair wasn’t tied in her usual ponytail. Her hair was free and looking so fluffy as she ran her fingers through it.

“Y/n welcome!” She gave that ever so handsome smile while hugging you.

Her perfume was stronger than usual, almost intoxicating you.

“Jeongie you look so…”

“Different? Yeah I know. It feels a bit weird” she giggled and looked at her own outfit.

“I was gonna say hot but yeah that works too”

Her lips parted adorably. “You think so?”

“Don’t get too happy now” you winked as she allowed you inside and to the kitchen where her parents and two sisters were seated at the table.

“Just go with the flow. It’ll be okay” she whispered in your ear before gently holding your hand. “Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Jang Y/n. Y/n, these are my parents and my two sisters Chaewon and Taeyeon”

You bowed and flashed a bright smile. “Pleasure to finally meet you all!”

“I didn’t think our little JeongJeong was able to pull such a pretty woman” Taeyeon smiled, making you instantly blush.

You felt Minjeong’s hand tighten around yours and you noticed her jaw clenching. Chaewon picked up on it aswell and began laughing.

“Oh relax Minjeong, no one’s planning to steal your girl. Tone down the jealousy”

“I’m not jealous. Come on Y/n, take a seat” she said and pulled the chair out for you to sit on.

She took her own seat afterwards and returned to holding your hand again. “Also guys, please don’t overwhelm my girlfriend with too many questions okay? I’m sure she’s tired already from her uni lectures today”

“Oh you study Y/n?” Her Dad asked with crossed arms as if he was studying you.

“Yes sir, I’m a pharmacy student” you answered proudly, earning an impressed reaction from the family.

“Is that so? May I ask why?”

“My dad currently owns a pharmacy and I hope to open my own after graduation”

“Awe you’re such a sweetheart” Minjeong’s mom cooed, holding your free hand. “Let’s not bother her any longer, honey” She whispered to her husband and then smiling at you again.

“Let’s eat now”

And that’s how the remainder of the dinner went. Chaewon and Taeyeon asked a few more casual questions here and there to get to know you better and surprisingly the 3 of you clicked. You and Chaewon love mint chocolate ice cream whereas you and Taeyeon used to play the violin.

That’s when the two older Kim sisters brought out expensive wine for you to share and then you got a bit carried away from the delectable taste.

Chaewon was slightly worse. Only two glasses in and she was passed out at the dinner table. Taeyeon was more responsible, being the eldest sibling as she took reasonable sips of the liquor. You just chugged every pour and your red cheeks were enough of a sign for Minjeong to confiscate the glass from you.

“That’s enough, Y/n”

“Awe man” you whined and let your head fall onto her shoulder.

“I didn’t expect the dinner to end like this. Sorry Mom and Dad. I promise you she doesn’t usually drink so carelessly” Minjeong smiled sheepishly at her smiling parents

“Sometimes a uni student needs their break” Her mom giggled.

“Thanks for introducing her to us, darling. She’s a gem you need to take care of. If I find out you made her cry, I’m hunting YOU down” Her dad joked, earning a nudge from his wife.

“Thanks guys. It’s time to take her home. I’ll visit you guys again next weekend once exams are over” Minjeong told.

She stood up with you leaning into her arms like a sleepy toddler.

“That sounds lovely. Do bring Y/n again if you can”

“I’ll ask her. Have a goodnight, I love you both”

You woke up during the car ride back to Minjeong’s dorm, feeling a bit dizzy from the wine. “Jeongie?”

“Hey, silly. Didn’t expect you to wake up so soon”

You sat up in the passenger seat and started scanning the view of your supposed to be nerdy best friend driving. She looked so attractive?

She had one hand on the wheel and the other resting on the gear stick, unintentionally displaying the rings on her index and middle finger.

“What’s going on?”

“You’re sleeping over my place remember? Unless you changed your mind. I can drive you to your place instead”

“No no!” You quickly panicked, surprising Minjeong a little.

“Cool. You feeling better?”

The effects of the alcohol were coming back as your eyes did their own thing again, starting from your best friend’s Adam’s Apple down to her unbuttoned shirt and finally…her crotch.

You remember accidentally walking in on her changing out of her pants and seeing quite an impressive size underneath her boxers but that was when Minjeong’s dick was flaccid. It made you wonder the size when hard.

“I’d suck your dick until my jaw dislocates” You randomly blurt out.

Minjeong’s eyes went wide, almost sending the car flying with how hard she slammed on the brakes. “W-What?”

The wine was giving you more confidence than needed so you decided to continue by running a hand from her knee up to her crotch and giving a gentle squeeze. Minjeong’s hands tightened around the wheel as she continued driving.

“Y-Y/n, we’re gonna crash”

“You don’t understand how badly I’ve wanted you, Jeongie” you husked, hand never leaving her bulge.

“Y-You want me?” She cutely squeaked, eyes darting from your hand to the road.

“Always wanted you. The faster you drive us, the faster you get to fucking me, baby” you whispered hotly in her ear and kissing the lobe after.

“Fuck”

You found out that same night that Minjeong didn’t like taking things slow. You were both already naked on her bed, her hand wrapped around your throat while she kissed you like she was starved.

She quickly sat up and fished out a condom but you snatched it from her and threw it away. “I want it raw, baby”

“Do you just let anyone fuck you raw?”

“No, just you. You’re all I ever think about”

Minjeong cursed under her breath before kissing you again, already pushing in her cock inside your desperate cunt. Her lips moved to the space on your neck that her hand wasn’t covering, sucking and biting while your back arched.

“Oh my god, Jeongie”

She smirked into your skin and began moving her hips. “My pretty cock sleeve”

Her words, her actions, her tone were beyond your expectations. A loser nerd girl who was also fucking hot under the sheets and knows how to use her dick? There’s nothing else you could’ve wanted.

“Ah!” You gasped at a particular hard thrust, pushing Minjeong’s head closer to your skin that she continued marking.

“Fuck Princess, need you to be mine” she growled and the hand she had on your throat had pinned your wrists above your head, letting you see her biceps under the dim lighting and her hot face, shining with sweat.

Her chain was dangling just above your nose as her movements became rougher. She bit on her lower lip and released a muffled moan that got you clenching.

“Shit. Gonna fucking cum, Y/n-ie”

“Yes please, Jeongie! I want to be yours”

She leaned down to kiss your nipples and then your lips. “Gonna claim you, okay baby? Not only will you be my girlfriend but you’ll be my personal cum dump too. How does that sound?” She smirked evilly, watching you nod.

“Yes yes yes! Fucking have me. I’ll be anything you want!”

“Good” Minjeong simply said before flipping you over with your ass up.

She held your hips and began fucking you from behind like a mad dog, slapping your ass hard enough to leave a mark. You cried into the sheets as you fisted the ruined blanket, looking to the side and seeing the lewd reflection in the mirror.

You could see Minjeong’s lips parted as she destroyed your insides, almost setting them on fire. “Fuck, gonna cum in this delicious pussy of yours, baby”

You chanted a bunch of “yes”’s as the bed started ramming into the wall. Your eyes rolled back and you released a scream, feeling yourself explode your cum all over Minjeong’s big cock, but she continued to pound into you chasing for her own release.

“Fucking take it, bitch” she panted, feeling the familiar tightness in her abdomen. “Holy shit, Y/n!”

You moaned at the warm feeling of her cum fill your insides, certain that it was going to trickle out of you. Minjeong pulled out and kissed your right ass cheek before staring intently at the white liquid escaping your abused pussy.

“I came a lot for a virgin” she chuckled, making your head whip so fast.

“You’re a virgin?!”

“I thought it would be obvious with, you know, the Minecraft shirts, my Roblox merch…”

“You’re a virgin but you literally fucked me like that?!” You said breathlessly.

“Pleasing a woman doesn’t seem so hard. Porn sites are quite educational too” she winked and laid you beside her.

She pulled the sheets over your sweaty bodies and kissed your crown. “So…does this mean you’re my girlfriend now? Like for real?”

You looked up at her and giggled. “Yes it does”

“Yayyy” she scrunched her nose, personality returning to the loser Minjeong you fell in love with.

“I need to build my Lego soon” she added.

“It’s literally 4am”

“I said what I said”

[oddballwriter]

Hello! If you're willing, could request dbbq ena with a gn!reader who has more self destructive stims (ex: bitting nails, skin picking, scratching at arms, ect.) Nothing too serious, just not the best or most healthy stimming methods. Kind of like her helping them break the habits and all?

It's entirely fine if not! Live your writing, keep up the great work and have a wonderful day!

No Biting

Dream BBQ ENA w/ a partner with self-destructive stims

Warning: Reader having self-destructive stims and habits (skin picking, nail biting, etc). Dream BBQ ENA being her weird little self.

As someone who also has destructive stims (nail biting, skin and scab picking, nibbling, and hair tugging) I get this so much because sometimes a really do bite my nails till I end up damaging the part where the nail meets the actual skin and pull hang nails till they hurt. So tbh thanks for this anon

Again, any and all behavior you do is a marvel to ENA. She definitely has moments where she herself stims and has her own habits. But when she notices that you do certain things like pick your skin and all that. She’s interested

Especially since some of these things seem to cause you pain but you still do it

She picks up on the fact that you sometimes pick at your skin and then show signs that it hurts, like the spot becoming red and you having small micro expressions of pain when you start doing it again

“Why must you do this repeated action if it quickly becomes unenjoyable for you? Is it programmed into you?”

You explain to her that it’s just a thing you do out of habit and that it’s just second nature to the point that you keep doing it even though you probably shouldn’t

“So you have programmed this behavior pack into yourself? Might you be able to uninstall it then?”

You agree that you could, but that it’s hard since it is in fact second nature at this point

ENA then decides that this is her duty now. To keep you from doing these stims and breaking the habit

She does this in one of two ways, respective to which side is active

Her business side just stays vigilant to anything and everything you’re doing at every single moment to be there when you start doing whatever self-destructive habit you have, and politely prevent you from doing it

Like if you try and bite your nails. She just takes your hand and gently pushes it away from your mouth stating “You are not a consumable, dearest. There is no need to have your phalanges make contact with your oral cavity.”

Or if you pick your skin she does that same, saying “There is no point to pinch at random coordinates of our form. It will only cause us semi-permanent and temporary anomalies there.”

Meanie has a very blunt approach of just telling you to knock it off

“HEY! What did we say about the biting? Knock it off before you break your membranes.”

“Quit scratching like you have fleas! We both know there’s no itch!”

It’s almost like when you tell a dog to drop something they have in their mouth. That’s the tone she has with you

She’s very happy when she’s able to watch you from the corner of her sights and doesn’t see you doing any of your self destructive stims anymore or doing more “healthy” ones that don’t involve any of the biting, nibbling, picking, or whatever

[howi99]

Project ARC remake 20

Qrow: *rolling his eyes* This is getting ridiculous, Ozpin. Glynda is a complete mess and Jaune regressed mentally to a 10 year old?

Ozpin: *sigh* From what i understood, speaking with him, it's less that he has the mental faculties of a 10 year old and more that he has the memories of one. He's also slowly getting his memory from Beacon back, so he should be able to reintegrate-

Qrow: Oz! *Slamming his hand on the table* We both know he can't go back soon. *Looking pissed* The kid is having phantom pains from- *shaking his head* urgh, just thinking about it makes me sick.

Ozpin: *sigh* So you want me to go against Glynda's wish and warn Atlas that we found him?

Qrow: ... Can't believe myself for saying that, but yes. *Drink from his flask* It's either that, or the kid might remember something he really shouldn't.

___________________________________________

Glynda: *looking at her little brother with pain in her heart* Jaune...

Jaune: *wearing an eye patch* W-well, the pain disappears when i'm blocking my vision. So with that, i should be fine, ok? *Smile* You don't need to worry too much about me, right?

Glynda: ...

Jaune: *scratching the back of his neck* Look, i won't be long. I'm just gonna get some eggs and prepare some Vale toast.

Glynda: *panicking* J-Jaune, wait i-

Jaune: *putting his hand on her shoulder* Sis, you can't be with me all the time. *Calming smile* I won't disappear or anything. Just... Sit and relax. Think of today as a vacation day, ok?

Glynda: ... *Looking at the ground* Ok...

Jaune: *nod* Good. I'll be back in a jiffy! *Leave*

Glynda: *closing her eyes* It's gonna be fine, he's gonna be fine...

___________________________________________

Cinder: Tsk, nothing to eat. *Closing the fridge door, taking a look at the rest of the little studio she took for herself with a sigh* At least, i'm not living with that psychopath... And it's comfier than Evernight. *As she said those words, her stomach grumbled* Urgh, fine, i'll go buy something to eat. *She puts casual clothes on herself before leaving the apartment*

___________________________________________

Cinder: *panicking, as the man who fought her in Mistral is now smiling at her with a dumb look* I-i-i-i-

Jaune: *looking apologetically at her* Sorry to have startled you, but could you take a step to the left? *Point behind her* i'm trying to get some milk and-

Cinder: *trying to protect herself from what she is assuming is going to be round two of her getting almost killed* I-i know how to defend myself and-

Jaune: *perplexed* What? *Realising he's completely in her personal space* O-oh, sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you! *Sheepish laugh* I lost a lot of memories and i keep forgetting i'm not just a kid anymore.

Cinder: *blinking* U-uh!?

Jaune: So uh... *Point, again, behind her* Can i get the milk?

Cinder: ... *Shaking her head, stepping aside* You can take it! I-i don't need it.

Jaune: *smile* Thank you.

Cinder: *still completely terrified* S-sure, no problem!

___________________________________________

Cashier: Sorry, but your credit card was declined.

Cinder: *slumping* But i only took some bread...

Jaune: *who just finished packing up his food* Would you like to eat with me and my sister?

Cinder: *startled* WHAH! S-STOP APPEARING FROM NOWHERE!

Jaune: *wince* S-sorry, i just wanted to make up for the fright i caused you...

Cinder: *looking at the loaf of bread in her hand then at the mountain of food Jaune is bringing back to "his" apartment* I... *Her hunger won over her fear* Fine. B-but just a quick bite.

Jaune: *smiling* Of course!

___________________________________________

Cinder: *sitting at the table of the second in command of Ozpin and the thing that tried to kill her* ...

Glynda: *sigh* Jaune, you really should stop trying to help everyone you see. It's a bad habit.

Jaune: *who just finished making breakfast* But you always told me to be the best i can be. Isn't helping those who can't feed themselves a part of being the best i can?

Glynda: *wince* I-i know i said that, b-but people can be dangerous and i don't want you to get hurt.

Cinder: ... *Internally screaming* I-i d-didn't know she was y-your s-s-sister.

Glynda : *Eyes widening* J-Jaune!? I told you to keep people from knowing!

Jaune: *wince* I totally forgot, my bad... *Placing the "French" toast on the table, along with bacon and eggs* Can you forgive me with a little bit of bribery?

Glynda: ... *Sigh with a smile* Sure, you may buy your way out of it... For now.

Cinder: *stomach growling at the sight of the food* ...

Jaune: *smiling at the (unknown) criminal* You can pick what you want, i don't eat much anyway.

___________________________________________

Cinder: *now back at her apartment* ... *Looking at the nicely packed food Jaune gave to her* ... *Then thinking back on the "conversation" she had with Tyrian two days ago* ... That's so unfair...

[Now, for everyone that thinks Cinder is out of character, remember that A) she doesn't have any power from the maiden, so her confidence is actually low and B) she stole a part of Jaune's soul in their fight. Basically the soul of an angel which is slowly but noticeably having an impact on her own.]

[xxventiswindblumexx]

Hi there love! If you have time, could you write a Scaramouche x fem reader, where they hate each other so much, and then he fucks her till she can't speak anymore. W Dom Scara. Have a good day!

Of course! Trying to get back into writing after a long hiatus due to family and home issues!

Here's a hate fucking scara x fem reader NSFW!

Can't forget to tag my local scara simp @hitomisuzuya ❤

⚠WARNING:Hate fucking, harsh/rough love, scara being scara, breeding kink, pet kink⚠

It was late at night as the storm in Inazuma rolls, thunder strikes as the wrath of the Electro Archon could be felt in the air, even more so in the delusion factory where a certain harbinger resided. Scaramouche was appointed to watch over the factory, one of the very last things he wanted to be stuck with, maybe he should've been more.. friendly during the harbinger banquet, maybe then he couldn't gotten out of it, regardless he had a duty to uphold and another idea on his mind.

As the puppet thought he could hear the distant sound of fighting, great, the traveller Y/N arrived, how annoying. just what he needed, another annoyance, already had enough he had to work with the Doctor and Childe, now he must be rid of the traveller.

He waited for her to arrive to his domain, it was only a matter of time before she arrived and of course he would relish seeing her fall, but that's not what fate had in store for the two.

Y/N entered the room alone, she decided this was a fight even Paimon couldn't go with, a fight between her.. and the Balladeer.

"How dare you use people's lives for your profit!" she started, hand gripping her sword with nothing but vengeance for her dear friend. Scaramouche couldn't help but eat up the look, the anger, he loved it. wait.. loved it? no he can't get distracted.

"oh? did your pathetic friend die from it? must've been to weak.. like you" he laughed, only antagonizing the hero more, what he didn't expect was for her to attack already, coming at him with her sword he was able to grab her arm and deflect it, shoving her to the floor, he's much faster then her, with the power of electro he can move faster then she can blink. Once on the ground he stomped on her wrist making her drop the sword, hissing she clawed at his ankle but it was no use, he had her pinned.

His electric gaze sent shivers and strangely arousal through her as she gave him a scowl

"give up yet pest?" he hissed, arousal and anger was filling the air, "I can see you're ready to fight back and prove your worth" He continued his actions of stomping on her wrist again, "that means you have some backbone" he growled as Y/N struggled to get back into her feet

"What I have is not something I care to brag about" she said in return angerly, however when the two got close, scaramouche slamming her into the floor once more but this time holding her down with his hands, her legs on either side putting them in a situation, she could feel his hard on, something he tried to ignore, pathetic human emotions, he would say, but now its gotten him in a bind. "I wouldn't have guessed the Balladeer would get hard from this" she scowls causing his face to flush with both embarrassment and anger, but he couldn't deny the feeling, "or maybe I do know who you are, your true form" She snarls in disgust at him.

"And what might that be" he says with venom. Y/N smirks and sits herself straight up, she's getting more cocky now, and honestly it wasn't helping his already poor self control

"you're just a touch starved, horny angry man aren't you?" she remarks, snapping the last bit of restraint he had, growling he was determined to put this scum in her place

"I'll teach you to respect me, even if I have to break you over and over" he hissed beside her ear, biting harshly on her neck, his hips pushed forward causing her to gasp, a sharp moan leaving her throat as she squirmed in pleasure, she hated him and he hated her yet.. for that reason, they made each other stronger, the balladeers strength, their passion, they complemented and created each other.

Once started they knew they couldn't stop, his hands selfishly grabbing and pulling at her clothing, growls and groans filled the air as they moved around each other's bodies in a way they never thought possible. Her body was soft beneath his rough touches and gentle kisses, her breath coming in gasps and his lips on hers felt like heaven yet hell at the same time.

Once he pulled her clothing off he shoved her onto her stomach, taking control as the god he is, his cock throbbing against her wet pussy as he laughs at her submission, even if she was still struggling, he was the dominate one here, his tip flushed and leaking with precum as he pushed it against her entrance "fucking beg for me like the whore you are" he hissed, she resisted but she couldn't deny the throbbing need, weakly begging "please.. f-fuck! please just fuck me!" shamelessly begging before his thick cock slammed into her pussy, growling as his hands gripped her hips hard enough to cause his nails to scratch the skin, he thrusted hard and fast hitting her sweet spot, moaning loudly as her walls clenched around him, the feeling driving him insane. He pulled himself off from her slowly and threw away his discarded clothes, now fully naked he held her wrists above her head, assuming a new position before pressing his body onto hers, he thrusting hard and deep causing her to whimper, her pussy clenching around him as he mercilessly fucked into her, claiming her as his own.

"F-fuck! you're so damn tight, i-its like you want me to breed you don't you? " he hissed in a teasing tone, she groans as his hand tighten it's grip on her already sore wrists, his cock throbbed with need to release as she felt a knot began to tighten, causing her to cry out his name. He thrust harder until she cries with her orgasm, causing him to release his cum deep inside of her, she writhed under him, crying out in pain and pleasure as his cum filled her womb, his dick still buried within her pussy and balls.

"You're mine now little one, you belong to me and only me, " he murmured softly as she felt weak, he had almost forgotten his plan, nevertheless he had to make changes anyways, he can't just let her get in his way again.. maybe he can keep her as his pet.

[varesai]

-> sly fox

synopsis -> you're giving miko the silent treatment. so, she simply turns into her fox form to cuddle you until you give up the act.

warnings -> light angst but the problem is resolved later, miko may be ooc idk

w/c -> tbd

you could say that arguments between you and your wife, miko, weren’t incredibly common… 

so when you two do get into one, something pretty bad has to have happened, considering how calm and composed she is about every. single. thing. 

so, maybe it was a little surprising when you expressed how much you disliked her being gone so frequently to either write her newest light novel, or take care of her business at the shrine, and she started to raise her voice.

the fight went on for about an hour until she wordlessly walked out of the house and set her path towards the shrine. you just kind of stood there for a while, thinking back on how stupid the whole argument was. you felt valid for expressing your point and how you feel neglected, but you also felt that you could’ve just asked her properly and sat her down to talk to her instead of doing it right when she walks in. 

and at the same time, she acknowledged that she had overreacted way too much, and she wished she could just listen to you. 

so, to no surprise, the next day when she walked into your shared home, you were ignoring her.

you thought she was being too petty the night before, and you were probably right. you only wanted her to hear you out!

at first, it started off as you made breakfast for the two of you and then ate it in your office. it was a nice place, considering you and yae had a nice amount of mora, giving the both of you a nice place to live. so big rooms and a big house in general would be standard for the both of you.

then, you went out to inazuma city alone. normally, every saturday, you two would go out to look at the markets, considering those were the days all the sellers had their shops open and also the days they’d give the most generous sales. when you left, miko stood in the doorway, giving you a slightly puzzled look before sitting back down on the couch and reading a new light novel in her collection.

the last one was at dinnertime, where she had tried to see if you’d go out to dinner with her and the shogun. considering that they were the two most important people in inazuma, they had to have meetings every so often to keep the region in line.

you’d usually attend these, considering they were often very fun and never incredibly business related (in which the shogun claimed talks about business lulled her to sleep), and you two would always go down by the shore before heading home. you simply shook your head before moping back into your bedroom.

now, you were being the petty one, she thinks. but at least you weren’t simply ignoring her anymore, at least you were giving her some form of signal that you heard her. 

though, on the walk to the selected dinner choice between her and the shogun, she thought about the whole situation. this morning, she tried to ignore you back, considering she was equally as stubborn and petty when she wanted to be. but she was also very wise, so why couldn’t she figure out a way to get you to stop ignoring her? or, to simply stop acting the way you are now. she finds it very dumb.

she thought and thought and thought and she thought her brain might explode until she came up with a conclusion. she laughed to herself a little bit before walking into the luxurious place, where you’d only see people with as much status as the kamisato siblings seated and able to afford the bill. 

of course, the shogun picked this place out. she chose it “without realizing” that she’s got no mora, leaving the bill in the kitsunes hands.

once the meeting was over, she rushed home pretty fast, ready to spring her plan into action. it was really late at that point, nearing 11:00 pm. so when she entered your shared home, it was no surprise that she found you asleep, but this time on the couch. she sighed in a light manner before going into her fox form, trotting along to you and jumping up onto the couch to snuggle into your chest.

you woke up when you felt her tail lightly brushing against your face, making you spit hairs out of your mouth and sighing, rubbing your eyes.

“jesus, miko, okay,” you lift her up before turning her around and making her lock eyes with you. “keep this up and you're gonna stay in air jail.”

to that, she squirmed a little, making you laugh lightly before setting her on the ground for her to transform back. once she did, she sat next to you, taking your legs and setting them on her lap. 

“i’m sorry for being so aggressive last night. i thought about the argument a bit more, and i realized how petty that was,” she started, rubbing your calf up and down. “i should’ve just listened to you in the first place.”

that sentence shocked you a little bit, making her chuckle. she was never the first to admit she was wrong. 

“i’m sorry for being so stupid and ignoring you the whole day. i should’ve just tried to see if you wanted to make amends before assuming you didn’t want to see me all day.”

she nodded, patting your leg before standing and grabbing your arms to stand with her.

“lets just go to sleep. and no, you are not sleeping on the couch tonight. i refuse,” she leads you with slow steps up the stairs and into your shared room. “sorry for coming off as so intimidating all day.”

that made you slap her arm, sending the both of you into a small laughing fit. you felt so lucky that she was who you married, even though she’s the pettiest person you’ve ever met.

[ofcowardiceandkings]

companion piece of young Link

AAHH i finally finished something :'D

i've uh had some very specific Thoughts about Zelda's childhood for a while now so its about time i put them to paper - this is actually round TWO since the original doodles are lost to ... somewhere ... i like these second editions better though so alls well that ends well

we're looking at ages around 4, 7 and 10 years old here touchin bugs in the dirt, archery practice, and playing a lyre ;w;

more detailed Thoughts under the cut 💙

iiitssss customary ranting about my BotW/TotK opinions tiiiimeeee welcome my darlingsss jfkdjfkd 💙

i had a much more solid idea about where i was going with Zelda than with Link but some of it is kinda abstract or weird lol

we know a fair amount about her upbringing in general, or can infer as much from Zelda's interactions with her father and what they and people around them wrote. she was clearly a smart and vivacious kid with a strong personality from the start, no matter how much you sort of squash that shit for the public face, repression etc. so yknow, her mother's death when she was 6, awful. her father's change in attitude especially in her teens, awful. being under public scrutiny her whole life, awful. restrictive structure of royal life, dull (i bet it bored Zelda to death at times no matter how strongly duty-oriented she is). having said that though, she got by and just by looking at her study, she clearly got stuff done to herself - you can take the kid away from the science but the science stays with the kid !!!

additionally, forgive me for mentioning ... timelines ... but in my humble onion, BotW/TotK serve as a Dragon-Break scenario which are SO far in the future from other entries that ALL timelines will inevitably converge and lead to that point, so it doesnt matter any more (i dont like extended Timeline theory, Nindooty doesnt like extended Timeline theory, the current writing team seem to want shot of it, let me be). being a history guy i also subscribe to leaning on the LEGEND aspect of 100 and 1000 year games of telephone, it makes things spicy. tradition is a strange thing, we do things we dont have much of a context for anymore, we're still living with the cultural hangovers of people living when mammoths were around and no thats not hyperbole lol its WILD. ive typed around the point enough lets get going

she was a bugs girl !!!! she still IS a bugs girl lmao but if our 16 year old girlie is gonna pounce on frogs apropos of nothing, that 4 year old girlie is gonna go catch bugs in the Royal Gardens and freak out her maids or escorts with them, good for her 💅

the other two are where my timeline thing comes in; the triforce is never mentioned by name, its just there in symbolism ?? something about the blood of the goddess ?? divine sealing powers ??? no one knows in the same vein, i like to think that its traditional for Hylian Princesses to learn archery and play a lyre or harp ... but no one remembers quite WHY ?? so Zelda does. the Priestess-Princess* role means the public is aware that Zelda had formal singing training, but its not really common knowledge outside of the Castle that the Royal Girls do THIS (no one knows why that part is important either, but it stays in the Castle). she might be a little out of practice now, but give that muscle memory enough time and she might be able to really surprise people.

*this is part of the Japanese translation, at least in Kass' final song Zelda is referred to as an term roughly meaning Priestess-Princess - which makes total sense to me

ohhh my god i talked a lot okay i just love my gorl fhjdkfjdk

actual footage of me explaining my shit and going way long

[bestworstcase]

On that recent note about Ruby being at a boiling point when the next confrontation with Salem rolls around, would you mind going into that a bit more? Namely, I have a couple thoughts about a) it’s narratively boring to have the same thing happen twice, and “Ruby’s personal issues get overrun by a bunch of other issues she feels she has to address first” is how we got to V10 in the first place, and b) it really feels like WBY (and maybe Jaune, but he has his own stuff going on, we’ll see) would be much more conscious of the fact that it happened very visibly and the possibility of that happening again, and thus act to help Ruby away from that edge should she stray there again. Just a couple thoughts, really.

what i anticipate—again mostly on the basis of reading rwby x jl pt in context with the events of v9 and the 9.11 animatic—is less round two of ruby pretending to be fine until she explodes and more of an over-correction. a pendulum swing. ruby knows she can’t bury things behind a smile without destroying herself now, but she also… doesn’t… really know how to regulate her emotions in a healthy way, because she’s been viciously repressing those feelings her whole life.

she’s also (as ruby herself notes in B4) not at all comfortable asking for help and in vacuo she is going to be under a lot of pressure as the girl who sent the message—and in B4, we’ve already seen that she is, for example, getting waylaid in the streets for photos with strangers and that yang, despite having every reason to be overprotective at present, doesn’t interfere and actively tries to put a positive spin on it (“personally i think it’s about time everybody knew how cool my sister is”) even as she’s obviously concerned about the harm it might be doing to ruby. they’re both being pragmatic.

so while ruby’s closest friends will be (and do, in the jl film) watching like hawks for the signals they missed in the ever after, they can’t do anything about her celebrity among the vacuan refugees or the material reality of the situation in vacuo: if a major grimm attack coincides with ruby feeling bad, everyone has to prioritize repelling the attack over talking about how ruby feels, them’s the breaks.

ruby knows this. her team knows this. none of them want her to go back to bottling stuff up until it kills her, but it’s going to be really, really hard to carve out the space she needs to rest and recover and learn how to handle her feelings.

what happens?

well, judging by the jl film, ruby gets kind of… manic. she’s reckless. she brushes off their attempts to get her to stop being reckless. at one point she more or less tells clark that she expects to die in the war and she’s decided to try as hard as she can to do as much good as she can in the time she has left, and later when she gets the wind knocked out of her and yang freaks out ruby’s like "don’t worry, i’m not a quitter like mom" about it.

in a way, she’s backslid all the way to where she was at the top of v1—remember how reckless ruby was during the initiation, out of desperation to prove herself? except she’s also, pretty blatantly, pushing her bad feelings outward in the form of this danger-seeking go-go-go attitude. it’ll be okay if she dies as long as she goes down fighting to the end right!!! as long as she’s honest and open about not being able to imagine a future where she is alive after the war, that’s fine!!! because she’s not bottling it up anymore!!!

and (this is evident even just in the jl film) she’s a bit taken aback by how alarming her team finds this new attitude, because to her all that’s changed is she’s not keeping it a secret that she feels this way but to them it’s abruptly seeing, in vivid technicolor, that ruby genuinely does not care whether she lives or dies and in fact is terrifyingly comfortable with the idea that she’ll die fighting salem. so i think ruby is going to experience this as mixed signals; they say they want her to be more open and share what she feels, but when she’s (in her mind) feeling good they get mad at her for not… feeling the way they want her to feel… so what is she supposed to do?

over the longer term, the shape of ruby’s character arc from here on is a journey toward rebuilding her presently non-existent sense of self-worth. but in the immediate term it’s more about clearing the hurdle of believing that one epiphany in the tree did not, in fact, fix her or solve the deeper problem of her suicide ideation. (which is very much what’s going on with ruby in the jl film.)

and i think it’s really interesting and pretty smart for the narrative to juxtapose that with salem battling her own emotional strife, because the heroic cast all believe that salem ultimately just wants to die but i don’t think that’s true, and salem herself certainly seems to be envisioning a future that she is beginning to realize she cannot achieve without making sacrifices; no cost is too great, she says, and she’s lying to herself.

i think ruby’s second boiling point is not “i don’t want to be me anymore” but rather “i don’t want to die anymore” and this dovetails nicely with salem hitting this critical mass, reaching the line she can’t cross because the cost is too great. the hero realizing that she desperately wants to live after all + the villain choosing the life of one person she cares for above everything else. it creates an opening for empathy and understanding in both directions.

if ruby spends nearly all of v10 skating over the deep well of her fear by pushing it outward as glibly nihilistic thrill-seeking, and then gets thrust into a situation where she really might die and feels that abrupt, visceral desperation to survive—that is not too far afield of salem’s desperation to remake the world into one where she’s allowed to live. likewise, if the unstoppable force of salem’s ruthlessness collided with the immovable object of cinder, she knocks herself sideways into a corner she can’t escape—which isn’t dissimilar to how hopeless ruby feels. and then they each have the other’s answer, potentially.

[manic-sapphic]

ok warning i just had a maybe p painful thought about the way the failsafe ep goes down~

and i doubt i'm the first to have these thoughts/feelings on the subject, buuut still hah -

after being separated from adora as warring enemies for - idk the timeline exactly, 2-3 years i'd guess? catra finally finds a way to reconcile her own bs with adora's and just be together, fight together, and protect each other like they said they would. and idk how long passed between taking control and failsafe exactly, but i can't imagine it was anymore than a matter of a couple months at most. idk forsure tho, i guess the space travel might have taken more time?

but to imagine finally getting to be w the person you've secretly wanted to be beside for years but just couldn't figure out how to let yourself ask for it for that long, and then have them willingly agree to do something that they might, maybe, probably, hopefully survive so that they can save everyone else?

and i've seen things out there saying something like adora would sacrifice herself to save the world, but catra would sacrifice the world to save adora. and maybe that's true, idk.

but i see it more as actually, hell no - catra doesn't want all of etheria and who knows how much more of the universe to be consumed in prime's "light" of fucking lime green hellfire - she wants everyone to make it out. adora included. if anything, she's willing to die if it means adora will survive. cause honestly, she realizes that if adora dies, maybe everyone else will live - but for catra tho - how tf would she be able to? ughhhhh

i'm sorry if i think about this shi too much btw <3

[collapsedglasshouses]

AN ANGEL FOR NOAH || Noah Sebastian x OC [Part 11]

DIVIDER ART WORK BY @cafekitsune

PAIRING: Noah Sebastian x Jules [she/her]

MASTERPOST

SUMMARY: Actions are followed by consequences... Noah and Jules will learn that the hard way.

WARNINGS: angst, mentions of death and mental health issues, swearing, more angst, have i mentioned angst?, angst

A/N: Oh my f-ing god, I can't do this anymore. In honor of the BMTH tour starting today, I thought updating this story was fitting. This is the second to last part of An Angel For Noah... I'm too cruel to my characters, what am I doing... I hope you like the new part. If so, consider reblogging it! Thank you! Also, this isn't fully proofread, i'm sorry :c (im not, my head was too full to notice any errors)

TAGLIST: @trvshdxddy @blackveilomens @crimson-calligraphyx @measuredingold @cncohshit @signs-of-ill-portent @hi-fancy-seeing-you-here @ada-clarence @wild-child-7747 @thebadchic @thescarlettvvitch @cookiesupplier

Keep in mind, this takes place in an alternative universe. Even though I write about real people, the way I write them has nothing to do with how they are in real life.

When Jules awoke, the light burned in her eyes. She barely managed to keep them open. It was a severe contrast to the warmth of Noah’s embrace that she was able to feel for an entire night. It took her a couple of seconds to notice where she was. But when she did, the realization hit her like a brick wall. She knew what was about to come and immediately felt nauseous. She wanted to go back. She wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and find herself back in Noah’s arms.

As she sat there in the white nothingness, she felt like she was dying over and over again. This was the end. Jules felt a lot of different feelings. There was a heaviness in the air, and everything around her looked too clean and empty. She couldn't shake off the mix of emotions inside her.

She thought about the night she spent with Noah, and it made her feel sad and happy at the same time. Sad because she knew they weren't supposed to get close like that, and happy because those moments were special.

Thinking about what happened, she felt a bit sorry for breaking the rules. She wished she could go back and change things, but it was too late now.

Missing Noah hit her hard. She wanted to be close to him, share more laughs, and just be with him. Even the bad moments were now everything she craved as long as she could see him again. The memory of his touch stayed with her, and she wanted more of those stolen moments.

In the midst of all these emotions, there was a warmth inside her that was hard to explain. It was more than just doing her guardian job; it was a deep connection that went beyond the rules. Noah had become a big part of her story, sometimes even reminding her of her living self.

As she sat there, she knew their connection was special but also risky. It made her feel love for a human, guilt for breaking the rules, and a deep sadness for what might not happen.

While waiting for her punishment to arrive, she couldn't ignore the feeling Noah left in her. It was a mix of love, guilt, and loss—a strong and special connection that painted the white room with the colors of a love that went beyond what was supposed to happen.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and immediately knew who it was.

“Jules.” Keaton spoke softly “We need to talk.”

Jules sighed as Keaton walked around her and sat down in front of her. He was still calm, as usual, but his eyes, usually filled with gentle reassurance, held a weight that mirrored the weight on Jules' heart.

Jules nodded, her eyes brimming with uncertainty. She had a feeling what was about to happen.

Keaton’s presence, normally a very welcomed feeling for Jules, now felt bittersweet. It took him a second to find the right words. “I know this is hard.”

Jules just looked at him with a plain expression. She knew he wanted to comfort her, but she couldn’t quite believe he actually knew how hard this was.

“I hate to be the one to do this to you, but-…” Keaton began but Jules was quick to interrupt him: “But you’re still doing it, Keaton.”

Keaton blinked for a couple of seconds. She was testing his patience with that sentence. “You know, you can’t really blame me for the consequences you have to face now, sweetheart.”

She noticed his slightly angered undertone, but she was to numb to properly correct herself. She knew it wasn’t his fault, but she couldn’t face her own mistakes. She couldn’t face her own bad decisions.

“I didn’t think you would go this far, Jules.” Keaton than claimed, causing Jules to raise her eyebrows. “You knew what was going on?”

“Not really… But I had a feeling when we last saw each other.” He explained, his tone becoming calmer again. Jules just nodded, waiting for her punishment with pure anxiety creeping up her veins.

“I know you formed this deep connection with Noah, but I wouldn’t have guessed how deep it really got.” Keaton explained, while Jules swallowed hard. It had in fact got so deep, she craved him with every cell of her body, holding on to bit of life she felt when she was near him.

On the other hand, the weight of guilt settled on Jules’ shoulders. Everything was about to slip from her grip.

“Keaton…” She finally cried out and let her head fall into her hands. “I just can’t.”

“I know, Jules. But you have no other choice.” – “I… I can’t let him go, Keaton. I can’t pretend those feelings do not exist.”

Keaton sighed, his gaze softening, while he took Jules’ hands into his, revealing her red eyes. "I understand, Jules. Emotions are powerful, even for us. But we have a duty, a purpose. The connection you formed with Noah is extraordinary, but it has consequences. This cannot continue. As you may know, there are no guardian angels happily together with their persons."

“Did it ever happen?” – “Of course, it did. It happens all the time, but it always leads to the same things.”

Jules felt a lump forming in her throat. "What are the consequences?"

Keaton hesitated before explaining, “You have little to no options, but we can give you these… One, you cut all ties to Noah. You will never see him again, nor be his guardian angel.” Jules’ eyes widened as she listened to her former guardian angel.

“Or…” Keaton sighed, already having this gut feeling Jules would choose to make her existence a living hell, “You can continue to be his guardian angel… But with strict restrictions. You won’t be able to make yourself attach to the physical world ever again… You won’t be able to make yourself visible nor move anything. You can’t just jump in front of cars or whatever.”

“And?” Jules asked when she noticed Keaton hesitated to continue.

“Noah’s memories are going to be wiped in each case. He won’t be able to remember a single bit of what happened between you two. He won’t remember anything.”

Jules felt a surge of panic at the ultimatum. The prospect of losing Noah was unbearable, yet the alternative was equally painful.

"I can't lose him," she pleaded, her eyes pleading for an alternative.

Keaton's expression saddened, and he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I understand, Jules. I truly do. Take your time making your decision… You're allowed one last meeting with him. Make it count."

Gratitude and desperation filled Jules' eyes. "Thank you."

With that, Keaton stood up from his place and walked away, leaving Jules alone with her emotions. Jules couldn’t shake the heaviness in her heart. A profound sense of sadness and brokenness washing over her. The weight of the consequences for breaking the rules weighed heavily on her shoulders, casting a shadow over the warmth she had felt with Noah. Keaton's comforting words didn't fully erase the ache in her heart.

The realization that their connection had to end, or at least be severely restricted, left her feeling a deep sense of loss. The warmth and happiness she had experienced with Noah now seemed like distant memories, clouded by the unchangeable future.

Her heart ached with the knowledge that she couldn't be with him the way she wanted. The thought of not being able to see him, share moments, or guide him as freely was like a painful knot in her chest. The love that had blossomed within her felt like it was slipping away, leaving a void that echoed with the sadness of an inevitable goodbye.

Despite Keaton's comforting presence still lingering on her, Jules couldn't shake off the feeling of being broken. The once vibrant connection between her and Noah was now at risk of being severed, and the prospect of living with the consequences of their actions haunted her. She felt a deep sorrow, not just for herself but also for Noah, who would lose the memories of their time together.

In the white room, surrounded by the aftermath of their choices, Jules couldn't escape the overwhelming sadness that settled over her, like a storm cloud ready to unleash its tears. And then she made her decision…

The morning sunlight filtered through the curtains of Noah's room, eventually woke him up. With his eyes still closed, he reached to his left side but was met with emptiness.

His eyes immediately shot to his side where Jules had been laying the whole night. She was gone. He wasn’t surprised. He knew this was coming but he tricked himself into thinking it wouldn’t happen so soon.

For a moment, he laid there, grappling with the absence.

He couldn’t just let this go. He needed to see something to do so. So, when Noah stood up from his bed, he had a clear plan in mind.

The next couple of hours where filled with research. He hadn’t even had clear key words to search. All he knew was her first name and where it happened. Jules and New York City.

Noah was determined to find the answers he was looking for. He needed to know where her body was. He needed to see her grave to close this chapter.

He sifted through articles until he stumbled upon the one detailing the tragic incident that had taken her life. The life of his Jules. The weight on his chest intensified as he read about the accident, the pain evident in the words of the article.

Unable to contain the swirl of emotions, Noah ran a hand over his face. This became realer and realer with each passing second. She was dead, he was very much alive.

Suddenly, there was a knock on Noah’s door, causing him to flinch slightly. Quickly, he tried to close his tabs as he answered.

Nicholas entered his room and saw how Noah closed the last tab.

"Did I interrupt your private time or what is going on?" Nick joked while Noah noticed his own weird behavior.

"Uh… Believe me… It would be easier to explain if I said yes, so… Yes." He weakly smiled at his best friend.

Nick on the other hand just blinked. "I just wanted to ask if I should bring you a coffee."

Noah looked as his best friend for a second, trying to read him. He had known him for years. And right now he realized how much he had stressed him over the last couple of weeks. Nick had no idea what was going on, he was worried to his core about Noah. He knew Noah wasn’t doing well lately but he had never acted so sporadic as he did at the moment.

"I'm sorry, Nick." Noah exclaimed without answering his best friend's question.

Nick's eyebrows rose for a second, surprised at Noah’s statement. "For what?"

"For dragging you into something you weren’t supposed to be part of." Noah explained. Nick sighed and closed the door behind him, before sitting down on Noah's bed for a second.

“You know… The last couple of weeks kinda scared me, Noah.” Nick confessed to him with a worried expression.

Noah looked to the floor and started to think. Guilt began to creep up his veins. He knew, he could be difficult to handle but the last couple of weeks had been slightly too rough, even for him. He had been acting so out of character. All he wanted to do right now was telling Nick the truth, but he knew that it would make him sound even more insane than he already looked like. So, he said nothing…

Nick, in the meantime, tried to make Noah look at him. He knew something was going on in Noah’s head that he just didn’t want to tell and as much as Nick wanted to know what was going on, he didn’t try to ask.

“Can I do anything to help you?” Nick still asked his best friend, who seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

Noah swallowed hard. He had something he dearly wanted to do, but he wasn’t sure if he should ask is friend for such a weird request. It took him a minute to sort his thoughts. He knew, he needed to get closure as soon as possible, but was worried Nick would snap if he continued to be this way.

“I actually have a request.” Noah quietly breathed out, causing Nick to lean forward.

“I wanna go to New York City.” Noah than said. Nick blinked for a couple of seconds.

“Are you serious?” Nick asked, his eyes slightly widened, not knowing how to process Noah’s request.

“Dead serious.” – “You know, its like… On the other side of the country and we’ve just played their like… a month ago.”

Noah nodded.

For a second, Nick just looked at Noah. He didn’t even know what to expect anymore. Feeling the urge to rise from his seat and leave, he wanted to distance himself from the situation. However, a subtle tone in Noah's request managed to get through, planting a seed of responsibility within Nick. He knew he had to reconsider and acknowledge the significance that this matter held for Noah.

“Okay.” Nick exclaimed.

“Okay?” – “Yeah… Let’s look for the flights… Just the two of us.”

There was a subtle hope in Nick's heart that Noah's sudden desire to do something meant a positive change. He decided in that moment, if Noah wasn’t going to get better, he would take matters in his own hands. He needed to get Noah back.

For now, he just wanted to spend time with him, getting to know the situation that was going on better, even without Noah telling him.

They didn’t know exactly how they managed to do it but about ten hours later the two found themselves in the middle of New York City. It had been stressful and they had had little to no time to pack things, but right now they stood in their hotel room, both with a filled backpack and no clear plan in mind where to go.

At least, Nick didn’t know where to go.

“And now?” The bassist asked his best friend, who looked from left to right to find a good way to start their journey. It was already getting dark.

“Maybe… We can search for a restaurant after getting settled into our hotel room?” Noah requested, sounding as aimless as his best friend.

The small New York City restaurant they found themselves in, about an hour later, gave off a cozy ambiance. The lights were slightly dimmed, there were a lot of plants and a rustical brick wall with a lot of band pictures on it. The ambience was rounded off by the soft sound of 80s rock music. Noah and Nick sat across from each other at a corner table, the flickering candlelight casting a warm glow on the wooden surface.

For at least fifteen minutes, both of the boys just straight up stared at the menu. Noah was sure if another five minutes would pass without a dialogue, he would be able to memorize the dishes fully. They would be able to hire him at this point.

So, Noah decided to change that.

“You remember the last time we ate here?” He asked his best friend, whose eyebrows rose at his question. Nick wasn’t sure why Noah began to small talk with him. He knew Noah hated small talk more than anything.

“Sure… It’s been a year or two.” Nick quietly answered, before putting down the menu card. Noah followed his example and swallowed hard. The boys stared at each other for a second, before they silently agreed to just forget about the weird situation for a second. They both needed an evening of normality before the chaos would start again.

So, as they chose from the menu, they started sharing light banter about their favorite foods and recalling memories from past visits to New York. There was a fleeting sense that everything was returning to normal—the friendship, the shared laughter, the simple joy of enjoying a meal together.

Soon, the waiter approached, and they placed their orders. A basket of warm, crusty bread was set before them, accompanied by a trio of flavored butters. The clinking of porcelain and glasses blended seamlessly with the music in the background.

But the later it got, the less Nick could ignore the fact that they were in a city, on the other side of the country, for no apparent reason. In the midst of this apparent normalcy, Nick looked across the table at Noah, concern etched in his features. He could sense that something weighed heavily on his friend's mind. The subtle shift in the air hinted at the unspoken tension.

"So, Noah," Nick began, his tone gentle yet firm, "what's really going on with you lately?"

Noah's eyes momentarily flickered, caught off guard by the directness of his best friend’s question. He hesitated, his fork pausing mid-air above the salad. The comfortable illusion of normalcy shattered, revealing the underlying tension of unresolved emotions.

The restaurant seemed to hush for a moment, as if holding its breath, awaiting Noah's response. The ambient noise dimmed, leaving only the distant hum of the city beyond the window. Noah almost started to panic. He just couldn’t tell Nick. As much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn’t.

Nick's gaze remained steady, filled with genuine concern and a readiness to listen. The question lingered, inviting Noah to share the burden he carried.

“Nick… I can’t.” He breathed out, noticing how he wasn’t hungry anymore. For the last two hours he had just let go of his concerns, but now he was thrown right back into the chaos that was his life at the moment.

Nick held his gaze, hoping he would change his mind, but when he realized Noah was more silent than ever, he began to nod. “Okay.”

“It’s not like I don’t want to tell you… But so many things happened over the last weeks. I got to know so much about me. I need to get through this alone, Nick.”

“I hope you know, I’m here for you. Always, Noah.” – “Always.”

The next morning, Noah woke up at 6:17 am. He just couldn’t sleep anymore. Rolling from one side to the other. His thoughts were racing. He needed to get this done. He couldn’t wait any longer. So, not even an hour later, Noah quietly stood up, went to the bathroom and changed into his jeans and a simple black sweater, trying not to wake Nick. He didn’t need him to know where he was going.

But his plan failed, when he came out of the bathroom again.

“Where are you going?” Nick asked Noah, his eyes still laced with sleep.

Noah’s heart began to race. He didn’t really know what to say to his best friend, so he simply tried a random excuse. “I wanna go for a walk.”

Nick's eyebrow twitched upwards. He didn't believe him. “Where are you really going?”

Noah sighed. He didn’t answer, just staring at the floor.

“I’ll come with you.” – “No!”

Nick flinched at Noah’s tone. It got more and more confusing with each passing second. Noah looked broken, only a shell of what he used to be. Nick knew something was destroying him internally, so he wouldn't let go of this.

“I’ll can wait in the distance, but I’m not letting you go alone, Noah.” Nick answered his best friend, while slipping out of the bed to get dressed. Noah pressed his fingernails into his hands with such a force, he was scared he would bleed. He was starting to panic. He didn’t want Nick to worry anymore but in fact everything he was saying, caused Nick to be concerned even more.

“Why won’t you just let me go alone?” Noah asked carefully, a slight stutter in his voice. He sounded nothing like himself anymore. All he could think about was his mission to convince his mind that he couldn’t have Jules.

Nick stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Noah. It took him everything to not shout at Noah. He was getting frustrated. Noah had never acted like this. He knew he got worse. Noah had told him what made him go back into therapy, even though he left out the detail about Jules.

“I’m scared you will hurt yourself.” Nick almost whispered and blinked away the tears that started to form in his eyes.

Noah finally looked at his best friend with guilt. He wished he could tell Nick, but he knew he wouldn’t have believed him. So, he stayed quiet.

“Okay.” Noah whispered out “You can go with me, but you have to wait.”

Nick nodded, not really sure what he was agreeing to. But soon they had packed their stuff and took off.

They took a cab to a more remote area. Nick had no idea where they were and couldn't remember ever having been in this area of New York. After exiting the car, Noah walked with determination while Nick just trotted behind him, confusion in his eyes.

Soon they reached an area surrounded by a wall. Nick quickly realized it was a graveyard. Even though he was even more confused, he kept quiet while Noah handed him his backpack with the request to wait for him at that exact spot. Nick nodded and gave Noah a last confused but reassuring look before his best friend took off.

The graveyard had an eerie calmness, with the rustling leaves and the distant sounds of traffic being the only disruptions to the silence. The air was heavy with a mix of sorrow and nostalgia. As Noah entered the quiet space, the atmosphere changed, and Noah could feel the weight of memories settling on his shoulders.

His steps echoed softly on the gravel path. The gravestones stood like silent monuments, bearing countless untold stories of the people buried there. Goosebumps formed on Noah's skin as he walked among the rows. Graveyards always made him uneasy; they were a stark reminder of the fragility of life.

As Noah ventured deeper into the graveyard, the air seemed to thicken with an invisible heaviness.

The gravestones varied in size and design, telling stories of different lives. Noah's gaze shifted, and then, in a clearing, he saw it – a fresh grave adorned with vibrant flowers. The colors contrasted sharply against the muted tones of the graveyard. It looked so new, and reality hit him like a wave.

Jules. It was her grave.

Noah felt a knot tighten in his chest. He had buried too many people in his short life, but this was different. This was someone he hadn’t known in her lifetime, but someone he had connected with in ways he couldn't explain. When he got closer, he saw her full name, her birthday and the day she died. There even was a photo of her, leaning against the gravestone. The realization that Jules had left this world not even a year ago hit him with a profound sadness. She had simply slipped from his fingers.

He stood there, silent, taking in the scene. The brightness of the flowers seemed to mock the sadness radiating of the grave. Noah's mind swirled with conflicting emotions, and he couldn't shake the heaviness that settled over him. This was a painful reminder that Jules, his mysterious guardian angel, was not just a figment of his imagination but a person who had lived, loved, and left way to soon.

A profound sense of loss settled over him. It wasn't just about the person he had known briefly; it was about the life that had ended, the dreams that had ceased to unfold. He felt an ache in his chest, a pain that echoed with the weight of missed opportunities and the cruel randomness of fate. In this exact moment he realized something really important. He didn’t want to die. There was so much to live for. There was still so much to do for him.

As his tears started streaming down his face, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. Without turning he instantly recognized the soft touch on his shoulder.

“Jules.”

“Noah, we need to talk.”

LAST PART

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

I Am All In Rewatch - Episode 1x13

I did enjoy the Luke stuff. You know, the Rachel stuff where the L McPherson girl that dumped me and broke my heart. I I thought back to New York City when I lived in New York and I was studying acting and doing theater and all that stuff, and you know, going out at night and meeting models and things like that. You know it was you know, so I knew what I was drawing from in those moments. I when I saw that scene, I said, oh, yeah, I've been that guy. I yeah, that's that's from experience. [It was such a major revelation to the audience and to Lorelai, like wow, and how you went so just like bleep crazy over the sweatshirt.] Yeah, that was that was that was the big relationship that that really rocked my world that I will never recover from. [Yeah, and it helps us with that timeline clarity because that was happening the town knew but Laura la wasn't totally privy to all of it.] -Scott 

[So how do you think Lorelai felt finding out about Rachel? Because we know I'd love to learn more from you what Luke felt. But what do you think Lorelai felt?] Well, Lorelai feels you know that now she's she's sort of considering. I think Lorelai is kind of on the fence. I think she feels a certain way about Luke and that's undeniable, right, there's an attraction there, but is she going to act on it? And I think that's really the debate that's going on within her. Is this, you know, whereas she should have been having this debate with herself with Max Medina, she's having this debate with with Luke because they are such friends and they've known each other a long time, and she goes there three times a day sometimes, um, usually once at least once a day. So it's a you know, it's a real practical question, right, how she's gonna she is she gonna alter her her schedule, she gonna alter her daily life. If that blows up, she won't be able to go to Luke's anymore. And it's like, so she's having that debate, but learning that he was with you know, the the the uber fox girlfriend that was the road the road went to Pamplona, Spain and ran with the bulls or whatever she did, wildlife photographer and like jumped into volcanoes since it all rode bulls like, you know, dove into hundred foot cliffs, into tiny little bodies of water, you know, just a wild, wild woman. Um. And I think Lorelai, yeah, And I think Sooki nailed her she was jealous, or she was measuring herself against this, and you know, maybe that's why Luke doesn't make a move on me, because I'm not pretty enough and I'm not wild enough, and you know that kind of I thing.-Scott

Well it definitely, you know it really it really kind of um solidified Luke's bonafides as a man. [I will say it gave you a lot of cred.] It did. Right. She's like you know now she Lorelai's sitting back thinking, man, Luke's cooking with gas. You know what I'm saying. [Actually, that's so accurate. It took your stock up, even though it probably terrified her, and she's like, how do I compete with that? At the same time, she's like, wait a minute...] Let's get let's maybe get in the fight here. Let's let's get some attention. This guy might have something going on behind the curtain, you know, what's happening there? And that the fact is, and another thing that really solidifies his bonafides is he wouldn't move out of Stars Hollow. For El McPherson, it's like he's still the grounded guy and simple guy, practical guy. No doing his business. He wasn't. He wasn't moving. -Scott 

[But man, and you were mad? Is that the maddest we've seen Luke?] No, No, when I I when when they were talking, when Sooki was and Lorelai were at the counter talking about Max Medina, No he's so dreamy this kind of thing, and Sooki came behind the counter. He flipped. I don't think he's ever popped at anybody in the show like that. Maybe maybe Taylor once in a while. But I thought that was just anyway. [So Luke has two ticking points the sweater and Max Medina...Yeah, it's like Luke can get pissed. Feisty? How would you describe it? how do you describe sort of that reaction to the sweatshirt?] Just hurts and he's confused, he doesn't know why she's wearing it. He thinks he probably thinks that she knows about Rachel and she's just wearing it to provoke him, and he can't understand why. He's not really thought it out, but he's just reacting. [You tried to get rid of it, though you tried. You tried to get rid of it because you put it in the rummage sales stuff.] Right, But why is she wearing it? [Right? Why did he take it back? And don't understand why he took it back] Because she offered it and she was being really cool with him. [And he wasn't ready to let it go. He tried. This is my take that Luke tried to sort of get rid of it, like we all do, to sort of erase that memory of that person that we love, and then it shows up in his face. He's all hurt, which is a great way to describe it. And then he's he realized is like, I'm just putting this back in the closet. I'm not ready.] So Lorelai in you know, in sync with him enough to realize that he's not ready to move on and that that's not going to help him move on, that he should keep it because the only thing that's going to help him move on is some Lorelai. Right? So that empowered her. -Scott

[boypussydilf]

FaC Miniseries really be out here saying, "Simon, you might be a suicidal man who would give his own life and brain for a pair of strangers that resemble a part of the traumatic past that ruined your life, but consider: you were selfish in your past relationship because you didn't consider your girlfriend enough and now that she sacrificed herself to become God for you you aren't allowed to die because that would make her sacrifice be in vain. You have to continue living in a world that you no longer relate to with people who will continue to deadname you and bring up your traumatic past for funzies and you aren't even allowed to reconciliate with your daughter or other closest friends because they have a happy life without you bumming them out with your depression and we wouldn't want you to burden them with your feelings of uselessness and crippling lack of self worth now would we? Now go hang out with a literal child you 59+ year old man, you have therapy in an hour."

hey i wanna point out that cripple is like. a slur a lot of ppl still use it in this kind of context w/o thinking but u can just say like, debilitating instead theres not any reason to use it

ik its just like habit tho bc its still kinda common so to respond to the ask ,

KSBDJWBDJWBJDBWJDNWJDBWJDBWJDBWJDBWJDBWJSHHSB

They just could NOT be assed to resolve or address any of his emotional issues huh!!!!!!!! Yeah Simon, we know you think you suck, and you are suicidally depressed, and you are traumatized from both living through the apocalypse and spending a thousand years trapped under a curse, and the world changed without you so you now feel fundamentally out of place, can’t relate to people around you, and none of your skills are applicable anymore, and you are being crushed under the guilt of the love of your life making an unfathomably giant sacrifice to save you, and you wanted to see her again and apologize for not being able to bring her back so so badly that you were willing to kidnap a guy and keep him in a cage in your house for it, and you feel absolutely no sense of purpose in your life and have nothing to do anymore, but like, we have a really really great idea for how we’re gonna deal with that: we WON’T! We just Won’t Address It. You get to mention how you were willing to basically die because you felt like your life was worthless ONE time, and it will be after you regain the will to LIVE because you… got… told that you fucked everything up with your fiancé because you were apparently super selfish on accident? Now you’re just gonna go back home and be happy now. No yeah nothing changed in either your life or your mental state but we have to pretend it did because the story is over now. Your happy ending montage will casually feature you happily drinking at the bar. Don’t think about episode 4. Oh huh what’s that? What about your daughter figure who you felt you weren’t important to and would just be burdening and worrying with your difficult emotions, which seemed to be leading to you choosing to have a genuine and honest talk with her in the end? No she doesn’t even get mentioned, let alone show up on screen. Also Betty may or may not be dead. Yeah now that she cured your depression by telling you you fucked up she’s moving on with her life or something by which we may or may not mean reincarnating. Yeah we might have fridged her. Happy ending for everyone!

the therapy scene hits a special nerve like good for him but oh my god. i cant actually think of any other examples, but i feel like ive seen too many things decide that the way to portray healing as a difficult nonlinear thing is to. directly state “This is going to be complicated and hard!” and then not actually show it being complicated or hard now that they’ve acknowledged it. like dude all we actually see in that ending is just him being happy. you really made it seem like he is just Fine now. guys. guys what happened to his everything

[little-cereal-draws]

so I've been having angsty thoughts abt Nimona and realized that Ambrosius is probably expected to continue on the bloodline of Gloreth. That... might be difficult to do w a boyfriend. so here are some thoughts abt how that might have gone if it ever came to it:

Get a surrogate. Both him and Balister have known abt this problem their whole lives and have agreed that this would be the best option. Then Ambrosius could fulfill the people's expectations but really still be with Balister. The problem with this is that they would have to fake a relationship/marriage as well to get the people's approval. So even though Ambrosius might be 1000% committed to Balister, they would never be able to publicly show any of that or it'll create a HUGE scandal. Also what would happen if the surrogate he chose didn't approve of his and Bal's relationship? Would she threaten to tell everyone? Would they have to pay her off? And much worse, what if she really fell in love with Ambrosius?

Adoption. The baby would have to look reasonably like Ambrosius for anyone to buy it though. This would also require a fake wife because he can't just spawn a baby into the world. They would have to fake a pregnancy which I'm sure the media would want to follow very closely. Also, if the kid is any older than an infant (which it probably would be) then they would have to keep it secret until it would make sense to reveal it. Like if they adopt an eight year old, they can't immediately present them as their new baby. I think Balister would like this way more because he knows what growing up on the streets/in an orphanage is like and doesn't want any kid to go through that. But with this method, there's always the lurking threat that the public will find out they're not biologically related and the bloodline of Gloreth was not continued.

Nimona. I'm completely screwing with the timeline now but if Nimona was already in the picture, they could use her shapeshifting (she's already kinda their daughter, they wouldn't have to change much at home). She's allowed to be herself at home/when she goes out by herself but when they do publicity events, she has to look like she could be Ambrosius' kid. At first she's skeptical bc why would she do that?? but when she realizes that she'd be allowed to play with the other noble kids, she agrees. She's not thrilled but the idea of making some new friends is too enticing. The problem now is that no one can catch her shifting. And her idea of "look related to Ambrosius" is to literally shift into Gloreth herself. Of course, no one realizes because Gloreth the person has been forgotten and replaced with Gloreth the mythological figure but Nimona knows. This system would work for quite a few years until Nimona can't take it anymore. She hates not being able to shift and stuck looking like the very first person to point a sword at her. She tells Ambrosius and Balsiter this and although they are sympathetic to her, they're in way too deep now. The public loves her and would be furious if she just disappeared. Unfortunately, that's exactly what she wants to do. Problems ensue.

Break the bloodline. This would be a very difficult decision but what both Ambrosius and Balister want to do deep down. This method would also probably involve telling the public abt their relationship which would cause even more problems. They're already furious that Gloreth's bloodline isn't being continued but now her last descendent is choosing this because a commoner playing dress up as a knight tempted him????? There would be blood on the streets. Both Ambrosius and Balister might step down as knights to take some of the heat off but even then, there would probably be anger directed at them for YEARS. I think this way would be best in the long run (getting the Institute off their backs, not being a part of an oppressive system anymore, not being scrutinized by the public's eye every waking second) but the hardest in the short term by a long shot.

[spiritgenie]

INFO ON SAPPHIRE FOR @sonic-oc-showdown

✨- How did you come up with the OC’s name? so was struggling a bit, the original name was Aurora, but then a friend suggested Sapphire to match silver, and I liked both, so I made Aurora her last name

🌼 - How old is she? (Or approximate age range) around the same age as tails

🌺- Does she have any love interest(s)? no, not right now, still debating on if she gets any once she's able to focus on life more than surviving

🍕 - What is her favorite food? hmmm, initially it was just stuff she could find, so she didnt really have much focus on a favorite food, so not right now

💼 - What does she do for a living? SURVIVE

🎹 - Does she have any hobbies? She is very into arts and such, she did a lot more once she was able to relax and not focus on surviving

🎯 -What does she do best? she is a very skilled fighter, and knows how to use knifes VERY well

🥊 -What does she love to do? What does she hate to do? she love to draw and all that.

she hates being emotional...and an an ironic fashion, doesn't really like fighting, she just has to fight.

❤️ - What is one of your OC’s best memories? it used to be before she was alone, but its been tainted by years of thinking her parents abandoned her, now, its when she met silver

✂️ - What is one of your OC’s worst memories? the day she was alone, when her parents left and never came back, when she was forced to defend herself....

...when her powers appeared

🧊 - Is her current design the first one? nope, her first design was very different, before her powers were all cold and such

she looked very different yet the same

🍀 - What originally inspired the OC? matilda by the tournament runner, it was once brought up that since sonic has tails, shadow has Matilda, who does Silver have, I got inspired, and a month or so later, I thought of it again, and thus, sapphire was born.

🌂 - What genre does she belong in? apocalyptic and action, since she lives in the apocalypse, she fights a lot.

💚 - What is your OC’s gender identity and sexuality? hmm, she never really put much thought into it but.....

she identifies as a girl and is a lesbian, asexual

🙌 - How many siblings does your OC have? she doesn't have any....at least, not anymore.

🍎 - What is the OC’s relationship w/her parents like? she doesn't like them, she thinks they abandoned her and have for years....she doesn't handle it well when she finds out they died protecting her.

🧠 - What do you like most about the OC? that while she acts like a tough girl and tries to be intimidating, deep down shes still a scared little kid.

✏️ - How often do you draw/write about the OC? so far...a bunch, she has infected my brain and i have become obsessed.

💎 - Do you ever see yourself killing off the OC? so the narrative seems to really want her to die, but i outright refuse to kill her so she actively goes against the narrative and lives

💀 - Does your OC have any phobias? shes scared of being alone....fire, and being abandoned.

🍩 -Who is your OC’s arch-nemesis or rival? she doesn't have any yet....but she might have one in the future, mayhaps someone she once knew.

🎓 - How long have you had the OC? hmmm, about 9 days now

🍥 - What age were you when you created the OC?

20, aka how old i am rn, she is really new

[aroace-polyshow]

Hi, I have a bunch of random questions about hw! 1) Do they sing the songs their group makes themselves? 2) Do they film their shows in the real world or in the Sekai? Do the virtual singers help them with that? 3) Are their relationships outside of hw more or less the same (e.g. Tsukasa with Toya or Rui with Mizuki)? 4) How likely are they to be recognized even with their masks? Has anybody in their lives already recognized them? Thank you for making this au, it lives in brain now

AWWAWAWAWA TJANK YOU FOR THE ASK I YELLED WHEN I SAW IT /POS

1- everyone except nene does, starting off!! given everything thats gone on with her, pre-main story she still can’t get herself to sing anymore, even for online songs where she isn’t performing in front of an actual in person audience. after main story she gets more resolve, and she does take some time to start singing again, but with her very supportive friends she starts to find her confidence in singing again :) (can i mention how overjoyed rui gets about it. can i mention how much he missed her voice. can i mention how AGAIN he is filled with so much guilt around how the sound of her singing coming from her room was replaced by suffocating silence after what happened. can i mention how genuinely happy for her and proud of her he is, that despite it all, that maybe they really do have a chance here, all together. sorry i’m insane about rui and that doesn’t change here.)

2- i’ve been debating on whether or not they start filming their shows at the closed off wonder stage actually! they do start off filming in sekai at least. i think both areas have their pros and cons, so they might end up alternating. not sure yet.

3- tsukasa and toya’s relationship have stayed the same, and same with saki. tsukasa’s past has actually stayed practically the same in general. i haven’t changed much about his.

mizurui on the other hand. ohohohohohohoho. fun fact i was brainrotting specifically about swap au mizurui a lot a while ago. bc this au co exists with wxs-ified n25. dont look at the old tag i had for them please. i want to fix them cause i have more stuff i want to add and like. do it better. but i haven’t gotten around to it. all you need to know is n25 now does theater shows together instead. yahoo. anyway i think about swap au mizurui a lot. because. augh. their relationship has stayed very similar to canon, being lonely outcasts who found each other on that rooftop, but it makes me ill bc. rui introduces mizuki to theater and shows. he might not do them anymore but he sometimes talks about them with mizuki and mizuki can see the love he had for them and they get curious. and they give it a try and find so much joy into doing shows and being able to express themselves on stage with less judgement while they act and finding people who DO accept them and while they’re not able to stay long it gives them hope, that there are people who will accept them as they are, and if mizuki’s lucky they won’t even lose them. like. rui who was so hurt by theater and things that happened with it and mizuki who finds so much comfort and hope in it. are you hearing me.

4- through the power of luck none of them really get discovered. i think the one thats the most likely to be recognized is tsukasa though, maybe with saki or toya stumbling upon one of their videos.

thank you for the ask again aND TY FOR LIKING IT I SAY IT A LOT BUT IM SO HAPPY IM INFECTING MORE PEOPLE W MY BRAINROT they make me insane

[cartoonrival]

kakashi and ummmm spins wheel akane from r1/2

kakashi

i dont really talk about kakashi and theres not really a reason for that beyond i dont super have anything intelligent to say about him but i do really love him ToT i dont think he works BETTER as part of a dynamic bc that implies i dont care for him much on his own but i think his character shines BEST as part of a dynamic... in pt 1 he was one of the characters who most most emphasized how young the team 7 kids were and it makes me SICK it makes me sick seeing how much he loves them, the way he talks to them and about them like theyre really children and he cares about them so much and has loved watching them grow up and helping them train, i looove how the chidori becomes one of sasuke's signatures after kakashi taught it to him and how excited naruto gets about getting to train with kakashi again and how kakashi was disappointed at the start of shippuden that naruto and sakura werent as easily amazed by him anymore and he had them try and steal the bells from him again as a little welcome back exercise .... and when he watched the three of them defeat kaguya together he was thinking how much he loved them .... BWAAAAAAAA

and and. i think his relationship with guy honestly balances his relationship with the kids rly well because we get to see him as a protective figure with them but with guy he's talking to someone whos his age and on his level and who he's known for like 2 decades, obviously not to say he never lets loose or relaxes or is irresponsible with the kids but the way he is with guy and the childish competitiveness of their rivalry (which he acts like he's annoyed by but this is obviously not true) is just idk. i like seeing that other facet of him. i think the race through konoha that ended w guy giving him a bouquet was an anime original scene but idc it was so cute and i think it was lee and neji who said smth about them finally being able to have fun and let off steam or w/e. augh. yeah.

ALSO esp in the anime i love how noticeably his tone of voice shifts when he's talking to someone ranked above him when he's usually so nonchalant and casual its something something about how he used to be part of the black ops. idk idk i rly love him and i love how he has pretty distinct facets of himself that come out depending on who he's interacting with it makes him feel very real. he's laid back but on edge and kind and blunt. ill be honest though i dont care about the stuff w obito and rin im sick of that dead girl and that man whos still obsessed with her!!!! but its ok because i love you kakashi.

akane

SHES EVERYTHING .TO ME. as with all of r/2 i think her struggles with bisexuality (ambiguous) couldve been carried further and her martial arts abilities kind of fell off towards the end which SUCKSSSS AND MAKES ME SO MAAAAD but anyways. she gets a lot of hate for being a jerk BUT LIKE. YEAH? she's scared and angry all the time and doesn't know who she is and is afraid of who she is and everyone's telling her she's living wrong so she's forcing herself into a box where she doesn't fit because she's afraid of nonconformity and she takes that fear out on the person closest to her and the one person who might actually understand what she feels. because it is so scary to admit that you are not what you are supposed to be and intimacy and honesty are so much scarier than bullying someone who'll do it right back. she's been engaged at 16 years old and burdened with the expectation that she'll marry ranma and carry on the legacy of her father's beloved dojo, and now she's been thrown in to this situation where she is forced to confront her wayward sexuality head on and directly in front of her entire family.

will say though possibly unpopular opinion. i dont like transmasc akane reads .. i think shes cis. she has a tomboy thing going on (meaning characters (mostly ranma) make fun of her for being boyish and violent and she has an arc about cutting her hair and no longer growing it out as assurance of her own femininity even though she really prefers it short) but i dont think taking "this female character has some issues with not being seen as feminine enough because of her behavior/struggles with not tying her worth to how feminine she is" should be immediately taken as "this character is not a girl" because i think the potential for her gender nonconformity (esp in relation to her bisexuality) is just as valuable a theme, especially considering r/2 already has very potent transfem (ranma) and transmasc (ukyo) stories. idk "this character has some not traditionally feminine tendencies -> cannot be a girl" doesnt sit right with me. in any series other than r/2 it wouldn't bother me because people can take little tidbits of possible transgenderism as they'd like, but since the trans themes are already so potent in r/2 i tend to lean towards more realistic interpretations of the characters and i dont feel like "akane doesnt fit into traditional femininity and is therefore not [fully] a girl" is reaaally a win. expectations and gender roles are a huge theme in r/2 and i think its valuable seeing how they impact a cis girl as it is how they impact trans people in terms of determining what even MAKES someone a girl or a boy. is it what you wear? what you do? how you talk? these are genuine questions that r/2 asks and i feeeeel that transmasc reads of akane kind of respond to these questions in a really surface level way. this is the reason for the slash over the everyone else is wrong box. because not everybody thinks this and i know some reliable akaneheads (hi jordan)

[echantedtoon]

Love Doesn't Do Encores Ch15 Battle Gym Leader Allister

( I'm open for any further things my readers want added to this or future stories.)

To say your exit out of Stow-on-Side was quick and abrupt to say the least was an understatement. Gloria literally dragged you out of town and the two of you two ran through the heat like the time the onix chased you two in the Wild Area until exhausted and too hot from the heat to handle and collasped under a shady ledge of one of the cliffsides that were still surrounding the path you took out of Stow-on-Side. Panting, sitting on the ground as your Drizzilie face planted the shaded ground next to you just as tired. 

.....You weakly raised an arm from your sweating tired self pointing up. "W-W-We...a-are *wheeze* NEVER r-running- *gasp* in the h-heat again! Hhhaaaaa-'' Your arm flopped back to your side as your laid there heaving your lungs out and Gloria weakly nodded agreeing to that proposal.

After a few tired moments of just laying there in the shade catching your breaths and regular temperatures back thanks to the shade provided Gloria eventually spoke. "W-Well...W-What now?"

You shrugged. "I dunno man. The past two days have been absolutely CRAZY!" During the silence as you were catching your breaths, the silence let it sink in for you two exactly what had transpired the last day and a half for the two of you. "It all happened so fast I can barely believe it happened."

Gloria nodded again patting her pockets. "If I didn't have these wee ones on me person I would nah believe it either but 'ere we are. UGH! What was that boy thinkin'!?"

You shrugged forcing yourself back up into a standing position despite your tired body's protest. "I-I dunno but I think it might be best for us to just leave Stow-on-Side all together before we get caught in anymore trouble's crossfires." 

She nodded immediately and used the ledge she laid again to help pull herself up. Before pausing for a moment..and pointing at your hand. "What's that ya got there?"

You hummed before lifting your hand up and coming face to face with the lightly dirty mask that Sonia's yamper had found. And you lit up in realization. "OH! It's the mask Sonia found." You held it out to her as she made a reach for it. "I must've forgotten I had it when we suddenly split town. But I think she said it might've belonged to whoever runs the ghost type gym around here."

"Allister," Gloria corrected you turning the small mask over in her hands...before smiling. "Well if it is we outta return it ta him! I was plannin' on seeing 'em anyways! Now might be a good time as any if we need a reason ta leave."

You nodded. Good enough reason to you too. "I...think Sonia said his gym was a day out of here by some grave yard."

"Oh yeah it is! In fact when I checked the map for his location, I noticed there's also an Inn and a taxi station right next to it as well! We'll have somewhere to rest up then!" You nodded, nudging your pokemon who made an annoyed noise but reluctantly got up from his spot on the ground. "I just hope he's not too scared to accept battling with me. Especially since I already go the same badge he give out from Bea."

You paused..looking up from your yawning water type to raise a brow at her examining the mask more. "..What are you talking about?"

She still looked at the mask almost sadly for a moment before looking at you. "Oh right. Of course you wouldn't really know about him. Even tho it's easily known." She sighed looking back down to the mask. "Allister accordin' ta Lee is one of the newest Gym Leaders in Galar, in fact this is gonna be his first Gym Challenge too."

You blinked wide eyed at her. "Oh really?"

She nodded slowly. "In fact he's only been an official gym leader for 'round two years, but he is a bit eccentric from what I've heard. He claims ta be able ta see ghosts after an accident when he was four that claimed the lives o' his folks." She looked at you and you stared back STUNNED at the words that came and still stumbled from her mouth. "Then he was taken in by the old Gym Leader of the stadium he runs now before he passed away too. From there Allister took over and I think the Chairman or Lee's the one who's taken on the responsibility for him about keeping the stadium up n' running since he's so young." She held the mask with a slightly bigger frown. "In fact accordin' to his league card he's supposed ta have at least a hundred of these things cuz he's so shy."

You still stared.....WHAT!? HOW COULD ANYONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND PUT THAT KIND OF RESPONSIBILITY ON A CHILD THAT YOUNG!?...Well you couldn't remember exactly HOW young he was since you remembered the only time you had ever really seen most of the Gym Leaders was during the Entrance Ceremony months ago and only for a short time. And in the game Allister's backstory, as much as it pained you too say, didn't have much impact because in fact JUST A GAME then. But now with it being your reality this was down right almost cruel! THAT CHILD NEEDS HELP!! 

"Who in their right mind would just put all that responsibility on a kid like that?," you asked scowling.

Gloria shrugged. "From what I've heard through the grapevine Allister insisted on takin' over and wouldn't budge til they agreed. He must've really wanted ta stay at the stadium if he did that."

You didn't at first and just sighed shaking your head. "Well...In any case if we're heading to see him we better start walking while there's still daylight to see by. I don't feel like camping surrounded by cliffs where more boulders could fall on us."

That got her motivated enough to slip the mask into her back pack as the two of you shoved back off in the summer heat, and began walking down the trail still surrounded by the Stow-on-Side's cliffs. By the time it was night time you two were still surrounded by cliffs, so the best thing either of you could do was pitch the tent as fair from the center of the pathway you could as to not block the entrance way in case some traveler passed by. The next morning waking bright and early at Gloria's insistance to start traveling again. As in her words it would take at least a day to get there but since you two had a head start if you started walking early in the morning now, you should be able to reach the inn before night fall. You grumbled but the promise of a proper bed and home cooked food that wasn't just trail mix or the like was enough motivation for you to get up and after packing everything away, started off once again. The sun was as hot as ever as the two of you walked with Drizzilie whining but keeping up at your feet, you were glad he took what you said seriously and began walking but you also regretted not having any water for him or Gloria who looked absolutely miserable in the heat. The sooner you got to that inn the better! As the three of you walked and walked, the sun slowly got to the middle of the sky and then started slowly going down towards the time of sunset. Also within the hours you walked, the cliffs around you started to become scarcer and scarcer until they started to break off from the path around you until you both would just walk by the occiasional one spread out away from the last one and more trees and vegitation started to replace them around you. Thank goodness. The trees offered some shade from the scorching heat luckily, but it still was a pain to walk through. Ahead of you along the dirt path it started to open up to open fields like most of the scenery of Galar you've traveled past and you groaned dreading the lack of shade once you got past the treeline.

"LOOK!," Gloria suddenly pointed making you blink at where she was pointing. And you had to squint your eyes past the sun's glare to see what she was pointing to in the distance. And to your shock, a lil fair aways from you in the open area was a giant silvery stadium, and across from it was a few buildings. THERE IT WAS!! THE INN!! "There it is!" She started forward again waving to you. "C'mon. Let's get outta this bloody sun already! I'm more cooked than a burnt curry."

You could agree with that. Picking up your pace, the two of you quickly made down the pathway, sun be darned to the inn and the closer and closer you two got, the more you noticed this stadium was JUST as BIG as the others even tho it was smack dab in the middle of no where outside of a town. But that's not what got the two of you staring. It was the grave yard on the other side of the giant stadium that caught your attention. It was MASSIVE!! At least two hundred looking headstones surrounded by a very tall and sturdy looking black metal fence with the gates leading into there wide open. You two must've have noticed it at first because it was blocked from view by the stadium. Gloria was first to noticed as she just so happened to glance over her shoulder as you two went down the path that broke off from the main dirt road and towards the inn that in all honestly wasn't an inn. It was in fact just a regular two story house you'd find in Postwick,but very very BIG with what looked like lots of rooms. The only way you could've figured it was an actual inn was the sign in front of the home stating it was in fact a hotel. Just not a very big one. Beside the home was just a plain looking barn with LOTS and LOTS of hay scattered about the front of in like the kind of bard you'd keep cows and pigs in. You nearly made it to the porch when your Drizzilie squeaked and tugged on your leg, when you looked to him he pointed at Gloria, and you looked too confused, until you saw the massive graveyard she was silently staring at for a moment and you settled your gaze on it too for a moment. 

".....Gloria. Are you ok?," you eventually asked her once you got over your initial shock of seeing such a thing by a pokemon stadium of all things. 

She....eventually nodded and looked back to you. "Y-Yeah. I'm fine. I just thought I saw someone." She shivered before shaking it off and bounding up to you and you made a point of turning around to walk up onto the shady house's porch. "It was just my imagination tho. I guess I'm just a wee spooked about it all."

You nodded in understanding. The two of you walked up to the door and hesitated just a moment before you slowly opened the door which opened with a creak. What it opened too was a cozy looking regular living room and a few doorways leading to different areas, one of which was a kitchen from the looks of it and the other was a stairway leading up towards the second floor of the home. The two of you stared for a moment, relieved it looked normal, before looking at each other. This was an inn?? After a moment the two of you looked back inside and around, not too sure if you should step in from the shaded porch, even if the ac from the cool house was inviting. 

"Uh....HELLO!?," you called into the home eventually raising a brow and looking around, "Is anyone here?! We heard this was an inn with rooms!"

"Maybe the place is run by ghosts too," Gloria suggested half teasing half mumbled.

"OH CUSTOMERS!!" Both of you looked up as a young woman's voice shouted from the kitchen area and some noises that sounded like pots and pans and shuffling footsteps. "Please, come in and close the door! I'll be right out in a giffy!" You two looked at each other again before Gloria shrugged and walked in and you followed, closing the door behind you with a creak. As you two walked into the living room area the source of the noise finally made herself present. A woman who looked about a few years older than you with black hair in a short ponytail and black sweats and t-shirt came speed walking from the kitchen. A bright white apron draped over her otherwise dark wardrode. Some flour spread all over her face and front like snow. "Hello there! Good evening!" She greeted with a wave and bright smile. Huh. You didn't remember this in game. Must've been because this was an actual world too. "Sorry I couldn't answer the door. I was a little busy baking some soul cakes." She briefly gestured to the kitchen. "But welcome to the Stow-on-Side Inn and Corviknight flight service! How can I help you two today?"

You two briefly looked at one another again before you cleared your throat. "Well, I don't suppose we could get a room just for the night. ...And where's everyone else?" You rose a brow around you. "This place is pretty big just for one person to manage."

"Oh I'm not alone," the woman explained, "My family works as the caretakers for the Stow-on-Side Cemetery or employed at the stadium across the street. Except for my uncle. He's out right now but him and his corviknight are in charge of the taxi from here if that's what you need." You shook your head no. "It's just me and my grandmother here for the moment, but I'd be happy to ring you up and show you to the guests rooms." You both agreed to that and watched as the woman just walked on over to the closet, opened it, and pulled out an old timey looking cash register. It took a moment for the two of you to practically go through your entire bags to scramble just enough for how much the room would cost for the night and after putting away said register with the money, the woman gestured for you two to follow her up the stairs and onto the second floor. As you two followed, you were honestly surprised at the place being homey and not so scary despite working for the ghost type gym leader and caretaking the cemetery next to it. You followed her to a nice looking but big room with double beds on the opposite side of the house. "The bathroom is through there." She pointed at a closed door within the room. "Feel free to use our laundry room if you need too. It's just down the hall through the green door. Dinner will be served in about two hours. I hope you don't mind soup."

"Uh..No, no. That's fine," you assured her, "Thanks."

She nodded. "You can just leave your dishes outside your door and I'll collect them before sun down. I hope you two enjoy your stay here."

"Thanks again....By the way," you gave her another look, "Where's the gym leader now? I didn't see him when we came in."

"Oh Allister? Probably off somewhere in the gym. He prefers to be left alone unless some one's delivering him food or checking up on him as the Champion ordered. But I'm sure he's fine if you're looking to go battle him right now."

"Uh. No. I was just curious."

She nodded before leaving. "Well if there's anything else you need don't hesitate to come down stairs and ask us."

She seemed pretty nice, and you were surprised but relieved to hear that Leon had recruited someone at least to keep an eye on the boy. You wasted no time in using the provided shower and laundry room for your clothes, relief flooding away from getting to finally cool down from the scorching heat you've endured for quite a few days. Your Drizzilie sure seemed to like when you filled the bathtub just a little bit and let the poor pokemon jump in only to curl up for a nap within the water. He must've been more tired out than you. Gloria made herself busy as she went through her things before pulling out that camera and a lense thing that went over it. When you asked she explained it wasn't just a night vision lense, but one that would also allow her to take pictures clear as day without the bright flash. Sounded handy. Then the next thing you knew she was pulling out that mask you had let her take and headed towards the sink and when you looked over noticed she was scrubbing the thing  front and back with soap in the washroom sink furiously. As if it never had been cleaned before in it's life.

"Hey. What are you cleaning that thing off for?"

"Well I can't just give it back ta him all dirty now can I? It'd look like we didn't take care o' it at all 'n come off as rude don't cha think?"

Hmm. She had a point. It'd be rude of you to just give the poor boy his mask back in poor condition, it was better to clean it up before giving it back to him. By the time Gloria was done it was mostly ok looking. It still looked to have a few scratches and markings here and there from being obviously left out in the elements for who knows how long before being found, but it should still function ok. You didn't know how much time had exactly passed since you crashed on one of the twin beds provided for you but when you did eventually look up from your laid position was when there was a knock at the door and Gloria had found herself busy sticking more of the pictures she had apparently taken with her camera into the pages of one of her dex challenge books but looked up as you got up and answered the door. And on the other side was the same woman although without flour on herself or the apron this time, holding a tray which judging by the smell that hit you as soon as you opened the door was tomato or some kind of veggie soup.

She smiled. "Hello! Hope I'm not disturbing you folks too much." She held up the food. "But since you didn't come down for dinner I figured I would bring it to you as promised. Again, I hope you don't mind soup."

After a moment, you blinked and smiled. "That'll be fine thank you!" You carefully took it from her. It would be a nice change from curry, wild berries, and camping food at least. 

She nodded before you closed the door. "Just leave them outside your door and I'll collect them from you later."

You nodded back to her before closing the door and turning with the tray in your hands. Gloria perking up at the promised food you had collected and gestured for you to come on over and look at the pictures she had taken so far. My my. There was a lot already and the book of different pokemon was practically full. Most of them were really well done and showed off the pokemon really well. Victor must've really put a lot of time and effort into the hobby he was so passionate about. However the newer ones were more plain looking and there was a bit of a snap-and-go kind of vibe to them that was obviously Gloria's and some were a bit blurry but not to the point you couldn't tell what pokemon they were.  That's not saying Gloria's was worse just more different. One picture she pointed out to you was one of you asleep on the table back at the Stow-on-Side's pokemon center with your Drizzilie asleep next to you for her photo under the Drizzilie section....You had given her a look half way through your soup with a raised brow, but she only giggled in response teasing how he must've been your long lost twin to be stuck to your side most of the time. You decided to let it go for now since you were more focused on eating your food to fill the empty space in your stomach. Speaking of said water type pokemon, Drizzilie had given a bored but curious look over the still slightly filled tub once he heard the mention of food. Afraid he might've yelled and gotten you in trouble with who ever the owners of this place was, you had rummaged around in your backpack and had found a mini bag of what looked like granola bars and tossed it to him to keep his stomach in check. You also found the small bag of candy you had been 'tipped' back in Hulbury for your 'job' still sealed tight with the little ribbon. Deciding you didn't want for it you offered it to Gloria who, after giving a thoughtful expression, gladly took it and set it aside for the moment. For the next while you had finished the food offered, leaving it outside the door as requested, and you picked up helping her find the right pictures to put into place within the book until you were done. There was quite a number of them that you didn't remember her taking on her way to Hammerlocke or Stow-on-Side concluding she must've just not had the time to glue them all in yet. By the time you were finished and Gloria put the book and other things back into her bag the sun had set and darkness was settling in for a long night ahead. 

You stretched and yawned with a sigh turning to the bed provided for you with a smile. Happy you didn't have to worry about pitching a tent for the night again. "Ok! Time for bed-"

"UH! Don't ya mean adventure, Y/n?" You paused...turning Gloria with a bewildered expression plastered on your face as it what she meant by that. She meant adventure as in like a good dream right? She held up her camera and shook it a bit. "The best time ta capture ghost pokemon would be at night! And what better place than around a ghost type stadium n' grave yard!? I don't even have the flash on so it won't scare 'em off!"

"Oh HECK to the no with that idea!" You frowned immediately shutting her idea down and pointed to the floor. "Gloria we've been walking all day in the hot sun and I'd like to get a little sleep tonight. Plus we CAN'T just go tresspassing in a graveyard of all places! That's like high key illegal and very disrespectful might I add."

She gave you a look as if you had just insulted her mother. "WHAT!? Who said anythin' about goin' into that spooky place? I was talkin' 'bout just takin' pictures of 'em as they floated around. I wouldn't really just walk into a grave yard in the middle of the night are ya looney?"

Oh.....That actually made a lot more sense. Since ghost type pokemon wouldn't be too common during the day if any came out at all, and Gloria would probably need to get a few pictures of them if she wanted to finish up that challenge book. Being next to a ghost type stadium and the grave yard did seem like a good place as any to catch a couple of them floating about. But you two couldn't just be skulking about at night light this!! They'd think you were...were....I don't know! Grave robbers or something! 

You shook your head. "Glory. Don't you think this is ...I don't know. Strange looking? What if someone catches us and think we're up to no good? These people practically own this land after all."

She gave you that same pleading face she gave to you when she wanted to meet Raihan back in Hammerlocke. "Please! I know I said I wouldn't ask for any more favors but this could be a good chance to get some pictures I probably couldn't get anywhere else! And we wouldn't be actually goin' inside the cemetary for pictures anyways so there wouldn't be any reason for us to get in trouble even if we were found! Plus think of the scientific reasons!" You rose a brow. "Seein' ghost type pokemon first hand in their natural habitat! Documenting' 'em for the world ta see! It'd be a good first hand experience in case one ever crosses our paths!"

You groaned, reaching a hand up to rub at your face. "You're really settled on this thing aren't you??....*sigh* Fine!" You pointed to her. "But you can't expect us to spend all night out there! We'll spend an hour outside but then we need to come back and get some sleep for tomorrow."

"....An hour n' a half!"

You sighed again. "Fine. An hour and a half but don't push it anymore than that!"

She beamed brightly nodding and jumping to her feet with her pack still slung over her shoulders. "You got it! We'll be in 'n out so fast they'll think we're ghosts too!"

You dry chuckled before shaking your head and turning. The things you got yourself into on this journey. "Drizzilie!" Said water pokemon peeked it's head over from the tub as it was called and you pointed to your own bag. "We'll be right back. Watch my bag for me until we come back. Ok?" The pokemon made some kind of sound before sinking back down from view which you took as an ok and turned back to follow Gloria once she walked over to the door. "Hey." She paused. "We'll need to be quiet about this. Remember. In and out. We're not going to be doing anything crazy like in Stow-on-Side. Ok?"

She nodded and with a groan, you reluctantly followed her flipping the lights of your room off as you did. The dishes weren't in the doorway when Gloria stepped out so the lady must've collected them as she promised. The whole house was...quiet. And dark. You had snuck downstairs to the kitchen a couple times to grab a midnight snack without your parents knowing when you were back home a couple times, but this felt different. Everything was quiet and dark besides the odd night noises you'd usually hear and the moonlight leaking in through the windows being your only source of light around. You stood there for a moment taking it in, it almost felt like you two were sneaking away like thieves or something, even if neither of you had bad intentions it still felt strange sneaking out like this. You jumped as the door made a soft creaking noise as Gloria slowly closed it behind the two of you. The brunette turned to you before putting a hand to her mouth in the universal 'be quiet' motion that you guessed even in this universe was known. You nodded and together the two of you slowly walked towards the stairs. It was strange at night sounds seemed to be much louder especially when the two of you were TRYING to be quiet. Even though your footsteps were pretty light and soft considering to your slightly worried selves they might as well have been compared to an elephant's! You tried to not bump or trip over anything in the limited light the moon provided and did your best to try and let your eyes get used to the dark as fast as possible to help out. Eventually Gloria found the stairs and took the first few steps down with you right behind her of course praying you neither of you would accidentally trip down these. Someone must've heard your prayers because you both made it and headed towards the front door. Gloria made the first move as you looked around and were surprised no one from the family woke up. They must've all still been asleep. Gloria slowly reached over and grabbed onto the doorknob, slowly turning it counter clockwise until there was a small click noise alerting it had been all the way turned, and pulled back the door with a small squeak noise. You two cringed at it and in a panicked stopped half way from the noise looking back towards the stairs of the dark and still home......But no sounds of anyone waking up came. With a sigh Gloria finished opening the creaking door enough for you both to slip through and out you two went into the night before she as slowly as before closed it back with a creak and small click. You both stayed still for a moment a little on edge...before sighing on the dark porch. Whelp you made it outside at least. Turning around, you looked out onto the dark world around you and it didn't look so much different than usual. The stadium giant and silent blocking out some of the moonlight and casting the road in front of it and parts of the cemetery in a pitch black shadow. The moon full rising high above your heads as stars twinkled around it like diamonds and dark grey clouds lazily passed along the sky. Would've made a perfect scene for a halloween cartoon. As you glanced towards the cemetary, devoid of any life or light besides the moon, you couldn't help but let a shiver run down your spine. But you didn't see any pokemon. Not even ghost pokemon.

"Hey Gloria," you nearly said in a whisper turning. But jumped realizing she wasn't next to you anymore. It only took one look over your shoulder to locate her tho. She turned back to you and made another shush motion before waving you over from her kneeled spot on the ground facing down the road from the stadium. How did she move so fast? Blinking, you did end up walking over to her as she resumed holding the camera to her eye, leaning over to be eye level. "What's up?"

"Shh." She looked to you, held her finger to her now smiling mouth for a third time, before pointing in front of her. "Loud noises will scare 'em away." She whispered.

Raising a brow you looked forward....And your eyes widened. Down the road from the stadium (the side that didn't have the cemetery on it) was littered in taller grass and a few trees. And they were AB-SO-LUTELY FILLED with ghosts pokemon! And some lights which you quickly realized were chandelier and candle looking pokemon flying or shuffling around. THERE MUST'VE BEEN AT LEAST ONE OR TWO HUNDRED OF THEM!! Peeking through grass. Randomly flying around. Interacting with one another. Climbing over the barn building. A few you remembered the names of like that small group of driftloons. A few shuppets here and there. That there climbing on the barn's roof was a sableeye. You THINK those candle like pokemon walking down the pathway were litwick. There was this really pretty white pokemon who looked to be dancing in the moonlight and you were pretty sure it was a Frostlass.  IT WAS INCREDIBL- You gave a yelped and fell to your knees next to Gloria ducking as a loudly wailing Mismagius flew over head....And the teen giggled at you as you threw a frown at her.

"Oh haha. Very funny Ms. Get-Us-Chased-By-An-Onix."

"Hey! I said it was an accident. Besides unlike with that big rock for brains I know we'll be safe doin' this." She went back to holding up the camera towards the variety of pokemon around you. And while it was dark, and you were both a decent ways a way from the cemetery so you couldn't really have seen unless you could see in the dark....Neither of you saw the small figure peeking out from between the tombstones at you. Having heard the yelp you made thanks to the mischevious pokemon that whizzed by.

"Oh yeah? How are you so sure?"

"Ghost type pokemon are just different from rock types," she continued with a smile, "Rock pokemon would usually just mindlessly chase after ya far away if you even bother 'em in the slightest. And while ghost type pokemon can be pretty territorial if they have a territory of their own, usually they're just like this." She pressed the button again aiming at a ghost pokemon with a skull over it's face you couldn't remember the name off. Despite being so close to it and Gloria pointing the camera directly at it, it never even looked at her as it left. "They like to just mind they're own business most of the time as it is. As long as ye don't bother 'em or make 'em feel like you're gonna do something bad nine times outta ten they'll just leave ya alone. A lot of people think they're creepy or just plain ol' dangerous cuz of the bad rep some spread....But we're just sittin' here. Mindin' our own business while they do theirs. What reason would they have to just suddenly come at us?"

You stared at her completely in surprise. ".....Did you learn this from Hop too?"

"Yep!," she said snapping a picture at one of those chandelier like pokemon as it flew directly over the two of you. "He'd make a pretty smart scientist or pokemon researcher if he ever decided to become one."

You nodded. Not aware of just how smart Hop if he could know such astounding information. "...Well. How would you describe it then if a lot of people are too scared of them?"

....she paused...before looking and not even missing a beat said, "Beautiful. Wouldn't you?" The figure watching you's eyes widened.

You blinked a moment before looking forward as another driftloon lazily floated past close enough that if you wanted too you could touch one of it's yellow hand-thingies...before smiling. "You know I would. Because I can't really argue with how you described it either."

She hummed before turning and spotting a small mimikyu walking past towards the shadowed area of the path you two couldn't see into and pointed her camera towards it's disappearing figur- She froze. Eyes widening as through the night proof lense she caught a humanoid white face staring back before it swiftly ducked behind a tombstone- "GAH!!" You yelped as Gloria fell backwards onto her bum with a loud yelp. Startling some of the ghost pokemon into scattering away while others turned at the noise that disturbed the night. She pointed. "There's a bloody ghost in there!"

"SHHH!!" You quickly looked back towards the house relieved it didn't look like anyone was disturbed..before turning to her scared look with a scowl. "Gloria! You'll wake everyone up!"

her hand grabbed your arm as she scowled herself and pointed still. "I. Saw. A. Bloody. GHOST!! G. H. O. S. T. GHOST!!"

"Of course you're gonna see a ghost! We're surrounded by them-"

"No! Not a ghost type pokemon! I mean a real-..." She suddenly let go of your arm. "Hang on." With a fumble she managed to pull her camera's strap from around her head and forced the camera over to you. You nearly dropped to as she grabbed your shoulder and pointed towards a specific part of the cemetery across the road you couldn't see into because of the stadium blocking the moonlight. "Look. There! Right 'round that area there!" You looked to the camera, where she pointed, and then her unsure. But judging by the frown she wore, she wasn't going to take no for an answer. With a sigh you complied and held the camera up to your eye. Now you weren't sure whatever lense she used, but she was right that this thing made everything look like it really was in day time. Only with a yellow-ish hue to it. You could see the grave yard(making you shiver again-) clearly with this again, and could make out a bunch more ghost type pokemon doing their own thing among the graves there. Nothing really out of place as you could tell- until a humanoid black blur ran past  a few of them. Startled you gave a small gasped and dropped the camera from your face. Gloria wearing an 'I told you so' look before snatching the camera back. "Now do you believe me?"

You opened your mouth before closing it like a goldfish a couple times looking between her and the pitch black darkness a few times. Not sure what to say...before settling on. "W-Well....Maybe it's one of the caretakers. They could be doing night rounds or...or something?" Or maybe it was a ghost type pokemon you couldn't remember. 

She hummed. "Sure. Could be. But when did a graves keeper wear some kind of ghost ma-" Gloria froze...her hands lowering the camera back around her neck before dropping to her lap. her eyed wide and staring off into the darkness for a moment. ".....Wait a bloody second." You watched confused as she slid her bag off her shoulders(not sure why she brought it along in the first place) and opened it. Her hand hand shooting inside one specific area before pulling out the same white mask she had been cleaning earlier that day. It's white color shining in the moonlight as she held it up. Her brown eyes looked at it then at the dark cemetery then back to it again before she slowly stood up. Still looking at the mask as she slung her backpack back over her shoulders before looking back at the cemetary....and began to walk across the dirt road towards it. 

"HEY! Gloria!" You were quick to jump to your feet and run after her, reaching a hand out to grab her backpack again as she let out a 'Hey!' in protest to you stopping her. "Whoa whoa whoa! And where do you think you're going!? I thought we agreed no grave yard adventures!"

"But he's in there!,'' she insisted pointing forward.

"Him? Him who?"

"Allister." she held up the small mask tugging free from your grip. "We said we'd give it back ta him."

......You rose a brow. "You think that Allister is in the grave yard?.....I'm pretty sure he's not an actual ghost."

"I didn't mean like that! He's runnin' around in there."

"Gloria. He's younger than you and most kids even adults would be asleep by now. What makes you think a little kid is going to be running around in a dark cemetery filled with pokemon who'd rather not be bothered at ten at night by himself??"

...She sighed. "Look. I know it sounds crazy but-.."She looked back to it. "I can't explain it..But there's somethin' I really need ta check out there. SO...Please? It's not like we'd be causing trouble by just lookin'."

You understandably were WAY too ready to just say no, call it a night there, and then drag Gloria back to bed to see Allister IN THE MORNING especially not in a grave yard but-...You looked back up too. ....There was a strange feeling about this. Not a bad feeling like you'd get with Mr. Rose or an uncomfortable feeling like when Raihan tried flirting with you or a familiar feeling like when you remembered something. Just...a neutral one as you stared back towards the darkness. And you found yourself slowly walking towards it yourself. Gloria blinked but didn't questioning anything as she followed you into the darkness. It didn't take long for either of you to find the open gates wide open for the two of you and in you went with Gloria right after you. Right into the dark grave yard. And you instantly felt a scary feeling overcome you. OH BOY!! This was like NOTHING in a game!! As you two looked around, Gloria turned down one way for a moment before beginning to walk that way, you blinking before slowly following behind not wanting to be left alone in this place. And like you had seen through the lense there was plenty of ghost types running around here. Many you didn't pay attention too as the two of you walked and looked around. Besides being in a literally cemetery in the middle of the night, everything seemed pretty normal. Before you bumped into Gloria who had stopped suddenly right in front of you.

"Hey!" Her sudden shout made you jump and blink. She walked forward a few steps and you watched...and noticed there was something cowering behind a particular tombstone that didn't look like a pokemon. "I can see ya hidin' away there." Whatever the thing was shifted even more behind the tombstone as Gloria stepped forward- Until a sudden barracaded wall of purple and sound quickly materialized from out of the earth before you two and sent her yelping and stumbling back as a trio of ghastly, haunter, and a gengar made up it. They didn't too happy. Acting quickly, you held your arms out just in time to catch her back before pushing her back upright into a standing position from the scare. She stumbled, righted herself up, and threw you a smile over her shoulder. "Quick thinkin' Y/n!"

"Those three don't seem to be too happy to see us," you commented gesturing to the obvious trio blocking your way as they made more sounds of contentment and frowns your way. Huh. Strange. Usually when you saw these three in any pokemon media they were always smiling so why were these trio angry? Were you invading their domain?

The thing moved from one tombstone to behind another and you two got a glimpse of a person. A rather small person which made Gloria raise a hand and call out again. "WAIT! You're Allister right?!" She pointed behind her. "You're the gym leader here aren't ya?"

There was a moment of silence as the trio of ghosts still stood there .....before the TINIEST and softest voice you had ever come from a kid speak out. "......'M A-Allister." You two could barely make out what was said by the voice...before slowly ....a small hand grabbed onto the side of the tomb stone the figure was hiding behind and a white masked face with dark hair peeked an eye from behind it. You both stared at him and he stared right back at the two of you. First at Gloria, then you, then back to Gloria before he shrunk a bit back behind the grave stone. "...Gym c-c-challenger??" He whispered out.

You weren't sure if it was a question or statement but Gloria nodded. "Yeah. That's right." Before lowering herself to sit cross legged on the ground as you blinked in surprise at her actions. "I am one but I didn't come 'ere to challenge ye or anythin'," she assured in a soft voice Wait...She DIDNT?! Then why was see so inssistant on coming here? "So you don't have ta worry yourself over that."

There was a long pause and the figure didn't even budge from his spot, in fact he inched back even more behind the stone if you were seeing things in the dark corrected. "T-T-Then w-w-why ...W-What do y-y-you-" Gloria calmly held up the lightly scratched up mask to him, and it seemed to be he realized what it was because his visible eye that was reflected within the moonlight blinked at it. "....T-T-That's m-m-my mask."

She slowly nodded again. "I figured it was." Without getting up she slowly extended her arm holding the mask out to him. "We found it all the way in Stow-on-Side. I just...well I wanted to return it to ya. Since you're always wearin' 'em in all I figured you'd might want it back is all."

......The hand on the stone pointed behind her at you. "W-W-W-Who's t-that?"

 "Oh this?" She looked back to you before gesturing to come sit on the ground next to her and after a second of hesitation you complied and sat yourself on the ground next to her. "This is my pal Y/n. She was the one who found your mask by the mural in Stow-on-Side." There was another silence as he still stood there before Gloria slowly held it out to the purple pokemon trio in front of her instead. "Here. You can give it to him if it's make it more comfortable to him." 

The pokemon all blinked before looking at one another before the gengar reached out and took the mask from her. Examining it as it turned around and walked over to where the boy was still hiding behind the stone. Allister's head disappeared for a moment back behind the stone and you both watched as a hand poked right out real quick to grab the mask from the pokemon who held it out to him.

"I'm really sorry about all the scratches n' dents in it," Gloria apologised, "But I cleaned it up good. I hope that's alright."

Again another pause and while he didn't look out again his voice came back. "T-That c-camera a-around your neck."The masked face peeked out again." ...W-Were you going to t-t-take m-my picture w-w-w-with it?"

"Absolutely not unless you wanted too." The boy furiously shook his head no and Gloria held up her hands before reaching up and taking the camera off your shoulder and held it over to you. You understood and without a word, silently took it from her and placed it inside her bag as she looked back to him. "Ta tell ya the truth I came out 'ere to collect some pictures of ghost type pokemon for somethin' I've been working on."

The boy nodded but in a way that almost seemed guilty. "I-I know I-I heard you speaking....I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. We don't mind at all. And we were being a bit loud, especially when I got spooked by a mismagius," you finally spoke giving him a smile and the same tone Gloria used. Holding a hand to your chest. You're little tease bringing a small but single chuckle from the boy to your delight. "My name's Y/n and this is Gloria. It's very nice to meet you Allister."

"......Gloria?," he asked tilting his head to Gloria who nodded, ".....Like Leon said?"

"If it was Lee who told ya 'bout me then it was def me." She tilted her head at him. "Did he tell ya bout me?"

......"He s-s-said you were a v-very nice and k-kind p-person."

She chuckled. "I try to be. Which is why I wanted to return your mask to ya. Although I have no idea how it ended up all the way in Stow-on-Side."

There was another pause....before the boy disappeared behind the stone again only to shuffle out to meet his full body to face you, as if in case he'd have to duck back behind it again, and you widened your eyes in surprise. When you had originally seen him back in the Entrance Ceremony on the giant screen you estimated him to be only one or two years younger than Gloria herself, but judging by his height and tone he couldn't possibly be older than eight or nine years. As he clutched the lightly scratched mask to his chest he stared at the two of you for a moment. "I-I....l-lost it by accident..w-when I was visiting a yam-mask in the ruins."

"Well then it sounds like you have a bunch of friends from everywhere," you smiled and Gloria nodded. He seemed to brighten at the fact you didn't state what someone would probably usually say and that having a yamask for a friend and traveling to see him was strange. .....You hesitated but couldn't help but ask. "Hey. Sweetie, what are you doing out here so late at night? And by yourself?"

"Oh. I-I'm n-not alone," he said a slightly brighter tone to his voice before he looked at the now smiling trio behind him. "I'm here with my friends."

.....You nodded. "I can see that, and it's obvious to me that they must help take very good care of you." The three pokemon made proud noises and smiles at the praise. "But I guess what I mean is did you let anyone from the stadium know you would be playing outside this late? They might be worried if you didn't let them know."

"Oh no it's ok. They already know I like to come out here a lot so it's not a b-big deal." He said this like it was normal....You slowly nodded but didn't make any move to make him feel bad. Allister then cocked his head curiously at the both of you. ".....D-Did you really m-mean it? I mean. W-When you said you f-found ghost types...b-b-beautiful?"

"Of course we did!," Gloria stated proudly and loudly. Well a little too loud because it made Allister flinch from the loud voice. "Oh. Sorry 'bout that." She immediately apologized before nodding and talking in that soft tone again. "Yeah. We did. But genuinely if I'm honest I really like all pokemon despite what kind they are. Ghost, physic, grass....They're all really unique in their own way. Just like Gym Leaders even if they're similar."

He seemed confused as he stared at her. "What do you mean?"

She hummed in thought. "Well...For example Kabu and Bea exercise a lot to keep fit n' ta help with their motivation, and so does Nessa now that I think about it. All three exercise for their careers in one way or another, but for different reasons. Like how Bea uses that to compete in the Galarian Martial Arts tournaments while Kabu couldn't careless 'bout fightin' in those things." A brighter smile lit up her features. "Oh! Or how Raihan and Gordie like postin' lots for their fan base. But each o' 'em post different things and even if it's the same thing there's differences in each one. It's fun getting to meet all the different gym leaders as people and seeing what makes them so passionate about their lives and how they do things!"

".....A-A-And me?" His grip on the mask increased slightly as he hugged it to himself. "W-What would you w-w-want to meet me for?"

"Well, besides to return that mask like I was tellin' ye about," she explained with a smile, "I think I wanted to meet you to see that special connection ya got that no one else has."

"Huh?," he blinked at her confused.

She gestured to him. "I've been around for a bit n' I've seen some really good connections between some people and their pokemon. But not even Leon can communicate the same level those lovlies behind ya can with you." Allister looked to the trio around him before looking back to her. "I'm not sayin' people and pokemon can't be friend, cuz that wouldn't be right at all since pokemon can be your friends no matter what. But there's somethin' extra special about the way you talk and interact with 'em compared to the other trainers and their pokemon that just seems more......closely bonded in a way I don't know but I can kinda understand in a way.  ....That what makes it so beautiful about ya." Allister....didn't move....or talk.....Just stared silently. To the point even his ghost pokemon pals turned to look at him in question. And more long silence the two of you exchanged a worry look before Gloria looked at him. "H-hey mate. I'm sorry if I said something to upset ya."

"Hm?" He blinked..before waving his hands. "Oh n-no nono. I-I'm sorry. I-It's just....n-no body's ever s-said that to me b-before e-except for L-Leon a-and P-Piers."

"Well he's not wrong." He turned to look at you as you genuinely smiled at the boy. "Allister, I honestly don't know you or much about you ..but by kindly you've been and how ready your friends are to help you speaks that you're a really kind hearted person. And I think you're a great gym leader too. It wouldn't even matter if Leon told you you were special because I think you always were. We just all happen to be special in our unique ways."

He seemed to be taken aback at what you just said because he looked away and kicked at the ground with his foot. "You don't.....think any of this is scary?"

"Hm. Maybe some people would but that's alright too. We're all scared on something. I'm scared of heights."

"....Oooh. So that's why you never wanted to ride a flying taxi."

You nodded. "But that doesn't mean it's a bad thing at all Allister. I think you're a good kid. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"Besides. We've talked to ghosts too!"

A silence fell over the lot of you again as you blinked and everyone turned to Gloria who smiled. "........What?"

"Yeah. You remember her! Paula! She's the one who wanted us to deliver a letter-"....She blinked. "Oh wait!" You all watched as she slung her bag off her shoulders and once again went to dig through it. Allister tilted his head curiously at her rummaging until jumping back when Gloria pulled out the same letter she had received from Paula back in Hammerlocke. "Here it is!"

"Gloria. We can't just say that little girl was a ghost. She could've just been a regular person."

She rose her brow at you. "A lil girl who could run as fast as a rapidash and disappear as silent as a ghost type pokemon?"

".....Ok. You have a fair point but we can't just jump to conclusions like that-"

"M-May.." You both turned back to Allister as he slowly reached a free hand out the other one still clutching the returned mask to him. "M-May I see it?"

"Of course ya can." 

She gently handed over the letter and you two watched him take it as his ghost pokemon crowded around him to also look at it. He stared silently the entire time he looked at it, turning the thing front and back with his hands. ".........T-This has a strange aura about it." He finally looked at Gloria. "Y-You said she wanted you to d-deliver it?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Said it was for someone called Frank in Bellonlea. Also said I looked like someone she could trust."

He hummed for a moment before slowly handing it back to her and she took it back from him. "W-Well.....I think the b-best thing to do if she e-entrusted you with it is to make sure it gets delivered as soon as possible."

Gloria nodded putting the letter back into her bag. "Then it sounds like ta me the next stop we should make is the Bellonlea gym. I can go return the letter n' then battle the gym leader there....*yyyyaaaawwwnnn*"

"Yeah. Speaking of tomorrow, I think we've all had enough adventure for one night and should head back." You slowly stood up as to not spook Allister and Gloria slowly nodded and followed your example with another yawn. "We've all been out here for a while."

......Allister nodded. "U-Um...Yeah. I t-t-think I'll go back inside now too."

"Do you want us to walk you home?" He looked up to you surprised for a moment before shaking his head. "Are you sure? I wouldn't want you to get lost on your way back by yourself."

"Oh don't worry Miss. I'm not alone. I-I have my friends to help me.....b-but if you want y-y-you can come with me to the stadium doors. I-I don't mind."

You smiled and offered your hand out to him making him jump a bit in surprise....before silently looking between you and your hand....before slowly extending his free hand...and putting it in yours. You smiled as you turned around at a slow pace the young boy could walk without needing to change whatever pace he would've already had and walked with him towards the exit of cemetery. Thanking whoever answered your prayers that you were going to be able to get some sleep tonight after all. Even if Allister did this often in game or in this world often, you would feel better knowing that the young boy was safe inside his home and not out running around in the dark unsupervised and got home safely. So you slowly walked with him out of the cemetery and along the dirt path all the way to the big stadium doors where he eventually let go of your hand and you let him with Gloria and the spooky trio following.

"I-I can go on from here,'' he told you.

"Are you sure?" He nodded. "Alright. You be careful now. Ok?"

"I-I will." You smiled and waved a moment before turning and starting to walk away. Gloria turning too the moment you got to her.

"G-Gloria.." She stopped and turned to Allister who was still hugging the mask to himself. "U-Um....If...I-I k-know you said y-y-you didn't want to have a battle w-w-with me...b-b-but i-if you want too..y-you can stop by b-before you l-leave t-t-tomorrow a-a-and have a quick match."

She blinked at him for a moment before smiling and nodding. "I wouldn't miss it!" And then turned to catch up with you.

As you passed by the ghosts pokemon you gave them a smile. "You three continue looking after him ok? You've all done such a great job so far."

They all smiled and made happy noises so you took that as a yes. The both of you heard the door to the stadium open and close as you were walking signalling Allisters entrance and you sighed in relief knowing he'd be safe inside at least. You both returned the same way you got out. By sneaking inside through the creaking doors cringing all the way and being as quiet as you can to not wake anyone up. By the grace of some unseen force you managed to somehow not wake anyone up and successfully make your ways back into your room safe and soundly. And finding your Drzzilie had curled himself in your bag and had fallen asleep. Heh. Guess old habits died hard. You were sure exhausted though and practically fell dead asleep as soon as you hit the pillow. Sighing and closing your heavy eyelids as the peaceful darkness took over. Infact..... you didn't wake up. Not until much later the next day. Also not surprisingly in the slightest you ended up dead asleep again, not waking up until it was almost eleven in the after noon and when you eventually pulled your heavy feeling body out of bed you discovered Gloria folding some white clothing to stuff back into her bag with a plate of untouched waffles sitting next to her on the bed, and your Drizzilie boredly staring unmoving at the food. 

At the sounds of you groaning and sitting up she flashed you a smile and waved. "Mornin' Sleepin' Beauty! I hope you're hungry cuz I already went through the trouble of not lettin' this tyrant 'ere take your breakfast." You pokemon sent an annoyed look her way.

With a long yawn and quick rub of your eyes you waved back. "Mmmmmmm. Morning. *yaaaaawwwwnnn*".....Your tired eyes blinked more at the uniform she was stuffing back into her pack and you pointed. "Hey. How come you have your challenger uniform out?"

"Well it's required ta wear it when you challenge a gym leader. I swear both his and Bea's gym challenge was me spinnin' more than Kabu's arcanine's flame wheel attack."

.........You blinked, taking a moment for your tired brain to process what she had just said. "Wait. You challenged Allister?" She nodded. "When did that happen?"

"Early this mornin'. He said if I wanted ta challenge him I should do it before we left for Bellonlea this mornin'. I was thinkin' of heading there next anyways since it would be the closest Gym I haven't battled yet." She finished stuffing the uniform into the pack before slinging it over her shoulders before you noticed the camera slung back over her neck. "And I got the badge...Even if I didn't win exactly."

"....What do you mean by that?"

"There was four rounds with 'em. I won two and lost two. So it ended with a tie between us both. I didn't want to accept the badge if I didn't really win, but he said since we were even I should take it anyways since I technically won it in a way. I think he was really happen to just have a battle with someone who didn't pressure him into it and without a big crows ta watch, tho he said as an official battle it'd still is gonna be broadcasted online for everyone to see," she explained picking up the food and turning to you,"  He's a really strong trainer for a lil kid. I think he's gonna be a great gym leader. And I saved ya some food that the land lady brought."

"Thanks! ...But where is he now?"

"Asleep. He was pretty tuckered out from last night n' the battle." She handed the plate over to you. "But that's to be expected."

You nodded. "Yeah. So that means you got the Ghost gym badge right?" She nodded again. "...Oh. By the way, how far away is Bellonlea anyways?"

"Eh. It'd take a REAL long time if we walk, n' there's no train 'round here for a good distance too. Which is why I already told the taxi guy out front we would use the corviknight taxi as soon as you were all ready."

You paused. Food on your fork lowered as you looked at her wide eyed. A silence coming over you two as you stared long enough to not notice your Drizzilie take one of the waffles from your plate. 

".....WHAT!?"