#she’d take him on work trips when he was younger and she taught him little games to pass the time

[nathsolkyoako]

When The Backrooms comes back I need Elijah to tell Stanley “if I die your coming with me”

[storiesofsvu]

For I Have Sinned

AU Pastorswife!Tara Lewis x married!religious!fem!reader warnings: language, smut, minor derogatory talk, pussy spanking, teasing, technically there's cheating lol

Requested by anon. Also dont come for me i know little to nothing about religion & how shit works LOL. This will likely have a follow up or two as well👀

It was wrong, you knew that.

 It was absolutely sinful.

Immoral, indecorous even.

But for some reason that didn’t manage to stop you.

The enticement was too strong, the thought of submitting to a temptation that had long been nipping at you, living in the back of your brain since the first time her fingers had delicately plucked a small leaf from your hair, a soft smile on her cheeks and a warm look in her eyes. She was friendly, welcoming, whisking you away from your husbands with a gentle hand on the small of your back while she guided you inside the church, giving you the tour she gave anyone new to the congregation. By the time you rejoined the main party in the garden, her arm was linked through yours as you were laughing together like you were old friends, not two strangers who had just met.

A handful of children ran up to her in an excited chorus of ‘Mrs. Lewis!’ and you searched through the group, asking which ones were hers. She was quick to shake her head, quietly mentioning that while they’d tried, it hadn’t been part of gods plan, that they were happy the way they were. It was only a second later she was encouraging you to call your own kids over to join the group, introducing them and guiding them into a couple of games to entertain themselves. The children didn’t just know her because she was the pastor’s wife, she also taught Sunday school, enlightening the minds of the younger generation to the religion you’d always loved, the one you’d grown up with and been faithful to your entire life.

Which was very unlike Tara’s experience. She’d married into it. Meeting her husband in her senior year of high school, your typical meet cute studying in the library. Distraction from studying lead to coffee, which lead to lunch, which lead to dinner off campus, first just one date, then another, then a night where neither wanted to say goodnight, talking all night, laughter and pure heart eyes. While Tara was somewhat unfamiliar with the entire religion thing she was completely in support of him, ever the shining light by his side as he made his way through the ladder rungs, educating herself and eventually taking on the role she had now. They married young, thinking that it was going to be forever, that their mindsets wouldn’t change, that true love knew no bounds.

It wasn’t long after saying ‘I do’ and fully immersing herself into the church that Tara realized she was different from most of the congregation, that while she still supported things, believed in God, agreed with their beliefs, there was a lingering thought in her brain. One that sparked up every so often when a beautiful woman walked into the church. She’d always known that about herself, even if she’d never brought it up with her husband, she liked women, she’d just been unaware of how much and now she was in too deep to try and get out. She did love him, and she loved the life that they had together, she wouldn’t deny that, and she never wanted to bring that much shame and attention to him if she was to file for divorce. So she kept her secret life exactly that, secret. A few women here or there over the years, though none of them meant anything. They were hook ups she found in dark bars in neighbouring towns, where no one would know she was the pastor’s wife, where she was a mysterious figure they’d never see again.

That was of course, until the day she met you.

You were an absolute ray of sunshine, bright eyed and eager to be accepted in a new town, a new church, taking on as many volunteer tasks as you could to get involved with the community. She watched carefully as you chaperoned Sunday school trips, organized charity events, and she knew your peanut butter chocolate cupcakes were the most decadent, rich and delicious things at any bake sale you eagerly helped out with. Tara was completely infatuated with you, her eyes lingering on you longer than they should, finding any excuse to talk to you, for you to stay behind, come in early, help with things she didn’t actually need help with. Anything to get you alone, because she had a natural ability to read people, and she knew that you felt the unnatural, immoral draw towards her as well. You lingered in the hallway after sending the kids to the car, timed your grocery trips to intentionally run into her, drove the long way when dropping the kids off at school so you’d be at the same coffee shop. Your eyes often finding hers during sermons before you’d smile softly and duck your gaze, your cheeks would heat when she complimented you, your eyes darkening with arousal, tongue darting out to wet your lips when you glanced back up at her.

Tara was a mystery to you at first, something enticing, intriguing, that you wanted to know more about, explore, figure out why you were feeling the way you were. Why you always had a lovestruck smile on your face when you talked about her, why you were always so excited to see her, the way your heart would nearly beat out of its chest at the mention of her name, the tingles you began to feel pulsing their way through your body. Those were the strangest, you’d thought she was someone you were going to become best friends with, that you’d finally found someone you could double date with, that was of course until you caught yourself thinking about her while your husband’s hands traced your skin.

It was no longer a mystery, you wanted Tara, physically, intimately, in a way that God certainly would never understand or be accepting of. You ached to feel her lips on yours, to have her body pressed against yours, to explore every inch of her skin with your hands, you craved her in a way you’d never craved anyone else before in your life. She was all you could think of, invading your senses the moment you stepped into the church to the moment you went to bed, wishing you could touch yourself and pretend it was her, every fleeting moment you were in her presence drove you wild.

Which was exactly how you ended up propped on her desk, your dress bunched around your waist, her hands keeping your thighs spread wide while her face was buried between your legs.

You could never quite wrap you head around how good she was with her mouth, tongue slipping into your core, quiet groans leaving her lips as she truly tasted you, juices dripping down onto her tongue for her to eagerly lap at. Her lips wrapped around your lower ones, gently sucking them into her mouth, nose nudging at your clit, pulling little gasps and whimpers from you as she continued her motions. Tara could feel you building up, knowing that you were close, that it was almost too much to bare and she pulled away ever so softly, her lips tracing across your inner thigh while she let you catch your breath. Her teeth sunk into your skin and you gasped, a hand flailing to swat at hers when she did it again, sucking in the same spot.

“Don’t be so rough there can’t be any marks.”

“No one will see them down here.” She murmured; her breath hot on your skin.

“He might.” You mumbled, urging her face back between your legs. A quiet moan escaping your lips when she did exactly what you wanted, tongue flicking at your clit before dragging slowly across it and your body shuddered, “oh god…”

Smirk on her lips she sucked your clit into her mouth, a hand sneaking between your legs and two fingers slipped into your aching pussy. She pumped them a few times, slowly twisting and twirling them inside you as you felt the electricity firing through your body, moaning when she crooked them perfectly.

“Right there.”

“Hmm…” She groaned against you, vibrations causing your body to shudder, pussy fluttering around her fingers as she continued to fuck them into you.

Your breathing began to pick up when she curled them again, this time the pads of her fingers pressing harder into the sensitive spot, brushing back and fourth while she sucked harder on your clit. Your hand clamped over your mouth, muffling your cries as you hit your peak, pleasure surging through your body as your back arched off the desk. You could feel your juices dripping out of your cunt, leaking down Tara’s wrist and onto the wood beneath you. With one final flick of her tongue she pulled off your clit, fingers fucking you through your orgasm as she watched your body tremble with a grin on her lips.

“I thought you were a good girl, but here you are getting wet in church.” She murmured, this time gently nipping at your inner thigh before finally pulling her fingers from you, watching with amusement at how much slick smeared across your skin.

You could feel her eyes on you, knowing she was watching you fluttering around nothing, taking joy in just how good she could make you feel, pride from just how wet you were. You’d been ruining your panties since you’d laid eyes on her hours ago and she knew it, that you’d been aching to escape your reality, to have her touch you, lick you, taste you in the way only she could. No longer on cloud nine, the warmth of pleasure vanished, replaced with embarrassment of her staring at your most intimate parts. Your hand covered your face, cheeks burning now as you tried to close your legs.

“Uh.” Tara clicked her tongue, hands splayed on your thighs as she stood from her chair, pushing your legs back open, “sweet girl, you’re not done yet, you know better. You’ve sinned…now you have to be punished.”

You let out a whine in protest, but left yourself on display, legs wide open for her to do with whatever she pleased. The heat was still present in your cheeks, knowing that it was only Tara you could ever do something like this with, that she was the only one who could get you this vulnerable yet this turned on in the same moment. Glancing up you caught her sucking your juices off her fingers, making sure they were wet and ready for whatever punishment she had in mind. Her hands gently gripped your ankles, sliding up your legs and your breath hitched in your throat.

“Well… you really are a naughty girl, aren’t you?” She purred, leaning over your body as she spoke and you whimpered softly, distracted by her being so close to you, you missed when she pulled her hand back, a gasp escaping your lips when she spanked your pussy sharply. ��Getting so turned on, so horny and in a house of God.” Another spank, leaving your body jolting, “and this isn’t stopping it, huh?” Spank. “I can feel you getting wetter,” Spank. “thinking about all the dirty things you want me to do to you, hmm?” Spank. “all the different ways I can make you come?” Spank.  Tara leant forward, her lips brushing the column of your neck before she nipped at your earlobe, her breath hot on your skin when she spoke again, “god your little pussy just loves how I fuck you, hmm?” Spank.

You could feel the heat prickling through your body again, your chest heaving as Tara’s hand swatted at your drenched cunt once more and you let out a loud whine. You pulsed around nothing, your clit throbbing at the thought of being touched once again, even if it was a quick spank that she delivered right as you thought about it.

“Everyone thinks you’re such a good girl,” spank, “the perfect little wife. But here you are begging me to do whatever I want to you.” Spank. “like a little whore.”

The final spank hit right where you needed it, Tara’s free hand quickly coming up to cover your mouth as you cried out, your cunt throbbing as your hips rocked up off the desk, juices squirting out of you, dripping down onto the floor below.

“Oh g-god…” You whimpered, your body shivering as Tara chuckled softly above you, pressing a gentle kiss to the side of your neck before righting herself between your legs. Her hands soothed up and down your bare skin, watching your chest heave as you caught your breath.

“You alright?”

“Mhmm.” You nodded, eyes fluttering open as you gazed up at her, “more… please.”

Tara’s lips split into a smirk, a small laugh coming from her as she shook her head, “oh you needy little thing, you still want more?” Her hands shifted to the buckle of her belt, slowly undoing it before her pants, a hungry look in her eye as, of course, this had been her plan all along, “want me to stretch you out with my cock so you can take the lord’s name in vain… again?”

“Yes!” You cried, “oh please yes!” Your body trembled with anticipation, a whimper leaving your lips and Tara practically pouted at you, her hands moving your feet down to the floor as she gently tugged you off the desk. A finger curled under your chin, tilting your face up to hers before she left a kiss on your lips.

“Sssh. It’s okay honey, I know, I know.” She kissed the tip of your nose, “I can make you feel so much better than that pathetic excuse of a man ever could.” She swatted at the side of your hip, “now turn around and bend over.”

You did exactly as she asked, bracing yourself against her desk as you listened to the sound of her undoing her pants, shoving them far enough down to let the toy pop out of the fabric. Her hands trailed up your inner thighs, fingers ghosting through your wetness, pulling a shudder from you. Tara’s hand wrapped around her cock, rubbing it through your folds until you were pushing back toward her.

“Please…” you whined, “need you.”

“Alright.” She chuckled softly, pushing into you until she was fully seated and you let out a low moan at the sensation.

“Fuck…”

“Such obscene language from such an innocent girl.” She teased, her hands gripping your hips as she began to fuck you. “Whoever would have thought?”

Her cock plunged deeper into you with each thrust, your hips gently crashing into the desk as your pussy began to flutter around her, whimpers and whines leaving your lips. Pleasure coursed through you, tingling down your legs, making them shake when the tip of the toy brushed the sensitive spot inside your cunt.

“S-so good.” You mumbled out, your words already airy as you were back amongst the clouds.

“That’s it angel…” Tara soothed, her hand running up your back, “taking me so well.” She thrusted particularly hard, jerking your hips into the side of the desk and you gasped. “You just love being a little cock slut behind closed doors where no one can see you.”

“Mmhmm!” Doing your best to nod, your eyes scrunched shut, your teeth digging into your lip in an attempt to not make too much noise. You knew the worst thing for the both of you was if you were ever caught, not to mention here of all places. “M-close.”

“I know baby.”

Heat coursed through your veins, tingling down to the tip of your fingers and toes, curling tighter and hotter in the pit of your stomach with each thrust of her hips. Your cunt was clenching down so hard around her you were certain if it wasn’t for how drenched you were she would barely be able to move. You could feel your slick leaking down your thighs, all you could hear were the wet sounds echoing from your pussy as Tara continued to thrust into it.

One hand remained braced on your hip while the other snuck around your body between it at the desk, quickly finding your clit and pinching it.

“Fuck!” You whined and she gently spanked it in retaliation of your language, making you shudder. Her fingers began to rub it, slowly at first, building faster and faster until she was in time with her thrusts, pressing harder with each pass of her fingers.

“That’s it angel…” she purred, “let go for me one more time. I know you can.”

She circled her hips and your body tensed, thighs trembling when you hit your peak for a third time in the last hour, nails clawing at the wood of the desk and you bit down on your lip so hard you swore you could taste blood.

“Jesus Christ…”

Tara chuckled darkly, her hands moving back to your hips, soothing across your skin while her hips slowed, softly fucking you through your orgasm. She leant over your back, placing a gentle kiss on the side of your neck before murmuring into your ear,

“Really gotta do something about that mouth of yours.”

“I’m sure you can think of a better way to keep it occupied.” You replied with a sigh, your body relaxing into the desk as she stilled behind you.

“I’m sure I can.” She said, swatting at your ass as she pulled out, watching your juices drip from the tip of the toy with a grin.

She dropped back into the chair behind her, reaching for a couple of tissues, drying her cock before tucking it back into her pants. Fresh tissue gently slid up your thighs, ridding you of the mess before she softly wiped at your pussy. You pushed up off the desk with a groan, turning to face her as she stood and you reached out for your discarded panties but she snatched them first.

“Uh-uh.” She smirked, tucking them into her pocket “you’ll get these back next time.”

“There shouldn’t be a next time.” You stated and her finger curled under your chin, lifting your face up to her before she left a tender kiss on your lips.

“Oh but there will be.” She smoothed out a few pieces of your hair, adjusted your dress before turning to face the mirror so she could fix her lipstick. “Now come on, the bus will be back any minute, we can’t be late to meet the boys.”

And just like that her arm was slid back into yours as you were making your way through the hallways together like nothing ever happened. That whatever you did behind the locked door of her office didn’t exist until you were back in there alone. That you were two women very happily married to their husbands with not a single secret to be kept.

But that’s the thing about life, there’s always someone with a secret.

______________

@mysticfalls01 @evilregal2002 @maybe-a-humanbean @dextur @wchipxchipxp @m00nkn1ghts s @daddy-heather-dunbar @augustvandyne @supercriminalbean @prentiss-theorem @svushots @happenstnces @sapphicprentiss @geekyandgay98 @pagetboobstarcomments @onmykneesformarvel @inlovewithemilyprentiss @akingcalledkris @desperate-gay @amypoehlfey @overtrred28 @kalixxh @s1ut4nat @inlovewithmiddleagewomen @ollysmulti @kmc1989 @irishavengersassemble @louderfortheback @elz-artzzz @rustyzebra @alexusonfire @blackbird-brewster

[twice-jangmii]

[★] 𝐉𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐌𝐈’𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲.

| layouts are made by twice-jangmii

— father

— name : yang jin-seo

— birthdate : january 17, 1976

— nicknames : appa , daddy , pa ; annie, jj, sunshine

— contact name : dad 💗 ; My Sunshine!

| since birth, jangmi was always a daddy’s girl. she was always beside him, wherever he went. he taught her almost everything she knows to this day. whether it be about the world, life, basic school education.

| as a kid— and even now— she spent a lot of time with him in the kitchen. they always cooked together and he taught her all of his secrets and tricks. sometimes she’d stay inside when her siblings went outside to play.

| her father was once a gym fanatic and most of the time, he’d take jangmi with him. she just looked at the equipment, sometimes running her hand across certain things out of curiosity.

| when her dad left for the military when she was about 5, she was devastated. before he left, he gifted her a beige wool blanket that smelled just like him, for when she couldn’t sleep.

| whenever he got off from work, no matter how tired he was, he’d take jangmi and her siblings for a stroll in a quiet side of San Diego. sometimes they’d stop and get ice cream or funnel cakes. he’s a family man so he’d often surprise them with trips to different states or even countries.

— mother

— name : kimberly “kim” elena jane-yang

— birthdate : july 26, 1977

— nicknames : mama, mommy ; annie, jinseo jr.

— contact name : Mom ❤️ ; JINSEO JR. 🌹

| jangmi may be a daddy’s girl, but she’s still very close with her mom. they’re still in touch just like they used to be when she was younger.

| just how jangmi cooked with her dad, she baked with her mom. they even used to sell some of their goodies and eventually made a little bakery down the block from their home. jangmi would go home and work at the bakery after school. it was called ‘kimmie rose’s goods’ — named after jangmi and her mom (jangmi = rose)

| jangmi’s mom was a actress and model before she was born, so she’d often go to work with her and was exposed to the industry at a young age. everyone on set of whatever movie her mother was in fell in love with her. they would always bring goods whenever she came.

| jangmi and her siblings often played with the props that were on set. she used to play in her mother’s makeup— which would cause her mom to freak but she also couldn’t help but snap pictures of jangmi with the lipstick all over her lips and blue eyeshadow messily drawn on her eyelids.

— sister

— name : alexandra amora yang

— korean name : yang ha-eun

— birthdate : june 13, 1997

— nicknames : alex, lexi ; anna, pabo

— contact name : Lexi ✌︎︎ ; Pabo ❣︎

| jangmi and alex have been close since she was born. at first alex was scared because she had another sibling but she got used to it, just like when their brother was born.

| alex used to allow jangmi to play in her makeup after attempting to fight with her about it. after her mom explained that as a kid , she was bound to get in it, alex finally allowed it.

| whenever jangmi goes back home or alex visits korea, they always end up doing some type of dance cover whether it be kpop or freestyling together.

| alex befriended twice when her sister debuted and they usually have mall dates with some of the members when alex visits.

| alex has always been very protective over jangmi because she’s the youngest and that’s just how she is with her family. she doesn’t let anyone trash talk them or anything. and she’s always been supportive of jangmi, especially when she debuted.

— brother

— name : adrian amyas yang

— korean name : yang jae-jun

— birthdate : september 29, 1999

— nicknames : ian, aj ; boo, annie

— contact name : AJ ✪ ; boo❣️

| just like alex and jangmi, adrian and jangmi have always been close. maybe a little closer than her and her sister. when she was born, he was still really young but he was so excited to have another sibling. he shared everything with her— his toys, food, etc.

| when jangmi was about 3, her and adrian dressed as boo and sully from monsters inc. for halloween, which is where he got her nickname. and cause she’d follow him around and was much shorter than him.

| jangmi’s favorite memory is when her family visited australia and adrian taught her how to swim. she actually almost drowned that day but it’s her favorite memory because her brother was able to swim up to her just in time. she continued to cry out of fear but after that, he held her for the rest of the time that they were at the beach. it’s also where she met skz’s felix!

| her brother has a platform with his friends and is in nsb (north star boys) so he’s very known. a lot of onces didn’t know she had a brother at first but when they figured out, they gushed over him. he’s always receiving compliments from his sister’s fandom which makes her happy but also cringe at the same time.

‘annie, can i be adrian’s dog???’

‘O.o what-‘

[marvelmaniac715]

This is something new for me. But lately, I’ve become fascinated with Netflix documentaries about criminals, such as “Don’t F*** With Cats” and I’ve been wondering what such a documentary about the infamous Charles Lee Ray would be like. Tiffany is included, and before you wonder how, it’s because she sometimes goes out as ‘Tiffany’ instead of ‘Jennifer’, as seen in ‘Cult’. Also, she lives for attention, so I’m sure she’d get involved in something like this. This is a transcript of the interviews that took place with characters both canon and original, offering their perspectives on the Lakeshore Strangler, and asking the difficult questions “what makes a murderer?” And “does he live on through a doll?”

————————————————————

Introduction:

Interviewer: The Lakeshore Strangler is infamous. He killed several people during his life, and he inspired the popular Chucky movies. But not much is known about him. That was, until now. This documentary aims to discover the man behind the blade, and answer once and for all the question “who was Charles Lee Ray?”

————————————————————

All of these interviews were conducted before the 8th March 2016.

————————————————————

Interview One: 

John Reed - Close Friend:

Interviewer: So how did you meet him?

John: We met at a local bar about twelve years ago. We had the same order, and we both went to grab it at the exact same time. I accidentally head butted him whilst trying to get the drink and on the way to get an icepack we got talking.

Interviewer: Did he ever seem violent at all? Did you ever feel unsafe around him?

John: Oh, god no. He was- he was a good friend. I trusted him a lot, y’know? I mean, god, he even looked after my kids when I had to go on business trips.

Interviewer: Did your children like him? Did they ever mention anything strange going on?

John: No, the kids adored him. He was like a second father to them. He helped chaperone my eldest’s school dance, he taught my son Mason how to tie a tie when I wasn’t able to. He comforted my little girl Sophia when she was terrified of a storm and I was trying to calm down my other son Tyler who was on the verge of a panic attack. My youngest got confused and called him “Daddy” once. I was so embarrassed, but Charles just laughed and said “I wish!”

Interviewer: So you’d say that Mr Ray had a fondness for children?

John: Yeah, the kids loved their Uncle Charles, and he seemed to like them a lot too. Oh wait- I just realised… he killed people. Oh god, I left my children alone with a serial killer! They didn’t have anything to defend themselves, the power goes out a lot so they couldn’t call me, their mom or the cops, they could have died!

Interviewer: Sir, are you alright? Would you like to take a moment?

John: Yeah, I’m- I’m sorry, could we just, finish, please? I don’t have anything else to say and- I gotta get home to my kids and just hug ‘em. I can’t do this anymore, I’m sorry.

————————————————————

Interview Two:

Doctor Helen Mixter - Childhood Therapist:

Interviewer: What was Mr Ray like as a child?

Helen: Oh, Charlie was such a sweet little boy. So intelligent at such a young age, and charming to boot. He was very well liked by the other boys, they saw him as a leader of sorts.

Interviewer: How did he end up at the Boy’s Home?

Helen: Charlie came here when he was about seven, because a serial killer had broken in and killed his father… and mother. He was so mature for his age, because another child would have spent months crying over it, but not Charlie. No, he accepted what had happened mere moments after they had died. Even then, he understood that death is a natural part of life, and they’re happier now.

Interviewer: When did he leave the Boy’s Home? Was it approved by a social worker or did he just decide to leave?

Helen: From what I understand, a janitor who worked at the Home- who Charlie had never liked- killed himself by cutting off his hand one day. The younger boys were all broken up over it, and since Charlie was sort of their leader, I think he felt responsible. He couldn’t handle the guilt and decided to leave instead of upsetting himself more by seeing those sad little children. He didn’t leave a note for anyone, he just packed up his things, some food and $150 he found lying around and left. I missed him for a while, he was my favourite patient you know.

Interviewer: Really? Why was that?

Helen: Well, like I said, he was wise beyond his years. An excellent conversationalist and he was running metaphorical rings around me right from our very first session. He was a very special young man, I feel privileged that I got to know him, even for a short while.

————————————————————

Interview Three:

Tiffany Valentine - Lover:

Interviewer: How did you meet Mr Ray?

Tiffany: Chucky came into a bar I was having drinks in, and the second we locked eyes with each other he approached me. He invited me and some girl he was with up to the hotel he was staying at, and we had a threesome. After that night I knew that it was love.

Interviewer: And was it? Love, I mean. Was he a good partner?

Tiffany: Oh, we had our ups and downs, but what couple doesn’t? And god, he was a fantastic lover, best I ever had in fact. He got a little jealous if I talked to other guys, but he was so loving and compassionate when we were alone. He used to love drawing, and he’d sketch me from time to time. I managed to save one of his drawings- here, I’ve got it for you to look at.

Interviewer: Wow, that’s an incredible drawing, Miss Valentine. He must have loved you a lot.

Tiffany: He did, and I loved him too.

Interviewer: There are various rumours online that you knew about the murders that Mr Ray committed, and you were involved in them.

Tiffany: Now that’s just not true! I’ve seen those Chucky movies too, and I’m not the least bit similar to the bitch I’m made out to be onscreen. I am a pacifist, and the character that the stunning and talented Miss Tilly played in the movies is just that, a character. I resent the suggestion that I had anything to do with those horrible crimes! I wept for months when I found out what he did, because I didn’t know that he was such a- such a monster!

Interviewer: Miss Valentine, are you okay to continue?

Tiffany: No, we’re done here. Goodnight asshole.

————————————————————

Interview Four:

Nica Pierce - Daughter of Last Victim:

This interview was conducted from inside Miss Pierce’s cell at Lochmoor maximum security mental institution.

Interviewer: Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Miss Pierce. I know, given your history, that this will be a struggle for you. But I’m sure that our viewers will value your insight.

Nica: No, it’s no problem. You need the full story and… I’m the only one in my family left. The only one who was there, at least.

Interviewer: So your mother was pregnant with you when Mr Ray abducted her and your older sister Barbara?

Nica: That is correct.

Interviewer: And you never knew your father?

Nica: No, that bastard killed him, I know it.

Interviewer: Did your mother ever talk about what happened?

Nica: Would you? She was traumatised after her experience. Those yellow flowers and that small, dark apartment haunted her in her nightmares. She painted those flowers everyday. She made sure that Barbara and I always had a weapon handy as a child, and that we knew self-defence. She didn’t want it to ever happen again. Of course, when Barbra moved out she got rid of her weapons and settled down to raise my niece Alice. But I stayed alert, just in case.

Interviewer: Have you had the opportunity to talk to Alice after… what happened? Is she doing okay?

Nica: Would you talk to the person who made you an orphan? The last I heard was that she’s living with my brother-in-law’s mom. Her social worker got in contact days before my trial and said that she was doing okay.

Interviewer: Do you know why your mother and sister were abducted?

Nica: That sicko wanted a family. He wanted to be Daddy, because he’d never gotten any love in his life. But my mom didn’t love him, and he couldn’t get Barbra to call him Dad, no matter how hard he tried. It was always ‘Uncle Charles’. In one of the few conversations my mom and I had about her experiences, she said that this drove him insane.

Interviewer: There are theories that Mr Ray was your biological father, that he met your mother about nine months before everyone said he did. It’s mostly because you look so much like him- if you aren’t offended by me saying so- and it would give him more motivation to want your family as his own.

Nica: As horrible of a possibility as that seems, I’m sad to say that that could be very likely. But I wouldn’t want to get a DNA test to confirm it, I’d prefer to have the slightest hope that he wasn’t my father.

Interviewer: Would you mind talking a little bit about what happened to your family three years ago? 

Nica: I suffer from bipolar disorder. I was pathologically jealous of my sister and I was always too possessive of Alice. In my delusions I convinced myself that a children’s toy who shared a name with my mother’s kidnapper and my father’s murderer was responsible for my actions. But I understand the truth now, and I’m working towards healing.

Interviewer: I think that my time with you is almost up now, Miss Pierce. Thank you so much for sharing your side of the story, you’ve shared some very valuable information with us. It’s been a pleasure talking to you, and I sincerely hope that you get the support you need to get better.

Nica: Thank you, and the pleasure was all mine.

————————————————————

Interview Five:

Doctor Martin Caine - Criminal Psychologist:

Interviewer: In your opinion, what sort of psychosis did Mr Ray suffer from?

Martin: I’m tempted to say that Mr Ray was a sociopath, but he clearly had the ability to form attachments, because he had a longing for a family. He seemed to love Miss Valentine, or at least had a fondness for her. So I believe that we’re looking at a psychopath.

Interviewer: Is there anything you can tell us about his character? Anything personal about him that may have driven his actions?

Martin: I believe that Mr Ray suffered from manic episodes, where he had to kill, and there was no stopping it. His actions during these episodes could not be described as rational, but otherwise he seemed to be a functional member of society. He adored children, and wanted some of his own. A reason for this could be a desire to control, a helpless child would depend on him for everything, and he could puppeteer them to do whatever he wished. Or perhaps it was a genuine desire for affection, children, on the whole, are fairly unbiased. A child could give the kind of pure, unadulterated love that he craved, the kind he couldn’t get from anyone else.

Interviewer: This is all so fascinating, is there anything else?

Martin: Of course. Mr Ray was deeply religious. Not Christian, or anything of that nature. He had a strong belief in voodoo, specifically Damballa. He painted a large mural in his apartment that featured him prominently. Mr Ray had a thirst for power, and he seemed to pin his hopes on Damballa to grant him that power.

Interviewer: Voodoo?

Martin: Yes, Mr Ray had a book entitled ‘Voodoo for Dummies’, and then of course there was the mural. He was also consulting a Voodoo doctor called Doctor Death, so he was clearly interested in the occult.

Interviewer: Ah, I see. Now, did Mr Ray have any redeeming traits at all?

Martin: He was intelligent and determined, but those could be symptoms of his psychopathy. He was very artistic, he could draw and paint quite well, self-taught, I heard. And he was very compassionate towards those he loved, and tried his best to protect them. He was good with children and animals, so he clearly had the ability to show kindness, he just had a dangerous inclination towards violence that clouded his judgment. I feel a great deal of pity for him, and I can’t help but wonder that if he had gotten the help he needed when he was a child, if someone had encouraged his empathy instead of stamping it out, he would still be alive today. Perhaps even settled down with the family he so desperately wanted?

Interviewer: What do you think of the rumour that Mr Ray lives on through a doll? 

Martin: I saw those movies with my son on his eighteenth birthday as a sort of movie marathon event. The stories were entertaining, but entirely unrealistic. I mean, the things people can come up with! Even through the use of voodoo, that surely wouldn’t be possible. So I’d like to reassure any anxious viewers that the ghost of Charles Lee Ray will not come for them in the guise of a Good Guy doll.

————————————————————

Interview Six:

Andy Barclay - Chucky Expert:

Interviewer: Tell us about your experiences with Chucky.

Andy: I got him as a gift on my sixth birthday. He killed my mom’s best friend Maggie whilst she was babysitting me. He convinced me to skip school and go to Chicago, where he killed his old partner Eddie Caputo and Doctor Death. He wanted to transfer his soul into my body, and killed anyone who got in his way. My mother and I stopped him with the help of Mike Norris, and we thought that was the end of it. But he killed my foster parents, but Kyle and I killed him again. I had a few years without him and went off to military school. Chucky reared his ugly head and I had to stop him from killing a kid. But he killed several of my classmates and some teachers. We exploded him in one of those industrial sized fans. It was kinda funny. I haven’t seen him since… but he’s out there. 

Interviewer: How do you know this?

Andy: I… have it on good authority. Besides, he always comes back. He never dies.

Interviewer: Are you sure that this all really happened? You weren’t just a traumatised kid?

Andy: I know what I saw. I’m not lying. He’s alive, and that goddamn doll ruined my life. Now listen to me, I’ve heard that he’s been spotted in this area. He loves attention so he’s probably drawn to this little documentary. I suggest you find a place to hide, before it’s too late.

Interviewer: Well that’s… all the time we have I’m afraid Mr Barclay. Get home safe.

Andy: So you’re just.. not gonna take anything I’m saying seriously? Whatever, it’s your funeral pal. A shot through the head or heart usually works to kill him, so try that if all else fails. Good luck.

————————————————————

Closing Remarks:

Interviewer: Charles Lee Ray was a fascinatingly complex man. Clearly deranged, but with a secret passion for art and a desire to have a family. Perhaps, if he had gotten help in his youth, this documentary wouldn’t exist? It’s a fascinating thing to ponder, but- wait, what is that? Is that- no, it’s just a doll. It couldn’t be- wait! No, no, no, please! Don’t- argh! *gurgle*

Chucky: Well that was fun. Hiya folks, I’m Charles, but my friends call me Chucky. Thanks for stickin’ around for the whole documentary, means a lot, y’know? It’s been fun hearing all these different perspectives, but I think you fine folks deserve the true story straight from the horse’s mouth, or however that saying goes. I was born and raised in New Jersey, killed my mom aged seven, moved to a Boy’s Home. Killed a janitor aged fourteen and went to live on the streets. Met Tiffany, killed a chick with her. Killed a crap ton of people with and apart from her and then decided to have a kid with Sarah Pierce. I can confirm that Nica’s my kid. Looks a lot like her old man, doesn’t she? Got gunned down in a toy store, came back as a doll and killed a whole bunch of people. The highlights include the woman I whacked with her own ruler and the guy I electrocuted with his own electric impulse therapy machine thing. I dunno, never learned the name. I’ve been bumped off a few times, but I always come back. I’m honestly so happy that so many people wanted to learn about me, I’m thrilled. Y’know what, anyone who watched this documentary is gonna be spared. Just tell me when you watched it and show me proof and I won’t hurt ya. In fact, I’ll sign an autograph and take a selfie if you want me to. Till then, remember, friends don’t let friends drive drunk. Goodnight everyone!

[litlunacy]

Apprenticember Pt. 3 (Days 13-19)

13. Can they cook? What’s their favorite meal?

Ximena can cook, and cook really well, but she absolutely despises doing it. When she and Asra were living together, she made him do all of the cooking and grumbled at him about having to do it herself when he went on a trip. When she does have to do it herself, she makes sure to make enough extra to eat later too so she doesn’t have to cook again. Her favorite food is buttered noodles with grated cheese, mostly for the fact that it is incredibly simple to make.

14. What does their magic look/feel like?

Her magic is like a very cool, gentle breeze, or a terrifying winter gale depending on her emotional state. It manifests as pale, silvery wisps.

15. What are they proudest of?

That question would take a long time for her to answer, but eventually she’d say she’s proudest of the life she and Julian have managed to build. For a pair of anxious, undead amnesiacs they sure have done well for themselves! But truthfully, sometimes she just has to sit back and really let it settle in that this is her life now. She’s happy and whole, and he’s happy and whole, and she just really couldn’t ask for anything more. They worked so damn hard to get here and it was so very worth it in the end.

16. What’s their deepest insecurity?

Ximena’s biggest insecurity is that she knows relationships don’t come easy to her (platonic or romantic) and often feels like she’s messing them up royally. Is she being too bossy, is she disappearing to be alone too often, does she actually show people that she cares or is she not doing enough? Does the fact that she enjoys time by herself hurt the people who care about her, make them feel unwanted? When she was younger, she dealt with these fears by meditating, either in her gateway or with the Moon, seeking clarity in calm and quiet. It’s more difficult post-resurrection, since she has lost her connection to both of those things, and Asra constantly disappearing on her doesn’t exactly help. At least she has Ember, though, and she knows her familiar will never leave her. When she and Julian get together, she realizes that he has a lot of the same fears about messing things up and she isn’t having it. Lucky for her, he isn’t having any of it from her end either, and they both manage to pull each other out of the spiral when one of them falls in it again.

17. Do they have any family, living or non living? List their family tree!

Her parents are both still alive, though she doesn’t remember them. Her mother, Arianna, and Aunt Angelina (who were twins) were born in Vesuvia. Her mother was the wild child, filled with wanderlust, and left Vesuvia at 18 to travel the world. Eventually she reached Zadith, where she met Ximena’s father, a magician named Nazir. She settled down with him and had Ximena, though they would spend the summers in Vesuvia visiting Aunt Angie at her magic shop. Ximena learned magic from her dad and aunt, and took over her aunt’s shop not too long before Angie died (it wasn’t the plague, it was a freak accident in the forest). Asra kept her parents away after he brought Ximena back to life, telling them that she had also been in a terrible accident and lost her memories, but promising to write them to keep them in the loop. He tells her about them eventually, after her and Julian get back from visiting his family in Nevivon, and they all hop right back on the boat to go see them. She gets back some memory fragments of them, but not everything.

18. What were they like as a child?

She was a very curious child, constantly wandering and poking at things. She loved playing with her dad’s magical floating lights and any small animals that wandered by. Her mother taught her how to paint, though the two of them would often end up in giant paint fights instead. She didn’t make friends with other kids easily, and preferred animals or solitude. Honestly, she wasn’t that different as a kid than she is as an adult, though she is a little more careful about poking at strange things now.

19. If your mc fights, what is their fighting style? If they don’t, why not?

Ximena fights mostly with magic, though she also has a habit of just grabbing the nearest object and hurling it. Sometimes it’s useful, sometimes it’s a pillow and feathers go everywhere. She’ll take what she can get. She's also very good at taunting her opponents into screwing up because she's a little chaos gremlin when she wants to be.

[tranzfalgar]

okay it’s time for some stardew valley headcanons for the bachelor/ette(s) so let’s GOOOO

Alex:

- he always awakes before his grandparents, and on warmer days he’ll go down to the beach to watch the sunrise.

- friends with elliot! the two of them sit on the side of the dock sometimes and just chat about life.

- knows how to make cookies, as evelyn taught him when he was a bit younger

- wary of the saloon, as he doesn’t really like the smell of alcohol and only goes into it if he’s forced to!

- if you marry him, he can and will pick you up randomly to surprise you while you’re working!

- if married, he will “bench press” your kids once they become toddlers, and it always makes them giggle

- hates the winter and gets cold really easily. on the first day of fall he’s already bundled up wanting it to be summer again.

Elliot:

- willy is like a father to him. the two of them sit on the docks and watch the fish swim by together

- sometimes he’ll braid his hair, and leah will bring flowers from the forest and weave them into his hair.

- has a rlly pretty singing voice, and likes to record piano covers in his spare time

- if you marry him and the two of u have kids, he’ll always braid their hair in the morning and tuck flowers behind their ears.

- he brings home fresh fish he caught and makes himself dinner every night. that’s why he’s an excellent cook.

- has actually caught a legendary fish before!

- his eyes change color, they can go from blue to green to brown in the same day. people call them the “prismatic shard of eyes”

Harvey:

- he’s so clumsy that sometimes he’ll even trip over air. due to this, he has little bruises all over his knees and elbows.

- his favorite animals are birds. sometimes he’ll go outside and just give them some bird seed. he loves watching them fly around.

- not only is he fascinated with planes, but he’s also fascinated with the weather. as a kid he used to watch the weather channel, and he dreamed of becoming a weatherman.

- when he needs to focus really hard, he’ll pull his hair back with a headband

- him and his mother were and still are very close, and he writes letters to her at least once a week

- he cannot cook to save his life, but he’s an incredible baker! will make you little treats if you’re friends or married

- he always wears a wristwatch, but the time is always 6 minutes behind. he likes it because it has a plane engraved into the side against his wrist.

Sam:

- he had adhd, and his stims include flapping his hands, tapping his foot and strumming his guitar

- he has a beautiful singing voice, think like wilbur soot but a bit more high pitched?

- the reason he likes cactus fruit so much is because he just plants them and lets them grow. he loves succulents because they don’t give him an allergic reaction!

- cannot play video games for shit. sebastian and abigail have banned him from multi-player games because he just sucks so bad.

- love language is acts of service, simply because he likes singing for people he cares about and doing little things for them!

- if you marry him, he will bring his guitar into the coop and/or barn and sing to the animals. they have learned to run over a greet him, since they love his singing.

- his hair is actually curly, but you’re unable to tell due to how much he gels and straightens his hair.

- has mastered the art of the puppy dog eyes

Sebastian:

- loves the hell out of halloween, but is scared of literally everything. he nearly cried watching a horror movie with sam and abigail.

- really good with a slingshot! so if he were to go into the mines, he would wreck some monsters shit with his slingshot skills

- he had glow in the dark stars on his ceiling, but removed them. he used to love the stars and space, but came to resent them because it was his sisters thing.

- he like…irl blushes. like an anime character. when he’s embarrassed, upset, flustered, his face will go all pink. everyone picks on him for it.

- has/had a crush on most of the towns singles. he is a bisexual disaster and secretly a romantic so….take from that what you will.

- a natural born ginger, but dyes his hair. he also has freckles on his nose! and he has an eyebrow slit because of a scar!!

- for some stupid reason, he takes really good care of his hands? like he always makes sure they don’t get calloused, and his nails are always painted black, despite using his hands all the time for work.

Shane:

- he cannot cook. he burned pasta noodles because he didn’t know you had to put water in the pan.

- he still has a chicken plushie from when he was a baby, and it still sits on his bed. and if he cuddles with it at night? no one needs to know.

- has a huge birthmark on his side shaped like a heart

- really good at mixology, so i think that when joja gets shut down, shane works at the saloon and makes the drinks while gus cooks. he adds a whole new section on the menu!

- friends with sebastian. they paint each other’s nails from time to time, or sit in the rain together and just talk.

- kinda strong as hell? he lifts boxes in joja for work, as well as carrying around jas, so i’m assuming he could just….pick the farmer and his friends up?

- he has the most contagious laugh, it used to be a rare sound, but now that it’s a pretty common occurrence, shane makes people laugh all the time with his own laugh.

Abigail:

- buff. she is buff as hell. her and alex work out together sometimes, since she expressed a desire for adventure. she has picked up sam and sebastian with no warning and thrown them into the ocean

- can talk to animals due to her being the daughter of the wizard! so sometimes she’ll go to marnies farm and just chat with the cows or something

- if she sees a tree, she WILL climb it. she loves it so much, it’s just so adrenaline inducing for her.

- her and sebastian tried to go into the mines before but sam stopped them because it wouldn’t have been very safe. they were all 14.

- trying to learn to play the ukulele with a little help from sam. it’s frustrating, but she really likes the sound of it, and she’s determined as hell.

- absolutely cracked at any and all video games he plays. mario kart? she will kick your ass. animal crossing? her island has 5 stars. pokémon? she always wins. you can’t stop her, she’s too powerful.

- she has glasses, but prefers contacts, since glasses would get in the way of her adventuring.

Emily:

- not only can she sew, but she also makes her own soaps and candles! any form of creation she adores.

- loves flowers, and has a lot of little potted ones in her room. she raises them, gives them little names and personalities, and then brings them to sandy and tells her all about each flower

- she can roller skate, and it’s her preferred method of transportation. she can do a bunch of fun tricks as well!

- has an eyebrow slit

- making cute little baskets of homemade gifts is her favorite thing to do for her friends. sometimes she’ll just leave them on their doorsteps for no reason other than she wants to!

- can SPRINT in heels. like even 6 inch heels she can just RUN and it scares everyone who sees it.

- she loves the sounds of birds chirping in the morning, and she’s able to identify the name of the bird by its chirping and calls

Haley:

- is able to perfectly crack and drink from coconuts. that’s why she loves them so much.

- has the worst sense of direction. she’s lucky she lives in a small town, or she’d get lost all the time

- the spring is her favorite time of year, simply because she loves to capture life coming back in those spring months. baby animals, blooming flowers, her friends on the beach or just chilling in the sun, all of it

- her most prized possession is the very first picture her and emily took as kids on their parents polaroid. it’s taped to her mirror

- has a little beauty mark under her lip, but it normally isn’t visible due to being covered with makeup!

- she’s able to do her own nails! this is because she is ambidextrous, yet she doesn’t know, because it’s never been brought up

- she fucking LOVES learning about and identifying plants, trees and flowers. she knows so many it’s crazy. she has a great memory.

Leah:

- resident true crime enthusiast and ghost hunter. she drags elliot with her around town to go hunting for ghosts. they also watch documentaries together!

- has a bunch of little scars on her hands from her artwork

- to get inspiration for works, she’ll go on walks at different times of the day, different seasons, different routes, and she’ll turn each walk into a work of art. depending on all the environment and those who she runs into, each piece is vastly different.

- animals love her, and will sometimes just follow her around for no reason. she doesn’t mind at all, she kinda loves it.

- friends with emily. they are currently teaching each other their own forms of art, since they love learning from each other!

- really good at dancing, she’ll dance while she’s working on projects and she’ll hum a song to herself

- her favorite statue was created after she went on a walk, ran into abigail, and the two of them went swimming in the ocean and stayed there as the sun set and the stars came out. she has a little crush on abigail.

Maru:

- her hair is ALWAYS tied up, it’s impossible for her to work if her hair is in her eyes

- when she was a kid she wanted to be an astronaut, because she loves the stars, but she found she prefers the science and math behind it all

- she pierced her own ears, she has little star earrings!

- watches cartoons and geeks out about them with penny when they meet up in town!

- for some odd reason, she is terrified of butterflies. no one who knows her, or even maru herself have ANY idea why, but she will run away if she sees one.

- her favorite memory was the one night her and sebastian stayed up really late as kids and snuck outside to look at the stars (back when sebastian still loved them) and they ended up seeing a meteor shower

- she presses flowers as a hobby, and just keeps them in a little notebook alongside her ideas for projects and gadgets.

Penny:

- while she’s cleaning her and pam’s home, she finds herself singing to herself. she has yet to be caught by anyone

- each day, her hair is done ever-so-slightly different. each morning, she likes to change it up, and sometimes jas or vincent will give her something to put in her hair

- also interested in ghosts, will occasionally join elliot and leah on their adventures

- she is naturally really warm, so she doesn’t have to bundle up as much during the winter. the kids cling to her because she’s like a human space heater

- has a bit of a geeky side, and she loves to watch cartoons a lot. when she can find the time, she always watches them. they being her lots of comfort.

- has a small scar on her side from when she tripped over as a child onto something sharp. she likes it because with two freckles, it makes a little smiley face

- loves the water and the feeling of sea wind in her hair. she secretly wants to learn to drive a boat, so she can feel that wind in her hair whenever she wants.

[robininthelabyrinth]

A-Yuan wasn’t the only child among the Wen Remnants, just the youngest.

Children's Day - ao3

Lan Wangji carefully scooped up the boy out of his hiding place, tucked beneath a pile of stones, sick with fever and fast asleep.

It was a good hiding place. If Lan Wangji hadn’t played Inquiry and demanded to know if there were any living beings around in this cursed place of death, he would never have found the small child.

He remembered him – this was little A-Yuan, who Wei Wuxian had taken down into town to play, the one Lan Wangji had bought all those toys for in his confusion, the one who called him rich-gege. Barely more than two years old, having never known anything but war.

He was all that was left, now. There was nothing else left in the battlefield.

No one else left.

Lan Wangji closed his eyes in pain.

I’ll care for him for you, he promised Wei Wuxian’s ghost, wherever it might be now. Now that you cannot.

I’ll take him back to Gusu to raise as my own – wishing you were by my side.

-

-Earlier-

“Sect Leader!” one of his aides cried out when he staggered back into camp. “What – who’s that?”

Jiang Cheng looked down at the girl in his arms. She was – four, maybe? Five? He had no idea.

She looked a bit like Wen Qing.

“I found her hiding in the corner of the battlefield when she made a noise,” he said hoarsely. “The Wen sect remnants…by the time I got there, they were almost all dead already, all her family. She’s – she’s young. It didn’t seem right.”

Wei Wuxian always liked children, he thought vaguely to himself as he looked down at her. It wasn’t so much of a surprise that he would keep one there…in fact, if he thought back to that horrible meeting they’d had that one time he’d come to the Burial Mounds to try to talk to Wei Wuxian, he thought he remembered there being a small child there. This must be her.

She was bigger than he remembered, but that was what happened with small children, wasn’t it?

“Her surname is Wen?”

“No,” Jiang Cheng snapped automatically, and his aide took a step back from his vehemence. “The Wen sect is dead, you understand? All of them. The cultivation world refused to allow them to live, that much is obvious enough. Her surname…”

He looked down at her.

I failed Wei Wuxian, he thought grimly. I won’t fail his legacy.

“Her surname will be Jiang.”

-

-Earlier-

“We found this child hiding in the Demon Subduing Cave,” one of the guards reported, looking nervous. “Lianfeng-zun – what do we do with them?”

Jin Guangyao frowned down at the child, judging the child’s age to be about five or six – maybe seven, considering the likelihood of malnutrition at the Burial Mounds. If they were any younger, he would’ve said that the child ought to just execute them as useless; any older, and he would’ve had no choice but to declare them an enemy combatant, and thereby order them executed.

At this age, though…they were still young enough to be taught to forget their current surname, and to learn new loyalties, and yet old enough to perhaps remember a little of what they had learned, living as they had for a few years with the inventor of demonic cultivation.

Jin Guangyao glanced at the papers in his hands, full of barely legible scribbles, laying out powerful new spells and interesting ideas. They would help Xue Yang with his work – but not as much as a helper would, and naturally they’d just brutally executed all the other ‘helpers’ that might have been available.

Not exactly Jin Guangyao’s personal preference, but he wasn’t the one leading the Jin sect army.

Still, his father, who had been the one leading, had retired to his tent, and now Jin Guangyao was the one with the power, left to be in charge of mopping up. That, in turn, gave him a little more leeway, which meant he could implement his own thoughts, rather than badly thought out instructions.

“Put the child in my tent,” he said, and smiled. “The poor thing must have gotten lost and entered the battlefield – after we arrived. You understand?”

The guard saluted deeply. “Lianfeng-zun is kind and beneficent,” he said, and his expression was worshipful. “I will tell the others that the child is from some distant Jin branch.”

Jin Guangyao hadn’t intended for him to do that, but – well, he couldn’t exactly refute it now, could he, and anyway there were worse things to happen. Everyone would know that he had kindly taken in some orphaned child of war, which would be good for his reputation.

He smiled and nodded, and thought of the future.

-

-Earlier-

“Well, shit,” Nie Mingjue said, staring at the trio of children: nine or ten years old, he thought, maybe a little older, two girls and a boy. They stared back at him, wide-eyed and terrified – they were very clearly trying to sneak off the Burial Mounds down the back way.

Nie Mingjue rubbed his face, glad that he’d insisted on doing the forward scout work before the attack tomorrow morning himself rather than let it go to someone else. He hadn’t wanted to come to this blasted place in the first place, being that he still wasn’t sure exactly what had gone down with Wei Wuxian, who’d been a good man once. But good Nie cultivators had died at Lanling City at Wen Ning’s hands, the Jin sect claiming that that brutal attack was at Wei Wuxian’s instigation, and at the Nightless City at Wei Wuxian’s hands directly, and he didn’t have any evidence to exculpate the man, either; he had no grounds to look the families of those Nie cultivators in the eye and tell them not to pursue vengeance against the man who had slaughtered their brothers and fathers and sons, sisters and mothers and daughters, like they meant nothing.

They deserved vengeance.

Just as he had, for his father.

But at the same time…

“You’re all surnamed Wen, I take it?” he asked, and they slowly nodded. “Dafan Wen?”

Another nod.

“Wrong answer,” he said, making a snap decision. This wasn’t like his father at all, not really; he had wanted to kill Wen Ruohan, who had done the deed himself, while these children clearly hadn’t done anything. “Swear to me here and now that you won’t seek revenge for your sect or family, and you can be surnamed Nie instead.”

They looked at each other.

“Your family didn’t send you to run away because they wanted you to take revenge,” he said. It was a guess, but he could tell from the way their shoulders sagged that he was right. “They wanted you to live. Well?”

They swore.

He took them home.

-

-Earlier-

She tripped and fell flat on her face.

“Hey, girl!”

She looked up, eyes wide with terror – she hadn’t expected to be caught so soon – but the cultivator in front of her didn’t strike her down. He was a young man, just a few years older than her, and he looked nice, kneeling to help her up.

“Are you all right?” he asked. “Did you get lost?”

Lost? From where would she get lost, exactly?

Despite that, she nodded.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Here isn’t a good place, though – we’re going to have a battle tomorrow…can you tell me where you’re from?” He frowned. “Or – can’t you speak?”

An idea suddenly came to mind, and she shook her head, lifting up her hands to mime signs like the ones she’d seen Lady Wen and her brother use sometimes when they needed to talk without disturbing others.

“Doesn’t talk,” he murmured to himself. “Clothing of white, ripped all to ribbons –”

She’d torn out any trace of the red sun. White was a common color, but she was old enough to know that she couldn’t let anyone know she was surnamed Wen.

“Oh, I’ve read about this before! Are you a bird yao that’s cultivated to humanity?”

What?

She’d been thinking of trying to pass as a traumatized war veteran, but she was only fourteen, after all; it wasn’t very believable. Of course, it was a lot more believable that bird yao – who would leap to that conclusion?

“My surname is Ouyang,” the man said, smiling brightly at her. “You should come back with me – I can teach you to speak, and we can give you a name…how about ‘Luo’ as a surname? That has to do with birds. Or we could surname you Bai, instead, since your clothing is white! Or maybe -”

She smiled helplessly at his nonsense. What a silly, cheerful man! Maybe she’d overestimated his age, he couldn’t be more than two or three years older, at most, and his brain was clearly not in the right place, filled up to the brim with romantic stories and adventure tales instead of facts.

It was a nice change, actually.

She accepted his hand as she stood.

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

-

-Earlier-

Lan Wangji had returned home and submitted to a dreadful punishment. The elders he had injured on Wei Wuxian’s behalf were either in treatment or recovering.

As for the rest that had been at the Nightless City…

Many were dead.

Lan Qiren landed in the Burial Mounds, lips pressed tightly together.

He knew he was taking a risk in coming here to Wei Wuxian’s lair – no matter what Lan Wangji thought, whatever good points he’d had in the past, the man was now little better than a mad dog. He’d caused the death of three thousand people just the day before, three thousand innocents that hadn’t had anything to do with anything; why would he hesitate to attack his old teacher?

There was already talk of a siege – Jiang Cheng himself had promised to lead it, to wipe off the stain on the Jiang sect’s record, and the Jin sect had been right behind him. Even Nie Mingjue had been dragged in against his will, suborned by his sect members’ need for vengeance. As for the Lan Sect…Lan Xichen had looked so stricken by the thought that Lan Qiren had volunteered for the grim duty, despite Lan Qiren having never been much of a fighter and even less of a general. He intended to take only the smallest possible contingent, and to limit their work as much as possible to cleansing the dead rather than killing those who remained there – that much, at least, he could do for his nephew.

Either way, though, no matter his powers, Wei Wuxian would not live out the week.

If Lan Qiren desired vengeance, he need only wait.

And yet, here he was.

Alone, practically unarmed – and here nonetheless.

An old woman came out from the cave and squinted at him.

“It’s over,” she said sadly. “Isn’t it?”

Lan Qiren looked at her. One of the Wen remnants that Wei Wuxian had surrounded himself with, he assumed; the ones he’d given up his comfortable life for, claiming he was only acting as a righteous man ought. Perhaps he even had thought he was, back then.

Perhaps he really had been, back then.

“Yes,” Lan Qiren said, and cleared his throat. “After what he did at the Nightless City – the verdict is unquestionably death. But the rest of you…there are armies coming, and armies are not known for their leniency, especially not on passerby with the wrong surname. But they’re not here yet. There’s still time to flee – if you go now, you could take on a new surname and find some quiet place to live on.”

Lan Wangji had said they were civilians. Civilian life was to be prioritized above all else.

Lan Qiren was only doing what he must.

Despite his well-meant warnings, however, the old lady shook her head.

“There’s nowhere to go, and we won’t give up our surname,” she said, polite but stubborn to the last. “But thank you for taking the time to come here to tell us.”

“Wangji said that there were children here,” Lan Qiren insisted, ignoring her refusal. “If you won’t flee with them, at least send those that are old enough out on their own, and hide the younger ones. Tell them to forget their surnames – most people won’t rampantly murder children, so there’s a chance they’ll make it through, and live. Can you deny them that, just for pride?”

That gave the old woman pause.

“We’ll do what we can,” she said, and then eyed him. “How good are you at medicine?”

Lan Qiren frowned. “I can’t provide care –”

“She’s already dead. Come help anyway.”

The woman in question was not already dead, but dying – she was in her late teens, seventeen or eighteen at most, and she was in labor. From the glassiness of her eyes, the redness of her cheeks, and the threadiness of her pulse, it was clear that infection had long ago set in. It was not an exaggeration to say she was dead, little better than a corpse.

She was little more than a child.

“I don’t want her to die alone,” the old woman said. “But if you stay with her, I can use the time to try to take care of the rest. You’re not wrong, I suppose – the children, at least, deserve a chance to live on, even if it means leaving our surname behind.”

Lan Qiren looked down at the woman, unconscious already and unlikely to ever wake, and yet still whimpering. “And her child?”

The old woman looked surprised. “Can a child born like this still live?”

Lan Qiren had almost no medical training beyond the most superficial basics that were the necessity for any battlefield or night-hunt, with one sole exception: he had supervised the births of both his nephews by himself with little aid – his brother’s wife hadn’t wanted anyone else to be present, possibly in an attempt to prematurely enter her grave, possibly just out of spite. He had studied very hard in the days leading up to those births, and knew far more on the subject than most men did.

“It’s possible,” he said. “Unlikely, but – possible.”

He hesitated for a long moment.

“I can take the baby,” he finally said. “Pass him off as some war-orphan child of distant Lan cousins, sent to me on account of their deaths. I could raise him, or else give him to my cousin to raise; he’s got a large enough family that no one would question it.”

“Why would you do that?”

Lan Qiren looked at the woman who was dying, little more than a child herself. “Because of the children I can’t help.”

The old woman was quiet for a little while.

“Very well,” she said, and leaned forward to whisper the name the young woman had thought about for her child into his ear. “That works with Lan as a surname, wouldn’t it? That’s not bad.”

“Not bad at all,” Lan Qiren agreed, and rolled up his sleeves, settling down beside the girl. “Not bad at all.”

[sukirichi]

earned it [05]

Gojo Satoru is a firm believer that if you work hard for it then you shall earn it. But on the other side, he’s not unfamiliar with his own sins. He also believes that there is punishment due for his sins as he’s earned it.

cw. domestic abuse, car accident, slight angst, sexism, suggestive scenes, unedited and my naoya simping is obvious with this one, 

notes. TEAM NAOYA LET’S GOOOO *sighs* finally got this out from my drafts. anyways, here’s an earned it update while i recover from migraines because my schedule was so hectic last week and i’m so tired, might be sleeping a lot these days hence the hiatus :( also ik i keep saying this but future chapters will finally be more...UH SPICY AND MORE DRAMATIC, I guess? this is mostly an angst fic btw so please don’t expect too much fluff of heartwarming romance. there WILL be romance,,,it just takes some time hehe, anways ENJOY...or not :)

series masterlist

Women were weak. Trained to be voiceless, compliant, and unable to fight – Naoya found them weak.

His own mother was the perfect epitome of that. For years, he’d watched her leave his father’s room with dried tears, wiping them away with the back of her sleeves. When she saw a little Naoya standing at the edge of the hallway, she’d immediately usher him back to his room, her tears replaced with a smile so convincing Naoya wouldn’t have believed she’d been crying if he hadn’t seen it for himself.

Naoya wasn’t stupid. How could he be when day and night, he’s surrounded by tutors, expected to take over his clan and lead them all to a brighter future?

How could he be stupid when he can’t sleep at night, for the screams and cries of his mother, the sound of palm hitting cheek resonating just from the other room, accompanied with the insults directed her way by his own father?

How could he be so stupid when he looked up to his mother – who he believed was the only source of light in the rather desolate walls of their manor – only to see that her beauty faded with each passing day, the brightness of her eyes now filled agony, with pain, with fear? She no longer smiled; not even for him. She no longer came around his room to read him bedtime stories no matter how much Naoya pleaded because he’d gotten tired of reciting scriptures and poetry. She no longer kissed him on the forehead as a morning greeting, opting to stay in the sidelines with her head bowed, acting as if she was a servant and not his mother.

Naoya wasn’t stupid. As the future leader of the Zen’in Clan, it was his duty to hear and see everything, to be wary of everyone around him and to observe. He knew his father abused her. He knew his father hated her, looked down on her, stepped on her at each moment he could. And as if that wasn’t enough, Naoya found out they weren’t married in the first place.

She had been nothing but a mere concubine whose role was to birth an heir. Now that Naoya had come to life, her purpose to live ceased to exist. And people who had no role in the Zen’in estate had no reason to stay any further.

“Mother,” Naoya cried out, tugging at his mother’s sleeve. “Mother, please don’t go, don’t leave me!”

She was crying again; he wished she’d stop doing that, that she’d stop being so weak. He wanted his mother to be strong and fight back, but she’s not even attempting to wipe her tears away this time, displaying her vulnerability and meek self to him. Had his father been there, she’d be scolded again, claiming that Naoya shouldn’t be exposed to behaviors of surrender and weakness.

His mother cupped his face, trying her best to keep the younger version of himself from dangling onto her robes; the expensive, silk material the last evidence she’d ever been a part of them.

“Naoya, baby, it’s okay. You need to grow up strong and be the clan leader, okay?”

“But why do you have to leave? Why do you never fight back?”

“I’m sorry, dear...” was all she said, finally kissing him on the forehead like she’d failed to do so for the past months. Somehow, it didn’t make him feel any better. Instead, Naoya’s cries grows louder with each minute, loud enough that he caught the attention of his manservants who paled at the Young Master’s wails that was sure to displease his father locked inside his study. His mother sent a glance their way that expressed messages he couldn’t yet understand due to his innocence. Strong arms wrapped around his smaller frame until they dragged Naoya away from his mother, the sight of a luggage behind her turning him weak in the knees.

“Remember, Mother always loves you.”

“No!” he fought against their hold. His servants did all they could to not harm the Young Master’s skin, but Naoya was too strong, too desperate that they were unable to hold him back.

Naoya kept running and running, uncaring of the fact his loose robes hindered him from going at full speed. He didn’t stop, even as his servants had trailed after him, desperate pleas for the Young Master to come back falling into deaf ears. His mother had arrived on a nearby bus from the open roads that led outside the Zen’in Estate’s outer gates, her hand frozen on the doors with her head slightly tilted to the side.

That slight moment of hesitance – to look behind or leave everything behind – was what made Naoya stop in his tracks. He breathed hard, sweaty palms on his knees as he silently prayed to the divine beings to bring his mother back, for her to look at him one last time.

But she didn’t.

And Naoya was frozen in his tracks, everything colliding into one crash and burn that he failed to make sense of everything. He stood there and watched his mother hop into the bus, her decision to leave him behind final and irrevocable. What had rung louder then? The way his heart shattered into pieces, or the loud honking of an incoming car that not even his skilled team of guards could protect him from?

Naoya figured it must’ve been the muffled cries of his mother behind the windows that rung the loudest even if he hadn’t heard it.

Until now, he carried the mark his mother left behind; a gnarly scar running inches from his kneecaps that throbs until now. It reminds him every day what could happen to someone once they’re weak, once they’re vulnerable, the horrifying consequence of not being strong enough to face in this world like a huge slap in his face. In a way, he felt grateful for the scar; at least it was proof he’d done his best to run after his mother, and this injury just taught him it was best to face things head on instead of running away.

This scar would always tell him that running away was never the option, and that was why Naoya felt so strong, so disappointed when he met you. Naoya saw much potential in you – the wrath firing in your eyes and the will to fight back is what pulled him in on the first place – and yet you were already trembling on the ground, your sweat dripping on the floor.

“Stand up!” he demanded, tapping his cane on the ground as he wobbled to his feet. “Do you really think being weak will make you survive in this world?”

“I’m trying!”

“You’re not trying hard enough,” he spat out, matching the intensity of your glare. Had you been any lesser of a woman, a servant, he’d have your eyes gouged out. But to him, you were a vessel of hope, an embodiment of strength he could help you hone that he let you off. Still, he felt extremely let down that he expected so much from you, and you’ve been pathetic so far.

Naoya shook his head as he left. “You’re going to die the moment you step out of here. And to think I actually had high hopes for you. As expected, you women are weak and pathetic. Each one of you is useless.”

He didn’t get very far when his injury throbbed again. Naoya fell to his knees and immediately bit down on his lip to conceal his groans, but it was too late. You’ve rushed to him in an instant, already pulling his slacks upwards to get a good look at his knee. Worry is painted all over your features still drenched in sweat and exhaustion, and he pried your hand away, a frown deep on his lips.

“Get away from me. I don’t need a woman’s help.”

“You’re so uptight, you know that?” you rebutted with a roll of your eyes. Naoya watched as you skipped to the nearest medical kit he always kept in his training grounds (which he rarely used) and popping out painkillers to hand to him. “Just shut up and let me take care of you. Unlike you, I don’t walk around calling people weak, and you having this injury never made you weak in my eyes, but you’re not impotent either,” scoffing at him, you pushed the bottle of water to a very annoyed looking Naoya. “At least let me take care of you every once in a while.”

His whole life, Naoya knew nothing but the familiar bitter cold. Being served tea, scaring his servants with his mere presence, the toxic view that everyone was below them drilled into his own head – that had been his life, and his feelings about it were neither hot nor cold.

To him, it was just the way he’s supposed to be.

But the warmth of your hands, the tenderness of your touch to his scars not because you found him weak but rather you cared for him…it tugged at his heartstrings. That had been at least five years ago and Naoya still remembered that moment very clearly.

He couldn’t understand whether he hated his inability to run away or not, because to be around you confused him to no end. One moment, he saw you as nothing but his one way ticket to fortune, but when he was alone with you, he was beginning to see you more as a woman rather than a pawn to his game. Soon, you became more than that, and nothing had terrified him even more that he let someone in his heart just like that.

Did he love you? No, most definitely not. A man like him didn’t know how to love. But with you – every time he saw you – Naoya is confident to admit that he could somehow understand what love meant.

It had been a hellish trip – one he’d never admit it out loud that he wished to never go on again. He was just happy to be home before he laughed, because home? He’d never thought he’d ever say that, yet there he was, beaming at the sight of you pushing your weight off the limousine.

You looked as stunning as usual, running up to him even with your heels before wrapping your arms around his neck. Usually, Naoya didn’t like public displays of affection since it could greatly deter his reputation, but everyone knew both of you weren’t each other’s weaknesses that he didn’t care whether his people could see their leader grinning as his wife welcomed with a kiss. Naoya balanced himself on his cane to encircle a hand to your waist, pulling you closer and burying his face in your hair.

“I missed you,” you mumbled with your head buried in his shoulder.

Naoya’s smile wasn’t any less affectionate. “I missed you more.” And he did – a whole lot. Even as you both made it inside the limousine, the tablet passed to him per the usual to update him on what happened on the few days of his absence, Naoya couldn’t keep his hands to himself. His cane balanced between his knee and the door, while his free hand intertwined with yours, mindlessly caressing the matching rings that symbolized more trust than love.

“How did it go?” he brought your knuckles up to his lips and kissed it, his attention still focused on today’s stock market. “Did you convince him to lend us the lab?”

“Yes, my love, everything is under control. I told you I had it.”

“Cunning little minx,” he smirked at the confidence and triumph dripping from your voice. Naoya shut his tablet off with a click, hauling you until you were resting on his lap. Giggles erupted beautifully from your lips as you pressed your forehead to his, both your smiles equally mischievous. “Did you sleep with him?”

“No. Satoru is still hopelessly in love with me, so it didn’t really take much to push him to the edge with a few tears and white lies,” you smiled at him, soon dropping from your face when Naoya’s eyes darkened with an unreadable – no, unfamiliar hint of worry behind them. “Naoya,” you caressed his leg, “I don’t care about him anymore, you’ve got nothing to worry about. I just want to survive and put everything behind,” you cupped his face and forced him to look you in the eye, making sure he heard every bit of sincerity in your voice. “You know I love you, right? I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth. Him coming back doesn’t change a thing.”

“I know that,” he said, although deep down, in the dark recesses of his heart, something agonizing stirred within.

You were a smart woman – too intelligent that he may have feared you had he been any lesser – who could easily read through him, but Naoya wanted to be a step ahead of you that he caught your lips to stop you from seeking beneath his soul already. He knew that if you looked a little too close, you’d see everything, and that would be the last thing he wanted.

Snaking his tongue past your lips, he greedily swallowed your moans. Naoya’s touch was possessive as he gripped your thigh, seconds away from ripping off the material of your dress. He only stopped once he saw his driver pale in awkwardness, and he chuckled to himself, squeezing your hips to stop you from grinding on his thigh.  

“You’re always so good for me,” he praised, “I might just reward you once we get home.”

Home. Prior to meeting you, home had been nothing but a word in his extensive vocabulary. Home had been nothing but something that carried a meaning but no significance in his living, but now that he’d met you, home felt familiar. Home smelled like rose-scented shampoos, it resonated of bubbly laughter and curious hands finding its way to its belt. Home…you’d just given him something to lose.

As per the plan, you managed to sneak past Satoru’s defenses. Naoya had once said that your secret weapon was not your tempting nature as a woman, but rather your intelligence that sometimes put his to shame. He’d shamelessly announced his plan to use you again with the goal of taking matters into your own hands, looping Satoru into the picture until you have him wrapped around your finger again.

It turned out to be easier than expected. Truthfully, you wanted to refuse. It wasn’t because you were worried you’d beat yourself in your own game and fall for Satoru again, but because it felt so uncomfortable to hold him like that, to kiss him like that.

Each second you spent with him just served as a painful reminder of how he’d mindlessly pushed you to the side from a failed plan of ‘protecting’ you.

However, you couldn’t complain nor deny Naoya’s wishes. He wanted to use your abilities to the fullest of its extent and bring out your potential. Besides, you trusted him wholeheartedly that you’d never question his motives, even if it included seducing Satoru with crocodile tears and a faux broken heart to get him to bend and move at your will. After all, your will was also Naoya’s, and that was what made the both of you so dangerous together.

Standing here now in Satoru’s laboraty, sending him phoney desperate glances as you clutched your husband’s hand, the game had just begun.

He was giving you both a tour of what you could use from his laboratory, and Naoya had kept silent the whole time. The whole drug manufacturing was more your expertise than his. He simply observed everything with watchful eyes, his gaze darting between Satoru’s longing ones and yours. It was a play pretend of push and pull, everyone in the room except for Satoru unaware that soon, you’d bare your fangs to rip his neck apart, and then you’d stand aside and let Naoya finish the business.

You would’ve laughed had Naoya not tightened his grip on your hand. Both you and Satoru paused as Naoya desperately shushed you up, his eyes wide and floating from one corner to another.

Suddenly, a loud explosion came out of nowhere. The blast crushed half of the building to bare rubble and concrete and you saw nothing but black, inhaled so much smoke that your lungs quivered. The ringing in your ears didn’t stop as you wobbled to unsteady legs, waving the smoke away and coughing whatever filled your system. Satoru was right beside you, his long limbs quicker than yours before he hauled you up, checking to see if you had injuries but you were too scared, too desolate to care for his worry.

For your husband laid under a pile of rubble, an arm and his head the only parts of his body saved from the explosion.

“Naoya!” You screamed and pushed Gojo away, taking your heels off before darting straight to where he was. Jumping from broken debris to one another, your feet scraped and burned with each contact, the ringing in your ears growing louder along with the pounding of your heartbeat.

“Naoya, baby, no!” you tried to pick up the heavy slab of concrete that had crushed his body, tears blurring your vision until Naoya’s blond hair swiveled with his dark clothes. “Don’t leave me, don’t leave me, don’t you fucking dare-”

“Gojo,” he choked out blood. You fell to your knees as you cupped his face and grasped his hand all the while, your entire body shaking. His name kept falling from your lips as you asked him to stand up but he pushed your hand away, not sparing you another glance as he glared at the shock still man behind you. “Take her someplace far – somewhere he won’t find the both of you. It’s T-Toji.”

“No, Naoya, please! I’m not leaving without you!” It was too late. Satoru had easily carried you and threw you over his shoulder, running away from the scene because that was what he was best at. You pounded at his back as the smoke enlarged and covered the entirety of the building that had fizzled with chemicals inside, your husband starting to disappear from view. “Satoru, let me go! We can’t just leave him there!”

“Listen to your husband! He knows what he’s doing!”

As the smoke cleared for a split second, your world stilled. Naoya’s face was smothered with dirt and stains, pain evident on his twisted features, and yet – he was smiling. “Go,” he mouthed, hands outstretched far enough for your matching rings to glint under the sparkling lights. “Live.”

You slumped into Satoru’s arms. It was too late.

You couldn’t comprehend the events that happened afterwards. Satoru had pushed you inside his car before taking off to who knows where. All you knew was that you’d left your husband behind, and you stared emptily at the streets that flashed by, unable to feel or understand anything. It wasn’t until Satoru dragged you out by the wrist and a plane whirring before you snapped you back to life, your feet turning heavy as you plant yourself on the ground.

Satoru looked back at you.

“I’m not going anywhere,” you shook your head, “I’m not leaving him behind, Satoru, he’s all I have. I need to save him – even if it means I die.”

“You’re not going to die,” he starts off slowly. Satoru moves to place his hands down on your shoulders as if to brace you, even going as far as to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear, but you couldn’t really listen, not when the plane hummed to life and remnants of the explosion still clung to your skin.

“Listen, Naoya is a smart man, okay? You know that yourself. He’ll survive, you just need to trust that he’ll make it. Now we have to go before Toji catches up to us and we end up all dying here!” he shook you back to life when your sobs overpowered his speech that fell on deaf ears, and you cried harder, much less like a little girl who quivered in his arms. Satoru sighed, perhaps just as broken from seeing you this way. “He told you to live. Naoya isn’t asking you to die for him, he’s asking you to live and if you don’t get on the plane, we can’t fulfill his wish,” he convinced, but you only bit your lip, still looking back at the car. You could steal it – one punch to his nose and you could easily get away, get back to Naoya, until he said, “You love him right? So respect his wishes.”

You love him. You love Naoya. He would’ve wanted me to live. He asked me to live.

That was the only consolation you could give yourself as you allowed Satoru to take you inside. His right hand man, Geto or something, quietly closed the cabin doors behind you. He was making sure his boss was situated, who in turn was fretting over you. All it took was one last warning glare sent Satoru’s way before he backed off, raising his hands in surrender and falling back to his seat.

Sooner than you’d like, the plane had took off, leaving your heart right behind with each passing second. The higher you flew up in the air, the number you became.

“Where are we going?”

“I have a base in Italy. We should be safe there for a while. Gather resources, plan our next move, contact friends...we’ll be fine,” Satoru pinched the bridge of his nose. It was hard to believe things would be fine when he too seemed restless; whatever happened between him and Toji must’ve really left a scar; not that you cared. You huffed away from Satoru and stared outside the windows instead, your heart dropping the farther Japan was becoming. “Hey. You should get some rest. You’ve had a long day.”

“Whatever,” you snapped at him. You couldn’t stand his voice, not even if he’s saved you.

The only thing that mattered now was living up to Naoya’s wish, and as much as you hated it, Satoru was right. You had to hope he would survive.

The chances of him making it out were low, but knowing Naoya, low chances weren’t zero. As long as he had a little bit of something, he would keep pushing. You just had to place your trust in him.

Kissing your dusty ring, you wiped away your tears one last time, eyes shut tight as you chanted over and over, live, live, live for me! Live! Naoya couldn’t give up that easily. You both had a long way to go, still so many places to travel, thousand more enemies to conquer and defeat. He promised you the fun was just beginning and that you’d get your revenge soon, and Naoya never broke his promises. So you had to trust, had no other choice but to believe that soon he’d be right beside you. He may not be able to completely walk anymore, though none of that mattered. You just wanted to be with him again.

You didn’t realize you’d fallen asleep until Satoru’s hushed whispers woke you up. Sitting up straight, you saw him scowling to whoever he’s talking to on the phone. He looked grim, long, slender fingers caressing his forehead as he sighed. Whatever he heard, it couldn’t have been good, and curiosity got the best of you before you could help it.

“What is it?” Satoru stilled at the sound of your voice, having not expected you to be awake. He refused to meet your eyes as he shut his phone. It angered you further and you stalked his way, slapping a palm down the table before him. “I said, what is it?”

“It’s Naoya...” he said through clenched teeth, still refusing to look you in the eye. “He didn’t make it.”

notes. team naoya...let’s go...cry 😭 when I said I would write more gojo x reader scenes and that they’re still the pairing, I meant it, I just had to take a dark route anyways DO YOU GUYS UNDERSTAND WHY IT TOOK SO LONG FOR ME TO UPDATE THIS, I DIDN’T WANT TO DO THIS TO NAOYA BAE 😭 but on the bright side, italy arc is gonna be SHEESH

taglist open (lmk if you want to be added/removed): @sixeyesgojo @shingekiyofeels @q-the-rockaholic @whatthefuckisthatthing @rogueofbullshit @kat-su-ki @kellyyween @sebootyforlife @asshxcm @charlie-xo @aoi-turtle @ladywaifuuwrites @savantsoulfinder @my-reality-is-in-my-head @hannya-quinn @90s-belladonna @tinyfrogsinmybrain @kinekyuroo @evesmores @ambiguous-something @lilith412426 @kakashiharusohma @aizawap @yumeneji @dora-the-grownup @jotazinha @themrsgojo @d34r-s4t4n @marai-t @toji-bee @hai-cool @badsadbby @stesphy @peach-buns-unicorns @misslezah @riri-marley @gracefullyfallinglikeanime @iwaplant​ @mikiminaccch​ | bolder users cannot be tagged

[henriklarsen]

TASK 001; NPCs

Annika Larsen | August 1971 - February 2017 | Status: DECEASED

Annika had always been a giving person, even in her youth. She dreamed of being a school teacher, of having her own gaggle of children to look after - dreams that she held onto even when she was still a child herself. Raised with a number of younger siblings to look after, she learned the ropes of childcare from an early age.

She met Fredrik in high school and knew then that he was the man for her. It was like a switch was flipped - that was how she described it years later. He’d shown up on her doorstep with a Tupperware container of chicken noodle soup and his notes from all the classes she’d missed due to getting her wisdom teeth removed, and in that was the moment she said she’d fallen in love - even coupled with the embarrassment of being seen with the swelling in her cheeks still going down.

They were married when she was freshly out of college and just beginning her career in teaching science to elementary students. When she and Fredrik began trying - and for a while, failing - to have children, it broke her heart. But the holes were filled by those she temporarily adopted while they sat in her classroom, bright faces open and eager.

When Henrik finally came along, she spoiled him silly. She’d bend to his every demand (within reason, of course), snuggle up with him in bed while reading a bedtime story until his eyelids grew heavy. She was the type of mother, when Henrik was school age, that would write little notes and doodles in his lunch (’you’re one smart cookie!’) that would hopefully bring a smile to his face if he were having a tough day.

Even when the infection hit and everything changed, a family living life on the run, in their own little corner of the world, Annika never stopped trying to make it the best she could for her son. She took over where his schooling left off as if nothing had ever really changed. Hopeful that maybe this infection would blow over as quickly as it had come. She taught him some of her ‘favorite’ recipes to make, ones that, on reflection, were likely made up on the fly with whatever ingredients they happened to have on hand at the time. She patched up scraped knees. Transplanted flowers around whatever place they were calling home. She tried to make life as closely passable to what it once was so that when they finally got back to it, it would be as if nothing had ever changed.

But eventually that dream had to come to an end when she shoos Henrik out the back door of the cabin they’d been calling home, watches to insure he’s running in the direction she can only hope is safety, before standing beside her husband and taking down as many of the infected that had come to find them as possible so that they cannot get to her boy. (fc; amelia curtis)

Fredrik ‘Rik’ Larsen | January 1970 - February 2017 | Status: DECEASED

Where Henrik inherited his intelligence from his mother (a statement that never failed to come up in conversation with family friends - ‘that boy is all Annika’) his perseverance and athleticism came from his father. Even before the infection, father and son were often seen going on camping trips together, always turning events into competitions. Who could catch the bigger fish when out fishing on the water, who could make the most baskets on the basketball court, and who could touch the rim of the basketball hoop (the answer to the last being Henrik, with the help of his father hoisting him into the air to do so).

Fredrik worked in construction and contracting, picking up odd jobs here and there on top. There was something to be said about envisioning a project and then seeing it come to life, despite bumps along the way. He’d always been an adaptable and easy going kind of guy, and he caught Henrik emulating such traits, always observing his father with a watchful eye and a curious gaze. There was nothing the man could do wrong, after all - and Fredrik did his best to live up to the expectations of his son even when he so often fell short of his own.

When Henrik turned sixteen, Fredrik didn’t hesitate to teach his son how to drive, even if the car he was teaching him in was one that certainly didn’t belong to the family and had been started without the turn of a key. Being able to drive would be a skill that would be endlessly useful, even if the world never did return to what it once was.

On top of learning to drive, he taught him other survival skills along the way - how to hunt, how to scavenge, how to hold a rifle, how to string and shoot a bow an arrow. They’re all things that Fredrik is forced to teach himself to ensure he and his family survive through this infection, most things he never would’ve thought he’d need to know. But when it’s turned into a game, a competition, there is no doubt that Henrik would do his best to learn it.

It’s not until much later that he’ll realize it’s those skills learned that have help kept him alive all this time.

Fredrik’s last day is beside his wife, holding back the infected when it’s too late for them to run but they still have the option to ensure their son is safe. (fc; jonas karlsson)

[reidgraygubler]

skater boy (spencer reid)

Title: skater boy

Request: no

Pairing: dad!spencer reid/child!fem!reader

Category: fluff

Content Warning: not much tbh, mentions of the following: broken bones; getting broken bones, possible hospital visits

Word Count: 3,453

Summary: Spencer wants to spend more time with his daughter. So she teaches him how to skateboard

A/N: im back with another dad!spencer one-shot. We don’t need to address where all these dad! one shots are coming from. im just realizing that this is my favorite trope and this makes me very soft. And it made me very happy to write. thank you all so much for the support! i really do appreciate it. check out my masterlist!

{***}{***}{***}

Spencer’s daughter had always been a dare-devil. Ever since she began walking, she would show-off. She would always give her parents heart attacks when she would show them a new trick she learned at school. Spencer vowed from the day she was born that he’d protect her like his life depended on it. But he didn’t know just how hard that would be.

While Spencer’s partner was gone on a business trip, he had to take on both parental roles. Usually it was no problem, he would get the help of the other members of the BAU team when he got stuck. But on the weekends, he was left on his own. He had no problem with that. His daughter was old enough to have her own forms of entertainment.

The list of hobbies she had was ever growing. Drawing was probably the safest one she had, but in her eyes it was the most boring. It was, however, Spencer’s favorite because he could keep an easy eye on her while he worked or made lunch/supper.

His daughter’s favorite hobby was skateboarding. Although she wasn’t very good at it, she loved the feeling of danger and risk it had. The majority of her friends at school also liked to skateboard. After all, she did pick it up from one of them. It didn’t take much convincing for her to jump on a skateboard.

When Spencer found out about his daughter’s new hobby, concern instantly took over. Concern for her wellbeing, her safety, and health. Skateboarding could be very dangerous if not wearing the correct protective gear. He didn’t want to take away his daughter’s new joy. But he also didn’t want her to get injured.

The day she came home with her friend’s old skateboard was very memorable for both her and Spencer. But for different reasons. His daughter was excited about her new hobby, and being able to show off cool tricks she was learning. As for Spencer…

She was in the middle of showing him a trick that a friend taught her. She was very confident in what she was doing, and told her father she could do it and that he just needed to stand off to the side. That was until she fell off the board and landed hard on the ground. Thankfully she didn’t hit her head, but the only reason for that was because she caught herself on her hand and broke her wrist.

This hobby was picked up only 3 months ago. Her wrist was still in it’s cast, though her determination to ride her skateboard never went away. Even though she knew her father was scarred for her safety, he didn’t stop her from riding. In fact, he got her the proper safety gear and a new skateboard. Of course Spencer only did that after he talked to the team, and got advice from them.

“Dad! Uncle Rossi’s here!” the teen shouted from the front door. David Rossi looked down at the girl, and the skateboard in hand. “I think he’s in his office.”

“I’ll head that way. Then the kitchen,” David nodded before entering the home more. Spencer’s daughter pulled the door shut before sprinting down the front yard to the sidewalk. She placed her skateboard on the ground before getting on and riding up and down the street.

Inside the Reid household, David was with Spencer. The father and daughter had decided to invite the team over for dinner since it was just the two of them, and it was the weekend. David was talking about the most recent case while Spencer read over some essays he needed to grade.

“Has she asked you to ride that thing yet?” David asked as he looked out the window. Spencer’s daughter was talking to one of the neighbor boys.

“Oh, uh, not yet, no. It’ll be the death of me the day she does ask,” Spencer laughed as he looked out the window. Spencer breathed out a laugh as he watched his daughter do a kickflip, landing it perfectly before looking back at the boys. Her hand was sticking out and a smirk grew across her lips. “I told her not to place bets.”

“Like father, like daughter?” David raised an eyebrow as he looked at Spencer.

“The least she could do is place bets with adults, not the kids next door.” Spencer looked back at David as he stood and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Would you ever ride that death trap?”

“Who says I haven’t already?”

“Of all the people I've asked, why do you surprise me the least?” Spencer laughed as he looked at his co-worker. David shrugged off the laugh and looked back at the young girl. The pair stayed silent as they watched the girl continue to show off to the boys.

A green mini van pulled to a stop across the street from the Reid’s house. Spencer’s daughter stopped skateboarding and looked at the van, watching 4 kids tumble out.

“Looks like the Simmons’ are here,” David spoke as he looked back at Spencer.

“It would appear that way. I’ll show you to the grill?” Spencer asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at David. David nodded before gesturing towards the door to his office.

“Lead the way.”

Back outside, Spencer’s daughter was talking to Matt’s sons as they stared at her skateboard. Matt and Kristy exited the car and quickly pulled out the baby carrier holding Rosemary. The girl was quick to go up to see the baby, a smile growing on her lips.

“Hey there, Chickadee. How’s it going?” Matt asked as he raised a hand for a high five.

“It’s going,” she replied, giving him the high five before peering into the carrier.

“When’s the cast coming off?” Matt asked as he looked at the girl. She looked down at the aqua blue cast and shrugged.

“Soon I think. I can’t wait because dad’s being such a drill sergeant about it," she shrugged again before dropping her skateboard to the ground.

“He’s just trying to protect you, Chickadee,” Matt smiled as he watched her place her foot on the skateboard. “Just be careful.”

“I’m always careful, Mr. Simmons.” She looked up at him with a smile.

“It’s Matt…” he laughed and watched as she rode away. Kristy looked at Matt then watched as the younger Reid fell off her skateboard and into the grassy yard.

“Looks like she’s always careful,” Kristy laughed as she lifted up the baby carrier. Matt looked over at the girl lying on the grass and laughed.

“Well, you better wish she doesn’t start teaching our kids how to skateboard,” Matt replied with a laugh.

Over the next 30 minutes, the rest of the BAU family arrived at the Reid household. JJ brought her kids and Will to keep Spencer’s daughter more company. Once everyone arrived, David started cooking the food while everyone sat and talked, or played in the drive-way.

“Why don’t you give it a go, Spence?” JJ asked as she watched Spencer’s daughter zoom past the house. Spencer looked over at JJ and shook his head.

“Yeah, I’d pay to see that happen,” Luke chuckled as the girl rode past them again. She came to a screeching halt and looked at Luke.

“You’d pay to see dad skateboard?” She picked up her skateboard and held it by the wheels. Luke smiled as he looked over at Spencer. “How much are you talking? Because, I’d love to get money to see my dad skateboard.”

“Peanut,” Spencer spoke up as the girl kept talking about money and bets, and trying to get her father to ride her skateboard.

“Yeah, Dad?” she looked back at her father once she was done babbling about getting him to skateboard.

“Go play," he nodded towards Matt’s children as they were playing with her toys.

“B-but,” she stumbled over her words as she pointed towards Luke.

“Go play.” Spencer repeated, that time a little slower. His daughter let out a sigh before placing her skateboard back on the ground and skating away.

“You sure you don’t want to try, Reid?” Emily smiled as she looked back at her friend.

“No, no. I’ll leave the skateboarding and dare-devil activities to her,” Spencer laughed before taking a sip of his water. JJ raised an eyebrow before looking over at the kids. Her eldest son was talking to Spencer’s daughter, asking her if he could ride the skateboard.

“She’d probably love it if you did,” JJ looked back at Spencer.

“Not for $100 will I ride that death trap,” Spencer declared before taking a sip of his water.

“What about $150?” David asked before sipping his drink. Spencer nearly spat his water everywhere as he looked over at David.

“If you say that loud enough she’ll hear you… And then I’ll never hear the end of it,” he pleaded as he looked back at his daughter, who was helping Henry on the skateboard.

“Maybe we should say it louder,” Luke chuckled as he looked over at the girl.

“You go ride it then,” Spencer nodded at Luke then at the children and skateboard. Luke looked back at Spencer and the rest of the team before standing up. “Oh, I didn’t mean it.”

“Shouldn’t have said it then.” Luke smirked as he walked past Spencer and towards the group of kids.

Everyone watched in silence as Luke approached Spencer’s daughter. She cocked her hip and looked up at the man that stood in front of her. An evil smile grew across her lips as she undid the helmet on her head and held it up to Luke.

“Dad says you have to wear it if you’re going to ride the skateboard,” she explained as she kept the helmet between their bodies. Luke looked down at the girl, watching as she guarded the skateboard with her life.

“Fine, I’ll wear the helmet-”

“And the knee pads.” She smirked.

“And the knee pads.”

“And the wrist splints,” she quickly added as her smirk grew evil.

“I’ll wear the helmet,” he grumbled as he put the helmet on his head and clipped it on. The young girl smiled as she handed him the skateboard.

“Okay, well, don’t come cryin’ to me when dad tells you should’ve worn the knee pads and the wrist splints.” she stated a matter of faculty as he placed the skateboard down. Luke playfully glared at the girl before getting on the board. “Do you even know how to ride a skateboard, Uncle Luke?” “I was skateboarding before you were even born, Twerp.” Luke glared at the girl before taking off, only to fall off and into the yard beside him. The girl smiled before walking over to him, a smirk growing on her lips.

“You sure about that, Twerp?” she looked down at him. Luke sat up and looked at the girl. “Good thing you wore the helmet.”

“Yeah, yeah good thing I wore the helmet,” Luke rolled his eyes as he pushed himself up. The girl grabbed her skateboard and looked back at Luke. “When you teach your dad how to skateboard, make sure you get it on video.”

“Obviously,” she stated with a laugh. “That’ll get a bunch of views.”

“You’re terrible. You know that? Does your dad know you’re this mean?” Luke raised an eyebrow as he looked down at the young girl. He wondered how a man with book smart knowledge like Spencer Reid had such a street smart daughter. They were total opposites. Luke just blamed it on her other parent. And all of her unofficial aunt and uncles were cooler.

“Food’s done!” David shouted before the girl could answer. She looked up at Luke with a smirk.

“I’ll let you play with it while I eat. Since you’re still wearing the helmet and all. I’ll leave my knee pads and wrist splints on here for you.” She smiled as she pulled the gear off and placed it on the ground. The girl smiled at Luke one last time before skipping off to get dinner.

{***}{***}{***}

The following day, Spencer went to the store, and returned, before his daughter even woke up. He bought himself a skateboard, a new helmet, and all the correct paddings and splints he knew he would need. If he was going to let his daughter teach him how to skateboard, he was going to need the proper protection. He wasn’t going to risk any sort of injury. And, if nothing worked out for him in the end, at least his daughter would have a brand new skateboard.

Spencer waited until his daughter woke up before he started messing with something out of his comfort zone. He knew his daughter would be more than excited to teach him how to skateboard. It’s secretly all she wanted to do for the last 3 months. And if Spencer had to be honest, he wanted it too. Just a little bit.

Spencer could hear the sounds of feet hitting the hardwood floor. He sat up and placed his book on the side table beside him. The footsteps went down the stairs, and then entered the living room.

“Oh! Mornin’, Dad!” the young girl smiled at Spencer. Spencer looked at her and nodded in her direction.

“Good morning, Peanut,” Spencer smiled before taking a sip of his coffee. His daughter looked at him with squinted eyes and cocked head.

“What’s going on?” she asked as she rested her fists on her hips. Spencer’s eyebrows inched up his forehead before he shrugged.

“What do you mean? Nothing’s going on.” Spencer sat up more and looked at his daughter.

“But you’re… talking in that weird tone… And you definitely only do that when somethings up.” She lifted her hands from hips and crossed them over her chest.

The thought of her parents getting a divorce came across her mind. But she knew her parents loved each other too much for that to happen. She knew better than to think that either of her parents would be dying too. All she knew was something was definitely off.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Cross your heart?”

“Hope to die,” Spencer spoke as he lifted a hand to rest over his chest. “How about you go get breakfast and get ready for the day… Then I’ll tell you what’s going on, okay?”

“So something is happening! I knew it!” she shouted as she pointed at her father. “How am I supposed to eat and get ready for the day when I know that something is happening?!” she clapped her hands together. “Is it a good thing or bad thing?”

Spencer stared at his daughter for a moment, and then he realized she was definitely his. He was also getting a taste of his own medicine as she rapidly began shooting out her questions and thoughts or theories.

“Is Uncle Luke and Aunt Penelope finally getting married?”

“What? No! They’re not.”

“Aunt JJ having another baby?”

“Peanut, go eat and get ready. Then I’ll tell you. But I promise you that it’s a good thing. Okay?” Spencer asked as he tried to keep his tone calm and steady. The girl grumbled a little before walking away.

She tried being quick, wanting to know what Spencer was up to. It wasn’t like him to keep secrets from his daughter. He was up to something, and it was her job to figure it out.

Once she was finished getting ready for the day, and shoveling cereal into her mouth, she went back into the living room. There, she found Spencer, still sitting on the couch, reading a book. However the only thing that changed was that sitting on the coffee table was all the gear he had gotten this morning.

“No way! A new skateboard!?” she exclaimed as she ran to the coffee table and fell to her knees. She picked up the board and looked at it with wide eyes.

“Yes that would be a new board. But it’s not for you.”

“What? Who it for then?”

“Me.”

“You don’t even know how to skateboard.” She stood back up and looked at her dad. Spencer closed his book and placed it on the side table.

“Well, Peanut, I was hoping you could teach me how to skateboard.”

“You want me… To t-teach you how to skateboard?” she stared at him with wide eyes. She had to hold back her laughter as she started imagining Spencer on a skateboard and inevitably falling to the ground. Then she thought back to her conversation with Luke the night before. She wasn’t going to miss the chance of recording the epic fails of Spencer falling off the skateboard.

“Well you always seem so excited about it! I want to experience and understand why you get so excited. And, if anything, if I don’t do good, or I don’t like it, you can have my skateboard.”

“You mean it?!”

“If I didn’t mean it, I wouldn’t have said it, Peanut.” Spencer smiled as he watched his daughter pick up the new skateboard.

“Can we do it now? Please!”

“Did you do your chores?��

“I’ll do them after!” she exclaimed as she hugged the board to her chest. Spencer looked at her with a raised brow. “Promise!”

“Alright, alright. We can practice for an hour okay?” Spencer stood and grabbed the rest of the gear.

“Sweet! I’m gonna go grab my stuff!” She shoved the board into Spencer’s hands before running outside.

Spencer eventually met his daughter outside, on the driveway. She could sense his nervousness and terror as she helped him with his stance. “When you’re ready to move, just bring your foot to the ground and kick off. Then when you want to turn, just lean your body in the direction you want to turn,” she explained as she got on her own skateboard.

“That… that seems easy enough,” Spencer whispered, his voice trembling as he spoke. His daughter looked at him with a smile. She was trying to hold back her laughter when she realized that his hair was sticking out weirdly from under his helmet.

“It’s not that hard, Dad. I don’t know why you’re so scared about it.”

“Well for starters, Peanut, you did break your wrist while skateboarding.”

“Yeah, but… I could’ve broken my wrist by just falling. It’s fun! Come on! If you fall we can try again," she smiled as she started riding around him.

Spencer laughed nervously before kicking off and riding down the driveway. He was doing good, he thought. That was until he went over a rock, throwing him off the skateboard and on to the grass.

“Are you okay?” The girl asked as she walked up to him. He looked up at her and nodded.

“Yeah, just startled.”

Although they agreed on an hour, the father and daughter were outside for a lot longer. Spencer was determined to get it right on the first day. He thoroughly enjoyed the time he spent with his daughter. He could see that she was getting frustrated with his little mistakes, which would end in him falling, but she still remained calm and helped through it.

“Dad… I mean this in the nicest way possible… But you’re bad. You’re not even on the way to getting good... You’re just straight up bad.” She watched as Spencer fell off the skateboard and into the grass for what seemed like the 100th time. He looked up at her from his spot on the ground.

“Yeah, yeah I know,” Spencer sighed as he stood up, “I don’t think I’m built for skateboarding.” He picked up the skateboard and looked down at it. “I might just leave the skateboarding to you, Peanut.”

The girl looked up at him with wide eyes as he offered her the new, nicer skateboard. “You don’t want to keep trying?”

“I think for today I’ve had enough practice. We can do it again another day. But, in the meantime, you can use my skateboard.”

“Really?”

“Do your chores first then you can use it all you want.” Spencer smiled as he handed her the skateboard. She looked down at the new item in her hands with wide eyes. Her old skateboard was no longer a thought in her mind.

“Right! On it!” she exclaimed before running back into the house.

Once Spencer was sure his daughter was inside the house, behind closed doors, he flipped over her old skateboard and stepped on it before doing a successful kick flip and riding it up the driveway. He was just pretending to not know how to ride a skateboard.

After all it was just easy geometry and physics.

if you want to be a part of a taglst or have any comments about this one shot, let me know here

taglist: @thebluetint @muffin-cup @itsmyblogandillreblogifiwantto​ @spencersmagic @babebenhardy​ @spenciegoob​ @reidspoet​​ @ash19871962​ @flipperpenguins​

[looney-mooney]

Thinking about making an au where Sam and Max are Haru’s distant, crazy gay American uncles who she hasn’t thought about in a while. Until she starts seriously dating Legosi, after which she’s like “maybe I should contact Uncle Max, he’s been married to a vigilante canine for ages”

Details for the Insane Beastars/Sam and Max au under the cut

Max of course DEMANDS to see his niece and her crazy new wolf boyfriend, so they end up going on a trip to the Beastars version of New York City. Louis ends up going along and paying for the trip, because he was already headed over for a business deal so they might as well.

The Beastars version of New York City is obviously culturally different from the Beastars version of Japan, and Legosi ends up getting a new perspective (as he always does.) There are some bugs who can actually talk here (???), and meat isn’t considered taboo in the same way. Most people sign up to be meat donors in their driver’s licenses, because there’s a tax incentive. This move has considerably lessened the strain between Herbivores and Carnivores, so though there’s still definitely some tension between the two groups, those who vehemently insist that carnivores and herbivores shouldn’t interact or date or anything are generally considered right-wing bigots. Most people don’t even really see a separation anymore - carnivores can be meat donors too, and some herbivores here eat meat sometimes. Most Americans are just omnivores.

Systematic racism is still a thing, obviously, because America just Sucks Like That, but I’m White so I’m not even gonna attempt to map out the History of American Racism with Furries. Just know that most people in America have at least a little bit of mixed ancestry, and Legosi probably thinks that’s cool and fascinating while everyone else is like “you seriously didn’t know about the Great American Melting Pot? Bruh have you been living under a rock”

Max is part piranha and no I am not elaborating

They also don’t have permanent Beastars in the States. The closest thing they have to a Beastar is the President, which in this world is… basically the American Beastar. I’m having this be the case mostly so that President Max still fits in with the Beastars Lore ™

Geek exists, and is just a bit younger than Haru and Legosi. She’s probably in high school, but taking college classes at the same time, because Geek’s just. Like That. She’s probably a monkey. Haru isn’t sure what she thinks about Geek at first, but then they start talking and plotting mutant botany projects together and Haru decides that this is her favorite cousin actually

I think Sybil should be at least part fox. Maybe even kitsune-coded, since she changes careers so often? Doctor Mama Bosco’s probably either a dog or a sheep, maybe a sheepdog hybrid? Whatever she is, she started her cloning experiments with insects, which is how Sal and the other talking insects in New York came to exist. Bosco’s probably one of those experimental spider goats or something. The Stinkys are carnivorous seafolk of some sort, originally from the Hudson River but migrated to Land when the river got too polluted for their ancestors to keep living there exclusively. Grandpa Stinky was probably fascinated by land culture and particularly cooking as a young sea-land immigrant, and just messed with the art of cooking as much as possible, which led to the insane food he sells at his diner. I am not going to attempt to assign Abraham Lincoln a fursona.

Legosi spends a good chunk of the trip trying to impress Sam and Max, because these people are members of Haru’s Family and he wants them to like him, but then Legosi ends up star-struck by how well Haru’s uncles work together. He’s never seen partners quite like them in action before, and tries to get them to teach him. But these guys aren’t shonen anime mentors, they’re Sam and Max, so it becomes more of a “hey back off buddy just be yourself and maybe trust your partners a little bit more”

Max in particular really tears Legosi a new one, really gives him a nice good shovel talk. Like, Max likes the kid, sure. Legosi’s the BEST kinda crazy and also a really sweet guy and he seems to care about his niece a lot. But he’s really, REALLY annoyed by how much Legosi shuts Haru out of his life. Like, she’s Max’s kin, she’d be able to take care of herself, she doesn’t need you to protect her to the point of reverence, she needs you to let her in. And not just sexually! Though he has some health class tips and condoms if they wanna do that, cuz he’s the cool uncle. But if you wanna be her partner, you have to RESPECT her, kapiche? Stop treating her like some damsel in distress, she’s tougher than you think. I will end you if you don’t stop infantilizing her.

Sam and Max teach Haru how to fight at some point, because no relative of theirs is gonna go through life not knowing how to defend themselves! Max specifically teaches Haru how to use her hammerspace, and now nobody is safe from her wrath. They also taught her how to use a gun, while scolding Louis for never teaching her this incredibly important life skill! For shame.

Imagine Haru with a gun. The power she would wield. No wonder Paru nerfed her

Speaking of Louis, I’m sure he gets involved in the misadventure somehow, probably by getting accidentally tangled with the villain’s plot during his business deal. I’m sure it’s tangled up in the reveal that Mama Bosco was involved with the anthropomorphic insects, just cuz that’s the biggest and newest difference between these two cultures, and might also somehow nod to the systematic racism in America and how fucked up that is.

Might also address how capitalism is the root of all evil, and how the pressure to conform to capitalism in order to maintain a position of power in his attempts to make the world a better place while also giving Legosi and Haru the space to have their own relationship (while also forcing himself to maintain the charade of a heteronormative arranged marriage with someone he isn’t even remotely attracted to) has been slowly but ruthlessly breaking Louis in a terrible cycle, and how he’s spent so much of his life hiding behind masks that he doesn’t even know who he is anymore. And now he’s in a cage again, but this time he put himself there, with his own actions. And Legosi has to tell him that he doesn’t have to pretend all the time, that he’s his best friend and he wants to help. That he and Haru both love him, and they want him in their lives.

The whole adventure probably ends with Haru saving her boy’s butts, and ruthlessly affirming what Legosi just said. Demanding that they BOTH stop hiding from her, and BOTH stop trying to “protect” her. That she NEEDS them, and she wants them to need her. That they don’t have to be Beastars to be PARTNERS.

And then the whole family (yes I’m including Louis and Legosi in this family) beats the villains up and goes out for a celebratory meal or something IDK how to end things

[alexiethymia]

snippet (res ipsa loquitur)

“Look who’s here. Professor Yang’s favorites!”

Professor Yang raises an eyebrow at that, as if to say that he didn’t have favorites, but Professor Kim Eun Sook pays him no mind. Dear friend though he may be, and though she would trust him with any case, his hard-ass act didn’t fool her. He could say whatever he wanted, but his subtle actions belied his fondness for his once-students turned professionals. Just the fact that he regularly invited them back to Hankuk to discuss cases was just one example.

“I don’t know about Prosecutor Han here, Professor Yang’s protégé that he is, but I’m certainly no favorite when I had to be Erica Shin just to get him to eat with me.” Lawyer Kang has certainly grown up to become a balanced professional, but Professor Kim is happy to see that she’s kept that refreshing bluntness of hers.

“If being Professor Yang’s favorite means additional work like getting called back to school, then I’d rather be your favorite.” Prosecutor Han for his part hasn’t changed much either. Although he’s settled into himself now, becoming as calm in actuality as he sometimes presented himself back in school, that teasing gaze towards Kang Sol A was still present how many years later.

Professor Yang just stares deadpan at what he deems to be nonsense from his former students. “I never taught the both of you to be lax as students, much less as professionals.”

“We’re just joking, Professor,” Kang Sol A – Lawyer Kang now – can easily look her once-savior in the eye and smile, as Professor Yang just raises an eyebrow, “You know we’re always glad to help with whatever we can.”

“We must have inherited your curse as a workaholic, Professor,” Prosecutor Han jokes. Even when he was just Han Joon Hwi, and not yet Prosecutor Han, he never had that fear towards Yangcrates. Frankly, he admired him, though it had always been a complicated emotion with the way all their fates had been tied.

“Ehem. Who would have thought that when I asked you to come hand-in-hand to my office so many years ago as students, you’d be doing it again and again now that you’ve become professionals.” Professor Kim is only half-serious. Even then she’d had an instinct about these two – one with the sharp mind and logic and the other with the fiery heart and passion. They would balance each other out, though she wouldn’t have picked up on it if not for Joon Hwi’s propensity to be a knight-in-shining armor for his then frazzled seatmate.

Kang Sol A mock-scoffs before smiling prettily, while sharing a gaze with an amused Joon Hwi. It was good to see that they still got along marvelously so many years later.

Professor Yang stares long and hard at them as if they were a crime scene he was investigating, before going on ahead and asking Joon Hwi to follow. Eun Sook’ll poke at his thoughts later though she’d be lucky if he felt like sharing them.

“See, you really are his favorite,” Kang Sol A nudges Joon Hwi playfully, while he only chuckles. “No need to worry Lawyer Kang. You’re my favorite at least.” Both Eun Sook’s eyebrows raise at that. With time and his new position, it seemed as if Joon Hwi had gotten more direct, if at all possible. Ah but perhaps, Eun Sook thinks while observing how Kang Sol A just laughs in response, rather than time it was circumstances that forced him to change his approach.

A slight movement behind Professor Kim’s desk catches all of their attention, and a doting smile appears on Eun Sook’s face.

“Aigoo. Is this your daughter Professor Kim?” Kang Sol positively beams at the small curly haired girl hiding shyly behind the Professor’s desk. She was so adorable! It reminded Sol of Byeol when she was at that age. Looking sideways, she sees Joon Hwi sporting an equally wide and fond smile. It was no wonder. With how he was with her younger sister, first when they’d met and until now, Kang Sol surmised that he must be ridiculously fond of children as well. Distantly she thinks that he’d be a wonderful father someday, although uncharacteristically cynical, she also has to admit that she doesn’t exactly have any good bases for comparisons.

“Yes,” Professor Kim says, proud, like all mothers are, “Say hi to oppa and unnie here. They work with the law just like mommy.”

Funnily, it’s a race between them for the privilege of lifting Professor Kim’s daughter up in their arms, but Joon Hwi lets her win (much like he always does). Kang Sol A openly cooes, while Joon Hwi hovers closely to the both of them, also introducing himself to the young girl.

It’s such a heartwarming sight that Professor Kim almost wants to take a picture of it, even if it would be inadmissible as evidence later on.

They’re momentarily interrupted when someone enters the legal clinic.

“Ah Miss, it’s so wonderful to see you again.”

“Ahjumma!” Kang Sol exclaims happily upon seeing the lady who ran the Bad FaMa website enter the legal clinic. Seamlessly, she adjusts Professor Kim’s daughter on her hip, before transferring her to Joon Hwi who carries her on his arm. “How are you? What are you doing here? It’s not another defamation case is it,” Kang Sol asks worriedly. Of course, she’d defend her properly this time since she was now a full-fledged lawyer, not only giving half-baked assistance and having to rely on Joon Hwi because she wasn’t prepared yet.

“Ah no, no need to worry Miss – ah my mistake, it’s Lawyer Kang now isn’t it? You sure showed them didn’t you.” She smiles warmly, proudly, at Kang Sol, and Kang Sol gets happy flutters in her heart and stomach, “I volunteer here at the legal clinic sometimes. Professor Kim has been helping me out with lobbying for stricter child support laws, and the other lawyer who volunteers here - Lawyer Jeon - has been helping me with cases of single mothers. She’s been telling me all about you. I’m really glad to see you doing so well.” Though it’s been a while since Kang Sol has seen her – since when she was still a law student in fact – the older woman and that case will always hold a special place in her heart. She considers it as her first case, and though it did cause a slight rift between her and Joon Hwi, she had been the first person outside of smug Second Judicial Exam Passers and terrifying law professors who had genuinely thanked her for the legal service she provided. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Kang Sol owes a lot to her for reigniting her reason for studying law in the first place.

“And Prosecutor Han, I’m delighted to see you’re doing great as well.” Joon Hwi inclines his head at her while responding in kind. Even with a child on his arm, he looks every bit the respectable Prosecutor, and Kang Sol could sometimes shake her head in amused resignation at how flawless her – (Friend? Best friend? Family?), - at how flawless Joon Hwi is. She shakes her head for a different reason this time around, to get rid of that brief interruption in her mind.

Ahjumma smiles, full of maternal care. “What a lovely daughter,” Joon Hwi and Kang Sol exchange wordless glances and smiles, fully agreeing with her assessment – Professor Kim’s daughter with her soft curls, and shy and polite demeanor really was just too cute for words, “the both of you two have,” – before freezing in their tracks.  

Ajhumma seems not to notice the slight disturbance in the force, nor Professor Kim’s silent but far from inconspicuous chuckles, since she goes on, “Perhaps I’m just biased, but I’d always thought that the both of you suited each other well, even back then. And to see the both of you with a daughter of your own makes me really happy. We have enough parents who abandon their kids, but I know you would be such loving parents who would do everything and anything in your power to protect your daughter.” She grasps Kang Sol’s hands in her own and says sincerely, “Congratulations to the both of you.”

Prosecutor Han for all of his brilliance in court seems for the first time at a loss for words. It was a misunderstanding yes, but a reasonable one in Eun Sook’s mind. She would have probably thought the same, and yet for all that Eun Sook imagines they’ll just brush this off and regain their easy momentum, the pause lasts far too long this time around, and Professor Kim suddenly worries.

Kang Sol is frozen, and looks to be a million miles away. It’s to the point that the woman grasping her hands finds her smile slowly falling. There are no flustered denials, nor a hint of red anywhere. Kang Sol is blank, and this worries Professor Kim since the younger girl has always been full of life, of emotion, and to see this is disconcerting. Joon Hwi sees her from the corner of his eye, and Professor Kim is suddenly transported back to that Civil Code classroom so many years ago, for he once again saves her from having to answer, as always reliably following-up after her.

He slowly lowers her daughter down who immediately rushes to her. Upon seeing that, realization breaks across their guest’s face. “She’s not our daughter, but Professor Kim’s,” he explains smoothly, although it may be a bit redundant now. That seems to snap Kang Sol from the daze she’s in as she energetically reassures their guest that there was no need to worry regarding the misunderstanding. 

Eun Sook picks up her daughter and sends a questioning gaze towards Joon Hwi who seems reluctant to meet it. He smiles that characteristic smile of his, the one that seemed to say that he had everything under control, that there was nothing that could trip him, before politely excusing himself from the room to follow after Professor Yang. “He must be tired of waiting.” He doesn’t rush, nor does he run. Both his voice and gait are measured and paced, and though he catches Kang Sol A’s eye in that form of wordless communication that Professor Kim observed was common to him, her, and even Professor Yang, Kang Sol A seems to break it first to rejoin her conversation with their guest and her.

Joon Hwi stares a little longer at her profile before exiting.

The warm atmosphere the legal clinic had when the two had entered earlier seems to have dissipated.

Professor Kim really cannot help but worry.

[caelestis-composition]

⭒ music headcanons ⭒

this request sparked an entire conversation with aiden about genshin characters and music/instruments and i decided to actually write them down

also everyone say thank you mihoyo for making it canon that diluc knows how to play instruments i think that’s really sexy of them

⭒

pairing: none

characters: diluc ragnvindr, childe, kaeya alberich, venti, amber, zhongli, barbara

genre: fluff

word count: 620

⭒

diluc

⋆ he’s rich he probably plays like twenty different instruments; definitely took private lessons when he was younger

⋆ he’s really good at piano but he mainly plays string instruments

⋆ definitely plays violin and i think he’d also play the cello

⋆ diluc is so refined and elegant and the thought of him playing violin makes me melt

⋆ when he’s had a particularly rough day he’ll just go play music in his study to unwind

⋆ he doesn’t like playing in front of others

⭒

childe

⋆ also a rich boy but i think he’d just play piano

⋆ he has really nice hands for piano

⋆ and he sings

⋆ took private vocal and piano lessons at some point

⋆ childe is the kind of person who would be like “oh wow omg there’s a piano here haha no i shouldn’t play something i haven’t in a long time but i mean man sure if you want geez guys fine i’ll play something” when literally no one asked

⋆ to be fair, it’s never a disappointing performance; he’s actually really good

⭒

kaeya

⋆ master crepus made him take piano lessons after adopting him

⋆ kaeya can’t read sheet music

⋆ he can play piano quite well (like childe, he has really nice hands for piano) but he has to do everything by ear or from memory because he just cannot read sheet music

⋆ he used to have to ask diluc for help outside of lessons because no matter what he just could not get the hang of reading sheet music

⋆ kaeya doesn’t like performing or playing in front of others. something about it just trips him up

⋆ i think kaeya also knows how to sing

⋆ he’s never really loud, though, but sometimes the other knights will catch him softly humming or singing to himself while he works

⭒

venti

⋆ he canonically plays the lyre and flute and sings but i think he also knows how to play harp

⋆ actually i think venti probably can play every single instrument

⋆ he just really likes the lyre, flute, and harp

⋆ also he plays trumpet solely because it’s loud and annoying

⋆ he loves performing but doesn’t like doing it for free; he always has to have some sort of payment

⋆ he also loves going to play for himself underneath windrise’s oak tree at night. it’s not uncommon to find him relaxed among the roots of the tree gently strumming his lyre with his eyes closed

⋆ definitely does lessons for beginner musicians

⭒

amber

⋆ plays trumpet

⋆ yes she learned from venti

⋆ she just gives me trumpet vibes ok

⋆ she’s not as annoying with it, though, she actually tries to sound good

⋆ prefers to play really energetic and upbeat tunes

⋆ loves playing random little fanfares

⭒

zhongli

⋆ plays a lot of traditional instruments from liyue

⋆ i’m not well-versed enough in chinese music to assign him specific instruments, but he particularly enjoys string instruments

⋆ he knows a bunch of, like, super old and obscure songs that barely anyone knows

⋆ zhongli is singlehandedly preserving liyue’s music history

⋆ he’ll play for others, but you have to ask him

⋆ also he’s one of those people who is like “sure i’ll play for you. be warned it might not be very good, i haven’t played in a while” and then it’s literally perfect

⋆ aside from liyue instruments, i think he’d also play violin from time to time

⭒

barbara

⋆ we know she sings but i think she’d also play piano and, like, the organ

⋆ she’s completely self-taught, and she’s really good, too. never took any sort of lessons

⋆ she can read sheet music but she tends to just play by ear anyway

⋆ tries to form and lead some sort of traditional music group at the cathedral

⋆ she’s definitely open to playing piano at any of her performances

[incorrectbatfam]

Can I get headcanons for an au where Bruce adopted the kids when they /were/ babies, please?

Use the bathroom, get comfortable, and maybe have some tissues on hand.

For these headcanons, we’re gonna assume they were adopted in order of age, and that they’re all under 18. So Dick and Babs are 16 (with Babs being older), Harper is 14, Cass is 13, Jason is 12, Tim is 7, Steph and Duke are both 5 (with Steph being older), Carrie is 3, and Damian is 1. Yes, I’m aware that it diverges from canon age gaps but once you keep reading you’ll see why I did that.

Now for the headcanons (in no particular order):

Alfred is “Grandpa” and Bruce is anything from “Dad”, “Pops”, “Old man”, “Baba”, etc. All the other adults, like Kate or Clark, are aunts and uncles.

Steph and Duke compete over everything, like who can tie their shoes the fastest or learn to ride a bike first. Steph makes a point of letting everyone know she’s older, but Duke fires back with the fact that he’s taller. They’re both at the top of their kindergarten class and are known for butting heads, but God help anyone who decides to pick on one of them.

Harper got her first period at school while wearing white shorts. Thankfully, Dick and Babs came in clutch.

At school, Kon told Tim that he got ten dollars every time he lost a tooth. Tim tried to hack the system by pulling a bunch of teeth out at once (thankfully to no avail) until someone caught him.

Babs has a different secret handshake with each person.

When Damian first came along, everyone expected Carrie to be angry or jealous since she’d no longer be the baby of the family. And she was a little jealous at first. But the moment she saw him, her eyes went wide and she whispered, “He’s so tiny” and vowed to protect him with everything she had.

The last business trip Bruce took was when Cass was a baby, and the reason why it was his last one was that while he was abroad, Alfred sent him a video of Cass taking her first steps and he burst into tears in the middle of a meeting because he wasn’t there to witness it in person.

Dick once used Damian as a wingman to pick up girls. It worked so well that Jason tried the same thing, only to have it grossly backfire on him.

Whenever Bruce needs a break, Alfred will call everyone to the living room for one of his infamous spy stories.

Cass is the queen of April Fool’s.

Tim, Steph, and Duke regularly climb on each other’s shoulders to try to reach the cookie jar.

Harper is a pro at getting gum out of people’s hair. Tim is a pro at the exact opposite. 

Bruce gives Dick “the talk”. Dick then gives it to Harper who gives it to Cass who gives it to Jason and by then it’s so misconstrued by then that Bruce has to re-give it to all the kids.

One time Jason lashed out at school and it led to the teachers referring him to a therapist. Bruce stayed with him during the first appointment and Jason admitted to feeling unwanted because of what some kids at school said. Meanwhile, back at home, all the other siblings were trying to get their names to be Damian’s first word, like a competition. None of them ended up winning because when the other two came home, Damian called out to Jason. (And Jason cried on the spot because it didn’t matter what people said at school, he was wanted by the right people).

Group outings with the Kents or the Allens are a normal occurrence.

Harper gave Bruce a heart attack when she DIYed her hair dye and piercings.

The first time Tim saw a shooting star, he was convinced that aliens had arrived to take over the world. His conspiracy-driven panic spread to his younger siblings and that’s how Alfred found them all hiding in a blanket fort wearing saucepans as helmets.

Steph once got lost at the mall and the first thing she did was buy ten Build-A-Bears. 

Cass regularly carries her younger siblings like suitcases.

Bruce never rushed Dick into getting a license or helping out around the house.

Harper once snuck on a train to the next town without telling anyone because she wanted to ask Kate advice on coming out.

Nobody got any sleep for the forty-eight hours when Damian’s favorite stuffed animal went missing.

Duke is a LEGO kid. Carrie is a horse girl. Together they created the ultimate toy equine sanctuary.

Bruce can’t ground the kids. They’ve unionized.

Jason is no longer allowed to pick movies on account of the time he chose an R-rated slasher.

It’s an open secret that Cass accidentally left Tim at a haunted house once. 

Alfred custom sews a ten-person "get along" shirt.

Duke once snuck Damian to school for Show And Tell. Steph ratted him out almost right away.

Jason tried to make his younger siblings reenact Shakespeare. It lasted a good thirty seconds before it dissolved into people hitting each other with props.

As a big mystery/conspiracy theory person, Tim was wholly convinced that Damian was an extraterrestrial because the first time he saw him, it was at the hospital where Damian was hooked up to a bunch of machines after he was born. It wasn’t until after three different people explained the concept of preemies to him did Tim finally get it.

Carrie loves to play dress-up and will rope in anyone in the vicinity.

Bruce’s favorite song to sing to someone when they’re upset is Lean On Me by Bill Withers

Cass taught everyone obscenities in sign language and it was all fine until someone caught Babs at school and she got detention

Alfred can’t remember the last time the house was not babyproofed.

Between birthdays, holidays, Gotcha Days, and other special days, there’s always a reason to celebrate at Wayne Manor.

Whenever they fly on the private jet Duke's in the cockpit insisting he knows more about airplanes than the pilots (Alfred or Kate) bc he watched the Planes movie.

Harper got matching leather jackets for all the sisters.

Bruce gives Tim "coffee" that's 90% milk and a splash of coffee for flavor.

Cass and Jason communicate solely in inhuman grunts.

Carrie can and will latch onto the first person she sees like a koala bear.

There's a running gag among friends on how many siblings Dick has because he tells stories without ever using names.

Bruce comes home after a long day of work and everyone drops what they're doing to dogpile on him.

Harper only got an after school job to pay for her Club Penguin membership.

They all make snowmen in descending size order with Bruce's being this huge towering one and Damian's being like three inches tall.

The girls have a "no boys (except the baby) allowed" zone.

Carrie can't pronounce the letters "R" or L".

When Damian learns to crawl suddenly all the other family members become a jungle gym.

Bruce doesn't notice when someone invites a friend over without permission because what's a few extra kids anyway?

Harper comes out and for a week people wouldn't stop making bi puns.

They try to do that thing where each family member puts a different colored handprint on the mailbox and they end up running out of space.

As the oldest Dick gets stuck with babysitting or he's forced to let Jason tag along when he goes out (bc all parents make their older kids do that) and he resents it but at the same time no one can talk trash about his siblings.

Damian's animal collection begins when he brings in a mouse from the yard. (Cue the hilarious siblings-helping-him-hide-new-pets montages.)

Someone beat Bruce for “World’s most attractive man”, but that’s okay because he was voted “World’s happiest man” instead.

[jasontoddiefor]

Summary: “Do you like it?” Obi-wan asked. Ahsoka looked up at him in confusion. What was he talking about- “The tea,” he added and raised his own cup like a sign.

Or, Anakin is injured and Ahsoka spends some time with her Grandmaster.

The tea Obi-Wan pressed into her hands smelled familiar, like the one Anakin made for them after late shifts when they had only recently left Coruscant. It was a sweet tea, so sweet that Ahsoka didn't even need to put any sugar in it. Their kitchen – an expression that still made Ahsoka grin with happiness because she had a Master now and she was a Padawan, even after these first months – didn't have anything but tea and some instant noodles stocked. For some reason, Ahsoka wasn't allowed to heat them up for lunch, so they had to go down to the cafeteria to eat. Obi-Wan had said something about the noodles being important to Anakin, and Ahsoka hadn't asked after that. She was too sure she'd start to cry like a youngling if she thought any more about her Master, who was currently unconscious in the halls of healing, being looked over by various healers.

The mission had been supposed to be easy. Nobody should have gotten hurt.

Ahsoka sunk further into her chair, buried herself in her Master's oversized coat. It had been handed to her when they'd brought Anakin in and Ahsoka had kept it on since. She knew it was stupid, that she looked ridiculous, but she kept it on anyway because it smelled like him and therefore like home and peace.

So here she was now with her Grandmaster in their kitchen in an apartment she didn't even really have a room in yet because they hadn't had time to clear it out, drinking tea.

"Do you like it?" Obi-wan asked.

Ahsoka looked up at him in confusion. What was he talking about-

"The tea," he added and raised his own cup like a sign.

"Oh, yes," she replied, feeling stupid for not having understood. She wanted Obi-Wan to like her and think she was a suitable addition to their lineage. "It smells familiar to the one Anakin always makes."

"It's the very same," Obi-Wan replied. "It's the only tea the two of us like equally well, so we always drink it together."

"Oh." Ahsoka hadn't known that. It felt like something she should know about her Master, like allergies. Frantically, Ahsoka tried to remember whether she could recall any of Anakin's allergies; he had to have at least one, right? Before she could get any more worked up and leave Obi-Wan in this awkward silence, she forced herself to ask another question. "What's in it?"

"A few red berries and some other indigenous fruit from Naboo. It was the only tea offered on Naboo that didn't taste like it had been dosed in perfume," Obi-Wan said and pulled a face as if the tea from Naboo had genuinely offended him.

Ahsoka giggled, then quickly clasped her hand over her mouth. She hadn't meant to laugh at her Grandmaster, but Obi-Wan only smiled good-naturedly.

"Why- when were you on Naboo together?"

She knew that Anakin enjoyed items coming from the planet and was quite knowledgeable about its culture. She had no idea why someone would have all theatre genre of Naboo's last century memorized, but as Anakin had proven on a long retcon mission, he could talk endlessly about them. At least all his cursing had made them more entertaining than her own literature classes at the Temple.

"Ah, that's a rather long story. You were…. Five when Anakin joined the Order, weren't you?"

Ahsoka wanted to protest, surely she had to have been younger, but she remembered the whispers and knew her Master's age. It was strange to think he was only a few years older than her. She thought it would have been more, it should have been more, but if she were any younger and he older, perhaps they wouldn't be Master and Padawan at all.

She nodded in confirmation and Obi-Wan continued on.

"Anakin and I spent a month together on Naboo before we returned to Coruscant and he officially became a part of the Order. The Naboo prefer their food to taste and smell a bit flowery, and neither of us was used to it. After a lot of bickering, we decided that it was the one brand we actually both enjoyed. It took us a while to figure out how to brew it correctly, but eventually, I learned and taught Anakin in turn."

That certainly sounded nice, domestic even, like a scene she had never seen before. She tried to imagine the two of them in their kitchen, Obi-Wan being younger without a beard and looking less exhausted while Anakin was even shorter than her, perhaps standing on a barstool of some kind so that he could reach the counter.

Obi-Wan brought his own cup to his lips and drunk from it, then he set the cup on the table again.

They didn't have a single matching set of teacups that they actually appeared to be using. There were a few tea sets in the cupboard, Ahsoka had seen those already, but they didn't look like they were actually in use. Instead, Anakin and Obi-Wan had a collection of cups with silly images, colorful prints, and sayings.

"Ahsoka, I know we didn't get to spend much time together yet, but if you'd like, and if you enjoy this tea, I would like to show you how to prepare it properly."

Hearing those words, Ahsoka perked up. "Really?"

Obi-Wan smiled kindly at her and set his cup on the table. "It's a bit of a tradition for us, figuring out how to make a particular tea and then going out to buy a new cup for it. I used to do it with my Master, and Anakin and I didn't collect so many different mugs for no reason. You don't have classes this afternoon, do you?"

Ahsoka shook her head. "No."

They had canceled her classes for the rest of the week. There was no need for her to go when she'd only worry about Anakin. She could, of course, but the healers had been very insistent that Ahsoka should figure out her own boundaries and act according to them.

She still kind of wanted to go to class, just to prove that something like her Master getting hurt didn't unsettle her too much, but she was also still glued to their kitchen chair, wrapped in his oversized coat.

"Then, if you want, we can go out in the city today and buy you a cup and a new brand of tea to try out."

It would do her good to go outside. "I'd like that."

The two of them finished their teapot, then Ahsoka returned to her room. They still hadn't finished setting it up and so was currently more the place she stuck her stuff as Anakin frantically tried to move his plants to another surface that was not already covered by them and miniaturize his droid workshop. Most of the time, she didn't even sleep in the bed that had been cramped in there. In the words of her Master, why should she sleep there when Obi-Wan's larger and more comfortable bed was right there. Or Anakin's when Anakin managed to drag himself only to the sofa or, already half-asleep, stumbled into Obi-Wan's room.

Once her Master was cleared from the halls, they were going to sort that out. Even if Obi-Wan didn't have any problems with her taking over his bed.

Ahsoka got dressed, changed into robes of her own size and slipped back into the main room. From there on it was a quick and easy trip to the shopping districts of Coruscant. Obi-Wan wistfully muttered something about "at least it's not the lower levels this time" that he didn't see fit to elaborate on and Ahsoka, therefore, chose to keep in mind for a later date.

The tea shop he led her to must be one he frequented more often because the owner greeted him with name and immediately showed him a selection he thought would be to Obi-Wan's liking. Ahsoka smelled the various fruity, spicy, and bitter tea selections and eventually picked one that Obi-Wan and she both agreed looked like the most interesting one. Apparently, the tea changed colors as it cooled down. They didn't stay long enough in the store to get a practical demonstration, but Ahsoka was still eager to see it. Mainly to see it in the new mug Obi-Wan had bought her. It was supposed to match the color of the liquid inside. It was ridiculous, but Ahsoka thought it was fun.

"We can make it for Anakin later," Obi-Wan said. "He is supposed to wake up this evening."

"Do you think he'd like that?"

"I think he would be very pleased to see how well his Padawan has conducted herself in his absence. And he always did like food that was a little extraordinary."

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly with the two walking through the smaller streets, visiting stores Ahsoka had never seen before, but who all apparently knew her quite well already. The number of times somebody addressed her with "Little Anakin's Padawan?" was quite astonishing.

By the time they returned to the Temple, it was already dark. Their first stop after deposing their new items in their rooms was the cafeteria. Dinner was, as always, a loud and cheerful affair. Groups of Initiates were running around the many tables, Padawans chatting to each other and Masters bragging about their students. She and Obi-Wan took a seat at a table a little closer to the edge where it was quieter, though even they weren't spared from the toddlers handing out sugary cupcakes that looked like somebody was trying to sell pure diabetes.

But how was Ahsoka supposed to resist when the tiny Nautolan with the huge eyes offered it to her? It wasn't like Obi-Wan could resist it either.

After they had finished dinner, they returned to their quarters, properly put away all they had bought, and set the new tea package on the kitchen table together with Ahsoka's mug.

"Alright," Obi-Wan said. "Let's see how hot the water needs to be and how long the tea needs to steep."

With gentle fingers, Obi-Wan began to put the tea leaves into filter bags and familiarized Ahsoka with it. He taught her how to properly pour tea and which brands were better with a little more or less sugar, which needed salt of all things, and about a hundred other different tidbits that she couldn't believe he just knew from the top of his head.

But all the work seemed to pay off as they had a teapot full of blue tea that was slowly turning violet.

"Well done," Obi-Wan praised her as he grabbed the teapot and a mug for himself.

Ahsoka took her own new one, though she had already decided that she'd let Anakin drink out of it this time, and took another for herself. Together they headed towards the halls of healing. They hadn't even entered them properly when Anakin's voice reached them.

"I am fine, Bant, I swear! I just want to see Ahsoka and Obi-Wan, promise I'll be back within twenty minutes- ten minutes!"

Just as Ahsoka and Obi-Wan waked around the corner, they saw Anakin attempting to climb out of his bed, bandages still wrapped around his head, and arguing with Bant. As soon as he saw them, his eyes lit up.

"Ahsoka! Obi-Wan, are you well?"

Ahsoka stared at Anakin, whole, healthy, and smiling, and reassured herself that he was real. Then in the fashion of a child, she threw herself at him, burying her head in his chest as she before had in his robes.

"Woah, woah, everything's alright, Ahsoka. I'm just fine, see?"

He patted her head almost a little awkwardly like he didn't know what to do with his hands, but Ahsoka didn't care.

He was fine, everything was alright.

"Anakin Skywalker, what are you doing? Get back into bed!"

Ahsoka slowly released Anakin from her embrace so that he could fall back on his bed. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and rolled his eyes at the Mon Calamari Jedi.

"Bant wants to keep me here overnight, even though I'm fine."

At this, he glared a little at Bant, though Ahsoka could tell his heart was not in it. If that were so, she knew Bant wouldn't be standing here much longer. As ridiculous as he looked right now, Ahsoka knew her Master could be quite terrifying if he wanted to.

"Don't act so much like a bratty Padawan, Anakin," Bant only commented. "Now sit down, rest, get well, and you can go back to your rooms tomorrow morning."

"Yes, yes," Anakin muttered and pulled the blanket back over his legs. Bant smiled at the three of them, then bid them good night as well.

"It's good to see you're causing trouble as always," Obi-Wan said and set the teapot on the table next to Anakin's bed so he could sit down on its edge. "Here I was worried it was something serious."

"Oh, you know me, Master. I always have to be a little dramatic. What tea is that?"

Anakin couldn't have changed the topic more obviously in favor of curiously examining the teapot.

"Master Obi-Wan and I went out shopping in the city today," Ahsoka spoke up and pushed her new mug into Anakin's hands before she saw down next to him. "We bought a new tea and it changes color and also a mug and-"

"Hey, Snips, slow down." 

Ahsoka shut up as Anakin raised his hands. Then, with an expression Ahsoka could only describe as pouty, her Master turned to Obi-Wan.

"You took my Padawan on her first tea run without me?" Anakin asked accusingly, pointing his finger at Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan only sighed theatrically and poured some tea, by now a dark red color, into every cup. "Well, we can't all be heroes recovering from a deadly assault. I take it said hero doesn't want a cup then?"

Now Anakin was quick to hold out the cup Ahsoka had pressed into his hands. "No, I want to see what my Padawan picked out. Hurry up, Master."

Obi-Wan's following laughter was infectious. It was almost as loud and cheerful as Anakin's demands to be told everything of their trip in detail. Sitting next to him on the bed, covered by the heavy blanket and the warm tea in hand, Ahsoka could finally allow herself to relax fully.

[misssunflowersandsangria]

At Home with You

Happy @inoshikachoweek week and happy best friends day!  I love every incarnation of Team 10 so I really wanted to write something at least for the last day.  Thank you to @thespookymoth and @pewpewpew for hosting this week!  Hope that you enjoy! 

Prompt:  Best Friends

Summary:  When you’re best friends home and family can take many different forms.

*

**

At Home with You

**

Ino

“There you are!”  Curious brown eyes looked up hearing a familiar voice. Inojin grinned watching the deer trot over towards him excitedly. 

Inojin pet the deer’s fur affectionately, thankful that he seemed to still remember him.  “I’m sorry I haven’t been around a lot lately.”  The animal didn’t seem to mind and welcomed the loving touches.  

“Come on buddy, let’s take a walk. I’ve got some time before I have to go home.” Inojin could have sworn there was some understanding in those soft eyes as the animal fell into step with him.  

The peace and solitude the dense forest provided was much needed after so many difficult and grueling missions. He found solace in the twilight with his faithful companion by his side. 

The pair took breaks along their walk to eat and drink. Their gait relaxed and steady with no goal or end in sight. Inojin would feed the animal treats and pet his soft fur.  All the while the deer nuzzled in familiarity into his gentle hands. 

Coming to a stop they relaxed by the water. Inojin reclined into the deers side to sketch the landscape. Nestling into the deer’s soft fur and comforting warmth.  It was this quiet slice of heaven away safe from the noise. 

“So this is where you’ve been running off to?” 

Inojin looked startled, surprised by the amused looks on his Uncle and Aunt’s face. 

Subconsciously Inojin stepped forward placing himself between the deer and them. 

“We don’t mind you coming here but you need to let your parents know where you are.”  Temari gently scolded him.  

Shikamaru looked curiously behind Inojin. A familiar deer posed as though it was ready to defend its friend if necessary. 

“I assume your visits have to do with the deer behind you?” 

“I come by when I dont have missions to see him.”  Inojin admitted with a sigh.  There was no way to lie his way out of this. 

Temari and Shikamaru were surprised by the revelation.  Shikamaru recognized the deer as the injured one that Inojin had found and he had treated.  He remembered Inojin being terrified and distraught, hoping the deer might make it through. They didn’t quite realize how much of an impression the experience had made. 

Temari had seen him earlier heading towards the forest where he was able to walk about freely. It seemed odd though that he was going there alone. 

“Why didn’t you tell us?” 

Inojin shrugged, not really having a response. He thought it might be embarrassing to admit having grown attached to the deer.  

“I couldn’t…I couldn’t save Akkun. So when I was able to save this one I felt connected to him I guess.”  

They knew all about that little creature that he’d bonded with during the mission in Iwagakure. Ino and Sai had considered getting him a pet to help with his grief but worried it might be too soon. 

Shikamaru moved forward towards them, kneeling in front of him.  “Your grandfather used to love walking through here too.”  

“Really?”  Inojin asked surprised but always happy to learn anything he could about his grandfather. 

“The Yamanaka jutsu can be very difficult mentally and spiritually. He always found reconnecting with nature as a way to reset.  He even had his own favorite deer. Shikadai’s grandfather would complain that he was out here more than him.”  Shikamaru remembered when his father would go out into the dense forest to check on his friend. 

“Inojin attachments and bonds are a wonderful thing. Companionship and friendship make life meaningful.  They aren’t something you ever have to hide.” Inojin smiled up at Temari, her words having a lifetime of experience behind them. 

“Did you give him a name?” 

“Aki, I found him on the first day of Fall.”  

“Well thank you Aki for taking care of Inojin here.”  

Shikamaru kindly rubbed the deer’s head.  Sure the Naras were known for their connection with these animals but he was thankful that Inojin saw their value as well.

“Let your mom and dad know, okay kid. That way they won’t worry.”  Temari guided him gently.  She could understand his draw towards the Nara forest.  She would often escape there just to have some quiet.  

Inojin nodded, grateful that he didn’t have to keep his trips a secret.  That he could tell his parents and his teammates about his friend.  He’d been wanting his parents to come join him for a while now. 

“Let Shikadai know you’re coming out here.  He’s supposed to be guarding and keeping this place secure.  Seeing as you’ve been able to come in and out undetected means he’s not doing his job.”  He laughed but hoped his friend wouldn’t be too upset. 

The trio remained out there in the fading sunlight as more deer came forward recognizing the clan heads.  Enjoying the mystery and wonder of it all.

Inojin at times was just like his father.  He struggled with certain social cues and norms.  Often finding himself confused by some customs. But he found there in the quiet of the forest, with his faithful friend, and family a feeling of home. 

Shika

Shikadai took a tentative taste before a thoughtful look crossed his face. 

“It needs something.” 

Karui took a spoonful of the broth before nodding. “You’re right. Go ask your Uncle Chouji for more tomatoes.”  

Shikadai went into motion and made his way over to where the Akimichi was prepping the ingredients.  ChoCho would often complain about her parents but Shikadai found them to be warm and welcoming.  Always genuinely happy to see him. 

“We’re gonna need more diced tomatoes.”

“You got it, kid.” 

Shikadai wasn’t sure when it happened exactly. He’d been over at the Akimichi’s one night for dinner and had been roped into helping. Despite his silent complaints, he’d actually enjoyed the cooking process.  It was almost like a science experiment. Mixing the ingredients to get the perfect reaction. After that day he’d come by ever so often to learn more techniques and to try out various recipes. Who better than an Akimichi to teach him to cook? ChoCho loved it when he came over, as he often made enough for her to try a new dish.  

Today he had something special planned. His uncles had sent him a recipe for his mom's favorite dish from Suna. He wanted it to be a surprise so he’d made his way to the Akimichi kitchen. 

“My dad taught your grandfather how to cook,”  Chouji told him with a grin. Shikadai looked up, never having heard this story. 

“When they were younger your grandmother was just as good of a cook as she is now.  Uncle Shikaku wanted to impress her.  It was a complete failure.  Apparently, he managed to burn through not only the food but multiple pots and pans.  He was banned from cooking on Akimichi lands for a while.  After my dad forgave him he gave him a few less-flammable lessons.  It wasn’t too helpful but there was some improvement.  Your father is no better.  For being geniuses they sure are useless in the kitchen.  You might be the only hope for the Nara line.”

Shikadai smiled at the thought.  His mother had mentioned something similar to him when he’d helped her a few times.  It wasn’t a skill that Naras were known for nor would it be one that he advertised.  Still, it was a useful ability and oftentimes a needed distraction. 

Karui yelled a few additional items they needed and he stood next to Chouji prepping the additional items.  

They added the required ingredients, checking the flavor as he went along.  The two Akimichis watched him with a smile at his attention and precision.  Temari’s look of pure determination on his face and his movements were all Shikamaru.  Like the dish he made, he was a perfect mix. 

“I’ve got to hand it to you kid.  You’re a natural.  You’re always welcomed in my kitchen.”  Karui praised him after tasting the completed recipe. 

She affectionately ruffled his hair. “Your mom is going to love it.” 

Shikadai recalled those precious times together around a table with warm food between them.  

A home-cooked meal was the perfect reminder of home.

Cho

“Thanks again for coming by!  Your wife is going to love the flowers.”  ChoCho yelled out to the customer.

She then worked to spray down the counter then watered a few of the plants.  It was a quiet day at the store but she loved it nonetheless.  The Yamanaka flower shop was one of her favorite places in the village. She was getting older.  Their team missions were more complicated and layered. For her. working at a place that was so normal was a needed reprieve.

It started a few weeks ago.  Inojin had begged her to cover his shift while his parents were off on a mission.  She agreed only after he offered her a king’s ransom in snacks and a no-questions-asked favor to be cashed in the future.  After getting a quick training session and learning the ropes she thoroughly enjoyed her time there.  She was in the company of flowers and got to meet and interact with people all over the village.  It was a natural fit.  From then on ever so often Inojin would ask her to fill in.  She’d whine and complain which increased Inojin’s offerings but she’d ultimately agree.

“ChoCho!”  She smiled brightly seeing the Yamanakas walk in.  They knew that she was there for the afternoon but assured her they’d be back as early as possible.  

ChoCho idolized Ino.  The  Yamanaka Clan head was strong, wise, and beautiful.  ChoCho loved her mom but she was still an authority figure.  Ino was her cool Aunt.  Since she could remember the blonde had assured her that she’d be a willing confidant and support.  There were a few times that she elicited her help and advice.  

“We appreciate you coming by to help us,”  Sai thanked her with a soft smile.  He wasn’t a man of many words but he was always kind and welcoming towards her.  His smile reminded her very much of her teammate.

“I love it here.  I get to see so many people and hear a lot of different stories.”  Her favorites were always of nervous individuals hoping to find that perfect bouquet to impress a special someone. 

“It’s a pretty special place.  Your grandfather still buys your grandmother flowers every month on the 7th.  When I'd come here to help my dad I always loved seeing him come in.  I'd help him pick out the flowers to give her.”  ChoCho fondly thought about the blossoms that would consistently fill their home.  She couldn’t help but love how connected their families were.  

 Sai helped her move a few buckets of flowers to refill the shelves.  “When your father started dating your mom he didn’t know what her favorite flower was so he ended up just buying all of them,”  Sai recalled that day.  

He’d come to spend time with Ino when the Akimichi had come in a panicked state.  Their team had argued back and forth about the best arrangement of flowers until Shikamaru convinced Chouji to just buy them all and figure out Karui’s favorite later. 

ChoCho grinned surprised by the sweet story.  Surprised that the old man had some moves back in the day.  

Her father had come by earlier to her embarrassment but they had worked together to arrange a beautiful bouquet for her mother. She often wondered at their relationship but their love was something undeniable.  ChoChohoped that her teammates took notes about how to treat those they loved. 

ChoCho fell into step with the Yamanakas helping to clean up before she was set to leave.  And of course, she was on her way to see her team.  

“You’re always welcome here, you know that right?”  Ino assured her. She had a special bond with the Akimichi.  It wasn’t always easy being the female in their trio.

Surrounded by a melody of flowers and the warmth of family, this was just like a second home.  

“I know.”

* **

The 17th generation of InoShikaCho sat together in the cramped booth talking about everything and nothing all at once.  A similar scene of love and familiarity having occurred many times in the past.  

At times the pressure to uphold their family’s legacy could be suffocating.  Certain heavy expectations and hopes were placed on their shoulders.  But they knew at the end of the day they were luckier than most.  They were teammates and best friends.  Not just by circumstances but by choice.  No matter what happened in this life, because of that bond they’d always have a home. 

*

**

Did you see what I was trying to do here?  I love the customs that each family has but I like to see them interacting with each other.

Life got pretty hectic so writing needed to take a back seat.  I’m thankful that I was able to write what little I could.  I hope to be posting more regularly soon.  Thanks for your support and good vibes. 

 My sincere love, thanks and admiration for everyone who supported this week!  You are all amazing!  Love, love to you all!