#so then this guy just said it to ME and then corrected himself like 'eh no sister i mean' and im like. dude no. stick with brother

[kruxton]

testing out the waters w the new kid in my class to see if he's accepting of trans people or not

[runnning-outof-time]

For your celebration 🎉 can I please get …

“Look at me right now.” — with Tommy

Xx

Thanks for sending this in, Liv! I’m sorry it took me so long to write! I just had to go with Modern Tommy here for the Modern Tommy Queen….it’s nowhere near as amazing as when you write him, but I tried my best. I hope you like it! Enjoy! :)

I’D LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! - YOUR COMMENTS & REBLOGS HELP ME WRITE!

Part of my 3.5k Celebration — find more stories here!

Any Ideas?

Modern!Tommy Shelby x Reader

Warnings: smoking, language, sexual situation (nothing too nsfw), possessive behavior

Word Count: 1256

Summary: Tommy’s had enough of other men looking at his girl. He decides he’s going to do something about it.

“What is your problem?” (Y/N) asked as she walked out of the ensuite bathroom with a towel wrapped around her frame. Tommy was in the same place as she left him: sitting at her vanity smoking a cigarette. She could just tell that something was eating at him…but she knew that she had to be the one to bring it up; to coax it out of him.

“Hmm?” he merely hummed a response, his eyes catching hers through the mirror as he took another drag from his cigarette.

(Y/N) huffed in response to his half-assed answer. “Don’t ‘hmm’ me. I know something’s on your mind. Spill it,” she insisted, her eyebrows raised as she placed one hand on her hip. Tommy just chuckled at her stance. “You’ve been acting like this the entire night. What is it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he nonchalantly answered, turning his one palm to the sky as he shrugged his shoulders.

“Oh but you do,” she countered, waiting for a moment to see if he’d add anything to his previous statement. He simply kept smoking. She let out a huff and made her way over to the walk in closet. “It was that guy at the event, wasn’t it? The one that kept looking over at us…at me. You didn’t like the fact that he was staring, and so you’ve decided to brood over it, right?” she went on as she was opening drawers, searching for something to wear to bed. Something he’ll be unable to resist, she thought to herself with a smirk. A quick glance out into the bedroom confirmed that he was still sitting at the vanity. Prick, she thought as she continued, “yeah, that’s exactly what it is. No one’s allowed to look at Tommy Shelby’s woman. No one except Tommy Shelby himself,” her voice dropped as she finished her statement, doing her best imitation of him.

Tommy had heard enough. He took one last drag from his cigarette before stamping it out in the ashtray he’d brought with him to the vanity. With a huff, he stood and made his way into the closet. (Y/N) had her back turned to him as she continued to look through her drawers.

“You’ve got it all figured out, eh?” he started, the tone of his voice immediately telling (Y/N) that she was correct in her guesses. “Think you know everything goin’ on in my mind?”

(Y/N) stopped what she was doing, standing up straight for a moment. She didn’t dare turn to face him though, not yet. Instead, she opened her top drawer and continued looking…even though said drawer housed her jeans and leggings.

“I’m talking to you,” Tommy was getting impatient now. It made (Y/N) grin.

“I’m looking for something to wear to bed,” she answered him, continuing her ‘search’.

“Oi,” he started, reaching out and taking hold of her arm, “look at me right now,” he practically demanded, spinning her to face him so that she’d have no choice. The sudden spin made her gasp, but she kept her countenance as her eyes locked onto his. She raised her eyebrows at him, so as if to say ‘what?’. He looked her over before continuing, “I’m not supposed to get upset when another man keeps eyeing me girl? Eh? I’m supposed to just let him stand there and do it?”

(Y/N) bit on her bottom lip, partly because of the tension that had risen between them and partly because she was right about his brooding. She reached out to take hold of the dress shirt that he was wearing, working on undoing its buttons. “So that was what was bothering you,” she commented, her eyes focused on his chest.

“It was,” Tommy husked.

“I’m surprised you didn’t do anything about it,” she continued.

“Wanted to punch his fuckin’ teeth in,” he admitted.

“I’m happy you didn’t,” she told him, finally looking up at him through her eyelashes, a hint of a smile present.

Tommy hummed in response, his tongue sweeping across his bottom lip before he spoke, “but maybe I oughta do something…something that shows people you’re mine.”

(Y/N) watched as his eyes hastily darkened, and her skin felt like it was on fire as his hands came in contact with her thighs.

“The ring isn’t enough?” she questioned, placing her hands flat against his chest for a moment. Her eyes went to her left hand, where the sizable engagement ring Tommy’d given her normally sat. She’d taken it off to shower, but sometimes she swore she was still able to feel its weight on her finger.

“No,” he responded, shaking his head. The breath got caught in her throat as he then began slowly dragging his fingertips upwards, pressing them into her skin as they slipped underneath her towel to rest against her ass. “It’s clearly not.”

“Well do you have something in mind?” she - surprisingly - found her voice and asked, her lips rising into a coy smirk as her fingers continued working on his buttons.

A smirk grew on Tommy’s face as he heard her question, and he held her gaze just long enough for her to see it before he dropped his face into the crook of her neck. The breath hitched in (Y/N)’s throat for a second time as he kissed a line up to her ear. “I was hoping you could think of something,” he mumbled against it before moving back down and continuing his ministrations. He kissed her sensitive skin a few times before nipping at it, the sudden change of feeling making her gasp. “Any ideas?” he asked her then, the smirk he was wearing evident against her skin.

(Y/N) couldn’t think straight anymore. She tipped her head back and let out a shaky breath as Tommy’s kisses trailed lower on her chest, meeting the skin just above where her towel was resting. His hands were roaming now, gliding over her ass and thighs, gripping at the skin with his fingers. Between his mouth and hands, she was sure there were marks by now. She managed to undo his final button amidst everything and let his shirt hang slack before she brought her fingers up to curl into the longer strands of hair atop his head.

“I have a few,” she finally found her voice and was able to answer his question, though her short statement came out as a quick breath.

Tommy hummed against her skin before his lips finally reached the spot that he knew drove her crazy. He made sure to kiss it lightly before pulling back. “Care to share them?” he asked, a wicked grin present.

(Y/N)’s eyes shot open the second his lips left her skin. Her eyes locked onto his as she sent him a deadpanned expression. He wasn’t about to build all of that up for nothing, was he? “I think you already know what they are,” she managed to get out just before his lips crashed against hers.

She wasted no time in anything else, hooking her legs around his waist the second he pressed his fingers into her skin and began to lift her up.

He spun, walking them out of the closet and over to the bed, where he dropped her down and made sure that there wouldn’t be a repeat of what happened earlier that evening. He needed the rest of the world to know that she was his.

*tags in reblog so that hopefully they get sent out

**Got a little carried away for the last Tommy blurb of the celebration…oops

MASTERLIST

[afreakingdork]

Deep Dive: Rise of the TMNT Donatello's Bad Boy Persona, His Cute, But Mean Type, and Why He is None of These Things

I made this presentation to delve into my take on Rise Donnie!

It was a power point, but I'm going to break it down here. I do want to preserve the first slide though because...

Did you know Black dahlia's aren't actually black? They're very dark red and in flower language they represent dishonesty!

Apropos, let's get into it...

Donnie is a Bad Liar

We see this throughout the show

“No? No… Of course I did… n't.”

"Uh, nothing. Just having a typical normal mystic free day."

"We are just typical, normal humans who got lost in the middle of our normal, everyday human lives. Nailed it."

"Oh man. Uh. This hurts me. Uh. I'm very sad?"

He has all the characteristics of a terrible liar. He sweats, his pitch warbles, his eyes dart, ect, everything you would expect.

Sarcasm! The Perfect Cover?

When Donnie does go for the use of sarcasm, he almost always points it out.

"I feel better already," he said without a hint of sarcasm."

"Oh, sure. Let me just load my tap-into-every-security-camera-in-New-York app. I'm sorry if that sounded like sarcasm, it wasn't. I am in."

Point Out the Obvious Much

However, when he doesn't point out the sarcasm, he also can't help but make mention of the oxymoron. We see this a lot, especially in Donnie vs. Witch Town.

"Oh yes very cool says Donnie as he quietly lets something go."

"Ooh, fireworks. Science never would have thought of something it was originally inventor of."

So basically, if Donnie tries to lie; he gives himself away. If Donnie tries to fudge the truth; he's compelled to make note of it.

I bring this all up to specifically tackle this sentence:

“So unfair. Although it is a boost for my emotionally unavailable bad boy image. “Y’ello.””

Why do I do so? Let me remind you of my first slide...

But how can that be? We just established that he's a bad liar. In the 'bad boy' line, he's not falling for any of his tells. He's body language gives no indication of lying. He doesn't make any note of sarcasm. No one after this line makes a face or corrects Donnie and he doesn't point out any discrepancies.

How could this be a lie?

Because Donnie himself doesn't know it's a lie.

Let Me Take You Back

Things I Did Unironically as a Teenager

Added Japanese honorifics to the end of my friends nicknames (-san, -chan, -kun)

Had my friends help me wrap myself up in caution tape for my birthday, but told people they made me

Wore a dog collar with a dog tag that had my name in Romanji on it

Had screen names like RubyBlueSango62 and blahweeblah626

But That’s Just Personal Experience!

Things Donnie has Unironically as a Teenager

"Ah, yes, so in this case a game of bask-eh-ball."

"Prepare to eateth thy words."

"Oh, hey guys. What’s the haps? Huh? Oh, oh this? I didn’t realize I had it on. This is my sweet new purple satin jacket- Got it from being a bit of a tech wiz. Purple Dragons. Members only. No big deal. Mm-hm. Well, you better grab some toast, fellas, 'cause you are all jelly!"

“It's Bootyyyshakker9000. Capital B and three Ys in booty.”

I believe it's a universal experience for teenagers to push boundaries. For so long, most parents decide everything for you. With hormones and growth, you want to experiment, but since autonomy is new, you try to break from the mold and do it uniquely. Anything that is outside your norm, especially things that swing wildly from what you once new seems especially exciting. From embellishing speech, to wearing specific clothing items, and even your first screen name, you don't know boundaries! It may be 'cringe' in the future, but when you first do it, it seems like the coolest thing ever! It's something that wholly represents you. This online space you. This you that is ungoverned! I'm an only child so I can't imagine, but I bet you especially want to do this when you have siblings. Where the shame in that?

I mean... Kat Haynes agrees with me on this...

Low Empathy

Now to get a little more serious. Alexithymia is a term that describes those who have difficulty feeling emotions. While not always associated with autism, it is more common in individuals with it. About 1 in 5 people who have autism also have alexithymia.

As already stated, it is clear the Donnie suffers from alexithymia. Most Donatello-centric conflicts in Rise have nothing to do with Donnie being emotionless and instead often deal with him lashing out due to his confusion or insecurities. We see this a lot especially in Witch Town where he is grappling with himself the entire episode. He's insecure about how he doesn't understand mysticism and he doesn't know how to process it or his place on the team. He's not emotionless, he's insecure when he doesn't understand something.

"Yes, feelings. Hot, cold, sleepy, hungry…"

"I don't normally feel things, but that one got through!"

Emotions on his Metaphorical Sleeve

Nothing about alexithymia says that you don't feel emotions. Instead, it's characterized by not understanding them. Donnie feels his emotions big and large just like Mikey does and especially if something is important to him, you'll see those reactions dialed up to eleven.

All Talk

While many think of the classic "semi-lethal" line and the "Speak for yourself" when Mikey says they aren't savages in regard to Donnie, he's not really the bad boy he plays himself up to be. When the theatrics are set aside, most of Donnie’s snap judgements are the altruistic kind or he thoughtfully plans out ways to not only take care of his family, but actively ensure their safety (to varying degrees of success, but that's not what we're saying here):

created devices which both counteracted his brother's flaws because they were getting them hurt

Used himself as a shield for Mikey on multiple occasions 

Risks his own safety and bodily harm especially in Turtle-dega Nights: The Ballad of Rat Man and Breaking Purple

Builds Escape pods for everyone 

Enters a sensory nightmare for the sake of the world

Often asks, especially Raph, if he's okay and looks out for the oldest brother

Yet the Presentation Continues?

Why yes, because there is another line of Donnie's that I want to tackle that I believe falls exactly in line with the 'bad boy image' one...

"Oh, you’re so cute, but so mean. Why do I always go for your type?"

You know what I'm about to posit again...

Insecure

As touched on previously, Donnie is insecure. He's insecure about his emotions. He's insecure about his place on the team. He's insecure about anything he doesn't understand and his insecurities are exceedingly personal in nature because he ties them intrinsically to his personality.

"The real thing is much more personal and thoughtful, and I really hope you like it, ‘cause if you don’t I will just be crushed!"

"This’ll teach you to compliment my work and give me my first positive reinforcement from a parent aged adult, ever!"

Speaking of parent aged adults... i wonder where this could stem from...

Role Model

Who do all the turtles model themselves after, but their own father? Whether they knew it or not, Lou Jitsu was someone they all strived to be like. They commited to learning all the lines from his movies. They fought like him outside of the training course Splinter sets them on. Heck, Donnie takes his hero worship so far that his character defining brows are exactly Lou Jitsu's! Babies start learning how to establish social and emotional relationships around 18 months. We have Splinter, a despondent, but loving care giver who unfortunately did not give Donnie the validation he craved. This manifests in his insecurities where he bends over backwards to get the attention he craves. He wants to be seen, again compounded by having three rowdy mutant-powered brothers, and so he ends up tying his worth into his ability.

Now, while for a majority of the series, the turtles don't know about Splinter's past or that he dated Big Mama, but it wasn't as if Splinter hid that part of himself away so obviously. In fact, because he himself is still mourning his lost humanity, he ends up feeding his son's a hardy diet of his life's existence. The boys are secondarily raised by Lou Jitsu movies in place where Splinter is not always present. Obviously, Lou Jitsu seemingly disappears, but Splinter's feelings on the matter don't. He openly still cares about Big Mama in the present and this I don't think it's a stretch to say that he would let these feelings leak in a similar way to how he presents Lou Jitsu in the boys lives. Big Mama is a attractive, albeit manipulative woman. This is awfully close to a little line someone says, especially when we consider that he models himself after this man.

Also, if we're taking models into account. Something we know for a fact shapes teenagers. Something we know for a fact that Donnie does. Something that is equally canonized in the show, then we have to talk about.

Donnie’s True Canonical Idol

That's right. You know her. You love her. You believe that Donnie is a thigh man because of this Lass' existence. Donnie says flat out that Atomic Lass is his childhood idol. He goes to great lengths to dance with her, smashing Leo out of the way. He then even goes so far as to ask if her and Atomic Lad have split up because his intention to date her is so clear. Now she was obviously a mutant in a costume, but that didn't matter because he loves Atomic Lass that much and Atomic Lass?

She's a heroine.

Only cute and mean in the context of the episode, this is not the Lass he fell in love with. The Lass he loves is a comic book hero that travels the universe doing good.

Also....

Ron Corcillo Agrees With Me

A staff writer on Rise, I apologize I can't show the origin tweet because it was deleted, but it was a dual question that asked both about the Turtles meeting Spider-man and about Donnie's preference. Now you could say he's forgotten a line that may not be as important to him, but doesn't that in and of itself say something? It says that it could have been a one-off joke or that it wasn't something that was necessarily intrinsic to the character.

To Recap:

Donnie doesn’t always know himself

Donnie is a cringey teen

Donnie is insecure

Donnie has difficulty understanding emotions and himself

Donnie isn’t actually an 'emotionally unavailable bad boy'

Donnie doesn’t actually like the ‘mean’ type

Sources:

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episodes:

Mystic Mayhem

Donnie's Gifts

Pizza Pit

Hot Soup: The Game

Shadow of Evil

Donnie vs. Witch Town

The Mutant Menace

Breaking Purple

Turtle-dega Nights: The Ballad of Rat Man

End Game

Repo Mantis

Mascot Melee

Donnie's Gifts

Bug Busters

War and Pizza

Goyles, Goyles, Goyles

Lair Games

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie

lactoseintolerentswag's post on Rise Characterizations Pt. 3!!!

skulltrot's Donnie (Rise of the TMNT) | Autism Representation in Media video

Ron Corcillo's tweet from Cartoon Brew's Feb 10, 2024 AMA

Alexithymia | Autistica

earthytzipi's post not understanding why people characterize Donnie has hiding his emotions

hyperfixatinator's post about ROTTMNT Theory: Donatello's Hidden Role

[queenofthepirates83]

Sal Fisher x Reader

“I like you too”

Tag: fluff, one-shot

Tw: none(but tell me if there is)

Words: 851

A/N: first fanfic! Sorry this is short I wrote this a while ago and decided to finish it now lol, also sorry if it’s bad

When you first moved into the Addison Apartments you weren’t happy or anything. It wasn’t like you wanted to stay in that house, no. Your mom thought it would be best to move out, away from all the bad memories your stepfather had created in that house.

You first met Larry, courtesy of his mother, who loved you almost instantly. Larry introduced you to Sal, you guys got along great. Then one thing led to another and now you’re sitting in your room, thinking about Sal.

You sighed knowing that you couldn’t stay in your room forever. You had to tell Sal how you really felt. No jokes or excuses this time.

Last time you tried to do it you made a complete fool of yourself and made an excuse and just left and hid in your room.

But you have to tell Sal how you felt towards him. Larry kept telling you that he felt the same way but you wouldn’t believe him. So Larry put you two in the same room, left and waited for you to confess your feelings.

You didn’t trust Larry. You didn’t believe what he said but in all honesty it was true. Sal did like you back and not just in a friendly way.

You sighed and got off your bed and went to your closet to get pants on.(you went to bed with a shirt and your underwear. Or not, it’s your choice.) You chose (your choice of pants) and walked away to your door and opened it. You walked out and noticed your mom on the couch passed out. She had on her nurse clothes, since she took another night shift for the money.

You sighed and went over to the kitchen, grabbing a juice. You walked back to the front door crouching down to put some shoes on.

Once they were on you opened the front door and walked/took the elevator to his apartment.

You were at his door, contemplating if you should knock or not and just leave. You sighed, knowing that Larry would tell Sal himself if you didn’t do it. You knocked on Sal’s door once you built up the confidence. You stood there for a few more minutes before Sal opened the door. His hair was a little messy and the collar of his shirt looked like he almost pulled it to one side. “Hey Sal, wanna hang out for a little?”

Sal nodded and stood aside for you to walk in. You smiled and walked into his apartment. Sal closed the door and walked to his. You followed him. You both walked into his room. You looked around for a moment as Sal shut the door.

“When was the last time you cleaned?” You asked, glancing around again as you took some clothes off the floor and put it in his laundry hamper.

He shrugged as he watched you, sitting down on his bed. “Can’t remember.”

“You don’t seem to remember a lot.”

He shrugged again, staring at you through his mask. “Why’d you come over anyway?”

You stared back at him as you sat down next to him on the bed. “Just wanted to talk.”

“…about?”

You felt yourself getting nervous as he pressed on. What was his reaction going to be once you told him? Was Larry correct? What about Ash? The two seem quite close. The questions swirled around your mind like a plague. You liked Ash, she was a good friend to you and the other three. But her and Sal are close too, and not just in a friendly way.

Sal tilted his head down a little as he stared at you. “Hm?”

You blinked, your vision becoming less blurry as your vision focused on him. “Uh…Larry wanted me to tell you something.”

He nodded slowly. Sal was half aware of your feelings for him, from what Larry had told him and from how you act when you’re around him. He also didn’t believe Larry, just like how you did. And Sal did like you, he did have feelings for you.

“Eh…” you blinked again, squinting your eyes at him as his gaze only intensified, whether he realized or not. “I like you.”

And those were the three words that confirmed everything. The corner of his lips turned up, his gaze softening as he stared at you. His felt his face get a little red, the tips of his ears going red too.

You felt yourself get nervous at his…well…lack of response. Not even an ‘oh’ or ‘wow’.

“Sal…?” You asked slowly.

He simply stared at you before he moved to take his mask off.

You had seen his face before, he took it off in front of you a while ago. He felt comfortable showing you his face, which in your book was good. Really good.

When his mask was off, he set it beside him before moving closer.

You smiled, admiring him for a moment before you leaned in a little, your lips meeting his scarred ones in a soft and gentle kiss.

“I like you too.”

[my-castles-crumbling]

Whoops. - AU Jegulus oneshot

(This isn't the smut, guys! That's next on my list!)

Regulus is a TA for Professor Monty Potter and Monty keeps trying to set Regulus up with his son. Regulus always refuses, of course. But what happens when, at the end of the term, he goes to the Potter Christmas Party? Just a fun oneshot based off this post! Thanks to @sebbianas for the idea and @heartshiii for the request!

“I think he’s shown up to class a grand total of three times,” Monty murmurs, jerking his chin towards the last of the students exiting the auditorium.

Regulus chuckles and continues picking up the exam papers from the desks. “Still want to go with your ‘progressive-no-attendance-policy’ next semester?" he asks lightly as he brings the pile towards the Professor.

“Eh. If he aces the final, he obviously didn’t need my help, did he?” Monty shrugs, flashing Regulus a grin.

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Then maybe he’ll show up a bit more often when he has to retake the class,” Monty finishes, laughing in earnest, now.

Regulus chuckles again and surveys the empty room. “Need anything else before I go?”

“No, Regulus. You’ve been an excellent help. Best TA I’ve ever had, but don’t go telling anyone I have favorites,” Monty says, smirking a bit.

“Thanks, Professor Potter–” Regulus begins, only to be cut off.

“Monty.”

“Monty,” he agrees, still feeling a bit nervous using first names even after all these weeks. He’s been trained in etiquette since birth, after all.

“And since you’re now officially not my TA,” Monty says, smiling, “You’ll come to my house tonight for my holiday party? My son will be there,” he waggles his eyebrows comically at this, and Regulus rolls his eyes.

It’s been an ongoing topic ever since he and Regulus had talked about it earlier that term:

“That’s a nice bracelet,” Monty said absentmindedly as they corrected papers together.

“Ah. Thanks. My brother gave it to me,” Regulus said of the black and rainbow bracelet on his wrist.

But Monty was looking closer at the bracelet, now. “Can I ask-?”

“He gave it to me when I came out,” Regulus supplied, looking at the Professor hesitantly.

Monty seemed unsurprised at the admission, but he also seemed like he wanted to ask something. “Can I ask something that might be seen as unprofessional?”

Regulus felt a bit nervous at this. It had been years since he’d left his extremely unaccepting parents, gone to live with Sirius in a tiny little flat by themselves. They didn’t live together anymore, but those years had been difficult, and it'd taken a lot of work to accept himself. He still had a fear of people, specifically adults, being cruel about his sexuality. But he was also curious. “Yes?”

“My son…my son recently told my wife and I that he’s pansexual. Could you possibly be kind enough to give me some advice? About how to show him that I still feel the same about him?” Monty’s face was so genuine that Regulus almost burst into tears.

But instead, he began to talk. To tell about all the things he wished his parents had done.

Of course, ever since that day, Monty had been casually bringing up his son, and how he and Regulus might get along. But Regulus had always refused, trying to respect the boundaries of the TA-professor relationship. Also, he'd never admit it, but he likes Monty, and worries a bit about losing him as a mentor if things went wrong on a potential date.

But he can't exactly refuse to go to the party tonight. Not after everything Monty has done for him.

“I’ll be there,” he says with a small smile, and bids Monty goodbye.

-

He feels a bit nervous knocking on the door of the Potters that evening, but also reminds himself that he knows how to deal with a party. He knows how to small-talk and kiss up to people and make a good first impression.

He hates it all, of course. Hates everything that reminds him of the way he was raised. But he can do this.

So, when Mrs. Potter answers the door and pulls him into a hug, he’s quite surprised- he’s never been hugged at any fancy dinner party his family has ever thrown. But he still thanks her kindly for the invitation and hands her the bottle of wine he brought.

“Oh, you’re so sweet!” Mrs. Potter gushes, leading him inside.

It’s- crowded. There are a lot of people, all dressed nicely and drinking from fancy glasses. Some look to be closer to his age, while others are older. And in the middle of one of the rooms is-

“Sirius?” Regulus asks incredulously.

“Reggie!” Sirius cries, bounding forward, dragging a boy with him. “What’re you doing here?”

“Monty invited me…” Regulus murmurs, looking around for the man in question.

“Oh, Monty is around somewhere!” Mrs. Potter assures him, waving her hand carelessly. “Sirius, dear, you know Regulus?”

“Only for my whole life,” Sirius says with a wink. “Reggie’s my brother!”

Mrs. Potter gasps loudly. “This is your brother? Well, Regulus was Monty’s TA this semester!”

“He never tells me anything, ever since he moved on campus,” Sirius complains, leaning against the boy he brought along with a dramatic sigh. Then, he turns to Regulus. “The Potters are James’s parents.”

James. Regulus has heard of him. He and Sirius became friends at the start of University. Sirius has said a lot about him on their weekly phone calls, but they’ve never met.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it, then!” Mrs. Potter says, leaving Regulus with Sirius and his friend to answer the door again.

“Thanks, Mrs. Potter,” Regulus murmurs, only to be told, “Effie!” by both Sirius and Mrs. Potter.

“Can’t believe you’re here, Reg! Let’s get you something to drink, eh?” Sirius says excitedly, dragging the tall-but-quiet buy he’s still attached to with him.

“Now would be a good time to run,” Regulus murmurs to the boy.

“We share a flat. I can’t run far,” the man says with a grin as Sirius shrieks about seeing another friend.

Ah. So this is Remus. Well, this will be interesting.

-

Regulus was imagining a proper party. With suits and ties and a five-course seated meal and six different types of silverware and lots of networking.

Well, it was a party, alright. And people certainly had suits and ties. Or they did, about six drinks ago.

Because this party has drinks. Not just a few, but an everlasting amount. And people are enjoying them.

“Never been to a Potter Christmas Party before?” Remus asks him with a smirk as he stands in a corner and nurses his fourth- fifth?- drink, the room spinning just a tad.

“Didn’t realize I’d need a designated driver,” Regulus murmurs back, though he’s safe, as he took a cab.

“Sirius told me that last year he threw up in the bushes,” Remus admits with an evil grin.

“Charming,” Regulus laughs.

But the conversation seems to stutter to a halt.

Because he sees someone across the room. A boy.

Alright, it’s not just a boy. It’s– it’s the most beautiful human Regulus has ever seen. His dark hair is tousled and he wears the nerdiest circular glasses. His tan skin is almost caramel-colored and his grin is jaw-dropping. He’s dressed in a navy suit and tie, but Regulus can see his muscles rippling just a bit under his clothes.

And then Regulus loses his breath.

The boy is looking at him.

He stares back, unable to tear his eyes away.

And then the boy, very purposely, looks Regulus up and down. Slowly.

And then he grins. And turns away.

And Regulus feels all…fuzzy. But in the most pleasant way. “Shots? I need shots,” Regulus hears himself say in a hoarse voice.

It’s going to be a long night.

-

The man is everywhere. When Regulus goes with Sirius to get another shot, he’s there in the kitchen chatting with Mrs- Effie. And he looks Regulus up and down again, his expression hungry.

Regulus almost spits out his shot.

When Regulus moves to a dining room, he’s there, too. He just has to squeeze behind Regulus to get to the plate of cookies. And as he does so, his entire chest brushes against Regulus’s back.

“Excuse me,” his low voice whispers right into Regulus’s ear.

Regulus almost drops his plate.

When Regulus moves to a sitting room to continue talking with Remus, he sees the man there, too. He’s speaking with Sirius. Regulus is too far away to hear what they’re saying, but the man keeps looking at him.

And Regulus looks back.

-

At some point throughout the night, someone puts on Christmas music. It blares through a speaker and some of the guests are tipsily dancing. Sirius is trying to lead Effie in a waltz as they both giggle hysterically and Remus takes pictures from the side.

And the boy is there. Again.

Except now, he’s walking directly toward Regulus.

“Care to dance?” he murmurs, his gaze almost piercing through Regulus, to his very soul.

Luckily, he’s taken dance lessons before. “Alright,” he agrees a bit nervously.

The boy leads him to a quieter spot in the room, away from Sirius’s insanity, and Regulus tries not to react to how it feels to just hold his hand. He’s not in middle school, after all. He shouldn’t feel so giddy. It must be the alcohol.

They begin to do a sort-of waltz that involves mostly just turning in a circle to the soft music in the background. As they do so, the boy’s hand rests on Regulus’s waist, his thumb moving back and forth slowly, making Regulus’s toes tingle a bit.

“You haven’t been here before,” the boy murmurs softly, looking almost desperately into Regulus’s eyes. “I- I’d remember you.”

Regulus can’t resist. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks, pretending to be upset.

“I- no, I-”

“I’m joking,” he says with a smirk, and he feels the boy relax a bit.

“You’re…beautiful. That’s why,” the boy says, answering his earlier question.

And beneath the obvious attraction between them, Regulus senses that this boy is being genuine. And he almost melts right there. Nobody’s ever called him beautiful before. “Thank you,” he whispers.

“How am I doing at this dancing thing? My best friend says I’m terrible at it,” the boy asks, clearly trying to ease the tension, grinning wryly.

To be honest, he’s not great. But Regulus is just enjoying the way the boy’s hand is resting at his waist, making his skin there all hot. “You’re doing fine,” he allows, laughing, trying to resist the urge to pull the boy closer, so their bodies touch.

The boy shrugs, laughing, and Regulus is again stunned by his smile. “Well, I guess we all have our weaknesses. I just wanted an excuse to talk to you, really.”

And then they stare at each other, all attempts at conversations gone. And It’s cliché and ridiculous, but it’s like they’re the only people in the room. All Regulus can feel is the boy’s hand on his waist, the other clasped in his own. All he can see is the way the boy is staring at him- almost adoringly.

And then, they’re kissing.

And if Regulus liked the feeling of the boy’s hand on his waist, it’s nothing compared to the feeling of their lips together. It’s heat and perfection and desire but also somehow warm and gentle and caring. Regulus feels the want building in the base of his spine as suddenly, the boy’s hand lets go of his own and comes to the back of his neck to pull gently at his hair.

Maybe it’s the alcohol, or maybe Regulus is going crazy, but suddenly, he wants more. Fuck the fact that this is his Professor’s Christmas party.

But at least the boy seems to be on the same page, because as they separate, he grabs Regulus’s hand and drags him along yet another hallway, up some stairs, and into a bedroom.

And before he can really contemplate what they’re doing, he’s slammed up against the wall of the bedroom, the door closes, and the boy’s lips are all over him.

“Is this alright?” the boy murmurs gently, grabbing hesitantly at the hem of Regulus’s shirt, and he only has to nod once before his shirt is ripped off his body, followed quickly by the boy’s own jacket, tie, and shirt.

And God, his hands. They’re everywhere. Cool against Regulus’s hot skin, tracing against his pale chest as lips and teeth move along his neck, and he lets out a moan that is quite embarrassing, but it only seems to spur the boy on more.

He feels like he’s floating, the way the boy worships him, kissing seemingly everywhere at once- his neck and jaw and lips and shoulder.

And then two things happen simultaneously.

The boy’s hands start to move. It’s as if they’ve read Regulus’s mind, because all he can think is Fuck, lower, lower, yes, damnit, touch me lower.

But just as the hands are finally drifting over his waistband, the door opens.

“Jamie, you’re supposed to be sociali- oh!”

And to Regulus’s absolute horror, it’s Monty. Walking in the bedroom. To him and a half-naked boy.

He wants to run. Or hide. Or throw up.

But it all gets decidedly more confusing when Monty, who previously just looked dumbfounded, bursts out laughing.

He and the boy look at each other and back again, and Regulus is a bit relieved to see he looks confused, too.

“What-?”

But Monty finally catches his breath and says, “Well…I’m glad you two have, erm, met! James, this is Regulus, the TA I told you about! And Regulus, this is my son, James!”

Well. Whoops.

-

“Remember last year?” James murmurs into Regulus’s ear as they set out what feels like hundreds of bottles of wine for the annual Potter Christmas Party.

“Vividly,” Regulus says, but he hides a smile.

“Suppose we should do that again this year, but finish what we start- ow!” James shrieks, trying to turn away from Regulus’s light punch.

Regulus just rolls his eyes at his boyfriend. “Shut up, Potter.”

Leave comments and kudos here <3

[theywhoshantbenamed]

which state/personification do you think would be the most likely to sleep in just underwear at the statehouse only for this to be discovered at 3 AM in the kitchen on a Sunday night

Alaska yawned, scratching at the hair on his belly as he opened the fridge in his garage-turned-room for something to wet his dried out mouth

“Mmh,” he murmured, “hrsty.”

Alas, he found his fridge empty of any sort of reprieve for his parched throat. He swallowed his spit, acquiescing that he’d have to venture to the kitchen. In the main part of the statehouse. How exciting.

He assumed despite the number of residents, there was no reason anyone would be up, and he didn’t care all too much if there was; so without throwing on so much as a shirt, Alaska began his journey.

The downside to being in the garage was that, in a predicament such as his own, the kitchen remained on the other side of the house.

He stalked down the hall, eyes adjusting to the darkness. As he passed the downstairs restroom, the door opened, the sudden light momentarily stunning him.

Alaska remained still, in hopes that whoever just came out would somehow not notice him, as he was used to.

“Oh. Hi ‘laska,” they greeted.

Alaska stared, eyes big.

“Hi…um.”

“Michigan. Figures you wouldn’t recognize me.”

“Ah, yeah,” Alaska chuckled softly, “I’m, ah, not good with faces. Or names.”

“Eh it’s all good I s’pose,” Michigan shrugged.

“I didn’t expect to run into anyone.”

Michigan shrugged, “Well, insomnia’s no joke, y’know?” He gestured to Alaska, “Yer not cold there?”

Alaska looked down at himself. Just in his boxers. He looked at Michigan, not uncomfortable. “It’s late. I was getting a drink.”

Michigan laughed good-naturedly, “Sure thing, big guy. I won’t keep ya then. Have a good night.”

“Night.”

Interaction over, Alaska went on his way, finally reaching the kitchen. It was dark, so he went for the light.

He closed his eyes as he turned them on.

“FUCK!”

When Alaska opened his eyes, he saw Florida in the kitchen, sitting on his haunches, perched on the island in nothing but his underwear.

Alaska watched as Florida slowed his breathing, hiding his amusement.

“Nice getup,” Alaska said as he opened up the fridge.

“You too,” Florida grumbled. “What are you doing up?”

Alaska secured a bottle of water and shook it at Florida in answer before taking a good, long gulp of water.

Florida grinned, “Thirsty?”

“My fridge was empty.”

“And now you’re in the territory of the lowly 84!”

“48,” Alaska corrected.

Florida waved him off, “Ah I was never good with numbers.”

The sunshine state looked at the entrance opposite to where Alaska entered, “Hey Cali!”

California, hair sticking out in any direction, rubbed his eyes under his glasses, “what are you guys doing here?”

“Being thirsty,” Florida answered for both of them. “You?”

“Bout the same actually,” California yawned. “It’s been in the 100s for the past week. I’m losing my mind, it’s so hot. And Nevada refused to let me camp out in his place for the night. His AC works better than mine.”

“Well that explains why you’re all dressed up,” Florida nodded at him.

“Ha ha,” California laughed sarcastically.

“Bears?”

California jumped, “OH your god!!” He readjusted his glasses, realizing Alaska was talking. “I didn’t even know you were there, dude.”

“Good.” Alaska reached into the fridge again.

California rolled his eyes. “Yes. Bears. What of it?”

Alaska shrugged, “Nothing. I like bears.” He threw a water bottle to California.

California caught it easily. “Ah…thanks.”

Before any awkward silences could occur, Gov walked in and immediately shielded his eyes.

“For the love of— why are you all in your underwear?!”

“The better question is: ‘Why are YOU in a full suit at…’,” Florida looked behind him, “Cali what time is it?”

“3:26.”

“3:26!”

Gov sputtered, “I was in my office! I was working!”

“You don’t need a suit to work at home!” Florida accused. “I bet you just fell asleep with it on and just woke up not too long ago.”

Gov frowned.

“There there, Fed,” Florida soothed, hopping off the island, “let’s get you a water and get you to a real bed.”

He reached around Gov and started massaging his shoulders. Alaska tossed yet another water bottle and Florida caught it before leading gov out of the kitchen, back the way Gov came. The other two could hear Gov’s harshly whispered protests fade out as he did so.

California and Alaska looked at each other.

“So…” California started, “Don’t suppose you got a spot I could crash for the night?”

“That’s cute. Goodnight.”

California huffed, turning the lights off on his way out.

[rezeulaz]

6- can i have a hug?

➢ OLD MONEY

➢ kamisato ayato x fem!reader | genshin smau

➢ PLOT: both coming from the two noble families of inazuma, your fate of being married to someone was bound to happen centuries ago. in order to honor the clan, you had the obligation to marry a kamisato, not just any kamisato. the head of the kamisato clan—kamisato ayato.

masterlist | previous | next

tw: mentions of alcohol, alcohol drinking

after 30 minutes had passed, someone finally rang your doorbell. you opened the door to meet a tall, blue-haired man smiling at you.

he looked good, well... he always does, actually.

“i’m sorry for the sudden invitation; i should’ve informed you earlier.” he said, apologetically.

“it’s no worries. i’m glad to spend time with you.” there you were yet again, making this guy’s heart swoon. how are you so good at it? he could feel his heart pounding and his ears turning red. who knew kamisato ayato was so easy to get flustered? maybe it’s just the raiden y/n effect.

you both made your way to his car, an awkward silence between you two. you imagined what your life would be after the wedding; you’ll be bombarded with work, so might as well enjoy life before getting married, yes?

he finally pulled the car over, opening the car door for you. after giving him your thanks, both of you made your way to the bar. mind you, this bar is exclusive for all the higher-ups in inazuma.

you weren’t much of a drinker; being a model and the successor of the inazuma clan prevented you from doing so. but tonight can be an exception, right? your future husband is with you, after all.

after a few drinks, you were feeling pretty drunk already. ayato himself had drunk quite a bit.

“you look absolutely divine tonight,” he muttered. you could tell that he’s not sober; you didn’t know if he really meant it.

“very funny, ayato.” you laughed. He looked offended, and it was kind of cute.

“i’m serious! i’ve had a crush on you ever since i was a kid; i’d always see you on tv with the shogun.” you knew sober ayato would never admit this; it shocked you a little.

you felt your cheeks warming at the thought of ayato having a crush on you ever since. the man adored you—this beautiful, caring man had a crush on you—correction, has a crush on you.

he’s looking at you like he’s waiting for you to say something. you finally spoke up. “is there something you want me to do?”

“can i have a hug?”

“eh?” you were a bit confused at the request, but you did it anyway. that seemed to make him happy. he liked your scent; you smelled sweet, while he reeked of alcohol.

after finally convincing him to go, your driver picked up the two of you since ayato is too drunk to drive. you didn’t want to risk it by driving since you had drinks too.

ayato fell asleep, and you couldn’t say goodbye. you finally made it home, and your driver drove to the kamisato estate to drop ayato off.

you had a fun night with him, but you couldn’t even tell him. will he remember everything tomorrow?

taglist (open): @ivermouth @cypressmoons @xerafr @aixaingela @ayatoq @siasseltzers @qwnelisa @yuellii @yuusishi @whaloreos @seikaitoshi @eternal-dokja @yunicide

[guess-my-next-obsession]

Peña’s Anatomy: Chapter Eighteen

pairing: surgeon au!javier peña x resident!reader (Lucky)

rating: E (18+ only, talks of pregnancy/not wanting a child, oral (m rec), just so much fluff, brief mention of sex/oral (fem rec), an AAHHHHHHH CUTE ending)

wc: 3.5k

series masterlist | javier peña masterlist

“First shift back at the hospital and I’m scheduled on fucking Christmas Eve,” Mickey sighed as she sat down at the nurses station in the ICU, her stomach now very swollen along with every other part of her normally lithe frame. You stood at the counter in front of her, scribbling notes from your patient who just got set up in their recovery room after an intensive hip replacement.

“Right here with ya,” you said, your attention fixed on the chart. “Is Richard here at least?”

“No,” she groaned, lifting her feet to rest on the empty desk chair beside her as she popped open a bag of chips. “He’s in Michigan with his parents.”

Your eyes lifted to meet hers, a look of disdain on your face at the mention of her consistently shitty fiancé.

“It’s not too late to leave his ass,” you said flatly.

“Honestly,” she sighed, shaking her head. “As we get closer to our due date, I’m starting to wonder if he’s even going to show up for us. He’s been so…selfish lately.”

“Lately?” you chuckled, closing the chart and setting it on the shelf. “He’s always been selfish. He missed your surgery, he missed Thanksgiving, now he’s missing Christmas. It’s not a big leap to assume he’s going to miss your delivery. But you know who won’t?”

“You,” she said, smiling at you.

“Exactly,” you smiled back. “And if he misses out on raising your kid, I’ll be there to take his place.”

“With Javi in tow,” she chuckled.

“Eh, I don’t want him getting any ideas. He’s had a case of baby fever ever since we went to Laredo to visit his family and see his cousin’s new baby.”

“You’re still not into the idea of having a little Javi running around?” she asked, shoveling a few chips into her mouth.

“Not really,” you shrugged. “I just don’t want to be pregnant. The thought of it just…creeps me out. But maybe adoption? Or fostering?”

“Javi seems like the type to want one of his own.”

“Well he can go off and make one if he wants, just not with me. This body will not be carrying any children.”

“Oop, heads up,” she tipped her head towards the elevator down the hall, Javi and Steve emerging with smiles on their faces.

“Aren’t you supposed to be dressed up?” you asked with a smirk as he made his way over to you, pressing a chaste kiss to your cheek.

Last week, the Chief approached the attendings asking for a volunteer to dress up as Santa for the kids stuck in the Pediatric Unit for Christmas, Javi being practically forced to take on the job after his colleagues refused.

“I’m not going around until tonight,” he said, leaning his elbow onto the counter beside you. “You gonna be my little helper?”

“I thought that was my job,” Steve joked, earning a laugh from you.

“No thanks,” Javi said, sticking his tongue out in playful disgust.

“Javi, do you think I should leave Rich?” Mickey asked with a mouth full of food.

“Has that not been obvious to you this entire time?” Javi chuckled. “He’s the worst.”

“They’re havin’ a baby,” Steve reasoned, earning a scoff from you.

“Please, this isn’t the 1950’s. A woman is fully capable of raising a child without a man. Especially a man like Dick Mann.”

“Dick Mann,” Javi chuckled to himself. “What a guy.”

“Javi-your Peñ-is,” you countered, a proud smirk on your face as he tilted his head at you and gave you a flattened, unimpressed look. “Fake a laugh, it’s Christmas.”

“Eve,” he corrected. “Tomorrow I’ll laugh at all your bad jokes.”

“Alright, I’m goin’ home to my wife and kid while y’all stay here makin’ dick jokes.” Steve smiled. “Lucky, page me if you need me.”

“Will do,” you said, turning your eyes to Javi who stood impossibly close to your side, his eyes watching with the kind of focus a predator had when stalking his prey, making you chuckle. “What?”

“On call room?” he whispered into your ear.

“Javi,” you giggled, feeling your cheeks heat. “Aren’t we too mature for that now?”

“No,” he replied, sounding almost insulted. “Come on. It’s Christmas.”

“Eve, remember?” You raised an eyebrow at him as you backed away from the counter before turning to head down the hall towards the elevator, Javi following you like a puppy.

“Where are you going?” he asked, catching up to you with ease thanks to his longer legs. “To the on call room hopefully?”

“To the cafeteria,” you smirked. “I’m hungry.”

“I’m hungry too thanks to that fucking red lipstick you have on.”

“I’m being festive,” you laughed.

“You’re being a tease,” he countered as you reached the elevator, his body coming to stand between you and the metal doors, his eyes locked on your lips. “Come on, baby. Let’s celebrate the holiday.”

“The Lord’s day, you mean?”

“You’re an atheist,” he smiled.

“Not today,” you laughed. “Today I’m a saint.”

“I seem to remember you and I doing some sinning just this morning,” he raised an eyebrow, turning around as he heard the elevator ding.

“What’s in it for me?” you asked in a purr as the two of you stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor.

“Orgasms,” he said dryly. “A couple of them.”

“Fine, but can we please eat first? I really am hungry,” you pouted your lip out to him, enjoying the shake of his head as he stared at you with dark, impatient eyes.

“You’re killing me.” Javi lifted his hand to fit along the line of your jaw and neck as he leaned in to kiss you unhurriedly, taking his time with his lips moving against yours, the tip of his tongue swiping against yours to tease you before he pulled away and rested his forehead against yours. “How fast can you eat?”

You and Javi kept a watchful eye out as you made your way from the cafeteria, through the surgical department’s lobby, and into the hallway where the resident on call rooms were. Thankfully, given that it was a holiday, most of the nosier personnel had gone home, leaving the two of you to fulfill your sinful, and admittedly unprofessional, desires in peace.

Javi swung the door open to one of the white, clinical dorms with a giddy smile as he guided you in with his hand on the swell of your ass, locking the door behind him.

“Can you believe how long it’s been since we first—“

Javi silenced your nostalgia with a deep, hungry kiss, backing you towards the bed with one hand on your hip and the other splayed out over your jaw. You moaned into it, returning his passion and need tenfold as your hands slid down his chest to the button of his slacks. Javi panted against your lips as he pulled away to rest his forehead against yours, both sets of eyes trained on your hands as they unzipped him and pulled his stiff, angry length out.

“Fuck,” he moaned in a whisper, bringing his lips to your jaw and nipping you there before moving down to your pulse as you swiped your thumb over the precum dribbling from his tip.

“Can I taste you?” you asked, as if you didn’t already know the answer.

“Never have to ask,” he husked, pressing a soft kiss to your collarbone before lifting his head and stepping away from you to shed himself from the confines of his dress shirt and slacks before laying flat on the bottom bunk, his thighs spread slightly to give you room to lay between them.

You could feel yourself salivating at the way his cock laid so heavy and thick across the soft, barely there swell of his stomach, his strong thighs and broad chest only adding fuel to the fire burning inside of you. Stripping out of your scrubs, you let them pool on the floor before crawling between his thighs on the tiny twin-sized mattress, your fist wrapping around the base of him to give him an experimental tug. Javi groaned, just loud enough for you to hear, and bucked his hips up towards your teasing smile, the red on your lips now smudged.

“Come on, baby,” he urged, a smile of his own finding its way onto his face. “Taste me.”

“What if I want to tease you?” you purred, stroking your fist up slowly, swiping your thumb over his frenulum just to feel his cock twitch, and then gliding your hand back down to his base.

“I gotta be Santa in thirty minutes,” he reminded, biting his lip as you repeated your teasing strokes. “Please, baby.”

“Since you asked so nicely,” you smirked, lowering your lips to his thick head, kissing it before wrapping them around his girth. Javi sighed in relief, his eyes fluttering shut for a second before he regained his composure and opened them to watch you slowly take just his head in and out.

“Fuck, feels so good,” he praised, one hand gripping the cheap sheets while the other cradled your jaw, gently urging you to go deeper. “Those fucking lips…always teasing me.”

You smiled, pulling off of him to lick a stripe up the underside of his length, relishing in the deep, rumbling groan you pulled from him and the contrasting tenderness in the touch of his thumb as it stroked over your cheek.

Taking him in again, you worked yourself down his impressive length until you were kissing your fist wrapped around him. Your mouth and hand worked together, sucking and squeezing him up and down, over and over, until you could feel him start to swell and throb on your tongue.

“Baby, fuck,” he moaned as he warned, “You gotta stop or else I’m gonna cum.”

“Cum in my mouth,” you purred, lifting off of him to stroke him with your fist, the slick squelch of your skin against him filling the room. Javi’s eyes closed as you continued to work him, bringing your lips back onto him to help him reach the finish line.

“Shit, fuck,” he swore, keeping his voice to a whisper, though it looked like it was taking everything in him to not shout out his praise. “Baby, fuck. I’m—god. Fuck, I’m cumming.”

You moaned as you swallowed down everything he had to give you, even going as far as licking up whatever spilled out off his cock and thighs before sucking each of your fingers clean. Javi looked wrecked at the sight, his hands resting on both sides of your face to tug you up to meet him for a sloppy kiss, neither of you caring much about the messiness of it.

“Lay down, it’s your turn,” he husked after finally coming back to earth.

“We don’t have enough time,” you said, kissing his cheek before standing up. “You can repay me when we’re home in a few hours.”

“Baby,” he pouted with round, begging eyes.

“I promise you’ll get the chance to repay me later,” you assured, bending down to kiss his lips. “You need to get cleaned up if you’re going to be Santa.”

“We’re fucking at my dad’s house tonight, I don’t care,” he said, grunting as he stood up and walked over to the tiny en-suite. “That was so fucking hot, bebita.”

You grinned, coming up behind him and hugging his back.

“You’re telling me if this whole surgery thing doesn’t work out, I have a fallback plan?” you joked, kissing his shoulder before heading back into the room to grab both of your clothes off the floor.

“No, that’s a talent of yours you’re only allowed to show me,” he smiled, his freshly clean hands taking his clothes from your hands as he stepped out of the way to let you wash up. “You gonna help me out? Be my Mrs. Claus?”

“Yeah, I’ll help you. Are you gonna be carrying a sack of gifts?”

“Yeah, the Chief has the whole fucking costume in his office,” he chuckled. “Even got one you can wear.”

“Do I have to?” you laughed, drying your hands off before tugging your scrubs back on.

“I’d very much enjoy it if you did,” he grinned, his eyes taking over your freshly re-clothed form.

“Well since it’s Christmas,” you grinned back. “Can we take them home with us?”

“Fuck, I hope so.”

After a thorough brushing of your teeth and squeezing yourself into the ridiculous red velvet dress that Javi handed you, you were out of the locker room and pouting your way over to Javi who stood in the hall waiting in his full Santa garb, a white beard and all.

“Ho, ho, ho,” Javi bellowed dramatically, earning a laugh from you as you stood in front of him tugging at the furry white hem of your dress. “Have you been a good girl this year?”

“Shut up,” you laughed again, swatting the pillow he’d stuffed into his red coat to give himself a belly. “You know I haven’t.”

“I’ll make an exception for you,” he winked. “Since I talked you into most of it.”

“Does Santa get to be naughty? Who makes sure you’re being nice, huh?” you purred, fixing his hat.

“You do a good job of keeping me in check,” he said, his eyes traveling down your frame. “But I think you like me better when I’m a little naughty.”

“How many Christmas jokes are we gonna make?” you giggled, reaching for the velvet sack of toys on the ground beside him.

“Don’t grab my sack,” Javi playfully scolded, earning an eye roll. “But seriously, it’s fucking heavy.”

“Well, Santa, you can grab your own sack, then.”

After a handful more of Javi’s sack jokes, the two of you, along with Mickey wearing an elf hat, found yourselves in the children’s surgical unit, slowly making your rounds visiting each room and allowing the kids to pick out a toy of their choice.

You couldn’t deny that the sight of Javi being so playful and sweet with the kids made you imagine him with a child of his own, but it didn’t make you feel any different about not wanting to carry a baby of your own. Javi understood and respected this, though you knew a part of him secretly hoped you’d change your mind down the road, but there was simply no part of pregnancy or birth that appealed to you yet.

“Alright,” Javi sighed, plopping down in one of the chairs at the empty nurses station. “Let’s take these stupid costumes off and head home?”

“I thought we were bringing them home?” you smirked.

“I’m so sweaty in this shit right now, I think this thing should be burned,” he chuckled and stood up, pecking your temple. “I’m gonna go change, meet you in the lobby?”

“I’ll be right down, Mr. Claus.”

After getting home from your shifts at midnight on Christmas, a thorough fucking from Javi, in which he insisted he go down on you for a solid hour, and a good six hours of sleep, the two of you were up and running around the house gathering everything you needed for the night you were going to be spending in Laredo. Javi had just finished packing up the last of the gifts into the trunk of your car when he came in and spotted you posing McCartney by the Christmas tree, a polaroid camera pressed to your eye.

“Smile,” you chimed to the dog, swearing that he actually did it.

“Let me take one of the two of you,” Javi spoke from over your shoulder, his hands resting on your hips.

You smiled and whispered an okay before going over to sit with McCartney in front of the tree, it’s brightly colored lights and ornaments you and Javi bought together for the first year ever making you feel warm and happy in the kind of way that you hadn’t experienced since you were a little girl.

“Alright, on the count of three,” Javi said, holding the camera up to his eye with one hand while the other fumbled around in his pocket for something. “One…two…”

As you went to smile for the camera, Javi pulled a black velvet box out of his pocket and snapped a picture of your smile turning into shock, your jaw dropping.

“Marry me?” Javi asked, dropping to one knee and setting the camera aside to open the box, the glimmer of the lights of the tree behind you shining on the ring.

“Oh my god,” you chuckled through the tears that gathered in your eyes, your hand lifting to your mouth in shock. Javi started to get choked up too as you crawled over to meet him, the two of you kneeling on the floor together.

“I love the shit out of you,” he said your name. “You’ve made me a better man, even when I wasn’t sure it was possible. Just knowing you has changed me to my core for the better. I can’t imagine not waking up to you every morning, not chasing you around the hospital, not going to bed beside you with this ball of fur at our fucking feet every night. You are my best friend and the love of my life. I’m sorry it took so fucking long to do this, but…will you marry me and make me the ‘lucky’ one?”

Your tears were now freely flowing down your cheeks, something between a laugh and a sob ripping from your chest as you nodded at him and wrapped your arms around his neck, kissing him harder than you ever had before.

“Fuck yeah, I’ll marry you,” you giggled as you pulled back to look into his tear-soaked eyes. “How long have you been planning this?”

“I didn’t,” he admitted with a chuckle, his hand shaking as he lifted the ring out of the box and slipped it onto your finger. “Just seeing you in here telling the dog to smile for the camera…I couldn’t wait any longer.”

“It’s beautiful, Javi,” you cooed, eyes locked on the emerald cut diamond on your finger that looked like it cost more than your car. “The diamond is huge.”

“Well, after Dick Mann stole my idea, I figured I had to go big or go home,” he chuckled, watching you carefully to gauge your reaction. “If I went overboard, we can—“

“No.” You shook your head and lifted your eyes to meet his, a cheesy grin spreading across your face. “It’s so perfect I’m going to cry every time I look at it.”

“Yeah?” he beamed, his nerves seeming to calm at the sight of your wide smile and eager nod.

“Yeah. I love it, and I love you,” you croaked, a new batch of tears filling your eyes. “Can I see the picture you took?”

Javi reached for the now-developed polaroid, holding it up so that both of you could look at it, laughter filling the room at the sight of your look of pure shock.

“This is going with us to your dad’s,” you said, standing up to tuck the picture in your purse.

“He might cry,” Javi laughed, standing up. “I don’t think he ever thought the day would come.”

“You didn’t tell him you were gonna propose?”

“No,” Javi shook his head as he unplugged the lights on the tree before joining you and McCartney in the entryway. “He’s bad with secrets, he would’ve just told you.”

“Well, it’s going to be a very teary Christmas for the three of us, I think,” you smiled, looking down at your ring while Javi placed McCartney’s leash around his neck and did a double check for anything he might’ve forgotten. “I can’t believe we’re getting married. Who would’ve thought?”

“Definitely not us,” Javi laughed. “My dad said he knew from the minute he first met you.”

“Your dad didn’t like me then,” you said.

“No, but he knew I loved you. Even before I did.”

You poked your lip out and slipped your hands around his waist, hugging him close, your head nestling against his chest. McCartney joined in on the love, jumping up to rest his paws on both of your hips as Javi hugged you back, kissing the crown of your head.

“I love you, Lucky. More than anything.”

“I love you, Javi. More than everything.”

[for-some-reason]

Hi! So, I saw that you have your requests for bakugou x reader open?

(I honestly have no idea how this works, this is my first time asking for something like this, so pardon me if I phrase anything wrong)

Could you perhaps write smth for a pro hero bakugou and an interpreter reader, who has just enough of a bite to work with the guy? Like, when he goes international level and has to interact with foreign media a lot and bonds with the reader over work??

That would be lovely, and if you don't like the request feel free to ignore!

Thank you for being my first request!! This was an awesome idea and i really hope I did it justice! I thinkkk I kinda took a couple liberties of my own though

Lost In Interpretation

Out of all the people you’ve had to work with, and you’ve worked with a lot over the years of being an interpreter, you had to say Dynamight was probably the hardest to get along with.

You couldn’t stand the guys attitude. Sure, you found him attractive– who didn’t? – but he made your job so much harder with his foul mouth.

That’s not what truly makes it hard, though. It’s his incessant demands to translate the foul stuff he says. Others understand you need to maintain professionalism or the magazines and stations you help translate for have certain censorships and with a bashful smile they’ll apologize and correct themselves.

But when you told Dynamight he couldn’t curse the way he does?

“Eh? I’m 25 years old, I’m gonna fuckin’ curse if I want to. And ain't your job to just translate what I say? So translate.”

“No, actually.”

“Hah?”

“I don’t translate what you say, I interpret it. There’s a clear distinction between translators and interpreters, and I just won’t allow myself to repeat what you say! So fix your language!”

So much for professionalism.

You breathe in and out a little heavily and can feel your face begin to burn. Dynamight has the gall to smirk at you like the situation was humorous.

“Is that right?”

And, without even knowing it, you sealed your fate to months of somehow always being assigned to him and his desire to fuck with you.

It became like a game, it seemed. To be as dirty-mouthed as possible and watch you practically grow red in the face as you had to interpret what he said to the poor people interviewing him. It was getting almost ridiculous how many interviews Dynamight was agreeing to, and you were sure you could count how many he did before you met on one hand in all his pro-hero career. You hated to admit it, but you liked the idea of him agreeing to them to be with you. As if you somehow caught the attention of a rising pro-hero. Of Bakugo Katsuki himself.

But there was no way he was agreeing to interviews just for that, right?

Right. You couldn't be that vain.

It was on one of these days, however, that the pro-hero himself stopped you from leaving your current workplace.

“Wait a second, will ya?” You hear a familiar voice call behind you as you walk towards the elevator. You turn around and are met with Dynamight.

You wait patiently for some sort of follow up, but you realize you’re not getting one when he stares at you. He looks a bit constipated, but he’s typically pretty grumpy.

“Yes?” You try to subtly push.

He grunts. “This is fuckin’ stupid. Look, are you single?”

“Am I… single?” You repeat, slowly, like you don’t know Japanese all too well. Suddenly the years spent becoming fluent in the language feel like only a couple days, or a 10-minute video for tourists wanting to learn a couple phrases. Your legs feel a little weak, too.

“Don’t make me repeat myself. This is damn embarrassing.”

“Why? Why do you want to know something like that? Do you even know my name?”

Dynamight’s brows furrow and he frowns. It was the wrong thing to say evidently.

He repeats your full name back to you. “Who the fuck do ya take me for? You think I’m gonna ask somebody out without even knowin’ their name?”

“You’re asking me out.”

“Do you forget Japanese as soon as you're done with your work? I’m askin’ you out. Do you wanna accept?”

“Yeah! I mean, yeah, that sounds nice, Dyna–”

“Bakugo.” He cuts in.

“...That sounds nice, Bakugo.”

[things-arent-what-they-seem66]

✨️Adam and Lucifer + The Basement Yard✨️

•Adam holding a glass of apple cider vinegar, sitting next to Lucifer.

Adam: It's- apple vider cider vinebager

Adam looks disappointed in himself as Lucifer cracks up next to him.

•Lucifer holds up a whiteboard with "Charnkp" written on it.

Lucifer: chaaarnkp.

Adam: charnkp?

Lucifer: yeah!

•Lucifer: word association: GO! Holidays-

Adam: Boys.

Lucifer looks shocked before they both laugh.

•Adam: bro, I'm telling you: mmmpow. He used to mmmpow my ass all the time- well, not my ass-

Lucifer points and laughs at Adam.

•Adam tries not to laugh as Lucifer pulls a stocking over his head.

Lucifer: Raawr!

•Adam using Charlie's laptop.

Adam: Safe search blurring is on? How do I turn this bullshit, virgin shit off?

•Adam pointing to the sky.

Adam: it's- it's getting- it's getting real close to the towers!

Lucifer: it's getting real close-! What did you say?!

•Lucifer: I barely passable look passable, I'm shocked Lilith ever liked me.

Adam: me to, dude.

Lucifer stares at Adam: what was that?

Adam: what?

Lucifer: "me to" what?

Adam: no, I'm saying "Yeah, you're right, I'm on your side"!

Lucifer: on my side, with what?

Adam: With whatever you're saying, I'm being supportive of you

Lucifer: I said I'm shocked that Lilith ever found me attractive

Adam: correct. That's what you said.

Lucifer: you're supposed to say "Oh yeah, you're a good looking guy, you've still got something left in you"

Adam stutters: well- I- yeah- well- I just wanted to be supportive of your ideas and your opinions

Lucifer: That's not supportive! You're doing the opposite of support! My opinion there: was self-deprecating.

Adam: right.

Lucifer: I put myself down, not only because it's funny but because it's how I feel-

Adam: But if you're down and I'm with you, then I'm down with you.

Lucifer stares at Adam: that's... oddly sweet.

Adam: damn right it is, bitch.

Lucifer: less sweet.

I'VE DONE SO MANY INCORRECT QUOTES WITH THESE!!!!

Lucifer: Eh, you're not my type

Adam: W-Well, you're not my type either bitch!

Lucifer: Why the hell aren't I your type?

Adam: I like them more rugged than you.

Lucifer: I'm rugged!

Adam: No you're not Lu.

Lucifer: I'm so rugged!

Adam: See, now you're angry and shit, flying off the handle I don't like that.

Lucifer: It's a very rugged thing to do!

Adam bursts out laughing.

-

Lucifer: Word association. Gay

Adam: Me. No wait-

Lucifer and Adam laugh.

-

Adam: Do you think people have written fanfiction about us? Like us fucking?

Lucifer: Probably, someone out there has.

Adam looks it up and finds a few. And wow are they spicy

-

Adam: One of these days Lu and I are gonna have to fuck on the air.

Lucifer: Ye- ...... Wait no we're not. You almost had me there.

[dinums]

Secrets and Broken Hearts

-----------------------------

Chapter 4

Thomas Shelby x (Writer) Reader

"I am a woman in love, I wear my heart on my sleeve and smile with not a single thought. I am a woman in love, happily content to where I shall be and where I shall go, as long as I am with him."

Authors Note: I made this story with not much thought, but I wanted to portray the reader and Tommy living their separate lives to have you, readers, have a gist on what its like, to make the character, Ms. Bennett feels real. I don't really know if that makes sense or if I'm doing it correctly, but please enjoy :)))

Two days and six hours, it's been exactly two days and six hours since I've started this investigation that I burdened myself with. All I've been getting are bits of information from the men and women. Women loved to gossip, so much so that they became one of the sources of said information. These missing wives, they had nothing in common with one another. They were just normal working women before they got married and settled down. What would society even do with them? I feel like a jester, juggling my social life together with this secret double life. I never really got used to such taxing activities mentally. This whole investigation, could it be some murderer? Human Traffickers? Surely, this culprit had a motive, a reason, something these women had that they wanted, something these women can give, choice or not.

"Why does everyone call you by your last name?" Andrew suddenly asked, which made me look over at the small child playing by the racks of clothes in William's shop.

Tilting my head, I seem to not know the reason behind it either. Andrew is the son of the man I visited to get close to have more information about the missing wives rather than relying on gossip alone. The child himself was quite entertaining to be around. He spoke so freely about his mother, telling stories of how loving the woman can be.

"Well, if you want, you can call me by my first name," I said with a smile. Walking over to crouch down to his eye level, I gave him a pat on the head, which earned me a smile in return

"Isn't this a sight, hm?" I heard the familiar voice of William from behind. He was at the back with Catherine earlier, presumably sorting out fabrics and dresses.

"C'mon, I've only offered to let this little guy stay here while his father worked, for the assurance that nothing will happen," I said softly though assuming from their reactions, it wasnt taken quite kindly. The statement itself was considered a lie. I lied. Lying straight to the face of the man I love, like how I would every day to everyone, including this child.

"So you don't want me here... Ms. (Y/N)?" Andrew asked me, his face looked sad, eyes like melting glaciers about to fall.

"Of course not, I just meant that I couldn't risk you being alone without your father, even though -"

"So you care for me.. right?" The little child said, hopeful, which made me think, how can he care about my feelings towards him in such a small amount of time we've been together? Children truly are innocent, things to be kept safe from the world we live in. Furthermore, care. To care is to help, a genuine action done out of the kindness of one's own heart. I do that, correct? I think for a moment, my actions, words, and emotions all contradict one another. Both men in the room seemed to take notice of my silence, which in turn made me aware. Aware that they can never know these thoughts, to Bury it, to hide. Breaking from my thoughts, I smiled at the child.

"Of course I do, but later your father will pick you up, I'll have William stay with you since I need to go for a bit, yeah?" Standing back up, I walked over to William. He then wrapped his arms around my waist, leaning against him while I looked back at Andrew. Understandingly, the child nodded, which made me smile.

"Eh? Where will my heart go? Guess she'll leave me alone once again..." William joked, kissing me on the cheek, which made me chuckle.

Seeing the display of affection, the child grimaced and then ran off to play somewhere else, which made me and William laugh.

"I promised you a date. Therefore, you must let me go for a while to prepare," I giggled. Going to dates on Friday was kind of like our tradition, a simple act to show love and to feel it radiate from each other. Feeling his lips on mine for a brief moment, I smiled.

"Alright, I'll pick you up at our place," William smiled. He's always such a loving man, doing more than beyond.

"See you later, love," I said, parting with a kiss before I headed out. Love was something I wasn't familiar with, which sometimes led me to be confused on how to act around William, though lucky enough that he guided me through it.

Walking down the street, I'm greeted with familiar faces. Some I can't remember the names. The smoke filled air, and the mud on my shoes did little to dampen my mood. Suddenly, people started to run about, screaming and shouting.

Confused, I slowed my footsteps. There, on a shop, a lifeless man was dead with Danny holding a bloody knife. My eyes widened, I tried to move, but nothing came out, I held my breath, and though I investigated crimes like this, I never saw a man dead right in front of me. From this day, I'm sure I'll never get used to this.

Someone passes by me, but it can be considered more like shoved. It was Thomas Shelby. He went over, took the knife from the man's hand, and calmed him down. The scene deescalated just as quickly as it happened. Once Thomas got Danny to go away, coming with some surge of confidence, I began to walk towards him with his hack turned to me.

"Mr. Shelby..?" I said softly as to not startle the man, whipping his head back, he looked at me without uttering a word, he simply raised a brow which I took as a cue to keep going.

"What will happen to Danny now..? He just -" stopping myself to look at the dead body in front of us, he followed my gaze and just shook his head. Taking a cigarette, he lit one up and placed it on his mouth, blowing the smoke in the corpses' direction. "Mr. Shelby, I worry for him and his family.."

"Don't stick your nose into others' business, saves you the trouble, eh?" He said, as he was about to walk past me. He took my hand and gave me a few quids, which caused me confusion. Was this for my silence? Though that seems rather odd since a quarter of the town already saw what happened, or was it so I'd stop with being so nosy?

"For the bread."

"Bread? What bread?" I asked, my brows furrowed as I looked up at the man. The more he acted, the more he perplexed me. Seeing his face, he tilted his head as if he should be confused

"You dont remember, again?" I shook my head, remembering what he gave me moments ago, i tried to have him take the money back, but he refused, saying he already gave them, so it'll be no use. In the end, he walked away and left me be, confused, I placed the coins inside my coat pocket before walking home. What did i forget again? No matter what I have other things to do at the moment, I need to get the memory of the dead body out my head.

After preparing for my date, at eight o'clock sharp there was a knock on the door, I smiled and opened it. William appeared with a bouquet and fresh smile, I'm taken back to memories when he was still courting me.

"Flowers for the beautiful lady?" He asked, which I gladly took. Holding up his hand, I held them. I locked the door, and we began to walk towards the pathway to a small restaurant.

"Thank you for this, for everything, Will," I said while we kept walking hand in hand.

"Then I should thank you too"

"For what?"

"For letting me love you"

"Then, you're welcome."

With that, we spent the rest of the day together, I told him about what happened earlier, and he's told me of stories he heard and so on. Everything feels nice. It feels like home as we both made it out to be.

...

That night, Ms. Bennett was content with her lover. Everything played out perfectly. She lived a good life and was happily in love. Maybe fate can say the same for the man she bumped into earlier as he's inside the Garrison, enthralled by the singing Barmaid before him. Surely both Ms. Bennett and Mr. Shelby will live their lives with love found in someone else's eyes.

[silvervioletvalentine]

🦋that’s how you get the girl🦋

Pairing : Jamie Drysdale x tatted biker cherrie!

Word count : 6k

Summary: in which he’s a smitten mess and sometimes the way to a girls heart is constantly embarrassing yourself in front of her.

Warnings : none? Fluff. Jamie being a nervous dork In love. Kinda a trial. First time writing for Jamie sooooo, it’s not the best but , when are they ever? Lemme know what u think as always xoxo

It wasn't a secret to anyone that Jamie happened to have a little bit of a crush on their hot, totally out of his league , neighbour .

As soon as he had seen her riding in on her Harley , covered in tattoos with long, half pink and hair black hair, piercings and with a bad attitude. It was over for him. Utterly Done for. Completely fucked.

Because she was cool as shit and she knew it too, barely paid any of them a single glance as she stepped off her motorbike, all those summer months ago, while they were all gathered outside the complex , messing around and just hanging out.

Every single one of their eyes has been on her, mouths gaping and hearts racing as they all turned their heads simultaneously to watch her confidently strut past them, shaking out her hair as she loosely held her helmet from her fingertips .

Only turning her head slightly to raise her pierced eyebrow at them , not looking impressed at all.

“Did school get out early or something?" She had snarked at them , making most of them snap their heads away quickly. Jamie being one of them, he only watched from beneath his lashes as Trevor, the idiot, arrogant , and believing he had a chance opened his big mouth .

Smirking over at her and gave her a flirty wink "fully a man baby." He corrected her slyly "but I wouldn't mind you teaching me a few things.."

She looked at him up and down, then scoffed meanly .

Laughing at him "I'll teach you how I'm going to break your jaw if you try that with me again." She casually told him .

Then without another glance black at the snickering and gaping group of guys , she strutted off just as quickly as she had arrived.

Leaving Trevor to blink at where she had been stood in disbelief , hands on hips as he let out a shocked 'huh'. "She was hot eh?"

Jamie had looked at him in disbelief , stunned.

Heart still racing in his chest with anxiety and palms sweating, unable to believe that she was their new neighbour . It was a scenario that guys wet dreams were made from.

“She literally just threatened you Trev." He reminded him in disbelief . Because If she said that to him, he probably would have pissed himself in fear and maybe shed a tear too. She was that intimidating. And hot. So fucking hot…

But Trevor just laughed loudly as though it was no big deal . Not unnerved at all. "she was only joking!" He believed . Receiving multiple looks of disbelief from his friends.

Then he glanced over, and finally noticed the way Jamie’s eyes kept shifting back to the door that she had disappeared into. His lips curling into a slow smirk as he chuckled slyly to himself , seeing the new infatuation being written all over his friends face.

So it really wasn't a surprise , that three months later, after listening to Jamie go on and on about how cool she was and how beautiful she looked almost daily. Despite never talking to her, only ever turning around and sprinting away when he saw her coming his way.

Trevor wasn't surprised at all when , as they came back from practice , Jamie suddenly froze beside him as he caught sight of Cherrie coming down the stairway towards them. Looking like a bombshell like usual.

And really Trevor thought that Jamie should really appreciate how good of a friend he actually was. Because if he wasn’t such a good friend , he would totally be trying to charm her into his bed. Maybe proposing to her on the second date too.

She was that hot.

Nudging his friend , Trevor muttered to him quickly "stop looking so scared." Before casually grinning over at her happily .

“Hey Cherrie! New tat?" He asked her cheerfully , glancing down at her leg to see a large snake tattooed up her thigh with a dagger going through it.

That wasn't there yesterday when he was gazing in awe at said legs in a daze .

Because Unlike Jamie, Trevor had made the effect to annoy her into becoming reluctant friends with him.

Well, he called her his friend , she just called him 'the annoying asshole who won't stop following her around.'

But whatever. He got his own way because after he had found out that she was a tattoo artist , he had begged her to do his own. She charged him double but he got her to open up a little bit, realised that underneath that intimidating image of hers she really was just a cool chick.

And well, Trevor was a good friend , so he had been trying to talk up Jamie to her for weeks now. Casually bringing him up in conversations , letting her know how great he was at hockey , that he was such a nice guy.

She didn't look like she believed him and maybe it was because Jamie couldn't look her in the eye and had yet to utter a full sentence to her, but Trevor was determined to get Jamie in with her.

He thought that they would look good together and quite frankly , he was sick of seeing his friend mope about. Those puppy eyes were killing him.

"Yeah. Looks good huh?" She said with a small grin , looking at the new tat on her thigh contently .

Jamie was looking at it too, just blinking slowly as he imagined tracing the outline of the snake with his tongue , throat going dry as he realised that the tail of the snake disappeared up her hip, and underneath ber shorts , the ink not doubt wrapping around her hip snugly.

His brain short circulated and he realised a little too late that there was a sudden lull in their conversation , that Trevor was jabbing his elbow into his side sharply.

Making him flinch and snap his head back up with wide eyes , cheeks flushing when he saw them both staring at him.

Trevor looking exasperated and Cherrie just looking bored.

"I was telling her that you scored during the game last weekend." He gritted out , widening his eyes at him, motioning for him to do something.

‘say something.’ He mimed at him frantically.

Jamie just let out a strangled hum and nodded his head , eyes flickering back down to his shoes shyly.not saying something at all.

Trevor sighed and tried not to bury his head in his hands in second hand embarrassment.

Cherrie frowned at him , taking in his backwards cap and basketball shorts , tank top showing off his toned arms and patchy sunburn.

Yet she felt something soften inside her , noticing the way he wouldn't meet her eyes. Like, Ever.

Noticing that this wasn't the first time that he didn't speak to her either.

Her brows furrowed in concern "do you speak at all?" She asked him, not trying to be mean. But she was genuinely curious . Considering how mouthy his best friend was, she expected Jamie to be a chatter box too.

Trevor nudged his side harshly again making him splutter , embarrassment painting his face a bright pink as he felt his eyes widen again . Realising how rude he must seem, just standing there, not saying a thing.

"Yeah! Yeah. Sorry." He laughed out nervously, fidgeting with the cap on his head. Wanting to melt away on the spot.

Kill him now. He thought miserably.

Trevor mentally face Palmed at his shy behaviour , then tried to help him like the good friend he thought himself to be .

“He's single." He suddenly told Cherrie with a grin , waving his hand at Jamie ike he was presenting a prize.

Jamie’s head snapped towards his friend in disbelief , mouth dropping open as he gaped at him in horror , hissing his name . "Trevor!" Unable to believe what he was doing.

His skin crawling with mortification, this was like something out of his nightmares.

To make it worse, Cherrie eyed him up and down and smirked "I'm not surprised." She simply replied , pulling out her phone as it buzzed .

Typing away as she texted back her friend , not even looking at them anymore . "You gotta speak to girls first. No point having a cute face if you turn to fucking stone like I'm medusa or something  every time you see me." She said to Jamie in amusement , not giving them another glance before she walked away. Around the corner and out of their sight.

Leaving Jamie to stare at where she had been stood, lips pursed in absolute embarrassment, hands on his flaming cheeks as he tried not to die from shame.

Trevor was beaming at him, slapping his shoulder excitedly . "You hear that dude? She thinks you're cute!" Getting a blank look in return.

Trudging back to their apartment , Jamie's face a scene of misery as he groaned "dude.." utterly mortified . Wishing that he could be as cool and confident as Trevor was around her.

It was just , every time he saw her his brain just simply said, no! And stopped working. Every social cue and every bit of common sense left him. Leaving him a blushing , spluttering mess at just a simple glance from her.

He kind of hated her for being so fucking beautiful. I mean, how was it fair for her to look like that? With those eyes and that fucking sarcastic mouth...how was he supposed to act normally? She was like, a wet dream. And she lived right next door .

He was completely fucked but not in the way he wanted to be with her.

It wasn't fair. He wanted to whine. Wasn't fair at all.

"She knows." He muttered with a sigh of misery , throwing himself down on thier couch with a loud groan.

Trevor just laughed "of course she knows! The hint is the fact that you turn red and suddenly forgot how to speak when she's near. I mean, you're not exactly subtle dude." He told him in amusement. Patting the top of his head in pity.

Jamie slapped his hand away with a huff, placing a pillow over his face as he whined into it "I can't believe she knows!"

Trevor rolled his eyes at him with a grin "course she does. Plus she's like-" he paused to get himself a drink "one of those boss bitches who knows what she wants. Makes her even hotter."

It just made him more upset "which is not me! She thinks I'm stupid!" He muttered.

Trevor sighed "no she doesn't." He said to him trying to make him feel better "she thinks you’re a little pathetic yeah.."

Jamie's glared at him, face burning  "that isn't helping!" He hissed.

His friend nodded apologetically , wincing "right . Yeah sorry bud." He quickly got back on track.

"but you gotta at least try. I mean I've heard you sleep talk about her j. This isn't just some stupid crush anymore is it?" He knew.

Jamie's just sighed sadly "she's my dream woman." He mumbled. Wishing he could just be the man she wanted.

Trevor winced in sympathy for his friend. Having never seen him so down bad In his life, he hated seeing him so sad and miserable .

He had to do something .

"And I know you cried yourself to sleep when she brought home that guy last weekend." He added bluntly . Because Jamie wasn’t a quite crier at all.

Jamie grimaced , hating that their walls were so thin that he heard every moan and banging of her headboard against his wall.

It had been a long night , and if he hadn't had been so upset , he might have been turned on listening to her moan and whimper all night long .

But alas, he was a lovesick fool and knowing that some other guy was fucking her, that he wasn't even a second thought in her pretty head, only hurt him more.

Having a boner with a aching heart was a weird and awful experience .

Definitely Not one he wanted to repeat.

"She's a screamer." He mumbled sadly , head in his hands . "Sounded like she was having fun." He bitterly muttered. "There was no headphones that played music loud enough... I hate that guy."

Trevor snorted a little "no shit. God dude..this is just sad . You're making even me feel bad.." he told him honeslty .

Jamie frowned over at him, "help me then!" He pleaded "I don't know what to do,"

Trevor grinned widely and clapped his hands together excitedly. Loving that he got to meddle

"we're gonna get you the woman of your dreams dude. I promise." He promised him . And crossed his fingers.

Planning to be more confident with her like Trevor instructed him to be , Jamie actually managed to say hello to Cherrie the next morning .

Bumping into her on his way to training, he gave her his best smile, though it felt slightly strained as he tried not to stare too obviously at her in her running shorts and sports bra. Panting as she tried to catch back her breath.

She gave him a small head nod , chugging on her water as he hovered t by the door. Remembering Trevor telling him to tell her how pretty she looked the next time he saw her , he opened his mouth before he could even think straight

"I like your hair." He blurted out , cringing at how awkward he sounded. But it was too late to back out now because she was looking at him, and frowning.

She ran a hand over her hair that was sticking up in several places, sweaty and wild . Having just pulled it out from the scrunchie it was held in.

“It's a mess. I've just been running so.."

"I know.." he awkwardly nodded his head, shoving his shaky hands in his pockets "it's always like that." Eyes widening as he tried to correct himself "I mean-I like how it always is."

Cherrie frowned back at him in confusion "my hair is Always messy?" And clearly a little offended too,

Panicking , he quickly shook his head, laughing

nervously "no! No. I mean-you have hair-"

She snorted in amusement "no shit." She said, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched him try to fix the mess he had made.

Fighting back a smile at his pink cheeks and shifting eyes, finding herself softening towards him.

But she wasn't going to make it easy for him, that just wasn't who she was.

On the other side of the wall where Jamie had shoved him as soon as he saw her coming , Trevor was dying.

Squeezing his eyes shut in second hand embarrassment, shaking his head in disbelief as he listened to his best friend fuck up something simple as complimenting her. Hand over his mouth as he tried not to laugh and give himself away.

Jamie just sighed in misery , eyes to the ceiling as he managed to get out "I just like it alright? I like the colour and how pretty it looks. I like how wild it is." He mumbled quietly.

Softening completely , she patted him on the back with a little grin.

Shaking her head at him in amusement "nice try Jamie." She told him teasingly , watching his eyes flickering up to her. Audibly Swallowing when he met her gaze .

"I like the effort.." she said before trailing her eyes down to his chest, lips twitching in an effort not to laugh.

“Even if your shirt is on inside out." She teased him, flicking his shirt with her fingertip before giving him a little wink and leaving .

Jamie looked down at his shirt and let out the biggest groan ever , mortified. Again.

His head snapping over to the wall as he heard his friends obnoxious laughter , seeing him sidling down the wall with amused tears in his eyes as he cried with laughter .

"Why didn't you tell me I had my shirt on inside out?!" He exclaimed annoyed , kicking his shin .

Quickly correcting it in case she came back down again. Feeling his ears heat up his just like his face in embarrassment, wondering when His misery would ever end.

Trevor cackled obnoxiously"I didn't Notice! Oh my god-" he gasped out "I can't believe you said 'you have hair!' What happened to just telling her how pretty she is?" He teased him .

Jamie kicked him again. Huffing loudly as he stormed off, heading out the building while Trevor ran after him.  Still laughing hysterically. Not looking like he was going to stop anytime soon.

Pitifully Patting his back and telling him that maybe the second time would be the charm.

Jamie kept trying and he kept failing at it all.

He said hello, then managed to trip over his own two feet and nearly take them both backwards down the stair case last Friday.

That had been a heart stopper and Cherrie had been the one to haul him up off his ass, managing to catch herself on the banister at the last minute. Scolding him for being so clumsily as she asked him why the hell he was rushing on the stairs in the first place.

Too see you. He wanted to say.

Instead Managing to come up with some weak excuse about being cold and forgetting his jacket despite it being hot out.

She didn't believe him and he knew it. But he ended up leaving that encounter wearing her oversized leather jacket. So really . Not a total losing game.

So He kept saying hello and she kept smiling at him, finally giving him the time of day each time they crossed paths. He told her that he liked her Harley, she told him that he needed to put on suncream because he was turning into mr crab. But he blushed at the thought of her caring about his burning skin . Took that for another baby step.

He was trying . That was something. It was better than moping about on his ass waiting for her to fall in love with him without doing anything.

Which was how he found himself baking cookies at midnight , knocking at her door before he could talk himself out of it.

Smiling shyly at her when she opened the door with a frown, glanced up at him and then down to the tray in his hands . Then sighed.

"Jamie." She said , glancing down at his Batman sweatpants and old tshirt , amused at how fluffy his hair was . Eyes wide and hopeful as he looked at her like a lost puppy.

She sighed again, any snapping resort about disturbing her sleep falling away she let him in. She wasn't cruel enough to kick a puppy , especially not one as cute as Jamie was.

"I baked cookies." He stated the obvious while placing the tray down onto her counter. Smiling at her .

"I see that." She muttered while eyeing the burnt and weirdly shaped mess he called cookies .

He nodded at them hopefully "try one."

She warily picked one up and took a smile bite, forcing back a wince at the sharp, not at all cookie like taste.

She hummed a little, forcing herself to swallow. "It's..." horrible.

But she looked up and saw his wide eyes and blushing cheeks, the way he was nervously shuffling on his feet in her kitchen at midnight , she sighed in defeat .

"It's different." She settled on saying instead .

“did you follow a recipe?" She asked him . Taking another bite and hoping to god that this didn't give her the shits.

He smiled , lighting up as he watched her eat his cookies humming as she did so.

“Yeah." He nodded his head proudly "I did. But I lost it half way though but i remembered most of it." He had just chucked shit in and hoped for the best really.

She tried not to choke on the dry cookie as she swallows it down quickly . Clearing her throat and grabbing herself a glass of water, chugging it down before she could choke for real .

"Well. Well done on trying Jamie . It's the thought that counts. Though I'm not sure why you're baking me cookies at midnight." She mumbled , wondering why she was trying so hard to protect his feelings at all.

If it was anyone else she would have laughed in their face and thrown the cookies in the trash after telling them to never try baking again, because it was shit.

But Jamie had kind eyes and and even prettier , shy smile. So unlike the tough guys that she surrounded herself with daily .

And for some reason she felt herself softening , even patting his arm gently , watching the way he looked down at her hand on his arm and swallowed . Grinning to himself like an idiot.

He shrugged, aiming for nonchalance and failing "I just wanted to." He said "plus you look like you would like eating cookies."

At that, she dropped her hand from his arm and glared at him.

“Are you calling me fat?" The disbelief was clear in her voice.

His eyes almost popped out of his head in panic , gasping loudly "no! No! Oh my god." He groaned.

"Fuck no! You're perfect. I just mean- I overheard you talking on the phone a few days ago about how sad you were that your bakery didn't make your favourite cookies anymore. So I thought I'd try and make you some." He rambled to her , swallowing thickly when he looked back up from his feet to see Cherrie just looking at him with an unreadable look on her face.

And Cherrie felt her heart melt , sighing long and hard in disbelief at how sweet this silly guy was. Groaning at what she was about to do, she rolled her eyes and opened up her arms for him .

"You little shit, come here." She smiled a little fondly , amused by the way he practically threw himself into her arms without any shame . Taking the chance while he had it.

"That's stupidly sweet. Thank you Jamie." She muttered as she hugged him.

Jamie smiling into her shoulder in bliss As he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her back .

Heart racing in his chest as he felt her hand run soothing circles in his back, muttering something he couldn't hear against his chest as he held her close. Feeling like he was In heaven.

"You're welcome." He smiled bashfully .

She sighed again , pulling away from the hug after a minute . Hesitating for a moment before finally telling him "you and Trevor should come to the bar with us tomorrow."

Jamie looked at her worriedly "will your friends be there?" He asked her quietly .

Having seen the large , tatted and insanely intimidating guys that she hung out with. Every single one of them looked like something out of prison break or something , and all of them could squish him like a fly if they wanted . It scared him a little.

Cherrie , oblivious to his worries, nodded casually "yeah of course. It's tiny’s friends bar so.." she laughed a little.

And If one of those guys was nicknamed tiny then he dreaded to wonder what the biggest one was called . Because not one of them were under six feet tall.

But he wanted her to like him like he did her, wanted to be near her . So he nodded his head with a smile "yeah. Okay, cool. We'll come." He agreed easily because it was her.

It didn't matter how scared he was, he was going. Because she had invited him too.

Cherrie nodded her head , pleased. Then she smirked at him and handed him a cookie "try one." She said.

He took it from her , took a bite and spat it straight back out in disgust.

Spluttering as he looked at her with wide eyes "ah shit." He sighed . Blushing.

Then they both laughed. "Nice try though." She said.

The next night and Jamie was holed up in the booth surrounded by large, hairy , tattooed bikers all looking at him in a varied mixed of amusement and confusion.

Trevor having the time of his life as he confidently chatted away, not scared in the slightest.

"This is great. You guys are great." Trevor grinned at them happily , patting the large biker’s arm next to him. Taking no notice of the way he looked down at where he had touched him slowly , narrowing his eyes at him.

Tiny, who was not tiny at all, rose a brow at them while they waited for Cherrie to come back from the bar with her drink.

"Which one of you is Jamie?" He asked them gruffly.

Having heard nothing but that name for the past week. And well, they all saw her like a sister, so he was feeling a little protective about the possibility of this new guy in her life that they were only now meeting .

Jamie shrunk down in seat whil Trevor proudly jabbed his thumb at his friend, obliviously and Jamie wanted to kill him .

“This is! He's a hockey player like me! We're roommates." He told them wiggling his eyebrows, grinning .

The other biker beside tiny rose a brow "oh." He nodded his head , more hair than face.

"we accept that. No need to be afraid. I hate those hippies but love is love." He told them, assuming the scared look on Jamie's face was for another reason .

Jamie went a dark red , Trevor looking at them dumbly just as Cherrie came back to the table.

Not helping at all as she handed Jamie a bright pink cocktail with a smile "I had them make it for you , I know it's your favourite ." She said.

Jamie took the cocktail from her with a shy thanks , sighing miserably . "Where's yours ?" He asked her quietly as she sat beside him. Thigh to thigh.

She laughed loudly "im drinking whiskey baby." She ruffled his hair. A few whiskeys in already.

She looked over at Trevor in confusion when he suddenly started laughing really loudly , only now realising what the guys thought they were .

"Oh no!" He laughed while grinning widely , nudging Jamie shoulders in amusement .

"he's my best friend! Not lovers! Jamie wants this tough cookie-" he nudged Cherrie , who shot him a look. Utterly Confused.

Jamie wanted to die. Sipping on his pink cocktail as he sank even lower in his seat.

The biggest of the guys , who hadn't said a word since they arrived, scoffed lowly .

Jamie meeting his icy arms and shivering , eyeing the skeleton bones tattooed across his face , hair shaved down to the scalp, knuckles scabbed from fighting. He was twice his size in both height and width , and Honestly he reminded him of a character in GTA.

He swallowed at the glare he got from him, fingers trembling as he clutched at his thigh nervously , eyeing the exit door to his right as he wondered if he could outrun this guy if he needed to.

He felt like he would need to.

"Didn't know you hung around fratboys now." He grunted. Staring him down.

Trevor paused, finally stopped grinning as he realised that there was sudden tension. And that the guy looked like he maybe wanted to kill Jamie with his eyes .

Cherrie looked over at him and rolled her eyes "don't be a dick." She muttered , frowning in annoyance .

While she was distracted , Trevor nudged poor Jamie and muttered "I think that's her ex." He told him, making his eyes widen in disbelief .

“I've seen him at her apartment before. I think you've heard them."

Jamie went pale , mouth dropping open as he looked at his friend in disbelief. "I stand absolutely no chance then! What the fuck-" he hissed beneath his breath. Horrified.

His head snapping back up to the table as he Heard the guy speak again, still glaring at him.

He shifted uneasily on his seat again , Cherrie picking up on his nerves this time as she glanced at him. Frowning.

"He looks stupid." He insulted . Laughing meanly.

Cherrie glared back at him, placing her hand over Jamie's underneath the table .

Making him go still as he looked down at their hands, his fingers twitching as he hesitantly slid the palm of his hand between her own. Holding her hand. Taking his chance.

"Shut the fuck up. Have you looked in a mirror lately pin head?" She tossed back at him without missing a beat. Annoyed.

He rolled his eyes at her, scoffing "he looks like he forgets his own name. Not your type at all."

At that, Cherrie lost it. "My type? Maybe I like stupid hockey boys!" She snapped , making Jamie side eye her.

Not knowing whether to be insulted or not but she was still holding his hand and fighting for his honour so. He chose not to be.

"Come on!" Her ex laughed cruelly , motioning towards Jamie with a smirk "what does he have that I don't?"

She laughed coldly, slamming her glass down on the table. "He has everything you don't. That's the fucking point dumbass.-" she spat before suddenly standing to her feet , dragging Jamie up along with her.

Not even looking at him, too busy glaring at her dickhead of an Ex. "And you know what?" She smirked over at him, tugging Jamie into her side proudly .

"I'm gonna to go home and fuck Jamie so hard that he forgets how to even play hockey!" She practically yelled for all to hear , seeing red.

Jamie choked on his own breath , looking down at her with wide eyes. Going red as he felt his heart race in his chest.

"oh my god." He practically squeaked while watching her get worked up defending him.

It was so hot and Jamie shifted on his feet, heat pooling In his stomach because what the fuck?

He glanced over to his friend only to see Trevor giving him a thumbs up, looking excited .

Jamie just blinked back at him in disbelief , feeling like he was going insane. A Fever dream as she tugged at his arm , spat another insult at him before dragging him out of the bar completely .

They ended up walking the block in silence for a least ten minutes before Jamie finally managed to gather the courage to find his voice again.

Glancing shyly down at their still intertwined hands, he swallowed thickly .

“Cherrie?" He spoke up nervously . Heart pounding.

She just hummed calmly , eyes to the stars. "Yeah?"

He hesitated for a moment before mumbling "were you-were you serious in there? What you said.."

She glanced over at him then, lips twitching.

face calm and unbothered as she replied casually "about fucking you when I get home?"

He nodded his head silently . Speechless.

She side eyed him, more than amused. Humming a little teasingly "is that what you want?" She asked him confidently .

He nodded his head rapidly . Making her laugh a little as his clear eagerness.

"Yeah but like-" he looked down at their hands, swinging them lighting between them as they walked "not just that." He muttered shyly.

She laughed lightly , admiring his face underneath the shitty street lights . Realising just how pretty he really was.

“No?"

He bit his bottom lip anxiously , shaking his head again. "No. I want.." he couldn't get the words out , heartbeat in his mouth

"I want..ya know..." he was hoping she would understand without him having to say it.

But she wasn't going to make it easy for him. She never did.

Shaking her head at him in amusement as she brought them to a sudden stop. Feeling his palm become sweaty in her hand as he squeezed it three times.

"no , I don't know Jamie. You've gotta use your big boy words and tell me." She told him teasingly , waning to hear him say it.

He huffed a little in embarrassment, "I want to take you out." He rushed out before he could chicken out completely .

She rose a brow at him, smiling "like...with a gun?" she joked.

Before seeing the upset look on his face as he realised she wasn't taking him seriously , she quickly pulled him closer to her with a small laugh. Pinching his hip with her fingertips in fondness.

"I get it." She said "you want to date me so hard." She teased.

He just nodded his head, face serious as he asked her "so can I? Date you?" Hope written across his face as he hesitantly slid his hands down to her hips, holding her close .

She gently ran her fingers through his hair, biting back a grin.

“What do I get out of it?" She asked him quietly . Admiring him, silently watching his lashes flutter as he let out a shaky sigh.

"A boyfriend that will love you forever and worship the ground you walk on?" He whispered to her hopefully, meaning it.

He knew that she would be it for him. He just wanted to be the one for her too.

Cherrie let out a quiet laugh and sighed , shaking her head at the man looking down at her like she was his entire world in amazement .

Unable to believe that she had gotten this lucky .

"Sounds like a good deal to me." She simply replied , grinning fully now.

He beamed down at her, cupping her face in his hands excitedly . Eyes shining as he breathed out a giddy "yeah? Really?"

She rolled her eyes at him with a grin. "Really." Then she leant up on her toes and kissed him, laughing at the way he couldn't contain his happiness , grinning into the kiss as he held her close .

Kissing all over her face in glee as he promised to be the best boyfriend she ever had.

Trevor was right. He couldn't believe it .

He got the girl of his dreams by just embarrassing himself in front of her over and over again.

Huh. Who would have thought.

[esutonia]

a short tutorial on writing majima-speak

So ya wanna learn how to write Majima-speak, eh? Well, I gotta say, you’ve come to the right place. Or maybe the only place? Dunno how many tutorials’re out there fer this shit. Anyway, sit yer ass down and I’ll give ya the scoop on how to write yer favorite fun guy from Kansai.

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a fluent Japanese speaker. These are all the opinions/observations of an American whose only exposure to the Japanese culture and language has been through anime and video games. I have done my best to research all of these observations before just shoving them into this document, but I probably will make mistakes. Any actual Japanese speakers, please correct me. This isn’t supposed to be an educational guide on the nuances of Kansai-ben. This is only a general tutorial on how to portray the Kansai dialect in English writing.

What is Kansai-ben?

Kansai-ben (or Kansai dialect) is a Japanese dialect primarily spoken in the Kansai region of Japan. Pretty straightforward. Our good friend Majima Goro speaks a version of Kansai-ben that I lovingly refer to as Majima-speak. This is because he doesn’t speak true Kansai dialect—it’s a wobbly mix of Kansai and Tokyo (“standard”) that incorporates elements of both. Ugaki Hidenari, Majima’s voice actor, is from Tokyo himself, and doesn’t speak Kansai-ben natively. However, Majima has a lot of quirky Kansai-isms in his speech that make him stand out from other characters.

Therefore, the focus on writing Majima’s dialogue doesn’t have to be accuracy. We aren’t shooting for a 1:1 translation of Kansai to English, because: 1) that doesn’t exist, and 2) he doesn’t speak perfect Kansai anyway. The point is, we’ve got flexibility.

What makes Majima-speak different from regular Japanese?

There are a lot of cultural and historical nuances that I won’t get into, but in modern Japan, the Kansai dialect is perceived as more comedic or casual than standard Japanese. This is reflected in Sega’s localization of Majima’s voice lines: his are rougher, more crass, and generally funnier than other characters’ lines. If you end up taking nothing else from this guide, at least think rough, crass, and funny when writing Majima. It’s a good place to start.

So how do I write Majima-speak?

There are three tips that I keep in mind while I’m writing dialogue for Majima:

Make sure his lines show more emotion than other characters’ lines.

Use shortcuts wherever possible.

Don’t be afraid to get silly with it.

Let’s elaborate on these tips, shall we?

Make sure Majima’s lines show more emotion than other characters’ lines.

I’d like to use Kiryu as an example here, because he’s by far one of the stiffest-speaking characters in the series. For lack of a better term, Kiryu’s lines are prosaic—they sound more like they were written in a book than spoken by a person. Here’s an excerpt from Kiryu and Majima’s first scene together in Yakuza 2, edited for brevity. Pretend you don’t know what this scene looks like and focus on just the text.

Kiryu: It’s Kiryu. Anybody home? I know you’re here…Show yourself. Majima: It’s been too long…Kiryu-chan! You got any idea how lonely I’ve been since ya got outta the game last year? Oh, but I knew my Kiryu-chan would come home sooner or later! Kiryu: It’s been awhile, Majima-no-niisan. Majima: So, what brings ya here? Kiryu: The Tojo Clan…needs you. Majima: For fuck’s sake…What’s this BS now?! You’re a shitty comedian, Kiryu-chan. Kiryu: I’m serious. The Tojo Clan has never needed you more than now. Please.  Majima: No fuckin’ way. Kiryu: Please. Majima: You’re killin’ me, Kiryu-chan! I can’t stand seein’ ya like this! Kiryu: Please, Majima-no-niisan…the Tojo Clan is as good as dead without the Majima Family. Please!

Notice how Majima’s lines are much longer than Kiryu’s and noticeably sound like an actual person said them because they’re more casual. Kiryu basically repeats “please” three times, but each time Majima’s response is different. You’re able to tell that Majima’s incredulous, then annoyed, then upset at Kiryu’s request by the way he adds extra dialogue every time he says “no.” By contrast, you’re not really able to tell how desperate Kiryu is until he starts begging. The main disadvantage with writing is that you’re not able to convey images as clearly through text, so it requires more work to make a character’s emotions show through their dialogue. Majima’s lines are all about emotion, whether it’s real or exaggerated, so make sure the reader is able to tell how he’s feeling without seeing his face.

Use shortcuts whenever possible.

While conveying a character’s emotions through their speech often requires writing longer lines, this does not mean you should waste space or over-explain. The way you can balance this need for emotion with the need for casual dialogue is by using slang and condensing phrases.

English-speakers do this all the time in common conversation. We use contractions (I am = I’m), smash together words (What are you doing? = What’cha doin’?”), and add slang/idioms (“The hour grows late; I shall soon retire” = “It’s getting late, I’m gonna hit the hay”). The key to writing Majima-speak is to use every shortcut possible and then some.

If it’s hard to come up with dialogue on the spot, try thinking about how a guy like Kiryu would say a particular line. Let’s use the example of: “You always were the one guy I couldn’t read.” Then, think about what shortcuts you could potentially make to this sentence. It’s not much, but this sentence could be cut down to: “Y’always were the one guy I couldn’t read.” Doesn’t that already sound more like Majima said it?

Then, add some more emotion to this sentence: “Y’always were the one fucker I could never getta read on.” It sounds affectionate or aggressive, depending on how you spin it. And there you go! We just Majima-modified (Majimodified?) a Kiryu line. With the power of slang and shortcuts, you too can turn regular dialogue into Majima classics.

Don’t be afraid to get silly with it.

Majima’s a silly guy, so of course he’s gonna have his silly moments. The RGG localization team knows this and takes creative liberties to give Majima’s dialogue more life. My favorite example of silliness in translating Majima’s lines to English is this specific line from Yakuza 2:

Majima says: “Doya, Kiryu-chan? Kakko ee yaro?” Which literally translates to something like: “How’s that, Kiryu-chan? I look cool, right?” This line is dripping with Kansai-ben.

But the localization team chose to translate it as “Whaddya think, Kiryu-chan? Ain’t I red-hot?” Which I love. It conveys so much more about Majima’s character in the same amount of words and even adds some more context from the scene itself. They make a pun on “red-hot,” and while “cool” would’ve worked too, this would have made less sense. The point is, don’t be afraid to get wild with it. If it sounds cooler, is probably is. 

Finally, here’s a few miscellaneous quirks of Majima-speak and pointers that can help you get that much closer to imitating Majima’s style of speech.

Majima rarely uses “you” pronouns, instead preferring to use nicknames and titles like Kiryu-chan, nee-chan, oyaji, etc. This can be substituted for girlie, kiddo, buddy, idiot, etc. 

Don’t replace all the “you”s and “your"s in a sentence with “ya”s and “yer”s. It gets difficult to read if you abuse them.

Majima loves to swear. But again, don’t use them too liberally or you’ll sound like a 12-year-old who just learned what “fuck” means.

Goromi’s speech is a bit more cutesy than Goro’s, but she flips between masculine and feminine pronouns. For the purposes of writing Goromi that’s not terribly important, but keep in mind that she’ll frequently switch between masculine and feminine speaking patterns.

Don’t try to imitate Southern American English (if you aren't familiar with that dialect). I also wouldn't try it in general, but if it helps, it helps.

Edited to add: it's ultimately up to you to decide when/if Majima drops his accent. Personally I reserve it for when he's so emotionally vulnerable he can't keep it up, or when he's being so serious about something he just won't use it.

As a bonus, here is a brief glossary of Kansai-isms that I’ve noticed Majima using, with some examples of their use in context and some suggested translations. Most of these examples are pulled from Yakuza Kiwami 1 and 2, since that’s when he has the most speaking lines and has fully settled into his Mad Dog persona.

Ahō (idiot) = dumbass, bonehead

“Nishida, ya dumbass!”

Beppin (pretty) = stunner, knockout

“Well ain’t ya a rare dish?”

Honma (really) = damn, for real

“For real?! Who are you and what have you done with Kiryu-chan?”

-han (-san)

“Well, now it’s your turn, Legendary Info Dealer-han.”

Akan (not good/must) = gotta be, better not

“That’s why he’s gotta be strong.”

Uchi* (I) = ol’ Goromi, li’l ol’ me

“Just don’t fall too hard for me, okay?”

Ee (good/cool) = badass

“Ain’t I red-hot?”

Ikude (let’s go) = let’s do this shit

“Let’s do this, Kiryu-chan!”

Suman (sorry) = my bad

“This is my bad, Kiryu-chan.”

Anta (you, polite) = ya

“Y’know, up close…you’re pretty damn hot.”

Haw (not really a Kansai-ism but he does like it a lot)

“Haw?”

Nanyatte (what) = what the fuck

“Say what?”

Chau (wrong) = bullshit

“That ain’t what I’m saying.”

Dondon (also not Kansai-ben but he likes this one too. Basically “loud noise”) = clobber, beat the shit outta ya, crack some skulls

“It’s way better if ya fight it out.”

*Uchi is a stereotypical feminine pronoun used in Kansai-ben. Only Goromi uses this one. She also tends to waffle between watashi/ore pronouns.

[gayuu-the-necromancer]

William Rex

Chapter 3

 ｡⋆｡˚🦋˚｡⋆｡

Kate: "Where are we....?"

The 'fun place' William invited me to was a secluded mansion.

William: "Guess. What does it look like in your eyes?"

A wide range of people, young and old, rich and poor, men, and women, are exchanging drinks and talking amidst a comfortable buzz.

A red-faced old man with a sooty face, a well-dressed young man who looked like a student, and a gentleman who looked like he might be in or out of a financial institution.

I watch with some amazement as they converse peacefully at the same table.

Kate: "...is this a social gathering, regardless of social status....?"

William: "Ahaha, that's correct. You've got a sharp insight."

Kate: "I didn't know...such places existed."

William: "It's similar to the coffeehouses that were popular until about the 18th century."

William: "They call it the 'Mad Tea Party' after the Alice book."

William: "There are only two rules here: 1. Respect the other party's wishes and 2. No monetary transactions."

William: "As long as you keep it that way, you're free to exchange information, socialize, discuss....as you please."

Kate: "I don't mind...so is this your mansion?"

William: "I'm just the owner of the land and the building, but there's a separate caretaker."

Businessman: "Ah...if isn't Count William himself?"

Businessman: "Thank you very much for the other day. Thanks to your help, we finally collected our investment."

William: "You don't have to thank me...your face is all red. Celebrate in moderation."

Triumphant woman: "Mr. Rex, it's very unusual for you to be here. Will you play the piano for us again tonight?"

William: "Good evening, Miss Fawcett. If you're so inclined. ....Oh, is that the pamphlet you were talking about the other day?"

Triumphant woman: "Yes. I'll give you one. 'Give women the vote!"

Called on by both men and women, William exchanges friendly words with them.

A few of them clearly had an interest in him.

(I wonder if people here know that William is a member of the Crown....)

As if he saw through these questions, William puts his lips to my ear.

William: "They don't know anything. You are the only one here who knows my secret."

(....!)

William: "Be careful not to slip up inadvertently and spend your time as you please."

A terrible secret and I am the only one here who shares it with him.

(I sound like an accomplice....)

Guilt and nervousness had my heart pulsing faster than usual.

I let my eyes roam around trying to calm my turbulent heartbeat. At that moment-----

Kate: "Ah....."

 ｡⋆｡˚🦋˚｡⋆｡

Kate: "Ah....."

In the crowd of people, I spotted a certain redhead, I recognized, and I couldn't help but squeak.

William: "What's up? Do you know someone?"

Kate: "Mmhmm...I know that guy. He's a news reporter."

William: "News reporter...Oh, you mean Brian Bennett?"

William looks in the same direction I was looking out of the corner of his eye and says his name in a friendly manner.

Kate: "He is also a good friend of our postmaster from where I work. He would come and go from time to time."

Kate: "I've at least said hello once, but I don't think...he remembers me."

William: "I see. So you're a fan of his."

Kate: "....Because he is a heroic reporter who helps the weak and discourages the strong."

He is a friend of citizens. He is undaunted by power and leads the civic movement.

He is also very knowledgeable about the behind-the-scenes of politicians and occasionally wrote in-depth articles.

William: "I too, find him attractive because of his strong sense of justice and his strength to take action. Why don't you try talking to him?"

Kate: "Eh?!"

William: "Your eyes are sparkling just like when you were watching the play. It would be a shame to hide them."

Kate: "I don't think that's a good idea. I'm not sure what to talk to him."

Kate: "He is like an actor on the stage and I am just a mere spectator."

William: "That's not true. You, me and him, we're all standing in the same place."

William: "...."

(....?)

Suddenly, William's eyes narrowed as if he was pondering something.

William: "....Hmm. Looks like I have to do some magic."

Kate: "Magic...?"

William puts his index finger to my lips and beckoned me toward a corner of the room.

(What's this all of a sudden....)

Kate: "What's wrong? Why are you cornering me so suddenly----"

Puzzled, I sensed my back touching the wall and William standing in front of me.

Kate: "Ehh..."

In a moment of spinning, the standing position was reversed and I was surrounded by the wall and William.

When I froze in surprise, a cold voice whispered in my ear.

William: "I advised you properly. But you trust me so easily."

(W-What...do...you...mean....)

William: "And yet...you're the one who followed me here in the middle of the night."

 ｡⋆｡˚🦋˚｡⋆｡

Kate: "W-What are...saying....?"

William: "This is my land. Can I say that it's too late for you to start resisting?"

William: "No matter what I do, there is no one here to blame."

Kate: "But, what about the rules you mentioned earlier....."

William: "Fufu, you're sharp. You listen well. But unfortunately, that rule doesn't apply to owners."

William: "Even if you shout out loud, no one will come to your rescue."

----Options-----

It's lie

What are you going to do

Really....?

---------

Kate: ".....I know it's a lie....."

William: "....Why do you think so?"

William: "You must have thought about it too."

William: "....What if I said everything leading up to bringing you here today was a trap."

His fingertips trace the contours of my cheek. The distance was so close and the touch of his fingertips on my skin felt inviting.

William: "What do you say to a bad guy who is pressing you down? You're a good girl, you should what to say, right?"

Kate: ".....S-Stop."

William: "Ahaha...no one's gonna hear you if you chirp so faintly like that."

Kate: "Please stop....!"

William: "...Well done."

???: "It is surprising that Count Rex would do such a barbaric thing."

A fearless voice flew in and I see red hair burning like fire swaying in the corner of my eye.

(Mr. Brian....?)

William: "She's just too charming."

As soon as he showed up, William quickly moved away.

William: "Brian, while I cool my head, take her away from me."

Brian: "Yes, with pleasure."

As I leave with Mr. Brian, William looks at me and winks.

(So the magic, right now was...)

(He created an opportunity for me by intentionally luring out Mr. Brian....?)

William: "Shhh...."

(....So pushy....!)

 ｡⋆｡˚🦋˚｡⋆｡

I moved away from William and returned to the center of the room.

Mr. Brian opened his mouth as he offered me a glass of champagne.

Brian: "I'm Brian Bennett. If I'm not wrong, you must be Kate."

Brian: "The postmaster was surprised to learn that you were suddenly summoned to the palace."

Kate: "Eh...?"

(He knows my name)

Kate: "Yes...I know my circumstances have caused the postmaster a great deal of inconvenience."

Brian: "Haha, inconvenience. Well, I guess you could put it that way."

Brian: "He lamented that you are an exemplary and well-behaved delivery man and that he would be in trouble without you."

Kate: "I'm glad to hear your compliments....Ermm..."

Brian: "Hm? What's wrong?"

Words of goodwill and praise gets stuck in my throat.

(....Maybe, I'll never get an opportunity like this again)

(So let's just say it!)

Kate: "Mr. Brian, I always read your articles...keep up the good work."

(It might just be a trivial comment for him....! But I want to say it anyway....)

Brian: "Hahaha, thanks. May I interview you next time? After all, you're the lady that drives Count Rex crazy."

Similing briskly, Mr. Brian offered me his business card.

Kate: "Yes...gladly."

It was like I was in the audience and suddenly the spotlight was on me.

I can imagine myself standing there stunned by such a feeling.

A gentle piano melody flows along with people's conversations.

(Ah....it's William playing the piano)

The whispering melody moistens the room like gentle spring rain.

It was pleasant and I couldn't help but listen.

(....Gentler than any sound I've ever heard)

A sense of security like being wrapped up and a sense of elation like a light push on the back filled my chest.

Kate: "William...I mean, what is your acquaintance with Sir Rex?"

Brian: "Oh, he just invited me here. I met him when I was just starting out. He likes to push people's backs."

Brian: "It gives me the courage to shake off my doubts and step out."

Brian: "That's why, social activists, artists, businessmen....and others with strong desires, gather like this and I get my information from them."

Brian: "Activists, especially those who are trying to expand civil rights, are always viewed with suspicion by the aristocracy."

Brian: "Some say that thanks to his unapologetic advocacy, we can live in peace."

Brian: "He doesn't care who you are or what you are, if he likes someone, he is willing to support you."

Brian: "But I don't think you're from a noble family."

Kate: "....Well."

Brian: "Also, I've never seen him approach a woman like that."

Brian: "He's usually the one...who gets pressured."

People were smiling while William's fingers are dancing happily on the piano. I could sense great admiration for him in the people gathered here.

(The face of the ruthless and terrifying assassin I saw last night and...)

(Now I see it, the face of a friendly supporter)

(I wonder which one is the real William?)

Though he was becoming more and more of a mystery----

The favor that he gave me, that he was in tune with my feelings and saw what I wanted,

Maybe it was not a malicious trap.

(....At least for today)

(By the way...)

-----FLASHACK-----

Liam: "It's is said that the Crown was created as a result of an incident that Will caused, right?"

----FLASHBACK ENDS----

(Mr. Brian might know about the 'incident')

Kate: "I heard that Sir Rex was involved in some case in the past, do you know about it?"

-----As soon as I said that, Mr. Brian's expression clouded.

 ｡⋆｡˚🦋˚｡⋆｡

When I asked about the incident involving William, Mr. Brian's voice trailed off as if he was wary of his surroundings.

Brian: "....There was a lot of government pressure on that case from the beginning, so it wasn't covered very widely!"

Brian: "Count Rex himself didn't say much, only smiling when asked."

Brian: "In social circles this subject is half-taboo. ...I'll send you a letter later."

Kate: ".....Thank you."

(Taboo huh....so it's such a serious case....?)

William didn't say much.

So I'm not sure what's waiting for me at the end of the unraveling....

Fearfully, I have no choice but to search for clues to unravel him.

(I can't wait to find out, but I'm also afraid to find out....)

(Is this what you call.....'the fun of unraveling'?)

Brian: "By the way, does your being here has something to do with this job at the palace that suddenly popped up?"

Kate: "Eh?"

Mr. Brian's eyes, filled with glaring curiosity, looks at me as if to probe me.

(Oh, you mean you want me to give you information in exchange for the information about the incident?....as expected from a journalist)

What if the Crown's assassination is a cover-up of inconvenient truths by the state power?

Revealing the secret may be a 'good thing'.

(But if I reveal it....I'll surely die)

(And I still don't know what 'evil' they are....' conquering evil with evil')

Kate: "Forgive me....but I'm not supposed to say that."

Brian: "Oh...are you saying that you'll get in trouble if you reveal the reason?"

Kate: ".....Sorry."

Brian: "Oh, please don't apologize. Once we get to know each other a little better, we will negotiate again."

(Good thing you pulled back)

Relieved, we exchange greetings and I parted ways with Mr. Brian.

William stopped playing the piano as I sat down by the grand piano.

He gave up his chair to a woman who was standing beside him and came over to me.

William: "Have you talked to your heart's content?"

Kate: "......Thanks to that hell of a magic, of course."

William: "Newspaper reporters love to gossip. They like to have a front-row seat to sensational events."

William: "And he's a man of action with a strong sense of justice."

Kate: "Hehe..."

I can't help but giggle as William shrugged his shoulders without a hint of offense.

(But still...I)

(I feel like I'm laughing so naturally right now)

Kate: "Hey...thank you."

William: "I just did a bad thing. ....You enjoyed that?"

(....I don't know what kind of person William really is)

(Not that I have zero vigilance, but)

It feels like I'm stepping into places I've never set foot in before.

A conversation with a star is indeed an uplifting experience.

Kate: "....Yes. Thank you for that."

William: "Seriously, for what?"

........

It was past midnight when we arrived back at the castle.

William walked me to the front of the room and opened his mouth.

William: "......I'm curious to see how you will chronicle my sins tonight. Too bad I won't get to see your report."

Kate: "But, you didn't commit any sin tonight....?"

William: "You think?"

(....Again)

Whenever I ask a question, William answers with another question.

It feels like he is trying to look deep into my heart, which I normally try not to show anyone.

It is frightening, comforting, and fidgety.

(I wonder if William, who tried to force himself on a woman tonight, was 'evil' in....Mr. Brian's eyes)

Kate: "I don't think you were guilty of anything.....at least to my eyes,"

William: "Hmmm?"

William smiled wickedly, neither confirming nor denying.

William: "Then I'll commit one sin."

Chapter 4

[lloydfrontera]

y'know i wasn't gonna complain about this because like. who has time to be bitter online and it's already been a while since this dropped. but it's been bothering me so i'm gonna do it anyway lol

this was. so silly. and at this point on canon so out of character for javier. why are you making my little guy so dirty. him bringing up not getting paid if they run, even if it's an attempt to get lloyd to go back to fight the dragon, is,,, no. just no.

javier's first thought is always towards helping people. he now understands that money is necessary and having materialistic motivations is not inherently a bad reason to help others, but he's not that kind of person! he wants to help people and protect others just for the sake of it! and bless his heart he believes it's the same for others too, including lloyd.

at this point in canon javier still,,, wants lloyd to stay and protect others out of his own will. i've talked a bit before about how javier isn't exactly. disappointed. on lloyd for not staying to fight the bone dragon as much as he's regretful of having hoped better of him when he thinks he shouldn't have. as if deep down he didn't want to have hopes of lloyd being better but simply couldn't stop himself and is now regretting it because lloyd is letting him down again.

but he at no point even gave a thought about protecting lloyd's 'honey jar'. there was an entire city full of people at danger of being killed. in what world would javier even care about lloyd getting paid when the stakes are that high.

here this is the webnovel equivalent of this scene

Javier's face stiffened as he stared at Lloyd. On second thought, his face would be better described as angry rather than stiff. "Master Lloyd..." His voice was now lower than a while ago. "Why are you always like this?" "Like what?" asked Lloyd innocently. "Many people are in danger right now. And yet, you do not hesitate to run away for your own safety, disregarding everyone else's." "Yeah. You're right." Lloyd shrugged. And he replied nonchalantly, "Is that bad?" "..." "I think we argued over something like this before, right?" "It was in Cremo," Javier reminded him. "You're right. The Gigatitan." "At that time, you were-" Lloyd interrupted him. "Yeah. I ran away just like now." "..." "Is this really wrong?" Lloyd asked, meaning every word. [...] "You have not changed at all, Master Lloyd." Javier looked Lloyd's way, and there was disappointment in his eyes. No, it'd be more correct to say it was bitter regret. A bitter smile appeared on Lloyd's mouth. "I can't do anything about it," Lloyd said. "I'll always be like this." "Do you mean it?" asked Javier. "Do you think I'm lying to you right now?" "No. However-" "However?" "Then enjoy living on my behalf as well." "Eh...?" Lloyd stopped dead in his tracks. He questioned. the other man. "What? What do you mean?" Javier was now wearing a face full of resolution. And he spoke with even more determination and sincerity. "It was my honor to serve you all this time, Master Lloyd. I hope you safely escape from here." "Hey." "And please convey my message to Count Frontera that I am grateful for our time until now and to please forgive me for not being able to protect him longer." "Hey, you!" Lloyd was flustered. Why was Javier talking like he was going to die soon? Why was Javier not responding to him? What was that faint, enigmatic smile on his face before he rushed off toward the Bone Dragon without a second glance? Lloyd couldn't understand anything.

does this look,, remotely like a guy who's only thinking of his own home and protecting his master's 'honey jar'. does it.

i know this is already an old episode at this point but god do i still hold a grudge over this arc akshdakkfds

[thygoddessouijathicc]

Ok ok I’ve probably posted too much on this today however…

Major spoilers for Ugly oh yeah also warnings for discussion of dark themes and suicide.

So I was looking at the achievements for the game and I noticed a few things. First of all that almost all of the achievements names are statements most being presumably said by Scorpion or about him for example “I will make you a REAL prince.” “Not my son!” And the ever classic “Put on the mask!” “PUT ON THE MASK!” “PUT ON THE F******* MASK!”

Some seem not to be said by Scorpion but if put in the correct context probably are. “Hot dog” is a cruel fucking joke but I mean it’s not an… incorrect statement… (Scorpion I hate you). “Waiting for my prince.” Makes total sense in context and taking it as being said by Scorpion makes it kinda horrible because he says prince and not son or child or whatever because he only sees Butterfly as an heir and a continuation of himself rather than a child.

But one thing particularly stands out to me and it’s how the major story beat achievements progress. The first major story beat is the bandaged, its achievement is “Can’t be real”. Next is the covered “Painful image”. Then you get the mirror monster which gets way more interesting with “THIS IS NOT ME!”. Then the lock thing “I need to hide myself.”. Then the poisoned is next. Not sure why I remember that one’s name and not the last two but eh… it’s achievement is “Who am I?”. Finally we get to the mirror shard itself with the definitive statement “I’M UGLY!” And the fire boss “This is not me.”

Looking at these statements my interpretation is that these are all after the fire and are Scorpion’s thoughts at the time. They seem to portray largely denial but something a bit deeper in the character’s psyche. Scorpion doesn’t know who he is without his looks and finds the mere idea that they are bad to be painful. He can’t let himself be seen if he is ugly just like he couldn’t let his ugly son be seen, who we have established by now he sees as an extension of himself and not a child. He rejects his son being ugly with statements like “not my son” the same way he says things like “this is not me”. Because no part of him can be ugly that’s not possible he can’t reconcile that idea.

Going beyond this Scorpion seems to think his deformity is way worse than it is. When we see him in the ending of the game we will notice yeah he’s kinda let himself go maybe a little and he has what? One scar? I don’t think he was ever actually burned in the first place at least not that badly because we have seen Butterfly who is confirmed to have been burned and his scar is definitely much much worse. It’s likely if Scorpion was ever burned at all he has made a full recovery but again I doubt he ever was. It’s not that he’s actually become ugly it’s that he sees it that way because to Scorpion him having a small scar is just as bad as being hideously deformed or whatnot. Scorpion was never ugly he never needed to “hide himself” but he thought he was ugly and he thought he did because that’s how he responds to any ugly thing apparently. We spend the whole half of the game thinking this guy has been burned beyond recognition but no… he just has a cut on his face. But that’s enough for him.

Also side note I headcanon the thing that cut his face to be the mirror shard seen throughout the game. He was literally cut by his own reflection.

Continuing to the second half of the game the achievements get… different. They seem to be, unlike earlier ones, present thoughts mixed with past ones. Especially the items. “I deserve everything” “top secret” “play it again” “this is my son.” “You asked for it” (about that last one, that’s said about Spider’s eyepatch so… fuck you Scorpion, damn) “Are you beautiful?” “Crime and punishment” “precious collar.” “You have ruined it” “where is my heir?” And “dangerous spider”. These thoughts don’t seem exactly regretful of his actions though some can be read as regretful of his own situation. We get from this a few things.

One, he didn’t like his wife that’s for damn sure. And with the idea that he was a prince I kinda question if perhaps it was an arranged marriage which would explain it being so loveless seemingly from the start… though that doesn’t excuse his actions at fucking all. Still fuck you Scorpion.

As for what else is there… “I deserve everything” is a very weighted statement at this point in the game so is “are you beautiful” especially being said about one of Butterfly’s belongings because it does feel like he’s actually asking if his son was beautiful all along (even if in his own way) and possibly even “where is my heir” can be seen as weighted though that one can be seen as a memory given it is a rattle but it can also be him asking now that he’s alone where is his heir he wanted so badly to be perfect. Precious collar is also questionable because that’s the dogs collar. The one he killed. “This is my son” is one I’m very unsure of because it’s the wine glass from when his son wore the mask though it does imply he actually did present Butterfly as his son… when Butterfly was masked of course. It sounds almost proud maybe and part of me doesn’t doubt that it might actually be proud. But only proud when Butterfly can’t be seen and functions properly as an accessory to make Scorpion look good.

Finally there is the noose “the rope is the key”… self explanatory. It’s the key. We have been finding keys this whole game and this is the only one that leads out. Whether or not Scorpion actually regrets any of his actions it’s clear how he feels about his situation. We know from the final sequence if he wanted to he could just leave. He’s hardly trapped in a way that will actually stop him from leaving. Especially given he locked all the doors to be hidden meaning he probably does have access to the outside.

His death could be seen as an accident he seems to behave maybe like it was but also he definitely put the rope over the scaffolding he knows will collapse then got up there. And he also if we are in fact reading achievements as his words, just called the rope the key. So I’m going to go out on a limb and say he definitely meant to do that. We can also see in that final scene he’s actually seeing himself properly now so it can be well confirmed that he probably isn’t killing himself for being ugly… on the outside.

The noose is the only key for Scorpion to leave not because he physically can’t leave but because even if he did leave he can’t change anything about his situation and the things he’s done and he’s ugly inside, which is where it really matters. Suicide is a complicated topic and while I don’t particularly like Scorpion as a person he was pretty awful let’s be real here, I do feel like his suicide is still somewhat sad because in a sense… well in a few… he was at the end of his rope at this point and had nothing left. He realized the error of his ways finally seemingly but he also realized that it doesn’t matter. He can’t unkill his wife or kids or dog, or unburn his son’s face. Not to mention even if he wanted to go back to living how he used to it’s implied he’s been gone awhile and with that fire he caused everyone either thinks he’s dead or crazy or both. And maybe his peers are after all just as shallow as he is or was or whatever you think at this point in the game. And would actually think he’s hideous for having a small scar.

There really wasn’t anything Scorpion could have done in this situation but die. He created this mess do not get me wrong here he is at fault for all of this and while from the context of him being a prince I do think he may in fact be a product of his situation given the perfectionist mentality and deep insecurity and narcissistic tendencies could well have been intentionally fostered I mean he does lead a religion for fucks sake and who knows that shit could have been going on since he was like 9 which absolutely would destroy his ability to have a proper childhood development, we have nothing to go by on account of his own upbringing other than that he is in fact a royal. He’s not referred to as a king so maybe that’s something and implies he probably has siblings older than him. But really for all we know he’s just kinda like this? No reason no horrible upbringing that fostered narcissism to a clinical degree so bad it causes him to seeming panic at imperfection and try to cover it up, honestly he could just have woken up one day and chosen child abuse. We know very little about this guy he literally isn’t even named we just call him Scorpion. And again even if he did have a past to explain his actions they’re still on him and I still like to watch him faceplanting into glass.

But as much as I do blame him for everything that happened he is literally an abuser I still do take suicide seriously and respect that Scorpion killing himself was really the only thing he could have done in his situation (I say all this because I have seen people call it him wimping out and fucking hell I don’t vibe with calling suicide an easy way out no matter what the character has done). Sure maybe turn himself into the police (which wouldn’t he need evidence and statute of limitations and trial and shit?) or an asylum and live out the rest of his days imprisoned and for the latter case depending on the time period, lobotomized. Yeah it’s not like that was really an option even if he’d done terrible things and was now aware of the extent of that I don’t see anyone deciding they want to spend the rest of their life in a padded cell. There’s also a chance he may have been shipped off to an asylum if anyone found him because he did randomly go up to a mirror and throw a candle at it, presumably causing a fire that killed people, then disappear for years. It’s like he chose between death and slower and possibly more unpleasant and humiliating death.

Also beyond just the actual consequences of staying alive with statements like “I deserve everything” it seems like his psyche is also taking a serious beating. And yes Scorpion you do deserve this your son SHOULD by all means be no contact with your narcissistic arse. The flesh pits taunt you. But yeah yeah back to the point… I also interpret the flesh levels as being all in his head so his mind seems to be falling apart whether from guilt or isolation or what but Scorpion isn’t mentally stable at this moment in time. Honestly I debate if he ever was and if hallucinations like this are actually new but again we don’t know much about this guy. Though the mirror stuff probably also isn’t real unless maybe it is because the poison spiritually fucked him up??? Whatever the case may be I don’t think Scorpion finds himself beautiful at the end of the story and I don’t mean physically I mean it feels like he understands that he’s ugly where it matters and that’s inside and that his actions were disgusted and disgraceful. So I think the choice to… do that… wasn’t entirely to avoid consequence so much as it was “there’s nothing left for me and I’m a monster and the world is better off without me” which is kinda heavy shit right there.

At the end of the day Scorpion is a character with almost no dialogue save from what I affectionately call “random Scorpion noises” (which mostly consist of waking up panting and laughter in memories and smooching noises) so we don’t really understand his actual feelings towards his situation aside from in the ending song where he takes the stance everyone else takes and pretty much goes “yeah I kinda suck lmao” but I find him interesting to analyze since we know so little yet so much about him? We know he’s a prince, we know what he’s done, but as a person we know very very little.

My take is that Scorpion was probably the younger of a few princes and raised into his narcissistic tendencies and perfectionism to look good in court, because to me that makes the most sense to explain why he’s like this. He’s definitely not crown prince and to me even his *age* is up to debate because we have no idea of the time period as far as I know it could be modern it could be medieval. And he kinda looks pretty young let’s be real even at the end of the game with a full adult son who also seems to have a child he looks maybe late 20s early to mid 30s? I have no evidence for this but I’m not convinced he was a legal adult in some of the early on the timeline memories. Because no way this guy is a grandfather without a single wrinkle or grey hair if we are saying he was minimum 18 when he had his son because his son is in this case minimum also 20-30 something depending on how old you think the child is putting him at like 50-60. I also feel that his reoccurring desire to specifically *hide* anything imperfect is of note.

Oh yeah I also think spider is from elsewhere. I think she’s from a different kingdom and that the marriage was both arranged and political. Because for one that’s what you do with princesses and non crown princes you use them for political advantage. For two the Spider wing has a very unique aesthetic that feels kidna like it’s maybe reminiscent of an entirely different kingdom’s aesthetic given it’s all light glass where everywhere else is for lack of a better term… heavy

But these are only headcanons because we must remember… we don’t know their goddamn NAMES. Though I think it would be really funny if Scorpion, Spider, and Butterfly were in fact actually their names. Goddamn arthropods.

So anyway all I wanted to say was some stuff about achievements and it turned into Ouija going character analysis crazy