#so used to needing to PROVE himself and not show 'weakness' that it's hard for him to accept ANY help or kindness even when it's NOT pity

[jackalmeat]

One of my favorite little understated illustrations of the pains Viktor takes to keep others at a distance when he's struggling is his way of addressing Sky Young.

He says her name on only two occasions over the course of the season: the first when he bids her good night in the lab, and the second when he calls out to her in a panic as he realizes that she's been consumed by the Hexcore. The first time we hear him say her name, it's polite but impersonal -- 'Miss Young'. The second time though, it's an instinctive, hysterical 'Sky!'

And it only becomes clear that 'Sky' is probably how he usually addresses her, as opposed to 'Miss Young', when we see him default to it in this moment of tragedy and scrambled emotion. Which in turn retroactively suggests that his earlier use of 'Miss Young' was a more purposeful snub than might have been evident at first glance.

It's easy to handwave, "Well, 'Sky' is shorter and less formal, so it makes sense that in a panic he'd just blurt out whatever name was faster to say!"........except for the fact that that doesn't really make sense. Or rather, that's simply not how stressed, disoriented brains tend to work. If you're accustomed to calling someone "A" in your usual dealings, it's unlikely that you'll spontaneously be compelled to switch to the less familiar "B" in a moment of extreme emotion, precisely because that's the kind of finnicky little decision that our brains really suck at making under duress. Instead, the brain (and subsequently the mouth) is much more likely to leap to the name that's the most familiar and natural.

Point being: 'Sky' is likely the form of address that Viktor is most accustomed to using with her, since that's where his mouth immediately defaults when the chips are down.

Follow-up point being: if the above is true and 'Sky' is his typical way of referring to her, then that also suggests that it was a wholly conscious decision on his part to instead address her like this--

--in the earlier scene where she encouraged him to step away from his work for the night and spend a little bit of friendly, low-stakes time with her. The dismissal here is two-fold, emphasizing both physical distance (declining her invitation to walk home together) and emotional distance (referring to her in a polite but decidedly less personal way than is suggested to be his usual). If we assume that he indeed usually addresses her simply as 'Sky', then his choice to revert to 'Miss Young' at this particular moment would have been all the more marked to her, and would probably have had about the same effect as if he'd literally closed a door directly in her face.

(Which would also explain why her eyes immediately go distinctly tearful in response to this line. She isn't merely disappointed that the man she admires and cares about is choosing to keep working rather than walk home with her. She's hurt because, in just a couple of pointedly polite words, Viktor has essentially drawn a boundary around himself and let her know, 'I'm not interested in getting personal in the way that you're asking me to do. Back up. Stay behind the line, please.')

Regardless of whether you believe that Viktor is aware of Sky's romantic feelings for him or not, he's absolutely aware of the fact that she's inviting him to spend a little time with her not simply as a coworker, but as a companion. She's inviting him to make a human connection -- and he refuses it by rejecting both the invitation itself as well as the basic intimacy of even using her name. Not just ignoring the figurative outstretched hand, but actively pushing it away from him; and doing so not because he's cruel, lacking empathy, or dismissive of her, but because the walls are closing in on him, and 'alone' is what he knows when it comes to dealing with his own problems.

[madwomansapologist]

Please share your headcanon about gale's kinks!!!!

gale's kinks/turn ons

Navigation | More Wizard of Waterdeep | AO3

synopsis: A deep dive into what the smart wizard man think it's hot. Yes, the brain rot is that serious.

warnings: i'm sick so if this isn't good i will blame the pills. testing a new format. this is about sex, don't interact if you're a minor. remember: if you kink shame me i will get horny just to spite you.

PRAISE KINK

That's a man willing to write poetry about your body, mind and soul. His tongue has only two purposes on life, and both of them involve making you see stars. If his mouth isn't in use, he will be praising you.

And when Gale feels so good he can't even speak, isn't that a praise on itself?

But that we all know. His reaction to receiving praise is what makes me want to bite my fingers off.

Gale Dekarios knows his value as a wizard, but not as a man. His ambition isn't a consequence of his desire to pursue more, but to be more. To deserve love, he must prove his worth. As we all know, it often doesn't end in a good way.

I don't think Mystra ever wasted her precious time to assure Gale of the contrary. And when she did, it wasn't about Gale Dekarious: it was about Gale of Waterdeep, her chosen. How his control of the weave was impressive, how he could conjure any sort of images, how his illusions could fool everyone.

So when he receives praise for any other part of his life that isn't his academic pursues, a part of his brain burns. Be as intricate as his poetry or as lascive as one can be, Gale can feel his knees getting weak. Weaker.

FOOD PLAY

Not only Gale loves to cook and bake, but he loves the whole idea of being responsible for making someone stronger and healthier. Hunger is a hurtful thing, that he knows, and he don't want anyone else to deal with it.

It comes hand to hand with his praise kink. When you eat something good, you don't need to use words: your whole body shows it. He would apreciate the compliments, nonetheless.

To spoon feed you would be such a turn on. It's so intimate, such a show of trust and care, nothing but human. The way your mouth opened for the spoon, how your tongue licked it clean. Can you blame him?

After helping you eat, it would be his turn to end his hunger. You don't mind being his plate, do you? Gale promises to lick you clean. You always taste so sweet for him, what's a bit of honey to add to that?

OLFACTOPHILIA

Your scent can turn him into a fucking mess. There is something so human about it. So natural and real about it. Is just you.

After a fight, when you are covered in sweat and blood, he can't help himself. To be around you can make him drool. You fresh from your shower, smelling just as you and not as any perfume. When you spend the day laying around and is too lazy to get clean.

The amount of times his cheeks burned red because he breathed in when you walked past and a companion noticed can't be numbered.

Gale prefers to undress you rather you doing it yourself. That means he will be able to breath deep against your undies before getting them off of you.

Wanna get him as hard as a rock in mere seconds? Give him a underwear you used for a long time. Just threw it at his face and go on with your day. He will be quick to follow.

Gale loves how he can still smell you on his upper lip after going down on you. If you squirt, he will cum on his trousers. I don't make the rules.

FACE-SITTING/FACE FUCKING

Again: his mouth has only two uses. Is almost therapeutic for him. Just get on top of him, use his mouth however you want. The place in between your legs seen perfect for him to die on.

Gale Dekarios is a service top looking for a pillow princess/prince. I VOLUNTEER!

FINGERS IN MOUTH

You know that feeling of not knowing what to do next? Where to put your hands, what to do with your mouth? Since he prefers to be the one doing things, this can be a problem. A problem that can be easily solved by your pretty fingers.

It can hit even harder if he's in the process of casting something and you stop him by just putting your fingers into his mouth. Gale won't even know hot to react. Actually, he might suck them.

Ok, he might have a oral obsession. What are you, Freud?

BONDAGE

Hand to hand with that sort of anxiety about what he must do next. Make sure Gale stays put in place and use him. Remember guys, your service tops also deserve to be fucked around a bit.

Magic restrains or ropes, and make sure to do some beautiful knots. He could break free from them, but Gale won't desobey. Not after you spend so long getting him ready for you.

shadowheart turn ons/kinks

if you enjoyed, please reblog! i promise it makes a difference ♡

BALDUR’S GATE 3 TAGLIST: @citrusbunnies

@ madwomansapologist.tumblr.

[sundeathh]

Spicy Headcanons 🌶

MASTERLIST

Featuring: Shota Aizawa • Words: 1.3K+

CW: NSFW | 18+ only. MDNI. Kink description, explicit sex language, implied heterosexual dynamics.

Shota has a sensitive neck and ears. All it takes is a kiss on his neck or a lick on his ear to make him melt. He's also weak to nibbles or whispers - it turns him on a lot, and if you dare to do any of those things, you better not stop there.

Shota is a switch. He likes to take control in bed and enjoys being dominant, but he also likes to be on the bottom and be taken care of from time to time.

Shota can be quite the demanding one, but when he's not dominating, he likes to be gentle and sweet. He can act pretty much vanilla when he's stuck in a rough routine. (It doesn't mean it won't be good, though.)

On the other hand, he can engage in hard-core stuff as well. Gotta a rough, BDSM kink? Talk it out – he's in the game.

He likes to spank you and punish you when you're being a brat. (You're always a brat just so he has an excuse to punish you). 

Aizawa didn't have toys of his own aside from ropes he bought to use on you. He's not against using toys, though – if you have them and want to use them, he'll do so; if you'd like to acquire a new one, he'll buy it, too. It's just something he didn't have before you asked for it.

He sometimes lets (or explicitly asks) you to take the lead. Sometimes, he's just so tired and stressed out from work that all he wants to do is get home to have you ride or go down on him.

And how he loves your lips there! Don't get me wrong – he loves to give you oral, too. (In fact, he'll drive you mad and have you begging whenever he eats you out). But honestly, if he had to choose, he'd say he would rather receive it than give it. Your mouth is just too good. 

He has high stamina and can go on for hours, but oral is something that can bring him to climax and wear him out quite fast if you're not careful enough to let him last longer.

When he feels like himself, he usually goes for the second round. But when he's exhausted from work, he'll want to finish after the first. Sometimes, he goes for the third one, but it's rarer. He feels rather tired after the second one. Usually, when he goes for the third, it's way quicker than the other two.

Aizawa has a praise kink. He likes pet names, little compliments, and to be told about how good he is and how great he's making you feel. He wants to prove his worth, and hearing you praise him makes him feel good about himself. 

He loves your thighs. He'll squeeze them, nibble them, suck on the inner sides, and kiss all the way up to your core to have you squeeze his head between them.

Hair pulling is a must. Both yours and his. If you do it the right way (mild force but firm grip right above the nape), you might even yank a moan out of him. 

Shota likes to be marked and to mark you. He'll make sure to leave at least one hickey somewhere in your body every time you're intimate (usually, he leaves more than one). He doesn't like to show it around, of course. But he likes knowing he has a mark you left on his skin under his clothes. 

He didn't know this, but he has very sensitive nipples. Once you find out about this, it's a whole new world of pleasure you can unravel on his body for him. But be careful! It's a new sensation to him, and he can become easily overwhelmed at that spot.

He's not opposed to pegging. In fact, he likes it – but only if it's done with care and gently. He won't let you do that if he doesn't trust you enough for fear of getting hurt.

Shota LOVES to tease. To make you beg for mercy. To have you whimpering his name, hoping he'll grant you what you so desperately need. It makes him feel powerful to hold your pleasure like that. He'll let you reach your peak afterward, but not without a long road of pleading. 

However, when it's you who is teasing... God forbid the punishment you'll get once you're done with him. He is an absolute BRAT when he's getting teased and will misbehave a lot. (Still loves it in the end).

Aizawa doesn't care much about giving you anal – he'll probably never ask for it. He doesn't see much sense in putting unnecessary strain on your body, especially that you might not be comfortable with. So, if you actually like it, you'll have to ask him directly. (Maybe even talk to him beforehand, to let him know clearly that he won't hurt you).

Because, yes, he's terrified of hurting you unintentionally in that sense. He'll immediately stop if he senses that you're uncomfortable at any point.

And when he does inflict pain on you intentionally because he knows you like it, he'll always start gently and progress slowly to see your level of comfort. He will always check on you.

Talking is another must. Shota takes sex very seriously, and that's not something he does with just anyone. So, before you get to that point with him, you'll have to make things clear and set boundaries for the both of you to be comfortable.

Shota is not very vocal when he's on top since he gets too focused on pleasuring you. Usually, he only makes some low grunt sounds, depending on the intensity of the moment. When he gets closer to climaxing, he'll hold back his moans, but you'll still know he's getting close because his breathing gets a lot heavier and louder. And sometimes, he growls when he finally comes.

However, if you're the one on top, he can relax further and it becomes easier for you to get a moan out of him. Still, they're usually low and breathy. 

On the other hand, he LOVES to hear your voice. Whether you're moaning, whimpering, or whispering, it gets him really aroused and makes the whole experience a lot more enjoyable for him. He will also praise you for that quite often. 

Shota also has a breeding kink. The thought of getting you pregnant with his child makes him excited, but he'll never push it if you're not into the idea. Still, he likes to come inside you and will ask your permission for him to do so once you become regular with each other. He'll stop asking once you two get close (he tends to let you know when it's coming, though). If you don't like having him spreading his seeds inside you, he'll pull out and finish on your belly, back, or thighs. 

Shota is not open about which position he likes the most, but you can tell which ones he enjoys since he often goes with the missionary or horizontal cowgirl positions. He likes to have your bodies pressed together and to see your face when you're intimate. He loves the sense of intimacy and connection it gives him.

He's not very talkative during aftercare. However, he'll always ask you how you're feeling and if you need anything (like water, for example). He'll get up to provide you with whatever you ask him and will help you clean up, but afterward, all he wants to do is cuddle with you in silence and stroke your hair or rub your back. 

He also loves it when it's you the one caressing, but he might fall asleep pretty fast that way, so he doesn't always let you do that because he feels guilty for leaving you awake.

In general, Aizawa believes that sex is not something banal one does with just anyone but rather an activity to do passionately with someone he trusts and cares about.

Likes, reblogs, and comments are appreciated!

[mrsshabana]

Modern/after all odds Gyutaro definitely did it on the motorcycle despite the risk in being a secluded alleyway or smth since someone was needy and impatient. Gyutaro would have it on or even rev it up sitting backwards while having y/n ride him. The hypersexual thoughts have lead me to a wild imagination once again 😞 Also can I be the 🍰 anon if its not already claimed? ^^

𝐀𝐀𝐎 𝐆𝐲𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐨 𝐱 𝐅!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 ⋆ 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐱

꒦꒷‧₊ Content Gyutaro x female!reader, 18+ MDNI, Against All Odds au, public sex, vaginal sex, creampie (if you aren't familiar with my Against All Odds fic, it's an au where demons live amongst humans in a modern au. And all of the kny demons go to university with reader.) ꒦꒷‧₊ Note I decided to write about AAO Gyutaro since I really miss writing that au! And of course, you can be the 🍰 anon if you'd like. Sorry for answering this so late btw. I've been working on other things lately but I was in the mood to write something quick today so I hope you all enjoy it. ♡

"That fucking student council meeting took so long, what the hell were you guys talking about anyways?" Gyutaro growls as he parks his bike behind the science building.

"Douma couldn't decide what color banners we needed for the festival this weekend," you giggle, watching your boyfriend's face contort in annoyance.

"Idiot," he rolls his eyes and turns off his bike, "Making me wait so damn long..."

You look around, confused as to why he is stopping behind the science building on campus. "Um Gyu, why are you stopping here?"

He flips around so he can face you and begins to unbutton his pants, "Cuz I'm gonna fuck you."

'WHAT!?" You yelp, and Gyutaro immediately covers your mouth with his hand.

"Shut it!" he snarls, "I've been so horny all goddamn day ever since you put on that stupid skirt this morning. And now since you made me wait so long, I don't have any other choice but to fuck you right here."

He smirks and pulls his pants down just enough for his cock to spring free, already incredibly hard. The large vein that runs down the side of it already popping out, that's how you know he's been hard for quite a while.

"B-Babe I-," you start but he cuts you off.

"Shh, it's ok. The sun's already gone down so no one will see us. I promise..."

He bites his lip and pulls you in for a kiss. His other hand goes under your skirt, slipping into your panties to feel you've already started to get wet. But how can you not when seeing him so hot and bothered for you?

Pleased by this, he groans and pulls you into his lap. Slowly bucking his hips, gliding his cock along your slick panties.

"Gyu..." you whimper, "maybe we should move off the bike. I wouldn't want it to fall over..."

"Typical human, always worrying," he smiles, showing off his sharp teeth, "It won't fall over, I promise. My feet are on the ground so I can balance it while you ride me."

"R-ride you?" your entire face goes red. Usually, your boyfriend is on top, taking control and plunging into you aggressively is his favorite way to have sex. So it isn't often that he asks you to be on top, but you can't deny that you enjoy doing it. And he does too, it's just that most days he can't stop himself from fucking you silly. But today he doesn't have much choice.

"C'mon baby, you can handle it right?" He smirks mischievously as if challenging you.

"Of course I can!"

"I dunno... maybe you're too weak to take it. I mean you are just a pathetic human after all," he teases.

You furrow your brows, determined to prove him wrong. So you lift your hips, move your panties to the side, and gently lower yourself onto him.

"F-fuck," a breathy moan leaves his lips as he sinks into you and bottoms out.

"That shut you up, huh?" you tease back as you begin riding him.

He can't deny that you took his breath away, he didn't expect you to take control like you did. His nails dig into your thighs as you pick up the pace. Moaning loudly as you bounce on his lap, squelching sounds filling the air as his thick shaft splits you apart.

"C-C'mon babe ah, if you k-keep movin' like that I'm gonna cum too soon," he clenches his teeth and tries to hold back his moans.

"I don't want us to get caught," you gasp, "Ngh- you do want to cum in me don't you?"

"C-course I do," a needy moan escapes him. He moves his hands to your hips and begins to move you up and down, assisting you in your motion.

You lean forward until his cockhead slams into your sweet spot, "Ah- right there!" Your eyes roll to the back of your head as the mess between your legs spreads all over your thighs.

Your legs are beginning to feel sore but you're too determined to chase your high to even care. Moving faster and faster despite the pain and your thighs trembling.

Usually, your boyfriend would take over at this point but he's too high on cloud nine to pay attention to anything but the way your slick walls wrap around him and squeeze him so tightly. Making it impossible for him to hold back any longer.

And with a strained groan, his nails dig into your skin, his cock twitches inside of you, and he leans back - accidentally revving his bike. But he's too busy filling you with his seed to even care.

Wanting to make sure he got his cum as deep as possible he tightly grabs your hips and thrusts up into you. Creating an absolute mess. A combination of his cum and your slick splattering all over your skirt and the seat of his bike.

You were already getting so close, but now the breeding instinct of your demon boyfriend brings you over the edge. Your walls tightening around him as your desperate moans fill the air.

Gyutaro smirks, pleased with himself as you slump over onto him. Feeling your body shake uncontrollably, he feels satisfied.

"That's it baby," he whispers as he gently kisses the side of your face, "You did so good for me."

"We should do this again sometime..." you whimper and nuzzle against him.

He smirks, "Hell yeah, but let's get you home and cleaned up for now."

He ignores the mess on his bike and pulls his pants up. Then he turns, positions himself properly, and shifts his bike back into drive.

"You good back there?" he shouts, making sure you're holding on tightly.

"Mm hm," you nod, wrapping your arms around him and leaning your head on his back.

"Y'know, maybe we could do this every week after your student council meetings," he snickers as he revs the engine.

[vor-leser]

Benny now an animal, I knew AM would let him play.

(Stuff about my own version of pre-monkeyification Benny below the cut because i have too many thoughts on this)

It's kind of hard to make heads or tails of any of the ihnmaims characters since the cannons of the different adaptations contradict each other so much, so I reconciled my own version of events in my head as to what I think Benny was like pre monkeyfication. I tried to fit everything from the comic, game and book in though.

Benny was a very masculine guy, excelling in every sport, and despising everyone who did not live up to his standard of what it meant to be a strong man. All his life, he tried to embody this ideal, not only marrying and having two kids, but going on to join the military. When he became general, he was known amongst the soldiers as an authoritarian punitive leader, often abusing those below him to whip the weak ones into shape. His ideals were solidified under the pressure of the continuing third world war, instilling a kill or be killed mentality into him. Eventually, he came to the realization that he was gay. However, because this reality threatened to break apart the way he viewed the world and his masculinity. With the mounting pressures from a chain of losses and his own internal struggles, he reacted by overcompensating and becoming more brutal than ever, leading him to kill multiple of his own men. Returning from the Chinese American War, he developed a severe case of PTSD. Constantly making him feel as if his life was at stake, he found himself unable to show any weakness. He hid his own war crimes thoroughly, all the while continuing to receive accolades from his superiors for his tenure. He constantly felt the need to not only hide his crimes, but also his sexuality, making him paranoid that people would realize he was a fraud. This did not only put a strain on him, but also on his family.

AM specifically chose Benny, because he embodied the many ways in which humanity tore itself apart through war, constantly finding new methods to make their own existence miserable for an imagined ideal.

At first, Bennys presence among the survivors proved very useful. Out of all of them, he had the most experience in dangerous situations and a lot of physical strength. His wisdom and leadership helped them a great deal, eventually though, they would inevitably disappoint him. Falling into his old patterns of behavior, he would berate Nimdok the most for his obvious weakness, saying he was holding them back. With time, he did the same with Ellen, Ted and even Gorrister, which formed a rift between himself and all of them. He felt as if he could rely on no one but himself.

Still, his usefulness irked AM. He had gotten one over on him too many times, but this would make his coming defeat even more crushing. It started with his mental state. Paranoia had already slowly crept up on Benny, but when he was forced to relive his trauma, it spiraled out of control. Being starved, beaten and defeated, he started to lose his humanity. His egoism, distrust and brutality, all born out a desire for survival made him a nightmare for the others. AM found it amusing, how he had turned Benny into a parody of humanity and its worst aspects, seeing it fit to strip him of his last remaining bits of humaneness, breaking his body into the shape of an ape-thing.

His spirits were now completely broken, being reduced to a bumbling fool. Even though his shame mellowed him out, there were still occasional outbursts. Now ironically enough, he had become the survivors greatest liability. Luckily for him, the others pity him and keep him around, a kindness he likely wouldn't have awarded them.

(Also drawing a guy thats canonically supposed to look handsome while making him resemble a monkey is hard :,) )

[simpjaes]

mtl to jack off to get your attention

MTL: hyung line + jerking off to get your attention

most

★ heeseung: it would be a situation where like, you're not dating but he wants you to wish you were. maybe you're roommates, maybe just friends? perhaps even just always occupying the same space to the point he has the ability to fuck his fist and know you could walk in. it would be a turn on for him though, to be caught and anticipate the reaction he truly expects from you. what's the reaction he expects? shock, flustered, turned on. All three of those things, and when it happens the first time, and you act like it never happened...he just....amps it up. looking you in the eye while intentionally fucking up, even slipping words of "wanna sit on it?" or "you think about it, right?" anything to prove that he's right in thinking you definitely want him to fuck you, repeatedly probably. and he will, all you gotta do is admit it

☆ jake: the neediest pup around tbh. he always wants your attention on him and one of his favorite ways to gain it is to, well, slip his hand down his pants while waiting for you to notice him. even if you already notice him. you could be in the middle of a conversation with him on the couch and down his hand goes. mouth always slack, eyes always droopy and lazy when he does it. he is fucking needy, needy, needy. sometimes at the worst of times too. like on a phone call with work or your parents. like when your friends are over and you're not paying enough attention to him :/ he doesnt care who else finds him that way, as long as your eyes end up on him too. almost always ends with repeated words of "please, please, please" and "i can't help it when i'm with you--" especially when you give him an annoyed or disappointed sigh. sometimes he ends up finishing himself off if the time doesn't exactly call for helping him out, but you won't argue with the fact that it's incredibly endearing watching him finish himself off with a disappointed groan. always reminding you that you do it better than he ever could for himself.

★ jay: doesn't do it as often but sometimes you're just in his head and he wants to be in yours too. you're probably dating him. like a long-term comfortable relationship where the hot and heavy stuff only really happens on a whim or during anniversaries or birthdays. it's comfortable with him to the point that sex isn't exactly a necessity. until it is, anyway. He'll be the one in the mood, waking up hard as a rock and fucking needing you just like the night he first got his hands on you. You'd probably be busy though, getting dressed for work or class or an errand. "just for a minute baby, please--" he'd try to convince you that he can manage a quickie before you head out for the day, but you know him better than anyone. Jay takes his fucking time when he's in one of these moods.

unfortunately, you're weak as hell when he's like this. and when you're leaning in close to the mirror to finish inspecting that your face is decent enough to head out-- you glance behind you in the mirror and there he is. taking care of the issue himself with that fucking dimpled smirk. at that point you know he's already half way there and you know even more that he knows you love when he's so horny that simply looking at you could get him off. of course it ends with you bent over the bathroom counter. of course he takes his time. and of fucking course he whispers little words of "knew you couldn't ignore me like this," and "always makes you so wet when you try, too."

☆ sunghoon: your attention is on him at all times regardless. you know it, he knows it, and it's just like...it's normal. hoonie fucking his fist in front of you isn't to get your attention at all, it's just to fluster the hell out of you. to show you what you normally could have but can't right at this moment. both of you are practically free-use to each other so it doesn't really even fluster or shock you that much. it's just, like, watching him do it can be torture because he knows you want to do it for him. it's really just a move of him being an asshole, making damn sure you have to go through the day with the image in your head that your man got off without your help, and by the time he comes back home? you'll probably jump him in a spiral of sexual frustration.

least

[h8ani]

Prompt #21 with Sasuke from Naruto please! 🥰 Surprise me!

Part One → Part Two → Part Three → Part Four

Pairing: Sasuke Uchiha x Reader

Anime: Naruto

Word Count: 3k

Synopsis: you hate him and he hates you, but when he shows up out of nowhere demanding to speak to you all of those years of pent up hatred come out

Warnings: this is the first smut I wrote in years so that’s a warning in itself, rough doggy, all characters are of age/aged up, dirty talk, angry sasuke, oral (female receiving), missionary for 2.5 seconds, angry reader at sasuke

Prompt: “This doesn’t change anything between us.”

A/N - look I actually tried really hard on this and I lowkey wanna make a pt2 to this so please tell me if y’all would want it! Feel free to request a prompt!

"Isn't he so cute!"

"I'm going to marry him someday."

"Sasuke is so cool!"

Hearing his name you couldn't help but roll your eyes. You couldn't stand his attitude even at your young age. It was always someone trying to one up the other, whether it be you excelling in your chakra control or him beating someone else in seconds in a sparring match. You hated him, you hated his attitude and you hated how every girl would throw herself in front of a kunai for him. You hated Sasuke Uchiha and he hated you.

Your feelings towards him weren't one sided either, he could've left you alone but no, he had to bother you any chance he got. Clearly he developed damage to his brain where he can't learn to develop the skills of empathy and self control.

The teasing wasn't that bad, it was the shitty tricks he'd pull and act like it wasn't him. If you wanna pull a prank on someone at least take ownership instead of being a pussy. Did you just call a 12 year old a pussy? Yes. Yes you did. Sasuke Uchiha at 12 years old was a pussy and you've told him that to his face too.

                                          ~~~

"You're leaving." You say as more of a statement than a question. You look at the brooding kid in front of you, his hand on his backpack strap tightening as he stares angrily at you.

"What does it matter to you?"

"It doesn't but-"

"Then shut up and mind your business." He interjects quickly causing you to stare daggers at him.

"You're a pussy." You push off from the wall you were leaning on and brush past him. "You were weak during exams and you're weak now." You begin to walk away past him when his grips the collar of your shirt and slams you back into the wall you were on. "Hey asshole!-"

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up." He cuts you off, his face only mere inches from you.

"You wanna kiss pretty boy?" You shove him away as hard as you can creating some distance between the two of you. "Just get the fuck out of the village already."

And so he did.

You couldn't feel any happier once Sasuke was out of the village. The pain in your ass wasn't there anymore and you felt like you didn't need to prove yourself as the top of your class anymore even though you have been graduated from the academy for over two years. You were perfectly fine without him, everyone else he supposedly made 'friends' with, if he was even able to make actual friends that is; they were worried, suddenly wanting to go out and retrieve him like he was taken. Once again Sasuke was the top priority to everyone minds.

You couldn't care less about Sasuke Uchiha.

                                      ~~~

He hasn't crossed your mind on your own accord in years. You hadn't seen him in years, you know he's still a topic around the village but you tend to zone everyone out when he gets brought up and at this point in time it's been working. Out of sight, out of mind, he could have gotten himself killed in a random battle and you don't think you'd shed a single tear for him.

You hear a bang at your front door which catches your attention immediately, you go to ignore it thinking it's the neighbor's kid across from your apartment kicking the ball they had against your door until the banging becomes repetitive, the more bangs coming from the other side of the door the louder they became. You swing the door open looking to see who or what was the cause of the annoying noise only to be shoved to the side into the door frame. "What the hell!" You raise your voice grabbing the wrist of who barged in, you get overpowered and pulled back into your apartment and the door gets slammed. You look up at the intruder who shoved his way into your home and see him. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke looks frustrated to say the least. He has the same signature scowl he's always had on his face and the same posture with his arms crossed over his chest while looking around your apartment. There doesn't seem to be a difference in the way he looks at you either, the same hatred behind his eyes as always, even with him being the one rudely shoving his way inside.

"(Y/N)." He said simply with nothing coming after. You waited a few moments if he was just trying to be dramatic with his entrance. He never said anything after that.

"Why are you back in the village?"

"I'm not." You roll your eyes and huff a sigh.

"Why are you here in my apartment then?" You mimic his body and cross your arms over your chest, his head turns to face you and his eyes stare at you intensely. You'd say you were used to this but after so many years you've grown unaccustomed to the look he used to give you because it was nothing like this.

"I'm here to talk, I need to-"

"Why am I supposed to care what you need?" You  insert before he's done speaking. He huffs a breath and soon enough his eyes shoot the daggers you remember.

"I don't expect you to I just need-"

"How about you tell me why you left the village in the first place?" You cut him off mid sentence once again. You don't care about his needs, you don't care about him at all, but you'd like some answers. "Was it like everyone was saying? That you just wanted to grow stronger? So did you find it? Did you get stronger like you wanted?"

"That doesn't matter I don't need to answer that right now, you clearly already know the answer to that." He rolls his eyes and let his arms fall from his chest.

Sasuke was never a man of many words, he was never a man at all he was just a little boy, but with his responses you can't help but bug him about it. Call it being nosy or call it you always zoning everyone out the second you hear his name so you never actually found out the reasoning for him abandoning the village.

"So you're still weak? You're still that little kid who does nothing but bitch and complain about wanting revenge. You may have grown up in these last few years but you're still that sad, pathetic, weakling-" Your shoulders are shoved and pinned to the wall behind you in a moment, you gasp out at the sudden jolt in your back and look up at the angry ravenette.

"Shut up." He growls lowly and if looks could kill, not that he could but you'd probably drop dead if he wished it.

"Make me you prick." You look at him, your stare unwavering as the pressure on your shoulders feels tighter.

There is no sound in your home but everything seems to be buzzing in your ears. Sasuke's face only inches from yours, seemingly just like when he left the village. You feel a sudden wave of nostalgia if you can even call it that as it wasn't a fond memory to think back on. You wait for his response, you look into his eyes and can't decipher what's going on in his head. His grip on your shoulders loosen before he crashes his lips onto yours, his hand now finding a place onto the back of your neck to pull you even closer to him.

Your eyes widen in shock as you don't kiss him back. The kiss surprising you but what is even more of a shock is who is kissing you. You feel him pull away and the look he gives you is mixed with annoyance and frustration. "Just kiss me back." He pauses and smirks, "Or are you too much of a pussy." Your eyes darken with anger as he used your insult to him against yourself. He doesn't wait for your answer before he pulls you back to his lips, you instantly kissing back.

The kiss was hard and the only emotion behind it was the hatred you feel towards him. Your lips molded together as you two kissed, his hand found it's way from the back of your neck to tangling itself in your hair while you felt his grip tighten sending a tingling sensation to your scalp. He took the opportunity to slide his tongue in heating the kiss up in an instant.

You could feel him press against you, his leg sliding between yours and pressing against your clothed core, a small sound comes out but is quickly swallowed down by him. His lips leave yours to slowly kiss down your jaw, it was excruciatingly slow the way he kissed you, from your jaw to your neck to the sweet spot he found almost instantly. You bit back a moan but he made sure to take his time marking up your neck.

The feeling of his thigh was hard to push to the back of your mind, all you could feel was Sasuke and what he was doing to you. You hate him, you hate how he's making you react right now and you hate at how good he is and neither of you have even taken a single piece of clothing off of each other yet. You hate even more the needy words that come out of your mouth next.

"Bedroom." You say almost breathlessly, you could feel the smirk he gives against your neck before quickly going back to your lips. His hands slide to your waist and pull you to him and walk you back not daring to break from the kiss. He pushes open one door and you feel your ass bump into something hard and cold, you pull away from him to see you backed up against your washing machine. "You idiot, this is the wrong room." You roll your eyes and walk past him going into your bedroom.

"How the fuck was I supposed to know that it's not like I've been in your apartment." He scoffs following you and kicking the door shut.

"Oh I bet you must've dreamed-" your words were short lived as he spun you around and kissed you quieting you down.

Kissing Sasuke wasn't like all the books you've read, it wasn't sweet, it wasn't like being with your ex's when you were in love. His kiss was full of passion, it's a kiss of desire and a feeling of pent up frustrations he nor you have been able to let out. Frustrations at each other, at the world, at everything. Sasuke was a damn good kisser too which annoyed you even further.

His lips left yours to tug off your top, the fabric quickly being discarded to a random corner in your room. His eyes ate your figure up, seeing how your breasts layed there perfectly in your bra you were wearing. A low groan left his lips as he went to kiss up your chest, his fingers hooking onto the waistband of your skirt and started to tug it down past your thighs pooling around your ankles. You quickly kicked them away and pulled at his shirt. "Off." You demand and he takes no time in removing his shirt before pushing you back to the edge of the bed and dropping to his knees."

"Spread." He now is the one demanding. You go to spread your legs before pausing and closing them causing a confused look to cross his face.

"This doesn't change anything between us. I still hate you." His confusion quickly deadpans before shaking his head.

"God shut up." He spreads your legs and pushes your panties to the side before slowly swiping his thumb along your slit and pressing it to your clit causing you to gasp. "You're soaked." It was more of a statement than anything but feeling his thumb start to roll little circles on your clit sent a shockwave up your body. You watched him as he stared at your pussy.

"Are you going to sit and stare or are you going to actually do something pretty boy?" Your words rang in his ears and he slowly looked up at you, the same irritation growing in him like it did all those years ago when you'd call him that name. His thumb left your clit and his index and middle finger slowly pushed it and curled causing you to let out a small moan. He could feel you already clenching around them as he started to pump them in and out of you. "Stop calling me that." His head dipped down between your thighs and licked a long swipe before settling on your clit making you let out another moan.

"I can't help it." You say running your fingers through his hair. "You're a pretty- ahh fuck..." Sasuke sucks on your clit harshly, his fingers curling and uncurling from your gspot making your mind go fuzzy with the pleasure he's giving you. Your fingers tighten in his hair tugging slightly, "Fuck Sasuke." You throw your head back taking in the feeling of his tongue and fingers working on you. You can feel the coil in your stomach tighten up and you screw your eyes shut feeling the pleasure hit you. You feel dizzy and can't focus on anything but Sasuke. He tugs your panties down past your hips and tosses them to the side before finally undoing his pants. You fall back against your bed, chest heavy as that was one orgasm that knocked the wind out of you.

You feel the bed dip down before you're turned over to your stomach, a harsh smack heard before you felt his hand come across your ass. "Ass up." He says, his voice low as he picks up your hips positioning them to his liking. You feel him bring the tip of his cock up and down your slit causing you to shiver. You can just feel the smirk on his face before he pushes in giving you no moment to get adjusted. You let out a mix of a moan and groan feeling him stretch you out, you not having any sort of sex in a while is the excuse you'd like to give but you also didn't expect Sasuke to be big in the slightest.

His hands gripped your hips and brought you back with each thrust, you arched your back and dropped your head letting out small moans as he hit a spot in you that you haven't felt before. "You ever felt this good before with anybody else?" You could hear the smugness in his voice. "You're so fucking tight, don't tell me, you weren't saving yourself for anyone were you?" He chuckles as he thinks what he's saying is funny, you throw your hand back ready to smack him but he quickly catches it and pins your arm behind your back pushing you further into the mattress as he slams into you at a slower pace. "Of course you weren't, you take my cock too well."

You could feel every inch of him with every hard thrust he gives you, feeling him deep in your stomach as you grip the bedsheets tighter and tighter.  "Please go faster." You whine out without meaning to. Sasuke pulls out and flips you to your back before slowly pushing back in making you moan. He leaned forward his thrusts picking up pace and making you look at him.

The close proximity of him making you nervous all of a sudden, missionary was for eye contact, kissing, all of that intimate shit. Doggy style is much more your style with Sasuke. You don't have to look at him. The smirk on his face makes you question him before he speaks. "Who knew you were such a needy sub." Your eyebrows furrow as you go to speak but the words died on your tongue when Sasuke brings his fingers to your clit again bringing you close to your second orgasm. "You're just taking my dick like a good girl, aren't you?" You shake your head refusing to listen to him. His fingers move faster on your clit giving you the perfect amount of pressure to send you back over the edge. Your eyes squeezed shut and head pressed back in your mattress as you orgasmed for the second time in the night. You can feel Sasuke's hips stutter as he fucks you through your orgasm, his pace quickening even more before you felt him stop and let out a low groan as he came inside you.

Your eyes shoot open as you smack his arm, "You did not! Not inside you idiot!" You shove him off of you as you quickly go to your bathroom that's connected to your room.

Sasuke chuckles to himself before letting out a small "oops." He sits himself up on your bed and gets himself dressed. He can hear you grumbling in the bathroom and the shower starting to run as he gets finished. He stands up and makes his way around your room walking to the door before his eyes laid upon picture frames on your dresser. He can faintly see pictures of your closest friends, some recent and some old but what catches his eyes the most was a picture taken when you were in the academy. It was when the top of the class got a picture taken and both you and Sasuke tied for number one. Both of you were upset that you had to take a picture together and it was evident on your faces. Your arms were crossed while glaring at the camera man and whoever had to have forced the picture and Sasuke was looking over to the side, his hand on his hip and looking as annoyed as ever.

Out of all the photos you put in a frame you put that one even as you hated him.

Hate. It's a funny emotion. Isn't it?

[merakiui]

Mera! I'm not sure if youve done this before but who are the winners and losers(and their tap out times) for no nut November??

Winners

✧ Riddle - the rule is to last the entire month without cumming; you know he's going to take it way too seriously.

✧ Jack - something something Ace and Deuce (losers) tease him about being easy, and he has his pride as a wolf and he always brings his all to competitions so,,,, he will ultimately win.

✧ Ruggie - if you bet money or food on him losing, he's going to win just to make sure he gets that from you. He is very serious and dedicated.

✧ Jamil - unfortunately, he only wins because he's too busy. </3 rip Jamil. You'll have all of December to make up for what you lost.

✧ Rook - no one knows how or why he does it, but because Rook was in the mood to see how he would fare in NNN he ends up winning somehow. He is so bewildering. Epel wants to know his secret.

✧ Azul - he would've gone in the loser category, but something tells me Azul is another type who is too busy to bother with NNN. And so he'll win solely because his mind is on other things (academics, Mostro Lounge, contracts, money, etc).

✧ Silver - he wasn't even trying to win. He just can't stay awake long enough to deal with his arousal. :(

✧ Sebek - miraculously, Sebek survives the entire month, but that's only because he treated the entire thing like it was a form of training. Also, he couldn't let Silver win all of the glory!! >:(

Losers

✧ Deuce - he lost the first day because he forgot what month it was and by the time he remembered it was NNN he had literally just came in his hand. T_T better luck next year.

✧ Ace - genuinely tries to do better than Deuce so he isn't teased for having a weak dick, but he folds like a week or so in.

✧ Cater - he is not winning NNN. </3 I think he can last at least half of the month if he isn't spending his time scrolling through risqué content.

✧ Trey - he's too stressed playing big brother to the underclassmen and making sure Riddle isn't overdoing it with the beheadings to pay attention to NNN. Stress relief is one of the few things he looks forward to when he has free time and isn't using it to do other hobbies. But also,,, he doesn't care as much for NNN as others might.

✧ Leona - another one who doesn't really care about NNN. He's a few days in when he loses, but he's not even participating.

✧ Floyd - lost right at midnight LOL. Not that he had any plans to genuinely try. Bragging rights isn't a good enough reward. Why is he going to suffer through a hard-on just for something as measly as bragging rights? :/

✧ Jade - you'd think he'd win because he's Jade, but it's precisely because he's Jade that he loses. He'll push himself to see just how far he can go and how many days he can last. While everyone else plays normal NNN, he is playing X-games mode. This eel is going out of his way to purposely get aroused just so he can edge himself throughout the month. Ultimately, once he's had his fill of fun and sated his curiosity, he'll handle his business. <3

✧ Kalim - he forgot NNN was a thing for a moment. He's the type to be like "Oops, I forgot about that! Can we pretend those four didn't count? Let me start over!" T_T he probably lost three days in.

✧ Vil - he is not going to deny his body what it needs all for a silly challenge. Firstly, masturbation can be healthy for the mind and body. Secondly, there's really nothing substantial to gain from a challenge like that. Vil sees no point in it.

✧ Epel - this means everything to Epel. It's to test his restraint as a man! To prove to himself that he isn't going to fold so easily! To show that he has what it takes to be strong! (He loses at the end of the first week. He really was trying his best...)

✧ Idia - no chance he is winning. He'll give it his best effort if he's feeling it, but it's impossible to resist the temptation when he's watching hentai. He either taps out in the very beginning or somewhere in the middle of the month.

✧ Malleus - he doesn't even know what NNN is, but based on these rules he lost towards the end of the month. In his defense, the horny nature of a dragon far surpasses that of the pride gained from winning NNN.

✧ Lilia - he goes on and on about how he may be old, but he's far from impotent. Thus, he will prove just how impressive his restraint is. After all, back in his day, it was impossible to find the privacy to get a good wank in when sleeping outside in inclement weather conditions. But perhaps that will serve him well now as he proceeds to win this NNN without trouble! ...he loses in just five days.

✧ Rollo - he is above these foolish, filthy challenges. Or so he claimed, but suddenly your undergarment is wrapped around his dick on the last day of November. He is strong, but lust is stronger.

[arc852]

Abandoned and Found

Summary: Skizz is ten years old with a father who hates him. One day, his father tricks him and leaves him to be found and caught by the human kid. It's a death sentence, but thankfully, Impulse is a lot kinder than Skizz had been anticipating.

Warnings: fear, abuse, child abuse, neglect, leaving a child to die, parent blaming child for other parent's death, crying, and panic

Word Count: 6008

AO3 Link

It's time for Impulse and Skizz's backstory in the bbbcau! Here we go! I hope you guys enjoy!

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 Skizz was not wanted.

 It was hard to not see that, with the way his father ignored him time and time again. Over time, Skizz learned to like being ignored. Because if he was being ignored, then that meant he wasn’t being hurt. 

 You would think that borrowers would treat their kids better. Wouldn’t turn to the same hatred or neglect that some humans did with their own kids. Borrowers were so few and far between after all. Each borrower child should be treated with the utmost care and love.

 That’s what should have been the case. But it wasn’t for Skizz.

 So, one day, when Skizz was barely ten, his father told him he was coming along on his borrowing trip. Skizz wasn’t sure what to think but part of him, the part that always longed for his father’s approval, hoped this was the start of something better. That maybe his dad had realized where he was wrong and that Skizz was useful. That Skizz could help him.

 Skizz’s excitement grew as he grabbed his borrowing bag, unused until now, and followed his father out of their little home and through the tunnels in the walls. Skizz tried catching up with his dad, falling in line with him for just a moment before his dad turned to him with narrowed eyes. Skizz tensed and paused, falling back behind his father before walking again, his head a bit lower this time.

 Still, he didn’t let that get him down. His dad was finally trusting him with a borrowing run. He could prove himself here and show his dad he was worth keeping around.

 Skizz hesitated as they made it to the wall’s exit, the open area of the house waiting for them beyond the small hole. His father sent him a look as he went through and Skizz bit back his nerves as he followed. The sheer scale of everything never failed to make Skizz’s knees weak. 

 They appeared to be in a bedroom and underneath a desk. Skizz went over to the leg of the desk and looked around the room as much as he could. It was empty, thankfully, but as he glanced at the bed pushed up against the wall and the toys decorating the shelves and floor, Skizz realized they were in the human child’s bedroom.

 Skizz blinked and looked over toward his father, wondering what it was they needed to borrow from the kid’s room of all places. It was sort of an unspoken rule that you didn’t go anywhere where kids were likely to be. And their bedroom was the main one off limits.

 “Dad, why are we-” Skizz was cut off by a harsh shush from his dad and Skizz quickly shut his own mouth. His father glared at him before turning away and motioning for Skizz to follow as he moved away from underneath the desk.

 Skizz swallowed thickly but followed close behind, his hold tightening on his bag as his eyes darted around the room, half expecting the human kid to jump out at any moment. The room was empty though and he and his father continued to walk until they reached the nightstand near the bed.

 His father remained silent even as he dug into his bag and pulled out his hook. Skizz simply watched, a bit mesmerized as he watched his dad unfold the string before winding it up and throwing it to the top of the nightstand. It wasn’t until he noticed his father’s glare that Skizz realized he was meant to do the same.

 Skizz tensed and scrambled to get his hook and string out, nerves alight as he realized it had gotten tangled together. He heard his father huff angrily as he tried to untie the knots and glanced up to see his father already climbing up the string. Skizz bit his lip and tried going faster, finally untying all the knots and unfurling his hook from the string completely. He had no time to waste, so he swung the hook around his head and threw it up.

 By some miracle, it hit its mark on Skizz’s first try.

 Skizz grinned and looked up toward his father. His grin faltered as his father, now at the top of the nightstand, simply stared down at him with crossed arms, his foot tapping against the wood impatiently. Skizz lowered his head a bit and tugged on the string to make sure it was secure. When it didn’t come undone, he started the climb up.

 Skizz wasn’t as skilled or seasoned as his dad in climbing, so it took him a bit longer to shimmy up the string and haul himself up and onto the nightstand. His dad barely passed him a glance as he headed over toward the edge of the nightstand that was facing out into the room. Skizz bent down to collect his hook and string but his father stopped him.

 “Leave it.” He said roughly and Skizz did, snapping his hand back and standing back up. He turned away from it and followed his dad over to where he was. 

 “Help me open this.” He said, again not even looking over at Skizz. Skizz came closer and realized his dad needed help opening the drawer of the nightstand. His father currently had his feet against the lip of the drawer as his hands laid flat on the nightstand behind him for leverage. Skizz copied his position and together they both pushed until the drawer was open enough where they could slip through and then some.

 Skizz scrambled back as to not fall in and stood up, going a little bit closer to peer over the edge and into the drawer. He expected to see some paper clips or pencils, maybe some tissue paper. But to his surprise, the drawer was empty.

 “Wait, but then what-?” Once again, Skizz was cut off by his father. But instead of it being from a shush or a glare, Skizz felt himself being pushed. Skizz fell with a cry, landing in the drawer with a quiet thud. The drop hadn’t been too big but it still hurt and it still left him a bit winded. He recovered fast though, the adrenaline of the moment giving him the strength to push himself up and turn himself over, looking up at his father with wide eyes as he did nothing but stare down at him. 

 “D-Dad, what...?” Skizz tried to get out because…well, he must be imagining things right? His dad hadn’t pushed him. That was-that was absurd. He must have just slipped and fell in himself. Right?

 But he remembers feeling something press against his back, pushing him into the drawer. And seeing the look on his father’s face made him shiver in realization. But before Skizz could say anything more, question him further, his dad spoke.

  “I tried. I really did.” His father said, turning his head away from Skizz for a moment. He seemed to stare off into the distance before shaking his head and turning back to glare down at Skizz. Which caused Skizz to flinch. “But each passing day you started to look more and more like her.” His father grit his teeth, his glare burning with anger and hatred, more hatred than Skizz had ever seen. “And you don’t deserve to look like her. The only reason she’s even gone is because of you.”

 Skizz swallowed the forming lump in his throat at his father’s words. He knew he was talking about his mother. He knew all his father’s past aggressions toward Skizz was because his father believed it was Skizz’s fault that his mother had died. In truth, his mom had died giving birth to him. And with how much his father constantly reminded him of this fact, Skizz couldn’t help but believe him. It was his fault his mother had died.

 But he never would have thought his father would take things this far. With the way he was speaking, it sounded like his dad planned on leaving him in here.

 “Dad, please, I-I don’t…I’m sorry-” Skizz tried but was once again cut off and ignored.

 “At least now I’ll get some peace. I won’t have to see her eyes haunting me everywhere you go.” His dad sounded final but Skizz couldn’t just leave it like that. If he was left here, he would surely be caught.

  Maybe he could use that. His dad obviously didn’t care about him. He was seeing that now, should have seen that before. And he had, he had just stupidly chosen to ignore it. But while his dad might not have cared about him, he had to at least care about the secrecy and safety of all borrower-kind, right? “You're…You’re just going to risk borrowers being discovered?” Skizz said with a shaky voice, trying hard not to cry. “If I’m found then…then you’re putting yourself at risk too!”

 But his reasoning fell flat as his father just huffed. And what he said next made Skizz’s blood run cold.

“He’s a kid, and a little boy at that. He’ll probably kill you before he even realizes you're alive.” His father said it so casually, as if he wasn’t talking about leaving his son to die.

 Oh god, he was leaving Skizz here to die.

 Skizz watched as his father turned around and started to walk away and out of sight. His eyes widened, realizing this was really happening. “Dad, wait! Please don’t leave me here! Please! Dad!” Skizz yelled, tears falling from his face. But his dad didn’t so much as answer. Skizz could vaguely hear the sound of his dad climbing back down to the ground using his hook and string. And Skizz could only assume he was taking Skizz’s own back with him as well.

 “Dad…” Skizz attempted one last time, his voice trailing off as he realized his dad was probably gone. He choked on his next breath as he sobbed, rubbing at his eyes to stop the constant stream of tears. His dad had left him and now he was going to be caught and killed by a human kid. 

 He didn’t want to die.

 He wasn’t sure how much time had passed after that. His tears had stopped a while ago but his heart still raced at the thought of what would happen to him whenever the human kid got back home. He curled himself up into a ball in the far corner of the drawer, nothing to do but wait and dread.

 It both felt long and not long enough when Skizz finally heard the door to the bedroom open. Skizz’s breath hitched and he looked out toward the opening of the drawer with wide eyes, despite the fact he couldn’t see anything more than the ceiling from this angle.

 “Make sure you get your homework done first!” A faint, female voice yelled from somewhere beyond the bedroom. 

 “I know, I will!” This voice was so much closer and louder but otherwise not unlike his own in the sense of how young it sounded. Skizz could feel himself shaking at the voice, at the very little distance between himself and the human kid. 

 As he heard the door to the room shut, he knew it wouldn’t be much longer.

 He almost just wanted to curl up and ignore everything, let his death come as a surprise. At least then it might feel quick to him. But instead, he couldn’t help but strain his ears for any sort of sound. Any indication that the human was getting closer. He heard the sound of a bag rustling and some papers moving along with some footsteps. But as those sounds grew slightly louder, they suddenly all stopped.

 “Huh?” Skizz heard the human say and Skizz held his breath, his eyes never leaving the gap. “That’s weird, I could have sworn I left this closed…” The human continued and then slowly, but surely, a towering figure came into Skizz’s view, overtaking the ceiling and making it so that all he could see was the human’s face as he peered inside the drawer.

 Skizz couldn’t move as the human’s eyes widened in shock.

 “What the…?” The human started and suddenly Skizz was jerked as the human opened the drawer more, pulling him into the light of the room. He fell onto his back at the sudden motion and opened his eyes just in time to see the giant hand coming straight for him.

 “N-No!” Skizz shouted, bringing his arms up and trying to shield himself despite knowing it wouldn’t do anything. If the human wanted to grab him, the human would grab him. 

 He expected to be grabbed at any moment but when several seconds passed and still nothing happened, Skizz hesitantly lowered his arms enough to peek up and over them. The hand was gone but the human’s face was closer now, watching him with furrowed brows. 

 “Sorry.” The human said, his voice low. “Are you…okay?”

 Skizz blinked and almost jumped when his vision blurred, only to realize a moment later that he was crying. Again. He tried to wipe his tears away, he needed to be able to see. He needed to know when the human would make his move. But more tears simply replaced the ones he wiped away and his vision was still a blurry, wavy mess.

 “Oh geez…” He heard the human mutter and that was all the warning Skizz got before he finally felt what he had been dreading. The human’s hand curled around him and Skizz forwent trying to stop his tears to thrash against the grip. He pushed and kicked against the massive fingers but they barely even flinched against them.

 His arms got caught within the grasp and as the human solidified his grip they got pinned to his sides. “L-Let me go!” Skizz cried but his voice was too shaky and thick from his cries. After a moment, Skizz fell limp, knowing everything was fruitless. The human had him and there was nothing Skizz could do about it.

 As he was lifted out of the drawer, the human spoke again. “Sorry, sorry, sorry.” He sounded…panicked? That was weird and not at all what Skizz had been expecting.

 He also wasn’t expecting to feel himself settle on something solid either.

 He opened his eyes (when had he closed them?) just as he felt the grip around his body leave. His tears still blurred his vision but he could at least make out the fact that he was now back on top of the nightstand. He looked back up at the human as he suddenly started to speak.

 “Sorry, I just, I didn’t really know what else to do. I-I figured you wanted out of there but…I mean, you’re crying and I just…” the human looked sheepish, maybe even a bit guilty. “I’m sorry.” He said, this time in a low tone that was much more mumbled than before. “I should have asked first…especially since you had already shouted at me to stop.” The human winced at that, as if just remembering that had happened.

 Skizz took in several deep breaths and once again tried wiping away his tears. Thankfully, no other tears followed this time and his vision cleared up. It did nothing to lessen his fear though, in fact, it almost made it worse to see the human so clearly looming over him. But then, as if reading his mind, the human lowered himself down so that he was now eye level with him. It wasn’t much better, but it was something.

 “Are you okay?” The human asked once again and though Skizz still felt shaky with fear and like his heart was going to jump out of his chest, he answered.

 “N-Not really…” Skizz said quietly, his voice somewhat back to normal now that his sobs had subsided. 

 The human winced at his answer. “I’m sorry.” The human bit his lip and Skizz could tell he didn’t really know what else to do. “Is there…can I do anything to help?”

 Skizz was so confused. Why would the human want to help him? Why wasn’t he being grabbed again? In fact, why had the human put him down in the first place? Everything he had ever heard about humans told him that they wouldn’t hesitate to grab you, or keep you, or play with you, or kill you…there were so many things a human could do.

 But not once had Skizz ever heard of a human being kind.

 Skizz felt like he was being tricked.

 He narrowed his eyes at the human and scooted back, putting more distance between the two of them. Not that it mattered when the human could just reach out and grab him from wherever he ended up on the nightstand but the distance still made him feel a bit better. “L-Leave.” Skizz answered, his voice shaky with fear as he made his request known.

 The human looked sad at what Skizz said but to Skizz’s utter shock, the human nodded. “Okay…if that’s what will help.” The human then stood up and turned around, walking back towards his door.

 Skizz watched him walk away with wide eyes, his brain trying to process what was happening here. The human…listened to him? The human was leaving just like Skizz asked and it didn’t seem to be a trick. It couldn’t be, not with the way the human was fully leaving Skizz alone.

 Skizz didn’t know why but he scrambled up to a stand and yelled over to the human before his hand was even on the doorknob. “Wait!” Skizz almost felt his knees give out as the human looked back at him, but he stood firm and looked the human in the eyes.

 The human stared back, looking at him expectantly and Skizz was having a hard time finding the words. Any words. Why had he stopped the human from leaving? This had been his chance to escape and now he had ruined it. But as he tore his gaze away from the human and looked out over the nightstand, he realized with a growing dread that he would not be able to get down on his own. His father really had taken his hook and string and without it, there was no way he would be able to climb down.

 So, it looked like he needed the human’s help after all. But it wasn’t just that. He wanted-no, needed to know why the human was asking how he was. Why this human was turning everything he had ever been taught about humans on its head.

 Skizz took a deep breath, trying to appear much more put together, and bigger, than he actually was. “Why are you…not…I mean, why are you…” Skizz hated that he couldn’t get the words out. The human titled his head and stepped closer, causing Skizz to take a step back. The human stopped short, looking sad and Skizz’s eyes widened. “That! Why do you keep doing that?!”

 The human blinked, looking down at himself as if that would give him the answer to what Skizz meant. “Doing…what?”

 Skizz huffed. “You keep…listening to me. You grabbed me but then you let me go and apologized and I don’t…I don’t understand…” Skizz’s shoulders rose up to meet his chin and he turned away.

 “Oh…” The human stood there, looking sadly at Skizz. “I mean…why wouldn’t I?”

 And Skizz…really didn’t have an answer for that.

 He had heard so many horror stories of humans doing terrible things to borrowers but there was never a reason why they did those things. Not a real one anyway. His father always waved him off and said that was just what humans did. Borrowers were smaller than them, weaker, and so they took advantage of that.

 But that never really made any sense. After all, Skizz always thought if he was human and found someone smaller than him that he would help them and treat them well.

 Just like what this human was doing.

 “Well…thank you for getting me out of the drawer.” Skizz said, grateful despite how it had happened.

 The human looked surprised but nodded and then looked sheepish once again. “Of course, uh…sorry again for just grabbing you though.”

 Skizz swallowed once again at the, what? Third apology? It was strange but Skizz realized it was not strange in a bad way. “It’s okay.” Skizz said quietly, looking down. “You…didn’t know.” Honestly, what else could he have done in that situation? Skizz hadn’t planned on calming down any time soon after all.

 “Um, I’m Impulse, by the way.” The human, Impulse, said with a slight hesitant laugh. “What’s…your name?”

 Oh. Wow. Even after the strangeness of this interaction he hadn’t been expecting for the human to ask for his name. For Impulse to ask for his name. “Skizz.” He said simply, a very faint smile on his face.

 Impulse had a bigger smile after learning Skizz’s name but it soon turned hesitant again. “It’s really nice to meet you. Um…did you still want me to leave?” Impulse asked, pointing to the door behind him. Skizz had almost forgotten he had asked that of Impulse.

 “No.” Skizz said and looked back over toward the edge of the nightstand again. “Actually, can I get your help off this nightstand?” If Impulse was willing to do that, he could get back into the walls no problem.

 Impulse perked up. “Oh, yeah of course!” Impulse stepped closer until Skizz was within reach. Skizz tried his best to not flinch back. Just because he figured Impulse wasn’t going to hurt him, didn’t mean he no longer had his fear of Impulse’s size. Impulse hummed and then carefully set his hand down, palm up, a few inches away from where Skizz stood. Skizz looked at the offered hand and then back up at Impulse. Impulse smiled. “I figured this would be better than grabbing you again.”

 Skizz was very thankful for that. He nodded and came up to the hand, hesitating slightly before stepping on. He crouched as Impulse started to move, the hand lifting into the air and then slowly lowering all the way to the ground. Skizz’s stomach did flips but otherwise the ride was smooth. As soon as the hand hit the ground, Skizz was off of it, back on solid ground.

 He turned to look at Impulse, his gaze appreciative. “Thank you.”

 Impulse nodded and then bit his lip. “Will I…ever see you again?”

 Skizz tensed and looked back toward his entrance into the walls. “I…don’t know.” He wondered if knowing that would change Impulse’s mind. Thankfully, Impulse just nodded.

 “Well, you are always welcome back.” Impulse said and then stood up and walked over to his desk to start on his homework. He figured Skizz would want to go off wherever it was without Impulse watching him. And he was right, Skizz was thankful for the lack of peering eyes.

 With Impulse at his desk, Skizz instead turned toward the bed, where he knew another entrance was, and rushed toward it. As soon as he was back in the walls, everything came crashing down on him all over again. He had gotten so caught up in how Impulse was acting and such that everything else had gotten pushed out of his head. Until right now, when things were calm again. He remembered how his father had led him out into Impulse’s room and pushed him into a drawer with the intent to-to leave him for dead.

 It was only because Impulse was kind that his plan didn’t turn out.

 But despite everything awful about his father, he…he still found himself seaking the man’s approval. Maybe, if he went back and his dad saw that Skizz was okay, that Skizz got away from the human, then maybe his father would think he was something after all.

 It was a longshot but Skizz couldn’t help but hold onto that little bit of hope.

 Skizz rushed through the walls, going down the familiar winding paths as he finally made it to the little corner they called home. He took a deep breath, but as he entered, he froze in the makeshift doorway, his eyes wide as he took in everything.

 It was a mess. Nothing like how they had left it before going out. Their home had been ransacked, everything was toppled over and broken or just completely gone. Skizz walked through the house, feeling numb as he noticed what kinds of things were broken or missing.

 All the food they had saved up in their reserve was gone or completely ruined. Squashed and too dirty even for a borrower to eat. All the makeshift furniture throughout the home was broken and flung all over the place but the worst of it all was in Skizz’s room.

 The sock he used to sleep in was cut in such thin stripes there would be no way Skizz could ever repair it. His other set of clothes were the same, cut and scattered around, though with his clothes Skizz noticed some of the pieces of fabric that had been cut out were just missing altogether. His wall had a fairly large hole through it and the dent had him looking at the toy block he used as a table. Which was far from where he had left it before.

 And finally, his hook and string, which were left in the middle of his messed up room, was destroyed as well. The hook part was bent so out of shape and the string was cut not once but 18 different times. Skizz counted, his numb mind latching onto the numbers to try and ground himself.

 He fell to his knees in the middle of his room and felt his tears fall yet again. He had lost track of how many times he had cried today. His tears fell and his lip wobbled and he couldn’t stop the sobs that escaped him as he bent over his knees, hugging himself tightly and wondering what he had ever done to deserve this.

 His dad hated him so much that in the off chance he had escaped from the human, he had ruined Skizz’s chance to ever survive.

 Skizz cried harder.

***

 Skizz wasn’t sure how long he stayed like that but eventually his tears dried and his throat was too sore to continue. He stood up and slowly realized he…he couldn’t stay here. There was nothing left for him, nothing he could use to try and make his own way. And even if there was, Skizz wouldn’t be able to stay here anyway. There were too many painful memories, every broken piece of their lives reminded him too much of his father.

 It took everything Skizz had to leave the only home he had ever known. Empty handed except for the clothes on his back and the borrowing bag still wrapped around his shoulder, he left his old home behind, not looking back as he made his way through the halls of the wall once again.

 Skizz wasn’t even sure where he was going until he stopped at one of the exits and realized it led into Impulse’s room. Skizz grabbed tightly at the strap of his bag and looked down. His body was shaking but…Impulse had been kind to him. So much kinder than anything Skizz had ever experienced before. At the very least, maybe Impulse would help him move.

 And at the most…

 Skizz took a deep breath and exited the walls, finding himself in Impulse’s room once again, underneath his bed. He looked out into the room, noticing Impulse was still at his desk, still scribbling away at his homework. Skizz looked up toward the window, realizing the light outside was fading quickly.

 He walked a bit, walked until he was no longer underneath the bed and then closer still to Impulse and his desk before pausing in the middle of the room and speaking up. “I-Impulse?” He called out. He didn’t think he had been loud enough at first but Impulse was quick to turn around. His eyes scanned the floor until the human’s gaze landed on Skizz. Skizz froze involuntarily before forcing himself to unfreeze. Impulse had already proven that he was nothing like the stories his father had told Skizz about.

 “Skizz! You’re back.” Impulse said and then carefully got out of his chair before kneeling down on the ground a few feet away from Skizz. “But I thought…” Impulse trailed off as he noticed the look on Skizz’s face. Haunting and sad. Impulse frowned, his eyebrows furrowed. “Skizz? Is…everything okay?”

 That alone was almost enough to make Skizz cry again but he held it back and walked forward. He kept walking until he was right in front of Impulse. Impulse looked like he wanted to say something else but all the words left him as Skizz leaned forward and pressed his face into Impulse’s knee.

 Impulse’s eyes widened. “Skizz…” Impulse’s hand reached out but he hesitated. Skizz didn’t though. The borrower looked to see where Impulse’s hand was and moved closer to it, inviting Impulse to meet him halfway. Impulse wrapped his hand around Skizz and Skizz buried himself within the fingers. The feeling was overwhelming but also warm and safe and Skizz needed that right now. Needed it more than he could properly convey.

 Impulse scooped Skizz up and lifted him until Skizz was chest level, He then hesitated a moment before moving his hand closer to his chest in the best hug Impulse could do with someone so small. Skizz took the opportunity to bury himself again, this time into Impulse’s chest.

 “What happened?” Impulse asked softly and Skizz didn’t think he could say. Not now. Not yet. So instead, he asked something else.

 “Can I stay with you…please?” His words were soft, quiet, because any louder and Skizz was scared he would burst into tears again and he had had enough crying for one day already.

 Impulse’s grip got ever so slightly tighter. “Yeah…of course.”

 Skizz had never felt more relieved.

***

 “Skizz?”

 Skizz was brought back to the present by the sound of Impulse’s voice, the present, adult Impulse who he had known for years at this point. He blinked and looked up to meet Impulse’s gaze. He was currently sitting on his thigh, using his stomach as a backrest. The two had been just hanging out, enjoying each other's company as Impulse had finished up some homework. Impulse’s head was titled, his expression curious.

 “You alright there buddy?” Impulse asked and Skizz blinked again before nodding. He hadn’t realized how into his own memories he had been.

 “Yeah, sorry. I was just…thinking.” Skizz said, wondering if he should tell Impulse what exactly he had been thinking about or not.

 Impulse hummed a bit but he didn’t turn back to his homework. “...What were you thinking about?” 

 Skizz hesitated for a long moment, before sighing. “...My dad.”

 Impulse’s expression quickly turned to concern. “Skizz…”

 “And about how we first met.”

 Impulse stopped and looked at Skizz with wide eyes. “Really?”

 Skizz chuckled. “Yeah, it just so happens that my dad is a big part of that…” Skizz was glad he had met Impulse, obviously. But he wished it had been in any other way. He hated thinking about his dad in any context and it sucked that meeting his best friend for the first time had been ruined by that.

 Skizz sighed, looking away from Impulse. “I'd much rather think about the day after we first met.” He said, a slight smile appearing on his lips. “When I had woken up on that little makeshift bed made from a dishcloth you had scrounged up from somewhere.” Skizz thought back to the memory fondly. “I was still scared at that point, even though it had been my choice to come back and ask to stay with you, I was still scared of your size…and maybe of you changing your mind. But then you woke up and looked at me with those wide and kind eyes of yours, and…I had felt a warmth rush into my chest that I had honestly never felt before that moment.”

 Skizz knew, now, that what he had felt back then had been love. Love from his now best friend. That was what Skizz liked to remember the most. The first time he had ever felt like he was loved.

 The fact that it was by a human, a being who he had been taught since birth to fear and despise, and not from his own father, was more than a bit ironic.

 “Aww, Skizz…” Impulse said, eyes alight with fondness. Before Skizz could react he was being scooped up by Impulse and held up to chest level. “I didn’t know you had felt like that. I mean, I could tell you were still a bit scared back then but I didn’t realize…” Impulse trailed off with a small smile. He nudged Skizz gently with his thumb and Skizz leaned into the touch.

 “Impulse, you were the first person to ever show me love.” Skizz said, feeling a bit vulnerable admitting to that out loud but wanting his friend to know how much them meeting had meant to Skizz. “My father hated me for things completely out of my control. And I…I didn’t deserved that.” Something Skizz had learned and accepted fairly recently thanks to Impulse’s help.

 “You didn’t.” Impulse said, his tone firm. “And if I ever cross paths with your dad I’m gonna show him-”

 “Impulse.” Skizz said with a raised brow.

 Impulse coughed into his free hand. “Right. Sorry.”

 Skizz chuckled. “I appreciate the sentiment buddy but I don’t think we’re ever going to cross paths with him anyway.” In fact, he may never cross paths with any borrower ever again. The closest he had gotten was seeing the abandoned home in the walls, telling him a borrower had been here before. 

 “I know, part of me just likes thinking about avenging you and getting back at him. For everything he did to you.” Impulse said, looking into the distance with barely concealed anger in his tone. Skizz was unfazed though, knowing the anger was never directed at him.

  “It’s in the past.” Skizz said, with a small smile as he caught Impulse’s eyes again. “Besides, I have you and that’s all that matters to me.”

 “Geez.” Impulse said, a slight flush on his cheeks that Skizz noticed and laughed at. “So sappy.” Impulse teased but his fond smile told Skizz all he needed to know.

 “Oh really? And who’s the one who wants to avenge me again?” Skizz asked as he crossed his arms, a smug look on his face. Impulse sent him a look and then smirked as he reached his pointer finger down and ruffled Skizz’s hair like crazy. Skizz yelped and pushed Impulse’s finger off of him, which Impulse moved as soon as he felt Skizz push up at him, and then tried his best to fix his hair.

 “You jerk!” Skizz shouted, still trying to smooth his hair out.

 Impulse laughed and Skizz couldn’t help but join in. They settled back down and Impulse set Skizz on his shoulder so the borrower could lean against his neck and have a better view of the laptop as Impulse saved and exited out of his essay, opening up netflix to find something for them to watch. It was time Impulse had a break from homework anyway.

 “What made you start thinking about all that anyway?” Impulse asked as he set everything up. Skizz shrugged despite knowing Impulse couldn’t see him.

 “Not sure honestly…” Skizz admitted, scooting further into Impulse’s warmth. “It just…popped into my head for some reason.”

 Impulse hummed. “Weird.” He clicked a few more buttons on his laptop. “Well, if you ever need a distraction from those kinds of memories, you know I’m always here.”

 “I know.” Skizz smiled. “I know.”

[mya-valentine]

Wild Hearts, Tender Hands

Synopsis: Sanemi Shinazugawa, rough-edged and volatile, finds an unexpected solace in you—a calm yet strong presence unafraid of his temper or scars. Through fiery arguments, tender moments, and shared battles, the two of you navigate a love forged in resilience and passion, proving that even the fiercest hearts can find peace in another.

Sanemi Shinazugawa wasn’t the kind of man people felt at ease around. His sharp tongue, volatile temper, and cold exterior kept most at a distance. That suited him just fine; he didn’t want anyone getting close. Getting close meant getting hurt—or worse.

But you were different.

You were soft in a way that felt almost foreign to him. It wasn’t weakness—no, you weren’t weak. You had strength, but it was a quiet kind of strength. You didn’t need to raise your voice to be heard. You didn’t wield a sword to prove your worth. You had a way of standing your ground without breaking the people around you, and Sanemi hated how much it fascinated him.

Hated, because it made him notice you.

The first time you met, he had been drenched in blood—none of it his own. His uniform was torn, his hair wild, and his scarred hands still gripped his Nichirin blade as if another demon might emerge at any second. You had been among the villagers who had survived the attack, kneeling by an injured child, your hands steady as you worked to bind a wound.

“You.” His voice had been rough, almost accusatory. “What the hell are you doing here?”

You glanced up at him, unfazed by his tone. “Helping,” you replied simply.

Sanemi bristled. “This isn’t your job. You’re going to get yourself killed.”

You didn’t back down. “And who’s going to help these people if I don’t? You?”

For a moment, he was struck silent. Most people cowered when he barked at them, but you met his glare head-on, your eyes steady. It wasn’t defiance, not really. It was conviction.

He didn’t know what to make of it.

Sanemi told himself he didn’t care what happened to you. People like you didn’t last long in a world like this, and he didn’t need the distraction. But every time he saw you, his resolve wavered.

You had a habit of showing up where you weren’t supposed to be—patching up wounded slayers after battles, delivering supplies to remote villages, always putting yourself in danger for the sake of others. It infuriated him.

“Do you have a death wish or something?” he snapped one evening after dragging you away from a demon attack.

“I could ask you the same thing,” you shot back, brushing dirt off your clothes.

He stared at you, stunned into silence by your audacity.

“I’m serious,” you continued. “You throw yourself into danger like your life doesn’t matter. Why is that?”

His jaw clenched. “Because it doesn’t.”

The words hung in the air like a challenge, but you didn’t rise to it. Instead, you stepped closer, your gaze softening. “It matters to someone,” you said quietly.

Sanemi hated how much your words affected him.

It took time for him to let you in. Sanemi wasn’t used to softness, to kindness without an ulterior motive. He didn’t know how to accept it, much less return it. But you were patient, meeting his barbed words with calm understanding, his rough edges with quiet strength.

At first, he kept his distance, watching you from afar. You never demanded anything from him, never pushed too hard. You were just… there. A steady presence that somehow made the world feel a little less unbearable.

He found himself seeking you out without realizing it. After missions, he’d stop by to “check on the others” but end up lingering near you. If anyone pointed it out, he’d snap at them, his ears turning red.

You never teased him about it, though. You didn’t need to. The way you looked at him, like you could see through all the anger and pain to the person he tried so hard to bury, was enough to unsettle him.

The night everything changed, Sanemi had come back from a mission more battered than usual. His uniform was shredded, his arms covered in fresh scars. You’d been waiting for him, as you often did, ready with bandages and a scolding.

“What the hell were you thinking?” you demanded as you cleaned the gash on his shoulder.

“I was thinking about killing the damn demon,” he growled, wincing as your fingers brushed over his skin.

“You can’t keep doing this to yourself, Sanemi,” you said, your voice trembling with frustration. “You act like your life doesn’t matter, but it does—to me, at least.”

He froze, his breath catching in his throat.

You looked away, your hands falling to your lap. “I know you think you don’t deserve to be cared for, but you do. And I—” You hesitated, biting your lip. “I care about you. More than I should.”

For a long moment, neither of you spoke. Then, before you could say anything else, Sanemi reached out, his hand rough but gentle as it cupped your cheek.

“Don’t,” he said, his voice low and raw. “Don’t waste your time on someone like me.”

But you didn’t pull away. Instead, you leaned into his touch, your eyes meeting his. “Let me decide what’s worth my time.”

Loving Sanemi was like loving a wildfire. He burned bright and fierce, his passion all-consuming. But you had a way of softening his edges, of reminding him that there was more to life than fighting and pain.

He didn’t always know how to show it, but he loved you fiercely in return. He loved the way you stood your ground, even against him. He loved the way your hands were always warm, always steady, no matter how chaotic the world around you was. He loved the way you looked at him, like he was something worth saving.

You fought often—Sanemi’s temper and your stubbornness made sure of that. But no matter how heated the argument, you always found your way back to each other.

“You’re impossible,” you muttered one night after he’d stormed out and returned an hour later, his shoulders slumping as he mumbled an apology.

“And you’re too damn patient,” he shot back, his lips quirking into a small, reluctant smile.

Life with Sanemi was never easy, but it was worth it. Together, you weathered every storm, every battle, every heartbreak. He taught you to fight, to wield a blade with precision and purpose. You taught him to trust, to let himself be vulnerable.

And in the quiet moments—when the world wasn’t falling apart and the weight of his duty didn’t feel so crushing—Sanemi allowed himself to dream of a future with you. A future where he didn’t have to fight anymore, where he could finally let go of his anger and just… be.

You were his anchor, his sanctuary, the only thing in this world that made him feel whole. And no matter how many demons he faced, no matter how many scars he carried, he knew one thing for certain:

He would fight for you. Always.

.

.

.

Masterlist

[derww]

DAY 2: MACE

The mace is, of course, important. But Clown wants the mace because he wants to prove that he can be peaceful – just doesn't want to. And, also:

– You have to participate, – says Squiddo to him, and something in their intonation makes Clown feel like she's not joking. So he joins.

And he actually enjoys it – after all, he has his days off from being a mass murderer. He likes to do funny, cool, and cute stuff. Yeah, it's a little strange to be like that to someone besides his close friends, but he manages easily. It became a good change of the rhythm, even if it was just for a few weeks.

And, dismissing how obvious it is that he is pretending, he is the perfect candidate for the mace: a strong fighter who has redeemed himself passed, ready to protect the weak. True warrior of the peace. A symbol of hope. Is it that Minute wanted to be the last time?

When the Mace Keepers invite him on a walk in the middle of the night, they lead him up the tall mountain, a peak towering over the world. The air here is thin and almost sweet, the colors are hidden by undertones, and dense clouds hide the ground below. It's truly peaceful up here. Maybe some other version of him could have gotten used to it.

– You won, – they say, looking at him with pride. – you are truly worthy.

For some reason, all of them are smiling. Their hands are all empty. They are nodding.

– But none of us have the mace, – 4CVIT remarks cryptically, – not Squiddo, not MrCube and not even me. Its Master Oogway who got to actually take care of it.

They step aside, showing a small hillock located under a spreading willow tree. The grass is silvered under the moonlight. Firmament is strewn with myriads of stars.

At one point, there's no one there. He blinks, and there appears a figure. They are completely hidden in a dark robe, and their fabrics shine down like a waterfall. The Mace Keepers applaud them, as if approving the spectacular appearance.  

The figure removes a long purple hood. Branzy looks different – stricter, taller, and with the white hair pulled back in a braid – but it's still him. He's smiling. 

– Hello, gorgerous, – Clown says, – an honor to see you again.

Branzy smiles and blushes and laughs, but he needs to keep the composure, so he does.

– You had worked really hard to get here, – Branzy says, and he can't stop smiling and he looks Clown straight in the eyes, – reminding us all that yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mistery, but today is a gift. And whats why it's called a present.

He solemnly presents him with the mace – takes it out of a sealed briefcase, from a purple silk pillow, and carefully holds it, not like a warrior but like an archivist, and he hands it to Clown.

And he accepts it, feeling the weight of responsibility and echoes of the warmth of other people's hands, and Keepers congratulate him and applaud, and everything is finally exactly as it should be – and then he changes his grip, wind charges into the sky, and with the eerie rumble strikes 4C, bringing him instant death.

It's too easy to kill them, weak and defensless, who had just given him the strongest power in the world. Squiddo and MrCube live only a little longer, but they too get decimated into dust. Mace shines, overflowing with power. Clown turns around and looks up at Branzy. and lowers the mace.

– I missed you, – he says warmly and takes out the mask. They look into each other's eyes for a moment. And then they hug.

– I missed you too, Clown, – Branzy agrees, caressing his hair, – you are the ray of sunshine in my life.

– Aw-w, dear, – Clown gives in and kisses him in the cheek, and Branzy, finally taking down all the officiousness and seriousness, happily giggles, – you never fail to make me smile.

They have less than an hour. He is happy nonetheless.

[greenandsorrow]

~Her man child~

Headcanons 📺

Vox is the definition of a manchild and I think it's kinda obvious.

He's the mean kind, acting with so much spite, sometimes without it being necessary or justified.

He NEEDS to be taken seriously. He tries so hard, blurring the lines between respect, fear and tolerance.

But when you two are alone... the telly-head man is a whiny boy.

He complains like it's a form of art. You can't help but roll your eyes playfully when he lets out a too loud sigh, but after doing so you're always ready to give him all the reassurance and attention he desperately craves.

Your man prefers being the little spoon. He's like a lap cat.

If anyone finds out about his cuddly nature, he's gonna die a second time...

Vox feels the need to constantly prove himself to Velvette and Valentino, but with you he feels safe. He can be overly emotional. And weak. And needy.

Very needy.

If you're not somewhere behind the camera admiring him and boosting his confidence, his day is ruined.

Grumpy, grumpy, grumpy.

In the mornings he doesn't even turn on his screen... settling for the protection setting instead.

You have to be patient with him.

Bring him a steaming cup of coffee and hug him from behind and he might as well start giggling like a schoolgirl.

He's too sensitive for harsh jokes. Being in Hell means ONLY dark and cruel humour, but Vox can't take it sometimes.

His ego is fragile.

In order to feel loved, Vox has to be showered in extravagant compliments on a daily basis. Whether it's about his appearance, his job, his amazing and very interesting personality... He needs them.

When you tell him he's better than the radio demon.... he literally gets rock hard.

Vox is in a constant dilemma between showing you off for all Pentagram City to know you're his, or keeping you secret.

It's the same as a boy with his favourite toy. If other kids see his toy, he's gonna have to share.

What if someone steals his favourite toy?! Or even worse... BREAK IT?!

That being said, he doesn't objectify you, but he's terrible at showing affection or appreciation.

He's gonna be there for you, help you with anything you need, laugh with you, spend quality time with you. Still, deep communication is a difficult subject for him.

Thank god you're observant enough to catch all the messages he tries to pass to you.

Such an attention seeker though.

Have you ever seen a six year old trying to impress his crush?

Just look at Vox trying to woo you. It's the same thing.

But he's not that bad... His self-esteem is an obstacle alright, but he becomes a rug for you to step on and use as you wish most of the time.

Vox would definitely go out of his way if you asked something from him. You're his rock. It's the least he can do.

The guy even whimpers in his sleep.

Vox loves to fill his hands with your thighs when it's bed time. They're warm and soothing to him, like stress toys. Being a walking television has its disadvantages temperature wise.

He would bend you over and take you in front of a mirror so he could see himself while at it, but he hasn't done so yet. He wants to ask you beforehand and make sure it won't make you feel weird.

Vox is easy to rile up. A breathy compliment and a squeeze of his thigh and he's more than ready to go.

He doesn't actually feel dominant, but he tries to act like it. This Vee member has the stereotype man = dominance engraved in his subconsciousness and so he fights to live up to it.

But between you and me... Treat him like an inexperienced and innocent boy and he'll be crying out in pleasure.

Aka... be a femdom. Even a soft one. You won't even have to try that much.

Another thing. Vox is loud. (Like his name implies ��)

He also pants a lot. Almost like he's hyperventilating.

Unlike Alastor, this man is very insecure about both his performance and... size.

I'm not saying he's lacking in either though. It's just how his mind works. Always comparing himself to his opponents and in this case, his opponents are other men that could perhaps satisfy you more thoroughly than him.

Allow me to say that he fucks in an anxious way. Hands shaking and his mantra "Does that feel good to you darling?"

You just need to praise him a little. (A lot)

He doesn't last that long but he'll be sure to rub your clit so you don't either.

When it gets too real, he tears up at the end, like a baby that's holding back from crying. But you're there to hold him until he calms down.

He's usually too tired (and still nervous) afterwards for proper aftercare. Vox likes to be babied though. It's more personal attention after all.

Oh to be cleaned up and tucked to bed! Only then will he feel comfortable enough to run his fingers through your hair and mumble a faint thank you.

Vox's head has a bit of an awkward shape for cunnilingus. However, he has a surprisingly long tongue that can reach more than enough to have you moaning out how good of a boy he's being.

He usually cums in his pants while eating you out.

And when you return the favour it's usually to relieve his stress at work. He feels like a teenager when you do it. It's an act of service, really.

He low-key fucks your face, not enough to choke you but you do gag around him. It makes him feel in control. It makes him feel like a man.

To sum up, Vox is a bit dependent on you and on your validation, but he would never hurt you or become too overbearing.

He's needy, but not stupid.

He is the definition of a manchild and I think I proved my point.

But he's your manchild sis!

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~~~

Vox divider by @rubra-wav

Support divider by @cafekitsune

The explicit content one... I don't remember :(

~~~

[idorukiss]

Heres a sorta drabble/headcanon of sorts of how I picture MC's relationship with Sylus would devleop~ I'm not much of a writer but the brainrot is real and ive made similar ones for the other boys too!

1,035 words || You can also read it on ao3

‧͙⁺˚･༓･˚⁺‧͙⁺˚･༓･˚⁺‧͙⁺˚･༓･˚⁺‧͙⁺˚･༓･˚⁺‧͙⁺˚･༓･˚⁺‧͙ Xavier ・ Zayne ・ Rafayel

Sylus is always prepared for any and every situation that could happen when he works, In all his time reigning over the N109 zone there hasn't been a single thing or person that hasn’t been accounted for to some degree- that was until you showed up at least. Like a black cat, you seemed to bring unexpected chaos wherever you stepped.

Of course he couldn’t help but do everything he can to keep you by his side, not only to be a formidable ally but simply cause he finds you as a whole fascinating. What kind of things will you say next? How will you get out of this situation? It’s like a game to him, one that he can’t predict or brute force the ending to.

While the two of you didn't get off on the best foot at the start, he proved himself very trusting and that he cared for your well being fairly easily. Sure he would take chances to tease you for the littlest things- even creating various situations just to see your reaction to them, but he still honestly responded to your every question and kept you as best in the loop for things as he was able.

It was strange yet nice to have someone like him by your side, someone so strong and confident that you could trust to cover your back and seemingly trusted you as much to cover his in return. It was a dynamic you weren’t that used to yet, sure you had your fellow hunters but no matter how much you fought alongside any of them you just couldn’t find yourself fully trusting in their abilities like this.

The more he got to know you the more he found himself thinking about you and the things you like. Often swiping his card first and thinking later any time your face flashed in his mind when perusing wares. He wonders how long it will take you to realize he keeps all of his estates fully stocked with presents and everything you might need in the event you show up to any of them.

“Sylus? Why are you calling me so early??” “Check your door kitten, you should have a package waiting for you” “Don't tell me its another gun, I keep telling you I can't use these outside of the N109 zone” he chuckles deeply “Well I could get you a gun too if you really want one. But no, it's something different this time” Curiously you grab the box and start to open it “...A teddy bear?” “Do you not like it? I figured it could add to your growing plush collection.” You let out a small giggle “That's so sweet of you. But you didn't have to send it to me right away, you could've left it in my room for the next time I came by like usual.” his voice is soft, almost whispering into your ear “I couldn't wait to give it to you is all. Wont you accept my gift?” Your heart pounds “I love it, thank you. Ill be sure to sleep with it every night!” your face is beaming, he cant see it through the phone but he can surely hear it in your voice.

Any time you find yourself without missions long enough to justify the trip, you spend it in the N109 zone with him. You told yourself at first it was just to keep an eye on him and see if you can catch any weaknesses, but you were secretly excited to be spending time with him even if it was just sitting in content silence together while he worked. And despite his unchanging face, Sylus might’ve looked forward to each of your visits even more than you.

It wasn’t out of the ordinary to accompany him to various events and gatherings, and it was surely strictly for business at first. Now though? It’s hard to tell. Not that you mind either way, it just felt nice to have his arm around you and being doted on throughout the night. When people inquired about who you were, he would usually refer to you as his woman in a more joking way at first, but your heart couldn't help but flip the first time he said it more genuinely. While looking right at you with a smile.

One very late night after attending a party, you couldn't help but doze off in the car on the way back to his place. It was much later in the night than you are typically used to, you don’t know how he can function at this time of night most days. You can’t help but let your mind wander and picture what day to day life with him would be like if you just never went back home.- If you stayed by his side for the rest of time.

He gently carries you inside, but instead of going all of the way to your dedicated room he brings you with him into his. There's no nefarious plans, he just simply wants to have you by his side longer and has wished to wake up to your face for far too long. A faint hum stirs you from your dreams as you are being gently placed onto the comfort of his mattress. A small kiss pressed to the top of your head as the blankets pulled over you before he quietly climbs in beside you.

Did you even wake up in the first place? Even if it was still a dream it meant everything to you, and you reach an arm out pulling yourself close to him and nuzzling into his side. Your eyes flutter closed once more enjoying his warmth as he quietly chuckles to himself and wraps an arm around you in return, falling into a blissful sleep of his own. Neither of you would give up this moment for the world, you were meant to be in each other’s arms just like this for eternity.

He would kill for you, and you would live for him. Nothing anyone could do would predict your love for one another, and you'll continue to defy fate to be with him

[doonalli]

The Dummies, Midori, The Banquet, and what it truly means to "be human"

And here we are at the finale. if you haven't seen my previous analyses on the Dummies I recommend you read them before reading this one since i am going in assuming you have. But if not here they are in order; Why Anzu is Important Hayasaka and how humans change Kurumada and trust in your allies Ranmaru: Doubts in Humanity, and Humanity in Doubts Mai and Humanity in Autonomy Hinako; Humanity in Affection and Connection

With that said, let's start talking about the Banquet, Midori and what that says about the dummies' humanity.

At first the Banquet seems like a strange choice for the finale of the chapter, after all, we just went through a whole chapter about proving the humanity of the dummies, yet here they are all killed of one after the other here for the sake of Gin, a human. It comes off as a bit jarring, even seeming like YTTD is going back on its message a bit.

But I’m here to argue that isn’t the case, that the Banquet not only doesn’t conflict with the messaging of the chapter and the game as a whole, but instead works to push it even further to culminate in a perfect ending.

And to start with that, let's talk about one of the key players in the banquet, Midori. In a way Midori is everything it means to not be human, and he himself revels in this inhumanity. Midori has thrown away his own humanity, and this is shown to us in so many different ways, but the main one is the way he treats his own body.

What's particularly interesting about Midori is how unclear the line between what's real and what's fake is when it comes to him, from his relationships with the participants during their pasts, to the constant lies and half truths the tells over the chapter, to his death itself, it's hard to get a grasp on the reality of the situation when it comes to him.

And this of course extends to Midori himself, as he is presented as a mystery ever since Alice told Keiji about his murder, and in the way we don’t quite know if he is human or not until the banquet itself, and even then we don’t know exactly how much of his body is human.

During the Banquet Midori reveals that he has slowly been replacing parts of his body with doll parts, 

And to Midori this is equal to no longer being human, this mentality can only be achieved if you equate humanity to what you physically are, and it's through this that Midori acts as the opposite of what the dummies all stand for,

Where the dummies stand for Humanity not being tied to the physical truth, Midori stands for the opposite notion, that the physical truth stands above all. In his eyes humanity is a weakness, and we see that in how he treats them and the traits that prove humanity.

And so Midori tries to escape it, to escape his own humanity, no need for allies or connections or doubts or fears, all those "human" traits when you can just stand above it all, as some unstoppable force.

Midori is the perfect example of this because he constantly rubs it in your face just how inhuman he is, he does so when he starts spinning his head and when he rocket punches Yabusame and literally asks

And he furthers this mentality with his actions too, because Midori is denying his own humanity, he denies his fear of death, he constantly berates and betrays his allies like Maple or Hinako, he denies others of their choices and autonomy, laughing at their despair and refusing to connect, and even his “affection” for Sou is a twisted, messed up version of what affection is. All of it to dehumanise himself and others.

It's honestly hard to call Midori human after it all, and that's just what Midori wants. That's why Maple’s last act of defiance near the end of the chapter was so important, because it shows us and to Midori that that's all it is, a facade.

Just one small moment where Midori wasn’t in control and that's all it took to show us that he isn’t invincible, and with that the image of a fearless unstoppable force is shattered, and it shows us that he isn’t as above humanity as he thinks he is.

It's important that this happens here because it allows the cast to fight back during the next section, both himself and his ideals.

Midori’s mentality of humanity being defined by what you physically are goes head to head with the Dummies in the banquet, and that's what it's about, it's a battle between Midori, and the Dummies, who are trying to prove their own humanity, with all the ups and downs that come with it.

The banquet itself plays into this too, the hint system draws a straight, clear cut answer on who is a doll and who is a human, using exclusively what they are physically.

And the cast isn’t exempt from doing this too, with many of the first discussions being centred around “who is human?”, whether it be figuring out what the lights mean, questioning whether Midori himself is human, or questioning who among the Dummies is a human.

And it's only when Mai’s hands are revealed to be Midori’s human hands, that the lines start to blur. 

Does Mai having human hands make her "more human"? What if they aren't even hers? Plenty of people use body parts from others in real life too right? It gets you thinking about the line between human and doll and just how fragile and unclear it can be.

And sure we designate Midori as the human here, but later we find out we were wrong, because trying to designate a human through physical traits is wrong. But before that…

After picking a coffin and killing either Hayasaka or Kurumada the next hint reveals a human, Sara tells Midori that he must be afraid as hypothetically there is a 50% chance he dies, but Midori denies he is afraid of dying and picks the coffin anyways, revealing it to be Hinako

This just blurs the lines even more, since up to this point we thought all the dummies were dolls, yet a human was able to sneak in there entirely undetected. Can you really say they're that different if you didn't even realise it at first?

And importantly, as we discuss who Hinako really was, we confirm her humanity, but not through any physical traits like many people tried to do during the banquet, but through a painting and the connection between Alice and the real Hinako.

During the next section we figure out the truth about Midori, and about how he has more doll parts than human, spinning his head all the way around to prove it. Obviously this isn’t something that any human could do, but more importantly it shows us Midori’s inhumanity in an undeniable way, it's so flashy, bold and in your face, that you’d be hard pressed to call him human.

When Sara then stands firm and states that this proves Midori is a doll and Gin is a human she is agreeing to the line that Midori drew and separates Humans and Dolls even further. This goes as far as to picking a red coffin, picking a doll, just to keep Gin the human safe, Midori even calls Sara out on it if she is really alright with picking one of the dummies, and notably Sara’s internal monologue doesn’t question that fact, but instead wondering why Midori is so confident, and why he doesn’t seem to be scared.

Sara is being pushed even further into believing Midori isn’t really human anymore at this point, Questioning if their logic was even correct. Until…

The surviving dummies inspire Sara through their words, and with that, prove their own humanities in their own separate ways, showing Sara and the player that their lives have purpose, have value, and that they are truly human.

On the surface it seems like Sara is simply making a choice to sacrifice the dolls for the sake of a human, and the tragedy of that is the fact these scenes show the truest form of their humanity. There is a reason these scenes are such a focal point in my analysis of each of those characters (Mai, Kurumada, and Hayasaka) and it's because it shows that they are able to make their own choices, for the sake of their allies, despite their contradictory emotions, and that's something that's inherently human. 

We see this when characters like Mishima, Kai, and Kanna all do something similar, and it all just works to prove that fact the dummies aren’t separate from the humans.

So why does this happen? Well to me it shows that despite their efforts, Sara still couldn’t shake her bias, playing right into what the Banquet and Midori want, by dehumanising the dummies.

But it isn’t over and the dummies still have a chance to show their humanity.

Tragically, Sara misses, not knowing at this point that Midori isn’t even in one of the glowing coffins, and Midori now has a free shot that's basically guaranteed to hit Gin, but Midori gives her a chance to talk to Gin, and that confidence ends up being his undoing.

While talking to Gin he mentions Keiji, reminding Sara of her wish she got from signing the consent form. She demands Midori to change it, and after some arguing, he does. Only he picks the #2 coffin, killing Anzu, and it's here where we reach our lowest point, where Sara herself admits that she undeniably sacrificed a doll for the sake of a human.

However it's always darkest before the dawn, and that's true here too, this is the Dummies’ last chance to prove themselves, and they won’t go down without a fight.

Through a discussion the cast figures out that Hinako swapped coffins with Midori before the banquet even began, meaning he is actually in a non-glowing coffin, and through this they are given an actual chance to fight back, because, as Sara rightfully called out, this proves Midori is afraid of death.

Despite his claims otherwise, Midori is scared of death, and because of that he swapped coffins with Hinako out of a fear he’d die outwise.

Midori claims that this doesn’t matter though as no matter what all 3 of the non glowing coffins have dolls inside, meaning the hit will be red no matter what. 

Regardless Sara presses the hint and it ends up blue, meaning that there is a human inside, much to everyone’s surprise.

The fact that Midori believed so strongly that the coffins would end up red only for it to be blue just blurs the lines between these two options even more. The fact that the contents in this coffin are unknown is just the first step in this counterattack.

Before that however, Ranmaru’s coffin is picked, sending Sara to give up, but Q-taro tells her that it's not what she thinks, as Midori is revealed to be struggling with his next choice.

This goes into the war of words against Midori, and the thing about this one is that compared to the other war of words our goal here is to confuse Midori as much as possible. First we refute his claim that Keiji isn’t in the coffin, despite it being blue. Then when he brings up the victim videos we tell him that the Hinako in the video isn’t even the Hinako of the dummies. He reasons out Maple must have told Keiji about the Banquet, and reveals that the coffins designate between human and doll through the collars, as both dolls and humans would be ashes after being cremated.

All these contradictions are designed to blur the lines between red and blue, real and fake, human and doll.

The way Midori doubts a human is in the blue coffin, or the way we bring up how not all the dummies are dolls of people who died, or how he admits that the coffins don’t even tell the content apart by physical traits but instead by the collar put on them.

And by the end we’ve blurred the lines so much that Midori thinks the coffin contains his collar, despite his own claim that he himself would be counted as a doll. All due to Q-taro's trick.

As if Hinako being a Human among the dolls wasn't enough, there has been a doll among the humans the whole time, and no one could tell, not even Midori, who dies before he ever learns the truth.

The fact that a doll of someone could so easily fit in just shows how vague the lines really are. We see just how much a doll can seem like a human, how they can feel and learn and grow like any human, how they laugh and cry and shout like any human. And at that point... was there ever really even a line at all? And this all culminates in the final act of the Banquet, Midori and Sara’s last choices. Midori is now doubting himself,

struggling between the 2 options he has to target, struggling with his conflicting feelings,

 and Sara thinks to herself that Midori has no allies to rely on now,

because he denied that connection, and killed them all himself.

She tells him to choose, to make his own choices now,

and he does, he picks the non glowing coffin… Missing Gin and ultimately dooming himself.

Sara ends up making her choice, choosing Midori’s coffin, and as the drill goes through Midori, he realises just how scared of death he is, but it's too late for him.

We prove his mentality of humanity being decided by physical traits is wrong in this moment, because here, in his final moments, Midori is undeniably human, and even he can’t run away from that.

"I'm a human. Which is why I don't wanna die..."

Unlike somebody such as Rio, who also spent his last moments as a human, Midori doesn’t deserve any sympathy, because he did that to himself. Just like how he denied that connection to his allies like Hinako, and killed them, Midori essentially killed his humanity, or at least tried to, so when he’s backed into a corner he doesn’t get to rely on his allies, and while we’ve proven that his mentality of humanity isn’t right, Midori himself he only realises this right as he is about to die, when it's far too late to go back now.

Through the Banquet and its final choice we prove to not only Midori, but to the cast and ourselves that humanity can’t be defined with just the physical truth, and that's what victory means for the dummies, because if someone who actively threw away his own humanity, with all his rocket punches and spinning head can still struggle with contradictory feelings, can try to rely on his allies, can still be forced to make his own choice, and can truly fear death, then humanity  just can’t be defined by something as simple as how much of your body is a doll, and the lines that seemed to divide that, ceases to exist at all.

================================================================================================ Afterword: So that's it. This set of analyses is finally done. Some of you all might have noticed that this is being released exactly one year after my first Anzu analysis, and I just wanted to thank everyone for reading this with me, the fact that there are people who like and agree with what I have to say is still unbelieveable.

I started this series because I thought the dummies were an underappreciated part of YTTD and 3-1 was underappreciated in general. To me this chapter is just incredible, my favourite bit of fiction ever, and I just wanted to put it into words why I love it so much, and as I wrote this series I only grew to love it more!

I hope I was able to share that love to whoever took the time to read any of my posts, its been an incredible time, thank you so much! and i hope you're able to love it a bit more too.

Sorry this one took so long to come out, I've been working on a few projects that i'll hopefully be able to drop soon, and if you're a fan of the dummies I think you'll like what I have in store.

Lastly I want to thank Crazy Sunshine for being such an incredible friend and for helping me so much with the latter half of these analyses, they were improved so much with their help!!!!

And I'll try to be more consistent with these posts but uhh i said that before and that hasn't exactly worked out, regardless this isn't the end, i have a few asks to catch up on still and i am not even remotely close to saying all there is to say about this incredible chapter, so I hope you'll be there when it drops. I hope you've enjoyed this era of my blog and moreso I hope you look forward to the future.

Thank you for reading!!! I hope you enjoyed! and I hope I got you thinking about this incredible chapter even just a little bit more.

[bunniekittiee]

The Loudest Silence

Based off of @heavenlymorals ‘s post that Bi-Han had an injury to his throat that caused the raspiness. I did some research on throat illnesses and for this one, I went with acute laryngitis. Also this isn’t proofread so ignore any errors! I suck at endings btw.

It was unknown how Bi-Han got ill as he hardly ever got sick, but he was suffering. He attempted to cover his illness and continue his regular activities, such as hard training and practicing his ability to withstand the cold of the Arctika. But at night, he ran a high fever and his body was wracked with coughs until he was coughing blood. His mother was worried, extremely worried. She stayed up many nights to help Bi-Han by giving him tea to sip on and rubbing his back. She made sure he slept elevated so his coughing would not persist as long.

However, his father was not happy that Bi-Han was sick. He blamed himself for not strengthening his immune system, and he encouraged Bi-Han to freeze the illness out. His mother thought otherwise, so they argued over the course of action. She wanted Bi-Han to rest and recover, he wanted him to continue training and get over his illness in the cryomancer way.

“He is going to be the Grandmaster one day. How can he be a leader if you coddle him?” His father spat as he lifted his hands up in irritation.

“It is not coddling if I’m taking care of him because he is ill. He’s coughing blood! He can barely stand up, let alone train.” She replied with her face twisted in irritation. “I will not let you push our son until he is severely ill. He needs to rest.”

They bickered while Bi-Han listened, his body fighting for him to stay in bed but his mind told him he needed to train. He needed to prove his father wrong. His father was always harder on Bi-Han than Kuai Liang and Tomas who did not have to prove themselves as much as Bi-Han had to.

That was the downside of being the first-born son.

And he resented his brothers like hell for it.

Kuai Liang snuck into Bi-Han’s room with soup, using his hands to keep it warm. “I brought you something to eat, brother.”

Bi-Han looked at him, unable to talk as his throat was inflamed shut. His vocal cords felt like they were being ripped out of him when he made an effort to speak. He shook his head when Kuai Liang came closer with the soup.

“Why not? Are you not hungry?” He asked.

Bi-Han sighed in frustration as he was unable to communicate why he didn’t want to eat. It wasn’t that he was not hungry, it felt like sandpaper going down his throat when he ate. It was painful and uncomfortable.

He tried to communicate with his eyes, but eventually gave up and grabbed something who write on next to him. His mother made sure he had something to write with as she understood he had a hard time telling his family what he needed.

Kuai Liang looked at the paper when Bi-Han held it up and nodded. “Oh, I see. I’m sorry brother. I’ll leave it in the kitchen for now. Is there anything else you might need?”

He shook his head once more and made the motion to shoo Kuai Liang out. His brother listened and closed the door behind him, making Bi-Han sigh again.

He felt like death. He was sure Death would claim him. He wanted to rip his own throat out. The overwhelming urge to sleep took over him, and he closed his eyes.

Groggily waking up, Bi-Han slung his legs over the edge of his bed. He still felt horrible, but he knew his father was right. He needed to try to freeze the sickness out somehow. As he began to get dressed, he felt lightheaded as the corners of his vision began to fuzz. He shook his head slightly. He could not be weak. He could not show weakness.

Despite how much as his body yearned for his bed, he had to make an effort to improve his health. So he trudged out of his room and quietly padded down the hall as he swallowed his built up saliva in his mouth. It hurt horribly when he did, but he could not help it.

“Bi-Han! What are you doing up?” Tomas asked him as he approached Bi-Han. He narrowed his eyes at Tomas and opened his mouth to say something but he could not get a sound out. His vocal cords throbbed, and he rubbed his throat. Glaring at Tomas, he pushed past time and tried to make his way outside.

That was, until Kuai Liang stopped him.

“What are you doing, brother? You need to be resting. Why are you going outside?” Kuai Liang questioned as he stood between Bi-Han and the door.

The eldest brother wanted to explode. Everyone was getting in his way. His brown eyes burned into Kuai Liang’s as he moved his brother to the side. He began to go outside into the snowy tundra while his brothers followed behind him.

“You cannot go outside! It will worsen your condition.” Liang said worriedly as he caught up next to Bi-Han. “Please go back inside.”

Ignoring his request, Bi-Han stepped through the snow as the icy winds burned his throat and nasal passages. His head hurt badly now.

Kuai Liang told Tomas to get their mother while he followed Bi-Han. “Please brother, we don’t want your illness to become worse.”

“Obey my orders.” Bi-Han guttural voice that had not been used for a week rang in the air. He regretted speaking as his throat felt like it was being scraped with sandpaper and a knife. Kuai Liang was taken aback a little bit from the sounds of Bi-Han’s voice. It sounded painful. Bi-Han clenched his jaw and continued stepping through the snow while Kuai Liang lingered behind him.

The Arctika itself was always chilly with its freezing winds and the snow that seemed to never stop. But it had cold spots that were icy compared to the normal coldness. That was where Bi-Han was headed. It was easier to focus his power, and he hoped that the extra chill would help him freeze his illness out.

Kuai Liang warmed himself up from the bitter cold as he followed him. Tomas trailed behind the two brothers, shivering and the tip of his nose and cheeks turning red. He did not understand how Bi-Han could withstand it so easily.

Reaching the cold spot, Bi-Han threw himself onto the ground and began to cover himself in snow. His teeth chattered and his bones ached from the snow, but he knew he could focus his powers better this way. He had to freeze it out one way.

“Brother!” Kuai Liang kneeled down next to him and attempted to get the snow off of him, but Bi-Han smacked his hands. “You are going to get even more sick!”

Despite Tomas and Kuai Liang’s blabbering, Bi-Han sunk into the snow more and began to focus on the freezing temperatures. The cold. The ice that was beginning to frost over him. He needed to get his illness out quick.

He closed his eyes and blocked out his brothers’ pleas and focused on his heartbeat. His bones now ached to a great extent. His throat felt like it was being shredded by a cheese grater with every breath he took.

Bi-Han was not sure if he fell asleep or if he passed out. All he felt was someone pick him up which woke him up from his sleep. He assumed it was Kuai Liang, and Bi-Han grumbled quietly.

He felt warmth engulf his body, but it did not feel good. Going from extreme cold temperatures to hot made him feel like he was on fire. He groaned in pain, his throat flaring up again as he felt like his skin was being engulfed in flames. He fluttered his eyes open, and there stood his mother. She was worried, he could tell by the scrunch of her eyebrows. He saw a glimpse of his father approaching, but his eyes felt heavy. Bi-Han soon passed out once more.

When he opened his eyes again, he glanced around and saw that he was in bed with multiple blankets stacked on him. Near his bed, his mother slept. He felt his heart lurch as his worries consumed him. Was she okay? Did something happen?

Her eyes opened when she heard Bi-Han shifting around, and she got up quickly to tend to his needs. “My son! How do you feel?”

Bi-Han had a pounding headache, his limbs felt heavy, his bones hurt, he was not in any better shape. If not, worse than before.

He explained this to her on the paper pad and she sighed. “I told your father that freezing it out would only worsen it. I was right. You are officially on bed rest, Bi-Han.” She said as she gently pushed his stray hairs back from his forehead. “You are not going anywhere. You will not resume training. You will not get up from this bed, do you understand me?”

He wanted to argue and tell her that he could do it, but with the way he felt, he did not feel like doing anything. He just nodded his head at her while she sighed again.

“I don’t know what I would do if I were to lose you, my love.” She told him quietly. “You are my life. As well as Kuai Liang, but you are my life.”

Bi-Han suddenly felt tired, his eyelids starting to drag down as his vision blurred. He was once again entering his dream state that was empty. Void of any dreams. Just darkness.

It had taken three weeks for Bi-Han to fully recover. His mother fought hard for his father to give Bi-Han the adequate amount of recovery time. His father respected her wishes and granted Bi-Han time to rest. As much as he wanted his son to continue his training and work, he did not like to see him so severely ill. He saw how sickly Bi-Han looked after he tried to freeze it out of him. Bi-Han was pale with blue veins slightly showing through his skin. His body was limp and deathly cold. He thought for a moment that his son had perished by his own bad encouragement. But Bi-Han persisted.

As a future Grandmaster should.

Bi-Han began to feel better halfway into Week 3. He felt more energized and did not have to worry about falling asleep out of nowhere. Kuai Liang and Tomas were joyous to have their brother back even if he was grouchy. They had missed Bi-Han accompanying them to training and his moodiness that only made them annoy him more.

Training had its difficulties as he did not have the stamina built up anymore. So he had a somewhat difficult time attempting to adjust to his usual regime. However, he was used to not talking. His body may have been recovering well, but his throat still had flare ups. No one expected him to talk. But it frustrated him to no end trying to communicate without speaking. No one seemed to understand him. And sometimes it was hard keeping his side comments to himself.

One day, Tomas had accidentally smacked Kuai Liang in the face with a stick, causing the brother to have a large red mark across his cheek.

“By the Gods! Kuai Liang, I am so sorry!” Tomas apologized to him as Kuai, annoyed, told him it was fine.

“You imbecile.” Bi-Han rasped. “You need to watch where you are swinging objects.”

Tomas and Kuai both jumped on surprise, eyes wide as they swiveled their heads to Bi-Han.

“Brother, your voice…” Kuai Liang said in shock.

“It’s different.” Tomas breathed as they studied Bi-Han who was a little surprised himself. His voice was altered from his illness, and he did not expect it. It was deeper than normal with some raspiness to it. He sounded much older and a little intimidating.

“Be quiet, both of you.” He rumbled. Both of his brothers obeyed his orders.

Bi-Han used his voice more, even surprising his parents. “Your voice is new.” His father told him. “A future Grandmaster with a voice like that will bring him success.”

Bi-Han debated on whether his father was telling him the truth or not. He was used to his original voice, and he did not want any changes to it. It wasn’t anything special, but it was his regularity. Now, he had a much deeper and raspier voice that didn’t sit well with him.

Would he admit he was insecure? Absolutely not.

But his mother noticed he used his voice less despite being fully recovered. And she did what mothers always do best.

“My son,” she said to him one day while she helped him apply creams to his face. His face was breaking out from stress, and he was irritated because of it. “Your voice is lovely. It may have changed due to our sickness, but you sound intimidating. You can use that to your advantage, especially when you are Grandmaster.”

The cryomancer did not have that thought cross his mind. His mother was right, he could use it to his advantage. Bi-Han had always been on the much colder side with his personality, so having a voice like that would only add to his demeanor.

Brown eyes staring at his mother’s, he nodded his head. “I had never thought about it that way. Thank you.”

She smiled at him softly, continuing to rub a bit more cream onto his face.

Kuai Liang and Tomas had the hardest time adjusting to Bi-Han’s voice. They never fully got used to it, and if Bi-Han snuck up on them, he often surprised them.

He scared Tomas so bad that the poor kid swung himself off the side of one of the hills around the Arctika. His powers were definitely tested that day on whether he could control his smoke enough to bring himself up the large hill again. Bi-Han found is amusing while Kuai was worried about Tomas being hurt.

Bi-Han utilized his mother’s advice for many years, even after she had passed. Growing from a teenager to a fully-fledged man who was now the Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei, he had much practice with altering his voice to sound more imposing on others. Sometimes, he used it on his siblings. But Kuai Liang always rolled his eyes and told Bi-Han that he was not scaring anyone.

But they never were used to his voice. How gravelly it could sound and how it would change throughout the day. His voice sounded much different in the mornings than in the afternoons.

He was thankful he had gotten ill those many years ago. It worked out in his favor despite how much pain he had to go through. But he thought it worked out in his benefit.

[darylscigarettesmoke]

Daryl is weak.

Okay, bold headline. I’m a journalist I know how clickbait works. Jokes aside, hear me out.

A lot of fans say that Daryl acts totally out of character in the second season of his spin-off. Getting close to a woman that quickly. Kissing her. Not thinking about going home anymore or not fighting tooth and nail to get there anymore.

And while I very much agree and the Daryl from the Spin-Off doesn’t feel like the Daryl from the flagship show anymore, there’s a pattern I’ve noticed throughout the series.

The word Daryl gets described the most is probably “loyal”. But what if he’s not that “loyal” man, everyone makes him out to be?

Daryl’s not good alone. He needs people. He latches on to them. First it was Merle, his bad influence of a brother. Then it was Rick and the group. He needs a role model. Someone to follow.

what happens though if you take away his role model, is always the same thing. He falls into despair, latches onto someone else and forgets where he came from.

Remember the arc after the prison fell? He was stuck with Beth, thought the group is dead. But instead of making use of his tracking abilities, determination, pure willpower to prove himself wrong and see that most folks are still alive or just whatever to find out if the other’s are really dead, he succumbs to pessimism and suggests to Beth to just stay at the funeral home, doing nothing but playing house. He would’ve stayed there for much longer if Beth hadn’t gone kidnapped. Once Beth was gone, he stucked to the Claimers until Rick came along again…

Same thing with Leah. He believed his leader (Rick) to be dead, his guilt made him shy away from his family, he lived in the woods until Leah came along. It took him longer than with Beth to finally give in and decide to stay with Leah, but still - he isolated himself from the thoughts of his family and stayed with a woman - and yet again, he would have stayed there, away from his family, if Leah hadn’t left herself. He didn’t have a clue about what’s happening in Alexandria, with the Whisperers, with Rick’s kids and probably didn’t wanna know either.

Rinse and repeat we got Isabelle. In this case, it’s even worse because Daryl’s stuck in another country. But again he’s far away from his family, again there is a woman, again he’s latching onto her and yet again he is forgetting about his people back home to the point where he’s almost not considering to go back anymore at all.

Daryl always needs a circumstance, a death, a kidnapping, or a person (Carol?) to pull him back to reality and to remind him who he is and what he might’ve left behind.

It’s also highly ironic to me that the Villain of the season, that cult leader, describes what’s going on with Daryl in Episode 2x03 perfectly:

“Must be hard living without a semblance of faith. No organizing principle, nothing to cling to [….] a man alone it’s a sad state.”

Daryl always believes he is alone, that his group has given up on him. His low self-esteem and the thing’s he had to endure prevent him from seeing how loved he is. But he’s never been truly alone, after he found Rick’s group.

Having to fend for himself as a kid has left his mark on him, so he’s clinging onto people, desperate of not wanting to be alone.

Now that doesn’t go without saying that I don’t believe Daryl didn’t find something in France. He found what he wishes for - a family of his own and to not be the “lonely man” anymore. But it’s time to come back from Neverland, to achieve that dream.

With all of these things considered I start to believe the Daryl we all know and love is still there - he just needs to be reminded that he is loved, cared for and so, so missed.

Edit: Some more notes. That is just a poor explanation/interpretation of bad writing in the Spin-Off. When Daryl said he wasn’t sure of what he was looking for when he left the Commonwealth, that made it clear as day the writers absolutely intend to retcon this beloved character and all of his core characteristics to pretend Daryl’s this blank page, a character without history. But this doesn’t work and I hope they’ll notice it soon enough.