#somehow i avoided all the spoilers huh

[depoteka]

quite ironic that the episode i was looking forward to the most in the new season of doctor who (the beatles episode) was my least fave one

[intothegenshinworld]

Fate’s Destiny ~ Chapter 12 || It's canon!

You somehow, not being able to explain it, had fallen into the Genshin world you know oh-so-well. You were no new player and had explored most of the nooks and crannies of the world. When you first had woken up in Windrise you wondered; it might be a dream, after all, you were behind your screen usually, and now- here? It made no sense, and the world was keen on keeping it that way.

Warnings: Spoilers for main story.

Word count: 3.1k+

Auteurs note: My health is still undergoing challenges, but I was able to write this on my better days. If you liked this chapter, please leave your thoughts on this chapter behind in a comment or reblog <3 It'd make me more motivated to post the next chapter :D

↺ PREVIOUS CHAPTER || ↻ NEXT CHAPTER || MASTERLIST

The conversation you had with Dainsleif last night left you feeling like he understood you better than any stranger should. It was as if he had anticipated finding the Creator, as if he was familiar with the aura and thus unsurprised when it led him to you. However, that wasn’t the most concerning thing about the situation. The juxtaposition of what follows has been plaguing your mind the entire morning.

Despite never mentioning it in the company of Lumine and Paimon, Dainsleif seemed to doubt your status as the Creator. It wouldn’t have been unusual, if not for the fact that he felt your aura. 

Up to this point, there was a clear division between the people who felt your aura and the ones who didn’t. The former had always been insistent on your identity. They never doubted you for one reason: the fact that they experienced this unknown feeling around you. You couldn’t explain it since you didn’t have any control over the aura, that much was obvious with the fact that seemingly at random some people experience it and others don't, but it felt terrifying to have an anomaly in this formula. 

Why did Dainsleif not believe in the Creator?

The more you look back on your interactions with Dainsleif, the more you are led back to your initial conflict: who is the Creator? 

Moreover, you wonder why you believe his convictions over your own. 

Lumine turns her head over her shoulder. “What’s your opinion about it?”

“Huh?” You pull yourself out of your daydream with a forceful blink. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

You gaze at Lumine. Paimon hovering at her side. The three of you are currently waiting in a small clearing on the side of the main road. Conversations from passing strangers echo in the background. They are accompanied by the sounds of galloping horses and carriages being pulled along. The sun hadn’t been up for an hour before your party had set out but somehow you were unable to avoid the now gathering crowds.

At this moment, you were waiting for Dainsleif to return. While Lumine insisted on staying at your side, he had offered to scout ahead. He’d keep an eye open for suspicious people on the road and potential shortcuts to use. He’d also be able to estimate when the crowds would get thicker and could warn you ahead of time so you’d be better prepared. 

Paimon holds her hands close to her chest, a clear sign of her worry. “Are you okay? Paimon thinks you seem a bit out of it.”

You force a smile. “Don’t worry about me. I was just thinking.”

“If you say so.” Paimon turns her worried frown upside down and places her hands on her hips. “Lumine was asking if you were alright with travelling on the main roads. Even with Dainsleif scouting ahead of us, it’ll likely get more crowded the closer we’ll get to Wangshu inn.”

Lumine adds, “We’ll keep you safe regardless, but I understand if you want to take a different route.”

You think about the last time you visited Wangshu inn. It had also been with Lumine and Paimon, the only difference being that you came from Mt. Aocang and thus barely met anyone on the road to and from.

More about your last visit, despite feeling like you’re missing something important, you can’t remember. 

Before you can answer, Dainsleif walks up to your group. He nods his head when you acknowledge him and then starts talking. “The roads are beginning to get busy. We should head out.”

“Oooo. Paimon wonders if we’ll arrive today.” She kicks her legs in the air excitedly. It had only been a few days since you departed from Wangshu Inn but she undoubtedly was missing a soft bed to sleep in. You did too.

Dainsleif crosses his arms. “If we make haste, we will arrive before sundown. Many people are currently travelling through Liyue Harbor for the upcoming Creator Fest, so we should remain unnoticed since everyone is focusing on their own business.”

You lift an eyebrow. “Creator Fest?”

“Hm.” Dainsleif closes his eyes and ponders to himself for a moment. “Though the name is self explanatory, it is a festival held to celebrate the creator. From my understanding, the festival is held once every five years.”

Paimon looks from Dainsleif to Lumine with a confused expression. When she sees the outlander mirror the same confusion, she fiercely disagrees. “Lumine and Paimon saw the preparations in Liyue Harbor. There, they said it was held every year.” She lifts a finger in the air and waves it around all-knowingly. “Paimon remembered it well because they had many stories of the festivals from last year.”

You turn your gaze to Dainsleif. He doesn’t seem confused, nor does he try to refute her claim and explain his. After Paimon rambles for a bit longer, he simply agrees and states he must have mixed up certain festivals. 

While Paimon gloats in her victory, Lumine’s scepticism doesn’t escape your eye. Just like you, she seems on edge. Until that, too, disappears. 

“We should head out.” Lumine states.

Paimon throws her fist in the air. “I can’t wait to eat some of that delicious food we had last time!”

With your cloak pulled over your face, your expression remains hidden to even your companions. A frown is settled on your face when you recall that the festival Liyue had been preparing for was meant for the resurrection of Zh…

What was their name?

The morning continues to pass by in a hurry. As you persist your journey forward, Wangshu inn becomes a more prominent sight in your vision, growing taller the closer you get. 

In the end, Dainsleif’s words had proven to be correct. Many carriages that passed by were loaded with decorations, many of which seemed to fit Liyue’s colours but had the same details and signs as the books with your face on it. 

And when you and your companions fell into a comfortable pace, conversations started to follow.

One of the more interesting topics spoken about involved the anemo Archon. According to the other three, he currently goes by the name ‘Venti’. You knew that Lumine and Paimon met him during their heroic deeds in Mondstadt, but when you asked Dainsleif about the Archon, he answered with: ”I know everything that I should.” —a vague yet seemingly in-character answer.

However, that is not where the conversation ended. Instead you were dragged into an open discussion about the options you had, including Dainsleif’s personal thoughts on the Archons. 

He told both you and the other two, not to trust anything. Which was funny, considering he decided to travel with the Creator. 

You would’ve believed it to be a strange paradox if it hadn’t been for the conversation you had with him last night. 

Dainsleif walks in front of everyone. Always one step ahead. He doesn’t turn his head when he talks, but you know he is invested in the current topic. “I am merely suggesting that the Archons do not have the ability to answer all your questions. You should know this better than anyone, Lumine.”

She gives him a pointed look. Paimon answers for her. “Well, Paimon isn’t hearing any better suggestions from you. Besides, Paimon thinks it’s better than sitting around and doing nothing.” 

The pixie adds, “Besides, the tone deaf bard might look like he doesn’t care, but Paimon thinks he knows more than he lets on. Who knows? Maybe he can give us a push into the right direction.”

“I highly doubt it. Many times before, he failed to. I can't imagine why this time would be different at all.”

Paimon visibly deflates. “Geez. Are you always so pessimistic?”

“I prefer to call it realistic.” He corrects. 

Before the two can continue with their bickering, the gnosis in your pocket starts to rumble. Struck by surprise, you halt your movement. 

As you nimbly reach for the object, the others turn to stop as well. Dainsleif is the first to guess why. 

“The gnosis.”

“Yes.” You wrap your fingers around it and furrow your eyebrows together. Confused at why it started to rumble, you look up at him. “I thought it was broken.”

“It might as well be.” He replies despondently.

Lumine crosses her arms as she presses her lips in a thin line. She thinks for a moment, and then asks, “Is it glowing again?”

The object is firmly within your hold. As your grasp tightens, it hums in approval. 

Because you’ve been travelling through the main roads towards Wangshu Inn, your sudden stop has caused an unintentional roadblock for other passerbys. The majority of the people and carriages go around you, but the longer you stand still, the more the people stop and stare. 

They’re getting aware of your presence. 

From within your pocket, your fingers continue to be tightly wrapped around the gnosis. When you peek inside, you notice that you can’t see a visible glow emitting from it. While you can’t confirm if it lost its light entirely without revealing it to everyone walking on the roads, the constant vibrations from the object and the ground below was enough to confirm that it came back to life. 

At last, you reply. “I’m not sure about the glow but it’s pulsating geo energy.”

“Paimon thinks that’s a good sign, right?” The pixie holds up her hands to her chest expectantly as she looks around at the different faces in your party. 

Dainsleif grunts. “It’s hard to deduct any use of it when we don’t know what the gnoses can do.” He turns to face you. “The geo Archon has told you that it’d help ‘the creator’ regain their past memories. Think about it. Which part of his promise was wrong in the first place?”

You think back to the many days of trying to uncover the gnosis’s secrets without prevailing. In the end, the geo Archon couldn’t help you either. Their promise of helping you with your memories remains, but you’d have to wait for the Archon and the Adepti. 

When you find your answer, you create a new question. “Are you saying that the gnoses never held memories?”

“Not yours, at least.” Dainsleif answers.  

Lumine cuts in. “That’s why we’re going to Mondstadt. Aside from the gnosis losing its power, it never responded to anything Y/n did either.”

“Yeah! Paimon agrees with that. Rex Lapis seemed to be unsure after our last visit too.” She waves her hands in the air. “What if the gnosis has yet to recognise the aura?”

Your eyes light up. “That’s a great idea, Paimon!” 

With the gnosis constantly pulsing out geo energy, you probably needed to do the same before it could resonate with you. Perhaps you should’ve asked the geo Archon how they used the gnosis instead of continuing to ask about your memories. 

In the worst case, you could still ask the anemo Archon. If you have any luck, they’d recognise your aura like the geo Archon did, making it easier to ask for help and confirming your identity. 

A scream erupts from a woman on the other side of the road. Her hands reach up to her mouth, eyes wide as her previous relaxed face turns into one of horror. When you first hear it, you let go of the gnosis and reach for your hood to pull it down more, afraid that you have been discovered. 

Then, another one follows. The person next to her cries out terrified. You take a step closer to your companions this time.

You hear a weapon being unsheathed close to you. When you turn to the sound, you see Lumine at a ready stance to combat. And it continues. Another scream echoes through the crowd and when you finally look at the people, they’re facing away with their hands held together in suspense. 

If there is one thing you regret doing, it is standing motionless amongst them. 

Horses are forced at standstill and carriages stop in place. The previous laughter of children travelling alongside their parents are quieted and replaced by hushed voices. And because so many people had been travelling from and to Liyue Harbor, you feel like the entire nation can see this sight in front of them.

A huge wave reaches the tips of the largest mountains. It seems to be reaching for Liyue Harbor, until you see flashes of light shoot from a place you visited once before. 

The Jade Chamber,

You watch the lights of the once glorious floating palace flicker on and off. You hold your breath as you watch a battle between the ocean and the people of Liyue Harbor play out at a far distance. There is no way of knowing what is going on, until the sea calms down.

Before the waves lay upon the water, a few people have already begun to celebrate. Cheers slowly become louder and praise to the geo Archon is spread around before a loud rumbling emits from far away. This time, you realise it is not the gnosis putting out geo energy. And yet, it responds to the wave by tugging you forward. 

With the crowd stunned, it takes everyone a second to realise victory came with a precious cost. 

The Jade chamber tilts from side to side, as if it’s trying to regain its balance in a struggle against gravity. As the gnosis continues to pull more and more, you realise what’s happening before the crowd does. 

A few more elemental flashes of light dash around the Jade Chamber, and perhaps because you’re looking at it from a grand distance, you notice it has been falling down. 

When the chamber hits the midway point between its original position and the horizon, you see chunks of the building let loose. Some parts fall faster, while others cling on to the gravity defying magic they previously had. But before any part can reach the ground, it disappears from sight behind a set of mountains. 

The crowd is silent. You can only hear the winds blow against your face as you wait for the conclusion of the events. 

Then, a second low thud echoes through the city. It travels across the roads and the crowds try to protect themselves against the sudden soundwave. In the distance, from behind the mountains where it fell, dense smoke from the crash fumes up. 

“What happened?”

“The Jade Chamber!” 

And faster than the Jade Chamber could fall, chaos erupts on the roads to Wangshu Inn. 

People from behind and in front of you are trying to decide whether to turn back or to reach their loved ones in Liyue Harbor. Murmurs of uncertainty deafen your thoughts as you reach for the gnosis. With trembling fingers you take it out of your pocket, just to take a quick look. 

It radiates a dim orange hue. 

Paimon calls out for you as a carriage rides to crash into you. The horse pulling it seems to be out of control when it stops and stands on its hind legs, squealing if not screaming when the people crisscross in front of it. 

Dainsleif ends up being the one to save you in that scenario. He is swift when he moves between the people and pulls you away right before the hind legs of the horse move down and crash at the place you had been standing in. 

“We need to get out.” He yells to Lumine. “This isn’t going to get better, even if we get to Wangshu Inn.”

Lumine hurries over to you with Paimon at her side. She has put her sword back in its holder but seems to be alert nonetheless. “We should head back to Liyue and find out what happened.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Dainsleif shakes his head. He lets out a breathy chuckle. “You intend to go back in these conditions. Can you not see the outcome of that decision?”

A few people push past you and your companions. Luckily due to both Lumine and Dainsleif’s efforts you are able to keep your group of four united. With the chaos surrounding you, you hadn’t noticed you held the gnosis in your hands, visible in sight to any who would stop and look. 

Lucky for you. Not a single person had the time to consider standing still. Dainsleif seems to follow your gaze and you open your hands for him to see. For the first time since obtaining it, the object floats in your hold. 

Like a miracle, it seems to have recovered all its past potency in an attempt to guide you forward. Deep hums echo from within the gnosis, singing an unknown melody as a path opens up from where you’re standing to Liyue Harbor. Unknownst to the people in the crowd, they make way for you and your party. 

You reach up and intertwine your hold together with the invisible hold of the gnosis. A determined expression forms on your face when you look up. “It’s telling us to head to Liyue Harbor.”

Paimon kicks her feet in the air. “You’ve finally unlocked the powers!”

Lumine stands ready. “If we head out now, we can make it before the sun sets.”

A cynical laugh escapes from Dainsleif’s lips. “Have you forgotten how long it took you to get to Wangshu Inn?”

The outlander turns to him. “What do you mean? We all headed out this morning. If we make haste, we can easily return to Liyue Harbor before nightfall.”

With the gnosis in hand you look up at Dainsleif. A silent question lingers in your eyes and he shakes his head before you can ask him the question.

“If you intending on returning to Liyue Harbor, it will be the last time you’ll see me.”

Paimon throws her fist against his shoulder. Even with all her strength, he remains unchanged—safe for the frown that deepens. “Oh come on! Paimon knows you want to save everyone. That’s why you helped us with the Adepti last time.”

He turns back at you. You feel like there are so many things left unsaid but he simply turns and walks away. In the end, he didn’t give you a chance to ask him why he chose to leave. 

A hand is placed on your shoulder. When you look over towards the person who put it there, you see a resolute smile on Lumine’s face. Next to her flies the pixie. “It’ll be alright. You’ve got me and Paimon.” 

Her white-haired companion agrees as she throws her first into the air. 

You knew that the journey ahead of you would remain with many more questions left unanswered so you simply held onto the few things you could trust in. 

The gnosis agrees with you and a path forms once more. 

You run towards your destiny, followed by Lumine and Paimon at your side.

If you liked this chapter and think I deserve a comment, please leave one behind! I appreciate it a lot and it'll make me more motivated to write in the future ♡

© intothegenshinworld. Do not copy, repost, translate or take heavy inspiration from my content. Thanks for reading.

[twigthedoodler]

You loop back all of them Pt. 4

In stars in time spoilers ahead! Inspired by this post! Part 3 is here! Part 5 is here!

@moonsart

???: “I know everyone in your little group… you're Siffrin’s little family…”

(The stranger that looked like a star was talking bitterly…?)

Odile: “So you know all of us? And you know Siffrin?”

“Who are you anyways?”

(The Stranger sighed. The Stranger couldn't look us in the eyes as they talked for some reason.)

???: "I am a... I'm a... I'm Loop! I'm here by the Universe's will to help Siffrin with the loops! That's who I am. That's all you need to know!"

Odile: "That's all we need to know... Interesting. What can you tell us about time craft and wish craft? And the loops? Cause you seem to know a lot.”

"Universe... That's what's in the sky... Huh... I'm with Odile. Could you please tell us what's going on? Siffrin won't tell us!"

Loop: "Well you won't remember very long because he will loop back soon... I can tell."

Odile: "We know Siffrin's, and apparently your memory doesn't reset... Is there anything else that doesn't?"

Loop: "Well... Siffrin's experience doesn't reset... And any equipment you get doesn't reset."

"That's why we have all this stuff we don't remember getting! Well... Couldn't we write something on an item, and then read it and remember?"

Odile: ... "That's a good idea! Good job! You sometimes have really good ideas Isabeau!"

Loop: "That might actually work! Okay... I'll tell you what I know if someone writes it down."

Odile: "I'll write it down."

Loop: "Alright... So... Siffrin made a wish... You Odile know that it isn't about croissants... That wish... Was done with a ritual. That made it come true. Somehow looping helps fulfill that wish. He has been looping in time for a while now. Restarting the day from the point you just saw. It also, as you noticed, it also resets the moment he talks to the head house maiden... There is a bit more but that's the most important parts for you to know right now... Got that all down?"

Odile: "Yeah I got that... Everything makes a bit more sense... There is still mystery of course... But...hmm... So he is looping because of his wish? Hmm..."

"I wonder why- no... Actually I know why he didn't tell us. He never likes 'burdening us' with his problems... Sometimes I wish he understood that it isn't a burden..."

(I don't like that Siffrin always avoids his problems. Ever since day one I was okay as long as I made him feel better... But I should have realized. He just thought It was okay to not say anything because I let him say nothing... I wish I could apologize to him...)

Odile: "...Thank you Loop. We might come back later. But we must get back before anyone else wakes up. We should go, Isabeau.”

(So we start walking back... There is this feeling I can't get off my chest though.)

"Hey, Ma'am Odile?"

Odile: "What is it?"

"Do you think Siffrin will be okay?"

Odile: "I-... I don't know... We will have to just see..."

(That was the last thing we said before the next morning.)

…

(At the clocktower Bonnie and Mirabelle was awake playing cards)

Bonnie: “I don't like this game… it's so confusing!”

Mirabelle: “Sorry, it kind of is… Well um…”

Bonnie: “...What are we going to do about Siffrin?”

Mirabelle: “I-... We need to help him… I'm sure Isabeau and Odile are gone to figure out what's happening on their own… But if they can't figure it out we need to decide what we are going to do.”

Bonnie: “I say we beat up Frin!”

Mirabelle: “W-what!? No! We are not doing that!”

Bonnie: “aww… I was sure it would work though…”

Mirabelle: “Let's talk to the others once we get a chance to figure out what the two learned… or didn't learn…”

[purplecritter]

Dragon Age: Vows and Vengeance (Ep. 1)

Official episode transcript here

My notes while I was listening under the cut... Spoilers ahead!

“People have been saying the ground be feeling like it’s gonna give”... cool cool so now it’s just a question of if it’s Ghil and Dark Spawn or if it’s Titans underground 👀

What’s this about looking a Qunari in the eyes being disrespectful?? Olen what are you saying

🎶OH GREY WARDEN WHAT HAVE YOU DONE THE OATH YOU HAVE TAKEN IS ALL BUT BROKEN🎶

^ Makes me hopeful to hear snippets of previous parts of the soundtrack in The Veilguard! Lost Elf Theme / Dark Solas Theme my beloveds...

“Every Templar, guard, warden, bounty hunter this side of Thedas is looking for the now notorious Nadia Carcosa” they got the Wardens too????

Ohh Andraste’s Grace flowers are poetic… In general or for Nadia and Elio specifically? Nevermind--what is poetic to me is that there was a ring in DAII named Andraste' Grace which boosted defense and health regen... And Elio says the ring he proposed with had been "embued with a protective spell" :3

Nadia doesn’t know her birthday… Abandoned or a former slave? <- Yep liberati

Wow what a conversation… Ogh if he died after they had an argument about marriage without closure I can excuse the poisoning of Olen lmao

Nadia referring to her and Elio as a “break from reality” :(  

Arcanis Hall, the Archives = part of the Magisterium

IT’S SO GOOD TO HEAR NEVE AGAIN :D

“Many lives depend on [stopping Nadia]”. How close is Vows&Vengeance to the start of The Veilguard and compared to The Missing? Because Neve seems to already be at least a little acquainted with Solas' plans here. She seemed to know the consequences of having/using the Eye, saying it will “destroy” Neve&Elio, and she was also sure that it was Solas who tipped the Templars on Nadia (and Elio by proxy).

Silver coins mentioned yippee (I love when the economy is not just gold. I miss my shitty 7 copper items okay)

“holds every object, scrap of writing, relic, antiquity that’s even remotely interesting to the Empire” this description of the Archives makes me understand why Dorian was bitching about the size and contents of our Skyhold library. Sorry king Ferelden really was a nerf for you

So Templars in Tevinter are glorified guards for the Mages rather than over them. But they at least have authority to arrest people part of the Magisterium

Neve warning Elio not to draw magic from the Fade means she casts spells avoiding it? Ma'am👀 <- nevermind she probably knew about the Andante thing

Silent Plains huh? THE TOWN CALLED ‘SOLAS’ IS RIGHT ABOVE THERE!! Mr Dreadwolf is sooo cheeky I know he was giggling when he passed by that location

The Eye of Kethisca. Ancient artifact. (according to Solas so take with a grain of salt) Drawing (magic) power from the Fade triggers an explosion of energy, specifically Elio using magic near it created a bond that amplified its powers. Crafted centuries ago by a powerful dreamer An’dante using a rare gem mined from caves in the Silent Plains, where the Veil is thin because of the unspeakable sacrifice of many.

Solas says there’s “nothing to fear about this relic” I'M NOT TRUSTING THOSE WORDS OUT OF YOUR MOUTH IN PARTICULAR

“Ar dirthan’as ir elgara / Ma’sula e’var vhenan” ⇒ saying this somehow deactivated the Eye ^ It’s also what Solas says to Sera in an attempt to make her feel the rhythm of the language 🧐

“Heruamin litirien. / Alai uethri maeria. / Halurocon yalei nam bahna. / Dolin nareba maome… / Ame amin. / Halai lothi amin. / Aloamin Heruamin. / Heruamin oh lonai. / Imwe anine beriole…” ⇒ chanted by Solas and Elio in the caves while holding the Eye. When Elio lets go the caves & Veil collapse

Solas: “I do not play games.” The Iron Bull, who played mind-chess with him 10 years ago: “So that's a fucking lie.”

Elio: “I was told the Eye would end the world, not mend it.” Solas: “Some people confuse a reckoning as an ending.” Elio: “So you seek reform?” Solas: “I seek regeneration.” ^ noting this down since it smells like foreshadowing

I wonder who The Dreadwolf's intermediary with Olen is!

We're going back to the Hinterlands everyone 💀

Interesting that "Carcosa" is Nadia's surname, from a meta perspective at least since it's been used a lot for ominous place-names

Speaking of names, "Andante" is a real surname but it's also a tempo in music which is cool to me since it subtly references the lyrium described to be singing + him being stuck in the Fade where lyrium flows more liberally

[cheemscakecat]

Um.. No?

So someone wrote a Dadspy fic where Scout knew the entire time and he’s indifferent to the reveal. There were big two things that didn’t feel right to me though.

Scout passive aggressively ignoring and avoiding Sniper after he died in the hallway in comic #6.

For those that don’t want to read this other post of mine, I went over what happened to Sniper in the comics and how that mighta affected Spy wanting to disguise as Tom Jones.

Now Scout wouldn’t think about the fact that Spy saw what happened, but he would eventually be pulled aside by Demoman or somebody and told about Sniper’s situation. Especially if he and Spy had a falling out.

So I can’t imagine him ghosting the poor guy to break off their friendship.

2. This:

“He keeps acting like he always did with Spy. The sick satisfaction he gets every time Spy follows him cloaked and takes a bullet for him in battle, tries to give him little gifts or start conversations only to get rejected with that poker face sliding over his features was thrilling.

But it got boring pretty quickly. Unfortunately, Spy didn’t leave him alone even after he yelled at him to go be useful for once and ****ing creep around the other Scout if he wanted to play follow-the-leader so bad.”

What do you mean you enjoy reaping the benefits of your father taking bullets for you, then rejecting his attempts to do right by you?!

It’s one thing if Scout doesn’t know the extent of how much Spy tries to help him, like protecting him from Joey Murders when his arms were broken in prison. I can see him forgetting the better deeds of his father in the timelines where he didn’t know the truth.

It’s totally different if he knew the whole time, saw Spy putting his life on the line for him over and over, and knew that Spy wasn’t using those deeds to try to force father-son reconciliation.

Like, he did not do all of that expecting Scout to just forget being left behind and let bygones be bygones; he did it because he loves his son. He doesn’t bring any of that up when finally revealing the truth to his son, and he’s left in speechless horror and remorse when he finds out how long Scout knew. So it’s really evil and nasty to take pleasure in hurting him like Jeremy’s been doing.

“Sniper shifts uncomfortably and looks off to the side, most likely to a cloaked Spy. ‘Nah, mate. Just about the… father… thing.’

Scout drops his stuff in his locker. ‘Huh? What about it?’ Of course he knows. Scout isn’t dumb. He sees the way Spy looks more and more disheveled each day, eating less and less, staring at Scout more and more.

Scout thinks it because he is at that age that he would start nagging his family to visit more if he had a normal life. If he had stayed. But he didn’t, so he doesn’t have one to nag. Not outside the base and certainly not inside it. Maybe it finally dawned on him that his only child knows him at a coworker level and wants to keep it that way. That the night he spent with his Ma practically doesn’t mean anything to anyone, not even Scout’s Ma, but him.”

Scout, how do you know that your parents weren’t in a relationship for a few years? You figured out Spy was your dad when you somehow recognized him at 16 in a random diner, so Ma had to have kept a picture or something like that. Ask yourself, would she do that for a random guy that she knew for one night? And would she keep that if he meant nothing to her?

… And he’s really gonna just sit there and watch Spy go into a depression or worse with no remorse. Refusing to go talk to him knowing he’s standing next to Sniper, knowing he’s losing weight in a dangerous way.

That’s not indifference, that’s called hate.

Me personally, I think Scout’s the type to say something really harsh and hateful, but not actually mean it; and that he’d feel remorse for it later. Not prey on Spy’s downfall like he did in this fic. Respectfully.

[revserrayyu]

2.4 Xianzhou continuance thoughts [part 3]

**SPOILERS** for the end of this patch’s mission, covering all the drama happening down in the Shackling Prison, so advert thine eyes if thou have not finished the story as of yet.

Once we found out we were actually able to visit the Shackling Prison during this update, I was eagerly waiting to see how Dan Heng would handle returning to this place. It certainly makes him uneasy, even before entering this cold place, and Nicholas does such a great job conveying all those anxieties into every one of Dan Heng’s lines whenever his past is brought up while here. The level of concern we hear from the Trailblazer is sweet too, like I audibly “aww’d” at this brief exchange.

I admire your confidence, Moze, but please don’t do anything reckless! But hearing how he’s a jail-breaker doesn’t really surprise me. There’s a bunch of shadowy figures of him bound by chains in his splash art and recent leaks showing off his skills can back up how he’s so swift in his escapes. He managed to avoid capture towards the end of this quest too.

Huzzah, another Jingliu mention that only surprises me because I haven’t bothered to read any of the relic’s descriptions of the Prisoner of Deep Confinement set. And how does one possibly manage to avoid eating for several centuries?

Not only did this beast apparently not starve, but he also endured unrelenting pain every day? Frightening. Hoolay is really out here surviving purely on hatred and a need for revenge.

Once glance at these notes and I just knew someone was gonna yap about Jingliu in front of him. Definitely wasn’t disappointed when it happened either.

Hey Moze’s defiance is valid! Never take random medicine from people! But in this case, yeah, it’s for your safety sir, “just swallow it already.”

Okay so there was like one or two instances before this where Jiaoqiu also noticed shape-shifted Borisin by their scent and makes me wonder how he could tell the difference. I assume Foxians have stronger noses than we do so perhaps it’s easier for someone like him to notice, or perhaps it’s a similar feeling to him being around Feixiao so often since she also suffers from Moon Rage? He did refer to it as familiar later on. Either way, he really should’ve spoken up about his suspicions earlier.

Y’all..these two are absolutely delivering each line perfectly and the emotion is squeezing my heart so tightly. I love the bond the Express crew has with each other so darn much! The hand pat is cute but let me hug this man please! He needs several!

The feels keep on coming as I was kicking my feet and squealing all giddy when Dan Heng jumped in to save us from being crushed. I know he’s literally doing his job as the guard of the Express but.. aww. I’d probably have a better screenshot if I wasn’t too stunned by what I was seeing with my own eyes, but alas. I fangirled too hard to care.

We always resort back to our trusty baseball bat, huh? I get how pulling out the Watchmaker’s hat probably wouldn’t be as epic or helpful, but I’d like to see us wield the flaming lance a bit more during cutscenes like this. Having us use it during the cutscenes with boss battle Aventurine were nice. Makes me wonder if Dan Heng will call upon his Imbibitor Lunae form if the situation ever gets too dire.

Ohh, and with all that chatter about poison to March and the kids before, I believe he’d be successful in creating such a medicine too.

His dedication to cure Feixiao’s condition is extraordinary and I’m wishing so hard for him to achieve it somehow.

On a side note, I am glad this whole mission continued with that split character perspectives feature that Penacony had so we could try out Jiaoqiu in battle a few times. I’m still quite fond of him, but after mixing him in with my team, I couldn’t really find a decent place for him. I may wait for his rerun before I pull but we’ll see if my mind gets swayed before his banner starts.

Getting a little sneak peak at what Moze can do was cool but sadly didn’t last long enough. Still hard to believe this man is a four-star but at least he’ll be easier to level up.

It’s funny to me seeing Moze go nuts with his abilities and sharp weapons, then you got Jiaoqiu fighting with a fan. And spices. And cooking enemies in a giant hot pot. The strange fighting methods fit right into Star Rail and that’s one of the many things I love about this game; how literally anything can end up as a weapon.

But yeah, as expected, Hoolay managed to escape with the helped of the many Borisin who transformed themselves to look like the prison guards.

Xueyi gets absolutely wrecked after a failed attempt to stop Hoolay and I probably would’ve been more shocked if they hadn’t shown her lifeless on the ground in the 2.4 trailer.

Yeah, thank Aeons she’s a puppet or else this really would’ve been her end.. and with how casually Hanya mentions such damage has become somewhat of a reoccurring thing, I guess we’re all worried for nothing. Even less so as Xueyi later pilots a conveniently placed cycrane up and out of the prison to inform Jing Yuan of the disaster that happened.

Dan Heng literally saying that he rather die than having anything bad happen to us.. aahh. He’s such a good boy. I feel bad for never using this regular form of his, until I remember Imbibitor Lunae is most likely my strongest unit, so all is well. But how about neither one of us dies, okay? That’s more ideal.

Jiaoqiu thinking about Feixiao first before the entire wellness of their home.. god, he’s so committed to that promise of his. Love that for him.

Hearing him quite literally triggering Hoolay was to be expected, but also sly of him to conveniently leave out that our former sword champion is no longer on the Luofu. I think one of the nearby Borisin noticed and corrected this information to Hoolay anyways, but whatever. It manages to keep our medic alive as a hostage.

After seeing Dan Heng throw Cloud Piercer in an attempt to stop the prison’s doors from closing, I wanna assume we managed to escape, but it’s still kinda vague. I’d hope we did because I certainly don’t want our faithful Express partner to trapped in this nightmarish place any longer than he already has! He deserves to be free from his past!

Heeyyy there, queen. Missed you but definitely can’t end this rambling without you. My expectations after this first part have been raised significantly so if anything, I better see her go all out and fight like crazy in 2.5.

Tell me how exactly. How does one manage to lose sight of a huge, menacing Borisin like Hoolay? Unless he’s also capable of shape-shifting, which would make perfect sense if he can and used that little party trick to escape, but damn.

And with that, I’m finished. Until the next update, of course.

[queenwille]

IDF: Israeli Defense Forces

Defending themselves from what? Displaced Palestinians hiding out in buildings? The children?

Cause last I saw, Palestine weren’t the ones with white phosphorus missiles bombing Israel every other day and wiping out the population,

wait wait wait, let me start at the very beginning- your question about what does israel have to defend itself a is joke, right…? please tell me you did not come in here to waste my time without doing the bare minimum and research something. you owe me that much if you’d like me to take you seriously.

look, idk at which point did you tune into the west’s favorite reality show which is the middle east crisis, but i honestly don’t have the time nor the patience to catch you up in all of the episodes you’ve missed up until now and that’s even if we only focus on the gaza area. what can i say, some of us were just lucky enough to be born into this. others, such as yourself, have the world wide web for free, go wild.

mmm values. that’s the thing, all those spicy stories you’ve mentioned there? y’all know about them, but you people never catch up about how the IDF took them one by one to military trail for misconduct. nah, why should you care about that part? it ruins your whole immature narrative about the bad guys, huh? y’all would rather stick to the pathetic narrative where this is a fairytale where there are big bad IDF monsters and poor little princesses to save. well, sorry, but life’s more complex than that. yep, the good guys can do bad things and the bad guys can actually not be just bad. it’s called real life. not one angry anon, like yourself, has ever asked me, or any other identifying zionist, what we think about any of those morally questionable issues, y’all just keep assuming what we think and dehumanizing us, but somehow we keep being labeled as the bigots over and over again.

i’m glad you’ve mentioned those tiktok dances because those are usually soldiers who don’t even fight in combat and y’all like to attack them online so much. many of them are not even armed. you know which other soldiers were unarmed? the female soldiers murdered (16, one of them by a doctor in captivity in gaza) or taken hostage (7, one rescued, one murdered, 5 still held hostage to this day) on october 7th. shocking, i know, but not all IDF soldiers are armed. did it matter?

me signaling? do you see me giving out random twitter posts by FUCK KNOWS WHO as valid sources? no? so no, i don’t take it as a valid source. sorry, friend. and my best bud al jazeera? besides the fact that they’ve been proven and, i believe, even admitted to exaggerating with their death tolls, they’re funded by the qatari government. i’ll let you google who qatar used to house before israel —— him and who else it supports financially (spoiler: both start with H). other than that, for good measures, when i’d like to give out a source, i usually avoid using, not only israeli sources, but also jewish ones. just looking out for all of my antisemites out there. 🫡

when did i call it an accident? find me one time time i referred to a palestinian death as an accident. go on, i’ll wait. that’s right, i didn’t. there is though, a difference i make between the people massacred on october 7th and people who get killed as a result of war and y’all never seem to like that. don’t get me wrong, i find both to be horrific, but there’s a very clear difference between being gunned down, raped, abused, mutilated, tied down with cables and more to getting hurt/killed as a result of being unfortunate enough to live at an active warzone. i say this btw about israelis who, unfortunately, got killed/hurt from the missiles fired from gaza during this war as well… and soldiers. it’s just not the same, i’m sorry. what happened on october 7th was purely dystopian and the fact that so many of you keep trying to deny/ignore/justify/compare it to anything else, despite hamas (unlike the nazis) not covering even one drop of blood shed or even part of their intentions, is really baffling. even more so in the 21st century when literally everything is at the palm of your hands. it truly is amazing how much you’re willing to ignore just to feed your white savior complex by patronizing and forcing your western white ideology on terrorist organizations such as hamas.

never have i said to mind your own business. i personally believe that it’s important to be informed and get engaged outside of your very own bubble. hell, i’m a SW student who majors in community work/activism. i do have a few questions though. do you do it cause you’re entitled to? i mean, because your taxes paid for it? so like, you paid a ticket for the show and now you deserve in? like when you vote for your favorite singer on the the voice? that’s the thing, many of you come in here, wanting your slice of the matter, while thinking that reading a little on social media is enough. it’s not. be respectful.

[viperwhispered]

How Not to Be Swept Under - behind the scenes

So, since I’ve been enabled (ty @scint1llat3), some thoughts on the process behind How Not to Be Swept Under. Spoilers for the series, obviously, and also below the cut for length (oop I sure had a few things to say).

Too Much

So, like I said in the notes for this, hearing Ylivoimainen by KUUMAA got me thinking of Jamil being overwhelmed by his feelings. In the song the singer is talking about how you’re overpowering, in the sense that he can’t stand against you, and how the singer would do anything to get to you. Now, while I didn’t think Jamil would be quite that drastic - man’s far too aware of consequences and things - I still wanted to explore what it would mean for Jamil to deal with such feelings.

Iirc, already when I posted this I was pretty sure I wanted to continue the fic. Looking back on the file, I did have the beginnings of the second part there already, but decided that leaving the first part at the moment of realization would be the most impactful.

Ngl, I kinda really love the line “No, if anything, you were quite…inoffensive.”, which is at the end of that part where Jamil’s trying to figure out why you have him on edge. Yes he’s not annoyed (quite the opposite if he’d realize it) but somehow you sure bother him. Wonder why.

“And the way you had looked at him, like-” In my head, this would’ve continued something along the lines of “like you cared for him” - but of course Jamil’s not going to let such conclusions come out, especially with Kalim interrupting him, too.

And for “Surely he was not that stupid. After all, there was no way-”, I was thinking something like “there was no way he had a crush on you”, but, again, Jamil sure isn’t going that far at this point. No way.

Of course, for all these, I don’t mean to say that what I thought when writing is the only way to read it, far from it. But it is what I was thinking at that time.

And that shit in the end? Yeah he’s not willing to put words to it, even in his own mind, but he can’t quite deny what is going on, even if he refuses to face it.

Too Hard

Jamil’s solution to uncomfortable feelings: let’s pretend they don't exist. That’s definitely gonna go fine 🙃

Reader, meanwhile, definitely is aware of their own feelings at this point - they were already acting on them in the first part, after all. So Jamil really is starting on a back foot here, in the sense that he’s still trying to figure (or avoid figuring) out his own thoughts and feelings, while reader’s feelings are turning into action.

However, Jamil’s standoffishness / avoidance here is throwing reader for a loop. I struggled quite a bit with how I should portray this - I didn’t want reader to just go “I’m sad because you’re distant” because you need to be really close for that kind of vulnerability, I feel - certainly closer than these two are. So there was a version where Jamil overheard Kalim comforting reader about it, and another one where Jamil heard just the wrong bit of what you said to Kalim.

In the end, I’d like to think I struck out a reasonable balance between making it clear enough what was going on between you and Jamil, while also not making them too good at communicating.

Ngl, here and throughout I so loved writing Jamil’s thoughts, going through the denial while also peppering in the bits that were quite telling enough of what he actually felt. He might not be admitting it to himself yet, but also even if he tries, he can’t just act neutral with you.

Whereas the title of the first chapter was referring to reader being too much for Jamil, here the title refers to Jamil trying too hard to “act normal”.

Also, by the time I posted this, I already had the title and vague concepts for the next part and the finale - the only question was if I’d need a transition between those two.

Such a oneshot this turned out to be, huh, just 5 parts.

Too Little

Pivot time! The dam breaks, finally, and Jamil has to accept that things are as they are.

It was around this chapter that I noticed myself using all these metaphors about currents and depths and things and started to use them more intentionally. That’s where the title for the whole series came about, as well. I’m not sure where the idea cleared out for me, but I think around here the latest I realized the whole “struggling against the tides (aka your feelings) and expending all your energy there - accepting your feelings as they are, making things all in all much more easier / pleasant” dichotomy for Jamil.

Which, certainly doesn’t apply to just romantic feelings. Like, that man has been repressing so much, and probably spends (or spent, before book 4) so much energy just maintaining the facade - energy which he could use for other things more fruitfully, one would imagine. So, yeah, it became a bit of a theme, that whole learning to understand and accept one’s feelings.

Again, I had so much fun writing him yearning. I was allowing him to complete a few more of his thoughts, letting them go a little further, but it’s not like he’s fully comfortable going all in yet and admitting even to himself all that he’s thinking about.

Tho also look at him being all soft and mushy and in his feels.

Also I couldn’t decide how dirty I could / should go with the “What it would feel like to touch you, to hold you, to kiss you, to-” bit so cutting it off solved that question too, lol.

I did also consider making this chapter much more lewd, Jamil maybe even masturbating to the thought of you, but then there’s the question of community labels and stuff and I didn’t want anyone to miss out a part. Plus like, as much as I love my lewd, I also didn’t want to imply it was just horny he’s feeling for you. But it was definitely a balancing act, trying to figure out just where I’d want to take this.

Tbh, I still might write the nsfw version of this (or something similar, at least) at some point.

Another thing to add to the wip / idea list I guess.

To me, the title feels quite self-explanatory here. He’s got too little of you, and wants to have more of you in his life.

Also that ice cream bit was absolutely there just to treat myself.

Too Fast

So, sometime earlier in the process I’d decided the reader should be the one confessing / making the first obvious move. Partly because come on why should it always be the guy doing that, and partly because the theme here was to keep Jamil on the back foot (ily Jamil but you’re just far too fun to fluster).

So when Too Little ended with Jamil deciding to act, I suddenly realized I had a bit of a dilemma - after all, Jamil is the sort who likes to make others act. Originally, I thought that what would throw Jamil off here would be you acting before Jamil gets to make his move. But for a character who likes to nudge others to act, would that really be a problem?

Thankfully, Jamil is also a planner thrown off when things go off rails - I mean, he can definitely adjust, as we see here and elsewhere, but it was enough to throw him off the loop the way I wanted to. So, I pivoted to Jamil being surprised by you making your move without his nudges. Jamil maintained his backfootedness as intended, and I managed to keep myself from accidentally glossing over parts of his character - win-win.

Writing this out like this feels like such minor nitpicking but well let’s just say that for the particular vibes I wanted to go for, it seemed to make a difference.

Also this bit:

“But he needed to know if it all was enough for what he wanted with you.

And if not… Well. Perhaps there was something to be done about that. Given enough time, enough attention…

He could be a listening ear, a supporting presence, get to know you further, if he needed to.

Yes, he wanted you to be his sooner rather than later, but if he had to wait and work for it, he would.”

Now, one could certainly read this a bit yan if one wanted to, but mostly I just felt like I had had Jamil be so “nice” so far and it felt like I really needed a dash of the more calculated parts of him, willing to put so much on the line to get what he wants. Like sure we’re going pretty fluffy with this story but it is still Jamil we’re talking about.

The scene with the basketball trio was originally Scarabia kitchen (with Jamil almost fumbling his phone into a pot or counter instead, and a random student questioning him), but then I realized I already had Jamil doing a lot of cooking and related things in this fic. So basketball trio to the rescue, and for a change of scenery, too. (And me hoping that in just couple of lines of dialogue I won’t do too grave injustices to the other characters.)

Also with Floyd in there, of course I had to include the line about “a taste of blood in the water”.

Again, it was quite the balancing act, trying to figure out just how flustered Jamil should be. A king of compartmentalization, after all, (and no jmeal this is not a compliment), but also I wanted him to be genuinely affected. So addlebrained Jamil it was, but hopefully I didn’t make him too much of a bumbling fool for who he is.

Also ngl I was really happy with myself with the parenthesis thoughts.

“He’d make something quick for Kalim’s dinner while preparing something to share with you. (What could he make with the time and ingredients he had that you really liked? What about dessert? He knew how much you enjoyed sweets, after all.)”

The logical, planning mind in the regular text, all the feels and “idle” thoughts in the parenthesis - which he’s trying to keep under control / at bay, but can’t, quite.

Again, Jamil, wouldn’t life be much easier if you let yourself feel your feels?

Ngl, I kind of feel like a coward, skipping so much of the dialogue in the confession scene. On the other hand, this series had turned into such a deep dive into Jamil’s head, that I was kinda content to keep to that inner perspective, even in this particular situation.

It’s strange, though, since often when I draft fics, for example, I build things around dialogue. But with this fic it just seemed to be different aspects calling to me.

Also knuckle kisses? Leave me absolutely weak, I could not resist including that.

I did wonder if I was too obviously spelling out my thought process, talking about reader having been ahead of Jamil in the feels curve, but on the other hand I figured it would be something Jamil would realize. So hopefully it didn’t turn too far in to telling rather than showing (I say, as if the next chapter isn’t so much of telling, oop).

“And in that sweet moment Jamil finally stopped fighting, at least for a moment. He let go of his plans, his resistance, and allowed himself to be swept up by you.”

And here we are, finishing with those themes of tides / feelings, the first dip of Jamil allowing himself to stop fighting. Not gonna say he dropped all his bad habits here, but at least he had a moment of calm.

Just Right

And we get the fluffiest of payoffs. Expounding on themes I outlined earlier, but also just fluffy sweetness.

Ngl, I was pulling from my irl relationship for a lot of these things.

“And all those things Jamil had not even allowed himself to think of back then now freely filled his mind.”

Like I said in the notes for this part as well, I combed through the earlier parts, picking out the unfinished thoughts and other bits that were poignant for what I wanted to say about Jamil’s feelings and his handling of them. So lots of callbacks, pretty much, to tie things up.

“However, finally, Jamil had learned how to withstand those currents. Fighting them, denying your pull… It truly had been a fool’s errand. Riding with the waves, steering his course was the only way he could make it - but only once he allowed himself to be carried by the flow.”

I was really wondering how to word this bit the right way. I didn’t want to say that the relationship was inevitable or anything like that - life happens, Jamil has agency, he could’ve chosen to say no to your date invitation etc. But the feelings were there, and couldn’t be denied away - at least not without significant and frankly wasted effort.

So, yeah, it was a fun project, going through the stages of Jamil’s thought process, slowly (or not so slowly) letting him think in different ways as the story progressed and showing those things in different ways.

Plus I’ve been doing almost exclusively oneshots for some time so it was nice to do something a little longer.

Hopefully these thoughts were of interest to at least some of you! Again, I want to iterate, I don’t want to say that my thought process behind writing dictates the one true way to interpret things or anything like that. It is simply where I’m approaching the story from, and what is behind the choices I make in telling the story.

Honestly if anyone reads all of this you deserve a cookie. Maybe even a drabble.

[thus-spoke-lo]

cw: angst; major character death [canon - spoilers for Marineford arc]; gender-neutral reader wc: 1.2k

“Oh hey, before I forget, I have something for you.” Ace planted a quick kiss on your dampened temple and slid out of bed, his sweat-slicked body glistening in the evening sun that filtered through your curtains.

You propped yourself on your elbows and watched him cross the room, admiring the way the light dappled across the muscled planes of his back as he stood naked, rustling around in the pocket of his shorts. “What is it?”

“Just hold on, let me get it.”

“Is it a ring?” you asked, punctuating your question with widened eyes and an exaggerated gasp. “Aw, Ace, you shouldn’t have!”

He turned and frowned, narrowing his eyes at you. “I know you’re kidding.”

“Am I?”

“Oh, come on. No one oughta to marry a pirate.”

“Says who?”

“Says this pirate.” The mattress shifted as he climbed onto the bed and knelt next to you. He held a small square of paper out to you, placed it in your open palm and closed your hand around it. “Here.”

You opened your fist and stared at it, held it up to examine it while you absentmindedly stroked his thigh with your free hand. “What is this?”

“It’s called a vivre card. It’ll guide you to wherever I am, so you can always find me, no matter where I go.” He got up and walked to the other side of the room, and the paper softly wiggled in your palm and began to drift in his direction. “See?”

“Huh. Neat,” you nodded as you turned the card over in your fingers, trying to avoid his gaze. “Thank you, that’s an interesting gift.”

“‘Neat’?” Ace sauntered over and slid back beneath the sheets, making no effort to hide the exasperation in his tone. “‘Interesting’? That’s it?”

You leaned over and placed the scrap of paper in the drawer of your bedside table, shutting it away while a quiet melancholy started to settle over you. You laid down, facing away from him, not wanting him to see the sudden gloom carved into your expressions. “I’m not trying to be rude, but it’s not exactly like it’s going to do me a lot of good. You act like I’m ever gonna leave this stupid island.”

“Well…maybe you could one day.” He curled his warm body around you and stroked your cheek with his thumb. “And when you do, then you’ll be able to come to me, wherever I am.”

You turned your head to kiss his heated palm, his skin almost scorching against your lips. “I think maybe I ought to just wait here for you like I always do.”

“What, a life of piracy not your style?” he grinned against your skin as he laid a trail of kisses down the back of your neck.

“I don’t think so,” you mumbled as you closed your eyes. You pulled his hand downwards, wrapping his arm around your waist, interlacing your fingers with his. “I mean, you said it yourself, no one wants to marry a pirate.”

“I’m sure someone would marry you.”

“Like who?”

“Someone,” he murmured into your shoulder, his voice low and gentle.

You hesitated, feeling your heart start to flutter in your chest like a caged sparrow. “What? Someone like you?”

Ace’s soft snores against your skin were the only answers you received.

----------

You laid in the bed that now felt cold and hard and uninviting, vivre card in your palm, watching it crumble into dust.

The sight of Ace in heavy chains, powerless and defeated, had turned your stomach, your breakfast suddenly splattered across the cobblestone street before you. You couldn’t tear your eyes away, couldn’t keep from wanting to claw your skin off as you watched him struggle, watched the chaos ensue around him, all the while wanting to scream until your vocal cords snapped, hoping he could somehow hear you from miles and miles away. It came as a relief when the video feed finally cut out and you could wind your way out of the pulsating crowd, the sound of their jeers and insults and epithets hurled at Ace and his kind spreading like poison through your bloodstream.

It wasn’t anything you hadn’t heard before, especially after the papers splashed his photo across every front page, gleefully reporting his capture and his date of execution, but when it was only on paper, you could try to pretend it wasn’t real—that what heard from the mouths of your neighbors and what you saw in print was merely a fabrication of the corrupt government, that it was all some grand scheme that you couldn’t possibly understand. You still wished it down to the very marrow of your bones that in a week or two, it would all be over, and Ace would be standing at your front door again, sun-kissed and smelling of the salty sprays of the ocean, and he’d take you in his arms and kiss your cheek and tell you it was all okay, that it would always be okay, that he was yours to keep as long as you’d have him.

When you arrived home, you frantically dug through the drawer in your bedside table to locate the vivre card, found it buried beneath books and trinkets. You’d refused to touch it when the news first broke, afraid of what you might find, and kept it hidden away; it was easier to pretend that Ace would find his way home to you again when you didn’t have to watch his life shrink away in your grasp. You sat in your bed, blankets pulled tightly around you, for what felt like a lifetime, watching Ace’s soul disintegrate in between your fingers. You watched him turn to ash until there was nothing, until your hands were empty and all that remained was a whisper of him on your lips.

You waited for the tears to come, waited for the inevitable tidal wave that would drag you under and drown you, fill your lungs with unimaginable sorrow; instead, it stuck in your throat, choking the life out of you with every stilted breath. Ace wouldn’t want you to cry, you reasoned; he wouldn’t want you to mourn him. He wouldn’t want you to tear yourself apart over the lingering trace of his lips against yours when he kissed you at the dock before he left for the last time. He wouldn’t want you to feel the lasting flickers of his hands on your waist as he pulled you into his lap and you counted the freckles on his cheeks. He wouldn’t want you to incessantly wonder if you should have followed him—if you should have begged him to take you with him so you’d never even need that wretched vivre card, and you could have stayed by his side every waking moment, fallen asleep with him listening to the waves crashing against the sides of the ship. Ace wouldn’t want you to miss him, to spend the rest of your days a living ghost, walking a wire between what was and what could have been.

Besides, you thought as your eyes burned and a wounded wail finally pushed its way out of your lungs—no one ought to marry a pirate, anyway.

[isatswap]

(spoilers for isat (in stars and time), full game (technically its like act 3 but also no))

(also death cw)

Siffrin Hangout

TTOS version of the Loop hangout from ISAT

Siffrin: Hi, starlight.

Loop: "So."

Siffrin: So?....

Loop: "Got any theories about the loops I'm stuck in?"

Siffrin: Why would I? You're the one named Loop, you should know more, hahaha!

(Siffrin snickers quietly.)

(This bit is getting old. But what can you do about it.)

Siffrin: Hehe. I'll see what I can do, though. What's your question?

Loop: "Do you know anything that would help?"

Siffrin: That is too broad, starlight. Siffrin: I don't know anything you wouldn't know, as I said before.

Loop: "How can that be?"

(Siffrin just raises his brow.)

Loop: "Aren't you here to help me?" Loop: "Why don't you know more about the loops you're supposed to help me with?..."

Siffrin: ... Siffrin: Heh-

Loop: "Don't 'hehehe' me, Siffrin."

Siffrin: Fine. Siffrin: I don't know how to answer that, starlight. Siffrin: You should be grateful you're not alone in this prison, you know. Siffrin: With how you react to things, you would be absolutely miserable alone.

Loop: "..."

Siffrin: Okaaay, fine, I won't just sit here and do nothing. Siffrin: Let's summarise what we know about the loops. Maybe we will find something out!

(You sigh, and nod.)

(Nothing better to do, you suppose.)

Siffrin: So. Siffrin: You're stuck in a timeloop for reasons currently unknown. Siffrin: It starts in Dormont when you wake up, and seem to end when you talk with King.

Loop: "Unless I perish or touch a Tear."

Siffrin: Mhm. Getting frozen is kind of like dying. Siffrin: ...Unless it is in battle. What's up with that?

Loop: (Wait huh? Isn't it because...) "I thought the Tears work differently from time freezing skills?..."

Siffrin: Well, you're the one getting frozen, so you should know. Kind of a weird distinction, but whatever. Siffrin: So, you loop when something stops you from advancing in some way... Siffrin: ... Siffrin: I wonder if other things count as "stopping you from advancing".

Loop: "Like what?"

Siffrin: ...Hm..... Siffrin: What if we would lop your legs off? Would that make you loop? Can't crawl up the whole House, you know.

Loop: (UM.) "We are NOT testing that."

Siffrin: Awww. Would be fun to see you try. But understandable.

(What does THAT mean???)

(But it is interesting, though.)

(What makes the loop actually loop?)

Siffrin: I've mentioned talking to King before. Maybe that somehow counts as something that stops you from advancing?

(Hm....)

(....stops you from advancing where?)

(What goal does that obstruct?)

(Is there something that happens when you talk to him which makes a certain goal impossible to accomplish?)

(...)

Siffrin: ... Siffrin: As you've found out, all this might be the work of Time Craft, a power which should be impossible to wield... Siffrin: But you and The Scary Lady are somehow able to manipulate it.

Loop: (But...) "Is it really manipulating if I can't control it? Sometimes it feels like it wields me instead."

Siffrin: But you can control it, in some capacity. You can choose the place where you loop back to. Except for after the King talk, that always sends you straight to Dormont. Siffrin: And even ignoring that, avoiding death and looping back in time can already count as manipulating Time Craft.

Loop: (But, if Time Craft is too dangerous to even use...) "How did I get that power?"

Siffrin: And how can you relinquish it? Siffrin: Those are very good questions, starlight. But not ones we can answer yet. Siffrin: ... Siffrin: I do wonder about the limitations of your powers, still. Siffrin: I feel like finding out what exactly makes you loop can help you find out quite a lot.

Siffrin: Stardust, we have been talking for a while, so maybe not right now, but... Siffrin: I would like you to hang out with me, when you have time.

Loop: (Huh?) "Hang out?"

Siffrin: I need to test something. And to show you something very important. Siffrin: And also... Siffrin: We never really spent time together, starlight! I'm booored here! Suf-frin, even!

(Siffrin does his usual laugh, but this one seems to have some painful undertones.)

Siffrin: Heh... but I do want to hang out, though. We haven't ever really spoken like people that know eachother, you know?

(That's true... But still weird.)

Siffrin: You can do it later, I'm not in a rush. Siffrin: This might take a while. More than the rest of the day, probably. Siffrin: You probably have something else to do this loop, so I'll wait until you have time. Siffrin: M'kay?

(A theory Siffrin would like to test about the loops? Well that's useful, at least.)

(You should talk to them when you have time.)

Siffrin: Good. I'll be right here, starlight. Siffrin: In the meanwhile... Siffrin: How can I help you on this loop?

Loop: (...)

"We can hang out now."

"What should I do now?"

"Let's talk about something."

"I had a question about..."

"Nah, nothing."

Siffin: Ah. Siffrin: Our theory hangout. Siffrin: Which we can't actually do right now. Not the time for it. Siffrin: How abooout.... early morning tomorrow? After all the Clocktower stuff.

Loop: (Wait....) "You want me to sneak out?"

Siffrin: Yep. And spend a loop with me instead.

(But....)

(You always go to the House, after the Clockower.)

(If you're not there, what will they do without you? What would they think--)

Siffrin: Does it really matter what they think? Siffrin: They won't know after this loop anyway.

Loop: (...)

"It does matter."

"...Guess it doesn't."

Siffrin: Yeah. it does. But nonetheless, that what we have to do.

(Siffrin looks down, with a bit of sadness in his expression.)

Siffrin: You can opt out, still. But I think this is important to do, even if it will require you to abandon your party once.

(Is he that desperate to hang out with you? Or is the theory actually important?....)

Loop: (...)

"I'll come."

"I'll pass, sorry."

(Siffrin finally gets his gaze back onto you.)

Siffrin: Good. I will see you soon, then, I guess.

(You nod.)

(...)

(You spend the night with everyone, like usual.)

(Early in the morning, while everyone else is still sleeping, you quietly slip away and head for the Favor Tree...)

(...But you can't see Siffrin anywhere.)

Siffrin: Up here, dummy.

(Huh? "Up he--")

(Oh. Right. He lives in the crown.)

(You look up.)

(Yep, there he is, waving at you.)

Siffrin: Come up and join me, starlight.

(How?...)

Siffrin: ...Just climb the tree. I know you can.

(You sigh and climb up. Siffrin helps you up slightly.)

Siffrin: Ahh.... Siffrin: Isn't it beautiful, starlight? We are so high up!

(Sure are.)

(You can see the House from up here.)

(...)

(Everyone else will be in the House soon....)

(You try not to think about it.)

Siffrin: Thank you for coming, though. Really. Siffrin: But, it will take some time. And in the end... Siffrin: Well. You know how it goes.

Loop: "Sure do."

Siffrin: ... Siffrin: Hm. Siffrin: For such an important meeting, I sure have forgotten to actually prepare anything to talk about. Siffrin: How did I screw this up as well?...

(?)

Siffrin: A-anyway... Hm... Siffrin: Tell me about yourself , starlight! That should be a good topic.

Loop: (Really?) "...I'd rather not."

Siffrin: Hmmmmm? And why is that?

Loop: "Don't you already know me?"

Siffrin: Hm?

Loop: "It just feels like it." Loop: "You know too much about me." Loop: "You know my name, you know how i think..." Loop: "You knew me before we even met, didn't you?"

Siffrin: ... Siffrin: Kind of.

Loop: (Kind of?) "Do I know you?"

Siffrin: No, not at all. You haven't even met me once before this. Siffrin: It's not your memory failing you, this time. Siffrin: When we first met under the Favor Tree, that was... That was the first time we've ever seen each other.

(Is that so?)

Loop: "Is that why you're helping me?" Loop: "Because you know me?"

Siffrin: ... Siffrin: No, not at all. Siffrin: I am kind of forced to help you, actually. Siffrin: ...That sounded like I don't like helping you, didn't it? Siffrin: I'm honestly trying to help you, starlight. I hope you believe me when I say that. And don't think I'm the cause of your suffering or something like that. Siffrin: ...do you believe me?

Loop: (...)

"...I do believe you."

"..."

Siffrin: ... Siffrin: Hm. That was a surprise. Siffrin: I... wouldn't believe myself, to be honest. Siffrin: Maybe time has made me more jaded than you are. Siffrin: ...Whether you actually believe me or not, I will help you. Siffrin: So you can escape this loop.

Loop: "...So you believe it's possible?" Loop: "For me to escape?"

Siffrin: ...Out of all things, that is the one I am most sure of. Siffrin: You can escape. I can as well.

Siffrin: I know how it feels, you know. Siffrin: Being stuck somewhere. With no hope of escaping. Siffrin: Forced to relive the same events over and over. Siffrin: And when things seem to be better, and the exit is in sight.... Siffrin: Having all of it taken away in a blink of an eye.

Siffrin: Hahaha. Look at me, babbling. Siffrin: Don't pay attention to me. I am.... fine.

(Siffrin looks at the House in the distance.)

(...)

Loop: (...) "What about you? Tell me about yourself?"

Siffrin: .... Siffrin: Nah, I'd rather not, hehe.

(Siffrin gives you a wink with his single eye.)

(Despite yourself, you laugh.)

(You hear Siffrin quietly snickering, as well.)

Siffrin: ...heh... Siffrin: Say, starlight, that reminds me... Siffrin: Can't believe you tried to fish 11 times! You know nothing lives there anymore, right?

(Hey...)

(You and Siffrin animatedly talk about the different things you've done during the loops....)

(It's nice. To be able talk about them with someone.)

(You talk and talk until the sun has risen high above you in the sky....)

Siffrin: ...

(Siffrin's face suddenly get a lot more serious than usual.)

Siffrin: Ah. It should happen soon, now.

Loop: (?) "What will?"

Siffrin: What happens almost every time. The thing I have a theory about.

(...?)

(You raise your finger to ask, and then...)

<There is a bright flash of light coming from the top of the House.>

(NGH!.....)

(You've heard a horrible sound.)

(Your head...)

(You saw... something.)

(Siffrin seems to.... hug themselves under their cloak?....)

Siffrin: Thank you... for hanging out with me... Siffrin: Sorry it's gonna end like this....

(What?...)

(Siffrin diverts his eyes from the House.)

Siffrin: I hoped it wouldn't happen this time. Siffrin: See that light? Siffrin: It's from the Scary Lady's floor. Siffrin: I see it every time you try to fight her. Siffrin: Her opening attack.

(Scary Lady's opening attack?...)

(How long have you been talking to Siffrin?)

(Who was the Scary Lady attacking?)

(Who was she...)

(...)

(The Scary Lady doesn't attack, or really do anything at all, until you reach her.)

(She would only attack if... if someone...)

Siffrin: I can feel it. Every time.

(Siffrin got quieter.)

Siffrin: I know what it does. It makes you see something. Siffrin: A future so terrible, it's enough to bring anyone to their knees.

(...)

(You you can't even hear him anymore.)

(Your friends)

(They were against the Scary Lady just now)

(You know the way to avoid it, you learned how, but)

(but)

(but)

(You hear a sharp inhale.)

(You look at Siffrin--)

(Siffrin is looking at you, trying to breathe.)

(In their single eye, you can see despair.)

(Unimaginable terror.)

(Despite him saying nothing, you can almost hear Siffrin say...)

("Please. Just get it. So we can stop this.")

("Don't you understand?")

("DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND WHO SHE ATTACKED JUST NOW?")

(Tears stars falling from Siffrin's eye. He can barely breathe in, just to say one thing....)

Siffrin: don't you?....

(He hides his face, holding his head.)

(You start screaming.)

(IT'S BECAUSE YOU WEREN'T THERE!!!)

(THEY DIED, BECAUSE YOU WEREN'T THERE!!!)

(THEY ARE GONE!!! BECAUSE YOU WEREN'T!!! THERE!!!)

(BECAUSE YOU WEREN'T THERE)

(THEY ARE GONE, BECAUSE OF YOU)

(THEY ARE GONE)

(BECAUSE OF YOU BECAUSE OF YOU BECAUSE OF YOU BECAUSE OF YOU BECAUSE OF YOU BECAUSE OF YOU BECAUSE OF YOU BECAUSE OF YOU BECAUSE OF YOU BECAUSE OF YOU BECAUSE OF YOU BECAUSE OF Y

<Loopback.>

(You stumble and fall to your knees.)

(You breathe, harshly, in, and out.)

(...No you don't.)

(You can't take a breath)

(You can't)

Siffrin: Hey.

(Can't)

Siffrin: HEY!

(You look up.)

(Siffrin is standing over you.)

(He sits down.)

Siffrin: Breathe with me.

(Siffrin breathes in, and out, slowly.)

(You try to follow suit.)

(You two do it until your breath stabilises.)

Siffrin: ...Let's go under the Tree. I don't want to be seen by accident.

(You nod, and you both go to your usual spot.)

(After a minute of silence, you finally gather the strength to speak.)

Loop: "...Why?"

Siffrin: ...

(Siffrin does't answer.)

(They don't even look at you.)

Loop: "Did you know this would happen?!"

Siffrin: ... Siffrin: I knew you would loop. I hoped the attack wouldn't happen, but it most certainly would have.

Loop: "What was it for, then? Just to make me suffer?"

Siffrin: ... Siffrin: Of course not. I like myself enough to not do that just to make you feel pain. Siffrin: It was to reveal another aspect of your loops.

(Loops?)

(How did that have to do with anything?!)

Siffrin: ...I hoped you would notice yourself. Siffrin: Why did you loop back just now?

Loop: (Huh?) "Because the Lady won, duh."

Siffrin: Why would the Lady winning make you loop? You don't loop back the second you lose the battle against her, right?

Loop: (Don't you?) "I kinda do, though?"

Siffrin: Incorrect, starlight. Siffrin: You loop when you die.

Loop: "Wait-- No, it takes a bit--"

Siffrin: You loop when you die. The fact that the Scary Lady wins is largely irrelevant. Siffrin: But you didn't die just now. Siffrin: So why did you loop?

Loop: "But--"

Siffrin: Same with King. You don't die when you talk to him, I'm pretty sure. Why would you loop, then? Siffrin: Both of these causes seem important to figure out, starlight.

(...)

(He is right.)

(There have been other times you've looped back without dying as well.)

(But... What could be the reason...?)

Siffrin: ... Siffrin: The hang out part wasn't just to kill time.

(Siffrin smirks a bit, but immediately returns to his slightly serious demeanor.)

Siffrin: I didn't talk about all I wanted, but this is also good. It was nice chatting with someone, for once.

(You just look at them.)

Siffrin: ... Siffrin: Oh, right. Sorry for putting you through this. It's not out of malice or anything like that. Siffrin: And it's OK if you don't forgive me.

(You stay silent.)

Siffrin: ...Well... This is all we can find out about the loops, for now. Siffrin: But you can find out more about the Scary Lady, actually. Siffrin: I could help you next loop. Not now. We both need.... rest. Siffrin: ...I'll be seeing you, I guess.

(You lightly nod and walk away, not saying a word.)

[ojamayellow]

Under the cut, I'll explain all the different canon personalities and relationships of my TFormers sona/OC, Jumpace, aka Jumpy. It (Samurai Jack voice) jump good. It/Its pronouns. Contains spoilers for TFA, CBV and some ES. (Those are in order, so if you wanna avoid some spoilers, they're the last 3 besides Skybound).

Every Jumpace can jump good and do Rider kicks and such. It jumps so high it could punch a Seeker from out of the clouds. This ability makes up for his lack of flight (minus the two universe's where it can fly). Here are visual references. G1 CARTOON.

Alt mode: Sand rail/buggy thing. Weapons: Drill, blasters, its kicking. Kind of your average G1 snarky Decepticon. Sparkmates with Starscream, but during mid-Season 2, he and Starscream have a huge fight (cos now Starscream is getting too ridiculous and selfish) so divorce. Jumpace becomes neutral for a while, but then Cliffjumper notices him and takes in the 'Decepticon prisoner' but a lot happens and Jumpace becomes an Autobot. It then develops a hero complex and believes it must make up for all his sins. Falls for Skyfire.

Decepticon relationships: Liked to hang with Skywarp and Thundercracker, and play pranks with Rumble and Frenzy. Dated Starscream for a very long time. Thundercracker was very "UGH, a GROUNDER whats WRONG with you Screamer" for a while though. Autobot relationships: Likes to spend time with Carly, Beachcomber, Sideswipe and Wheeljack. Cliffjumper is forever suspicious about Jumpace, but they eventually form a sibling bond. Tracks and Sunstreaker dislike Jumpace because of how muddy/sandy it can get. Eventually gets with Skyfire, which is going to be huge once Starscream notices BOTH HIS EXES DATING.

I have an AU where there's peace and the skystars and Jumpace can all date. skyjumpstar. In G1 canon, Jumpace is killed by Starscream in-between the gap of S2 and Movie, so he doesn't exist in the JPN G1 timeline.

GALAXY FORCE.

Alt mode: Some kind of flying machine (jet?) I would love an Armada/Micron Legend Jumpace, but if Starscream had a partner from the start, the show wouldn't last long and Starscream would have less problems. So, in both Galaxy Force (its own universe) and Cybertron (Unicron Trilogy), Jumpace can exist. He is an ancient Decepticon like Thunderblast, revived by Starscream. While he has a cocky attitude, Jumpace is crazy devoted to Starscream, similar to Thunderblast's affection for Megatron. That's all I got, really.

ANIMATED.

Alt mode: Mini Cooper. Weapons: Instead of stingers like Bee, drills in servos. Detachable back rails to use as...idk, batons? This Jumpace is a nyehehe villain, coming into play mid-Season 2 when it crashes onto Earth after being separated from Screamy for so long! See, back pre-plot, Starscream was forced to train this new grounder recruit (UGH) but somehow (dw it makes sense in my Documents) they got closer and are a couple ("You should be honoured to court such a fine bot like myself!"). At one point, the jumpstar (ship name) went on their own mission without per-mission (haha) and discover a Space Bridge. Jumpace activates it but it goes haywire, sending Jumpace halfway across the galaxy, with the space bridge deactivating for good. Jumpy ends up in Trypticon Prison for YEARS and made a few escape attempts, but eventually does succeed, steals a ship and ends up on Earth. Starscream finds him and the two are like... !?!?!?!?!?? And end up (grossly) lovey-dovey for like, a week ("Huh I wonder why we haven't seen Starscream since those two clones") and then they get back to their original relationship: Cartoony slapstick couple. Like, funny arguments only to make out? Does this make sense to anyone? They do genuinely care but they're also both selfish.

Though, when Jumpace can't feel the warmth of Starscream's spark, its like "YOU'RE TELLING ME YOU DIED? YOU IDIOT" (STARTS TO BEAT HIM UP). <-Again, cartoony slapstick. Please don't label this as abuse. Also, Jumpace has trauma from being confined and space bridges! I don't agree with most of Season 4's would-be plots, but my idea for Starscream revival is this; Slipstream approaches Jumpace and Starscream's shell, and Jumpace literally begs (rarity for it) Slipstream to give STSC a piece of Allspark Fragment, and in return, Slipstream doesn't have to follow Starscream's orders, she can be her own bot! Just please! And well, Starscream real and Slipstream flies off to do her own thing.

Relationships: If you know the Starscream clones, I'm sure you can expect their attitudes towards Jumpace. Thundercracker's ego makes him think he's better suited to be Jumpace's partner. Sunstorm is a suck-up. Ramjet lies, you know the dealio. I'm not sure how, but I want Jumpace to meet Blackarachnia and fall for her charms to do her bidding. Jumpace hates any and all Elite Guard and obviously Autobots, but mostly Elite Guard. Makes fun of Masterson a lot. I do want him to have fun interactions with the Autobots, and have a bit of a soft spot for Ratchet after he healed it.

Oh! I have a Shattered Glass version for TFA Jumpy! Basically "wow my hero!" at Starscream who's like ":)??" about it.

CYBERVERSE.

Alt mode: Once Cybertronian grounded vehicle, then fucked-up part Seeker thanks to Shockwave's fixer upper. <-Similar to Shadow Striker's ordeal, basically Jumpace needed medical attention and instead got SHOCKWAVE'D. Weapons: 'Drill Missile', Blasters.

This Jumpy...is a no-brained puppydog-like devotee to Starscream. Like, Galaxy Force Jumpy with the flying alt mode and devotion, but more rose-tinted shades Up to 11 and ":3!" moods. Happily does whatever Starscream says, clings to him, etc (a big ego booster for Starscream for sure!). But during Starscream's "the ancients say I should kill everyone :D" moment, Jumpy gets scared, especially during the Allspark fuckery of killing the Seekers. Starscream promises that Jumpace will be the last to go into the Allspark, but luckily the Autobots come in and save the day.

Eventually, the whole 'killing everyone' thing and eventually Judge Starscream freaked out Jumpy, so it became mute for a while after Starscream was out of the picture. It stuck with Clobber and became an Autobot like she did. She would try her best to get Jumpy to socialise with others like Hot Rod, and Jumpy would express emotion, but grew unable to talk. However, it took a glance at...JETFIRE, DOING SUCH AN ELEGANT AND AMAZING HEROIC POSE!! Jumpy became fascinated with this Autobot, how... stunning! It was just staring and Jetfire was like "Oh! Hello there!" and... Jumpy became a puppydog again but less so this time, because he wouldn't do things with no brain, he'd actually instead just ask "May I help you with xy?" oh, he also managed to speak again. Because its in looooooove. That's right, skyjump real.

Relationships: Good pals with Thundercracker (rip) and Clobber! Use to be best buds with Whirl before the war. Sparkmates with Starscream before THAT happened. Ends up with Jetfire. (Who, btw, I wouldn't mind if he was also dating Sky-Byte post-war). Jumpace wanted to get along with Shadow Striker, especially due to their similar circumstances, but Shadow Striker only got softer for Jumpace closer to series end. (And yes, I like to picture safe skyjumpstar here as well).

EARTHSPARK.

Alt mode: Modern dune buggy. Weapons: Batons, its fists and kicks <-More of a brawler type here. So, Jumpy here felt bad for Starscream due to Megatron's beatings but also admired his intensity, so during the war (back on Cybertron) he would bug him constantly like "are you okay?" and also "can you teach me to fight better" as a way to help Screamer, but also just wanting to be closer with him. I addressed this better in my fanfic but I'm lazy to double check. He starts of warm and naive at first in the Decepticons, then a cocky fighter, similar development to TFA Jumpace. But they get together, but Starscream kept it secret for a while because he didn't want to be seen as weak for 1. having a sparkmate and 2. courting a GROUNDER.

My plot with him was that during the war on Earth, he 'died', causing Starscream distress before he 'moved on', so when they reunite, (my fic was set before Season 2 but after Season 1) Starscream is angry-confused because oh surely this means Jumpace LIED and is A TRAITOR (Okay, Starscream). Spoilers for fic if anyone cares, but after much commotion and Malto help, they get back together.

Essentially, thanks to being taken in by a human (as a regular car), Jumpace engaged in many hero shows and started to mimic their poses and even yells "TRANSFORM" when transforming. (Nerd). It is also fascinated with bugs and arachnids, so you bet your sweet bippy it's obsessed with Insecticons and organic bugs. It's a soft side of ES!Jumpy.

But Jumpace hates harming young ones, Cybertronian or other. So if it sees what Starscream did to Spitfire and Aftermath, it will FREAK OUT. It's probs with Shockwave and the others around that point, but holy Hell. Also, Spitfire having similar colours to Jumpace kills me a bit but she's still so fucking awesome I LOVE YOU SPITFIRE.

Relationships: Starscream. But who knows how long that will last considering Season 2? She's so hot but god dammit I SPECIFICALLY HAD JUMPACE NOT WANTING TO HARM KIDS. Oh, I also had him develop a sort of 'bond' with Thrash Malto, but later realises that Jumpy will have to betray the Maltos at some point. Hey, Jumpy doesn't like physically harming them, so betrayal is fine, right? It doesn't like Megatron all too much, feels offended about him 'joining the Autobots'. Acts like its better than Nova Storm and Skywarp, but likes them. Likes to brawl with Hardtop. Oh! And despite him not really...existing except that tiny bit in Earthspark, Jumpace is Cliffjumper's brother! Aha! Callback to G1 where I said they grow a sibling relationship, except this time they're on different sides! I want them to be sibs in other universes too, but I would need to actually engage in those universes. Other than Skybound, I'm not touching any more Transformers for a while. Speaking of...

SKYBOUND.

Basically G1 Jumpace. However, my options are either 1. Killed in Cliffjumper's clan. 2. Wasn't activated on the Ark 3. WAS activated, but because of Starscream's...yeah, disaster unfolds. And might switch to Autobot? It's hard to say, but the possibilities are so interesting! So, if you read all this, or part of it, what do you think? I hope all the Jumpys sound 'right', considering they're all different but contain similar elements. I didn't included JPN G1 cos Jumpy dead. Beast Wars because that's Beast Wars. Anything else I simply haven't engaged in yet. (I mean I read a lot of the Marvel Comics run but that's A LOT to think about). But I hope it sounds like a genuine Transformers character.

Unrelated, TF GOGO Jumpy would be so cute. And if Jumpace was a BotBot, he's be Jumpaxle (tech deck skateboard).

[hillbilly---man]

A list of my works on AO3

(they're all Saiki K fics at the moment but I'll add fandom categories to this post if I ever get a new interest lol)

It doesn't fit my plans; it's something I don't understand

Published July 11, 2021

Summary: Saiki is fascinated by Satou Hiroshi, and the people around him start to see that this might be more than just a platonic curiosity.

What is this feeling called love?

[Notes: Bittersweet ending. Nobody gets together. My insistence on theming these early fics after songs is pretty embarrassing now. I'm not proud of my writing here but the story is ok. I might rewrite it someday. Not bad for my first fic since like 2003 though]

Something Changed

Published August 11, 2021

Summary: Aiura wrote a letter to her soulmate the night before they were supposed to meet.

She's predicted a lot of things... how could she have gotten this one wrong?

[Notes: Another sad ending. The format of this is almost entirely an excited letter about the future Aiura imagined that would never come to pass. Not really much of a story happening here tbh]

Won't it be strange when we're all fully grown?

Published August 28, 2021 (INCOMPLETE)

Summary: With graduation quickly approaching, the psychics of PK Academy (and Akechi) worry that they'll drift apart. Luckily, they come up with an idea.

"Let's all meet up in the year 2030!"

A lot can change in a decade.

[Notes: Kind of like a psychicker class reunion where they're all adults with jobs and everything catching up. Future chapters were going to have almost a Scooby Doo vibe (with a twist reveal at the end about Aiura's husband!) I abandoned it because I posted some art and someone called my art creepy and it made the whole fic feel bad to think about. Maybe I'll get back to it someday. It's cool to see how quickly my writing improved. I was also super proud of how well I wrote Akechi's dialogue here]

Hotel Valentine

Published September 24, 2021

Summary: Toritsuka Reita is a pretty lucky guy. He somehow managed to not get expelled from PK Academy, he graduated, and he's avoided creeping on any living girls for a few months. To celebrate, the PK Psychics paid for a one-night stay in the fanciest hotel in Tokyo so Reita can creep on the ghost girl of his dreams. Pretty lucky, right?

Too bad things aren't going his way. He's being ignored by the staff, he's bored out of his mind, and he can't find the ghost girl anywhere. Some vacation, huh?

[Notes: Spoiler: Toritsuka's a ghost stuck in a nice hotel. This is based on a concept album that most of you have never heard but hear me out! It really has nothing to do with the Cibo Matto album of the same title except that the chapters are named after the songs and there are fun Easter eggs for fans of the album. Another slightly sad ending but not too bad]

Coffee & TV

Published August 27th, 2022

Summary: The new silence in her house felt heavy on Kumi's shoulders. Everything reminded her of Kumagoro... especially her grandson Kusuo, who has been coming to visit more often than ever before.

[Notes: this is my least popular finished fic and I understand why. It's about grief and the loss of a grandparent. It's about the unique pain that a psychic would have after failing to prevent that death. There's a sad twist that TBH I think I was a little too subtle with. One of my favorites]

Friendly Fire

Published January 8, 2023

Summary: Being an adult is great until the Problems start. Good grief.

30-year-old Kusuo's psychic powers have been pretty well controlled for over a decade. Why are things starting to go haywire all of a sudden?

[Notes: Friendly Fire my fucking beloved!! In this fic, Saiki gets essentially psychic multiple sclerosis and has to deal with some complicated emotions. I don't think it's a masterpiece or anything but it was cathartic to write and I'm in love with the versions of these characters that I wrote here. So much so that I'm writing a sequel just so I can write more of them. Also, FINALLY a happy ending!!]

Ramen Ikouze?

Published April 28, 2023

Summary: After being dragged to get ramen with Nendou every week, Kusuo starts to realize that it's not so bad after all.

[Notes: I love Nendou, he's so good. This fic is very cute and about their friendship. A couple of fun twists]

Saiki has Plans?

Published May 2, 2023

Summary: Saiki mentions having plans after school, and the overactive imaginations at PK Academy work themselves into a fuss trying to imagine what he could be doing.

[Notes: This fic follows around a bunch of Saiki's classmates as they gossip and snoop to find out what he's up to. It's my most popular fic for some reason]

A Bright Flash

Published May 13, 2023

Summary: Saiki develops an annoying new ability, and through some comedy series logic is forced to tell Teruhashi about it. She tries to be a good ally to her "newly psychic" crush.

[Notes: Teruhashi accidentally finds out about Saiki's new power and he's like "fine. I'm a psychic. But it's just this one power and nothing else."]

Heat Wave

Published June 6, 2023

Summary: There's a historic heat wave in Hidariwakibara, and some of our favorite PK Academy students end up running into each other while taking refuge from the hot weather.

A series of four standalone (but connected) stories taking place at the same time:

Aiura has a vision of disaster, and she and Nendou try to stop it

Yumehara gives Toritsuka some advice to improve his game

Akechi meets Teruhashi's brother

Saiki really wants some shaved ice from the kakigori stand where Mera is working

[Notes: The summary explains it well but also I weaved so many connections between the chapters (that are all happening at roughly the same time). It was also a lot of fun writing interactions between characters that didn't get much in canon. Also you can tell it was hot as hell when I wrote it because I definitely gave Saiki some kind of psychic heat intolerance lol]

Immunity

Published July 6, 2023

Summary: She didn't know why, but Kokomi was finally able to see the truth.

Why Saiki seemed to appear and disappear without explanation. Why it seemed like he always knew what she was planning. Why he wore those weird hairpins.

It was all so obvious now.

Saiki had psychic powers.

[Notes: The veil is lifted suddenly and all the truths that Saiki kept locked behind his mind control were revealed to Teruhashi. He and Aiura have a chat with her about it. Also this was the first fic of mine that an IRL friend read (to my knowledge) and his comment was something like "I don't know anything about your boy but he sounds autistic and gnc" and I took that as a fucking compliment! You know you've written Saiki right when people can see that shit from space]

The Disastrous Financial Situation of Saiki K

Published August 9, 2023 (IN PROGRESS)

Summary: Adjusting to his new limitations has been annoying, and now Kusuo (age 31) needs a car to get around.

Unfortunately, taking time off work has drained his savings.

How is he going to get the money for a car now?

[Notes: This is my sequel to Friendly Fire but it's a lot lighter in nature. 100-Yen-Man goes around doing stuff for Saiki's friends. There are mentions of his disability from Friendly Fire and it's plot relevant but I think you can catch on even if you didn't read the original. I haven't updated in a while but I am actively working on it!! A Yumehara and Makino chapter next and then a Toritsuka chapter after that. TBH this isn't my best work and it's pretty unpopular but I'm having fun and that's all that counts)

[the-ninja-legacy-whip]

maybe shade would tag along with his daughter to the tournament and he's just there chilling in the background maybe giving jesse some parental advice and entertaining cam too. also he'll has to explain to someone he had a kid but never told them about it.

I wrote a thing, don't read it until October (...cuz spoilers, but also gives me time to nab all the typos):

. . .

Jesse’s lost track of who’s fighting who now—it’s nobody from Lloyd’s group, nor anyone he’d recognize otherwise. Looks like a Master of Shapes or something against that gosh darn Master of Surface Tension, if he had to guess. Therefore, he’s not particularly invested in the fight, and tries to seek some refuge from the chaotic crowd that Roby insists on hyping up further. 

As he wades his way through the stands, trying to be as inconvenient as possible, he sees an open area near one of the exits. Not too crowded, only a few guards…but if he squints, he thinks he sees someone lurking among the shadows. Part of him wants to turn right around and go back the other way, in order to avoid any unnecessary trouble…but a second look reveals that maybe the guy isn’t a source of trouble after all. 

“…Shade? Shade, is that you?!” Jesse asks in disbelief upon moving closer. He almost thinks it’s a trick of the light—but no, there’s Shade Vespertine himself, lurking in the shadows as he’s known to do. Shade’s head tilts upon hearing the call of his name, one foot revved back to make a quick retreat…but his features soften upon recognizing Jesse. 

With a small, almost imperceptible smile, Shade steps to the side, allowing some space for Jesse to take shelter as well. Jesse awkwardly and silently takes up the spot. 

“...well, well, the years appear to have been kind to you. Could hardly recognize ya," Shade remarks with approval. “I still remember you being that scrawny little thing even way back during the Resistance…”

Jesse wilts, knowing Shade’s right. But hey, he’s been working out…! And wrangling an eight-year-old. 

“Ahahaha. Yeah, I guess it’s just been a busy…several years…” Jesse concedes, running his fingers through his bangs. “...aaaand no signs of slowing, evidently.”

“Ha! That’s just the life of an Elemental Master, am I right?”

“Yeahhhhh…” Jesse swallows. His contacts have never felt more annoying. “Uh, um, any word from your sister since the Merge…?”

Shade’s expression goes flat. “Which sister?”

Jesse had assumed the answer would be obvious. “The one that was all evil but turned good in the clutch and helped us rebuild the Monastery…?”

“...Nope.” Shade sighs, shaking his head. “...but if she’s out there somewhere, I only hope she’s not doing something stupid. Though, that’d be a lot to ask from her regardless of what side she’s on.”

Jesse hums in acknowledgement, and the two fall silent after that. Shade was never one for much small talk anyway, and Jesse's never been good at not making a situation awkward—but their attention is taken up by the sudden uproar in the area. That Master of Surface Tension emerges victorious–somehow–and Roby rings in the next challengers.

One of them being the Master of Shadow.

"Oh snap, that must be you," Jesse says, prepared to lose his shred of company, but Shade shakes his head—a bit reserved, but mostly fond more than anything.

"Nah, that's not my mantle anymore."

"Huh? What do you–?" Jesse turns, and really looks at Shade this time...

And only then does he realize that Shade's pupils are white.

Before Jesse can dig into that, aforementioned summoned Master of Shadow rushes up into the area, laughing and waving at the crowd that cheers her on. She's the spitting image of Shade: short black hair, grayed skin, the signature armor of the Vespertines...and dark markings around those tell-tale lavender eyes.

The next match starts up; Obscuria ignites her hands in lavender and immediate uses the shadows cast by the buildings to her advantage, evading her opponent's first attack and countering with practiced ease. Shade lets out a bellowing whoop of a cheer; one that nearly startles Jesse off the balcony. He didn't know Shade was capable of such a prideful sound...!

...but, that does allow Jesse to put two and two together.

“I didn’t know you had a daughter.” Especially one that's a teenager now.

Shade lets out a brisk chuckle, as if busted on the silly little secret. But this isn't funny—Jesse has questions!

“...aside from a few folks who wrenched it out of me on Chen’s Island, no one did, really. Obscuria wasn’t even born yet at that point, but...she was on the way. Couldn't believe I held onto my powers for as long as I did,” Shade explains. He turns back to the arena, smiling proudly as his daughter continues to hold her own in her battle. “Fifteen years sure passes by in a flash, huh?”

“Yeah…” Jesse agrees. But event thinking about that is making his head spin. Thus, as he is exceedingly good at, he changes the subject immediately. "Soooo...is there, like, a wife in the picture, ooor—?"

"You sure like to get straight and personal, don't ya?" Shade says with an eyebrow raised in amusement. Jesse flushes and turns away.

"I-I just try not to beat around the bush so much anymore! I figured you'd appreciate a person who gets straight to the point...!"

"Hmm, good point." Shade puts a hand on hip and focuses his gaze on the fight, not taking his eyes of the wonder that is Obscuria the whole time. "...her mother and I came together in an arranged marriage, if you must know. Nice enough woman, but the whole thing was basically a business transaction...and neither of us really wanted to see the relationship through. But once a new Vespertine heir was born, I let her go...and it's just been me and little Obscuria ever since. You can probably imagine why I was avoiding making a big deal out of the whole thing, eh?"

Jesse's heart sinks a bit at the tale, but Shade doesn't seen upset about it at all. If anything, he's ecstatic—at least for his standards—but it definitely shows in the way he hollers and cheers every time Obscuria makes a grand showing of her powers. Jesse even witnesses Obscuria checking over her shoulder at times, making sure her father's watching everything.

“...So, what about you? I would’ve assumed a hopeless romantic like yourself would’ve settled down by now,” Shade reasons. Jesse immediately turns red in spite of himself, and Shade lets out a disbelieving chuckle. “Hey, don't give me that. You started this train. I just can't believe you and the other Ninja all still have your powers…didn't any of you slow down for even a second?”

Jesse coughs into his arm, embarrassment flooding through him like never before—and the way Shade smirks at him definitely isn't helping anything. But, he's right—Jesse started this. Info for info is only fair.

“Well, about that…I'm...not actually an Elemental Master anymore either," Jesse confesses. Shade recoils in surprise, tilting his head as he studies Jesse.

"But...your eyes...?"

"They're contacts." Jesse glances around for any security before demonstrating by taking one out, revealing his own white pupils hiding beneath. Now Shade looks stunned. Jesse pops the contact back in, sighing afterwards. "...and I've been using Blue Crystals to cover up my lack of powers otherwise."

"...I have so many questions," Shade says, and Jesse laughs dryly.

"Now you know I how felt when you mentioned Obscuria." Smiling, Jesse reaches into his pocket to fish out this phone. "...but I actually have a daughter too. Her name’s Camellia.”

Jesse scrolls through his phone to pick out some photogenic pictures of Cam, holding it out to Shade to admire. Shade whistles, swiping through them all. He actually smiles warmly at the sight of her, and to Jesse, that's one of the biggest surprises of all. Back then, Shade with a smile was unheard of...but now, he's breaking out with them like they're going out of style.

It's a nice change to see, if anything.

“...Well, ain’t she just a lil' cutie." Shade finally gives his verdict, handing back Jesse's phone. "She’s gotta be yours and Cole’s huh? Always knew ya’d tie the knot, with the way Cole was swooning over you during the whole tournament on the island…”

“That obvious, huh?” Jesse remarks wryly, pushing away any thoughts of Cole at the moment. The reason he'd even come this way was to get a break from that drama. “But, well…that’s why we call her our little magic miracle. ...on top of that literally being the case."

“Her eyes though…" Shade once more searches Jesse's gaze. "...she’s the new Master of Surprise, isn’t she?”

Jesse only nods quietly.

“…then what in the world are you doing competing here, man?”

“She’s only eight, and she of course doesn't have her True Potential yet…and with some shady rumors surrounding this event, I didn’t want her to get caught in any crosshairs. She’s staying with my sister right now…and so I took her invitation, and her place.”

Nervously, Jesse wrings his hands together, giving Shade a pleading look.

“...Please don’t tell anyone, though.”

Shade clamps a hand down on Jesse's shoulder. “You know me, your secret’s safe with me. Though I should’ve known something shady was accompanying a tournament…”

“Shade is your name; I’d be more surprised if you didn’t know,” Jesse chuckles. Shade rolls his eyes.

“Well, there’s no way I couldn’t have come. Ria finally got her True Potential only a couple of months ago, and she’s been itching for an excuse to go all out with her powers. I let her come…on the condition I got to go too. It embarrassed her a little bit, but ya gotta bend a few things to make sure the kids stay safe, you know? ...Even if ya gotta do it from the shadows.” 

Jesse again nods in agreement, falling quiet as Shade throws himself back into the match above. It's starting to wind down, and though Obscuria is sure to be the victor, the opponent still isn't down for the count just yet. The duo go at each other, matching blow for blow. Shade hollers out words of advice, encouraging cheers, booing the commendation, and...and fleetingly, Jesse imagines it's Cam up there instead.

She's the one giving it her all, and he's the one down below left only to cheer her on, but unable to interfere—

His chest abruptly aches with how much he misses her. 

“How do you know…" Jesse asks as if on autopilot, clenching at his chest. Shade almost misses the question, but turns to acknowledge it nonetheless. "....when they’re ready to do more? How do you know when...it's finally okay...to just let them go, and trust that they'll be all right?"

“Heh, that’s an easy one, man.” Shade elbows Jesse in the arm. “…they’ll tell you.”

“B-But—" Jesse thinks back to all the countless times Cam's insisted in getting some ninja training early, or wanted to go on a mission, or her desires to attempt the Spinjitzu course...but she's still just so young. "–how do you know the different between when they’re just being overconfident and impatient....and when they’re genuinely ready?”

The crowd gasps as Obscuria takes a tumble; Jesse gasps in alarm, immediately fearing that she's about to be eliminated. But Shade doesn't react at all, simply looking upon the spectacle for what it is. Obscuria manages to pull herself back up, block another oncoming attack, then manifest a shadow whip that grabs her adversary by the ankle and flinging them out of bounds, officially winning her the match.

Jesse's eyes go wide in astonishment as Shade throws both his fists into the air, cheering louder than the crowd itself. Obscuria bounces around in celebration–much more spirited than one would expect from someone that revels in shadows—but the first person she starts running to is Shade.

"DAD! Dad, I did it!"

Shade, proud as ever, holds out his arms in preparation to catch her.

“Failing is a part of life, Jesse, you know that. It’s going to happen no matter you try to prevent it, and it’s important that they experience it happening…so they’ll know how to handle it even without you there to soften the blow. Sometimes...you just have to let them try, and see for themselves.”

Shade finally catches Obscuria, spinning her around in a celebratory hug full of rejoicing and laughter.

"...But you should know better than anyone else that they just might surprise you."

Jesse's shoulders sink, slipping away to let the father and daughter revel in their celebration. He ignores the protesting ache that blooms throughout his chest; for they earned it; they deserve it...

...and, once more, he stares at his hands and wonders if coming here on his lonesome really was the best choice.

[melverie]

⸺ LESSON 8 ⸺

Nightbringer

Solomon & Barbatos

MC's magic

situation in the Devildom

strange feelings & soup

the 'MC is human' situation

misc

- lesson 7 || lesson 9 || all posts so far -

Hi! It sure has been a while, huh? So sorry about that, I thought that maybe taking a break would make it easier for me to NOT somehow try and connect every single detail to who I want Nightbringer to be, but nope, it just made things worse. Oh well... Also, I decided to stop counting when Solomon wears his human world clothes. While it is weird that he switches that often, I don't think when he wears them has any significant meaning Also also, I know we most likely won't ever see him again, but Adam, I have my eyes on you... General spoiler warning for all of Obey Me Nightbringer, as well as for the original Obey Me

⸺ NIGHTBRINGER ⸺

once freed from the grave and inhabiting Mammon's body, Adam tells us what happened to him, and tells us a little about Nightbringer [8-16; all pics below] -> he also points out that while he does remember Nightbringer's name, he "can't be certain that was his real name" [8-16]. Interesting detail to include

Nightbringer somehow knows that MC has the Ring of Light [8-16] -> fun fact! If you're on the amnesia route, you get a flashback of Solomon briefly explaining what the Ring of Light is to MC. Also this is how I found that I was apparently on the amnesia route while replaying -> upon seeing it, the Gang™ recognizes the ring as Lucifer's, only to immediately gaslight themselves into thinking the opposite. Thank god they're all allergic to braincells

Nightbringer entrusted Adam with a message for MC; "It's not yet time for you to return" [8-18] -> I know that's probably not how they meant it, but timing-wise it kind of sounds like it's not time for MC to return to the Celestial Realm

⸺ SOLOMON & BARBATOS ⸺

disregarding the insult he throws in right after, Barbatos does speak with some respect about Solomon, and suggests that if MC wants to stay in the Devildom, it's best if they talk to Solomon about it [8-1] -> btw not him telling MC that after he teleported Solomon away

⸺ MC'S MAGIC ⸺

MC is able to pull magical power from the brothers and succeeds in opening the gate to the Celestial Realm [8-18] -> sure would be a shame if something like literally opening the gate to the Celestial Realm just like that had no repercussions whatsoever later on, huh :)

Adam says the following [8-18; pic below]. What do you mean by that, Adam???

⸺ SITUATION IN THE DEVILDOM ⸺

we learn that the relationship between the Devildom and the Celestial Realm were nearly at the breaking point, and while they are still far from stable, at least a war could be avoided [8-1] -> and yet, Simeon talks about good relations between the Devildom and the Celestial Realm back in lesson 6

we also learn that the Demon King suddenly fell into his slumber, meaning all responsibility of governing the Devildom fell onto Diavolo's shoulders. The House of Lords thinks he is too young for that though [8-1] -> apparently the Demon King fell into his slumber right after the brothers got their ranking [8-9; pic below]. Interesting timing to say the least -> this lesson in generall talks a lot about where the Demon King is

⸺ STRANGE FEELINGS & SOUP ⸺

Simeon greets MC with a "welcome home" [8-4], meaning he on some level somehow knows that MC originally lives at the House of Lamentation

MC's future room has apparently become a regular meet-up spot for the brothers, and Lucifer even takes naps in there [8-9] -> Asmodeus also describes it as "a favorite spot from your past." Interesting wording [8-9; pic below]

⸺ THE 'MC IS HUMAN' SITUATION ⸺

Diavolo claims that he can "sense something" in MC [8-1]. He himself isn't entirely sure what it is, but I'm guessing it's the angelic qualities that MC inherited from Lilith. In OG season 3 (lesson 52 iirc?), illusion angel!Lucifer also points out that MC possess those qualities

⸺ MISC ⸺

Luke claims that angels can tell when someone lies to them [8-4], yet he still 100% believes that MC is a demon

thinking about it, it is kind of interesting that MC actually wants to stay in the past. We have no option of saying that we want to go back [8-4; pic below]

MC writes a goodbye letter to the brothers that promptly proceeds to be so irrelevant to the story [8-11]

after MC successfully opened the gates to the Celestial Realm, Adam tells them this [8-18; pic below]. IN THIS WHAT, ADAM.

there's some talk about finding happiness between Lucifer and Simeon [8-A]

Lucifer is unaware why Simeon is now an archangel [8-A] -> while not stated in the lesson itself, we know that Simeon got demoted because he covered for the brothers

we learn that most past demon kings died in battle [lesson 8 hard mode]

they also bring up that humans live such short lives in comparison to demons and angels [lesson 8 hard mode]

[yeehawbvby]

Operation: Seraphina-chan Figure Recovery (Mammon x GN!Reader)

+ Slight Levi x GN!Reader, but it can be read as platonic too. I just want to include that because this is mostly Levi and MC's shenanigans.

Rating: Teen+

Summary: Levi needs help rescuing a special edition Seraphina-chan figurine from the Great Mammon's clutches, and you happily oblige. Hijinks ensue, and somehow, you wind up in Mammon's bed.

Author's note: *Spoilers for Nightbringer Lesson 5-14 (hard mode) ahead!*

I took most of the plot/script from that lesson and then just changed the ending, so please avoid this if you'd rather experience it for yourself first ^^ Enjoy x

Check it out on ao3!

Being the attendant to your beloved seven sinners, it wasn’t uncommon for you to receive late night calls for assistance. Sometimes, Mammon required a partner-in-crime for one of his typical money-making escapades; and others, Asmo would request your help with his skincare routine after a long night of partying. More often than not though, your midnight calls or texts wound up being Belphie, all but begging to use your thighs as a pillow so he could fall asleep more easily. It’s hard, after all, with all of Beel’s noisy sleep-eating.

The few times Levi needed you so late, it was because he was playing his favorite MMORPG, and wanted you to join in for the group-EXP bonuses he’d get out of it. That said, it was a shock to you when Levi sent you a text – all caps locked, to boot – practically demanding you to accompany him in a heist.

More fueled by intrigue than anything else, you rushed over to the House of Lamentation, quietly snuck inside and upstairs, and lightly rapped on the door to Levi’s room before being yanked inside.

“Ack!” you yelped, not having expected such force from the normally timid otaku. 

The moment he shut the door behind you, Levi put a hand on your shoulder. The expression on his face reminded you that he was a war guy up in the Celestial Realm. His mein was intense, brimming with determination, and maybe even rage.

“Alright, so we’re about to commence ‘Operation: Seraphina-chan Figure Recovery,’” he announced. “Our objective: find and rescue Seraphina-chan!”

“...Umm, what?”

Visibly frustrated by your confusion, Levi took his hand off you and brought it up to his face with the other. As he answered, “Ugh, come on! You ruined the moment,” both palms slid down, revealing a more fitting look of pure desperation. He continued, “Listen, and listen well!”

“Okay,” you sighed, crossing your arms and leaning back onto the door.

“My beloved Seraphina-chan has fallen into Mammon’s clutches.”

“Uh-huh.”

The demon continued, “Oh, and just in case you didn’t know,” before giving you a paraphrased explanation of Seraphina’s whole deal. You lost him for a moment, before snapping back to attention just as Levi got around to his point. “Mammon won her figure recently in a prize campaign after drawing a lucky ticket.”

“Sooo we’re stealing her?” you asked for confirmation.

“Yes!” Levi responded incredulously, as if it couldn’t be any more obvious. “It’s just awful. We’re talking about a special collector’s edition that’s supposed to be kept in an air-conditioned case, never meant to be opened.” 

Freaking nerd… but you wouldn’t have him any other way. You nodded along, jumping a little when he shouted, “But Mammon just tossed her on the floor! Like random garbage! It’s unbelievable! I know she would be happier in my care. Several thousand times happier.”

“Yeah,” you agreed, “Probably.”

‘Which is why I’m going to stand up and fight for her!”

“Hell yeah!” you encouraged him.

“So, tonight, I’m sneaking into Mammon’s room and rescuing Seraphina-chan!”

You responded as enthusiastically as you could in your sleep-deprived state. “O-okay!”

“And, like, you will help me with this, right? You are my caretaker after all!” 

Even if you wanted to reject him, you probably couldn’t. The third-born looked pathetically endearing. “Alright, sergeant. Lead the way.”

The two of you skulked down the hall to Mammon’s domain, and Levi let out a quiet “Ah-ha!” as he turned the doorknob to his older brother’s room. “The door isn’t locked! I knew he’d leave it open.”

You both peeked inside – Levi’s head at his own level, and yours poking out from underneath his arm. The two of you scanned the area, as Levi murmured, “Now, where’s Mammon…?”

As if on cue, a loud snore echoed from Mammon’s bed. Perfect. Your companion looked down to you as you looked up at him, and you offered each other a curt nod, signaling that it was time to go inside.

“Let’s find Seraphina-chan while he’s asleep.”

As you took a step forward, something crumpled beneath your foot. “Ew…” you mumbled. “This room is a pigsty.”

“Seriously, how can anyone be this messy?!” Looking back briefly, Levi warned you, “Watch your step. If you make too much noise, you’re liable to wake up even Mam– d’ahh!”

Seeing as Levi was about to fall over, you gripped his arm, pulling him closer to you for balance. It backfired, and you both fell, Levi caging you against the ground.

“Ugh, sorry. I tripped over… um...” You couldn’t see much, but the whites of his eyes became a little more visible. “Is it just me, or is your face awfully close to mine…?”

“Uh…”

Before you could fully respond, Levi stuttered, “Ah, h-h-hold on, this isn’t what you think! I didn’t mean to knock you down and land on top of you, it was an accident!”

Finding his bumbling amusing, you decided to tease him a bit, rather than letting him know that you knew that. “Someone’s feeling assertive today, huh?” You weren’t sure if he could see, but you shot Levi a cheeky wink as you spoke.

His volume rising as he grew more embarrassed, Levi tried to defend himself. “I-it’s not like that! C’mon, don’t say stuff like–”

“Mnn…” 

You could feel the soft breeze of Levi’s head whipping to look towards Mammon’s bed in tandem with your own. His brother groaned, then let out another snore. You felt a little more weight press into you as Levi breathed out a sigh of relief. 

“A-anyway…” He looked at you again, paused to gather his bearings, then said, “we’d better find Seraphina-chan ASAP!” 

The demon scrambled to get off of you, then helped you up as he scanned for his figure.

“Mammon’s room is totally different from mine, huh?”

“Mhm,” you very quietly hummed, hoping it would remind Levi to keep his voice down.

“I’m guessing maybe… you like this sort of room better…?”

You let out a hushed chuckle. “We’re at risk of getting caught snooping around Mammon’s stuff, and that’s what you’re worried about?” You nudged Levi’s arm, then took the neutral route. Both rooms were sick, in your opinion. “I don’t really have a preference either way.”

“Ahahaha!” You winced at your companion’s volume. He’d been too loud and too nervous ever since your little tumble together. “I mean, yeah, of course, right? It’s just a room!” 

Worried about the steadily raising decibels, you tried to cut him off. “L-Levi–” 

“Like, who cares?!” 

Oh good lord.

“Levi!” you whisper-yelled. 

Just as his name left your mouth, Mammon groaned again. This time, he spoke. “Mmn… quiet down…”

“Shit.”

“Oh no!” Levi exclaimed.

Mammon slurred, “Whoever’s disturbed my… my sleep… I got a pile driver with yooour name on it…” 

“I think he’s only half awake?!” the purple-haired avatar speculated. 

Your eyes finally having adjusted to the dark, you could see his features better. As Levi looked towards you, you were looking at Mammon, who was skulking closer to the two of you.

“Levi!” You whispered again, “Watch out!”

The older demon’s form began to square up, and he growled as he inched dangerously close. “Ah!” Levi squeaked. “He’s coming in for a pile driver!”

If you weren’t terrified of, you know, the pile driver, this situation would have been hilarious. Unfortunately, your safety was on the line. You dodged out of the way, and noticing that Levi was frozen in shock, you told him, “Dodge right!” 

He obeyed, and Mammon missed him, falling onto the couch and right back to a full-on sleep.

“Ugh, what was that?!” Levi shook his head, then drew closer to you while still scanning the room. “Okay, now that he’s asleep again, it’s back to the search. This time we’re going to find Seraphina-chan, and–” He cut himself off with a gasp.

“What?” you questioned.

“I-i-it can’t be…” Levi groaned, falling to his knees beside Mammon. “That box underneath Mammon…”

“What about it?”

Levi didn’t – no, couldn’t – answer in coherent words. He simply stuttered and fumbled and flailed, his frustration growing as he gave up on speech and motioned towards the object in question. You could only assume it was his dear, sweet–

“Seraphina-chan…” 

Yep.

“She’s… she’s been flattened…” he mourned.

You kneeled down to comfort the demon, but just as your fingertips touched his back, he tensed up, stood up, and you could only assume he was about to yell. You didn’t risk the possibility of it. Thinking fast, you stood up too, clasping a hand over Levi’s mouth. He looked furious and his face felt red-hot as he groaned questioningly into your palm. 

“Chill. I’ve got this.”

Knowing that, even in this timeline, Mammon had a huge soft spot for you, you were ready to use it to your advantage. He was laying on his side facing towards Levi and yourself, and you hoped that if Mammon opened his eyes, you’d at least be blocking his view of his younger brother. If Mammon saw you first, he’d probably be too flustered to notice Levi was there at all.

“Mammonnn,” you whispered sweetly, running a hand through his snow-white hair. 

“Mn…”

The demon said your name, and your heart fluttered a little, unsure if he was even awake. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t wholeheartedly reciprocate the avatar of greed’s feelings. 

“Let’s get you back to bed, yeah?”

Groaning again, he wrapped his arms around your waist, nearly pulling you on top of him. You held in a surprised yelp as you lost your balance. Your cheeks grew flushed as you gripped the back cushion of the sofa, so as to not further damage Seraphina-chan with your added weight. Hearing Levi growl from behind you, you turned to face him the best you could, and put your index finger to your lips. 

A silent, “Dude, shut up and trust me.”

Facing forward again, you placed a featherlight hand to Mammon’s back.

“Come on, let’s goh!” 

The next thing you knew, the second-born was tightening his grip around your midsection and hoisting you up over his shoulder, all while he raised himself back to his feet. You cupped a hand over your now-horizontal body to muffle an instinctive scream. Then, turning your upper half the best you could, you looked back towards Levi. 

“Grab her!” you whisper-yelled, motioning towards the couch as you were brought further away from it.

“W-what about you?!”

“What about me?! We came here for Seraph– oof!” 

Mammon dropped you onto the bed alongside him, before tugging you close. You were shorter than him, but he’d positioned you higher than himself, and was hugging your lower stomach to his face. Your shirt was riding up a bit, and you could feel his hot, steady breaths against the exposed skin. 

You breathed out a jagged sigh before metaphorically shaking several very naughty thoughts from your head, and continued to explain to the now-closer Levi, “We came here for Seraphina-chan. I’ll… I’ll figure something out, just get out of here and do un-flattening surgery on her, or something.”

Cradling the squished box to his chest, Levi looked between you and Mammon a few times before nodding. “A-alright. Uh…”

Backing away while still facing you, Levi seemed to be hesitant to leave you there. You motioned your head towards the door, and Levi finally gave up. 

“Uh, thanks for the help,” he offered before scurrying away.

When Levi shut the door, it became apparent to you how dark it truly was in Mammon’s room. In the present – Or was it technically the future? Whatever – Mammon normally kept a few dim lights on as he slept. You figured that it must’ve been a later Devildom development, because it was truly pitch black at the moment.

Not wanting to wake Mammon, but not wanting to scare him with your presence in case he did wake up either, you had the right mind to attempt to think of an alibi. 

Unfortunately, you’d soon learn that you wouldn’t have time for that.

Mammon sleep-spoke your name again as one of his arms shifted lower, now wrapping around your butt. You had a light hold on his shoulder, but the motion of his strong arm wrapping around a more intimate spot made you instinctively grip much tighter. 

In the future, this would’ve barely affected you. But given that Mammon only scarcely knew you in this timeline, and it had been so long since you’d last received a touch beyond a swift hug or light arm-link from any of your lovers, this was significantly more… exciting, to say the least.

“Mm…?” You sucked in a breath and remained silent as Mammon slowly came to. “W…w-what’s…?” 

Shit.

His eyes were slowly blinking open, and they grew wider as they trailed up your form. Not knowing if you should meet his eyes or look away, you were kind of stuck, reluctantly settling for the top of his hair. The demon reached around you to grab a remote from his bedside table, turning some dim lights on above his mattress. 

It took a moment before he could register the position he was in. Then, Mammon shouted your name. Was it fear? Shock? Embarrassment? You had no idea, because you’d assumed you felt exactly the same.

Quick to react, you came up with the most Mammon-friendly excuse that you could think of:

“I-I… I was here playing games with Levi, and I didn’t want to walk home this late, but I didn’t want to stay in his room either… a-and I kind of missed you, so…” 

It wasn’t entirely wrong. You did miss him… the him that you knew, of course, but it was still him nonetheless. You’d take any version of him at that point.

As you spoke, you looked everywhere but Mammon’s eyes. When he didn’t respond, you finally took a peek, and your breath hitched. His pupils were blown wide, and he had a dreamy yet carnal look to him that you haven’t seen since you were in your previous timeline.

After an almost-cocky-but-mostly-nervous laugh, Mammon slid the arm that was around your ass up towards your back, sending a shiver up your spine as his palm grazed your bare skin. 

“Of course you’d come to the Great Mammon in time of need,” he responded. “Some attendant you are, making me take care of you.” You rolled your eyes at his typical tsundere behavior, but smiled anyway. 

“C’mere, you,” he mumbled, pulling you down closer to his level. 

Then, Mammon pressed a kiss to your forehead – you didn’t even think he realized he was doing that as it happened – and repositioned so that you were able to lay against his toned chest. 

You hadn’t meant to sleep over, but that’s exactly what happened. You weren’t about to object to a comfy night with one of your favorite non-humans.

[cirilla-fiona-riannon]

Kicho's Main Story Chapter 5 Part 1

These translations are not intended as a replacement for the game. Please support cybird by buying their stories. JP SPOILERS under the cut. Expect mistakes.

I suddenly found myself in an unfamiliar place.

(Where the hell am I?)

(Or rather, what was I doing?)

Not knowing where I was, I looked around, but all I could see was a blank, white world.

(I wonder if I can get there if I keep going straight.)

(Hm? But where am I going, and who am I?)

Someone's voice: "...up..."

???: "Huh?"

Someone's voice: "Wake up, Mai."

Mai: "----!"

I suddenly woke up, and the bright morning light flashed into my eyes.

(Wow, it's so bright.)

Kicho: "You're finally awake."

Mai: "Kicho? Where the hell am I?"

Kicho: "Are you still dreaming? We're in a room at the inn."

Mai: "Oh, right."

(We stayed here last night.)

He was already dressed, and although he had a few dark circles under his eyes, his complexion was back to normal.

(I guess he recovered from the fatigue after a night's rest. Thank goodness.)

As I patted my chest in relief, he walked straight to the door.

Kicho: “I’m gonna go check on the horses. When you’re ready, come outside.”

Mai: “Okay.”

He left the room without me.

(I feel like I had a strange dream.)

(I don’t remember much, but I feel a little refreshed somehow.)

As I got up from the futon, I looked out the window and saw that the rain had already stopped, and a pleasant breeze gently caressed my cheeks as if to announce the start of a new day.

(Alrighty, let’s work hard again today!)

Mai: “Let’s see, I think it’s this way.”

Kicho: “............”

Mai: “Oh, wait. I think it's the other way around.”

Kicho: “Wait, Mai.”

I looked up from the map when he suddenly stopped and sighed at me.

Mai: “Did I read it wrong again?”

Kicho: “No, you’re making a more serious mistake than that. It’s upside down.”

Mai: “What? Ah!”

(I was so busy figuring out where we were that I didn’t notice it at all.)

Kicho: “You insisted on learning to read a map, so I taught you, but I guess I let you practice too soon.”

Mai: “Sorry. I was just too excited.”

Mai: “I think it’s better if I follow you for now.”

As I returned the map I borrowed, I pointed to something that had suddenly caught my eye.

Mai: "By the way, what are these circles?"

Kicho: "Caves. We should avoid them."

Mai: "Huh? But it looks like a shortcut."

Kicho: “………….”

Kicho: “It���s dark in there, and the footing is bad anyway. There’s also a chance that some bandits are using it as a hideout.”

Kicho: "Just to be on the safe side, we should avoid it."

Mai: "I see. You're right."

(What's that pause just now?)

(No, he seems to be doing what he always does. Am I worrying too much?)

Tilting my head, I regained my grip on the reins and watched as his white horse began to make its way to our destination.

After a while...

Mai: "Is this our stop?"

Kicho: "Yeah."

After passing through the deep mountains, we arrived at a deserted beach.

(Why on earth are we on the beach? Oh!)

Across the sandy beach, small boats floated around, and as I looked out towards the sea, I could see a large ship also anchored in the distance.

(That's one fine-looking ship. Is it one of his business partners?)

(If they came by ship, they could've come to Sakai instead of here.)

(I mean, there's a lot of weirdness going on here.)

On our way down the mountain, I didn't see any towns around here.

(If it's a port where ships come, it should be more prosperous.)

Feeling uncomfortable, I followed him to a small boat and saw a man sitting there, smiling and raising his hand as soon as he saw us.

Foreign man: “Kicho!”

Kicho: “Thank you for your time today.”

Kicho took his offered hand and shook it lightly.

(Hey, I know that one! It’s English!)

(This might help me understand what the business meeting is about.)

We boarded a small boat, and he brought us to an anchored galleon, where a man who appeared to be his business partner greeted us before escorting us to his cabin.

(I’m ashamed of myself for thinking I could understand even a bit of it.)

Kicho and the foreigner sat on a chair and began speaking in English fluently as I leaned back to listen to their conversation.

(He’s amazing. He pronounces the words so well that I can hardly understand a word.)

(I should at least act like I know what they’re talking about so I don’t make them uneasy.)

Mai: “Thank you for your hard work. It looks like the business meeting went well.”

Kicho: “Yeah.”

(I was right.)

I remembered what I had just seen as we returned from the boat and walked along the beach.

(Thanks to his overzealous negotiations, the numbers on the paperwork ended up being rewritten.)

(Although the numbers were large to begin with, it’s still not normal to increase them from 8,000 to 10,000.)

Mai: “What on earth are you planning to buy in such a large quantity?”

Kicho: "You looked like you knew what I was talking about earlier, but was that an act?"

Mai: "Yes, I tried to act like your secretary."

Kicho: "I see. No wonder you didn't react at all."

Mai: "What?"

Kicho: "The business meeting we just had was about purchasing weapons."

Mai: "-----!"

Kicho: "Considering the number of ships allowed into Sakai, we still haven't reached the amount needed for our plan."

Kicho: "This port was built for that purpose."

(Oh no. So 10,000 is the total number of weapons?)

A chill ran down my spine as the blood drained from my entire body.

Mai: "Are you sure you want to tell me something so important?"

Kicho: "If you're my secretary, you should know about it."

Kicho: "Or are you trying to get in my way?"

Mai: "No, that's一"

I could see that his gaze changed to a more serious one.

Just the thought of having my response and my reaction watched without a second thought made me nervous to the point where my mind went blank, even when I wanted to think about how to respond.

(I haven't had this feeling in a long time, or maybe I've just been numb for some time.)

Kicho: "You once tried to stop me from getting the weapons."

Mai: "You're right. That happened before."

------------Flashback------------

Mai: “I think conflicts will happen if more people get their hands on weapons.”

Kicho: “That is my goal.”

Kicho: “I’ll incite the forces of various regions and disturb Japan. This trading post is for that purpose.”

Mai: “A lot of people are going to die.”

Kicho: “………..”

---------Flashback Ends---------

(I backed off back then.)

Kicho: "What do you think now? Do you want to stop me and call off the deal we just had?"

Mai: "I..."

(He creates a world where people die because he values life.)

(No matter how many times I think about it, I don't know how he came to that conclusion.)

(Maybe if I ask him what he saw in the future, I can get a little closer to his thoughts.)

The look in his eyes told me that the question wasn't about that, and he was just genuinely waiting for my answer.

Mai: "I still don't think it's right to create conflict or to instigate one."

Mai: "I think this will never change, no matter what, but..."

Kicho: "But?"

Mai: "I want to talk to you properly without outright denying your thoughts."

Mai: "And since we're here together like this..."

I stepped closer to the invisible line separating us and stared back at him, begging his permission for me to take a step forward.

Kicho: "Why?"

Mai: "That's because I don't know what's right and wrong."

Mai: "It's not something I can decide by my own standards."

Kicho: "You already have your answer. You said earlier that my idea was not right."

Mai: "Yes. Still, the feeling of not knowing comes first."

Mai: "And the more I think about it, the more I think about you."

Kicho: "............"

Mai: "That’s why I want to know."

Mai: “I don’t understand why you’re doing this, and I may not be able to empathize, but I want to understand.”

Kicho: “Can that be done by just talking to each other?”

Mai: “I don’t know, but don’t you think wanting to know is the first step?”

Kicho: “Who knows? Knowing could lead to disillusionment and even rifts in the relationship.”

Mai: “It’s the same without knowing.”

Mai: “I made all these assumptions that you were a horrible person, but you weren't maliciously trying to create conflict.”

Mai: “Every time I got to know you a little better, I got confused even more.”

(To me, he changed from an enemy to a person. That’s why I’m in pain.)

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I believed that people could communicate with each other through words.

I thought if I talked to him, he would understand.

However, reality hit me that these ideas were naive in the Sengoku period.

(As long as we’re in conflict, someday we’re gonna have to make a choice.)

(But at least until that moment...)

Mai: “Please tell me. I don’t want to deny something without knowing the answer first.”

Kicho: "That's vague."

Mai: "Well, you asked me what I think."

Kicho: "It's fine. I got the answer I wanted."

Kicho: "As I thought, you'll get in my way, but I will remember where your heart is."

Mai: "Okay!"

I nodded, and he started walking forward again without saying a word.

The sky was clear, hardly appropriate for a return trip after a disturbing business meeting, and the waves crashing on the beach grew stronger, lightly wetting the dry sand and my feet.

A few days later.

Mai: "Fuku. Repeat after me."

Mai: "Report."

Fuku: "Kicho."

Mai: "Report."

Fuku: "Yummy!"

(Hmm. This strategy is no good.)

(Even if I taught him some words and asked him to pass on a message, Kicho would probably know about it.)

I leaned against the wall and breathed out, feeling my cheeks relax as Fuku shook his head over my fingertips.

(I need to tell Mitsuhide about Motonari and the weapons, but I don’t think sending a letter would be a good idea.)

What awaited me upon my return to Sakai was the same hectic pace of life as before my departure.

Naturally, I continued to work with him all the time.

(Although I took the trouble to ask him to tell me, it’s still difficult.)

(Even if I got to know him, if I can't fulfill the mission that brought me here, I'm still halfway through everything.)

Mai: “If only I could have at least one chance to get out of town.”

Just as I was about to let out a long sigh again...

Kicho: “You’ll get a chance.”

Mai: “Kicho!? Are you finished seeing off your business partner?”

Kicho: “No. I told him I had an errand to run later and left him to my men.”

(Errand? I thought it was just paperwork, as usual.)

Fuku: “Kicho!”

Mai: “Ah!”

Fuku happily jumped onto Kicho’s shoulders and shook his head again.

Kicho: “Sorry for leaving Fuku to you.”

Mai: “No, it’s okay. He’s been a good boy.”

Kicho: “I don’t think you can call him a good boy if he snuck out of the birdcage without permission and barged into the guest room during a business meeting.”

Kicho: “Also, the door was open at that time. If he had escaped, it would've been difficult to find him.”

Mai: “Hehe, you’re right.”

(I can see why Fuku always jumps on him every time he sees him.)

Mai: “By the way, what are you doing after this?”

Kicho: “I’m thinking about going into town. It’s not for work, but I have something to do there.”

Fuku: “Kicho.”

Kicho: “You stay here. Mai, put Fuku back in the cage, and we’ll go.”

Mai: “Okay.”

(If it’s not work, it’s probably for personal reasons.)

(And he’s taking me with him. Is that to keep an eye on me?)

I walked alongside him, glancing around as we made our way down the busy street to see if I could find anyone who looked like Mitsuhide.

(No, I’m with Kicho, so there’s no way he would show up.)

(I’ve come all the way here, so I need to be more careful about what I say and do if I don’t want to look suspicious.)

Kicho: “Mai.”

Mai: “Um, I haven’t done anything yet.”

Kicho: “I can see that, although there were probably a couple of stores you’d be interested in. Let’s go there.”

Mai: “What?”

Kicho: “I said you could decide where you want to go. That’s what we came here for.”

Mai: “Really? I thought you had something to do here.”

Kicho: “It’s my business too. I want to give you a gift as a reward for accompanying me the other day.”

Mai: “You don’t have to. That was part of my work.”

Kicho: “Yes. That’s why I’m paying you for it.”

Kicho: “By the way, you’ve been getting paid since you came here as a maid.”

Kicho: “I decided on the amount with the mediator, but now that you’ve changed jobs, we’ll need to sign a new contract.”

Mai: “*sigh* I’ve never heard all of this before.”

Kicho: “I see. How could you think of working so diligently without knowing your salary?”

Kicho: “I mean, even before, shouldn’t you know that?”

Mai: “When I came here to the Sengoku period, I thought that the common sense in me wouldn’t work, so I was somewhat paralyzed in that area as well.” **

Kicho: “I see.”

Mai: “Despite that, I receive food, clothing, and shelter.”

(I would’ve been miserable if I had been forced to stay outside with no place to go.)

(The reason I’m still alive in this period is because of everyone I’ve been involved with up until today.)

(I thought I had to make sense of my being here, but everyone had already made it for me.)

(Maybe I was the one who was tormenting me the most.)

Previous╏Mai's POV╏Kicho's POV