#technically the second one wasn't really a trio for long

[babachira]

"is my (name) . . . a little distracted?"

nagumo yoichi x doctor!reader

── ⟢

+ having graduated with an assassination-medical major, a very small sub-department in the JCC where only the skilled in human science are found, you're technically a licensed doctor for any regular citizen who wants a simple check-up. you have a job in the clinic near sakamoto's store during the day, but during your assassination hours, you deal with injuries ranging from critical to a scratch. you took four years of apprenticeship under granny miya, so you tend to follow her ideology of 'the patient can be healed as long as they're not dead'.

+ your graduation was a special case. the JCC considered scrapping your department due to the lack of applications, but you excelled in combining the assets of poisons and weapons, making equipment like a portable bandaid or even discovering the smallest of pressure points that could enhance someone's strength, which floored their views. after witnessing a presentation of your projects, they decided to keep it up and running just to see what you were capable of, and thank god they did, otherwise, you would've had nowhere to go.

+ you met the famous trio during their prime when you were all 16, and you were fully aware of the fact that if they had no interest in someone, it would be drastically clear. you thought this was the case for you too since no one really appreciated your work because it wasn't 'strong' like the assassination majors, but when you received a personal congrats from them, it took you by surprse.

+ hell, when you saw them enter your lab without a word, you quirked your brows, pausing from pulling the trigger of your flamethrower. upon request from your weapons department friends, you were in the middle of melting a large batch of energy-fuelling pills. you slowly put the flamethrower down on your desk. "if i knew i was having such esteemed guests, i would've cleaned the place up a bit. to what do i owe the pleasure?"

+ but before they could answer, the three of them were hovering over your pile of books, empty beakers and box of surgical equipment. rion plucked a grey glass bottle from your top shelf, which you reserved for your most expensive creations, before popping the lid off.

+ she sniffed the top of it and gave a "hm!" of approval before taking a swig. "wow, this is actually pretty good," rion said, smacking her lips together and offering some to sakamoto, who only took the bottle from her hands, "what's this one for? my stomach feels like it's doing backflips."

+ you folded your arms. "that's because it's for serious internal bleeding. you're only really meant to take it when, you know, you're only puking an alarming amount of blood." rion nodded in acknowledgement and dangled the empty bottle with a grin. "ah, gotcha. no internal bleeding for me now!"

+ "mmm, i prefer this flavour." your eyes flit over to nagumo yoichi, the insufferable student that had all the girls swooning in seconds, swiping four potions from your shelf and stuffing them in his pocket. "i'll come back again to try more!"

+ "wait, you just came here to take my stuff?" you asked, stopping the three in their tracks. sure, it's . . . fine that they stole your things without permission, but your lab was usually off-limits for those who didn't belong in your department. well, now that you think about it, when did these three ever follow rules?

+ rion waved her hand. "we'd love to talk, babes, but we gotta dash. will use these potions well, though!"

+ and nagumo added with a more enthusiastic wave, "keep a separate shelf just for me!"

+ and they left, leaving you to finish your work of delivering pills to the weapons department. they were a funny bunch, you always thought as you sometimes passed by them in the hallway. rion would always strike a conversation whenever you bumped into each other. she was always so sweet to you. sakamoto occasionally asked how your projects were going since it was a season of missions being carried out more often than ever, so you were ever-so-busy with surgeries. nagumo had the biggest grin on his face as he bombarded you with requests like a strawberry and lemon flavoured potion for his fatigue. they were strange but fun all the same.

+ since then, they made a common appearance, sometimes it was just rion who wanted to have a chat. you got along well, getting to know her likes and dislikes, laughing along when she verbally tore sakamoto and nagumo apart like they were shreds of paper. other times, it was nagumo alone and when it was just him, it was like a spitfire of insults after insults.

+ when nagumo is fiddling with one of your brain-relaxing equipments that you made just a week ago, he realises that you're a lot quieter when it's just him, when rion and sakamoto aren't present. "hm? why is it when akao and sakamoto are here, you have so much to say, but you're silent when it's me?" and honestly, it felt like a big slap to the face because wow, it was true.

+ ". . . shut up," you said, earning a chuckle from him. "the whole building will be able to hear you yapping."

+ today, a few years after their first intrusion in your lab, nagumo is taller and different at the age of 19. he wasn't more mature per se, but he definitely carried a more confident wittier aura that you didn't recognise from before. you, at 19 were renowned for your fantastic creations. one of your best moments was when you received a commission from an order member albeit a small one. your efforts were so well-recognised that applications for your department were growing much to your pleasure. rion congratulated you a lot, sakamoto actually used your creations and nagumo had never broken his streak of making sure to visit you almost everyday.

+ and you don't know when you started to feel this way, but whenever nagumo entered the room, time seemed to go painfully slower as though he was staying in your lab for longer than you thought. your equations for perfecting brain damage potions seemed harder than normal and you just couldn't seem to find that one blueprint that was always in its same place. even nagumo went, "it's this one, no? it was right under your hands" much to your embarrassment. your brain was scattered whenever he was near you and you really hated it.

+ and what was worse is that he noticed all this and was enjoying it.

+ "is my (name) . . . a little distracted?"

+ yes, yes. infuriatingly so, you think as you watch nagumo bounce over to where you stand in the far corner of your lab. he has that mischevious grin, the one that you want to melt off his annoyingly-handsome face. did it never occur to him that you couldn't work at your best whenever his talkative ass was in the room? is he really that stupid that you have to say, "nagumo, i need to do my work," then deal with those big eyes of his begging to stay? if he was a little less insufferable, maybe you would've─

+ you freeze. wait, he said 'my?'

+ and nagumo, his face creased with laughter, sees the cogs whir in your brain as you finally realise that he really just indirectly labelled you as his.

+ "don't tell me you've been ignoring me for that long."

+ and much to your dismay, it hits you that yeah, he's always been there. "wow! my (name) seems to like today's lunch! i don't see you here that often!" he once commented when you sat with him at the cafeteria. "the food's not always so great, but today seems ok."

+ or the other time when you had a first-year student schedule an appointment with you because he wanted advice for his weapons. nagumo saw him waiting outside your lab. "hmm, my (name) is a bit busy today! why don't you come back later?" he said while he was opening the door to waltz in, "ah! my (name) i've come to bother you!" he sang before slamming the door. you didn't manage to see the poor kid because nagumo took up your entire evening.

+ and you really did find yourself making a separate cabinet just for nagumo. even to this day, at the ripe age of 27, you made soothing creams for burns, motion sickness pills and gums for him to chew on for whenever osaragi would drive. his placement as an order member made him busier but never enough to keep him away from you. whenever you're at the clinic for your day-job, nagumo made frequent appearances. he'd lean on the front desk and request for his usual "lovely, lovely and beautifully perfected doctor," even when you're literally standing there, typing away at the computer. "yoichi, you're really doing this on my shift." it would never stop him. "i am your shift!"

+ he's surprisingly romantic for someone with little dating history. he's had a few girlfriends in the past but because of his occupation, they obviously don't last long. with you though? though not a fully-fledged assassin yourself, you're part of that world, his world, so you understand the burden and pressure that comes with it. just like nagumo is tasked with completing his missions with no mistakes, you're equally expected to never fail a surgery, always finish on time and come up with new ideas. it's a cycle where you both have each other backs.

+ like, as much as he jokes, he's very proud of your achievements. as an order member himself, he'd probably commission you a lot and if anyone needs surgical assistance or high-tech weapons, he'd be quick to mention your name. of course, he hesitates just a little because he doesn't want to share, but for the better of your work, he puts your name out there.

+ he doesn't get heavily injured because he's scarily skilled. his 'gold assassin's license' that he boasts about keeps him protected, but just to rile you up, he'd limp in through your clinic or house, crying for the kiss of the doctor that he's come to adore. if you're at the clinic, you need to appear more professional because you have people you see everyday watching you care for this grown ass man wailing his guts out. if you're at home, you're much more relaxed and honestly, so's nagumo as he leans into your delicate touch.

+ generally, he's so proud and whipped about the fact that you're a doctor and are so capable of doing what you do. he has extensive knowledge on poisons, so he tries to add his recommendations from time to time and he's grateful whenever you take it. on the rare case that you don't, he acts hurt, "oh . . . my (name) doesn't like my idea," and he'd jokingly mope until you kiss his ego better. anything can solve this man's problems if you silence him with a kiss.

+ sakamoto's like ". . . please tell me you did not get with nagumo," and nagumo finds this hilarious. he's like, "i have an idea! let's go on double dates with you, me, aoi and (name)!" to which sakamoto rejects. he doesn't mind the idea of you being friends with his wife, of course, but he doesn't want to take nagumo anywhere.

+ sometimes, he'd disguise himself as you and nonchalantly act as if he's doing chores in your house until you come back home. so when he sees you, he points and goes, "an imposter!" and at this point, you play along, "there's my doppelganger. can you give me back my boyfriend, please." and as soon as you say that, he transforms back and grabs you.

+ life with this mf is a wild ride, but honestly, you signed up for it, so good luck. once his eyes are set on someone, he goes all in and is not about to give it up. especially when he knows how serious you are about him and he is for you. a match made in heaven!

[adoredaqua]

After hours

NOTE: i don't think this was my greatest work, but it is something. please go easy on me, it's been a while since i wrote 😩🙏. also, it got angsty, i kept listening to "Let down" by Radiohead, so ummm... yeah... also happy 200!! i <3 you all so much!! xoxo 🥰💕

this is the inspo for this (i changed some bits so it fits better)

synopsis: oldergf!Sevika doesn't believe she's good enough for you, but does her insecurity run so deep that she's not willing to be with you anymore?

CW: feminine reader, angsty, modern setting, no usage of y/n, not edited, age gap (reader is twenty-five and sevika is forty-one), mentions of alcohol and smoking (not detailed), power dynamic (sevika is technically reader's boss but not directly), office romance, sevika is whipped for you (like really bad)

word count: 4 000+

⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

Sevika was the best gift that life could give you. Whenever you were with her, it felt too good to be true. Being with her made you realize that nothing could ever compare to her or any experience you've had in the past. She was older than you, but that didn't stop love from blooming.

She didn't mean to fall for you. She did everything in her power not to, but as soon as you smiled at her and thanked her for helping you with directions, she felt she had no choice. After that, she kept seeing you around. She hadn't realized that you would be the new hire at work. If she had known that, maybe she would have done more to prevent her heart from beating for you. Thankfully, you worked in a different department, which helped Sevika focus on her work. But it was as if you were following her, as though you knew she was falling for you and that she was resisting you. Every time you walked past her office to go to your cubicle, she savoured the view, memorizing the outfit you wore and how you styled your hair. She liked every hairstyle on you, but her favourite was when it was down. Sevika was often spellbound by the way it bounced when you walked away. She learned your schedule, and when she discovered that you liked to arrive at the office earlier than everyone else, just so you could settle in, she began to come in earlier than necessary; she didn't need to be there in the mornings, but she did so just to catch a glimpse of you. Sevika knew she couldn't have you, but that's what she liked about you.

You have kind eyes. Full of curiosity about the world, about her. The first time she had gotten to you was at an after-work event. It was a successful quarter, and to celebrate, everyone had made plans to go to a bar, the Last Drop. Sevika wasn't planning on going but was convinced after hearing that you would be present as well. Silco, her business partner, didn't question her about her sudden change of mind. He was simply entertained.

You were making your rounds, talking to everyone and catching up. Everyone seems to love you, and honestly, who wouldn't? You were so kind and sweet. You baked for the office, even providing a gluten-free option for those who wanted it. If someone confided in you about late work, you would offer to help them, and you simply wanted nothing in return. You were an angel, and Sevika had never wanted anyone more.

Sevika stayed put by the bar, talking to Vander and Silco, catching a glimpse of you here and there. By the second hour, the two men had grown sick of her longing, lovestruck stares.

"Why don't you just go up to her? Talk to her instead of staring at her." Vander suggested, giving her a knowing look. The trio has known each other for a while, going to college together. 

"I can't," Sevika groaned into her hands.

"And why not?" Now it was Silco's turn to tease the scary lady of the office.

"Because… that's just inappropriate," Sevika stated the obvious, but she knew deep down she was just using that as an excuse. She technically wasn't your boss, but the boss's boss. Still, Sevika wasn't one to mix business and pleasure. For the past two decades, Sevika has put her life and soul into this company she's built with Silco. She knows nothing but work. As she grew older, she realized she needed to set boundaries with herself. No one was there to take care of her, so she needed to. Work ended as soon as she left the building. No matter how important it was, she's made it clear not to call or email her after hours.

"Besides, I don't think she would be very interested in an old lady." Even with the sheepish smile on her face, Sevika's tone of voice was serious, meaning she didn't want to be pressed on. Vander stirs the conversation elsewhere, now asking about how it was nearing 20 years since the establishment of the company. 

The bar has gotten louder than what Sevika would have liked. Vander occupied the bar, fixing drinks while Silco was now entertaining a group of employees. Her leather jacket was now slung over the back of her chair, the white tee clinging to her body, and her muscles were on full display. Despite her age, Sevika was still a very fit woman. A couple of silver rings splayed on her thick fingers, she nurses a drink that’s gone warm while the ice melts in defiance of the glass. She’s halfway through weighing if it’s time for her to take her leave. There wasn’t much of a point in staying; she had already played a couple of rounds of cards with the others that she had promised. As she plans her exit, you decide to sit beside her. 

Not near her. Not across the bar where she can pretend she doesn’t see you.

Beside her.

Sevika’s fingers tighten around her glass. 

You glance over, bright-eyed and a little flushed from whatever conversation you peeled away from. “I didn’t expect you to stay this long in the night.” You say, voice light, like you had already talked before. Like, Sevika wasn’t your boss’s boss, who people usually avoided unless something was going wrong, so she could be the one to break the news to Silco. 

She doesn’t smile, not because she doesn’t want to, but because she doesn’t trust herself. 

“Didn’t expect to stay this late,” she mutters, eyes fixated on her drink, like it was the most interesting sight she had ever seen. “Thought I could finally make my quick escape.” 

You giggle - and fuck, it’s angelic. “Guess I ruined that plan.”

“You have a habit of doin’ that?” The words come out before she can stop them. Too casual. Too easy. 

You arch a brow, “ruining plans?”

“Making it hard to leave.”

She sees how your expression falters, just a flicker, before you giggle again - a curiosity blooming within. This was the first time you were talking to one of the big bosses, and you didn’t expect it to be like this. You weren’t going to complain, though. She swears under her breath and quickly finishes her drink. 

This was a bad idea. You shouldn’t be encouraging this. She shouldn’t be looking at you like this. There are unspoken lines, and she’s made a career out of respecting them - keeping her hands clean even when her knuckles are split open. And yet here you were, with a soft curiosity in your voice, like she’s a puzzle you want to figure out. Like she’s not someone who’s already lived too many lives to count.

“You’ve been with the company for a while, right?” You ask, not realizing your proximity is a problem. Sevika noticed but decides against doing anything about it. This was probably the only time she could be this close to you; she will savour it. 

She’ll relish your lavender perfume, the way your dress was snug, accentuating your waist. Your hair had loose curls just the way she liked. Sevika sees the curve of your smile and the sight of your dimples, making her stomach twist in a way it hasn’t in years.

“Longer than you’ve been drinking,” she says dryly.

You make a face, “Ouch. Was that a dig at me?”

“A warning,” she mutters. “You need to be careful talking to me like this.”

You blink. The teasing fades, confusion creeping in its place. “Like what?”

Sevika exhales slowly, jaw tightening. You’re not doing anything wrong. She knows that, and it’s not like she’s acted on anything. But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re looking at her like she’s just some stranger at a bar, and not someone who knows exactly where you sit in the company hierarchy. She knows how good you are with people. How you brought tea to the receptionist when she was sick and found a sincere compliment for everyone you walked passed. You have no idea what you’re doing to her. 

“I’m your boss’s boss,” she plainly states, each word like it’s being dragged from her throat. “It’s… inappropriate.”

You tilt your head, lips pressed together like you’re trying to decipher the true meaning behind her words. Questioning if this was her sense of humour. 

Except, she wasn’t joking. 

She’s trying not to fall.

“Oh.” You responded after a moment. Then, gentler, “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

She knows. Of course you didn’t. You’re just the young, sweet and friendly new hire at work.

“I know,” Sevika acknowledges, looking back down at her glass. “Doesn’t mean I don’t.”

Your brows furrow. She can see the puzzle pieces trying to fit together behind your eyes, but she won’t give you enough to complete the picture. She can’t. It’s not right. 

She’s not right.

Still, you don’t leave. That’s the part that gets her. 

You were supposed to leave. Yet, you stayed and ordered another drink. Sipping it slowly, feet swinging just barely above the ground from your seat. Instead, you talk about a project you were assigned to, about how cold the office gets, so you have to bring an extra cardigan, and about a stupid joke someone made in the elevator today. Sevika simply listens, occasionally grunting in acknowledgement, but not letting herself relax. Not until the end, when your glass is empty and your eyes linger on her a little longer than they should. You slide off the stool and turn to her. “You know,” thinking of your words carefully, “I was going to ask if you wanted to get coffee sometime.”

Sevika looks at you, sharp and still. Her heart clenches. She shouldn’t. 

You smile - not flirty, not even expectant. Just… warmth.

“But maybe I’ll let you ask,” you add. “When it’s appropriate.”

And with that, you walk off and find your colleagues that you were meant to drive home for the night. Only to leave Sevika alone at the bar, heart pounding against ribs that suddenly feel too small. 

Sevika doesn’t sleep that night. She tells herself it’s the whiskey. Maybe she left the bar too late, or something she ate didn’t sit right. But deep down, she knows it’s you. It could only be you. The memory of you - your smile, the way your voice dipped low when you said you’d let her ask, like it was some kind of permission. 

And maybe it was.

She tosses and turns, constantly catching a glimpse of her phone, debating whether or not she should go for it. In the end, she decides against it.

Three days pass. She sees you once, she was stuck in a morning meeting while you were on the other side of the glass, sitting at your desk with headphones in, eyes narrowing at the screen in front of you like the rest of the world didn’t exist. You don’t notice her looking at you. Maybe it was for the best. She’s done many things in life that toe the line, but this? This was where she drew the line. 

Friday hits, and Sevika’s in her office after hours, finalizing details of a new deal. The building was quiet, there was a stillness as the cleaning staff hadn’t even made it to this floor yet. Her phone buzzes. A calendar reminder she never turned off. 

Coffee with HR, 4 pm - cancelled.

And for some reason, that’s what does it.

She picks up her phone, thumb hesitating over your name. You’re saved in her contacts as just your first name - no emoji, no last initial, no indication of what you mean to her beyond professionalism. 

It takes three drafts. Finally, she sends a simple message.

You still up for that coffee?

Not bothering to wait for a reply. She locks her screen and throws her phone down, heart hammering like she just pulled the trigger on something she can’t take back.

The coffee shop is quiet. It was one of those corner places where no one wears a uniform, and all the pastries are homemade and slightly burnt. A place she wouldn’t be caught dead in. You were already there, tucked in a booth near the back, hands wrapped around a mug like you’re holding onto something precious. You spot her before she spots you - but not by much. She sees the smile playing on your lips, soft and surprised, and her chest goes tight. She slowly walks over, not wanting to ruin the moment by rushing. 

“Didn’t think you’d come,” you commented, voice low enough to carry.

“Neither did I,” Sevika admits, sliding into the seat across from you. There was a coffee already there, waiting just for her. You offer her half of your muffin without asking. She declines. You expected that.

There’s silence, but it’s not an awkward one. Just… suspended. Like both of you are waiting for the first move that’ll tip the scales.

“Still inappropriate?” You ask, sipping your coffee. 

“Janna, yes,” Sevika mumbled, rubbing a hand down her face. “You have no idea.”

You raise an eyebrow. “So, what changed?”

She looks at you for a long time. Long enough that it starts to weigh on you. Then, she says, “I got tired of pretending it didn’t matter.” 

You blink, the answer catching you off guard. Not because of what she said, but how it was so Sevika. Blunt. Honest. Gruff and vulnerable in the same breath.

“Does it matter?” You questioned.

She doesn’t answer right away. She leans back in the booth, arms crossed, her jaw tight, not with anger, but restraint.

“It shouldn’t,” she finally says. “But it does.”

You nod, eyes on her like you’re searching for something. “I’m not trying to cause trouble.”

“I know.”

“And I’m not a kid.”

“I know that as well.”

Your voice dips quieter, softer. “So maybe we just… have coffee. No expectations. No titles. Just two people who might like each other.”

Sevika huffs a breath, something between a laugh and surrender.

“Dangerous words, kid.”

“I’m not scared of you, Sev.”

That gets her.

She looks at you. Really looks at you - and it hits her all over again how goddamn doomed she is. Because you’re right here, giving her a chance she knows she doesn’t deserve. 

But she wants it anyway, and she’ll do anything to be worthy of you. 

She lifts her coffee and clinks her mug gently against yours. “One coffee.”

You grin. “One for now.”

And she’s fucked. 

She’s smiling now, too. 

It had now become a routine. Not the kind that dulls over time, but the kind that settles into the bones like warmth after a long winter. It started with a shared elevator ride after work. You would wait by Sevika’s office, leaning against the wall with a knowing smile, and Sevika would pretend she hadn’t been watching the clock all day, would grab her coat with forced indifference. 

Then came the walk through the lobby, shoulders brushing, conversations stitched with quiet laughs. The world outside the office felt muted when you two were together. 

Now it was you in her apartment. Sevika would cook most nights. You always insisted on helping, but she would only let you cut the vegetables and keep her company. You two would eat by the window, legs tangled under the table, with the city lights flickering like background music. Later that night, on the couch, Sevika would read while you’d lie across her lap, playing with the hem of her sleeve. There was always a moment, just one, where Sevika would look down at you, and everything in her chest would clench so tightly it almost hurt. A mix of awe and fear. A feeling she hadn’t let herself want in years.

Half asleep and curled against her, you mumbled, “You look at me like I’m going to disappear.” To you, it was simple teasing, but that summed up what Sevika has always thought. 

Sevika didn’t respond. Just stroked your hair and kissed the top of your head like she was trying to promise something, knowing she wouldn’t be able to keep it. 

It all began to unravel slowly.

Sevika found herself staring a little too long when you would laugh with a co-worker. She started pulling away after kisses. She lingered in the kitchen too long and tried to avoid dinner overall. She had snapped, once, over something small, you were late to dinner. Sevika apologized immediately, but it clung to her like guilt.

She was too old for this. Too jaded. Too experienced in the art of being left. You were still young and bright. Sevika loved that about you, but part of her felt like she smudged all that warmth. 

So, one quiet night in her apartment. The kind of quiet that settled deep, only the soft clinking of ice in your glass and the low hum of a jazz record spinning lazily in the background. You were on her couch, legs tucked under you, reading through one of Sevika’s books. You wore an oversized shirt, which hangs off your shoulder, paired with flared leggings. The sight of you wasn’t anything new, but it was still hard for Sevika to believe that this was her reality now. 

Sevika stood by the kitchen counter, leaning her weight on one arm, a half-finished drink in the other hand. Her hair was down tonight, and the sight of it sent something warm and stupid fluttering in your chest. Neither of you had talked much since dinner. Not out of discomfort, just that easy silence you’d started to fall into more and more. She didn’t fill space unless it needed filling, and you… You were getting good at listening to what she didn’t say.

Then, out of nowhere.

“I think you should stop coming here.” 

You flinched from your spot, not sure if you had heard her right. You looked at her from your seat, and she looked just as startled as you were. That quickly went away and was now replaced with a stoic expression. 

“What are you talking about?” You questioned. 

“This,” Sevika forces a steadiness into her voice. “Whatever this is, it’s not going to last. You should be with someone your age. One day, you’re going to wake up and wonder what the hell you were thinking being with me. I’m not going to wait for that.” That last part came out quieter, almost like she regretted saying it the second it left her mouth. 

“Are we really doing this now?” You raised a brow. 

She turns her gaze to where you were sitting. Tired eyes, scarred skin, that permanent weight she carried even when she wasn’t talking about it.

“You’re twenty-five,” she explained, like that was enough to understand. Like that should be the end of it. You stood, putting your book down on the coffee table, walking toward her slowly. “And you’re what? Walking away from this before I even get the chance to prove you wrong? So, I can end up with some clean-shaven corporate guy who has a dog and doesn’t smoke?”

She flinched. Just slightly. 

Sevika didn’t expect you to fight her on this matter. She underestimated how much you want this. She fights the little voice in her head telling her that she shouldn’t continue.

“I’ve seen how people look at us,” she mutters, turning away from you. “Like I’m dragging you down. Like you’re just… playing house until something better comes along.” 

You step back, “Is that what you think of me? That I would use you?” You tilt your head, trying to catch a glimpse of her. Was this really the same person who held you at night? The woman who made sure you got home safe? The one who would look at you like you were the only thing that mattered because you were.

“Do you think of me so lowly?” 

“I’m protecting both of us.” Sevika bit her lip. She knew she was taking the coward’s way out, but if that’s what it took for you to realize that she’s not the woman you want, then so be it.

“You’re not,” you utter. “You don’t even want to try.” The frustration starts to build up, you run a hand through your hair, not believing what you’re hearing. There was a long pause, raw and aching.

“I’m not worth the fight for you… Am I?”

Sevika wanted to say yes. She wanted nothing more than to declare you’re everything to her. That this could work out between you two. But she didn’t. She couldn’t.

After a moment of processing, a realization that this is the path she wants for you. You gathered your things and left. You didn’t slam the door. There were no tears in your eyes, not yet at least. You simply walked out quietly, you knew that trying to stay would only make it worse. 

Weeks have gone by.

Sevika went home alone. No one sang in the car or made fun of her ‘old people’ music. She cooked for one. Nobody was there to help her with the dishes. She read books that didn’t hold her attention. Not a single soul was there to play with her hair and ask a million questions about her day. The apartment had grown too cold. 

You two would still see each other in the office. You would pass by her, being the cordial and polite person you were, you would smile, but it didn’t meet your eyes. Sevika started avoiding you, purposely leaving early or staying as late as possible because anything was better than seeing you in pain. 

She’d lie awake at night, gripping what was once your side of the bed. She swears it still smells like you. Sometimes she’d reach over, pathetically, like muscle memory hadn’t caught up to heartbreak. 

The worst part was the silence. She missed your laugh because she completely missed the joke you made. The way you tried to speak Hindi, even though your pronunciation wasn’t the greatest, it was the fact that you tried. The way you looked at her like she was something good. 

It was late one night when Sevika broke. 

She stood outside your door, her heart thudding out of her chest like it had something to say before she did. She hesitated; it wasn’t fair that she was crawling back to you for something she broke off. She was a coward. About to turn back, the door swings open, and Sevika looks up to see you. 

You didn’t look surprised to see her. Just tired. 

Tired and lovely, and still hers, in some unspoken way.

Sevika cleared her throat, trying to gain some control of herself. “I was wrong. I got scared and in the end I’m the one that hurt you.”

You said nothing, but instead observed her. You watched the way her breath catches up to her. Her fingers fidgeted on her sides, trying to grab something but falling short. 

“I still think you deserve better than me,” Sevika went on. “But I also know that I’ve never wanted someone this much in my life.”

A pause.

“I miss you,” she whispered.

You studied her for a long moment. Then, with a soft sigh, you step aside and open the door wider. And there it was. The same doe eyes looking at her, the day she gave you directions. The soft smile playing on your lips. 

And this time, Sevika walks in. No fear and not one doubt in her mind.

Just hope.

[nogenderbee]

♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ 𝔸𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕀 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 ₊˚ˑ༄

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ anon request: hello, may I request jing yuan with a teen!reader who is jealous of yanqing? - they are around the same age as him, a new cloud knight who is an orphan, they try really hard to get the generals attention, even making him tea, buying presents etc. they want to be like yanqing, and are a bit jealous of the relationship with jy and yanqing, so they always try to prove themselves, even sacrificing food and sleep for their training, and are reckless during missions (bonus points if yanqing or jing yuan is present at the mission, they would literally fight until they pass out)

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ Heyy! It took me a while to figure out but I think I did it right! If not, feel free to let me know and I'll try fixing it.

But uhhh it may be kinda long but I hope it still matched your taste!

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ platonic, angst with comfort

Yanqing this, Yanqing that... you were tired of it!! All you wanted was for Jing Yuan, your parental figure and someone who you really looked up to, to look at you the same way he looks at Yanqing. Was he better fighter? Smarter? Better stamina? Yes, yes and yes. But you need to be good for something, right?

You tried serving him tea, organizing his paperwork and other mundane works like that... but he always gave you the same answer. Pat on your head and gentle smile alongisde "thank you". But he never looked at you with proud feeling in his eyes, like he did at Yanqing. Even compliments were different!

"Thank you, Y/N."

"Thank you, Yanqing. I'm happy I could count on you with this task. Keep up the good work."

But it was probably a little bit of a mistake... you should probably ask him about it but you really couldn't help but overthink it a bit.

So when one day, Jing Yuan asked YOU to accompany him for one of his missions, because he saw potential in your skills, you thought fate finally smiled to you and gave you opportunity to prove yourself. And you weren't about to just let it slide by not using situation like that.

It technically was trio mission because he also took Yanqing, but you got into 2 groups pretty quickly. And ot course, Jing Yuan prefered to leave you on his side since you're not as experienced fighter. But you decided to prove yourself! You used every opportunity to slash an opponent.

"These are highly dangerous... It'd be better to not take ant risk and just sneak past them."

"I can handle them!!"

"Y/N, wait!"

You rushed towards group of tall robots not caring much, you just wanted to prove yourself and you didn't even care enough to rationally think of this situation or at least about the plan.

What was worse, Jing Yuan didn't even got the chance to react and you already began the fight. He rushed after you as soon as he could but this big group of robots was something even he prefered to fight with cautiousness.

You were honestly doing pretty good and were hoping Jing Yuan was watching you. You peeked through your shoulder to see if he's looking, but he wasn't... you were so disappointed you didn't even notice the upcoming attack and in matter of w second, you were crashed on the wall.

"Y/N, stay back!"

"But-"

"That's an order!"

You stayed in the back a bit shocked... he never really pulled the general card on you and didn't order you with such a stern voice... But at least his fighting skills were pretty good so you could just watch from the back... and despite not being able to fight, you still wanted to help so you told him enemies moves.

"O-On the left! Two on back! Hand above from east!"

He followed your instructions and you may've not knowed it but you were actually a big help to him. You took small but important bit if concentration from his shoulders so he could actually focus more in his modes rather than tactics.

After the fight was finally over, he came back to you, mix of emotions on his face so you couldn't really tell how mad he was at you... You honestly expected him to scold you or even punish you when you saw his hand rising. But he ended up just parting your head gently with small soft smile as he kneeled down a bit to match your level. He could definitely see your surprised expression because he didn't wait with explanation.

"You did a great job, Y/N. I knew it was just the right idea to bring you here with me."

And you finally received your compliment... did he figured out this was something you were missing? Or was it a lucky guess? Even you after spending so much time with him can't fully figure him out yet... but all his soft actions made your heart melt and you had to remind yourself to not break in front of him just like that. But his next words... seems like you got the scolding either way...

"But that doesn't change your actions were irresponsible. And I'm asking you to not start any fight like that again. If I tell you we're avoiding the fight or stay behind, you need to listen to me, alright? I don't mean to hold you back, I just want to ensure your safety."

You just nodded at his words. If you can't fight... and he complimented you supporting him behind... maybe tactics are the way to impress the general and get compliments like these more often without risking your life?

"I promise I'll try to not go against your orders anymore. I'm sorry again..."

"Don't worry, it all ended up good. Let's go back to Yanqing and see how he's doing, shall we?"

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

@miya-akane - come get your soft general~

[thehylianidiot]

Obligatory Spriggan 12 Headcannons Post

I have a list, and I only have one story idea I can explore this stuff for so I'm going to post a list instead:

Zeref first heard of Spriggans from Mavis. However, since he's not exactly an expert on fairy lore, he might have...misinterpreted a few details when he decided his Emperor alias should translate to "ugly fairy."

Once she found out about it a century later, it frustrated Mavis to no end. Seriously, it's a miracle once revived she didn't immediately grab a book on fairies and march right up to Zeref solely to lecture him on how many inaccuracies he made to his face.

Larcade...is actually fully aware he is Etherius. In fact, the idea that he isn't valued and just a stepping stone for END's creation is a massive insecurity of his. The fact that he broke down on being told he was a prototype wasn't because of what was being said but *who* was saying it.

That said, Larcade was once a human child who took a liking to Zeref and Anna on their travels...and ended up dead during a particularly brutal dragon attack. It was the one of two successful human-etherius resurrections Zeref had ever done.

Larcade and August were the Gray and Natsu in Alvarez's baby days. They had to rebuild the palace a few times due to their bickering.

Larcade knows about August's parentage, which is part of why he flaunts the whole "I am His Majesty's son" thing. Unfortunately for the century's worth of drama, August never took the bait.

Brandish, Invel and Ajeel were The Trouble Trio when they were kids.

Brandish outscored Invel in the law exam. Brandish occasionally rubs it in and Invel tries to ignore it ever happened.

Could Brandish have become Chief of Staff? Actually, yes. Did she decide being head of the agricultural division would net her infinite ice cream and was thus the better position? Also yes.

Ajeel grew up with extensive political training from his grandfather but he was a bit of a battle junkie so he signed up for specialization in Alvarez's military instead.

Meanwhile, Invel's family comes from a long line of ice-themed generals, but much to their chagrin he tried to distance himself from that in favor of legal discourse. His ice-armor trick from his battle with Gray was actually his family's specialty.

Invel purposefully gets his glasses frames a size bigger than they should just so he had an excuse to push them up his nose bridge more.

August took Brandish in after she became an orphan, and so she really looks up to her adopted grandfather (poor gal in 100yq on vacation's probably with the lingering guilt of stabbing him thinking it led to his death). She may act aloof but any bad word about the Wizard King and she will threaten to shrink you and drop you in a bathtub.

Speaking of which, since August was essentially the de-facto second-in-command, technically Brandish may or may not have been third in line for the throne. She just made sure to start her vacation before anyone noticed that detail.

Diamara's God Takeover was the result of an failed sacrificial ritual by a group of cultists. Just saying, Vistarion Castle sure does bring in a lot of orphans (now why does that seem familiar to a certain guild in Fiore...)

Post-war, Ajeel decided to take that running gag everyone made seriously and officially remodeled the war room into an orphan daycare.

Bloodman's anti-magic aura slowly killing everything within radius originally led a very depressed etherius. Once he stumbled on the etherius once and found some rather uncomfortable similarities to his own experiences with uncontrollable life-stealing curses, Zeref offered him a position within Alvarez.

Yajeel, August, and Makarov would have gotten along in a the-responsible-elders-are-causing-destruction way and you cannot tell me otherwise.

If baby August had been raised in Fairy Tail....he and Makarov would have been THE ultimate destruction duo that would give Pretch heart attacks with sheer level of destruction caused by their antics.

[infinite-ticking-clock37]

Help why is Silved mpreg a new thing on this app- like what started this help me

OH BOY how the fuck do I explain this shit

Ok so basically back in very early January I decided to draw Silver Spoon.. but pregnant. AS A JOKE-

Then my gf (@humanaltarr) posted the pic, and a few of my moots on Tumblr saw it, and at first I was like "Welp this is the end of my Tumblr career" and I think just a few hours later one of my moots (@spiritmander13) wrote the first Silver Spoon mpreg fic called "Silver Suffers With Morning Sickness" with 6 chapters (technically 7 but the 7th isn't involved with the story)

Then Silver Spoon mpreg became a big joke mostly on the oscc discord I believe (I joined it for a few days but left) and then for a while it was quiet, until I started an ask blog called @askthe-iii-shipchildren, on April 5th, and on April 30th I got an ask by an anonymous person where they wanted Candelabra to put Silver Spoon in a maid dress, and I ended up drawing Silver in a maid dress

Now here's were the second Silver mpreg era began. I made a joke with Candle saying "If Silver stays in that for much longer Candelabra is gonna have a little sibling soon" cuz I thought it would be funny (had no idea what it would cause)

Then @spiritmander13 reblogged it and said something like "CANDLE NO-" and I replied back saying "Silver Spoon mpreg part 2 /j" AS A JOKE. She told me not to start it again, and I said "Aw shucks" but in the tags of that reblog, I said "Time to draw Silver pregnant in a maid dress" and that's where I messed up since Spiritmander said they were intimidated.

Suddenly, I got tagged in a post by Spiritmander, and it seemed to be a screenshot of them saying "Don't tell Infinite, my sins shall stay hidden until it is the right time (I scrolled for like 20 minutes on their blog to find that fucking hell)

Then I got a little spooked cuz yk it's not everyday shit like this happens. I then screenshotted it and went into her inbox with the screenshot and asked "WHAT IS RHIS, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN" and she replied with another screenshot and it said "*Casually steals Tumblr mutuals fankid for the story*" and that's when I knew what was happening.

Soon, Spiritmander posted another Silver Spoon mpreg fic called "Little Moth"

Then it was a little quiet after that, with me making an occasional joke about it, always ending it with Spirit saying "HEY YOU STARTED IT!"

There is also this whole thing with "Bab Incest" Spirit did but I wasn't involved with that

Later in to May, me, @spiritmander13 and @mxmc13 formed the "Silver Spoon simp trio" cause apparently we all saw each other as friends so why not

Then the (sort of) mpreg era 3 started again. I'll put this part simply and say that me and a few other people on osc Tumblr got asks in our inboxes by "Anon~Chan" that were basically like a shitty Wattpad story but with II characters, and I personally got a Silverloon mpreg thing.. so fun..

And the most recent thing that happened. There was a Two x Jax post, and me, Mc, and Spirit were basically joking more about Silver Spoon mpreg in the reblogs, until Spirit came along and said "Silver Spoon simp trio canceled." And me and Mc were absolutely DEVASTATED and then Spirit said that me and Mc had to write Silver Spoon mpreg as well, for me as punishment for drawing it and confusing the original poster, and for Mc.. dunno..

And that's what's currently happening, I am working on my Silver mpreg and so is @mxmc13 ..

And yeah that's the whole story pretty much, this was a VERY long post and probably not even was the asker really wanted but meh

Anyways I imma end this off with saying.. I do not regret first drawing the Silver Spoon mpreg, since this is all genuinely fun and it even got me some friends on this site (Spiritmander and Mxmx and their great) so yeah =]

(also this is NO hate to anyone mentioned in this, and the fics that Spirit wrote are actually really good so I recommend checking them out)

[gamerbot-22]

Lifting Spirits

Prompt: Ghost

TW/CW: Do I need to put a warning for Wubbaboos?, barely proofread and I appreciate spellchecks!

Word Count: 527

A/N: Yeeees more Herta Space Station characters. I really love the vibe of the Space Station and I am praying it gets more content outside of Simulated Universe updates sometime soon. Like maybe there could be an event where you follow Robin around on her tour after Penacony and you can see her perform on the HSS? Also no one can fucking agree on how old Arlan is if you look it up. I was getting results as young as 14 and as old as 22. If I had to pick an age, I'd peg him as about 19 just from the voice and the height, but who fucking knows, dude, I think Hoyo would sooner die than give characters canon ages (aside from Gallagher)

Likes and Reblogs appreciated and Requests are Open! Read this story on Ao3 here!

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The dividers in this post were made by @/gamerbot-22 (me!) ☆

© All rights reserved by miHoYo

The responsibilities of a Herta Space Station Staff Member got really weird, really fast. Everyone has their own horror stories of the first unforgivably strange thing they had to do to keep one of Herta's prized artifacts from going haywire in one way or another.

That all being said, playing volleyball with Wubbaboos technically wasn't the weirdest thing Arlan ever had to do on the Station, but it did feel that way once the activity broke out into the hallways.

"Woo~! Woooo~!"

The Astral Spirits' voices echoed playfully off the walls, almost harmonizing with themselves as Arlan gently swatted them up into the air like deflating balloons. He'd been at this for at least a system hour now, with no signs of stopping. The report wasn't kidding when it said Wubbaboos got more childish in groups...

"Tough workday, Brother Arlan?"

He didn't bother to look at the heckling researcher. He was too busy trying to make sure all three of his charges were staying airborne. "Just making sure that they don't take their energy out on your chemical samples."

"Yeah?" Arlan could hear the sneering. "'Cuz to me it looks like you're just playing around instead of doing your job."

"You're welcome to that opinion," he sighed. He nudged a cooing spirit up a little higher than before, earning an ethereal squeal of delight. "But I guarantee you wouldn't be happy if they played in your lab. All by themselves. With no one to stop them."

The researcher had either left or was ignoring him. Either way, Arlan took the silence as a victory, and continued his gentle Wubbaboo juggling all the way to the Station's Bridge. There, a more friendly voice was there to greet him.

"Taking the Wubbaboos for a walk?" Asta chimed. Arlan could hear her heels clicking as she turned around.

"In a sense," he smiled back, still too focused to actually look at her for longer than a second.

"Woo! Woo woo~!" One of the Wubbaboos wiggled in the air, spinning like a beach ball as it attempted to land closer to Asta.

"Hey, get back over here--" Arlan shifted to catch the wandering spirit only to see Asta cradle the creature over her palms.

"Aw, do you want some more friends to play with?" She smiled so big her eyes shut, her face as radiant as the stars outside the big glass windows. "I can play around for a little while, why not?"

Arlan swatted the second and third ghost higher into the air to buy some time. "You really don't have to, Miss Asta, I know you must be busy--"

"Oh, I don't mind! I've been working all day long, I could use the brain break." She ushered the smiling Wubbaboo up into the air to join its friends. The trio cooed and cried, staying up there just long enough for Asta and Arlan to meet eyes and smile. "Besides. They'll get tired faster if it's the two of us, won't they?"

The security officer felt his ears go a little hot when she smiled at him. "Yeah. Let's take them to the Mess Hall next?"

"Sounds like a plan!"

[fangaminghell]

pkmn interactions are rlly fun. Sometimes u get so far w a team u gotta create their own team dynamic and their own story. Even ships. Beau and Xenon get together mid-story and Bonnie and Clyde also have smth non-platonic going on there. Dynamite and Clementine (Cinccino) are also together. It’s oc ception -JJ

SO REAL!!!!

I so that a LOT with my oc teams. It's harder to do that in fangame teams bc I generally have A Lot of pokemon,and thus don't usually have the energy to give personality and thought into each and every one of them. However I think of all my ocs, I think the Rejuv trio has pokemon with the most defined personalities.

Imani: There's sooooo much i wanna talk about given her main team but hnnnnnng it'll be so long and I'll go insane. So I'm forcing myself to focus on June and Sunflower ( I mean there's gonna be mentions of others but it's mostly through said pokemon's perspective)

June ( Primarina, Male) is the leader of Imani's whole box, with Mira ( Nidoqueen) being his second in command. He's very much like Imani, someone who's bubbly, cheerful and always an optimist! Though upon evolving he became much more of a calming presence, and was really shining as a leader ( not that he wasn't before lol, just that fully evolving made him feel more sure of his ability to lead). Him and Mira have this " older brother, big sister" vibe towards the rest of the group, ESPECIALLY with Sunflower and Autumn ( Leafeon, male). His leadership has gotten the ire of Opal ( Milotic, male), and the two would often go back and forth a lot....though if you were to ask Mira, she would say something shifted in their arguments. They're softer, and tend to enjoy each other's company more. Either they don't realize what's shifting or don't want to realize it. Either way their relationship is getting a bit better day by day so! That's a plus, right?

Sunflower( Chandelure, female) is the youngest of the team! Well. If you want to be technical, she is older than all of them, but mentally and physically she's the youngest and acts like it. Ever since she was caught she had wanted nothing more than to explore everything and anything. Her curiosity tends to get her in trouble. A lot of trouble. And it doesn't help that she doesn't exactly have a filter so she's pretty blunt. But her team loves her so it's fine. As a mentioned before, June and Mira are like older siblings to her ( June miiiiiight tetter in fatherly figure), and she adoooores them. Whenever they're genuinely upset over something she did she gets so upset at herself. She just wanna help! Next to them, though, is Autumn, who is both her partner in crime, and also her biggest victim. I think Autumn is older than her, but only by a bit. Both of them are the youngest of their teams and thus, both tend to stick to each other. If you consider Sunflower pestering Autumn when he's brooding ( " I'm NOT brooding !" ) sticking together. They do care about each other though. Autumn is usually the one that tags along with Sunflower whenever she wanders off - mostly to make sure she doesn't get into any serious trouble. But also bc they do get into shenanigans together and it's fun! Despite his " I'm too cool for this" attitude ( me realizing he's basically a young teen compared to everyone else hgvhvgvgvcg), he's very protective of those he loves, including his little sister Sunflower... something that Sunflower never fails to point out! He always gets embarrassed about it when it's mentioned hvcfsghufhgdvd.

Flynn: Hopefully this will be shorter this time! Like Imani, I'm choosing two, but really these two are kinda Flynn's aces/ signature pokemon.

Sakura ( Meganium, male) was Flynn's first pokemon. Atm, how they met is kinda being rewritten since Flynn as a whole is getting a slight rework. Before, it was a starter pokemon given to her by the Blakeory's ( Flynn's parents had something going on with them - and no they weren't rich, this was very much a dept thing). But recently, upon realizing Flynn wouldn't have been born and raised in GDC ( she would be younger if she did), I think she met her Chikorita as an abandoned pokemon in Oblitus town ( she's from Oblitus Town btw). He would have been her first patient....and they've been attached ever since! Flynn is a very very shy person and Sakura....is not. He's much bolder than she is and isn't afraid to get defensive on her behalf. Even when he evolved, he never was afraid to confront things, and even pushing Flynn to get out of her comfort zone now and again. As for the relationship with his team it's. Nooooot as indepth as Imani's, sadly. I can say that he gets along with June very well, and probably picked fights with Opal on his behalf ( yes, it would be a losing battle both in terms of type weaknesses and Sakura being a more support/ defensive pokemon, but that's not gonna stop him lol). I think Sakura and June have a similar sibling esc relationship that Imani and Flynn has ( J: Oh I don't want to be mean... S: Don't worry, I do. J: Sakura!)Sakura kinda gives me the impression that you either vibe with him or you don't. He doesn't hold it against you if you don't as long as you're civil about it. He's very loyal, and isn't above confrontation as you've seen before. But he isn't foolhardy either.

Horis ( Hydregion, male) is kinda the start of Flynn collecting more pokemon. He's not the second she had, that's her Audino, but he's definitely the third. No he's not related to Dylan. Maybe. We'll see. The two met in the hospital, Horis being a Dieno that wouldn't let anyone near it despite its need for treatment. Flynn, by some miracle, was able to worm her way into his heart and he's been following her around ever since. Once a guarded dragon is now a big ol puppy. Loves Flynn, loves it when she pets him, loves it when she baby talks him, loves making her happy!!! I think that protectiveness has made it hard for him to get along with other pokemon though, especially as Flynn started expanding her team. He may be. A smidge jealous. Just a smidge. But I think he's overall a pleasure to be around. Very excitable, and while it will take a while for him to get used to anyone, he likes playing with others. Sometimes he forgets he's bigger than he used to be though lol. Sakura and him definitely had a bit of a rocky start. Sakura was concerned for Flynn's safety after what he's heard and Horis was privy to anyone who wasn't Flynn. Much to Flynn's pleasure, they gradually got along better as time went on ( specifically bc the girl got wrapped up in Plot and the both of them could agree that Flynn's wellbeing was more important than any distrust they had).

Arrow: .....maybe this will be shorter? Only one bc I'm losing steam aaaaaaaaah-

Firecracker ( Charizard, male) - Arguably the oldest of everyone I mentioned here, same as Arrow. Despite this and the scars that he has, he's genuinely a softy. Likes looking out for others, a great sparring partner and an amazing flying buddy. He's a sweetheart! He's known his team for a loooong time, with only a few recent additions I think. Him, Jester ( Gliscor, female) and Sunny ( Helioptile, male) go waaaaaay back to Arrow's youth, and are three peas in a pod. Not as bashful as Jester but not as outgoing as Sunny. A good balance and thus, is easy to talk too! I think the other younger pokemon look up to him ( something he gets bashful about hgbfgbnjfdfhj).

And that's it! God this was long. It reminded me I should think about my ocs pokemon to pokemon dynamic more. Imani's team is really fruitful in that regard but I feel like the others are lacking so. Yeah! Something to keep in mind.

[ladystormcrow]

❄️Share a snippet from a WIP of your choosing.

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

🌤️Share your favorite piece of dialogue from your WIP.

❄️From the currently-being-worked-on second chapter of Trio Sonata:

Meg laid a hand on her shoulder. It was meant to be reassuring, but as Christine’s anxiety started to rise, it felt like a threat.

“Please tell me what’s really going on, Christine.” Her dark eyes were wide, intense, imploring. “Are you in danger? Is the Phantom threatening you?” She paused. “Did he do something to the vicomte?”

“No!” She flinched away from Meg’s touch. “It’s not like that. No one’s in danger.”

“Then why won’t you tell me?”

~~~

☔ I've mentioned in past asks that if I were to go back to my Megamind fanverse fics (Life Is What Happens and The Storm And The Stars), there are a number of things I would change that would probably require rewriting the story from the beginning.

The biggest ones involve Wayne/Music Man's relationship with my OC Danielle Dymond. I know it's a popular headcanon that Wayne is somewhere under the LGBTQ umbrella, and I would want to incorporate that more into his thoughts and backstory, and how it continues to impact him now (since being involved with a cis woman like Danielle doesn't make him straight). I would also choose to keep the Scott parents alive, since I feel like killing them off pre-story as I did missed out on a lot of plot potential for them finding out their son is alive, and exploring how they'll interact with Danielle and her family (not just the racial and social class differences, but how the Dymonds are a loving and supportive family, while the Scotts are ... not so much). I also wasn't a believer in ACAB when I wrote the original fic, and I would change Danielle's ending so that, instead of rejoining the police force, she stays at the community center and starts training volunteers for a neighborhood watch-esque organization.

One other big plot idea for these two that I planned to explore in a future fic involves Danielle unexpectedly getting pregnant. She does want the child, so Wayne, terrified that a potentially superpowered fetus might kill her, goes to Megamind and begs him to find a way to shut off his powers so she can safely carry the baby to term -- including offering himself up for Megamind to experiment on. Megamind then has to deal with the awkward, complicated feelings of finally discovering how to weaken his former rival, but not being able to enjoy it like he once would have.

~~~

🌤️ From Katabasis (which is still technically a WIP, thought it really is almost done), the whole coversation between Kira and SilSol in Chapter 8 is one of my favorites, but these lines in particular:

“... No apology can undo the harm my kind have done,” he said, after a long and weighted pause. “But I want to offer one anyway. Kira, I’m sorry. I’m so terribly sorry. Not just for what my dark shard did. For everything.” 

Kira lowered her wings, her shoulders tensing as she looked up at him. “And what? You want me to say I forgive you?”

SilSol did not answer, but the way his corona flickered suggested that was exactly what he’d been hoping. 

“Well, I don’t,” she snapped. “You’ve done nothing to deserve forgiveness. You killed people, you ruined our world, and as soon as you were one again, you ran away and left Jen and me to clean up your mess.” 

His corona dimmed abruptly. “That was never our intention. We feared bringing more harm to Thra if we stayed! We believed you were the rightful guardians of your world’s Crystal.” 

She thought of the ragged, wheedling Skeksis who had confronted her and Jen, desperately insisting he only wanted peace. How, as soon as it was clear they wouldn’t fall for his lies, he had tried to murder Jen and had given Kira to the others to be killed. “Did you truly believe that? Or were you just too afraid to face what you’d done?”

“Would you have wanted us to stay?” His tone was still calm, but there was an edge to it. 

Kira’s eyes narrowed in anger. “You could have at least done something. All you did was go home and try to forget everything.” She didn’t know this for sure - it was a guess based on their earlier story - but from the way SilSol’s corona turned gray, she knew her words had struck a nerve. “And you’re only here now because your own world’s in danger. You don’t care about Thra, or any of us.” 

“That is not true!” The glow in his eyes brightened like a flaring ember. “You are not the only one who worries for Jen now, Kira. I may have been skekSil the Chamberlain, but I was also urSol the Chanter. I raised Jen with urSu and the others. I loved him like my own child, and I still carry that love now. I want to save Thra not merely because it’s right, but because it means saving him!”

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

can I ask for the selfship game, 🚫, 🫂, 🛏️, 💓?

have a lovely day!

heyo angsti! i somehow missed this (i have been pregaming with the semester by doing readings and taking notes early. don't mind me, i am just a nerd djnksjfn). i'll only do 3 of my selfships so this doesn't become a ridiculously long response lololol

blues

🚫 what was holding you/them back from making a move or confessing your feelings?

nothing really, even when we're just friends we're pretty physically affectionate (mostly on his part). it was more of a relationship that transitions into a 'we're dating but we haven't really officially stated' but it happens seamlessly so there isn't much to really question. i know i love him and he knows and there wasn't really a need to say it because we had a mutual understanding that we loved each other deeply

🫂 what's one significant moment of physical contact you had during the pining stage?

hmmmMMMM probably the first time we sleep in the same bed

🛏️ did you two ever have a "there's only one bed" moment?

right after the star plasma vessel incident, i come back to my room to find satoru already in there and he stays the whole night. after that he spends a few weeks slowly transitioning into sleeping in my dorm 24/7

💓 (if applicable) what moment made you realize you were in love with them?

it was more of a collection of small moments that led to me having a crush on him but i don't realize how deep those feelings have evolved until late into our second year at jujutsu tech

soft armor

🚫 what was holding you/them back from making a move or confessing your feelings?

probably guilt because after the fall of wall maria when we're stuck in trost as refugees, not long afterwards i joined the 103rd cadets behind her back deciding that to break into the top 10 to move the four of us (EMA trio and moi) to the interior. nor did i tell mikasa i was leaving, she found out the day of from a note. out of guilt i never wrote letters either so that was a bit of a damper on things

🫂 what's one significant moment of physical contact you had during the pining stage?

the last hug we have before i leave to live with the arlerts. we will still see each other again but after losing our families to human traffickers, it was a big deal to be living separately despite knowing we'd see each other everyday

🛏️ did you two ever have a "there's only one bed" moment?

plenty but that's really only because back in the mountains when i lived with her and her parents for a short time, we'd have sleepovers in her room

💓 (if applicable) what moment made you realize you were in love with them?

it was a koi no yokan moment where upon first meeting i was vaguely aware mikasa would be someone i'd fall in love with

flaming pearls/sea otters

🚫 what was holding you/them back from making a move or confessing your feelings?

for the longest time, it's just because i don't realize i'm in love with him so there was nothing to really tell from my perspective. at least until i become aware of my own feelings

🫂 what's one significant moment of physical contact you had during the pining stage?

technically i was not here for the event tm with the bear because i was in town and was planning on staying a day or two

visit the homies because luffy was doing better emotionally

hen the rain starts and normally i loooove rain! adore the shit out of it because you know me and water are tight. but you know how you can be chilling and then suddenly you're just like 'something is wrong' even though everything is fine? coin toss on whether or not that is just you feeling dread for no reason or for turns out the instincts were right

so i say 'fuck it, back up the mountain in the rain i go' and see luffy not doing too hot and ace clearly upset and sit next to him for the first moment of the bitch and lean and quietly talk amongst ourselves moments we have later down the line

and try my tactic of 'hey this is better than the time with the tree, right? that one was on purpose' but clearly the joke isn't well received (not that he comments on it at all). i'm not really good at comforting people, it is not my strong suit

but i tell him that magra said that luffy will be just fine and knowing him, he'll be over everything by breakfast. he starts up with saying he's no good again and i just tell him i think he's pretty great and luffy does too but it's okay if he doesn't think it. his opinions usually suck, so he should just listen to mine and luffy's and to quit calling himself worthless because he has a lot of worth to me. then i hold his hand and let him cry into my shoulder and we sit together the whole night looking after luffy (we mostly definitely fall asleep but dadan just leaves us be and covers us with a blanket)

🛏️ did you two ever have a "there's only one bed" moment?

that's the thing with these childhood friends to lovers type of selfships, those moments are lost in the sauce of everything else buuut for the pining stage from the ages of 10 to 17, we shared a sleeping space and that usually overlapped with a leg thrown over someone here or an arm smushed against someone's face there

💓 (if applicable) what moment made you realize you were in love with them?

i actually talked about that here in a different ask💓

[magpiejay1234]

So, let's do the Dark Signers.

The most notable thing is main writer of Season 1, Atsuhiro Tomioka has gone back to Pokémon. So, Shin Yoshida formally steps in.

Another notable thing is this Season's length, it is 38 episodes, making this is the second longest half-length Season of any Yu-Gi-Oh! series, and explains why ARC-V, and VRAINS will return to standard long season with half season length production cycle writing structure. Longest is of course WRGP proper, which is Season 4 (Episodes 93-134, 42 episodes).

This is rather inane coming from ZEXAL to 5D's, where there were 6 Seasons, and two sub-series, and ARC-V, which had 6 production cycles with OP/ED.

In a later YGO show, or even back in GX, the Dark Signers would have been over by Episode 52 at most.

Given Katsumi Ono's situation as the "director-in-name-only" for later seasons, this makes one wonder what sort of executive meddling was going behind the scenes (almost certainly predominantly from Konami, with TVTokyo being the lesser evil), since it is pretty clear Yoshida wasn't in the actual driver's seat.

It is kind of hard to gauge what specific problem was the primary one, since 5D's era was when YGO's stakeholders, Shonen Jump, TVTokyo, Konami, and yes, Kazuki Takahashi went crazy with card game specific merchandising. 5D's had many video game tie-ins like GX, you had the Duel Terminals being the first time Synchros were showcased, etc. This is not comparable to odd merchandising from DM, and GX era (DM era had school items for Doma arc for example like Pokémon usually did), but since this time merchandising was more focused on the cards, the profits went directly to stakeholders, and not third parties.

For some reason, some of the merch probably didn't meet expectations, which is part of why the different direction for the series was made.

*****

The other reason, as we discussed before, was the lack of vision. Tomioka didn't leave a guideline of what to do next, as Director Ono was still involved. Yoshida didn't really need a plan for Dark Signers, since most of the plot was planned out by Takahashi, and other minor directors. This would of course doom the latter half of 5D's, as writers scrambled first for new ideas, and then new writers.

Of course, Takahashi himself won't be involved for the latter half, since he will be involved in BBT instead, and Yoshida will immediately jump ship to ZEXAL.

It is kind of amazing in retrospect how the most well praised YGO show was considered an unwanted bastard child by the people who were involved. Explains the insanity of 5D's era main sets.

****

Now for the writers:

**Shin Yoshida is formally the main writer, but has only written 10 of the episodes. Most of the episodes he written involve Crow, as Yoshida dislikes writing female characters (he admitted this himself in the ZEXAL manga interviews), and prefers male-only trios (see Doma arc, good chunk of GX, ZEXAL, ARC-V manga, VRAINS especially S3). Thankfully Crow will get other writers after this, which suggests Yoshida's early infatuation with Crow was to use him as a wedge against the female characters he was forced to write.

**Yasuyuki Suzuki is unofficially the main writer, as he wrote the largest bulk of the episodes (13 of them), and the final Duel.

**Koji Ueda, technically present in S1 as the lyric writer of ED1, but not as an actual episode writter, has also done 10 episodes. Most notably, he done Jack vs. Carly, and will later do the Jack episodes in S3 (Kaz, Fake Jack etc.)

Given the Fake Jack episodes, I don't think he was particularly fond of Tomioka, but more importantly, he is not the reason why Jack-Carly got reset, because he wrote the relationship himself (under Takahashi's, and Ono's guidance of course). It is Shin Yoshida, and presumably the executives, particularly the Konami folk.

(Though as we discussed before, Yoshida also reset Asuka's relationship with Manjoume, and Rei-Martin stuff that was developing in GX S3 when he took over as the main writer in GX S4, so, this is not new. Though many 5D's fans never watched any previous YGO, especially in their Japanese versions, so sure. It might be new to you personally.)

Ueda will leave the franchise overall after Episode 109, the end of the Placido Duel, which I presume due to creative differences (though there could be other reasons like health).

**Masahiro Hikokubo, the Duel Constructor of all the series (ie. the guy who writes the Duels), and major writer in GX S3's Supreme King mini-arc, and writer of 5D's manga, is the writer of Episode 32. This is the only episode of 5D's animé he will write, ever.

**Tadashi Hayakawa from DM's Seasons 2-3 will also write Episodes 60-61, the final Misty Duel. He is just an in-between writer for 5D's, who will be involved in 5 episodes in total, with the last being Episode 85. His only other episodes will be the Tetsuzo (dub name Bashford) episode, and Aki's D-Wheel episode.

Writing wise, this arc will be a roughly even split between Suzuki, Ueda, and Yoshida, as such Yoshida's influence, while very present, will be diffused, and no writer will really dominate.

[silverskywing]

Long post about random pantheon stuff in my brain.

As a way to stave off the eternal bordom that comes from eternity being an omnipresent, omnichronological, omnipotent god the trio of gods created what was known as "the infinite".

The infinite was an white void. At it's center sat a large castle which was also pretty much pure white. At the center of the castle sat the universe, the entire universe, from the very beginning to the very end, and the trio tasked themselves with changing it.

The gods used their great power to turn off their omnipresence and omnichronology, allowing them to live in one location in one direction of time. There were, of course, exceptions but those would really be rather complicated to explain in too much detail.

The gods then forced themselves to forget their omni-characteristics. The knowledge of all things that would, could, and should ever happen vanished from their minds, creating the first ever rule these gods ever had to follow, do not try to regain your omni-characteristics.

There wasn't any real punishments for breaking the rule, but when another version of yourself is keeping you in a prison, and the only way out of the prison is to let the other version of yourself take over, there's basically no chance that you'll actually get out of the prison.

Thus they just made the most of it, creating a schedule so they could keep track of things, and even creating days and nights in the infinte. Nights were also good for sleeping as they could all turn off their godliness and enjoy the simple pleasure of sleep.

Once a week they'd all group up and discuss what changes they'd make to the universe, but these changes weren't just made randomly, because if a god made a suggestion another god didn't like there wasn't really anything the first god could do to stop the second god from simply reversing the changes, and sure you could change it back but then they could also change it back, and spending eternity fighting over this issue wouldn't be as interesting as setting up an actual debate.

So debate they did, they would bring their ideas to the table and debate them. These changes ranged from large to small and were debated just as furiously. Giving a girl freckles and creating an afterlife were given equal care in debate, and no change was made without everyone approving, meaning a lot of bargaining was also created.

When a change was made it would effect the universe, creating a new universe where the change was simply fact. If they decided clovers would be blue instead of green then the universe would show them always having been blue and what changes that would have on the universe. The gods would be sure to keep certain events the same for their own personal reasons but other than that they'd simply observe how the changes altered the universe and take that into consideration for their proposals next week.

Of course, since they were omnipotent they could still technically interact with older versions of the universe the same way one might interact with toys that had been left on a shelf for a long time, but the start of the week was always focused on the primary universe.

The next few days would be reserved for hobbies, being omnipowerful gods the trio didn't have normal hobbies like gaming or 3d printing, but rather these hobbies were tinted with their own godly influence.

One god, Astrid, would wake up and immediately enter into an older version of the universe. This one was made with love in mind.

One change made by the trio ages ago was the creation of a summoning spell that would allow mortals to summon the gods and make requests. At some point a random cult managed to get a hold of the spell and tried to use it to summon the gods to give themselves eternal life, but in doing so they killed the boyfriend of some guy who somehow managed to interrupt the spell in a way that let him be the one to ask instead of the cult leader, and he begged for his boyfriend to be alive again.

Now the spell requires you to give up something in return for the request, and the thing that was given up was this guy's identity, meaning he'd wake up in a world where no one would remember him. Astrid had seen this kinda thing a few times and kinda expected the guy to see his boyfriend alive and go "wow, my boyfriend's alive, imma back off though cause they seem happier without me" but instead the guy waltzed right up to his boyfriend and acted like they were old friends.

Naturally if someone comes up to you, knows your name, and seems to know you you'll probably assume you just forgot them and at least be friendly, so they started a friendship and after a good six months the guy dropped the bomb, explaining everything. This little power move impressed astrid enough that her hobby was initially just watching them live their lives, but eventually they both died of old age after many years of happy marriage and she decided her hobby was going to be living a life like they did.

So every hobby day she would wake up and enter into that version of the universe, and live a normal, human life. She'd turn off her omnipotence and spend a day living as a human.

She fully commited to this as well, placing her mind inside of a fertilized egg cell and experiencing growing, changing, being born, having a childhood and all that jazz.

At the end of the day time would stop. Everything except for her would freeze in place. She would then gather up a day's worth of food, some paints, and a canvas, and reappear in the infinite.

The next part of her hobby was painting. She'd appear next to her canvas from last week, face away from the castle, and walk, for the entire day, in her mortal form. She didn't get very far when she first started, being a small toddler or a short child meant her legs wouldn't take her very far, but once reaching teen status and full adult status she was able to get much further along, especially after she bought herself a phone that could play podcasts.

She'd stop to take meal breaks and at the end of the day she'd set up her paint and canvas and paint whatever was on her mind, usually it was something about her mortal day, an almost embarrassing amount of them were about a girl that Astrid worked with named Nico, she might have a crush but she's saving thoughts on those human emotions for a later date. Regardless it's a very long line of paintings.

Next we have Derek, who's hobby is a lot less nice, but was also brought about by a deal made by a human. There was something about a ghost that was murdering people, and since they couldn't find a human powerful enough to get rid of the ghosts a few people who were next on the ghost's list begged for the trio to destroy the ghost, when asking about what they'd give up one of the humans offered himself, saying he'd gladly give himself if it meant keeping the others safe.

Derek took him up on that offer. Remember when I said the gods make sure some things are always the same? Well Derek makes sure that this guy always exists in some form or another in the universe, born the same day at the same time, and in every instance of this guy's life, at exactly 23 years, 5 months, 13 days, 5 hours, 4 minutes, and 28 seconds from the time he was born the guy is pulled out of the timeline, vanishing seemingly without a trace.

Derek then created a secondary infinite void that he calls "the nothing" which is an empty black void with a very arcane looking circle in the middle. Whenever Derek pulls a version of this guy out of the universe he places him in the nothing in the middle of this summoning circle.

Part of his hobby is messing with their flow of time a little bit so from their perspective it seems as if a new version of the guy appears every 24 hours, but it's also like watching a twisted reality tv show where he watches this guy exist in the void, surrounded by other versions of himself, dying of hunger or thirst, resorting to cannibalism, setting up a mini society, using the tiny bits of scraps that he can salvage from the newcomers to gradually create more and more things, all very entertaining.

I'm not sure what the third god's name is, or what their hobby is, so instead i'll talk about what happens after the hobby days are over, then it's summoning day. As mentioned before they have the spell that allows mortals to summon them, and thus they spend a day going through every summoning made by that particular version of the universe.

When they go down the trio intentionally reduces their godly abilities, which allows them to still do god stuff, but in a way that allows for the universe to anticipate their actions, meaning they're not making a billion new universes over the course of the day but rather they're just doing what the universe knows they'd do. The same thing happens when Astrid works her little coffee shop job, or Derek makes a guy vanish from reality, the universe already anticipates that it'll happen cause the decisions will be made inside the universe.

All these requests also serve as a way to give the trio ideas for things they can propose for their next debate session

there's other stuff but it's already super late and imma write that later.

[ainxis]

Oh yes my favourite trio:

- red costume superhero with daddy issues

- his gf/wife who's an absolute queen

- and redhead social activist that's also an ex villain

[alolanrain]

How would Professor Rowan and Ingo meet?

When? Post Sinnoh-Crisis, pre-Hisui? Or maybe Post-Hisui with Professor Rowan questioning him about what Ancient Sinnoh was like? How the Pokémon developed into today’s typing.

The Alphas would probably be a heavy debate piece. (In general or you could assume the Alphas featured in Ingo’s Paths are caught.)

Has Rowan had any relationships before this one? Were they merely flings or serious?

this is gonna be a long post so it's gonna be under the read more.

so technically they've met before. was in the past when Ingo and Emmet first started their Subway/battle combo thing. it was at a charity gala and Emmet was sick so Drayden, good old uncle Drayden, took Ingo with him as a plus one. they were were friendly when socializing but that's it. they know of each other over the passing years because of how popular Rowan gets not just in Sinnoh but around the entire world for his research of Pokémon Evolutions and Rowan and Drayden are old friends as well since Drayden is an Army Veteran in the TA!Au.

Ash meets Ingo, this is where he's really starting to figure out what he wants to continue doing with his life because it seems being a successful trainer wasn't being acknowledge by Delia, and realizes this man is an INL member as well. mostly just data and research gathering like I've mentioned in a past post but he's really good at the job. Ingo and Ash meld really well and Ash gets the thought in his head that he'd be a perfect fit for Rowan. Obviously Ash gets way over his head but thankfully calls Gary first for his opinion, since he's technically the older sibling by six measly months, who talks him down but that doesn't stop Ash from info dumping about the Marine Corp turned Professor.

*Ingo dissapears shortly before the Virtress Conference starts. so he's gone for about 6 years give or take some months.

Rowan and Ingo officially meet for the second time Post-Hisui. it's not a very good meeting as Ash basically begged on his hands and knees for the Sinnoh Professor to take the Unovian in. due to the increasingly mental and physical strain on Ingo as he's now surrounded by a lot of loud noises such as his train and his brother who's clinging onto him for what seems like every second of every day. Rowan hears Ash out and he's well aware of Hisui as both Ash and Dawn had come back together and it was all over the news as a rift over Mount. Coronet had opened in their time to spit the trio out.

it's a bit of a strain between Sinnoh and Unova because of this as Drayden and Emmet both insist that Ingo would be better with his family while the majority of the army of therapists the INL offers up, Ash, and Dawn return fire and say that Ingo would be better in a place where he can heal without anyone pressuring him. The INL makes the final decision for everyone after Ingo comes to the headquarters of both the Unova and Sinnoh council members to speak up about his own wants and needs. in the end taking up Ash's offer, only after Rowan officially extends it on his own after learning about everything that's going on. stating that it would be good to be more near Ash and Dawn since those two were the ones who were dropped into Hisui, helped him regain his memory, and bring Ingo back to the present time in the first place.

Rowan and Gary are a fresh of breath air and for once they willingly give Ingo the space he needs and the attention he requires when the silence gets to much. it's also really nice that Rowan is extremally careful with his wording and questions as he can't help himself but probe Ingo for information about the past since he's been gone for six bloody fucking years. it's far better then his entire family back in Unova avoiding the whole situation almost at all cost. it helps Ingo work through his trauma and the sudden walls he built around himself during the time.

I have yet to decide if Ingo's Hisui team gets brought into the future and I'm even debating if I should bringing Lady Sneasler into the future as well. if I do then Rowan and Ingo would bond over his team as Rowan and his team are absolutely floored by staunch difference between the past Pokémon and the now Pokémon. If not then Ingo and Rowan bond over the Pokémon under the Professor's care as it seems Ingo has gotten pretty good at caring for the Sinnoh native 'Mon's. They also share stories of Ash, even if Ingo only has so few, and it soon develops in them sharing a glass of scotch at night or coffee in the wee hours of the morning before the sun rises about Rowans 'kids'.

"It feel's like every time a turn my back I gain a new damn kid."

"I get the feeling."

Gary finally admits Ash is right and that both Rowan and Ingo fit almost unnaturally good. having almost the same taste in coffee, music, clothing brand, and most importantly dry and dark humor. it doesn't help that Ash and convinced Dawn while in Hisui after Ingo regained his memories before making the hike to the Cobalt Coastlands. so it's two against one.

*I've mentioned this also in a previous post but Irida brings Ingo around them much earlier on in the story since there's two of them and its not just Ash and Pikachu that fell from the rift.

Rowan's had unofficially two major relationships and a couple of flings. one of them being with a girl after a few years of him being a Trainer, so around 14-16, they break up and it's what cause Rowan to enroll into the marines. during the time he had flings and then had a HR-inducing headache relationship with the then Sinnoh Champion that originally held the title for the longest Sinnoh Champion before Cynthia took it. He play's an important part in Rowan's history that I also touched upon. where he takes Rowan after the Dragalge Hyper beam attack to get almost fully healed by the last few fully fledged Aura users. He actually uses that vulnerable moment to strengthen his bond with Ingo, letting him know that he's not alone and that PTSD is a fucking bitch and it sucks but he can survive.

the dude is still alive, bitter that Cynthia knocked him off his throne when she was just thirteen and even more bitter since Rowan's plate got increasingly full to the point that Rowan couldn't even find time to speak with his mentor. he still lives in Sinnoh and pretty close to Sandgem Town as well.

[nakachuchu]

Blue Popsicle | Okkotsu Yuuta + Orimoto Rika

second part here

SYNOPSIS: You met them on a hot summer day.

READER: gender neutral

WORDS: 1075

WRITTEN: 03/31/2021

NOTES: Timing is most likely off near the end, but ignore it for the sake of angst

You were a happy child. Your childhood was full of smiles and running around the playground with your best friends, Rika and Yuuta.

Those two were always closer to each other than you were with either of them, but with a trio, it made sense.

You didn't mind. As long as they hung out with you and played pirates and princess with you, you were happy.

The happiness didn't last long, and whenever you looked back on it, it made sense.

Clothes wore out eventually and had to be replaced, so the same could be said about memories.

To be fair, you weren't really part of Yuuta's and Rika's lives. You simply tagged along because you were lonely.

You were raised by a single mother who claimed that your father was a bad man, and you didn't understand why he was so bad until you grew up.

With your mother constantly working, you were often left alone. So when you met Yuuta and Rika on a hot summer day where this blue popsicle was melting and sliding down your hand, you attached yourself to them.

Rika would be the Princess in distress, Yuuta would be the knight in shining armor, and you'd be the pirate with a wooden sword.

You didn't care that Yuuta would quite literally have to beat you to save Rika from your evil clutches.

You didn't care that Rika and Yuuta held hands wherever they went, and you would walk behind them in their shadows while holding a stick with a bug on it.

You didn't care that Rika and Yuuta promised to marry each other in the future. All you asked was that you would be invited to their wedding.

Rika died after leaving the park that day. You were with Yuuta because the two of you lived in the same direction.

Yuuta wasn't the same after that, and it would be a lie to say that you were different. You really weren't because you weren't that close to Rika.

You liked her and she liked you. You were lonely so you liked anyone who spent time with you.

But Yuuta loved her. You knew that. He cried for days, cursing her for leaving him, even though you were there for him the whole time.

Eventually, your mother got a better job and moved away from the area, thus you cut off ties with Yuuta.

At the time, Yuuta had already begun ignoring you and the two of you slowly drifted apart. You didn't know why, but you didn't bother to chase after him and ask.

Something changed, and you didn't realize what it was until you saw a strange man sitting on your living room couch one day.

The man in your living room introduced himself as Gakuganji Yoshinobu.

You didn't know who he was, but your mother seemed to have an idea. The whole time she was preparing tea, her hands shook.

"I never wanted this for you," she said.

Her voice was shaky, but it wasn't angry. She was sad, you noticed.

"You'll be attending Jujutsu Tech in Kyoto," he said. "We'll teach you how to control your ability."

You didn't understand what he meant, but you went with him. You got a customized uniform and you learned about the world of curses and sorcerers.

You learned your father was a sorcerer, and when your mother said he was a bad man, she just meant that he was a liar.

He didn't tell her about his world until she was pregnant, and at the time, she was already in love with you and didn't want to abort you.

You didn't understand your ability yourself. If anyone asked about the technicality of it, you'd just stand there and smile.

Gakuganji told you your father had that ability and you inherited from him; the ability to draw forces from the earth.

At that point in time, you forgot about Yuuta. You were completely focused on creating stone wall barriers and combative boulders.

You never expected to see Yuuta at the first exchange event. He looked the same to you, but afraid and quiet.

He noticed you, and his eyes lit in something that was recognition and relief. But your eyes widened slightly when a curse appeared in front of you.

You barely had enough time to create a wall around you before claws dug into the concrete wall.

It spoke to you in a slurred and slow voice.

"You—"

"Rika, come back!"

You learned the curse was Rika and that he had a hard time controlling her. The wall around you crumbled, returning to the earth.

Your eyes glanced toward his left hand and you definitely didn't care that Yuuta continued to wear the ring Rika gave him even after her death.

You stood across from him with your classmates. The rivalry between your schools was made clear, and you could care less about Yuuta.

You didn't need friends. Your life was full of silence, so you were used to it. Your classmates didn't talk to each other unless needed, and it hurt you a bit when you noticed how friendly and outgoing Yuuta's classmates were.

Well, that life wasn't meant for you anyway. Even if you had gone to Tokyo, they wouldn't have liked you—just like Rika and Yuuta when the three of you were younger.

You were never part of their lives anyway. You learned that at a young age, but it was made more clear to you as you laid there on the ground, bloodied and tired.

You didn't know why Rika hated you so much. She seemed to like Maki more, and she was more of a stranger than you.

If you had known Rika would have attacked you so easily for simply walking past Yuuta, you would have stayed in the trees with Noritoshi.

She didn't seem to care that Yuuta was crying, completely worried about your injuries. You didn't care either, and the only tears on your face were his.

You didn't understand why he was crying. The two of you were never close anyway.

Luckily, Ieiri healed you in time. You were left bedridden for only a few days and during those few days, his classmates arrived to give you something from him.

It was the same blue popsicle you were eating on the day you first met him and a blue ring pop with a note that said "Wait for me."

[haleigh-sloth]

Are you fine with villains not being redeemed as long the author humanizing them?

Depends on the character, the story, and how they are humanized, and how much throughout the story they are humanized.

I'll give a couple of okay-ish examples off the top of my head:

The LOV Trio from BNHA:

So for a story like BNHA, and for villains like these three, redemption has to happen. Because of the way they were humanized, how MUCH they were humanized, because of how cruel their fates were when it was entirely out of their control, and because of how much child-coding went into them, NOT redeeming them would simply be bad writing, bad story-telling, CRUEL story-telling, and overall just leave an icky feeling and bad taste in the mouth. It would also take away every enjoyable aspect of BNHA.

BNHA is optimistic and hopeful. Even though the darkness in it is very present, the hope behind it all still remains. And that is exactly what keeps people so invested in it--how will that hope transpire in the end?

Orochimaru from Naruto:

Orochimaru was never really redeemed? He fought on the side of the protagonists in the end, but because of the type of villain he was portrayed as (predatory--specifically toward vulnerable, unsuspecting people---VERY much like AFO) he just wasn't....a likable villain and wasn't one you wanted to root for pretty much ever.

However he was humanized in the moments when Jiraiya talked about the reasons Orochimaru wanted to be immortal (wanting to find the answer to life in general after losing his parents as a child, and never being able to fully move on from it), and in the moment when Jiraiya considered Orochimaru someone he failed to save.

For a very split second when I was reading Naruto, I felt a tad bit of sympathy for Orochimaru, but it didn't really go beyond that. He was humanized to an extent, but not redeeming him didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth. Also, apparently he lived on to have a kid and be a good dad or some shit. Idk wtf is going with that but whatever.

Envy from Fullmetal Alchemist:

One of the first villain characters that was one of my absolute favorites from the series.

It's pretty ironic with Envy because throughout the story, the homunculi are a challenge for the main cast. Because they continuously refer to themselves as human—

—but at the same time they separate themselves by stating their superiority.

There are several several occasions in the story where he says something along these lines, separating himself from humans.

The fact of the matter is, they're technically not human. They're artificial humans, an alchemy taboo. FMA toys a lot with the definition of a human being, and in the end it kinda solidifies that if you're going to be considered a human being, you need to accept your flaws, sins, and mistakes along with all the virtues. Not being able to accept that is what leads to the downfall of the final boss in FMA (and the homunculi).

Envy was one of final-ish villains in FMA. Throughout the story he is only revealed to be more and more troublesome and terrible. He's obliged to his "father", and just does whatever chaotic shit he feels like doing in order to progress their plan.

He isn't really humanized at all throughout the story until the moment he dies. When he is reduced to his weakest and most vulnerable state, and kind of just spills his guts in front of everyone.

This is when his true underlying feelings toward everyone and everything are pointed out by the main character. He cries and ends up killing himself (he was on death's doorstep, he would have died regardless).

But anyway, he was humanized at the very last second, so not redeeming him and actually killing him off didn't leave a bad feeling behind. There wasn't really time to get emotionally attached to him. For Envy, it worked.

So the circumstances kinda matter to answer a question like this.

BUT for BNHA specifically??

The author will completely ruin his story if he doesn't redeem them (he will redeem them anyway). And no, I would not be happy with just humanizing them and leaving to die. Fuck that.

[severusdefender]

Snape Headcanons? I got.. a few. (I'll probably send more and more as the times go by but for now starting with early childhood/pre-Hogwarts days + maybe a bit of early hogwarts days)

To start off: Tobias Snape is Irish. He snuck into Britain at 18 to enlist in the military there and fought in World War II. Even to his dying day you could still hear the Irish accent in his voice, but it of course had faded out quite a bit.

After the war ended, he didn't quite know what to do and ended up going back to Ireland for awhile.

Eileen had been kicked out of her family thanks to a previous muggle relationship (she had given birth to another child, a set of twins, half sisters to Severus, who he would never meet.)

Eileen and Tobias met on a warm summer day in 1951. They hit it off rather quickly, and the first moment they could, they moved to Britain, as Ireland didn't really seem to suit them.

Fast forward a long few years, prices started inflating and they had to move to a less expensive location, which ended up being Spinners End in Cokeworth. There was other families in Cokeworth, all kinds of people.

Fast forward 5 years, Severus Tobias Snape is born. Eileen kept the whole magic thing a secret, and got pregnant with another child about 3 years after Severus was born. They named her Seraphina Eileen Snape. So the two siblings grew up together.

Of course there were spouts of magic happening constantly, but Eileen managed to cover it up, until Severus was seven (Seraphina was four.) Seraphina had fallen off a branch and almost hit the ground, when suddenly, she was flying. Severus was not too far from her, holding out his hand, little wisps of color coming from it, indicating he was levitating her.

Yeah, Tobias found out. But he didn't really believe it until an explosive argument broke out between the siblings that ended with one of them getting angry enough... And a few glasses exploded.

Not too long after that, Tobias was fired from his job. Cue the drinking, cue the bad childhood beginning.

Of course it was like a slow fall from grace, at first it was just Tobias locking himself in the bathroom and drinking the night away, but then it started escalating to staying in pubs all the time and coming home wasted and spitting mad.

Severus protected his sister the best he could, and was confused himself as to why their father changed so suddenly.

Arguments were frequent between Eileen and Tobias, and suddenly Eileen began shunning her children and blaming them for what was happening to her family, which caused rather frequent arguments between her and Severus.

Eventually Severus started getting into fights with all the kids in the neighborhood constantly. One day when he was 8, he came across some older kids bullying this other girl who looked to be around his age. He ran up on the boys, basically appearing out of nowhere and tackling one of them, starting a fight with the kid. The other two ran off, screaming something along the lines of "Everybody run! It's that crazy Snape boy!!"

He later found out the girl his age, a girl with bright green eyes and fiery red hair, was named Lily. But they didn't become technical friends until a year later.

At first Severus was just confused as to why Lily wanted to be friends with him, he was just some crazy kid who constantly picked a fight with anyone he could. But of course, eventually he accepted his fate.

Seraphina, Severus, and Lily ended up being an infamous trio that everyone in their age range feared quite a bit.

Neither of the Snape kids even found out Lily was magic until they heard her and her sister screaming at each other over it.

After that, when Severus got his official hogwarts letter, Lily also got hers, and Sadly Seraphina would have to wait a few more years.

Severus had wanted to sneak her onto the train, and after he came back from first year to find her injuries, he tried to.

He was almost successful, but when he reached hogwarts he was immediately stopped and brought to Dumbledore's office, where he was forced to send Seraphina back home. Unbeknownst to either of the siblings, this would be the last time Severus saw Seraphina alive...

Severus got back home in a hurry after second year, and he came back to see a figure laying in his bed, and upon closer inspection it was his sister.. But.. She wasn't alive. She looked to have been beaten to a pulp, but there were marks around her neck, showing signs of being strangled.

Needless to say, that was a horrifying discovery. And he spent the next few years being blamed by his parents for it, it being an excuse to abuse and manipulate him.

It wasn't helping at all that he also had these four boys at school that wouldn't leave him alone. And also people in Slytherin talking about muggles and muggle borns badly, and as the days went on, the things they were saying about them.. Didn't sound so wrong.

He came back after third year to find blood, both fresh and dry all over the walls and floors. He searched the house and eventually found in his parents room, his father, stabbed in the neck and his head partially bashed in and his mom, who had hung herself.

(Stay tuned for more-)

this started out cute and became horrifying holy shit