#thanks for the ask though!! this was a lot of fun to tackle

[valiant-portabella-pirkko]

for the asura ask game: 2, 3 & 5 for Ruju

Just an asura ask game

Thanks for the ask!! Cracks my fingers... You really went right for the messy ones there. Time to free more Rat Lore, but this time Familial Drama Edition! (You know the drill, under the cut it goes!)

2. Where were they born? Did they like the place? Did they grow up there or did they move away at some point? Do they wish things went differently?

Ruju's youngest years were spent out in a small settlement around Mount Maelstrom, not too far from the Crucible of Eternity. It was mostly populated by other Inquest personnel who, like his mother, were just living nearby to maintain an easier commute-- and some of them had progeny of their own, too. They didn't exactly get along.

(That was how he earned his distinctive gold false tooth.)

Ruju hated everything about the place; the surroundings were dangerous so he couldn't go anywhere, the other kids were jerks, the adults always acted so weird about him like they thought one wrong move might get them chucked into the volcano(because it very well might), and that wasn't even mentioning the facility itself. He might've been young but he certainly wasn't stupid; whatever was going on in that place raised every hair on the back of his neck. To him the only good thing about it was Sylffa, a progeny of one of the few resident asura who WEREN'T working at the Inquest facility.

And then the home lab accident happened, and Ruju's parents decided maybe mixing home life and work wasn't such a great idea.

After that his father brought him to Rata Sum and he saw them both a lot less from then on. They still came by each evening, but he mostly relied on the household golems if he needed anything; their ambition had always come first and that wasn't about to change anytime soon. That almost felt like a blessing, though.

Looking back, he wishes he'd just ran away from it all sooner.

3. What's their family like? Are they still around? Do they like them and get along? Are there any expectations coming from them?

WHEW BOY. Ruju's family life was... Not great! Here's some mockups of his parents to start; Klixx on the left, Kroma on the right.

Both of his parents were hardcore Inquest, and neither of them were particularly pleasant people. His mother Kroma was a researcher who largely specialized in the study and manipulation of magical energies, and was an elementalist like Ruju. While not much of a fighter, she was highly recognized for her cold ambition and intense work ethic; no obstacle could hold her back for long, moral quandaries included. Pretty much everyone who knew her was stunned when she settled down at all, even if she got right back to work shortly after.

His father, however, was an Inquest debt collector-- but not just any Inquest debt collector. He was the type that high-ranking overseers sent in to cut off any further questions. Klixx shows up on your doorstep? You better hope you have a will and that you hid it somewhere very, very secure. The guy was known for his brutality, and more notably, for making his targets disappear without a trace. The Arcane Eye had tried many, MANY times to recruit him to their own team to no avail; they only gave up after he sent one of their 'messengers' back in a box, charred to a nearly unidentifiable crisp with a simple unsigned note attached. 'This cremation is a complimentary free sample. Next time it's coming with a bill.'

As far they were concerned, their progeny was meant to continue and extend their legacy; the pair formed a long-term contractual relationship specifically to benefit both of their own ambitions. Having a kid was just one facet of that. They expected Ruju to exceed expectations just as much as they did, and in very much the same ways. Instead they got a kid who struggled with focus and memory issues, couldn't sit still, hated lectures, frequently zoned out, didn't take notes well, and lacked any kind of identifiable ambition. He was bad at basically everything that asura society expected for success.

All that insecurity, self-hatred, projection, and so on that Ruju struggles with throughout his entire life? Yeah. That didn't exactly come out of nowhere. They made no mystery of their displeasure.

It was shortly before his college years that Ruju started really resenting them for it all though, and when they were eager to send him off even to the point of using their own status to add a bit of extra pressure? Ruju took it and ran. It got him out of that dingy little apartment cube and meant he didn't have to hear every night about how disappointing he was. They saw it as one last chance to redeem himself, he saw it as his easiest way out of a home he hated.

During those years they occasionally bailed him out of a Peacemaker cell, but Ruju knew it wasn't out of kindness; they just wanted to cover their own reputations, simple as that. And truth-be-told, part of him relished draining their bank account and embarrassing them by then. Petty and self-destructive as it was, he didn't really care how much of a scene he made because they'd absolutely hate it.

(Mind you, they were also trying to keep anyone from noticing and studying his magical abnormalities, but he didn't know that!)

After college he never hears from them again. They expected him to go into the Inquest like them, but he wanted no part of that. It's not until the Crucible of Eternity that he finds out about the studies being discreetly conducted on him while he was in Rata Sum-- and that his mother didn't survive the facility's security breach.

Ruju never really decided how to feel about that. In a way, her final act was the only reason he ever learned the truth, and whether he liked it or not... She'd still cared enough to keep his identity secret.

His father, though? Ruju has no idea, but hopes he stays missing.

He doesn't know what he'll do if they cross paths again.

5. What's their approach to romance? Do/did they have any partner? Are they more interested in relationships with a predetermined end date or are they looking for a stable long-term relationship? Is the option of having/adopting progeny on the table?

Saying Ruju's relationship with the concept of romance is messy would be a massive understatement. Truth is? It'd be a stretch to say he even HAS an approach to romance at all. The guy's charisma stat is somewhere in the negatives and it just keeps dropping.

That's not to say he hasn't had crushes though-- he certainly has! Ruju just never bothered to pursue them, either due to lack of confidence or just being such an absolute disaster that he fumbled it on sight and slunk away in shame. Or, better yet, he fumbled some BEFORE he even realized he had a crush, only noticing he liked them AFTER he's already spent like 2 years being an insufferable jerk. There's definitely been at least a few of those.

So, the fact this guy has never dated is probably not a surprise.

And after becoming the Commander? That adds a whole extra layer of complexity to the situation. While there's a part of him that appreciates people looking up to him for once, Ruju knows full well that someone who is only into him because of his famous hero shtick is going to be SORELY disappointed once they get to know him. He wants someone to like him for who he is, not who they think he is.

Given his many insecurities and low self-confidence, what he really needs is stability; someone that makes him feel safe and secure, but can still firmly grab and ground him if he's being unreasonable. Taming his fiery nature takes a patient and thoughtful hand.

All that in mind, the guy might put on a tough act but he's basically a porcupine made of butter. Even the SLIGHTEST amount of warmth and affection melts him into a puddle. He's the type who'd be trying very, very hard to make sure a partner is happy, and puts extra effort into figuring out what a partner likes so he can make sure they're happy. (He's also surprisingly cuddly, though he'll NEVER admit this) At his core, Ruju's love language has always been through action. As for future plans... he's very much a loyal to the end type of guy. A contract with a set end date would just remind him of his parents-- and he wants NO part of that similarity. He'd much rather go with the flow than formally predetermine anything-- and he ESPECIALLY wouldn't be interested in combining it with work in any capacity. If they have to part ways, they'll cross that bridge when they get there. Even then though he wouldn't necessarily hold a grudge though, probably still willing to be friends if they're also open to it.

The question of progeny is... Complicated. Prior to Aurene, there's no way he'd have felt like he could be a good parent-- and even after helping raise her, he still doesn't really feel like that was his ideal role. With his own messed up childhood he's very, very worried about not just being a bad influence, but letting his own upbringing influence him. Ruju isn't really confident that he'd be able to give a child the healthy environment they deserve, even if he wanted to.

If Ruju had a partner that he knew could help him learn as they go, though, he might agree to it... Tentatively. It'd be a really hard decision for him to commit to. But when push comes to shove, Ruju wouldn't actually be such a bad father; the guy has a lot more love in his heart than he gives himself credit for. He doesn't have any particular preference in mind between adoption or raising a child of their own. No matter the circumstances he'd love them just the same.

... And he'd almost certainly develop a reputation for being TOO supportive if anything. If nothing else, he'd never let them believe for one moment that he doesn't love 'em to bits. (Even if he embarrasses them a LOT in the process by being a total goof all the time)

[witherby]

hello! great work so far :-) im getting into batfam myself and been loving the platonic/familial works you do w littlest wayne! was wondering if you'd ever do an teen y/n or just an older one? I'd love to see you tackle the idea of a robin y/n or jaybe just some angsty kid stuff,,,,,, hope you had a good new years!

-- :33Anon

I love angst with my whole heart and soul, and I'm happy to write it with a slightly older Reader. Hope you don't mind I've commandeered your prompt to showcase the ability you guys voted on.

This one's a long read so I'm splitting it up. This part is roughly 2400+ words.

The Littlest Wayne: Uncertain Home

(Part 1/2)

Masterlist is Here!

Uncle J'onn is looking at you curiously.

He's been doing that a lot, lately. When Daddy brings you to the Watchtower to be babysat so he can go save the world, one of his co-workers that they can afford to spare gets put in charge of keeping an eye on you. Usually it's Uncle Hal, but this time it's J'onn and he's in his natural form, which you don't mind. Green is your favorite color, and his whole body is green! He's nice and calm, and tells you lots of stories and plays any game you want, even if it's hard for him not to cheat and read your mind. He says it's instinct. You don't hold it against him because you still have fun.

Lately, though, when he talks to you, he tilts his head a bit. He usually does that when he can't understand something.

You wipe your face, checking for cookie crumbs. All clean. You search your shirt for any weird marks or stains. All clean. You scrunch your nose and puff out your cheeks, pouting.

"What's wrong, uncle J'onny?" You ask him. Daddy says the way to get honest answers from someone is just to be forthcoming (Dicky told you what forthcoming meant when you asked him later), so you are. "Did I do something wrong?"

That seems to snap his train of thought. J'onn shakes his head and goes back to sorting out the jigsaw puzzle pieces for you. You're good enough at this to do 100-piece puzzles, now, and when you get really stuck you don't even cry anymore!

"Nothing is wrong, Flittermouse," he says, watching you start putting the edges together first like Dami taught you. "You are simply...changing. Differences are not inherently wrong."

"What's inherably mean?"

"Inherently. It means instinctively, or something that is "set in stone." A rule that does not change. I am stating that change is not something that is always wrong. It's not a firm rule."

You pout and try to process all of that in your brain. It was a partial answer. Daddy says that means people might want to hide something from you.

"What's changing?" You ask him. "I got older a week ago. Is that what you mean? I'm four, now. Grandpappy says I'm getting so big and growed up. He says to not do that so fast. I dunno how, though. He's silly."

J'onn hums. His eyes look away from you as he considers what to say. You put one whole edge together before he speaks again.

"You know that I am not a human, correct?"

"Yeah, I know," you say. "I don't care. I love you. And auntie Diana. And uncle Clark. And uncle Barry. And —"

"Thank you," J'onn gently interrupts. "Do you also know that, sometimes, humans are born not entirely human? That sometimes they get special abilities?"

"Yeah, I know that," you repeat.

"I suspect that —" he cuts himself off, hesitates, then starts again. "Little one. You are showing signs of being one of those humans with special abilities."

"I am?" You ask. You perk up. "Can I fly?!"

You immediately abandon the puzzle and climb onto your chair, about to jump off of it to try and fly around, but J'onn catches you by the back of your shirt before you can hit the ground.

"You cannot."

"Aww...then I don't wanna be a megahuman," you complain, stomping your foot.

"Metahuman."

"Whatever."

"I am sorry," J'onn says, "I did not mean to upset you. I do think you are developing powers, however."

"Not fly powers?" You frown.

"No, not flight powers."

"Boring," you say, blowing raspberries. J'onn cracks a smile at your antics and you giggle. "Help me do the puzzle, please!"

"Alright," he relents, sorting more pieces for you. You're both quiet for a while, and you get the whole frame done before he speaks again.

"Little one. Do you know your father's rule about metahumans?"

"Yeah," you say, grinning, because you're a great listener. You pitch your voice down and make it scratchy. It's adorable in your four-year-old tone. "No metas in Gotham. I am Nighttime. Raaahhh."

J'onn huffs in amusement. "Right. He usually means what he says, does he not?"

"Yeah," you agree, "daddy is a bad liar. He lied and said he didn't eated the last cookie once, but he did eated it. Alfie was mad, 'cause it was for Dami, but Dami didn't care. He likes brownies more than cookies. I like brownies, too."

"I figured," J'onn says. He's not looking at you again. This time he's frowning.

"Do you want brownies?" You ask, figuring that was the issue. "I don't have any. I can ask for some when Daddy comes back. I'm good at sharing, 'cause I'm a good noodle, like Jay says."

"No, but thank you for offering to share. Jason is right, you are a good noodle."

You preen. "I know!"

J'onn drops the subject again and helps you complete the puzzle. You squint at every piece in concentration and politely ask him if he can dim the lights so you can work better. He complies, and after another hour and a half, you have a completed image on the table.

"Yay! We did it!"

The sounds of chatter and footsteps appear down the hall moments later, and you spring to your feet in delight.

"Hello!!!" You shout.

A chorus of "hello!" greets you in return from multiple heroes, and the rest of the Justice League files into the room one by one. They don't look too roughed up, so the mission wasn't very dangerous. That's good. You stand by the door and offer them hugs. Everyone complies, to your endless delight.

"Daddy!" You cheer when you see him, running and hugging Batman's legs. He scoops you into his arms and you grin and point at the table. "Uncle J'onny and I dided a whole puzzle! I didn't give up!"

"Good job, Mouse," Bruce says, reaching out to adjust the light. "You did it in the dark?"

"Yeah," you grin, kicking your feet. "Did you punch bad guys?"

"I did."

"Did you win?"

"Yes."

"Can we have ice cream?"

"Maybe after dinner." He carries you down the hall and towards his temporary quarters, the place he'll stay after a particularly tough mission when he can't make it home right away, and deposits you gently on the bed. "I have to debrief with everyone, and then we can pack up and go home."

"Okay, daddy," you say, already digging through the nightstand for a toy to play with. "I stay right here!"

"Good job," he says again, kissing the top of your head, and leaves you alone with a small wave.

--

The next time you need to be at the Watchtower, it's with Uncle Clark and Auntie Diana. The mission wasn't a super dangerous one, so they both got to stay behind and entertain you.

Today, you're a cashier at your world-famous grocery store. You have the best ingredients all over the world.

"Welcome to the groshy store, what do you want stranger?" You demand, getting into character. Clark looks mildly offended.

"Whoa, hello. That's a lot of 'tude for a paying customer," he says.

"You didn't buy nothing yet! Whataya want!"

"Uh. Some carrots please."

"All out."

Clark narrows his eyes at you. "Can you check in the back?"

You turn around. You turn back.

"All out. Whataya want!"

"You barely looked!" He insists.

"FRESH OUTTA CARROTS, BUB. WHATAYA WANT."

"Oh my goodness, now there's yelling. I think I need to speak to a manager."

"Okay!" You shuffle across the room and grab Diana's hand, leading her back to Clark. "This is the manager. Auntie, tell him all the carrots are gone. He can't have any."

Diana covers her mouth to stifle her laughter. "You heard them, stranger. There are no carrots here."

"Well, aside from the blatant nepotism, auntie, I think you're hiding the carrots from me," Clark huffs, crossing his arms. "I need them for my soup. Guess I'll go to the grocery store across town. I hear they're nicer."

"No," you gasp, "wait. Okay maybe I have one secret carrot. I go get it."

You leave their giggling forms and run over to the toy box that was set up for you on the watch tower, thrusting your hands inside to dig around. You squint your eyes, but all the bright colors are hard to distinguish properly. In the dark spaces, deeper into the box, is where you cast your focus. Instinctively, you follow the trail and close your hand around a plastic carrot. You lift your hand triumphantly.

"Okay, got it!" You cry, only to startle when you find both Clark and Diana kneeling beside your toy chest. Diana picks you up around the waist and takes several steps back, and Clark's eyes turn that funny shade of blue they do when he's using x-ray vision. "Umm, I gotted the carrot already. It's in my hand."

"Are you injured?" Diana asks you, expression deadly serious. You frown and shake your head. "You're certain? I could sense something in that box with you."

"No, I'm fine," you promise. Clark stands up and his eyes go back to normal. He shrugs, brows furrowed.

"There's nothing in there but toys."

"Yeah," you nod, "toys and dark spots."

Both heroes look at you. You squirm in Diana's hold shyly.

"Um, want to pay for the carrot?" You ask, holding it up. "It's only ten dollars. Orrr one lollipop." You whisper conspiratorially. "I can be bribed."

Diana and Clark exchange glances. Clark gingerly takes the carrot from you and puts it back in the toy box.

"Sold. Let's go to the kitchen and pick out which flavor you want."

You grin, forgetting about the game, and Diana puts you on the ground so you can follow excitedly after them. With a couple "pretty please's" and your lethal puppy dog eyes, you even manage to get two lollipops. You ask to be hoisted onto the counter so you can swing your feet as you enjoy the candy, and both heroes perch on either side of you.

It's quiet for a while. It feels like that weird, anticipatory quiet you felt with Uncle J'onny, but you don't know what for, so you wait for one of them to speak. You finish off one whole sucker and open the second one when it happens.

"Mouse?" Clark eventually asks, "can you explain what you meant about your toys? That there are dark spots in there?"

"Yeah," you say, "shadows. Dark spots. Light not touching."

"And you can...feel shadows?"

You hum, thinking it over. "Um...yes. Kind of."

Clark and Diana look at each other again. They're frowning. You frown.

"Can you tell us what you mean by that?" She asks.

"Um. I wanted the carrot, for uncle Clark," you say, "so he can buy it at my groshy store. And the dark spots showed me where it was, and I grabbed it."

"Did they also help you complete the jigsaw puzzle, when you were with J'onn?" Diana asks. "It was quite dark when we got back." You nod.

"Yeah. Easier to do in the dark. It's not cheating!" You blurt. "I didn't cheated!"

"Okay, ya' didn't cheat," Clark agrees, gently patting your back. There's a slight drawl in his words which usually shows up when he's stressed out. "We're just curious, is all, darlin'. Seems you've got a... A special talent, we can call it."

"It's a power. They're a metahuman, Kal," Diana says simply, "and you know Bruce's rule."

The rule? Which one? Always brushing your teeth before bedtime? Or maybe no sweets until you finish your dinner? Hmm, but you haven't had dinner yet. That doesn't make sense.

"No metas in Gotham. I'm very aware, Diana."

"Then you see the problem."

Oh. Now you think you know why uncle J'onny was upset that day.

"Now wait a minute," Clark says. He looks genuinely angry, which confuses you. Did they not like that you could ask the dark for help? They had superpowers, too. You figured they would be happy. "They're his kid."

You are. You're Daddy's little Flittermouse, scampering around and bringing joy. That's what everyone tells you. They love you.

"You've seen how hard he works to keep us out of Gotham," Diana says. "We can be trusted to babysit, but we can't enter the city? What does that tell you?"

"That's different. He's territorial, we all know that. He's not a monster, Diana. He would never hurt them —"

"I'm not saying he is. I'm not saying he would. But I am saying that he doesn't bend his own rules. He does not make exceptions."

Oh.

You sit almost numbly on the counter and watch Clark and Diana start to argue over your place in Gotham. Over your place at home.

You think about Daddy's rule about no metas in Gotham. You think about your new ability to interact with shadows.

Oh.

The lollipop tastes like ash on your tongue and the tips of your fingers feel like tv static. When you blink, your eyes sting as they well up with tears. You've been so good about not throwing fits, about not being a crybaby, about being as strong as your super cool daddy and brothers and grandpa.

But you can't call them that anymore, can you? They don't want metas in Gotham, and that's what you are, now. You can't live with your family anymore.

Large, fat tears roll down your cheeks and your bottom lip wobbles. You whimper and both Diana and Clark whip their heads around to look at you in shock.

"No, oh no, don't cry," Diana coos, "you don't need to worry. Your father isn't —"

You bat her hands away when she reaches for you and jump off the counter, running underneath Clark's cape. They don't catch on to what you're doing in time.

Clark practically rips it off and fans it on the floor, floating above it with wide eyes. Diana kneels next to the fabric and frantically pats it, searching for you.

But there's nothing. You've fled into the shadow Clark's body cast and allowed the darkness to swallow you.

[earlysunshines]

order for delivery!

pham hanni x fem!reader

synopsis: hanni is a terrible multi-tasker and it's very evident when her phone is in between her ear and shoulder while she orders delivery. she's messily figuring out what to tackle on her calendar first as she mumbles her order, what lecture notes to go over, when her midterms fall---and oops, she just said 'love you, bye' to the worker on the other end of the phone.

warnings: none(?) i think it's just rly silly and cute and fluffy ; anything else i didn't mention ; not proofread

a/n: ugh she's so cute and such a loser and UGH anyways i wrote this so quickly but maybe that's because i love thsi fic so much it was so so so fun to write omfg ENJOY!!

hanni is a terrible multitasker, it only ends up in her getting things mixed up and done slower. still, she does it anyway.

her phone is tucked awkwardly between her ear and shoulder, fingers tapping at the laptop keyboard while scrolling through lecture notes. “uh, yeah… chicken lo mein with extra chicken… and um also…” she squinted at the calendar on her screen. “what was i supposed to— oh, right… midterm next wednesday. right, cool.”

on the other end you listened patiently, smiling to yourself and holding back a small giggle as she mumbled half an order while clearly being busy with other things.

“wait, sorry!” she apologizes quickly, realizing she hadn’t ordered what minji and haerin had asked for. “also six steamed pork dumplings— no, twelve please. shrimp fried rice and… wait, i already said that, right? ugh—anyway, just, yeah, add that too.”

you ring it all up, smiling wider. “anything else?”

there’s a brief moment of silence until you hear, “huh? oh, no, that’s it.” she replies absentmindedly. she had been paying no attention at all, flipping through her notes and muttering to herself quietly about what she needed to review before the weekend. “uh, yeah, thanks—love you, bye.”

another beat of silence passes before you chime in, voice playful. “love you too.”

you could practically hear her freeze, the realization hits her. you hear a gasp on the other end of the phone, sharp and followed by a small curse.

‘w-wait, what?” hanni stammers, cheeks heating up like crazy. everything hanni had been bombarded with halts. her hands freeze on the laptop, her phone almost slips from her shoulder, and the papers she had been holding with the other hand have all landed on teh counter. everything hanni had been thinking about—midterm wednesday, lecture notes, module 2.2, chapter three reading—dissapear from her mind in a blink.

she hears a laugh on the other end, then a voice that sends a shiver down her spine. 

“your total is $28.41, by the way.”

“god, i’m sorry.” hanni rushes out the apology, face palming herself. “i didn’t mean it— not that i don’t love you! well, i mean, i don’t know you, so i don’t love you. not that i hate you! no hard feelings. i’m not saying you’re— okay i’m, i’m going to go. bye. thank you. sorry.”

hanni presses the red button on her phone, ending the call and cringing to herself. hanni is more than glad that her friends in the living room hadn’t heard the most embarassing phonecall of her life. if any of them were to witness it, she’d never live it down. her cheeks are fuming against her hand; she’s a mess, she really needs to stop tackling twelve things at once even though it brings her some type of comfort—less chaos during lots of chaos makes it seem like something manageable.

she clicks through a bunch of tabs, skims through a few lines on her paper, and then closes her laptop. she does this while being distracted by the whole one minute interaction from earlier, shooting herself in the head mentally everytime she thinks of it.

less than twenty minutes later, the delivery guy shows up. hanni knows it’s not the person on the phone, because when the man speaks, it’s not the same voice that sent a weird shiver down her spine when she realized they said “love you too” back to her.

she takes the two bags over to her living room, setting them down in front of two ravenous students—otherwise known as her best friends danielle and minji—watching their eyes sparkle just from the sight. she rolls her eyes at them, sitting down against her small couch and leaning against as they waste no time to dig in and unbox.

hanni’s the last one to reach in and grab something to munch on—mistake number one. mistake number two is catching minji furrowing her brows at a piece of paper, pickiing it up and reading, instead of stopping her before she can do any of that.

her best friend reads it outloud in a confused tone: “i put two extra fortune cookies in there,” minji begins, danielle scoots over to read too. “hope your fortune is as sweet as your voice. love, the girl you don’t hate, but don’t love :(“

“p.s. you sound cute when you’re caught off guard ;-)”

minji finishes reading, and then the two of her friends look up, staring down hanni.

“hanni, what’s this?”

“i— give me that!” hanni says, face burning up. she swipes the paper from minji’s hand, looking at the paper and covering it with her hand like her friends hadn’t just read it together. she cringes, closing her eyes and falling down on teh floor. “i’m an idiot.”

“hanniiiiii” danielle whines, scooting over to shake her by her shoulders while she’s on the floor. “what’s that about? do you have an admirer or something?”

“i can’t tell you, i just, i’m so stupid.”

“dude, what?” minji questions, completely ignoring the steaming, delicious food on the coffee table. “explain—now.”

hanni feels her heart beating like crazy, then she gives in and sits up. her face is most definitely beet red, maybe even worse when she glances at the note again.

“i accidentally said ‘love you, bye’ to the worker on the phone.” hanni says quietly, shaking her head. “and she said it back.”

“she what?” danielle and minji say in unison, looking at her in disbelief.

hanni lets out a weird noise, overwhelmed and flustered beyond words. she looks down at the note again through the spaces in her fingers as she covers her face, not noticing any name or anything that might lead to another encounter with the mystery girl on the other end of the line. this disappoints her a bit, but even if she were to have a name or number or anything, she wouldn’t be able to face you. 

after getting teased to death, the trio indulges in food after a very long and tiring study session. the conversation shifts to annoying professors, upcoming midterms, plans for when they all have free time—but hanni is still thinking of you, oddly enough.

—

a little over a week from that day, hanni orders takeout again. she’s somehow forgotten (for the most part) her embarrassing interaction, probably because her midterm is tomorrow and she’s completely forgotten to eat. her phone sits in between her shoulder and ear again, head tilted awkwardly to rush out an order. 

“alpha waves, altruism, anorexia nervosa… shit, sorry. um yeah, i’d like six steamed dumplings please, pork. umm… chow mein— no, scratch that. shrimp fried rice please.” her words are hurried out her mouth as she furrows her brows at her laptop screen, clicking through slides and trying to comprehend two units of psychology in one night. “that’s it, thank you, love you.”

hanni stops in place, frozen in shock. there is no way.

“wow, you must be smitten, huh?” she hears on the end of the line, followed by a small chuckle. “love you too, ‘hp.’” hanni had never used her full name when ordering things, well, only food. she always had this fear of sharing her legal name unless it was for unconsumable orders. “your total is $14.89 by the way.” 

you hear a groan on the end of the line, followed by what sounds like pens and pencils hitting the floor.

“...you alright?”

hanni, caught off guard by the whole conversation for the most part, but also the fact that you noticed how she had just spilled half her supplies onto her apartment floor, answers with a simple, “yeah.”

“that’s good to hear.”

“i’m really sorry, again, for the… you know.”

“your undying love for me?”

“what?” hanni says, completely disregarding the pens, pencils, and highlighters on the floor. “i- no! no. i’m not in love with you! i didn’t mean it—”

“i’m teasing, hp.” she hears the smile in your voice. “would you like an extra fortune? last time i had heard from you i remember something about a midterm.”

“you remembered?” it sounds a little pathetic, maybe desperate coming from hanni, but hanni couldn’t care less. she’s tired, overwhelmed, and has gone over so much work in the span of a few days that she really can’t think or function correctly.

“yeah, not many people sound as young as you. it’s usually a parent or something ordering for their family at this time. plus, you made my shift.” you confess, “i thought it was cute, you know, how frantic you had ordered your meal.”

“i’m really sorry about that, like seriously, i’m really, really sorry.”

“it’s okay hp.”

“right, yeah. i uh, i have to study. sorry— i don’t know why i’m saying sorry, ugh, sorry. thanks, bye.”

“no ‘love you?’” you ask, and before hanni can answer you respond, “kidding. i’ll throw in two fried wontons, have a good night hp.”

the call ends and hanni blinks a few times as she tries to process what just happened. she’s embarrassed beyond words, just as flustered too. there might even be a blush on her cheeks, she can’t stop thinking about how smooth you were with your teasing, plus the way your voice sounded. 

hanni thinks it’s the midterm getting to her, the stress. she cleans up the mess on the floor and goes through her vocabulary notes. she hears a knock on the door twenty minutes later which makes her jump in her seat.

she grabs the bag of fried rice and dumplings, placing it on the counter before taking everything out. hanni hears her stomach rumble a bit, she definitely underestimated how hungry she was.

before hanni digs in, she notices two fortune cookies and a note at the bottom. she completely ignores the cookies, grabbing the note and opening it up to see the same small handwriting from last time:

“i’m guessing your initials are hp? i could be wrong… 

hp like harry potter? it makes sense because you’re magical.

good luck on your midterm! hopefully you’ll order for a post-midterm celebration.

p.s. there are extra fried wontons ;p”

hanni smiles as she reads the note. pause. hanni stops smiling immediately when she becomes aware of the fact that she’s smiling because of a note. a note from a mystery woman on the other end of the line.

—

midterms are over, all of them. hanni had gone through all four midterms. all four. hanni’s burnt out to oblivion, finding comfort in her bed as soon as she gets back from her last midterm. she checks her messages and is greeted by the groupchat she’s in with danielle and minji.

minji: FINALLY i feel like a fish that’s been gutted out it’s not even finals lowk wasn’t even that bad actually how about you guys

danielle: my midterm is in an hour!  wish me luck :D how was yours hanni?

hanni: i’m about to PASS OUT why did i choose forensics

minji: because you’re a nerd don’t let one biology midterm screw you over who’s going to take care of my body parts when i suddenly get murdered

danielle: woah quite a situation, no?

hanni: uagghshhskafhjk i’m going to sleep GOODNIGHT do you guys want to come over later dani do you need time to unwind before you come over

danielle: no that’s alright! i find your apartment quite cozy i’ll just crash there right after, thanks han okay i’m going to review a bit more wish me luck!

minji: good luck mo dani!! you can do it  we love you

hanni: good luck! you’ve got this

danielle:  ❤️

hanni smiles at danielle’s message, she’s always so positive—even through text, even during these trying times. she decides to pass out for almost two hours, waking up groggy and finding herself almost tripping all the way back to her couch in the living room. she sighs as she collapses onto the cushions, waiting for minji and danielle to come over.

then her thoughts race back to you, embarassingly enough. she thinks about your stupid flirting, your stupid voice, and the stupid giggle she could hear through the phone. she thinks about how stupid she is for smiling, how stupid she is. everything is stupid.

hanni is fantasizing about some random person she’s ordered affordable chinese food from, she doesn’t even know her name. 

(hanni’s brain is mush.)

instinctively, she goes through her recent calls, dialing the number of the restaurant that serves her favorite dumplings. 

it rings for a few seconds before someone answers, “hello?”

the voice isn’t familiar whatsoever, hanni feels a strange discomfort in her stomach. 

hanni doesn’t realize that she hasn’t spoken a word until the second “hello?” is uttered. she breaks from her trance.

“hi, hello, yeah, hi.”

“hello, what can i get you?”

hanni purses her lips before replying, “oh, um.” she sounds like a sad child. “fried rice, i’ll do chicken. wontons, fried, twelve of them. could i also get beef-broccoli lo mein?”

she hears nothing for about three seconds, then a hum. “got it, could i get a name for that order?”

“hp.” 

“y/n’s ‘hp?’” who the hell is y/n? hanni thinks to herself. 

“what?”

“nevermind.” the worker says with her monotone voice. “will that be it?”

“yeah, thank you.” hanni doesn’t say ‘love you’ this time. she tells herself it’s because she’s not preoccupied with at least three things in that same moment, but a part of it is because it’s not the same voice that she had been expecting to hear. “what’s the total?”

“$24.12. it’ll be over in a little more than twenty minutes.”

“okay, thank you.” hanni says, and instead of hearing something snarky back—she hears a hum, and then the call ends.

…

you walk into work later than usual, one of your midterms had been pushed a bit later, so your hours were cut off. 

as you walk in, you catch your coworker’s head snap up. as soon as she realizes it’s you, she relaxes a bit.

“good evening haerin!” you beam, somehow upbeat and lively even after your grueling calculus midterm. “miss me?”

“just had to take more calls than i ever do in one week.” she sighs, watching you move over behind the counter and push your bag under the desk. “so maybe a little.”

“awww, you missed me so much.”

“shut up.” haerin groans, sitting down in the little chair where no customers can catch her. “you know what you missed?”

“what?”

“your girlfriend called—miss hp.”

“hp?!” you say it like you’ve just missed the train that comes every two hours. “seriously? did she say ‘love you?’”

“of course that’s what you’re so animated about.” haerin rolls her eyes at you, shrugging. “she didn’t.”

a sigh of relief escapes your lips, a very exaggerated one for that matter. then you frown, sitting down in the spinny chair nearby and rotating yourself in your seat like a little kid.

“i can’t believe i missed her.”

“you’re actually insane for flirting with a customer.”

“she has a cute voice.”

“you don’t even know her y/n.” haerin scoots over, but only to flick you in the forehead. she leans back in her seat, smirking. you rub your skin and pout at her, making her roll her eyes once more before she continues on, “she could be old, crinkly, and married or something. what if she’s like… balding? what if her teeth are falling out and she—”

“why are you assuming the worst haerin. you’re so— whatever. she sounds my age, i guess. it’s just fun to mess around, it’s cute.”

“i will never get you.” your coworker crosses her arms, jumping at the sound of the phone ringing. “could you get that? i’ve run out of social battery.”

“it’s a phone call haerin.”

“talking to you drained me already.”

you frown, making her giggle at you.

—

the next time hanni calls is two days later, because she’s a loser that can’t seem to get the thought of the chinese restaurant employee who keeps flirting with her (albeit smoothly) out of her head. the phone rings twice, then someone picks up, and hanni waits eagerly.

“hi, pledis plates, how can i help?” it’s you, it’s you. the memory of hearing ‘y/n’s hp?’ pops up in her head—could you be y/n? you have to be.

“hi.” hanni says simply, biting the inside of her lip. she hears a small chuckle on the other end of the line, slightly relieved.

“if it isn’t hp.” it comes out cheeky, making hanni blush. “missed you, you know?”

“what?”

“did you miss me too?”

“i–” yes. hanni did miss you, not like she’d admit it, at least out loud. “i’d like to order dumplings.”

“harsh.” you respond jokingly, “six, pork, and steamed, got it.”

“you memorized it?” 

“you ordered it last time.”

hanni can’t help but laugh, smiling as she holds the phone against her ear. “you must be head over heels to be remembering my order.”

“you’re the one who confessed first though?”

“that was a mistake.”

“uh huh.” amusement is laced in your tone. “it’ll be five dollars, should be there in less than twenty.”

“great.”

 hanni doesn’t know what else to say. you both pause, letting silence and the faint static ring in your ears.

“what happened to the usual goodbye?”

hanni feels herself shrinking in her bed, feet kicking slightly, blush forming. god, she’s head over heels, she’s insane, she doesn’t know a single thing about you other than the fact that you have a really endearing voice and that your flirting is enough to have her smiling like an idiot.

“thanks, bye.” neither of you hang up after hanni says it, knowing there’s something missing. hanni pinches the bridge of her nose, feeling her stomach closing in on herself and simultaneously doing a flip. her heart nearly jumps out of her chest as she chokes out, “love you.”

“i was waiting for that one.”

“a-are you— really?”

“yeah.” you simply state, and you say nothing else but, “bye hp.”

“you’re not going to say it back?”

you grin to yourself. hanni hears a small, amused laugh fromthe other end, sending a shiver down her spine. “i don’t fold that easy, maybe next time.” you hang up right after, leaving hanni dumbfounded.

hanni looks at her phone like you’re going to call back, but you don’t. she drops the phone on her bed, putting both hands over her face and feeling her skin burn against her palms. she groans, then groans again, and sighs finally. 

maybe next time. there’s going to be a next time—hanni has that at least.

—

hanni calls again the next monday, around two days after the last call. it’s the same day she had first said the infamous ‘love you’ to you on accident. she calls at around the same time, laptop on her lap as she taps lightly on the backspace key, though not enough to actually press it. she wonders to herself for a moment, is the dent in her wallet really worth it? has she really reached rock bottom?

“pledis plates, what would you like to order?”

it’s not you. hanni sinks into the cushion of her couch and feels herself deflate. she can’t always call with the assumption that you’ll pick up, there are other employees after all. this time, it’s the same monotone voice she had heard before, a stark contrast to your flirtatious, lively tone.

“hi, i’d just like—”

“ah, hp.”

“how did you—”

“i remember your voice from last time. y/n was quite sad when she realized she’d missed your call by twenty minutes.”

“what do you mean?”

“she came into work late, midterms or something.”

midterms. the information alone gives her the assumption that you’re also in college, maybe even in her grade, and if she’s pushing it maybe you even go to her university. she conjures up a better picture of you now, not quite clear or concrete, but it’s something.

“is she a student?”

“i don’t know if i can leak that, she told me to be very secretive about her. i don’t think you’ll have trouble finding out more though, she never shuts up.”

hanni snickers, so you’re a talker too. yeah, hanni’s into that.

“well now i know her name.”

“do what you will with that.” the girl mutters. hanni hears a small sigh, then another response, “hey, y/n was curious about you. are you in high school?”

“what— no! do i sound like it?”

“you sound young.” the girl on the end of the line—haerin—shrugs. she continues, “y/n thinks you’re the same age as her, she also assumes you’re cute. i guess no one will know until a miracle happens.”

“i can’t tell if you’re insulting me.” hanni chuckles awkwardly, but haerin doesn’t respond.  “but if it helps, anyway, i’m a sophomore in college. tell her i’m interested in forensics.”

“okay.”

silence follows again, but haerin hasn’t hung up, and hanni still holds the phone against her ear expecting something more. hanni decides to take another step, asking, “y/n, how is… could you like, describe her?”

“physically or…? well, i can do a brief description. to start off: annoying, jokes a lot, pretends to be all mopey when insulted. physically: taller than me—i’d say taller than a lot of women. she has a nice smile i guess, but it’s the kind you want to wipe off her face, ugh, it’s like she’s making fun of you when she does it. her hair is also always a little messy, she says its for the ‘appeal,’ but i see none.”

hanni fights back a giggle. this woman has just spilled a good amount, a perfect amount in hanni’s eyes (any amount is alright, anything more than a name). this ‘y/n’ is tall, taller than most women, and hanni is shorter than most; hanni is into that, she loves taller girls. and messy hair too? that’s cute, probably. as long as it’s not the same type of messy that men rock around—men that barely shower or do anything. essentially: compsci majors—then hanni will be alright. you sound wonderful.

“did you want to order anything? or are did you just want to flirt with the idiot.”

“hey! hey, hey. lets not— ugh, okay, could i just get um, six pork dumplings—steamed.”

“okay.” the girl says quietly, and then hanni hears some light tapping. “six dumplings for hp.”

“hanni. it’s hanni. my name is hanni.”

“got it the first time.”

“you’re bright, aren’t you?”

“your order is going to be there later, bye.” and then the girl hangs up, leaving hanni speechless.

—

hanni waits a few days to call, because she doesn’t remember dialing on tuesdays or wednesdays and hearing a voice that brings her a little thrill. she leans against her counter waiting for a response, then lights up when she hears,

“pledis plates, how can i help?”

“y/n.” hanni says, almost relieved. “hi.”

“hi hanni.” your coworker must’ve leaked that conversation, hanni thinks. “nice to hear from you.”

“likewise.”

“can i get six dumplings? pork and—”

“---steamed, yes.” you’re smiling as you say it, like an eager little child. “nothing else?”

“no.”

“alright.” you respond, clicking two tabs and ringing up her order. you don’t give her the cost or anything, staring at the screen and deciding to huff out, “forensics?” you’re starting a real conversion now, what a step.

hanni is smiling hard, she’s so giddy that she’s twirling a piece of hair around her pointer finger. 

“yeah, i think it’s nice.”

“cute.” you mumble, “i’m studying kinesiology.”

“is that so?”

“unfortunately.” you say lightheartedly. hanni doesn’t know what to respond with, she wants to continue the conversation and hear your voice longer, but there’s nothing she can think of. does she ask for your number? how you are? hanni is useless, she’s always been useless when it came to girls.

“hanni?”

“y-yes?” hanni cringes at the slight stutter.

“your total is five dollars. it’ll be there soon.”

“oh,” hanni says sadly, “i mean, um. okay.”

and then she hangs up, a little defeated, but there’s always a next time…right?

when her food gets there, she hurriedly pays the delivery driver, making her wallet cry even more. there’s a note in the bag, along with two fortune cookies. the note has your name and a number on it, making hanni gasp and smile to herself again. there’s a little ‘text me, miss hanni. i’m looking forward to it.’ and as soon as hanni reads it, she clasps her hands together, squeals quietly into them, giggles, and kicks her feet in the air.

hanni tries to do some schoolwork, managing to get ten minutes of reading down, a few sentences jotted down, and then the rest of the time she’s thinking about her new saved contact. she hasn’t texted you yet, mainly because she had been overthinking about what and when to text you. she contemplates texting danielle and minji about it, but she’d just be teased. 

this is the first time in a while since hanni’s gotten anywhere close to something romantic, or maybe this is platonic, but the flirting doesn’t support that idea. she’s tried tinder—once, once and never again—and going to parties. nothing works out, none of them make her giddy and giggly like this. 

before she knows it, two hours have passed, and so she decides to send a simple “hi, this is hanni!’ 

too enthusiastic? too bland? too basic? ugh. hanni groans, lying on her couch in an uncomfortable position.

you reply almost immediately with ‘hey, i’m off in twenty minutes. let’s call?’ and hanni has to put the phone to her chest, looking up at the ceiling in disbelief.

twenty minutes passes by too quickly, hanni hasn’t even figured out what to say. she looks at her phone, waiting for you to call, and when you do, she short circuits; hanni drops her phone on her face.

“hello?” it’s you.

it’s you.

“hey. um, how was work?”

“aw, even asking me about work.” she can hear the smirk in your tone, rolling her eyes as she smiles to herself. “it was fine, my favorite part was when this girl ordered pork dumplings though. she has a cute voice.”

“is that so?”

“yeah. hey, can i ask you something?”

“what is it?”

“i work tomorrow, but its the morning shift. i end at one, i was you know… wondering if you… wanted…” you sound nervous, this is a first for hanni. “if you wanted to share some dumplings, free of charge.”

hanni covers her mouth almost immediately, suppressing any signs of her freaking out.

“are you asking me out?”

“only if you say yes.”

you hear a giggle before you hear a “yes.”

“really?”

“mhm.” hanni smiles again, thinking of something that’ll leave you just as flustered. “okay, well… i’ll see your tomorrow. bye, love you.”

“love you too hanni.”

—

minji’s usually the one who picks up orders if it’s not delivery, and hanni is almost always taking the orders. so when hanni enters the shop for the first time, she’s quite fond of the smell of ingredients being stir fried or steamed, as well as the interior of the place. it’s very nice inside, hopefully the nice person she’s been meaning to see shows up soon.

there’s a girl by the counter, she’s only slightly taller than hanni, and her eyes are oddly cat-like. she looks up at her with those eyes, then shoots a small smile.

“hi, how can i help?” this is who the monotone voice belongs to. her image somehow matches perfectly with the voice.

“hi, i’m hanni.” as soon as she introduces herself, the workers eyes widen.

“woah, you’re real.”

“surprising, i know.”

“y/n is changing in the back—she was eager to get off fives minutes early so she wouldn’t be in uniform when you showed up.” haerin explains, shaking her head. “it’s nice to meet you, you’re very pretty.”

“thank you! i appreciate it. you’re pretty as well.”

haerin doesn’t get to respond. the person who does respond is the girl walking up to the register, scooting haerin to the side with her knuckles and tapping at the screen. the girl isn’t in uniform, and she’s also really good looking. 

you run a hand through your hair as you clock out through the system. “hey, did hanni ever stop by?” you ask haerin, not looking up from the screen because you’ve typed your code in wrong. 

“look up idiot.” your coworker snickers, and when you do, you’re met with the most gorgeous girl you’ve ever seen.

you notice her right away, hair flowing down past her chest, curtain bangs perfectly framing her face. her plump lips and striking features make you pause. sure, you expected her to be pretty—maybe even conventionally attractive, everyone is in their own way—but seeing her in person? she’s beyond that, practically model material. my god. your lips part slightly in surprise, and you catch yourself, quickly swallowing as you both smile at each other at the same time.

you clock out—thankfully not typing in the wrong code again from nervousness—and step out from behind the counter. a small tote bag hangs from your shoulder, and a plastic bag dangles in your hand. you glance down at it.

“twelve dumplings—steamed, pork, everything you like—for the pair.”

hanni’s smile lights up her face, and you can't help but think about how adorable she looks, how effortlessly charming she is.

“why thank you,” she says, her voice soft and playful. it sounds better in person than through the phone.

“you’re gorgeous, by the way,” you blurt out before you can stop yourself, still marveling at her. “like, i expected you to be pretty, but… wow.” you can tell haerin is fake gagging or rolling her eyes or something like that from behind, she’s probably already on her way to avoid witnessing this interaction.

hanni blushes instantly, the red creeping up her cheeks. if she were at home, she’d probably be giggling and kicking her feet, but for now, she just looks away shyly, smiling. “thanks, you’re really cute too.”

“you think?”

“yes.” she meets your eyes, still flushed. “can we eat? i’m hungry.”

“right, yeah. i hope it’s not too forward, but is the park nearby good? we can settle down and, um… talk more. you know, more than just about your usual order.”

hanni laughs—you might die right then and there—before responding, “that’s perfect,” and then she nods, looking at you. her eyes are soft and warm and wonderful.

“great,” you echo.

“great,” she repeats, a small laugh escaping her.

you both walk side by side, still a little stiff at first, the mutual attraction between you creating an unspoken tension. but as you settle into the rhythm of conversation, the initial awkwardness fades away, replaced by the easy flow of natural chemistry. each step feels lighter, the distance between you shrinking with every passing word.

—

—

—

hanni hears a knock at her door, confused because she hadn’t expected any guests other than minji and danielle—who are already in her living room leeching off her netflix account. 

she opens it to see you, which immediately brings a smile to her face. she almost leaps over to hug you, nearly making you drop the large bag in your hand.

“someone missed me.”

“shut up.” hanni says before pecking your lips. she looks at you, your dorky, adorable face, and then presses another longer kiss. “come in babe. i didn’t expect you to be here.”

“i got off early because i had to cover. i wanted to surprise you, and i know you had company over.”

“oh yeah,” hanni had almost forgotten that her best friends had been there.

she leads you over, helping you take off your tote and setting it on her counter. her friends catch the two of you from their peripheral and wave, then their eyes light up at the sight of the familiar bag in your hand. you set it down, placing a the container of fried rice, lo mein, and dumpling down as they treat you like a savior.

“thank you so much, i owe you my first born.” danielle says, giving you a playful pout.

minji snickers, scooting up to the coffee table. “you’re the best thing that’s happened to us—to hanni.”

you look over to your girlfriend, that’s right, she’s your girlfriend. hanni is rolling her eyes at you, pushing your shoulder, and then pulling you in by the wrist to sit next to her. she’s not one for pda—especially in front of danielle and minji—but under the table her fingers graze your skin, which makes you smile.

you grab a secret container from behind your back, handing it to hanni. when she opens it, she opens her mouth, shocked and grateful for the six steamed pork dumplings that you brought just for her.

[blondeaxolotl-twstocs]

Woah, I guess Silver isn't NRC's only human.. Heartslabyul got one of them too!

Mono creates an TWST oc that for once ISN'T a merfolk??? INSANE!! Anyway, say hi to Alison or "Alis" (She's a twisted of Alice Liddell from Alice: Madness Returns). She's a third year in Heartslabyul, and she's also one of the students that helps keep everything intact for Riddle and calm along with Cater and Trey. I'm working on her UM, but here's ONE important thing you should know about her hehe..

Her and Che'nya are adoptive siblings! With Alis being a year older than Che'nya. Not a lot of people are aware of the fact these two are siblings since Alis rarely brings it up unless she's asked about it, or unless you are there at a unbirthday party and witnessed Alis spotting Che'nya, immediately tackling him to the ground and laugh at him struggle to fight her off. Only now she mentions the fact the screaming catfolk she's sitting on is her younger sibling.

They don't often interact since they're in separate schools, but with the rare times they do. You can tell they have the typical "older sibling bothering the younger sibling because it's funny" dynamic, with Che'nya being the victim of Alis' teasing. Kind of also preventing Che'nya himself from teasing others, because he's too busy running away from the one person who's giving him his own medicine. As far as it's known, Alis has been like this to Che'nya ever since they were kids.

Though, despite constantly picking on her sibling. Alis has a protective nature to her, being the one who helped Che'nya get away from NRC students after they witnessed him at their school and went to beat him up- only for them to be the ones who end up getting their asses kicked by Alis who threatened to "actual" hurt them if they didn't piss off. Alison is sometimes seen standing guard by Riddle as well, could be because Alis already knew Riddle cause him and Che'nya used to play alot as kids, or it could be because Riddle strangely reminds Alis of her pet rabbit at home and therefore she wants to protect him (What a strange, strange girl..).

Alison is alot more relaxed and allowing herself to have fun than the character she's based on, but that's for good reason! Let's just say she has a much easier life now where she can freely be a teenager without constantly keeping her guard up and thinking everyone is out to get her </3 (FYI She didn't have a good childhood, but she's doing okay now). I think that's all I have to say for now, but one last funfact- Alison is transfem and uses only she/her, thank you. <3

[kuurechr]

notes : post star plasma trauma

It had been a couple of months since everything that had happened. It hadn't blown over, really. Suguru and Satoru had definitely changed. Shoko was, thankfully, still the same. Nanami and Yu were still in a fun trio with you.

But things were stable. And calm.

You never wanted to grow up. You never wanted to be called on another mission again, honestly.

There was no point in thinking about that today, though. Today was important. More important than any other day in the year.

It was Satoru's birthday.

Satoru's birth is revered and considered important for many reasons in the jujutsu world. It's something that is taught in the modern section of the curriculum. It changed the course of many people's lives.

But at Jujutsu Tech, no one thought of it that way.

"Happy birthday Satoru!" Shoko and Suguru cheered as Satoru walked into class.

Yaga smiled as Satoru sat down.

Ten gifts on his desk.

Three from the people in the room, four from other teachers and students and three from the first years.

"This is a lot," Satoru grinned.

And in truth, it wasn't. Not to Satoru Gojou, who'd gotten anything he'd wanted in the past 17 years of his life. He usually got at least 50 presents for his birthday every year; his family or other people who wanted to buy his favour.

Those presents didn't do anything for him though. They didn't make him feel happy, appreciated or loved.

The ones on his desk did.

Yaga, Suguru and Shoko let him take his time because they knew that; Satoru appreciated the love he got from these gifts.

He looked through every bag and tag. The one from Shoko had a pack of cigarettes inside, which Satoru threw back at her. Yaga also confiscated them.

Suguru bought him all the beauty products that Satoru was running low on (that he could afford), and wrote a heartfelt letter to his as well. Satoru couldn't contain his smile.

Others had given him basic birthday presents, some clothes and candies, even some cash, along with short cards.

You had only given him a letter though.

And even that, Satoru appreciated more than anything.

"Happy birthday!!" You and the other Jujutsu Tech students screamed as Satoru walked into his room. You had cleaned and decorated his room- which had very little to hide, thankfully.

"Thank you!" Satoru grinned, accepting the tackle that Suguru welcomed him with.

The day was filled with cake, and Satoru sneakily putting icing on everyone's faces to take embarrassing pictures, only unable to get Mei Mei.

In yours, you were able to get icing on his cheek as he took the picture.

Satoru lay back on his bed, in his messy room, as he looked through the pictures. He told the others that they didn't need to stay and clean- he wanted to, after everything they'd done.

He didn't like cleaning though.

He wanted to sit in it longer. The feeling of pure joy. Everyone talking loudly in a messy room, eating cake, with no worries. It had been a while since he'd felt this happy.

That was why he decided to knock on your door.

"Satoru?" You told him to come in before even asking him why he was at your door. "Are you okay?"

You cared too much.

"Of course I am," he answered. "I wanted to thank you."

"Yeah, of course." He stayed by your door, as you looked up at him in your night wear. "You deserved something better, but that was all I could put together with short notice, Yaga's been getting on my ass about"-

"Seriously." You looked up at him. Satoru didn't have his glasses on. He put his hands on your shoulders, leaning. "This was the best thing anyone's given to me. Ever."

"Did you open the letter?" You asked, blinking as water filled your lash line. Satoru smiled, meekly. "You weren't"-

"I just had a feeling. Thank you for saying that."

You looked down. "Of course, yeah. I was just being honest."

"Being honest is hard." You chuckled, humming in agreement. "And I'm going to try it too."

You raised your head a little.

"I've had a hard... well, it's been weird. Very weird. And you've really helped me the past couple of months. But... but it's more than that. I like being around you. I like talking to you. I feel happy with you. And... I just want to be with you more often."

"That's how I feel too," you answered quickly.

Satoru nodded, licking his lips, looking down. "But..." Your shoulders sank. "I don't think you should put up with me. Not right now. I think we should give this time. Because I need to feel better without you, too."

There was a long pause.

"Is... is that okay?"

This is the most unsure you've ever seen Satoru. You had known him for a long time. You truly got to know him once you began attending Jujutsu Tech. And since the Plasma Vessel assignment, you've started to see parts of him that you thought didn't exist.

You sighed in relief. "That's perfectly fine, Satoru. I want you to do that. Feel better about yourself. Feel comfortable with life again. And if you still like me, maybe we... we can think about that then. For now, Toru, just focus on yourself."

Satoru's heart sped up at the nickname. No one had called him that before. Unless it was in a mocking way. This was comforting, relaxing, soothing.

You had some doubt about him liking you in the future. But Satoru was unsure if this feeling could ever go away.

This feeling for you.

Happy birthday Satoru!

I hope you have an amazing day. You deserve it more than anyone else I know. Your year has been hard and I know it's taken a toll on you. I hope that this year, you don't feel this stress again. I hope I can ease your pain.

I think you're a great person. I'm so glad I know you so well now. I'm happy that you were born. Thank you for blessing me with your presence, oh great Satoru (figured I needed to put a joke in here- it's too sappy).

No seriously. Let's be serious for once.

You are a blessing. To me, to Suguru, to Shoko. To so many people. I know you were raised being told the opposite. But so many people care for you.  I love you. And hey, I know that's not all of what matters in the world, but I hope it means something to you. Because you just being Satoru, plain Satoru, means the world to me.

You can read more of this on AO3 ! Nothing Special

[polymc]

Poly!MC with the Ghouls Headcannons [pt. 1]

Author's Note: MC is dating all the ghouls, but everything is in sections. Also, what do you guys think of the new layout? :>

Pairings: Frostheim, Vagastrom, Jabberwock, Sinostra, Hotarubi, Obscuary, Mortkranken

TW: Characters might be a little ooc so I apologize for that, I also started writing this after I finished episode 7 so sorry if some things are wrong.

MC uses They/Them pronouns and is kept blank

✗ Minors/Ageless blogs DNI, Go away please. ✗

- Frostheim -

Going on dates with the frostheim guys is going to be a lot fun for everyone... except Kaito. The 3 rich boys always pick something that is very nice and fancy for their MC while Kaito is just stressing out over why a steak is $200. Luckily this isn't always the case thanks to you and Lucas. You always make sure to do something where everyone is enjoying the date.

Kaito and Luca are the ones around you the most during school hours. They are always so protective of you and don't take shit from anyone. Someone insulted you? Lucas will defend your honor. You feel lonely? Kaito is currently running towards your location.

Jin and Tohma though, they are both on another level. They act and treat you mostly the same as they always did but if you look closer, you'll see small things that they'll do for you. For example, You just returned from giving papers to the chancellor and there they are, sitting at a table with your favorite snacks and tea/drink you like.

- Vagastrom -

Date planning is mostly picked out by either Leo or Sho. Alan has attempted but poor sweet himbo has no idea what he's doing. Leo usually takes the lead on what to do but Sho picks out food spots. Alan just likes to tag along and enjoys seeing the three of you happy. If you all somehow get separated, please hope Alan isn't alone otherwise you all have to decipher his texts on where he's at.

Leo and Sho are menaces to society. They love teasing you separately but together? Different story. Leo of course loves flaunting online about you two dating(he already was but now it's true). Sho is a secret sweetheart. He loves when you stop by his food truck and even makes sure to save you your favorite drink when you order.

Poor Alan. I imagine that even in a relationship, he still berates himself and holds back because he's scared to hurt you in any way. It takes you, Leo, and Sho to get him to see that it's okay. Other than that, Alan looks scary but he cares a lot about you. Please hold his hand, he will turn into mush if you do-

- Jabberwock -

Dates are always different. Sometimes you're enjoying having a picnic and sometimes you're watch movies. Once it was too late to go out and do anything so you all(Mainly you and Haru)built a blanket fort. Ren picked out a few movies you all could watch

Towa koala clings to you or makes you wrap your arms and legs around him. Personal space? What's that?? Sometimes he'll drag Haru into the mix too. You can't even step foot into Jabberwock without getting tackled by him. Ren on the other hand likes his one on one time with you and shows his affection privately. He'll make small gestures like saving you a spot at the restaurant or showing you the best ways to level up a character.

Haru is a big sweetheart. He'll still ask for your help but on occasion, he'll zoom past you and give a quick smooch on the cheek. He secretly loves watching you be around Towa and Ren, It makes him feel very happy seeing you all interact. Be prepared to raise a round rabbit creature with him! Peekaboo is now your son and you must raise the round boi with Haru.

- Sinostra -

You're either getting the sugar baby experience at full effect or you're spoiling your 3 crazy men. These 3 are gonna spoil you rotten but sorry it's not for free, They always want something in return. I got you this necklace! Now you can't leave me for the next 24 hours. It may seem crazy but they're crazy about you so win win.

Ritsu will still record things during your dates. Sometimes to hold it against you(affectionately) but I can see him rewinding it a few times just to remember your favorite color. He is a gentleman through and through, even if he has strange ways of showing it. Romeo? Oh the amount of times you hate kissed that man is unbelievable. Romeo still acts the same as before but he still shows he cares in little signs. BB Isn't basic bitch anymore... It's beautiful bitch(I'm joking... Maybe).

Taiga... Is Taiga. Just like Romeo, He is still the same, nothing has really changed but he is a lot more forward and touchy. You're sitting and eating your lunch? Not anymore! Taiga literally grabs you and drags you away because he wants you on his lap while he gambles. He has no idea what personal space is and could careless. He'll sometimes drag Romeo as well into his plans.

- Hotarubi -

SWEET. DATES. I can not stress enough how relaxing and mundane their dates would be. If you ever need to destress, they are right there for you. If you're ever feeling stressed, head over to Hotarubi and they will pamper you. Going on walks around the dorm or just sitting eating snacks seems, they love it and spending time with you on top of that? Perfect.

Haku is as flirtatious as ever, that won't ever change except now he's more touchy. You'll be focused on writing and he'll just stare at you before playing with your hair or running a finger over your cheek. He'll just smile at you while you sit there confused. Zenji, the sweet romantic, has so many things planned for his dear. He will stop by your dorm once in awhile to make sure his dear partner is doing okay, of course he'll give you space when you ask too! Be prepared to be romanced by song

Subaru, oh sweet Subaru. He is so scared of you. He adores and loves you of course! But he is terrified to mess things up so please be ready to remind him at times you love him too. The first time he accidentally read your thoughts, he felt so bad that he kept his distance for a while. But when you told him it was okay and to listen again, he heard that you cared for him and all he could do was hug you tightly.

- Obscuary -

One word. Chaos. 2 of them know how dates are supposed to go and one doesn't even know what a date is. Besides that, it's quite the adventure when it comes to going out with the three of them. Rui is the expert here so most of the dates are planned by him. Most of the time it's Rui and Edward watching you and Lyca run around but they don't mind.

Rui is a simp for you. Period. Having someone who cares about him, curse and all, is all he could ever ask for. He's still flirty of course but only for you, he's your number 1 fan(He would say that). Lyca has no fucking clue on relationships but he doesn't care. He is so protective of you that he'll growl if anyone even looks at you funny. He tries to carry you places and he says it's because you're slow but really he likes holding you and having your smell close

Edward. Is. 100%. A threat. You are in trouble if you're left alone with him. He'll spew romantic words at you until you're red in the face and then ask to watch YouTube. Most of the time you ever go out, it's at night and never really far from the dorm. One time, he turned into a bat just to get some attention from you.

- Mortkranken -

These 2 have no idea what they're doing so you're going to have to be the one to suggest any sort of date and even when you do, you get a flustered Yuri and a confused Jiro. Yuri has even dragged Jiro to help him pick an outfit while Jiro is already ready to go. Dates remain mostly small and relaxing. A museum or an aquarium is the main spot for these 2, Be ready to get an earful of knowledge though.

At the times you are at mortkranken, you basically follow Yuri and Jiro around the whole time. If you get sidetracked or lost, Yuri panics where you could have gone. While he panics, Jiro has already texted you asking where you went. Jiro still loves scaring you but you'll get a kiss on the forehead afterwards at least, He loves teasing you. He holds your hand every chance he can get.

Yuri demands attention from you all the time. Be ready for the biggest tsundere ever because even when dating, this man will still act like he isn't looking at your stupid adorable face. You once wrapped your arms around him and he lectured you about it but when you tried to pull away, he tightened your arms around him and huffed.

- Everyone / Random -

Sho spends his lunch break with you and Subaru. Sometimes Leo and/or Lyca will join.

You working at Rui's bar causes the usuals to stay a bit longer than usual. They secretly enjoy seeing you run around behind the bar with your cute apron on.

Towa loves taking you around Jabberwock with Zenji. They both smother you with affection and try to make you swoon for them.

Kaito runs to you whenever Romeo is chasing him. He hopes that you can "presway" him into leaving him alone. Half the time it doesn't work, the other half it does but then Kaito is jealous and starts to follow you guys.

Hyde and Moby have a bet on your relationship. For example they once had a bet on Jin vs Alan on who can woo you silently better. That didn't last long because as soon as the ghouls found out they put a stop to it.

The first ever date they went on was chaos but they all had fun. You almost didn't leave because some were arguing about who sat next to you on the train. Leo, Towa, and Rui managed to sneak off with you without anyone noticing first.

Even though you're in a poly relationship, you make sure to give everyone one on one time because let's be honest these boys still get jelly/possessive.

Sleepovers at your place would be insane. It is utter chaos but imagine the potential for the best fort ever.

There was something called "The ghoul chase" where no one could find you and all the ghouls went crazy running around looking for you. You were just petting the cats though-

[mikasa-imadebiscults]

Proposing and Wedding Headcannons | Hashira

(A/N- This is the Hashira when they propose to you and what their wedding would be like. Also this is GN! Reader)

(Characters Included- Uzui, Shinobu, Mitsuri, Rengoku, and Tomioka)

(Warning: Nothing, just fluff)

🔊Tengen Uzui🔊

- Uzui would talk to Hina, Makio, and Suma about it first to see what they think. Of course they were thrilled and asked when he was planning to ask the big question.

- He would take you four to a firework show and will propose to you during the flashiest part of the show. Like while he asks you to marry him, there is booming music and bright fireworks in the background.

- When you said yes, Suma was bawling, Makio was a bit annoyed at Suma’s loud crying but kept to herself to not ruin the moment, and Hina was tearing up a little bit at the happiness.

- After you guys planned the wedding, Uzui would visit Rengoku’s place and inform him of the news. He’ll then ask him to be his best man, which Rengoku happily accepted.

- The wedding will be hella flashy and everything will be all organized thanks to Hina.

- You already know that there will be music and tons of food. They do it big because it’s not every day that you’ll have a wedding.

- Suma, Makio, and Hina will insist on making the food since they are so good at cooking and efficient at it too.

You all will have the time of your lives, not worrying about a single thing.

🦋Kocho Shinobu🦋

- Shinobu would be confident that you will say yes but deep down she is a little nervous. In the morning, she will go to the shrine of her sister and tell her what she has planned and that she wishes that she could be there. Little does Shinobu know, her sister’s spirit is smiling down at her for finding happiness and a person that she can love.

- The both of you will be on the rooftop of the butterfly estate, looking at the moon and pointing out the different types of stars, feeling the cool breeze on your skin, soaking in this peaceful moment. She will take your hand and say a few romantic lines and would propose to you then and there, revealing a beautiful ring.

- For the wedding, she would let you decide where it’s at and she’ll make it happen. Though if you can’t make the decision and let her pick, she’ll pick a peaceful place. Somewhere that has a serene atmosphere.

- Only close friends and family would be invited, she wouldn’t want a lot of people there.

- Instead of that usual fake smile she would have on, it’ll be replaced by a real genuine smile, something that isn’t so common. She’ll be genuinely smiling for days, and that’s all thanks to you coming into her life.

🍡Kanroji Mitsuri🍡

- She will have the whole day planned out. Waking you up with breakfast and bed for the both of you, walking around talking and getting some small things from the shops nearby, going to a really good restaurant.

- Finally after the both of you ate dinner, you two will go back home talking about how much fun y’all had. Though she will be evidently nervous about what’s to come. You both will sit on the porch outside of her estate, watching the beautiful sunset until Mitsuri grabs your attention by getting all mushy about how much she loves you and blurts out the big question.

- Her face is redder than a strawberry out of utter embarrassment until you cup her cheeks to snap her out of it and say yes. Then happiness consumed her and tackled you into a big hug, making the both of you fall.

- She would ask her parents where they got married and would want to get married there if you’re okay with it.

- Of course she’ll invite all of her friends and family to the wedding, and yours too if you have any.

- When Obanai first heard the news he’ll go to you and tell (threaten) you that you better take care of her or else. You promise him that she’s in good hands with you and he nods his head. That promise you made him made Obanai approve of you.

- When the day comes and she’s saying her vows and you’re saying yours, she’ll be holding back happy tears. Her life couldn’t be any better.

🔥Kyojuro Rengoku🔥

- He will be excited and optimistic about the proposal he has in mind. A day in advance he’ll practice what he will say right before proposing.

- Rengoku would take you on a date and take you to a town that has a lot of street food. You both will try a lot of things, enjoying each other’s company. After you two had the time of your lives, he’ll walk you to his estate and that’s when he feels like the time is right. So while you’re walking he’ll start saying the lines that he practiced over and over. Then he’ll stop in his tracks, get on one knee, and call your first and last name. When you turn around that’s when he’ll say the big question with a huge smile plastered on his face. The smile will only get wider when you say yes.

- He will let you choose where to have the wedding, he’s happy with whatever.

- He’ll invite his father and little brother, and all the Hashira. Tengen is his best man of course. Rengoku hopes that his father won’t miss out on this once in a lifetime event and will be there for him, but no matter what he won’t let anything ruin the special day.

- The day of the wedding when he’s getting ready, Tengen will be hyping him up and telling him that today will be the best day of his life. Rengoku believes every single one of those words too.

🌊Giyuu Tomioka🌊

- When Giyuu realizes that he wants to take the next step in your relationship, he’ll hesitate. Don’t get him wrong, he really wants to marry you and be able to call you his spouse but he’s scared of getting too close to you. He’s afraid that you’ll just end up leaving so he stops himself from having those thoughts about marriage.

- That was until one day when Tanjiro was visiting him, he could smell that Giyuu was hiding something and that something was bothering him. When he asked him about it he just brushed him off, but Tanjiro could tell that this was something really burdening him so he asked and asked until eventually Giyuu told him. Tanjiro gave some words of encouragement and that got Giyuu thinking. So he thanked Tanjiro and went off to buy a ring for you, hoping that it’ll fit you.

- He would much rather be in the comfort of his own home and propose to you rather than in public. Giyuu will invite you over and hang out. Talking and chilling with each other. He softly smiles whenever you make a joke or will just be talking about whatever. You even pointed out that he was smiling more.

- When you were laying in bed together he was getting a tad bit awkward. He wanted to pop the question now but he didn’t know if he should just say it or what. So when you noticed a shift in his behavior and asked him, he just flat out asked you to marry him.

- He would invite Tanjiro, Urokodaki, some of the Hashira, and that’s it. Of course you can invite whoever you want, he doesn’t mind at all.

- On the day of the wedding, he’ll be really tense out of nervousness but the happiness he feels outweighs it. He will be smiling almost all day.

Masterlist

[mochinomnoms]

Ok si for the small snippet requests- ptm jadeyuu, but it's at the point where yuu starts getting a little downbad and just starts playing into jades lil scenarios more and he freaks out cause his day is going SO MUCH BETTER now. Thank you!

🦩

Having a crush when you're a mind reader can have its cons...but also some pros~

Also I wrote this while listening to Brooklyn Baby by Lana Del Rey, I very recommend listening while reading for the vibe

You blew hot air against your hands, rubbing them as you watched the snow fall outside the window.

Winter had come early this year and your dorm members had taken to playing in the snow. Everyone was enjoying themselves, even Aspen was smiling, though yelping as he was smacked in the face by a snowball.

You laughed as he chased after Tony, tackling him into the ground as they both cackled with a red flush over their cheeks.

Ramshackle had very little traffic, even with the students in your care, which left it rather pristine and ideal for making snowmen and fights. Plenty of students from the other dorms were hanging around between classes, some even in your kitchen making warm drinks and snacks.

Which is why you weren't surprised when a mug of hot chocolate appeared in your peripheral vision. Looking up, you softly smiled and gave a small 'thank you' as you took the mug from Jade, who took a spot next to you, leaning against the porch railing to watch the small group of students playing in the snow.

He was in the winter version of the school uniform, which just came with a thicker jacket, a scarf, boots, and snow gloves. Though, you're positive that Aspen mentioned that none of them needed it, as they were well acquainted with the cold. It was mostly to keep up appearances, Floyd being the exception as he forwent the gloves and jacket.

My pretty pearl, you look radiant against the snowfall. I feel like I'm falling for you all over again…

Your cheeks warmed, despite the biting cold, and you masked your smile behind your mug as Jade stared at you from the corner of his eyes. When you dared to look at him, his gazed immediately darted back to the others. He had a red flush over his cheeks, which could be due to the cold, but you knew better.

Both of you chuckled as Silas, holding a giant snowball over their head, jumped and slammed the snow on top of Yaqub's head with a shit eating grin.

“They seem to be having fun. I know Floyd is coming over to have a snowball fight with Tony in a bit, will you be joining?”

You shook your head, watching the marshmallows swirl in your mug.

“Nah, I'm probably gonna head in here in a few. My hands are freezing, and I don't have gloves anyways.” You sighed, drinking your hot chocolate and relishing in the warmth flowing to your belly.

Jade tilted his head, watching as you lifted one of your hands to blow on it again.

“Would you like some help warming up?” You weren't surprised at the flash of an image of Jade and you 'warming up' in front of the lounge fireplace under a lush blanket. “I'm happy to assist.”

You know what response he was waiting for. You know that he'd come to expect your flustered and panicked stammering, putting as much space between you two as possible. It's a very 'you' response.

I can do this, I can give the same energy! Yeah! No more playing around with me, Jade! It's my turn!

“Hmm? And just how do you plan to 'warm me up' Jade~” You cooed, batting your eyelashes and smiling up at him.

You're surprised just how…sultry that came out. I didn't think I could sound like…like…something out of Jade's daydreams! Jade seemed surprised as well, snapping his head to stare at you.

His face still had his same polite smile, though you swear his cheeks turned a bit more red.

“…Pardon? Could you repeat that?” Jade asked, though there was a bit of breathlessness to his voice.

Did you…no I must have imagined…

“Well, there's lots of ways to warm someone up,” You shrugged, looking down at your drink and tracing the edge of the mug. “You caaaan…start a fire…get me a blanket…skin to skin contact…”

Haaaah, is this real?

“Human lovers will cuddle with each other, and do more...intimate things together to warm up.” You finally turned to face him, watching him visibly swallow.

Now I'm just being mean.

“Is…that so? That's good to know.” Jade's voice sounded strained, though his face betrayed very little. If it wasn't for the screaming echoing through his mind, you wouldn't be able to tell this was effecting him.

“Mmh, so, Jade~” You slowly crept closer to him, your still free hand doing the same along the rail to inch closer to his fingertips.

“How do you plan to warm me up, Jade?”

You had to crane your head to look up, causing a creak in the back of your neck, as there was barely an inch of space between you two. Frankly, though, it was worth it to see the wide-eyed surprise on his face.

It's real! Bless the Seven! It'srealIt'srealIt'srealIt'srealIt'sreal—

“Well, I—”

“Can watch everyone while I warm up in the kitchen!” You chirped, quickly backing away and smiling. “I'm sure it's plenty warm in there with the others running the oven!”

W-what?

Hmph, that's what he gets. You started walking away towards the front door, a smug smile on your face. Just a taste of what he puts me through every day—

You swallowed a shriek as Jade caged you against the wall with his arms, dropping your mug in surprise. You could hear it clatter against the wood floor and the hot drink fizzle against the cold surface.

Curling in on yourself, you looked up at Jade, who was giving you a smile and narrowed glare, his sharp teeth visible. He had a glint in his eyes and his flush was growing down to his neck.

“Now, now my dear,” he leaned down, speaking softly as he hovered his face closer and closer to yours, until you pressed your hands against his chest, stopping him.

“It's not nice to be a tease, stunts like that would get you eaten up in the sea.” Jade's nose brushed against yours, his smile growing as you grew more flustered.

“Unless, you're trying to be a tease~” Jade's right hand moved to graze your cheek with his finger.

This is going too far, I should…

Your skin felt tingly as he ghosted down to your chin, tracing the tip of his thumb against your bottom lip.

“Talking about lovers, acting coy.”

…I should make him…stop…

He pulled it down, ever so slightly, making you release a breath you didn't realize you were holding.

Cute…

“You shouldn't play around with things like that.”

“I'm…not…” you let out a whimper as his breath mixed with yours, lips hovering over your own. You could hear his breath hitch at the sound.

“No? Then prove it, unless you want me to 'warm you up' in front of everyone?”

Swallowing another whimper and feeling your cheeks and body warm from something other than your drink, you licked your lips. You felt him shudder as your lips just barely brush, moving to press them together—

“Ooooh, how scandalous!”

You shrieked, out loud this time, shoving Jade away as you accidentally smack his face to get some space between you two.

“Ack!” Jade covered his face with his hands, wrinkling his nose from the sudden pain.

You stared in a mix of embarrassment and bewilderment at the small group watching you two at the railing.

Silas was grinning, fulling leaning his body over the railing as he kicked his legs behind him like a child. Yaqub and Tony looked just as amused, the former hiding his giggling behind his hand. Aspen, to no one's surprised, had a sour look on his face, disappointed even, while Wynfred was pouting. Marion had the decently to look embarrassed that he was caught staring, looking down at his feet like they were the most interesting things he'd seen all day. James, sweet James, just looked confused.

“…I didn't know you two were dating?”

“We're not!” You waved your hands in a panic, laughing nervously as you stepped away from Jade, who was now glaring at the group with an annoyed frown.

“Then, why were you two kissing—” James jumped, as did the rest of the group as you screeched.

“HE WAS JUST BLOWING HOT AIR ON MY HANDS, THAT'S IT! NOTHING ELSE!”

You laughed manically as you clapped your hands, inching closer to the door.

“You know I'm still cold! Are you guys cold? Yeah, you are!” You continued nervously laughing as you turned and practically bolted to the front door, the snow on the ledges falling from the sheer force of your slam.

The group and Jade stared at where you disappeared, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop in the snow.

“…So you two were, like, totally making out, right?” Silas asked, letting out an 'oof' as Marion smack that back of their head, making them fall face-first into the wooden patio.

Jade gave his signature smile, bowing his head.

“Perhaps you all should go back to playing, I should check on the poor Prefect, though might I advise not interrupting a pair's private conversation next time?”

Yaqub scoffed, elbowing Tony as he teased, “Conversation, sure. Maybe next time you two should have your next 'conversation' in the bedroom?”

The two snorted, Tony choking into a cough at Aspen's glare.

“Thank you for the kind suggestion, I'll be sure to consider it.” Jade called out as he entered the dorm, determined to continue from where you two left off.

[velvetwyrme]

hello! biologist here :] I love cybugs a lot, and wanted to say your taxonomy is pretty good. It can be an absolute pain to tackle for speculative projects and you are applying it to tiny vehicle people. My heart goes out to you

I'm no entomologist but there are a few terms that might help with cybug classification. Subspecies usually applies to somewhat minor differences in a species that typically don't live in the same area, where the subspecies interbreeding creates offspring with a mix of both parent's traits. For the seekers though there's also such a thing as morphs and breeds. Morphs of the same species can appear very different physically from the wildtype (like glaucus tiger swallowtails) and offspring will either have the morph of their parents or present wildtype. Breeds on the other hand are a lot like subspecies but imply human selection. They can interbreed and the result could be either like a morph or a subspecies depending on the genes involved.

(didn't expect to be sending an ask about breeding seekers on a Friday morning, but here we are)

As for Jeetle a better word than subspecies would probably be caste/sub-caste. A queen/worker/drone is a caste, while differences between workers is called a subcaste. If a colony needs more protectors -> chemical signals or special foods can alter grub development. (Though, if there is no physical change only a behavioral one, it might not even be considered a subcaste, it might just be a Job. Like honey bees have.)

And usually with mimics, the better of a mimic they are the less likely theyre a subspecies and the more likely they're their own species. That's never a certainty though and bug genetics are weird. Heck, a mimic could even end up being just a morph. It happens in butterflies (like with the dark swallowtails)

Sorry for the word wall 🙏 Hope you're having a great day and thank you for bug

*nods and takes notes* !!!!!

I LOVE THE WALL OF TEXT :DD thank you so much for your input as a biologist, its very fun learning things <3333

Also, image comparison of the mentioned tiger swallowtails and the different morphs for others who are interested:

(source // A is a male with standard colouration, B is a female with the darker morph [a mimic!], and C is a female with the yellow [non mimicking] morph!)

I've mentioned elsewhere that I've been using "subspecies" as more of an easily understood shorthand (essentially just. [subcategory of "species"/larger grouping that can interbreed*] ...as such, the somewhat inaccurate usage at times. i try not to think too hard about it >>) which is why after getting that ask I was like. huh. I wonder what the actual taxonomy would look like... and now I'm here :^]

*as far as I'm aware, animals of the same genera can also interbreed but their resulting offspring are considered hybrids and/or tend to run into issues with being infertile? idk, i know a more abt breeding plants LMAO. plant hybridization is pretty common!

but yes!! onwards! taxonomy chatter under the cut.

For Readability purposes there are headers.

SEEKERS

👀!! Seekers having different morphs and breeds...

There's been mention of Thundercracker being a domesticated Seeker cybug (i agree!!) so that's interesting to think about that in context of breeds having a human influence... Seekers like TC are bred to be bigger and more easy to handle, with focus on large, pretty wings and bright colours...

I did consider the fact that one of the criteria for subspecies is that they are geographically distinct (e.g. the Bengal tiger vs the Siberian tiger) and when I was making my taxonomy chart I was actually debating shifting Seekers category-wise (either up to genus, or down to subspecies) which also got me thinking about breeds when writing that other post (as such, the debate of shifting Seeker to subspecies**) but forgot to mention it because researching the differences between how species/subspecies/breeds are defined was making my head spin and I gave up on taxonomy GDKFBSK,,

(**Like domestic dogs and cats!! I think they're currently taxonomically defined as their own subspecies (?) but some people still argue that they are their own species...? taxonomy </3)

As for Starscream and Skywarp, I was thinking that Skywarp is uh. very very far from his typical environment (whereas Starscream is native to this region), which is why I was considering whether or not subspecies would be actually applicable here... buuuut also there's inherently something very funny to me thinking about Skywarp being the "goth" morph thskfhfkfndb,,,

I'm still not entirely sure where they actually would fit in taxonomically, but thinking of the variation in Seekers like how different breeds of dog exist is the most accurate :] (although without specifically a human influence in many cases. While Starscream and Skywarp may seem feral, that implies previous domestication– *i am forcibly shunted into the next section*)

PROWL / PEETLE

OOOH... caste/subcaste is the word I was looking for for sure!! In Prowl's case there are physical differences, but just not as obviously dramatic as solider ants :D! Enforcers tend to have different colour schemes (black and white, with blue and/or red highlights) as well as the addition of sirens and lights. I also think they'd have thicker armour and sharper chevrons!

AND YESS... chemical signals/differing food alters grub development!!!! I also hinted at that in my notes here!!

Colonies will increase the amount of Enforcers if under strain (much like many irl ant colonies do) >:3c

Playing with specbio in terms of funny little bug robots that also. turn into vehicles allows for some leeway in terms of realism (for. obvious reasons) but I like rooting some aspects in reality where I can :D! (also presumably obvious, considering I tried to work out potential taxonomy largely unprompted)

(SLIGHT SPOILER FOR UPCOMING STUFF, skip next paragraph if you don't want to know)

That being said, I don't think that the process (of defining caste within a colony) can be stopped once it's started in irl cases, buuuut imo that's why The Grub will look so similar to Prowl colour-wise once they pupate :] They were originally going to be an Enforcer (caused by colony under stress) but since they got taken in by J+P they got a little mixed up and don't end up as an Enforcer, despite looking the part (Monochrome sorta colours, but no sirens/lights)

SPOILERS OVER

JAZZ / JEETLE

I waffled over where to put Mimics the most LMAO. I also considered categorising them under being their own species, but ended up sticking with subspecies at the time because I imagine that they can interbreed with others of their frametype.

HOWEVER now you've brought up morphs... that probably fits what's going on with Jazz the most! Maybe? He's meant to be mimicking the general look of an Enforcer just at a glance. I imagine he's got the ability to mimic their sirens as well, but that's probably more of an overall species thing where they can mimic sounds (like some birds can).

anyhow. TAXONOMY. YAY. im not going to remake my diagram (... yet) but thank you so much for your input and discussion <33!!

[felassan]

Some more DA:TV and related snippets from Sylvia Feketekuty, Part 2. rest of post under a cut due to length and spoilers. [Post One, Post Three]

The dev team really wanted to deliver on Emmrich's romance [source]

Sylvia Feketekuty has now left BioWare so there are likely some things she can't answer now "just because I can't look them up with certainty anymore" [source]

When Emmrich is first introduced, he has a skull helmet. Why does it never ever appear for the next 40-100 hours? "The helmet does indeed look wicked! I believe it actually shows up on his shelf in the Lighthouse eventually. (If I had been a smarter writer I would've asked if we could have it appear again, that one's on me.)" [source]

User: "In another post you mentioned shops in Nevarra City near the Necropolis. How far IS Nevarra City itself is from the Necropolis? Do only senior MWs get to go?" / Sylvia: "I'm reluctant to say what the distance is since I never defined it in game so it's Unknown™. But I imagine they can either walk or take a carriage, depending. Also I never imagined junior MWers are forbidden from going into town or such. It could be they have set hours and times where they're allowed. But got to get all those chores done first..." [source, two]

On the DA:I goat scene ([link]) - "The GOAT! God bless them, that was a delight." [source]

Brian J. Audette, on [this thread] - ""Better late than never" addendum to this thread. I just noticed that Isle of the Gods' writer Sylvia is on here now and I'd be remiss not to tag her in this thread. I can't say enough wonderful things about having worked with Sylvia on this mission." [source] / Sylvia: "Thanks Brian! You tackled an absolutely jam-packed mission with aplomb." [source]

Jo Berry: "Thank you for everything and everything else, on both Veilguard and Inquisition. Sunlight on your road, wherever it goes." [source] / Sylvia: "Thank YOU for all your writing Jo. Seriously, you were a godsend on Veilguard and DAI both." [source]

Trick Weekes: "It's been fantastic working with you, Sylvia, and I know you're going to crush it with whatever you do next. Thank you for finally letting me make you "the person who has to do journals so Trick doesn't" on one of our projects." [source] / Sylvia: "Thank you Trick! I'll miss working with you. It was an honour to finally be given the awesome responsibility of the journal system that still haunts my dreams." [source]

John Epler: "sylvia did you see i told the world Emmrich sleeps standing up like a horse" [source] / Sylvia: "It's days later but: yes. Yes I did." [source]

User: "As someone who also has a truly debilitating fear of death, Emmrich is so special to me. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen it represented in such a clear and concise way." / Sylvia: "Thanks, definitely felt that fear myself. I really wanted to express it clearly and was hoping would resonate with others." [source]

User: "Do you have any thoughts or opinions on what nickname Emmrich might have gotten from Varric if he'd ever gotten one?" / Sylvia: "Oh man that's a good question, but ultimately since I didn't write Varric, that must remain a mystery. Nicknames can only be bestowed. ("Bones" like someone suggested below is funny though.)" [source]

User: "If Emmrich's hobby is alchemy/plants, Vorgoth's is art, and Audric's is architecture... what's Myrna's? (Next to Emmrich, she's my favorite Watcher - sorry Vorgoth!)" / Sylvia: "Myrna has a one off line, you may not have heard it yet, where she talks to Vorgoth about getting tickets to the Sword of Drakon.* She enjoys a night out at the theater, whether it's a play or an opera. *(I think that's the play I named, I hope I'm recalling my own line haha.) It's a bit indulgent of me, but I chose Sword of Drakon because it was one of the plays I made up for a series of codices in DAI about Orlesian theater. I had a lot of fun with these and wanted to give them life once more. [link]" [source, two]

User: "During Rook’s disappearance in the prison, how did Emmrich react? Considering their intense romance, did he fall into depression, or did he show a more vulnerable side? Could his fear of death have influenced the situation? In the immortal romance💀, Emmrich promises that nothing will separate them, not in this world or any other. How likely is that? Would he go to great lengths for Rook, even crossing boundaries? Or, at some point, would he accept Rook's death?" / Sylvia: "1) Very strongly! I think it's a bit more interesting if I leave details to your imaginations, but Emmrich feels things deeply and probably had some sleepless nights. 2) So this I can't say much on even though it's a juicy topic. The truth is, I wouldn't even know unless I was actually sitting down to write it. Again, Emmrich feels things very passionately, but this is the kind of scenario where I might want the player's choices to have an effect." [source, two]

User: "Any chance that color scheme [of Emmrich's coat] was based off the corpse flower?" / Sylvia: "I couldn't find anything on the colour scheme and the corpse flower. Afraid this one's a mystery to me." [source]

User: "I'm really curious if there's a Nevarrese language? We have Orlesian, Antivan, Tevene, Qunlat..." / Sylvia: "I wondered that myself, especially given its ancient ties with Tevinter and also Orlais which would certainly have affected the languages of power and influence. Could also have roots with the Planasene. We never talked about one though, as far as I know, so the answer remains...unknown. 💀 (I did introduce tomb-script, the language you see etched into stone in the Necropolis, but I thought of it as more of a specialist's language for occult and magical things specifically.) (If we did define a Nevarran language in some corner of the lore, now I'm going to feel embarrassed, but I don't BELIEVE we did.)" [source, two, three]

User: "I wanted to ask if you have anything you can share about MW grave dowry jewellery - is it the sort of thing they keep on at all times? Also, would Emmrich like jewellery gifts or give them to Rook?" / Sylvia: "I figured it would be something they wear most of the time, or at least in public. You don't want to be without your grave-gold if you pass away! Emmrich would love to get jewellery, especially if it marked a special occasion like his other pieces do! He'd also probably like to gift Rook a piece of grave gold himself, though he knows a non-MW Rook might look at that part askance." [source, two]

User: "Question: how much if anything can you tell us about the circumstances surrounding the emergence of Emmrich's magic and him going to the Mourn Watch? In my mind, his parents' death could certainly be a catalyst for the emergence of mage powers, but I'm so curious why the butcher's boy goes to what seems the equivalent of Nevarran Harvard instead of a regular Circle unless he immediately demonstrated outstanding ability?" / Sylvia: So timeline wise, I think his magic manifested after he was taken in. This part isn't canon, so much as a background thought I had that maybe the spirits of the Necropolis nudged the MW to scoop up this future corpse-whisperer. It seems like a kind of place ripe for that sort of omen. That said, it could've also been a kindhearted Watcher who saw how shattered and alone this young boy was, and thought an upbringing in the Grand Necropolis would be the better place to deal with his grief. It's the kind of thing I want to leave open unless someone goes back one day to fill it out!" [source, two]

User: "what’s the overall Mourn Watch opinion on the whole Weekend at King Markus’s the other Mortalitasi are pulling? I can’t blame Emmrich for not wanting to be involved with that political mess!" / Sylvia: "No clue what you're talking about. King Markus is in the finest of health!!!!! ahahahahaha (To my mind Emmrich's response indicates a tension between the orders, but that they're going along with the polite fiction to avoid a mess. I can't say what the future holds though.)" [source]

User: "Ah, one last note: whoever decided “DA liches are immortal protectors and not always evil?” Chef’s kiss. It’s all I’ve ever wanted!" / Sylvia: "Thanks again! It was in Emmrich's first draft. The other writers and editors gave me good feeback on lichdom and the philosophy behind it especially" [source]

User: "I'm an ICU nurse, and that is imagined to confer a comfort with mortality. Suffice to say Emmrich has been a huge comfort to see." / Sylvia: "Thanks so much. I really wanted him to struggle with it while also engaging with it, because it's something I find hard as well. And I hoped it would find purchase with players." [source]

User: "If you’re willing, can you share a bit about the other orders within the Mortalitasi? Is there a rivalry with the Tevinter Imperium?" / Sylvia: I'm afraid I don't have much, sorry. I left the other Mortalitasi orders a big open canvas in case we wanted to invent more some day. (We've mentioned the palace Mortalitasi are separate from the Mourn Watch, so there's one. As you probably caught, Emmrich's not a fan of theirs.) Is there a rivalry with the Tevinter Imperium? I can't really point to anything in the game talking about that, so I hesitate to call it canon. But to my mind it would be very natural and also very funny. So if that ever manifests, I approve." [source, two]

User: "was any of Emmrich's design or personality modeled on British actor David Niven? I think there is resemblance just wondering if that was intentional." / Sylvia: "Oh I love David Niven. But the more direct actor influence for me was Peter Cushing in a few old Hammer Horror films." [source]

User: "just wanted to say thank you for creating the character of Josephine in Inq!! Helped me learn some stuff about myself when I was younger and meant a lot." / Sylvia: "Thank you so much on all counts! I'm glad the lovely Lady Montilyet was there for you (and enormous credit to her actor, Allegra Clark. She absolutely nailed Josephine, straight away.)" [source]

User, on Emmrich: "He mentions he thought he would marry - is that permitted for Mortalitasi when it wasn't for regular Circle mages? Can they now raise their own children?" / Sylvia: Mortalitasi have a lot of power. I imagine the Nevarran Chantry might grant them permission to marry outside the Circle more regularly than in places where mages are given less respect. (Mages can also marry within Circles, so no permission needed in those cases.) The same might be true for mages raising mage-born children in Nevarra, but I say that with less certainty. I think that's a topic I would've wanted to discuss with the rest of the narrative team." [source, two]

User: "is there a particular reason why emmrich is always wearing a glove on one hand?" / Sylvia: "I like to think it's mostly because he works a lot with his hands. The glove seems useful if he has to, say, grip a rough outcrop of rock when traversing the Necropolis, or deal with a bitey corpse." [source]

User, on Emmrich: "On my 1st run I played a trans Rook and romanced him. It felt incredible how he was so accepting of Rook's identity, and in return she could support him as he did a transition of his own as well. Beautiful mirroring!" / Sylvia: "Thanks very much! If those scenes worked, it's thanks to some people at work who kindly gave feedback that helped get the tone right." [source]

User: "I've been wanting to thank you for writing Luck in the Gardens for 4 years. Hollix was the first time I ever saw a non-binary character given a real voice." / Sylvia: "I loved writing Hollix in that story, they were a treat, and I'm glad they meant a lot to you. (And a shout out to a nb friend who gave me some good feedback on the character, I don't think the story would've been as clear without their help.)" [source]

User: "I was curious about Audric from TN, and if he originally was planned to have an appearance in veilguard, and what he's up to now" / Sylvia: "Love Audric, but I never planned to bring him into VG. I'm not AGAINST it, but I didn't want the short stories to feel like required reading for the game, and I liked where his arc ended in DatDM. That said, I dropped in a few references to Audric to let people know he's around and well. And I imagine he's doing what he loves: being a force of order, in the library. (And reading books during the more quiet hours below.)" [source, two]

User: "As a consumer of (and probably future creator of) so called "erotic" fanficfion, I'm wondering how you feel about the fact that fans make it about a character you created?" / Sylvia: "No issues with it whatsoever. We put sex and romance into the game itself, after all. I think people use fan art and fanfiction to extend their time with a story they've grown fond of, or to figure things out. So it feels like a natural extension of that." [source]

User: "Maybe one day my rook will join the mw!" / Sylvia: "Well, the Grand Necropolis is always eager for more company...🪦👻" [source]

User: "did the flame eternal (short story) come first or the flame eternal (quest)? i’ve been wondering if the quest was named after the story or vice versa" / Sylvia: "I wrote the scene first, the short story came after. But I named the quest AFTER the short story had come out, so I'd say the quest is named for the story because I liked the callback." [source]

User: "1.I know John answered already that Emmrich sleeps like a horse but is there really no bed for this man? 2.How would he react to a bouquet made for him?" / Sylvia: "1. Unknown. Perhaps he brings out pillows and a blanket for the slab in his room (after scrubbing it, of course!) Perhaps he goes home to an elaborate silk-covered bed in his Necropolis apartments. Or the horse thing. (TBH: I never decided myself, so I've leaned into impish mystery). 2. Emmrich would be absolutely delighted and flattered by being presented with a flower bouquet." [source, two]

User: "I hope it's okay to pop here but it might interest you to know a lot of us have been headcanoning that he has a secret bedroom behind one of his bookshelves! It seemed to line up with his sensibilities somewhat." / Sylvia: "That would honestly be great. Pull out the right book and snooze time." [source]

User, on the cemetery date: "This makes me feel like Mourn Watchers include the dead in important personal milestones/events and, if so, I love that so much. Like they want to share these events and the joy/love/excitement/etc. with those who have passed (and perhaps linger.)" / Sylvia: "That's absolutely how I thought of it too." [source]

User: "was there any game/book/show/film that inspired the Mourn Watch and Emmrich? When I saw them in the preview content, I got reminded of the Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir and playing through the game cemented those vibes." / Sylvia: "I hadn't read any Locked Tomb when writing Emmrich, I think we must both just have impeccable taste. (I actually tried to stay away from contemporary stuff on necromancy when writing him, out of a superstitious fear I'd be unduly influenced. I do want to talk about influences later though!)" [source]

User, on Josie: "Do you think she’s open to having kids/adopting with the Inquisitor? Lord Ontranto and Yvette are so ahead!" / Sylvia: "I think that falls firmly within the category of what you imagine she and your Inquisitor's romance looks like, which means: absolutely, if that's where you imagine life would take them." [source]

User: "Emmrich, his story & everything surrounding him absolutely played a huge part in helping to lift me up & connecting me with new friends online" / Sylvia: "Thank you! And I'm very glad to hear Emmrich and his fellow Watchers helped you out when you needed it. He'd be pleased to know so himself." [source]

User: "Was it ever considered for him to appear in the game?" / Sylvia: "(short answer is no, but I wanted to let people know Audric's doing well.)" [source]

User: "I enjoyed your short stories in Tevinter Nights. Emmrich mentioned working out in the morning. What does his morning routine look like, and what kind of exercise does he do?" / Sylvia: "Thanks so much! Those stories have a special place in my heart, so that's especially nice to hear. On exercise: He likes a brisk stroll, and does morning stretches, and for something more strenuous, he likes to go swimming. Why? It's a workout where you don't have to worry about sweating. That just seemed to align with his fastidiousness in a funny way to me. (I also imagine exploring the Necropolis keeps him active, climbing all those stairs and crumbling ledges and the outsized walls of hallowed tombs, etc.)" [source, two]

User: "Harding will turn to a MW Rook who's been talking nerdy necro shop with Emmrich, and goes (paraphrasing), "You're so different when you're talking about this stuff than you are when you hang out with us!" and I loved that" / Sylvia: "Yes indeed! And thanks. I really wanted a beat where you realize MW Rook has learned to swap between being a fancy nerd and talking a bit more like "regular" people in Thedas. It seemed like a fun trait for that background." [source]

Sylvia, on how she came to BioWare: "No formal training. The closest to practice I had was running tabletop RPGs for friends, which actually helped me a lot with understanding the different kind of RPG players out there and what people want out of a story. And honestly: I just kept applying, over and over. That was my main virtue. I was rejected the first couple times I applied to BW. And rightly, I think, I wasn't ready and practicing in between really helped me become a stronger writer." [source, two]

Some more on this topic ^ from Sylvia: "To be honest: mostly luck, some perseverance, and then writing skills, in that order. I was rejected at least twice from BW before I got in, and I think they were right to do so. I wasn't ready yet. The third round someone I knew passed on my sample to a writer there, I did two more rounds of samples while taking feedback and revising over the next month. And then I was lucky enough they liked it enough to interview me. I wish I had better advice than perseverance. I think having a small, completed game, even something text based or a mod, isn't bad either. Even if it's short, it shows you finished it. But: my entry was over 15 years ago now, and to be honest I'm not sure what BW's applicant process are anymore. I don't want to be discouraging though. I would say keep applying, and make friends with like minded people who also want to make games, and best of luck." [source, two, three, four]

User: "I've been wondering something about Mourn Watch Rook's background - their bio says they were found as a baby + raised by the MW, and they reference it in-game, but then they also say they were a street kid and left their old life behind to join the MW to Taash. I'm just curious how one - being raised by the MW - lead to the other - street kid era. I just hc'd it as a euphemism for my Rook's party girl phase lol but it did leave me a little confused." / Sylvia: "This is a case of the background changing slightly over time, and me not squaring it in time with dialogue. In my mind: MW IS found by the Mourn Watch, raised by them, and work for them. But MW Rook also had period(s?) growing up where they explored Nevarra city, to explain why they're more. street savvy and worldly than your typical Watchers who never leave the city. I've seen people noting some discrepancies, and in a perfect world I would've caught those lines in time to smooth them out to encompass the whole story. But perhaps your Rook gives slightly different answers to different people for their own, mysterious reasons! (Or, in reality, it's writer error.)" [source, two, three] "Anyhow, I encourage any head canons that help square these discrepancies" [source]

User: "I romanced him on a Rook that I perceived as about 42ish and my running interpretation of the lines acknowledging her being young were either Emmrich not realizing how old she is, a running bit between them, or some cute form of flattery to not remind her of her own age haha" / Sylvia: "That's adorable, I love it" [source]

User: "1. What would Josie's ideal date be? 2. Could adopted kids be heir of the Montilyet estate or would it go to Yvette? 3. What does Josie think of the Crows?" / Sylvia: "1. I think she'd try to structure something, but the Inquisitor taking her away from her strictly scheduled routine to relax would actually be better for her. A picnic in a garden, a stroll around a lake followed by a meal in a quiet little restaurant. Something with a soft evening. 2. I don't think I ever said so in the game, but to my mind Josephine had some nieces and nephews in line to be heir. If she adopted a child and thought they'd be a better candidate, they could absolutely inherit the estate. (And of course, she could bequeath money or personal effects as she liked.) 3. She thinks of them as a necessity in Antiva, and that it's important to appease them. There's probably highly placed Crows she would get along with. But she'd never be comfortable with them. At the end of the day they're contract killers, and she's no lover of violence. (If I actually DID mention who Josephine had lined up to inherit the estate after her, but just forgot, I will ask for mercy because the game came out over 10 years ago.)" [source, two, three, four]

User: "Would you ever consider making a playlist on spotify of the sort of music you could picture Emmerich listening to? Or perhaps sharing any of the music you listened to while writing Emmrich?" / Sylvia: "I actually have an itunes playlist of what I listened to when writing Emmrich on my old computer. If I dig it out, I'll post a screenshot! (A lot of ambient stuff, probably unsurprisingly)" [source]

User: "I utterly, completely adore the way Josephine was written, she's such a wonderful and complex character. Her history as a bard, her ruthlessness, her kindness and sweet nature and how CUTE her romance is." / Sylvia: "Lady Montilyet herself would be flattered to hear you liked it." [source]

User, on Sylvia's comment about Peter Cushing being a go-to for what Emmrich would be like: "This makes me so unbelievably happy given my love for Peter Cushing 😭 my love for Emmrich was inevitable." / Sylvia: "I want to talk a little more about it later but Cushing was such a wonderful actor. Wish we'd had him around even longer." [source]

User, on death and working in death care: "In the end, it’s always about memory." / Sylvia: "That's so true. We want to be remembered, or to have something that lets people know even a little about who we are. (It's why I'm glad newspapers still print obituaries, you can read about the most amazing lives.)" [source]

User: "I was starting to think the game was reading my mind and tailoring to me once he said his favorite color was lilac, and I was given the option to say darker purple." / Sylvia: "I'm glad you enjoyed Emmrich and his romance. And that the bit about colours worked for you, I was trying to think of what would be something fun there, and purple is one of my favorites too. (Fine taste!)" [source]

User: "“Down Among the Dead Men” is one of my favorite chapters from Tevinter Nights. I loved Audric and I was so happy when Myrna mentioned him in Veilguard! Was there any chance he might’ve appeared in game?" / Sylvia: "basically I didn't plan it, but I wanted to let TN readers know Audric is living well" [source]

User: "If Hezenkoss was also you ALL of that was a sheer stroke of brilliance!" / Sylvia: "Thank you! Hezenkoss was me, so glad you liked her. She was a blast to write. Oh my god, I meant to write Hezenkoss was one of my favorites not "me". (I think I snipped out something and consequentially sound like a maniac in that post above. SORRY. She is not me, I wish I had that kind of confidence.)" [source, two]

User, on behalf of their friend: "Well, spontaneously I'd be interested if she can say any more about Emmrich's past romances. Was there someone really serious among them, or all just fun and casual? I'm also curious how the whole mage training works in Nevarra. Are some trained from the start by the Mourn Watch or does everyone go to the Mortalitasi equivalent of a Circle first?" / Sylvia: "1. I think there was probably a mix of more serious romances and more casual ones over Emmrich's life. The serious ones just never panned out. (Until Rook, if you're romancing him.) 2. I pictured the MW taking in promising members from other circles, but I left their selection criteria vague on purpose, in case we needed to define it later. Of course, there's also exceptions. We've seen they take in some orphans or foundlings (MW Rook and Emmrich, for example) when fate, chance, or pity allows it. (I had an idea spirits might sometimes nudge MWers to take in someone, but that's not in the game, so it remains, I suppose now, my own head canon.)" [source, two, three, four]

User: "Emmrich is every bit the warm and kind academic that I looked up to in my undergrad/postgrad days, and I have taken time in the game just to wander the Grand Necropolis and take everything in." / Sylvia: "My pleasure, and thanks very much for saying so. (Props to all my teammates, it took a lot of people to bring those characters and places to life, and they were all so enthusiastic about our weird gothy corner of Thedas.)" [source]

User, on Emmrich's dream: "One of few cases where writers don't go for "actually immortality is lame" lesson to appease the audience for whom immortality is unattainable. Refreshing to have a character who wants to live forever, can do it, and it isn't treated as a mistake. One of the boldest bits of writing in the game." / Sylvia: "Thanks Mary - that was one of my aims, because so many times in stories, immortality is a fool's errand. I wanted it to have its rules, and its price, but not something disastrous or out of reach." [source]

User: "The MW as a whole was beautifully done and the way they handle life and death was deeply healing and aided tremendously in my own personal journey with grief." / Sylvia: "I'm very glad meeting Emmrich and the Watchers helped even a little, that means a lot to hear." [source]

User: "Amazing work in veilguard and inquisition honestly and the flame eternal was such a fun read! Unless it’s been answered before my query is where do the Mourn watchers live/sleep? Is it a case of they live in the higher parts of the Necropolis or do they live in the city and commute?" / Sylvia: "Flame Eternal was a fun one, hadn't written a story that short before but I enjoyed introducing Johanna and Emmrich's dynamic back in their good old days... As to your question, there's one line of banter between Emmrich and Neve that talks about this (so, very easy to miss.) The Mourn Watchers live and sleep in the upper (safer) levels of the Necropolis." [source, two]

User: "does mortal!Emmrich return to the Necropolis or spend more time in the world first? He plays detective with Neve & camps in Ferelden with Harding feels like he’d want to experience more of the world before returning home." / Sylvia: "Impossible for me to say what the future will hold with certainty, but I think Emmrich's enjoying exploring the world too much to go back to living in the Necropolis full time just yet. He'd certainly want to keep visiting regularly, but there's so much more to see." [source]

Sylvia: "The Watchers have a special place in my heart." [source]

User: "I just wanted to say how much I love Emmrich" / Sylvia: "Thank you very much! I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed getting to know him." [source]

at this point tumblr stopped letting me add to this post !

[thewintersoldierdisaster]

a/n: happy happy birthday to @youunravelme 🥳 thanks for being such a good friend and matching my crazy when we discuss how mat and squeaks are horny little freaks for each other 😂 had to write this fun little fic after our convos the past few days! hope you have the best birthday!

word count: 1k

tw: some innuendo, implied oral (f receiving)

summary: roping mat into another tik tok trend ends pretty much not how you expected it to go, but you’re not complaining

Mat’s sitting on the couch, watching ESPN game highlights when you walk into the room, phone in hand. He looks up at you and smiles lazily, exhausted after returning from a West Coast swing the night before and an early morning practice. He pats the couch cushion, “come join me.”

You smile at him, but don’t respond, instead turning back to your phone.

“Hey,” you speak into the camera, video recording already started, “can you guys watch my boyfriend for me while I do something really quick?”

You settle your phone on the coffee table, propped up against a few of the decorative books that Mat had fought you on buying but ends up reading when he’s bored and wander back out of the room. You stay within earshot though and manage to hide behind the wall so you can see him.

Mat looks between the phone on the table and the doorway where you disappeared a few times, frowning for a minute. His eyebrows are drawn together over his nose and you cover your mouth to muffle a little giggle. The Tik Tok trend is stupid but you’re curious to see what Mat does.

After a few seconds of confused staring, Mat starts speaking into the camera.

“Kitchen floor, couch, pool,” he starts ticking locations off on his fingers, a slow smile forming on his face. “Backseat of the car, front seat of the car, Bo’s bathroom, Leesy’s bathroom, our bathroom, golf cart. Um, where else?”

Now it’s your turn to frown, confused. What the hell is he making a list of?

“My childhood bedroom, Squeaks’ childhood bedroom,” he continues and your eyes widen a little, realizing what he’s doing. “Squeaks’ office -“

You dart back into the living room, cutting him off and saying, “oh my god, what are you listing off?”

His grin is wicked and he looks directly at the camera when he says, “all the places I’ve fucked you.”

“Aghhhh!” You squeal and tackle him onto the couch, his laughter vibrating through your chest. “Stop that!”

You dart your foot out to kick your phone off the coffee table, knowing it won’t stop the recording and hoping the clatter doesn’t mean you broke the screen. “Why are you like this?” You whine, trapped in the embrace of his arms. “That was supposed to be a wholesome video!”

Mat can’t stop laughing and it’s contagious, making you giggle a little even though you’re trying to stop. “Baby,” he presses a kiss to the top of your head, “nothing about us is wholesome. I could’ve kept going on that list for another ten minutes.”

“I hate you,” you grumble.

“No you don’t,” you can hear the grin in his voice and feel the twitch of his cock under your stomach.

“Yes I do,” you pout, warmth spreading through your body as Mat crushes you tighter against his chest.

“How about we go upstairs and I’ll prove that you don’t hate me?”

You know exactly what he’s getting at. “Why go that far?” You ask, shifting your body up and rolling your hips over his lap. The hard press of his erection makes your mouth go dry. “The couch can handle a little action.”

The couch can handle a lot of action, if your history is any indication.

Mat’s clearly thinking along the same lines because he laughs and says, “the couch has seen enough. The window seat in our room though? Haven’t eaten you out while you’re sitting pretty up there yet.”

“Oh!” You squeak, barely registering Mat sitting up with you in his lap, your legs locking around his waist when he stands up. The prominent ridge of his cock settles under your ass and your cunt instinctively tries to clench around nothing, the spread of your legs around his waist leaving you wide open for your arousal to drip out of you. He steps over your phone on the ground and heads for the stairs. “Mat, my phone…” you trail off, arms hooked around his neck. You can see it’s still recording the ceiling and has definitely captured your entire conversation. That video absolutely has to be deleted.

“We can record ourselves on mine,” he replies and your breath hiccups in your chest. “I need something new to watch when I’m away.”

“Perv,” you giggle, arousal flooding between your legs.

Mat pinches your ass, making you jolt in his arms. “Says the woman who slipped a couple of Polaroids into my carry-on. Thanks for that, by the way. Dobber’s traumatized again.”

“Oh my god,” you drop your forehead to Mat’s shoulder. After the condom under the coffee table incident, you’re surprised Noah even speaks to you at all.

“He only saw a little flash of boob,” Mat reassures you. “But he definitely got the gist.”

“I’m never doing that again,” you mutter.

Mat whines in the back of his throat. “Don’t punish me because he can’t keep his eyes on his screen,” he complains, setting you down on the cushioned window seat and dropping to his knees in front of you. His hands are warm on your knees when he pulls them apart, pressing a quick kiss to the inside of your right knee before gliding his fingers up your inner thighs.

Your legs tremble and your breathing hitches.

“No more pictures in the carry-on,” you repeat, Mat’s fingers dipping under the hem of your shorts.

“What if I give you a few pictures to put in your purse,” Mat says, “for your next work trip?”

His fingers trace against the crease of your thigh and you drop your head back, hitting it against the window pane with a dull thunk. “Mmm,” you hum, “maybe I could be con-convinced to change my stance.” Your voice shakes and Mat’s fingers dip under the elastic of your panties, his smile growing hungry when he feels how wet you are.

Mat shifts forward, closer to you, his shoulders spreading your legs even further apart, and smirks up at you. “Let me try and convince you then,” he laughs quietly and tugs at your shorts.

The window seat is christened twice and you both get new photos for your next out of town trips.

[yubishi]

death valley (alpha iwaizumi x omega reader)

my piece for @goxjo's into the omegaverse collab! thanks for having me and it was a lot of fun to come back to writing after being away for so longgg (rip yubishie)!!!!

tw. a/b/o, mm maybe a little codependent, yandere-lite as i like to call my particular brand, dubcon

It’s times like this that you really, really hate being an omega. To be fully honest, you’d never really minded it before everything went down. Yes, a lot of being an omega was definitely inconvenient and awkward. Though you’d been on blockers pretty much all your life since showing, with how rare omegas were, even (assumed) betas weren’t spared from the harassment of alphas and even fellow betas. God, you missed your blockers. Not that you had the Internet to check against anymore, but you were pretty sure the omega scent too had some kind of effect on the zombies. If anybody asked you (not that you had met anyone so far), the scent probably was a big fat arrow for zombies in the same way it was for alphas. Easy prey, the evolutionarily perfect meal, body composed in just the right way to be a delicacy, unlike alphas who might be too much muscle to be enjoyed. You weren’t too sure how picky zombies were though, to be honest.

Back to what you were thinking. Yes, despite the trials of being an omega, the lovely side effects of blockers that made you take quite a few sick days, you really didn’t mind. It was just a fact of life, like how the earth revolved around the sun or how the grass was green. There was never much point in lamenting the biology of who you were.

Still, this was kind of pushing it. You’d run out of blockers a few weeks ago, and you weren’t sure if you were going crazy but by your estimates the number of zombies you’d seen from your window had only increased in this time. You’d searched the flats in your small building for blockers, but even before everything went down you hadn’t heard about any omegas staying in your building. You knew there was a pharmacy nearby, and it’d be your best bet. The worst part would be getting there undetected.

Which would bring you to where you were now, lamenting your life. Also, sprinting for your life. Though you’d tried to cover up as much skin as you could, it wasn’t your scent that gave you away. No, it had been a random zombie standing behind a corner as you rounded it. You should’ve given it more berth, you think.

If you were an alpha, you maybe could have lifted the wooden plank nearby to whack the zombie in the head before he’d emitted a series of clicks, alerting his fellow comrades to your presence. Easy prey easy prey easy prey, you’d imagine is what they’re telling each other.

At least you make it into the pharmacy, sprinting inside and sliding a nearby umbrella through the handle. As you turn around, your heart sinks. The pharmacy has basically been raided through, the shelves basically empty. The storeroom, your brain helpfully supplies. Please, let there be some in the storeroom.

The storeroom door is unlocked when you get there. It’s clearly still been somewhat ransacked, but not as much as the outside. Thump. You freeze at the noise from above. A few moments pass. Nothing. Probably just the wind, you try to reassure yourself. Maybe something fell over. Still, you move around the storeroom a little faster.

You’re still searching through the room when you hear the creak of the door. Time seems to slow as you turn around, and before you know it, there’s a man tackling you to the ground before you can let out a peep.

“Don’t yell.” The man grunts. His large hand lays flat against your mouth, while the other rests at the back of your head. You feel like you can barely catch your breath, the weight of this man pressing down on your body. Even still, you try to wrench his hands off you, and just as you're about to bite the palm of his hand, he lifts his head to look at you. “Look, just don’t yell. I’ll take my hand off, if you can promise me you’re not going to start yelling like an idiot.” He looks to you for confirmation. 

When he finally does take it off, it takes you a second to compose yourself. Gunmetal eyes sear into yours and you falter, darting your gaze away quickly. Lord, he can't stand the look of you either. It’d only meant to be a quick run to scout out the area, before he’d spotted you running for your life. He’d thought about leaving you, and really, better sense did tell him to. In fact, in the time he took to scale the pharmacy roof and make his way down to where he heard you rifling around, he’d been cursing himself in his head.

He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but damn was he lonely these days. With his athleticism and build, he wasn’t as afraid as some might be to head out and explore. He’d come across a few stragglers, primarily alphas like him, but the problem with a majority of alphas was their ego. It didn’t take them long to piss him off, and he wasn’t stupid enough to ignore his own nature. If he thought someone was stupid, he wasn’t afraid to say it, and Iwaizumi always stuck to his guns. As a result, he’d been riding solo throughout.

Though his first glimpse of you was from afar, you didn’t have the build of an alpha. Alphas usually didn’t spend their time sprinting with only a tiny weapon in their hands either. Still, an omega was beyond his expectations. Tackling you to the floor had bared your neck to him, your light and fresh scent wafting over him. Damn it. He could barely stop himself from burying his nose in your neck. He’d barely even met an omega even before this, let alone be skin to skin with one.

Your scent is only the first thing to hit him. With it comes the realization of all your omega-ness, to put it delicately. Your hip bones digging into his abdomen, the plush of your chest against his, your watery eyes as you stare up at him, your plump lips curled into a pout. He barely even registers when you call his name.

“Iwai.. Iwaizumi, right?” The man above you has been doing nothing but staring silently at you for a few moments, his leg sandwiched between your two. It took you a minute to place him, but you swore something about the cut of his jaw and his sharp eyes was familiar to you. Of course, it’d been from before all this, when Iwaizumi and his friends were basically kings of the school and you’d been a normal student.

“We… we went to school together?” You give him your name, in hopes of some kind of recognition from him. Maybe that little emotional connection would stop him from killing you where you lay right now.

He looks at you, trying to place you. He thinks he’s probably heard your name around in some who-knows-who talk or at a party of sorts, but he doesn’t think he’s ever properly met you. And now he has to lift himself off you, to stop himself from doing something really, really bad to an acquaintance. Your scent has calmed since you'd recognized him, evening itself out from its previous panicked intensity. 

Though some part of you still fears him killing you right now, you can't help yourself from letting out a smile, the corners of your mouth pulling wide. It's not long before a giggle bursts from you at the absurdity of it all. 

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just so, so good to see a familiar face right now.” You smile up at him, all teeth, and he thinks he might lose it. 

Brusquely, he gets up, stretching out a hand to help you up. He tries to ignore the feeling of your hand in his, dwarfed within his grasp. 

“What're you doing out here,” he questions, though it sounds more like a reprimand than anything. “S’not safe for people like you.”

You explain to him how you've run out of blockers, how you're staying nearby, how you've never been without blockers before. It's been so long since you've talked to another person that it seems your mouth can't stop moving. 

“But anyways, I haven't found them yet. I've been working my way up, I think there are just a few boxes on the top shelves that maybe haven't been ransacked yet.” You motion over at the ladder across the room. “It's a little tough for me to get up there. Ladder’s a little too short I think.”

He can see the hope in your eyes, so like the gentleman he is (or at least the one he wants you to think he is) he offers to help you take a look. He goes through the motions, checking through the shelves and boxes as you hold on to the ladder and prattle on. 

It isn't long before Iwaizumi is climbing back down. He's silent as he looks at you and opens his palm to you. In the middle lies a small pillbox, with seven blockers lying inside. Just enough for a week. 

You feel the tears coming up. All that work for a week’s worth of blockers. Still, you try to hold it together in front of Iwaizumi, opening the box and popping one in your mouth. Your eyes are watery as you look up at him with a shaky smile. 

“D’you wanna come back to my place and regroup?”

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Somehow an unspoken agreement has formed between you and Iwaizumi over the past seven days. You'd spent the first day showing Iwaizumi around your small apartment, showing him your food reserves, your little medical kit and your small collection of emergency weapons. 

The thought had occurred to you that it was probably risky to show all this to a stranger. But Iwaizumi wasn't really a stranger. The two of you had spent the night talking (well mostly you), and when you woke in the morning, you'd half-expected him to have run off with your things. He'd only met your questioning stare in the morning with a raised brow, and no words were exchanged about the blanket over you that you didn't remember being there the night before. 

If you were being honest, it was easy to settle into the rhythm of being with Iwaizumi (or Iwa, as you called him in your head but didn't dare to say out loud quite yet). Iwa seemed somewhat like the alpha of alphas, his height and musculature only adding to what was already there. It felt natural, even, to let Iwa take charge. You'd both gone to scout the surrounding area, gradually expanding the radius under Iwa's planning, as you'd made your concerns about your blockers running out clear.

Still, there were no extras added to the collection since the first day. It's hours after the effects wane off that you lie on the floor, silent. Somehow, since the first day, there was an unspoken agreement that the both of you would sleep on the floor. The first night purely by accident, but the following out of comfort. You'd tried to sleep in your own bed, really, but it'd been so long since you were near another person, so something compelled you to go outside and lie near Iwa. Not close enough to make him uncomfortable, of course. 

“I don't know where else to look.” You sigh, racking your brains for a mental map of your area. A beat passes before Iwa speaks. “There might be another way.”

Your eyes blink open, and Iwa stands over you, hand outstretched. You let him lift you up so the two of you stand eye to eye. Well, eye to chest with the height difference. 

His calloused hand comes up to thumb the crook of your neck, with a gentleness you didn't know he was capable of. 

“I could… I could bite you. Make you smell a little more like me.” He raises a brow at you, trying to gauge what you think.

“Um… Um…” You stumble over your words, clearly shocked and hesitant. Still, he can see you're not averse to the idea. All you need, he thinks, is just a little more of a push. 

“Do you trust me?” He grips your shoulders, tightly at first, then lets go a little when he remembers how delicate you are. Now that you're off your blockers again, the stress is evident in your scent, swirling around the room. He lets his scent flood out too, to dampen your anxiety with his calm. 

Your shoulders relax a little as you look up at him. To be bitten… To be mated… You weren't really sure what to think. Mating was a one-and-done, especially for omegas. Was Iwa even thinking about it the way you were? To you, he felt a little like a stone wall of emotion. It was difficult to tell what he felt a lot of the time, other than frustration. It seemed more likely that he was doing it purely for your safety. And for alphas, you were pretty sure you could do a lot worse than Iwa. 

Sure, Iwa was brusque, and what some might call harsh, but he was handsome and strong and he'd helped you out so far. You'd been trying to ignore your hormones and prioritize the situation at hand, but that was simply the fact of the matter. And did you trust him? If you had to say, it would be yes. A tentative yes, but still a yes. 

“Yeah, okay, yeah.” You breathe out, trying to calm yourself down. Just think about it as something friends do. Desperate times do call for desperate measures, after all. 

“I'll take care of you.” is all Iwa says, gruff as ever. He says it like it's a fact of life before he leans in, nose grazing the crook of your neck. 

All you hear are the sounds of both of your breaths as Iwa brushes his lips over your scent gland. You're holding your breath like a statue when you feel something wet, Iwa’s tongue licking a stripe over your collar. 

And then it's all teeth and canines as he bites into you. You jerk in his hands from shock, but his firm grasp keeps you where you stand. 

The shock of it all feels like the air has been knocked out of you, and it hurts, the teeth piercing into you. And he's still biting you, still, when the pain fades into something warm, something that rises up and floats down and makes you flush. 

“Iwa!” You squeak out, hands around his neck. He's still at your neck for a few more seconds before pulling away to look at your flushed face, a woozy look in your eyes. 

He can't stop himself from going at your lips, lifting your chin towards him. All he sees is the water in your eyes, all he smells is your delicious scent wafting around, all he hears is your little squeaks and sighs and the soft noises of his mouth against yours. Hell, all he feels is your body melting into his, like pure jelly held up by his arms. You're everywhere and everything, and he can't get enough. 

The last thing on his mind are the boxes of white blocker pills, tucked away in the top shelf of the pharmacy. 

[aziraphales-library]

I'm dying to read Aziraphale annoying Crowley by being the cutest and one flustered demon being unable to help himself being so disgustingly in love with the angel 🥹🥹🥹 can you rec me some? pretty please 🍪💕

I just found this blog now by posting over at reddit: "Are there any fics where Crowley's deeply annoyed by Aziraphale's antics because he's so gd cute he wants to disintegrate? I'd read the hell out of it. Very canon. 😻" Lol. I'm willing to write something like this.... I actually might but wanna read it too 🥹🥹🥹

I know there's lots of these out there. This fandom is the most talented and plentiful I've ever seen :333

Thanks in advance xx

We have a #flustered crowley tag with loads of fics, so check that out. Here are more to add to the collection...

No sunglasses in the bookshop by ineffablegold (G)

The angel’s hands very briefly (but very surely) brushed on Crowley’s chest while he moved and spoke and wriggled oh so endearingly, right over his black shirt and the fallen angel could swear he saw stars again, like before the Beginning and like a flash there they were: nebulas all around him danced and exploded with colours. Crowley inhaled sharply and simply agreed with Aziraphale, no matter on what, he didn’t remember anyway. They’d be fine.

A Moonlit Masquerade by charlieiswritingthings (G)

“Say… How about we give dancing a try? After all, that’s one of the most important things about a masquerade, is it not?” Aziraphale tilts his head a bit, towards the direction of the dancers. His smile falters slightly when he hears what Crowley says next. “I don’t do dancing, Angel. You know that.” Crowley speaks with slight… almost annoyance, very obviously against the idea. Though, Aziraphale hasn’t given up quite yet. “Now, now. That simply won’t do. Let’s go have some fun together, shall we?” Aziraphale stands up, taking Crowley’s hand in his own as he begins walking in the direction of the dancefloor. A defeated sigh is heard coming from Crowley, and he’s forced to abandon his nearly finished glass of wine on the table.

Voicemails (from a Petty Demon) by sugardustedtulips (T)

“That’s it,” Crowley growled, taking large, bold strides toward the yellow Bentley in front of him, leaving the poor cherub blankly standing behind, ostensibly stunned. “What’s what?” Aziraphale asked, hoping he didn’t mean that he’d drive off without him. Surely Crowley wouldn’t be that petty. “I’m not talking to you for the rest of the day,” Crowley whispered matter-of-factly, hissing each sibilant as he punctuated his sentence by theatrically swinging open the car door.

Aziraphale makes the Bentley yellow. Furious, Crowley resorts to giving him the silent treatment. Of course, he misses the angel too much, and can’t help bombarding him with voicemails while locked in their bedroom.

A Midsummer Afternoon's Curse by cyankelpie (G)

(Aziraphale is the victim of a love spell, and needs Crowley’s help to break it. Which is a problem, because it’s very difficult for Crowley to focus while Aziraphale lavishes him with affection.) The rest of the sentence got knocked out of him by a large, off-white blur that flew out of the door and tackled him. “Crowley,” said a familiar voice, though the breathy fondness and affection in said voice was anything but familiar. “I knew you’d come.” Oh. It was Crowley. Crowley was the target of Aziraphale’s magical infatuation. Aziraphale wanted Crowley’s help ridding him of this newfound affection for Crowley. And Crowley, who somehow needed to be the level-headed one in this situation, was utterly fucked.

You Don't Need A Licence For That by WaitingToBeBroken (M)

Crowley works for the city council and is responsible for issuing licences and permits. Aziraphale seems to be hoarding them. Crowley should really reject some of those applications. And he will, once he is done pining over Aziraphale. Really, he will!

- Mod D

[vitiligo-is-not-a-trend]

Hii! So I have a character with vitiligo who is the daughter of a mixed race couple (White and Black), and I was wondering if there was anything I should be extra careful about or if there's anything I need to change.

I'm considering having members of one of the parents family also have vitiligo to justify it, or to draw her in a way where she doesn't have it as a baby (In scenes with baby pictures of her or flashbacks) to express that she developed it later. Though, I'm not 100% sure if that would work exactly.

Personality-wise she's a very bubbly kid that loves to draw and come up with stories to play out with her friends. I have in the past drawn her with a lot of affected skin, about 40-50 percent of her body, is this realistic for an 11 year old? Sorry if i'm asking too many questions haha.

Thank you so much in advance!

Hi! Also don't worry about asking too many questions, I wouldn't have made this blog if I didn't look forward to them :D!

For things to be careful about, you definitely need to wary of any sort of racism/colorism that comes with giving an explicitly non-(fully)white character a disability that changes their skin tone to white. As a mixed person with (universal atp) vitiligo, I've had multiple people make fun of / deny my status as a mixed person because I'm/was too white passing. I've also seen vitiligo used in racist manners to "fix" POC characters (one such example was someone saying that they were using it to "cure" the character). Mixed characters also tend to get depicted as light skinned in media more often than not because of said colorism. (This is of course not me saying that you or this character is perpetuating this "stereotype", I just want you to be aware that these are subjects that might need to be tackled or considered in your story!)

Also to note vitiligo isn't something that develops in utero, so realistically I don't think that she would have it as a baby; usually there's some sort of external stress factor that causes vitiligo to trigger like with most auto-immune disorders.

As for how much her body would be covered I can't really say because it really does vary that much person to person and is extremely dependent on the variation of vitiligo the person has.

[spiceofvy]

hey how about skz reacting to reader being very quiet in bed? Haven't really seen anyone tackle that concept around here but I think you'd do it justice

SKZ - Reader is not very vocal in bed

a/n: aaah! thank you for the compliment! i feel so honored! this was so much fun to write, so i hope you enjoy it!

cws: gender neutral reader, nsfw, a lot of description of the noises someone can make in bed, lots of mentions of open communication about sex, mentions of past insecurites related to the reader not being vocal, mentions of (semi) public sex (chan, minho), mentions of praise (changbin), implied sub!jisung, shy felix turning confident, slight dom!seungmin, jeongin using porn as sexual education (please don't do this), mentions of being heard during sex (jeongin)

Chan: Today I'm here to tell you that he actually has the opposite issue, he is extremely vocal in bed. Dirty talk, moaning, some whines depending on the day. This man can not shut up to save his life. Don't get me wrong those noises are hot as fuck but please never try to have public sex with him, because you will get caught. So you not being extremely vocal in bed comes with the great advantage of you being able hear all the pretty noises he makes.

Minho: Oh, he doesn't mind at all. He is not that vocal either except for some low grunts and hums. Maybe some dirty words whispered in your ear if he feels like it. And neither of you being super vocal comes with one big advantage. When he invites you over to the company building to fuck you in one of the broom closets, he doesn't have to worry about you being caught due to you being so loud.

Changbin: He doesn't care that much. Not because he doesn't care about you receiving pleasure during sex but because he trusts you when you say that you enjoy what he is doing. And if you don't he always makes sure to give you enough space to comfortably voice your wishes. He will talk you through it though. Lot's of praising and sweet promises. Sometimes some soft whines, but he gets flustered if you mention it.

Hyunjin: Was thrown off by this in the beginning, because he relies heavily on sound in bed. He himself is kinda vocal, some very pretty moans and little compliments here and there. But he quickly got used to it. Learned to read your body language really well and knows what you enjoy from just the way your muscles twitch or your cheeks redden. He will check in on you here and there though just so he can really be sure that you love what's happening just as much as he does.

Jisung: Don't worry he is loud enough on his own for you to get a noise complaint from your neighbors. High-Pitched, whiny moans, swear words galore and sometimes a little bit of begging. A beautiful mix. But in all seriousness, he probably was a bit insecure at the very beginning, not sure how to read your body language, but he got used to it and now he can tell pretty easily what you like and what not.

Felix: He is also pretty loud in bed, but after realizing that you are not he just straight up asks you if that's normal for you, or if there is something that he could improve on. Doesn't mind it that much after he is sure that you enjoy what he does. But will sometimes check in on you just to be sure. Asking you if you like what he does between deep groans and soft moans. Will likely bury his head in your neck to hide some of his noises, as get's pretty flustered about them, but with just some gentle encouragement from your side, he slowly but surely gets a little more confident and almost cocky with it.

Seungmin: Oh, he makes sure you get vocal, but not in the way you think. He just asks you a ton of questions "You like this?" "Do you feel good?" "Do you want more?" And he definitely expects an answer. And when he is not asking you questions he is letting out some low grunts and he swears a lot. Overall he doesn't mind you being not that vocal. But just for his ego, he needs some sort of reassurance from you, but knows how to ask for that.

Jeongin: Poor baby Innie, was a bit confused in the beginning. After all, in the "educational videos'' he watched during his alone time, sex was always depicted as something very loud. So you not being vocal probably threw him off a bit. But he gets used to it pretty easily and actually starts appreciating it a bit, because that makes sneaky sex in the dorm so much easier. If he can control his noises though. Even though his super breathy moans and mumbled words are not very loud, they still sometimes get heard and the teasing he has to endure afterwards will scar him for life.

[obs3ssedd]

Hi, can I please request a Shinra Kusakabe x reader about him crushing and then asking us out and also if you can put head-canons about that too like him dating us.

I love your work btw!!!

·˚ ༘ 𝑰𝒏𝒇𝒐 ➪ fluff, black!reader, shinra blushing a lot. kissing

ミ★ 𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆 I had fun writing this even though the main Idea I had didn’t go as plan but I really hope you enjoy It either way :(. also thank you sm for liking my work! It means a lot to me ml <33!!.

❝ 𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐆𝐎 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐖/ 𝐌𝐄 ! ❞ - 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐑𝐀 𝐊𝐔𝐒𝐀𝐊𝐀𝐁𝐄 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐭

#❤︎︎ — 𝖲𝖧𝖨𝖭𝖱𝖠 for starters. everyone knew. the WHOLE team knew he had a fat crush on you. for the many times of venting and venting to maki, she adviced shinra to just go for It, he was 18, a full adult, but he was still acting like he was 16…and just his luck arthur took notice of how nervous shinra was of the idea of asking you out. so! authur being authur..he decided to take his chances to poke at him…which lead to both of them getting Into a tussle which ended up both being punishment from the captain.

"so you got cleaning duty huh?." you questioned plopping a grape In your mouth as you watched him with knitted eyebrows sweeping the ground, "If It weren't for that blonde bastard I wouldn't be here." he grumbled, humming In response eating another grape, "what did he do this time?." he paused his movements to think back to moments ago. "there's no way you're this scared to ask her out dude." he laughed as shinra grumbled, "you don't know what you're talking about." he argued back but arthur chuckled again placing his sword down now facing him, "but I do. you don't have the balls to ask the girl you like out!. maybe..I should ask her out yeah? since the little devil boy doesn't have enough balls to—!" a loud thud echoed through the room as shinra tackled him to the ground strangely him.

pretty much what happened.

"shinra." you took him out his thoughts, looking up at you who had your head tilted to the side, "you ok?. you blanked out." you chuckled as shinra shook his head with a smile of him own, "yeah I'm fine, it wasn’t that big of deal..just disagreeing on some things.” he practically snarled at the last part, but turned his attention back to you. humming eating another grape, “what did he say that made you get to this point?.” you asked, staring at him who looked down at the broom, “It was just something. nothing Important.” he cleared his throat but you weren’t buying It, you squinted your eyes at him scoffing, “come here right quick.” he paused, “what?” — “I said come here.” you signaled him to where you were sitting, with no argument he walked towards you. he was standing right In front of you, raising a brow grabbing him by the shirt to pull him closer. “look me In the eyes right now and tell me It was just nothing.” shinra gulped down that huge lump In his throat with wide eyes, “I-It was nothing.” still not buying It, “you’re stuttering..” you whispered, seeing his eyes flick between your eyes and your lips.

you have no Idea what came over you, but you got distracted getting lost In his eyes. It was just silence between the both of you, your head moved forward a little on Its own, fist gripping more Into his shirt as shinra started to lean In too. as you were about to lock lips, a loud sound shocked you both. you both pulled back shocked about what was finna happen. shinra’s heart rushing as you’re did the same. shinra cleared his throat stepping back a little to give you both distance. “I should get back to sweeping.” he mumbled and you hummed “yeah.” you bit your bottom lip grabbing the bowl of grapes hopping off the counter walking towards him, feeling flustered. "well don't let this small punishment get to you and whatever arthur told you. maybe this is a lesson learned to stop fighting, yeah?." you stood tall reaching to give his cheek a small peck, his cheeks turning red watching you smile then walk away, “If you need anything I’ll be In my room.” he placed a hand on his cheek feeling a grin himself form. he was so Inlove.

——

ever since the moment in the kitchen shinra's courage started to build up. today was the day where he was going to ask you out, he had everything planned. a nice beach picnic. great idea! especially since you love beaches It was perfect, since today was a free day he gotten up early to get all the stuff he needed, your favorite snacks, and drinks etc etc. the team was confused by the sudden energy shinra had, he was never this energetic—well he was energetic but not like this?. "what's gotten Into him?." captain obi asked sipping his morning coffee as maki shrugged, "maybe he's excited for something." hibana butts In rolling her eyes, "It's a sunday. what could he possibly be excited for." she asked annoyed seeing the boy rush past the kitchen to his room hearing a small slam, “whatever It Is let's let him be."

throughout the whole day shinra was non stop nervous about tonight. nervous If you would like It or not, would you come?..will you reject him.?. all these thoughts clouded his mind as he paced In his room, hands In his hair with no shirt on and ontop of that not knowing what to wear. what do people wear at beaches? bathing suits?? but It's gonna be cold. would you care about what he wears? many other times you would compliment him even If it wasn't that great of an outfit. why is he overthinking this much? you weren't judgmental you weren't any of that, you're a sweet and kind girl. yeah..you weren’t like that. he stopped pacing for a second taking a deep breath In calming down his nerves letting his thoughts focus on one thing.

making sure this date goes to plan.

after picking out an outfit he grabbed everything he bought today making his way to the location, he pulled out his phone and texted you.

———

shin ☄️

- meet me at this location In 10 minutes

- I’ll be waiting :)

———

ding

ding

the sound of your phone going off took your attention away from the conversation you were having with maki and tamaki. 'meet me at this location In 10 minutes' from shinra, your heart sped but you quickly responded with a quick 'ok :)' putting your phone back In your pocket, "sorry girls but I have to go. we can continue this later!." you said rushing towards your room going straight Into your closet. "what should I wear..." was this the day? you finally get to be alone with him? just you both?? your heart was racing as you rushed through outfits. 3 minutes had went by and you found the perfect outfit.

(or whatever you prefer! :))

lucky for you since base wasn't far from the beach It was a 5 minute walk, as you were walking up to the location shinra sent to you, you saw him. hearing foot steps step closer to him he looked up and his breath hitched. you looked so beautiful. you smiled at him nervously, but he was so lost In a gaze. when you didn’t hear him say anything you looked up be faced with brown eyes staring directly at you. you got surprised from the sudden eye contact was there something wrong with your outfit? did you put too much makeup on? Is there something on your face??. your eyebrows furrowed placing a hand on your face wiping It, “Is there something on my face?.” you asked and shinra’s eyes widened a bit shaking his head, “no! —no there’s nothing on your face.” this made you more suspicious dropping your arms to the side., “then what Is It? Is there something wrong?.” your facial expression was enough for him to shake his head Immediately no, “I— no! nothing It’s just..you’re.. really pretty— beautiful even. I’ve never seen you In a dress before.” he chuckled nervously rubbing a hand behind his neck as you began to feel flustered smiling, “wanted to dress nice, you know?.” you mumbled seeing him nod with small blush pulling out a blindfold, “I wanna show you something but It’s a surprise.”

you seen him hold the blindfold, looking at It then him, “do you trust me?.” almost Immediately you nodded, “of course I do.” shinra smiled walking up behind you to tie the blindfold around your eyes, your breath hitched a bit feeling him behind you, this was the first time you’ve been this close with him. after he was done tying the knot you felt his hands grab ahold of yours, “nothing will happen. It’s just me and you.” he said, taking a step back as you took a step forward following him. the distance from where he was taking you wasn’t that far. It was possibly only 3 minutes. It was nice, the warm sand under your feet as his hands were engulf with yours. you both stopped feeling his hands let go of yours, shinra walking up behind you to untie the blindfold. you blinked a couple of times before adjusting to what you saw In front of you, It was a picnic with your favorite snacks, and drinks laid out on the blanket.

your heart fluttered turning around to face a blushing shinra who looked at you nervously, “I wanted to do something special for you.” he said grabbing ahold of your hand leading you to the blanket, sitting down. you were still speechless, everything was so cute and romantic..a smile started to creep to your face, “shinra you didn’t have to do all of this.” you said looking back at him but he shrugged, “but I wanted too. you deserve It.”throughout the whole evening It was just you two talking and having a great time with each other, talking about your dreams, life goals, telling funny stories overall having a great time.

you chuckled dipping another strawberry In the chocolate dip staring back at shinra, “funny thing Is I was afraid of the ocean for a really long time.” you said taking a bite from the strawberry confusing shinra, “really?” you nodded, “yeah. ever since I was 4 I’ve been afraid of getting swept off shore to the middle of nowhere.” you laughed at the memory, “but once I turned 12 I got over my fears and ever since I fell In love with the ocean. the breeze, the smell..” the ocean was your favorite place to go, to read, to relax even to train. shinra gave you a hum. “so Is that why half the time when we train on our own you’re gone?.” you turned to face him nodding your head, “yeah. It’s just easier for me to concentrate.” you placed down the stem of the strawberry where the rest were wiping your hands off.

shinra didn’t say anything but slowly nodded his head, but something caught his attention. you had some bits of chocolate on your face, he reached his hand to be placed on your cheek taking you by surprised feeling him turn your head a little. he scooted a little closer to you, using his bottom thumb to wipe the chocolate away. you stayed quiet. when he got the chocolate off your face he just..kept his hand there, staring at you. you’re so much prettier up close. the sound of the water crashing together and the slight cold breeze brushing against you, you didn’t wanna ruin the moment by moving so you sat there. eyes staring back at each other as shinras eyes flickered back and fourth between your eyes and lips. you caught noticed of this, breath hitching. his head slowly started moving towards you as you did the same, you felt his breath hit your lips as they barley touched. before they could engulf each other shinra paused, “can I kiss you?.” he whispered. you didn’t say anything but nodded your head, “yes..” when shinra got the green light he closed his eyes taking your lips with his.

your heart started to do back flips kissing him back. It was slow and gentle but started to get slightly rough like he was waiting for this moment. shinra’s hand glided towards your waist giving them a small squeeze pulling you by them to be closer with him. your chest hitting his made him groan In between the kiss as your hands were wrapped around his neck tilting your head to deepen It. the moment lasted for a few minutes before you were the first to pull back. you smiled as shinra looked stunned. did he really just do that? “I..uhm.” he began to stutter with a small blush, “I have something to tell you.” you looked at him with confusion, tilting your head, “what’s up?.” he breathed In and out going to engulf yours hands with his squeezing them, looking up at you with soft eyes. those red eyes staring back at you. “would you wanna go out with me?. I know we just kissed and all but.” he nervously laughed, “would you want to go out with me?.”

thought he would never ask.

“I would love too.”

— ❤︎︎❤︎︎ —

shinra Is the type to be really overprotective but not In a toxic way. knowing that he has a girlfriend now the people coming after him would be coming after you more. more like you’re their target so he always sticks besides you like glue to make sure you’re safe.

he’s gets jealous whenever arthur would “flirt” with you to just get under his skin but you would calm him down every time kissing or hugging him knowing you only wanted him and no one else.

would take you out on weekly dates, like watching a movie, having dinner, lunch, going shopping, etc. definitely will spoil you on special occasions, like christmas, your birthday, valentine’s day. you would always get mad at him and feel bad for the amount of stuff he gets you but he would always tell you that you deserve everything In the world. cheesy but you liked cheesy.

loves cuddling you. like all the time, whenever you guys are free from training with the group all you guys do Is be all cuddly with each other, It’s makes the team sick. when watching a movie, when laying In bed. he was also really clingy, loves holding your hand or kissing your cheek whenever you don’t expect It.

he would totally have you as his pfp on Instagram to let people know that he was taken. he loved showing you off.

would still constantly get nervous around you but It was In a loving way, whenever you would place your hand on his cheek when speaking to him, pecking his lips with your soft ones, running your hand through this hair..everyday he reminds himself. he was lucky to have you.