#that gives me a similar wonderful feeling

[infamousmonkey-cat]

#ive got a feeling dylan’s wife is sick or something which is why he needs a stable job with health benefits

yeah that makes TOTAL sense. call me paranoid though but i have my doubts as to whether she's really called gretchen or whether the person he meets in the "family visitation room" will really be her...

original post was written before episode 2x02 btw so i have some additional thoughts atp:

i said that helena eagan was totally committed and in her behaviour that's obviously true, but it seems like maybe she's as much a prisoner in her own way as helly is. i loved how she shifted in and out of performance mode before and after the video, and how that mirrored shifting from outie to innie and back. i'm wondering if she's going to go through a similar arc as innie irving did last season, falling for mark s (parasocially of course) and having it shake her worldview...

i read the lexington letter recently which gives me some ideas about what cold harbor could be. curious as to why mark is the only one who can finish it.

one thing i think is fascinating about severance is how irv and helly are kind of opposites--helena eagan is totally committed to the severance project, but helly r rages against it. meanwhile innie irv is a completely indoctrinated dork but his outie is clearly some kind of investigator/mole/whistleblower and also very cool. it'll be interesting to see how dylan compares with his outie (i think the contrast between innie and outie is less stark with mark? obviously his innie is more naive and his outie more bitter but you don't have that same conflict of interest between innie and outie. and petey was very much the same person both as innie and outie, from what we saw)

[astars-things]

mom?

so I have written a fic similar to this, but y/n was young, and Jack made up a reason, read it -> here, but now that she is older, he decides to tell her the truth

reader is 15

 jack is 34

I was lounging in my room, my laptop balanced on my legs and my phone in my hand. YouTube was playing in the background while I mindlessly scrolled through Instagram. Suddenly, a message popped up. I glanced at the number, but it wasn’t saved in my contacts. Thinking it might be one of Dad’s teammates, I tapped on it without much thought.

The second I read the message, my heart started pounding so hard it felt like it was echoing in my head.

Hey bub, it’s me—your mom. How are you?

I immediately jumped out of bed and bolted down the stairs, my heart racing. I found my dad sitting on the couch, casually watching TV.

"Hey, Dad," I called out, my voice shaking slightly. he turned to look at me.

"Yes, Y/N?" Dad replied, his tone calm and curious.

I opened my mouth to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, I handed him my phone, unable to explain.

As Dad read the message, his face turned pale, the color draining from it almost instantly. My chest tightened as I watched his reaction, my thoughts spiraling out of control.

"How did she even get my number?" I started rambling, the words tumbling out in a rush. "I barely give it out to anyone! I’ve never even met her in my 15 years of living, so why is she randomly texting me now?"

“Breathe, hun,” Dad said softly, his hand rubbing soothing circles on my back. “It’s going to be okay, I promise.”

But it didn’t feel okay. It felt messy, confusing, and overwhelming. I always knew I didn’t have a mom—it was something I had accepted a long time ago. But I never really understood why.

“Why don’t I have a mom?” I blurted out, the question spilling from my lips before I could stop it. It was something I’d wondered for years but never had the courage to ask.

Dad sighed, sitting back against the couch and running a hand through his hair. “Well… you deserve the truth.” His voice was calm but heavy, and I could tell this wasn’t an easy thing for him to talk about.

“Your mom and I… we were together since high school,” he began. “When I got drafted to New Jersey, she moved here with me to support my hockey career. A year later, we had you. But after you were born, she decided she didn’t want to be tied down—to New Jersey, to this life, to being a mom. She made the decision to leave.”

He paused, glancing at me carefully. “It wasn’t easy, Y/N. Raising a newborn while building an NHL career was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But I had you, and that made it all worth it. I wouldn’t change a thing about having you.”

I stared at him, my mind racing. “So she just… left? Just like that?”

He nodded, his eyes filled with a mix of sadness and love. “Yeah. She left. But that doesn’t change how much I love you or how proud I am of you. We’ve made it this far together, haven’t we?”

I nodded slowly, the weight of his words sinking in. It didn’t answer everything—like how she got my number—but it was a start.

[oatmealwrites]

Catch Kira, NOT Feelings! Ch. 5

Part 4 | Part 6 -> Coming soon

Series masterlist here

Regular masterlist here

Tags: L is jealous af, Light is as manipulative as ever, Aizawa cockblock pt 2., fake dating to the max, makeout (FINALLY), mentions of arousal (m and f), reader knows there's no way this can be 'fake', L is pining and down horrendous, MDNI, 18+ series

Synopsis: Another tape from the Second Kira arrives at the task force and the group is left wondering what the next moves is. In the meantime, members are becoming increasingly suspicious of the dynamic between you and L. With increased jealousy and stakes higher than ever, Ryuzaki decides it's time to double-down on this 'fake-dating' plan.

Word count: 7.4k

[a/n at the end]

~~~~~~~

The Aoyama plan ended less awkwardly than it had started, thankfully. Aside from the usual rowdy groups that occasionally walked the streets, there was nothing suspicious to report back at all, making the day relatively tame. And before you and L could fully sit and analyze all the CCTV footage of cafe windows and restaurant ratios, Shibuya had rolled around with similar poor luck. It was like Kira just decided to let the Second make these invitations before effectively ghosting them without response. 

Tokyo Dome was the last event with a chance of either Kira making a move, and with security already ramped up for the upcoming date, the task force was left analyzing every detail from the previous attempts; no rock left unturned, no camera left unchecked. 

It’s been roughly 3 nights since Aoyama and 3 nights since you’ve begun this charade with L. Considering the both of you were already hiding the notebook theory, adding another secret to the list hadn’t seemed daunting at first. Though as you sit in your usual spot in the center of the task force couch between Mogi and Light, Aizawa’s glare on you is colder than usual.

“Alright, and then what happened Matsuda?” Ryuzaki asks, before popping a chocolate covered strawberry in mouth.

Matsuda thinks for a moment and shrugs with a sad sigh. “Well, I tripped on the sidewalk and spilled my water all over the cool shirt I bought for the mission.”

It’s nothing important or helpful, but the team nods in comprehension as everyone reviews their own respective reports from the day. Focusing on your own documents is nearly impossible; everytime you look up, Aizawa is staring between you and L as if you were zoo animals before non-discreetly looking away.

You peer over to Ryuzaki who is slipping another chocolatey fruit between his lips and give a mental ‘help me out here’ with your gaze. Juice running down his chin, L looks at you wide eyed for a moment, processing the situation, before glancing over at your colleague unamused.

“Ah, Aizawa. Did anything from the security reports stand out to you?”

Idiot. He’s a world famous detective but can’t understand basic social cues??

Your attempts to avoid attention from the man are effectively reversed as Aizawa glances between you and Ryuzaki with a mix of pissed off and disgust.

He crosses his arms. “Well…no. I had actually had trouble focusing that day.”

Mogi sighs empathetically and leans in. “I know it must be hard considering your family.”

Aizawa huffs and nods in disbelief while you’re questioning if this room full of detectives really is the last hope at finding Kira. Sinking further in your seat, you glance down at the papers Light is flipping through and take notice that this is quietest he’s been in a while. Taking a small sip of coffee while Aizawa grits out a fake story about his family life as reasoning to Mogi, you nudge your friend’s shoulder.

“Everything good?”

“Huh?” Light looks up and blinks a few times as if he hadn’t been paying attention to anything the past 10 minutes. “Oh, y-yea. Just didn’t sleep much is all.”

You raise an eyebrow but notice the puffiness of his eyes before shrugging and turning back to the group; Mr. Yagami begrudgingly consoles Matsuda that he’ll have plenty more opportunities to do fieldwork and not ruin his clothing. 

Ryuzaki sits up and flicks the remote to broadcast the walking path Light and Matsuda had taken while sucking some stray strawberry juice from the base of his thumb. It shouldn’t be erotic. You shouldn’t find it anything but normal considering him. But the vulgar sight of it makes an uncomfortably familiar feeling stir before his eyes meet yours with an unreadable stare. The two of you hold it for a moment until you finally find the ability to peel your gaze back to the screen.

“This is the path that Matsuda and–”

“--Ryuzaki.” The hotel door opens and Watari swiftly enters inside with a laptop tucked under his arm. “I’m sorry for the interruption, but there’s another tape sent from the Second Kira.”

Shit.

The group falls silent before scrambling to set up the screen to mirror the laptop and adjust the speakers for the audio; the room is completely silent when L hit ‘play’.

‘I have found Kira.’

Worried eyes glance off the screen and around the group while Light sits motionless at your side; everyone is thinking the same question. You turn your head to Ryuzaki who looks away from the TV and meets your gaze, a silent ‘how?’ floats silently between you both. Aside from the minor hiccup when Aizawa interrupted, there wasn’t a moment when you two weren’t staring at the monitors, watching every angle in real time.

In silence, he leans forward to resume the message. 

‘To all of the people at the television station and the police, thank you very much.’

The video ends abruptly and the group collectively turns between each other in shock and confusion. You look between Ryuzaki and Light for a moment, watching the way they both seem to be completely lost in thought and concentration.

“Watari.” You turn towards the elderly man who stands behind you on the couch. “When was this sent?”

He peers down naturally. “It arrived today, but was postmarked from the 22nd, y/n.”

The day after Aoyama?

Desperate sighs at the information flood the room while Matsuda sits looking guilty.  “That’s right after Light and I walked the streets… how could we miss it?”

Mr. Yagami clears his breath and places a reassuring hand on his colleague’s shoulder. “It’s not anyone’s fault. Can we assume based on this message that both Kira’s have already teamed up? If they’re working together, it may have been impossible to notice their interaction.”

Light furrows his brows in thought, most likely recalling the memories of Aoyama for a moment when he would’ve seen anything suspicious; before you can offer help, you notice the way Ryuzaki’s gaze is locked onto the man. L takes the nail he chews out from his teeth and looks at Mr. Yagami.

“No, the tape only mentioned finding the original Kira, not coordinating.”

You sit forward. “So it’s possible they’ve never interacted then?”

Ryuzaki glances at Light once more before turning to the group. “That’s correct. And if that suspicion is true, this Second Kira has a keen eye for identification that we don’t have.”

Aizawa sighs and rubs his temples. “We spent hours watching CCTV with no detail looking strange along with dozens of officers undercover, and Light and Matsuda walking. How could we miss it?”

L takes another chocolate fruit from the coffee table and bites into it, catching the solidified candy outing when it cracks. “No, it’s not that we missed anything. It’s that we couldn't see it.”

Mogi raises an eyebrow and Light finally speaks up from his trance. “What? What do you mean by that?”

You flip through your documents while Ryuaki pauses to chew, scanning through the papers until the diary entry for the Tokyo Dome comes into view. “Wait, you mean like from this event? It mentions the Second Kira seeing a Shinigami at the Dome… so Shinigami is code for witnessing something?”

Light pauses, opens his mouth, and then shuts it again; L sits listening to your explanation.

“Yea, and since Shinigami aren’t real… or like we could never see it, it’s code for something only Kiras can see?” Mogi asks while scratching his chin.

“Yes, both of you are in the same direction of deduction as myself. It’s clear this Second Kira is especially keen on detail and observation; something we should be extremely wary about.” L pauses and then turns to Light. “Though the concrete evidence of the tapes being sent on the 23rd do look rather peculiar for you, Light.”

“Enough. Matsuda was with him the entire time! Second Kira could have seen anyone that day; maybe not even in Aoyama, if it was a false clue.”Mr. Yagami stands up and crosses his arms while Watari walks around him to bring a fresh set of coffee cups to the table.

Light sighs beside you, “Dad, it makes sense L is suspicious.” He turns to L. “Ryuzaki, doesn’t the fact that nothing happened that day make you feel any better?”

Mogi raises an eyebrow. “Like, the fact that no one died? Trust me Light, I don’t think it’s you… but nothing happening while everyone is watching you doesn’t exactly prove anything.”

You shake your head and place your documents on the table. “No, Light means that nothing happened when the Second Kira saw him…–Assuming you’re Kira of course,” you add in, to avoid pressuring the topic.

Ryuzaki places the now empty small dessert plate on the coffee table. He takes the stem of cherry from his mouth and sighs while looking up with a slightly depressive tone. “Yes, exactly. The concrete evidence makes it highly convenient that the day after you set out trying to draw out the Second Kira, we get a message… but the fact that we don’t know the deciding factor in how they spotted Kira makes things a bit difficult.”

Mr. Yagami sits down with a frustrated exhale. “So are we now facing two Kiras that could soon be cooperating?”

L looks over at the man. “Potentially, and if that’s the case we’re going to need to be even more cautious than ever. But, assuming they really have only seen Kira– we can hope there is room for negotiation.”

Light shifts and raises an eyebrow, already following along with an annoyed expression. “Let me guess, we make a response demanding information on Kira in exchange for something?”

“Precisely. We can’t shorten a sentence given their murders, but we can offer a less intense version of punishment.”

Aizawa snorts sarcastically. “Oh, so we offer the comfiest jail cell in Japan for their lifetime sentence? We’re seriously going to negotiate with a serial killer?”

Ryuzaki ignores the comment and nods to confirm his decision while you glance over at your friend. “It’s our only option –we can’t make another fake Kira message since we don’t know their exact level of contact.”

Light sighs. “That’s true too. If we send a fake Kira tape to the Second Kira demanding something they have already discussed… it would jeopardize everything..”

“Ok, so we’ll make it a police announcement regardless,” Mr. Yagami sighs before glancing at Ryuzaki with an exhausted expression. “Can we take a quick recess, please?”

Mogi rises before the group effectively disperses, “I’ll be retrieving the DNA returns on the tapes this week. If we’re going to make a move, it may be beneficial to do it now before we essentially make an arrest for whoever’s fingerprints are on the tapes.” 

Ryuzaki nods in approval while members split off to stretch, smoke, grab food, and make phone calls to their family; L stands and motions to the bedroom door once more.

“Can I have a word?”

You rise to your feet and stretch side to side while Aizawa looks up from his phone with a stiff expression; he shudders slightly when you make eye contact before spinning around to continue his call. Matsuda looks up from the front door in confusion at L’s private invitation before Aizawa shoves him forward to exit with a grunted sigh. “Nah, let’s get out of here.”

Walking to the room, and slipping inside to resume your usual mini meeting with L, you shut the door while Ryuzaki paces back and forth in thought. You head towards the bed and jump up to the mattress, crossing your legs comfortably as you sit on the plush hotel comforter.

“It’s obvious that the Second Kira witnessed Kira during Aoyama… but how? How did they see something we didn’t?”

You watch the way he paces with a nail tucked between his teeth and shrug lightly. “Well if they didn’t meet, should we re-watch all the CCTV tapes with angles of cafes where customers stayed further from the street? Like inside through windows or patios tucked away from the footpaths?”

Ryuzaki stops and sighs. “Yes, we’ll need to redistribute videos to everyone to review once more given our theory.”

“And what about the ‘notebooks’?”

He stops and heads over to the bed, leaning against the mattress a few feet away from you. “Not yet. We need a little more information considering there were no fatalities at any of the events thus far. If our theory is notebooks being references to killing and there’s no body… we may need to reevaluate the usage of the term.”

You exhale and flop backwards onto the bed casually; the pillows and sheets are all perfectly arranged indicating Ryuzaki hasn’t been sleeping recently. The routine of these mini meetings is so normal that the crease in the comforter from where you sit is always in the same indentation as from the day before. 

“Everytime we get any information on either Kira, it feels like we’re even more lost than before.”

Ryuzaki nods and looks at the analog clock that ticks absentmindedly in the background; you sit up on your elbows and take in his appearance. The usual baggy long sleeve white tee draps his frame, and his baggy jeans are hanging low enough to show the elastic band of his boxers; everytime he raises his hand to bite the nail, a small part of the ‘V’ on his abdomen is revealed. 

You peel your eyes away and look up at the room ceiling. “What do we do about… this? Catching Kira may take a lot longer than we think… so–”

The words trail off and you look back at the man leaning against the mattress; he has the slightest dust of pink on his cheeks. “Huh, oh– we can continue. If it’s not uncomfortable.”

You stare at the way he’s refusing to make eye contact and fully sit upright once more. “Isn’t it only a matter of time before Aizawa slips up? Or the rest of the ground catches on? Matsuda already noticed…”

Ryuzaki shrugs and finally peels his eyes off the scattered papers on his desk and rests them on you. “I thought you said you didn’t mind if people thought you and I were… together?”

“Well–” you blush slightly and tuck your chin into your chest. “I don’t care if they think you and I are dating. It’s just a personal thing to have everyone know– especially when this is the one group we’re supposed to be totally honest with.”

Ryuzaki grunts slightly, “Well, given my suspicion of Light, my trust in this group isn’t exactly at 100%… but I agree they are the closest people I’ve been open with. Aizawa’s immediate belief in our rushed excuse holds a lot of weight, and I don’t take that for granted.”

You watch him silence as he continues. “But, it’s for the best if they think shallowly about what we do for now. If Light actually is Kira, it would be best to have him think we’re secretly in love rather than plotting his arrest. And unfortunately that means the rest of the task force as well– many already are hostile to the idea of Light being guilty.”

A sigh escapes as you hum in agreement, but you bring your chin into your chest once again; your gaze drops to the floor. Ryuzaki holds your glance as he leans further on the bed, the mattress shifting downwards at the weight.

“You’re still questioning my suspicions on Light, aren’t you?”

Seeing right through as always, he leans further into the space while you shrug in defeat. “No, that’s not it…It’s more like I feel guilty for believing you.”

He watches in silence while you work it out further. “It would be like if someone told me they thought you were Kira. It feels so weird to entertain the idea; let alone work towards achieving it. Even if I do believe it.”

L tilts his head to the side and leans even closer to your position, dark locks of hair kissing his cheekbones at the movement. “Ah really? I would hope you’d be a little more upset if you heard the news that your ‘boyfriend’ was suspected of being a serial killer.”

A laugh escapes your lips and a grin spreads across your lips despite the attempt at remaining somber and melancholic. You roll your eyes and lightly shove him to the slide. “Oh my God, was that a joke?”

Ryuzaki smiles slightly, his eyes on your lips and cheeks a pale pink. “Just because I have superior critical thinking skills than most doesn’t mean I’m devoid of humor.”

You uncross your arms and sit a little lighter, still grinning from the playful tone of the conversation. L admires your now less-stressed expression and takes a casual breath, his tone a bit more serious.

“I’m sure it’s hard to be suspicious of your ‘friend’... But please trust in my and your own reasoning skills a bit longer.”

“Mm,” you exhale slowly, and look up at the man, your gaze now more confident than earlier. “Of course… as long as it takes.”

For the second time in the conversation, Ryuzaki’s gaze falls down to your lips and his attention lingers there. Subconsciously wetting your lips and analyzing the expression of his face, you’re brought back to the day watching CCTV of Aoyama. The way he’s looking at you, taking in each meticulous expression of your face, leaves his pupils dilated, further darkening his eyes.

You’re left wondering if this is the moment you discuss what the hell is going on between you both. It’s obvious, isn’t it? At least to detectives. You know that your relationship with Ryuzaki is more casual than with everyone else… except maybe Light, but the frequency that this man is on your mind is clearly more than platonic. At least to you.

Looking into his eyes, you realize there’s no use in wondering what the hell is happening in that mind of his; his brain is always working out a million different scenarios faster than anybody else. 

“Listen, y/n.. I think–”

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Ryuzaki and you both jump, but don’t immediately back away from each other; L takes an extra moment to take in the proximity, his eyes scanning your face one last time before sitting back.

“Yes?”

“Please tell me you two aren’t….doing anything.”

You roll your eyes at the sound of Aizawa’s voice now interrupting for the second time, and hop off the bed to open the bedroom door. He shuffles inside with a hand covering his eyes while you scoff and move to lean against the bed next to L.

“Are you two dressed?”

“Yes.” You drone, arms crossed.

“Both of you?”

Ryuzaki sighs gruffly, “Yes, now what do you need?”

Aizawa drops his hands and takes a document from under his arm; he holds it up and begins paraphrasing. “Basically, we got a response from Sakura TV about airing a response. We need to send in a tape tonight or their schedule will be too tight to fit in our message.”

You huff in frustration. “Seriously? It’s a message from the police regarding the biggest case of the century and they aren’t able to air it on call?”

Aizawa puts his hands up and tucks the paper back under his arm. “Don’t shoot the messenger, ok?” He turns to exit. “Just finish up... whatever you two were doing and I’ll have the group ready to resume in two.”

The door clicks behind him and being alone in the room with L suddenly feels extremely vulnerable. It’s easy when it’s unspoken and mysterious; Aizawa’s point of calling out the behavior makes it suddenly feel real.

“So…” You drop your arms and play with the hem of your button up work shirt, the space quiet except for the clock ticking away in the background. 

Ryuzaki stands upright and lets out a long sigh before pushing back his hair in thought; the strands immediately fall back down to their tousled position as soon as his fingers leave his scalp. He looks over at you and opens his mouth once to speak before shutting it again.

“Let’s head back to the meeting…? I’m sure everyone is ready to resume.” You stand upright and head for the door.

Ryuzaki stands motionless as he watches you open and prop open the door, a phrase on the tip of his tongue; he swallows it and makes his way to you. “Yes, let’s head back now.”

The rest of the meeting consists of drafting an official police response for the Second Kira, sorting out the arrest protocol for the DNA results, and dividing up CCTV angles for review. Hours pass by until it’s nearing midnight and yawns begin escaping all of you.

“Alright, let me review this one last time before we call it here.” Mr. Yagami stands and looks down at the paper in his hands. “We are urging the Second Kira to come forward with information on Kira. We are willing to negotiate your sentences if you choose to side with justice and the innocent people of this world. Do not approach Kira out of curiosity; it will get you killed.”

Mr. Yagami drops the paper on the table and the group nods wearily in exhaustion; no one makes any move to complain about the script. Matsuda yawns again, louder than before, and the group collectively looks over at Ryuzaki for permission to end the meeting.

He takes a moment to re-listen to the script in his mind before exhaling and rising to his feet. “Alright, good job everyone. We can call the meeting for tonight– Watari, please send this to Sakura TV, along with a few other major stations, to air during their evening broadcasts.”

Hushed sighs of gratitude escape the group and everyone moves to hastily pack up and head home. Ryuzaki watches the tired movement of his colleagues and turns to nod at Watari. “We’ll also be starting a bit later tomorrow. There’s a few matters I have to attend to by myself in the afternoon… so please rest properly.”

Matsuda’s eyes widen in a giddy surprise at sleeping in while Mogi looks at L a bit curiously; no one wants to question the extra time off though. With a tired yawn and gentle wave, you bid Ryuzaki goodnight and follow the group into the lobby; Watari types something quickly on his lap top before escorting you to the familiar black Mercedes, ready to bring you home.

~~~~~~~

It’s roughly 2:15 in the afternoon when your lecture finally lets out for the day, the professor running over time to further explain the final paper that was rapidly approaching. A paper you have yet to even start given your other priorities at the moment. 

You stand outside the student facilities building, the crowd too thick to bother waiting in line for the cafeteria. Hmmm maybe a cafe for late lunch?

Flipping through your contacts on your actual phone, you re-read the message sent by Light earlier in the day.

‘I’ve got an exam today that lets out at 2:30 if you still want to get coffee’

You really could wait for him, but the rumble in your stomach leaves you tempted to simply send him the address of casual restaurant once you find one. Settling to do exactly that, you push off the vending machine you were leaning against and make your way down the campus quad. 

Groups of students shuffle together as they walk, and you pull your jacket closer to your body when a breeze picks up. Music playing in your headphones and mind focused on finding food, you barely register the man sitting awkwardly on a university bench facing the footpath.

Nearly tripping over yourself in a double take, the man dressed in an oversized off-white sweatshirt to stay warm, light wash baggy jeans, with a baseball hat and sunglasses is clearly Ryuzaki. Catching yourself before you can fall onto the bricks, he turns his head in your direction and parts his mouth in a happy-surprised expression. Instantly, he stands up and makes his way to you, slipping his hand around your waist when he approaches; his fingers still tremble the moment he makes contact.

Your mind begins to short circuit before you raise an eyebrow and stare at him incredulously. “What the hell? What are you doing here??”

His grip on your waist tightens a slight bit as he guides you down the footpath past groups of students. “What? I can’t see my girlfriend in between classes?”

His voice is whispered and despite the attempt at acting casual, he’s as stiff as a board next to you as his body is pressed against your own. You blink a few times in silence as your brain is focused on only two things:

We aren’t really dating

Is this not supposed to be lowkey to only appease the task force?

Peeking at his typical unreadable expression behind his glasses, you sigh in defeat and pivot to take his hand in yours in an attempt to lessen the anxiety in his stance. His hands are smooth but extremely cold; his body relaxes a bit at the distance, but his cheeks are pink at the action.

“Of course not. I’m just surprised to see you here is all.”

Ryuzaki swallows thickly causing his Adam’s apple bobs at the motion; you stare at the erotic sight and have to peel your eyes off his throat to avoid looking too obvious. With his hand still securely holding your own, he tugs you gently down a stray path and towards a more secluded part of campus. You follow contently at his side as he leads you to an empty area near a tree on the quad; his hand doesn’t release yours when you both stop.

“Ok, I need to let you know something important. I’ve been having Mogi trail Light recently.”

You stand next to him and lean against the tree raising an eyebrow “Huh? Wasn’t that mine, then Matsuda’s job?”

Ryuzaki rolls his eyes from over his glasses and turns his attention to the emptier walking path; his eyes scanning each person walking by. “Just– listen, ok?”

With a shrug of your shoulders, L huddles a bit closer to you after peeling his stare off the students passing by. “This needed to be in person in case either one of them is here, ok? A woman stopped by Light's house last night.”

You open your eyes in surprise and tilt your head to the side slightly. “Takada? The one I mentioned a few weeks ago?”

Ryuzaki shakes his head and  stands upright to hover over you, blocking your vision of the campus; he’s effectively shielding you from anyone else seeing you as they walk.

“No, this one doesn’t match your description. Mogi described her as blonde with a dark gothic attire; does that match anyone you’ve seen on campus before?”

He blocks your line of sight when you lean to peer around him at the quad; you raise an eyebrow and lean back once again to shake your head. “No…? I’ve never seen anyone like that– at least around Light for that matter.”

His frame remains protectively towering over you and you're actively scanning his hidden features searching for some clarification as to what was happening. “Why are you telling me this, Ryuzaki?”

“Has he mentioned anything or anyone to you?”

“What– No. He’s always been pretty private.”

L stares at you for a moment in silence, and when he steps closer to further block your line of sight, you push off the tree and stand taller in defense. “What’s going on? You’re freaking me out.”

“I have a very bad feeling about this… all of this,” he sighs, pulling down his sunglasses slightly to show you eyes full of genuine concern.

You look between them in a gentle gaze and your voice softens to barely above a whisper. “Why are you here Ryuzaki?”

Large and dark doe eyes flick between yours in a vulnerable expression, his lips dropping to a frown. “Isn’t it obvious…?” He exhales slightly. “It’s dangerous to be on campus right now. If the woman Mogi saw is potentially the Second Kira.. that means she has a keen sense of sight or recognition we don’t.”

You blink slowly. “Ah.. so she might be able to snuff me out if I hang around Light.”

Ryuzaki nods once and for the first time in a while, genuine fear flows through your veins. Being spotted by someone with a mysterious ability to kill without even seeing her makes you recall every interaction you’ve had on campus; each one comes up blank for her description though. 

“I can’t mention this yet to the group; only you and Mogi are aware of this situation, so it’d be too risky to speak over the phone or text. Besides… Aizawa is already on our case everytime we’re together so I couldn’t pull you aside tonight for something like this.”

Wait. Then why is he–?

You shoot your head up at the man in front of you; with the hand still holding his, you give a gentle squeeze. “What about you? You of all people shouldn’t be here!”

Ryuzaki tilts his head slightly to the side. “Huh? I’m here telling you the same thing, to be extremely cautious. My life isn’t explicitly worth more than yours.”

It definitely is though… Right?

You shake your head to protest but he speaks again. “Listen y/n… you’re important to m–”

“Ryuzaki?”

Shit. 

A voice that can only belong to Light rings out behind L and you both immediately stiffen; with the same flexibility as a marble statue, L slowly spins around. You take in the desolate area of the opening you’re standing at and mentally slam your head into a wall. You’re right in front of the fucking criminology building.

“I forgot that you technically go here too! It’s been a while since you’ve attended any classes though.”

Light’s voice gets louder as he approaches to stand next to Ryuzaki; his gaze widens when he notices you standing sheltered in front of him. “Oh, y/n you’re here too! I didn’t even see you earlier.”

You give an awkward wave with your free hand while L shrugs as casually as he can given the fact you both were fearing for your lives 30 seconds ago. “I thought it would be nice to get some air and enjoy the campus for our extended rest this afternoon.”

Light hangs onto to every word, his mind obviously searching for hidden meanings before his gaze lands on where you and Ryuzaki are still connected. The stare at your hands makes you want to pull yours back in awkward embarassment, but L tightens his grips in yours. 

“Oh my goodness– I can’t believe Matsuda was right!” He breaks into a laugh.

Great. If Matsuda caught on after last night when Aizawa shooed him out of the room, you can’t even imagine the suspicions of the rest of the task force. The image of Mr. Yagami’s concerned face makes you shudder into yourself. 

With your face bright red and words strained in your throat, L steps forward and pivots to further the distance between you and Light. “Yes, I suppose it was only a matter of time until you all caught on to our relationship. The truth is, I couldn’t wait to see her again and had to come to campus to visit.”

Light raises an eyebrow and studies your surprised expression from over Ryuzaki’s shoulder, a coy grin spreading on his lips. “Ah, is that so? To be honest I’m really surprised. I didn’t think you were her type.”

“Yes, well life is always surprising isn’t it? She was the one that actually asked me out initially.”

Huh? You stare between the two in silence; the conversation has effectively isolated you out. Again. 

Light crosses his arms and sighs airly. “That’s very interesting; she’s always had a way of making her feelings known though.”

It’s a not-so-subtle dig at the freshness of you and Ryuzakis’ relationship; the grip on your hand tightens again. Looking between the two men you sigh in exhaustion; it’s a bonafide dick measuring contest.

“But anyways Ryuzaki, I was going to ask her to grab coffee.”

“That’s not needed, we actually have plans for her lunch break.”

“Maybe dinner then. There’s a special at her favorite off-campus take-out place tonight.”

Your stomach rumbles at the mention of food and you silently remiss that your afternoon lunch time is being replaced with the bickering of the world’s pettiest men. 

Ryuzaki doesn’t miss the way Light is consistently highlighting the fact that he knows more about you, but it doesn’t change the way he still stands protectively in front of you. 

“Don’t you both get out of class at different times? I don’t want to further delay our evening meeting.”

“Ok, ok–” You speak up and walk beside Ryuzaki to break up the conversation before punches start getting thrown. “Light, I’ll see you in between the next class and at the meeting. You–” you pivot to L, “I’ll see you tonight.”

The way ‘tonight’ rolls off your tongue causes a slight stutter in the breathing of Ryuzaki who turns away with a defeated blush. Light opens his mouth to counter once again, but peels his head towards the criminology building when Takada yells his name from the main entrance. 

His eyebrow twitching at the way she calls him over, Light swallows thickly and bids a swift ‘goodbye’ before jogging over to the woman. You stand still connected to Ryuzaki as you watch him greet her with his usual plastered smile and suave body language; Light occasionally looks back over at the two of you with a suspicious gaze.

Relaxing slightly at the distance, Ryuzaki sighs slowly and reaches into his back pocket to pull up Watari’s contact on his phone. “Good, it worked.”

You whip your head up to face him. “Huh? What worked?”

“The gamble. This gamble.” He squeezes your hand slightly and turns to you. “If the Second Kira were to see you, it’s likely you would be in grave danger.”

You shift your weight to one leg and drop your tone to heavy sarcasm. “Yea, thanks for the reminder.”

Shaking his head slightly Ryuzaki lifts your connected hands upward to your gaze. “Yes, but now there’s some leverage against it. Us. If you were to now spontaneously die, it would only further point to someone who knows we’re together.”

The mention of your potential unpreventable death doesn’t bring you any relief. “Wait, but doesn’t like half the campus know we’re together now that we’re out here holding hands?”

Ryuzaki shakes his head. “Those people don’t count; they don’t know who I am, and none of the students here fit the description Mogi has provided so far.”

Ah.

You drop your gaze to your interconnected hands and blink as you work out the logistics. “I see. So if I were to randomly die now, after not doing anything suspicious like attending Aoyama, it would be from someone who knows my relationship to ‘L’.’

Ryuzaki grins and peers at you from above his sunglasses. “Sharp as usual, y/n; you’re correct. The only people who know that the detective ‘L’ is in a relationship, are the people within the task force. So if this mystery woman really is the Second Kira, and she’s never seen you before, the only reason she would kill you is because she sought you out from the orders of Kira. And that Kira would have to already know your role and relationship with the task force and me.”

AKA, Light would have to be Kira in order for that to come to fruition. 

Ryuzaki looks back over at Light and then gazes back down at your hands. “If she’s willing to kill an innocent person based on a single order from Light, there's a chance she’s extremely loyal to him. So… it’s also best to prevent her from being jealous.”

You nod once but notice the slight venom in Ryuzaki’s gaze at the man across the quad. The way his eyes burn a hole in the side of his head makes you wonder exactly whose jealousy you should be wary of. 

Sensing his stress, you run a thumb over his knuckles absentmindedly in a comforting gesture; Ryuzaki’s cheeks warm up, but his hand no longer trembles at the contact. “But what about you, aren’t you nervous? I can’t offer the same protection.”

L turns back over to you and takes in your genuine concern and rubs his own thumb over yours experimentally for a moment before responding. “Nervous? Heh, yea… I guess you could say that. But as long as the group has your keen deductive skills, we’ll catch Kira and confirm the safety of both of us.”

Your hands warms at the friction of his thumb and the moment is strangely comforting despite the topic being the both of your potential premature deaths. “So we’ll have to really commit to this, huh? It’ll take a lot of consistent convincing to make a group of detectives actually believe it.”

Ryuzaki looks down at your hands and plays with your fingers once again, testing the waters to see how each action feels against his own skin. “As long as you're ok with it. For me… there’s no one else I’d rather ‘fake-date’.”

A scoff escapes your lips and you chuckle slightly. “Do you even know other girls?”

“...No-” he resigns “So I guess I got pretty lucky that the only girl I do know is you.” 

Your heart falters slightly and you push him back with a laugh escaping your lips. “Ok, that was actually kinda smooth, Ryuzaki.”

His gaze lingers on your lips when you laugh, and it takes a fair amount of willpower to peel his sights away with a giddy glint in his eyes. “Really?”

“Yea–” a few more chuckles escape you. 

Standing close together and taking turns chuckling slightly, you notice the silence; an easy and comfortable feeling is shared between you both. It’s the perfect moment to wonder what this is, in reality– not just your fake dating scenario. Before you can open your lips, a familiar black Sedan pulls up to the ‘passenger pick up area’ right in front of the small campus gate and a rumble escapes your stomach at the same time.

You and Ryuzaki stand there for a moment, hands still connected despite it being obviously time to part ways, though neither of you really want to. 

With a defeated smile you take your hand out of his and immediately notice the empty feeling filling your senses. “Well I guess I should grab a quick convenience store lunch… I only have 15 minutes left before my next class.”

Ryuzaki opens and closes his fist a few times at his side, as if he were trying to recreate the grasp he once had on you. “Ah, right. Sorry about this hold up…. My lovely girlfriend?” he ends unsurely. 

“Ok, we’re gonna work on that.”

“Right, that’s a good idea.”

You both stand together despite no longer holding hands; you can see Watari gazing in your direction through the car windshield and Ryuzaki gruffly sighs at seeing Light watching you both.

He shifts awkwardly in his shoes. “So.. how do we end this convincingly? Do we uh, hug?”

Heart rate shooting up, you shiver and cough slightly. Ok, this is apparently about to happen. It was bound to at some point considering the situation, right?

You bring your hands up slightly and step forward, heart rate nearly cracking a rib from the intensity. “Ok, uh… just– just relax. Ok? Put your hands…here.”

Ryuzaki blinks idly, for once in his life having no clue what was happening, as you guide his hands to your waist. Gently bringing your arms around his shoulders and lazily wrapping them around his neck, you tug his head in closer. Sweet candy is the scent of his breath while large nervous eyes pour into your own before shamelessly staring at your mouth. 

Nodding once to confirm his comfort, you return the gesture and tilt your head to the side and flutter your eyes shut while closing the gap. 

The kiss is slow and gentle; his lips are stiff and awkward as they meet your own. You peck his lips a few times before lingering the kiss and attempting to set a motion; his hands grip your hips in a vice at the shock. 

It’s awkward and borderline unreciprocated; pulling back slightly with a disappointed feeling at the lackluster effort on his part, Ryuzaki opens his eyes and looks at you worriedly.

His gaze moves between your eyes and pulls you in closer despite your lips no longer touching as if he’s upset it’s already over. 

“Wait. We need to…make it believable right?” He asks with a yearning expression in his eyes.

Blinking slightly in surprise but nodding nonetheless, Ryuzak hastily leans back down to eagerly connect your lips to his once again. The motion pushes your head back slightly as the intensity is surprising given his initial reaction to the first kiss.

Lips molding against yours with fervor, his hands pull you into his pelvis while you fall into a comfortable rhythm. It’s almost like you’re kissing a completely different person; each time you pull back for a breath Ryuzaki leans in to chase your lips and cut off the oxygen once again. 

Was the first kiss just a trial? It’s as if he took the first one as a sample to learn. 

And fuck was he a fast learner because the way his thumbs rub small circles on your pelvic bones leave your mind fuzzy; you can barely remember if any of your exes kissed you like this. Hands still wrapped around his neck, you sink your fingertips into the mess of hair escaping under his baseball hat and run your nails across his lower scalp.

The motion leaves him pressing forward to push your back into the tree while his head stays dipped down to your height in an effort to keep you connected as long as possible. Sugar coated lips leave you wanting more; tugging him closer and arching your back at the contact, you tilt your hips into his and your cunt drips pathetically into the fabric of your panties. 

It’s more than a kiss at this point; and fuck is it anything but casual. A complete erotic makeout session happening on campus with students now definitely pausing to scoff at the excessive PDA. The kisses are relatively tame, your tongue moves to swipe at his bottom lip, but he clearly is unaware of what that motion is indicating.

Instead, he continues the hypnotic rhythm shared between you as if breaking the kiss would kill him. When he presses forward once again, you can feel the stiffness of his cellphone in his front pocket bruise against your hips; in a shock at the feeling, you stutter slightly and he backs up hastily.  

Awkwardly coughing and stumbling backwards, Ryuzaki’s cheeks are bright red and his pupils are blown wide with predatory desire as he watches the way you pant to catch your breath. Hair slightly messed up from the way your head was grinding against the tree, you run your hands through a few times while L anxiously moves to tug the fabric of his sweatshirt lower. 

Light stands watching from across the way, a fuming expression on his face as Takada continues talking and Watari moves to raise cellphone to his ear. On cue, a ringer emits from Ryuzaki’s pocket and he sheepishly tries to revert back into character.

“Right. I should take this.. Probably a work call. Ha ha–”

You blow air through your nose in amusement and nod once, watching the way he raises his hand to wave goodbye and promptly speed walks to the car. It’s when you’re pushing off the tree to head towards the convenience store on the edge of campus that you notice Ryuzaki reach into his back pocket to retrieve his cell phone.

Fuck…there’s no way this is casual. 

ty for ur patience with this chapter! I'm doing a spontaneous trip with some friends this week so I've been busier than expected

Anyways~ it's finally heating up officially between you and L hehe and things are only gonna get steamier. PLS let me know if you want me to increase the rate of the nsfw for this-> im impatient and want yall to fuck already, but the slowburn does edge soooo good (so pls lmk!!)

reblogs/likes/comments all appreciated

FR I LUV U ALL !!

-oatmeal <3

tags: @lechatparle24 @irissfoot @iheteeaifs @automaticpatroltragedy @greenapplesaucepi @thesimpnovao

[ask-the-golden-goo]

(@ask-dawnanddusk) Teeny-tiny hooves clacked on the ground as Loraifon approached the goomy, enthusiastic and unapologetically loud. “Hello mister!!! Your glasses are really shiny and nice! I saw them when you were talking with my mom. Oh, wait, I have a question! I wanna know, how do you make yourself all sparkly? Like, extra-extra sparkly, not like me. I’m starry, not sparkly! But you're so sparkly and it kinda goes ‘poof!’ around you like a cloud. It’s very pretty!”

*When Slime Boi first saw the little Arceus trot along to him, his breath caught in his throat. The excitement. The child-like wonder. It was rather surprising really. It was so familiar. He tried to keep his cool.*

Slime Boi: Oh hey. I, erm, am a shiny Pokémon. Or, I suppose that's what others would consider me as. The sparkles are just a natural part of being shiny. That's the vibe. Gotta have that twinkly feeling, you know? Happens when I appear. It's, erm...well...

*He just couldn't keep that chill vibe that he had. It wasn't possible. As his smile turned to that of a sadder variety, he couldn't help but look away.*

Slime Boi: Someone who used to be so full of joy when he was young. You really do act similar to who he was. Sorry. Could I just shoot a little advice your way?

*It was true. This young Arceus was exactly like how his brother was like as a child. So young and excitable. Wanting to find out everything. Wanting to know all about him. It was overwhelming. He thought he'd be over his brother. It had been billions of years at this point since he was a child. But there was always that tiny piece of him that wanted things to go back to how they were before he allowed Aladar to have his own world. Before disaster struck that drove a rift between the both of them. No, he wasn't his brother anymore. He made that choice when the younger Arceus destroyed everything he loved. His eyes made contact with the green Arceus in front of him.*

Slime Boi: Please, don't ever lose your sense of child-like wonder and excitement. Please. And if you need help with anything, please just ask someone. Don't just feel that you can do everything yourself, ok kid? You've got some wonderful caretakers. Just let them help you if you need it...

*Damn, what was he doing? Giving unsolicited advice to a child? Really bums out the mood. Ruins the vibes. Slime Boi shook his head. He had to get this conversation back on track.*

Slime Boi: Sorry bud. Sometimes someone reminds you of someone and it just makes you feel different vibes. You said about your stars. They're absolutely radical. Like, were you born with them? Hmm, actually a lot of Arceus just pop into existence. Did you come from an egg?

[gothicxreylover]

I saw that you had made a Hashiras x tiny reader and I was wondering if you could do something similar but with Hantengu. Like maybe the reader gets overwhelmed by the Hashira and decides to run away only to later bump into tiny Hantengu. Feeling a sort of kinship with the reader, he leads the reader back to his clones who are all stunned or surprised to see a tiny. How would each of the clones react to the reader? How does each clone show their affection for the reader? Please and thank you

Yandere Hantengu Clones x Tiny Reader – Escape, Discovery, and Obsession

Hello! Thank you for your request! And I hope you enjoy

You had been living with the Hashira for some time, their overwhelming presence making your life feel suffocating. Their constant attention, doting, and protective behavior had left you drained. Though their intentions seemed kind, their sheer size and possessiveness made you feel small—both physically and emotionally. Desperate for freedom, you seized the opportunity to escape one night when their watchful eyes were elsewhere.

As you ran through the dense forest, exhausted and disoriented, you tripped over a root, falling face-first onto the soft earth. Before you could gather your bearings, a pitiful sob caught your attention. You turned your head to see a tiny, trembling figure staring at you—a tiny demon clutching his head, his wide eyes full of fear.

“W-who… who are you?” he stuttered, his voice quivering as he crawled closer.

Meeting Tiny Hantengu

His size shocked you—he was only a little taller than you, a rare sight in a world of towering demons and humans. Seeing someone just as small as you filled you with a strange sense of kinship.

“I… I ran away,” you whispered, your voice barely audible.

Hantengu’s expression softened as he sniffled, his fear momentarily giving way to curiosity. “R-run away? From big people?” he asked, his tone hesitant but understanding.

You nodded, and he seemed to relax slightly, his trembling subsiding. “I… I know how that feels. Big people are scary,” he mumbled, his gaze darting around nervously.

Though you were cautious, something about his timid demeanor made you feel safe. When he extended his hand, you hesitated before taking it. “Come with me,” he whispered. “My… my other selves will protect you.”

The Clones’ Reactions

Hantengu led you deep into the forest to a secluded clearing where his clones resided. The moment they saw him approaching, they gathered around, their eyes narrowing as they noticed you.

Sekido (Anger)

Sekido was the first to react, his scowl deepening as he glared down at you.

“What is this, Hantengu? You brought a human here? A tiny one, no less?” he growled, his voice sharp and commanding.

You flinched at his tone, but Hantengu clung to your arm, shaking his head. “They… they’re like me. Small… scared,” he whimpered.

Sekido’s gaze softened slightly as he observed your trembling form. Though his anger remained, there was a flicker of understanding in his crimson eyes. “Tch. Fine. But don’t think this means you can do whatever you want. You’re under our protection now, so don’t make me regret it,” he said, his tone harsh but protective.

Sekido showed his affection by being fiercely protective, standing guard over you and ensuring no harm came your way. Though his demeanor was rough, his actions spoke volumes—he would destroy anyone who threatened you.

Karaku (Pleasure)

Karaku’s reaction was the complete opposite. His eyes lit up with amusement as he crouched down to your level, a wide grin spreading across his face.

“Well, well, what do we have here? A little human? How cute,” he said, his voice dripping with playful mischief.

He reached out to poke your side gently, chuckling when you squeaked in surprise. “Don’t be scared, little one. I’m not going to hurt you. You’re way too interesting for that,” he teased.

Karaku showed his affection through playfulness, often teasing you or picking you up to swing you around gently. He enjoyed making you laugh, though his antics sometimes pushed your limits.

Urogi (Joy)

Urogi’s reaction was filled with excitement. He flapped his wings as he landed beside you, his sharp grin stretching wide.

“A tiny human? This is amazing!” he exclaimed, his golden eyes gleaming with curiosity.

He leaned in close, his claws resting on the ground beside you. “You’re so small! How do you even survive like this?” he asked, his tone more fascinated than mocking.

Urogi’s affection was shown through his high-energy antics. He loved taking you on “rides,” flying you high above the trees to show you the world from his perspective. Though his excitement could be overwhelming, he always made sure you were safe in his grasp.

Aizetsu (Sorrow)

Aizetsu approached cautiously, his melancholic expression softening as he gazed at you.

“You must have been so scared,” he said softly, his voice tinged with sadness. “Running away… it must have been awful.”

You nodded hesitantly, and his sorrowful eyes filled with determination. “Don’t worry. You don’t have to be scared anymore. We’ll take care of you,” he said, his tone gentle and reassuring.

Aizetsu showed his affection by being the most emotionally attentive. He listened to your fears and comforted you when you felt overwhelmed, his soothing presence a stark contrast to the others’ intensity.

Zohakuten (Hatred)

Zohakuten stood off to the side, his arms crossed as he observed you with a critical gaze.

“A human? Why would we waste our time on someone so weak?” he muttered, though there was no malice in his tone.

When Hantengu whimpered, Zohakuten sighed and stepped closer, his stern expression softening ever so slightly. “If you’re staying here, you’ll follow my rules. No wandering off. No causing trouble,” he said firmly.

Zohakuten showed his affection through strict discipline. He ensured you were safe by setting boundaries and keeping the other clones in line. Despite his harsh exterior, his actions showed a deep care for your well-being.

Life with the Clones

Each of the clones displayed their affection in unique ways, their collective attention becoming overwhelming yet strangely comforting. Hantengu remained by your side constantly, his timid nature making him cling to you for reassurance. Though their obsessive care left you little room for freedom, you couldn’t deny the strange sense of safety you felt in their presence.

[r0yalgrimmartz]

Since I found these on Evan Dorkin's twitter a bit ago...

...Me is wondering to make them "partners" of Taylor and Val.

Taylor - Dating Randall but imma be real, Taylor doesn't give a fuck about Randall, primarily because Randall to her gets in the way and annoys her easily where she likes to be controlling and have that power of control (similar to Bill), but she just dates Randall because...well she's a hot rich popular girl so for status 🤷‍♀️ I mean this mean bitch dreams about ruining Bill's life more than ever dream of Randall (is she unknowingly into a smelly BO ridden incel?? Idk)

Val would date Mitch. But like Taylor kinda, does it because well status. I mean she did have a thing for Mitch but realised she wasn't her true self with him. Feels like she HAS to stay.

I mean yeah Randall and Mitch are like meant to be bullies to the eltingville club, but i gotta have a tiny bit of sympathy for the fact that Taylor would drop Randall whenever when he's no use or embarrasses her or Val simply having...no romantic interest.

[cheerleaderman]

Yuya’s Answers for the No Yan Sim AU by @quartztwst

1. Does your OC have parents or family in the AU? If not, what is their current living situation?

I live with my Mama , 2 older cousins Yolonda and Desmond and lastly my cat Grim Reaper but we call him Grim!

DO NOT harm Yuya’s cat they will come after you and they will find out who did it ( John Wick )

2. What are their thoughts on Quartz?

Quartz feels like a blushing anime character. Does she have something for Azul and Idia???

Why does she keep taking pictures of Idia? I need to stay close to him since he gets weirded out

3. What is their thoughts and relationship with Azul? How did they meet Azul?

Azul ? He’s okay we met when I picked up Idia from club. I think He’s been trying to be my friend should I go for it?

4. What are their relationships with other characters/OCs?

Rizy ( @rizdoodls ) Rizy’s my best friend! Even though she’s popular she always makes time for me! I love her lots! ( Rizy wants Yuya dead for being too close to Idia)

Yuuki ( @theolivetree123 ): Yuuki! I really don’t mean scare them. I do cherish them as a friend though not that talkative.

Idia Shroud : Idia is one of my best friends! We met at a cat cafe a little after I transferred here last year. He was awkward at first but he started becoming more talkative after finding out I like similar things. That toothy grin of his when he wins! Like it’s his personal mission to provoke me!. ( Idia does see Yuya as a close friend and often info dumps on her)

Jovie ( @jovieinramshackle ): Jovie is strange but she doesn’t seem scary to me. One time Azul asked me to hang out and she asked me about it. Since I don’t really know him I asked if she could come with me or be in the area. The atmosphere got lighter after that.

Yuu Shi ( @boopshoops ) : Stay away from my Mom. We were talking about crushes and when I asked she said my Mom! Why do so many people have a crush on my Mama! ( know that Yuu Shi is a fellow person who has items if Yuu Shi turns a blind eye to Yuya, Yuya will take a blind eye to Yuu Shi

Shuu ( @oya-oya-okay ): ShuShu!!!! She’s so sweet! though I don’t pay that much attention when she talks about Azul. Oh! I found this orange octopus charm I was going to give her!

Jamil Viper : Jamil is my cousin! Don’t be fooled about our banter we do care for each other as family( Yuya hangs out with him twice a week) they are also found cooking re-enacting Hell’s Kitchen with each other

Yuubeni ( @bunniehunn ): I don’t really interact with her but she seems nice if not clueless

Evelyn ( @h0neybane) : I usually see her in the library and share pictures of cats with her! We don’t really interact outside of that..I wonder if she likes me ( Yuya has given Evelyn cat themed items)

5. What grade/year is your OC?

Yuya is 18 in their 3rd year

6. What is your OCs goal for the school year or in life?

Yuya wants to study culinary and Figure out her feelings for Idia

7. Your OC is being framed for murder of another student by Quartz, how does your OC react to that? Does your OC know it's Quartz?

Yuya will defend and will most likely prove their innocence. Depends on how high Yuya is suspicious of Quartz or Friend level if they find out it’s Quartz they’re going to bring her down fueled by anger.

8. Your OC notices Quartz carrying a weapon in her skirt pocket. That's strange since the female school uniforms don't have skirt pockets. Does your OC report this?

Yuya also has stuff in their pockets including skirt pockets so wouldn’t report but it will raise Yuya’s alarm bells

9. Where is your OC usually with or at during school? Classes? With Azul? Skipping class? Where do they eat lunch?

Yuya’s all over the place honestly

Library, classroom or less crowded places with Idia

Walking around with Jamil

spending time with friends

Yuya eats lunch with whoever they feel like and it changes constantly

10. How are your OC's grades?

Average ( Yuya is smart but putting in effort depends on their mood but isn’t failing)

[dearweirdme]

I know we obviously can’t know but I love headcanons :) I wonder what you think JK loves and admires about Taehyung and why he’s (clearly) very special to him? Based on what we can see and assume of course ❤️

Hi anon!

I think what Jk very very much loves about Tae ia his playful side. When I think of some moments I felt Jk was endeared, it so often has something to do with Tae being playful. Tae trying to box gave us Jk smiling softly. Tae being behind him in the cart during AYS made him happy. The way Jk still joins Tae in little skits easily and looks like this:

He also thinks Tae is very funny. He will laugh so hard because of Tae. Which takes me to Jk’s appreciation of Tae’s brain. Tae comes up with so many creative things. Both in terms of humor and general creativity. You can just see Jk just admiring Tae while he speaks often.

I also think Tae gives him a lot of comfort. No matter what anyone says, Tae and Jk are on a whole other level of comfortable together. They will sit and walk closer, and the duration of them sitting (or relaxing onto each other more like) together is longer. Tae knows how to calm Jk and (though I cannot proof it) I think Jk loves that.

I think the things we love about someone aren’t always the same things we admire them for. I think for instance that Jk also admires Tae as an artist, but that is not why he loves him. I think overall it’s very much Tae’s energy that Jk loves. Calm, comforting, but also able to excite. Sharp as a razor and rebellious, but also the kindest and warm person.

I think Jk feels comfortable with Tae, because they understand each other well. I think they have similar thoughts on freedom and how to live your live. I think they enjoy a lot of similar things (karaoke, food, gaming, just relaxing, even some more active outings like concerts, movies, skydiving 😁). They aren’t exactly similar, I think perhaps they both have different levels of wanting to be social for instance, but their personalities seem to match very well.

And ofcourse he thinks Tae is super hot as well. I mean, that is obvious from both the way he looks and talks about him. Basically, Jk found someone he thinks is smart, creative, comforting, funny, entertaining, and handsome 😊.

[pearlescentparade]

Hi I’m wondering if you can do 007n7 x reader x 1x1x1x1 Fluff, Maybe even headcannons of all of them taking care of coolkid.. 😼😼

"ah yes. me. my partner. and the personified derivation of shedletsky's hatred" -007n7

🍔007n7 x reader x 1x1x1x1❎ fluff headcannons 💝💞 ft. 🍭 c00lkidd

007n7 and 1x1x1x1 do not get along. the former may try to be friendly and act the bigger person, if only for your sake, but the latter likes to be difficult and exasperating for 007n7 to deal with. the only thing that they can mutually agree on is you

007n7 is gentle and sweet with you, he's essentially your husband and he likes to think of you as c00lkidd's other parent since he raised him alone. he's very openly affectionate! with them, you have a dynamic similar to a nuclear family

1x1x1x1 is teasing and sardonic, but they listen (though begrudgingly) to you when you scold them for it. while his tone is harsh, his actions and attitude to you in comparison to others reveal he likes you more than he lets on. hatred, like love, is a feeling of passion after all. though 1x1x1x1 won't ever say they feel 'love', you can be certain they don't completely despise you, and that's saying something.

007n7 calls you honey, my love, dear, and a bunch of other sappy nicknames typical of a couple. it's not corny, it's cute!

1x1x1x1 either calls you by your name, little one, or "theirs" if 007n7 isn't around. sometimes he'll refer to you by a god-awful terrible pet name to be an ass

you all frequent the park and bring c00lkidd along. he terrorizes the other children and out of you three, you're the only one who tells him to stop because 007n7 is an absolute enabler parent who makes excuses for him and 1x1x1x1 is a d1 instigator. this is another one of the few things they agree on

"he just wants to have fun with the other kids, honey! sure he's a liiittlle too excited, but there's nothing wrong with that!" "let them run for their lives." "HE'S MAKING THE OTHER CHILDREN CRY."

because of your partners, c00lkidd is very used to having his violent ways. but you know he's a good kid with good intentions, so you need to play the role of the responsible parent and tell him he's doing something wrong. and that fellow children do not, in fact, like to be hit. or choked. or pushed during tag. you're very likely the only reason that he acts semi-normal

007n7 always cooks, with occasional help from you and c00lkidd! 1x1x1x1 is banned from the kitchen ever since he tried to cut vegetables with the daemonshank. don't blame him, shedletsky never taught him how to cook. blame john!

c00lkidd likes to boast to his classmates that he has 3 parents and they could all totally beat up everyone else's parents

he's gotten into a few disputes with the other kids because of this, and once you all had been called to his school to discuss his behavior. though, the moment the faculty saw 1x1x1x1, they immediately dropped it and assured that c00lkidd behaves well. you weren't convinced, and lectured him anyway when you got home

c00lkidd's favorite game to play with his parents is hide and seek. he counts to 10, immediately finds 1x1x1x1 who isn't even attempting to hide, then they tell c00lkidd where you and 007n7 are hiding. he always wins!

1x1x1x1 is definitely c00lkidd's 'fun' parent, they share the most interests and behaviors. thus, he's usually in charge of babysitting him

007n7 loves quality time and physical touch because he think it's the best way to bond. 1x1x1x1 likes gift giving because the gifts speak for his affection when he can't. though his gifts are usually more cryptic rather than sweet and cute trinkets... hope you like twitching and terrified mice

1x1x1x1 is your scary dog privilege. you like to go on late night walks with him because he acts like a repellent for creeps.. and people in general

they're a surprisingly good listener, and especially like it when you have something to complain about. he revels in your hatred and likes to join in the hating

their life's mission revolves entirely around the destruction of their creator. even so, you always assure them that they are more than his shadow. he thinks it's naïve and cute that you think you can derail him from his purpose using puny words, they act like they're listening so that you continue comforting wasting your time

secretly, he does enjoy it when he can hog all of your undivided attention. as if it's only you two and nobody else. they're greedy like that

you have movie nights together, and you sit in the middle of the couch between the two. 007n7 likes action, romcoms, sci-fi, and comedy. 1x1x1x1 finds thriller/slasher and drama appealing. c00lkidd likes action and comedy, similar to his dad. it's always up to you to choose, because the other three alone wouldn't be able to come to an agreement

sometimes 1x1x1x1 sends c00lkidd to beg you for something like getting takeout for dinner or a puppy because 1. they probably want it but you're more willing to listen to c00lkidd and 2. they like to be a headache

whenever you kiss 007n7, c00lkidd loudly screams "EWWW!" and covers his eyes. 1x1x1x1 does the same, then cackles at your unamusement

whenever you kiss 1x1x1x1, 007n7 jumps to cover c00lkidd's eyes because 1x1x1x1 turns an innocent peck into a full-blown makeout sesh

a/n: i' never realized how starved 007n7 fans are until i posted the drunk 007n7 fic to ao3 and a commentor got very excited ARE YALL GOOD?

[risingsoleil]

While rewatching LoK, I came across the episode where Tenzin says, "I've created a monster." It got me wondering—did AU Tenzin ever have a similar moment with his children? If he did, how would AU Lin react if he ever called one of their kids a "monster"?

I'm so sorry for taking so long on this one. It also had me stumped for some time, and I even looked for inspiration.

Now I think I finally have an answer.

Tiny Kang in primary school.

He's begun to ask his father questions about girls.

"Daddy, how do I impress a girl?"

"Hmm, you can get her flowers."

"What if I do a kick and a cool flip in the air, then land on one hand?!"

"That's...extreme. How about writing her a nice card and giving her some candy?"

"That's boring...can you get me some candy?"

Tenzin asks his son how it went when he returns from school.

"She liked it, Daddy!" is his only response, and Tenzin is satisfied.

Several days later and Kang approaches him again.

"Daddy, what else do girls like?"

"Well, it depends. Some like shells, some like jewelry, some like food--"

His son bounces up and down. "Oooh! Oooh! I'll give her some shells and jew-y!"

---------

A few more days pass and it's Tenzin's turn to pick up the kids from school.

The twins are both surrounded by an entire group of girls as they walk out. Tenzin raises a brow. What's going on there?

Areum is standing between several girls and her brother. But other girls push her away and grab on to Kang possessively.

Air flows around Tenzin as he walks up to the children, and his twins recognize his presence approaching.

"Daaad!"

Tenzin knelt beside Kang and Areum, scanning the group of girls. Frowns and pouts surrounded his children, and for a moment he wondered if Lin cloned more versions of herself without his knowledge.

"What's going on?"

"I'm his girlfriend!"

"No I AM!"

"I am! He gave me flowers!"

"He gave me shells!"

"He gave me his sweet buns!"

Tenzin almost grimaced at the possessiveness bouncing around him. "I've created a monster..." he muttered to himself.

Areum tapped him on the shoulder. "He took Mommy's necklace and gave it to her!"

Tenzin instantly froze at the very, very familiar necklace held in another girl's hand.

"Kang, that necklace is Mommy's," Tenzin noted to him, and loud enough for the girls to know. "She was looking for it this morning."

"Oh..."

Considering that his children are only 6, Tenzin finds it only appropriate that he help his son fix the situation. All it took to get his wife's necklace back was a ride on Oogi. in fact, all the girls enjoyed a short ride on Oogi with his children and it seemed like everything was forgiven.

Tenzin watched from around the corner as his son returned Lin's betrothal necklace and apologized for "Stealing" it and giving it away to one of his girlfriends.

Lin isn't mad, but she gives Kang a firm reminder that he can't do that again. Despite no yelling, Kang's lip starts to quiver and Lin pulls him into a hug. Tenzin smiles at the sight.

Tenzin joins them and pats Kang's back, wiping his face with a tissue. His son crawls to him for a hug and Tenzin almost cradles him in his arms.

"I didn't know you had 10 girlfriends, son."

"You didn't say I can only have one. So I gave all the pretty girls and ones I liked a gift."

Lin sent Tenzin a look, and he attempted to keep his face even with Kang.

"Well, I guess that's enough girlfriends for you, hm?"

Kang nodded. "Yeah...10 girlfriends is too much! I'll have 3."

Lin tried to hide her laugh, and she cleared her throat. "For now, you just pay attention in school and no fighting. And no girlfriends."

Their son suddenly gets more energy to go play with his siblings instead, and he races out of their room.

Tenzin could feel Lin's stare on the side of his face, and he kept as still as possible.

"So you turned our son into a player?"

"I didn't mean to! I thought he liked one girl, so I gave him a few ideas...I never realized I would have created a monster."

Lin poked her finger at Tenzin's forehead. "Dummy. I almost lost my betrothal necklace because of you two."

"I'm sorry."

A smirk crossed Lin's face, then it became a laugh. Then a small cackle.

Tenzin eyed her suspiciously. "What?"

"I can't say he's a monster. He's had more girlfriends than you've ever had in your entire life. Hahahaha!"

"Ugh! That doesn't even count! Plus, you're my one true love! Those girls were his classmates!"

[lucifer-kane]

I don’t know how to express how much I adore Camlann and it’s only been two episodes so far. There's a feeling I get when I'm listening that I don't know how to put into words, there's a familiarity to it, a thing of. Home? Rightness? I'm deeply enamored with it so far, that's the other thing, it's phenominal! The start of episode two with that monologue gave me chills and it was just fantastic. I think it's just a thing of wanting to live in this world in a sense? Plus the music and sound design, obviously so fantastic. But everything about the story and the world, it feels. Right. That's the only thing I can say that comes to mind currently is. Right.

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

Actual Ultimate Classpecting Guide

For real this time.

Buckle up, this is a really long one. For everything that's posited, I can provide textual evidence; that being said, I'm not going to be including the textual evidence within the essay itself, because it's already long enough as-is. As such, please feel free to ask for clarification or sources on any assertion, and I'll do my best to provide.

Before we begin, there's some things to discuss about how we're going to be approaching classpect in the following essay. In numbered list form for our short attention spans:

1. There is a concept Hussie talks about multiple times in his book commentary, "personality alchemy" - the idea that there are these "platonic ideals" of certain characters, which can be mixed and matched with others, in order to create new characters. The examples he gives are of how Eridan was a proto-Caliborn, how Kanaya has shades of Jade, how Nepeta was a proto-Calliope, and how Sollux and Eridan have shades of Dave in them. Classpecting is fundamentally a form of this personality alchemy:

2. Class describes the character's arc and emotional hurdles, while Aspect describes the character's base personality traits by which this arc is experienced.

3. For example, all three Seers struggle with hubris: Rose's need to be the smartest person in the room led to her being manipulated by Doc Scratch, Terezi's obsession with meting justice led to her engineering a situation where the only option was to kill Vriska, and Kankri's desire to be seen as a spiritual leader amongst his friends led to him furthering their divisions and harming them.

Then, when their pride is shattered, they cope by inflicting willful self-blindness: Rose turns to drinking herself stupid (the opposite of Light's sway over knowledge), Terezi gets down with the clown (the opposite of meting out Mind's justice, as it's a Gamzee W), Kankri goes celibate (Blood L) despite his clear romantic feelings for certain teammates.

4. As for Aspect: note how all three Life players share the personality traits of optimism, stubbornness, and obstinacy. All three Breath players share an immaturity and naïvety, and are quite frankly irresistible to people for some reason. All three Light players share a need for the spotlight and a tendency toward long-windedness and persnicketiness. So on and so forth.

What's interesting is, if you start analyzing characters that share Classes and Aspects, these specific types of similarity crop up over and over - all our Knights struggle with insecurities and facades, both our Bards have a crisis of faith. All three Breath players have an aspect of immaturity and childishness to their characters, and all three Light players are deeply concerned with appearing intelligent and feeling important.

5. As a result, this guide is NOT intended for classpecting real life people, because we are complicated, we contain multitudes, and we don't have arcs. This is primarily an analysis of what Class and Aspect mean in Homestuck based on textual evidence, because I genuinely believe that you can basically figure it out if you read carefully.

6. Duality, and the idea of "equal and opposite," are major themes within Homestuck - Prospit and Derse, Skaia (described as a crucible of birth and creativity) and the Furthest Ring (the literal afterlife). Which classes are involved in an Active/Passive split, and opposing Aspects, are the same way. This is the primary method I used to determine the Active/Passive pairings and opposing Aspects. After all, as Callie describes, both Thieves and Rogues are classes "who steal" - so, too, do I try to unify Classes by a common theme, even if they diverge wildly in how that theme is expressed (as Thieves and Rogues do). In the same way as the opposite of "up" is not "apple," but "down", because "up" and "down" are both fundamentally concerned with relative vertical position, so too can be defined concepts like Breath and Blood, Hope and Rage, Light and Void - as well as the reasoning behind Class pairings like Heir and Page, Maid and Knight, and Seer and Mage.

7. Descriptions for both Class and Aspect are left deliberately vague and up to interpretation within the comic itself, and this is by design: the actual manifestations of an Aspect can vary wildly given the Class, and even individual person, that it's tied to. Calliope even makes note of the fact that, under the right circumstances, someone can manifest effects that appear to be the opposite of their aspect. She's also careful to couch her language in "may" and "can" - because these concepts are intentionally somewhat nebulous and malleable. As such, while this guide certainly lays down what can be gleaned and inferred from the text, do note that Homestuck runs on a soft magic system, and as such, nothing stated is firm, 100%, must-always-be-this-way - just an overview of what we've seen.

8. There is often great overlap between Aspects, Classes, and Classpects - which Calliope herself notes. Heart and Blood are one of the most salient, as they both have a fixation on relationships, and Calliope mentions that under the right circumstances, a Classpect may even be able to manifest what appears to be the opposite of their Aspect. Again, Homestuck operates on a soft magic system, so this is a feature, not a bug.

ASPECT

There's a little less to say about Aspect, not because it's less complicated, but because "base personality traits" are much more nebulous compared to Class's sway over character arc. Still, Aspect represents the fundamental way a character is, and thus, color every interaction that character has. There's a reason Ultimate Selfhood is sought through Aspect, not Class - Aspect is the core of the character's being, what makes that person that person.

That all being said, Class has major sway over how an Aspect manifests, and certain classes can even invert the Aspect and even the character's role in the party. As such, these descriptions must be parsed carefully in relation to Class. Moreover, due to the soft magic system, there is at times overlap between unrelated Aspects, which can also be exacerbated by Class - Heart and Blood being the most obvious in this regard. Still, overall, you'll find the Aspects to be fairly distinct from one another.

Please also note that every Aspect can deal with its literal counterpart by default - Light players can wield lasers, Breath players can wield the breeze, et cetera. Because this kind of goes without saying, and because the non-literal stuff is more interesting to discuss, I'm not really going to go into too much detail about the literal qualities.

Finally, something interesting to note is that nearly every Aspect follows its own Hero's Journey cycle - full actualization for each one usually means reaching around to its opposite Aspect, and taking lessons from them - for example, Breath players need to learn maturity and responsibility, while Blood players need to learn relaxation and whimsy. Thus, an Aspect at its worst manifests in two ways - either a toxic overabundance of the Aspect's worst traits, or such a dearth of the aspect that it begins to resemble its opposite. Only by reaching into the opposite, however, can the player be tempered and reach full maturity - can they become more of who they are.

SPACE / TIME

Space and Time are both concerned with physical reality, goals, and the way one approaches them.

Space is associated with "the big picture" - with recycling, reproduction, and the interconnectivity of all things. The aspect also presides over the enjoyment of the journey over the destination - Space players serve as reminders that the present moment is as important as the end goal. Space is often a more passive Aspect, being the stage upon which the story is set. They're the hosts of the party, and the one who marks the ending.

Its players reflect these tendencies, often being feminine, with penchants for life-giving acts such as gardening. Their personalities tend towards frivolity and silliness, finding it difficult to stay on-topic or bring full gravitas to serious situations. Perhaps a better word would be "distractable;" when the aspect is so concerned with all things in connection with each other, it's easy to lose track of details, and it's easy to enjoy things simply as they come. Space players tend to be kind, patient, and forgiving, which is a strength as much as it is a flaw; it's easy for malicious actors to take advantage of this compassion, or for the Space player to find themselves in a poor situation by being overly permissive. They can easily be painted over by stronger personalities, and tend to struggle with romantic relationships, as they attract many with their kind and giving natures, and few are naturally so considerate of the Space player in turn.

"Passive" is a good word to use; at a toxic overabundance of their Aspect, Space players are trampled underfoot. They become enablers, servants to dark forces, or so lost in their own worlds that they neglect the one they live in. With their Aspect "inverted," a Space player becomes a demon of poor prioritization. Distracting not just themselves from their true purpose, but others, too, the Space player will wreak havoc by overemphasizing unimportant topics and ignoring important tasks. This superficially resembles Time, in that the Space player will become fanatically dedicated to their task, but note that the poor prioritization is still Space-esque at its core.

Still, within this nadir is a valuable lesson: the strength of self-assertion, and the determination to see a goal through. These will allow the Space player to weed their garden, separating good from bad, allowing it to flourish like never before.

Time, in contrast, is associated with "the little things" - with details, minutiae, and processes. Time presides over the struggle toward something greater, the endurance of hardship with an eye on the prize - the destination over the journey. Time players are the ones keeping track of the tasklist, marking off each item as it reaches completion; they are the tireless workers keeping the whole engine running.

Time players, thus, are ones whose lives are marked by struggle. They are highly goal-oriented; in contrast to how Space players can easily move from goal to goal, task to task, Time players feel bound to see things through to the end, finding satisfaction only when they've achieved their desired result - and only until they come across the next goal in their journey. A Time player isn't happy without a goal to work towards, a craft to polish, a prize to win - but this driven nature can easily be its own downfall, as it leaves little room for the player to admit to their own shortcomings, or ask for help from others. Moreover, their focus on minutiae can leave them blinded to the bigger picture, and it's easy for a time player to fall to despair, able to do nothing more but spin their wheels. They're prone to directionless anguish, frustration, and resentment towards the seeming futility of their actions, becoming destructive and defiant even when it doesn't serve them to do so.

At a toxic overabundance of their Aspect, Time players become explosively destructive. The ultimate "goal" of all things is death, with which Time is associated, and accordingly, Time players have a penchant for aligning themselves with futility and entropy, struggling so hard that their thrashing leaves a trail of annihilation in their wake. With their Aspect "inverted," Time players detach entirely - they can become so fed up with struggle that they simply opt to lay their weapons down and let the end take them. It's very easy for them to come to the conclusions that either everything matters, or nothing matters. This superficially resembles Space and its big picture thinking, but note that its framework of struggle, and whether or not a goal needs to be pursued, makes it a Time concern.

But the inherent meaninglessness of existence is, in itself, an important realization to make - that whether or not anything "matters" in the grand scheme, things can still be worth doing, worth caring about, and worth investing in. This realization allows the Time player to attack their goals with renewed vigor and greater clarity, which in turn means that the party becomes an efficient, well-oiled machine.

BREATH / BLOOD

Breath and Blood are both concerned with directionality, interpersonal relationships, and autonomy.

Breath is the Aspect governing freedom, liberty, and independence; it is a force that breaks shackles, clears out social norms, and refutes "the rules," whatever those rules may be. Breath players can't be tied down, whether by physical bonds, societal rules, or even the ineffable forces of the narrative itself. They are leaders of example, pioneers, and trailblazers, opening new paths for their teammates to follow.

Breath players are goofy and gullible, often with hearts full of childlike whimsy, naivety, and even immaturity. They are friendly and well-meaning, fond of simpler things, and easily swayed by others. They approach the world with a sincere and innocent good-naturedness, like a baby animal before it learns to be fearful of danger. Something about this sincerity seems to make Breath players irresistible to others, and they often find themselves the subject of romantic attraction. However, in this childishness is also the great pitfall of many Breath players - their natures are naturally conflict-averse, and egotistical the way a child can be, failing to see beyond themselves. They can be incredibly callous when not considering the consequences of their actions, or the viewpoints of others.

At their worst, Breath players are irresponsible and callous. They'll shirk the consequences of their actions, blaming anybody but themselves, or simply choose not to care who they hurt in order to get what they want. They may even choose to stop making choices for themselves, leading to the "inversion" of their Aspect - a voluntary loss of freedom and independence, derived from an Breath-like aversion to responsibility, which superficially resembles the bondage of Blood.

But if they are able to overcome these tendencies, a Breath player will learn what true responsibility looks like - responsibility for themselves, their choices, and the effect they have on others. Armed with this, a Breath player's ability to break bonds can be focused into a clear force for good, clearing away all obstacles and harmful societal standards, leading the charge into something new and beautiful.

Blood, in sharp contrast, is the aspect that governs bondage, contracts, and interdependence. It is a force that binds. Under Blood's sway are not only romantic entanglements, but familial, friendly, and societal ones as well. This aspect sees overlap with Heart, but the division is this: Heart concerns itself with feelings, and Blood concerns itself with compatibility. Blood players are diplomats, forces that remind us all that we are more similar than we are different, and that that similarity should bring us together when we are on the verge of pulling apart.

Blood players, reflective of their Aspect's association with bonds, tend to be neurotic and obsessive. They have a tendency to over-examine and overthink, constantly fretting over the infinite and infinitesimal variables that influence the shape of society and interpersonal relationships. However, this judgmental nature stems from a deep well of idealism and empathy; Blood players can't help but care about others and wish for the best for them. In a way, this makes them one of the most mature members of the team, being concerned with its overall well-being. Unfortunately, their prowess does not extend inwards, and their assessment of themselves is usually direly incorrect - all the worse because Blood players always feel responsible for those around them. Blood, being the Aspect concerned with interdependence, is the weakest one when all alone.

Thus, it's easy for the Blood player to wind up controlling - desperate to make sure everyone is moving according to their vision, they'll become iron-fisted dictators, with a "my way or the highway" approach to social interactions. It's easy for them to wind up pariahs of their own making, becoming so critical of others, or so adamant about enforcing their own will, that they inadvertantly sever their ties - something that superficially resembles Breath's independence, but is truly a result of Blood's neuroticism.

But with that space and separation can come great clarity. Blood players must learn to relax their grip, and allow people room to breathe - including themselves. Once able to grasp that sometimes bonds must be forged with a soft touch, Blood players' natural empathy shines through, allowing them to build something so much kinder and greater than the sum of its parts.

LIGHT / VOID

Light and Void are both concerned with knowledge, ontology, and "narrative relevance".

Light (as well as its counterpart) are perhaps best understood through the lens of "narrative" - this idea that, of all things that do and don't exist, and all events that do and don't happen, only the ones put to page are "relevant". Thus, Light is associated with knowledge and luck - that is to say, it's associated with the knowable, the objective, and the concrete, and the ability to determine "important" events. Light players have read the book they're participating in, and able to serve as luminary guides from one plot point to another, lighting the lampposts for others to follow.

Light players, naturally, are erudite and educated, possessing keen intellects and cunning minds. They are fond of knowledge itself, of markers of status and prestige - whether that's wealth, the adulation of the masses, or a massive library. They harbor a desire to be important, to be seen, to be acknowledged, and are happiest when they are looked up to. Conversely, they deal poorly with being looked down upon. Their confidence transmutes easily into hubris, and they struggle with having that pride challenged. As such, they tend to be volatile and unpredictable, quick to retaliate against those who threaten their egos, or obsequious to those whose acknowledgement they desire.

Their desire for the limelight can quickly spell disaster - they can become incredibly cruel, harsh, and egotistical in their pursuit of narrative significance. They forget, in their obsession, that they, too, are fallible and flawed, and the inevitable reminder can come very harshly. Light players struggle with moderation, and as such, when they feel shame, they'll often take drastic measures to cope with it - deliberately darkening their own influence or intellects, removing themselves from the "story" entirely - something which superficially resembles Void's penchant for the background, but which is firmly rooted in Light's obsessive need for drama.

But in experimenting with narrative insignificance, Light players can reach an epiphany - in their absence, others may shine, and that can be a wonderful thing. Light players, then, can learn to shine not just for their own sakes, but for the sake of others, allowing them to weave a story even more brilliant than any that can be weaved alone.

Void, in contrast, is the blank spaces between the words. That which is secret, subjective, unknowable - these are Void's domain. It's associated with taboos and hidden things, sexuality and pleasure. It's also associated with the empty canvas - the blank space before creation, and the oblivion to which creation is eventually destined for. Thus, it stands for infinite possibility, though the collapse of those possibilities into a reality removes that reality from Void's domain.

Thus are Void players ever cosigned to the background, though this generally suits them fine. Void players are very self-possessed. Where Light players tend to exaggerate and complicate, Void players are honest and simple, preferring straightforward solutions. They don't tend to think very hard, instead letting intuition and emotion guide them to where they want to be - which makes them one of the more stable personalities on a team. However, this simplistic, feelings-driven approach often leads to pleasure-seeking behavior, poor impulse control, and overindulgence in vice, and from there, to irrelevance, with which Void is so closely interlinked.

Void players are especially prone to vice, and at their worst, will become so drunk on pleasurable activities that they pursue them to the active detriment of the party's goals or the Void player's self-improvement - making them the ultimate irrelevant character. They can also very easily drag others into their mélange, with a forcefulness that resembles Light's illuminating guidance, but which is ultimately rooted in Void's pursuit of personal pleasure.

But there's a lesson to be learned in Light's domain: how to bring themselves into relevance and greatness. A Void player, once they learn to pursue not just personal pleasure, but a greater satisfaction for the collective whole, can drag the Void behind them, kicking and screaming, to where it'll be of use.

MIND / HEART

Mind and Heart are concerned with what it means to be a sentient being, with identity, and with why we do what we do.

Mind is the Aspect associated with logic, rationality, karma, ethics, and justice. To a Mind player, they "are" because they "think". They are keenly aware of the consequences of every action, and well-versed in cognition and behavior, such to the point of manipulating others with ease. Deeply concerned with the "effect" of cause-and-effect, Mind players are always cognizant of debts and credits, where justice is owed and where it has been over-meted, and their subtle machinations culminate, like well-placed dominoes, in grand and explosive finales.

Mind players are schemers - it's in their nature. They have a tendency to view the world as a puzzle or game, with themselves and the people around them as pieces on a board, and set as their standard rules the laws of ethics and karma - owed debts and overhanging credit - guilty and innocent. Mind players are wickedly cunning, and have an high success rate with every scheme they commit themselves to, but the grand downfall of all these tendencies is that they tend to lack in a sense of identity, and have a poor grasp on their own emotions or desires. While they may know how to provoke a desired reaction, they don't know how to change someone's mind. They often find themselves grappling very painfully with their own selfhood, with feelings of emptiness, inadequacy, or uncertainty.

Thus, a Mind player at the worst zenith of their Aspect is heartless and cruel. Leaving no space for empathy or even personal feelings in their plans, the Mind player will plot for an ending as heartless as they are. But a Mind player is never truly without emotion, and ignoring their own feelings causes them to manifest in terrible ways - Mind players have a tendency to seek toxic, codependent relationships, hoping to find external validation, subjecting themselves to the wishes of others, which can appear like Heart's fixation on feelings and desire.

But in recognizing their own need for emotional validation, and the importance of their own feelings, a Mind player can realize that there's an entire dimension to the game they've been playing that they've been ignorant of. When a Mind player learns to temper their schemes with empathy, compassion, and kindness, how much more success they'll see - and how much happier that grand finale will be!

Heart, then, is associated with feelings, motivations, intuition, the soul, and the self. To a Heart player, they "are" because they "feel" like they are - and they're keenly aware of the multitudes that are contained within themselves. Deeply concerned with the "cause" of cause-and-effect, they're drawn to desires, those of themselves and of others, especially where strong feelings are concerned. Heart players are gifted with an intuitive understanding of those around them, both their good and bad qualities, and are tasked with the grand task of bringing out the best.

It stands to reason, then, that Heart players have a firm grasp on who they are and what they want. For the same reasons, it's difficult for a Heart player to truly hate or condemn another person, because they are so adept at understanding them. However, this understanding comes with a price - because the Heart player is so aware of themselves, they can't escape their own worst traits - nobody self-loathes as accurately as a Heart player can. Nor can they ever truly be untruthful with another, making them poor manipulators. Capable of presenting a different facet of themselves as the situation calls for it, certainly, but just as it's impossible to lie to a Heart player, who always knows how someone really feels, it's impossible for a Heart player to lie to themselves.

With this sincerity comes vulnerability. Heart players wear theirs on their sleeves, and at their worst, this can make them demanding, needy, and sensitive - so eager to connect with others emotionally that they'll cramp themselves to fit others' desires. But they can't ever keep this up for long; Heart players have a tendency to withdraw from others after being hurt too often, finding it easier to be alone and silent about their feelings than to deal with the pain of rejection. They may even work to manipulate others, preying on their emotions and desires to force them to act in their worst interests. This superficially resembles Mind's cold logic, but unlike Mind's cool rationality, Heart's aloofness is a mask, an attempt to avoid pain by pulling away.

But this isn't purely a negative, because a Heart player can learn a healthier form of detachment, and separate out healthy and helpful desires from harmful and detrimental ones. Given this clarity, the Heart player becomes the team's emotional core, able to raise up each teammate's best qualities, while helping them deal with their worst, enabling everyone to be the best possible version of themselves - which the Heart player knew them to be all along.

LIFE / DOOM

Life and Doom are concerned with outlook, with journeys, and with trials and tribulations.

Life is an aspect concerned with healing, growing, and improving. It is associated with beginnings, optimism, and positive emotions. The very essence of Life lies in its healing abilities, in this idea of overcoming the odds and triumphing over hardship and difficulty. Life is action, movement, and motion, and its players can scarcely hold still. Life will find a way - and Life players harbor the same immutable belief; they are the most stubborn weeds in the garden, the cockroach that survives the apocalypse, and the beating heart that refuses to stop.

Life players tend to be optimistic and confident. They are self-assured individuals, with a stubborn belief that good things are on their way, and any hardship they face is not only temporary, but something that can be overcome. They can find the silver lining in any cloud, and enjoy themselves under any circumstance. They love to nurture, to care for others, though this love has a tendency to be one-sided. Indeed, Life's stubborn nature is its players' greatest pitfall; their persistence easily becomes obstinacy, and their confidence can become condescension. Their self-assured nature easily becomes egotism, and they can have great difficulty grappling with those who don't share their views - even coming to oppose those who bring emotional pain and suffering that can't be easily fixed.

It's very easy for a Life player to decide another person isn't worth their attention, and opt to leave them behind - after all, Life has to move forward, no matter what it tramples in the process. At their worst, they're stubborn to the point of not listening to anyone but themselves, confidence becoming blockheadedness. This focus on forward progress without looking back can even cause Life players to become harmful to others, so focused they are on their own growth that they don't notice that they're choking everyone else out. This may resemble Doom's death in its worst case - arresting everything else, eventually blocking even their own path with unruly, out-of-control fecundity.

Thus, a Life player needs to learn to more gracefully accept Doom's influence - to pause, slow down, and consider viewpoints that are negative, unpleasant, or difficult. A Life player, endowed with moderation, will be able to cultivate a bountiful garden, rather than an unruly jungle - a place for all to flourish and live in plenty, never wanting for anything.

Doom, then, is the aspect concerned with death, with rest, and with endings. Doom is associated with suffering and with negative emotions, with peace, with sleep, and with dreams. Doom players have a natural penchant for prophecy, and are often dual dreamers, able to take advantage of both Skaia's oracular clouds and the Horrorterrors' voices over Derse. All things must eventually come to an end, and not all times will be good; in these troubling times, Doom players shine, as they are the guides who call the murk home, and know best how to navigate rough waters, course-correcting until the storm passes.

Doom players tend to be deeply pessimistic. They experience, to a much more magnified degree than others, negative feelings and impulses, and it's difficult for them to see the world without seeing its flaws, first and foremost. They are not healers, but commiserators, those who understand greatest that sometimes there's no way to deal with tragedy but to simply sit with it and wait for it to pass. The counterpoint to Life's insistence on breathless positivity, Doom is a reminder that pain, grief, sadness, shame, and guilt are not unnecessary things - in fact, excising them can lead to terrible consequences. Doom players are the universe's martyrs, often taking it upon themselves to course-correct, to sacrifice themselves in order to give others a chance to continue on, to avert a terrible fate.

Unfortunately, this tendency also brings with it a tendency for Doom players to wallow in misfortune, or worse, to take themselves out of the picture, giving up entirely on seeing a better ending. As if energized by their own sense of futility, a Doom player at the "inverse" of their aspect may seem to echo a Life player's focus on forward progress and motion, actively spurring their team on towards an untimely demise.

A Doom player must learn to harness this sense of progress for good, rather than harm. A Doom player, once able to grasp the joy of life even in the greatest depths of despair, will be able to fill even the darkest hours with peace, meaning, and hope.

HOPE / RAGE

Hope and Rage are concerned with permission, and are the lens by which we define reality.

Hope is described by Hussie in the book commentary as being "framed as the most powerful aspect" because it is, literally, an aspect that defines reality. Its specific ability is lies in reducing the "fakeness attribute" of something, thus making it "real". Hope is associated with convictions, with idealism, with faith, order, holiness, and, of course, with magic - which Hope turns real. Hope is permission itself - a reality-breaking ability to look at the world and decree that it must be another way, a way in which the Hope player believes it ought to be.

Thus, Hope players tend to be hard-headed zealots, with no self-awareness whatsoever. Their inclination towards powerful beliefs makes them very difficult to dissuade from a path they've set their minds to, and their specific suite of abilities makes them terrifyingly likely to make their vision come true. Hope players are usually not particularly cunning, nor particularly intelligent, nor even particularly empathetic. Given the Aspect's focus on conviction and faith, it's usually very difficult for Hope players to notice anything occurring beyond their own minds and feelings. Thus are Hope players hopeless optimists, hopeless romantics, and hopeless in general - often great sources of embarrassment to their teams, as their naked sincerity is painful to witness. However, their ability to define reality does not leave them when their beliefs are faulty (which they often are, given Hope players are not particularly introspective, either), which is what makes a Hope player so dangerous.

A Hope player can easily be set on the wrong path - as convicted as they are, and as difficult to shake from that conviction as they can be, Hope players can easily march down a path of destruction, if not persuaded with a deft touch and gentle guidance. In the event that their faith is broken, Hope players easily become despondent and lost, floundering and wishy-washy, which superficially resembles Rage's self-consciousness, but is truly just a lack of direction.

But Rage has a powerful lesson to teach Hope players - that of questioning themselves, interrogating their own beliefs. Once their convictions have gone through rigorous scrutiny, revised into the best, brightest versions of themselves they can be, a Hope player is a worker of miracles - speaking into existence a beautiful future on faith alone, proclaiming that how they see the world is how the world shall be.

Rage, then, is the power of denial. If Hope reduces the "fakness" of a thing, then Rage reduces its "realness". Rage, too, is a means of defining reality, in this case taking a torch to the aspects of reality that it rejects. In more passive Classes, this works in subtler ways, stoking others towards destructive fury. Rage is associated with anarchy, chaos, revolution, destruction, anger, and nihilism. A Rage player will not suffer a world that does not satisfy them, breaking it to pieces, such that something new can take its place.

Therefore, Rage players are prone to harboring anger and resentment, discontentment with the status quo, and faith only in that what currently exists must somehow be dismantled. However, unlike Hope players, who can't help but be pathetically sincere, Rage players are incredibly self-conscious, and often try to mask and hide their embitterment and anger. This, ironically, leads to further ostracization, as others can tell they're being inauthentic. This only further compounds their sense of alienation, and drives them further into smoldering resentment. This makes Rage players sound volatile and dangerous, and they are - but the same fury that moves them is the fury that ignites revolts and tears down oppressive regimes, a necessary and vital well of energy and momentum. It takes careful handling to ensure that the team's Rage player can channel this energy towards righteous causes, rather than marking all as a target for their destructive ire.

In the worst-case scenario, the Rage player turns that rage out indiscriminately, deciding that there is nothing worth fighting for - only unpleasant things to be brought to ruin. This is Rage at its toxic overabundance. Conversely, a Rage player can retreat so harshly into their mask that they allow others to dictate their beliefs, taking them to heart - an action motivated by Rage's destruction (this time, turned inwards) that superficially resembles Hope's convictions and faith.

The true path for a Rage player is a healthy balance - to allow themselves some of Hope's sincerity, and by doing so, to become more sincere and true. This will let them release the pressure of their mounting ire, such that it can be converted into productive, rather than destructive, energy - the heralds of a revolution, razing away the faulty, corrupt old systems such that something better and new can take their place.

CLASS

As previously stated, Class governs a character's character arc - the character's starting circumstances, whether their conflict is primarily internal or external, and what major aspect of their Aspect becomes a hurdle for them to overcome.

In the same way an Aspect's sways tie into the character's base personality, the character's Class abilities tie into the kinds of struggles they face, and have great influence on how their Aspects manifest.

That being said, a character - and their Class - are always subject to their Aspect, as their Aspect is tied fundamentally into who they are. Thus, it can be said that a Light player will always have an affinity for knowledge and provide Seer-esque guidance even when not in a Seer role, a Doom player will always have prophetic abilities even with a non-prophetic class (note that Mituna, an Heir, still had prophetic visions, despite those generally being the realm of Mages and Seers), and a Life player will always have a penchant for healing, even paired with a destructive Class like Prince or Thief (the Condesce, after all, could still extend life; a Prince of Life would likely manifest not as one who causes plants to wither and die (this would actually suit a Prince of Doom), but one who destroys in the way of nature overtaking an abandoned shack, or a forest breaking down a body).

This means that when a character's Classpect inverts their Aspect, it doesn't mean that they suddenly become a hero of the opposing Aspect - rather, it means that, at their very worst - at the nadirs of their character arcs - they will lean so much into their Aspect's worst traits that it will superficially appear as the opposite, when all it really is is an absence of themselves. Dave, a Time player, usually so attentive to detail (despite his disaffected facade, he's always paying rapt attention to Karkat's rants, and noticing all the clues pointing to his destiny of defeating LE), at his lowest emotional point (arguing with Grimbark Jade after sobbing about his lost childhood whimsy), states that he doesn't think Lord English is that big a deal, and never even did anything directly bad to him or his friends - when he was literally directly haunted by LE via Cal his entire childhood. Similarly, Rose drinks herself stupid in order to cope with her mother's death.

Note how, superficially, this almost appears to be an invocation of Space's "big picture thinking," its passivity and permissibility, or how Rose's case appears to be Void's tendency to indulge in vices and pleasure - but they're not. Time's worst traits superficially resemble Space, Light's resemble Void, and vice versa - Grimbark Jade is the Condesce's taskmaster, and Porrim at her worst was as much of a nag as Kankri, trying to do a Time player's managerial job. Horuss and Equius at their worst won't shut up and won't stop talking over their partners. So on and so forth.

Finally, Calliope tells us a couple things about Active/Passive pairings. The first is that Calliope introduces the idea of paired classes with the idea that both Rogues and Thieves "steal" (and later, that both Princes and Bards "destroy"). This presents the idea that both classes can be roughly summed up with the idea that every pairing can be summed up with a common theme.

The second is her description of what makes a Class Active versus Passive - that Active Classes move their Aspect to benefit themselves, whereas Passive Classes allow their Aspect to be moved in order for others to benefit. In a way, they're like active and passive voice in grammar (to tie in with the way Classes and Aspects are so tied to ideas of narrative and character arc) - an Active Class performs their Aspect, and a Passive Class allows the Aspect to be performed "by others" (the famous piece of advice regarding telling the two apart being that a sentence written in passive voice can have "by zombies" tacked to the end of it - eg, John is attacked "by zombies", as compared to active voice - John attacks).

Thus, the Class pairings, along with their basic themes, are as follows:

KNIGHT - / MAID +

"One who controls."

Knights and Maids are paired together through two key factors: the first is that they both hold leadership or managerial roles; the second is that both classes carry the connotation of serving a Lord. Fittingly, they are both struggle with the control of malicious forces - Knights with prophecies indicating their role as heroes, Maids with direct usurpation by malicious forces.

PAGE - / HEIR +

"One who inherits."

Pages and Heirs are paired together because they both fundamentally deal with the great inheritances placed before them. Pages can come into incredible, limitless power - but they must struggle and work hard for it; Heirs begin the game in societal comfort and wealth, and must learn to defect from their decadence.

THIEF - / ROGUE +

"One who steals."

Thieves and Rogues are highly adaptable, as Thieves are capable of fantastic on-the-fly adaptation, whereas Rogues have an infinite toolbox at their disposal. They are both provocateurs, shakers of the status quo, though the Thief does so for personal gain, while the Rogue does so to right injustice.

MAGE - / SEER +

"One who guides."

Mages and Seers are tied together by the gift of prophecy and future sight. Seers are privy to the endless branching paths that the future may take, while Mages are gifted with the ability to outright determine a future that will certainly happen, appearing to be prophecy.

WITCH - / SYLPH +

"One who changes."

Witches and Sylphs are individuals blessed with great magic, but poor judgement. Sylphs heal and nurture, but are drawn to those with strong desires, and enable them to cause great harm; Witches, meanwhile, possess strong emotions, which they often use as moral guidance, for better or worse.

PRINCE - / BARD +

"One who destroys."

Princes and Bards are representatives of society - the one who determines its course, and the one who recounts its passing. Princes suffer from a toxic overabundance of Aspect, and are prone to spectacular meltdowns, whereas Bards are always poised for a crisis of faith. Both are responsible for catastrophic failures - but also breathless victories.

INDIVIDUAL CLASSES

KNIGHT

"One who controls [Aspect] or controls using [Aspect]."

Knights are frontline warriors, rallying points behind which the party falls into line. Although they are often leaders, just as often, they are logistical planners, strategists, or simply the team's beating heart. They are almost always thrust into positions of narrative significance, often carrying grand destinies or even outright heroic prophecies on their shoulders. The are the party's rallying force, its center, and a guiding light - the one to lead the charge, behind which the party will follow.

The primary character struggle a Knight will have is with crippling insecurity. Knights are prone to self-loathing and imposter syndrome, and will often adopt a façade in direct opposition to their aspect (ie, their fundamental personality) in order to cope with their feelings of inadequacy. Thus, their relationship with their aspect becomes love/hate - though they're naturally drawn to their aspect, and even naturally skilled at utilizing it, they have a tendency to become their own worst enemy, as their insecurities make them push their façades, and their façades distance them from their aspect.

"Controlling their Aspect" means that the Knight has easy access to their Aspect, wielding it like a tool or weapon - for good or for ill; "controlling using their Aspect" is what grants Knights their leadership abilities, able to dictate how others ought to act in accordance with the Knight's Aspect - whether their understanding of their Aspect is high or low, whether their advice is good or bad.

Therefore, at their worst, a Knight will fall prey to their insecurities, retreating into their facades, rejecting their Aspect, which will allow disharmony or misuse of it to proliferate throughout the team. They may even wind up deliberately twisting their Aspect's presence within the team so that they never have to be confronted by it; these distortions ripple outwards and eventually culminate in major catastrophes, all on account of the Knight's negligence.

But at their best, a Knight is a shining beacon and guiding light; when they come to terms with themselves, and allow themselves to be comfortable in their own skin - when they no longer allow themselves to be ruled by their insecurities and anxieties - they ensure that their aspect is harmonious wherever it appears throughout their party, and can wield it expertly as a weapon, as if it were their own flesh and blood.

MAID

"One who allows control through [Aspect] or allows [Aspect] to be controlled."

Unlike Knights, which take positions of frontline prominence, a Maid is a managerial presence in the backlines, though no less crucial for the smooth functioning of a party. Just as the invisible hands of the hired help keep a household running, the Maid will be called upon to provide vital services to keep the game stable, even if those services are more noticeable by their absence than their presence. Maids are often the party's unsung heroes or even shadow leaders, tugging at invisible strings, fingers on the pulse.

A Maid's primary character struggle will be that of escaping oppression. Maids tend to start the game in positions of subjugation or subservience, especially to malicious forces, and their abilities often end up being exploited to serve their masters' ends. Therefore, one may even have the impression that a Maid is ruled by their aspect, held prisoner and slave - at least until they're able turn the tables.

"Allowing their Aspect to be controlled" means that Maids are capable of directly dispensing their aspect unto others - a Maid of Time can dispense time unto foes, pausing them in their tracks; a Maid of Life can grant so much life that they can revive the dead. Their boons are great and direct, straightforward in a similar manner to Knights. "Allowing control through their Aspect" grants them their uncanny managerial abilities, as their aspect dictates the realm in which nothing occurs without the Maid's knowledge or permission, a realm made available to whomever the Maid's allegiance lies with.

Thus, at their worst, the Maid becomes a saboteur. Exploited by malign forces, their abilities to allow control over others through their aspect, or control of their aspect, makes them perfect vehicles by which their aspect can be hijacked or usurped, and made to turn against the party, and they often find themselves placed into these positions through no fault of their own. It takes the party banding together to shake off the forces that would keep a Maid in bondage.

However, at their best, Maids ensure that the party can never go too far off the rails. There is a place for everything, and everything will be in its place; a Maid is a supply line, a safe haven, and a promise that everything will be neat and tidy when the party returns from war. When the Maid belongs to themselves, their homestead becomes a fortress, and nothing occurs under the Maid's watchful eye without their express permission.

PAGE

"One who works to inherit [Aspect] or inherits [Aspect] for themselves."

Pages are a class defined by promise. As the name suggests, a Page begins weak, but has the great potential to develop into one of the most powerful players in the game. The exact nature of a Page's powers are vague, not because they are insignificant, but because they are so great that it's difficult to encompass them all. At the apex of their arcs, Pages are capable of miraculous feats, overpowering even Lords and Muses - if only they could reach that point and stay there.

A Page begins the game weakest of all, reflective of their long journey of growth. Where most classes only fall into deficit of their Aspect at their lowest emotional points, Pages begin their arcs in deficit - exhibiting character traits opposite to those their Aspect normally encompasses. Moreso than any other class, a Page must learn to grow into their Aspect. Weak-willed, naive, and easily hurt, Pages require careful nurturing if they're to come into their own.

"Working to inherit their Aspect" describes the endless journey of growth the Page must undertake - one with many missteps, backslides, and setbacks along the way. Still, they "inherit their aspect," meaning that their full potential, when realized, is overwhelmingly great - practically becoming their Aspect in humanoid form, capable of utilizing it to its glorious full potential.

However, their nature defeats them, and even if they can attain this state, the Page usually can't stay there for long. At their very worst, the Page's deficit of their Aspect's better qualities can turn the Page into a gravitic well of misfortune - an albatross about the party's neck, the centerpoint, if not inciting incident, of a massive disaster, as their team is sucked in by the Page's natural weakness.

But this is only true as it contrasts to a Page at their best - having grappled and won with the greatest of all weakness, a Page is poised to come into the greatest of all strength. Shown kindness, compassion, and support, a Page at full power reflects a party at their best. A Page at full strength is breathtaking to behold, an unstoppable force of nature, their Aspect made manifest.

HEIR

"One whom [Aspect] grants inheritance or inherits [Aspect] for others."

Heirs, in contrast to Pages, start the game strong. They usually belong to the upper echelons of their respective societies, a position of great wealth, leisure, and comfort, and are set to be inheritors of even greater wealth. Similarly, their Aspect comes to them as if of its own will - it is powerful, but difficult for the Heir to control, reflecting the wealth and status they've enjoyed as birthright.

An Heir's main challenge is that of examining their privilege, and learning where they wish to spread the gift they've been given. Because of their positions of sheltered comfort, Heirs are not particularly world-wise, and often harbor massive blind spots to the suffering of others and the ills of society. As such, they tend to be fairly aimless, given great power but no strong motivations, and have a tendency to simply indulge in their Aspect without contributing great help or hindrance to their team at all.

The Heir's Aspect is practically an independent entity. Being one whom "their Aspect grants them inheritance" refers to how the Heir starts powerful, able to summon their Aspect to perform great, miraculous acts. However, it is highly intuitive and difficult to control. The Heir's challenge lies not in attaining great power, but in attaining control over, and the ability to direct, their existing abilities. Once they do, they can "inherit their Aspect for others" - Heirs become a conduit through which their party can experience their Aspect, making it a usable pool of wealth for them all to draw from. However, because of their comfortable positions, many Heirs end up dallying, finding no pressing need to do so.

But this dallying hides a ticking clock. An Heir's inheritance will come to them, one way or another, and if they aren't ready to receive the great responsibilities that come with such great power, then the power will eventually consume them. An Heir with no clear direction will eventually become lost to their Aspect, entirely removing both from play. Like how wealthy inheritors simply become part of the status quo, so, too, does an Heir disappear into their Aspect, fixing it in place.

Thus, Heirs must learn where they have been blind, where they have been foolish, and what it means to be underprivileged. Then, once they turn their energies towards addressing those injustices - to taking responsibility for building a better future - when their wealth comes to them, they'll be able to distribute it where it's needed most. An Heir, fully-realized, brings their Aspect to heel, and makes it a resource available to their entire team, as if welcoming them all into the family.

THIEF

"One who steals [Aspect] or steals using [Aspect]."

Thieves are, as the name suggests, greedy - much of their arc revolves around a desire to amass wealth, though what's considered "wealth" varies based on the Thief and especially their Aspect. They tend to be callous people by nature, capable of ignoring or trampling over the feelings of others in order to take what they want, in the hopes of filling an emotional void the Thief may not even be fully aware of.

The Thief's playstyle is one of careful resource management. Reflecting a natural tendency to take "wealth" from others, Thieves are unable to use their Aspect without first "stealing" it - a subtractive act which leaves the victim bereft of the Aspect, weakening them in the process. Because of the finicky nature of these abilities, it takes great cunning to be a Thief, and the Class both demands and requires the player to be adaptable, flexible, and quick on their feet, able to effect complicated schemes and engineer the perfect situations for their powers to have the greatest effect. Thieves aren't necessarily strong, but they have a very high victory ratio, because they're experts at turning a situation to their own advantage.

"Stealing their Aspect" refers to the fundamental way in which the Thief class is played, this resource management game; "stealing using their Aspect" reflects how the Thief often becomes a malignant force within the party, viewing their own teammates as caches of wealth to plunder. Thieves are naturally prone to hurting others for their own purposes, craving drama and attention, and being of such callous dispositions that they're able to perform extreme acts of cruelty given the right motivations.

Thieves often become a target of ire within the party, disruptive forces whose quest for personal wealth and fulfillment comes at the cost of those around them. At their worst, they can bring so much heat down upon their own shoulders that the party feels the need to treat them like an enemy, which is disastrous for party harmony. Moreover, it's disastrous for the Thieves themselves, as Thieves seek wealth to compensate for some emotional emptiness, and making enemies of their friends only serves to deepen their ennui.

Thus, a Thief must be taught that true happiness and fulfillment doesn't come from the struggle for wealth, but from the building of something better with those they care about. A Thief, thus turned to heroic purposes, becomes the party's pinch hitter - an adaptable spy, an unpredictable maverick, an element of surprise - and above all, a reliable ally, capable of turning any tide in the party's favor.

ROGUE

"One who steals from [Aspect] or steals [Aspect] for others."

Rogues, on the other hand, call to mind such figures as Robin Hood, stealing from the rich to distribute to the poor. Rogues are at their best when they're agents of a well-planned heist, as they possess an unlimited toolbox - their own Aspect - to play with. Their Aspect is a treasure trove, just waiting for the Rogue to plunder it and share its riches - if only the Rogue can figure out how.

Rogues are forces of revolution. They naturally carry a rebellious spirit, one which bristles at injustice, takes a stand against authority, and questions the status quo. Their ideas are unfocused, however; they know they must rebel, but usually don't start with a clear idea of against who or what. They know that their society is injust, but they don't know how to address that injustice. They know there are villains, and may even know these villains' identity, but they don't know how best to defy them. In a similar way, they're often lost as to how to utilize their Aspect beyond its most basic applications, and usually require external assistance in order to bring out its full potential.

Rogues' true potential lies in "stealing from their Aspect" - an additive act, rather than a subtractive one, as a Thief's stealing is. Rogues are capable of removing their own Aspect's sway over another entity, allowing it to exhibit the characteristics of the opposite Aspect; a Rogue of Void can create things out of nothing, a Rogue of Heart can tease out behaviors and actions. They can also "steal their Aspect for others," allowing them access to their own Aspect's suite of abilities as well. This allows the Rogue incomparable flexibility, their abilities - like their dispositions - rebellious and subversive.

But their rebellious spirit, coupled with their lack of understanding as to who their real enemies are, is dangerous when left unchecked. Rogues often suffer from a failure to start, giving up on trying to understand the deeper implications of their abilities, and of the society they can't seem to find contentment in - but they can also suffer from a worse fate: rebellion without a cause. Rogues' free spirits can lead to them bucking the status quo in ways that actively harm others, performing acts of taboo or poor taste just because that rebellious energy needs to be put to use somewhere. These can have disastrous knock-on consequences, as some things are taboo for good reason.

Thus, Rogues need to be guided - to make connections with others, and come to a greater understanding of the world at large. Once they know their target, and what needs to be done, the Rogue makes sure there are no obstacles along the way - no safe is uncrackable, no prison inescapable, and no problem unsolvable, so long as the Rogue is there to work their magic.

MAGE

"One who guides [Aspect] or guides [Aspect] for themselves."

Mages are prophets, of the "always correct" variety - or so it seems. In actuality, Mages don't "predict" the future, they "choose" it - in a setting where the future is mutable, the Mage's ability is to speak into existence a future they desire, to tip the scales of causality and collapse possibilities into a single definite course. Their Aspect is the lens through which their "prophecy" occurs, a realm in which they command the fabric of reality itself.

As if to karmically balance this incredible power, Mages are afflicted by deep and terrible sadness. They start the game miserable, having been subjected to the greatest injustices their Aspect can offer, tormented by guilt, shame, and self-loathing. Their worldview has been shadowed with a lens of suffering and anguish, and so, too, is their view of the future. Mages usually begin the game having already set several prophecies into motion, and these early prophecies are usually obstacles that the party must overcome.

Mages "guide their Aspect" - this refers to the way their prophecies, that is, their chosen futures, always come true. Their visions may be limited to the sway of their Aspect, but it remains a powerful ability nonetheless. "Guiding their Aspect for themselves," then, outlines the Class's Active nature - the futures the Mage picks must be ones the Mage believes will come to pass.

Unfortunately, Mages have a tendency to pick ugly futures. This isn't out of malice or anger; this is because Mages start the game sad, and without intervention, grow sadder. They're prone to spirals of negativity, self-loathing, and depression, and as their outlook dims, so, too, do their forecasts. Mages suffer, but even suffering can grow familiar - can even appear comfortable or desirable, if the Mage suffers long enough. It's easy for them to grow so accustomed to misery that misery is the only outcome they can see - spelling doom for the rest of the party, one prediction at a time.

But a Mage whose party shows them kindness and forgiveness, compassion and empathy, can pull them out of their misery. How beautiful, then, the future appears! A Mage who believes in a brighter future is a force to be reckoned with. When a Mage can bring themselves to say, "and everyone lived happily ever after," you had better believe they did.

SEER

"One who who is guided by [Aspect] or guides [Aspect] for others."

Seers, meanwhile, are the true future-sighted, able to see the myriad paths the future could take. Like Mages, their Aspect serves as the lens by which their vision is colored; the Seer can sense, with fine accuracy, which paths are closest to the sway of their aspect, and which paths will take them further away. As if gifted with a guide to the game, their intuition is tied directly to the mechanics of SBURB, and they serve as the party's guides, a role indispensable in a game with so many moving parts.

Seers will struggle with blindness, first by hubris and ego, and then by self-harm. Seers begin the game quite full of themselves, proud of their prowess in their Aspect - usually arrogantly so. When this pride is inevitably shattered, Seers have a tendency to deal with their feelings of shame and guilt with willful, self-induced blindness - as if flipping a switch, they become ashamed of the pride they once placed in their Aspect, and seek to place as much distance between it and themselves as possible. There's comfort in ignorance, even if it renders the Seer useless.

Seers are "guided by their Aspect" - able to sense its presence, they gravitate toward it, and towards futures with it in abundance. And, in the same way, they "guide their Aspect for others," lighting the way for others down the path of greatest reward. Seers truly love their Aspect, no matter how much they may misplace their faith in it, and seeking it out is a great joy for them.

This is why a Seer at their worst is so tragic. By inducing intentional blindness within themselves, they are functionally deadening the strongest part of their soul. No matter the temporary relief this brings to the sharp, jagged pain of shame, it invariably deepens the Seer's suffering, as they deny themselves not only their own joy, but their ability to help others - another act which inherently delights them.

Thus, a Seer needs to be made to deal with their shattered ego head-on, to accept their own shortcomings, to become at ease with the idea that they don't have all the answers. Once their vision becomes clear, and their view becomes honest, the party nevermore has to fear becoming lost or straying from the path - the Seer will see to that.

WITCH

"One who changes [Aspect] or changes [Aspect] in others."

Witches are the winds of change, tweaking reality all around them until it suits their desires. A Witch is presence that commands both fear and respect, and their Aspect bows down before them, reduced to a mere minion in the Witch's presence, ready to attend to all their needs. In a way, the Witch's powers are straightforward - they can manipulate their Aspect as they desire, changing its qualities as they see fit. "How they see fit," then, is where the issue lies.

Witches are usually of "outsider" status, never truly being part of the society from which the rest of the party descends. Free from the same rules and common sense that govern the others on their team, Witches instead operate on a value system heavily reliant on their own emotions. What a Witch deems to be correct, to be true, or to be righteous, are often based not in any objective measure, but in subjective, emotional bias - and they're emotional creatures, indeed. Prone to fits of great anger, Witches can be benevolent one second and malicious the next, and their abilities let them imprint, to a greater degree than any other Class, their desires onto the world that comes after them.

Witches "change their Aspect," as in, the crux of their abilities lies in manipulating the qualities of their Aspect in their surroundings - extending, shortening, magnifying, shrinking, growing, removing… so on and so forth. It's a fearsome power. They also "change their Aspect for themselves" - their Aspect is hapless but to obey their desires; Witches change the world to suit themselves, and their feelings of how things "should" be often become how things "are" in short order.

Thus, a Witch who has been swayed toward evil entities and nefarious ends is a truly dangerous opponent - and it is unfortunately easy for this to happen. Witches' social isolation means they tend to trust their emotions, and a force that flatters these emotions can easily win a Witch's trust. By the same token, those that fail to flatter the Witch are often considered enemies, even if they're benevolent forces. A Witch's morality can thus become warped and topsy-turvy, which has grave consequences for the world that the Witch then shapes.

Therefore, a Witch's struggle lies in learning to see beyond their own emotions, to take in the opinions and assistance of others even when it seems superficially unpleasant, to move beyond the childlike rejection of that which is uncomfortable. Once able to see a more nuanced form of right and wrong, once able to tell evil from good, Witches can build even utopia.

SYLPH

"One who allows [Aspect] to change others or changes [Aspect] for others."

Sylphs are nurturers and healers; they bring to mind fey folk whose very footsteps cause plants to grow. Wherever they go, whatever they touch, all becomes suffused with the Sylph's Aspect, which flourishes under their careful cultivation. Sylphs adore their Aspect, and their Aspect adores them; Sylphs generally feel at peace with themselves, surrounding themselves with what they like.

A Sylph's main challenge - or rather, the main challenge that Sylphs wind up posing the rest of the party - is that Sylphs are enablers. They're attracted to those with strong wills and extreme dispositions, amused by the havoc they wreak and pleased by their attention. Sylphs love to pick out favorites and lavish them with care and attention, excusing any wrongdoing on their behalf and shielding them from consequences. At the same time, those who don't strike the Sylph's capricious fancy find themselves discarded in the Sylph's mind, shut out from the boons the Sylph can provide.

A Sylph is "one who allows their Aspect to change others" - this almost always manifests as healing, as it's an additive ability (that is to say, the Sylph can grant more of their Aspect to someone). "Changing their Aspect for others," on the other hand, explains this enabling nature of theirs - the Sylph will intervene to make the world into a playground for their favored individuals, even to the point of turning other, less "interesting" teammates into playthings for the Sylph's beloved.

Thus, while the Sylph themself isn't particularly prone to wild mood swings and acts of malice, their influence can still cause disaster by allowing unscrupulous individuals to flourish - even encouraging their worst tendencies. A Sylph's touch is subtle, but that subtlety only lends it an insidious quality, as the Sylph quietly works against the good of the many for the cruel, selfish pleasures of the few. At their very worst, the Sylph can deem themselves their only favorite, and render everyone else a minor character in their one-man show.

Thus, Sylphs must be challenged. They must be made to reckon with the fact that favorable treatment is not necessarily kindness, and that bias can easily become harm. When a Sylph is able to grasp the difference between bias and doing good, and tune their approach toward that greater good, uncolored by bias and personal preference, then there is no place safer, kinder, and more conducive to growth than the Sylph's embrace.

PRINCE

"One who destroys [Aspect] or destroys using [Aspect]."

Princes are the most anxious, psychologically anguished members of a party. They suffer from a toxic overabundance of their Aspect - its traits are taken to an extreme, and not only the Prince, but those around them, are made to suffer for it. Princes are naturally set on a path of self-destruction, the culmination of their uncontrolled accumulation of their Aspect, and their meltdowns are spectacular, taking their Aspect - and whoever is unlucky enough to be in the same room - with them.

A Prince's challenge, therefore, is as simple to understand as it is difficult to overcome. The Prince needs to learn how to calm down, relax, and find inner peace. Princes are terribly prone to circular thinking and downward spirals. Their natural inclination is to feel anxious and responsible, like they carry the weight of the world, and this causes them to act out in extreme and aggressive ways. Eventually, others pull away, put off by the Prince's intensity. This only deepens the Prince's malaise, and Princes are - pushed by this hovering sense of urgency and catastrophe - willing to employ drastic, desperate measures to enforce compliance with their wills. They wake on their moons early, reflective of their driven natures. They're determined to a frightful degree, and no sacrifice is too great, no work too dirty, if it means achieving what they see as the greater good.

Princes "destroy their Aspect" in this way - by presenting their Aspect at its worst, they make others take distance, ruining it for everyone else. Their hard wills, intense emotions, and unshakeable drive to do what (they feel) needs to be done - at any cost - is their source of power. Thus, Princes "destroy using their Aspect" - their toxic overabundance of Aspect lets them channel it into a pure, annihilatory force; what they lack in the delicate utility of the other classes, they make up for in raw, ruinous power. Princes can easily deal the greatest damage in a combat scenario, their ability to destroy overriding nearly everything that would stand against it.

Thus is the problem with Princes. They're ticking time-bombs of anxiety and frustration; when they finally go off, they carve a path of destruction, before ultimately self-destructing, leaving no trace of their Aspect behind. Not only that, but it's very difficult to defuse the bomb early; Princes have finicky, aggressive, and complicated personalities, and tend to react poorly to straightforward attempts to calm them down and reason with them. They often appear to be their own worst enemies, marching inexorably toward their own destruction.

But Princes not only can be saved, but must be saved. They must be saved because kindness and compassion must exist for their own sake, and a Prince rescued from their own worst tendencies is living proof of the truth of that sentiment. A Prince, given the peace they need to reorient their priorities, will not rest until they see a brighter future realized. They will be the first to rise, and the last man standing, banishing - as if by royal decree - all obstacles, all enemies, all misfortune, and all ills.

BARD

"One who invites destruction through [Aspect] or allows [Aspect] to be destroyed."

Bards are the wild cards of a party, responsible for both improbable victories and catastrophic defeats - sometimes both in a single session. The methods by which a Bard works are a mystery to even the Bard themselves, which make it easy for the party to dismiss their powers - and, by extension, the Bard themselves. After all, who would expect there to be consequences for something so ridiculous as a Bard?

Bards are usually targets of abject ridicule by their teams. They can't help it - they're religious types, or at least types that hold great, lofty, ridiculous beliefs near and dear to their hearts. A Bard's primary struggle invariably winds up being a crisis of faith. Bards begin the game with a positive, "correct" faith in their Aspect; however, something will inevitably occur that shakes the Bard's faith in this viewpoint to its core. In this state, Bards are incredibly fragile, and it's very easy for them to succumb to whispers of cruelty and destruction, for their beliefs to warp, and for the Bard to come to serve the worst aspects of the society they represent.

A Bard "invites destruction through their Aspect" - their powers are subtle, but have catastrophic effects. Bards are instinctively drawn towards causing the first flap of a butterfly's wing, which cascades into a grand, impossible karmic backlash. They "allow their Aspect to be destroyed" by being the conduits for the forces of their faith - whatever faith they hold - to wreak unimaginable consequences across the game.

Thus, a Bard must not be allowed to fall into darkness. The cost is too great. They must be treated with kindness, patience, and sincerity, and given a chance to re-establish their faith in a better, brighter future. If this can be done, then at the party's direst moment - in their darkest hour - they will find that kindness paid back a thousandfold, as an innocuous act by the Bard that no one remembers balloons into a miracle.

[somnimagus]

My page for @destinytriofanzine! I drew something about kids always dreaming of far off places

[id in alt!]

[anuyuri]

gb

[scoriarose]

The Language of Love

If you are already convinced snakes are incapable of love, this post is not for you. But if you are open to the possibility that maybe they do, and maybe they love us too, this post explores that thought. Perhaps snakes feel it differently, perhaps they feel it the same humans do- though even humans experience love, be it platonic or romantic, differently from individual to individual. Different people also show their love in different ways as well! Yet still even with a divide between species most of us have felt love from our furry and feathered friends. Perhaps our scaly friends are also telling us they love us, we just might not understand.

When I first got my girl Scoria, if I could tell her only one thing it would be, "I love you." When I held her, I wondered if she understood how much I cared about her, and would do anything to protect her. When I pet her, I wondered if she knew how amazing I thought she was and enjoyed spending time with her.

And then I started watching livestreams of wild snakes, and how they act toward each other. (The above still is from Project Rattle Cam!) When the babies see a trusted adult, they slither all over them! How many times had my girl happily slithered all over me going no where in particular? I imagine that my finger petting her soft as a feather was probably quite similar to another snake greeting her in such a way.

Sakura is much more shy, yet wants to form a bond with me. I see it when she fights her fear to vibe with me. Sometimes she'll sit for hours at the edge of her tank nearest me, not wanting to come out, but just be near me.

Snakes like rattlesnakes and garter snakes will vibe peacefully with each other, with baby rattlesnakes sleeping near the adult rattlesnakes they trust to keep them safe.

Perhaps, when our shy snakes sits with us, facing their fears they're saying, "I'm scared, but I want to be closer with you." And maybe when our snakes slither all over us, going nowhere in particular, like their wild counterparts do with each other they're saying, "I'm so happy to see you! You're my favorite to be with!" I wonder if they could tell us one thing it would be "I love you, best friend!" And it's okay, best friend. I love you too, and already know. <3

[sulky-cabbage]

The sukugo fight can't get animated any sooner I'm craving sukugo tiktok edits