#that you know all of his tricks and tells just as well as he knows yours

[seumyo]

husband!kageyama goes home with a new haircut.

“...”

“...”

“I can explain—“

“Your hair!” you said, surprising your husband by the abruptly sharp tone you had used, covering your mouth with a hand. “Where’s the rest of it?”

“I got a haircut.”

“Yes, but why?”

Kageyama blinked, confused. A small pout made its way to his lips, one you knew all too well. A simple trick that’ll surely tug at your heartstrings so you wouldn’t ultimately hate it. He knows you know this, but it’ll always be an honest effort nevertheless.

“It’s just a haircut,” he replied, running a hand over the short strands. “It was getting in the way during practice.”

“It’s not just a haircut,” you replied, taking a step closer to him. Your eyes scanned his face, lingering on his new middle-parted fringe and the shorter bangs above his eyebrows. “Your hair was perfect before! This—this is an affront to your legacy.”

“My legacy?”

“Yes!” you cried, squishing his cheeks together, albeit gently. “Do you know how many women would kill for a husband with hair like yours? And now—now you’ve…” You gestured vaguely at his head, your lips pressing into a pout. “You’ve reduced yourself to this.”

Kageyama blinked again.

“It’sh nwot that bad.”

“It’s not bad,” you admitted begrudgingly, leaning a bit closer to inspect him. Your hands reached up to gently frame his face, tilting his head slightly to the side. “Don’t tell me you lost a bet to Kunimi and Kindaichi and had to get a middle part for the sake of their amusement—Kunimi specifically.”

“I didn’t lose any bets,” he sigh.

“Promise?”

“Promise...”

There was a slight pause, and he couldn’t help but ask—

“...You still think I’m handsome, right?” he asked quietly, almost sheepishly. An inevitable pout was on Kageyama’s lips, and it made you awe.

“You’re pouting.”

“I’m not—”

You laughed, pressing a chaste kiss on his lips. “I’m just messing with you, Tobio. Of course I think you’re handsome. Now and always.”

He nodded, asking for another kiss, which you indulged him in. “Just don’t go home bald, please.”

As if Kageyama would ever. He just knows that even if the thought crosses his mind, he would never hear the end of it from you and his older sister, Miwa. So he’ll spare himself from the earful scolding and not.

SEUMYO © 2025. PLEASE DO NOT REPOST, PLAGIARIZE, MODIFY OR TRANSLATE.

[neferaskingdom]

Not So Bad After All | CL16

NEFERASKINGDOM

Summary: Valentine’s Day sucks, the bathroom line is too long, and Charles just wants to go home. Until a ridiculous scheme, a fake proposal, and the best tiramisu of his life change everything.

Previous | Series Masterlist | Next

Charles Leclerc did not want to be here.

Valentine’s Day was already insufferable, but being dragged to a bar by his well-meaning (and currently very drunk) friends was making it so much worse. His brothers were off on their respective romantic dates, and instead of sulking in peace at home, he was here—stuck in a crowded bar, dodging heart-shaped balloons and being subjected to overly loud love songs blaring from the speakers.

And now, to top it all off, he was standing in an absurdly long line for the bathroom.

“Ridiculous,” he muttered under his breath, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as the line refused to move.

“Tell me about it,” a voice said beside him.

Charles turned his head to find a woman standing next to him, arms crossed, scowling at the line ahead. She looked equally unimpressed with the night’s events.

He raised an eyebrow. “Bad night?”

She huffed, tilting her head towards the couple making out aggressively in the corner. “I’ve seen horror movies less disturbing than that.”

Charles snorted, a genuine smile tugging at his lips. “Agreed.”

They lapsed into silence, both staring ahead at the unmoving line. A few seconds passed before she spoke again. “You don’t look like you’re having fun.”

He exhaled, rubbing his face. “That’s because I’m not.”

She smirked. “Then why are you here?”

Charles sighed, hands in his pockets. “My friends thought I needed ‘cheering up’ because my brothers are both in relationships, and I am not.”

She nodded sympathetically. “Same. Except my best friend didn’t even try to lie about it. She just said, ‘You’re too single, and it’s embarrassing.’” She gestured toward the girl still making out in the corner. “That would be her.”

Charles winced. “Brutal.”

“Right? I told her I’d rather stay home and watch a move or something.”

Charles let out a laugh, genuinely amused. “I think I’d prefer that too.”

As the line inched forward at a snail’s pace, their conversation flowed effortlessly.

"Okay, explain this to me," she said, turning to face him fully. "Why do people think giving someone overpriced flowers that will die in three days is romantic?"

Charles chuckled. "Right? And the price! it's like they double it just because it’s February 14th."

She scoffed. "Exactly! And don't even get me started on the chocolates. You know they just put the same candy in a heart-shaped box and charge extra."

"The worst part is the expectation," Charles added, shaking his head. "Like, if you don’t do something extravagant, suddenly you don’t love your partner enough?"

She snapped her fingers. "Yes! If you need a specific day to prove your love, maybe your relationship isn’t as strong as you think."

Charles smirked. "So, not a fan of grand gestures, then?"

"Oh, I love grand gestures," she admitted, tilting her head. "Just not ones dictated by capitalism."

“So let me get this straight,” she said after a particularly heated rant about heart-shaped balloons. “You got dragged here against your will, your friends abandoned you, and now you’re standing in line for the bathroom ranting at a stranger?”

Charles groaned. “I am beginning to think I have been tricked.”

She shook her head in mock pity. “Tragic.”

He opened his mouth to respond when, to his horror, his stomach let out a loud growl.

She turned to him, grinning. “Oh my god.”

“…I’m hungry,” he admitted, rubbing his neck sheepishly.

She laughed. “You know what? Let’s get out of here. I know a place.”

The place she led him to was a semi-formal restaurant with dim lighting, cozy booths, and the most incredible menu Charles had ever seen. By the time their food arrived, they were already deep into conversation, swapping stories about their worst dates, cringiest romantic gestures, and Valentine’s Day traumas.

Charles took a bite of the cheesecake and immediately let out a sound that could only be described as obscene. “Mon dieu. This is the best thing I have ever eaten.”

His companion grinned. “Oh, you think that’s good? There’s something even better.”

He looked up, intrigued. “Impossible.”

She leaned forward conspiratorially. “They used to sell the most heavenly tiramisu. It was legendary. But they discontinued it.”

Charles frowned. “Then how do you know it’s better?”

She smirked. "Because I’ve had it before and fun fact it’s on the secret menu now. But it’s a whole ordeal." She leaned in slightly, lowering her voice like she was letting him in on a great secret. "The thing is, their tiramisu is legendary—like, hours of prep, delicate layers, the kind of dessert that requires actual effort. It got discontinued because the chef didn’t want to deal with the hassle anymore. But, through my very reliable sources—" she wiggled her eyebrows "—I found out they still serve it. But… only for very, very special occasions."

He raised an eyebrow. “I’m listening.”

She pulled a simple ring off her finger and slid it across the table. "They only serve it on very special occasions Charles. The chef is a real romantic."

Charles stared at her, unblinking. “You’re joking.”

She shook her head, trying to look serious despite the mischief in her eyes. “Not at all. I’ve tried everything to get a taste again, but my friends refuse to participate in my schemes.”

Charles hesitated, glancing between her and the ring. “You’re telling me I have to propose to you… for tiramisu?”

She nodded solemnly. “For the greatest tiramisu known to man.”

He exhaled, rubbing his temples. “I cannot believe I am considering this.”

She gasped. “Charles. Think of the dessert.”

He groaned dramatically before picking up the ring. “Fine. But if we’re doing this, we’re doing it right.”

Before she could react, he got down on one knee.

The restaurant quieted.

Charles took her hand, his thumb brushing over her knuckles as he looked up at her with nothing but warmth in his eyes. "Mon amour," he murmured, voice steady, heartfelt. "We've known each other since we were kids. You were always there—my partner in crime, my best friend. I can't imagine my life without you."

A few people around them sighed dreamily.

She felt a laugh bubble up, but Charles was fully committed, his gaze unwavering. "We've had our ups and downs, but through it all, it's always been you. And it always will be." He lifted the ring, giving her a small, knowing smile. "So what do you say, mon coeur? Marry me, and let’s spend the rest of our lives together."

The restaurant erupted in applause as she let out a shaky laugh, nodding. "Yes," she breathed, eyes locked onto his. "Yes, Charles, of course."

His grin was immediate, radiant, as he slipped the ring onto her finger. She let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. "You know... I think I always knew it was you. Ever since the day you carried me home after I sprained my ankle as a kid."

Charles chuckled, squeezing her hand. "You remember that?"

"Always," she said, voice warm. "And now, I guess I get to spend forever remembering this too."

The applause grew louder, a few cheers echoing through the restaurant as the chef himself emerged, grinning from ear to ear, ready to present them with their well-earned tiramisu.

As soon as they sat back down, she burst into laughter. “I cannot believe you just did that.”

He smirked. “Well, I had to commit.”

The tiramisu arrived, and the moment Charles took his first bite, he slumped back in his seat. “Merde.”

She watched, delighted. “I told you.”

Charles stretched his arms above his head as they stepped out into the cool night air, letting out a dramatic sigh. "I hate you."

She snorted, stuffing her hands into her coat pockets. "Wow. Romance is alive and thriving, I see."

"No, seriously," Charles continued, shaking his head. "That tiramisu was too good. Now every other tiramisu I eat will be a disappointment. You’ve ruined me."

She smirked. "That’s the price you pay."

Charles groaned. "I despise you."

She hummed, clearly enjoying his suffering. "Well, if it helps, they have different staff on Mondays."

He glanced at her. "And?"

She grinned. "So, if you want another piece, we could just… go again."

Charles narrowed his eyes. "How do you even know this?"

She took a deep breath, like she was trying very hard to act normal before saying something completely unhinged. "Because I have tried everything to get that tiramisu again. I have studied their staff schedules, noted which days the chef isn’t working, and even considered staging a fake engagement like 15 times, but my friends—" she threw her hands up in frustration "—are all cowards who refuse to propose to me for the sake of dessert."

Charles was already laughing before she even finished. "I cannot believe you have gone to these lengths for tiramisu."

"It’s not just tiramisu, Charles. It’s a masterpiece. A once-in-a-lifetime experience. A divine creation that mere mortals like us barely deserve. And yet, my so-called friends refuse to put their morals aside for the cause." She sighed. "Until tonight. You, sir, are a true ally."

He smirked. "Clearly. And what do allies get?"

She shrugged. "Eternal gratitude? The satisfaction of knowing you’ve done something noble?"

Charles held out his phone. "Your number."

She blinked. "What?"

He wiggled the phone slightly. "So we can go on Monday, obviously."

Her lips parted, eyes scanning his face like she was trying to find the joke. "You actually want to go again?"

Charles shrugged. "I mean… yeah. That tiramisu was worth it. And, you know… you’re fun."

She studied him for a second before snorting. "Unbelievable."

"Believe it, mon amour." He winked.

Still smiling, she took his phone and added her number before handing it back. "Fine. Monday it is."

Charles grinned. "Perfect."

As they walked side by side, their conversation spiraled into absurdity.

"Okay," she said, "how many ways do you think we could disguise ourselves to get another piece?"

"Fake mustaches?" Charles suggested. "Though that might be too suspicious."

"Agreed. What about wigs? I could totally pull off blonde."

"Mmm… questionable. We’d need a full transformation."

She snapped her fingers. "Fake accents! If we pretend to be tourists, they might not recognize us."

Charles gasped. "Genius. We’ll go in, act completely clueless—where should we be from?"

"Not Australia. You could never pull off an Aussie accent."

"Fine. Italian tourists. Very authentic."

She laughed. "You realize this is insane, right?"

Charles smirked, nudging her playfully. "And yet, you’re still planning it with me."

She groaned. "I hate that you have a point."

As their ridiculous tiramisu heist plans continued, Charles found himself thinking that maybe—just maybe—Valentine’s Day wasn’t so bad after all.

[aurorasgate]

homecoming tears caleb x reader

my little take on calebs return because i'm too much of a baby to not have cried a lot more over it. hurt/comfort, mentions of grief, no pronouns used for reader

there’s a ringing in your ears, loud and as unsteady as the heart beating inside your chest like a drum. both of which are somewhere between too uncomfortable to be a dream and the start of a nightmare in the making. if you could think straight, calm down only a little bit, you’d have the thought to pinch yourself to wake you or tell you how real this all is. that it isn’t just your mind playing tricks on you and caleb really is right in front of you, alive and well and not going to disappear when - if - you wake up.

it continues as you go through the motions of gathering your things from the fleets barracks and follow him to his car where he helps you inside with a kind and familiar smile, one you know is meant to help calm you, until the sound makes your head ache and you reach out for calebs hand on the center console that separates you, hoping that feeling him will help ground you. it does and doesn’t. because yes, you know the warmth seeping into your palm from his soft skin, it’s your caleb who looks back at you with violet eyes that were engraved into your very soul many years ago, but for so long you’ve known you would never seen them again, never feel him again, and find it hard to quell the mix of shock that those things aren’t true any longer and the grief of losing him that has held you tightly in it’s claws since the explosion. 

his mouth moves but you can’t quite make out what he’s saying. it’s not until you feel his hand envelop yours and at the sound of your name from his lips that the ringing finally starts to lessen and his voice breaks through. “just hold on a little longer okay? we’re almost home.”

home. you haven’t had a home you two shared together in so long. no place to return to where there would be reminders he had been there too, that he would be coming back. you’d thought you never would again.

your tongue feels too heavy in your mouth and makes it hard to reply so you don’t say a word and instead take the sliver of reprieve he had given you from your head and heart ache to try to make sense of any of this, to tell yourself this isn’t a dream or a mirage and that from now on, each day you wake up, he’ll still be here with you. 

caleb survived. this whole time he’s been alive while you mourned at his grave to a point where you thought the pain of it might swallow you whole and that regret had become a permanent part of you knowing you would never get the chance to tell him how you really feel for him, to do all the things you hadn’t let yourself before. there’s so many questions sitting at the back of your throat and the bottom of your heart, so many things you don’t know how to begin to process; a clash of undeniable happiness, the healing of wounds and the way they start to bleed again until the point of pain and confusion.

your motions are little more than robotic as you get out of the car and walk behind him into the place he had called home but couldn’t be more unfamiliar to you. when you see how dark it is, barren of things you’d have thought he’d still own, you wonder how unfamiliar it might be to him too. 

standing only a few feet from the door that had closed automatically behind you, you hold your bag of things close to your chest while caleb turns on the lights. like they are the only things grounding you and keeping you from crumbling into a million tiny pieces but you don’t know how long they’ll be able to keep you together.

“go ahead and pick a room pipsqueak,” he says, setting his keys down on the kitchen counter that looks like maybe it’s never been used before but when he notices you haven’t moved from the front entryway, his tone quickly changes. “hey,” soft and comforting but it does nothing to help you right now. “what's wrong?”

clutching your bag tighter till the lumps and straps of it could imprint themselves on your skin through your clothes, you meet his worried gaze and swallow the heaviness weighing down your words. “caleb.. i..” your voice is shaky at best, a perfect symbol for the feelings swirling inside you like a tempest. “i just can’t believe you're here.. alive.”

he closes the distance between you in a few long strides and reaches out for you, cupping your cheek in his palm. he’s warm, so warm, his hand calloused and large like you had remembered it. like you worried you might forget one day when so much time had passed without him. “i’m here,” a promise said with so much certainty. “and i’m not going anywhere ever again.”

tears prick at the corners of your eyes, a start of the release of the tremendous storm from within you finally manifesting into something tangible, something that you would have even less control over now that it’s pouring out of you in unruly waves and a downpour that first looks like a like drizzle. a few tears quickly turn into dozens more that caleb wouldn’t be able to catch or stop. not now. it’s consuming you, helping you to speak but with no chance to think or process your words before they’re tumbling out of your mouth and your body quickly follows suit.

“why caleb - why didn’t you come find me sooner?” dropping your bag, it lands on the tips of your toes the same moment your balled up fist meets calebs chest. you’re a sobbing mess in the matter of moments, looking at him through teary vision and speaking with so much pain behind your words you feel the ache of them reverberate back into your chest, ready to take you under and drown you in them. “would i have ever known if i haven’t snuck into the fleet? or would you have just left me to mourn over you forever while you got to play colonel?!”

he looks as afflicted as you feel but still in control of his emotions, more than you could possibly try to muster right now. “it’s more complicated than that. i had to join the fleet and i couldn’t contact you - couldn’t bear to put you through that pain again.”

“you don’t know anything about my pain caleb!” you spit the words like venom and you can see in his expression, in the way his hand on your face twitches, how much they affect him. “you have no idea how many times i wished for this all to be a bad dream.. to wake up and have you still be with me but instead woke up to the agony of you very much being dead. you have no idea how many times i went to your grave and could barely stand to leave because it’s as close to you as i thought i was ever going to be!” you try to push away from him, using your hand on his chest to shove him away and your other to remove his touch from your face. he doesn’t budge so easily, instead wrapping an arm around your waist to bring you closer and continuing to wipe your tears. “let me go!”

“no,” he replies, so full of understanding and care and you don’t know if it’s making it better or worse. he couldn’t possibly let you go, doesn’t think it’s within his strength to do so. it never has been before. his chest has always hurt when you’d cry and being the one to bring you to tears is what he loathes the most but it would never stop him from trying to comfort you or wiping away your tears. “not right now. not when you need me.”

“ha!” it's a pitiful and angry sound, a perfect mirror to how you feel about yourself right now. “where were you all these months i needed you then?! when i was crying just like this because i thought i’d never get to see you again?” you try again to get away from him, you can’t breathe or think straight, can’t do anything but crumble in the face of this storm but caleb doesn’t let you go far. doesn’t let you drown. “how can you so easily come back and act like i haven’t spent every moment in pain over the fact i thought you were gone forever?!” both of your hands are on his chest now. he doesn’t flinch at the force of them or try to remove them and before you know it, through your sobbing and weakening body, they’re clinging to him like a lifeline. you bury your face into his chest, his shirt quickly becoming soaked in your tears and snot, wrinkling under your tight hold.

caleb says your name softly, his hand cradling the back of your skull and keeping you pressed against him. “it was painful for me to be away from you too.” more than he could handle, worse than what he’d experienced before in any physical sense. 

“it’s not the same..” you hide behind the pillar of strength he’s offering you, let the storm rage and crash against him while tucked into the safe place of his arms as exhaustion starts to replace every other thing you had been feeling up until this point with the help of his embrace around you and the familiar scent of him invading your senses. this is real. he’s really here and he promised he wouldn’t leave you again.. “at least you knew i was alive - knew you could see me again if you really wanted..”

he holds you tighter then, his lips pressing in the crown of your head. he knows it's not the same but he also thought he was sparring you more pain by staying away, no matter how difficult that was for him. “you have no idea how badly i wanted to see you.” his hold is almost too tight now but you welcome it, want more of it. “it was agony to be away from you and hide this from you.”

“caleb..” you bury yourself further into him. everything hurts; your body, your heart, your head and somehow he is the soothing balm that makes it all better and the very source of it to begin with. you want to press him more, want to know everything that has happened to him while you’ve been apart but as you weep like a child in his arms, the words are lost and all you can do is hold on to him like your life depends on it. like he might disappear again if you were to let go.

you don’t know how much time passes before you’re being swept up off your feet, cradled against his chest and safely in his arms with your own so quickly and tightly wrapping around his neck to keep him as close to you as possible. he doesn’t tease or complain about the mess you’ve made of his outfit or your tears that soak into the skin of his neck. caleb doesn’t say anything as he walks to the couch and settles down onto it, removing his arm from under your legs to reach for a blanket that he drapes over you before adjusting you on his lap and holding you within his complete embrace again.

your sobbing slowly turns to small hiccups and scattered tears rather than a downfall of them but you don’t let him go. you can’t let him go and wonder if perhaps he is feeling the same when his hold on you doesn’t waver for a moment and he doesn’t try to move from underneath you.

“what if..” your voice is so weak, quiet enough you wonder if he’ll hear you at all and not knowing if you ever want him to. “what if tomorrow comes and you’re not here? what if i’m just dreaming.. what if you die again..” how will i survive losing you twice..

his arms around you tighten, as if he’s trying to make you one with him, bury you in the safety and truth of his very chest, where his heart beats for you and could never leave you again. not before he’d bring down the whole planet and whisk you away to a new one where it could only be the two of you. “i’m not going anywhere ever again. nothing will keep me from you or tear us apart,” caleb answers quietly, as if not anything or anyone else in this world was meant to hear his words but you. “i will be here tomorrow and everyday after. i promise.”

“c-can we stay like this for now? please..”

a soothing hand smooths over your hair and like it was even possible, presses you closer to him. “we can stay here, like this, for as long as you need and when tomorrow comes, i’ll make you breakfast and hold you again. until you know it’s not a dream and can believe that i’m not going to leave you ever again.”

[saeun]

এ absolute failure ᪲ ﹕ changing the tides ! ᪲ jujutsu kaisen ᧔ female reader.

࣪⊹ he always wanted to hold you in a “sheep in a lion's den” (or something like that) situation, but how can he get past the barrier of a beating heart and sweaty palms?!

+ love, ‘un: featuring (gamer) megumi ⸝ (neighbour) yuta!

megumi fushiguro’s mission: make you nervous (FAILED)

usually megumi rarely invites guests. if there are guests, they invite themselves (example: gojo satoru). it’s the main reason why his housemates were jaw-dropped when they saw a girl following behind their friend.

megumi? with a girl? money might as well grow from trees next week.

it was simply unbelievable. not that they’re calling their friend a loser—hardly, but he’s not the most sociable… in person. megumi's more than comfortable yelling into his headset’s microphone, but he never shares that energy elsewhere.

once megumi entered, he immediately gestured a “don’t say anything” to his housemates. they listened and obeyed; doing nothing more than greeting and telling you the classic: “make yourself comfortable!”

now, megumi meticulously planned the entire session with the help of his group chat. he’d invite you over, keep a cool persona, and use video games as a way to bond with you. what megumi didn’t know was that you were already familiar with video games—you’re just more of a mobile player than a pc player (his main forte).

“do you play games?” he’d softly ask, mentally ticking off the checkbox in his mind.

once you confirmed that you did, he offered you his gaming chair. at first, you denied, saying that it’s his chair and you’d be fine with just standing. what you didn’t know was that’s exactly his plan. he’d have you on the chair while he stood behind you.

he’d guide you through his pc set up, pointing at different games, chrome extensions, doing his best to distract you so you won’t pay any mind to him. when you settled on a game, megumi would smoothly lean over you, putting his hand over yours to control the mouse.

he’d do it all under the disguise of “i’ve played it before. let me show you the tricks.” slowly moving his fingers to sit between yours, stretching his other arm to hold the other side of the chair, leaning in closer til he can feel the heat from your body, talking more than he usually does.

megumi would pretend to be immersed in walking you through the game, but he’s secretly glancing to see whether you’re showing any signs of being flustered.

an hour into the session and he’s the one who’s fighting heartbeat. you weren’t nervous at all. you were calm, sometimes biting your lip to focus on the game. whenever you did something to gain an achievement, you’d smile at him brightly, cheering with an “i did it!” while he responded with his own “yeah, you did.”

you were acting as if this was a normal, friendly hang out. he hid his true intentions. you didn’t know that staring at him until he answered made his heart race. ultimately megumi’s crush you deepened meanwhile you’re excited for another gaming session.

yuta okkotsu’s mission: shojo moment while walking together (FAILED)

yuta fell victim to the unskippable event of falling for his neighbour’s daughter. can you blame him? you’re the same age (bonus number one) and you never get bored of him turning the conversation into a marathon of his interests (bonus number two).

not only do you frequently talk, you also walk together every day. whether it’s to school, to the convenience store, or just taking a stroll around the neighborhood. your parents never allow you to walk without a guardian and yuta’s more than happy to spend time with you.

today it’s walking to the convenience store, though you hold a grudge against it. you’ve ranted multiple times about the irony of it being a convenience when its prices are anything but convenient.

while yuta’s doing his usual rap about his new obsession, you felt a few drops of rain. at first you shrugged it off, thinking you’re imagining things. the sun hid behind the clouds, yes, but the sky’s relatively bright! not a grey cloud insight.

again, you felt more drops of rain. you stopped walking, opening your palm and tilting your head towards the sky.

“hey, is it just me or is it raining?”

upon hearing your words, yuta stops. he was a few steps ahead of you, unable to notice that you had stopped due to being immersed in talking. he walks to you, eyebrows raised as he’s ready to answer your question. unfortunately, the sudden burst of rain cuts him off.

taking advantage of you being in a tank top, yuta quickly slid his jacket off, ready to swing it on your shoulders.

however, you had other plans. it’s raining and you were told to get what your mother needed with haste. with time clearly being a villain today, you grabbed his jacket with one hand and held onto his wrist with the next.

“no time for that!” you shouted, pulling him behind you as you sprinted towards the convenience store.

the sudden contact caused him to be flustered; running through the rain is dangerous yet he’s allowing himself to be dragged along. he would’ve covered you with the jacket and found somewhere to shelter but you took the initiative.

so close, yet so far. the romantic moment he always dreamed of being replaced with whatever’s going on. a moment that could’ve been filled with romantic tension forever mourned. maybe next time he can take the initiative anywhere else but conversations.

[lazilybeinglassie]

Silly Little Dummy (Shadow Milk x Reader)

CW: Hypnosis, possessiveness, bad ending

You get what you read and you read what you get, this is your only warning!

The halls were endless. Stairs with no beginning or end. You had no way of navigating the chaos. You were so certain you found a way out, only to be tricked by those minions of Shadow Milk.

Of course you had to screw up and find your way trapped in this hell hole. Why couldn't you have left with the others.

After a couple of turns however, you found yourself at a dead end. Frustrated, you hoped to turn around and try again. Only for a familiar face to appear in front of you.

"My my, what do we have here~?"

Reflexively, you stumble back, hitting the wall behind you. Fear crawling through your skin as you stare wide eyed at the beast. His expression delightful as though he were playing an innocent game.

"Another one of Silly Vanilly's buddies? Lost and alone? Strayed from the path?" Shadow Milk snickered darkly. "I will admit, amongst those on the list, I didn't expect you to show up. Ah well! That's what improve is for!"

Looking around for a way to slip away, you don't even notice the vines on the stone wall crawling out. In an instant they snag your limbs and hold you still as you struggle. You're growls of protest are not lost to the villain as he hovers closer.

"There's no need to fret. I'll give you such simple stage directions. All you need to do is listen and watch me."

His hand grabs your chin as he turns your face to look at him. Eyes making contact, you glare in defiance. As you watch him, you notice his bright eyes and how they seemed to be glowing. An intense, radiating glow that wasn't blinding, but it was distracting.

The pupils seemed to dilate a little, looking a little fuller than usual. Then they started to pulse. Rings of blue, white and black growing like ripples in water. At a steady beat, it continues on and on in a mesmerizing pattern. Ring after ring, you couldn't do anything aside from watching it continue.

Your heart beat slows, and your panic seems to diminish. What for? Aren't you in trouble? What was it that was calming you down?

Another pulse. You breathe calmly.

Shadow Milk hums. "There we are. No need for all that fuss. All that running just seemed to have worn you out, hasn't it?"

You stammered as you blinked. "Wh-No! I-"

He uses his other hand to shush you. "Shhhhhh. No more talking. Just listen and watch."

Another pulse. Your attention is drawn back to his eyes. The aura appearing bright and soft. You don't know why, but it's all so captivating in the moment. Blue, black and white, looping over and over and over.

Your body tenses when it feels something brush your cheek. "Listen closely. Listen to every word I say now. Focus on my voice and do not stray. Feel yourself drawn to my enchanting voice."

Another pulse. Your body relaxes. Shadow Milk's tone was gentle and sweet. Caressing your eardrums as you continue to stare. There was hardly anything else you felt like doing. Just staring into those eyes. Those captivating eyes.

Blue, black and white.

A small part of you tried to speak up. Not much came out. Stutters and noises. But hardly any words. "I- . . . uh, I . . . "

"Awwww, look at yourself. Trying to tell me something?"

"I . . . um . . . "

"Do you feel tired, perhaps? You've been running for a while now. So much running, so much worry. Doesn't it feel exhausting?"

The feeling of something holding your chin disappears. You don't look away from his entrancing stare. The beast's head nods, you mimic the movement. He giggles at that.

As that happens, the vines start to coil you more and more. Pulling you away from the wall as your wrapped in a cocoon of plants. Leaves start to fall off of them and scales start to grow. Changing into serpents that wrap around you from your shoulders to your feet.

Another pulse. You sigh as your body sinks into the cocoon.

"Just too many thoughts in that little head of yours. Crowding all that space up there." Shadow Milk places a hand on the top of your head. Then slowly strokes down the back soothingly. Once he pulls his hand away, he puts it back on top and repeats the motion. "Let them go for now. Little by little, piece by piece. Empty your mind for me."

Each stroke, you feel yourself settle and sigh. Your clouded mind, so fuzzy and blurry, starts to clear bits at a time. Parts where you were worried and scared start to fade away. Parts where you thought of escaping dim to nothing. Pure Vanilla. Gingerbrave. Strawberry. Wizard. White Lily. Those names slip from your consciousness one by one.

Shadow Milk grins as he tilts your face up. Looking deeper into his eyes, you feel as though the light had enveloped your vision. Endless ripples, colors bleeding into every direction. What once there were two pupils, now merged into one as they continue to captivate your mind.

Breaking eye contact, Shadow Milk floats genlty to your side. You remain focused in one direction as though he never left. But the beast leans close to your ear as he whispers to you softly.

"Nothing left in there now, huh?" You don't respond. "Why don't I take things from here? Does that sound nice?"

Absent mindedly, you whimper as though you want to say something. Whether it was a yes or a no, you couldn't tell.

"Oh I bet it sounds wonderful. You love hearing my voice, don't you?"

Another noise comes from your throat. "mmmmmhmmmmmm . . . "

"You don't mind my touch either. It makes you feel happy, right?"

Stroking your cheek, he looks to you for a reaction. You exhale and smile contently.

"There is nothing more you want to do that hear my voice and let me hold you close. Your mind is always open to me, and you always will obey my will. Because it's everything you could ever want."

Another pulse. Your will shatters.

It doesn't take long before your own eyes start to glow blue with their own ripples dancing inside. Looking dazed and empty, you stare at nothing as the colors claim what is left of you.

Shadow Milk grins in victory. "Much better, my dear."

The serpents slowly release you, placing your body standing up. You lean forward, slouching a bit, only to feel threads straighten you up.

"Now then, I believe we have an audience to appeal! You know your place, right?"

He strokes your chin. Leaning into the touch, you blush and melt. "Uh-huh."

Shadow Milk's grin widens. "Wonderful~!"

[bitchinbarzal]

Operation mom & dad | M Boldy

summary: jade is determined to get her mom and dad back together.

The roar of the crowd echoes through the Xcel as Matt takes the ice, his number bold on the back of his jersey. You watch from the stands, Jade perched on your lap, her tiny hands clapping wildly.

“Daddy’s the best, right, Mommy?” she asks, turning her bright green eyes up at you.

You smile, ruffling her soft brown curls. “Of course he is, baby.”

It’s always been like this. You and Matt—co-parenting effortlessly, supporting each other despite the past. Your friends tease that you’re just pretending to be broken up, that no exes should get along this well. But the truth is, you and Matt have a rhythm. A history. A love that never really faded, even if things didn’t work out the way you once planned.

But if there’s one person determined to change that, it’s your daughter.

Attempt #1: The Forgotten Jacket

It starts small. Too small to suspect anything at first.

One night, after dropping Jade off at Matt’s place, you get a call just as you’re pulling into your driveway.

“Mommy!” Jade’s voice is serious, like she’s on an important mission. “You forgot your jacket at Daddy’s!”

Your brows knit together. “Are you sure? I don’t think I—”

“You did,” she insists. “You have to come back. Right now.”

With a chuckle, you turn around and drive back. When you get there, Matt is standing in the doorway, holding his hoodie.

“She meant this,” he says, amused. “Pretty sure this has been in my closet since before she was born.”

Jade beams between you, looking way too proud of herself.

“You should keep it, Mommy,” she chirps. “It smells like Daddy.”

Your face heats, and Matt rubs the back of his neck, clearly unsure how to respond.

“Uh, thanks, J,” you mumble, clutching the hoodie to your chest as you leave.

It smells like cedar and something familiar. Like home.

Attempt #2: The ‘Oops, There’s Only One Bed’ Trick

On a weekend trip to Chicago for one of Matt’s away games, you and Jade stay in the same hotel.

Everything is fine—until you realize that your perfectly booked two-bed room has somehow turned into a single king-sized bed.

“The team told me they asked for two beds,” you tell the front desk, exasperated.

The receptionist frowns. “Your daughter told us you wanted one bed. I am so sorry we have nothing else available”

Your head snaps toward Jade, who grins, completely unrepentant.

“Jade—”

“It was worth a try,” she shrugs.

Matt arrives moments later, taking in the situation with a smirk. “Guess I’m sleeping on the floor.”

But when Jade starts fake crying—“We can all share! It’s a big bed!”—you both cave, lying stiffly on opposite sides.

Still, sometime in the middle of the night, you wake up to Matt’s arm draped over your waist. And instead of moving away, you let yourself sink into it—just for a moment.

Attempt #3: The School Art Project

Parent-teacher night at Jade’s school is usually straightforward. You admire her work, chat with her teacher, and call it a night.

Except this time, her teacher greets you and Matt with a knowing smile.

“You have to see what Jade made,” she gushes, leading you to a table filled with colorful drawings.

There, in bright crayon strokes, is a picture of you, Matt, and Jade—holding hands, a big red heart above your heads. The words MY FAMILY are scrawled in crooked letters at the top.

You glance at Matt. He’s staring at the drawing, something unreadable in his expression.

“She talks about you two all the time,” the teacher says warmly. “How much she loves when you’re all together.”

Matt looks at you then, his blue eyes softer than you’ve seen in years.

And your heart stumbles.

Attempt #4: The “Oops, We Missed the Game” Move

One evening, as you’re supposed to take Jade to Matt’s game, she starts complaining of a “tummy ache.”

You fuss over her, canceling your plans, but by the time puck drop comes around, she’s suddenly perfectly fine.

“Jade…” you say, narrowing your eyes. “Were you really sick?”

She bats her lashes innocently. “I just thought Daddy would come check on us if we didn’t show up.”

You sigh, settling in to watch from the couch.

After the game you were tidying up when the door rings.

It’s Matt.

“You okay?” he asks, concern evident in his face “Saw you weren’t at the game.”

You exchange a glance with your daughter, who looks way too smug.

“We’re fine” you murmur.

Matt looks like he wants to say something more, but instead, he just ruffles Jade’s hair and stays for a while.

And you don’t mind. Not one bit.

The Breaking Point

It happened suddenly. A long shift at the hospital, a reckless driver on the road, and before you know it, you’re lying in a hospital bed instead of standing beside one.

You’re mostly fine—just a concussion, a few bruised ribs—but when you finally open your eyes, the first thing you see is Matt.

He’s sitting in the chair beside you, elbows braced on his knees, hands clasped tightly together. He looks exhausted, his usual steady composure cracked wide open. His hair is a mess, like he’s run his hands through it a hundred times, and there’s a crease between his brows that only deepens when he notices you stirring.

“Y/N.” His voice is raw, barely above a whisper.

You try to smile, but your ribs protest at the movement. “Hey, Matty.”

He exhales sharply, his whole body seeming to uncoil as he leans forward, his hands hovering like he wants to touch you but doesn’t know if he should.

“You scared the hell out of me,” he murmurs. “I got the call in the middle of practice, and I just—” He drags a hand down his face, exhaling harshly. “I thought— I don’t even know what I thought. I just knew I had to get to you.”

Your heart clenches. “I’m okay,” you reassure him softly. “Just a little banged up.”

But he doesn’t look comforted. If anything, his jaw tightens, his hands clenching into fists.

“You shouldn’t have been alone” he says after a moment “I should’ve been there.”

His words make something ache deep inside you, something that’s been lingering for far too long.

“Matt…”

He finally reaches for your hand then, threading his fingers through yours. His grip is firm, steady, like he needs to feel you to believe you’re still here.

“I can’t do this anymore” he says, his voice barely above a whisper.

Your chest tightens. “Do what?”

“This” He gestures vaguely between you, his thumb absentmindedly brushing over your knuckles. “Pretending like we’re just co-parents. Like we don’t still—” He stops himself, inhaling deeply before meeting your gaze “Like I don’t still love you.”

The words settle between you, heavy and fragile all at once.

Your breath catches, your heart pounding so hard you’re sure he can hear it.

“Matt…”

He shakes his head, his grip tightening. “No, just— just let me say this, okay? I thought we were doing the right thing, staying apart. I told myself that over and over again. But every time I see you, every time we’re together with Jade, it feels like I’m right back where I’m supposed to be. And tonight, when I thought—” He swallows hard. “I can’t lose you, Y/N. I don’t want to spend another second pretending like you’re not my home”

Tears sting your eyes. Because God, you know. You’ve always known.

Your life without Matt has never really been a life without him. He’s always been there, steady and sure, woven into your every day. And maybe you were both too stubborn or too scared to admit it before.

“I love you,” he says, voice thick with emotion. “I never stopped”

A tear slips down your cheek, and Matt reaches up to catch it with his thumb. His hand lingers, his palm warm against your skin.

You lean into the touch, exhaling shakily “I love you, too.”

The relief that washes over his face is immediate. And then he’s kissing you—soft at first, careful, like he’s afraid you might disappear. But when you pull him closer, fingers tangling in his hoodie, it deepens into something more—something familiar, something new, something that feels like coming home.

A tiny gasp from the doorway makes you break apart, and you both turn to find Jade standing there, eyes wide with delight.

“Are you kissing?” she asks, her little hands pressed to her mouth.

You laugh breathlessly, swiping at your damp cheeks. “We are”

Jade lets out an excited squeal and bolts down the hall. “GRANDMA! GRANDPA! DADDY AND MOMMY ARE IN LOVE!”

Matt groans, dropping his forehead to your shoulder. “She’s never gonna let us live that down”

You grin, threading your fingers through his hair. “Probably not”

He pulls back, brushing his nose against yours. “Guess that means we have to make it official, huh?”

Your heart swells.

“Yeah” you whisper. “I guess we do.”

And as he kisses you again,you know, without a doubt, that you’ve finally found your way back home.

[inkspiredwriting]

Candlelight Confessions

Five Hargreeves x Fem!reader

Warnings: none

The sudden flicker and then the complete darkness caught Five Hargreeves and Y/n off guard as they were finishing dinner in their cozy home. The hum of the refrigerator died, and the glow of the overhead lights vanished, leaving them in a silence only broken by the rustling of leaves outside and the distant roll of thunder.

Five groaned softly, running a hand through his hair. “Looks like the storm knocked the power out.”

Y/n, her eyes sparkling even in the dim light, shrugged playfully. “Well, it’s not the first time we’ve dealt with a blackout.”

Five smirked, reaching for a candle on the table. “When we ended up dancing together without music, just a room full of candles and the two of us.”

Y/n giggled, nodding. “Exactly. You have to admit, you’re quite the dancer when you want to be.”

As Five fumbled for the lighter, Y/n found her phone and used the flashlight to help him light the candles scattered around their home. Soon, a warm, flickering glow filled the room, casting long shadows on the walls and giving the space an intimate ambiance.

“See?” Y/n said, setting her phone down. “This is kind of romantic, don’t you think?”

Five grinned, pulling her into a hug. “Leave it to you to make a power outage romantic.”

They settled on the couch, a soft blanket draped over their laps, the candles flickering around them like tiny stars. Five glanced at the window, the rain tapping gently against the glass.

“So, what should we do to pass the time?” he asked, leaning back and stretching his legs out.

Y/n tilted her head, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. “How about we tell each other stories? Childhood memories, maybe. Things we haven’t shared before.”

Five raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “You want to dive into the nostalgia pool, huh? Alright, you start.”

Y/n smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Okay, let’s see. When I was six, my family took a trip to the beach. I remember building this huge sandcastle. I spent the entire day working on it, imagining it as a grand fortress.”

Five’s eyes softened as he watched her, captivated by the glow of the candlelight on her face. “What happened to the sandcastle?”

Y/n chuckled, shaking her head. “A big wave came and swept it all away. I was devastated at first, but then my dad helped me build another one. He said, ‘Sometimes things get washed away, but that just means you get to start fresh and make something even better.’”

Five nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. “Your dad sounds like a wise man.”

“He is,” Y/n said softly. “Now it’s your turn. Tell me something from your childhood.”

Five sighed, leaning his head back and staring at the ceiling as he thought. “Alright. When I was around eight, before I got pulled into the apocalypse mess, I used to sneak into Reginald’s study. He had all these old books about time travel and science. I’d sit there for hours, just reading and imagining all the places I could go.”

Y/n’s eyes widened in surprise. “I didn’t know you were into time travel even back then.”

Five chuckled, nodding. “Yeah, I guess I was always fascinated by the idea of bending time to my will. But the funny part is, I once tried to build a time machine out of cardboard boxes and kitchen utensils. I was convinced it would work.”

Y/n laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “I wish I could’ve seen that. Did it work?”

Five shook his head, grinning. “Not even close. But it taught me to keep experimenting, to never give up on the things that intrigued me.”

They shared more stories, each memory painting a picture of who they were and how far they had come. As the evening wore on, the flickering candles casting a soft glow around them, they found themselves inching closer, the warmth of their shared history wrapping around them like a comforting embrace.

After a particularly funny story about Five trying to impress a girl at Griddy's Doughnuts with a poorly executed magic trick that Klaus had taught him, Y/n leaned in, her laughter fading into a tender smile. “You know, Five, I love hearing these stories about you. It makes me feel even closer to you.”

Five reached out, taking her hand in his, his thumb gently stroking her knuckles. “I feel the same way. It’s like we’re weaving our pasts together, creating something even stronger.”

Y/n’s eyes shimmered with emotion, and she squeezed his hand. “Promise me something, Five.”

“Anything,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Promise me that no matter what happens, we’ll always be there for each other. Through every blackout, every storm, every unexpected twist in our lives.”

Five’s gaze locked onto hers, a fierce determination burning in his eyes. “I promise, Y/n. I’ll always be there for you. I’ll love you through every moment, no matter how dark or challenging.”

Y/n’s smile was radiant, and she leaned in to kiss him softly, the warmth of his lips grounding her in the promise they had made. “And I promise to always stand by you, Five. No matter where time takes us.”

They sat in the quiet glow of the candlelight, their hands intertwined, feeling the strength of their bond deepen with every shared story and whispered promise. As the storm outside began to wane and the first hints of power flickered back to life, Five and Y/n remained on the couch, wrapped in the glow of their memories and the certainty of their love, ready to face every blackout together.

[crazylittlejester]

I hope you are doing better cause your posts make me so happy!

I don't know if anyone has said this or not but I think Wars isn't actually that great at taking care of himself! Like he definitely knows how and knows the best tricks but he just would rather take care of the other people around him first/instead. He's the mom friend after all.

He was a Captain so he probably had a lot of younger soldiers under his command and I think he would really try to take them under his wing and help teach them how to take care of themselves properly. That definitely only increased when Mask came around (except Mask actually made sure he took care of himself too)

With the chain I think they've all kind of caught onto this so when Wars is stressed that each has something they go to him for 'help'. Like Wild asks if he can help brush his hair, Legend will ask for sewing/embroidery tips and Wind will lets him ramble about how to get out different stains from his clothes. It gets his mind focused on something else and it actually calms him down a lot oddly enough!

Sorry i definitely rambled a bit but that's my little head canon!

HELL YEAH I 100% agree with this, I have basically the same hc!!

To me it is the act of taking care of someone else that calms Warriors down, like he cannot do it to himself he cannot self care because he stresses he’s doing it wrong, but if he’s taking care of someone else he ends up taking care of himself in the process. I hc he’s a middle child (and the only boy, rip) so to me he’s got a handful of younger sisters and if he ever tried to take care of them by making sure they got extra food, they’d be like “well you have to have some too” and he’d end up being forced to go “okay alright”. Because an older sibling telling him to do something like take care of himself was just going to make him Not Want To Do That, but his little sisters guilt tripping him into it absolutely works

Mask did similar things whenever Warriors would be like “okay bedtime, you have an early morning” by pointing out Warriors ALSO had an early morning. I also hc Mask would get all into his personal space (carefully, ofc) and flop on him and get all cozy and fall asleep in such a way that made it LITERALLY impossible for Warriors to get any more work done so he would HAVE to stop and take a break and put the kid to bed, which made him put HIMSELF to bed. Also the idea that Mask would have a nightmare and be able to comfort himself and get over it and he COULD just go back to sleep, but he’ll go to Warriors anyway because he needs the hug and he knows WARRIORS needs a cuddle and will never ever ask for one, so Mask has to go over there claiming HE needs it

and i agree one billion percent with the idea that the chain will ask his assistance for easy little tasks Warriors absolutely knows how to do that are simple enough to be soothing because he cares for himself by caring for others partly because he needs to feel useful and wanted in order to ever truly relax

does he know HOW self care works? yes. he’s just PHYSICALLY incapable of it because Trauma

[allykakamatsu]

Twisted Hearts 1 Chapter 2: Tricks and Masters

<First> <Previous> <Next>

Story Summary: When an unknown incident lands the students of NRC in a strange new world, they have to travel across worlds to find each other as well as trying to vanquish the darkness. Sounds.... easier than most of what they've been through this school year at least, but nothing is ever that simple, and a pair or adopted siblings will once again find themselves at odds.

Chapter Summary: Barely escaping the Queen of Hearts with their heads on their necks, the groups attempts to breathe are interrupted by a powerful Heartless. Meanwhile at Hollow Bastion, Riku meets the other villains and fully realises what he's in the middle of.

(Chapter Underneath Read More)

“Riddle, that was awesome, but what the hell is that thing?” Ace asks as I get a better look at Riddle’s new weapon, a red claymore with three claw shaped blades at the bottom with a handle surrounded by a thorny vine themes hand guard, and a vine pattern in the middle with the four card suits and a crown along it.

“I have no clue admittedly!,” Riddle answers, “I was just filled with this determination, like when I get angry usually but more… controlled I suppose, and I just felt something in front of me to grab, so I did, and next thing you know I have this thing! Surprisingly not that heavy given the size of it but this is quite bizarre!”

“What the he-!! That’s a Keyblade!!” Donald gasps in shock as he jumps into Riddle to get a better look.

“Three, two.” Cater counts down but before I can ask why I see Riddle’s face turning red over Donald climbing all over him and that tells me all I need to know.

“GET OFF OF ME!!!” Riddle screams as he throws Donald through the door out of Wonderland…. Okay.

“That’s one way to open the door.” I quip as I break the stunned silence as the rest of us run through.

“I always forget how strong Riddle-Senpai is even without his magic…” Deuce mumbles as we all make it to the safe side and we quickly close the door. That… was way too close-

“Guys, where’s Alice?” Goofy asks as he helps up Donald, prompting us to look around and, unfortunately she is missing, zooterkins.

“When was the last time anyone saw her?” Sora asks as he gets panicked.

“She was with us right as we ran away from the trial,” Cater answers, “the soldiers were still down for the count thanks to Riddle’s #brutal attack so I don’t think she got grabbed at least, so she probably just got separated from us and hid somewhere.”

“I’ll go back in and check to be safe.” I state as while Cater’s probably right I don’t want to risk it… but as I try to open the door it won’t budge?

“Wait, what?,” Trey asks as he tries the door as well but he doesn’t have any luck either, “that… that’s a problem-!!”

“Whoa-Trey!!” Riddle yelps as Trey pulls me and him to the ground right as it starts shaking?

“What now?!” Donald groans in frustration as everyone else gets onto the floor.

“Wait… this feels like what happened when that heartless showed up in Traverse Town-!,” Sora yelps before getting cut off by a… purple and pink heartless thing holding batons appearing?!, “Heartless!! Everyone, be careful!” 

“Aha, what the hell have we gotten ourselves into?” Cater asks with an uneasy laugh as we all square up for another fight.

“Anyone have a plan for this thing or are we just charging in?!” Trey asks as we all back up to avoid an attack.

“Get the darn batons away from it!! BLIZZARD!!!” Donald shouts before casting an ice spell at one of the batons.

“Sounds good to me!,” Ace agrees as he casts his own spell, “fire shot!” With that he fires the spell at the baton… only for the Heartless to not even flinch as the baton is set on fire, and it then lights up the other one before charging us again. Uh oh.

“ACE!!!!” Riddle and Deuce shout in frustration as we run away to get some distance and they both cast water spells at the Heartless. 

“Well excuse me for not knowing it could do that!!” Ace fires back as he casts a water spell this time.

“Argue later, for now let’s just try not to get burned al-!” I tell them before pushing Sora out of the way of a fire blast.

“Ah!! Thanks again Silver-! Watch out! FIRE!!” Sora thanks me before casting a fire spell at the Heartless which was about to whack us, and thankfully that doesn’t set anything else on fire and just stuns it enough for us to back off.

“Guess we’re even now huh, nice cast,” I compliment making Sora smile as I get an idea, “Riddle! We can use our keyblades to cast! Let’s try it so we don’t build up too much blot!”

“They can-?!,” Riddle asks as he barely dodges a fire blast from the Heartless before checking his pen, “well, I suppose it can’t hurt to try! On three!!”

“Right!,” I say as we line up to fire… which includes Riddle mounting his keyblade like a rocket launcher… okay then!, “one, two, three!!”

“FIRE!!!” We both shout as I feel the magic come out of the keyblade just as naturally as it would if I was using my pen, though I feel a tingling, slightly draining sensation instead of the usual mild blot accumulation, and the fire spell hits it’s target, as does Riddle’s though his is somewhat comically oversized, and it makes the Heartless fall to it’s very stretchy knees.

“Let’s get it fellas’!” Goofy shouts as we all use the chance to hit the Heartless as hard as we can with our weapons and spells, and it looks like it’s almost dead-

“DEUCE WHAT ARE YOU DOING-?!?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!” Ace screams as Deuce somehow throws Ace at the Heartless’s head, and that’s apparently enough to kill it as it dissolves into darkness, leaving behind it’s heart.

“That��. Is for lighting it’s weapons on fire… and making that more complicated…..” Deuce explains in between pants of exhaustion.

“Deuce, that was nice and Ace admittedly had it coming,” Cater tells him after we all recover from that attack, “and I know you said you wanted to be more like Rid’s, but I don’t think people throwing is the part you wanna emulate.”

“Wait, what?” Sora asks as everyone who wasn’t there for the incident looks confused.

“Long story short,” I explain, “on our first day, another one of our classmates touched Riddle’s hair cause he’d never seen anything that red before and he was curious without much care for personal space, and Riddle responded by setting collaring him with his unique magic, setting him on fire and throwing him across the room.”

“…..Wow, and you said Grim and ‘Zia caused a commotion on our first day, what they did is tame compared to that.” Ace quips as Riddle is looking embarrassed, Trey and Cater are hiding their laughter (though only the former is remotely successful at it) and everyone else stares in disbelief.

“I I In my defence, Floyd really shouldn’t of grabbed me like that, I I just panicked.” Riddle fires back once he’s mostly calmed down.

“Yeah, but,” Deuce adds, “well given how he is, no wonder Floyd-senpai doesn’t leave you alone now Riddle-senpai.”

“Teehee, you can say that again.” A new voice chimes in, and when I look up to see who it is, I see it’s a cat beastman about our age with purple hair, but notably the same type of tail as the cat who bought us time during the trial.

“Chen’ya!,” Trey shouts in surprised relief as all the Heartslaybul students eyes show some degree of recognition, “glad you made it out okay.”

“Ehe, gonna take more than an angry queen to pin me down,” Chen’ya assures him as he jumps down from the table with a bottle, “was eavesdropping during your introductions so I already know all your names, pleasure to meet you all. Sorry I couldn’t make it out sooner to help with whatever that unbirthday reject was, I was trying to figure out where in Wonderland Alice vanished off to.”

“Wait, she’s gone?!” Sora asks as the panic starts rising again.

“Yup,” Chen’ya admits, “she got split from you guys by some darkness stuff and ran into the lotus forrest, I ran after her, but after a few corner  turns she was gone. Checked the place from top to toe but no sign of her.”

“Oh for the love of the Queen…,” Riddle mumbles in frustration, “does anyone have any ideas what could’ve happened to her?”

“Darkness….,” Sora hums before looking worried, “she might of been sent to another world like Riku and Kairi were.”

“Great, another kid we have to keep our eyes peeled for.” Donald groans in frustration.

“Chen’ya, can you keep your eyes open for her just in case.” Trey asks as he goes into what I’ve heard Idia call ‘mom mode’.

“Will do,” he agrees before giving a slightly sassy smirk, “but since you asked me, I assume you’re all going together to look for her and little Sora’s friends?”

“Hey!! I’m not that short!” Sora refutes with a pout which gets a snigger out of Ace.

“And to answer, unless someone wants to stay back as well I believe we are,” Riddle replies, “if nothing else I’m going, Liddell-san was in this mess with me, I feel obligated to at least ensure she makes it out of this.”

“Well, if you’re going, then you can count us in too Rids,” Cater adds with his usual smile, “right guys?”

“Right, Heartslaybul’s gotta stick together!” Deuce adds with an eager expression with Trey and Ace also nodding in agreement, though the latter does so a bit awkwardly. Heh, I heard about how rough things were for them on the first week of school, it’s nice to see them getting along a lot better now-

“Um, guys, what’s that?” I ask as I point back to the wonderland door… where a glowing keyhole has appeared in the already existing Keyhole…. Okay then?

“That’s the Keyhole!,” Donald explains as he and Goofy look both relieved and excited, “once we seal that the Heartless shouldn’t be bothering this world anymore!”

“Alright then!,” Sora says eagerly as he pulls out his Keyblade a bit awkwardly, “so, how do I close it-! Whoa!!”

“Like that apparently.” Ace quips as a laser beam fires out of the Keyblade and goes into the keyhole, making it vanish.

“I see, so the world trotting is also for a good cause, all the more reason to tag along then,” Riddle says likely thinking out loud before turning back to Chen’ya, “will you be alright on your own?”

“I’ll be fine, plus if I get bored I can probably figure out how to catch up,” Chen’ya replies, “but you’d better not forget about me while you’re gone.”

“Aha, I’d think I’ll be dead before I ever forget about you.” Trey assures him with a laugh which the cat beastman returns before vanishing.

“Do you really think he’d be able to world travel and find us?” Goofy asks as he takes a sip from the bottle Chen’ya left for us and it turns him back to his normal height.

“If it was anyone else I’d doubt it, but underestimating Chen’ya is a plan that usually just leads to getting jump-scared.” Riddle answers as he drinks up next and we all pass around the bottle and drink up, but as we are I can’t help but think. 

It’s nice to have some back up, but this world hasn’t given me any leads on Father, Malleus or Sebek, and now we have to find Alice in addition to them and Sora’s friends. We managed to do some good while we were here but, I hope wherever we go next is a bit more fruitful in our search.

POV Switch, Riku:

“Come along now, we can’t be late.” Malleus says as he ‘leads’ (though it’s more accurate to say he’s all but dragging) me into the meeting room, and honestly, while this will probably be hell in it’s own way, I’ll take whatever is gonna happen in here compared to being trapped in a tiny bedroom with Malleus asking me way too many questions to ‘jog my memory’.

“Right, sorry.” I tell the insane dragon to placate him as we walk in, and the first thing I notice is the door we came in from is the only way in, so unless I learn how to teleport out of nowhere getting out is going to be easier said than done, though probably still easier than leaving the bedroom with Malleus inside it.

The other thing is the meetings attendants themselves. There’s… well there’s a woman with octopus limbs where her legs should be, a living sack, a guy who looks like he was ripped straight out of one of Sora’s pirate books, a guy with blue skin and his hair on fire, a tall man wearing a style of clothing I’ve never seen before, and what I assume is a teenage boy with his hood pulled up so much I can’t see his eyes who is desperately trying to not look at something.

“Hmph, I was wondering when you were going to arrive.” The tall man says as Malleus takes his seat at the table and I’m somewhat dragged into sitting on his lap.

“Apologise for the delay, I had to get reacquainted with my missing brother after all these years.” Malleus explains, putting all eyes in the room squarely on me, great…. Wait…. The boy looked shocked when he saw me but then he I think looked up and tensed? What in the world is going on?

“Ha, if I known it was bring your pet to work day I would’ve brought my poopsies,” the octopus woman says with a chuckle, “maybe even those dears who follow me around like lost sea puppies.”

“Don’t tempt me Ursula, if I bring in my little squad this whole castle will get trashed.” The sack man adds with a slightly sadistic laugh, and I notice the boy flinch and desperately try to shuffle away. Ah, so he’s trying to not look at the sack man, got it.

“I believe we were told that we weren’t allowed to bring anyone?” The pirate points out with a grimace, either he’s annoyed by the rule breaking or the fact he wasn’t allowed bring someone. Either way, he’s a mood because I am very annoyed by this entire situation. That and terrified but I won’t give the universe the satisfaction of admitting that.

“Riku is a guest of myself and Malleus, and Jaffar’s little assistant is fully joining us, so exceptions have been made,” Maleficent explains as she teleports in, “now then, I have called you all in for a specific reason.”

“Yeah yeah, can you make it quick, my plan to kill Wonderboy is almost ready and I’d rather get on it-!,” the fire man says dismissively but becomes annoyed when he barely dodges a lightning blast from Malleus (escape is becoming a bigger mess by the minute), “hey!! What’s the big idea?!”

“How unbefitting behaviour for a member of the Seven,” Malleus sighs before turning back to Maleficent, “continue, auntie.”

“Thank you dear,” Maleficent replies before getting focused, “while things are progressing smoothly, a hiccup has occurred. The Kingdom Key has been claimed, and the one who’s wielding it is travelling the worlds, which may be a problem.” With that she summons I guess a magic picture to show what she’s talking about-!!

“Sora!!” I shout involuntarily as I see my friend on the table, and while I slink back into my seat when everyone starts staring at me, I let out a massive sigh of relief as I do. Sora’s alright, thank goodness, and with how much he and Kairi stick together like glue she’s probably alright too. That’s the first good news I’ve gotten since I’ve got here, but by the sounds of it he could be in trouble now that these weirdos might be going after him. Hopefully he’ll be fine for a bit but this is all the more reason to get out of here.

“So, you all called us here so we knew who to gun for?” Sack man asks and even with the lack of proper eyes I can tell his intent is murderous. Sora please don’t run into these guys before I find you idiot….

“Primarily,” Maleficent admits before smirking, “though it was also to give you all an update on our plan.” Before anyone can ask what she means, she snaps her fingers and a blonde girl who’s even younger than Sora and Kairi appears.

“What…. Where am I…? This isn’t Wonderland! Who are you people?!” The girl asks extremely confused and panicked, but no one answers as everyone is now smirking, save for the boy who looks at me and even with his eyes covered I can tell he’s concerned about whatever is about to happen.

“Another Princess found,” the tall man who I think is Jaffar says with a smirk, “I believe that means there’s only two more to go, Jasmine and whoever the last one ends up being.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up being that damned Peter Pan’s little friend, or a certain someone’s ditz of a princess.” The pirate chimes in which makes the octopus sigh in agreement.

“Regardless, let’s deal with the one we have right now,” Maleficent says as she grips the panicked girls arm, “my dear, as always.”

“Of course,” Malleus agrees as he sits up and leaves me in the chair, “I’ll be right back.”

“Wait, what are you going to do to her?” I ask getting very tense and ignoring the sacks comments about me being Malleus’s baby.

“Just what we need to, don’t worry, I’ll be gentle.” Malleus answers as he starts casting a spell, which does nothing to lessen my panic and evidently the same is true for the girl as she starts trying to squirm away.

“Let me go, let me go!!” She shouts as she tries to get out but it’s not working, and…. Fuck it.

“No!! I don’t know what you’re doing but you’re going to hurt her!” I shout as I jump out of my seat and grab onto the spell arm to try make him stop. Is this dumb, yes, but it’s not the dumbest thing I’ve done in the past twenty four hours, and at least in this case the only one I can hurt is myself-!! OW!!

“Jeez, got a real beacon of heroism there.” The fire man quips as I pull myself off the floor after receiving a slap from a very angry looking Maleficent, oh boy.…

“What… what the hell is going on?” The hooded boy asks, finally speaking, with a tone of confusion and dread and that makes Malleus give him a look of shocked recognition. Great, now someone else is going to be dragged into this mess.

“Boy don’t cause a scene, you don’t want to end up like that fool.” Jaffar tells the boy with a hiss as I try to stop whatever the hell this is, but I… can’t move?! What the- shit Maleficent’s using a spell to keep me in place this is bad! Um, is there anything I can throw?!

“And to answer your question Viper-san,” Malleus replies as he turns back to the now trembling girl, “we need the hearts of the Seven Princesses of Heart to complete our plan, so I’m just adding the next one to the set.”

“Her heart- WAIT!!!” I shout as I try to process what’s happening, but before the words even fully register in my brain Malleus puts his spell hand on the girls chest, making a crystal like heart appear which Maleficent grabs right as the girl falls over.

“What… what… what the hell did you do to her?!?!” I shout as I try to get out of this spell. They… they just killed a child… how…. How could they…?!?! I’m… I’m going to kill them-!!

“Apologise for my brother, he’s always had a good heart and this isn’t an easy thing to see.” Malleus apologises as I see that I somehow broke free, but now I’m stunned on the floor…. My hands are also faintly glowing a wispy purple which great, this is even worse somehow…

“It’s alright dear,” Maleficent says with an exasperated sigh directed at me, “but bring him back to your room for now so he doesn’t cause any more scenes. Now, where were we?”

With that Malleus picks me up and takes me out of the room, and I try to move, or even say anything, but I just can’t, and the last thing I see before everything goes black is the boy, Viper, looking in my direction with concern as he tries to move the girls body.

Masterpost

Buy me a coffee

Commission Prices

[sightseertrespasser]

Odds of Survival Part 5

Customer Service Prowl.

Credit to @keferon for creating the tf mecha AU!

———————————————————————

The door behind the tactician hissed shut, isolating him from the outside world.

Prowl had a short walk, 11.2 clicks, to the communications terminal. He took exactly as long as was necessary. Not a click sooner.

Injury warning messages were manually silenced. He’d neglected his own self repair for lower priority tasks before. This was no different.

Shutting Tacnet off from working on the Jazz Mystery was a greater struggle. It’d been so long since Prowl had gotten to work through a puzzle like this, it had him booting up long dormant scripts he hadn’t used since working as a detective. The mental stretching warmed him up. It felt good. But it wasn’t what was currently required of him. He shut off that branch of his processor too.

Tactical estimates only.

For now.

Like packing up his room, Prowl “got into uniform”.

Optic hue shifted to within the parameters of the socially accepted spectrum.

Doorwings lifted high and almost pressed together, neither spread out in intimidation nor lowered in submission.

Helm tiled forward 24 degrees to cast the maximum level of shadow over his features while not obscuring vision.

Prowl reached the terminal like a silent storm.

He nodded the minimum angle required to be interpreted as bowing for the manifestation of War resolving on the screen.

“Lord Megatron.”

He glared from beneath his chevron, pricks of light in a darkened room.

“What are your demands?”

———————————

The course of action Megatron required tactical support for was frankly amateur. The solution incredibly simple.

Sentinel Prime had once more prodded the leader of the revolution into a vengeful fury, so now Megatron wanted to, of course, retaliate violently.

The correct course of action was to not engage.

It was clearly a trap designed to whittle away their limited resources, which would have been idiotic even if the Quintessons were not a factor in the equation. Since they were however, it lowered Prowls opinion of both leaders even further that they’d even considered reigniting the civil war at a time like this.

No, what truly challenged Prowls strategic prowess wasn’t the request itself, but how to tell Megatron “That is an idiotic idea and how dare you expect me to entertain it.”

The trick, after much trial and error, was to not tell him at all.

“There are 24 optimal targets for a retaliatory attack Lord Megatron. 8 of which would yield material gain if taken and 3 of which would yield additional territory.”

All three of the territorial land grabs overlapped with the material gains category. However, when phrased correctly, it both implied even more options for Megatron to pick through and forced him to choose from plans Prowl had decided in advance.

Megatron gave the illusion of consideration.

He selected the land grab options, for the obvious purpose of irking the standing Prime. It took one to know one and megalomaniacs despised having their property made smaller. Stolen goods were numbers on a page. A map was a picture of what was lost.

“Very well. For the most expedient retaliatory strike, the mining depot on ES 9-B33 will be ideal for your conquering.”

Prowl had the mining depot mission lined up for close to a vorn. It was on the edge of Cybertronian territory, minimally guarded and would provide the Decepticons with a cache of ever needed raw materials. And while it was a great boon for their small faction, to the sprawling colonial power of Cybertron, it was hardly worth notice.

Which meant Sentinel and the Functionalist government shouldn’t waste resources on restarting the Civil war (66%).

Megatron, satisfied in his ignorance, ordered Prowl to draw up the assault plans immediately.

Prowl was sorely tempted to tell the deception to “do it himself” and not just to get him out of the picture for a time.

It was a very rare thing for Tacnet to come up with 100% certainty. However, Prowl could say, with terrible absolute certainty, that nothing short of a true Prime, or maybe an exploding star, could take Megatron in a fight.

The mech had forced Prowl to reset his parameters of what a cybertronian could physically survive no less than 13 times. At least 5 of those being assassination attempts from Starscream, whose preferred method of execution was “beyond all reasonable restraint.”

Until further notice, Megatron was an immovable piece of the board that required skillful circumvention.

“The plan will be drafted in 4 breems Lord Megatron.” Prowl dipped his helm and did not break eye contact until the screen went dark.

Prowl connected to the communications system, pinging Soundwave for the most recent updates on ES 9-B33, layering the new information over his original outline.

Once received, it required only a fractional amount of processing power to run through which decepticons were available for action, filter out those not suited for the job and sort the minutiae of coordinating supply ships to reroute to arrive at the depot as the assault team would be wrapping up.

Will softened by boredom, temptation won out and Prowl turned the bulk his processing power to Jazz.

Details laid out plainly, it painted a concerning picture.

Jazz was a highly skilled combatant, he solely exists to kill Quintessons by his own admission.

And he loves music.

Jazz speaks a language neither Prowl nor Bluestreak have ever encountered, Jazz himself having never interacted with Common, let alone standard Cybertronian.

Jazz was exceptionally sociable, even going as far as to try and play card games with hostile organics. Yet even pressed chassis to chassis, not once did Prowl detect an EM field.

And he’s a shameless flirt.

Jazz had many unusual physical attributes, such as abnormal ranges of motion, multi jointed legs, and in spite of all his injuries, Prowl hadn’t seen so much as a drop of energon.

Jazz possessed a disturbingly high pain tolerance, and was at best accustomed to substandard medical treatment, if not outright abuse.

And he’s never felt a kind touch before.

When Bluestreak had asked about him, Prowl had told his brother that Jazz was an alien mechanical lifeform and to not harass him unnecessarily. Between his physical bizarreness and lack of common knowledge among cybertronians, it was a natural conclusion.

But something hadn’t been quite right ever since Prowl had rescued the mech. There was this nagging inconsistency with Jazz’s behavior.

He was very curious about Prowl, yet seemed far more in awe of the other alien life forms and ships they’d been traveling with. There was also the immediate (and somewhat overwhelming) familiarity with which Jazz conducted himself around Prowl.

It was almost as if…

Jazz doesn’t consider Prowl to be alien (88%).

If he thinks Prowl is the same species as him, then would that mean Jazz doesn’t realize he’s the alien?

Unless.

An alternate, unpleasant theory began to weave.

Unless Jazz isn’t an alien at all.

Prowl finished the assault plan and sent it with a harsh hand. Re-opening his comms to the backlog of messages from Bluestreak, he scrolled back to something his brother had said when he’d been repairing Jazz’s visor.

BLUESTREAK: [WTF WTF WTF WTF WTF.]

Too far.

PROWL: [Please do not comment aloud.]

BLUESTREAK: [Is he really fully in recharge? Just like that?]

PROWL: [No. Jazz is still conscious. He’s not completely limp either just… very sedated.]

BLUESTREAK: [Just from holding his face? C’mon Prowl, that’s weird. This is weird. You found a weird, weird mech who definitely has a thing for you.]

PROWL: [He does not have a “thing” for me.]

BLUESTREAK: [Oh yeah? What are you getting from his EM field then?]

PROWL: [Nothing. He doesn’t have an EM field Bluestreak. Jazz is an alien and likely doesn’t have all the same traits as a cybertronian.]

BLUESTREAK: [Are you sure? I mean, the anesthetic worked fine. And he looks pretty cybertronian to me.]

BLUESTREAK: [Maybe he has field atrophy? You had that once. I couldn’t feel you even if I was touching you.]

That was when Prowl had been apart of the decepticon High Command. He’d spent multiple Vorn isolating himself, doing nothing but churning through battle plans and inventory logs and reconnaissance reports with little rest. Then there was the first time he crashed.

A minor setback at first. Almost immediately Prowl went back to work. Over and over again, he’d bypass previous limitations of the decepticon military. With each success, the bar was placed a little higher, with is successive crash, the recovery took a little longer.

There were always improvements to be made. He’d long moved on from the most needed structural changes to continuously finer tuned modifications to how the entire faction operated. He sharpened Megatrons rebellion scrap into keen edged blades.

Prowl did anything for the edge.

Even down to the smallest percent.

Even down to the smallest decimal point of a percent.

At Prowls worse, when he had just started to tip over to spending the majority (51%) of his waking time in recovery from continuous Crashes, he had come up with a strategy that would give the decepticons a 0.04% advantage in the long run against the Quintessons.

Repairing critically damaged ships was not cost effective. If a ship’s structural integrity fell beneath 14%, Prowl had instituted a script to cause the ship to self destruct. Therefore causing maximum damage to surrounding attackers in a final blow.

Prowl stared at his reflection in the black glass.

You couldn’t see the break in his nose anymore, Smokescreen had punched him in the medbay so it was fixed fairly quickly.

0.04%

Bluestreak was stuck in the medbay for a quarter of a Vorn.

Prowl straightened, optics returning to his default blue. The injury warning messages eeked back into his processor, causing his doorwings to shake briefly before Prowl allowed them to drop.

If the Functionalists had someone like him in their employ, then Jazz may not be an alien at all.

———————————————————————

To all the folks who picked up on the clues, good job! There’s no Optimus and there’s no Autobots. Yet.

There’s more to how Prowl got into his current situation later and I’m sure Jazz will be “totally cool” with Prowls past life choices. And current life choices. And general sense of ethics.

Bluestreak knows Prowl’s responsible for blowing him up and uses it to blackmail him constantly once their relationship got better again.

(Cybertronian timescales are weird, but a Vorn is basically a “year” for them, and fifty years for a human. A breem is pretty consistently 8 minutes.)

-SSTP

[beloved-cat-gremlin]

Major Ghost Trick Spoilers !!

need to talk about some stuff regarding the game as well as personal things that correlate

I am so very normal about Yomiel's and Sissel's relationship <- very obvious lie

But in all seriousness. Their bond is something so insane to me and it actually hurts to think about how Yomiel must have felt the very moment he realized that Sissel was dead.

Normally people say that pets are just what they are; pets.

That we shouldn't see them as anything more. And the moment a pet owner even just hints at or says it that they see their pets as more than that, that they see their pets as part of family, they are often given a weird remark about it.

Especially us cat owners.

I was often told that I shouldn't overreact over my cat. That she's just my pet and that apparently she doesn't need as much care and attention as a human family member.

But she is my family.

More than my blood family even at times.

I've had my cat (black cat btw) for 13 years now. She is probably one of the most important beings in my life next to my older sister and my best friends.

She is my everything and I love her just as much as I do with my older sister. And I don't want to have kids, but my cat is the only one I would say I actively express some sort of parental feelings for.

I practically raised her since she was a kitten. I was there for her in her worst times. And she has been there for me in my worst times. More than my actual parents.

I was on the verge of a mental breakdown once when something was wrong with her and I had to take her to the vet hospital, at 11pm on a Saturday night. The two hours she was away to be examined I was so so scared for her. That maybe she wouldn't make it.

I had experienced many cat deaths before, all were absolutely horrendous and god awful. I would be down and depressed for multiple days while grieving. And I know that when my current cat will pass, I won't be able to live normally again.

So to think that Yomiel probably experienced something very similar in that moment is gut wrenching. The moment he realized Sissel -the only one who was in his life for those 10 agonizing years- was dead. I can't imagine what kind of self control it needed for him to not break then and there.

Yomiel is already such a fantastically well written tragic character. But adding Sissel to the mix just makes it all worse. Because I know I would never "live" when my cat would be gone. One who I see as family.

And to Yomiel Sissel was family as well.

You cannot tell me that he did not see Sissel as anything more than just a pet who accompanied him. Sissel was as much a part of Yomiel's life as Yomiel was of Sissel's.

I really, really hope with all my heart that in the new present Sissel and Yomiel got to meet up again after Yomiel got out of prison.

They need to reunite immediately and I will not stand for anything else!

So yeah Ghost Trick really hit me hard.

[cryptid-killjoy]

Date?

Okay, that was cute. Too cute coming out of Elsa's mouth. It wasn't that it couldn't be a date it was just his mind hadn't thought in that direction due to the circumstances. He'd thought it was a pretty obvious joke when he had said he knew how to treat a lady by giving her a time with funerals and tetanus shots. Maybe he was flirting? He didn't know. It was just his personality. He didn't tend to analyze himself so much. He was watching her though. She was being ever so evasive after. It might have been the most adorable thing he'd ever seen on a grown woman.

"Still, I wouldn't want to land mediocre. I might have to consider stepping up. Maybe. I'll think about it. Feels like pressure. Didn't know I was getting challenged the day after, I might be up for it."

Yup. He went there. He was grinning too much. He had to playfully niggle her a little before moving on.

As for how old he was on the next topic and moving along, he start to lead the way the old rope swing beyond the tree line. Something told him Elsa wouldn't be swinging on that either after the merry-go-round, but Koda still wanted to see his old stomping grounds. This was his time after all. "Oh, uh well I guess the official age was eight. After my father was killed. I don't know. I mean we still technically had our home here, but Mom was angry all the time. She started hanging out with Shan Yu around there. Everyone was angry all the time. I was angry all the time. Shan Yu promised to turn me when I got older and as a kid you think that's really cool. You want to be powerful, never get hurt like my father. Then I had Denahi telling me no. Mom eventually moved us in with Coven. She wasn't going to have anyone tell her how to raise her kid I guess. I was a kid. I thought I got my way. Then the training with Shan Yu started."

"Not like I regret any of my skills now, but looking back, the discipline, it was hard on a kid. I can't even explain what he put me through."

And just like that with a simple question of when did he leave he somehow opened up just a little more of himself again.

"My grandparents threatened to sue for grandparents' rights legally and to avoid court drama she granted them once a month visit and I'd come back for this. After my grandparents passed my visits grew less and less. Denahi tried to keep her welcomed because I was young I'd always say if my mother isn't welcome, I am not welcome. Now you see a little more why there's a little bad blood concerning me and my mothers being buried here. We've had our ups and downs here."

Then as he was opening up the walk did too. It wasn't just a rope swing. It was a child's imagination land. It began to look like any teen wasteland, a wore out half pipe with grass overgrown on the edges. There was spray paint everywhere. There was a lot of grotesque art and scribbling, random names, symbols, but there was also art. Koda's face came alive and no more sad past came from his memories.

He started chattering away about the kids and all the adventures they had back there daring each other to do big tricks. He'd point to the remnants of paint he couldn't believe was still there like it was time capsule from another world, another life, a different him. He talked a lot of outer space adventures right his skateboard cockpit. He'd laugh unashamed every time he said something silly because that was the fun of being a kid. That was the fun of the rez. He couldn't do kid things with his Mom or Coven. The rez was his refuge.

"I'd pretend to get sucked into this black hole all the time." He laughed pointing through some work of art. "Oh the adventures I had in there."

Throwing up was not exactly Elsa’s sort of thing. If she even could, she didn’t know. She sometimes sneezed out snowflakes, so who knows what would come up if her stomach was purged. Little snowmen? Icicles? Probably things that the Laveaus would find fascinating, but which she would feel deeply humiliated about. Her already white skin turned all the more pale at the thought.

“I think that’s a badge I would rather go without,” She said in that Elsa-like way. As if it was a real badge and not just an expression.

But thankfully, he thought of something else to do. Something she’d be a lot more comfortable with, as she would have second thoughts about the merry-go-round.

She nodded, and would walk with him to check out the rope swing. That sounded a lot less nausea inducing. But as they walked she would remark, without thinking for once - “I’ve had worse dates.”

Then all at once her mind caught up with what she had said. Dates. Was this a date? Or was this still just her being here to support him. They had never established, and now the gears were turning inside of her head, wondering whether she should correct herself and say that she had worse trips, which was true, or if she should just stay calm and collected, and perhaps he would overlook what she had said.

She went with the latter to avoid being a stumbling mess.

“How old were you when you moved from here?” She asked, quick to move onto the next topic.

[xxplastic-cubexx]

friend notoriously bad at videogames said shed play marvel rivals with me tomorrow chat if i never post after tomorrow night its because a blood vessel bursted

[inkykeiji]

touya-nii is so jealous of everythingggg and you do such a good job writing it!!!! he also seems so needy >,<

aw hehe thank you so much!!! (ㅅ´ ˘ `) ♡ yes!! he is extremely jealous, extremely possessive, and extremely obsessive. this gives way to a peculiar type of clinginess; he needs to know where you are at all times, who you’re with, and when you’ll be returning. he wants all of your attention on HIM, yet he can be stingy with his own—he uses it as a currency for good (aka submissive/tightly controlled) behaviour: if you’re obedient, if you do as he says, he’ll reward you with attention in exchange. he uses it as an incentive, to entice you into complacency (which sometimes backfires, since your misbehaviour almost always garners his attention, even if it isn’t good attention). he can also be physically clingy, always needing a part of your body touching his; his hands on your waist or back or neck, your thigh slotted up against his own, tangled fingers a mess in his lap, etc. he just wants all of you, all the time—even when he tells you he doesn’t

[laugtherhyena]

Playlist listened to while writing; https://spotify.link/WzxvdTKBCJb

Holy shit dude, the ceo of rei angst wrote some rei angst what the HELL!! We have to kill her guys she cant keep getting away with this.

Anyways im gonna be writing about a lot of these nerds. I just love rei. This is really rushed and I am really sleepy so it is not my best writing.

Also i cannot write teruya so you will habe to ppppUT UP WITH IT.

Warnings for like. Violence and my attempt at writing a breakdown.

-

Rei held the rusty pipe like a baseball bat, swinging for a homerun as she smacked off the head of someone she once knew. Someone who had abandoned her long ago.

The rotting head of what used to be her mother rolled on the ground, sickly green skin squishing against the ground and stared up at her with lifeless eyes.

“I didn’t want to see you again like this,” Rei hissed as her chest heaved, “i wanted to see you staring with regret as you saw your daughter on top of the world. I didn’t want to kill you or see you dead.”

That had been the second time she had run into her zombified mother. The first, she had been a coward, unable to kill her and her father– the two people she hated most, the two people who had abandoned her and left her on the streets.

Where had all her rage gone that time. When had she become soft.

-

Midori clung to Ryutaro with all the strength in her frail body. “My brother,” she whispered, “i saw my brother’s corpse down there. Kakeru… he… they got Kakeru… they killed Kakeu…”

He didn’t say much in return, but he did pat her hand briefly– the only comforting action he could manage while carrying her.

“I see a store up ahead. Let’s stop by there for supplies.” Keisuke pointed out to the leader of the bunch.

Setsuka patted the clown on the back and gave him a smile. “Sounds good, lead the way. Maki, do you need me to carry Yamaguchi for a bit?”

Midori wrapped her arms and legs around Ryutaro a bit tighter at the suggestion, very much attached to the guy who had found her and saved her from zombies.

“I’ll be fine until we reach the stop.” The blonde nodded his acknowledgement to the bluenette, forcing a smile as he struggled to catch up.

The group walked in silence for a bit, the only sounds being the orchestra of distant zombie groans.

“Miss Yamaguchi,” Hikaru said after bit, his tone fatherly like usual, “may I check your pulse soon? And may I check if the swelling on your ankles has gone down?”

“Yeah, that… sounds good. Thank you, Uncle.”

-

Kanata removed the bandages from Ayame’s arm gradually.

“There isn’t any sign of infection, Hatano. Kinjo and Maki are still out, so… uhm… can I get you something to eat?” The surgeon spoke softly as she stared at the sprinter.

“I’m not hungry…” Ayame mumbled.

“Inori!” Tomori slammed the door open, her eyes sunken from lack of sleep, “i think i got bit. Check! Check, please!!”

Kanata bit back a sigh of exasperation and forced out her cheerful smile. “Of course. Where do you think you were bit this time?”

“My ankle. They went after my ankle so I couldn’t run! They’re going to eat me. I’m going to die, aren’t I? Oh, god, I’m going to die!” The cheerleader’s words were jumbled together and practically nonsensical. She grabbed onto Kanata’s shoulders as she spoke, her nails digging into the other’s lab coat and pressing her skin uncomfortably.

“Miss Tomori,” Kanata winced, “please let go of me. I will check your ankle, but I am sure you are fine.”

“I’m not fine!” Kizuna wailed before glaring accusatory daggers at Ayame. “If you… if you hadn't gotten yourself bitten! If you had just seen that bitch for what she is! We wouldnt be doomed! You’ve doomed us all!”

Ayame took the words without fighting back. What had been the point in fighting anymore? Kizuna was right. She had doomed them all.

“Miss Tomori, please… Taira had us all fooled… if Miss Hatano is to blame, then so are the rest of us…” the blonde murmured. “Please sit down so I can check your ankle…”

-

Mindless. Kinji was mindless. His faith had only been able to spare him for so long.

His teeth were decayed now. His skin was green and purple and yellow. His eyes were dull. His cheeks were sunken.

It was incredible that his mind stayed intact long enough for him to bury as many as he did. The only bodies he didn’t put 6 feet under, the only bodies he couldn’t handle burying, were those of the people he knew.

But what was the point?

-

Yuki held his stomach as he choked up and spat out the last meal he had, beans that had barelt even begun to digest.

“Urgh… gross…” he mumbled to himself.

Shinji was away at the moment, scouting out for the next safe place for them to go and likely trying to find his family in the process.

The lucky student fought back envious tears. At least they knew there was a chance that Shinji’s family was alive– they found his mother, Aiko, brutally murdered in the Maeda household. Her corpse was bloated and rotted when they found it.

The sight still haunted his dreams. He couldn’t even keep.meals down since he saw it.

-

Mikako peered into her brother’s lab. He hadn’t eaten in quite some time, nor had he slept.

“Yamato…” she whispered hesitantly.

He spun around with a dart ready in his hand. He only lowered it after he registered it was her.

“Mikako, I’ve told you to leave me alone. I need to find a cure, or no one will be safe.” The inventor turned back to his work and threw a crumpled up piece of paper to the side.

“I’m sure someone else is searching for a cure, Yamato. Why not try to make a vaccine? Some sort of immunity would help while someone else finds a cure.” The exorcist suggested.

Her brother didn’t seem to have heard. That, or he was ignoring her.

“Ah… nevermind.” She straightened her back and spun on her heel to hunt down their other classmates.

For the newcomers, Satsuki was putting on a performance– juggling empty bottles and broken gadgets whilst telling jokes. That could not be safe, but Haruhiko seemed to have his eyes on her.

The bunker door heaved open, and Teruya’s team came in, carrying boxes full of food and other supplies.

“We’re back with dinner!” The merchant shouted.

Mikako rushed over to take the box from him.

“Thank you, Otori, this should be good for at least a week. You and your scavenger team did good.”

He grinned at her and handed his box over. “Thanks! We uh…” he hesitated, “We saw Taira and Maeda… err… Utsuro? On our flight back… they looked like they were heading somewhere… dunno where…”

She bit her tongue and nodded thankfully at him. “Thank you for telling me.”

-

Thats it. Im hungry good bye.

Aw yeah infection Au moment! I do remember you saying a while back that you wanted to write something about Rei in this Au and MAN her part has gotta be my favorite out of these little snippets.

I really like taking a look at how a bunch of the cast is doing, seeing the way you wrote them in those situations was pretty fun! It reminded me how much i like the idea of Setsuka's like group with the 6.5 cast and how Kanata probably wishes she has a degree in psychology to properly deal with Ayame and Kizuna (she may feel as if she's not doing enough for them seing as her kindness can only bring her so far when dealing with their turmoil)

[sunnynardelli]

It was never easy to tell when banter was just banter and when there was a little more weight to it. Sunny tried to never read too much into the words of others. She had embarrassed herself more times that she would have liked to admit by thinking people were into her (or worse hated). Unless they were explicitly clear, she would just laugh at it and roll her eyes. Even when they were, she did the same. “I never said it was true just that there are people who think it,” she said, shaking her head. There was definitely truth to that too. “Maybe the people who have had to deal with the real me should start a class action lawsuit against them for misrepresentation.” That’s was definitely an idea. It was definitely better that someone else have to pay it than herself. She wasn’t overly concerned about anyone actually pulling that though. They were more likely to try and come out of the woodwork and sue her for something relating to her business. They could try but she did have a lawyer dad. His focus might not have been bullshit lawsuits but he’d have figured something out or called on favors for friends. “Isn’t it better to be upfront about who you are so there aren’t any misconceptions?” she asked in return to his question. “I mean, maybe it would be better to wait a few times but honestly if they can’t handle the truth why are you even going to want to bother dragging it out. It’s better to run people off immediately.” And she was relatively good at that. That and knowing things about town. “There are. I mean, the trick is finding one’s that aren’t on private property. Trespassing is just the first thing in the quest for possible death.”

Sunny wasn’t a risk taker. Not even remotely. Growing up, she’d always been the kind of person who played it safe. She wasn’t likely to be caught dead jumping off a cliff. She’d tried a thing or two with limited chance of damage or chaos a time or two but she was much more content to keep her days downtown, running her bar or trying different foods. “That’s nearly an impossible feat though. I mean, trust me when I say, it is very rare for the dream to stack up,” she confessed. It was a bit like not meeting your idols, they were bound to disappoint you. She’d definitely put people on a pedestal only to have reality come crashing down on her later. “That is precisely it. I mean, I’m not sure what your after life would have in store for you but there is potential and at the end of the day, that people is enough to enter it with hope. I do have to warn you that she’s a bit of a screamer. Well, crier to be more precise but it comes out like a bit of wail – Maybe a partner in crime is what she needs to knock it out.” It made sense to her in her New Years Sleep Deprived brain. She nodded, willing to accept that neither of them actually wanted him to die. “I do a pretty good job of leaving things in random places on my own though honestly no one has to die to do that sort of things,” she told him. She listened to him talk, nodding as he talked about all the things he wanted to do with his son. She didn’t have any person experience in her life to relate to it but she could understand wanting to teach and encourage your kid to love and appreciate the things that were important to you. “Between your interests and his mom’s, he’s going either going to be the biggest hipster or completely rebel to the music and outdoors and become some sort of straight laced business man. It’ll be entertaining to watch.” You couldn’t really predict whether a person was going to run toward their genetic predispositions or against them. She snorted at the mention of booktok. “It’s okay. Men can be into spicy books too.”

Following and talking along the way was definitely the way to go. She felt a little warmer moving than she did standing around. Then again, moving from the beach and the breeze helped a little in that department as well. “It’s too late,” she said, “I’m afraid the image is already there and soon you will be known as the freezer fuck guy. You’ll be a legend. A questionable legend who people aren’t completely sure if they can trust but a legend never the less.” She did follow and wait, letting herself lounge against the wall while he got into warmer things. Her spiked hot chocolate was practically gone but it was okay since she’d soon have more. “You look less like an popsicle now,” she remarked taking in the sight of him. “And that will do. We don’t have far to go. Hopefully you can manage. I mean, we should start from the top with all the secrets.”

"All varieties of teasing are always on the table." A smirk tugging at his lips before laughing, his tongue darting out to wet his lips, tasting the saltiness of the water that still clung to his skin now. "Now who told you that you had an innocent appearance? Because they were lying, and you should get your money back." If there was one thing Ari could do, he could play the games too, she wanted to tease him, he could easily tease the blonde headed woman, at least she was being gracious enough to have talked to him so he wasn't standing on the beach completely alone, which had been the original plan. "Challenging and difficult, those are the two that you choose to start off with in telling someone about yourself? Brave, brave woman." Clicking his tongue, not sure if he was more impressed, amused, or fascinated by their conversation. "Believe you're supposed to save that information till you meet a person at least -- I don't know say the third time." Holding three of his fingers up as if driving the point really home. Though the blonde could do what she wanted, he just couldn't resist when she had offered up that information. "Mean there's the cliffs here, aren't there? Maybe it's not allowed to cliff jump from them, rocks below -- immediately crushes that rush, er -- figuratively and literally." Or maybe it was more turned into shredded human but there was no point in attempting to give more details to this story.

For Ari he was someone who was always up for an adventure, maybe you wouldn't actually find him cliff jumping but send him on a more difficult hike? Sign the man up. It was something he planned to do more of once the weather settled a bit more in Merrock and he could get outside, feel the crunch of his heavy boots back against the ground, it'd be that feeling of home for him. "That's all I could ever aim to be, a true gentleman, have to live up to someone's dreams." Ari quipped, tugging the towel tighter around his skin. "So you have one ghost lady, and you're willing to promote me. All I'm hearing is I'm winning at ghost life, and in the afterlife I'd at least have a friend, or maybe a ghost girlfriend, mean she's alone, I'm alone, haunting your for the rest of evermore might as well also make a partner out of it." It seemed like the only logical idea.

Giving a set nod, "You're not wrong, not something I want to think about anytime soon, actually happening. As much as haunting you until your last days probably would be far more amusing for me, than you. A person can only handle so many things going missing or ending up in random places before you know." Tapping the side of her temple indicating going a little crazy, but weren't they all in this world? "Definitely have a lot I want to teach him in this world so kind of have to stick around. Want him to learn to enjoy the outdoors, how to be kind and gentle with nature and animals." It was something he knew wouldn't happen for awhile, at least in the bigger sense there'd be years before he was taking him on adventures, but even in small ways he could make a change for the little boy. "Daddy Phantom sounds -- like you've been on booktok. Don't ask how I know about booktok either, you couldn't torture it out of me."

"I said that I'm freezing as fuck! Not that I fuck freezing -- wait, that -- no, definitely did not say that and I'm going to need you to make sure that you don't put out the image to anyone that I'm hanging around meat freezers. Are you trying to give the town of Merrock the idea I'm a serial killer? Not the vibe I'm trying to give, Sunny." As the blonde followed he rolled his eyes, "Apparently I'm far more exciting than you're giving me credit for, but I will take the liquor if you're offering now." Since this had all started over her playfully attempting to show off her spiked hot chocolate. Once inside it didn't take him long to dry off and change, emerging with his own hot drink, now far more suitable in a pair of jeans, his boots, and a simple button up. "Alright, I did make a pit stop for one of these, figure warm up and you show me the direction to this place you intend to take me to liquor me up and tap into all my secrets. Let's see how much game you have."