#the dumpster battle (right) was 15

[dumbidiotzone]

me and my $62 dollar shopping spree for haikyuu shit (im NOT normal)

[hpgal]

DC X DP Ghost Dog

CW: Blood, Violence

TLDR: Jason is fighting a losing battle against a new opponent he is having trouble hitting. This leads to him being chased and running into Danny whose chilling in an alley.

Word Count: 1326

a/n: Might write more where more Batfam encounter Danny and Danny's perspective, may even rewriting the ending of this. I got the idea from a prompt someone posted here on Tumblr and I forgot to save it but I'd love to tag them if anyone can help me find them! The prompt was something along the lines of Danny will randomly appear in alleys with items that the person needs exactly to solve a problem they were having.

Jason emptied his clip a long while ago and was now being chased through Crime Alley by some sort of dog. It was big. If was angry and it was... green?

The bullets did nothing to it but aggravated the thing and so it chased him. His comms weren't working to call for backup and he was getting tired. It's been 15 minutes of running and that was before you add on he was trying to fight the thing prior and he was now injured after taking a hit meant for a civilian.

He jumped off the rooftop, stumbling. Instead of catching the opposite ledge he plummeted to the ground. A dumpster broke his fall. But damn did it hurt, especially with a prexisting slash of claws on his side. He was still human after all. He had some time but he did not want to waste a single second before it could catch back up to him. So, begrudgingly and in pain, Jason pushed himself back up and out the dumpster.

"Great I'm going to smell like rotten fish for a week" he muttered to no one in particular as he brushed garbage off him.

Before he could formulate a game plan, his thought process froze. He looked up in confusion and blinked. Then blinked again as he stared at what he saw.

A kid with black hair and looked incredibly scrawny sat on a stoll behind a table with a sign "Clockworks Goods and Services!" The kid seemed unbothered with headphones on and eyes closed as he leaned back against the wall of the alley.

Hell the kid almost looked like Damian. If he has blue eyes he'd be a perfect candidate for a Bruce adoption. But why was a kid here.. selling his services?

Jason takes a moment to listen out and notice it is oddly quiet which meant the green dog must not be close yet so he takes advantage of the situation to figure out what the hell is going on here. He takes a step forward and looks at the contents on the table. It was empty except for a single bell with faded writing saying "ring me!" And so he did.

The kid opens his eyes with a start. They were piercing blue. Oh Bruce would fall for this kid instantly, he thinks to himself.

"Oh evening!" The kid starts as he stands up stretching as he removes his headphones from his head. "It looks like you're in need of my services. What is your problem today?"

The kid was so nonchalant as he spoke and moved around. The kid glanced at the table and furrowed his brow. "My names Danny by the way" he quickly adds on.

Jason stares at Danny through his mask perplexed. Something about this didn't sit right with him. It was late at night and Danny was hanging out in an alleyway selling services yet he looked not a day over 15.

But something drives him to answer Danny's question and answer it truthfully, "I'm fighting something and none of my attacks are working on it but it's causing destruction and hurting the people of Crime Alley. It even managed to injure me"

As soon as he says it, he wants to smack himself. Why would he need to tell the kid that? He shoyld be telling him to grt out of here, that it isn't safe.

Danny however shrugs like this was normal for him and looks down at the table again. The plastic folding tables surface remained empty except for the bell but Danny seems confused at this.

"Huh usually it appears when you say it." Danny mutters and proceeds to look under the table then behind him.

Jason however is further confused and raises a hand to his helmet to try his comms again. Unsurprisingly he hears only static. What he does hear instead of his families voices, is the barking of a dog in the distance and something crashing.

Aw shit.

Jason looks up then towards the entrance of the alley with a sigh, "Look, kid, I'm going to circle back to you and your... weirdness later, for now, you need to find somewhere safe while I deal with an abnormally large and green dog."

This seems to catch Danny's attention as he jerks back upright and looks at me. He stares, and I see the wheels in his head turn. He sighs, and his shoulders slump inwards.

"I get it now. I'm the service you need" Danny rolls his shoulders back and steps out from behind the table, heading to the entrance of the alley.

"Woah kid stay back! It's dangerous!" Jason calls out behind him as he jogs to catch up, only slightly twitching in pain as he moves. The kid was incredibly fast for someone who looked malnourished.

As soon as Jason reaches the street, he turns to see where the kid had gone. His eyes widened at the sight of Danny walking like it was just another day towards the rampaging dog.

Danny stops just out of reach of the green dog and whistles two quick notes. The dog pauses and looks towards Danny, its fast twisting from one of anger to excitement as evident with its tail wagging.

“Cujo!” Danny yells, “Bad dog! Drop the car!” the dog whines and drops the car it had in its mouth with a loud thud.

The dog, Jason now knows as Cujo, gets low to the ground and its ears press against its head like any dogs would when they are embarrassed or know they’ve been caught doing something they weren’t supposed too.

“Come here boy! It’s time to take you home!” Danny calls out to it, producing a glowing green dog treat from his pockets.

Jason just watches the entire encounter unfold, gobsmacked. He doesn’t know what to think of it. He couldn’t believe his luck. It was that simple. Who is this kid? As Jason continues to watch his jaw drops to the floor at what happens next.

The dog starts shrinking until it is ithe size of a puppy and comes bounding up to Danny with little playful barks. Danny scoops Cujo up with a sigh and scratches Cujos head right behind his ears.

Danny turns to look towards me, the street where Cujo came from a mess. He gives a sheepish smile and wave, “Sorry about that! I didn’t think Cujo followed me today! I’ll speak to my dog sitter about watching him more carefully next time!”

Danny turns back towards the chaos Cujo created on the street and glances at his watch. “Well, it’s time for me to clock out. I’ll send someone to clean up the mess! Sorry again!” Danny pauses for a moment as he glances once more at Jason, squinting.

A green glowing portal opens up behind Danny and he looks between Jason and the portal. He sets Cujo down and directs him to go through the portal. Danny jogs over to Jason, digging through his pockets.

“Oh sorry you’re hurt and sick. Probably my fault honestly. Here.” Danny shoves something into Jason's hands before he can protest, dumbfounded by what just happened, “That should get rid of the tainted Lazarus Waters in your soul and let your injury heal up like normal. Sorry again!”

Jason just stares before finally getting his bearings again, “Who the hell are you?!”

Danny just laughs, “I’m just your friendly neighborhood ghost.” and with that Danny leaves through the portal, it closing behind him leaving destruction and a baffled Jason in the street.

Like Danny promised, not even a few minutes later, another portal opened up in the streets of Crime Alley, spilling out dozens of glowing green people, who Jason started to believe were really ghosts. The ghosts got to work and by morning, it was like nothing happened.

At the next family dinner, no one believed Jason of what happened that night.

-----

a/n: I feel like we don't see Cujo enough in fics. I mean come on, a ghost dog? How cool is that?!?! I love Cujo <3 And we all know how much Cujo loves Danny!

[incorrectbatfam]

What do the Goofy Gooners look like .. asking for a friend …

Rob is a tired dad with an inferiority complex. He doesn't put much effort into his appearance because basic hygiene already saps a lot of his energy. He has reddish-brown hair that he keeps short for convenience and doesn't shave as often as he should, so there's always a thin layer of stubble. I picture him to be around 33 but stress makes him look older. He usually wears the same basic t-shirts and cargo pants—a polo would be fancy for him. He's on the underweight side because he frequently skips meals so his kids and Milo have enough. He also has random tattoos scattered over his arms plus one on his leg and neck. They don't mean anything, just dumb stuff he got when he was younger, including a winking emoticon and the Pillsbury doughboy.

Blaise is 26 and you can tell he's a stoner from the get-go. He has dirty blonde hair that he grows out but hardly maintains, and the same level of effort goes for his clothes. He often wears things he finds in dumpsters or thrift stores and chooses comfort over style. His clothes have lots of hidden pockets for lighters, firecrackers, and weapons. He's tall and lanky, which makes living out of Milo's car in the parking lot awkward (Rob offered his apartment but he declined). Similar to Rob, Blaise also has a number of meaningless tattoos plus several piercings. He also plays the guitar and keeps his lucky pick on a necklace.

Kellin is a 20-year-old originally hailing from Thailand. Their assassin parents trained them in gymnastics, martial arts, and various weaponry from a young age in hopes that Kellin would follow in the family's footsteps and join the League of Assassins. That obviously didn't work out and they traveled around as an independent hitman (hitperson?) for a couple years before they landed in Gotham. They're always battle-ready—if they could shower in their assassin uniform they would. They changed their name and keep their hair just long enough to mask their face. They're fluent in English, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Arabic, but they prefer to let their actions speak for them instead.

Molly is a 25-year-old trans woman who incorporates her jobs as a drug dealer, team strategist, and nightclub DJ in a single look. She has long dark hair dyed with neon streaks but ties it up when fighting. She's not the most formidable combatant but she has basic fighting skills and is very calculative. Her primary weapon is a metal baseball bat, inspired by her favorite anti-hero, Harley Quinn. She also has a belt equipped with her experimental chemicals and smoke pellets. However, she's not allowed to pair up with Blaise on missions because it's an open secret that the two of them can't focus around each other.

Otto is a war veteran and car mechanic around the same age as Alfred, but that's where the similarities end. He's been wearing the same mechanic's uniform for the past four decades, the only differences between then and now being his hair thinning, a couple front teeth falling out, and acquiring a beer gut. His arms are covered in scabs and scars from the job and he's had trouble with his right knee ever since the army. On the surface he seems like a Boomer yelling at kids to get off his lawn, but he's more like a stern but well-intentioned grandpa who is disappointed to see nothing much has changed over the years.

Milo is your standard 15-year-old delinquent. He's slightly small for his age and doesn't pack that big of a punch on his own, but put him behind the wheel and he's a total menace. When he's not driving, he keeps himself stimulated with video games or his collection of keychains (his favorite is purple bat because of his puppy crush on Spoiler). His look is reminiscent of early 2000s skater punks, including a bright red mohawk and his trusty headphones. Everything he owns, minus his car, fits into a single backpack. His weapon, on the rare occasion Rob lets him on the front line, is a batarang he found on the street.

Gene is someone you would never expect to have so many issues because on the outside he looks like an average 40-year-old glasses-wearing office worker. He has short sandy hair and dark circles under his eyes from nightmares. His meds help a lot, but sometimes he's still seen pacing around and muttering to himself. He's not a danger anymore compared to the past, which is why Rob trusts him enough to share an apartment. Gene focuses his nervous energy into his research and tinkering instead, amassing a comedic collection of hyperspecific gadgets.

Mac is basically the guy in the chair. He's 30 and has thick glasses, thick curly brown hair, a thin goatee, and almost exclusively wears flannel. His nails are down to a nub because he bites them when concentrating. He's also often seen with chips or an energy drink in his hands and wears a jailbroken smart watch. Of the team, he has the least physical prowess but the most brain power. He doesn't see combat often but keeps a pistol in case. He turned an old ice cream truck into his home/mobile office so he can plug in anywhere. Like Kellin, he's also not from Gotham, but instead Fawcett City and has a distinct Minnesota accent.

Booker is a 19-year-old Gotham U student and the third member of the team's Glasses Trio. He's an intelligent guy slated to graduate a year early and thus needs his internship credits sooner. He's very polite (albeit a little socially awkward) and puts his best foot forward by coming into work with slacks and fun patterned suspenders even though he doesn't have to. His hair has a slightly uneven fade because his sister insisted on practicing on him for cosmetology school, so he covers it with a fedora. He carries his things in a laptop bag and has an enthusiastic bounce in his step that only newbies would have.

Jackie and Gunner are Rob's 6-year-old twins (Jackie being 8 minutes older) and are the babies of this hodgepodge family. Jackie takes after her late mother with frizzy black hair usually tied in pigtails. She loves wearing pink, reads way above her level, and is a horse girl in that she wants one to stomp on the people she doesn't like. Gunner looks more like his dad, though his hair is a little messier and overgrown. He hates school but loves dirt and monster trucks. Both of them have a troublesome streak but Jackie's a little better at hiding it. They quarrel like siblings do but at the end of the day, they always stick up for each other.

[catindabag]

In your Au in the future who is Katniss Nepo Baby Everdeen mentor who is also her duet for her performance is it Haymitch, Effie or is it a capitol student a descendant of Sejanus and Coryo and what is Katniss usually like other than being way happier and pretty much getting everything she ever wanted and needed

Oh, Panem, Horn of Plenty. The crack!AU Everdeen timeline is gonna be a mess.😂

Fortunately, Katniss “Nepo Baby” Everdeen is not gonna be like her super famous crazy singing rainbow bird grand aunt (Lucy Gray) because our ✨Girl on Fire✨ will have the same serious personality as her canon self.

But she’s also going to volunteer steal poor little Prim’s spot (out of spite and for fun) as D12’s official ✨Panemvision Female Tribute✨💅.

Unfortunately, Catnip’s greatest rivals will be Glimmer (D1’s youngest and fairest opera singer), Cato (D2’s hottest theatre nerd and rock whispering prodigy) and Clove (D2’s youngest broadway musical genius).

Moreover, Peeta Mellark (who whistles like a pro) will be Katniss Everdeen’s official “duet partner” because her extremely gorgeous Capitol Mentor, Seginus Cadmus Plinth-Snow-Creed-Price (AKA: the gorgeous grandson of Coryo, Sejanus, Festus, and Persephone) got stuck in a dusty broom closet with poor sensitive Philip Anthony Ravinstill-Anderson (AKA: the wacky socialite grandson of Felix and Androcles).😅

Nevertheless, here are some other interesting “facts” in this weird timeline:

1. Primrose and Buttercup (the crusty cat) are the unapologetically ruthless founders and leaders of the infamous Anti-Katniss Everdeen Fan Club. #antivolunteer #realroseofD12

2. Poor Peeta had to fight a jealous Gale Hawthorne (via dance off battle) in order to defend his “rights” as D12’s official male Tribute for the upcoming Panemvision competition.

3. Crazy Lucy Gray married Panini Panlo for fun. She also had a lot of kids with him for fun.

4. Coryo and President Sejanus are still madly in love with each other even after the birth of their 35th grandchild.😍😂

5. Hilarius Heavensbee is the favorite nanny of Sejanus and Coryo’s grandchildren.

6. Glimmer is a very popular opera singer in D1 because of Facet and Velvereen’s influence.

7. Rue can’t sing to save her life because of Reaper Ash (but don’t ask why).😔

8. Foxface is the “Hannah Montana” of her District.

9. Brandy is still a self proclaimed werewolf.

10. Sejanus is still the President of Panem because of Coryo, Festus, Lizzie, Felix, and Clemmie’s collective insistence. #SejiPieforlife

11. Tigris is still a fashionista cheese merchant.

12. Mizzen the Gremlin and Percy Price are still the ruthless rulers of their Pizza Palace Empire.

13. Festus Creed still dumpster dives with Coryo and Pup for fun.

14. Effie Trinket is half Ravinstill.

15. Haymitch Abernathy’s Capitol Mentor, Cassius Perseus Plinth-Snow-Creed-Price is the oldest grandson of Sejanus, Coryo, Festus, and Persephone.

16. Finnick Odair’s Capitol Mentor, Faustina Pleione Creed-Price is the youngest daughter of Festus and Persephone.

17. Lysistrata is still the proud leader of the SnowPlinth Fan Club.

18. Dill is still the Mayor of D11.

19. Reaper Ash is still looking for “normalcy.”

20. Lamina is still crying because of Lucy Gray, Coral, and Mizzen.

21. Half of Sejanus and Coryo’s children and grandchildren have “Complete Heterochromia” for some reason (one blue, one brown).

22. The Plinth-Snow Dynasty is still the most powerful and influential family in Panem thanks to old scheming Strabo and the Grandma’am.

23. Mags and Mizzen are cousins.

24. Maude Ivory is still busy selling and reselling popcorn balls with Mrs. Everdeen (illegally).

25. One of Sejanus and Coryo’s gorgeous sons (Cepheus) married Panlo and Lucy Gray’s youngest daughter (Poppy) because of ✨love✨ political reasons.😏

[euphoricimagination]

Summary: You are already on the second day of Nationals, Nekoma playing a resistance game to reaching the Dumpster Battle. Now Karasuno's needs to beat Inarizaki so it happens

Kenma x reader; Haikyuu x reader

Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16

From the beginning

“Okay, so we’re playing against Surikawa Tech High. We watched the last match, their style is almost the same as yours, their defense is really good. I believe that the coach used to be in Nekoma, cannot confirm it though”

“Yes, he was my student” confirms coach Nekomata

“I believe this is the first time we have play with such a defensive team, right chibi-chan?” asks Kuroo, so you just nod “It’s going to be hard, but not impossible”

“I believe in you, you guys can do it”

You’re half way through the first set, 13 – 15 in favor of Nekoma. Kenma and Kuroo go to block, but it turns into a feint shot, Kai being able to receive it, but making Kenma go out of his way to set it.

“They are trying to tire you out” you say brushing Kenma’s hair away from his face in the time-out “they could have easily scored more points by now if they weren’t pointing at weird places”

“What? Why?” asks Lev

“They probably notice that Ken doesn’t have a lot of stamina”

“I wish I could think of a strategy so we can win without me getting tired” Kenma sighs

“For being really smart, you said something really dumb” says Yamamoto

“To win against a plan that requires a lot of patience, we also need to resist” says coach Nekomata, making Kenma sigh one more time

“We’ll get used to it, the ones who have to dig the ball”

“Exactly, we will be overprotective. In Nekoma we don’t let our setter move”

“I don’t think that will be the right strategy for this match…two extremely defensive teams making sure that the ball doesn’t fall? Both of you will be dead by the end of the match” you say

“Plus, a battle of endurance is boring…Can you make sloppy receives?” asks Kenma

“What?!”

“Sometimes it can be done but…”

“Not every time, only when its effective…” says Kenma

“But why? Yn-chan?” asks Lev

“Their plan is to tire out Kenma, that’s why they’re sending those types of balls. By pretending bad receives it’s going to make them think that they are in control. It also can help to attract the middle blockers to one side, but that's on Kenma”

“If you want us to send the ball to a specific place, we will, but aren’t you too tired to do that?” says Yaku

“I still can move, but I don’t want to go to the end line every time. You will have it worse, you’ll have to get use to their plays and send the ball whenever I want to, but you can do it, you can activate your guts”

“Alright, something else you want?” asks Yaku when the time out ends

“Send it high”

“Got it!”

The plan works pretty well, Nekoma being able to win the first set. In the second set, Sarukawa High is on the lead by two points. The other team does a setter dump, passing Lev’s defense, but Kenma is able to receive it; however, you could see the amount of exhaustion on Kenma’s face. After Lev is able to narrowly make a receive, Kenma hurried to make the set but trips and falls, putting the score at 23-21 with Sarukawa keeping the lead. He quickly is helped by the guys, walking towards the bench

“Hey, the plan worked really good” you say to them in the time-out, the other team seemingly realizing that Kenma might be luring them “they probably are wondering if it was on purpose or not”

As both teams continue to play, the score eventually reaches 28-28, everyone in both teams exhausted. Coach Nekomata asks for the last timeout that you had, noticing that Kenma was a little distracted.

“Chibi-chan, talk to Kenma, he’s getting way too tired” says Kuroo when you pass him his bottle. You go to where Kenma is, a little far away from the team while talking to himself

“Hey, you alright?”

“I hate gravity, so much, if gravity didn’t exist, the ball wouldn’t fall” he lays his forehead on your shoulder

“But it does, so you need to calm down. Concentrate in the game, don’t let all the effort that you put go to waste”

“Sure…I bet I look pathetic, sorry if I’m embarrassing you”

“You’re not embarrassing me, you idiot. Look at me” you took his face in your hands “You’re doing amazing, okay? You can do this”

“Thanks” says with a little smile

The guys go back to the game, Nekoma gaining the set point on the next rally. Yamamoto is able to receive the spike but it’s a little short, Kenma stepping into position and doing a jump set to Fukunaga, making the coach and Kuroo surprised and marking the win for Nekoma.

“He really did a jump set with such an off-receive” you whisper, also surprised by Kenma’s action. Despite not looking like much to some, this type of set was a more offensive play, completely different from what he normally does.

Kenma falls to the floor right away while the team celebrates their victory. After thanking the public for their support, Kenma immediately goes to sit nearby doing cool down stretches, after you put all the things in the bag, you went to where Kenma is

“You did amazing babe, I’m so proud of you” you crouch next to him, caressing his cheek

“Thank you” he gives you a smile

“Well done with putting the extra effort into the game” says Kuroo with Yaku by his side

“It was the only way I could think to not go to a third set, that would have been the end of me”

“You show your guts Kenma, well done!” Yamamoto exclaims

“No, I can’t activate my guts. I don’t know how to explain it, but it felt like it was my duty. You gave your all receiving the ball, so I had to do my part too”

“That’s guts, right?”

“Is it necessary to say that I put effort?! Do you think I can’t?!” says Kenma getting angry

“In the match you seemed to get angry at everything” mutters Kai

“When you get tired, your personality changes dramatically” Yamamoto says amazed

“Hey, pretty boy, relax” you caress his head, feeling him relax as he leans in your hand “eat a banana so you can gain energy, I’m going to see the match, okay?”

“Okay…”

You go to where Kuroo and Yaku were, who are on the sidelines of the match between Karasuno and Inarizaki. You can hear the guys scream Kenma’s name in the background, both Yamamoto and Fukunaga trying to embrace Kenma as he gets away from the affection.

“I still hate the guts thing, they’re too complicated for me, but at least I level up” says Kenma, arriving at where you were, passing his arms through your waist and putting his chin on your shoulder. His eyes shine a little when he sees Hinata spike past Suna and Atsumu.

“Should I get jealous of Shoyo or something?” You joke, making Kenma roll his eyes and scoff

“Ha.ha. so funny. You know I love you” says kissing your cheek, making you chuckle at the glare he gives you

“Aww Kenma gets all clingy and soft when he’s tired” you hear Yaku tell to Kuroo

“Only with chibi-chan though” adds Kuroo looking back at the game when the rest of the team arrives “Oi Karasuno, we’re here. Nekoma is here”

You were sure that Nekoma wanted to play against Karasuno, both teams wanted to recreate the Dumpster Battle and both were good friends, you were also 100% sure that Kenma wanted to play against Hinata, plus they’re good and hard working guys. As their manager you should want that for them, you should support Karasuno so they could have their infamous battle…but you couldn’t, you didn’t want them to win because that would mean that your foxes will lose; and no matter how much you love your cats, Inarizaki will always be closer to your heart.

Considering how tired everyone was after the match, you decided to go to the bleachers, a more comfortable space to watch the match. You sat next to Kenma hugging your knees, feeling all the anxiousness from the previous days piling up now; you can tell that Kenma and Kuroo noticed it, but neither of them say anything about it. Once you are completely settled down you notice that Atsumu goes to serve, doing four steps. He targets Nishinoya, who fails to receive while doing an underhand receive. Everyone in their side starts cheering while Atsumu scans the bleachers

“CHIBI-CHAAN!” screams when he sees you, waving and making the whole Inarizaki look in your direction. You wave back to them chuckle, less dramatic than him but enough for them to see you

“Huh? I thought he had it” you heard Lev say out loud

“It may have changed the trajectory in his hands. Since the surface area is small when receiving, a little change in the angle can complete change the path of the ball” explains Shibayama

“Oh true!”

“Don’t act like you understood Lev” says Yaku, receiving an offended noise from the tall boy.

The next rally continues, Asahi hitting the next spike passing the double block, however Atsumu is able to receive it; since Atsumu touches it first, Osamu goes to set it passing it to Suna. As he is about to hit the ball, Tsukishina is already there to block him, but Suna uses his amazing wide range to completely pass through the block, scoring easily.

“What was that?! But Tsukki was blocking him?” says Lev, surprised.

This was the very first time the team had fully seen the wide range of Suna, not even Kenma and Kuroo had seen it a lot, so their shock wasn't surprising. At that moment you noticed that Suna was saying something to Tsukishima, who ended up with a scold on his face.

More rally’s pass in favor of Karasuno, so now Asahi is serving again. Aran is able to receive it, with Osamu and Suna approaching to spike. Tsukishima is able to tell that Suna is about to spike, Kageyama joining the block soon after, however Suna is able to go past the block once again.

“Did you notice?” asks Kenma

“Yes” says Kuroo after a little pause, probably waiting for you to say something. “Suna was in position to do a cross shot, Tsukki reacted fast and blocked his way and Kageyama joined immediately. However, he used his approach and form as a trick, he got the blockers where he wanted and then changed position in the air, and he did it without sacrificing the power of the spike” finishes while crossing his arms.

Points continue to pass when you hear a faint scream from Atsumu to Osamu, since you were far away, you couldn’t understand what they were saying, but it clearly affected Osamu since his serve hit the scoreboard. Suddenly the whistle sounds indicating that Inarizaki will do a substitution, your white hair friend holding the number 4 in his hand.

“Kita-san is playing” you mumble excitedly, it will be the first time you'll see Kita play in an official match. The third set begins after Inarizaki wins the second, Kita doing an amazing job at defending and keeping the boys in line.

“Not rushing things is the right attitude” says Kuroo when Karasuno is able to control Suna's spike and gain a point from it, Karasuno being in the lead 4-2 “trying to follow him would make him change trajectory since it’s impossible to cover his whole range, if you try to block him you will be doing what he wants you to do. Even knowing this I would still try to block Suna from time to time, and I’m sure I would be able to stop some, but I think that Tsukki used the first two sets to tell his teammates ‘This is the spike of Suna Rintaro, get used to it’, and the more he uses it, the more advantage Tsukki and company have…Right chibi-chan?”

“Y-yeah, sure” you mumble without taking your eyes off the game. While you were listening to what they said, none of the words really register in your brain

“Chibi-chan is quieter than normal” you hear Yaku

“Can you blame her?” Kuroo answers back. Soon after you feel Kenma’s hand reach yours, squeezing it.

A few points pass, Karasuno still being on the lead by two points, when Yamaguchi goes to serve with his jump float; Inarizaki is able to get the ball back over and Yamaguchi sends the receive to Kageyama as the rest begin a synchronized attack. Their ace hit it, but your libero is able to receive, however the receive is low, so Atsumu does a deep lunge and sets it to Osamu perfectly, marking a point.

You saw the coach of Karasuno clapping, alongside some of your team with shock expressions. You were always proud of him, but this time you became even prouder, not just because of the extremely difficult position that he did the set from, but because you knew all the extra work and loneliness that Atsumu had to deal with to become this good.

“He is a model setter” Kenma says receiving a confused sound by Kuroo, hoping he could at least try to make you feel a bit better with his honest thoughts about your friend “but I can’t be like him, I wouldn’t be able to react on time to put myself under the ball, I don’t have the muscles to maintain balance so low, and I’m wouldn’t be able to set the ball perfectly from there”

“You don’t have to say all the reasons you know” Kuroo jokes

“Tsumu is a cocky bastard, but he has all the right to be. He puts his blood, sweat and tears into the sport because he absolutely loves it. He’s most devoted than anyone else here to his spikers” you lay your head on Kenma’s shoulder, who kiss the top of it, as a small smile appears in your face “please win”

Both teams continue playing, having the same score. Now it’s time for Hinata to serve, Aran being able to receive it. Tsukishima watches the play and is able to block Ginjima’s spike but Atsumu quickly saves it with the first touch passing the set to Osamu. Tsukishima hurries to block him, only for Osamu to switch from a spike to a set.

“How annoying” blurts Kuroo when he sees Osamu's set, looking at you worriedly when he realizes that he said it out loud.

Now that he was able to shake off most of the blockers, Aran has the chance to land a clean spike. However, Hinata is able to keep the ball alive as they do a five-person synchronized attack. Atsumu is able to receive Asahi’s spike, Osamu setting it to Ginjima, but his spike is deflected by the block with the ball going out of the court. Once again Hinata makes another miraculous save when he chases the ball and gets it back to Kageyama, which makes Kenma chuckle when Hinata calls for the set. Normally you would chuckle at this, but right now you were fully supporting your foxes.

Points pass, now Karasuno being on the set point of the match. You can’t help but feel anxious about it, hugging your knees even tighter than before. You noticed that Kenma was still looking at you with worried eyes as he grips your hand.

Now it's time for Tsukishima to serve, who serves narrowly, Aran barely being able to save it. After Hinata’s spike is received, you notice how Karasuno was starting to pick up speed, as his coach screamed at them. They continue to push as fast as they can until Hinata receives the spike of Aran with the first touch high into the air, helping Karasuno to calm down. Now that Karasuno has collected themselves, they launch a synchronized attack, Tanaka attempting a spike but getting blocked by Atsumu and Omimi. Although Kageyama is able to get the ball up, it goes towards the back of the court where Tsukishima makes a desperate dive to reach the ball before it lands out. He barely gets the ball up but it continues to go out, but Daichi is able to reach it in time and get the ball back to Inarizaki. While Karasuno quickly gets back into formation, you see Atsumu and Osamu preparing to use their version of the quick attack, however you also notice Hinata and Kageyama right there, ready to block.

“No, no, nonono” you say with your eyes watering, standing up from the sit and hurriedly going down to the front of the bleachers, only to arrive to the railing when the ball is touching right by the end of the court “no…” you whisper, some tears falling involuntarily

When Inarizaki was thanking the fans, you noticed Atsumu’s face looking disappointed before an old dude screams that it was a good match, and that a good match always deserves praise. As much as the result hurt it was a really good match. The guys then turn to where you are, looking for you while holding back some tears.

“I’m so proud of you!” you scream loud enough for them to hear you, making the twins explode into tears, while Suna and the rest of the team smile.

“Hey…we’re going out” Kenma whispers by your side, gripping your waist softly yet firmly

“I’m going to see them”

“I know, I’ll wait for you there” he kisses your cheek quickly “Let’s go. Don’t worry, Kuro will take care of everything”

“This is pathetic, what happened to me?” you say drying your eyes as you walk towards the exit together “I know that they can’t win every time they play”

“Its okay to be sad, you know?” he squishes your hand “they’re there, go, I’ll wait here to not interrupt”

“Thank you”

“…I don’t like the idea of you doing something that you haven’t practice” you hear Kita say when you approach them

“It was a good idea, but probably not the right match” adds Aran

“Please tell me the two idiots stopped crying, I don’t know if I can hold back if I see any of you cry” you say arriving next to them

“Chibi-chaan!” Atsumu comes to hug you tightly, Osamu soon joining you “sorry, we promise to make ya proud this time”

“I am proud” you tell them, feeling their arms even tighter around you

“We couldn’t even make it to the quarter finals though” says Osamu now, both moving away while kissing your temple

“But you still did amazing”

“Don’t act strong chibi-chan, I saw your tears. Don’t act like you aren’t sad by it just for our sake” Suna gives you a back hug, pressing his chin in your shoulder

“You know we’re not disappearing, right?” says Kita while coming up the stairs along Aran, a comforting smile on his face “It was a good match, but it’s still frustrating. I know that I did everything that I could, and I don’t regret anything; for me the result it’s still a secondary effect and… yet I still wanted to brag about how good my teammates are” he smiles causing several members to tear up “I can’t forget about our amazing manager, I’ll be waiting to brag about how good of a coach you will be too”

“Aghh! Kita-san” you go to hug him, making him chuckle as he hugs you back, petting your head

“Brag” says Osamu

“You will be able to tell your grandchildren about how proud you are about all of us” adds Atsumu

“I can’t wait” says Kita, chuckling lowly, “we need to go to change. Yn-chan, are you waiting for us?”

“Yes, she is, you’re eating with us today”

“You are still our manager after all” adds Suna, putting his jacket in your shoulders “Now Inarizaki is complete”

“I will Kita-san, now go to change”

“Yes ma’am!”

Once they go down the stairs you go back to Kenma, who was looking at his phone. As soon as he sees you go to him, he looks up and opens his arms slightly

“You know, moving your home screen side to side isn’t being busy” you go to his arms while chuckling slightly, putting your face on his shoulder

“Nothing gets past you, it’s annoying” he chuckles, hugging you tightly “You’re going to eat with them?”

“Yeah… I know that you wanted to play with Shoyo, and the rest wanted to play with Karasuno, yet I didn’t want them to win…sorry”

“Don’t apologize for something so dumb. They’re your friends, of course you wanted them to win. Give me the Nekoma jacket”

“Huh?”

“You’re going out with your foxes, enjoy it as one. After all, you always have been a weird mix between the two” he takes Suna's jacket so you could take off the Nekoma one, putting it back once you finished.

“You’re the best, thanks” you give him a kiss

“I’m just trying to be a good boyfriend…and it’s a way to repay you, you’re always the one doing things for me. Don’t worry about any planning for tomorrow, we’ll take care of it” he tells you while giving you another quick kiss before leaving

Once Inarizaki was done you went to a ramen shop that was nearby, the team soon forgetting about the tournament thanks to the fights between Atsumu and Osamu. You talk a lot in between the meals, Kita politely asking everyone to take pictures as a team while you were sitting with Suna sneakily filming some videos and taking some photos of them. You had missed them way more than any other of your old classmates, after all they were the ones who helped you out the most. At around 10 pm they dropped you at the hotel where Nekoma was, your three idiots giving you a breathtaking hug. Once you enter, you immediately notice Kuroo, Yaku and Lev sitting in the same couches as the day before.

“Yn-chan!” Lev comes to hug you “Kenma-san called me a meathead giant”

“And you probably did something to be called like that”

“Yn-chan!”

“Lev, move. Feeling better chibi-chan?” asked Kuroo

“Yeah, it was fun being with them again”

“Glad to hear that, we were worried about you” says Yaku

“Sorry, now if you don’t mind I’m going to my room, I went through an emotional rollercoaster today”

“Of course Chibi. Before you go, we already did everything, from planning to discussing strategies; for tomorrow’s match we want you to relax and enjoy it, you’ve helped us so much already that is the least we can do” Kuroo comes to ruffle your hair

“You still are an important part of our team, but that doesn’t mean you’re immune to stress, tiredness, or anxiousness. Now go ahead and relax” adds Yaku this time

“Thank you” you go upstairs right away, not before passing through the bathroom to refresh yourself “What are you doing?” You asked once you enter the room, Kenma setting up both of your PSP's, lots of blankets, snacks and pillows around the futon

“Come here” he takes your hand and pulls you into the room, a smile on his face “I’m not good with words, but I hate seeing you sad”

“Thank you, it’s literally the perfect way to spend the night”

“I know…Next time talk to me, okay? I’ll try my best to help you just like you always do”

“Fine… sorry for worrying you”

“It’s okay, just know that I'm here for you to...Shoyo asked me if you were fine, he was worried too”

“I’m ok…I’m glad that you became friends with him, he’s nice. Are you excited to play against him tomorrow?” you asked him while laying on his chest

“Yeah, playing against him is always interesting, plus Nationals Shoyo is different from the one we used to play in practice” he says as he nuzzles in your neck

“Yeah, I noticed...You know, watching you create plays on your own instead of depending on the guys was such a nice view”

“It was just one time”

“But you did it, and thanks to that you won. You should do that tomorrow too”

“I’ll try…let’s play Minecraft?” he kisses your cheek before turning on the consoles

[eldest-sibling-tournament]

Literally... none of that is true lmao. Dick had beef with Bruce and mostly tried to keep Jason out of it, and let Jason know he was there for him if he needed it. They went skiing together. Dick had a complete breakdown after Jason's death.

Where do I even start on the next bit. ALFRED originally gave the Robin mantle to Damian. "Worst year of Tim's life" It was the worst year of DICK'S life. His father of like 15 years died, his city got blown up, his best friend died, etc etc. And he STILL pulled it together and took on the burden of becoming Batman, sacrificed his independence, moved to Gotham to raise Bruce's deeply traumatized son.

Also he NEVER tried to put Tim in Arkham. And god forbid he not listen to Tim who had NO EVIDENCE Bruce was alive, instead of taking care of all back-breaking responsibilities on his shoulders while still grieving

Anyway. Please don't use fanon Tim stan nonsense to slander Dick thank you <3

ask 1 ^

ask 2:

i know it doesnt actually matter but that second-to-last ask abt dick grayson is literally just straight up lies. this person has not read any of the comics they are referencing. they are just quoting incorrect fanon as if its facts. dick had a complicated relationship with jason, yes, but wasn't particularly unkind to him, just distant, and is shown to have regretted that and grieved him hard; i'm not even gonna begin to get into the damian bashing but literally at no point did dick ever try to get tim committed to arkham. he suggested tim get therapy, because their adoptive father was dead (as far as they knew) and tim was convinced he wasn't but had no evidence. this is not an unreasonable thing to suggest to your grieving brother who appears stuck in denial! and he didn't "replace tim with damian and not even tell him". damian literally interrupted the conversation where he was trying to tell tim about it (where his rationale was that damian, a child literally raised in a cult of assassins, needed to be given a role to fill in bc he needed structure while being deprogrammed from being a child soldier, and dick wanted to see tim as his equal, not a subordinate.) tim himself completely reconciled with dick by the end of this comic. that anon was just making up a guy to be mad at, not actually talking about dick grayson 💀

ask 3:

Hi I’m the dick grayson shouldn’t win anon, the people thirst voting one etc etc but saw some propaganda that’s based on bald faces lies and I gotta correct it bc it’s my pet peeve. DICK DID NOT THREATEN TIM WITH ARKHAM. HE SUGGESTED A THERAPIST IN METROPOLIS like okay he fucked up there but he made the best decision he could during the red robin run (which is a dumpster fire) and like it’s been a minute since I read battle for the cowl era but didn’t Alfred give Damian the robin suit. And Jason was literally in dick’s family colours which got taken away from dick by Bruce which he had no right to do so I mean he justifiably didn’t like him. And yeah okay dick did put Jason in Arkham but need I remind you that Jason went on a killing spree as Batman and almost killed tim. And let’s be real him and him are brothers. He didn’t ditch him. That relationship was never fixed in comics bc they reset the universe but at the end of red Robin they were okay. And like you have over 10 years of comics but the important thing is that Arkham was NEVER what dick suggested to Tim holy shit but uh also don’t vote for dick in the next round (vote for him against supernatural guy tho) I just don’t appreciate the slander but I’ll be putting out my anti dick grayson propaganda next thanks

Adding to my other ask, Tim literally sounded like he was losing it. Like I wouldn’t believe him either. In the nightwing comics not too long ago he tried to bring his dad, Steph, and Conner back to life with the Lazarus pit. Tim willingly cut himself and started to use self destructive behaviours (LoA) and like his entire internal monologue supports that and bc grim dark era justifiably fucked him up okay I’m done

ok thank you! glad you're clearing this up

[eurofox]

Judgement review

Finished the Yakuza games that’s not really a Yakuza game and it was really great. I was kind of wary, a whole bunch of new characters to get used to but this is probably one of my top ranking games in the RGG universe. This is a good game to jump into even if you don’t know anything about the Yakuza series too and just want something with a good plot.

Spoilers

The Good Shit:

The story is great. They’ve really tightened their writing skills and I was hooked the whole way through. Far less wacky conspiracies (though there was some) and more focused. I unfortunately spoiled the reveal of The Mole beforehand but I don’t think I would have guessed. No stupid ‘oh no the bad guy got his gun again!’ bullshit this time around thank god, that was really tiresome. The whole ‘for the greater good’ theme was done very well and personally hit hard, alziehimers is a topic that hits home for me. It all tied in well and nothing felt like a waste of time.

Fighting is still great while being different enough from Kiryu’s to keep it fresh. I found the game easier overall, not sure if that’s Yagami being easier to use or if the game is just easier anyway.

Looks great. Same as YK2 really.

I didn’t think they’d let you beat up a load of doctors doing their rounds but they did! How gaming should be

Yagami isn’t as likeable as Kiryu but I warmed to him eventually. He’s a lot less dumb and props to him for actually disarming his opponents. He can be pretty funny at times, he’s fairly dry.

Cast is solid all round really and there was no last minute ‘big bad’ introduced like Jingu. You interact with everyone plenty so they get time to grow and shine, good and bad. Some great female characters who weren’t just damsels in distress. More morally grey characters. And a redemption arc where the guy isn’t instantly killed off? Amazing. Unheard of.

Hoshino was cute and tbh I was scared he was going to get the Rikyia treatment and end up in a dumpster with his eyes gouged out but they let my boy live. A guy who just wants to do his job and avoid the extra responsibilities, after my own heart LMAO

Some good tracks here, Murase’s boss theme and the long battle theme stand out, as well as ‘it’s showtime’

Kamurocho Go was handy.

That yakuza car heat action LMFAO

I enjoyed the investigation scenes.

The chase scenes are also done well here, I enjoyed them a lot as a change of pace

Drone parts are ok

Onomichio returns

The Bad Shit:

Tailing missions got very tedious very fast. I get it’s detective work, but it was boring. And that last one with the glove guy really got irritating when he got lost in the crowds. Took me 15 attempts as I kept losing patience as it goes on so long.

Maybe I didn’t use it right, but Crane style never felt that useful.

Mortal wounds is a bullshit concept and just made shit more annoying than it had to be.

Kaito could have had a bit more screentime, he disappers off a lot.

I get yagami isn’t a built like a tank like Kiryu, but he seems to get knocked on his arse a lot easier and takes way too long to get up.

Why is Kurowia such a powerhouse? Never really got that.

Dice and Cube hurts my eyeballs

The second Saori mission was pretty cringe inducing and the comments from Kaito and Yagami were gross. Really irritated me

Kim can get fucked. Whiny bitch. And constantly having to deal with those Keihin  gangs on his behalf was so fucking annoying, much worse than street thugs considereing they could do mortal damage.

Some shit I saw coming a mile off, like Sugihara actually being Emi’s brother.

What is with that weird gimp, he was in 6 and back here again and it’s never explained? WTF is with him.

I never quite got if it’s meant to be part of the same world as yakuza or not. The same shops and even staff appear. Sure, the Tojo clan is there, but Daigo and the rest are never mentioned nor seem interested in the crazy shit going on, even if it is a third rate family at the centre of it. Kiryu is mentioned indirectly once (maybe more, I stuck to the main story), and evidence of his shenanigans is there, like Shangri-La. Date is never mentioned, even though his police division is involved. But the timelines don’t seem to match up with what happened in 7? I’ve not played that one yet actually, so maybe it works somehow, but it did get confusing. I know they wanted to keep this separate so newcomers wouldn’t feel lost.

A great game altogether, even if you never played Yakuza. The story is the real draw of this game, really engaging with a solid cast. Nobody felt wasted, which is unfortunately often the case in other titles.

[junkerboss654]

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[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

After that gorgeous sequel rant, would you be willing to share your thoughts on reylo?

Ugh.

Once again, that is the most succinct, easiest, answer I can supply. But it's so short, and that just won't do.

I mentioned in a recent post that Dramione comes in a myriad of disguises. Every fandom usually has at least one Dramione ship, you can usually guess which characters the ship will consist of, and while you might not be able to articulate exactly what about it makes it so damn similar to Dramione you will recognize it on sight.

Usually, to me, a Dramione ship features a strong, independent, female lead who may be varying levels of sexually empowered, varying levels of intelligent (Hermione loves to tell us how smart she is but it's not the heart of the ship), is strong, courageous, and noble who depending on the story du jour might slide into depravity.  The real give away is her love interest, always a man, usually a young man of comparable age, who has the bad boy appeal that's not too bad boy where he often is redeemed to the good side for 'reasons' in the course of the story.

Reylo is such a Dramione pairing.

You don't believe me? Look at the authors who write it, I haven't done this too often myself, but I guarantee you that a not small majority of them will either write Draco/Hermione or will have it all over their favorites and bookmarks. It's the same damn pairing.

But worse.

Because Kylo-Ren and Rey aren't really characters.

"Whoa, hold up!", you say, "That's just slander and uncalled for!" Well, change my mind. Rey Palpatine and Kylo-Ren are a series of character tropes and archetypes thrown to us by Disney screaming "LOVE MY CHARACTERS".

Rey is our noble, very Luke like, hero who is a scrappy desert rat with overwhelming mystical powers only acknowledged when the movies feel like acknowledging them (guys, admit Rey kicked Kylo-Ren's ass every time they fought with 0 training, come on, it's not hard).

However, there is nothing underneath her surface. Her hero worship of the resistance feels dull and given to her because it's expected. Of course Rey likes the resistance! The resistance is great! Sign her up! Rey has been living in the desert at the edge of nowhere for presumably 15 years, I'm shocked she's even heard of the new republic let alone the resistance. Despite essentially starving and only having a home that's a broken down old fighter, Rey saves a random droid. We're not really given a compelling reason of why she would do this, that she has a deep respect for droids/is horrified by their use, really really really hates the random trader she sells things to, or really really really hates the empire (if she even realizes it's them behind the bounty). She does it just so that a) the plot keeps moving b) to show Rey is... noble... I guess?

Remember that even Luke (who I have some problems with as a character) started his journey with more backstory and personality than this. Luke loved the empire and desperately wanted to become a pilot. He was very put out that his aunt and uncle kept saying, "Uh, no, bad idea." Luke was ready to skip town and sign on up for flight academy, he just got distracted by pretty women, er, his sister.

So, Rey is never given a compelling reason to do any of the things she does in the series. Just vague feelings of hero worship. And, of course, the drama over her parents. Just... I feel like Disney took out a hat, put a bunch of pieces of paper with words on them, and drew out the one that said "orphan angst about parents" and said "See, now she's conflicted! What a character!"

So yeah, Rey is your cardboard generic hero who is so generic she's not even a person. She has no hopes, no dreams, no fears, just these vague things we're told as an audience she cares about but never shown in any legitimate manner. Rey likes the resistance and rando droids, Rey imprints on Han Solo as the father she never had, Rey has this thing about her parents, Rey is attracted to Kylo Ren.

And that last one, oh boy that last one. It sold me less on the attraction to Kylo Ren than... oh... I don't know... Palpatine's secret Sith planet of doom. I mean, we all saw it coming, The Last Jedi it was very clear where that was going and then Abrams went for it even harder. But what we had was a series of skype conversations where Rey went from "Gr, you killed my pseudo father!" and Kylo-Ren responding, "Yeah, well he was my real father AND HE WAS SO MEAN" to "Oh Ben, I will fly to you through space and we shall save the galaxy together!"

I am given no reason to believe Rey's change of heart. Han Solo's death just suddenly... doesn't really mean much to her anymore (the man was murdered by his son in cold blood so that his son could feel better about himself). She believes Ben Solo is good now because Luke is a dick (never mind that, no matter what a dick Luke is, Ben Solo still murdered dozens of children and then went on to gleefully massacre his way through the galaxy). We're told there's a Force Dyad, which is um... not this thing the writer's made up because they were too lazy to convince me that Kylo-Ren and Rey would end up together in any organic way.

So, yeah, why does Rey like Kylo-Ren? Because the Force told her too? Because it was somehow all Snoke's fault in a way that's never properly described? (Indeed despite us spending quite a bit of time on Kylo-Ren's decision to remain Kylo-Ren being a very internalized thing) Because we saw him shirtless in yoga pants this one time?

It's bad when that last is actually the most legitimate reason I can think of out of the whole lot.

Now let's go to Kylo-Ren. If Rey is boring and nonsensical then Kylo-Ren is a dumpster fire and non-sensical. The guy reminds me a lot of Commodus from the film "Gladiator", the man is cowardly, vile, and murders his father in despair that his father never will be capable of loving him/passes him over for the throne. Kylo-Ren's murder of Han Solo is extremely similar to the murder of Marcus Aurelius in "Gladiator". Han Solo is a flawed father, trying to make his peace with his son, who approaches him unarmed and Kylo-Ren decides to murder him in order to solidify his place in the dark side.

Only, the films never acknowledge that every action Kylo-Ren takes is horrifying.

We're told "oh, Kylo-Ren exists because evil Snoke corrupted him" but also shown repeatedly that Kylo-Ren chooses the darkest path again and again and again. He "struggles with the light" but I don't see it. His opening scene, he has massacred a village and is torturing a man for information (this is presumably a daily routine for him). In the same film he later tortures Rey for information. He serves on a Death Star which wipes out billions in an instant. He murders his father to feel good about himself. He dresses as a man who was reviled and feared throughout the galaxy, a man who murdered countless children, and a man who dressed the way he did because he was barely hanging onto life, because Kylo-Ren thinks it makes him look like a badass. Think about it, this is like if a fully abled Kylo-Ren is wheeling around in a wheel chair, perfectly capable of walking, because he thinks that Professor X is so cool. Now, replace Professor X with Hitler, this is what the movies gave us.

Yet, the films seem to take it for granted that Kylo-Ren is a redeemable character. He's just lost and misguided, he's really struggling with the light and dark side! They don't just tell us this over and over again (which they do) but also just assume we know it.

And base the entire Reylo pairing off of it. Reylo believed Kylo-Ren could be redeemed, they battle Snoke together, then Kylo-Ren stabs her in the back and continues the assault on the Resistance and asks her to be his Dark Queen (TM). Reylo is shocked and appalled, I'm just wondering what movie she thought she was watching, because that was coming a mile away.

Later, when Kylo-Ren is redeemed, we're never given a reason why it happens. Leia just gives him a nagging, one word, phone call and then Han Solo shows up to go, "Ben, are you going to do the right thing?" and Ben goes, "Mumble, grumble, fine" because there's only an hour left in the last film.

Kylo-Ren, like Rey, is the writers' desperate attempt to create a compelling anti-hero with all the anti-hero sauce we love. They just won't admit they made an overgrown genocidal toddler.

Wow, this turned into why I hate both Rey and Kylo Ren, but, uh, back to the ship. Basically, the films give me 0 reason to ever believe it, and even if I wanted to, even if I said "Alright brain, let's make these characters real people for once", I still wouldn't like it. Because the ship itself is just as flat as the characters. It's spicy but not too spicy bad boy gets together with strong female lead.

I know a lot of people enjoy this, and I won't say it's any less legitimate than any of the weirdness I ship, but I'm not one of them. And the whole thing just makes me go "ugh".

[godziiwa]

HAIKYU AO3 FANFIC RECOMMENDATIONS

please, before reading any of this fanfics read the hashtags! also, all the credits to the authors! enjoy

MY FANFICS:

i bet you look god on the dance flor (2100 words, club, dancing, iwa’s birthday, just fluff. confessions)

this house is a circus (2300 words, on going, covid, quarantine together)

you probably couldn't see for the lights but you were staring straight at me (10k, college au, drugs, first meetings)

right now im working on a demon slayer au and nascar/racing au

IWAOI 

you're looking like you fell in love tonight (fake dating au, 35k words)

conquering the great king (so much smut, 105k words)

only for the weekend (fake dating, 34k words)

say my name (one shot, literally this is only smut, 2700 words)

new phone who dis (texting, so funny 57k words,)

waiting in the stars (bodyswap, 116k words)

rich boy, poor boy (107k words)

coffee king (coffee au, 187k words)

arrest me, officer (police au, this fanfic is so good and so funny pls read it, 122k words)

what you came for (police iwa, personally my favorite iwaoi fanfic, 108k words)

trial by fire (lawyers au, so good, 76k words)

mind reader (iwa can read minds, 40k)

lockdown (prison au, everybody is a criminal expect karasuno, 72k words)

press "1" to get a call from your drunk best friend (funny, one shot, drunk iwa)

six month lover (89k, pining, this one is SO good)

it's lonely on Jupiter (122k, iwa is an alien, college)

lacrimae (22k, I'm sorry this is literally only smut, but soooooooo good)

I choose you (soulmate au, 9000 words)

build me a temple (this one is really good, god oikawa, 39k words, its like read a ghibli movie)

to be first, to be best (26k, so good)

the courtship ritual of the Hercules battle (future fic, so good, 66k)

they say it rains diamonds on jupiter (iwa pines, 35k)

UPDATED 9/03/21

the panty dropper (band au, 21k)

antithesis (10k)

tokyo boy (16k)

lucky number 13 (12+1 things, 17k)

kireji (police oikawa, 11k)

I sure hope that the sun got rhythm ('cause he gonna dance when that music hit'm) (dance au, 28k)

never just acting with you (actor oikawa, roadtrip, 45k)

the loyalty of a traitor (yakuza boss oikawa, GREAT FIC, 77k)

shining so bright (9000 words)

fall line (this one is so cute, strangers to lovers, 21k)

silver tongue (office au, SUPER FUNNY, 10k)

I know when you're around ('cause i know the sound of your heart) (coffe shop au, 17k)

new flame (sugar daddy iwa, THIS ONE IS SO GOOD AND SO FLUFFY, 58k, on going)

we’re going home (6000 words)

the best best (domestic fluff, 12k)

all kinds of winners (this is only smut but its so good)

dinner and a movie (fake dating, 11k)

its not love, probably (7000 words)

mint (18k)

as close as you need (8000 words)

piece of cake  (baker iwa 15k)

good vibrations (only smut but inmaculate) 

tooru’s toil and trouble (soulamate au, 11k)

dear diary, i met a boy (he made my dull heart light up with joy) (pining, 15k)

cotton breathing (sumer lovin, 15k)

all the words of time and space (online friends, 46k)

get ripped, get laid (personal trainer iwa, 13k)

desperado (thieves, heist fic, 82k)

as much as i do (oisuga fake dating, 42k)

have mercy on me (hanahaki, 10k)

yellow white red (camellia/gardenia) (flower shop au, 9000) 

UPDATED 17/6/21

one for two (3700 words, smut, sex toys)

good together (1120 words, smut)

kotov syndrome (50k detective au)

ambus (1900 words, smut)

soft wool, agile fingers (knitting au 11k)

i’d marry you in a dumpster (or in your room) (2600 words, love conffesions)

storm warning (10k post-graduation)

no sex for you in a really long time (3600 words, public sex)

of moonlight and covens (20k, ritual sex, sabrina au)

undechiperable (4800 words, love conffesions)

tips on how to get with your crush (7500 words, mutual pining)

phone home (6500 astronaut oikawa)

amicus curiae (43k, lawerys au, SO GOOD!!!)

boy like you (2200 words, strip tease)

till lies do us part (50k mr & mrs smith au)

bet i can (1800 words, smut)

don’t let me go (20k, pining, ftl)

make a wish (7400, iwaizumi’s birthday)

rule number two: just don’t get attached to) (20k, detective au, SO GOOD)

you find me in a hospital bed (11k, hospital au but without angst)

driving me crazy (17k, smut with plot)

baby you might need a seat belt (11k time skip smut)

i’ll never feel whole (19k, roommates)

synaisthesis (14k, violinst oikawa and pianist iwa, this is so good a deserves more, please read)

in the business of love (22k, fake dating) 

some fools rush in (7800 words fake dating)

i’ve been missing you for a long time (7300 words, fluff)

a little sweetness (2600 words)

breath in (5800 words, drugs)

hell mision (22k bodyguard iwa)

a coffe shop’s acoustics (23k coffe shop au and musician oikawa)

relationship thing (25, different first meeting)

fuck ups and hook ups (13k, ne night stands, smut with plot)

kissing both (1700, kissing both)

we might be (37k)

places (15k)

inside, this place is warm (6500 words, established relationship)

betrayal (2400, love conffesions)

meant to be (6000 words, college au)

galaxies, within you (21k college au)

kiss me on the mouth and set me free (18k mutual pining)

i’m no poet (4000 words, love conffesions, THIS IS SO SWEET)

the prince of yakuza (8000 yakuza smut)

just friends (6000 words friends with benefits)

misconceptions (5000 words, 5+1 things)

balustrade (10k, neighbors)

made of our longest days (4000 words, love conffesions)

burning heart (7000 words, firefighter iwa)

i want you, i’ll hope you’ll come to me (15k to all the boys au)

walking the dog (11k)

routine (2900 words)

terrarium (11k, THIS IS SO GOOD PLEASE READ)

fake it till you make it (12k youtubers au)

yours for the weekend (14k, actor oikawa)

we shine like diamonds (26k homophobia)

i shure hope that guy gets fired (29k, time-loop)

15 minutes (17k)

lips likes sugar (8000 words, practing kissing)

in this same space (23k, cosplayer oikawa and doujinka iwa)

thirty years and change (19k, future fic)

焦がれて怖くなる [I yearn for you so much that I'm getting scared] (4800 words, hanakotoba)

trouble with texting (12k texting)

salt water (8000 words)

the stars in your eyes (5350 words love confessions) 

it takes seven days (26k bakery au)

from your mortal enemy (11k, 5+1 things)

conqueror of hearts (29k royalty au)

stranger danger (14k texting college au)

the bachelor (16k the bachelor au)

my heart is where it’s always been (21k)

rise (12k, college au)

sleeping habits (6000 words)

KAGEHINA

blinding problem (hinata pines, 220k words)

I like the way your clothes smell (canonverse, 75k words)

dial (phone sex, the smut is immaculate, personally one of my favorites, 103k words)

I can do better (canonverse, 45k words)

deadly (this fanfic is so good please you have to read it, laundry au, 42k words)

the job (this is personally my favorite, you MUST read it, 61k words)

the crown and the crow (soulmate au)

happy birthday, idiot (fluff, canonverse, 31k)

love biscuits (fluff, humor, hinata is a vet)

something old and something new (this one is very cute, canonverse, 17k)

UPDATED 09/03/21

open 24 hours (smut, food kink, 11k)

sweet tooth (11k)

perfecting the latte heart (coffe shop au, 31k)

routine (29k, cam boy hinata)

that's it for now, I'll be updating once in a while

[sweetnessfollowsmp3]

[Image Description: The "My Tumblr Year in Review" banner. The text is in large yellow font against a dotted blue box. The background is a purple-to-green gradient with animated, shifting yellow drawings, and the symbols of buttons on Tumblr like the reblog and post buttons are featured. End Image Description]

I posted 4,831 times in 2021

729 posts created (15%)

4102 posts reblogged (85%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 5.6 posts.

I added 3,596 tags in 2021

#haiqueue - 1077 posts

#haikyuu!! - 627 posts

#asks - 534 posts

#astridcore - 235 posts

#jjk - 229 posts

#important - 218 posts

#astrid.txt - 202 posts

#described - 172 posts

#atla - 159 posts

#oikawa tooru - 143 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#even if i wanted to do that (which i obviously don’t bc i’m not an asshole) i don’t think there’s a single person on this site who would pay

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

maybe the many benefits to being a marine biologist were the friends we made along the way

698 notes • Posted 2021-09-21 01:50:03 GMT

#4

choose pictures from some old abandoned buildings and i'll assign you a gender

905 notes • Posted 2021-08-10 20:17:52 GMT

#3

i thought mp100 fans were exaggerating for comedic effect when talking about how pathetic reigan arataka is, but they were not. he is absolutely that pathetic and more. completely exceeded expectations

1560 notes • Posted 2021-11-04 04:13:09 GMT

#2

i've been thinking about it and it's honestly astounding how much other people view karasuno as poor or trashy in the show?? like it's literally canon that people assume asahi is a dealer or gang member because of his appearance. which like that makes sense until i think about the fact that there are boys from other schools with rough looks/personalities to them (maddog + ushijima), but are never interpreted as the criminal type. in this essay i will-

thank you!!!

the theme of class comes up in haikyuu!! a lot more than people realize.

from what i can tell, karasuno and nekoma are both public schools, and this fact becomes important at several points in the show.

the arc of "the battle at the trash heap" with karasuno and nekoma is aptly named not only because of their respective mascots, but also their economic backgrounds. neither schools are incredibly well funded like shiratorizawa and seijoh, so neither can afford to recruit the best players (everyone talks about how shiratorizawa can scout the best players, but remember that a lot of people from kitagawa daiichi, a well funded private middle school with a powerhouse volleyball team, go to seijoh). both teams slipped into complete obscurity when their coaches retired: they were the only ones keeping these teams afloat due to their decreased access to resources.

their fated game is best represented as a dumpster alleyway battle because they've had to claw up the ladder every step of the way to make it to nationals, and in a way, they're reclaiming the way other schools view them. people view them as trashy (you already gave a perfect explanation of this), and instead of seeing that as shameful, both teams said "you know what? you're right, and this is something that we're proud of. the battle at the trash heap is going to be the best you've ever seen."

even at karasuno, there are varying levels of privilege. the dynamic between hinata and kageyama illustrates this perfectly. hinata went to a middle school that had no volleyball team (quite possibly because of funding and size), so he didn't get to develop his skills like kageyama did at kitagawa daiichi. when hinata plays kageyama in middle school (with a completely inexperienced team he managed to scrape together), kageyama immediately notices hinata's athleticism but complete lack of experience. so he says to hinata after the game: "what have you been doing these last 3 years??" kageyama clearly doesn't understand his position of privilege here. he was a talented kid, he liked volleyball, he joined the team, he got better. hinata never had that opportunity. so one of hinata's friends responds to kageyama, saying: "what do you know about what he did the last 3 years?" his friend knows that even without access to a team, hinata spent every waking minute bouncing volleyballs against walls, begging people to set to him, and even joining in on women's teams. hinata worked just as hard as kageyama, if not harder, but the class barrier made it impossible to catch up. even when hinata joins the karasuno team, he has to spend his entire high school career making up for lost time.

and WOW this is getting long but i have one more point to make.

im not 100% sure that inarizaki is a public school, but from what i can tell it most likely is (i think the private schools tend to be called [insert school here] academy and the public schools are called [insert school here] high)--and it makes a lot of sense theme-wise. as takinoue yusuke (one of the karasuno alums) watches the karasuno vs. inarizaki game, he says: "inarizaki doesn't seem like they're established champions. they still have the feel of a team of upstarts that are climbing their way up." sound familiar? like karasuno, they didn't start as a powerhouse. and like karasuno, they're known for having a more risky playing style. they know that they can't afford anything else due to their position.

the bottom line is that class dynamics are the founding principle of haikyuu, so saying "sEiJoH dEsErVeD tO gO tO nAtIonAlS" isn't the fun and original take you think it is. [plain text: seijoh deserved to go to nationals]

1812 notes • Posted 2021-04-09 18:59:00 GMT

#1

getting an ask from a mutual and getting a package have the exact same energy. i will not elaborate.

12835 notes • Posted 2021-03-11 18:53:30 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[kater1n]

Worst in Me: Chapter 1

Summary: Some secrets don’t stay buried. 

Read in on AO3. 

Chapter 1: January 2023

Steve isn’t sure how long he’s been holding the vial of Pym Particles. Long enough that it’s now warm in his hand. He watches the red fluid flow up and down within the glass casing, pushed by gravity and the single air bubble trapped within, while he thinks. He’s been doing a lot of that over the past few months, thinking. Peggy’s gone and he’s old and frail, so what else can he do? Just think. About his choice to stay in the past, his choice to step down as Captain America, and Peter. He’s been thinking too much about Peter.

 Steve doesn’t know Peter well. Before the Snap, they’d only met once in Germany when Peter was 15 and that wasn’t a good time for any of them. But Tony spoke a lot about Peter after the Snap, haltingly at first and then more and more, all the time, everyday. Steve thought he had a pretty good idea who Peter was just from Tony’s stories when they met again, first during the Battle of Earth and then later at Tony’s funeral. But even then their interactions were limited, weighed down by grief and tears and exhaustion.  When Steve left, escaped into the past to find Peggy and live the life that was stolen from him, Steve is ashamed to admit that Peter did not cross his mind again until the year 2023.

Although only a few months have passed since Tony’s funeral, for Steve it has been decades. In all that time he has never once regretted his decision to leave. Not until this last November when Sam showed up on his doorstep in the middle of the night to deliver a package. Tony Stark’s last request, recovered from the rubble of what once was the Avengers Facility in Upstate New York.

 “FRIDAY,” Steve forces himself to close his eyes and look away from the Pym Particles. “Play it again.”

 The hologram re-activates but Steve doesn’t have to watch it to see the scene play out in front of him. He’s watched it so many times that it’s burned into his corneas.

 “Hey, Cap.” Tony greets, slumped backwards on a chair. “I know things haven’t been great between us for a while, and I have no right to ask anything of you, but you know me. Narcissist until the end.”

 Tony grimaces and runs a hand through his hair. “In case tomorrow doesn’t work out exactly the way it’s supposed to, I need you to take care of the kid. Of Peter. If I’m not there to do it.”

Tony pauses, as he often does whenever Peter first comes up in conversation. As if it takes him a second to recalibrate his thoughts and sidestep the hole that Peter left after the Snap. “Once you meet him, I think we’ll finally be able to agree on something. That he’s the best of us.”

 Tony sighs and pushes away from the chair. He stands perpendicular to the camera, parallel to his desk. Steve can’t see the expression on his face when Tony reaches down and picks up a Spiderman mask. The hologram is silent for almost a full minute.

 “I know how he feels.” Tony eventually whispers, voice thick with guilt. “About me.”

 His shoulders visibly wilt beneath the weight of his words, surrendering to a truth he has fought for years. He clutches the Spiderman mask to his chest, right where the arc reactor used to sit.

 “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that my death may be the final match that ignites the dumpster fire of his life.”

 Tony chuckles humorlessly and gently puts the mask back on the desk, but his fingers linger, tracing the blue veins in the red fabric.  

 “If our plan works,” He says, voice regaining some semblance of control, “then the universe will owe him everything.”

 Tony looks back at the camera. Looks directly at Steve when he finally admits his own truth.

 “This is all for him.”

--

Author’s Notes: Thank you for reading!!!

Continue to Chapter 2

[kelyon]

Golden Rings 3: A Savior

The Storybrooke sequel to Golden Cuffs

Ruby and Granny scramble to make rent before Mr. Gold comes calling.

Read on AO3

Ruby Lucas was going to lose her goddamn mind. 

Ever since yesterday when Mrs. Gold had stopped by the diner, Ruby and Granny had been frantically trying to gather up enough cash to make rent before Sunday evening. 

It wasn’t like this every month. Most months only had four Sundays, so Granny knew that the last Sunday of the month was rent day and she could have everything ready. They usually had a week that was dedicated just to earning rent money. But this particular October had five Sundays. So when Granny had planned out the spending for this week, she had spent that money on stupid shit like food and the electric bill. She had planned it like it was a regular week. Not the week that rent was due. 

The worst part for Ruby was that they had the money! Friday had been a great day for business! Granny had deposited the cash at Storybrooke Savings and Loan on Saturday morning! When they checked the account balance at the ATM, there was more than enough to cover the rent!

But Mr. Gold would only take cash.

And the bank wouldn’t open again until Monday at nine.

And Granny could only take out $300 out of the ATM in a 24-hour period. 

So the diner and the bed and breakfast had to net a four-figure profit--in cash--in less than one day in order for them to make rent. Mrs. Gold had made it clear that there was only one alternative if they didn’t have it all when Mr. Gold came for it at 8:15 PM. 

And Ruby was damned if she would let that happen. 

So it was time to get to work. 

Normally, Saturday nights were her one guaranteed night off. Depending on how wild things got on Saturday night, she might need to take Sunday morning off too. But on that night, Ruby pulled a double and hustled like she had never hustled before. 

The first thing she did was scrawl OUT OF ORDER on the back of some receipt paper and tape it over the card swiper. The machine was working fine, but it could take up to three business days for the company to deposit the funds from card purchases into their bank account. Ruby didn’t have three business days. 

“What do you mean by this?” Albert Spencer said when he came up to the counter to pay for his meal of liver and onions and decaf black coffee. He held up his platinum credit card  like it was the world’s tiniest battle axe. “Why can’t I use my card?”

“Sorry!” Ruby lied in her cheerful customer service voice. “We’ve got the guy coming in to fix it on Monday. Right now it’s cash only, but there’s an ATM right across the street.”

“I’m not going across the street!” The old man was so angry it was like she had told him the card machine was at the bottom of a full dumpster. “How dare you not accept my card? I’ve got a fifty thousand dollar limit!”

“But you don’t have ten bucks to pay for dinner?” The words were out of Ruby’s mouth before she could stop them. She was too busy thinking of all the problems in her life that would be solved with just five thousand dollars. Or even five hundred.

Mr. Spencer’s face went purple. “Who is your manager?” he shouted. “I demand to speak to someone with power!”

Then talk to Mr. Gold, Ruby wanted to say, but didn’t. Instead, she told Mr. Spencer that the manager and owner of Granny’s Diner was, in fact, Granny, and that she would go get her now. 

Granny had been in the kitchen. She was relieving stress by yelling at Tony, and the wait staff, and the food itself when no other target was available. When Ruby told her what was happening out front, she squared her shoulders and marched out for battle.

“What kind of slop house do you think you’re running?” Mr. Spencer spat when she came out front. “Why won’t you accept my credit card? Don’t you want my business?”

“Of course we want your business,” Granny lied. She didn’t shout at Mr. Spencer. But she kept her arms crossed over her chest and stared straight at him. Ruby had seen that look in her eyes every time she had ever been in trouble growing up. “But the machine is broken. I’ve already called the repair man. He can’t come in until Monday. So for the time being, we can only accept cash.”

“This is ridiculous! Whatever happened to ‘the customer is always right’?”

Granny leaned forward and gave Mr. Spencer a tight smile. If he was steel, she was stone. She wasn’t going to budge.

“Right now we’re living by another motto. ‘Cash is king.’” 

Mr. Spencer looked like he wanted to order them beheaded and then burn down the diner as a lesson to anyone else who dared question the authority of him or his platinum credit card. But instead, he just pulled out his wallet, counted out ten one-dollar bills, and dropped them on the counter.

“See if I ever come back to this shithole,” he said very loudly as he left.

“See if you’re ever welcome back,” Granny muttered. She looked around the diner. “Anyone else take offense to our technical difficulties?”

No one else did.

****

That was the night that Ruby perfected the art of up-selling. Sure, you could have a cup of coffee, but wouldn’t a latte just hit the spot? We’ve got pumpkin spice, for a limited time! And avocado! Just a dollar extra! Are you guys celebrating? You should get dessert! No, get separate desserts! None of this “one sundae, two spoons,” nonsense! Live a little!  

And it worked. By the end of the night on Saturday, they had almost half of what they needed to pay the rent. It was a record profit for the day before rent day. 

But it wasn’t enough. 

It was less than half of enough.

So Sunday morning, Ruby dragged herself out of bed to keep the hot streak going. She hissed advice to the other waitresses, and threats to the ones who were slacking. She led by example and smiled, smiled, smiled. 

The rush started as soon as the churches let out. The same rich people who had been there for dinner on Saturday night swung by in the afternoon for brunch--except for Albert Spencer. You would think that spending an hour in the presence of God would sweeten people’s attitudes, but no. If anything, they were more demanding and sour on Sunday afternoons. Maybe worship had made them uncomfortably aware of their hypocrisy. Or maybe they just hated squeezing into fancy clothes every week.

According to rumor, Mr. Gold always started his rounds at the Sisters of St. Meissa Convent. Every month, wealthy parishioners came into the diner chatting about how he approached the Mother Superior just as mass was letting out. Mrs. Gold always stayed behind in the Cadillac. Ruby could imagine Mr. Gold in his black suits, parting the seas of the brightly-dressed faithful. His presence would be a reminder to people of what was coming to them, the reckoning that would come due that very day. 

Walking up to a church, Mr. Gold probably looked like the devil. 

That was why it was only the rich people who came out for brunch on the fourth Sunday of the month. Rich old people got the same cheap meals they always ordered no matter what Ruby suggested. And they tipped badly no matter how much Ruby smiled and laughed at their stupid jokes. 

Even worse than the rich old people were the rich young people. Technically, Sean Herman and Hunter Duke and their friends were all the same age as Ruby. She had vivid memories of them all going to Storybrooke High together. But in terms of experience, those kids had stayed in preschool their whole lives. Without asking, the group pushed two tables together and stayed for two hours. They ordered nothing but nachos and sodas and they didn’t tip anything.   

Plus, when the housekeeping maid Ashley Boyd saw that Sean was in the diner with another girl, she started crying so hard that Ruby thought she was going to go into labor. It had taken fifteen minutes to calm her down. Fifteen minutes where Ruby had to let another waitress take her tables and her tips. 

Somehow, she got through the day. The diner closed at seven and Granny went back to count the register. Ruby stayed out front with the door locked and half the lights off. She told everyone to go home and used her nervous energy to do all the cleaning up herself.  

Would they have enough? Was this going to work? Or had Ruby just pushed herself to the limit for no reason? If they didn’t have enough, was there any way that Mr. Gold would work with them? Would he let them have one day to take cash out of the bank? Could he possibly be persuaded to take a check? Or her car?

But as Ruby sprayed glass cleaner on the bakery display case, she knew that wasn’t going to happen. Mrs. Gold had made it very clear what her husband wanted Ruby to offer--something red and sweet.

Herself.

Or at least her body.

“Fuck!” Ruby muttered as she scrubbed at her reflection with a paper towel. The cleaner fumes made her eyes sting and water. “Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!”

The dining room was as clean as it was going to get, and Tony had already taken care of the kitchen. It was seven-thirty on Sunday night, and Mr. Gold always came by at eight-fifteen sharp. 

Ruby wheeled her bucket of dirty mop water to the utility closet and drained it out. That was all life really was in this stupid town, wasn’t it? Life just made people dirtier and grosser until they weren’t useful anymore and then they went down the drain.

Fuck.

When she got to Granny’s office, piles of cash were lined up on the desk in neat rows. Granny was bent over them, counting out loud. 

“Five, ten, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen--”

That was bad. If Granny was counting out fives and ones, they were scraping the bottom of the barrel. When she got to twenty, the counting stopped. Granny straightened up in her chair and let out a long sigh.

“Do we still have quarters?” Ruby asked, trying to be hopeful.

Granny didn’t turn to face her. “I’ve counted it three times,” her voice was as wrung out as a dirty mop. “And every time it comes out the same.”

“We’re millionaires!”

It was a stupid joke, but she was so desperate for them to have the money. She would do anything to put off the inevitable. For just a few more seconds, she wanted to live in a world where she didn’t have to prostitute herself out to her landlord and his wife. 

“You worked hard today,” Granny said. “Harder than I’ve ever seen from you. We had to come up with a lot of money in not much time. You--you did good, Ruby. I’m proud of you.”

Granny was not normally one to offer praise. For as long as she could remember, Ruby had never made her proud. If she was saying something nice now, it was only because something very bad was coming. 

“But…?” Ruby whispered.

“But,” Granny agreed. “We’re still short. By a hundred and eighty bucks.”

Ruby’s stomach cramped, like she had been punched. She was so stupid. She should have never gotten her hopes up. She had known this was coming. But the hurt still knocked the wind out of her.

“A hundred and eighty dollars?” Ruby repeated weakly. “Is that all?”

Granny spun around in her office chair to glare at her. “Is that all? Do you have that much squirreled away somewhere? Because I sure as hell don’t!”

“No.” She shook her head, crossed her arms over her chest. “No, I don’t have anything.”

She looked away from her grandmother. Without consulting her brain, her legs began to move through the kitchen from the diner to the bed and breakfast. She didn’t know where she wanted to go. All she knew was that she had to move. Some deep and primal instinct howled for her to run.

But she had nowhere to go. 

A hundred and eighty bucks! The amount was the final twist of the knife. They were so close! Compared to how much money there was in the world, it was almost nothing! A hundred and eight bucks. Mrs. Gold probably spent that much going to the hair salon! Mr. Gold probably spent that much on a tie!

It was almost nothing. 

But it was something they didn’t have. 

So it was everything. 

Ruby bolted through the kitchen into the other building that housed the bed and breakfast. She paced around the empty lobby, going in circles until she felt like a wild animal trapped in a cage. She was sure as hell ready to bite and claw and howl.

“It’s not fair!” She heard the tears in her voice when she spoke out loud. “We worked so hard! And we’re so close!”

Granny had followed her. She stood in the doorway to the lobby, looking at Ruby and wringing her hands. 

“We could ask somebody?” Ruby tried. “It really isn’t that much money. Just twenty dollars from nine people. Or ten from eighteen! Don’t you have friends, Granny? Can one of them help us out, just until the bank opens?”

Granny took off her glasses and let them fall from the chain around her neck. “This afternoon I called everyone I knew. What we’ve got here--” she patted her sweater pocket where she had a wad of cash wrapped in a rubber band-- “is with all the help I was able to get.” 

Ruby looked at her in disbelief. 

“Don’t forget, everyone we know who’ll lend us money also has rent due today. But they dug in, and they did the best they could--”

“And it wasn’t enough,” Ruby finished, so quietly she could barely hear herself. “And the best we could do wasn’t enough. Nothing is enough. No one in this town can do anything, can they? I’m so fucked.” 

  She slumped against the front desk and covered her face with her hands. After a minute, she felt Granny’s hands on her shoulders. She was holding her, hugging her, giving her affection that Ruby hadn’t felt in as long as she could remember.

“It’ll be okay,” Granny assured her. “We’ve been in this spot before and we’ve pulled through.”

“Yeah, remember when he wanted your jewelry?” Ruby was trembling. “And the time before that, it was that old wolf doll from when Mom was a kid. He took those things, and now we don’t have them anymore. Think, Granny, what else do we have? What else would a man like that want?”

It only now occurred to her that she hadn’t told Granny about Mrs. Gold’s visit. Not about the specifics, anyway. But she must have seen the truth from the look in Ruby’s eyes. She could put the pieces together without Ruby ever having to say the words.

“Oh, sweetie,” Granny breathed. “Oh, Ruby Red, you’re not going to--”

“What choice do we have?” She backed away from her grandmother, wouldn’t look at her. If she thought about what she was doing, if she confronted this reality and then had to look into the face of love that she so rarely saw--she would scream.

Granny sighed and let her go. “At least it won’t be too bad for you.”

Ruby blinked. “What?” She turned her head sharply to the old woman. “What did you just say?”

Instead of backing down, Granny stood her ground. The moment of sweetness between them had passed, and all their old resentments were coming back to the surface. “Well it’s not exactly like you’re saving yourself for marriage. I know you’ve been around the block--been around every block in Storybrooke from what I hear.”

Her mouth dropped. For the second time in ten minutes, Ruby felt like she’d been physically attacked by something Granny said. But this wasn’t a punch in the stomach, it was a slap in the face! It was an insult. From her own goddamned grandmother!

“Is that what you really think of me?” Ruby whispered.

Face going red, Granny tightened her fists. “I think if this was a normal Sunday, you wouldn’t have woken up in your own bed--or at least not alone.”

Ruby opened her mouth, but no words came out. “So--so what, does that make me a hooker to you? Do you think I deserve for this to happen? You think because I’m such a slut I’ll be able to just fly through the act of selling my body for money?

“Ruby…” Granny tried to come closer, but Ruby just backed away.

“Don’t act like I’m the unreasonable one here! Yeah, I go out on Saturday nights. Yeah, I like to have a good time. Yeah, Granny, I like to have sex!” She hissed the word, like it was just as dirty as Granny seemed to think it was. “But that doesn’t mean I’m for fucking sale!”

“I don’t think--”

“You think I’m just like her, don’t you? You don’t think I’m any better than Mrs. Gold!”

“Well you certainly don’t look any different!” Granny snapped, clearly done trying to make things better. “Maybe that’s why Mr. Gold thinks he can treat you the same as her. Because you do dress like a hooker, Ruby. And before today, I wouldn’t have said you were much of a waitress.”

Ruby slammed her hand down on the counter. “I’ve worked my ass off my whole life for you! You’re the one that doesn’t know how to run a business!”

“What would you know about anything that isn’t boys and beer?”

“I know enough to know that a hotel in New England isn’t supposed to be empty on every weekend of fall! And I know that there are five Sundays this month, Granny. If you knew that, I wouldn’t be about to put myself up for rent just to save your shithole of an existence!”  

   “Don’t act like I asked you for any of this, young lady! You are free to sleep your way up and down the eastern seaboard whenever you--

“Hello?”

A new voice entered into the conversation. Ruby and Granny both looked at the door. There was a woman. She was blonde and pretty, but tough-looking. Her red leather jacket was amazing. She lingered in the entrance of the lobby, unsure of what was going on. 

“Is… this place open? The bed and breakfast?”

“We sure are!” Granny recovered more quickly than Ruby could. She put on a smile and pulled out the hotel sign-in book from under the counter. There was a thin layer of dust on the cover, and Granny wiped it away with her sleeve before she opened it up to the woman. “How long will you be staying with us?”

“Just a week, I think,” the woman said. “That should be enough time for me to figure some things out. Then I’ll be on my way.”

“That sounds great,” Granny kept smiling. “Now, we have a forest view or a square view. Normally there’s an upcharge for the square view, but we can waive that--”

“If you pay in cash!” During the course of their conversation, Ruby had done some quick and desperate math. “It’ll be two hundred dollars, right?” She looked at Granny. “To stay for a week in the smallest room, that’s two hundred. But we can give you the best room in the house for the same price. If you pay up front. In cash.”

The woman looked skeptical of the bargain, but willing to go along. “Sure,” she said. She put her wallet back in her jacket pocket and reached down to her combat boots to pull out a wad of bills. “Two hundred, you said?”

“Yes!” Ruby squealed and reached out to take the cash. The precious cash--twenty whole dollars more than what they needed! 

With a wordless look, Granny handed Ruby the roll of bills. Smiling more than she had in her entire life, she took out twenty dollars’ worth of measly fives and ones and added the blonde woman’s twenties to the roll. The twang and snap of the rubber band were the most satisfying noises she had ever heard. 

Granny took up a pen and held it over the register book. “So what’s the name?”

“Swan,” the woman said. “Emma Swan.”

“Emma.” It was a man’s voice, deceptively soft and friendly-sounding. Mr. Gold walked into the lobby. “What a lovely name.”

Ruby glanced at the grandfather clock. It was 8:15. He was right on time.

But he was also too late.   

Ruby slammed the roll of cash onto the counter. “It’s all here.” You son of a bitch.

If Mr. Gold was disappointed or angry that he wasn’t going to get his “something sweet,” it didn’t show on his face. There was something weird about him right now. His expression wasn’t sharp and calculating. He didn’t look like he was on the hunt for souls to buy. He looked at Ruby as he took the money, but he didn’t seem to see her at all.

“Yes, I’m sure it is,” he said distantly. He turned his eyes back to the blonde woman. “You enjoy your stay--Emma.”

The woman, Emma, gave him a pleasantly blank look. The kind of look women all over the world give to men who seem too interested in their lives. “Thanks.”

And then, as quietly as he had come in, Mr. Gold walked out. Poverty and desperation passed them by for another month. 

When the front door closed behind him, Ruby burst out laughing. She had never felt so light. Emma Swan was the first guest the bed in breakfast had seen in as long as Ruby could remember and right now she was the most important person in the world. 

“Oh my God!” Ruby had been smiling all day, but now she meant it. “Thank you for paying in cash! You do not know how much you saved my ass!”

Literally.

Emma kept up the same cautious-but-amused half smile she had given to Mr. Gold. “Who was that guy, the local mafia heavy?”

“Mr. Gold is the landlord for just about every place in town,” Granny said as she wrote down Emma’s information.

“Including here, huh? Must be some kind of hardass.”

“You have no idea!” Ruby was still giddy with relief. 

“Anyway.” Granny pulled out one of the keys from the wall and handed it to Emma Swan. “Welcome to Storybrooke.”  

[smokahuntis]

hey, just looked over your prompt list... could you do 4, 15 and 24 with Kylo? Idc just do your best

Bet

Pairing: Kylo Ren x Reader.

Prompts : “I’m not cleaning that up.” “Am I bleeding?” “If you say another word, I’m going to shut you up myself.”

Summery: (y/n) is Kylo Ren’s apprentice, and when she, Phoenix and Bubba take on heavy fire from the Resistance he comes to save them and find out what went wrong.

Warnings: Violence! Murder! Angst! Not a lot of Kylo!

Authors note: I do not own the characters Phoenix and Bubba! This is a collaboration with my friend @hxldmxdxwn who so nicely let me use them! Also I’m sorry this kinda turned into just them for a minute because I miss my boys.

Fire, fire rained down from the burning trees and weapons that sounded in the distance. Most of the troopers she brought with her are dead, and most of the resistance that opposed her had found the same fate. She called for pick up almost an hour ago and no one was there, she tried reaching out to her master but nothing would come threw. She couldn’t hear him, almost couldn’t even feel he was alive.

He trusted her to do this one mission alone, it wasn’t even supposed to go this way. It was a simple ask some questions get some answers type mission with a few locals. But how we ended up here was a different story.

She was walking back to her ship with her to trusted guards YO-988 and YW-382. Phoenix and Bubba, Kylo’s most trusted troopers and probably the only two who could actually call her by her first name. Also the only two allowed to escort her or train with her. They quickly became her best friends around The Finalizer, training with her when her master was to busy, and protecting her when he became a little to viscous.

Her black and red cape blew in the winds of the forest as she made her way back to the ship, her lightsaber attached to her side tightly. Bubba felt somethibg was wrong before she did, stopping in front of her and putting his hand in front of her, his silver armor shining in the light of the forest. Just as Phoenix was about to ask what was wrong he felt it too, and quickly all three of them were bringing out their weapons.

“This should be fun!” Phoenix said looking over his shoulder to the shorter girl and his partner. The red light from her lightsaber shining against his golden armor.

“You need to get back to the ship princess!” Bubba said looking down at her figure.

“I’m not leaving you guys!”

“We can take care of our selves!” They said at the same time. Just as the Resistance men starting coming towards them, they were moving fast and the soldiers quickly realized it was to late for her to get to the ship with how far it was. Phoenix’s right hand came out pushing her closer to them as he shot down Resistance soldiers. Bubba in the other hand stayed close to them but moved away starting hand to hand combat with his staff.

She loved their protective nature over her but hated that she knew she could handle herself, and she was going to prove it, and here was her chance. Bubba was a little to occupied to notice someone get to close the golden plated marksman, swinging her red lightsaber threw the hair taking him out easily and catching a small thanks from Phoenix, but everything only continued, getting harder for just the three of them. She reached down to a band on her wrist snapping it letting the wired band hit the ground of the forest. The breaking of it alerted the ship of troopers above waiting that something is wrong. Quickly troopers rained down from the sky assisting them in the battle that ensued.

Phoenix turned quickly to make sure (y/n) was still close by as he saw bubba miss a shot.

“Hey cum dumpster! Targets over there!” He said shooting someone behind bubba with complete ease. Bubba only rolled his eyes under the helmet and threw a knife behind Phoenix nearly cutting his helmet as it went into the Resistance soldiers head.

“You’re welcome cumshot!”

“You two shut up and cover me.” She said running back to the ship with them following close behind, taking out anything and anyone that got to close to them or her.

Just as they reached the ship she quickly got on sending out a signal to the Finalizer.

“If the ship working?” Bubba said as he boarded walking over to her looking down at the panel, no fuel.

“I think one of them took out the tank, but I can still get a signal out...” she said working on the codes finally sending a signal out to her master, Kylo Ren. The blasting and loud noises outside quickly calmed down as Phoenix entered the ship looking at her.

“Am I bleeding?” He said taking his helmet off, one side was broken and you could see the emerald gem stones he called eyes.

“Fuel is empty...” she said before a loud noise came from the outside sending them all out rushing to see it. An X-Wing, flew over head letting fire rain down on them Phoenix moved her behind him quickly taking the shot he had, the pilot was gone and the plain came crashing down near them, setting the forests around it ablaze.

Though they thought that would be the last of it they were wrong, it was a distraction for more men to come towards them. But they all got separated quickly which was something the two troopers always hated. But (y/n) didn’t mind, she liked being able to fight openly and not worry about hurting her partners as she took out soldier after soldier, she fought gracefully not caring for the pain that took over them as she cut them down. And that’s how they got here.

She stood in the middle of bodies, her cape flowing around her as YO-988 and YW-382 came back to her, noticing the fire in her eyes instantly, a fire that could only be matched by her master. And speaking of the devil, a ship landed close by, and the first person to exit was Kylo Ren himself. Phoenix and Bubba knowing of Kylo’s little crush on the girl caused them to nudge each other and giggle, waiting for Kylo’s reaction to the mess his little apprentice had made.

She looked up seeing his masked figure and instantly her lightsaber shut down and clicked back to her waist. Before he could ask what happened she spoke up completely leaving him dumbfounded with the tone she used.

“I’m not cleaning that up!” She spat out and pushed past him into the ship, she was filled with anger and he could feel it, he could feel it run threw her as if it was his own veins being fueled with fire.

He stood there looking around them at what seemed to be hundreds of bodies, not only resistance but storm troopers as well, he looked up at his two trusted friends and sighed, looking for answers. But they just followed him onto the ship and to the small living space it held where they found (y/n) sitting there getting looked at by a nurse.

“What happened?” Kylo said taking off the helmet feeling safe with the troopers and her.

“Hux is a fucking liar...” she said glancing up at him, it was never like her to use such language, she was always quiet and never really fought, so today was completely out of character for her. Kylo not understanding where this came from he looked to her troopers for help.

“The locals knew nothing, and when we were on our way back we were ambushed.” Bubba said looking at Kylo who looked down thinking of ways this could have just been an accident and not what it was. But he wasn’t willing to accept it until someone said it.

“We were sent out there to die...” the apprentice said pulling the attention of everyone in the room to her.

“Leave us...” Kylo Ren said and quickly with out another word everyone left the room leaving just the two Sith to themselves. “What do you mean...” he said in a low tone as he moved towards her. She stood to try and meet his eye but never able to get high enough. He always towered over her.

“We were sent to a back water planet with nothing but forest and small towns! “ she growled out looking at him. “When we got there I didn’t sense a thing! Nothing was wrong until after! Someone knew we were coming!” She said looking at him, the implication she was making could be huge, and probably the biggest problem he could have other then liking his Padawan.

“Shut up...” he growled out looking down at her.

“No! Look at it how it is Ren! Three of your best men were sent out there and I’m surprised we made it out!” He his came up quickly grabbing her by her collar and staring into her rage filled eyes.

“If you say another word, I’m going to shut you up myself!” He said holding her collar tightly, their faces inches apart. He expected the threat to make her calm down and understand, but the fire in her eyes didn’t fade, it grew. It grew so bright it started a flame in his chest, but her words pored gasoline over it, causing it to spread.

“Do it...” she said calmly and his lips came crashing down to hers like the x-wing Phoenix shot down. Her blood covered hands coming up to grip the sides of his face as his moved to her waist pulling her closer. It would have gotten a lot farther had the two troopers not came back in.

“Boss man we go- oh shit!” Bubba said looking at them, Phoenix’s face dropped and his eyes rolled.

“Damnit...” he groaned handing over credits to Bubba.

“I win!”

[euphoricimagination]

Summary: The end between the Dumpster Battle, which team took the crown?

Kenma x reader; Haikyuu x reader

Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18

From the beginning

You take the bags and some towels so you can change sides, through the corner of your eyes you notice that Kenma was talking to Hinata; however, you quickly focus again when you notice Kageyama in front of you, almost clashing into each other

"Shit, sorry Tobio-kun"

"It’s fine…Yn-san, are you alright? We saw you yesterday" says taking the things from your hands and walking towards the bench

"I am, I just was a bit emotional yesterday. I notice that you’re putting some spin into the ball, like the last day of the training camp"

"Yeah, I haven’t been able to try it before this but it seems promising"

"It does…thank you for the help, go back to your team"

When all the boys arrive at the bench, Kenma pulls you so you can sit next to him, starting the little meeting before the second set begins

"Tobio-kun it’s doing something that he tried on the training camp, he’s putting some spin into his serves, and it’s slowly getting some control, he will be able to use it properly soon"

"Oh, I’m sure he will"

"If we can get points by beating them with strong serves, then that’s obviously something we wanna do…But for us that’s not a viable strategy. If you can score with a service ace, go ahead and do it. You remember what you said Kuro? There’s no way to completely shut down any specific play, they’re going to score. So if Shoyo would normally score 10 points, if we can make it so he only scores 7 or 8 points instead, that will be enough"

"Karasuno has always been a team that keeps attacking, but they seem to do it a lot more this match, the longer the rallies get, the more tired they will get… Anyways it will be good to change the rotation, so Fukunaga starts serving instead of Kenma"

"Oi, we told you to relax today. No more analyzing from now on" says Yaku flickering your forehead

The second set begins with Fukunaga being the first to serve aiming a short float serve at Hinata, who after receiving starts running horizontally across the court after noticing the open space, pulling a broad attack.

After an extremely long rally, Kageyama gets his first service ace of the match when he hits a serve with a difficult trajectory, so with the score at 9-6 in favor of Karasuno, coach Nekomata asks for the first time out.

"These are Karasuno that we are talking about dude, thanks chibi-chan" Yaku adds when you pass him his bottle

"They are getting tired though" says Kenma, drying his sweat "Nobody has infinite stamina, although that goes for us too"

"Kenma…" starts Yamamoto

"Don’t, just don’t, I don’t want to hear that word"

"LET’S SEE SOME GUTS BRO!"

"Get away, Yn help!"

"Yamamoto, you know that he doesn’t like the word…although he definitely is using them now"

"Seriously? You too?"

Once the match resumes, Kageyama pulls off another powerful serve, but the guys manage to keep the ball in play. Kenma aims for the empty space in front of Karasuno’s court. When Yamamoto spikes, Hinata, despite looking tired, is still able to block him, although he gets a net foul.

With a score of 13-15, Nekoma gradually closes in on Karasuno’s lead with the strategy that Kenma made. In the time out that Karasuno asked after Hinata's spike was completely block, Lev is asking Kenma how did he know when to block.

"You know, I noticed multiple times that Hinata didn’t have proper run up, and it has been a lot easier narrow down who we block too"

"If we can contain Shoyo successfully, that quick set is mostly out of the table"

"And that would make him anxious, right?" you add with Kenma nodding "Shoyo gets…overly excited sometimes, that’s why he touched the net that rally"

"Yeah, and as a setter, you don’t like letting your hitters stew on a mistake for too long, so I figured that as soon as the opportunity came up, Kageyama will pass it to Shoyo"

"Kenma-san, you’re scary" says Lev

"Chibi-chan…did you make Kenma tell you the plan when I specifically told you to rest for this match?" asks me Kuroo

"No, I have no idea what your plan is"

"It’s not her fault that she actually uses her brain, you should do it too" says Kenma narrowing down his eyes "All we need to do is get a few of those points that Karasuno feels that they always score. The little stresses will lead to little mistakes, and hopefully to lost points. All we need are two or three. If Shoyo can't fly at a full 100%, don’t you think Kageyama will lose interest in him?"

"Hey Kenma. Most of the time you’d expect the one looking for the tough 'boss fight’ to be the hero. But you? You’re definitely the evil overlord" says Kuroo, making Kenma shake a little in excitement

"Damn, you actually like that" you chuckle

Rallies pass, Nekoma not only being able to reach Karasuno’s score but also surpassing them, now being 22 – 21. After Karasuno saves the ball, Kageyama suddenly yells ‘four’, calling for a third tempo while setting the ball high, making Hinata jump even higher than before. After that play, you can see that Kenma is trying to figure out what to do, clearly not expecting that play. Now that Karasuno made two points using that higher jump, Kenma suddenly switched his head in your direction, looking at you basically and screaming with his eyes. “Inuoka?” you mouth to him, making him nod.

"Coach, Inuoka should enter"

"Of course" says the coach while calling for him, looking all excited while waiting for the rally to end to enter

"Yn-san, what’s the plan?" He asks you

"If Shoyo learnt to jump higher in the middle of the game, then we need a taller wall"

"Ohhh! I get it"

"Go ahead" you push him slightly once the rally ends, Inouka screaming excitedly "sometimes things here don’t make any sense"

Inuoka does a really good job at blocking and spiking, however Karasuno ends up winning the second set after Hinata bumps a spike and sends it to the back of the court. While you change sides, you noticed that the team is quieter than usual, probably feeling the pressure of loosing the second set.

"You did really good Inuoka, well done" you pat his head before putting the bag on the bench

"Thank you, Yn-san" says visibly more happy

"You too Yamahiko, that was a really good serve"

"Thank you"

"…There’s a secret to a good workout, instead of doing 100 regular sit ups, it's better to put on weights and do 10 that you can barely make" you hear Kuroo say to Lev, who seems impressed

"Then it’s not about how many you make…Instead of making 20 regular points, it’s better to score one heavy point?!" says Lev, making Kuroo nod

"Sometimes I really wonder how your brains work" you move your eyes between the two of them "like…why?"

"I know, I’d rather take 20 regular points" says Yaku looking confused aswell while Kuroo continues to cheer up Yamamoto

"Would you believe me if I told you that Kuro was shyer than me when we were kids?" says Kenma to you, laying his head on your shoulder while playing with your hand

"Is hard imagine it, but I do believe you"

"Really?"

"Mhm, it can happen"

"What?" says Kuroo when he find you looking at him

"Nothing, I was just thinking how you talk a lot"

"Dude, where’d that sudden punch to the gut came from?"

"He’s not wrong though"

"Ouch chibi-chan"

"If you were just partying jock type, I never would’ve bothered to play this with you"

"Dude seriously, what’s with the sudden personal attacks?"

"Yeah, I don’t want to exercise so hard that I run out of breath, or work up a sweat if I can avoid it. Yeah, there are times that I want to play videogames instead of volleyball. Heck, I’m starting to think that I like watching volleyball instead of playing it. But it’s not a bad feeling to stand up and think ‘welp, time to get to it’" says Kenma getting up when the whistle sound, leaving you both surprised by the sudden confession

"Ken has changed quite a lot"

"Yeah, I guess everybody is their own kinda crazy" says Kuroo going back to the team to say some words.

Sometimes, you wish you could have stayed in Hyogo, stay in Inarizaki with your best friends. But it’s times like this that you look at the team in front of you; the team that normally gets look down for their style of play; the team that you have seen struggle and tough it up many times; the team that welcomed you with open arms when you arrived, and it makes you really happy that you came to Tokyo, that you chose Nekoma. You are sure both teams deserve to enjoy the reward, but for one, this reward will be the last. With this set, someone will have to lose. And that will be it. They’re done. The third years will have to retire.

The third set starts explosively, both teams giving their all. The atmosphere of the court is growing sharper and tighter by every rally that passes. Nobody wants to be left behind, because if someone does that it would be such a waste, specially now. And while now both teams are rivals, they are also their best teacher, Nishinoya with Yaku, Yamamoto with Tanaka, Tsukishima with Kuroo. Both teams go point by point, once one scores, the other one does too right after.

Kageyama’s powerful serve ends up in a net-in, Kai saving it only to send it directly to Karasuno. Hinata then spikes toward Kenma, who barely puts up his arms in time to stop the ball from colliding with his face, while Fukunaga follows up, Kenma scans for openings and sends the ball barely over the net. Hinata dives forward to save the ball, but Kenma is already in position to knock the ball right back down. Kenma once again targets his serve at Hinata, but Tanaka claims the receive without hesitation, making him move for a minus-tempo, but both Lev and Inuoka are there to block.

Afterwards, Tamahiko is subbed in to pinch serve. Daichi receives the ceiling serve, allowing Kageyama to toss to their ace. Asahi hit towards the block trying to earn a block out, however, Fukunaga runs far out to keep the ball in play. Kenma goes to set with Kuroo coming in for a spike, but Karasuno saves it once more. Hinata spikes and encounters three blockers, but Kenma seems to read him attack and prepares to receive. However, Hinata unexpectedly pushes the ball toward the back of the court. You see that Kenma tries to reach for the ball only to find it slipping away from his fingers after making contact. The ball drops to the ground, resulting in Karasuno leading 19 – 17.

After the intense rally Kenma collapses to the floor, exhausted, so you go to check up on him alongside Kuroo

"Ken, you alri-"

"That was fun…" says shocking everyone around, except for Hinata who is celebrating

"About time" you chuckle pocking his forehead "Are you okay though?"

"Yeah, tired but fine" says smiling at you before standing up

Nekoma continues to put up a good fight despite Kenma being exhausted, however, Karasuno is speeding up and gains a lead of 20 – 17, making coach Nekomata ask for time-out.

"Come here, let me help you" you say to Kenma while drying his sweaty face, knowing that he must be exhausted

"Thank you" says kissing the palm of your hand quickly "having my characters chug health potions when they’re low on hp and making them fight more, and even reviving them after they died, making them get up and go back to battle…y’know, from now on I think I’m going to have more sympathy for them when they’re in battle"

"You’re clearly exhausted, you’re acting like characters in a game feel anything"

"But don’t worry, volleyball isn’t a sport that kills many people per year" adds Fukunaga making him laugh

After the time out, the two teams continue the match with an intense exchange of offense and defense. Kenma is clearly pushing himself beyond his own limit and yet he continues to provide quality tosses to the guys.

Nekoma manages to remain on Karasuno’s tail and not let the score gap increase until Hinata puts Karasuno at match point. The tension is now at an all-time high as Kageyama goes to serve. He sends a powerful serve across. Yamamoto receives the serve but sends the ball across the net. Tanaka prepares for a direct spike only to find it cut off by Lev who, while blocking, collides with Kenma and sends him to the floor.

"KENMA-SAN"

"IDIOT, FORGET ME! THE BALL HASN’T HIT THE FLOOR YET!"

"He’s having so much fun there" you look at Kenma with a small smile, feeling your eyes get soft. Looking at the score, it’s likely that you will lose, but seeing Kenma this happy while playing is probably the best outcome you could hope for.

Karasuno reaches the falling ball just before it hits the floor and returns it back to Nekoma. The ball drops toward the front of the court, and Yaku puts it back in the air. The ball flies right above the net, where Hinata is already prepared to slam it down, however, Lev reacts just in time to block the spike. At this moment, the two teams’ formation is broken but they try their hardest to keep the rally going. Kageyama entrusts the ball to Tanaka, who uses a straight line shot. His spike bypasses the blockers but Kai makes a clean dig to give Nekoma an opportunity to counterattack. Just when Kenma prepares to set, the ball slips away from his fingers dropping to the floor, thereby ending the match in favor of Karasuno.

“Was that because of the sweat?” “Yes, after so many long rallies, and many players touching the ball, it can make it really slippery” you hear the commentators say. Despite your team losing, you feel happy for Karasuno and for the amazing match that both team gave, which is clear by everyone laying on the floor exhausted.

You look at Kenma, who’s now laying in the floor saying something to Kuroo, making the captain and the rest of the team shock. Afterward, Nekoma and Karasuno line up to perform post-match greetings and handshakes while receiving an ovation from everyone in the crowd. You see Daichi cross under the net to give Kuroo a hug, many others doing the same since both schools have mutual respect for each other.

As they do that, you as coaches and managers also bow to each other. While the coaches shake each other hands, Kiyoko comes forward to gives you a hug.

"I didn’t see you helping them much today Yn-chan"

"They didn’t let me, and now I’m annoyed at them for it. It was such a good match, I wanted to help"

"Both of our teams are good. Please guide Yachi-chan well when we have our next match"

"Of course i will"

After the boys thank their supporters, they come back to where you are, most of the first and second year crying.

"Setting aside any specific points of critique at the moment, let me say one thing that all of us thought…that was a wonderful game, thank you" says coach Nekomata, making some of them cry even harder while bowing and thanking the coach.

As soon as the coach finishes, Kenma immediately moves forward and lays on you, passing his arms through your waist.

"Thank you" says breathing heavily "sorry for losing, you watch two of your teams lose one after another"

"It’s okay" you pass your arms through his neck "I’d rather see you play all excited and lose than winning with you being bored. I’m still really proud of you"

"I love you too much" Says moving his head out of your shoulder, giving you a short kiss before putting your foreheads together

"Damn, you really must be exhausted to do this kind of PDA here" you chuckle

"Shut up"

"Kenma! Yn-san!" calls Shoyo, making you move to look at him

"Let’s do that again"

"Shut up Kageyama, I wanted to say that!"

"Who cares! Not my problem!"

"Hey Kenma, let’s do this again next year!" finally Hinata is able to say

"Yeah…lets" answers Kenma, while you brush his hair out of his face

"Yn-san! You need to coach me in the next training camp too!"

"Sure, I already promised to help you anyway"

"Hinata, you idiot! I wanted her to coach me too, you always have to ruin everything!"

"You can just ask, you know?! Why do you have to be so bad at talking to people?!"

"I’ll help both of you, relax" you sigh, chuckling

"Thank you!" says Hinata excitedly

"There you go again, planning games like a bunch of neighborhood kids deciding at which house you are playing tomorrow" says Kuroo arriving

"Even tired you’re annoying?" You say as he whines, Kenma pulls you out of the court and leaves the third years alone.

[secret-engima]

The Future’s Blurry (The Past is A Trap) verse Drabble: Cavaugh

I’m trying to answer an ask but my muses are jumping around rn so instead lemme real quick:

Picture. It is a wonderful day and you are a cranky time-traveler with a former Accursed and current mad scientist tagging along on your heels everywhere you go.

Glaucus is not expecting to find anything interesting in Cavaugh. Hadn’t even wanted to stop there, but circumstances had happened and they’d needed to grab some supplies and Hunts anyway. At first the most interesting thing to happen is the pickpocket he catches trying to steal their money, a furious blue eyed scamp of about eleven that Glaucus lets go after reclaiming the money and offering some tips on not getting caught next time. The kid looks at him oddly before scampering away and now Besithia is staring at Glaucus like he’s taking mental notes on Glaucus’s past, but he doesn’t care. He knows what it’s like to be hungry and desperate and if a few tips keeps the kid from getting beaten black and blue then so be it.

Anyway.

Glaucus and his two companions are just gearing up to LEAVE the town when the gang walks into the store.

Promptly demands that Glaucus give them not only all their money, but also all the supplies they just purchased. Ardyn tries the diplomacy thing but the thugs don’t take the hints the redhead keeps dropping that fighting Glaucus is bad news. All they see is a shabby 18 year old, a shabbier red-haired 35 or so year old, and a blond 23 year old who is completely ignoring them in favor of writing down whatever new science idea just popped into his head.

There’s really only one way this can end.

After tossing the dead bodies of the thugs into the dumpster out back for the sake of the shopkeeper hiding behind the counter, Glaucus goes to find the ringleader of the gang. Because he knows how this works. If they leave now, the gang will punish the store and any nearby townsfolk and that just isn’t gonna fly with Glaucus. Besides, he’s been thinking of taking over some pieces of the underworld to fund the lab Besithia is gonna need anyway. Might as well start here.

The fight is ... a little harder than he expected. Mostly because WHO keeps an albino behemoth as a pet. Seriously. Even so, with Ardyn guarding civilians and Besithia sniping from a safe distance, Glaucus takes the behemoth down before it can do more than tear up a few blocks of the main street, then forces the gang members who surrender to swear loyalty to him, which his magic takes as a literal thing (he’ll deal with THAT discovery later). He puts a relatively sane looking younger member in charge with strict rules on what to do and not do and then they leave before anyone can call the town guard.

They’re about a mile outside of town before Besithia loudly asks if Glaucus is going to deal with the pest following them or if he can have if for a specimen.

Glaucus slaps the man over the head and reminds him that they don’t take humans as specimens.

Ardyn meanwhile wanders over to the bush that is trying vainly to look uninhabited and offers the occupant some food, narrowly escapes getting kicked between the legs for his trouble.

Glaucus warps over with barely a thought (magic is so convenient why hadn’t Regis used it more often, honestly), collars the brat, lifts him in the air and hangs him by his shirt on a tree branch. The kid cusses him out with impressive skill. Glaucus just crosses his arms and waits. And waits. And waits.

Finally the kid gets the message that being angry is getting him nowhere fast and settles, seething from his position hanging from a tree.

“Take me with you.” He demands and Glaucus blinks.

“Why.”

“I can be useful,” the boy insists with a slight edge of desperation, “I’m a good pickpocket, and nobody notices street kids, I can get you information. I can run messages. I can do whatever you want. Just take me with you.”

Glaucus carefully ignores the ... implications of that last bit and elaborates, “Why do you want to come?”

The boy bites his lip. Astrals the kid looks maybe a day over eleven if he’s anything, “I wanna learn to fight like you did. You took down the gang and a behemoth all by yourself. I wanna learn to do that.”

Glaucus stares into washed out blue eyes that burn with a desperate, furious edge Glaucus knows far too well (saw in the mirror for 15 years before Gilgamesh stabbed some patience into him). He sighs.

If he says no, the kid is going to either keep following them or do something spectacularly stupid, he just knows it.

“You will obey my orders,” Glaucus growls with all the authority of a former Marshal of the Crownsguard, “You will follow my rules, and you will stay out of fights unless your life is on the line or I give permission. Is that clear?”

Hope burns, “I can stay?”

Glaucus sighs and lifts the kid out of the tree while Ardyn sputters about the dangers of the wilds and Besithia scoffs at the “liability”, “Yes. You can come, and I will train you. But disobey my orders in battle and I will beat your butt into the dirt next time we reach a Haven, understood?”

“Yeah, yeah, sure, I can come. You’ll teach me how to fight.”

Glaucus sighs again and already feels a habit forming, “If only to keep you from dying when you do something stupid.” Besithia scoffs again and then yelps when the boy darts forward to kick the blond hard in the shin. Glaucus resists the urge to smile.

“Brat!” Screeches Besithia.

“Not a brat!” Retorts the Definite Brat, “Not a specimen either, I heard you, you sicko!”

Ardyn intervenes, which is good because Glaucus is too entertained to do so, and gently rests a hand on the boy’s shaggy, dirty hair (Glaucus thinks it’s brown, but that could just be the dirt layers), “Do you have a name we can call you by, then?” The former Accursed asks softly, ignoring the wary flinch his touch had caused and then the wonder in the boy’s eyes and Ardyn’s fingers flicker gold with healing magic.

The boy licks his lips in a sign of nervousness as he holds still under Ardyn’s touch, “...Titus,” he says and Glaucus feels the world stumble, “Titus Drautos.”

Everyone stares at Glaucus when he starts laughing, low and soft but with an edge of hysteria.

Future Ardyn is mocking him from the afterlife isn’t he. Glaucus can feel it.

He shakes his head and scrubs his face with his hands briefly to regain composure, then rumbles, “Right. Right. Of course. Come on, Brat we’ve got a ways to go before lunch.” He walks away, ignoring but the minor hysteria in his blood (General Glauca the crabby eleven year old. He’s just taken in YET ANOTHER person who was a hated enemy in his past timeline. The Astrals have got to be messing with him), and the the faint murmur of Ardyn explaining to Titus (TITUS.) that Glaucus is just Like That and not to mind when he reacts strangely to things.