#then today i have exactly one (1) leo thought

[hold-him-down]

Hold Him Down (pt. 1)

TW: Med Whump, Gratuitous Med Whump, Medical Restraints, Chemical Restraints, Noncon Touch, Referenced Noncon, Parker Destin, Institutionalized Slavery, Noncon Drugging, Conditioning, Referenced Food/Water Restriction, Referenced/Described STI testing, Referenced/Described Shock Collar, Whumper POV, literally over 4k words wtf, get leo a pet fish and warm hug when.

Notes: This is one of those things that I'm, as usual, not sure needs to or should exist, but I spent so much time writing it that I couldn't just NOT post it, sooo here it is. Parts 4-6 coming eventually. Takes place in the 12-ish hour span after Leo is prematurely returned from our best guy, Parker Destin. This may be one that I revisit and try to refine down the line.

✥ ✥ ✥

From behind a two-way mirror, Handler Otto Gray and an unfamiliar intake handler stand, arms crossed over their chests. They watch Leo quietly, relieved that, at least for now, the dust has settled. 

His eyes finally closed, a few hours earlier, following a massive fight that ended in a sizable dose of Lorazepam. Even drugged, it took what felt like ages for him to settle down, and even longer for his body to finally go limp. Hours later, the salty tear-streaks are still visible on his cheeks.

The doctor asked them to wait on cleaning him up; in spite of the second handler’s objections, in spite of the apparently innate desire to put this unconscious boy in his place, the handler turned on his heels and left in a huff. Otto hesitated, sparing a quick glance at Leo. He wondered, briefly, how he had managed to fail so spectacularly, before dismissing the thought all together. Against his better judgment, he squeezed Leo’s hand briefly, then he checked to make sure the restraints were appropriately secured and exited. Today was sure to be a long day, sure to be even longer if they could not get a handle on whatever panic-induced psychosis Leo was clearly grappling with.

Somewhere in the middle of it all, shift change happened. The handler who had spent the evening scowling at Leo’s lifeless form clocked out, muttering a, “Good luck,” to his replacement. Otto stayed, though, with a quick glance at handler Nick Ford, according to his name tag, and a muttered greeting. Hopefully, he thinks, this one is better suited for this type of work than the last. The doctor comes up behind them, and the three stand in silence for a moment.

“He’s asleep?” the doctor asks, which is a question that could ordinarily be answered with a quick glance through a chart, but Leo has a notoriously unpredictable response to sedatives and that, if nothing else, has been noted numerously in his file.

Otto nods, his jaw locked. “I think so.”

Leo’s wrists are red, raw where each strap hugs them, but for the last few hours, they have been still. Mostly.

“For how long?” the doctor asks, thumbing through the notes from the night before. A colorful account of the events that led to this moment, which, although maybe not immediately helpful, might lend insight into the inner workings of Leo Evans.

“A couple hours,” Handler Ford supplies, and Otto is struck suddenly with a potent distaste for how this night has played out. 

It’s not out of the ordinary, exactly, for a worker to require this level of support after a contract.  He hoped, though, maybe naively, that Leo was more resilient than this.

He’s been drugged out of his mind, and as hard as he fought it, the drugs eventually dragged him under. To Otto’s understanding, it was only after several hours of trying to calm him down using other methods that he was eventually medicated, and, to Otto’s understanding, the doctor intends now to keep him drugged until he’s under control. He idly wonders if there’s a chance at modifying those plans. Leo is tough, sometimes damn near impossible to work with, but they had found a kind of balance when Otto was his handler. And he thinks, now, he can perhaps spare everyone some heartache if he can have a go at his former trainee.

Otto peers in closer to the window as Leo gasps, his wrists pulling once, lightly, at the straps.

“Alright,” the doctor says, at the same time that Leo’s eyes crack open. As Handler Ford reviews the notes with the Doctor, Otto studies Leo. He hadn’t been an easy trainee. He had been downright defiant at times, resistant to every standard training tool the DLS employed. Otto had been called in in his second month, after his primary handler was fired for, more or less, losing his patience with Leo one time too many, with Leo landing in the ICU. Even after that, success came in short, nearly unpredictable bursts.

When Leo had finally been cleared to take his first contract, that would usually have been the end of Otto’s time with him. But, at least in some of his most challenging successes, he liked to keep an eye on them, if not just to see how they did. He would tell you he did this to improve his own methods, and to help him understand the longer term implications of his work. That wouldn't be the whole truth, though. 

Leo was one of the select few that Otto found himself keeping an eye on. He had gotten through his first contract easily, and Otto recalled the feeling of immense relief as he read through Ms. Smith’s post-contract interview. Leo had been put in a short term holding site and almost immediately secured his second contract. That one wasn’t set to terminate for three months still, so when Otto got the notification that Leo’s file was being updated last night, he called in some favors with the intake department.

He stands here now, mostly frustrated, a little bit confused, and perhaps, maybe slightly sympathetic. Simmering beneath all that is anger, misplaced but a constant undertone that, he worries, may drive some of his decisions today. He buries it as deeply as he can. It serves neither him nor Leo.

Leo blinks hard toward the ceiling, but seems to clock his circumstances quickly. His head turns toward the mirror and for a moment, Otto thinks Leo can see him, right through him, right into the place Leo used to occasionally access and attempt to exploit.

Otto stares at his eyes, red, heavy, and unfocused, and wills Leo to remain calm. Leo swallows, and pulls again against the restraints.

Stop, Otto silently commands. But he doesn’t. Of course, he wouldn’t.

“What are the odds he’ll take it on his own?” Otto hears from next to him.

“What?” Otto responds, shifting his focus.

“The meds?” Handler Ford says as he holds up a small cup of pills in one hand, a syringe filled with an off-white liquid in the other.

“Oh,” Otto responds. The odds, he thinks, are nonexistent. The good news is this isn’t explicitly his problem anymore. 

“Any pointers?” Handler Ford asks then. At Otto’s look, he says, “You worked with him, right?” 

Otto nods, but doesn’t offer any pointer. Handler Ford stares at him intently, so, out of some misplaced desire to prove that he is not, in fact, completely incompetent with his trainees, he says, “A long time ago. I did his initial training after his first handler got canned.”

“What for?” Ford asks. He’s stalling, Otto thinks. 

“Assault,” Otto supplies. He inclines his head toward the room, and turns away from Handler Ford, re-orienting himself toward the window.

“Wish me luck?”

“Good Luck,” Otto says, not unkindly, as the handler disappears behind the door. Moments later, he is in Leo’s room.

Leo’s demeanor immediately shifts, from alarmed and fighting to gain function to panicked, but he stills, he swallows, he forces his eyes on the handler, and takes a breath. Good boy, Otto thinks.

He’s whispering something, but Otto can’t make out the words. He thinks he’s heard Parker’s name, and Handler Ford shakes his head.

Leo nods, then, and takes one of those deep, shuddering breaths that usually mean he’s on the edge of some big feelings. Otto, once more, leans closer to the window.

Handler Ford begins listing out the things he needs Leo to do this morning, and Leo’s brow creases as he takes it in, nodding after each item, but seemingly oblivious to the actual requests.

Inside the observation room, the doctor joins Otto.

“Do you know what happened?” Otto asks the doctor. Otto, immediately realizing he could be asking any number of things, clarifies, “That led to this. He didn’t have an issue after his first contract.”

“Sometimes they get freaked out after spending some time with a particularly cozy buyer,” he replies. 

Otto nods. 

In the room, Handler Ford’s hand is on Leo’s neck, pressing under the collar. Leo stays still, but Otto can see the fear in his eyes, behind layers and layers of grief. It’s odd, seeing him like this.

“You didn’t last too long, did you?” Handler Ford is saying, dripping condescension, as Leo swallows, holding in a fresh wave of tears.

✥ ✥ ✥

“It’s nothing personal, Leo.” Parker’s driver waits for Leo just beyond the threshold. In his hand, Parker holds out a DLS-issued bag.

Leo nods.

Parker grabs his face between his hands and presses his lips to Leo’s forehead. “You have to understand I didn’t plan for this,” he’s saying, but Leo’s ears are ringing. “I would have waited to take on a worker if I had any inclination I would be called away.” His words are kind, Leo thinks, but there’s almost a note of condescension under them. 

Leo feels a sort of emptiness spreading throughout him, a cold void that precedes what he could only describe as terror. For what’s next. For losing this thing, that he isn’t sure he should want, but he wants, so desperately. He clings to it. 

“Parker, I– I can,” Leo starts, taking a step back. He can, what? fix this? do better? be better? “Please don’t do this…”

Parker’s thumbs glide across Leo’s cheeks.

“I thought they beat that out of you,” Parker says, his lips pulled into a half-smile. Leo falters, the words he has prepared are completely knocked out of him.

“I– I’m sorry,” is all he can now formulate. He can feel his circumstances changing as every second passes. He’s going to be sick. The feeling of bile rising wars against the knowledge that if he is sick at this moment, it will be unforgivable. 

Parker’s hands drift down to Leo’s shoulders and he pulls him into a half-hug, pressing his forehead against Leo’s.

“Don’t worry about it,” Parker says. He wants to say more, Leo thinks.

Instead, Parker uses the grip he has on Leo’s shoulder to push him away and rakes his eyes slowly over Leo, from his head to his toes. He smiles and grabs the collar of Leo’s shirt, poking out from under a deep blue sweater. It’s Parker’s favorite.

He inclines his head briefly toward the door and Leo counts every breath he takes.

“They said not to send your books and clothes and things,” Parker explains as he pulls open the front door. “It’ll just go to waste. I can donate it, if you’d like?”

And Leo, in that moment, hesitates. Can he ask Parker to keep it, for when he gets back from his trip? Maybe, he thinks. Maybe Parker hasn’t considered that Leo could stay in the house and look after it, and he doesn’t need to send him away. 

And then it occurs to Leo that maybe Parker is using this time to help figure out the gaps in his training, because they’ve been butting heads lately, and if that’s the case, he wants to tell Parker that he will take this time seriously, and will be better suited to be what Parker needs him to be when he returns.

Leo opens his mouth to say this, to say any of it, even just to tell Parker that he will try harder when he gets back from his trip.

But the panic wraps itself around Leo’s throat, and Leo says nothing.

✥ ✥ ✥

“Are you ready to behave?” The words distort around the edges and Leo blinks hard, willing himself to focus.

This handler, Leo thinks, is unfamiliar to him. There is a fuzziness to both his vision and his thoughts, compounded by blurry memories of the night before. The handler is standing just outside of his line of sight, offering terse reprimands each time he fails to respond. He is trying, though. He wants to tell them he’s trying, but his tongue feels too thick and his voice won’t work.

There’s an added danger that Leo tries not to acknowledge, even silently. They’ve put a training collar on him, but they haven’t gone so far as to shock the world into focus. Even if his limbs didn’t weigh a thousand pounds, he would not be able to lift them. Thick canvas straps wound tightly around each wrist and ankle keep him in place, and Leo blinks at the unexpected wave of terror: these people can and will hurt him with no regard for the fact that he is wholly unable to protect himself. 

The drugs help him accept these facts, but do not help him to forget them.

Memories of the night before claw their way to the surface. Of the sound of his own screaming, of gloved hands pinning him down, of his clothing being pulled off of his body. Of Parker's favorite sweater, which he held tightly to his chest, as it was ripped from his arms. He flinches at the memory of himself, just [some?] hours earlier, as he begged them to let him keep it, as a needle digs its way deep into his thigh. The darkness was quick to swallow him up after that.

And then there are other memories, too, from later in the night. Distorted flashes of the handlers coming to visit him, of cold hands pulling off the thin blanket that had been draped over him. He wondered if the drugs might ease the pain. When they didn’t, he allowed himself a moment of relief in the hope that this might all just be written off as a drug-induced nightmare in the light of day.

And now, the drugs fading, and the light of day doing nothing to erase ache deep inside of him, he swallows, blinking slowly, and longs only for the reprieve that unconsciousness may bring. That maybe they will drug him again, before they touch him again. His stomach turns over, and he draws his focus to the lights on the ceiling.

“He’s lost some weight,” he hears the doctor say, but they aren’t speaking to him, so he closes his eyes and taps each finger on the pad beneath him, just to see if he can feel them all. 

“His buyer kept him hungry,” the handler replies. He can, he thinks, feel them all. “My understanding is he kept him on a pretty strict eating plan.”

Leo recoils, hearing Parker’s voice in his head. The DLS has asked that you start out on a kind of strict meal plan for a little bit. He blinks back tears at the unwelcome memories. Of Parker, event after event, selecting everything he ate, everything he touched. Of the imperceptible nod Parker would give him when he reached for something at the dinner table. Or the terse shake of his head when he moved to something unacceptable. 

Leo wants to tell these men that Parker didn’t keep him hungry. That he was just enacting the plan he had been given.

“I’ll need a copy of it,” the doctor responds, and Leo squeezes his eyes shut, forcing his mind blank.

“It’s in his file,” the handler says. Leo’s ears ring. 

“Good.” The doctor presses his hands fingers into the back of Leo’s neck, the collar momentarily tightening as the fingers explore under it. “He’s dehydrated,” he says, and Leo can picture the handler typing his notes. “Are you going to tell me the buyer restricted his water intake too?”

From somewhere far away, the handler laughs, and Leo’s expression tightens, momentarily stunned by the mockery.

“It’s alright,” he thinks he hears, but the voices are so far away now. He doesn’t know that he’s crying until he feels a thumb wiping at his cheek, and Leo sucks in a breath. “You’re alright.”

The world stands still for what could be seconds or minutes or longer. When the doctor’s hand finally migrates upward, and a light is shined into each of Leo’s eyes, he is momentarily blinded, but immediately aware that he has lost time.

The doctor’s fingers, inches from his face, snap once. “Hi, Leo,” he says simply. And then, “I’m Dr. Grant. Are you with me?”

Leo swallows, which hurts, and other memories slide to the surface of the night before. He tries to nod. The movement makes his head pound. “Yes,” he whispers, but based on the doctor’s– what was his name?– grimace, he doesn’t think it came out right.

The doctor sighs and seemingly gives up on Leo’s active participation, instead pulling the blanket down to Leo’s waist and putting a stethoscope to Leo’s chest. It’s nothing, Leo thinks, but it’s never just this. He closes his eyes again and begins counting in his head. Every so often, he forgets where he left off, and he starts over.

The doctor explains what he’s doing as he works, and Leo wonders idly if it’s for his benefit or for some other reason. To pass the time, and maybe to distract himself, Leo imagines a new doctor in the adjacent observation room, learning this trade. He wonders if it’s a good doctor or a bad doctor, and opens his eyes just enough to glance toward the mirror, to see if he can spot him back there. There are no good doctors here, he decides, and starts counting again.

The doctor looks at Leo’s wrists and describes them to the handler, who writes it all down. He examines Leo’s arms and his shoulders and his chest and his stomach as he searches for signs that Parker hurt him beyond what would be considered reasonable, which he didn’t, Leo wants to say, and that Parker will come back for him after his trip, and that he needs to be ready to go home. Then he starts counting again, because the idea of telling this man that Parker will come back for him will be met with laughter, and Leo doesn’t know if he can handle it. He’s pretty sure he can’t.

Fingers prod at Leo’s stomach and he can’t suppress the accompanying flinch, and as the drugs start to wear thin, he feels himself less and less able to accept what is being done to him.

“Alright, Leo,” the doctor says, and Leo opens his eyes and is met with mostly, he thinks, concern.

“I’ll be back.” The doctor shoots the handler a look, and Leo wants to close his eyes again, but as the handler approaches, Leo knows, acutely, that it’s a bad idea.

“Are you going to cause a scene?” the handler asks, before lifting the blanket from Leo’s lap. Leo shrinks back, an instant passing in which his entire body goes rigid, but shakes his head ‘no.’ He hopes it’s enough.

He holds his breath, waiting for it to be over, or, waiting for it to start, and feels the handler’s eyes sliding down his body.

He thinks he might be shaking, but he isn’t sure. 

The doctor returns a moment later, and after a quick assessment of how things have evolved, issues a quick but gentle, “It’s alright.” It’s not, though, and Leo locks his jaw to keep from crying. He wants to ask if he can close his eyes again. Sometimes they would let him, when things were about to get really bad, in initial training. Sometimes, if he asked clearly, and if he caught them on a good day, they would let him.

“No wonder he was returned,” the handler says, leaning back against the wall. 

“Can I close my eyes?” he whispers then, before he can catch the humor in the handler’s expression. The doctor looks at him once, and nods. Leo doesn’t hesitate to clamp his eyes shut, unwilling to chance opening them at all, maybe ever, and instead continues counting in his head. 

“Continue working on your empathy,” the doctor says evenly, but Leo is pretty sure he isn’t speaking to him so he works on breathing and counting and nothing else.

He tries to block out the words. This is another moment in training, and it too will end eventually. 

“They put him through hell in training. He has a right to be mistrustful.” And then, to Leo, he says, “I’m going to give you something to help balance you out,” and his touch disappears. “Just hang tight, Leo.” 

Without warning, a hand clamps around his neck, pinning him in place. His eyes fly open, his arms pull instinctively against the restraints, as the tip of a syringe is pushed past his teeth and to the back of his throat.

He gags, his head knocking back against the thin pillow, but the handler’s grip is merciless, and in the next instant, a thick, bitter liquid is sliding down his throat. Tears well in his eyes, and he would swear the culprit was simply the bitterness of the medicine.

It’s mistaken for something else, though, and the handler releases him as the doctor runs a hand through his hair and says, “You’re alright.”

Leo’s shaking harder now, and his fingers grip into the pad he lays on and he urges himself to still. His chest aches as he tries to catch his breath, the taste of the medicine still heavy on his tongue. But still, almost immediately, he can feel his body lightening, the tension pulling back until the shaking eases, and the doctor nods, and approaches. Leo can’t feel the fear he knows he should feel. 

He can feel nothing.

Even with the memories of the night before, even with the doctor and the handler so close to him, he can breathe again.

Still, Leo can’t contain the subconscious jerk of his body as a flash of sharp pain shoots through him. The doctor issues an apology, along with a soft, “almost done,” and turns the swab, over and over, as Leo’s legs fight against the hands that hold them in place. He tries to find a place in his mind to retreat into, but he hasn’t been there in months, if not longer, and in that moment, it offers no reprieve. He thinks he cries out, locking his teeth and pressing his head back into the pillow as hard as he can to distract himself from what goes on lower. When the doctor is finished, he wipes Leo down and drapes the blanket over his lap.

What he doesn’t say is ‘Good, Leo,’ because they would both know it to be untrue. 

Still, in the next breath, the restraints are being unbuckled, and Leo is lifted at his shoulders until he is sitting, and his wrists are being examined, and there is a hand rubbing his back. He blinks slowly, willing the room back into focus, and he can hear voices but he isn’t able to follow their conversation.

“It doesn’t need to be this hard,” he thinks the handler is saying, and even though his head is hung low and his shoulders are scrunched to make him as small as possible, in his peripherals he can see the doctor shooting the handler a sharp look. “What?” he bites back. “It’s true.”

“Alright, Leo,” the doctor says then, ignoring the handler entirely. Leo keeps his eyes locked on the ground and he takes the blanket in a white-knuckled grip.

The doctor lets him catch his breath, rubbing his back every few seconds. Leo thinks he’s using it to get a read on his heart rate, but he doesn’t care just then. The doctor explains what’s next, and moves to ease Leo onto his side. Leo, for his part, cooperates, lowering himself slowly, watching as his fingers shake. He wraps his arms so tightly around his stomach he think he might leave bruises, but when the doctor touches him, he doesn’t flinch.

“There’s some bruising,” the doctor says neutrally, but Leo can’t look at the handler to see if he types it. It could be from the handlers, or it could be from Parker’s friends the night before. Leo chokes on his next breath, and in spite of the drugs, he can feel the panic rising.

“Leo?” the doctor says. “Are you doing alright?” 

The handler takes a step forward.

“I don’t consent to this,” Leo whispers, so softly he isn’t sure anyone hears him. The look the handler levels on him is scathing. “I–I kn…know it doesn’t… I know it doesn’t matter.” His voice is soft, slurred around the edges, but clear enough. “But I… I j-just– I want to make sure you know.”

The doctor says nothing, and the handler frowns. Leo wants to ask him to type it into his chart, but the doctor moves behind him, and Leo’s vision is suddenly and immediately blurred by his tears. 

By the time they finish, by the time the doctor drapes the blanket over his hips, letting his hand rest on Leo’s head briefly before retreating, Leo’s body is wracked with sobs. They leave him to calm himself down, and he finds himself, for a moment, grateful for the simple mercy.

But he cannot stop crying, as he stares into the mirror and thinks of all he’s lost. Of what, in spite of what he tried to convince himself he could have, he will never have. Of Parker, laughing with his friends as he picks out a new worker. Of the handler, and all those that came before him, smiling as they hurt him. The door opens with no warning and a familiar voice, a voice warm enough to burn Leo’s entire world down, issues a commanding, clear, “Stop this, Leo.” 

And almost instantly, Leo stops.

FIGHTER TAG LIST:

@whump-cravings

@afabulousmrtake

@crystalquartzwhump

@maracujatangerine

@pumpkin-spice-whump

@distinctlywhumpthing

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@finder-of-rings

@dont-touch-my-soup

@skyhawkwolf

@suspicious-whumping-egg

@also-finder-of-rings

@whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump

@peachy-panic

@melancholy-in-the-morning

@urban-dark

@nicolepascaline

@quietly-by-myself

@pigeonwhumps

@whump-blog 

@seasaltandcopper

@angstyaches

@i-msonotcreative

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@anonintrovert

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@lonesome--hunter 

@darkthingshappen 

@alexmundaythrufriday

@whumps-and-bumps

[rafyki]

Goth! Nico/ Surfer! Percy AU Part 6!

Sorry for the little wait, I couldn't find a moment to write lately o<-< good thing I had this half written already! Anyway, have some more Nico&Leo dynamics and some more pining - and also, I promise things are gonna move forward soon!! (but I needed more setup before our two boys finally start properly acting on their crush lmao)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

You can also read it on AO3!!

~~~~~~

Percy didn't come to the beach the next day, the day after that, and for the whole following week.

Nico wasn't sulking about it, he was not. Maybe panicking a little inside, questioning every single word they had said to each other and trying to find in them some hidden reason that would push Percy to never go back there and leave the country just to make sure he wouldn't see Nico again. 

But he wasn't sulking.

“Take that pouty look off your face, goth boy, you're gonna scare the customers away”.

“I’m not pouting”.

“You kind of are though”, Leo said. “Which is fair, I guess, you miss your surfer boy”.

Nico felt a blush coming up to his face at the same time of the familiar find annoyance he associated with no one but Leo.

“He's not my-”, he started, then stopped and took a deep breath. “I'm not pouting”, he just said again. “It's not like he lives on the beach, right, he must have a life outside of surfing”.

Maybe he was trying to convince himself more than Leo, but that didn't matter.

The way his eyes moved around scanning the beach was automatic, as was the sigh that escaped him. Maybe he was being silly, and a little pathetic - he knew that, but still couldn’t help the way his heart kept falling again and again, nor the way the empty chair before him (Percy’s chair) seemed to lay in wait just like Nico was.

He definitely needed to find some way to distract himself.

“Sure, which is why I told you to ask for his number”, Leo replied. “And if you had listened to my genius advice, maybe you could be texting him right now, instead of sulking and hoping he shows up”.

“Why are you even here, Leo?”, he said, ignoring Leo’s last words and trying instead to change the subject. “Jason’s not coming today, you know that”.

“Am I not allowed to visit a friend? My dear friend who’s pining and suffering and definitely needs my support?”, Leo said, accompanying his dramatic words with an overdramatic hand on his heart. 

Nico just rolled his eyes at him.

“I definitely don't”, he said, even though the truth was that he actually enjoyed the company. Leo’s presence was the only thing saving him from a long and lonely work day. “And non-shift days for Jason are usually when you have your dates”, he added.

“I knoow”, Leo said, a pout forming on his lips. “But Thalia came back yesterday, so today is their brother-and-sister date”.

“Ah, that’s right, Jason did mention that”.

“Can’t interfere with siblings time”.

“So you had nothing better to do today and came here”.

“I came here to save you from your loneliness, goth boy”, Leo said. “Also, I do enjoy your company”.

Nico smiled, and offered him ice cream as a silent thanks. 

“It reminds me of when it was the other way around and you helped me when I was pining for Jason”.

Nico made a face at the memory, then laughed. “Oh my god, you were terrible- absolutely pathetic”, he said. “Thank god you’re together now”.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m gonna say when you and your surfer boy will finally get together”.

Nico’s smile faltered, his heart jumping and then growing heavy at the words - like it couldn’t decide if he felt more pleased at the idea of it ever happening or more glum at the prospect of Percy never going back there.

Few long moments of silence followed, and Nico’s mind went back to the thoughts tormenting him.

And there was also something else, something that Nico was trying not to focus too much about. 

Leo looked at Nico in silence for a while, his cheek resting on the palm of his hand. Nico could almost see the gears turning in his head. “Are you worried about him?”

Nico looked away. He felt stupid thinking about it even more than he did when panicking and making everything probably bigger than it was. 

Logically speaking, it was unlikely that Percy would stop coming to the beach just because Nico was there - there wasn't really anything between them, after all and, from what Nico knew about him, the ocean and surfing were way too important for Percy to give up. 

But it had been a week, and Percy usually came at least two or three times a week, even just for an hour (Nico spent way too much time thinking about him and looking for him to not notice this) - yet, there the beach was, full of people but with no Percy in sight. Nico felt his heart fall again as he scanned the shore around him, looking for familiar black hair and beautiful eyes. He couldn't help but wonder if something had happened, if Percy was doing alright.

“You know he might just be busy”.

“I know”.

“So I think there's no reason for you to worry about him”.

Nico sighed. “I hate it when you make sense”, he said. “Jason is definitely rubbing off of you”.

“That's what love does to a man!”

Nico felt that now familiar pang of not-quite-jealousy as he looked at the smile growing on his friend's face. His eyes scanned the beach again as the thought of I want that too crossed his mind, side by side with the image of two sea-green eyes and a soft smile.

~~~

Nico didn’t expect anything to happen. He spent the whole day waiting and waiting in the hope of Percy showing up, his heart feeling heavier and heavier with every passing hour. 

The truth was that, simply put, he missed Percy - which was stupid and ridiculous, but Nico had been dying to talk to him again, to feel his eyes on himself again, to be on the receiving end of his smile, to get to know something more about him.

He’ll come back at some point, he told himself. Maybe. 

The sun was coming down, the sky colored a pretty shade of yellow and orange and red. The day had felt infinite, time dragging on and simply refusing to pass by, but Nico’s shift was finally almost over. He looked at his phone to check the time, wishing the next fifteen minutes would simply come to an end faster.

He cursed all the gods of all the pantheons ever existed when he saw someone sitting before him. God, how he hated when customers did that.

He forced his usual work smile on his lips and looked up. Then did a double take - the girl sitting in front of him looked strangely familiar, even though he was pretty sure he didn’t actually know her.

All the while taking her order (just a cold water bottle - who even came to a beach kiosk at that hour to ask for nothing but a water bottle?) Nico kept thinking and wondering; maybe she just came there often? But there was something about her that kept pulling at Nico’s memory.

It hit him at once when she was handing him the money to pay.

Ah, it was her. The girl who usually came to the beach with Percy. Nico felt his heart starting to beat faster at the realization.

Would it be weird to ask her about Percy?

Yes it would!, his mind yelled at him. 

But at the same time, every cell in his body was telling him that it didn’t matter, that this was too much of a lucky chance to just let it pass by.

Lost in his thoughts like that, he was definitely taking way more time than necessary to get her change.  

He was worried, he missed Percy so much it was frankly absurd. And he thought his friends would probably back him up in this

“Here”, he said, as he finally handed her her change.

She thanked him and went to turn around. “Uhm!”, Nico started before he could really think about it and stop himself. “Excuse me-”

She turned to look at him again. Was Nico imagining the weird look in her eyes? Yes, she was probably simply annoyed at being called back. “Yes?”

“Ah- sorry”, Nico said, feeling so incredibly stupid. Maybe he should just back out. But then he thought of the long day he had had and of the hole he had felt the whole time. He pushed the words out.

“Uhm, you’re a friend of Percy, right?”

“Yes”, the girl said, nodding. This time Nico was almost certain that there was a weird look in her eyes that he couldn’t exactly interpret - but she looked more curious than anything else, so he counted it as a sign he could go on.

“I just- I just noticed he hasn’t been coming here lately…?”, he said, trying and failing to will his heart to calm down a little. “... is he alright?”

“Oh yeah, he’s been talking about you!”, she replied. “He’s alright, he’s just out of town. He went to New York to visit his mum”.

“Ah, that’s good”. 

The relief was soon pushed aside when the words the girl had said finally hit him.

He’s been talking about you.

What?

He only vaguely registered the girl saying goodbye and waving at him before leaving.

Nico waved back, feeling numb. He hoped his expression wasn’t as dumbstruck as he felt.

He’s been talking about you.

Percy had been talking about him? Nico’s heart was playing athletics in his chest, the butterflies taking residence in his stomach were throwing the most chaotic party ever.

He’s been talking about you.

He put his face in his hands, hiding behind his palms the foolish happy smile that was growing on his lips.

Suddenly, the day didn’t feel as bad as before.

[crowsandturtlesandbatsohmy]

Okay y’all, so I know I’ve been predominantly a Haikyu!! account for a little while now (and there��s still more of that to come once I have the emotional stability for finishing season 4) but we’re gonna switch gears and talk TMNT 2012 for a change!

No season 1 Wrap-up, partially because I have 4 episodes to go and partially because it’s been months since the last time other than today that I sat down to watch it, but I do want to talk about my thoughts on each turtle, as well as April and Splinter. I’ll also rank them among the other versions of those characters to give you a better idea of my general feelings on them, with 1 being best and my fondness decreasing from there. I think it would be fun to repeat this every time I finish a season, so I’ll plan on that! :)

Splinter

I know there are a lot of people who don’t like him. But I honestly can’t see why? I love this Splinter. As far as I know him he’s exactly what my ideal Splinter would be! No spoilers, I want to go into this with as little prior knowledge as possible. But yeah, I like Splinter!

If I had to rank the Splinters, where would I put him?

2012 Splinter

Mutant Mayhem Splinter

80’s Live Action Movies Splinter

Rise Splinter

April

I’m not entirely sure what to make of her? I don’t necessarily dislike her, but I can’t say I’m super fond of her either? I think I need to give her some more time.

Where does she currently rank among the Aprils?

Rise April

Mutant Mayhem April

80s movies April

2012 April

Leo

I love him your honor. He’s such a dork in the best way possible! He was tied for being my favorite character for a while, although now he’s settled into a comfortable and consistent second place. I relate to him a lot more than I expected to, which was really cool!

Where would I rank him?

2012 Leo

Rise Leo (just barely behind 2012. They’re essentially tied.)

Mutant Mayhem Leo

Batman V.S. The TMNT Leo

80’s Movies Leo

Raph

He had to grow on me, but I love him now! Most of the time. I think he would probably benefit from more boundaries and some alone time in order to help manage his anger, but I also realize that’s not exactly possible and he’s kinda doing the best he can all things and stressors and inputs considered. Also the point at which I found out he was voiced by Sean Astin??? WHAT??? Mind blown.

Where do I rank him among the Raphs?

Mutant Mayhem Raph

2012 Raph

Batman V.S. The TMNT Raph

Rise Raph

80’s Movies Raph

Donnie

Yeah okay we all knew this was coming, but surprise surprise, Donnie is my favorite. I just love him to death! The whole April thing is admittedly irritating, and I tend to like Leo more in those episodes, but Donnie is overall my favorite because I love watching him come up with things, and I love how he genuinely seems concerned about others (Leo has this as well. I don’t really see it very much in Raph and Mikey?). Also I feel like he’s carrying a lot more weight than he ever gets credit for. Also I found out his voice actor, Rob Paulson, (who I already thought was really cool prior to this and apparently voiced my childhood) played Shreako in Scooby Doo Meets the Boo Brothers. Literally my favorite character from one of my favorite childhood movies!! This didn’t have any effect on my opinion of Donnie, of course, but it was just so neat to see my childhood interests and current interests linking like that! I love recognizing voice actors from other shows they’ve done :) [ask me about Jeffery Combs sometime. I’ve got a story to tell there!].

Anyways, back on track, where would I rank him out of all the Donnies?

Rise Donnie

2012 Donnie (again, barely behind. They’re practically tied.)

Batman V.S. The TMNT Donnie

Mutant Mayhem Donnie

80’s Movies Donnie

Mikey

I’ll be honest with y’all. I don’t really vibe with him. I love chaotic goofballs, but there is a limit, y’know? It’s gotta be combined with depth. You gotta back that chaos and goofiness up with the ability to be serious when needed, and there’s gotta be more to the character than just the goofiness. And he has yet to show signs of any of that? It feels like being silly is his only trait, and it’s kinda irritating. It makes him really one dimensional. And I want to like him! I know there are a lot of people who love him to pieces! I want to be able to see what y’all see. But I just don’t. What am I missing? (Again, no spoilers.)

Where do I rank him among the Mikeys?

Batman V.S. The TMNT Mikey

Rise Mikey

Mutant Mayhem Mikey

80’s Movies Mikey

2012 Mikey.

I really hate ending this on a sour note, so because I can I’m gonna list the iterations I’ve seen and my favorite turtle, and we’re gonna play “How many times is Donnie Crow’s favorite?”

Rise: Donnie

2012: Donnie

Mutant Mayhem: Raph

Batman V.S. The TMNT: Donnie

80’s Movies: It’s been long enough I don’t entirely remember, but it’s a safe guess to assume it’s Donnie.

Alrighty, this concludes my introductory 2012 TMNT post! If anyone has questions about my opinions on more specific things related to TMNT (not just 2012, any of the iterations I’ve mentioned are fair game), feel free to ask! I don’t bite :) I’d be happy to go more in depth!

[tmnt-reticent]

HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO RETICENT‼️‼️

All the sillies whqidhqkdhkd I love them all sm!!!

I think I said everything I could really say in the end notes for Chapter 10 (which is out right now, go read it if you haven’t yet), but once again: Thank you all for supporting Reticent over the past year, whether you’ve only just found out about it or have been here since the beginning. I appreciate every single bit of support I’ve gotten from the bottom of my heart. Especially all the comments on the fic and the fanart I’ve received, I look at it all from time to time whenever I’m down. I’ve never been this motivated for a project before and honestly I owe it all to you guys. Thank you again.

I was just going to post this piece for it since I wasn’t exactly sure what else to do but I thought they all deserved fancy outfits so!!!

I wanted all the anniversary art to be Season 1 compliant but maybe I can draw smth cute with Leo and Donnie soon! (Maybe even write a pre-Reticent fluff piece if I’m feeling nice)

I hope you all have a lovely rest of your Neil banging out the tunes day and here’s to another year of Reticent‼️‼️‼️💖💖💖🫶🫶🫶🌸🌸🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂‼️‼️‼️

P.S that last Ret Leo drawing is the best I’ve drawn him in months idk how I managed to draw his face for once it’s a genuine mystery bdsjgdjwgdj the only thing I can think of is that the art gods have allowed me to draw him well today as a little treat since they haven’t let me draw him well since the day I made him GCJSBXKBSNC

[morning-sun-brah]

Hello! I just read that Mafia au snippet and I need more of this. I could see the possible yearning between Leo and Vivian ugh and it’s delicious nomnom

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Here, have a treat!

<Part 1

Mafia AU, Part 2

Betty returned to the office two days later, her husband in stable condition, and when she did Leon told her that he would, with no exceptions, be the one to make bank deposits from then on (and also she was getting a raise- being a trophy wife for a geriatric seemed like hard work). 

“Anything to lighten the load,” he’d insisted. “You’ve got too much on your plate, Betts.” 

Betty had looked half skeptical, half relieved. It was the easiest part of her job, so Leon could understand the confusion, and she’d tried to show him how to download the bank app on his phone but he’d just waved her away and shook his head. 

“I got it,” he insisted.

Was he being a fool? Probably. Only a fool would trek their way into a bank just on the off-chance of talking to a pretty woman, but Leon had done worse. He was sure he had, anyway- he was close to forty, and he’d gotten into plenty of trouble with women and men alike. Maybe not with the promise of so little, though. A bit of prolonged flirting, with a woman he didn’t even know, seemed like the kind of bone a much younger man would go after. Which implied he was some sort of dog, but Leon wasn’t exactly rushing to rectify his own assessment.   

He returned to the bank a week later, a check in hand and grinning widely from the back of the line while he watched Vivian wait on customers. Leon had half convinced himself that his overactive imagination had exaggerated how pretty she was, how much he enjoyed looking at her- but on second sight he found her even more to his liking. Which was mildly surprising, since she looked a little run-ragged. Hair all piled on the top of her head in a crooked bun, only a swipe of lip gloss and a brush of mascara on her face, and dark bags under her eyes from behind the rims of her glasses (black and thick-framed today). 

Take her home and really exhaust her was his first thought, and he blinked at the idea before shoving it deep down, until it resided somewhere at his feet. 

He was a little worried, too, that she’d maybe looked him up. That when she’d call on him, it would be with a wealth of professionalism, maybe even fear, and he knew that if that were the case the game would be over. He’d have to download some stupid app to his phone and follow through with his promise to deposit checks, because there wasn’t a point in coming to the bank and talking to Vivian if she wasn’t going to treat him exactly how she had been- not knowing who or what he was. 

But her voice rang out when it was his turn in line, and he knew she still wasn’t clued in.

“Come on, big guy.” 

Immediately Leo was beaming- a lance of delight running through him that she remembered him, that she stuck with the moniker of big guy. That she didn’t know. 

She didn’t know. 

“Vivian,” he greeted, sliding over his check, leaning against her counter.  

“Oh my god,” she began, huffing out a breath that blew a stray chunk of hair from her forehead. “Did you even fill out a slip?!” 

“I did not.” 

“I should make you go to the back of the line,” she grumbled, grabbing a blank deposit slip and shoving it under his snout. “Go on,” she insisted. “Fill it out! I’m not doing it for you!” 

Leo pulled a frown. “But you have such nice handwriting,” he simpered. 

“Ew,” Vivian said, mouth opening and tongue lolling out to imitate retching. “Please, I’m not your mother. Fill out your own shit.” 

Leon chuckled, taking a bank pen and leaning over the counter a little more to fill in the blank spaces- one finger holding the slip steady since he’d once again forewent the prosthetic (and Donnie really was going to hand him his ass if he didn’t start wearing it more often). He glanced at her as he scrawled out the information, and Vivian gave him a little glare. 

“What?!” Leo asked indignantly. 

Not bothering to deny that she indeed had been glaring at him, Vivian snapped, “I’m mad at you.” 

Pausing midway through signing his name, Leo gave her an incredulous, baffled look. 

“What the hell did I do?!” he asked in a bewildered voice, a smile still tugging the corners of his lips. 

Vivian’s eyes slotted thinner. “Well for one, you didn’t bring me coffee,” she said, and Leon had the good grace to wince. 

“Shit, yeah, that's my bad, Viv.” 

If she had anything to say about him calling her Viv, she didn’t voice it- didn’t even look as though it bothered her in the slightest. Instead, she continued, “I don’t think you understand. Our coffee pot broke, and I haven’t had any caffeine. Do you know how excited I was when I saw you in line? I thought for sure you’d brought me coffee- seeing as I let you have mine when you needed it.” 

“You noticed me in line?” Leon asked brightly, ignoring the rest of her words and grinning when she snarled at him. 

“You’re too tall, how could I not notice you?”  

Leo chuckled and finished signing his name, tsking when she snatched the slip from his hand. 

“Could have given me a papercut,” he scolded, snorting when Vivian grumbled, then added, “Why else are you mad at me, sweetheart?” 

“Ugh, because your face is so punchable,” Vivian answered, tapping on her keyboard. 

Leon pouted- something she didn’t even notice because she wasn’t looking at him, and the expression melted into a frown. “C’mon, gorgeous, what did I do?” He prodded, voice dipping into sincerity. 

She stopped typing to turn fully in her seat, eyes narrowed at him, “Flattery will get you nowhere.” 

Leo’s brow ridge quirked. “I find it’s gotten me everywhere, actually. And who says it’s flattery? Who says it’s not the truth?” 

Vivian snorted. “Fine. Remember you asked for this.” She heaved a sigh and began. “My alarm went off a half hour before I was supposed to be here this morning, so I was an hour late. I look like death, I haven’t had coffee, my first customer yelled at me for twenty minutes, and you decided to come in today, of all days.” Vivian glared and added, “It’s rude.” 

Leo let a slow, wicked little smile stretch across his face. 

“So let me get this straight,” he said, eyes alight. “You’re mad at me because I came in and saw you… What? Not at your best?” 

Something that felt a lot like excitement alighted in his chest when, instead of backtracking or denying his words, Vivian nodded. 

“Yeah, exactly.” 

“But I already have a terrible first impression of you,” Leon quipped. 

“Yeah, but I looked good, at least!” Vivian insisted, a little hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “Now you have a terrible impression of me and I look like shit.” 

Leo couldn’t help but bark out a laugh, not noticing how some of the other customers who were still in line flinched at the sound. He gave her a crooked smile. “Vivian,” he started, waiting until she looked at him before adding in a very serious tone, “You’re absolutely right. You look like shit.” 

Vivian rolled her eyes. “Oh shut up,” she sniped. 

Chuckling as her fingers tapped almost violently on her keyboard, Leo shook his head and said, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were fishing for compliments.” 

She only responded by rolling her eyes again, casting him a dark glare, and Leon let his gaze travel over her desk. There was a little pot of fake flowers, a picture frame that was turned so he couldn't see who looked out from it, a blue stress ball that looked as though it had seen better days, and- 

“I’m sorry, is that a Rancor?” 

Vivian’s fingers paused. 

“And?” 

“You have a Rancor action figure at your desk?” 

“He’s my little pet.” 

Leo’s brow ridge went high on his forehead, casting her a dubious look. 

“Hey, judgy, don’t give me that look.” 

“I’m not judging.” 

“You shouldn’t,” Vivian insisted. “Seeing as you knew exactly what it was you nerd.” 

“Oh, I don’t think I’d be tossing unkind words when I’m not the one with a fucking Rancor sitting on my desk.” 

Vivian gave a little pout. “His name is Jerry.” 

Leon blinked at her. “Jerry.” 

“Yes. I think it’s funny to give big intimidating things normal names.” 

“Am I a big intimidating thing?” 

“No,” Vivian sniffed. “You’re a gremlin.” 

“God, the confidence boost I get talking to you.” 

She raised an arched brow at him and didn’t respond (though she did grumble out something that sounded a lot like now who’s fishing for compliments), and he drummed his fingers on her counter, just to be annoying. 

“I know you aren’t rushing me,” she deadpanned, cutting him a withering glare and slowing her typing down to a snail's pace. 

“I would never rush such a well-put-together lady,” he replied with snark. 

“I’m going to freeze your account.”

Something, maybe pity, finally tugged at Leon, and he gave a sigh. “C’mon now, Viv,” Leo murmured. “You know you look good.”

Finally, she blushed, and Leo leered at her when she ignored him to go back to typing.

There was a bit more aggressive tapping, and then she was sliding his check into the desktop safe that sat next to her. Just before she handed him his receipt she said, “You come in here again without my coffee, and I’ll ruin your life.” 

Leon scoffed and snatched the paper from her. 

“I’m tempted to see if you can.”

@starrcrossrose and I appreciate the love. <3

Also, what kind of man drinks up some poor woman's coffee and then doesn't bring her cup when he promised to? Degenerate behavior.

[chattychatty4]

A sneak peek into my Sir Sparklepuff survives fanfic!

Son of Doom (name not decided yet so it may change)

Chapter 1

Two years earlier…

Leo continued pacing back and forth in the courtyard, gently kicking rocks in front of him to the side as he did, cleaning his stone path of any interruptions.

“There’s no synonym for cinnamon. There’s no synonym for cinnamon. There’s no synonym for cinnamon…” his famous calming mantra. Though, he knew deep down he didn’t own it or create it; he felt he learned it somewhere. He’s felt that way about it since he began using it as a way to calm down, since he was around 6 years old.

What an age to start getting stressed out about everything.

Leo didn’t really know what he was stressing out about, that happened quite often. He had a vague picture in his mind of what he was stressing about, though he didn’t know exactly how to describe it.

Maybe it’s the fact that he was made from dark magic and will never be pure.

Maybe it’s the thought of everyone thinking he’s “too elf” to be human but “too mortal” to be a startouch elf.

Maybe it’s because his biological parents were two evil mages who wanted to destroy the world.

Maybe it’s because he’ll never be able to know and love his real parents like others did.

Maybe it’s because Soren and Corvus will never be his true parents.

From the sidelines, Soren watched him from a bench with Corvus. Exchanging glances with each other every once in a while. Probably concerned for the well being of their “brother”. This was one of the first times Leo had actually paced in public, in front of them.

“Leonardo.” Soren said sternly, grabbing his attention as he swung his head to meet his eyes.

“Leo, what’s making you so anxious? What’s wrong? Something is wrong.”

“It’s nothing, Soren.”

“Something is obviously eating at you, just tell me.”

“What could I possibly be worried about? I’m 14 years old, I have a loving family-ish group; hell, I wouldn’t be alive today if I hadn’t gotten lucky and chosen to run from the beach when I was a baby; I’m not starving, I’m not in poverty, I’m not sick, I’m among the top grades in all of my classes in school. Everything is fine, Soren.” Leo argued with growing anger in his voice.

“… Leo, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have the ability to be stressed. Plus, you shouldn’t be giving me attitude when I asked a simple question that we are close enough to be able to discuss. Corvus and I have been working hard to give you a safe environment to be able to speak your mind since you were three.” Soren said, starting to rise from his seat.

“Well, too bad! I’m not answering your question, Soren!” Leo shouted. All he wanted was to get back to pacing. Soren was just making things worse. As usual.

“Just tell us what we can do to help! We care for you, Leo! So why don’t you just tell us so we can make it better for you?!”

“Maybe you and Corvus should just leave, go take up more training for situations like this, learn to let me be stressed sometimes, maybe learn to be better DADS!” Leo paused with his fists curled up.

This was the first time he called them his dads. During an argument. To insult them. They weren’t even bad dads. In fact, they were possibly the best dads.

Of any time in his life he could’ve called them dads.

Like when they taught him simple sword tricks for the first time when he was seven. Or when they-or Corvus-began teaching him how to read. When they taught him more words other than “blood of child”. When they held him during some of the scariest moments of his life.

When they taught him how to love himself. When they taught him the value of his love. When they showed him more love than anyone had ever given him.

When they cared for him so much more than anyone ever would.

Leo could certainly see this specific moment being remembered for years to come. First time he called Soren and Corvus his dads. Such a grateful move.

They stared at Leo for a while. Soren seemed infuriated, his shoulders tense, like he wanted to holler the “GO TO YOUR ROOM” that could be heard from all the way in Xadia.

Corvus also had a similar angry yet solemn face, not as intense as Soren’s.

Soren sighed, his shoulders drooping. “Come on, Corvus. He’s right. He should be able to express his emotions with us. We said that this is a safe environment to be able to express his mind. He deserves some space.”

They both held hands and walked off, to find something else to do.

Leo stood where he was, staring at the bench where Soren and Corvus were just sitting. Wanting to cry his eyes out.

[friends-to-lovers-tournament]

Friends to Lovers Tournament: Round 3, Side A, Match 2

propaganda under the cut!

Polyneed:

Okay so they were childhood friends who wanted to form a band together, but slowly drifted apart after Saki fell ill and was admitted. They formed their band again after Saki joined the school. Originally, Shiho was the only one who wanted to go professional out of all of them and was offered to play with another band who was going pro, but she hesitated because she wanted to continue playing with her friends. HER DREAM WAS RIGHT IN HER GRASP BUT SHE STILL REFUSED. The rest of Leo/Need also decided to go pro with her even though they had no previous experience, just because they wanted to be with their friends. They're constantly encouraging each other and take really good care of each other. They mean sm to me fr 💙💙 Also, some gay ass lyrics from their songs:

Please don't think you don't matter, love won't end this easily- NeedLe

Even if I smile so that I don’t cry Even if I walk so that I don’t fall The words we hide will never be conveyed There’s only one future that we can envision, So let’s see it with our own eyes-  1 For your sake, I shall sing my weaknesses For your sake, I shall realize my hopes For your sake, I'm laughing today May these feelings of ours will resonate with someone's- Order Made Overflowing in my voice, in my thoughts The yearning that I entrusted to you- Voices It's painful and lonely to sing, but If it's with you, then I want to sing for the world- the WALL

They sing an awful lot abt feelings if you know what i mean

Fuyupoly:

Submission 1:

they're from the winter troupe of the mankai company, and unlike the other troupes they're all adults. that said, they all have varying degrees of trauma and emotional stuntedness. it takes them some time to fully open up to each other bc they're all very cautious of each other's boundaries and don't want to cross any lines which initially led to some issues in the group's formation. over time they've learned to bridge the gap while still being mindful of hard boundaries. at one point they have a discussion about what exactly their relationship is (gay) cuz they were talking about how the other troupes have clearly defined dynamics (spring=family, summer=besties, autumn=rivals & teammates) but they don't,, and homare deadass says they're "people bound by a common destiny" which in and of itself sounds very Gay (like why are you as a man bound to other men by a common destiny), but it goes even further because homare starts spouting WEDDING VOWS: "In sickness and in health, for better or for worse, we shall share our laughter and our tears as those with an intertwined fate... How beautiful we are!" THIS IS A DIRECT QUOTE FROM THE GAME AND THE MC EVEN REMARKS "i can already hear wedding bells in the distance..." 

gradually they become closer, in individual sub-units based on who's paired up as co-leads for a play, and as a troupe overall. also two of its members are childhood friends who had a messy 'divorce' in their young adulthood and it took the game breaking its genre to introduce a timeloop for them to finally make up if that means anything to you. one of their troupe songs "precious to us ~bokura no kisetsu" has some pretty beautiful and fruity lines: "The many kindnesses born in me here / Never fail to breathe life into my chest / Even all the pain and bitterness / Have now become dear to me (Ah…Stay with me)", "No matter how many times our season passes / Let us keep living together / Holding our hands, without ever letting go / Let us open up the curtain of tomorrow", "There is no need for words, because once our gazes meet / Joy sparks a light in your eyes", "Our journey, may it be a brilliant one / As our breaths overlap as one"

a lot of their plays has a LOT of homoerotic tension between the two leads too. their first play has tsumugi and tasuku play angels, and it's heavily implied that tasuku's character has an unrequited crush on tsumugi's character. their third play has azuma play a vampire and tasuku play Just Some Guy and it's generally agreed in the fandom to be one of the gayest, if not THE gayest, play A3 has ever written. obviously the vampire thing is very fruity, but there's also how the vampire was longing to bite the human but was holding himself back, and when the vampire left the human in the end, the human was absolutely HEARTBROKEN over it and was swearing they would reunite one day. the stage play of this takes it even further by having the vampire embrace the human from behind and BITE his neck. the fourth play is a watered-down adaptation of Phantom of the Opera where they genderbend Christine into Chris among other things and change the relationship between Chris and the Phantom to one of friendship.... ostensibly so, because there's still a lot of homoerotic undertones in their interactions. i could go on but this should be enough of a sampling taste 

Submission 2:

the writers rlly said "let's take 2 normal guys who are childhood friends and have been into theatre since their school days and have them go through a pre-canon messy divorce, an eccentric poet with a potentially controversial haircut, an amnesiac sleepyhead who can only be awoken with marshmallows but is also somehow extremely athletic despite doing nothing but sleeping and eating marshmallows all day, a man who is so beautiful and mysterious he breaks gender, and a supposed android from a fictional south asian country, and throw them into a blender, oh and for good measure let's throw in some theatre and angst and gay and angst and gay" and the end result was marriage. i mean it took them a lot of awkward fumbling around and conflicts to get there but they got there and thats what matters. ok *technically* in-text they're all rlly good friends and kinda found family BUT they are found family via marriage papers i do not make the rules chief

Submission 3:

The reason why they are so friends-to-lovers to me is because their relationship is founded on quiet and unconditional acceptance of each other—regardless of how flawed they may be or how heavy their burdens and trauma may be. When the troupe first formed (sans Guy who was in another country at the time), they didn’t have any major clashing personalities at the very beginning and generally they were mindful of each other’s boundaries, unlike the other troupes that came before them. However, it’s BECAUSE they were too mindful of said boundaries that it was difficult for them to break down their walls and bond as a team—and there were a LOT of walls to break down, as all of them had varying degrees of emotional baggage and trauma.

In fact, it’s only three plays in that they finally truly start opening up to each other, with Azuma getting the ball rolling by opening up about the deep loneliness that haunted him ever since his childhood. It’s during this conversation that they also discuss what their relationship as a troupe is, because the other troupes have defined their relationship as a team (Spring is family, Summer is best friends, Autumn is rivals & teammates), and Homare goes on to declare that they’re “people bound by a common destiny” and goes on to spew wedding vows: "In sickness and in health, for better or for worse, we shall share our laughter and our tears as those with an intertwined fate... How beautiful we are!" I mean… it can’t get any more obvious than this, really. They are married.

But anyway, Tsumugi says he wants their relationship to be one where while they respect each other’s need for space, they’ll also be there for each other and share their pains and burdens—or in his words: “supporting each other when our burdens become too heavy to bear on our own”—which I think is really sweet because it carries this idea of quiet, unconditional acceptance; they don’t push each other to share more than they’re comfortable with sharing, but with whatever they ARE comfortable with sharing everyone carries the load and pain because pain is easier to bear when you’re not bearing it alone <3 

A later part of the story focuses on Hisoka, a mysterious amnesiac, being terrified of regaining his memories and facing some “sin” from his past that has led to another character, Chikage, trying to take revenge on him. When he confesses this to the rest of the Winter troupe, Homare asks, “How heavy is this sin you bear?” and Azuma suggests, “Perhaps it’s just heavy enough for the five of us to carry together.” (at this point Guy hasn’t joined yet). The stage play adapts this scene into a song called Key to Memory. The key (pun unintended) part is 1:27 where there’s a back-and-forth between Hisoka and the other Winter troupe members (sans Tasuku because he wasn’t in that particular play)

Hisoka: “I’m scared…”

Tsumugi, Homare, Azuma: “It’s okay.”

Hisoka: “My unforgivable sin…”

Tsumugi, Homare, Azuma: “Let’s carry it together.”

Hisoka: “I might not be me anymore.”

Tsumugi, Homare, Azuma: “It’s all right. We understand and we accept you, so let’s go together.”

And it ends with Hisoka singing: “I was afraid to open the door of my locked memories. But if everyone is here, I believe I can do it.”  In both the game and stage play, Hisoka fully regains his memories and reconciles with Chikage (long story). He tells Fuyupoly he can’t go into detail about his past with Chikage because it’s dangerous but he’ll tell them when the time is right, and they accept this saying that no matter what his past is, they know and love him as their Hisoka which obviously is a very sweet thing for friends to say, but it’s also very Marriage-coded to me.

Later, Guy is introduced as an android from Zahra (a fictional South Asian country) and joins the Winter troupe as a temporary member—because he’s stuck in Japan for the foreseeable future—until they find a permanent member to replace him. The other Winter members have a conversation among themselves and agree that regardless of whether he’s really an android or a human they’ll accept Guy for who he is and help him improve his acting, which again harkens back to the idea of ‘unconditional acceptance’. Eventually it’s revealed that Guy is in fact a human who has forgotten his memories of the past and his emotions. He recovers his memories all at once which shocks his system and causes him to pass out. When he wakes up in his room, he finds the rest of the Winter Troupe asleep around the room—which I believe is symbolic of their whole theme of “quiet acceptance”: they don’t want to push Guy to share beyond what he’s comfortable with, but they’re always there to listen to him and share his load if that’s what he wants. He opens up about the memories he recovered, and they don’t treat him with pity like he’s a lost child, but still extend gentle empathy and understanding. They also emphasise that it genuinely doesn’t matter to them whether he’s human or android because he’s Guy first and foremost. It’s at this point that Guy truly lets himself become part of the Winter troupe/Fuyupoly and not just as a temporary stand-in member, because he’s found a place where he’s found himself again and people who will accept who this “himself” is, whether that be an android devoid of emotions or a human brimming with vivid beautiful emotions.

[Mod note: There’s a LOT more but we’re afraid of crashing the post. I (Deli) summarised it the best I can since I’m familiar with A3, but if you want to read the full thing you can check it out on this google doc)

[hotheadrednecksimmer]

Love Maze - Struck by Love Legacy Challenge - Season 2, Episode 29

The vacation ended as fast as it started with the family enjoying the sunshine, the water activities, and the company of each other.

When Naomi and Leo got back home, Naomi made an appointment with her doctor immediately, knowing it was the right thing to do. Naomi wasn't completely sure if she was ready for a baby but as it was growing inside her, she didn't have a lot of other choices. She didn't want to get rid of the baby because Leo was so excited, but she couldn't ignore her own feelings which were less than excited.

Leo accompanied Naomi to her appointment.

Dr. Waldorf: Alright, who's ready to see baby? Do you have any preferences of knowing gender today?

Naomi: We'd like to know what it is so we can prepare.

Leo: I wanna know if we're gonna have a little girl or a little boy for sure.

Dr. Waldorf: Okay, Naomi just lean back, I'm going to put a cold liquid on your belly and use the wand to find the baby. I want you to remain calm and still, can you do that for me?

Naomi nodds as she watches the screen not paying attention to the liquid or how exposed Naomi felt in this moment.

Dr. Waldorf: Alright, looking for baby. Oh! There's your baby right there. Looks like a baby boy!

Leo: We're having a boy!!

Naomi felt a smile sneak up on her face at the thought of a little boy that looked exactly like Leo, dark hair and blue eyes.

Dr. Waldorf: Oh! It looks like you're having twins! There's another little baby in here and it looks like it's a girl!

Naomi: Twins?

Leo: Twins!

Naomi felt scared again and like the world was closing in on her. She wasn't ready for one, but now two? What was she going to do. She put on a fake smile for her husband who was jumping for joy at the thought of their twins that she was carrying.

Naomi: Wow! Babe! We're having twins!

Leo: A girl and a boy! Wow, the best of both worlds.

Dr. Waldorf: With twins, there are higher risks with your pregnancy. And more doctors appointments. After 20 weeks, we want to see you every week to see how each of them are growing, okay? Right now, we'll keep it to every 2 weeks. Once you've cleaned up, you can go to the front and finish up with the receptionist and get another appointment in two weeks.

Naomi: Yes, Dr. Waldorf, thank you.

Dr. Waldorf left the room as Naomi got her stuff together. Naomi and Leo finished up their appointment and went home. Leo was beaming with joy while Naomi was faking it for her husband, the first time she's had to fake it but she felt like she had no other choice at the moment. She wanted to make her husband happy.

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Season 1 | Season 2 First | Previous | Next

[matrixxsystem]

Terrapin Soup Part 3

Leo made his way home and found his brothers still sitting where they'd been when it left, all a bit closer seeming to be talking about something important. Their expressions posed in a serious and intense look. "Whatcha up to?" Called, breaking all their thoughts as they perked up, looking much happier to see Leo back. "Oh nothing" Donnie said, glancing towards his wrist tech, "I was just giving a lengthy update on all the new additions to the system I made today and-"

"Ah nope, okay that's where you can stop. Anyway I have some much more interesting to say so, ahem" Donnie rolled his eyes but quieted down to listen, hoping it was something related to his dinner date. "So! You can meet my friend, under his conditions. We're all gonna meet up with him tomorrow. And you all have to be on your best behavior I'm serious- Oh, and one more thing, I kinda forgot but uh-.. We are dating. Don't make a big deal of it though-"

"You what??" Was that Splinters voice..? Everyone turned their heads to see Splinter staring in the doorway, a cup of tea in one hand that seemed to mean he was getting ready for bed. Leo sighed and stepped forward about to come clean, but Mikey stepped in front of him to blab. "Leos got a boyfriend!!" Splinter narrowed his eyes staring at them for a moment, everyone else stayed quiet seeing what would happen between the two. "You do huh?"

"I.. Y-Yeah.. Yes. His name is Usagi. He's a rabbit yokai and I really like him.."

"I see.. How old is he?"

"Sixteen I think, he's only a few months older then I am so-"

"Where did you meet?"

"Oh.. uh. I was in the hidden city, I-I was kind of wandering around y'know just uh- Doing stuff, when I ran into him and y'know.. Started talking..." 

"You are even worse at lying the orange-"

"No really! I was.. I was looking for some advice on something important and he really helped me with it. And we just kept talking after that.." 

"And you like him, like.. reeaally reeaally?" Leo hesitated for a moment before nodding, "I think so.. Yes."

"Then I have one thing to say." Oh boy, here it comes. "Tell him I said hello! And to come visit sometime okay? And boys, if he ever brakes blues heart I give you permission to hunt him down!"

"Yes sensei!" They called back. Leo smiled and pulled Splinter into a hug, "Thanks pops.. I'll make sure to bring him over sometime." He pulled back and turned back to Raph, "Just be ready around noon okay?" Raph nodded back and watched as  Leo headed off to his room. "So did he officially just come out to us?" 

"Well we already knew he liked guys, I mean have you seen him?"

"Yeah but has he ever like, said it directly before? Cause I don't think he has?"

"...... Ohmigosh you're right-"

-_-_-_-

The next morning Leo spent most of it talking with Usagi over his phone about what exactly they would do and what watch of them were okay with since they now had to act like they were dating or at least something of the sort. They both agreed on three main things. 

1. No kissing, not out of dislike for the other but just because they'd only formally met once and that was a bit too fast moving for either of them

2. No mushy name calling for the same reason as above, things like "babe" would be fine but neither of them liked cheesy nicknames 

3. No mentioning their.. Unique food preferences. Usagi didn't seem to mind as much as Leo did. He would've had no issue telling his brothers about his upbringing if asked it seemed, but Leo still didn't want to raise more questions.

Leo put his phone away after receiving the location of where to meet up, "Alright guys you ready?" He called as he turned the corner entering the kitchen, Donnie was on his phone with Mikey over his shoulder, watching some video of a dancing cat with mild amusement. Raph on the other hand was still packing a small bag full of snacks. The others looked up and stood from their spots stretching a bit before giving the nod that they were all set to head out. Leo grabbed one of his swords from its hilt, opening a portal in place of the kitchens doorway. "Vamonos tortugas!" He called as he went through the portal first. They followed after only a little hesitant since it was known Leos portals weren't exactly full-proof. But once on the other side they all stopped their thoughts of disbelief when they saw the vibrant garden before them. It looked like the world around them had the colors inverted almost, it was beautiful.

"Leo!" Ad the portal disappeared they all turned to see Usagi, giving a small wave to the group. Leo smiled back walking over with the others following behind him. He realized as he walked over that this is in fact the stupidest and most lengthy thing he's ever done to lie about something. I mean, getting a fake boyfriend who was into the same fucked up thing you were and forming a fake relationship with him to throw your family off your trail- He joked yesterday about being in a shitty movie but this really seemed like something he'd watch on some forgotten channel late at night when there was nothing else to watch. He stood beside Usagi gesturing towards him, "So this is Usagi.. My... My boyfriend" Mikey threw his arms up the first to fully welcome Usagi with a hug, "Ahhh he's sooo fluffy!! I'm Michelangelo but just call me Mikey, or orange, or Mike, or Angelo or-" Donnie pulled Mikey back by his shell, both unamused and unsurprised at his little brothers reaction. "Mhmm, charming. I'm Donatello, the brains and better twin of Leon. And if you hurt him just know I have a growing list of ways to make someone disappear." "Dee-" Raph gasped, pushing him aside to gently shake Usagi's hand. "I'm sorry about my brothers, I'm Raphael. The oldest. We're all really happy to meet you finally, Donnie here was just joking." Usagi turned to Leo with a little chuckle, "I see what you were saying now." "Hey I warned you" He said back with a laugh, at least it wasn't an absolute train wreck like his anxiety told him it would be.. "I am honored to meet you all as well. Leo's told me many good things about his family, I hope we can get along. I brought some food from home, well.. The meal itself was bought but I did make the snacks" They all looked interested at the mention of food, he smiled pulling the bag off his back and sitting beside a nearby tree, gesturing for the rest of them to sit with him. Leo looked at the bag, from home he said? No.. he wouldn't, would he? Leo sat beside him and looked to what he brought, it was just rice balls and cut fruits. It looked pretty good.. He glanced to Usagi, having heard the meal itself was bought, so what were the snacks? "It's kind of like the shaved ice you have in New York." He said turning to Leo, almost as if he was reading his mind. "It's very good for the warmer days, I was taught and have been making it in the summer every year since I.. Since I was taken in." Leo nodded a little glancing back  to him, "It looks good, I was a little curious what kind of snack you'd bring, I can't wait to try it then" Usagi smiled, gently resting his hand over Leos, "I've made a special one for you, I tried something new so I'd like you to test it for me~"  His brothers glanced to their hands, unaware of the meaning behind it. Leo however, was very unsure how to respond, if it was what he thought it was.. This was a very dangerous game they were playing. Of course, his nervous expression probably made him look flustered to his brothers. "Oh? I-I see, I uh.. I'm not a big sweets guy but I mean, I'll try anything once." "Oh I know~" He handed the food to each brother, Raph taking his snacks out as well and distributing them. "And what are these?" Usagi asked as Raph handed him a fistful of pizza puffs. "Its out own little creation, more Mikey's then mine really. Kind of like pizza bites?"

"Oh! I've never had those, but they look good." His jaw nearly hit the floor, he's never had pizza bites? That was.. It was a tragedy! "Well here try these first, they're life changing!" Usagi took one, his expression showing he wasn't exactly convinced but he bit into it anyway. His eyes lighting up as he finished the puff in his hand. "That.. Was much better then I expected- This would be very good with some additions, maybe a sauce to dip them in or some kind of savory filling.. I will make a note of this." Raph chuckled a little, "Yeah? I'm glad you like 'em. You'll have to come over sometime so Mikey can give you the recipe." They didn't talk as much once they all started eating, of course there were a few questions like, where they met, who asked who out, what kind of activities would make Leo stay out all night once a month. All of which Usagi answered in a composed manner that made Leo thank the pizza in the sky that Usagi agreed to help him. And when lunch was over Usagi wasted no time handing out his treat with little spoons for them too or course. "This is called Kakigōri. Its shaved ice, with flavored syrups and sweeteners." The treats were all in their respective colors of course, save for Leo who's, on top of being blue, had dark red streaks to symbolize his markings. His brothers had no hesitation, excited to try something new and digging right in. They all lit up making a mix of surprised and delighted expressions. Leo glanced back to the one in his hand, at the red marks specifically. It was much darker then the color that had been used for Raph's so of course his first instinct was to associate it with something a bit darker then he wanted to admit. His eyes drifted back to Usagi who just smiled at him, giving a little nod to confirm his thoughts before the others could notice. "Go on Leo, I want to see what you think of it. It took a while to get it right so I really hope it's good." His brothers paused looking back to Leo who was still hesitating, unsure why he'd even think twice about such a delicious treat. 

"Gotcha, for a second there I wasn't too sure if I should fight your boyfriend cause I mean, seems kind of rude, but if he thinks he can handle it, why not." "I'll look forward to our next meeting then." Leo used his swords to open a portal for them, half wanting to go with but he still had some things he needed to ask Usagi about privately so he didn't fight it. "I'll be home later, or text you if anything happens." Once the portal was gone Leo turned back to Usagi, who was sitting in his spot still eating his own treat with the most casual vibe he'd ever seen from anyone who was doing something they shouldn't. "What the hell was that-" He asked in a whisper as he sat back down. "Who did- How did- I.. I can't even begin to form the words-" "Oh please, I feel like you should've expected this of me. Hey at least I didn't put that on your brothers servings as well. I could've, they wouldn't have noticed. Might've even enjoyed it.." "I.." Leo sighed as sat beside him leaning back against the tree, "I'm seriously conflicted, bet you enjoy watching me panic hm" "Well.. I can't say it wasn't a least a little amusing, but I don't enjoy making you feel bad. You did like it thought didn't you? you told me normal food doesn't sit right with you, so why wouldn't I try to do something nice for you?" "..I guess... That makes sense.. But seriously where did you even get that stuff..?" "Don't worry, it's not dirty. I told you I'm very carful about cleaning everything I use. As a bodyguard I am often thrown into battle, those I face most often do not making it out. That's where I get these things. Its.. Convenient, and doesn't harm anyone else. The addition in question, was of course the blood, with sugar an a bit of water. To make the syrup is pretty easy itself it was sterilizing the blood that took a while. But I have some separate cooking dishing for doing things like that. I'm not a big fan of messy work spaces. You really should see it, it can be fun once you get the hang of the process." Leo rubbed the back of his neck, glancing to the box Usagi had brought the treats in.. "Would you like another now that they're gone?" The growl that echoed from his stomach was more then enough of an answer, he sighed and nodded. "..Yeah... It was really good actually.." Usagi just chuckled filling his cup back up and handing it back to him, "If you're not mad anymore, dinner is still an option~"  Leo took the cup back not hesitating this time to take the first bite, "Mm.. Maybe, I did say I would.. I'll text my brothers later and I guess let them know I'm staying late." Usagi scooted a bit closer, resting his head against Leos shoulder, "Or you could just stay the night. I have a very comfortable bed you know."

Leo froze for a moment, was he.. Flirting? Part 4.1 Part 1

TS Master Post

[eveandtheturtles]

All 4-1 challenge: Summer surprise Part 1

Summary: the gang goes on vacation. Leo is suffering. Part 2 should be out soon!

Ship: turtles (including Jennika) X OCs (m!Oc, nb!Oc, cis!OCs)

Rating: T for suggestive behaviour.

A/N: Set in swak universe. Post all the stories to be told. Apologies for mistakes - dyslexia and being non native English speakers causes trip ups lol. Each part should have at least 1 prompt line lol. Leo's poly bi (Peter cis gay and Amelia cis questioning), Raph omni (Mirka amab nb), Mikey aro pan (gay partner), Donnie demi (Kara cis pan). Jennika is translesbian and Cheryl cis lesbian.

The name Sprinkles is borrowed from And, Love series by @madammuffins Y'all should read the entire Love series from them.

Tagging: @turtle-babe83 @thelaundrybitch @leosgirl82 @sharpwindow @dilucsflame33 @m1dnyt3-w0lf @scholastic-dragon @pheradream-15 @tinkabelle19

The darkness enfulged the tarmac. The silhouette of a single aircraft loomed in the distance. Leo, Donnie, Raph and Mikey sneaked carefully through the night.

"Why isn't Jenni with us?" Mikey whispered to Raph.

"Shh!" The red bruiser hissed.

"What can you tell me Donnie?" Leo leaned in to his tech brother.

"This is strange, according to my scanners we should be overrun by Purple Dragon activity! There's no one here!" Donnie double checked all his tech.

"This is a trap!" Raph growled.

Suddenly the runway lights lit up leading to the aircraft and it became illuminated brightly. The turtles looked up squinting, drawing out their weapons.

"Gentlemen!" Peter popped up from the airplane's door. He was wearing the captain's hat. "Glad you could join us!"

"Babe? What the hell is this about?" Leo put away his katanas.

"You guys have fallen right into our trap!" Cheryl popped up from behind Peter. Next to her was Kara grinning ear to ear.

Donnie huffed. <Did you hack my tech?> He signed to her.

She wiggled her eyebrows at him and blew him a kiss. Donnie snorted and shook his head. Of course.

"So what is this about?" Leo looked at the three humans.

"Vacation!!" Cheryl pushed forward running down the stairs. There were blue-purple-orange-red flower necklaces in her hands.

"Just go with it." Another person joined the crew by the airplane's door.

"Jennika?" Leo stared at her as she started to walk down to meet them. "You knew about this?"

"I found out about it today morning, when Cherrybomb dropped the news on me," she snickered.

The flower necklaces ended up around the neck of each turtle. Leo was too stunned to protest, Mikey was excited to get his, Raph tried to run away but Mikey and Jennika stopped him. Donnie just accepted his fate.

"Whose idea was this?" The purple clad turtle asked.

"Take a bright guess." Jenni gestured with her head to Kara who was watching them with a Cheshire smile. Of course, she had to be the mastermind. "Ask her the details."

"W-what about dad?" Leo started going through the reasons they shouldn't go. "What about New York??"

"Verne gonna spend time with Splinter, Casey and April are also staying behind," Cheryl reassured him. "Kara send an email to Chief Vincent so she won't be surprised. C'mon Leonardo, have some fun!" She tried to encourage him to get into the summer spirit.

"Yeah, Leon, have some fun," Jennika said pulling Cheryl against her. Her tone was more mocking though. "C'mon, I want to see my girlfriend in bikinis. I bet you want to see at least two people scantly clad on a beach." She kissed Cheryl's cheek and got a giggle from the human girl.

"Well..." Leo swallowed heavily. His eyes drifted up to Peter. "Wait, Amelia's here too?" He looked quickly.

"What about Mirka?" Raph craned his neck to see if he could spot his partner up on the plane.

"Yep. We got ahold of almost everyone," Cheryl confimed. "We couldn't catch anyone for Mikey tho... Sorry, unless you can call someone last minute?"

Mikey thought for a moment. "Yeah! I've got a guy!" He pulled out his phone and stepped to the side.

Leo shook his head. "We're not exactly equiped for a beach time," he tried his last line of defense.

"All packed. Splinter helped," Jennika shot it down quickly. "Everyone did actually."

Leo felt like he needed to sit down. This was pure check-mate. They all outsmarted and outnumbered him.

"C'mon Leo, it won't hurt to have some real holidays once in a while," Donnie tried to convince him as well.

"Fine, fine..." the leader finally gave in. "You guys win," he sighed. Then he muttered as he climbed the stairs. "I sure hope there's some stiff drink in there."

But he couldn't help but smile hearing the cheers of everyone else.

The take off was delayed by about an hour but finally everyone was ready to leave. Mikey's companion was greeted with cheers from everyone else.

Leo hid from the inevitable party with Peter in the pilot cockpit.

"I didn't know you have a pilot license?" He said, barely fitting in the pilot seat. Private aircrafts weren't build for mutant turtle comfort.

"Sorry, it was supposed to be a surprise but I'm kind of looking to change career," the man admitted. "Hope you don't mind."

Leo waited for the tower to give them clear before he spoke up. "No, but I would kind of have preferred to not be ambushed by everyone," he sighed.

"They mean well," Peter smiled softly as the airplace began to roll down the runway. "Me and Ames can tell you had a lot on your mind lately, Fearless Leader," he teased his boyfriend. "That chasm on your forehead is getting bigger."

Leo narrowed his eyes with a small twitch to the corner of his mouth. "Watch it."

"Or what~?" Peter snickered and winked. He pulled the joystick to himself and they were up in the air.

Leo waited until the aircraft was levelled. Then he leaned in to whisper in Peter's ear. "You'll see, when we get there~" His teeth grazing the man's ear.

Peter blushed. "I'm flying!" He squeaked.

"And then you'll soar," Leo snickered and left the cockpit to check on the chaos bunch and talk to Amelia.

Mikey didn't waste any time. He already was trying to get everyone to play some drinking game. Leo shook his head and promised to join later.

Amelia was in the back, with Donnie and Kara on her left. The two were somehow already making out. Even Raph with Mirka and Cheryl with Jennika were keeping their hands to themselved. Not the local geniuses it seems.

"Hey sweetheart," Leo smiled, sitting across from her. He shot one look at his younger brother. Then he took small metal marble from his pouch and flicked it over the side of Donnie's head.

"Ow!" Donnie jumped back then noticed Leo and Amelia. "Sorry..."

Leo ignored the glare he got from Kara.

"My saviour," Amelia joked. "How you're holding up?"

"Thinking about a revenge on you and Peter later," he said.

Amelia winked. "Promises, promises~."

"So," Leo looked to Donnie and Kara. <How did this all happened?> He signed his question to the main perpetrator. <Whose plane is this?>

<It belongs to a client of mine, I landed a pretty sweet freelance job and as a payment I asked if he could get me on one of his islands for a week.>

<A week?!> Leo couldn't believe that. He thought this would be like a weekend!

He hid his face in his hands. "I'm surrounded by crazy people," he muttered.

"There, there," Amelia stroked over his shell and slid a glass of whiskey closer to him. "At least we're all hot."

Leo just made a noncommital sound of suffering. This was going to be a really long week.

[dragonbreakers07]

[In your inbox appears a small oddly shaped bottle with a cork as its cap, filled with a mystic drink the ssme color as the powder you've seen before]

Use this wisely. The entire potion equates to 120 hours of age reversal from the current form. You will be between the ages 1-4. You can drink the entire thing for 4 days or part of it and save the rest for a later time.

Scylla opens her [Inbox], a magical space that opens for everyone on the Yokai side of Tumblr, thanks to the witches at HQ. You can get and answer messages, and receive items as well. 

Good. She needs a distraction. Her hands are still shaking from her panic attack, despite the last couple of hours she had spent under Azalea’s trance.

God she had missed that.

She shakes off the unwanted thoughts about going back and looks in the little glowing box, seeing no notes today. She bets Leo and Donnie get tons of messages. 

However, at the very bottom of the box, is a little bottle with a message tied around the cork, the colors inside swirling with blues, purples, and one slightly inconceivable color she probably wouldn’t be able to see if not for the residual magic of the blade at her hip. She likes to call it Eldritch. It feels like a good name for it. 

She reaches inside and reads the label, blinking at it for a couple minutes before it actually clicks. 

Oh.

She pauses, sets the bottle on the table in front of her and mulls it over for a second.

…I could split it up. Save it. The rational, logical side of her says.

But 120 hours sounds good… Says the part of her that so desperately wants to just. Chug it all, become a kid for a couple days, fuck the consequences. That’s what… five days?

I should wait until I’m with someone, it’d be bad for me to be all alone like that. Says Rationality.

The tiny, still waiting impatient child inside her screams, BUT I WANNA DRINK IT NOWWWW.

She picks up the bottle and stuffs it in her bag. For once, Rationality wins out. If she drinks it all now, she’s going to regret it. She doubts this is exactly cheap stuff to make. And whoever dropped this in her ask box has to be very kind to give it for free. 

Scylla. She hears Shirogane hum in her head. His voice, as usual, is soft, comforting. Familiar. Do you need me to hold onto that for now?

Nah. She shrugs. I’ll just head back to Momma’s before I drink it. It’d be stupid to drink it now, Zay’s…

She looks over at the bedroom, the door still open. Azalea lays draped over her soft, light pink and gold sheets, entirely passed out as she recharges the magic she lost putting Scylla under earlier. Her golden wings shine in the light, glittering with temptation. 

I dont wanna bother her anymore than I have. 

She grabs her jacket she had carelessly thrown on the floor earlier, from when she had practically burst in, panting, her mind screaming as she grabbed onto Azalea, practically latched onto her, and refused to let go. She couldn’t get Chizu. She’d mess up everything, (as per usual) and Azalea was the next best option. 

Scylla pulls out a scrap of paper from the notebook she carries with her, scribbling out a quick, “Thank you, I love you /plat, hope you had a good nap. I’ll text you when I get back to my mother’s, thank you for helping me today. Sorry for botherin you.” and leaving it on the front table next to the door, closing the front door as quietly as possible. 

[fruitjedi]

Chapter One of The Pelican Town Chronicles

New fic! I'm still working on unmatched but I had an idea sooo here is The Pelican Town Chronicles!!

Chapter 1

Phoenix looked out at the expanse that was Brighthaven farm. It was in a word magnificent. Split into 4 corners it was filled with spring crops, sprinklers, barns, and coops. Along with a large silo, a mill, a horse, and countless machinery. 

Phoenix knew what all of it did. They had grown up on this farm after all. They knew their way around everything. Phoenix knew the animals better than they knew Vincent, Leo, and Adam.

And now this farm was theirs. All theirs. Their moms had moved to the Orange islands full time so the farm was theirs to take care of. Phoenix had been learning magic from Grandpa Rasmodius (Though they weren’t supposed to know he was their Grandpa.) But they were putting that on pause because this was a chance to follow in their mama’s footsteps and be a farmer, the junimos had taken over the old schoolhouse so this was a chance to fix it up, and most importantly this was their chance to find love just like their mom and mama did when their mama was the farmer.

They had woken up bright and early to do the farm chores when they saw Leo and Adam doing them for them.

“What are you guys doing?” Phoenix asked confused

Adam grinned “Leo said you had magic lessons today so I thought we should do your new chores for you so you didn’t have to do them yourself”

Phoenix smiled. Their friends were so considerate. Maybe they could do both magic and farming. “You did that for me? Like I get Leo doing it he works here but you have a whole shop to worry about”

Adam shrugged “I pawned it off on Aliyah”

Phoenix sighed “Isn’t your sister like 16?”

“Yeah but she’s old enough to work and doesn’t and that's good enough for me”

“Doesn’t she help your dad with programming?” Leo asked speaking up for the first time all morning

Adam sighed “That’s not exactly a job”

Phoenix made their way over to the wizard's hut. The forest was quite overgrown so they had their scythe out mindless cutting. 

“Ouch,” a voice said suddenly 

Phoenix whipped their head around to see Jas on the ground clutching her leg. In an instant, Phoenix felt horrible “Oh my yoba Jas I am so sorry”

Jas tore her dress and used the fabric to tie her wound “It’s fine, an excuse not to feed the animals today I guess”

“No it’s not fine I wasn’t paying attention and-”

Jas laughed and stood up putting a hand on Phoenix’s shoulder “Phoenix, It’s fine really”

Phoenix sighed relenting and finally believing their friend.

After a grueling magic practice session, Phoenix decided to head to the saloon for some food. They were just about to enter when they saw Adam tending to his community garden. He had the sun in his eye and was trying to block it with his hand but it just kept getting tangled in his strawberry-blonde hair.

Phoenix was still wearing the sunhat they had put on that morning so they walked over to Adam and plopped it on his head.

 Adam laughed smiling “What was that for Phoe?”

Phoenix shrugged “Looked like you needed it honestly, also I had a proposition”

“Oh?” Adam asked intrigued 

“Vince is working today so I was gonna use the new spell I learned for moving liquids to bug the crap out of him”

Adam laughed and put down his tools “That. is. amazing. I'm most definitely in”

Adam slung an arm around his best friend's shoulders and they headed to the stardrop saloon to laugh, gossip, and bug the crap out of Vincent.

[empressofthesunwriter]

The Stick of Truth

Codename: Dovahkiin Part 1!

N.K. is angry at her parents. Not only did they move again, no, but they moved into a snowy hicktown named South Park! She was sure she would hate it there, yet surprisingly she gets to participate in the epic RPG the kids play and falls for the human princess and the elf king. Who is friend, who is foe and which side should she choose?

Main Pairing: New Kid/Kenny McCormick/Kyle Broflovski

Chapter 10: How to Sneak in on a super-secret government Meeting

I had time today and thought let’s write this chapter in one go! It’s a bit short, like Chapter 9, but these two chapters are there to set up things for the next big chapter, chapter 11.

I still hope you enjoy it!

Apparently having cig and coffee on me and looking Goth, isn’t enough for my dark-spirited friends.

It’s a frame of mind, I sadly lack.

It’s been against society's rules, which I don’t.

Being born a girl in a patriarchy and being bi in a queerphobic land isn’t enough.

This hurts me.

Deeply.

Is this Goth enough or too sarcastic?

Anyway, to prove I’m goth I have to go to the big PTA meeting in the community center, walk right into the middle of that meeting and tape this wonderful sign with written on it “Fuck the conformists!” to their table.

What one due’s for their plans…

So I make my way there all alone since my co-conspirators against King Big Ass are all busy with preparations for our plan.

The PTA meeting is a bomb to go off any second as I walk in. The adults literally talk over each other. They are angry, all right.

I feel kind of awkward standing so randomly there with my stupid sign and even more stupid Goth clothes.

I’m thinking about how to best tap the sign on the table and take the photo, as proof, without anybody seeing me when I hear Mr. Mash saying my name: “Thank you for coming, N.K. Everyone, this is the girl whose family just moved to town.”

A lot of preps stared at me.

I put up my middle finger at them.

No of course not, I waved awkwardly at them, but I got you all for a second, hehe.

“We've become very close friends.”, tells Mr. Marsh everybody. “This child and I witnessed something last night, and I'd like you to hear her story. Go ahead, kiddo.”

I blink.

What happened again last night?

Oh yeah, the space adventure.

“Some alien fuckers kidnapped us to probe us in the ass. Me and my best friend saved anybody on this ship and you Mr. Marsh just left us there.”, I deadpan.

No way, I gonna tell them, we girls crashed the UFO.

“N-Not really what I meant, kiddo.”, awkwardly Mr. Marsh rubs his neck.

It’s still for a few seconds.

“This is a waste of everyone's time!”, shouts a brown-haired man…I think it’s Leo’s dad. “If the PTA isn't going to do something about Taco Bell taking over then the rest of us parents will!”

“YEAH!”

“THAT'S RIGHT!”

 “Let's go!”

“COME ON!”

Following Leo’s dad all, besides the PTA members, leave.

Well, that could have gone better for them.

Not my problem.

I have to fulfill my quest.

As I’m about to tap my sign on the table, Mr. Marsh runs up to me and takes it from my hands.

“Look, I know how you're feeling, ok? But this isn't gonna solve anything. We've got to get inside that "Taco Bell" and find out what's really going on. Help me with that and I'll help you with this.”, promises Mr. Marsh.

“What do you want?”, I ask frowning. “That I do it like a Ninja and break in and search for some dirt on "Taco Bell"?”

“Exactly!”

He can’t be serious!

“I saw you on the ship - you have pretty good control over your farts and you have your Magical Girl Powers!”

….Magical what Girl powers?!

Heh?

What does he mean by that?

Last I checked I’m not Sailor Moon.

If I was Sailor Moon I would be soooo happy.

“Meet me in the bathroom. It's time for you to learn some REAL power.”

Still confused about what Mr. Marsh meant, I follow him to the bathroom.

And I need to learn a new fart technic.

Okay, I get that it’s useful, but still, bah!

Anyway, I master it and Mr. Marsh sends me off to my new quest.

Quests for quests and no end in sight.

Stupid game mechanics.

Frowing with crossed arms I stand before "Taco Bell".

I saw with my own eyes how a man got shot in the head just for asking questions.

Mr. Marsh was right.

It’s more than just to hide the fact that this "Taco Bell" is on UFO. This rip-off Man-in-black are hiding something.

I feel it.

It’s too dangerous to break in alone.

I need backup.

So I try to get someone to join me.

All besides Tammy are busy with preparations, but she tells me Stan can come along if we first help him with something.

This something is to get his phone back from his older sister.

Another quest?

Sure why not.

Not like I already have 30 or so!

Signing, I make my way back to the Eleven Kingdom.

“Your sister is a crazy nasty bitch!”, I tell Stan, as I, he, and Tammy make our way to "Taco Bell".

“Disgusting, absolute, disgusting!”, adds Tammy, checking her new cool fighter armor, courtesy of the elven, for any menstrual blood.

Yes, you read right.

Stan older sister used as attack bloody tampons on us!

“I’m sorry, girls, but imagine living with her 24/7!”, apologize Stan. “At last I have my phone back, really again, thank you.”

“Your welcome, but next time warn us.”, I make clear.

Finally, we are back at "Taco Bell" and I use Sneaky Squeaker, I fucking hate that I have to use it, to lead the two heavy armor soldiers away from the entrance.

Tammy sends me I look and I shrug just.

I know it is nasty, but we don’t have other means.

With the soldiers busy being distracted by the fart we three Ninja our way in.

“This place doesn't really look like a Taco Bell.”, points Stan out.

“It isn’t.”, answers Tammy. “It’s a UFO and they build a Military complex around it.”

“How do you know that?”

“You don’t see the giant UFO?”

“Also, it may be that Tammy and I got abducted by aliens last night and had to fight our way out of it.”, I add.

Stan just stares at us and lets out a long okay.

I have a feeling he saw and heard weirder shit in his life.

Must be a South Park thing.

Anyway, there is a lone soldier whom I lead with Sneaky Squeaker to the electrocuted puddle of water and then use my alien probe-thingy to teleport us to the roof.

We crawl all in the air conduction. After a few seconds, we find a meeting room full of people. We stop and listen.

“...but so far we have been unable to stop the UFO from leaking the toxic waste.”, say’s one of the Men-in-Black. “We've contained all we can but there are no guarantees an outbreak will not occur.”

An older man with an eye patch asks: “And does the alien liquid appear to have the same effect as... last time?”

Suddenly I feel how I shiver and my heart starts to race.

That voice…

I heard it somewhere before…

And if I look more at the Eye-Patch-Grandpa…the more I’m sure I saw I somewhere before.

I don’t like this feeling.

“I'm afraid so.”, answer him Men-in-Black. “When the alien waste reacts with organic material on Earth it turns things into... Nazi zombies.”

A window opens and a man in a Hawaii shirt is in a room behind it, walking really like a zombie and shouting in German.

…I’m imagining things or does he sound like Hitler?!

 “Nazi zombies, what a cliché!”, whispers Tammy.

Stan and I nod, and even the government guys are so done with this too. How often did they encounter this to be so dull about it?

Eye-Patch-Grandpa walks over to a whiteboard which has a drawing of South Park on it and explains to his men and woman: “All right, we're going to have to completely obliterate EVERYTHING in a three-block radius. Find locations for the bombs and bury it all. Then make up a fake story about an earthquake. We can contain the outbreak this time if we act quickly enough. Let's MOVE!”

All stand up to get out of the room.

Suddenly one of the government guys turns around.

He points at a little record on their table.

“Everything we've just talked about has been recorded onto this tape. I'm going to leave it alone here for a few minutes, then come back later and have it encrypted and locked away so nobody ever hears what was said in this meeting.”

“Yes. Good idea.”

With that, all leave the room.

“Well, how practically for us. That’s exactly what the PTA wants.”, I whisper to my friends.

Tammy and Stan nod.

“Adults are so stupid.”, points Stan out.

We start to crawl again, to find a way out of the air conduction.

I’m the first to jump out of it…at the same time as the Nazi Zombie breaks free and kills the soldiers before me!

Oh shit!

Stan, Tammy, and I need our collected forces to kill this overused cliché, but we manage.

“Oh my god! Why?!”, shouts Tammy.

“You guys stay here.”, I tell them. “I get the record and then we get out of here!”

“Hurry, dude!”, pleads Stan.

Fast I snatch the record up and then we three run out of the military complex.

What we see and encounter on our way back to the Elven Kingdom is fucking nuts.

The Nazi Zombies already spread!

So much for containing them!

I hope the adults can at least stop somehow the plan at bombing South Park.

Tammy decided to go with me to the PTA meeting, but first Jimmy ask us if we can help him get a flute.

Seems like we have to do some quests first.

And I still need to place Al Gore’s little machine underground.

The PTA can wait for a bit.

“Okay, we fought Nazi-Zombie-Cows to get Jimmy the flute, beat up an ex-vice president, then him again dressed up as ManBearPig and we meet a talking Christmas shit and his family.”

“Don’t forget all the hobos and Nazi Zombies we beat and/or killed up, Tam.”

“How can I when the Nazi Zombie cat nearly scratched me?! Do you think they can give rabies too, N.K.?”

“I sure hope they don’t.”

Yeah, as you can see Tammy and me had quite the adventures.

On one side it was good because we both level up and Tammy got with any fight better in our RPG, on the other side we both are stressed out.

And we still have our big plan for Cartman, when we just wanna chill and maybe watch a movie and eat some junk food.

At least, not only we gave the record to the PTA, but we also got the goddamn picture the Goths want, and after showing them how Goth I can dance, drink my coffee, and smoke they agree to participate in the RPG!

Yeah!

All is coming perfectly together.

Tammy and I hug each other before Cartman’s house.

Now we must separate before we can rejoin sides again.

“Good luck, with Cartman, sis.”, wishes me, Tammy. “I will see you on the other side.”

“I will see you on the other side.”, I repeat and we hug each other tight.

With that, I enter Kupa Keep.

First I see how Princess Kenny gives me a wink and a nod.

Okay, this means on her side all is according to plan.

Leo gives me a thumbs up, while I see how Token, Tweek, Craig and even Scott nod at me.

Awesome, they are on board too!

“My king.”, I call for Fatass. He is surely in the war tent. “I’m back with good news.”

King Chubby steps out of the war tent, a smile on his face.

“Ah, you have returned!”

“Yes, my lord. The Goths are on our side.”

“Awesome, come, Sir Douchebag, it is time to summon our forces! Simply call them here and your dedication to Kupa Keep will be complete! Climb the signal tower, Sir Douchebag. Call forth your new recruits!”, commands Cartman practically.

If all goes to plan this will be one of the last times he will give me a command.

I play my part.

I climb the carton tower and send with my phone a message to the Goth Kids.

When I climb down again, Cartman calls out: “Everyone gather around!”

We do as he says.

“While the rest of you have been picking your respective arses, Sir Douchebag has gone out and brought help to our kingdom.”, berates them Cartman. All play their role, looking disappointed at themselves. “Sir Douchebag, it is time to give you a title worthy of your deeds.”

“Will you finally use my real name?”, I ask with pretended hopefulness.

“I have something better! By the power of Mandaloth, third-born of the Redguard, and by the glory of Christ, I hereby anoint thee -- COMMANDER DOUCHEBAG! With all the rights and privileges accompanied therein!”

“Goddamit, Fatass is N.K. so complicated!”

And again I get ignored.

“Eric! ERIC!”, runs up Leo to us. He sends me a quick wink. This means we and the elven are ready for our plan or should I say trap for Cartman. “We know where the elves are hiding the Stick!”

“What? Really?”

“We just intercepted their messages on Twitter!”

“You mean you shot down their message raven.”

“R-right - w-we shot down their raven a-and the evil Elf King ha-has hidden the Stick inside his desk at school!”

“Of course! Kyle hid it in his desk! CITIZENS OF KUPA KEEP! WE KNOW WHERE THE ELVES ARE HIDING THE STICK! I told you they were cheating! NOW WE SHALL MARCH ON THE SCHOOL AND MAKE THE HALLWAYS DRIP WITH ELVEN BLOOD!”

“HUZZAH!”, we all shout.

It’s time to get this show on the roll!

Cartman will not get what hit him.

I’m already laughing inside gleefully imagining his stupid face.

He will pay for being such an enormous bastard to anyone!

I used JRPG Heroine: Dragon Master dress-up game for Tammy’s outfit. She has a purse with her since her class is a fighter and she fights like Tifa Lockheart from Final Fantasy. In the purse are things like smoke bombs or glitter to give a status effect on the enemy or stun them.

Next

[higuchimon]

[fanfic] No Celebration Here

Today would have been her birthday.

Professor Akaba Leo stared out the window of his quarters to where the summer sun drenched the Academia grounds with glittering gold in the fresh light of dawn. It wasn’t as hot as it would be later. Raye had always enjoyed this time of morning. So many times she’d popped into his room to greet him before he’d had his first cup of coffee.

He’d found it mildly annoying back then. Not to the point he wanted to tell her to stop, of course, but he hadn’t appreciated it as much as he missed it now.

There wasn’t a lump in his throat. Certainly not one that he swallowed with a cup of hot coffee.

How old would she have been if everything hadn’t happened? He honestly wasn’t sure. In its own way time seemed to have – fluxed – since everything changed. At least his perception of time had. He couldn’t be certain one way or the other.

What he was certain of was that he wanted her back and he would get her back. It would cost lives, but if the truth were to be told, Leo didn’t care. What he cared about was having his daughter back, his firstborn child.

Sometimes he thought about his other children. Reiji was probably – fifteen now? Sixteen? Leo was reasonably sure that time flowed the same between the dimensions but he honestly didn’t remember how long he’d been gone. He’d heard about Reira, but it had been so long since he’d been in Standard that he scarcely recalled what the child was like.

Traumatized, if he recalled. That was another reason he wanted to bring Raye back for – because her sacrifice hadn’t done anything to change the fundamental nature of humans to always want more violence. Reira was proof of that. If it weren’t for wars and carnage, they wouldn’t be the way that they were. Had been. Whatever.

He didn’t remember everything from what the world had been like before, but he couldn’t remember if there had been wars like this. Perhaps there had been and this would have happened regardless. Perhaps there hadn’t been and restoring Raye would restore peace as well.

I won’t know until I try. Until I succeed. He refused to think that he’d not succeed. After everything that he’d gone through already, how could he not? He needed to get this done as soon as he could.

It would still take time. His army was almost complete. The irony of causing a war to end a war wasn’t lost on him. But he would do it regardless. Sometimes one had to do things one didn’t want to do, in order to achieve something more.

None of this was his fault anyway. This was all Zarc’s fault. If the monster hadn’t tried to destroy the world then Raye wouldn’t have had to save it.

If I’d been able to do it… Raye would have lived. His failure meant her sacrifice. So he would do everything in his power, and perhaps even more, to undo that sacrifice and save everything that truly deserved to be saved.

He would, of course, make certain that the pieces of Zarc didn’t survive to see the restored world. Doing so wouldn’t be easy, since if they drew close to one another, they would begin to fuse together, like pieces of a puzzle.

Leo touched one control on his surveillance system and observed what he saw. He mostly let his trainee soldiers do as they pleased, within reason, but there was one that he kept an eye on regardless. Yuuri lounged his private garden, legs stretched out, carefully going over his deck. Leo’s lips twisted in disgust at the sight of him. He’d seen this piece of Zarc grow from a child into a teenager, and done his best to ensure that his path never crossed with Selena’s. Selena wasn’t his daughter but she was part of Raye and he wouldn’t have any part of her near any part of him.

Exactly what Yuuri thought behind those cool, sadistic eyes even Leo couldn’t guess. Leo suspected it had something to do with rage and sadism and hurting everyone that he could. That had been part of Yuuri for as long as the Professor had been aware of him. He certainly took after Zarc more than the other three did.

It didn’t matter in the end. No matter how much they were like or not like him, Leo would see to it that they were all disposed of. He wasn’t certain if they could be killed or not. Whatever Zarc had done to himself changed some things about him.

But Leo already had a plan in mind for that. It was one of the reasons he’d developed the technology to seal souls into cards. Doing so would help with the reviving of Raye, of course, but it would also serve as a way to dispose of the pieces of Zarc in such a fashion that they would not bother anyone ever again. He would use Yuuri to do that to the other three, then take care of Yuuri himself.

Not by dueling, though. He did have many years more experience than Yuuri did, but he wasn't going to give the brat any chances to turn the tables. Yuuri would be disposed of within moments of his defeat of the other three. So the Professor had planned.

Then those cards would be sealed away, never to be found by humans ever again. He and Raye could live the rest of their lives in peace. Or if it came to that, Raye could live her life in peace. So long as that was the end result, he would pay any price.

The End

Notes: Too bad it’s not going to work out like that, Leo.

[avocado-frog]

Happy STS! Today I have a riddle: what comes first? The title or the story? 🤭 To expand, I'd love to hear the creation order of one (or several) of your stories. Did you think of characters first? Plot? World? What was the final piece?

Hello happy STS

So I've been using the same group of characters (give or take a few, some were cut and some were added) since I was. like. thirteen years old. So I've had the same characters in my head for nearly four years now. I think I've posted about the different versions before but I'll do it again since it's been a while.

If we're thinkin about the FIRST first version I ever wrote, I'm pretty sure I made the characters first, then the plot, and then the world, but all I really remember was writing a character sheet on rapidtables notepad and then making the characters on the sims 4. I don't have anything for this version saved anywhere. It was like I wrote 8 chapters, did nothing with it, and then deleted it forever. From what I remember though: -Draft 1 was just referred to as "untitled writing" because I couldn't be bothered to find a title -Leo was created first, then Cass, then Kai, then Marcy, then a secret fifth character (i think her name was addison or something) -Addison was the twins' sister, as was Marcy. Kai was just their neighbor that Leo didn't really like -It was written in 1st person POV -The twins were 14, Kai was 13, Marcy was 12, and Addison was 11 -No last names for anyone -Leo gets in a fight with Marcy over a board game, runs off, gets stolen right out of the woods for Plot Purposes, goes missing for like six months, the other kids get exactly one chapter of looking for her, and then there's three chapters of Mind Control Leo. This is also the longest we ever canonically see Leo's real parents in any version ever -It was DUMB. I did not like it -So I stopped writing it -Leo did get this sick wolverine claw flamethrower (exactly what it sounds like) -No magic

Draft two was written a few months after draft one, when I decided I wanted to write a different version. It still didn't have a title and it was still first person pov. It didn't last very long because the only character it involved was Leo (there was a few chapters of sideplot for the other kids) but it was a little hard to write a whole novel with only one character

So for draft three, I decided to throw Kai in with her. I'm fairly sure I drew his name out of a hat when I decided. I remember writing the last chapter during online history class with the Worst Teacher Ever in seventh grade so I had to have been like 13-14/mid 2021 because I started going half online half offline sometime in April -Kai follows Leo before she gets kidnapped, somehow they end up in Canada -First establishes the setting in Maine since I figured it was close enough to Canada -Leo burns down the cabin with a match (the kids don't have magic yet) -Kai and Leo spend way too much time trying to get from Canada to Maine -Like they go to Mexico for some reason

I actually finished that one though!! That is the most screen time Kai will ever get. rip. Draft four was when I made the triplets, who were in fact seven years old. I cannot stress how SEVEN they were. what the hell why were they actually babies. This one was so that Kai and Leo had more stakes but it was done at the cost of me immediately losing motivation

I kept the triplets though. Here are my notes for draft five: -It changed to third person POV -Leo's full name is Leonidas for fucking no reason (this ends up being a joke in the final version, in a scene where Jaxon is trying to guess her full name and Leo goes "no one has ever been named that" thought i'd mention it) -Kai is no longer part of the main plot and no longer a love interest because I didn't like writing it -The triplet's backstory is that they're the kids of the people that have stolen Leo, but that their mother died when they were like two -So now they're locked in a basement and so is Leo -Elliot's completely blind -Leo once again saves the kids but has a villain arc in the process -Proceeds to kidnap Cass with a stolen car, builds a robot army, gets blown up (?) -Brief redemption arc follows after Leo goes to jail for a bit

Draft six is the longest one I had before the final one, with an entire sequel and three whole chapters of a third one. This one gives us Logan (here he is !!) except evil Logan. Leo needed some friends in jail or something I don't remember -Logan's name wasn't Logan but the real name was so embarrassing that I'm choosing not to disclose it -First draft with magic. But only for the twins. Leo had fire magic and some thing where she could like. disintegrate people or something. Cass's was still healing + plant magic -Logan goes back to jail 💥💥 he had ice magic + able to control metal. which now that i think about it why did they put him in a jail full of metal then. what

Draft six's sequel was when I went full worldbuilding mode and made up an entire ass prophecy that I don't remember and don't want to have to think about. Not many notes on this. Logan was still the oldest (still only like sixteen though) and he drives a school bus. I gave up because I couldn't figure out what to do. Something with portals?

Draft six book three only lasted a few chapters, BUT we finally get Jaxon, Dylan, and Lily. Jaxon was twelve or thirteen (and his name was supposed to be a placeholder), Lily was fourteen or fifteen, and Dylan was eleven and is the only character whose age has never been adjusted. Their name was supposed to be a placeholder too. I can't remember if they were always written as deaf or not. I was writing this one while I tried to figure out what to do with the sequel. Lily was Leo's new love interest (why Leo is canonically bisexual in the final version)

Draft seven was a rewrite of draft six that featured Jaxon, Dylan, and Lily. They overthrow the government with Leo

Draft eight was another rewrite. Leo meets them instead of going to Actual Prison at age fourteen. I do a bit of worldbuilding with the magic again and give the other kids something to do. Lily could control time for a while, Jaxon had electricity, and I didn't know what to do with Dylan yet. The triplets are the twins' cousins + are adopted by Kai's family

Draft nine was funny (another rewrite of draft six) because I got to make Logan a BIT closer to his final version, but he still has beef with actual seven year old children. I got the concept ideas for the lab here which I know for a fact because Jaxon and Leo broke into it in one chapter to find files or something. Jaxon got to have explosives

The sequel for draft nine was when I finally got the idea for the sequel for draft six. I actually didn't delete this version and I still have it somewhere. Characters who get a villain arc in draft nine/draft nine the sequel: Leo, Jaxon, Lily, Dylan, Logan, Elliot, Cass, Ryan Characters who DON'T get a villain arc in draft nine/draft nine the sequel: Kai, Marcy, Sam, Addison -The earliest version of forget-me-not chapter 17 (Ryan gets pushed into a lake and nearly drowns) here it's he falls into a lake while the kids are trying to learn to water raft (in both versions, he's alone with Jaxon) -Elliot, the blind seven-year-old child, gets a villain arc -I remember this specifically because Leo has a line like "can't we just pick him up and put him somewhere else??" -For some reason, Sam has a snake -Leo's afraid of snakes and Marcy is afraid of ducks -or something?? -anyways that's canon because I think it's fucking hysterical

Draft ten I completely scrapped everything forever and started over. Nothing was saved in the fire except for the draft nine sequel and a couple of extra small things I had in my misc writing pile. I still have the outline for this one but tldr Logan gets aged up to eighteen, and the triplets are ten now. Ryan's name is briefly changed to Adrian, Sam's is briefly Emile, and Elliot's is briefly Ethan (but it was also changed to Cecil and Lucas for a bit as well) Logan's sister Jasmine is introduced and is killed off immediately Leo runs away after learning the truth about her parents (they're really her parents here) (whatever the truth is is not expanded on because I never got farther than an outline) and meets Jaxon, because they're both in the middle of robbing a gas station Cass does not join Leo in meeting them The first time I allowed myself to use swears Elliot actually literally dies The closest to canon final draft

Draft ten had a sequel but the sequel was one 8k chapter long + was the early plot of dahlia. -Elliot's dead but some weird infection bullshit happens -Like a zombie apocalypse -Leo has a Frankenstein motif the whole time -All I remember is that Leo became some weird demon thing and tried to kill Jaxon over it -The other thing I remember is that it was genuinely REALLY funny

So then draft eleven is the final final version which I outlined after watching over the garden wall in the Spring and wanted to see if I could start and finish writing a book before the end of summer. I in fact couldn't, and it didn't finish until sometime that winter -I cut Addison out because I didn't like her -Logan was aged to 22, the twins to 16, Kai and Lily to 15, Jaxon to 14, Dylan remained 11, and the triplets remained 10 -Instead of coming up with names for titles, I attached dates so that I could stress myself out with a timeline The title is finally made!!! I don't remember what made me go with a flower theme, I think I had read a book that had something similar. I gave each of the characters a flower as well

SO. sorry for always writing essays for sts asks lol. The story definitely came before the title to answer your riddle

[flydotnet]

Excess of Care

WHUMPTOBER 2023, DAY 30: “It’s okay, just to say, ‘I’m not okay’.” Borrowed Clothing | Bridal Carry | “Not much longer…”

I guess writing one (1) interaction between Camilla and Hikaru in the early chapters of "Promotion to Parent" has always made me interested in more Camikaru (let's call it that lol) content for the HSAU. I don't even know why that is, I just felt like they'd be interesting to write interacting; and if this fic being there is proving something, it's that my writer hunch wasn't wrong.

This story is set a year after the main timeline, around the same time in the (school) year Promotion to Parent was set in. Since it serves as a bit of an indirect sequel to it, it does contain implied spoilers for it - so if it's ever interested you, please read that one first! It's not too long and also filled with all of the good stuff (read: family angst and lots of sibling love).

It's another short one that I thought I'd be more inspired by, or that would be angstier, but oh well… Brain is slowly stopping to function properly. It's another one of those I'll probs revisit in the future.

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Excess of Care

Summary: Camilla Nohr has always cared too much for others; but it doesn't have to be a bad thing.

Fandom: Crossover (FE Fates/CT), high school/teacher AU

Word Count: 1K words

AO3 version available here.

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Camilla has lost count of the number of times she’s been told she cared too much about people she didn’t know anything about. She’s been warned not get attached to students no matter what. She’s been blamed for lacking perspective and thinking with her heart rather than her brain. Mind over matters, duty of detachment, all that jazz that has turned into background noise inside her skull.

And yes, maybe Xander is right when he points out to her it will one day make her miserable, the one day she’ll be powerless yet too involved. But what do you want her to become, then? A heartless machine of an employee? Very little for her, thank you.

Today is proving Xander’s concerns for her habit of “over-caring” right once more, she does suppose. She’s meant to just deliver some papers her brother forgot to give to one of his workmates that couldn’t wait: with the upcoming class council season upon the school, teacher comments and grades have become the latest emergency. He’s himself swamped with comments to write for all of his students – who are a lot more than anyone would expect, to be fair – so she volunteered to deliver something he apparently needed to give to someone as soon as possible. Leo was the one to call her out, this time, but she replied to his concern the same way she always does: with a smile and truthful words.

This someone has turned out to be one of the few workmates he has she knows about, from last year’s Xander-related fiasco. Elise most often calls him by an affectionate nickname used by the entire school, it’d seem, while Leo is always a lot more detached when referring to him, and neither case comes to her surprise. What surprises her more was that she’s already met and spoken with him once before, yet when he opens the door, she’s still a bit starstruck. It’s like meeting her sibling’s idol in an intended context.

Perhaps it’d be closer to meeting someone and realizing they need help, however, because this is exactly what she’s doing.

Camilla has no doubt in her mind that, would’ve it been anyone else but her in this situation, they’d have just called someone close to the person they barely know anything about and left when it was clear it’d be taken care of. This is the sort of things Leo and Xander have warned her not to do, because she cares too much, and it’s not good for her.

On the other hand, this poor boy needed a helping hand, and he clearly is home alone: not only have Xander and Leo both mentioned his fiancée was out of the country for the week, but she also knows from second-hand accounts Elise’s favourite teacher is a chronic workaholic with… questionable self-care. Hinoka and Shun have both corroborated that, although considering Shun’s own lack of routine, she can only guess his judgement came from first-hand experience.

And this is how Camilla is finding herself with her brother’s colleague in his arms. From what she can tell through touch and sight, he’s slightly feverish and very much exhausted, but he should be fine with some rest.

The first order of action, when someone passes out in front of you, is to carry them to a bed. Luckily, she’s always had a lot of strength in her arms to carry her siblings and help Xander out, so it’s not an issue for her to carry the fairly lightweight Hikaru (she isn’t sure if she can call him by his given name, but it sounds like a good compromise between the formal “Mr Matsuyama” Leo uses and the much endeared “Matsu” Elise calls him instead) to his bedroom.

It doesn’t seem like he’s been here for long periods of time lately, with half of the twin bed undone yet the other undisturbed. She quickly takes the time to put it back into shape before tugging her patient in, just making sure he isn’t wearing anything too uncomfortable. To his luck, he was already wearing a very casual combination of old t-shirt and sweatpants. (Come to think of it, this doesn’t match the casual yet strait-laced enough looks Leo usually describes his literature teacher wearing).

With that taken care of, she can proceed to the next stop, which awaits her downstairs. With the supplies in the kitchen and the tools at her disposal, she wipes up a quick get-better package: a steaming mug of camomile tea with a generous spoonful of honey, lightly toasted bread straight from the machine and, of course, a good, tall glass of water.

To her surprise, when she comes back into the bedroom, he’s already awake, and quite confused to see her in his house. It’s… a surprisingly realistic outcome of the situation, she must admit.

“Uhm… What’re you doing here?” He asks, voice hoarse and slightly on the morning side of things.

“My apologies, I must’ve scared you,” she replies without advancing. “My brother sent me to deliver you some papers for work, but almost as soon as you opened the door, you lost consciousness. I brought you back to your bed so you could rest properly.”

“Papers for work… Oh, right, Xander.” His shoulders slump. “You’re Camilla Nohr.”

“It’s indeed me,” she answers with a smile. “Can I come closer?”

“O-oh, yeah, don’t even ask.” He scratches the back of his neck. “Sorry for that, by the way.”

“Sorry for what?”

“For passing out on you.” She puts the trail on his lap. “Oh, you’re too kind, damn, thanks.”

“It’s no problem, don’t stress yourself about it.” She remains standing on the side of the bed. “I was just very concerned, truth be told.”

He drinks the glass of water first. As always, her guess was right on the money.

“I get it, that must’ve been a rough way to get greeted at the door.”

“It’s not just that. You’re just as tired as Xander, but unlike him, you’re all alone.”

“I appreciate the concern, but I’m fine.” He clears his throat. “Even though I realize I can’t be very convincing on the matter.”

Her face grows sterner. This is sounding all too familiar to her.

“You’re right, you’re not very convincing.” She uncrosses her arms. “You know… It’s okay just to say you’re not okay. Especially when you’re alone like you are right now.”

“Right,” he replies with a slight smile, as awkward as it is. “You’re right. It’s just, I don’t know who I’d be telling this to.”

“I’m sure you have friends and family willing to listen to it. If you find yourself without someone, then…” She smiles again. “You’ll find my phone number written down on a note on your fridge.”

“That’s a radical way to get me to take care, damn.” He chuckles anyway. “I’m very thankful for that Camilla, I really am. Still, please tell me you’ll go home. I don’t wanna keep you here.”

“As long as you promise to rest, at least until the break comes in.”

“I will. Thanks again.”

“You’re welcome. Although, for now, I think I’ll just take some time to call Xander and tell him I’ve delivered his parcel.”

Hikaru almost jolts in place.

“Shit, the docs, yeah!”

“They’re on the drawer in the hallway.”

“Oh, good. You’re really good at this.”

“Years of experience.”

As she turns on her heel and gets her phone out, Camilla unanimously concludes she can’t care too much about people.