#these guys and their story have been in the works since like november of 2023

[yuttikkele]

I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE TO YOU…. MY SPIDER-MAN REDESIGNS!

starring the lovely... the iconic... COFFEE BEAN GANG!!!

These are my go-to designs for the Spider-Man characters, but I also have my own AU just for them!

When I was redesigning the Coffee Bean Gang (again), I ended up conjuring a whole new plot. So, I present to you: the Spider-Delinquents AU! I have also dubbed this universe Earth-3974.

Synopsis: The government is overly corrupt and controlling. Peter finds himself wrapped up in legal troubles and gets sent to New York’s Holly Springs Institution of Correction, or just Holly Springs Reform School, after an accident involving Oscorp, Harry Osborn, and a fist fight. There, he sees how unjust the system is, and he and his newfound friends (Harry, Gwen, MJ, and Flash) work to put a stop to it.

Under the cut I have a little backstory for each of the characters leading up to how they got sent to Holly Springs Reform School!

Peter: After a trip to Oscorp, Peter starts to feel woozy. As he’s stumbling around trying to get home, he runs into Harry Osborn, literally. Harry pushes back, and the two get into a brawl that completely destroys the location they’re at. Unable to pay his debts and marked as a troublemaker by the government, Peter is sent to Holly Springs Reform School.

Peter starts out at Midtown High, where he is, of course, bullied by Flash Thompson. He doesn't have any friends while at Midtown, not because he's a nerd, but because he has a superiority complex and thinks he's too good for the kids who have the same interests as him, and nobody likes him because of it. Actually the closest thing he has to a friend at Midtown IS Flash, yeesh. Once he gets humbled, schooled by Uncle Ben, and surrounded by the people he thought he was above, Peter learns to be a better person and actually make friends. He will now die for those friends. Also Peter has heterochromia for no reason other than it looks cool. He says he's a skater boy but homeboy has no clue how to skate.

MJ: MJ grew up with an abusive dad and an unstable mother. By the age of 5, both of her parents lost custody of her. Instead of an orphanage, the government enrolled MJ in a reform school to “prevent her from turning out like her parents.” She is the kid who has been there the longest despite doing nothing to get sent there. Since she grew up there, Holly Springs is the only place MJ knows as home.

I always see complaints about MJ adaptations and how they're so distant from how she is in the comics. WELL, sorry to all the MJ purgers, but in my AU, MJ acts the most unlike her comic book counterpart. Instead of an extroverted, smooth, cool gal who slays the day away and can get any man she wants, this MJ is a shy, clumsy weirdo with little to no social skills. Since she wasn't around her parents for too long, MJ does not fear romantic relationships; however, being raised in a reform school, MJ has problems connecting with anyone in general. She can be described as the neighbor's kid who no one wants to play with because she's weird, but she's actually really nice. She has an undying optimism and hope that even the worst people can become good. Her personality is similar to Marina lida from Splatoon if that helps get the point across. While MJ and Peter become good friends, they do not ever feel romantic attraction towards each other in this AU. MJ is, however, a chronic piner and has a huge crush, you'll never guess who.

Harry: Harry was minding his own business (actually, tending to his FATHER’S business that he was assigned to do) when all of a sudden, he’s shoved to the ground. Looking around, he finds the culprit. Surely, this guy does not know that Harry is an Osborn, and Osborns do NOT get pushed around. Harry lunges back at him, and a fight ensues. After destroying the entire location, Harry is sentenced to reform school, and while his dad could easily pay off the judge, Norman thinks this experience will make Harry into a man.

Harry is an entitled rich kid who doesn't really know how to make friends. He hasn't really had to try since he's been able to entertain himself just fine with the money he has. Harry loves his dad and tries to do everything he says, but he usually falls short of Norman Osborn's extremely high expectations. Plus, he's starting to question if everything his dad says really has any merit. Regardless, he doesn't want to let his dad down and tarnish their family name, so he'll keep trying to become the man his father always wanted him to be.

Gwen: After not getting enough attention from her dad, Gwen starts to feel a defiance toward law authorities. This defiance only grows upon learning what work keeps her dad from coming home at night. Using her intellect, Gwen commits petty crimes in abstruse ways just to mess with the cops. She becomes particularly skilled with mechanics, metalwork, and chemicals. But, even the most careful artists make mistakes, and Gwen gets caught. Her dad, who surprisingly looks sad, has no choice but to turn her in.

Gwen and Harry do NOT get along. At all. It's probably because Gwen is a goth and Harry is the textbook definition of a prep. They're forced to get along but ooooh they do not like each other. They still become great friends, but the goth vs prep hostility is always there. Gwen dates Peter in this universe, but she breaks up with him before she can die. People know not to mess with her because she is very capable (another reason why she does not die), and she WILL haunt your nightmares. Everyone finds her creepy and scary besides MJ.

Flash: Actually, Flash doesn’t attend Holly Springs Reform School. Flash goes to Midtown High, Peter’s previous school. Though Flash bullies Peter, he doesn’t actually mean him any harm. So, when Flash hears Peter is being sent to H. Springs, he’s worried he tipped Pete over the edge. This scares Flash, worried he’s become like his father, and leads to him bettering himself. Little does Flash know he’s not done with Peter just yet.

Flash won't tell anyone this, lest it tarnish his bad boy persona, but he worked hard and bought his car with his own money. Since his no-good father is out of his life, Flash realizes there is no reason for him to be like his dad and pick on others to make himself seem better, so he starts his journey of improvement. Basically, Flash is in his healing arc while everyone else is in their "going thru it" arc. Flash's healing arc is interrupted by being dragged into whatever mess the rest of the gang's got themselves into.

[heartofbusan]

Is this right? As long as it's with you, it is.

This great blog post got me thinking 🤔...

It got me thinking about timelines.

I'll be extremely curious to see if, at any point in the show, we get to see them react to the news of their buddy enlistment. That might honestly break the internet.

I wonder if the enlistment played any part in the way the trip is framed at the start, middle and end of it. Because, that news could be like a sword of damocles hanging over their heads for 2/3's of it...

*queue dramatic music*

KM started their travel show in NY in July of 2023.

They went to Jejju, either in August or the end of September.

October is allegedly when they found out they got approved for the buddy program.

We got a happy JK TikTok around this time. I'd insert the gif, but it's hella distracting 😔 he's naked, it's bouncing..and well, I'm only human.

OK FOCUS.

They went Japan, Tokyo and Sapporo in November.

If the first two trips are possible 'last time we get to spend free time together' trips, and the Japan trip is a celebratory one, wouldn't that make the experience that much more loaded?? It would be a different vibe in Japan compared to NY, for sure! But will we see that?? Is that part of the dramatic arc of the story..or is that part of what gets censured to spare the guys their real human feelings for the sake of a friendly buddy travel cop show?

I'm fine either way, but it would feel like a lost opportunity in storytelling. The again, IS STORYTELLING EVEN PART OF THE REASON THEY WENT IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Was the 'spontaneous' nature of the trip, as per Disney really what happened? A curious turn of phrase for bangtan. When have they EVER able to be spontaneous when it comes to work? When it comes down to official content we often joke that BPD has been planning things since 1756.

What do we know, aside from the Disney press blurb? JK himself said on Suchwita that the plans for the trip were formulated rather out of the blue.

I wonder if this 'f*ck it, I guess it's now or never' kind of plan was born out of a real fear of missing out on the other for nearly 2 years. After a year in which the two had both been busy AF, and missing eo AF, they pinned one last hope on togetherness on the buddy program, but if that plan failed to materialize, then they would face a challenge unlike any Jikook have had to face before. Living apart for a year was also new, sure. But being able to beg and plead (while nakey in bed) for the other to come over for drinks, chicken or horizontal tango is quite impossible once you're enlisted.

I'd be very curious to see if this conversation, this fear is talked about during their trip. Because applying for the buddy system was a gamble. Traveling together was a wild plan. It's a type of content we've never seen any of the tannies do before. And once they knew they had it in the bag, that's when they get to breathe easy. That's when it goes from being an excuse, to becoming a statement.

[usedpidemo]

Update - 3rd year anniversary! (and some future plans, a reflection, etc.)

Hi everyone! π here.

By the time this post is up, it'll be the 13th of May. Three years since I began my writing journey and this Tumblr blog. Three years. Time flies by so fast. I was close to graduating senior high after it was delayed because pandemic, had my graduation in an empty room basically, now I'm hitting my third year of college. Crazy stuff.

With that said, here are the stats + timetable of the blog so far:

First work: Sandwich (Wendy) (published 05/13/21, 4:03 a.m)

Highest note count: Tell your friends (Yujin x Wonyoung) (published 01/14/23, 1274 notes)

Number of works published: 91 fics (1 fic every 12.03 days)

500 followers: June 18, 2021 (36 days)

1000 followers: October 12, 2021 (152 days)

2000 followers: June 18, 2022 (401 days)

3000 followers: November 12, 2022 (548 days)

4000 followers: May 22, 2023 (740 days)

5000 followers: December 18, 2023 (950 days)

Current follower count: 5615 (1 new follower every 5.12 days)

It's been a hectic final month of college, so I apologize for the lack of activity in recent times :< But summer is coming up very soon, so hopefully I'll have all the time in the world to write more till then! I will say, a new fic is on the near horizon, so please be on the lookout!

I would like to take the opportunity to thank every single of you, whether reader, lurker, or a fellow writer for your support! Especially during these lull times, your unwavering support has kept me afloat and has been a motivation in continuing to write. Love you guys as always. Here's to another fruitful year <3

From this point, this part will be an overall reflection and life summary of the previous year, my thoughts on some personal matters, and some ideas I've been contemplating. If you don't wanna read this, you can stop here.

I miss 2023 quite a bit, not gonna lie. I know nostalgia can quickly grow warm and fuzzy, seeing the past through rose tinted lens, but I'll admit that 2024 hasn't been off to the start I envisioned it to be. That year was mostly peak for me, and I could even argue it's my favorite year to live out based on all my experiences. Traveling to new places, finally attending live events, interacting with my K-pop biases, and so on—it really felt like the best was yet to come with how 2023 flowed and transitioned into the new year.

Five months in, and I am struggling. Horribly. Most plans, dreams, and ideas have gone up in smoke, and it's just one devastating gut punch after another. I have a shitty professor in one major that basically made me check out of that class, and I don't know my family will react when I tell them I have to repeat said class because that professor was a dick. My family's been infighting on a daily basis, and I'm mostly collateral damage to them. Not one week can go by without some serious confrontation between them. There was a brief health scare with my mother, but that seems to be a nothing matter; thank God she'll be okay.

All this just makes life so deflating, in all honesty. I get that no life is without struggle, but I genuinely don't know when we'll be in the clear. Not anytime soon, I reckon. In these tough times, there's very little comfort except the past, when everything was pretty all right for the most part. It's been demotivating to write when mom comes forward with another grievance with my sister. It's hard to write when you have a professor who likes to power trip their students into submission. It's hard when you don't know how to admit to your mother that he failed his one class because of said power tripping professor.

But that doesn't mean I will let it eat me alive. I know we've been through some utter lows in the past. And we always get back up. If no one has us, then God does.

Summer break is fast approaching and I want to fix things. Even in my own little way. I know none of what I'm saying has anything to do with writing degenerate stories about hot K-pop idols, but real life circumstances have definitely affected me more than I can brush off. I should be calm, unfazed, undeterred.

After all, some stories are meant to be finished. They just take a more unconventional route. Ask Cody.

With all that being said, I will finish these commissions over the next two months. I'm really sorry to everyone who requested and paid for their stories months and months ago; I genuinely feel bad for not getting these out on time, but I am very mindful of quality control, and I have no one to blame but myself for being a slacker and lazy worker. Despite my feelings, I should remain professional—that's what being a worker means.

A lifestyle overhaul is definitely in my list of things to improve over the summer too. Figuring out how to get writing done, finding ways to alleviate my PokeRogue addiction (GOTY), whilst having a healthy work/life balance and not losing my sanity over it. Or worse, burning out.

And I want to take this opportunity to thank all my friends—peach, caps, majorblinks, chunk, frisky, raf, c.o, levi, sins, iz, ken, v1n, ddeun, notions, kevin, eros, brandon, kaede, svn, frisky, cray, rpg, prael—for putting up with my shit for another year. This life is tough, but you guys make it tolerable. Thank you for letting me air out my grievances even when it wasn't the best time to. I pray that when everything passes, I'm able to repay you all in some shape or form generously.

And to you, dear reader, for making it this far, thank you. Whether you've been with me since day one, or day 1094, as a commenter, reposter, liking, or just passing by/lurking, thank you for giving me a chance. Without you, all of this would have been for nothing. I don't know where I would be now if I didn't take that chance, that leap of faith back in 2021, and it's because of you I am able to keep doing this for the love of the game.

With grace,

Peter / π

[spicerackofblorbos]

Chapter 1: November

☾ Pairings ➼ Levi Ackerman x fem!mute!Reader (she/her pronouns), set in a modern semi-fictional world

☾ Summary ➼ Due to childhood trauma, you find yourself an adult without the ability to speak. After years of working on it, you have found ways to live without a voice. Now here in your late 20s, you are 5 months in getting used to a new town. On a fateful day in late November, you and your adopted sister visit a local bookstore-café, unaware of the friendships about to blossom. Throughout the months, one friendship in particular develops into something more.

☾ Content/Warnings ➼ fluff, slowburn, oblivious feelings, angst, mention of minor character deaths, trauma, illness, adoption, mentions of fire, disabilities, alcohol use, very light nsfw mentions, eventual smut (these update with every chapter)

☾ Author's note ➼ Hey guys! This is my first time writing fanfiction in a loooooong time, like the last time I wrote was probably in 2011. So with that said please be kind with any feedback or comments. I hope you enjoy! (also I made Hange's pronouns she/her/them/they)

Edit (11/27/2023): Hey guys, welcome to my little world of Unspoken Words. I have quite literally used this story as a way to better myself as a writer. As you read on, you may find that I've progressed (ofc I have a long way to go) but because of that, my first few chapters might be rough. With your patience, you may find a liking to this story as I know I've loved writing every word of it.

☾ word count ➼ ~7.1k

20-something years ago 

You’re not sure how, but you find yourself sitting in the back of a big, white van. Red and blue lights danced in your eyes, and it felt like a thousand people surrounded you. Something plastic is placed on your face then you are instructed to breathe in deeply. You thought it was funny to be told to breathe, like you don’t just do it naturally, but you follow instructions regardless. It’s hard though, every part of your body hurts, chest included. Every breath you take feels like your insides are on fire.  

‘Fire’, you think.  

Everything is on fire.

Present Day

Levi stood blank faced as he meticulously cleaned the blender station for what felt like the 100th time today. The late afternoon rush had just tapered down so he took advantage of the next to empty café to clean as much as he could before closing for the evening.  

“It’s 20 degrees outside, how are people still wanting frozen drinks.” he murmurs to himself, placing the blender back in its spot. Levi turns to the front counter and slings the towel he was using to dry things onto his shoulder.  

His best friend, roommate, and business partner could be seen restocking some books on tall shelves, a gentle smile lighting up his boyish features. It’s been about a year and a half since they started this business venture together and they had no idea at the time how successful their bookstore-café combo would be in this small town.  

Erwin’s thirst for knowledge kept their shelves as variable as ever while Levi’s love for perfecting the art of tea kept the drinks flowing. The problem, however, was Levi’s lack of people skills. He was seldom seen at the register, nor would you ever see him smile or talk to the customers. He often would leave you with a grunt and a swift turn after handing off the drinks.  

No, for that, they had hired a couple of local highschoolers to do the facing work.  

“Mr. Smith, Levi?” a soft voice rang out to the left of him. Levi shifted his attention to a taller girl with shoulder length raven hair standing next to him. Being as Mikasa is his cousin, they found early on how weird it was to be called ‘Mr. Ackerman’ as they shared the same surname. It was this connection too that got them to where they are today.  

“Would it be okay if Eren and I take off a little early tonight? We have some big tests coming up and we’d like to take some extra time to study.” Mikasa shifted her dark eyes to the darkening windows as the sun set just over the horizon. Pinks and oranges flooded the partially clouded skies.  

”Tch.” Levi could not help but roll his eyes. He raised a brow at her and leaned back against the counter behind him for support. “Sure, I guess,” he continues. “But do you really need it or is it for that blockhead?”  

As if summoned by his words, Eren comes up from behind Mikasa and wraps a red scarf around his girlfriend’s neck, both of their jackets hanging off one of his arms. Eren is a good kid, always on time and followed directions, but the amount of sass he held in his body was something else. Levi and Erwin did not mind though, as he added a certain energy in the café that the customers seemed to enjoy. The two men wouldn’t say it out loud, but they really appreciated having them both on the team.  

“Hey, I heard that. And yes, I need to study desperately. Econ is so hard and for what?!” Eren’s teal eyes widened for emphasis. To add to it he even put on a fake pout.  

“I-”  

“Just take the trash with you on the way out and you’re good to go.” Erwin piped up from behind a bookshelf.  

Mikasa nodded in acknowledgement towards the voice, a silent thank you. Like Levi, she was not one for many words. He once thought it was an Ackerman thing but then he thought back to his annoying uncle and changed his mind quickly.  

With that, she and Eren both untangled the aprons from their bodies, grabbed their belongings, and picked up the trash bags that were already taken out of the cans. They opted to leave through the back since the dumpsters were located that way. Again, Levi wouldn’t say it to anyone out loud, but he really did like those kids.  

Erwin could be heard stacking more books into the shelves which left Levi to polish the counters again. It was the last hour before they closed so it stayed quiet for the most part, only interrupted by the sounds of scuffling shoes and books being placed on hard surfaces. Light jazz filled the rest of the silence. Then the bell signifying new customers rang from the front.  

“Levi, can you grab that?”  

The raven-haired man just huffed in response then stepped over to the register. His eyes fell on two figures right in front of him. A frazzled brunette and... you.  

Due to the season, you are bundled up in a thick parka and knitted beanie. A big scarf wraps around your neck and face so that all Levi could see is your flushed cheeks and thick lashed eyes. Truthfully, you reminded him of a marshmallow.  

“What’ll it be?” he asks, deadpan. The brunette is the one to respond, the voice loud enough to make him wince.  

“Hmmm... well one English breakfast tea latte with lots of room for sugar aaaaand I’ll take a peppermint hot chocolate. Oh, and extra whip! We’ll drink it here.” She fished out a card with a dramatic thwip and handed it to Levi’s outstretched hand.  Their café is one of those where if you were to stay, they offered washable cup ware as to keep the prices down on disposable cups. Not to mention the lessened ‘environmental impact’ as Erwin would say.  

Levi glances at you before turning to make both orders. You give a small wave and smile a little, but he was already working quickly on the drinks. 

He went into autopilot as he steeped the tea and steamed the milk. He really appreciated customers that ordered anything outside of coffee, especially when it came to tea. It’s not that he hated coffee, though it’s not like he liked it either, but it just wasn’t his thing. Coffee offered a different kind of bitterness that he wasn’t very fond of. With extra whipped cream in one and extra space in the other, he whirled around to place the drinks on the counter.  

The one with glasses is the one that picks them up and they promptly walk in the direction of where you currently sit, one of the tables in the back corner by the window. You were stripped of your big parka and scarf, though the beanie stayed. Your eyes were wandering around the café in wonder, and Levi was pretty sure this had to be your first time here. But truthfully, he wouldn’t know, he didn’t make it his business to know his customers. That was Erwin’s and the kids’ job. 

“The shelves are full and I’m exhausted.” Erwin came around the counter with a couple of empty boxes in his arms, heading straight for the back to the dumpster. Levi stepped back and leaned against the counter once again, his own black tea that had steeped while making yours cradled in his fingertips. He kept looking at his only customers while he sipped the black liquid. The teacup almost slipped out of his grip as he saw you dumping a large amount of sugar into your cup.  

 There you sit, extremely focused on the cup in front of you and lips pressed together tightly, almost as if you were afraid you’d put in too much. The sight would have been funny if you hadn’t just ruined your entire tea, he thinks to himself. You smile to yourself in satisfaction and put the sugar jar back where it came from. While you stir the sweetener in gently, the brunette in front of you talks animatedly. Hands were flying everywhere, and Levi could practically feel the energy radiating from the corner of the room.  You were doing the same, silently laughing. 

Suddenly the front door flew open, the bell ringing loudly with it. Levi grits his teeth, steeling himself for yet another customer interaction. But his shoulders dropped in relief at the sight of only Carly, Erwin’s girlfriend. She saunters up to the counter with a big smile aimed towards Levi and without even asking she slid behind the bar. Erwin had already made it from the back and was in the process of putting away the leftover ingredients from the day. Carly wraps her arms around her boyfriend and plants a big kiss on his face, to which Levi quickly looks away. It wasn’t weird for her to come in right as they were about to close.  

What was weird, he thought, was the shock that flooded your face as you eyed the very public display of affection. Levi knit his brows in confusion as the brunette pivoted in her seat to see what you were staring at. Their face fell, any evidence of a good time completely erased.  

“Carly?”  

The person in question whipped around so fast at the voice and the panic that exuded from her was palpable. She quickly unwrapped herself from Erwin’s embrace.  

“Hange.”  

If it wasn’t for the jazz in the background, the lengthy silence that followed would have been deathly.  

Carly clears her throat and laughs awkwardly.  

“Uh, why are you here?”  

The person named Hange just lifts their hot chocolate cup awkwardly, not really saying anything. Their eyes shift between Carly and Erwin, clearly understanding what had happened.  

“I-I’m sorry, you guys know each other?” Erwin sounds cautious, like he already knew the answer. Of course, he would, he isn’t dumb. His piercing blue eyes survey the situation, going back and forth between the two.  

“Well, uh. I-” Carly stutters, clearly at a loss of what to say in the predicament she found herself in.  

“She’s my girlfriend.” Hange claims calmly.  

This admission makes Erwin sigh heavily, confirming what he had pieced together. Levi stared at him in bewilderment as the man just chuckled quietly.  

“Well. I suppose that’s it then.” And with that he turns on his heel and stalks off to the back room. 

“Wait, Erwin I can explain!” She follows right on his heels and disappears into the back room as well. A minute later you can hear hysterical crying and calm retorts reverberating from the back. If Levi could shrink into the cabinets to get out of this situation, he would. Instead, he focuses on the other party who were having a very quiet and rushed discussion. Well, a one-sided discussion, as he only heard one voice.  

Levi, realizing it was almost time to close anyways, rushes to close the distance between him and the front door. He really did not want to have to deal with other customers while the drama unfurled. So, he flips the door sign to ‘Closed’ and unplugs the ‘Open’ neon sign hanging in the window. A couple walks by about to open the door, probably out for a café date from the looks of it. But they were only met with a dead stare from the sharpest eyes they’d ever seen. With that, they briskly turned around and left down the sidewalk.  

Levi spins around and from here he gets a better look at the two trapped customers. You were moving your hands all over the place like you were earlier. But with an even closer look he realizes you weren’t just talking animatedly with your hands; you were talking with them. You were signing. 

You reacted to your partner’s conversation just fine, so it was clear you had some sort of hearing. Your scarf now hung loose around your shoulders, and it looked like you had tears brimming in your eyes. Levi swiftly walks back to the counter; this is obviously not a conversation he needed to be a part of.

“Hey, don’t worry about me. It’s only been a couple of months. Really, it’s better to find out now than 3 years from now.” They laughed without humor. You know when Hange was saving face for your sake, she was never as sly as she thought she was.  

‘You don’t need to be strong right now.’ You sign then reach your hand out to touch her cheek softly. Physical touch had become your second language early on, if only to emphasize. Fortunately, Hange was okay with that and often embraced it with open arms.  

“I know, my little strawberry. I just need some time to process everything.” They pat you on the head lightly with a small grin. You swat their hands, blushing at the nickname you were so graciously given so many years ago.  But you nod back, knowing they would not change their mind.  

The tall blonde glides through the back door, alone. His face was grim as he tugged loose the tie around his neck.  

“Hange, was it?” He started walking towards you and your very startled sister.  

“U-uh yeah. That’s my name! Listen I had no idea, I’m so sorry. I would have said something obviously but-”, they take a deep breath. “I’m sorry. What’s your name again?”  

“Erwin Smith. There is nothing to apologize for as I can only assume there’s only one blame to be given. I hate that we must meet under such a circumstance, but it is truly nice to meet you.” He raises a hand waiting for a handshake.  

Hange takes it after a second of processing, shaking the hand vigorously with both hands.  

“Well, unfortunately it is what it is. I’m sure Carly and I will be speaking soon. I’m assuming she’s not just hiding back there.” They flick their gaze to the back door he had just come through.  

“Ah well, yes. Long gone... how long were you two...?”  

“Only like, 3 months or so. You?” 

He flinched at that and murmured, “3 Years.” 

Thinking back to her comment not 10 minutes ago, Hange bit their cheek.  

“Oh man I’m so sorry.”  

“No, please. It’s alright. None of this is yours or my fault. We couldn’t have known, but now we do.” Erwin chuckled to himself. You wonder if he’s trying to save face the way your sister did. His gaze now shifts to you. He is a very handsome man. To your extreme surprise, he starts signing to you. 

‘I'm sorry, who might you be? I noticed you signing earlier. I know a little from the books I have read.’ His crystal blue eyes sparkle at you as he signs. You can’t help but break out into a huge grin. You sign your name back and compliment him on his raw signing form.  

‘I am of hearing, though. So please feel free to talk, and I will sign back.’ You clarify to Erwin, the smile not falling from your face.  

“That sounds like a plan. Levi, stop hiding behind the counter and come say hi.” Erwin calls out, not bothering to look over his shoulder. You hear a grunt in response and not 10 seconds later, the barista stands cross armed next Erwin. He nods a hello to each of you.  

You knew he was shorter than you, at least a couple inches, based off the interaction at the counter earlier. But seeing him side by side with his friend was almost comical. But as short stature as he was, it did not keep him from holding himself with such authority. It made you nervous.  

‘Thank you for the tea, it was very good.’ You sign, your sister translating in real time for you.  

“Tch, are you sure? I saw you dump enough sugar in it to make it syrup.” Levi retorts dryly.  

That makes you smile sheepishly. His fixated stare unnerved you a little, but you stare back regardless. Now that he was closer, a glass case no longer between the both of you, your eyes traveled along his face in close inspection. 

He’s beautiful, you think to yourself. His features are sharp and angled. Steely gray eyes pronounced a permanent exhausted look. It was a shade of gray you’ve never seen before, and they were mesmerizing. As if he could feel you staring holes in his face, he flicks his eyes to the side, clearly uncomfortable. But you can’t help it, because really the most intriguing thing about him was not his metallic eyes. It was the scars that marred his porcelain skin.  

A couple of scars ran down the right side of his face. The prominent of the two trailed from the top right of his forehead all the way down to his chin, cutting into his right eye and both lips. You’re pretty sure his eye was quite damaged due to the slight muted discoloration of the eye color.  

He’s beautiful, you repeat to yourself. You glance over to Hange, and they just look over at you with a knowing look. You know she was just begging to ask Levi too, but she just shakes her head. So, you fold your hands together and pinch your lips together.  

“Well!” Hange yells out, breaking the silence. “This human really needs a drink. Let’s all go! Erwin, I demand you let me treat you to a couple drinks!” She wraps an arm around your shoulders and laughs.  

“A drink sounds fantastic; I will gladly take you up on that offer. Let me just close up rea-” He’s cut off by Levi raising both of his hands up in protest. You notice the two missing fingers on his right hand. The pointer and middle were gone. Whatever this man went through, you just had to know. But you toss those questions onto an ever-growing pile and bite your cheek.  

“Erwin, I can close up. You go ahead.” Your sister just smiles widely and practically jumped up and down. The blonde man just clapped his hand Levi’s shoulder and smiled at him.  

“Thank you. You’ll join us after? The usual place?” Levi just shrugs his shoulders in response.  

Part of you hoped he would. You couldn’t place a singular reason why though.  

.

Fifteen minutes later, the three of you found yourselves in a well-lit and very crowded bar. Somehow Erwin had snagged a table near the back wall. Heavy rock blares loudly from a live band maybe 20 feet away. Overwhelming was an understatement, but you grit your teeth and sit down on one of the stools.  

“Whatcha want, my darlings?!” Hange yells over the music, slapping both hands down on the table and staring at the both of you.  

“Whiskey neat, whatever they offer is fine.”  

You sign the words ‘apple’ and ‘juice’ followed by a ‘thank you’. You’ve never been one for a drink. While it was tolerable to be around, you’d rather not have to taste it if you could help it.  

Looking around, you see all manners of people surrounding you. Something about it makes your stomach turn but you shift in your seat to quell it down. You’re sure it’s only so crowded because of the prospect of a Friday night and the promise of no plans the following day. The town of Jinae was not anything special, but it was quaint. You and your sister found out quickly it was a place where everyone knew mostly everyone. After only settling down here from your hometown 5 months ago, you were still learning of all the local spots.  

From the looks of it, this bar was one of those. “The Scouts” was an inviting place, decorated with dark greens and wood tones. The walls were littered with many frames of a lot of different people. You imagine it might have been local residents in various locations of the town. All of the wood was worn down, so it was clear this place has been in business for a while. A neon sign hangs above the stage where the live band played, something that resembled blue and white wings. It makes you wonder what the significance is.  

Your thoughts are disturbed as a glass is placed in front of you. Realizing the dryness in your throat, you pick up the glass and take a big swig of the amber liquid. You’re met with a burning sensation, and you gag. This alerts Hange of the unfortunate mistake.  

“Ah I’m sorry my little strawberry!! They do look quite similar though, don’t they?” They switch the glasses quickly and laugh. You notice the very noticeable cup size differences between the two and you stare at her quizzically. “I may have taken a shot while at the bar, sorry.” she adds on. It makes you shake your head, but you grab her hand reassuringly and chuckle.  

‘I’m sorry.’ You sign at Erwin, and he just smiles back.  

“Not a problem. But I have to ask, how was it?” A bushy eyebrow raises at you in amusement.  

You just stick your tongue out and make a gagging gesture at him. You laugh though, not really upset.  

Two apple juices in, the live band ends. Hange and Erwin are very deep in conversation, which you suspect might be about Carly. You can’t really hear what’s being said though. With the absence of music, chatter quickly fills the air. Honestly it was really starting to get to you. So, after tapping on the pair’s shoulders and signing where you were going, you find yourself leaning over the guard rail just outside the bar’s door.  

The sun was already far gone. A crescent moon sits high in the sky and a smatter of stars surrounds it. The cold air felt very welcome on your very flushed face. You exhale a big sigh, which garners a puff of steam. It makes you laugh so you do it again. Then you start to wonder how long you might be able to last out here before getting frostbite when suddenly a body starts leaning against the rail next to you.  

With a start, you whip your head to face the newcomer. Instantly you relax at the sight of Erwin’s friend. He was adorned in a big peacoat and his casual slacks. A tan turtleneck sweater peaks out from the jacket’s collar. His face was flushed as well, no doubt from the cold.  

Levi. 

He wasn’t paying you any mind though, instead his gaze laid upon the sky above, at the stars. You wave at him anyways and offer a small smile. He glances at you with a side eye and returns a curt nod.  

Not one for words. 

So, you both stand there in silence, staring up at the twinkling lights above. It wasn’t uncomfortable in the slightest. Something about his presence radiated a sort of calm, and you were happy to bask in it.  

After a few minutes, he shifts his weight in your direction, so you face him. He’s staring up at you and it makes you swallow hard. His eyes glowed silver from the moonlight. Truly you have never been this fascinated with a person until now.  

“You like the stars.” It wasn’t a question, more like a statement.  

You nod in agreement, smiling to emphasize your love for them. He purses his lips at that. It seemed as if he wanted to say something else to that, but nothing came out. It just makes you frown a bit. You just have more questions that keep piling up. Everything about him just emanated mystery and it made you want to know all about him.  

‘Are you okay?’ You sign to him, exaggerating your frown to show your concern. You’re only met with a look of confusion. You forget that he does not know much if any sign. And you kick yourself for leaving your communication tools at home. To be fair though, this is not where you expected to be tonight.  

You then get an idea to use your phone to type to him but before you even reach into your pocket, you’re interrupted by a sudden blast of warm air as a couple stumbles out of the bar, both in a giggling fit as they cling to each other. They take off down the road, laughing even harder. The brief warm air makes you shiver, reminding you of the cold outside.  

As if thinking the same thing, Levi catches the door before it closes and holds it open for the both of you. You’re suddenly well aware of the very loud singing happening from within and your eyes widen at the familiarity of one of the voices. You and Levi make your way to the voices and are greeted with the sight of Erwin and Hange duetting a Backstreet Boys song.  

What a sight it was. The tall brunette, face flushed and glasses askew, had their arm around Erwin. He his blonde hair was quite tousled, and he looked like he was having the time of his life. They both swayed together as they belted out the lyrics. As if their smiles were contagious, you felt yourself grin. It was kind of cute. So, you pull out your phone and snap a quick picture, sure to show Hange in the morning. It was a good thing too, because the song ends right as you put your phone away in your bag. Levi clicks his tongue and huffs. You glance over at the noise and notice a small upturn to the corner of his scarred mouth. Noticing your gaze, his face vacates itself from any emotion as he stares back ahead.  

“Oi! Eyebrows!” He calls out to his friend. Levi starts making his way to the stage, walking with a slight limp. Yet another question to add onto the pile. “I’m gone for 45 minutes and you’re already singing.”  

“I’m fine! Just a couple drinks in.”  

You all make your way to the table you had laid claim to earlier. You survey the table and count at least 6 more glasses, not counting your two. It was hard to see who drank what.  

‘Are you okay?’ You sign to your sister, concern etched on your face. They just nod lazily and give a thumbs up with both hands. Levi is regarding you with a look of understanding, and it seems he realized that you had asked him outside.  Music starts playing over the speakers again, and people start making their way to the dance floor. Hange squeals and downs the rest of her drink quickly.  

“Erwin let’s go!” She grabs his arm, not waiting for a response. He gives a mock salute to the two of you and follows without question. Levi just clicks his tongue again and heads to the bar to get himself something. So, you plop yourself down on the stool and stare out into the room. Out of nervous habit you start fidgeting with the napkins in front of you. A moment later, Levi’s hobbling over with a tray of drinks. 

“I got the idiots some water, they look like they need it.” He places the glasses down with a thud, including one of his own housing some sort of caramel liquid. Then he’s sliding something over to you and you’re about to protest that you don’t drink but you realize it’s not a glass. It’s a notepad and pen.  

“If you need something, this might come in handy.” is all he says.  

You’re quick to show your appreciation with a bright smile. You also note to yourself that you could have very well have used your phone to communicate but you were not one to disregard someone’s thoughtfulness. It makes something bloom in your chest, warm and comforting.  

Your many years of not having a phone of course meant writing – a lot. Your handwriting evolved plenty with time so that meant it was extremely neat. It had to have been so that the reader would be able to read it without an issue. 

First you write your name, as you realize no one had really said it out loud while at the teashop. Following that you add ‘I think your shop is wonderful, and I really did enjoy the tea you made.’ You also want to jot down the questions from earlier that were still swimming in your mind, but you hold yourself back. You tell yourself maybe later, granted if there would even be a later.   

When angling the paper so he could see it, his eyes flit across the words quickly and you’re given a grunt in acknowledgement. Pulling back the notepad, you bite the inside of your cheek. While it wasn’t awkward being next to him, he sure made it hard to talk to. His cold demeanor gave you the feeling he wasn’t the type to talk about himself, especially with someone he just met. So, asking questions about him or his life was out the window. Likewise, he did not really seem interested in hearing your life story, not like you were planning to spill it anyways for fear of being met with disdain. You had plenty of experiences with that growing up.  

Tapping the pen against your chin, your eyes drift around the bar room. There a multitude of people lingering about, shouting over each other to be heard. A couple sits in a corner, whispering who knows what to each other. Both of their cheeks are flushed and eyes heavy with lust. A handful of people are on the dance floor grinding away, your sister and new friend sticking out like a sore thumb as they dance with reckless abandon. All of this gave you an idea, remembering something you’ve read before many moons ago. You start scrawling on the paper again.  

‘Are you a gambling man, Levi?’ 

You shift the pad back over to him and he glances down again after taking another sip of his spirit. He was holding his glass in a way you’d never seen before and honestly it was a little weird.  

“Tch, hardly. Why do you ask?” He looks hard at you as you scratch something else down.  

‘I propose a game to pass the time. Let’s make some bets about the random people in this room.’ 

He looks at you incredulously. You stand your ground, not averting your gaze even a little. When you don’t back down, he just scoffs and shakes his head at you.  

“I literally could not care less about these people,” he clicks his tongue. “But I suppose there’s not much else to do so I’ll bite.” Knocking back the rest of his drink, he moves around you to lean back against the wall so that he is facing the rest of the crowd. You shift so that you are doing the same. You don’t overlook the proximity to the shorter man, nor the fact that your arms are almost touching. You start to scribble once more.  

‘Winner gets to ask the loser one question.’ As his eyes fall on your words, he seems a little taken aback. Levi seems to think for a moment, like he’s weighing his pros and cons.  

“One non-personal question.” He amends. You both nod in agreement. So, your eyes travel around the room, looking for your first target. It falls on a group not so far away.  

‘I bet that gaggle of young girls over there are here for a bridal party.’

You point in the direction of the said group. Currently they were taking tequila shots, lime and all. All of them sparkled and were dressed up to the nines, save for the silly little hats adorning their heads. And they were having so much fun.  

“No way,” Levi scoffs, “That has to be a 21st birthday. They all look like babies.”  

Suddenly someone comes through a parting in the crowd with a tray of assorted colorful drinks garnished with cute little accessories. They all yell in excitement at the sight. One of the girls raises her glass and starts shouting.  

“To Estelle! May your married life be full of infinite love, happiness, and orgasms!” They all cheer and take big gulps of their drinks, followed by more giggling.  

Levi glances art you, his gray eyes dull in the dim bar light. An eyebrow lifts at you as well.  

“How did you know?” 

You do a sweeping gesture starting from one shoulder down to the opposite hip. He looks back over to the women and conveniently the soon-to-be-bride had faced your direction. She was indeed wearing a white sash sporting the word ‘BRIDE’ in bright pink letters. He huffs as he rolls his eyes, and you smirk at him in return. You press the pad over to him, already equipped with your question.  

Levi scoffs at your question. As promised, it wasn’t very personal. You figured ice breaker like questions were a good start. But his pause made you question if this was a good idea, you didn’t want to run him off or make him uncomfortable. Then he clicks his tongue, and his face softens ever so slightly.  

“My favorite hobby, huh? It would have to be cleaning.” He simply states. 

Cleaning?  

‘Like mopping, dusting, all that jazz?’  

“Yeah, it brings me peace. I like the control. Plus, I can't stand filthy things, people, or places. It’s repugnant.” He scrunches his nose at the last statement. A laugh bubbles up and you can’t help but let it loose. You’re shot with a glare and a sharp tone.  

“Funny?”  

You shake your head no and smile lightly while your hands move adeptly on the pad.  

‘Not funny, just amusing because it’s not something I would have expected. It’s different. If it makes you happy then it is an admirable hobby.’ 

Levi’s looking away from you now. If it wasn’t so dim, you would have seen there was a light dusting of pink color his cheeks and ears. He clears his throat and scans the room for his victim. His eyes land on the couple in the back corner whispering to each other. He notices their not-so-subtle hand movements as they felt each other up. Nodding in their direction, he looks back over to you, leaning close so you can hear.  

“I bet that couple will get up in the next 3 minutes and excuse themselves to somewhere private.” Your eyes travel in that direction, only to look away hastily at such an intimate scene. You’re not able to think of a counter-bet because honestly, you’re thinking the same thing. Your eyes settle back to his face, but he’s already looking back at the couple. If he noticed you staring, he didn’t say. Suddenly his face is filled with a satisfied look, only to be replaced quickly with a look of horror. You follow his gaze again, afraid of what you might see.

Fortunately, it’s nothing risqué, as you catch the tail end of the couple slipping into one of the public, unmarked restrooms. But the thought of their future actions was enough to gross you out. Looking back at Levi, you scrunch your face up in disgust. He nods in understanding.  

“This is why we don’t use public restrooms, especially in a bar.” He pinches the bridge of his nose with his good hand. “When I said somewhere private, I meant like a residence or something. Filthy animals, unbelievable. They better scrub that bathroom down. Maybe I should tell the bartender when they’re done. Maybe I should help clean.” 

His retorts crack you up, your shoulders bouncing from silent laughter. He just stares at you impassively as he runs his fingers through his hair to get it out of his face.  

“Well, it’s not like we should ruin their fun. Anyways I suppose I won. Let’s see... what’s your favorite color?” 

You part your lips, dumbfounded. This was never an easy question, as you found joy in a lot of different colors. You bite your lip and start writing, but after a couple minutes Levi rips the pad from your hands out of impatience.  

salmon 

turquoise? 

canary yellow! 

orange 

dark forest gre- 

He just looks at you in alarm.  

“Just pick one.” he scolds. 

You snatch the pad back and scribble down, ‘It’s not that simple!’  

“It is to me. White, easy.” You just stare right back at him, not believing what you just heard. Out of all the many shades and hues out there, this man decides the color white.  

‘Why?’ 

“It’s clean.” is the only response you get.  

It makes sense, you think. But seriously, this man was so weird. But like you said earlier, it was different and that made it refreshing to you. You start searching for your next bet.  

As if in a scene from a movie you’ve seen a dozen times came to life, your eyes snap to a lone woman sitting at the bar, nursing a drink and playing on her phone. A couple seats down, you spot a few men chatting. One of the men is staring hard at the very oblivious woman. You nudge Levi with your elbow, not unnoticing the slight flinch from your touch. You point to the scene, and he is quick to understand.  

“I bet when he walks over to her, she’ll get up and leave.” He says confidently.  

Trusting your instincts, you scrawl back quickly as you notice the man started making his way towards the woman. Sticking your tongue out at him, you angle the pad to him so he could see.  

‘Absolutely not. She’ll tell him off right away.’  

To both yours and his surprise, not one moment later she throws the rest of her drink contents onto the man’s head. She gathers her belongings, throws a wad of bills on to the bar, then stomps out of the establishment. The rejected man staggers back to his friends, and they applaud him for his supposed gall. This event left you both stunned. There’s a moment of pause where you and Levi just stare at each other before all hell breaks loose as he starts talking and you start scribbling furiously.  

“She walked away, I win.”  

‘She threw that drink on him, that’s practically telling him off. And that happened before any walking off.’  

“That hardly counts, no words were used.” He scoffs and folds his arms across his chest as he stares hard at you. You weren’t sure if the indignation was real or not, but it was evident in his face.   

‘Words are not always needed to convey intent.’ You shoot back at him, shifting your weight to tap your foot defiantly. You would know this of course.  

This makes Levi pause. He opens his mouth to say something but then Erwin and Hange came crashing into the little bubble you two had made. Suddenly the sounds of clinking glasses and mindless chatter came rushing in and you took a step back.  

“Um, I think Hange might have had a little too much tonight.” Erwin says, to which your attention is drawn to a very drunk Hange. They were a blubbering, sobbing mess. Whining about things that ranged from Carly to her work stress and everything in between. Your sister rarely got this drunk, but you imagine the events from earlier might have been her breaking point. This was a sign to get her home.  

You hastily round the table to wrap her arm around you and prop her up. Then after whipping a $20 out of your purse and throwing it on the table in front of the boys, you give them a grateful smile and sign to Erwin.  

‘Thank you both for tonight. She and I had a lot of fun. But I need to get her home before she gets worse.’ As if on cue, they let out a loud wail and start sobbing into your shoulder. You shift your body to hold them closer so that you don’t drop them. Erwin grabs your $20 and shoves it back in your purse before zipping it up. He had left you no time to protest as he places a large hand on your shoulder and stares intensely at you.  

“Please, let me take care of this. Tell them this was an exceptional time. And to please stop by the café again, we owe each a good, sober talk.” His bright blue eyes crinkled in the corners as he smiled at you warmly. “It was a pleasure meeting you too. I hope you join Hange on the café visits as well. I think Levi has warmed up to you just nicely.” He wiggles an eyebrow at his friend. Levi just shoves him back and rolls his eyes.  

“Tch, fuck off. She’s alright, I guess.” He’s staring at you now, not as cold as before. “You owe me an answer next time we meet.”  

You purse your lips at him and shake your head in disagreement. 

‘I totally won that, don’t even think otherwise.’ You jot down lazily on the notepad still on the table. It wasn’t as neat, but you were propping up a whole human, you couldn’t help it.   

“Are you sure you’re safe to get home okay? We can he-” You cut Erwin off with a wave of the hand. Their spot of choice was actually very lucky, as you only live a few minutes away. And to be honest, you needed the cold air. So, you sign a quick goodbye to your new friends and make your way out. 

Walking down the snowy sidewalk, you pat Hange’s head as she grumbles about random things. She opted to walk herself, but you kept your hand in theirs to lead them in the right direction. She only stumbled a few times but overall, you were able to keep a steady pace. You note that before you left, her glass of water had been untouched, so you make a mental reminder to hydrate her before throwing her in bed.  

‘Alcohol was not kind to those in their 30s’ you heard their voice say in the back of your mind.  

As your steps left crunching noises in their wake, you peer up at the moon and glittering stars. A certain raven-haired and silver-eyed man etched in your brain. You wonder how soon it will be before seeing him again.  

‘Levi’ you sign to yourself with a free hand. A smile cemented to your face the whole way home.

☾ Next Chapter: December

[the-bad-guys-2-reportage]

Everything we know about The Bad Guys 2.

A post detailing everything about the sequel of The Bad Guys, from confirmed to unconfirmed information, leaks & more. We'll update the post whenever something new comes up, so stay tuned!

🟢Confirmed info:

On March 26th 2024, DreamWorks officially announced a sequel of The Bad Guys in development, coming to theaters August 1st 2025.

Synopsis: "The Bad Guys are struggling to find trust and acceptance in their newly minted lives as Good Guys, when they are pulled out of retirement and forced to do ‘one last job' by an all-female squad of criminals."

Just like the first film, whose story was loosely based on book 1 through 4 of The Bad Guys book series, it appears the sequel will be loosely based on the events of book 5 through 10 of the book series.

Returning cast & crew:

Pierre Perifel (director)

Damon Ross (producer)

JP Sans (co-director, was previously head of character animation)

Daniel Pemberton (composer)

Sam Rockwell - Mr. Wolf

Marc Maron - Mr. Snake

Craig Robinson - Mr. Shark

Akwafina - Ms. Tarantula

Anthony Ramos - Mr. Piranha

Zazie Beetz - Diane Foxington

Richard Ayoade - Professor Marmalade

Alex Borstein - Misty Luggins

Lilly Singh - Tiffany Fluffit

New (june 21, 2024):

Gorge R. Gutierrez will make a cameo in The Bad Guys 2, it is unknown which character he's voicing.

NEW (Nov 21):

Danielle Brooks - Kitty Kat

Natasha Lyonne - Doom

Maria Bakalova - Pigtail

Voice actors for the new characters have not yet been revealed. Director Pierre Perifel previously confirmed that Marmalade's real identity is indeed true to what it is in the books (no spoilers) although it is unknown if the reveal shall be made in the sequel, despite him strongly pointing towards it being the case.

New info (may 17, 2024) : In an interview with the Today Show Australia, while promoting his newest movie adaptation "Thelma the Unicorn" & talking about the final book of The Bad Guys series releasing this fall, author Aaron Blabey gave an update regarding The Bad Guys 2 currently in the works at Dreamworks.

NEW (November 1st): A first trailer for The Bad Guys has been listed with the runtime of 2 mins & 12 seconds, indicating that we'll be getting our first look at the sequel soon.

NEW (November 19): The first Bad Guys 2 trailer started playing in cinemas before screenings of Wicked.

NEW (November 21): The Bad Guys trailer #1 has been officially released!

🟡Yet to be confirmed:

According to IMDb, the budget of The Bad Guys 2 is that of $80M. The budget of the first film was $70M. It also claims that the creator & author of The Bad Guys himself (Aaron Blabey) will write the script alongside Ethan Cohen. Aaron was previously the producer on the first film, in order to ensure the characters he created are well portrayed.

New (July 13th, 2024): According to Daniel RPK (an industry insider) actress Natasha Lyonne has been cast in The Bad Guys 2. She's probably voicing one of Diane's former friends, if this is true.

NEW (November 17, 2024): According to insider The Beyond Reporter, the first trailer of The Bad Guys 2 will be released this week (Nov 18-22). CONFIRMED!

🟣Leaks:

On March 9th 2023, an insider known as "The V Scooper" on twitter revealed that a sequel of DreamWorks' The Bad Guys is in development. He even provided some extra plot details of the movie, which closely resembles that of the official synopsis. Although he commented that some plot points may change in the final version of the script, since that was still early on in production.

New (Sep 21): An accidental leak from the official website filmsrating.com revealed there will be a theatrical short of The Bad Guys related to the sequel, titled"The Bad Guys: Little Lies & Alibis".

NEW (Oct 19): Listings from Universal Switzerland seem to confirm that the title"Little Lies & Alibis" is that of the sequel itself, rather than the previously thought theatrical short related to the sequel. However that may be a mistake, since more listings shows that there's indeed a short related to the sequel.

[jeffbytes]

happy Astro Bot release day!! 🩵

real ones know just how important this little guy is to me. Astros Playroom was my first dip into the PS5, on my mates console while they were at work in 2020, and it absolutely captivated me. the gorgeous visuals and super fun gameplay that actually used the Dualsense features, it became a quick and strong hyperfix for me and inspired my NEED for my own PS5. i still remember the day i got my first one clear as day, curled up in a ball freezing cold outside Argos at 6am in north west English November 2020, it must have been -6C but i was determined to get my hands on it, Astro really stuck with me.

funny art fix and gush story continued under the cut 💛

i made this second sona in early 2023 after my billionth replay of Playroom, as a sort of cross over between my self representation and the robots of Astro universe (with some Stray Companion bot inspiration in there as well). he even got his name from the devs of the Astro series, Team Asobi. i didnt realise that Asobi would go on to be a sort of mascot for my "brand" i guess in addition to being a sona, that's been my Youtube PFP since the artwork's creation and featured in other Youtubers works. i dont speak about him much or draw him often these days (to the point j forgot how to draw him, hence the hideous redesign i reverted) but Asobi and, in turn, his inspiration Astro Bot, continue to be so SO important to me.

this game was announced at one of my lowest points outside of 2016 IYKYK,, it was a huge turning point for me. Astro felt like a self contained niche interest, no one else i knew had even heard of the franchise, even fellow PS5 owners, PSVR owners etc, i felt so alone in my adoration for him and Playroom. so when this game, a full length actual title expanding on the tech demo i could not get enough of was announced, especially at such a peak low for me - it was an ABSOLUTE gamechanger. suddenly i'm meeting my fellow Astro appreciators, seeing exclusive controller skins released (which i managed to bag before the scalpers, thank you EE, no one thought to check you 🤭), i even just got accepted as a moderator on the modestly sized and growing Astro Bot discord server! it's so rewarding finally seeing the Astro franchise finally getting the love it SO much deserves, for its enchanting visuals and super charming mascot, and gameplay so fun and intuative it genuinely rivals Nintendo in 3D platformer delight. i realise how corporate i sound saying all this - i'm not sponsored or affiliated, i just love Astro so so so much ;; 🩵

had to have the much needed crossover artwork of Astro and his spiritual son lined up for the release date of what's been so far, my most hype game release in history 💙💛

[zarkishere]

height chart time!

over at twitter i didn't really get to write ANYTHING soo...let's talk about this AU for a bit here! nothing important, just some thoughts and maybe some spoilers hehe (there is 100% spoilers LMAO)

this is a passion project of mine born from my WAY TOO STRONG hyperfixation on spooky month and my LOVE for slime rancher! it's been in my head since around November 2023, but only did i start REALLY thinking about it in around the middle of January 2024. i was on a family trip, it was super late at night and i was daydreaming about spooky month as i looked out the window... at some point i started to think about...what if Lila was on the far far range? then i started to plan; a new island on the far far range, a sort of market instead of the thingy (no idea what it's called) that Beatrix uses to interact with NPC's in practice it'd be very similar. you walk up to a stand (that looks according to the person and what they want) and they'd pop up all hologram-like! then bow, you talk, you sell them stuff, amazing! of course in this AU some people actually go to Lila's house, like Frank! you know that little spot behind Beatrix's place back in the game? well, there! every once in a while Frank would show up in his flying van, offering items you can buy :D some would be...less than needed (like heart beets and such) OR they could be something wonderful! like Gilded Ginger! or other illegal items shh...no one can know... anyway! then i started using milanote (which i recommend) and started figuring out the story and characters here's a screenshot! a lot of things were changed soo...take it with a grain of salt ;)

i did a lot of sketches on random bits of paper and my phone (which i won't be adding here cuz they're not needed :P) figuring out character designs, and eventually moved on to start doing the character sheets on my pc! you might've noticed, but i really thought of this first as if it was a videogame it will never be, don't get me wrong, but it started from there and THEN i started to think of it simply as a story i want to tell there's still a long way to go, but i have so many cool ideas i JUST WANNA START WORKING! i got sick recently (and still am tbh) so i'm taking a bit of a break tho.. i have a lot of ideas for the story, and am already planning out a small animatic...but again, no promises! i don't even know if i'll do everything drawn or i'll write stuff out too! i mean, i might even get bored and never touch this again LMAO i'm writing this on the 29th, so i haven't watched the new EP yet...but i imagine a lot of things will be changed once it comes out so, one last time, everything i say and do is up to change! i'm in no way a professional and this is just a side thing i'm doing while actively working and studying. i'm just a guy after all. i hope you guys like this as much as i do, and i can't WAIT to give you more information! that's it for now, i gotta do my music homework LMAO--take care everyone :)

[nicromancytarot]

so how did you manage to find the exact name of your spouse thats quite cool!

It’s a long story in all honesty. 2022 I liked this guy, and I stumbled across pick a cards on YouTube, I watched one about my future spouse and it mentioned some specific things that unfortunately for 2022 me did not add up with the guy I liked. At the end of 2022 I interacted with my future spouse unknowingly, and he’s always been under my nose which sounds insane and creepy at the same time. My friend sent me a video of him in 2021 and I had no idea who he was, I used an audio of him on tiktok in 2022 and still hasn’t a clue of his existence, even as far back to 2020 when I saw him on youtube and vowed to never watch his content ‼���

He’s somewhat in the influencing space if you can’t already tell (I’ll keep his name private for the sake of both of our privacies and timing, since obviously things can change) so I didn’t think much of it. Then mid 2023 I got back into Tarot and pick a cards, I was feeling really demotivated so I decided to watch some about my future spouse again, same thing as always happens, I put two and two together and was like “oh, hang on a minute” then bro got semi cancelled and I was onto bigger and greater things, hoping Louis Partridge was my husband instead 😔

I always felt verrrry drawn to this person no matter what and it pissed me off cus this was my era of loving Miguel Ohara and wishing that he was real, but it was spoiled by this man being on my mind. So around 5 months later I got back into his content (very loosely) and I was a tad more content with him being my future spouse.

I then started learning more about astrology, he hasn’t got many chart analysis posts about him as he’s not mainstream or anything, but the ones that he does have, the “soulmate” ones weirdly describe me and it’s creepy, because it makes me feel parasocial, I only know one other person with a “famous” future spouse so I don’t really know how to feel about it, since there’s so many unsuspecting, but it’s weird to know who you’re going to marry.

Another thing I should probably say is that my spirit guides don’t hide much from me anymore, the start of 2023 they gave me a blob of information about the universe and how it works and all these things about the afterlife (which again, makes me sound psycho, so I don’t speak about it) I’m writing a book on it, have been for the last year, it’s definitely going to be a lot when I one day release it lmao, but because of them telling me all this stuff, they don’t really care to hide my future spouse’s identity for me, I think they figured that it will motivate me to actually get my ass up and become who I want to become so we can meet.

But going back to the astrology, I was told by my spirit guides via pendulum that I was going to meet him at 21, that was told to me October last year, December last year I was looking through our astrology transits, we both have a 5th house (love and relationships) transit on November 24th 2026, 14 days after my 21st birthday. So that was certainly confirmation lmao. His 7th house ruler (where you could meet) in astrocartography goes over the country I live in, and my 7th house ruler also goes over that place too, so again, very strange.

During my October pendulum time, I spoke with one of my great grandparents who had a specific message for me, and she proceeded to spell out his name, so that’s how I know that lmao.

I’ve done so many readings on it since because it does make you feel absolutely, incredibly insane and possibly out of your mind, and they’ve always added up. I did a “how he’s going to meet his future spouse” and then mine, they added up too much, it was terrifying (bro feels rejected by me, L) and I also asked for confirmation a few nights later for just a single sign that he is indeed my future spouse, I pulled AT THE SAME TIME the lovers and two of cups, I genuinely sobbed when I realised I could’ve recorded it, it’s the craziest thing that’s happened to me in Tarot I swear.

I also received a few readings since during exchanges and games where people have straight up confirmed that he is who I think he is. So hopefully we both make the right decisions to be together in the end, it’s definitely not an opportunity I plan on missing out on.

I can’t lie, knowing your future spouse is hard, especially if they’re somewhat someone you look up to, I’m not necessarily a “fan” of him, I don’t really interact with his content anymore, I haven’t really done so since early 2023, but I feel guilty for not doing so now as of who he is to me, and who he shall be. I constantly have doubts about it, my guides get pissed off at me all the time because I’m always asking for confirmation or searching for something, but really all I know now is that if I make all the right choices, and he does too, then we will become what we will be, but for now I guess I feel isolated in that.

I won’t get into the whole negative side of knowing your future spouse, unless some asks me to lmao, it’s certainly too much for this already too long rant.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk xoxo

[cirilla-fiona-riannon]

Kicho's Birthday Story 2023

Translations may not always capture the exact nuances or tone of the original text. Expect grammatical errors.

This is just a rough translation.

As November began, the breath of the people passing by on the street started to cloud up.

Everyone was dressed in thick clothing, all in a hurry to reach their destinations.

Among them was Kicho, walking while flipping his white coat.

(If I recall correctly, the next business meeting is一hm?)

Child 1: "Hey, can you lend it to me now?"

Child 2: "No! Go away!"

I turned my gaze towards the bickering voices and saw two children fighting in front of a shop.

Child 1: "Hey, Dad, he's been hogging the toy since earlier."

Man: "Come on, you two have to play nicely. I bought that toy for both of you to share."

Child 2: "No way! This is mine."

With that, the older-looking child clutched the toy.

Listening to the lively exchange, the shopkeeper peeked out from the back of the store.

Shopkeeper: "Well, it seems that he really took a liking to it."

Man: "It's always like this. This kid is really possessive. I should've bought two from the beginning."

Shopkeeper: "Haha, thank you as always."

(I see. These kids are young, so it's hard for them to share something.)

(Possessiveness, huh?)

Subordinate 1: "Good work, Lord Kicho."

Kicho: "Yeah."

After returning to the trading post, my subordinate approached me and asked me about the planned business negotiation.

Subordinate 1: "May I ask you something?"

Kicho: "Sure. What is it?"

Subordinate 1: "I've been curious for a while now, but where did you buy the brush you're using?"

Kicho: "This one?"

I looked down at the brush in my hand.

The glossy brush handle was easy to grip, and the bristles absorbed the ink just right. It was clearly a high-quality item.

Kicho: "I didn't buy it myself. It was a gift from a business client."

Subordinate 1: "I see. You always have it with you, so I thought you really liked it."

Kicho: "Well, it's not like I'm particularly attached to it."

(If someone asks if I actually like it, that's not really the case.)

(I kept using it because the other party was pleased when they saw me using it.)

(Come to think of it, this guy mentioned quitting this job and returning to his hometown recently.)

(Then there's no need to continue using this one in particular.)

Kicho: "Do you like it?"

Subordinate 1: "Huh? Yes, it's a really nice brush."

Kicho: "I see. Then you can have it."

Subordinate 1: "Are you sure? Thank you so much!"

With an almost jumping-for-joy expression, the subordinate accepted the brush, bowed deeply, and left the room.

Subordinate 2: "Are you really sure about that, Lord Kicho?"

Kicho: "It's fine. It's not like I had a strong attachment to it."

Kicho: "He'll cherish it more than I would. If the brush becomes that person's master, then it's for the best."

Subordinate 2: "I see. With how happy he was, he'll probably treat it like a family heirloom."

Subordinate 2: "I don't think he would even allow anyone else to touch it."

Kicho: "Yeah."

(Now that I think about it, this is also somewhat akin to possessiveness.)

That night--

Kicho: "Is this the last one?"

I moved the documents I had just finished processing to the side of my desk and finished my tea.

After taking a deep breath, I looked around the room.

As the head of the trading post, my office was filled with personal stuff and items that had belonged to my predecessor.

(They are all easy to use, and I don't dislike any of them.)

(But if something breaks, I would throw it away, and if someone asks for them, I would give them away.)

(There's nothing that I must hold on to.)

(I suppose it's my way of doing things.)

Speaking of, I had never had the experience of being attached to something since I was young.

I didn't have any memories of being given something I could be attached to, either.

(I...)

Mai: "Kicho, are you still awake?"

Kicho: "Mai? What's wrong?"

Mai: "Sorry for coming at such a late hour. I saw the lights were on, so I thought you might still be awake."

Mai: "Do you have a moment? I want to show you something."

Kicho: "Sure. What is it?"

Mai: "Hehe, thank you. It's this."

Mai took out a delicate brooch that she seemed to have sewn with small beads.

It was in the shape of a butterfly and emitted a deep, beautiful green glow.

Mai: "I'm going to wear this on my dress at your upcoming birthday party."

Mai: "I initially planned to make a gift, but when I thought of you, this idea came to mind."

Kicho: "Me?"

Mai: "Because your name has the character for 'butterfly' in it."

Mai: "It became something special for me, so I wanted to wear it myself."

Mai: "It's weird. When I associate it with you in my mind, it suddenly feels very special, and the next moment, I want to make it mine."

Kicho: "Mai."

My heart beat a little faster at Mai's slightly embarrassed words.

Mai: "Sorry for saying something so possessive."

Mai: "Of course, I'm also thinking of a proper gift for you!"

Kicho: "Thank you. I appreciate all your feelings."

(That possessiveness...)

I quietly put away the joy that seeped into my heart and stood up.

Kicho: "By the way, you must be tired from working until late at night. How about some tea before going to sleep?"

Mai: "I'm so happy! Thank you."

Mai sat down with a smile, and I reached for the shelf to get a teacup.

At that moment, I saw her happy expression reflected through the cabinet door.

Her appearance, gazing at the newly finished butterfly brooch, was so adorable that the emotions that had just settled inside me welled up again.

(I see. So that's how it was.)

(I've had it for a long time.)

(I continued to immerse myself in this happiness that I couldn't recall for a moment.)

I have stronger possessiveness than anyone else.

And it is solely focused on one thing.

(Hm?)

Suddenly, our eyes met at the cabinet glass door.

Mai: "Is something wrong?"

Kicho: "Even though you're with me, you keep staring at that butterfly. It's making me jealous."

Mai: "Huh? Um..."

Kicho: "What is it?"

Mai: "It doesn't feel like jealousy."

Kicho: "Is that so? Then how do I act when I'm jealous?"

Mai: "That's..."

She thought for a moment, furrowing her eyebrows in a puzzled manner.

Mai: "I don't know."

Kicho: "I see."

(It seems like I've managed to keep it from showing too much.)

Kicho: "You don't need to look so worried. You'll understand it in time."

Kicho: "We'll be together for a long time, so you should be able to see through it eventually."

Mai: "O-Okay."

Kicho: "What's wrong? Why does your expression darken there?"

Mai: "Because I don't want to make you jealous enough for me to understand."

Mai: "I wouldn't like it if someone did the same thing to me, you see."

Kicho: "----!"

I turned to face Mai, taken aback by her words.

My chest tightened as I gazed at her with a somewhat melancholic expression.

Kicho: "You're right. I'd probably feel the same way."

Mai: "Nn."

With the teacup still in my hand, I leaned in and kissed her.

Just feeling her warmth directly on my lips, the possessiveness I had just become aware of grew stronger.

(Even though we're already in a relationship, I still want more.)

(What can I do?)

During a brief pause in our kiss, something gleamed in the corner of my eye.

(That’s it.)

On the day of my birthday, a modest celebration had been planned at Mai’s suggestion.

Mai: “Kicho, sorry to keep you waiting.”

Kicho: “No, my apologies. It’s not even the appointed time yet.”

Mai: “It’s okay. I’m glad we got a moment alone.”

Mai: “I wanted to see you in that suit, so I planned today’s celebration. I’m happy to have you all to myself, even if it’s just for a little while.”

Kicho: “I see. In that case, we share the same feelings.”

(She looks so beautiful today. I almost don’t want to show her to my subordinates and guests.)

Upon receiving my compliments, she smiled.

Mai: “Hehe. Do you remember? Not long ago, we stood here alone like this.”

Kicho: “Yeah, of course.”

(Back then, we weren’t lovers.)

(We were enemies一no, we were like distant beings who even hid that fact.)

When I faced Mai, the butterfly brooch on her chest shone.

It was something that hadn’t existed in our memories before, and it clearly indicated that our relationship had changed.

(Perhaps it’s a bit greedy to ask for more than this.)

Kicho: “I asked you to come early tonight because I wanted to give you something.”

Mai: “Eh?”

I presented the gift that I’d hidden on my back in front of Mai.

What was in my hand was a beautiful pair of shoes adorned with butterfly decorations.

Kicho: “Tonight, I’d like you to dance in these.”

Kneeling in front of my beautiful beloved, I took off her original shoes and replaced them with the ones I had held in my hands.

(Just as I thought. They look perfect on her.)

Mai: "Kicho, why did you give me this?"

Kicho: "You wanted to wear it, right?"

Mai: "But it's not even my birthday, yet I received this wonderful gift."

Kicho: "That's exactly why."

(You don't need to know yet. My feelings have no limits.)

The butterfly ornament on the tip of the shoes shone beautifully, concealing the boundless possessiveness that resided within.

(This butterfly will stay on her toes as she continues to walk to the place where my heart sways.)

(Just that alone fills my heart beyond measure.)

Kicho: "I wanted to give it to you because it's my birthday. Was it wrong?"

Mai: "No, not at all!"

Mai: "It's just that these shoes are so lovely that they raised the bar for the gift I had prepared for you."

Kicho: "Don't worry about it. Any gift from you will make me happy. You understand that, right?"

Mai: "Yes."

I stood up and gently embraced her.

(I already have in my arms what I desire more than anything else.)

(This fact will never change in the future.)

Mai: "Kicho, happy birthday."

Mai: "I received something wonderful first, but I have prepared many things for you too."

Kicho: "Yeah, I look forward to it."

With a soft smile, I leaned in, and Mai reciprocated with a smile.

I lightly lowered my eyes, and she slowly closed her eyes and brought her face closer.

(I can assure you that this love has brought me happiness.)

(And from now on, you will continue to teach me happiness.)

Our lips touched, like the merging of our emotions, and our hearts began to melt.

(I've finally obtained the only thing that belongs to me alone.)

(I'll continue to love you and hold you in my arms forever.)

[she-karev]

Carina’s Baby Shower (Maya x Carina Sweet Imagine)

Age Rating: 12+

Chapters: One of Two

Fandom: Grey’s Anatomy/Station 19

Ship: Maya Bishop x Carina DeLuca

Canon Episode: After Season 20 Episode 10 and After Station 19 Series Finale

AN: Happy Pride guys! I wanted to do baby showers for Carina and Maya when they were both pregnant so watch out for another one shot tonight with Maya as the pregnant woman of honor. Like and reblog below and let me know what you think.

Summary: Carina has a surprise baby shower hosted by Maya at the hospital.

Words: 1953

November 4th, 2023

Carina walks out of an exam room blowing air out as the six-month pregnant belly in front of her feels heavier than she thought it would. She’s been an OB for over 10 years and now she’s finally on the other side of what her patients feel for nine months before she helps them deliver.

All the times she told the women it would be a beautiful journey probably felt like punching her in the face because Carina feels exhausted not to mention bloated and hormonal. Despite all of those feelings there are no words to describe how happy she is to finally be pregnant and have a family with the woman she loves.

Ever since they found out there were pregnant Maya made it her mission to make this the easiest pregnancy for Carina. Every morning, she makes Carina a cup of coffee and insists on only one cup a day. She also packs Carina a nutritious and full lunch for two people and Carina admits that Maya’s cooking skills have improved since they adopted Liam. While she works Maya sends Carina little heart and baby emoji’s that make her heart flutter. And before bed Maya tells the baby in Carina’s belly a story of her day on the job highlighting all the times, she saved the day to Carina’s amusement.

The young OB has to admit that being pampered isn’t as nauseating as she thought it would be. If anything, she wishes she got knocked up in the first place so she can get some of Maya’s special foot massages.

Carina smiles at that as she rubs her belly that is currently being occupied by her and Maya’s daughter. When they found out the sex at the 20-week ultrasound they were happy to hear the baby was healthy also that they would have a little girl of their own. The aunties love their little niece Lucy DeLuca so much and can’t wait to have a little girl to buy pink clothes for.

“Carina.” Her thought train stops in a halt as her sister-in-law, Amber DeLuca, approaches her in her light blue scrubs fit for surgical residents, “I need you on an urgent OB consult let’s move.”

Carina follows Amber who is powerwalking, “Can you slow down? My feet aren’t as quick as they used to be.”

“Sorry.” Amber slows down so she and Carina can walk side by side, “Yeah, I remember my time in the pregnancy seat. Except back then I was one of the only two residents in a rundown program and I was trying to make sure baby interns didn’t kill my patients. It felt like I was walking on a landmine on swollen ankles.”

Carina chuckles, “It feels that way for me too and then you have to deal with patients getting annoyed when you go to the restroom to pee.”

Amber groans, “I know I hate that and most of them are men who don’t have a woman at home, so they don’t get the sacrifices and changes our body makes to accommodate a temporary guest. And the paperwork. Curse the paperwork!”

Carina growls under her breath understanding, “I know! I have to change my will and fill out my maternity leave forms by the end of the month plus the life insurance. How did you get it done while you were an overworked resident?”

“Easy I got Kwan to do it for a chance to scrub in on my lap appy.” Carina gapes at Amber using an intern to fill out her papers, “What? They know intern work is mostly scut, I’m the chief resident and as a resident I have utilize my resources.”

“That is so evil!” Carina says with a smile, “Yet brilliant.”

Amber grins proudly, “If you want as a gift to your baby, I can get Kwan to fill out your papers for you like he did mine.”

Carina wants to say no but the offer is so tempting, “Fine but for my baby that’s it!”

“Of course.”

Carina sees they are still walking down the hall and gets curious on their destination, “Who’s the patient?”

“Oh, she’s a very pregnant lady with many complications.” Amber opens the door to the exam room.

“SURPRISE!”

Carina is taken back by the multiple people in the exam room that is filled with diapers, plushies, baby clothes and many other gifts that you get someone at a baby shower. Maya, Andrew, Warren, Andy, Bailey and Jo are in the center of the crowd smiling with the rest consisting of OB’s and nurses. Carina laughs at the attention and looks at Amber who shrugs with a grin.

“Oh my god! Bambina, I told you I didn’t want anything big at work.” Carina tells Maya with a smile.

Maya smiles, “Yeah but with your hormones I didn’t want to risk upsetting you if I did nothing.”

“And you made a promise with the most type-A woman on the planet so a party where you get stuff so you can be more prepared was a given.” Andy says knowing Maya too well.

Andrew hands a plastic cup to Carina, “Sparkling grape juice for the mom to be.”

“Thank you.” Carina sips the juice and sees the cupcakes on a platter Jo Karev is holding, “Aw you made me cupcakes?”

Jo smiles and holds out the cupcakes over her equally sized pregnant belly, “Yeah their from me and Alex. As a woman who is also pregnant, I know the thing you crave more than ever is red velvet cake. Unless you’re not in which case I can get you another cake your craving right now.”

Carina laughs, “No I love red velvet thank you.”

Andrew grabs a brown floral like cupcake and takes a bite, “Mmm these are pretty good, and you did a good job making it look like a flower.”

“Actually, their vaginas.” Jo explains, causing Andrew to stop midchew and Amber to widen her eyes and look at the pastry.

From the common eye it looks like white, brown and pink flowers on top of red velvet cupcakes. But from a doctor’s point of view, you can discern the flowers as vulvas with pink frosting as the tip.

Carina chuckles, “They are!”

Her brother swallows the cupcake he’s eating despite his discomfort, “Still good a little disturbing but good.”

He hands his half-eaten cupcake to Amber who eats it greedily, “Wow I didn’t think pregnancy made you a master chef Jo.”

Jo chuckles, “Me and Alex were up all night with our anatomy textbooks and baker’s hat.”

Amber chuckles before getting Andrew’s gift that is inside a white bag, “And your brother got you a teething set for ages 0-12 months.” Carina awes at the gift.

“Trust me you’ll thank me for getting you a set.” Andrew tells Carina, “Once they start to teeth that’s when the cuteness ends and reality hits.”

Maya chuckles, “Trust me we already know Liam was a very cranky little boy at three months. And we had to go through seven toys before we found the right one for that stage, so this saves a lot of trips back and forth from the store thanks.”

“And…” Andy goes to the restroom opens the door and wheels out a Mockingbird double stroller with a large teddy bear plush in one seat and a stuffed elephant in the other. The couple look at the gift like its candy, “The whole station pitched in, and we got you guys a new set of wheels for the babies.”

“Aww thank you, tell the others thank you from us.” Carina sniffles and chuckles, “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”

“I know the hormones make me so imbalanced too.” Jo tells Carina sharing her pain.

“And the interns decided to pitch in and get you a gift too.” Amber motions to Kwan, Millin, Adams, Yasuda and Griffith who grin and wave at Carina and Maya.

Maya raises an eyebrow at the intimidating chief resident, “Did they decide or were they forced by you?”

Amber turns to the inters with a glare causing them all to say, “Decided.”

Maya chuckles and whispers to Andrew, “Wow and people say I’m type-A.”

“Oh, you have no idea.” Andrew whispers back from seeing his wife at work and at home.

Amber smiles and hands a large pink diaper backpack to Maya, “It’s a new diaper bag in case the old one is worn out. There’s already bottles, formula and diapers inside the bag and a few small toys.”

Maya looks inside the bag to confirm with a smile, “Wow I am so glad you’re a scary resident baby surgeons have nightmares about.” The interns chuckled confirming Maya’s comment.

“And my personal gift to you guys…” Amber puts her hand on Benson Kwan’s shoulder facing Carina, “is Kwan.”

Maya looks up from the backpack with surprised wide eyes, “I’m sorry?”

Kwan chuckles uneasily and whispers to Amber, “I don’t like babies.”

“And babies don’t like you.” Amber retorts back and explains to the couple, “I’m giving you guys Kwan so he can fill out all of that annoying paperwork he filled out for me when I was pregnant and cranky.”

Kwan groans, “Can’t you get Adams to do it or Yasuda?”

“They don’t have your penmanship.” The interns snicker at Amber’s comment, “Do this for both of them and I’ll let you scrub in on my next three surgeries.”

At that the interns yell over each other insisting they do it instead to Amber’s annoyance who yells out, “Quiet!”

The interns quiet in fear again with Kwan smiling that he’s not at the receiving end for once.

Kwan asks for clarification, “Do I get to cut?”

“If you don’t annoy me and be your usual self I’ll think about it.”

Kwan turns to the couple of the hour with an eager grin, “I’m at your service Dr. DeLuca and Firefighter Bishop, or is it DeLuca-Bishop? Or is it Bishop-DeLuca?”

“DeLuca-Bishop.” The women confirm with a smile.

“Great just give me your information and I’ll get started on the paperwork.” Kwan tells them causing the women to look at a grinning Amber with gratitude.

“Okay he is by far the best gift.”

Carina nods in agreement with Maya, “Not by far no paperwork is a miracle!”

Jo groans and whispers to Andy who looks amused, “A personal scut monkey, why didn’t I think of that? I just got them flower vagina cupcakes.”

Andy chuckles, “Look on the bright side, maybe she can give him to you at your baby shower.”

Jo gasps, “Your right, god I love having a chief resident for a sister-in-law.”

“So do Maya and Carina.” Andy and Jo clink their glasses and sip the sparkling grape juice.

Ben and Bailey step up next and hand Carina a Medela breast pump bag, “Breast pump for the milk. It’s quick so you can do it in between shifts plus you can carry it everywhere you go. Also, it’s virtually painless that’s most important.”

Carina awes, “Aww thank you both so much really I love this thank you all so much.” Carina sniffles and few stray tears come out causing her to laugh, “And now I’m crying.” The others chuckle too, “Okay what games do we have? I need to stop crying so bring out the games!”

On cue Amber brings out the baby bingo for them to play. While they prep, Maya stands in front of Carina caressing her large belly with a loving grin.

“Ti amo.”

Carina smiles at Maya speaking Italian, “Anch'io ti amo.”

The women share a brief but tender kiss and get back to the baby shower their friends threw for them.

Maya’s Baby Shower Here

[chaotic-on-main]

Chapter 1: November

☾ Pairings ➼ Levi Ackerman x fem!mute!Reader (she/her pronouns), set in a modern semi-fictional world

☾ Summary ➼ Due to childhood trauma, you find yourself an adult without the ability to speak. After years of working on it, you have found ways to live without a voice. Now here in your late 20s, you are 5 months in getting used to a new town. On a fateful day in late November, you and your adopted sister visit a local bookstore-café, unaware of the friendships about to blossom. Throughout the months, one friendship in particular develops into something more.

☾ Content/Warnings ➼ fluff, slowburn, oblivious feelings, angst, mention of minor character deaths, trauma, illness, adoption, mentions of fire, disabilities, alcohol use, very light nsfw mentions, eventual smut (these update with every chapter)

☾ Author's note ➼ Hey guys! This is my first time writing fanfiction in a loooooong time, like the last time I wrote was probably in 2011. So with that said please be kind with any feedback or comments. I hope you enjoy! (also I made Hange's pronouns she/her/them/they)

Edit (11/27/2023): Hey guys, welcome to my little world of Unspoken Words. I have quite literally used this story as a way to better myself as a writer. As you read on, you may find that I've progressed (ofc I have a long way to go) but because of that, my first few chapters might be rough. With your patience, you may find a liking to this story as I know I've loved writing every word of it.

☾ word count ➼ ~7.1k

20-something years ago 

You’re not sure how, but you find yourself sitting in the back of a big, white van. Red and blue lights danced in your eyes, and it felt like a thousand people surrounded you. Something plastic is placed on your face then you are instructed to breathe in deeply. You thought it was funny to be told to breathe, like you don’t just do it naturally, but you follow instructions regardless. It’s hard though, every part of your body hurts, chest included. Every breath you take feels like your insides are on fire.  

‘Fire’, you think.  

Everything is on fire.

 ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Present Day

Levi stood blank faced as he meticulously cleaned the blender station for what felt like the 100th time today. The late afternoon rush had just tapered down so he took advantage of the next to empty café to clean as much as he could before closing for the evening.  

“It’s 20 degrees outside, how are people still wanting frozen drinks.” he murmurs to himself, placing the blender back in its spot. Levi turns to the front counter and slings the towel he was using to dry things onto his shoulder.  

His best friend, roommate, and business partner could be seen restocking some books on tall shelves, a gentle smile lighting up his boyish features. It’s been about a year and a half since they started this business venture together and they had no idea at the time how successful their bookstore-café combo would be in this small town.  

Erwin’s thirst for knowledge kept their shelves as variable as ever while Levi’s love for perfecting the art of tea kept the drinks flowing. The problem, however, was Levi’s lack of people skills. He was seldom seen at the register, nor would you ever see him smile or talk to the customers. He often would leave you with a grunt and a swift turn after handing off the drinks.  

No, for that, they had hired a couple of local highschoolers to do the facing work.  

“Mr. Smith, Levi?” a soft voice rang out to the left of him. Levi shifted his attention to a taller girl with shoulder length raven hair standing next to him. Being as Mikasa is his cousin, they found early on how weird it was to be called ‘Mr. Ackerman’ as they shared the same surname. It was this connection too that got them to where they are today.  

“Would it be okay if Eren and I take off a little early tonight? We have some big tests coming up and we’d like to take some extra time to study.” Mikasa shifted her dark eyes to the darkening windows as the sun set just over the horizon. Pinks and oranges flooded the partially clouded skies.  

”Tch.” Levi could not help but roll his eyes. He raised a brow at her and leaned back against the counter behind him for support. “Sure, I guess,” he continues. “But do you really need it or is it for that blockhead?”  

As if summoned by his words, Eren comes up from behind Mikasa and wraps a red scarf around his girlfriend’s neck, both of their jackets hanging off one of his arms. Eren is a good kid, always on time and followed directions, but the amount of sass he held in his body was something else. Levi and Erwin did not mind though, as he added a certain energy in the café that the customers seemed to enjoy. The two men wouldn’t say it out loud, but they really appreciated having them both on the team.  

“Hey, I heard that. And yes, I need to study desperately. Econ is so hard and for what?!” Eren’s teal eyes widened for emphasis. To add to it he even put on a fake pout.  

“I-”  

“Just take the trash with you on the way out and you’re good to go.” Erwin piped up from behind a bookshelf.  

Mikasa nodded in acknowledgement towards the voice, a silent thank you. Like Levi, she was not one for many words. He once thought it was an Ackerman thing but then he thought back to his annoying uncle and changed his mind quickly.  

With that, she and Eren both untangled the aprons from their bodies, grabbed their belongings, and picked up the trash bags that were already taken out of the cans. They opted to leave through the back since the dumpsters were located that way. Again, Levi wouldn’t say it to anyone out loud, but he really did like those kids.  

Erwin could be heard stacking more books into the shelves which left Levi to polish the counters again. It was the last hour before they closed so it stayed quiet for the most part, only interrupted by the sounds of scuffling shoes and books being placed on hard surfaces. Light jazz filled the rest of the silence. Then the bell signifying new customers rang from the front.  

“Levi, can you grab that?”  

The raven-haired man just huffed in response then stepped over to the register. His eyes fell on two figures right in front of him. A frazzled brunette and... you.  

Due to the season, you are bundled up in a thick parka and knitted beanie. A big scarf wraps around your neck and face so that all Levi could see is your flushed cheeks and thick lashed eyes. Truthfully, you reminded him of a marshmallow.  

“What’ll it be?” he asks, deadpan. The brunette is the one to respond, the voice loud enough to make him wince.  

“Hmmm... well one English breakfast tea latte with lots of room for sugar aaaaand I’ll take a peppermint hot chocolate. Oh, and extra whip! We’ll drink it here.” She fished out a card with a dramatic thwip and handed it to Levi’s outstretched hand.  Their café is one of those where if you were to stay, they offered washable cup ware as to keep the prices down on disposable cups. Not to mention the lessened ‘environmental impact’ as Erwin would say.  

Levi glances at you before turning to make both orders. You give a small wave and smile a little, but he was already working quickly on the drinks. 

He went into autopilot as he steeped the tea and steamed the milk. He really appreciated customers that ordered anything outside of coffee, especially when it came to tea. It’s not that he hated coffee, though it’s not like he liked it either, but it just wasn’t his thing. Coffee offered a different kind of bitterness that he wasn’t very fond of. With extra whipped cream in one and extra space in the other, he whirled around to place the drinks on the counter.  

The one with glasses is the one that picks them up and they promptly walk in the direction of where you currently sit, one of the tables in the back corner by the window. You were stripped of your big parka and scarf, though the beanie stayed. Your eyes were wandering around the café in wonder, and Levi was pretty sure this had to be your first time here. But truthfully, he wouldn’t know, he didn’t make it his business to know his customers. That was Erwin’s and the kids’ job. 

“The shelves are full and I’m exhausted.” Erwin came around the counter with a couple of empty boxes in his arms, heading straight for the back to the dumpster. Levi stepped back and leaned against the counter once again, his own black tea that had steeped while making yours cradled in his fingertips. He kept looking at his only customers while he sipped the black liquid. The teacup almost slipped out of his grip as he saw you dumping a large amount of sugar into your cup.  

 There you sit, extremely focused on the cup in front of you and lips pressed together tightly, almost as if you were afraid you’d put in too much. The sight would have been funny if you hadn’t just ruined your entire tea, he thinks to himself. You smile to yourself in satisfaction and put the sugar jar back where it came from. While you stir the sweetener in gently, the brunette in front of you talks animatedly. Hands were flying everywhere, and Levi could practically feel the energy radiating from the corner of the room.  You were doing the same, silently laughing. 

Suddenly the front door flew open, the bell ringing loudly with it. Levi grits his teeth, steeling himself for yet another customer interaction. But his shoulders dropped in relief at the sight of only Carly, Erwin’s girlfriend. She saunters up to the counter with a big smile aimed towards Levi and without even asking she slid behind the bar. Erwin had already made it from the back and was in the process of putting away the leftover ingredients from the day. Carly wraps her arms around her boyfriend and plants a big kiss on his face, to which Levi quickly looks away. It wasn’t weird for her to come in right as they were about to close.  

What was weird, he thought, was the shock that flooded your face as you eyed the very public display of affection. Levi knit his brows in confusion as the brunette pivoted in her seat to see what you were staring at. Their face fell, any evidence of a good time completely erased.  

“Carly?”  

The person in question whipped around so fast at the voice and the panic that exuded from her was palpable. She quickly unwrapped herself from Erwin’s embrace.  

“Hange.”  

If it wasn’t for the jazz in the background, the lengthy silence that followed would have been deathly.  

Carly clears her throat and laughs awkwardly.  

“Uh, why are you here?”  

The person named Hange just lifts their hot chocolate cup awkwardly, not really saying anything. Their eyes shift between Carly and Erwin, clearly understanding what had happened.  

“I-I’m sorry, you guys know each other?” Erwin sounds cautious, like he already knew the answer. Of course, he would, he isn’t dumb. His piercing blue eyes survey the situation, going back and forth between the two.  

“Well, uh. I-” Carly stutters, clearly at a loss of what to say in the predicament she found herself in.  

“She’s my girlfriend.” Hange claims calmly.  

This admission makes Erwin sigh heavily, confirming what he had pieced together. Levi stared at him in bewilderment as the man just chuckled quietly.  

“Well. I suppose that’s it then.” And with that he turns on his heel and stalks off to the back room. 

“Wait, Erwin I can explain!” She follows right on his heels and disappears into the back room as well. A minute later you can hear hysterical crying and calm retorts reverberating from the back. If Levi could shrink into the cabinets to get out of this situation, he would. Instead, he focuses on the other party who were having a very quiet and rushed discussion. Well, a one-sided discussion, as he only heard one voice.  

Levi, realizing it was almost time to close anyways, rushes to close the distance between him and the front door. He really did not want to have to deal with other customers while the drama unfurled. So, he flips the door sign to ‘Closed’ and unplugs the ‘Open’ neon sign hanging in the window. A couple walks by about to open the door, probably out for a café date from the looks of it. But they were only met with a dead stare from the sharpest eyes they’d ever seen. With that, they briskly turned around and left down the sidewalk.  

Levi spins around and from here he gets a better look at the two trapped customers. You were moving your hands all over the place like you were earlier. But with an even closer look he realizes you weren’t just talking animatedly with your hands; you were talking with them. You were signing. 

You reacted to your partner’s conversation just fine, so it was clear you had some sort of hearing. Your scarf now hung loose around your shoulders, and it looked like you had tears brimming in your eyes. Levi swiftly walks back to the counter; this is obviously not a conversation he needed to be a part of.

“Hey, don’t worry about me. It’s only been a couple of months. Really, it’s better to find out now than 3 years from now.” They laughed without humor. You know when Hange was saving face for your sake, she was never as sly as she thought she was.  

‘You don’t need to be strong right now.’ You sign then reach your hand out to touch her cheek softly. Physical touch had become your second language early on, if only to emphasize. Fortunately, Hange was okay with that and often embraced it with open arms.  

“I know, my little strawberry. I just need some time to process everything.” They pat you on the head lightly with a small grin. You swat their hands, blushing at the nickname you were so graciously given so many years ago.  But you nod back, knowing they would not change their mind.  

The tall blonde glides through the back door, alone. His face was grim as he tugged loose the tie around his neck.  

“Hange, was it?” He started walking towards you and your very startled sister.  

“U-uh yeah. That’s my name! Listen I had no idea, I’m so sorry. I would have said something obviously but-”, they take a deep breath. “I’m sorry. What’s your name again?”  

“Erwin Smith. There is nothing to apologize for as I can only assume there’s only one blame to be given. I hate that we must meet under such a circumstance, but it is truly nice to meet you.” He raises a hand waiting for a handshake.  

Hange takes it after a second of processing, shaking the hand vigorously with both hands.  

“Well, unfortunately it is what it is. I’m sure Carly and I will be speaking soon. I’m assuming she’s not just hiding back there.” They flick their gaze to the back door he had just come through.  

“Ah well, yes. Long gone... how long were you two...?”  

“Only like, 3 months or so. You?” 

He flinched at that and murmured, “3 Years.” 

Thinking back to her comment not 10 minutes ago, Hange bit their cheek.  

“Oh man I’m so sorry.”  

“No, please. It’s alright. None of this is yours or my fault. We couldn’t have known, but now we do.” Erwin chuckled to himself. You wonder if he’s trying to save face the way your sister did. His gaze now shifts to you. He is a very handsome man. To your extreme surprise, he starts signing to you. 

‘I'm sorry, who might you be? I noticed you signing earlier. I know a little from the books I have read.’ His crystal blue eyes sparkle at you as he signs. You can’t help but break out into a huge grin. You sign your name back and compliment him on his raw signing form.  

‘I am of hearing, though. So please feel free to talk, and I will sign back.’ You clarify to Erwin, the smile not falling from your face.  

“That sounds like a plan. Levi, stop hiding behind the counter and come say hi.” Erwin calls out, not bothering to look over his shoulder. You hear a grunt in response and not 10 seconds later, the barista stands cross armed next Erwin. He nods a hello to each of you.  

You knew he was shorter than you, at least a couple inches, based off the interaction at the counter earlier. But seeing him side by side with his friend was almost comical. But as short stature as he was, it did not keep him from holding himself with such authority. It made you nervous.  

‘Thank you for the tea, it was very good.’ You sign, your sister translating in real time for you.  

“Tch, are you sure? I saw you dump enough sugar in it to make it syrup.” Levi retorts dryly.  

That makes you smile sheepishly. His fixated stare unnerved you a little, but you stare back regardless. Now that he was closer, a glass case no longer between the both of you, your eyes traveled along his face in close inspection. 

He’s beautiful, you think to yourself. His features are sharp and angled. Steely gray eyes pronounced a permanent exhausted look. It was a shade of gray you’ve never seen before, and they were mesmerizing. As if he could feel you staring holes in his face, he flicks his eyes to the side, clearly uncomfortable. But you can’t help it, because really the most intriguing thing about him was not his metallic eyes. It was the scars that marred his porcelain skin.  

A couple of scars ran down the right side of his face. The prominent of the two trailed from the top right of his forehead all the way down to his chin, cutting into his right eye and both lips. You’re pretty sure his eye was quite damaged due to the slight muted discoloration of the eye color.  

He’s beautiful, you repeat to yourself. You glance over to Hange, and they just look over at you with a knowing look. You know she was just begging to ask Levi too, but she just shakes her head. So, you fold your hands together and pinch your lips together.  

“Well!” Hange yells out, breaking the silence. “This human really needs a drink. Let’s all go! Erwin, I demand you let me treat you to a couple drinks!” She wraps an arm around your shoulders and laughs.  

“A drink sounds fantastic; I will gladly take you up on that offer. Let me just close up rea-” He’s cut off by Levi raising both of his hands up in protest. You notice the two missing fingers on his right hand. The pointer and middle were gone. Whatever this man went through, you just had to know. But you toss those questions onto an ever-growing pile and bite your cheek.  

“Erwin, I can close up. You go ahead.” Your sister just smiles widely and practically jumped up and down. The blonde man just clapped his hand Levi’s shoulder and smiled at him.  

“Thank you. You’ll join us after? The usual place?” Levi just shrugs his shoulders in response.  

Part of you hoped he would. You couldn’t place a singular reason why though.  

.

Fifteen minutes later, the three of you found yourselves in a well-lit and very crowded bar. Somehow Erwin had snagged a table near the back wall. Heavy rock blares loudly from a live band maybe 20 feet away. Overwhelming was an understatement, but you grit your teeth and sit down on one of the stools.  

“Whatcha want, my darlings?!” Hange yells over the music, slapping both hands down on the table and staring at the both of you.  

“Whiskey neat, whatever they offer is fine.”  

You sign the words ‘apple’ and ‘juice’ followed by a ‘thank you’. You’ve never been one for a drink. While it was tolerable to be around, you’d rather not have to taste it if you could help it.  

Looking around, you see all manners of people surrounding you. Something about it makes your stomach turn but you shift in your seat to quell it down. You’re sure it’s only so crowded because of the prospect of a Friday night and the promise of no plans the following day. The town of Jinae was not anything special, but it was quaint. You and your sister found out quickly it was a place where everyone knew mostly everyone. After only settling down here from your hometown 5 months ago, you were still learning of all the local spots.  

From the looks of it, this bar was one of those. “The Scouts” was an inviting place, decorated with dark greens and wood tones. The walls were littered with many frames of a lot of different people. You imagine it might have been local residents in various locations of the town. All of the wood was worn down, so it was clear this place has been in business for a while. A neon sign hangs above the stage where the live band played, something that resembled blue and white wings. It makes you wonder what the significance is.  

Your thoughts are disturbed as a glass is placed in front of you. Realizing the dryness in your throat, you pick up the glass and take a big swig of the amber liquid. You’re met with a burning sensation, and you gag. This alerts Hange of the unfortunate mistake.  

“Ah I’m sorry my little strawberry!! They do look quite similar though, don’t they?” They switch the glasses quickly and laugh. You notice the very noticeable cup size differences between the two and you stare at her quizzically. “I may have taken a shot while at the bar, sorry.” she adds on. It makes you shake your head, but you grab her hand reassuringly and chuckle.  

‘I’m sorry.’ You sign at Erwin, and he just smiles back.  

“Not a problem. But I have to ask, how was it?” A bushy eyebrow raises at you in amusement.  

You just stick your tongue out and make a gagging gesture at him. You laugh though, not really upset.  

Two apple juices in, the live band ends. Hange and Erwin are very deep in conversation, which you suspect might be about Carly. You can’t really hear what’s being said though. With the absence of music, chatter quickly fills the air. Honestly it was really starting to get to you. So, after tapping on the pair’s shoulders and signing where you were going, you find yourself leaning over the guard rail just outside the bar’s door.  

The sun was already far gone. A crescent moon sits high in the sky and a smatter of stars surrounds it. The cold air felt very welcome on your very flushed face. You exhale a big sigh, which garners a puff of steam. It makes you laugh so you do it again. Then you start to wonder how long you might be able to last out here before getting frostbite when suddenly a body starts leaning against the rail next to you.  

With a start, you whip your head to face the newcomer. Instantly you relax at the sight of Erwin’s friend. He was adorned in a big peacoat and his casual slacks. A tan turtleneck sweater peaks out from the jacket’s collar. His face was flushed as well, no doubt from the cold.  

Levi. 

He wasn’t paying you any mind though, instead his gaze laid upon the sky above, at the stars. You wave at him anyways and offer a small smile. He glances at you with a side eye and returns a curt nod.  

Not one for words. 

So, you both stand there in silence, staring up at the twinkling lights above. It wasn’t uncomfortable in the slightest. Something about his presence radiated a sort of calm, and you were happy to bask in it.  

After a few minutes, he shifts his weight in your direction, so you face him. He’s staring up at you and it makes you swallow hard. His eyes glowed silver from the moonlight. Truly you have never been this fascinated with a person until now.  

“You like the stars.” It wasn’t a question, more like a statement.  

You nod in agreement, smiling to emphasize your love for them. He purses his lips at that. It seemed as if he wanted to say something else to that, but nothing came out. It just makes you frown a bit. You just have more questions that keep piling up. Everything about him just emanated mystery and it made you want to know all about him.  

‘Are you okay?’ You sign to him, exaggerating your frown to show your concern. You’re only met with a look of confusion. You forget that he does not know much if any sign. And you kick yourself for leaving your communication tools at home. To be fair though, this is not where you expected to be tonight.  

You then get an idea to use your phone to type to him but before you even reach into your pocket, you’re interrupted by a sudden blast of warm air as a couple stumbles out of the bar, both in a giggling fit as they cling to each other. They take off down the road, laughing even harder. The brief warm air makes you shiver, reminding you of the cold outside.  

As if thinking the same thing, Levi catches the door before it closes and holds it open for the both of you. You’re suddenly well aware of the very loud singing happening from within and your eyes widen at the familiarity of one of the voices. You and Levi make your way to the voices and are greeted with the sight of Erwin and Hange duetting a Backstreet Boys song.  

What a sight it was. The tall brunette, face flushed and glasses askew, had their arm around Erwin. He his blonde hair was quite tousled, and he looked like he was having the time of his life. They both swayed together as they belted out the lyrics. As if their smiles were contagious, you felt yourself grin. It was kind of cute. So, you pull out your phone and snap a quick picture, sure to show Hange in the morning. It was a good thing too, because the song ends right as you put your phone away in your bag. Levi clicks his tongue and huffs. You glance over at the noise and notice a small upturn to the corner of his scarred mouth. Noticing your gaze, his face vacates itself from any emotion as he stares back ahead.  

“Oi! Eyebrows!” He calls out to his friend. Levi starts making his way to the stage, walking with a slight limp. Yet another question to add onto the pile. “I’m gone for 45 minutes and you’re already singing.”  

“I’m fine! Just a couple drinks in.”  

You all make your way to the table you had laid claim to earlier. You survey the table and count at least 6 more glasses, not counting your two. It was hard to see who drank what.  

‘Are you okay?’ You sign to your sister, concern etched on your face. They just nod lazily and give a thumbs up with both hands. Levi is regarding you with a look of understanding, and it seems he realized that you had asked him outside.  Music starts playing over the speakers again, and people start making their way to the dance floor. Hange squeals and downs the rest of her drink quickly.  

“Erwin let’s go!” She grabs his arm, not waiting for a response. He gives a mock salute to the two of you and follows without question. Levi just clicks his tongue again and heads to the bar to get himself something. So, you plop yourself down on the stool and stare out into the room. Out of nervous habit you start fidgeting with the napkins in front of you. A moment later, Levi’s hobbling over with a tray of drinks. 

“I got the idiots some water, they look like they need it.” He places the glasses down with a thud, including one of his own housing some sort of caramel liquid. Then he’s sliding something over to you and you’re about to protest that you don’t drink but you realize it’s not a glass. It’s a notepad and pen.  

“If you need something, this might come in handy.” is all he says.  

You’re quick to show your appreciation with a bright smile. You also note to yourself that you could have very well have used your phone to communicate but you were not one to disregard someone’s thoughtfulness. It makes something bloom in your chest, warm and comforting.  

Your many years of not having a phone of course meant writing – a lot. Your handwriting evolved plenty with time so that meant it was extremely neat. It had to have been so that the reader would be able to read it without an issue. 

First you write your name, as you realize no one had really said it out loud while at the teashop. Following that you add ‘I think your shop is wonderful, and I really did enjoy the tea you made.’ You also want to jot down the questions from earlier that were still swimming in your mind, but you hold yourself back. You tell yourself maybe later, granted if there would even be a later.   

When angling the paper so he could see it, his eyes flit across the words quickly and you’re given a grunt in acknowledgement. Pulling back the notepad, you bite the inside of your cheek. While it wasn’t awkward being next to him, he sure made it hard to talk to. His cold demeanor gave you the feeling he wasn’t the type to talk about himself, especially with someone he just met. So, asking questions about him or his life was out the window. Likewise, he did not really seem interested in hearing your life story, not like you were planning to spill it anyways for fear of being met with disdain. You had plenty of experiences with that growing up.  

Tapping the pen against your chin, your eyes drift around the bar room. There a multitude of people lingering about, shouting over each other to be heard. A couple sits in a corner, whispering who knows what to each other. Both of their cheeks are flushed and eyes heavy with lust. A handful of people are on the dance floor grinding away, your sister and new friend sticking out like a sore thumb as they dance with reckless abandon. All of this gave you an idea, remembering something you’ve read before many moons ago. You start scrawling on the paper again.  

‘Are you a gambling man, Levi?’ 

You shift the pad back over to him and he glances down again after taking another sip of his spirit. He was holding his glass in a way you’d never seen before and honestly it was a little weird.  

“Tch, hardly. Why do you ask?” He looks hard at you as you scratch something else down.  

‘I propose a game to pass the time. Let’s make some bets about the random people in this room.’ 

He looks at you incredulously. You stand your ground, not averting your gaze even a little. When you don’t back down, he just scoffs and shakes his head at you.  

“I literally could not care less about these people,” he clicks his tongue. “But I suppose there’s not much else to do so I’ll bite.” Knocking back the rest of his drink, he moves around you to lean back against the wall so that he is facing the rest of the crowd. You shift so that you are doing the same. You don’t overlook the proximity to the shorter man, nor the fact that your arms are almost touching. You start to scribble once more.  

‘Winner gets to ask the loser one question.’ As his eyes fall on your words, he seems a little taken aback. Levi seems to think for a moment, like he’s weighing his pros and cons.  

“One non-personal question.” He amends. You both nod in agreement. So, your eyes travel around the room, looking for your first target. It falls on a group not so far away.  

‘I bet that gaggle of young girls over there are here for a bridal party.’

You point in the direction of the said group. Currently they were taking tequila shots, lime and all. All of them sparkled and were dressed up to the nines, save for the silly little hats adorning their heads. And they were having so much fun.  

“No way,” Levi scoffs, “That has to be a 21st birthday. They all look like babies.”  

Suddenly someone comes through a parting in the crowd with a tray of assorted colorful drinks garnished with cute little accessories. They all yell in excitement at the sight. One of the girls raises her glass and starts shouting.  

“To Estelle! May your married life be full of infinite love, happiness, and orgasms!” They all cheer and take big gulps of their drinks, followed by more giggling.  

Levi glances art you, his gray eyes dull in the dim bar light. An eyebrow lifts at you as well.  

“How did you know?” 

You do a sweeping gesture starting from one shoulder down to the opposite hip. He looks back over to the women and conveniently the soon-to-be-bride had faced your direction. She was indeed wearing a white sash sporting the word ‘BRIDE’ in bright pink letters. He huffs as he rolls his eyes, and you smirk at him in return. You press the pad over to him, already equipped with your question.  

Levi scoffs at your question. As promised, it wasn’t very personal. You figured ice breaker like questions were a good start. But his pause made you question if this was a good idea, you didn’t want to run him off or make him uncomfortable. Then he clicks his tongue, and his face softens ever so slightly.  

“My favorite hobby, huh? It would have to be cleaning.” He simply states. 

Cleaning?  

‘Like mopping, dusting, all that jazz?’  

“Yeah, it brings me peace. I like the control. Plus, I can't stand filthy things, people, or places. It’s repugnant.” He scrunches his nose at the last statement. A laugh bubbles up and you can’t help but let it loose. You’re shot with a glare and a sharp tone.  

“Funny?”  

You shake your head no and smile lightly while your hands move adeptly on the pad.  

‘Not funny, just amusing because it’s not something I would have expected. It’s different. If it makes you happy then it is an admirable hobby.’ 

Levi’s looking away from you now. If it wasn’t so dim, you would have seen there was a light dusting of pink color his cheeks and ears. He clears his throat and scans the room for his victim. His eyes land on the couple in the back corner whispering to each other. He notices their not-so-subtle hand movements as they felt each other up. Nodding in their direction, he looks back over to you, leaning close so you can hear.  

“I bet that couple will get up in the next 3 minutes and excuse themselves to somewhere private.” Your eyes travel in that direction, only to look away hastily at such an intimate scene. You’re not able to think of a counter-bet because honestly, you’re thinking the same thing. Your eyes settle back to his face, but he’s already looking back at the couple. If he noticed you staring, he didn’t say. Suddenly his face is filled with a satisfied look, only to be replaced quickly with a look of horror. You follow his gaze again, afraid of what you might see.

Fortunately, it’s nothing risqué, as you catch the tail end of the couple slipping into one of the public, unmarked restrooms. But the thought of their future actions was enough to gross you out. Looking back at Levi, you scrunch your face up in disgust. He nods in understanding.  

“This is why we don’t use public restrooms, especially in a bar.” He pinches the bridge of his nose with his good hand. “When I said somewhere private, I meant like a residence or something. Filthy animals, unbelievable. They better scrub that bathroom down. Maybe I should tell the bartender when they’re done. Maybe I should help clean.” 

His retorts crack you up, your shoulders bouncing from silent laughter. He just stares at you impassively as he runs his fingers through his hair to get it out of his face.  

“Well, it’s not like we should ruin their fun. Anyways I suppose I won. Let’s see... what’s your favorite color?” 

You part your lips, dumbfounded. This was never an easy question, as you found joy in a lot of different colors. You bite your lip and start writing, but after a couple minutes Levi rips the pad from your hands out of impatience.  

salmon 

turquoise? 

canary yellow! 

orange 

dark forest gre- 

He just looks at you in alarm.  

“Just pick one.” he scolds. 

You snatch the pad back and scribble down, ‘It’s not that simple!’  

“It is to me. White, easy.” You just stare right back at him, not believing what you just heard. Out of all the many shades and hues out there, this man decides the color white.  

‘Why?’ 

“It’s clean.” is the only response you get.  

It makes sense, you think. But seriously, this man was so weird. But like you said earlier, it was different and that made it refreshing to you. You start searching for your next bet.  

As if in a scene from a movie you’ve seen a dozen times came to life, your eyes snap to a lone woman sitting at the bar, nursing a drink and playing on her phone. A couple seats down, you spot a few men chatting. One of the men is staring hard at the very oblivious woman. You nudge Levi with your elbow, not unnoticing the slight flinch from your touch. You point to the scene, and he is quick to understand.  

“I bet when he walks over to her, she’ll get up and leave.” He says confidently.  

Trusting your instincts, you scrawl back quickly as you notice the man started making his way towards the woman. Sticking your tongue out at him, you angle the pad to him so he could see.  

‘Absolutely not. She’ll tell him off right away.’  

To both yours and his surprise, not one moment later she throws the rest of her drink contents onto the man’s head. She gathers her belongings, throws a wad of bills on to the bar, then stomps out of the establishment. The rejected man staggers back to his friends, and they applaud him for his supposed gall. This event left you both stunned. There’s a moment of pause where you and Levi just stare at each other before all hell breaks loose as he starts talking and you start scribbling furiously.  

“She walked away, I win.”  

‘She threw that drink on him, that’s practically telling him off. And that happened before any walking off.’  

“That hardly counts, no words were used.” He scoffs and folds his arms across his chest as he stares hard at you. You weren’t sure if the indignation was real or not, but it was evident in his face.   

‘Words are not always needed to convey intent.’ You shoot back at him, shifting your weight to tap your foot defiantly. You would know this of course.  

This makes Levi pause. He opens his mouth to say something but then Erwin and Hange came crashing into the little bubble you two had made. Suddenly the sounds of clinking glasses and mindless chatter came rushing in and you took a step back.  

“Um, I think Hange might have had a little too much tonight.” Erwin says, to which your attention is drawn to a very drunk Hange. They were a blubbering, sobbing mess. Whining about things that ranged from Carly to her work stress and everything in between. Your sister rarely got this drunk, but you imagine the events from earlier might have been her breaking point. This was a sign to get her home.  

You hastily round the table to wrap her arm around you and prop her up. Then after whipping a $20 out of your purse and throwing it on the table in front of the boys, you give them a grateful smile and sign to Erwin.  

‘Thank you both for tonight. She and I had a lot of fun. But I need to get her home before she gets worse.’ As if on cue, they let out a loud wail and start sobbing into your shoulder. You shift your body to hold them closer so that you don’t drop them. Erwin grabs your $20 and shoves it back in your purse before zipping it up. He had left you no time to protest as he places a large hand on your shoulder and stares intensely at you.  

“Please, let me take care of this. Tell them this was an exceptional time. And to please stop by the café again, we owe each a good, sober talk.” His bright blue eyes crinkled in the corners as he smiled at you warmly. “It was a pleasure meeting you too. I hope you join Hange on the café visits as well. I think Levi has warmed up to you just nicely.” He wiggles an eyebrow at his friend. Levi just shoves him back and rolls his eyes.  

“Tch, fuck off. She’s alright, I guess.” He’s staring at you now, not as cold as before. “You owe me an answer next time we meet.”  

You purse your lips at him and shake your head in disagreement. 

‘I totally won that, don’t even think otherwise.’ You jot down lazily on the notepad still on the table. It wasn’t as neat, but you were propping up a whole human, you couldn’t help it.   

“Are you sure you’re safe to get home okay? We can he-” You cut Erwin off with a wave of the hand. Their spot of choice was actually very lucky, as you only live a few minutes away. And to be honest, you needed the cold air. So, you sign a quick goodbye to your new friends and make your way out. 

Walking down the snowy sidewalk, you pat Hange’s head as she grumbles about random things. She opted to walk herself, but you kept your hand in theirs to lead them in the right direction. She only stumbled a few times but overall, you were able to keep a steady pace. You note that before you left, her glass of water had been untouched, so you make a mental reminder to hydrate her before throwing her in bed.  

‘Alcohol was not kind to those in their 30s’ you heard their voice say in the back of your mind.  

As your steps left crunching noises in their wake, you peer up at the moon and glittering stars. A certain raven-haired and silver-eyed man etched in your brain. You wonder how soon it will be before seeing him again.  

‘Levi’ you sign to yourself with a free hand. A smile cemented to your face the whole way home.

☾ Next Chapter: December

[usedpidemo]

Update - 2nd year anniversary! (plus a reflection, and future plans).

Hi everyone! π here.

Today, May 13th, is the day I officially opened up this blog and began writing degenerate and immoral stories! 2 fucking years have passed, how time flies. So much can change in a year, and so do some of the stats!

First work: Sandwich - Red Velvet Wendy (published 05/13/21, 4:03 a.m.)

Highest note count: Awards after-party affair - Itzy Yuna (published 10/23/22, 1167 notes)

Number of works published: 80 fics (1 fic every 9.1 days)

500 followers: June 18, 2021 (36 days or 1 month, 5 days)

1,000 followers: October 12, 2021 (152 days or 4 months, 30 days)

2,000 followers: June 18, 2022 (401 days or 1 year, 1 month, and 5 days)

3,000 followers: November 12, 2022 (548 days or 1 year, 5 months, and 30 days)

Follower count: 3,953 followers (5.4 followers a day)

I wish I had something awesome lined up to celebrate this milestone, but I don't have anything prepared XD I've been busy and lazy at the same time. (Is that even possible?)

Actually, yeah, I do have a whole week's worth of cool things lined up this week! If I can even follow through with this one...

Monday: AMA

Tuesday: Reader Poll

Wednesday: ???

Thursday: ???

Friday: ???

I don't want to make the fun section of the update elaborately long, so I just want to say thank you so much to everyone for the support! Even though I'm not as active or as productive as I used to be, your eagerness never wavered, and you guys enjoy me talking about random shit on the side, whether it be song lyrics, Pokémon, or literally posts without any context to them. I love you guys. Here's to another year 🧡

Everything else from this point is a brief reflection and introspection of what I've been feeling since then. You can ignore this if you wish to do so.

So today marks the second anniversary since I opened up this Tumblr and became a degenerate writer. The work I've been putting up is getting worse—in a sexual and filthy way, not objectively—and my mental health has been getter much, much better! When I made the same anniversary post around this time a year ago, I was at an all-time low, mentally speaking. I really felt like I had not much left to give at that point, my skill has stagnated, and I thought there wasn't much for me to improve on. If you asked me if I had any future plans for this blog, I'd say I'd be done by the end of 2022, if not sooner.

It's now 2023, and I believe I'm as good as I can be right now. Slumps happen for a reason, and you can't always win, but it's how you bounce back from the lowest of lows that you reach highest of highs. And I believe I can still get better.

Genuinely, not to sound arrogant, because Lord knows I'm not the best fanfic writer—fuck no—I'm not anywhere close, even in a theoretical top 1000 list, but I do think some of my finest work have come up in my most recent fics. I don't know, it feels more polished and there was more effort and deliberation put into it. The numbers don't lie, either; every single work I published since May 2022 has over 400+ notes, and I've even passed the 1000+ note barrier twice! It goes to show that you guys are enjoying what I'm putting out as much as I love making them, slow and difficult it may be. I can fondly smile at last year's additions to my masterlist and say, "I can't believe I did that."

I do want to apologize if my output rate has drastically slowed down, and if I'm not as active as I was before. It's unfortunately part of the sacrifice needed for better quality control, and also because I have more personal commitments to attend to. 2023 has been fantastic for me so far in almost every department, except maybe physically—I could use more exercise—but that can be worked upon.

I do believe I'm on borrowed time. Again, look at the gap between fics over the past six months ago, and it's only going to widen once I enter my third year of college. I also have to begin considering what hobbies and other things I should do to occupy my free time, so I can be more productive as a person. This isn't to say I'm definitely quitting, but I expect more responsibilities to be shouldered onto me in the future, and having time for myself is going to be pretty much a birthday gift with how rare it might be given, and I'd prefer spending my time off recharging and relaxing instead of stressing over inconsequential or 'fun' things.

There's a lot of people I want to thank specifically, because while I was struggling with my own personal battles, they've been encouraging me to continue fighting and have been absolute lads—and lasses—throughout the past year. When I needed someone to talk to that wasn't my therapist, they were there, and I took solace in their comfort and companionship. I can't tag you guys, but if you're reading this—Chunk, Raf, Peach, Aaron, Sol, V1n, Iz, Ddeun, C.o, Kaede, Frisky, Smite, Shaun, Sins, Jett, Eros, Prael, Ken, Cray, CJ, Sooya, Gray, Svn—I sincerely thank you. God bless each and every single one of you. And to Tim, I really hope you can see this, but I'm truly, truly sorry. I hope we can find a way to bury that fracture in our relationship in the past, and we can reconcile. If not, then I just want closure and peace for the both of us.

So in closing, I want to thank you so much for sticking with me through the bad times and prospering with me through the good, and I'm always humbled that you've taken a chance on me when I started, when I was a hopeful newbie, two years ago. Now here we are. I appreciate every single one of you, be it a fellow writer, a reader, or a lurker.

With grace,

Peter / π

[ilkkawhat]

I can't believe it's almost been a year since AW2 was released. It really changed my life. For better or for worse? Who can say, but I've been having fun.

lol it's so surreal to me that it's been less than a year that I bought and played Alan Wake 2 (one month past release, in November) purely on a whim because I saw people on the silent hill subreddit talking about it and someone even made a meme about "friendship ended with silent hill now alan wake is my new best friend" and I kid you not within just a few days my life just...changed entirely.

I have a lot of depression and anxiety and somewhere in 2023 things just...went wrong and I stopped creating. stopped giffing, never thought I'd write again and drawing lmao forget it, that shit's been hard for me to do ever since a very discouraging experience back when I was maybe like, 11 or 12. stopped going on tumblr, had given up on discord a long time before then and became a miserable ghost doing nothing but burying myself in work in what i will admit is a toxic, overwhelming and stressful environment. I still played games, still watched shows but nothing was like. Sticking with me, I guess? Not like to obsession levels and minus some good vacations I was just...empty.

And playing Alan Wake 2 for the first time was a legit terrifying experience for me--not on the levels of the first time I played Silent Hill 2 maybe (legit locked myself in my room and put on my lamp in the middle of the day cause of the sound of footsteps behind me in that game lol and my dishwasher at the time sounded like that one chugging sound in the apartments) but the dread I was feeling as I got legitimately lost in the woods of Cauldron Lake and turned around in Coffee World (having basically explored it all before triggering the parts where the enemies spawn in) and the basement of Valhalla Nursing Home was thrilling and I was excited to be playing something that was so disturbing and mind bending and emotional, too. Not even knowing the story of Alan and Alice, my heart broke during Alice's final tape. Not knowing Alan's character outside of what I saw in the second game, his "fuck it" moment where he went back into the Dark Place felt so heroic. I felt an odd sense of nostalgia watching the Koskela brothers commercials, like I had known them my whole life. Alex Casey (both the FBI agent and fictional detective) is my favorite kind of wise-cracking guy who has a heart of gold, the old guy who I wish could be my dad. Tom Zane was that mysterious wild card that you know under the surface has something sinister, unsettling esp with his manipulation of Alan but is just so fascinating to watch. Of course I saw so much of my obsessive self in Rose with her shrine for Alan. Saga's time in the dark place felt so real to me, I cried and still cry every time I read that note from her mom at that part of the game (I know you can read it sooner but it packs a bigger punch with Saga's fight to get out of her own mind.) All of the characters quickly stole my heart and ran with it and maybe it was over a few days, maybe it was all at once the floodgates just...opened within me.

I started writing again. First with a character that I never thought I'd write for again because at the time, even just thinking about him legit hurt me. Then I started scheming up fics for Alan. Then I started giffing even from self-captured gameplay footage that I don't think I've ever done before. Then I started drawing in my Alan Wake journal--a journal which, I had not done since the peak of my CSI obsession during my teenage years and even then it wasn't to the extent of what that journal is now (which admittedly, has not been filled out in quite a number of weeks and maybe that's partially cause I tend to journalize myself on here too) And then one day I couldn't contain it anymore. I started sharing again. I don't talk to anybody really like, ever outside of these asks and occasional replies but I truly never thought I'd be part of a fandom again. I worried I'd fuck it all up again (still worry about that) for myself, or others. Or both. But all the kind messages, the kind tags, the awesome people I've started following because of Alan Wake, I wouldn't give any of that up.

And of course things branched off, crushing so hard on him I got obsessed with Ilkka. I played some of Remedy's other games (still working my way through Max Payne 2 and Quantum Break very very slowly) and went back to the first Alan Wake, of course which if I had known about earlier or had an Xbox I'm sure I would have loved it back then as much as I do now. Hell I even platinumed that and Alan Wake 2 and as someone who is notorious for not finishing games other than like. The Legend of Zelda series and playing some other endless games...think it says something that I've managed to beat and complete (I always do the rhymes, stashes, lunch boxes, every playthrough) Alan Wake 2 almost 10 times now.

I was happy. I'm still, for the most part when I'm not at work, happy. Call it what you want, a delusion brought on by a distraction of obsession, a dangerous escape threatening the part of me that is still rooted in reality in the way that like, what if I become too crazy about it where it blinds me to certain things or experiences or chases people away from me because I'm too weird about it (a very real thing that has happened before)

But damn with all of that...I'm having fun with it too.

[nanowrimo]

30 Covers, 30 Days 2023: Day 8

Since it's day 8 of NaNoWriMo, some of you might start wishing someone else could write your novel for you. Here's a fun novel that explores that exact idea! Today, we have 10 Maniacs are Trapped in a Death Trap and they Each Must Write a Short Story or They Will All Be Killed by Adam Marler, a Satire/Humor novel! This novel cover was designed by the amazing returning artist, Christopher Simmons!

(For those of you who don’t know, 30C30D stands for 30 Covers, 30 Days in which 17 Wrimos and 5 YWP Participants get the chance to win a professionally designed cover! The rest of the days are being filled by community features. We’ll be posting a cover a day throughout November, so make sure to check them out!)

10 Maniacs are Trapped in a Death Trap and they Each Must Write a Short Story or They Will All Be Killed

(What if the bad guy from Saw trapped people and made them write his NaNoWriMo?)

On June 15th, a brilliant creative mind met tragic fate. Dr. Bloodcastle, a literary genius, faced a fate worse than death. A horrifying collision with a bus filled with 10 total maniacs left him messed up, both physically and creatively. His life's work, a collection of short stories, lay in ruins, missing a staggering 50,000 words. His literary agent, once a faithful ally, severed their professional ties.

Years passed, and from the depths of despair, Dr. Bloodcastle emerged with a visage as chilling as his resolve. Now his face was a skull.

The 10 maniacs responsible for his ruin would soon discover that their twisted fate had taken a malevolent turn. Dr. Bloodcastle, with a thirst for retribution, kidnapped each one of them. He would force them to wield the pen and write, an agonizing task of producing 50,000 words in a mere month.

Prepare for a chilling tale of literary revenge, where the boundaries between sanity and madness blur, and the pen becomes a weapon of torment. Dr. Bloodcastle's macabre narrative unfolds, and justice will be written in the ink of vengeance.

About the Author

Adam Marler is a lifelong reader with a great appreciation for literature and the written word. Despite that, he is currently working on 10 Maniacs are Trapped in a Death Trap and they Each Must Write a Short Story or They Will All Be Killed which shouldn't be considered a reflection on any of his previous teachers, academic or otherwise.

When he isn't writing this dumb thing he's spending time with his wife, son, two dogs and house that is roughly 25% remodeled.

About the Designer

Christopher Simmons is a designer, author, artist, occasional hamburger blogger, and a former curator of NaNoWriMo’s 30 Days/30 Covers project. His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries ranging from The Hiroshima Museum of Contemporary Art to the de Young Museum in San Francisco to The Smithsonian Institution. He has written four books and designed considerably more.

Cover Design Process:

This year. we gave designers the optional prompt to explain their design process for the cover! Here's Christopher's:

The title, as I was given it, was “10 Maniacs are Trapped in a Death Trap and they Each Must Write a Short Story or They Will All Be Killed by Adam Marler.” My first instinct was to play with the absurd length of that title. Most of my early explorations were around that. But there was also something intriguing to me about the run-on between title and author; it almost read as if Adam Marler was going to do the killing. I became interested with blurring the boundary between author and title, which is how I arrived at implicating him as one of the maniacs. Since the book is a satire about the writing process it seemed apropos. The full title appears on the spine, but this is the kind of concept cover that would probably get rejected. Still, I like to lead with it to jumpstart creative discussions.

[albywritesfiction]

Aro anon here! Dw, I've never felt that you as the author was pushing us to hate Ædan for not loving MC back. I think you've done fairly well, sort of, holding court(?) and showcasing asks without pushing any particular viewpoints.

Important addendum to my thoughts: I personally don't mind being uncomfy! like, not in this instance. Some fiction should be uncomfortable, especially attempting to delve into certain topics. It might be the only way to do it with honestly. It's worth it to read about the raw reactions Ædan gets. I don't want to police people's feelings on the matter - I think that's weird when we're talking fiction. Or worse, for any anons to be less honest going forward! But i do want to encourage self-examination, and give my own honest, first-reaction perspective to consider

I appreciate that you aren't planning to glorify sentiments like that, but i do hope you won't shy away from it altogether. Like, romance is messy, it can cause a lot of "ugly" feelings, and u should get to write the messiest version possible in a romance game 😂 where else to explore this? It'd be different if i was giving advice to a friend about a guy, but this is a story. Pls dw about making MC have "correct" feelings. Indulging in being vengeful, petty, or utterly enamoured with Ædan in the complete opposite direction from before could be really fun! MC being angry at Ædan specifically for not loving MC back is normal, and I think it'd make sense as an option in-game. But it'd be best, I think, to have varied reaction to this in-game. I think it'd be an interesting bit of characterization too, seeing who'd support MC unilaterally in this and who'd give more push-back against an MC who thinks like this.

e.g i think people already want the option to shove their happy relationship with Ædrick/Cyffrin in Ædan's face. There could definitely be a "if you'd picked me, you could've been this happy too 😒" bend to it 😂 so many possible reactions from everyone involved to be had:

Is Ædan actually jealous? What if not? I feel like he already knows his life would've been exponentially easier if he was in love with MC, but he had a decade and still couldn't force it. He knows what he'd feel like in a relationship with MC - utterly miserable. Maybe he'd just be happy that MC has found the happiness he feels with Helene in Ædrick/Cyffrin and say so. Would a Vengeance!MC be incensed about that?? What if Ædan was jealous and regreful! Would MC be pleased with that? Just openly gleeful? How do Ædrick/Cyffrin feel about being used for this so transparently? Or about an MC that's still so focused on Ædan, has such strong reactions to Ædan's opinions, even in a relationship with them?

Messy messy messy 🤗

Hi aro Anon! I was really glad to receive this from you as soon as I had posted my response to your ask, and I'm sorry it's taken me quite a while to respond to this one 😓

It's quite a relief to hear that I don't seem to be biased towards any one version of things. I've been kind of worried about deciding what things should I put a reasonable limit on so that ATE doesn't become too overwhelming to work on while balancing it with the interactivity and branching narratives that I want to delve into, so I'm glad to hear that it doesn't sound like ATE's turning into more of a kinetic rather than interactive novel just yet 😅

I'm glad to hear that you're open-minded about reading, even for works that may go beyond your comfort zone. I especially like how you, in your own words, "want to encourage self-examination, and give my own honest, first-reaction perspective to consider."

I also greatly appreciate all the insights and thoughts you've shared, especially about romance in fiction, the variation in responses to the entire mess Ædan created, and the potential spaghetti of emotions that the cast may experience 🤭

I've reread your ask more times that I can count since I received it all the way back in November 2023 in my attempt to write a sufficient response, and each time I did, I've felt grateful that you took the time to write such a detailed, insightful, and reassuring ask, so I'd like to thank you for sending in this ask, aro Anon, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!

[thgfanfictionlibrary]

Winter/Christmas Masterlist (3)

Part 1 / Part 2 /

Created: November 22nd, 2023

Last Checked:-----

Snowstorm-songbirdheart (ao3) Summary: “Spring is for courting, so mother will say; summer for wedding, rosy as May; autumn for keeping you warm from the cold; winter for babies to care when we’re old.” Written for the prompt: "No games, canon. Just a good, all time favorite “it would have happened anyway” story. Maybe throw in snowstorm trope to make it seasonal?" You got it. :D

Snowstorm for a Broken Heart-Demona424 (ao3) Summary: Peeta didn’t want to be on the road with her let alone weathering a snow storm during the Christmas break, yet here he is, with Katniss Everdeen, the girl who broke his heart. How the hell is he going to deal with so much time alone with her?

The Bet-amelia_day (ao3) Summary: When a sorority bet gets out of hand and becomes a campus wide sensation, Katniss and Peeta are both forced to deal with the aftermath.

The Christmas Play-thegirlonpeetamellark (ao3) Summary: Written for the Tumblr 'Prompts in Panem' 7 Day Challenge: Holidays. Katniss helps to put on the annual Christmas play for the church at the request of her father, Reverend Everdeen. Then she meets Peeta Mellark who makes her reconsider her stance on sinning.

The Gift-Ameiko (ao3) Summary: Peeta Mellark spent his adolescent years in a mental institution after losing most of his family in a tragic accident. Now age twenty three and working as the janitor/caretaker at the Snow Academy for Girls, he is drawn out of solitude by the newly hired music teacher. AU set in Maine, 1942.

The Holiday Stand In-LemonLuvGirl (ao3) Summary: Modern AU. Katniss Everdeen needs a guy to pretend to be her boyfriend for the holidays, and when she meets Peeta Mellark she thinks he's the answer to her Christmas prayers. Peeta also happens to need a significant other to take home to show off to his folks. So Kantiss proposes that they pose as each other's dates for the holiday season. Just to get their families off their backs. But pretending to be in love is a dangerous game, one that Katniss might not end up winning unless she plays her cards right.

Where Did You Sleep Last Night?-LolaBleu (ao3) Summary: Blindsided, that’s how Katniss feels when she goes out for her morning coffee and runs into Peeta. It’s been two years since she talked to him, longer since she’s seen him, but there he is, standing in front of her in the sidewalk, smiling like their love story had a happy ending. Sometimes - lots of times - she wishes it did.

Wrapped In Red-katnissdoesnotfollowback (ao3) Summary: Katniss is trying to be a good friend to her recently divorced pal. She really is. But this holiday season, fate, her own feelings, and Peeta’s daughter have other plans. An advent style Everlark story.

You Are What You Are-Abagail_Snow (ao3) Summary: During Catching Fire, Katniss and Peeta get snowed in.

You Should Be Here With Me, Safe and Warm-Xerxia (ao3) Summary: For the Seasons of Hope Exchange. Best friends traveling home for the holidays get stranded in the most uncomfortable of situations.