#these silly little guys have no business destroying my emotions like this

[artzeei]

[ephemeral--dreams]

Making you cry during a fight (2) - Scaramouche, Yae, Kaeya

Okay guys here you go never ask me for anything ever again /j

(part 1)

☆ ☾ ☆ ──────────────────

Scaramouche

There's a sort of deep, instinctive fear that takes root inside the place where a heart would be, as he watches tears fall after a few too-harsh words. 

He's hurt you. He's been careless, he's been too difficult, too much - and it's going to drive you away. You're going to abandon him because of this incident, surely. Why would you stay with someone who makes you cry? 

It's… it's not a feeling he's dealt with for many years. The fear of being left. He has not allowed anyone to get close enough to him to have any concern over whether they're around or not. Scaramouche had learned his lesson about getting attached and having emotion, after all. He had spat out whatever  bitter words he pleased and felt nothing when he upset anyone he spoke to.

But those days are past, and while that's a good thing in many ways, right now it feels anything but. 

"I-"

"Sorry. I shouldn't be crying," the way you apologize as if you're the one in the wrong stabs right through him. You're the one crying, yet he is being wounded just as much. It's an awful thing, caring. "Just. Just give me a moment…"

Scaramouche hesitates. He's paralyzed, caught up in the idea that anything he does or says may make things worse. But what wins out is the idea of fixing it, fixing things before you give up on him—

"Stop it. You shouldn't be the one saying sorry here. I shouldn't have said that to you, alright? You should know better than to take everything I say so seriously, honestly, I-" he sighs, irritated with himself more than you, before pulling you into his embrace. You don't pull away. Good. Maybe he hasn't entirely fucked things up. "...I didn't mean it. Sorry."

Yae

Yae Miko is not the sort of person who yells during a fight. Or at any time, really. So that hadn't been at all what had happened during your little conflict. 

Rather, her words were pointed to hit where it hurt, an attempt to shut down whatever silly human nonsense you thought was worth causing a riot over. Problems came and went, and most weren't nearly as important as they may seem in the moment. Living many years had led her to this conclusion. She was a busy woman who had little interest in wasting her time arguing. 

...Calculating and perhaps dismissive she may be, but she isn't cold. Yae still very much has a heart, and it skips a beat when she realizes you're nowhere to be found at the usual time she would meet with you after finishing her shrine duties. Surely you weren't that upset over it all, right? 

No, you couldn't be still lingering on the issue hours later… 

Well, you could. Others were far more sensitive to these things, a fact she often forgot. Yae should know better. Isn't she used to highly emotional people, after all? At least your tantrums weren't going to practically destroy the nation…

She finds you at the foot of the mountain, sitting and idly staring into the distance. The tear tracks on your face are all too telling. 

Yae is not above realizing when she has done something wrong. Though she's also not one to openly apologize. She doesn't do much of anything openly. 

"You don't listen to me," you tell her. 

"Well, I'll try to listen more, then. Is that satisfactory?" She offers a hand to you. You wait a moment before taking it, allowing her to pull you up. "Just remember to consider my side of things as well. We can work on it… But let's not linger on this too long. Time is fleeting for mortals like you, hm?"

Kaeya

Kaeya is excellent at one thing - avoidance. In fact, he's been successfully avoiding you ever since your fight a couple of days ago. It's easier to simply wait until you've both cooled off. 

That's what he tells himself. It's certainly not  that the fight made him feel anxious. He's not running away from his problems, of course not.

(He's lying to himself. One wrong word and you'll leave. He knows that. It's bad enough that you had an argument, archons forbid he confronts you and it's the last straw.)

So Kaeya carefully stays out of your way, doesn't speak to you, doesn't let you catch sight of him. He'll have to deal with things eventually, he knows, but… Until then, he's content to keep things this way. Four days in you finally seek him out yourself, looking exhausted and absolutely miserable. 

"Can we- can we stop fighting? You're right, I'm wrong, all that-" He can only watch as you start breaking down in front of him, a cold, sinking feeling of guilt settling in. "...Just stop ignoring me, please?"

His life has been filled with bad decisions - it seems that he's made yet another, by avoiding you so long. Now Kaeya is faced with your tears as you practically beg for his attention. It's quite the opposite of what he intended. He reaches a careful hand to brush them away. "Shh, shh. No more, alright?"

You sniffle, looking up at him. "You're not mad at me?"

"Of course not, sweetheart. I never was. We can talk about it later, okay? Let me make you feel better."

[picklebunbun]

HIII HOW U DOING I would like to make a request (if ur not busy!!) 

About flippy/fliqpy (htf) and reader with anger issues!

Like they just randomly go mad crazy but they calm down easily, but it’s kinda freaky how fast they go form psycho crazy to a lil silly person

Oh could you also make reader’s gender neutral? 

Thank you so much for ur hard work!!

‧₊˚♪𝄞࿐₊˚⊹ Flippy/Fliqpy x gn! reader

৻ꪆ..

savior

novulent ♥︎

⇄ ◁◁ 𝚰𝚰 ▷▷ ↻

⁰⁰'²⁵ ━━●━━───── ⁰²'⁰⁸

৻ꪆ..

❦. gender neutral! reader, no agab, kind of masculine pronouns but not really at tge same time

❦. genre: more crack than fluff and maybe a hint of angst but you have to squint to ses it

❦. cw: violence, talks about violence, violent tendencies, kind of gorish,, reader seems very bi polar, just reader getting vilely angry, and death

❦. fandom: HTF

❦. can be read as rom or plat

summary: headcanons of reader switching from wild anger to their normal happy go-lucky self in front of Flippy/Flipqy [reader is so kenji from the hit series bungou grey dawgs]

{angel's/pickle's notes 🪽🥒: sorry I've been gone so long, finally school ended and I can focus on writing requests ! Anyways I have to catch up, thank you for requesting !}

˚˖𓍢ִ໋🦢˚

"*_- hcs !

when Flippy first met you, he saw how bubbly you were, kind of air-headed, always hapoy about something. It was nice to see someone like that since most of the people he met hid behind a façade, they were either deeply terrified or would wrap around your throat like a snake, but it turns out, you were actually pleasent to be around.

first of all, you decided to hide this problem away from him, keeping it in a locked caged, making sure it didn't escape, but, just like how you bottle up everything, it all starts to bubble up and explode.

the first time Flippy saw you like that, it was Flippy at all. It was Flipqy.

needless to say, it was very surprising to see you so violently angry, it was like a different person was controling you.

you acted almost exactly like how Flipqy does, although, his was a trauma response and yours was probably for a different reason. You did just as much damage as him when you switch.

when he saw you act this way, it just encouraged him to be even more violent. In no time, blood and guts were flying everywhere, blood-curdling screams from your friens and crying could be heard from miles away.

everything kind of blanked after that.

keep in mind, Flippy doesn't know, only his alter-ego does. So when you tried to apologize from how you acted that day, he was confused, horrified, a little appalled, but he was just a whirlwind of emotions.

you guys had a huge talk that day.

it was kind of funny how you turn back to a silly goober and waddle away from the corpse you just killed.

you were so adorable too, anyone could've had their guard down around you. It's like you were constantly stuck on ':3' you're whole life,,,

one time, when you were basically destroying everything in your path, the minute you saw Flippy, you stopped what you were doing and hopped your way to him. Very weird,,, but he loves you so it's okay, in his words,, "who am I to judge anyways ?"

but yeah, he makes sure he's around you in public so no more people have to be tortured endlessly by you,, and so you can calm him down when he has another PTSD episode! So it's basically a win-win.

most of your time is spent with Flippy cause of how paranoid he can get from you being out in public alone.

Flipqy is still kind of wary around you, but since you treat Flippy right and he trusts you with all his life, he eventually learns to trust you.

you'd probably almost go to jail or a psychiatric hospital multiple times.

your [best friend or lover] will always bail you out, dw my man. 🙏

a whole protest to bail you out too,, "FREE MY HOMIE, [NAME] ‼️"

you come home in the middle of the night standing in the doorway.

"DARLING, GUESS WHO'S BACK FROM JAIL" "WHAT?!"

they can't keep ya boy locked up, YOU STAY WINNING 😼

but long story short, you and Flippy are awesome and everyone should treat you guys like royalty.

[ceilingfan5]

go around

@taznovembercelebration "super au" and "silly"

“Man,” Taako sighs, as quietly as possible. “This is the second time I’ve been a hostage this month.” He’s not tied up this time, at least, but he’s sitting in the back hallway of the bank and regretting his choice of errands today. The guy next to him nods. 

“You too, huh?” He’s pretty, and goth, very serious-with-a-side-of-secretly-goofy, and Taako wants to crack him like a nut. Shame they’re busy waiting for the supervillain of the week to either get got or get his private island and fourteen pounds of gummy worms, or fucking whatever. “It’s ridiculous. They need to spend less money on making flashy superheroes and more on just–security, infrastructure, safety, you know, mental health initiatives-”

“Or maybe we need to break down and be supervillains ourselves.” Taako shrugs, with an I’m JOKING I PROMISE…unless? Air about him. He’s sick of it. 

“Really?” Handsome asks, laughing a little. 

“Really,” Taako says, still kind of joking, but also kind of not joking. “Taako can barely get his errands done when there’s no Captain Backwards Lightning Man in the way, you know? It’s enough to make a guy wanna destroy some well-placed props.”

Handsome laughs. 

“You’re Taako, I take it?”

“In the flesh, skele-fellow. You?”

“Kravitz,” Kravitz says, and then, “Probably. If I’m going to be a villain, you don’t know that, and I’ll have to erase your memories, or something.”

“Or we could be a team,” Taako teases. “We could be the only ones who knew each other’s secret identities. You could come over for chicken alfredo, I could go to yours for game night, little bit of blackmail to keep things spicy-”

Kravitz laughs, and covers his mouth, but it must not be too loud, or maybe the gummy worm accords are going sour, because nothing comes of it except an embarrassing amount of affection from Taako. 

“I wish I had a power worth doing anything drastic about,” he admits, looking at Taako for comiseration or approval or something else that might lead to romance. 

“Yeah? Cha boi’s in the same boat, so keep paddling. Dumber supers have done worse.”

“Really? I mean- about your power, I remember, uh, Pickle Monster.”

“Who could forget.” Taako shakes his head solemnly. “Yeah, no, I can read minds, but only if it’s food related.”

“Seriously?” Kravitz grins. “I love specific powers, but that sort of thing drives me nuts in practice. Like- surely the universe could have been kinder?”

“Would it ever stoop so low?” Taako snorts. “No, seriously, try me.”

“Okay,” Kravitz says, screwing up his nose in the cutest stinking way Taako has ever seen. “What was my dinner last night?”

Taako looks him directly in the eye, feels that weird connection he gets with people sometimes, the sort of way that makes him sweaty and lonely. He steps right into Kravitz’s doorway, looks around his home, wonders if there’s more than meets the eye. Surely. It’s welcoming enough, maybe just because Kravitz is inviting him in, in this moment. Much less of a trespass than it usually is. 

He watches the memory unfold, and feels fond over this dork, who looks so business goth put together on the outside. 

“You air-fryered tater tot nachos,” Taako says, and Kravitz blinks, surprised, and Taako’s shunted right back out. 

“Really? You really got that much?”

“Oh, honey-nugget, I got more than that, I’m just trying to-”

“How much do you get?”

Taako grimaces. 

“Pretty much everything, especially if emotions are, uh, involved? You- uh. You poured frozen tater tots in the air fryer, dropped one on your bare foot and started bleeding, went to put a pokemon bandaid on it, and when it beeped for you to turn the food, and you tried to test one, because your timing was off because the package didn’t have air fryer instructions, you dropped it on your other bare foot and burnt it.” 

Kravitz’s mouth drops open. 

“Sorry?” Taako says, even sweatier. “You opened the door, kemosabe.” 

“Right,” Kravitz says, with a conspicuous glance at his shiny boy shoes. 

“I wasn’t trying to intrude,”

“No, I, get it, I, could have picked something else.” Kravitz clears his throat and loosens his black-on-black rose patterned tie. “Mine isn’t nearly as interesting.”

“Seriously?” Taako snorts. “Maybe you have an eight foot vertical leap, or your snot is acid.” 

“Is acid snot better than mind reading?”

“Dog, everything’s better than mind reading, do you know how fucking loud the world is all the goddamn time?”

“Touché.” Kravitz glances at the noise from the bank lobby, but nothing seems to come of it. He shifts his feet, looking at them again. “I mean, they were good tater tots.”

“Sometimes food that hurts fucks harder.” 

“So true?” Kravitz laughs. “I wish I had super healing, or super-not-being-a-dumbass, but, you know,”

“Man, if I was super-not-a-dumbass, I really could take over the world. Watch out, Townsville! Pew pew!” 

Kravitz looks at him with some kind of goopy eye disease that could be confused for fondness, if you were stupid, like Taako. 

“I just- so, see, I have this knife?”

“Yeah?” Taako looks him over for said knife, which he does not manage to produce. “Taken, was it?”

“Mhm,” Kravitz sighs, glancing at the lobby again. Some loud discussion is going on, between the somebody of police and TToday’s Evil Baddoer. “I can cut these little rifts with it, nothing huge, because it’s just a big fancy pocket knife, but I can store stuff in there, which is kind of neat. One time I climbed through and found myself somewhere else, but it was really difficult, on account of the small blade and all.”

“Yeah?” Taako’s heart pounds. “Seriously? Does it have to be the one knife?”

Kravitz pauses, and then turns to him directly. 

“I’ve only done it with the one knife, I guess. And a grapefruit spoon.” 

“What if-”

“Oh my god.”

“Hear me out-”

“Oh my god.”

Taako casts about for literally any kind of blade, fucking at all. There’s a letter opener that looks like a sword on the Mortgage Guy’s desk, and Taako checks out Super Badguy in the lobby, and then slowly, painfully, starts sneaking his way toward it. Kravitz chews his fingernails behind him, and truly fourteen thousand ice ages later, Taako returns, and hams up presenting the letter opener to Kravitz.

Kravitz stares at it, and hestiates. 

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

“It doesn’t work and you’re mad at me,” Kravitz admits, painfully honest. 

“What if it does work?”

“I’d take you out for dinner,” Kravitz admits, fully focused on the silver blade. 

“What kind?”

“Any sort of food you’d like?” And Taako steps into his mind one more time, slips in through the door, and finds himself in a nice restaurant across from Kravitz in a cute dark purple button up, slut that he is, one button open, just a hint, just a peek, and they kiss over the dessert, which costs way too much for crème brûlée, but Taako won’t tell him that, no sir.

And he zhoops right back out. 

“You have to do it,” he says, a little breathless. Kravitz looks at him, alarmed, and back at the letter opener, whcih he finally takes. He moves it around in the air, getting a feel for it, and then SWIPES–

And a flickering, dark tear in reality appears. Kravitz covers a gasp, Taako doesn’t, and certainly they’ll be spotted soon, but Kravitz tears and rips and hacks into the rip in the universe, and once he gets it big enough, tears at it with his hands, and then gets a knee in there, and there’s a sickening non-sound as it widens ever so slowly, achingly, and Taako watches with deep, embarrassing affection as Kravitz manages to clamber through, looking like an absolute idiot, and turns and reaches an arm out for Taako.

Fucking ROMANCE. 

“I’ve, gotta-”

“We’ll go around and help from the other side, Taako,” Kravitz promises. “It’ll just be way easier if I get literally anything sharper.” 

“Oh,” Taako says, relieved. And he jumps into Kravitz’s arms, because he has the chance, and it’d be more embarrassing if he didn’t take it. 

Any kisses between the jumping and the rescuing are off the record, and also private. So there. 

[id: gameboard with 15 spaces, 1-6 taken up with stickers of a cat, fish, "good worker", door, dragon, and "kapow"]

[whoregaylorenzo]

DANORGE

this is from the ship ask game but I decided to make this it's own post bc danorge is special okay? okay.

first of all, an ideal daniel ship for me is always him being a perfect babygirl and being treated accordingly. just like I would. he's my country wife, my baby boy, my hot piece of ass and he needs to know is. now, george is the perfect man for this.

the dynamic

I'm gonna be honest, this ship sort of snuck up on me, I didn't expect it to take off quite as much? like, I know Daniel likes the young guys, bc he likes fucking around and fucking with them bc they think he's fun and look up to him you know? he likes the peer pressure. and george didn't seem the kind of guy to be that subjectible to this bc he's always been very focused, correct, driven, etc. although as I got to know him a bit better I realised he does like some shenanigans (eurotruck with charles you will always be famous.).

anyway, I think one of the reasons why their friendship grew so well is that george is so incredibly earnest in his admiration of the people around him, and fiercely loyal. I think george would never be that guy who has to act cool around his friends. he's the type of guy to hype his friends up to others, and that's what he does with Daniel. like that post that goes sth like hyping my boyfriend up before he enters a room like you better clap for my specialest little boy. that's literally george with daniel. that's his babygirl, his country wife.

now, I think that perhaps daniel liked the way george engaged with his banter from early on, like when he asked for his merch, I mean that was still fanboy ish behaviour, but more recently, when Dan struggled, he was so so loyal and always defending Daniel to the press, I think he really did become a close friend. emotional support brit. like I said, george is really really loyal, you can see that in his other relationships with drivers (alex and lewis mainly) and it seems like he's really a safe person for daniel. I mean look how danny clings to him. adorable. (sth sth the child in me is safe with you etc). I just love seeing how genuinely at ease dan seems in every interaction with george..

important moments

I already put in some links up there but doing a collection of some more here.

all the media pen interactions are gold: x / x / x / x / x / x / x

hyping his boy up: x / x / x / x / x / (also remember the time he said to Lando 'if you're curious about winning just ask Danny' bc I still think he deserves a good * for that. lova ya georgie)

btw here's a good danorge post of some moments as well

the helmet swap....tears man, tears....

just general cuteness and shenanigans: x / x (recent addition) / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x

rpf pairing

okay soo actually AGES ago, me and jay @dnfstrategist used to talk about this danorge au that was like, george being a business/law student with daniel as his silly, artsy/sporty boyfriend (I don't quite remember, we definitely need to revisit that) and I am still gagging for an AU like that. like them as a couple? so so loyal to eachother, enjoying all the shenanigans, george the strong dependable one wanting to praise and spoil his bf always, daniel so fond and happy and at ease with george...bragging about his smart successful husband...they are marriage for life material fr

they have SO much potential it makes me sad that there is so little danorge writers out there.... there's mainly a few little smutty fics (which is great ofc!) and then one longfic which....oh boy I tell you, def a big big rec for this but be careful it absolutely destroyed me but such amazing writing fr fr.

and I think that's all for now! if I think of more stuff I'll add it later but I think this is it...if u made it all the way here thank u for ur attention! and anon I hope this makes up for the wait <3

[larabiatasstuff]

Part one here 🖤

Part five🖤

Stone was confused "What is happening? What..." but he wasn't able to finish his sentence. The door behind me opened and Sweet Tooth entered the office. Stone looked at me eyes wide, sweat on his forehead. "What have you done?" I laughed. "Well I learned something. For the first time since I'm doing this job I asked questions. He's all yours." I said getting up turning to leave. "Oh and Sweet Tooth? Please take your time with him." with that I left the office and closed the door. I don't know how much time had past when Sweet Tooth appeared at the front gate completely covered in blood. "It's over." " What about his little minions?" "Oh they're busy." he said starting the truck. "What did you do?" "I may have destroyed the control panel for the cells.". "Ooohhh smart.". "I have my moments." Sweet Tooth said and we burst out laughing. I couldn't help myself but I really started to like him but as soon as we got back to the casino, it was time to say goodbye.

"Sooo... I ummm it was great to meet you Y/N.". Sweet Tooth said rubbing the back of his head. "Same I mean. I'm sorry that I tried to kill you and thank you for teaching me ask questions before taking a job. I really appreciate that." "Oh it's fine I mean you never had a real chance to kill me but you tried and I think I have a bruise somewhere. I wish you all the best Y/N." "I... Oh fuck that." I said and hugged him tightly. "You don't have to go Y/N." Sweet Tooth said almost in a whisper. "I have to. Maybe we meet again some day but for now. I have to go. Take care of yourself Sweet Tooth." I let go of him and got in the car. My heart felt heavy when I watched him disappear in the rear view mirror. But deep inside I knew I did the right thing. A few weeks went by and I couldn't stop thinking about him. Sweet Tooth the clown everyone was scared of was actually a really nice guy and if I was honest to myself I missed him. I was driving down an empty dirt road when suddenly a car appeared behind me. I couldn't see what kind but the closer it came I realized it was the ice cream truck. My heart jumped in my chest when he appeared next to me and gestured to roll my window down.

"What are doing here?" I asked "Umm I... I just..." "Wait I think it's better if we stop to avoid an accident you know?" he nodded and pulled over. I did the same and got out of the car keeping myself from running towards him. "Hey." I said my face hot and I could tell I was blushing. "Hey Y/N you, you look absolutely fantastic today." " Thank you Sweet Tooth you look great as well." then there was a moment of awkward silence before he spoke up again. "I don't care if I sound silly or something but Y/N I missed you, a lot. I don't know what you did to me I can't stop thinking about you. It's okay if you don't..." he started but I didn't let him finish. I jumped into his arms, pulled his mask up and kissed him. I could tell he was surprised and that he definitely didn't know what he was doing but he tried his best to show me all the emotions he had for me while muttering sorrys and excuses which made me giggle. "Sweet Tooth stop apologizing. It's okay." " I'm sorry... I mean. I'm a little nervous I never had a girlfriend before." "So I'm your girlfriend now?" "If you want to. Oh and I cleaned the casino so if you want ... I mean..." " I shouldn't have left in the first place so I'd love to go home with you and see where this takes us." " I have the feeling that my heart is jumping in my chest Y/N. Can I maybe kiss you again? "" You can kiss me as much as you want. " and this time there where no apologies.

[peemanne]

Yakuza: Like a Dragon (or just yakuza 7) Review: My Life is Like a Video Game

Hey, it's Pee again! So there's this site called Backloggd that's basically just letterboxd for video games and I've been writing a bunch of reviews there, with a bunch of longer ones for RGG games because of course so. I've got one currently cooking for 0 and in the meanwhile, I've decided to put them up here too, for archiving or whatever. I also get to put silly captions on them now. So with that out of the way, here's the first big review I did: Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

Also might as well plug my backloggd in here if you wanna see the rest of the stuff I've done hehehehehe

This review is spoiler-free! Reviewed on Jul 12, 2023 Completed on the Playstation 4 Rating: 10/10 (5 Stars)

(spoilers you're gonna be seeing perfect scores for a bit i can't tell you just how much i love this franchise)

if you play the dub one of the first things you'll hear is the word "cumstain"

Very necessary "review funnies" aside, I adore Yakuza 7. I don't even typically like turn-based RPGS, but Yakuza: Like a Dragon had me in a trance that lasted the entire game and then some. Let's talk about the main gameplay first. Even as someone who doesn't have a lot of experience in this genre, even I can tell it's not exactly the deepest out there. The elements system is either more or less just an extra thing or strictly needed depending on where you are in the game, and in both it just feels kinda tacked on. The environmental system with the characters using the stuff around sounds cool on paper, but in reality it's barely utilized because of either DE physics destroying everything your character touches with their pinkie toe, or because you can't reposition your characters to actually pick it up. This is a shame, since it was a really cool way to integrate a big feature from the beat-em-up games. With these being said though, they're ultimately just small nitpicks. The gameplay is still pretty fun with the MP management, the perfect block system encouraging more active gameplay, and the various buffs and debuffs you can utilize. And the main thing that makes the gameplay here is the sheer spectacle of it all. Ichiban's imagination cranks everything up to 11, and if I'm being honest, that justifies the gameplay switch by itself. Yakuza has always had it's goofy elements, but amplifying it tenfold to differentiate your new protagonist was a great way to introduce this little soft reboot. Thanks to the Job system, there's countless amounts of these different, joyfully imaginative attacks. There's a chef job which has you whacking your opponents with frying pans and throwing kitchen utensils at them. The mage archetype in this game is "Homeless Guy", who uses pigeon swarms and breathes fire by drinking then spiting out alcohol. If you do the business minigame, you gain access to an attack that has you pimp slap the enemy with excessive amounts of cash. And the heat actions are the peak of all of this insanity. I was actually introduced to this series as a whole through a gif of Essence of Orbital Laser with the caption "I don't agree with your opinion". It gets very crazy, very fast, even for this series, and I love all of it. And I must reiterate, I'm not usually a turn-based RPG guy. But I could tell this entire game is just a sweetly written love letter to JRPGs. Even with me only understanding some of the references, I could feel the love that RGG put into this game. And if you're someone who's already an RPG guy, this love letter's gonna get even sweeter for you.

And then there's the story. Yakuza 7 has, in my opinion, the second best story in the entire series, second only to JE. It has a very strong emotional core, which made me cry a few times throughout the story, and finally had me BAWLING at 12:30AM when I played the finale. The themes of fatherhood and found family really come through here. You feel for Ichiban, and you root for him the entire time, as he goes through struggle after struggle. And the characters themselves are amazing, even for the high standards for this series. Ichiban is amazing, but his party members are too. The main 4 bounce off of each other super well and I love their dynamics. And the other 2 party members (no spoilers) have pretty distinct personalities as well which compliment the main 4 some more. Eri is also there, I guess. I like to imagine she's the camerawoman for all the cutscenes. Man, poor girl. The thing that really makes these character dynamics are the little party chats and table talks. They feel like a real friend group with all this really cutely-written banter. I actually just sat down and listened to all the table talks one day and I just had this big dumb grin on my face the entire time. I care so much for these characters just from the main story, but all the side stuff just made me really fall for them.

Let's talk about the rest of the side stuff next. This series is known for it's fantastic side content, but Yakuza 7 goes the extra mile for it. This title's jampacked with both new and old minigames to enjoy. Dragon Kart serves as the "main big minigame" for this one, and it's a fun distraction with all the customization, tracks, and the storyline. The Karaoke selection is strong in this one, which is probably what you wanna hear. Mahjong's not required for completion in this one, therefore I don't have to hear about people complaining about it, which is a plus. I like how the bonuses here for completing the minigames are helpful stat boosts for Ichi, which encourages playing different stuff around the map(s) without it feeling strictly needed. The substories in 7 are pretty good. Not the series' strongest, I'd say, but there's a decent selection here. A lot of them do a good job at characterizing Ichiban, and some of them have the funniest "goofy substory fights" in the series. You can fight a giant out-of-control roomba, a chimp riding a crane, and a "Piss Wizard". The poundmates system is also a really cool incentive for doing them, and has the bonus of reminding you of all the cool stuff you did while you're in combat. Also also, it serves as a "friends we made along the way" thing, which is pretty funny to think about.

Let's finish things off with the soundtrack. 7's OST focuses mostly on electronic music, moreso than the other games. This might be against some player's tastes, but personally, I think it fits really well. It gives a sense of this new generation, and of passing the torch while still keeping some of the sound of the old one. There are some amazing tracks on here that come out of this. To give some examples, Receive You the Hyperactive and Rolling Eyes Fall Down the Dragon Wall are some of the best tracks in the whole series, embracing the past while weaving in a new, crazy spin on it. Tracks like War Maker, Answer From Geomijul, and appassionato are basically rave music. Brutality and Triplet after Triplet are some very heavy sounding tracks which fit their respective boss fights perfectly. Enter the Tiger is a very underrated track and has a pretty unique sound compared to the rest of the OST, almost like it's straight out of a Hong Kong kung fu movie's score. And ism is a beautiful sendoff to it all, and a fantastic final boss theme. The soundtrack's full of bangers, that all fit their respective places well. Fun little tidbit, the track "From Today I'm a Dragon Racer" was meant for a the third fight with Ozaki in Chapter 11 of Judgment, but was scrapped, then reused here, so now the funny racing minigame just has this super badass main theme song.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon is just an amazing game, and another fantastic addition to the Yakuza series. This was a wild direction to take the franchise in, but in my opinion, that risk definitely paid off. Fantastic story, fun and imaginative gameplay, lovable characters, a boatload of side content, and a bopping soundtrack. It has it all. I cannot overstate how much I love this game, especially as a fan who's already familiar with the past games. I can't wait for Gaiden and LAD8. It's definitely a great time to be a Yakuza fan right now. Even if you're someone like me who wouldn't consider themselves an RPG fan, I would highly recommend giving Yakuza: Like a Dragon a try.

[demoiselettes]

Nightly Calls. (part 2) , (part 3)

Pairing(s): Giyuu x reader x Sabito/ Sabito x reader/ Giyuu x reader

Category: fluff fluff fluff

Warning(s)/note(s): fem! Reader, modern AU, college AU

A/n: guys, i just got an epiphany..i’m a sucker for polyamorous relationships like wjdbsksbd being sandwiched between two absolutely hot men? 👀 that’s a yes for me, but what poly relationship would you love to be part of from KNY? I’m curious

Between college and your part-time job, you didn’t have much time to care for yourself, much less get the daily required amount of sleep. Which is why when you opened the door to your dorm, you only had enough energy left to take a few steps inside before you plopped down on your bed, curling up into a fetal position without even bothering to shower or change into a more comfortable set of clothing. The only thing that was on your mind at that moment was about how nice it would be if you could sleep through your remaining college years.

You thought the vague and faint ringing was only in your head, perhaps you were developing tinnitus from the exhaustion. Was that possible? But tinnitus doesn’t sound like a ringtone, so you begrudgingly hoisted yourself up, propping yourself on your elbows with your stomach pressed against the mattress and fished for your phone from the pocket of your jeans. You blinked as the screen glowed to life, alerting you of an incoming face-time call from your best-friend. Despite the earlier fatigue, your face lit up at the sight of his name. It had been so long since you’ve last talked to these two, you were not going to let your sleepiness stop you from joining the call. Picking up, you adjusted yourself into a more comfortable position on your bed and stretched your legs while the call connected. At last, the tiny rectangle in the corner of your screen showed you his face in all his peachy glory, running his fingers through his hair. You resisted the urge to squeal, instead wriggling your fingers at him with a silly little grin. He reciprocated with his own cheshire cat grin before diverting his attention to elsewhere.

« Hold on, i’ll add Giyuu, »

And with that your heart began thumping even louder. It was ironic, you thought, that you had been friends with them for so long yet you still got excited whenever you had to interact with them in any way. Of course, you knew your feelings extended far beyond that of just the plain stage of ‘friendship’, but you’ve never expressed those feelings before, by fear of destroying what you already had. You’d rather much remain a good friend to them than break the bond which you cherished so much.

A second rectangle popped up and Giyuu was see adjusting his phone, his face unsurprisingly devoid of emotions but you knew better than to judge him based on that. He nodded at you, lips curling up into a small smile.

« Hello, [Name], »

« Hi, Giyuu, Sabito. How have you guys been? » you hoped your voice didn’t sound too excited.

Sabito huffed, pouting playfully. « How have we been? We’ve been texting you everyday but you barely answer. How have you been? »

It was true, and you did feel guilty about not replying to the goofy messages they sent in your group chat(even though Giyuu’s were goofy unintentional), but you had been loaded with work recently and you had to push your leisure time aside to complete your assignments and shifts.

« She must’ve been busy, don’t blame her, » Giyuu’s calm voice reprimanded lightly. Out of the three of you, he was probably the most mature and responsible one. Sabito only rolled his eyes, paying him no heed as his gaze bored a hole into you even through the screen and you were unsure of how the situation would have been had he been standing right in front of you instead of speaking to you through your phone.

You squirmed slightly, your expression turning sheepish. « Sorry, yeah, i’ve been pretty busy with work and all, and college has been kicking my butt. I’ll try to text more often, no promises though. » you giggled sluggishly. The world around you seemed to fade for just a second before everything stabilized again and you blinked away the sleepiness, missing the way Giyuu whipped his head to the side in a poor attempt at hiding the blush on his cheeks and Sabito covered the lower half of his face.

« You-«  Giyuu cleared his throat, « you must be tired. We won’t take up much of your time, get some rest, »

« No! » you sat up straight, almost almost throwing your phone on your bed, « i mean, yeah, i will, but i wanna talk to you guys it’s..it’s nice.. » you trailed off, fully aware of the burning sensation that was spreading across your face and refusing to make eye contact with either of them, though you could definitely feel their eyes on you. You heard rich laughter echo from your phone and you already knew it was Sabito. He kept his gaze on you, his eyes glinting with a strange emotion that you found yourself drawn to.

« Of course you want to talk to us, who wouldn’t wanna talk to this? » he gestured towards himself, an eyebrow quirked. « You’re one lucky girl, [Name], »

Of course i am, you thought as you laughed along to their antics. « Thanks for the reminder-« 

« We’re lucky too, » you looked over to Giyuu, head tilted to the side. « We’re lucky to have you.»

And as you choked on your own spit, painfully aware of how flustered you must look while Sabito threateningly asked Giyuu if he’s been taking lessons on flirting 101, you told yourself that you wouldn’t trade your friendship for nothing else in this world.

You don’t remember dozing off but sometime after you had all calmed down and another conversation had begun, your eyes that you were trying so hard to keep open eventually closed and your head dipped down, your breathing becoming shallow. Noticing your lack of reply, Giyuu and Sabito glanced back at you, their hearts skipping a beat at the sight in their screens, loose strands of hair falling over your face, soft snores escaping your mouth while you dreamt on. And when their names escaped your lips, they figured that maybe they shouldn’t wait around with the confession that was brimming.

« I wasn’t flirting, » Giyuu stated in a hushed tone, his eyes not once leaving you,« we really are lucky to have her. »

Sabito remained silent, studying you, his eyes trailing over your parted lips. « Yeah. Yeah, we are.”

[givemethatgold]

Fix’er Upper Pt. 4

Pairing: Eventual Frankie Morales x Reader Warnings: Injury, swearing, mentions of ptsd and drug use Length: 2k Notes: Hello my Freaky Darlings! I was watching The Martian while writing this and didn’t edit so bear with me and forgive errors!

Part One, Two, Three

Damn your stubborn pride. Damn it, and your swollen wrist, all to hell. Now that you were back at home, nursing your previously ignored injury, it was easy to forget why you had felt the need to work through the pain. Prime harvesting season was ending and all the old farmers in town were predicting an early frost. Knowing how this would destroy any unpicked apples, you had worked hard all day.

Frankie had grumbled at you once, an hour into the workday when he saw you emptying your half-full basket into one of the tractor-pulled bins. You didn't feel like explaining your stupid injury, or risk drawing his memory to when you eye-fucked him, so you just grumbled back an assurance that your total count would be the same.

He was slightly more attentive than usual, and you were worried he had read more into your glances than you had meant. Because, you still hated the guy, right? His... what was it again? Arrogance? Yes! That was it. 

Not wanting to encourage any more misconceptions, and still trying to hide your damn swollen wrist, you worked through your breaks and barely stopped for lunch.

Frankie had finally put his foot down when Jacquie had arrived with stew and biscuits for dinner, forcing you off the ladder and stashing it away to make sure you didn’t get the idea to head up again that day. 

You had successfully hidden your swollen wrist from him but knew that Jacquie had a much keener eye. So while you were remiss to leave the company of your friend you begged off dinner, citing exhaustion, and went home.

Now though, with a meal that paled in comparison to Jacquie’s cooking, and your bound wrist on ice, you wished you had stayed.

That is until you remember the moment when you had stared at your boss's lips for an inappropriately long time. With a groan, you decided to leave the dishes for tomorrow, just wanting to bury your head under your blankets and try to bury your embarrassment as well.

The sound of rain pelting against the window woke you a few short hours later. You would have just gone back to sleep but the memory of leaving a few windows open forced you out of bed. By the time you made it downstairs, the gentle rain had turned to a downpour of sleet and you could feel the cold air blowing through the house.

Your mind immediately went to the orchard. If this storm got any worse, a sizeable section of un-picked trees would be rendered worthless. Grabbing your boots and discarded coat off the floor, you rushed to your truck with freezing rain stinging your face. It wasn't until you were near the end of the driveway that you realized you hadn't closed any of the windows.

That wasn't what caused you to slam on the brakes, though. Frankie's truck had just turned down your driveway, fishtailing around the bend as he barely slowed down in his hurry. Seeing you at the last minute, he braked hard but the slush already accumulating on the ground caused him to skid. The impact wasn't hard but your smaller truck wouldn't be road-worthy any longer.

Wrenching your doors open and coming around the assess the damage Frankie was swearing while you were trying to decide whether to laugh or cry.

"What the hell are you doing?" Frankie called to you from across your crumpled hood.

"Me? ME?!" You countered, voice becoming shrill from panic and stress. "What the hell are YOU doing?!"

"Coming you help you and save your damn house from this storm!" He yelled back, giving a little jump and waving his arms out of frustration. It would have been comical under different circumstances. "This is gonna flood your fuckin' house!"

"Your orchard!" You were hollering now "This is going to ruin the rest of the apples!"

Jerking his head back Frankie looked at you with confusion, "What the hell are you worried about them for?"

His query forced you to stop and wonder that for yourself.

"I-" you stuttered, feeling a little silly "I don't know? Are you really going to argue with me though?! We've wasted enough time..."

Heaving a sigh, Frankie jerked his head towards his truck and growled, "Get in."

In a desperate bid to save as much of the fruit as possible, you and Frankie laid tarps down under as many trees as you could. Shaking the branches caused the ripened fruit to fall and you just prayed the rest would survive the sudden storm which had now turned to snow.

Working together you dragged each tarp towards the tractor and took turns driving the filled bins into the barn. It wasn’t a heated cab but still a nice respite from the blizzard.

By five a.m. you had done as much as possible and the adrenaline that had once been surging through the both of you had long faded. The snow had now slowed to a light drizzle but the ground was a slippery, muddy mess, as so were the both of you. Once Frankie noticed the shivers that wracked your body he ushered you into the barn and up the side stairs into his loft.

“It’s not much but it’s enough.” was his way of welcoming you into the space. It was cozy but lacking in luxuries or personal touches.

While Frankie got busy making tea and warming soup in the kitchen you explored the loft. It was one large room broken into three basic areas: his bed in one corner with a small bathroom just off the side, a kitchenette along the opposite wall, and a couch flanked by rocking chairs faced a fireplace at the end. Making your way over to the fireplace you intended on getting a fire going but were distracted by the photos decorating the mantel.

“You served?” Your voice came out sounding loud and strained, not at all the casual way you had intended. Frankie had been gruff with you but never unkind, however, seeing photos of him in uniform instantly raised your hackles. It was an automatic response from being reminded of your husband and you hated it.

Shaking the thought of Brad from your mind, you realized Frankie hadn’t answered and was just standing next to you, staring at the photos with a blank look on his face.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pried” you spoke softly, not wanting to spook him from his reverie.

You had seen that far-off look on your husband’s face when he had been home between tours. It had always been best to stay quiet and out of sight when he had gotten like that.

Frankie took a sudden step in your direction. That movement, mixed with the current memories swirling in the forefront of your brain, caused you to reflexively throw your arms up to cover your face. Hot tea spilled out of the mug Frankie had been passing to you and immediately burned the skin on your hands and arm.

“I’m sorry!” you cry out, immediately, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” Tears were spilling down your cheeks and you had instantly curled up, trying to make yourself as small as possible.

“Shhhhhh, no, nononono, shhhhhh” Frankie was frantically trying to reassure you while simultaneously trying to get close enough to assess how bad the damage to your skin was. He seemed to know that you were feeling unsafe so he made himself small and lowered himself to the floor. “That was completely my fault, right? Can I see?”

Taking a deep, shuddering breath you calmed yourself enough to see the warmth and worry in his eyes. Your heart immediately constricted for an entirely new reason when you noticed his posturing, how he had made himself smaller than you and had his hands out wide where you could see them, waiting for you to show him the severity of the burns.

This man had dealt with PTSD before. 

Nodding, you reached out both hands for Frankie to take and tried to swallow the embarrassment you felt from your little breakdown. That emotion was quickly forgotten, however, when Frankie finally got a look at you and noticed, for the first time, just how swollen your wrist was.

“What happened here?” he asked, sternly “Were you working all day like this?”

“It’s nothing,” you assured him, trying to pull your hands out of his firm but gentle grip, “just a little mishap from this morning. Don’t worry, though, I was able to work just fine.”

He let out of huff of frustration. “You think I’m worried about how many apples you picked? Jesus Christ, you must think I’m the biggest asshole around.”

“No,” you said quietly, still trying to calm down but also wanting to relieve the tension, “that title belonged to my husband. You,” you continued, ignoring the way his head snapped up to your face then back down to check your bare ring finger, “are just the biggest grump around and it’s intimidating.”

Frankie was silent again and watched his jaw tic as he digested this new information. He was still staring at your hands, cradled in his. The bright red hue of your skin must have jarred him from his thoughts because he quickly but carefully stood up, pulling you up with him, and ushered you towards the kitchen. As you sat on the counter with cold tap water flowing over your burning skin, Frankie flitted about searching for salves and gauze to protect the skin once it had been sufficiently cooled. You tried to reassure him that you would be fine but he wasn't hearing it.

He was talking now, hadn't stopped rambling, but of nothing consequential. You had a feeling there were a lot of secrets stored in his heart but knew you weren't in a position to be trusted with them. You found yourself wishing that you were. You hadn't realized you were nodding off, the strain of the past 24 hours finally catching up on you, until Frankie had called your name for the fourth time. He was, respectfully, keeping his distance not wanting to startle you again, but hovering close enough by to catch you if you slumped over in your doze.

"Come on," he murmured sleepily, "let me take you home. We're not getting any more work done here for a while so take a few days to rest."

"Oh Christ," you guffawed in a very unladylike manner, "how did I forget?"

"It looks worse in the light of day." Frankie chimed in, ruefully.

The two of you sat in the idling truck staring at the crumpled hood of your poor truck, which was inconveniently blocking your driveway.

"I'll call for a tow."

While he was on the phone he climbed out of the cab, assessing the damage and trying to figure out how much this was going to cost him. A few minutes later he made his way back into the warmth of his truck, "He won't be here till tomor-". Frankie let the sentence trail off once he noticed you'd fallen asleep, bundled up in the fleece jacket he had lent you. Sitting back in his seat, watching the sunrise dance across your face, Frank took a moment to think about everything that had transpired in such a short amount of time.

Closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the seat, he figured he'd let you sleep for a few more minutes before making you wake and have to walk the rest of the way to your house.

"As I live and breath..."

Jacquie's jubilant voice woke the both of you with a start. It was evening and Frankie's truck had been idling in your driveway for nearly 8 hours with the two of you passed out cold in the cab. At some point, you had shifted and were resting against Frankie's chest, his body turned toward yours and his arms wrapped tightly around you.

"Mark!" She continued to yell, "You owe me fifty bucks!"

PART FIVE 

[wickedgamesoyaoya]

The thrilling saga of Hanamaki, the hero of stench continued well past forty-five minutes. And if the conversation would stray away from the subject, the comments issued by those seated nearby would immediately return the group’s attention to the humorous topic. At this point, the poor male was unsure whether his ego would ever heal from the damage it sustained today. But what swelled the sense of embarrassment colouring his cheeks was the fact it was all because of a bodily reaction he could not control. Truthfully – the absence of understanding was quite rude.

Dejected, the pink haired male sunk into the leather seat, until his chin was nestled against the lower part of his neck.

“Stop that. You’re going to hurt your neck.” Iwaizumi tugged at his shirt collar to dispel the second-hand discomfort he was experiencing as Hanamaki squinted at him, refusing to budge from the stance.  

“Who needs a neck anymore. I don’t. What’s the point of going on like this? I may as well die.” The unemployed male sniffled, allowing his arms to go limp on either side of him. He was searching for sympathy and yet, all you could submit to him was your laughter. If only you could grab a photo – he could easily be turned into a meme.

“Stop being so dramatic. None of these people know you, and I doubt they will remember you after today.” Steadying his elbow against the glass table, the trainer curled his fingers into a fist then supported his cheek against it. “Sorry to break it you, but you’re not that important.”

“But I will remember.” He countered, his eyes now shifting into your direction, where you were seconds from pinching Iwaizumi’s exposed cheek. Pausing mid-motion with your finger’s inches away from his face, a sheepish smile decorated your features.

“What? Maybe this is karma for calling Tooru smelly yesterday.” While the response was clearly aimed at the sulking male, your y/e/c irises remained fixated on the one you deemed your favourite. Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow in partial interest as his attention went to your hovering hand.

“That’s funny, I don’t remember your name being karma.” A low growl rumbled inside of Hanamaki’s throat, earning him a reassuring pat from Matsukawa. He would have interjected more often if he was not preoccupied by the delicious dessert plated in front of him. Dessert took priority over drama when it was the embodiment of heaven. “Look, she’s not even paying attention me anymore!”

“Now, now children. We’re all friends here.” The funeral home attendant offered without much enthusiasm, before sticking a fork coated in cream into his mouth. “Y/n, say sorry so he won’t break his neck and die.” Upon hearing his suggestion, you jutted your bottom lip into a pout in protest.

“I don’t want an apology. How am I supposed to go celebrate with your boy-toy’s business partners smelling like mutated pig?” Despite knowing no one would notice the movement, Makki crossed his arms under the table, mimicking the stance of a stubborn child.

“I’ll buy you a new outfit, cry baby. We still have some time.” After being shot down by Iwaizumi three times, defeat was grudgingly accepted. Your reflexes were no where as cultivated as his were. “Let’s settle the bill and go shopping, boys! Your sugar mama is buying!” As the declarations registered with the boys sat around you, the napkin settled onto your nap was placed onto the table.

“Yeah, I think I’ll pass. I do need to grab something though for work, so I’ll meet you guys at the shop.” The trainer removed his wallet, then began removing some bills as the other two males celebrated your announcement by completing a high-five.

“I’m still buying something for you, Hajime. You cannot stop me if you are not there.” Tapping a single finger on the side of your head, a little ‘hmph’ was blown out.

“I won’t accept it.” He did not bother to lift his gaze, knowing well what silly expression would be adorning your visage. But what he did not account for was the threat falling from your lips.

“If you don’t, I’ll scream daddy at the top of my lungs right now.”

Matsukawa stifled his laughter at your threat, while Hanamaki finally adjusted his position on the chair, grinning ear to ear in amusement. Iwaizumi exhaled a long breath, pressing two fingers against the bridge of his nose. He knew that you were shameless enough to follow through with said warning.

“Fine. I’ll accept it.”

“That’s what I thought.”

**

One of the positives of being a model is that people generally trust your intuition when addressing matters of fashion. It was for this reason that both of your friends did not debate you on any purchases that were made on their behalf. Hanamaki’s only request was that you did not purchase anything Osamu would wear since the cook’s wardrobe consisted only of t-shirts and jeans. Within twenty minutes, both men were dressed in semi-formal attire, radiating a sense of prestige they would not otherwise have. You fit perfectly between them with your chosen ensemble – a black cocktail dress paired with shortcut boots. Heels may have matched far more, but the pain accompanying them was not worth it.

With an arm hooked to one best friend on either side, you felt royal even if they were not your escorts.

“What time is it now? Are we almost there?” The question was hummed out to Matsukawa, who was responsible for directing the trio. His eyes focused on the GPS on his phone before returning to the area ahead.

“It’s 7:25, y/n. We will be arriving according to the GPS at 7:29. We won’t be late… For the tenth time.” Casting a glance down at the shorter girl, he shook his head with a laugh leaving his lips. “So, you’re no longer Ariel, huh? Now you’re Cinderella.”

Hanamaki snickered at the observation, prompting you to lightly dig your nails into his arm in warning.  “I don’t want to mess up and be there late. Nakamura said to be there at 7:30 sharp. It’s supposed to be a surprise.”

“You’re stressing too hard for no reason. I’m sure he will be surprised if you’re there a minute late or early.” Leaning down, the funeral home attendant rested his cheek against your head in effort to sooth you. 

“You’re right…” The admission was accompanied by a weary laugh. “I just feel kinda weird in my chest. I don’t know.” Instinctively you tightened your grip on their arms, hoping to destroy the insecurities plaguing you with the warmth their bodies provided.

“I’ll text Iwa. We’ll go inside together. You’ll feel better if he’s here.” Hanamaki padded away on the screen, alerting their mutual friend that his presence was needed.

“Mm. Okay.” You were beginning to realize the negative emotions afflicting you was because you missed Oikawa. Celebrating achievements without him placed a hole deep inside of your heart – one that only he could fill with his dramatic facial reactions and goofy laughter. Little did you know the hole would only grow in size very soon. 

“Alright… So. It should be the shop right here.” Matsukawa’s voice led your attention back to the busy street. Blinking to readjust to the light, you paused when your friend did, then instinctively turned to the large windows of the shop. It was a normal reflex, one that your two friends mirrored. But none of you were mentally prepared for the scene melting into view.

Stood behind the transparent barrier was your fiancé, with three other figures. You did not pay any mind to the two men. No. Your focus was on the short blonde woman.

The same woman who was drawing your fiancé into a kiss with a fluidity that conveyed a sense of normalcy. No… She kissed him as if it were the most ordinary gesture in the world.

As if he was her lover and not yours.

Let’s do it again, shall we - human bomb

Masterlist - Previous - Next

A/N: o.o

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[kakashidaydreamer]

A shelter for young Kakashi

"Well, are the fish biting?"

The little gray-haired boy barely responded.

His father Sakumo Hatake had once saved my life. I adored him because he was not only a strong shinobi, but also a wise man, with a soft heart who understood the value of friendship.

I had just returned from my long training trip and couldn't wait to show Sakumo my progress. But all I found was a bare tombstone bearing his name.

I had hated myself for not being there. And when I learned the exact circumstances of his death, I almost ran amok in the village.

The villagers had destroyed Sakumo and it tore my heart apart.

Only this little boy here had kept me from forgetting myself.

"You're Kakashi Hatake, aren't you?"

He didn't seem too thrilled. I desperately sought his father's warm nature in him, but this boy seemed cold and bleak. I would have loved to take him in my arms right away, but to him I was a stranger and I didn't want to upset him any more than he surely already was.

"Talking drives the fish away."

An amused smirk spread across my lips.

"Sorry, how silly of me. Can I maybe make it up to you with a dinner invitation?"

The kid stared at me skeptically. Then he packed up his fishing line and wordlessly turned to leave.

"What, please don't run away, I just want to talk to you."

Abruptly he stopped and pulled out a kunai.

"Leave me alone, I don't know you!"

Startled, I stopped. To frighten him was really not my intention. So I raised my hands placatingly.

"Take it easy little man. I'm y/n."

I gave him a gentle smile and continued:

"I knew your father and I was hoping you and I could have a little chat."

He lowered his kunai but was still defensive.

"Don't worry I really don't want to hurt you. Hmm...let's see, do you happen to know Ramen Ichiraku? I'd really like to invite you."

He eyed me closely. I didn't expect so much distrust from my old friend's son. But it also reassured me that he was wary of strangers.

Finally he gave up his defensiveness and slowly nodded in agreement.

With a little distance, we walked together back to the village. Cautiously, I kept trying to strike up a conversation.

"So how do you like it at the ninja academy?"

"It's good."

He wasn't exactly talkative. But after all, the little guy had lost his father a few months ago, so why should he euphorically tell a stranger about his life. I decided to try it with a little humor and a big grin.

"Well, are you busy playing tricks on your teachers?"

He stopped and looked at me almost annoyed.

"No, How childish are you?"

Wow. That kid was a tough one. I would have loved to sink into the ground. There was a little boy in front of me, but it felt more like a bitter old man.

His manner struck me deep in the heart. What had this village done to him and Sakumo? I had to control myself to suppress my emotions.

Kakashi probably thought I was crazy already, if I started laughing in despair and crying at the same time, he would probably flee from me again. So I pulled myself together.

"So you are a diligent, well-behaved student. I'm glad to hear that. If you want, we can train together sometime."

I could have spared myself the smile. His look spoke a thousand words. He had to think I was a total loser. The kid was really getting to me. Someday I would prove him wrong, but now was not the time for that.

All I wanted at this moment was to be there for this boy. For now and if he wants - forever.

[set-in-stardust]

ahhhh scar songs listened to! i enjoyed lemon demon more than i expected tbh,,

eighth wonder:

scar's just A Guy who's Dubiously Human. He could be fae. he could be coming to steal your toes. your pronouns. He could simply just want your money. perhaps he's a demon. perhaps he's the void itself. does anyone know? no. he's just There and having fun with life.

extra clever earth-bound spirit/ghost in the form of a mongoose/and i have hands, and i have feet

he just has the things he has and he's accepting of it. he takes everything in stride, and he gets passionate but doesn't let people know just how much he thinks of things

i'll never die/i am a freak

see, my original thought was to laugh at this line, because scar dies so. much. he dies to everything in hermitcraft! but then, if you think about it, he's one of the. only hermits who doesn't make a big deal of it unless it's truly amusing (see him clipping on a leaf block in the Shopping District s7)? he's never phased by the deaths. they just. happen.

hello, i'm here/i'm living in the wall/i know i might be small, but/I, I, I, am a freak

consider: scar, much like mumbo, is a hermit who needs validation. he's there to help the other hermits, and even his pranks aren't truly pranks in the sense they'll permanently scar (hehe) anyone. he's constantly saying his builds aren't very good when in fact they are. absolutely amazing (can you tell the main hermit i watch from this? probably) and he quite literally is underestimated! he plays up the silly factor to pretend he has no clue what's going on, when in fact, he knows more than everyone realizes :3

also, on this part, it's very self assured until the last line! scar is the epitome of a perfect businessman- he's charismatic and charming and just a Very Nice Guy, but he also has Moments that some don't always catch.

thou wilt never know what i am

quick question does anyone understand the workings of scars' mind? no? okay great thank you for the input

i am the fifth dimension/and i'll split the atom

(void!scar void!scar void!scar)

annyywayyyys This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race:

this song gave me. many emotions. uhm. i ended up interpreting it as a bunch of little white lies supplemented with truth, so here's my short little take:

I am an arms dealer fitting you with weapons in the form of words

(idk i just find this funny thinking about this in relation to the pick-up lines book scar gave grian.) he's wingman-ing for both mumbo and grian, and he's also running a full time teaching job (and a company but that's not the important part)! he is literally teaching words to tools to be used, whether it's for flirting or fighting

And (don't really care which side wins)

oh, look, we're two lines into the song and scar's already pretending he doesn't know stuff! the scar we see with grian d e f i n i t e l y holds back information in order to make sure the idiots (affectionate) don't panic. he really does care which side wins in this case: i think he's getting them together if it's the last thing he'll do

As long as the room keeps singing that's just the business I'm in

listen this poor man just wants to be in the loop. he just wants to know what's going on. he need to plan, to counterattack, to defend, to send out the next move. this is my scar is more intelligent than everyone says propaganda.

this ain't a scene, it's a goddamn arms racex3/i'm not a shoulder to cry on, but I digress

scar. hun. we get it. you've been trying to get mumbo to confess and now you have grian on your plate too?? i know you said you have a flexible time schedule but sir i don't think you have any free time.

i'm a leading man/and the lies i weave are, oh, so intricate

scar has his own things going on and solely because this is grian's story do we not see what's happening with him. also. the bit about the lies: his little white lies are so precariously balanced that if one is destroyed, they all come crashing down. once you know each way he cons people, you'll never fall for them.

will i fit don't you know who i think i am on this post? probably not. 1/2 (:

~ ☁️

YESSS!!

i absolutely love ur analysis for Eighth Wonder. He's just a guy, but is he really? the bit about him dying just all of the time and not caring? seriously great points ur so right and u SHOULD say it

this aint a scene is just such a good Scar song too. like, him swindling people and the bits about how once you know his lies and tricks, he can't get you again? god, yes.

theres not much i can add to all of this, you've hit p much everything!! seriously great analysis, scratching the song analysis itch in my brain and im here for it

[nctzendreamz]

off the table — lee taeyong

genre: angst w/ hints of fluff.

warnings: language, mentions of drug abuse, and mental illness.

featuring: nct members + chan and felix from stray kids.

authors note: taeyong was perfect for this in my head. also, thank you ariana grande.

is love completely off the table?

will I ever love the same way again? will I ever love somebody like the way I did you?

it had been almost a year. almost a year since he had heard your laugh. you know, the one only he was capable of getting out of you. it was gentle, yet so vibrant that it could color even the most plain and unpleasant rooms. he had seen you do it a million times, but his favorite work of art of yours was the one you did on his heart.

obviously, he couldn’t see what the inside of him looked like. but he could feel it. before he met you, he was certain everything was pitch black. to be specific, the darkest shade of the night sky one could possible fathom. so much pain resided in him. some he brought to himself, some he did nothing to earn. regardless, it was there, and as anybody with demons did, he found coping methods.

that’s how he met you, actually. holed up a strip club he had no business being in. one, because there was no one here he truly wanted. he would never admit it outloud, but the thought of love warmed him. not much, but it did. more than silly one night stands that have soul ties no one wanted to keep.

you were clearly out of place in the building filled with the scent of marijuana and flashing lights, although it did perfectly consume your complexion in the most beautiful way. he observed you for what felt like hours, just admiring you. he had no idea he would want to do this for the rest of his life.

it didn’t take much liquid courage for him to approach you. he could sense your fear when his slender fingers touched your exposed shoulder. for some reason though, the minute your eyes locked it was as if you were looking at someone you had known for a million lifetimes. or maybe that was just Taeyong’s point of view. maybe, everything was all an illusion. meeting you. falling in love with you. you falling in love with him.

“it’s been awhile.” a voice snaps Taeyong out of his deep thinking. the minute his concentration breaks does his surroundings suddenly blast into the center of his cortex. the volume increases. he is in the real world again. he isn’t high, yet.

“yeah.” is all he can spit out. all of the different coversations he could hear take place all of a sudden was making him extremely frustrated and unable to form coherent thoughts. or maybe he wanted it that way so he wouldn’t have to think about you.

you loved coming here. he hated coming here. but he loved you, and your favorite thing to say to him was, “when you love someone, you do things you hate. just like me sitting and watching you smoke for hours without stopping.”

he never realized how much you hated his distractions.

the here, was a restaurant that resembled a sports bar back where you are from. the food was less Korean and more greasy chicken tenders. and you really admired their honey mustard. it was kind of ridiculous how much you loved this place. it was always crowded. the smell was odd - a mixture of people who can’t seem to do anything but drink beer and yell, and foreigners who hated living in Korea. this was the only taste of home they got, so they took advantage of it.

did you feel that way too?

he doesn’t know. and he doesn’t want to think about it. some soccer game was on. people were cheering. he was just waiting on his to-go order.

“how have you been?” the familiar woman asks behind the counter. she was definitely in her mid-50’s. he assumed. she always would be here when Taeyong was dragged along, and she was always nice. who wouldn’t be with all the money you gave to this place.

“i’ve been fine.”

taeyong feels a little cheery conversating with another human. if it wasn’t his dealer, there wasn’t anything to say if he was being quite honest. his relationship with his family died out a long time ago. the only person that he could talk to was himself. the guys who were constantly down in the basement at his dealer were cool, but they never really got him. they thought he was weird, violent. only you cared enough to see how sweet he was. to paint him.

“good to hear. you tell your lover that i miss them!”

his heart, still colored from the mention of you, breaks. it had broken many times from your presence on this earth being acknowledged. everytime his chest would explode into his stomach.

he couldn’t say anything.

he simply walks out the place, not caring about manners. he just wants to go home. he doesn’t even like these fucking chicken tenders, but he’s going to go home and eat them. in your honor.

“excuse me.” a voice exclaims as he finally makes it outside.

once again, words don’t leave his mouth. the woman was probably lost. he truthfully didn’t care. he didn’t care about anything anymore.

“sorry,” she begins. her hair is almost a white color. it’s clearly dyed, but she might have been naturally a darker shade of blonde since the coloring seemed too perfect. “i just...i’ve been watching you - wait, that sounds incredible creepy—“

no one could compare to you, but she reminded him of you. you always did this when you were nervous, or had a severe lack of sleep. you would say things you considered to be silly. fumble with your words. and you would always ruin it more by acknowledging it.

but he was never irritated. he thought it was the cutest thing in the entire world. you were the cutest thing in the entire world.

even now, he’s okay. maybe because he was reminded of you, he can appreciate the art.

“you’re really cute.” she finally spits out.

he couldn’t respond, for the third time today.

why was this so hard? it has almost been a fucking year. a year without you. a year without touching you.

yet, no one could ever compare. not the blonde woman standing in front of him. not the sky. not the stupid bar. even his drugs seemed lackluster to the high you gave him whenever you told him you loved him.

he walks away. he needs something. something to make him unable to think for the rest of the night.

never thought you’d be so damn hard to replace. i swear I don’t mean to be this way, if I can’t have you? is love completely off the table?

“y/n? you there?” you feel vibrations from snapping on your face from the man sitting beside you. he snapped three times, to be exact.

“yeah! yes.” you quickly correct, adjusting your posture along with it.

“i know you appreciate the arts, but that painting is nothing to stare at.”

the painting chan was referring to, seemed plain to a simple eye. it simply, was a black square. but you saw worlds in it. you saw him.

“you know christopher,” you cooed, giving his slim cheek a quick sqeeze before continuing, “just because something seems boring to the naked eye, doesn’t mean it actually is. sometimes, a simple work of art such as that lame black square can hold a thousand meanings.”

he smile is radiant. honestly, the neon colored walls in the movie theater couldn’t compare to it no matter how hard it tried. lately, you had been trying to predict what he would say when you tried to be somewhat of substance around him. you were truthfully scared of boring him.

maybe you saw yourself in the black square as well.

“you really find it interesting, love?”

his accent - God his accent. it had an effect on you that truthfully wasn’t healthy, but even so you always felt guilty when your heart would papilate as it touched your eardrums. but why? you were single. you were moving on.

you can’t even look at him anymore, so you settle on the painting once more. now that you think about it, it was kind of scary that it was in a movie theater. maybe chan was on to something - what was its purpose? to simply cause you pain? to make you think about things and people you could no longer have? a person who is the worst possible thing for your growth, but the best food for your pitiful, lonely soul?

“never mind, you’re right.” you stand promptly, suddenly wanting to get as far away from the evil on the wall. it didn’t matter how chilly it was outside.

“woah.” chan chases after you. you’re too quick though. you’ve practically swam through the crowd to escape into fresh air. what is wrong with you?

it doesn’t take long for you to find yourself at his car. his pride and joy by the way, in which he never let anyone else ride in yet. he had been saving for so long to get it. you didn’t know the model, all you knew was that it made loud noises when he wanted it to. the car was originally white, but the two of you agreed that it was the worse possible color for a car, so he got a paint job and now it was as black as a dark hole.

the stars are beaming, and it’s odd. you used to love nights like this. you preferred the day time, but it was something about a light in the dark, such as the moon that pulled you in. it always destroyed you in the end though.

“what did I do?” his voice snaps you out of your thoughts.

“huh?” you wizzle in confusion, not understanding why he believed he had done anything but gave you a peaceful night not lost in your thoughts.

his eyes tell you everything you need to know before his mouth does. he isn’t questioning your ever changing emotions and happiness to hear satisfaction from your mouth - to boost his ego. he truly feels as if he’s ruined any chance he’s had with you simply from being himself. even so, as he waits for you to answer he’s taking his bomber jacket off for you to wear. he was sweet like that.

“chris, you are always perfect. why would you think anything different?” you say as you put the jacket on.

he’s holding back a smile, but you can tell it’s more so from your proper word choice, and not what you said.

“you trying to sound English?”

“no.” you giggle, pushing his shoulder lightly. “I’m just trying to communicate with you.”

“then tell the truth.” he prompts, taking a step closer to you.

“can I lean on the car?”

“yes.” he laughs in a low tone. “you can lean on the car.”

“okay.”

“okay.”

silence is filling the air, and it’s making you sick even though it shouldn’t be.

“y/n.” he finally speaks. you decide you have the balls to look at him even though it feels so wrong. the stars - they’re sparkling right into his eyes and you know you are the dumbest idiot on earth.

why can’t you just choose him?

the question is repeating over and over in your head, but no answer comes. well, no answer you want to hear comes. this should’ve been easy money. the perfect guy, with a good family and solid morals is madly in love with you. he’s still here, even when you barely give him anything to work with, and you’re thinking about others who were nothing close to that no matter how they made you feel.

“my confession ruined everything, didn’t it?”

it was about two months ago that chan confessed his love for you. you laughed a bit, as it made no sense. the two of you had been in the same circle for awhile, and you had been notified of his appreciation for you long ago, but he had seen you break. he watched you go from happy soul to broken and he still liked you? in what world?

you enjoyed his company. that’s why you began to hang out with him practically everyday - doing whatever you two wanted. most of the time you two just watched movies, or played silly board games. but sometimes you would go shopping, or he would play you his music he worked on. you could tell he lacked confidence on what he could become, but you knew he had the potential to be so great.

his confession was short and sweet. and the way he approached you, you could tell he was somewhat confident that you would feel the same. you did feel the same, but you also still had feelings for others. when you declined his request to take things to the next level, he didn’t get upset. or at the least he didn’t show it.

he promised the two of you would move at your pace. and that was all you needed to hear to know that maybe one day, when you got yourself together, the two of you could be something.

chan always protected you. you never felt endangered, or unsafe when you were with him. to you, he was sweet, to others he was still sweet, but he knew when to be stern.

“no. i promise.” is all you answer. “it’s cold.” here you go again trying to change the subject. this wasn’t like you.

he promptly unlocks the door to his car, opening it for you as well. it isn’t long before he’s on the drivers side turning on the car so you could feel some heat on your body.

“i won’t bring it up anymore.” he sighs.

“no chris. you bring it up everytime you feel it. i like you, okay? i do. i know I’ve never said it out loud before, but I do. i just...i don’t know what I’m doing right now. there are some things I have to get over you know?”

you can tell the amount of words you used - probably the most you had spoken to him in months shocked him, and made him feel extremely guilty. you know he didn’t want you to feel like he was trying to pressure you. all he wanted to have was something. something that made him feel as special as he knew you had made others feel in the past.

“y/n I’m a fucking idiot. God, don’t listen to me. you are perfect okay? we are working at your pace and we always will. i - fuck.” his face goes directly in his hands.

it’s cute - the way he cares about his every move around you so deeply. you remember what it felt like to feel like that. it was the most nerve wracking, yet butterfly giving thing to experience when around someone you admired so much.

“chris...” you whisper, removing his face from his palms. he had the softest hands ever. “hey, don’t beat yourself up okay? i know what you want and I know you have nothing but the purest intentions. if I didn’t feel that way I wouldn’t want to spend everyday with you okay? whatever you think this is, it is. i promise.”

“okay.” he sighs the biggest breath of relief you had heard in a long time. “okay. i know what we need.” he offers. your hand lingered on his, and he decided it would be best to hold yours as the opportunity presented itself. it’s nice - the warmness. yet, it feels incredibly wrong.

you truly didn’t mean to be this way. you would do anything to not be this way.

“let’s go cop something from felix. hm?”

what chan was reffering to was the good ole’ mean green, weed. you smoked a lot more in the past than you did now, but you were still no angel. especially tonight did getting high sound like the best decision you could have made.

“yes please.” you say without hesitation, leaning back in the seat. your left hand is still in chan’s right, and you don’t plan on letting go. felix’s house isn’t that far from here, so you know your pleasure will be coming sooner or later. chan starts the car and begins the journey. usually, the two of you drive with music on, but tonight the silence was what the both of you wanted.

secretly though, chan snuck his AirPod into his left ear. he loved music, but he could tell you weren’t in the mood. and he didn’t mind that. he would do anything for you. the lyrics resonated with his with his soul so much that he felt it ache, even though he felt he had no right.

i’ll wait for you

even if I always feel like I’ll be number two

to someone you can’t hold anymore

taeyong can’t even recall how long he had been pent up here, high as hell. intoxicated as fuck. the chicken tender meal he brought had been long gone, but not from his mouth. the junkies smelt food, and took food like the animals they claimed to be.

this all sucked so bad. he hated being here. but he couldn’t move.

it was so loud in here. the boys he knew - johnny, mark, and jaehyun were all present. they seemed to be the leaders of the basement and they also seemed to be functioning quite well considering how high they also were. taeyong couldn’t fathom or make out what their conversation were, but he assumed it was about girls. he caught, “they’re supposed to be here any minute now.” from jaehyun’s lip. he seemed to be the strongest ladies man. all taeyong knew, was that he wanted no parts of the drug induced orgy he knew was going to take place. he also knew if he didn’t leave, they didn’t care. they were going to give a show regardless.

“taeyong!” johnny yells, bringing him back to focus. johnny was always very intimidating. he wore a smile when he got what he wanted, but if he spoke to you and you didn’t listen, he quickly got upset. maybe he was different when he was sober, but that was never.

“what’s up.” taeyong answers dryly, still not looking at him.

“you know,” johnny sits down in the dirty floor right beside him. “you’ve never been fun, but you were more fun before than you are now.”

“i went through this phase.” mark interrupts, taking the seat on taeyong’s opposite side. “what is it? mommy issues? a girl? or a boy? if you get spicy like that.” he chuckles. he coughs right after.

“how about everything. except the last part.” taeyong whispers.

“oh...you have it rough. was your mom a druggie too?”

“no - well, I don’t know. i met her like once when I was younger. she told me ‘i did it for your good’ and left.”

“so you were in a foster home? or did you get adopted?”

“foster home. neglected, so now I’m like this.” he chuckles. he’s laughing, but in reality to admit these things out loud hurt, even though he was sure the other boys had similar or worse stories.

“and the girl?” mark asks. he had began to roll up another blunt in the midst of taeyong’s life story. maybe it was too much for him. or maybe he was just an addict.

“i cheated. and i was mean. she was the best thing ever though. she got me clean.”

“for what? a day?” johnny laughs outloud.

“well, not clean clean.” he explains. “but off the hard stuck like coke, and lsd and shit. we both smoked weed. and I smoked cigs.”

“ew!” the two of them exclaim. “cigs?”

“so you’re telling me that the two of you do every drug under the sun, but cigarettes are where you draw the line?”

“duh!”

“have you seen all the commercials? with the person with the hole in their throat sounding like the old shriveled lady from spongebob going ‘chocolate!’ we don’t want that!”

“cigarettes aren’t the only thing that can cause that, you know?”

“whatever.” johnny shivers as if he had just gotten the worse news ever. “so this girl wasn’t a druggie? why did she even like you?”

“i don’t know. still to this day I don’t know. but she did. and she tried everything to make me happy. it just felt too good to be true, so I ruined it.”

“damn bro.” mark sighs, taking a deep puff of his blunt. “i thought people only did stupid shit like that in the movies or tv shows.”

“hey hey now, markie.” a voice speaks out of the corner. “be nice to our new friend.”

it’s jaehyun. funny enough, jaehyun tried to get at you once long before you met taeyong, but you had no interest in him once you found out his issues. then again, while he was attracted to you, he didn’t want you to love him. he just wanted to corrupt you.

“our boy is broken hearted. seems to me like he just needs some fun.”

“relax, jae.” johnny explains. “he’s not there yet. let him fall for us on his time.”

“what are you on right now?” jaehyun inspects.

“just a couple of blunts.”

“so just a starter?”

“hyung...” mark sighs.

“okay okay. fine. but when the heartbreak starts to kick in more, i got something that’ll change your life. you just let me know.”

“he will.” johnny and mark say once again in unison.

“boys!” a voice yells. it makes everyone stand up minus taeyong, as he had no idea who it was. he can hear feet coming down the steps. there’s a boy with blonde hair. the same boy who let him in. he was a new face, but clearly an important one from the way even jaehyun was waiting for his comment.

“hi felix!” everyone begins to repeat after eachother.

his voice is deep as he speaks, and his accent is thick. his face itself may have not been scary, but the way he carried himself was.

“clean up this fucking mess. i know you can’t do anything about the shitty couches, but make an attempt. i got some good people coming over and I need quiet. when I bring them down here to show them the product, i need everyone on their best behavior.”

“what exactly does that mean?” taeyong speaks. maybe he shouldn’t have, because everyone is looking at him as if he just called the president a bitch to his face or something.

“you’re new here.” felix explains as he finishes his strut down the stairs. he can be seen more clearly now, and his outfit reminds taeyong of someone you knew. he couldn’t remember his name, but it was chan or something. “well, new to me.”

“and?”

“and...” felix crouches to his level. “im the boss. and all of you do what I say. my brother ran this like a crackhouse. i want us to make some real money, therefore you all will be getting cleaned up. there will be people coming in and out, looking at what we have, so try not to act like the druggie you are. thanks.”

“yes sir.” taeyong says, although he has no intentions of respecting this felix cat.

the doorbell rings promptly. the house wasn’t so big that they wouldn’t be able to hear. clearly this felix had plans to change that, but for now he had to settle.

“that’ll be them. look like friends so they won’t be scared. they’re not like us. or, what you will be.”

with that he leaves. everyone is silent as they want to know who exactly is this person. they all expected some rich man with a million connections to be at the door. they hear one voice - an accent is present. he’s laughing, and they hear the sound of them dapping up.

“friend.” the voice says. they must have not seen each other in a long while. “what’s up? how have you been?”

“oh, I’ve never been better.” felix says. “and y/n.”

the sound of your name makes taeyong’s heart stop in his chest. what the? how could you of all people be here? you hated drugs. this was clearly a trap house. this is where taeyong would go to get everything you wanted, but you always refused to go with him. what male had you here?

jaehyun is smiling as he recognizes your name too. taeyong can’t notice though as he is genuinely about to have a panic attack.

“come downstairs will you? since chan told me it was a special occasion, I decided I’d let you two take a look.”

“felix...are you running a trap house?” you joke, not realizing how true your words were.

“not at all, sweets.” he relaxes you. “i just have good shit from my brother that needs to be sold. this is our little secret though.”

“we know.” chan answers for you. “snitches get stitches.”

“and end up in ditches.” felix finishes. “there are people down here, but they’re just chilling. don’t be scared.”

the three of you make your way down to the basement. jaehyun is the first face you recognize. you feel sick, but he didn’t phase you that much.

the black haired boy though, sandwiched between two other guys, makes your trip and fall on the disgusting floor.

it’s him. it’s really him.

why? all you wanted to do was have fun. all you wanted to do was forget him.

you can see in his eyes does he want to explode. but this was his fault. this was all his fault.

to be continued...

[justasparkwritings]

Peace: Wasting Your Honor

Previous: Coming of Age

Pairing: Jungkook X Reader

Genre: Angst / Slice of Life

Rating: PG15

Word Count: 1.7k

Warnings: Swearing, Everyone’s a villain, Hyung line out of line, Intentions, Accusations

Summary: The Leader & Hyung Line have a terse conversation with Jungkook’s girlfriend. 

Listening: peace by Taylor Swift 

Peace Master List

                “So, we just wanted to talk,” Namjoon said, sitting across from you at their long dining table. 

            “Okay, about what?” You asked, a smile on your lips. Jungkook had asked you to meet him at the dorm. You were visiting Korea for the first time and he wanted to show you every important place in Seoul. The dorms being one of them. There had been discussion of sex in his room, a fantasy he’d had but never fulfilled. You were cautious, unsure how his six roommates would react to you spending more time around them than they deemed necessary. 

            “About you and Jungkook,” Namjoon replied. As the words came out of his mouth, Jin and Suga came to sit on his right and left sides. You glanced at the three men, all dressed in sweats, and wondered if this sinking feeling in your gut was to be trusted. 

            “What about us?” You asked hesitantly. 

            “We wanted to talk about the longevity of your relationship, and why the fuck you are dating him,” Yoongi said. 

            Your interactions with Namjoon, Yoongi and Jin had been polite so far. You’d gone out to dinner with them and had spent a day following them through rehearsals and work. They’d been cordial to you. They hadn’t sought you out or tried to get to know you but watched from the periphery. You took notice that Ho-Seok, Taehyung and Jimin weren’t to be found. While the three hyungs were cool to you, the maknae took to you like snow to the mountains. They had made it their mission to befriend you, to learn all they could, to practice their English with you and ask you silly questions. A text change had already started and was filled with gifs and broken English. The feelings were mutual: you were already obsessed with them. 

            You looked around the dining room, wondering why Jungkook wasn’t here for this. Where was he? 

            “So, why Jungkook?” Jin asked, eyes unmoving. 

            “What do you mean why?” You countered. 

            “Why are you dating him?” Seokjin answered. 

            “I’m dating him because I care about him, and I really like him,” You responded, arms instinctively crossing over your chest. 

            “Do you really like him?” Namjoon pushed. 

            “Why is that your business?” You countered. 

            The three men exchanged a glance. They were negotiating, who was going to come down the hardest, and were they going to abandon ship, telling management it was ridiculous? You watched them, eyebrows knitting together, trying to piece together what was transpiring. 

            “Have you ever dated a pop star before?” Jin asked. 

            “No,” You said. Your mind was racing to fill in the blanks before they asked for them. Could you brace yourself for whatever impact was coming? 

            “Why do you think you’re cut out to date Jungkook?” Yoongi asked. 

            “Why is this your business?” You asked again. 

            “Have you ever dated someone of Asian heritage?” 

            Your eyes went wide. 

            “Are you implying what I think you are?” You whispered. 

            “Depends, what do you think I’m implying?” Yoongi replied. 

            “That I’m dating Jungkook because he’s Asian and I have a fetish for Asian men.” You spat the words out. Their lingering taste threatening to make you vomit on the table. 

            “Then yes, that is what we’re asking.” Yoongi was calculated, he measured his words, gauging what would make you more upset. You were more likely to forgive him if the assumption came out of your own mouth. 

            “You came out of nowhere, you aren’t wealthy, you aren’t famous, and yet you’ve captured Jungkook’s heart and attention. You take up his time, he’s flying out to see you, calling you at all hours. You are taking over his life, a life he has worked hard to build and rebuild,” Namjoon felt like he was a Principal, scolding a wayward student. He used Managements language as much as he could, an attempt to separate himself from this entire situation, though he knew this was equally his fault. But if he could separate himself, stay true to the promise he’d made Jungkook, then he could absolve himself. 

            “We met at a restaurant. I haven’t asked him to visit me. He calls me when he can, I’m sorry that it interrupts your life but how is that my fault?” 

            “It’s your problem because he is spending too much time on you,” Namjoon countered. 

            “Why aren’t you talking to Jungkook about this? He’s the one you’re having a problem with.” You said. You inhaled slowly, unwilling to show the deep hurt you were feeling. 

            “But the problem stems from you,” Jin said. You could tell from the glint in his eyes that Jin didn’t want to be there; he didn’t want to have this conversation with you. 

             In fact, none of them did. They didn’t want to do this; they didn’t want to be the brass coming down on you and Jungkook. They couldn’t let on that they had fought with management about this. They had many meetings with Big Hit, all of which lasted hours longer than was needed. They opposed this conversation, this bait and switch to get you to either sign an NDA or dump Jungkook. As the three of them sat, two and three drinks in, they had discussed what would happen to their relationship to Jungkook, and how he would handle learning of their conversation with you. 

            “He’s never going to forgive us,�� Yoongi said. 

            “How will she ever befriend us, if we’ve started out as enemies?” Seokjin asked. 

            “Maybe management will come through and say something,” Namjoon offered. They found little solace in this. 

            “She’s really cool,” Yoongi said. 

            “Taehyung and Jimin can’t stop talking about how funny she is, it’s hurting my ego,” Jin added. 

            “She’s good for Jungkook… I think he loves her,” Namjoon said. His head was clouded with alcohol and anger. He had raised Jungkook. After the months of reconciliation Namjoon and Jungkook had endured, this tactic was broaching a level of deceit and betrayal that he was positive they would ever recover from. They tried to tell Big Hit this, that they shouldn’t be put in this place, not after what had happened, but management had wanted them to try and make a connection, to make it seem like the proverbial man wasn’t guiding their every decision. 

            But it was the opposite, and you all knew it. 

             “Why should we trust you?” Yoongi asked. 

            “How do we know you won’t destroy Jungkook?” Jin inquired. “Use your texts and photos against him?” 

            Your mind racked through what you could say to dissuade their fears. You waited a minute too long. 

            “Those aren’t rhetorical questions,” Namjoon urged you. He recognized Jungkook would be coming back soon, and he was more embarrassed to be caught having this conversation than having to relay it to JK later.  

            “I’m dating Jungkook because I care deeply for him,” Your eyes were pleading, “I don’t care about the money or the status or the fame. I care about him.” 

            “Say this continues, how will it look to have you on JK’s arm?” Yoongi asked. 

            “Stop circumventing your point. Say it, or move on,” Your ability to hide your emotions was waning and you spoke through pursed lips. It was taking everything in you not to storm out or break down in sobs. There was no way you would give them the satisfaction of seeing how many pieces they’d broken you into. 

            “You’re not Korean, you’re heavy, you’re mixed race, you don’t speak the language, you don’t fit.” Yoongi laid out each point like a nail in your crucifixion. Yoongi was repeating what management had written. They had these views, not him, could you tell from his eyes that he was trying to apologize? 

            “We’re saying that we don’t know how this is going to work,” Namjoon said. 

            “You’re saying that I’m some fat, old, American who is dating Jungkook for his money and fame,” You looked each of them in the eye. “You don’t even know me.” 

            “Well, from what we can see, your fetishizing of Jungkook is disgusting, and frankly, that and your age is enough to show us that he shouldn’t be dating you.” Yoongi said coolly. 

            “Why are you doing this?” You whispered. You couldn’t hold it in, the crack of your resolve had sprung a leak and the tears began to fall. You watched as they fell delicately on your sweater. 

            “Jungkook is honest, he is shy and kind. He wears his heart on his sleeve and breaks easily. He pushes himself too hard, and he’s always scared he’s not living up to his potential. He is the most honorable of us, and who are you to be wasting his honor?” Seokjin asked. 

            “We have to protect Jungkook,” Namjoon said, though he was positive no one believed him. 

            “There are a hundred ways you and management could’ve done this, ways that would’ve been kinder,” You looked up, each of them blurry as you blinked down your tears. You grasped onto the last shred of your dignity and stared each of them in the eyes. “You chose the most malicious, repulsive, heartbreaking way to – 

            “See if you’re a gold digger?” Yoongi asked.  

           “Fuck you, Yoongi,” You said, standing up. “Jungkook always says that you are the sweetest guys. You are loving and take care of one another. You raised him. I know you fucked him over one too many times, and I know he is still hurt from the wounds you inflicted,” You stare pointedly at Namjoon, “But, I don’t know, maybe in controlling him, in raising him, you gave him all the love and decency you had, so that he could be the thoughtful, sensitive person he is. Or maybe you’re just blinded by pride and a false sense of security, but I’m not a fucking threat to you, and I’m not a fucking threat to Jungkook. If management has a problem with me, they can fucking call me.” You turned on your heels sharply and marched out of the room. 

           Jungkook stood at the door, eyes wide. Your shoulder brushed against his as you made your way down the hallway, trying to hold in your sobs until you were out of their sight. 

           “Kookie, wait,” Namjoon stood. 

           “What did you do?” He asked, looking at the three men. Anger was spewing from his lips. He’d never felt this level of hate and betrayal. “Why did you do that?” 

           “Management,” Jin said as he took the notes Big Hit had given them out of his pocket and pushed it against the table towards Jungkook. He stared, eyes glossing over the words. 

           “I can’t believe you did it,” He said to them. His eyes had gone dark. Namjoon was right, it would’ve been better to tell him after the fact than be caught failing to complete the hit. Jungkook turned sharply and began to run after you. 

      Next: Loves for Show

[lunarmessenger]

“hey how about some headcanons on the RFA friendships like jaehee and zen, zen and yoosung, yoosung and seven, etc! btw Im so obsessed with your blog

(headcanon request from @whatamystic-mess !!!) oh my god yes i love this??? thank you so much for requesting haha this was so much fun to write (and imagine scenarios they’re all so precious) thank you for enjoying my blog!! i’m glad you like it uwu - luna xx

p.s. i just did the ones you listed because i couldn’t stop writing about those specific pairings haha sorry!! but if you’d like to see other pairings please don’t hesitate to ask!! k here it is ilysm xx

Zen and Jaehee: Everyone Thinks They’re A Couple

• Ya’ll knew I had to do it to em

• 100% they’re the friends that literally everyone is always pressing that they’re a couple in secret

• But they’re genuinely just? really good friends?

• You know that Zen is constantly asking Jaehee to come over to critique his performances to see how he can improve and what his fans are wanting to see next

• Just how Jaehee seeks Zen’s advice on learning how to relax every once and a while and not stress over every little thing (since Jumin literally destroyed her ability to take some time to herself)

• They also fiercely defend each other, and it becomes more prominent after Jaehee leaves her job as Jumin’s assistant (which is why everyone thinks they’re a couple

• “Jumin leave Jaehee alone she left for a reason maybe if you treated her like a human being she wouldn’t have left the way she did”

• “Mr. Ha—Jumin. For the last time, Zen is allergic to cats. He will not be participating in anything cat related for your company.”

• Saeyoung is constantly teasing them about when they’re going to get together which of course makes Jaehee blush and Zen smirk at such a silly thought

• Yes, Zen definitely flirts with her from time to time because he thinks her reaction is the funniest thing

• Truly though they’ve both honestly thought about the idea of dating and realized they’re much better as friends than lovers

• In all seriousness though their bond was established fairly quickly due to having to become severly independent in their childhoods?? Zen ran away because of his mother’s emotional and verbal abuse, where as Jaehee felt very unwanted due to her uncle’s wife’s distain towards her (i will fight both of these women they don’t deserve these two!!)

• They were forced to learn not to depend on anybody and in being friends with each other they’ve taught one another that it’s okay to ask for help and confide in someone every now and then

• (brb crying cause honestly zen and jaehee’s friendship is a lot like my friendship with my best buddy irl T-T)

Zen and Yoosung: Big Brother

• Listen to me LISTEN TO ME.

• BIG BROTHER ZEN

• We all know that Zen would try his absolute hardest to get Yoosung away from his computer and out into the real world

• But not in an unhealthy way where he makes Yoosung feel bad for it???

• Zen understands that LOLOL is Yoosung’s way to cope with his loss for Rika; but he just wants what’s best for him so he���s always urging him to try a little harder in school and leave his dorm once in a while just to get some fresh air

• “I wasn’t always that great in school and I didn’t even finish Yoosung now look at me; barely scraping by in a basement apartment do you really wanna end up like me???”

• “Well yeah Zen at least you have women fawning over you T-T”

• Not the point Yoosung not the point

• Yeah though Yoosung definitely looks up to Zen and cares about him in a very brotherly way; admires him for his endurance and ambition to pursue what he loves no matter how hard he struggles for it

• Also we know that Zen would do everything he could to make Yoosung feel cared for an validated, especially since his own older brother ended up turning his back on him when he needed him the most

• We also know that Yoosung would always ask Zen for advice with women as well as asking him if he wants to hang out every once and a while

• “Hey Zen if you’re not busy do you think maybe we can go hang out or????”

• And we all know Zen would feel the absolute worst denying Yoosung so you bet he makes time to hang out with him :’)

• Their friendship is definitely about benefiting each other as well; Zen teaching Yoosung how to branch out and strengthen his ability to concentrate on what’s important

• While Yoosung, without really knowing it, is teaching Zen that responsibility is important and that having someone looking up to you as a role model is an unexplainable (but amazing) feeling

Yoosung and Saeyoung: The Chaotic Duo

• We all know that Saeyoung can be pretty excessive with his teasing on Yoosung (and how much he enjoys it lol)

• But you bet that when they come together for either gaming or plotting fun schemes against the other members they are seriously dangerous

• Yoosung’s creativity combined with Saeyoung’s resources meant that there was usually a lot of cleaning up to do on both Jumin and V’s ends (sorry guys we all know that Saeyoung automatically reverts in age when around Yoosung)

• Yet when they’re not being silly together Saeyoung is actually extremely protective of Yoosung (and that may stem from what happened with Saeran)

• Whenever there’s a slight hint of hacker activity Yoosung is normally the first person he checks on through his cameras

• And when they went on that mission to mint eye you bet your ass Saeyoung had never felt so shitty in his entire life

• Even now after Yoosung has successfully coped with his eye he still continues to blame himself because “If only I hadn’t of been so careless he would have never gotten hurt”

• Yoosung cares deeply for Saeyoung too; and despite Saeyoung being older Yoosung doesn’t really see him as the big brother type honestly????

• It’s more like an equal in a sense; he knows that Saeyoung surpasses him in almost everything but when it comes down to it the they way they talk to each other when being serious; they hold a lot of respect for one another

• They’re just the type of friends where they’re not afraid to get rowdy with one another but are able to communicate with one another when their lives get rough

[clumsyclifford]

hello my dearest so i'm unsure if you're taking requests right now and if you're not (or just don't feel like writing this) feel absolutely free to ignore this!! anyway i would really really love to read about a spiderman kiss happening in the spiderman au 👀 i have absolutely no excuse for requesting this kinda silly thing except that i love spiderman kisses as a prompt/trope (? idk what the correct term is) and also spiderman au so bye love you loads -fiancee

hello !!! this was an absolutely inspired prompt so i am glad i finally got round to writing it thank you. also thank you @cringeycake for the editing/con crit/validation

better tags/info on ao3 but this takes place shortly after the end of the malum spidey fic and it does have a gun in it for a sec, is that something that needs a tw? well anyway now you know

read it here on ao3

-

Ashton and Calum are ten minutes from home when it starts to rain.

“Of course,” says Calum. Ashton quickly pockets his phone so it doesn’t get wet. “This is your fault.”

“How’s this my fault?”

“I don’t know, but it obviously is.” Calum’s just in a sour mood because Ashton had completely destroyed him in all three rounds of bowling. 

“Shut up,” Ashton says, rolling his eyes. The rain falls faster, cold and piercing through the thin fabric of Ashton’s t-shirt. It had been nice for most of the day, but it must have gotten overcast while they were inside. Predictably, neither of them had had the foresight to check the forecast.

“Whatever,” Ashton says. “A little rain never hurt anyone.”

“A lot of rain,” Calum says. It is a lot of rain now, coming down in buckets. Naturally the sky would choose this moment to open up. 

“A lot of rain never hurt anyone either,” Ashton points out. Which is not true, but they’re not going to catch hypothermia or anything. Probably. And it’s only ten minutes. Eight if they really get a move on. 

Calum sighs. Still, when Ashton glances over at him to make sure he’s not really upset, he can tell it’s all for show. After all, it’s only rain. A lot or a little, there’s only so much harm that comes from being soaking wet. They’re on their way back to Ashton’s anyway, where Ashton will be gracious enough to lend him the usual Green Day t-shirt and whatever hoodie Ashton himself isn’t wearing. 

They make nonsense conversation as they walk, both curled into themselves to keep warm. Apart from the occasional passing car, nobody is out and about in this weather, just the two of them in a slowly darkening neighborhood. Unease prickles at the back of Ashton’s neck. Or maybe that’s just the rain.

“Hey, you kids. Hey!”

Ashton and Calum spin around and see two figures approaching them through the downpour. The uneasy feeling returns full-force, this time accompanied by Ashton’s heart ramming against his chest as a spike of anxiety — or adrenaline? — courses through him. Next to him, Calum mutters, “Fuck, fuck, Ashton, he has a gun,” and Ashton realizes with growing panic that the bigger of the two does, in fact, have thick fingers curled around a gun.

“Stop walking,” the armed guy commands. Ashton really, really doesn’t want to, but he doesn’t think they have another choice. Something tells him flight won’t get them far, and trying to fight will just get them both shot.

They come to a halt as the figures come closer, crowding them into the alley they’ve stopped outside. Better place to die, Ashton’s horrible mind supplies. The armed guy holds up the gun and Ashton’s heart stops mid-pulse. He can’t seem to come up with any coherent thoughts, nothing that will get them out of this situation or even postpone it. Helplessness floods every inch of him, and all he can think is how awful it would be to die feeling helpless.

“Money, valuables, whatever you got,” sneers the guy not holding the gun. “If you don’t want to cooperate —”

Ashton’s prepared to say something along the lines of we’ll give you anything you want, loath though he is to be that cliché, when the gun vanishes out of Armed Thug’s hands. There’s just enough time for all four of them to blink in bewildered surprise when a far more reassuring figure appears out of nowhere, flipping both thugs onto their backs on the pavement and swiftly knocking them out. For good measure, he webs their limbs to the ground, and then he turns back to Calum and Ashton, who both stare.

“Spiderman,” Ashton says breathlessly. Luke seems just as surprised to see them.

“Ashton?” He’s on them in a flash. “Calum? Holy fuck, I didn’t realize it was you guys. Are you okay? Did they take anything from you? Are either of you hurt?”

“We — we’re okay,” Calum says, looking a little dumbstruck. “Thanks.”

“What the fuck are you guys doing out right now?”

“Just walking home,” Ashton says defensively. “We went bowling.” He inhales deeply, trying to get his heart rate back to normal. The shock is still coursing through his veins, though the relief flooding him is helping him regain his balance. 

“You’re sure you’re okay?”

“Fine, they didn’t do anything,” Ashton says. Shaken, but ultimately unhurt. “Uh, good thing you were here.” He quirks his lips. “Our hero.”

“Thank fucking God I was.” Luke shifts on his feet. “Well. Okay. If you’re sure you’re okay.” He shoots a web to the roof of one of the buildings enclosing the alley — how do those stick even in the rain? — and leaps up into the air like he’s going to go. Ashton frowns.

“Hey, don’t just leave,” he says. “I haven’t heard from you all day.”

Luke hangs from the web upside down, possibly flexing, and says, “Sorry, sorry, I know. Been very busy. Lots of crime. You know how it is.”

“Did you take any breaks?”

“Of course I did,” Luke says, offended. “I had a churro. It was delicious. Just didn’t have time to stop at home.”

He leaves his phone at home when he’s on patrol — that must be why he’s been MIA. Ashton really doesn’t like that, even if he understands. It’s just. He hates that something could happen to Luke and he’d have no way of knowing. They won’t let Ashton be on comms, even for moral support — Michael claims he’ll only be a distraction, and while Ashton’s not sure if that’s true, he’s definitely not practical enough to be helpful in any Spiderman-related situation. Unless Spiderman happened to encounter evil watercolors or something.

“Okay, well.” Ashton sighs. “I just. Worry.”

“Tell me about it,” Luke says, though from the smile in his voice, it’s clear he’s teasing. “There’s no room in your brain for anything else at this point.”

“Alright, don’t feel like you need to stay and chat, Spidey,” Ashton loudly announces, talking over Luke’s contagious giggles.

“Don’t be like that,” Luke says, reaching for Ashton. His fingers close around Ashton’s drenched shirt and Ashton allows himself to be pulled closer, as Luke tugs the bottom of the mask up so only his mouth and chin are visible. He’s stopped wearing the lip ring underneath it, much to Ashton’s chagrin.

As Luke tugs Ashton into a kiss, Ashton decides he can’t complain.

The rain makes their mouths slick, and it’s strange enough kissing someone who’s upside down that it’s a little difficult to get lost in it. Ashton’s smiling before he can stop himself, the taste of rainwater mixing with the familiar taste of Luke. He’s never really tasted rainwater. Or kissed anyone in the rain. His heart’s still beating hard, but now it’s for a different reason.

“Um? What the fuck is going on right now?”

Ashton breaks away from Luke, who flips over and lands on his feet. They both face Calum, who looks more confused than the time Ashton tried to teach him to draw three-dimensional shapes.

“Kissing my boyfriend,” Luke says. 

“Your? What? You — I thought?” 

Ashton takes in Calum’s face and tone of voice and puts two and two together. “Oh my God,” he says, wincing. “You didn’t know.”

“Know what?” Calum demands. “That you’re — what — I don’t even know what to think.” Although that quickly changes with his expression, which becomes more incredulous as he reaches a conclusion. “No, never mind. I’ve got it. If that’s not Luke under there, you and I are going to have a very serious talk.”

“It’s Luke, I’m Luke,” Luke says quickly, pulling the mask the rest of the way off — though not without a quick glance to each side. Upon reflection, he shoots a web towards each fallen thug, giving them both very fashionable web-masks that cover their eyes. “Though let’s maybe not throw my name around.”

Calum stands and stares. Ashton remembers when that had been his reaction.

“Don’t fucking expose yourself in public on my behalf,” Calum says finally, gesturing. “Put the mask back on, Christ. I’m not— I’m— I just need a minute.”

“I told Ashton he could tell you,” Luke says as he pulls the mask back on. “Ashton, you didn’t tell him?”

“I thought Michael would have!”

“You don't think if he had, I wouldn’t have immediately called you to make fun of you for spending weeks pining after both Luke and Spiderman only to find they were the same fucking person? And that, oh yeah, your boyfriend's fucking Spiderman?” In his indignance, Calum’s gotten louder.

“Shh,” Ashton says, glaring meaningfully. “I know he is. That’s a secret.”

“From me?”

“No, okay, I meant to tell you,” Ashton says, dragging a hand through sopping wet hair. “I was trying to figure out how, but then Luke said he told Michael and I we could tell you, and I thought Michael would do it. Because he’s your boyfriend and he’s known Luke way longer. And then, I don’t know.” 

Maybe a part of him had hoped Michael would tell Calum. If only to avoid the mockery Ashton knows he’ll be subject to in coming days regarding his emotional crisis over Luke and Spiderman. 

“I hate you more than I’ve ever hated you,” Calum informs Ashton, although he’s never really hated Ashton, so that’s not a very high bar. “Were you ever going to tell me?”

“Yes! I swear.”

“I thought you already knew,” Luke volunteers. “Damn, Ash, good thing I kissed you or Calum would never have found out.”

“Shut up,” Ashton says, rolling his eyes. “Look, Calum — I’m sorry. This was, uh, not a great way to find out.”

“Yeah, no fucking shit,” Calum mutters. His lips pull upward in a smile far too dry for the weather, and finally he laughs. The hilarity of the whole situation catches up with all of them, and before long the three of them are howling with laughter as rain comes down in sheets, encasing them in a chill that Ashton barely feels.

“This is all so fucking insane,” Calum manages, wiping at his eyes. He’s still squinting through the rain. “I can’t believe I’ve been friends with Spiderman all this time. What the fuck is my life? What is our life? You’re dating Spiderman, Ashton. Do you know that?”

“What fucking part of secret identity do you not understand?” Ashton says. “Stop exposing all of his secrets.”

“You just kissed in the middle of the alley!”

That’s fair. They did just do that. In Ashton’s defense, though, Luke started it. Ashton is merely a victim to Luke’s whims. Shenanigans. Whatever. 

“I was just trying to save some lives,” Luke says, shaking his head ruefully. “My Spidey-sense was tingling.”

“I hate when you say that.”

“Spidey-Meter, would you prefer that? Spider Radar? Spider Scale?”

“Just call it intuition.”

“It’s more than intuition,” Luke insists. “You just don’t get it because you’ve never felt it.”

“Whatever you say, Spidey.”

“Well, I hate to cut this short, but it is raining a lot,” Calum says, like maybe they’ll have forgotten. “And considering I am going to see you” — with a significant look at Luke — “at school on Monday, I think we can probably catch up later.”

“Let me walk you home,” Luke says, ever the gentleman, or possibly protective. “It’s not far.”

“What are you going to do with these two?” Calum asks, jabbing a thumb at the thugs passed out in the mouth of the alley. “Leave them?”

“Uh,” Luke says. “Let me handle them. I’ll catch up to you.”

Calum tilts his head suspiciously. Ashton just starts walking, jerking his chin to get Calum to join him. “It’s fine. He’ll catch up.”

After a moment, Calum follows. They’re both soaked through, yet the rain is as relentless as ever. Calum falls into step as they start down the pavement.

“You really thought I already knew?” Calum says doubtfully. 

Ashton sighs. “Okay, I was a little tiny bit hoping that I wouldn’t have to be the one to tell you.” He inclines his head. “But I realize I dropped the ball here. I should have told you sooner. I would’ve eventually.”

Calum is quiet for a moment. “I mean, it’s fine,” he says defeatedly. “When did he even tell you?”

“Um, the day before Luke and I started dating,” Ashton says. “Originally we really were keeping it from you, but then Luke realized that wasn’t going to fly with, you know. How important you are in my life. And Michael’s, I guess.”

“Don’t try to flatter me into forgiveness,” Calum says. Ashton snorts.

“That’s literally what happened, though. And then I was trying to figure out what would be the best way to tell you, because, uh, it’s kind of insane? And then Luke told me that he told Michael that Michael could tell you — God, I feel like a twelve-year-old girl — and I kinda thought I would let Michael do it. Which was a bad move on my part. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Calum says again. “I don’t really care. Like, I get it. Yeah. It’s kind of insane. And I don’t know Luke as well as you or Michael, so.”

“But I’m glad you know now,” Ashton says firmly. “Sorry you had to find out like this, but I’m happy that you know. I’m sure I’d have said something stupid sooner or later and you would’ve figured it out.”

“Yeah, now that you mention it, this makes a lot of things make sense,” Calum says. He huffs a laugh. “My God, Ashton, I can’t believe you genuinely had a crush on the same boy twice without knowing it was the same boy. Your life.”

“You’re telling me.”

“Anything else you want to tell me while you’re at it? Anything you conveniently neglected to mention?”

“Yeah, actually, one thing. I’m also a superhero, completely forgot to say —”

“Oh, fuck off.”

 Ashton laughs, clapping a hand onto Calum’s shoulder. A wry smile overtakes Calum’s face, chuckling despite his best efforts, and Ashton knows they’re okay.

“Hey,” says Luke, dropping down beside the pair of them. 

Calum jerks. “Motherfucker. Don’t do that.”

“Sorry,” Luke says. If it were just Luke as himself, Ashton would take his hand, but this Luke is still Spiderman, so Ashton dutifully keeps his hands to himself, crossing his arms over his chest and tucking his fingers underneath his arms in hopes of preserving some warmth.

It doesn’t work. “You’re shivering,” Luke tells Ashton. 

“I know that,” Ashton says. “It’s cold. I don’t know if you noticed, but it’s raining.”

“If only we’d remembered to bring our supersuits from home,” Calum dryly contributes.

Luke makes a face at them both. “You guys are so funny, you know that?”

“Thank you,” Calum says. “You’re also funny. But, you know. Looks aren’t everything.”

A pause as Luke processes this. Finally: “Hey!”

Ashton laughs. “Just wait, he’ll make the same joke until you stop setting it up for him.” Something Ashton had learned the hard way.

They chat amicably until they reach Ashton’s building, at which point Luke says, “I better go.” It’d be nice to get a kiss goodbye, but Ashton figures they’ve already pushed their luck on the kissing front. Luke backs away from them, shooting a web up at the roof. “I’ll see you on Monday. Call you tonight, Ash.”

“You better.”

“And will you please tell Michael to call me as well?” Calum says, crossing his arms. “Unless he’s giving me the silent treatment.”

“No, he dropped his phone in the sink,” Luke snickers. “So it’s been in rice all day.”

Of course he did. For someone who’s virtually a genius, Michael sure does have an idiotic streak. He’s a lot like Calum in that way.

“Thanks for walking us home,” Ashton says, smiling fondly. “And, you know, saving our lives.”

“All in a day’s work,” Luke says, warmth bleeding into his voice. “See you guys later. Be safe. Stay warm. You know.”

 Between one blink and the next, he’s gone.

“‘Stay warm,’” Calum echoes disdainfully, looking up at the roof onto which Luke had disappeared. “Do you think he knows that human clothes don’t retain heat the way superhero suits do?”

Ashton laughs and follows Calum into the lobby.