#this certainly is pov...

[seraphont]

What's the POV situation on dagoi? is it all from tessa's pov? J's? does it switch? Is any other part from anyone else's pov? Do we see the same events from multiple povs?

It mostly follows from J’s POV! And yes it does switch hehe, especially when the memories are being recounted!

[tswwwit]

a possible fix to figuring out the parents name could be writing from bills pov. that triangle would not care a lick about their names, only about how dip is acting around them.

You know what? You're 100% correct. 🤔I'm gonna keep this in mind when I finally get around to that fic.

[littlelovelore]

looking at me like this will only encourage my behavior sir

[n0pepng]

❝—I've murdered half the town

Left you love notes on their headstones

I'll fill the graveyards

Until I have you ꨄ︎ ❞

‎

[bijinks]

I think a LOT of the story will become much clearer when we have a better idea of everyone’s lineage, something pretty clearly being obscured from us right now. But in my efforts to go full megamind and riddle out answers I know damn well Pacat hasn’t given us, I’ve really been fascinated these lines from Eleanor:

in which she tells us that she gave up a child — evidently a singular child — and that child is not Will.

Who is it then? Because up to this point, we’re told she gave up BOTH Katherine & Elizabeth. But she refers to them together in this very same scene as “my girls” — which implies to ME that she is referring to her 3rd child — a boy, their brother, according to Polly.

Something that struck me in my current re-read is that when the Hall finds out that Will is Eleanor Kempen’s son, Pacat really carefully hides the Hall’s reaction from us, keeping Will (whose POV that moment is from) absorbed with The Elder Steward as they all explode in comment around them. We don’t ever get an explanation as to who Eleanor is to the Stewards, other than the bloodline of the lady. And by the end of DR, Will himself is convinced that Eleanor is not his mother.

So who is it that Eleanor birthed in Ellie Lange’s cottage 17 years ago, with dark protective magic that fights back when they try to kill it? Elizabeth believes it’s Will — but that doesn’t mean that it actually is.

My best guess, though it feels insane, is that it was James, who is the exact same age, and who Will is always describing as looking similar to Katherine, and whose mother we don’t know the identity of. This opens up even more questions, such as “but it’s implied that that birth was the birth of the Dark King, so am I supposed to believe that’s James? or was James’ birth simply a portent?” and also “where did Will even come from?” and “what the fuck?” and rest assured I have no answers at all to any of those

[evienyx]

Not sure how it happened (that's a lie I know exactly how it happened) but somehow I've currently halted production on any other writing project to finish a Sonic the Hedgehog one-shot.

Stay tuned.

[sirinoya]

just because i thought it was really fun, here’s the amount of hearts grian took from gem and the scotts:

gem: 56.5 —> 49; 48.5 —> 5 (51 + 2 gapple hearts)

scott: 35.5 —> 11.5 (24 + 2 gapple hearts)

impulse: 30 —> 7.5 (22.5 + 2 gapple hearts)

total: 97.5 + 6 gapple hearts

[1doesnotsimplyhavejust1fandam]

Imagine being such close besties with someone that your entire world knows about it. Just. Sirius Black and James Potter being so close that literally nobody questions that Sirius was the Potters’ Secret Keeper, even when he immediately went after Peter in a very public way, instead of laying low like any sane person would do after they were just revealed a traitor and their precious Lord died (although, they did think Sirius went mad, so it makes sense in a way). But of everyone in the Order, no one once questioned the Potters making Sirius their Secret Keeper, despite his prejudiced family, despite the Prank, despite any number of ways in which Sirius wasn’t perfect. Everyone in the Wizarding World still saw Sirius and James, and thought, “yeah, there’s no way it was anyone else, even if the betrayal makes their friendship seem so much less deep”. There was no reason for Remus to question it because he watched James and Sirius be the best of friends for a decade, he knew Sirius was Harry’s godfather, he knew James would have trusted no one more, that Lily loved Sirius and thought the world of him. There really was no other choice for the Potters, to anyone.

Which makes Peter being Secret Keeper that much more awful because it was such a genius move! Sirius was actually so smart to try this twist, to suggest making Peter the Secret Keeper. He knew everyone knew how close him and James were, how close he’d always been to the Potter family, he knew they’d come after him and Sirius would’ve DIED rather than betray his friends, his godson. He would’ve died to protect Peter too, so that nobody would know who the Secret Keeper really was. There was no reason to suspect Peter when there was Sirius Black, known Death Eater hater and unendingly loyal to his friends, RIGHT THERE. If Sirius really HAD died, he would’ve gone out thinking his friends would still be safe bc once Voldemort discovered he wasn’t the Secret Keeper, it would’ve jumped to Remus or even an older Light member like Moody or Dumbledore. Sirius damned himself knowingly, before ever finding out that Peter had gotten the Potters killed.

Sometimes I think about how Sirius managed to convince James and Lily to use Peter instead of him. They both must’ve known that Sirius would be killed immediately once it was determined that he didn’t know the Secret, so Sirius must have used Harry against them, said that they needed to do ANYTHING to keep their little boy safe, even if it meant Sirius offering himself up as a target, a sacrifice for their safety. Sirius must have thought he was so smart, because he found a way to keep his friends and godson safe, even though he wasn’t the Secret Keeper, and he didn’t put them at risk by trusting “potential spy: Remus Lupin”. He must have argued with James and Lily for ages about it, convincing them that it was the right decision, some misdirection to keep them safer for longer, another line of defense between their little Harry and the monster who wanted to destroy him.

It’s already wild to me that Sirius even held enough power/voice in this discussion to even suggest Peter as Secret Keeper. Like, the level of trust James and Lily must’ve had in him, to entrust their lives AND their son’s in Sirius’ plan? Nobody can ever say that Sirius wasn’t loved and trusted to the ends of the earth by James and Lily. They wanted HIM because there was nobody they trusted more, even with how reckless Sirius is shown to be, even years later. Trying to imagine Sirius in Azkaban all those years, knowing he basically handed his best friends over to Voldemort with that plan? Hell on earth, literally. He speaks on it maybe once to Harry in the entirety of the series, and it’s so clear that he is completely derisive about the plan. He despises the fact that it was his plan that got his best friends killed, that caused Harry to lose his parents. He blames himself (and Peter), but he had over a decade to sit in prison and think about the what ifs of that plan, to remember that it was his idea that killed James and Lily.

[pikuna]

Yokai Heart - Chapter 6

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Fandoms: Dandadan (Anime), Dandadan (Manga)

Relationship: Ayase Momo/Takakura “Okarun” Ken

Characters: Ayase Momo, Takakura “Okarun” Ken

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Inspired by Dragonheart (Dragonheart), Youkai Takakura “Okarun” Ken, Yokarun, Shrine Maiden Momo, Protective Takakura “Okarun” Ken, BAMF Ayase Momo, Canon-Typical Violence, Action & Romance, Romantic Fluff, Interspecies Romance, Aged-Up Characters, Friends to Lovers, Feudal Japan, Historical Fantasy, Mutual Pining, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Humor, Light Angst

Summary

We are getting there boys, girls and enbies! Was at 9.5k for this chapter, before I decided to split it again and keep this chapter at 7k. But it felt like the right decision regarding the flow of things and hopefully the next chapter won't take long.

For those who haven't seen it yet, I started a collection of side-stories, mostly different PoVs from main YH chapters or in-between things. First one is how Yokarun felt about getting the Mochis from Momo.

BIG thanks to @xylveon700 for beta-reading and improving many of my sentences!

AO3 Link

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Buildings, homes standing tall and proud in front of her. Crumbled. Destroyed by fire.

People, friends and family. Smiling faces vanishing into nothingness or turning to ashes. Consumed by fire.

A heavy loneliness pushing down on her, not allowing her to see any light or feeling any joy.

Nothing was forever. Nobody would stay with her for long.

There was no place for her, no dreams to pursue. Only the fight for survival, to prove a point.

But to whom? She was all alone.

A cry for...something.

The flames around her dimmed. The heaviness on her heart eased.

She was enveloped by a warm and gentle feeling. Red and black danced around her, caressing her heart and soul. A promise of comfort, of companionship and happiness. She did not question, only accepting it greedily. It cradled her, protected her.

This was the peace she craved for so long.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Light poured over Momo's face, tickling her nose. With a quiet groan, she slowly opened her eyes.

It took her a second to register where she was: the inn room given to her by Emi, in the town of the farmers she saved. Laying on her side, cuddled into a warm futon...holding a clawed hand close to her face.

Another second to remember who's hand this was: Yokarun, her new Yokai friend. His shape came into focus after her eyes adjusted to being awake.

He was laying on his back, his head lolled to the side towards her. His heavy maw was nestled into the pillow and slightly open to let out some quiet snoring sounds.

Taking in a shuddering breath and pulling the hand she held closer to her, now brushing against her cheek, she closed her eyes again.

Nightmares were something Momo had more often than she liked. She would always wake up with a heavy heart from them and just walk through the day with barely any enthusiasm.

But this one was different.

It had started out as usual, dreaming of the fire that took her home and the last of her family. And then she would be stuck in the darkness, with nothing than her feeling pity for herself.

This comforting aura that had suddenly appeared had been new. And it'd been so welcomed in the lonely nothingness that had plagued her for years, helping her to finally sleep peacefully for a change.

Was it because of him? It was the only thing different from all the previous nights: His presence.

Yokarun stirred in his sleep, causing Momo to look at him again. He muttered something under his breath and turned on his side, facing her completely now. Then he was still again.

She smiled. He looked so peaceful and relaxed in his sleep. Even when he was smiling at her, there was always a little bit of tension on his face. Not right now.

Without thinking, she moved her unoccupied hand from under the covers and reached for his face. An unruly strand of white hair had fallen over his eyes and she gently brushed it away. Her fingers lingered, caressing his cheek. A hum vibrated from him, but he didn't seem to be aware of what she was doing.

All the burns on his face and hands had vanished, his skin the usual grey earth tone that now took on a healthier complexion bathed in the morning sun. Relief washed over her at seeing that he had been right and was all healed again. Despite his reassurances before they went to bed, a little ball of dread that had settled itself inside her stomach resulted in her reoccurring nightmare. But him holding her hand, and she was sure it was that, had pulled her out of it.

She retracted her hand from his face to hold his own hand with both of hers now and nuzzled her nose against his fingers with a small smile. Her still sleep-drunken mind didn't care what she was doing, she just wanted to enjoy the peace and comfort she felt from him being just...here with her.

Until he has repaid his debt and leaves you behind.

The grip on his hand tightened a bit. That ugly, little voice in the back of her mind had a point.

Would he stay after he deemed his weird self-imposed duty fulfilled?

They probably were friends now and he seemed thankful and happy about it, truly, but they already had a fight, albeit a small and silly one, and she knew she was a lot. It would probably not be the last time and she wouldn't blame him for getting fed up.

She was too much. No one could deal with her for long. It was okay. She was strong. She didn't need anybody to hold her hand just because of a stupid nightmare.

Feeling foolish and embarrassed at how she clung to his hand like a little child, she let go of him and turned away from him in her futon. It was okay to enjoy his company for now and be a good friend. But she shouldn't allow herself to grow too attached to him. Everyone left at some point and it would hurt only more if she fooled herself into letting that something grow.

Not even a minute after Momo had turned around, she could hear Yokarun stirring again and letting out a yawn. Good timing. She didn't know how she would have reacted, if he had woken up while she still practically snuggled against his hand. By the Kami, why in the hells did she do that? They were just on their second day of knowing each other and she had already gotten way too handsy with him; literally.

The rustling of fabric told her that he was sitting up, while the popping of bones loudly announced that he was stretching. Taking in a few breaths, she shoved all her embarrassment down, as well as the negative thoughts.

Just be normal. Be a friend and not a clingy weirdo.

Feeling confident enough, Momo let out a not so faked yawn herself and turned back around. She caught him with closed eyes, facing forward and running his claws through his hair in an attempt to tame it.

A part of her still wanted to run her own hands through those weird, ethereal strands of his.

She winced at her own thought. So much for not being weird.

Opening her mouth, she wanted to say something. Maybe a rude comment about him snoring. But when those two ruby orbs peeked from under his still sleepy lids, any words got stuck in her throat. His eyes crinkled into a smile when he saw that she was awake.

"Good morning, Momo," he murmured. His voice was a deeper tone than usual, unlike the normal tenor she was familiar with by now. It seemed that right after waking up, it had a huskiness to it that made her stomach flutter even more than when she received a smile from him, which was bad enough already.

She could not deal with this right now. Too early, too tired, too set on being not weird about her friend.

"What did I tell you about using my given name?" she huffed as nonchalant as possible.

Good, be snappy. That's better than getting flustered. And reasonably snappy, too. We are just friends, no need to get that personal.

Yokarun was puzzled, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Not like you're using any honorifics for me."

Ah-

He had a valid point. But calling him Yokarun-san felt...weird. Kun was already kinda part of his name and he had no family name either. Addressing him so casually had just felt right. And he never said anything about wanting a honorific; she wasn't even aware that it was important to Yokai!

"Besides-" he continued, looking away a bit shyly and scratching his maw in a nervous tick. "You didn't seem to mind it last night."

Because I was tired! And...emotional.

Momo hadn't minded it at all. In fact, the intimacy of him using her name so freely had given her solace in her panicked state.

Right now however, she was trying to establish a friendly distance. Him being so familiar with her didn't help with that, but she also couldn't muster a good argument.

With a groan, she turned away from him again.

"Whatever," she muttered and pulled the blanket over her head. She wished she could just go back to sleep and enjoy the peaceful embrace of whatever warm aura she felt during the dream. Or just being on her own again so that she wouldn't have to worry about...stuff.

No. She didn't want to be alone…at least, not right now. It was fun to have him around. Just talking with him and teasing him...before yesterday, she hadn't laughed so much like that in a very long time.

With another groan she wrapped the blanket more around herself and turned into a little cocoon. She missed Yokarun's look of concern, but could feel him patting her over the blanket.

"Still hope you had a good night's sleep."

The best in months, thanks to you probably.

Him being so nice and caring made her feel bad for acting so grumpy. Hopefully she could pin the blame on her not being a morning person. For now, she only gave him an affirmative hum. His hand went from patting to stroking over the blanket.

Stop trying to comfort me, please.

She wanted to shout at him to stop. She wanted to come out of her cocoon so he could stroke her directly.

Momo didn't know what she wanted anymore.

Protecting herself from a pain that she expected would come no matter what?

Or embrace this friendship that had brought her so much joy just on the first day alone?

Frustrated with just...everything, she suddenly threw the blanket off herself, ignoring the startled yelp Yokarun made and jumped to her feet.

"I'm going to change," she announced without so much as looking at him, grabbing her Miko attire and retreating behind the small folding screen in the corner of the room for some privacy. Just after a moment she heard him getting up as well and after some fabric rustling, the balcony door slid open. Biting her lower lip, Momo hoped he was just stepping outside and not vanishing again.

After a few minutes of changing into her shrine maiden clothes and washing her face with the water provided in a little bowl, she came around from behind the screen and folded her Nemaki as neatly as possible. Apparently, Yokarun had already sorted out both their futons without needing to be asked.

Hesitantly, she walked towards the door leading outside. To her relief, she could see his back before she even reached the door, as he was leaning on the railing of the balcony staring quietly forward.

Taking in a deep breath, she managed to put a smile on her face and opened the door, poking her head outside.

"I will order us some breakfast. You want anything specific?" she asked him with her usual spunk in her voice.

At first, he just waved his hand dismissively at her question. "I'm fine with anything." When Yokarun turned his head around to look at her, she could she his eyes narrowing, clearly searching her face. "Are you alright Mo-," He stopped himself there, glancing away for a second before looking back at her. "Ayase-san? You seem a bit off this morning."

He did exactly what she wanted, addressing her more formally and not by her given name. So why did it sting so much? Shoving that question aside, she clasped her hands together and titled her head a little bit. "Sorry about that, I can get grumpy in the morning. Breakfast will fix that, no problem."

It was clear that he did not fully believe her. But he just let out a heavy sigh and nodded. "Alright. If you say so." Before she could retreat back inside, he turned to face her completely, shifting from one foot to the other in clear nervousness. "Just...if there is anything you want to talk about...I'm here. To listen."

The way he shyly averted his eyes and started to rub his neck was endearing. And too much for Momo to handle. Her anxiety, worry and frustration were a ball stuck in her throat and stopped her from spilling out anything, even if part of her wanted to.

Why did he make this so much harder by being so sweet?

"Thank you, Yokarun," she finally managed to speak around the ball in her throat. "I...appreciate it."

She still wouldn't address him with an honorific. He still didn't demand that she should.

They stood there in silence for a moment, eyes not meeting.

"I will be back soon," Momo finally said, only waiting long enough to hear an acknowledging hum from him, before she slid the door closed and immediately left the room to go downstairs.

Yokarun watched the spot where she had stood for a bit, before he turned his attention back to the bustling of the town in the distance with a forlorn expression.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Downstairs at the reception, Momo found Emi and Cho discussing the tasks for the day. As soon as they spotted her, they greeted her joyfully and included her in their conversation. Momo placed an order for a small breakfast, which Cho quickly delivered to the kitchen. Emi asked how her night had been and how long she planned on staying in town. Momo contemplated it for a moment. There was no real reason to stay, but the room was still free to use for a few days. Before she could come to a decision, Cho returned from the kitchen, having another girl following along to help.

"Miko-san!" Cho called out to Momo, who rolled her eyes in a fond way.

"What did I tell you, Cho-chan? You can call me by my name, no need for the title."

Even Emi had started to refer to her as Ayase-san, instead of Miko-san. But Cho seemed to be scandalized just by the idea of not addressing her profession. Which she hadn't earned and made her feel even worse.

"That would be improper Miko-san. I appreciate your kindness, but I know my place."

Momo wanted to protest this, she had never liked it to be treated like a high-class person, but Emi intervened.

"Speaking of which, what is Yuuko-chan doing here? Aren't you on kitchen duty today?"

"She just came back from the market," Cho explained. "The Lord has made a new announcement that might interest you."

That certainly got her attention. She had an inkling what it was about.

"Well, we are all ears Yuuko-chan," Emi said and leaned on the counter of the reception.

A bit nervous from all the attention on her, Yuuko took in a deep breath.

"I was on my way back, when I saw a new announcement on the bulletin board in town. Apparently the Lord got attacked and almost killed last night! In his own home nonetheless!"

"Huh? Seems like Kato has a bad week. First the dragon on his fields and now an assassination attempt?" Emi seemed surprised, but not one bit of sympathy was in her words. But Yuuko shook her head.

"It was no ordinary man. The announcement stated that he got attacked by an evil spirit, described to have a black maw and red demonic eyes!"

"Sounds very scary," Cho muttered with unease.

Momo had her hand in front of her mouth, trying to appear as if she was thinking. In truth, she tried to hide her smirk, amused that Yokarun terrified Kato well (apparently effortlessly) and that Cho said the description of the spirit sounded scary. Meanwhile, she herself had the image of his pouting face flashing behind her eyes.

Yuuko nodded in agreement with Cho and continued: "He asks for any information about the person that sent the spirit after him and he offered another bounty to the person who could help exorcise it."

"And here I thought he had the best priests money could buy. Heard him brag about that quite a few times," Cho said with a snort.

Letting out a bark of laughter, Emi smacked her hand on the counter. "Oh, this is hilarious. Didn't you warn him about some misfortune for his behavior? Did you curse him?"

She directed that question at Momo, who let her hand drop to show her smirk. "As much as I would've loved to take credit for that, no." Not like she would have any idea on how to curse someone. "Spirits can haunt someone of their own free will. This is something the oh so benevolent Lord Kato has brought upon himself."

The two girls snickered at Momo's mocking tone, while Emi let out another laugh. "Serves that pompous ass right. About time he got scared shitless and has to fear for his life for once."

"Emi! Would you please keep it down with talking like this? You never know who listens in."

The head of a man had popped out of the kitchen, looking pleadingly at Emi. From his clothing and the way he addressed Emi, Momo suspected he could be her husband.

Unimpressed by his words, Emi just clicked with her tongue. "And what about it? 's no secret that nobody aside from his personal merchants and priests can stand that prick anyhow."

Her husband let out a strangled whine and then just sighed, before vanishing back into the kitchen, muttering under his breath. Momo had the feeling this was an argument the couple have had before.

"Sorry if the question is a bit insensitive, but," Momo spoke quietly, all three pairs of eyes on her in curiosity, "if Lord Kato is so unpopular and cruel, surely there is a way to get rid of him? If the whole town comes together, you should have enough coin to hire someone to deal with this."

While Yuuko had a somewhat shocked expression, Cho and Emi glanced to the side in a resigned way.

"I suggested that once," Cho murmured, much to Momo's surprise. She didn't expect this polite and kind girl to have the same idea, but looking at the pained and angry expression of the girl, she believed her.

"Cho-chan's parents both worked themselves sick on Kato's farm a few years ago. They had no money to pay any doctor's," Emi said in a calm voice that clearly hid some pain. "She became an orphan and Kato offered so kindly to take her in." Emi's jaw tensed in anger and she looked at Momo. "As if he wasn't the reason why she was without parents in the first place."

Momo's whole body shook in disgust and anger. She understood Cho's pain all too well and would have wanted to see the person responsible for her parent's death punished too.

Emi continued, doing her best to keep her voice even.

"Took her in before Kato could throw a fuss about it. But she isn't the only one and not all children are lucky. Nor are those who can't provide physical labor anymore."

"I wanted revenge," Cho chimed in. It was unnerving how calm she looked. "But no matter how we feel about Kato, killing would only cause more trouble for us."

"How come?" Momo couldn't imagine what could be worse than a heartless tyrant like Kato.

"Politics dear," Emi said with a weary and rubbed her forehead. "As much as I hate to admit it, he has the influence and power to keep this land safe and stable. We would have disputes and a small war on our hands, if word got out that Kato is no more. His advisors are just spineless bootlickers who would have no idea how to properly govern a town and negotiate with the other lords and daimyos."

Dread settled into Momo's stomach. Now she was glad that Yokarun's attempt to kill Kato had failed. The man was a big source of suffering for the people, but a war was ten times worse. As long as the town's people worked together, they could ease each other's hardships.

Still, she wished she could do something for those poor people, many of whom had already been so kind to her. Words could never sway the Lord to change his ways. But fear was a big motivator for any man and right now, this one was backed into a corner by the prospect of an evil spirit out to kill him. Maybe she could work with that.

A loud thud snapped Momo out of her thoughts. Emi had slapped the counter again and had the trademark grin on her face again.

"Anyway, enough of that. The day is too nice to waste it on depressing thoughts!"

Yuuko and Cho nodded, the latter having her smile back on too. Absently, Momo wondered how much of this was a mask all these woman put on for each other and themselves every day.

Emi shooed the girls back into the kitchen and then addressed Momo again.

"The breakfast should be done soon, so feel free to go back to your room. Don't forget to tell me once you've decided how long you and your friend wanna stay."

"Actually...I think we will stay for a few nights. Probably no longer than three."

Momo needed time to come up with a plan. The first ideas already started to form in her head.

--------------------------------------------------------------

"Where is it? I hope I didn't lose it..."

Momo rummaged through her basket in search of her grandmother's research notes. One thing she had always admired about the elder Ayase was how she strove not only to perform her shrine maiden duty until her old age, but also to document all her experience and theories about the gods and spirits she encountered in her life. If anything could give her an inkling how to deal with this Kato situation, she would find it in there.

"Ayase-san?"

Yokarun's hesitant voice made her stop in her search. In her rush to get a proper plan in motion, she hadn't bothered to let him know that she was back. Now she stood in front of the balcony door that he just closed, looking at her with a titled head.

"Sorry Yokarun. I'm just-" She dove back into the basket. "looking for something. Aha!" Her second attempt was successful and she found the notes that were loosely bound together by a thread.

She allowed herself a moment to look at her late grandmother's handwriting with a melancholic smile, before she crawled over to the desk and put the notes down, immediately skimming through the pages with quick but careful movements. Breakfast would be served soon, so there was no use to spread all the pages out right now. And, she would be able to think better on a full stomach.

Yokarun sat down on the other side of the table wordlessly, just watching her for a moment.

"Care to explain what this is all about?" He finally asked, gesturing with a nod towards the notebook in her hand.

A proud smile spread on Momo's face.

"This-" she patted the front of the notebook, "-is my grandmother's notebook. She wrote down a lot of things one might not find in scrolls usually used for priest training. Her own experiences and thoughts she had on spirits and Yokai." She flipped through the pages again, giving it another quick skim. "I have never memorized what she wrote, but I'm sure we can find something in here that will help us."

Yokarun had listened intensely to her explanation, but then furrowed his brows in confusion at her last words.

"Help us...with what exactly?"

Her smile turned into a mischievous smirk.

"Teaching Kato a lesson in fear."

At first his eyes widened in surprise, but then changed into a dangerous grin, perfectly matching her mischievousness. There were no words needed between them. They were on the same page with this.

Suddenly, the door opened.

"Breakfast is here Miko-san!" Cho's cheerful voice trilled through the room.

Momo would've never imagined that Yokarun could look even more like the undead. It was fascinating to see almost all of the color drain from his skin and his pupils becoming so big, they almost drowned out all the red from his eyes. She would have laughed, if she hadn't panicked herself in that moment.

Did he forget to turn on his aura detection?

Luckily, Cho had her back towards the room, which gave him a few precious seconds.

The balcony door was too far and would require opening it, so instead, Yokarun scrambled somewhat to his feet and collapsed behind the folding screen, safely out of sight.

He caused enough ruckus for Cho to look to the side, thankfully only catching a glimpse of his hakama vanishing behind the screen.

"Oh! Is that your shy friend?" she asked Momo in a whisper when she put the platter with their breakfast down in front of her.

"Haha, yes, my shy friend. He was about to change when you came in, startled him a bit," Momo nodded with a nervous laughter, while Cho looked over to the folding screen.

"Oh no, I'm very sorry Okyaku-san. I didn't mean to scare you," the girl immediately apologized profusely and bowed, even when Yokarun was still hiding.

"I-it's alright Cho-san. I know you didn't do it on purpose," he stammered, clearly flustered by her way of addressing him and almost getting spotted.

Amused, Momo watched how Cho's expression went from surprised that he knew her name; of course Momo had told him about her. However, Cho was also shocked that he addressed her in a way too formal manner for a mere inn employee. She opened her mouth to protest, but Momo placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head with a lopsided smile.

"Don't try to argue. That guy is polite to a fault."

The girl tilted her head, utterly puzzled, but then let out a chuckle. "I see."

She then looked around, expression turned into confusion again. "What happened to the futons?"

Now Momo also noticed the lack of their bedding in the room. She had been to busy searching in the basket to pay attention to it.

"Already taken care of," Yokarun chimed in from behind the screen. "I put them away while Ayase-san was gone."

"You shouldn't have Okyaku-san!" Cho huffed, actually looking a bit upset over her duties being done for her. "You are a guest here and it's my job to ensure your stay is comfortable and relaxing."

"I am very comfortable. And that's why I want to help at least a little bit. You already do so much, Cho-san!" Yokarun argued back. His shadow was visible and one could see how he leaned more towards the side, almost appearing from behind the screen. At least he made sure that the outlines of his maw were not visible.

Momo held a hand in front of her mouth to muffle the small laugh she let out at this rather adorable argument.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Cho shook her head. The Miko understood her so much in this moment.

"May I know your name?" the girl asked.

There was a moment of silence in which Momo wondered if Yokarun would actually answer the question. So far she had always referred to him as her friend, even after she had given him his name. It was his now and it was up to him if he wanted to share it or not.

"...Yokarun," he finally answered with a shy voice. Momo beamed and Cho nodded satisfied while taking a step towards the screen.

"Thank you, Yokarun-san. I appreciate your kindness and I'm glad you enjoy your stay. But I must insist that you leave any work, no matter how small or quick, to me and the other girls. We need this practice so we can deliver the best service and make Emi-sama proud."

It was clear from his shadow that he was squirming a bit, undoubtedly not liking the idea of people doing things for him just like that. But Cho's words must have struck a chord with him, because his shoulders sagged and he let out a defeated sigh.

"I understand. Apologies Cho-san, I didn't mean to offend you or the work you are doing in any way."

"You didn't offend me, I understand you just wanted to help," Cho assured him, making sure her smile was audible in her voice. Then she leaned towards Momo and whispered: "Seems nice enough, but also quite the handful."

"Agreed, but he's manageable," Momo whispered back and both giggled.

"Hey, I heard that!" Yokarun huffed from his hiding spot, making the girls only giggle more.

"I'll leave you two to your meal," she said to Momo with a bow and then turned around to also bow to Yokarun. "It was a pleasure to finally meet you Yokarun-san." Momo made a face at how Cho used the honorific with his name again. It just sounded really weird to her.

"Pleasure was all mine. And thank you for everything you do for us," he returned, the shadow of his body also bowing, causing the girl to chuckle.

Cho left the room and as soon as the door closed, both Momo and Yokarun let out a deep sigh of relief.

"That went pretty well," she murmured and looked over to Yokarun, who carefully peeked from around the screen, before stepping back into the room. Momo grinned at how he eyed the door up, ready to jump back into his hiding spot again, while she started to pluck a few pieces onto her plate for her breakfast. Her stomach was grumbling and she needed energy to come with a good plan!

"You can be such a smooth talker if you want, you know that?" she said with a teasing tone, making him huff in slight annoyance while he finally joined her and sat down at the table.

"Wouldn't call it that. Just wanted to right my misdemeanor and make sure she knows that her work is appreciated."

"Which is really kind of you," she hummed and offered him a bowl with miso soup that he accepted with a grateful nod. "And you finally got to introduce yourself to someone with your name. Did it feel good?"

She was genuinely curious how he felt using the name she gave him. Having one was the most normal thing in the world to her, so she wondered how it could be for someone who already lived for so long, but only received a name recently. Did it even feel like the name actually belonged to him?

Yokarun pondered for a moment over the question, stirring his spoon through the soup. But his eyes quickly softened into a smile.

"Yeah, I guess it felt good. I...I feel more like an actual person with a name like this. Makes me happy." He lifted his gaze to look at her. "Thank you so much again, Ayase-san."

Momo, who had just put her spoon full of soup into her mouth, bit down on the wooden utensil hard, all to keep herself from making any high pitched noises.

The hunger in her stomach was temporarily replaced with the warm and fuzzy feeling she kept getting when he looked at her like this: as if she had hung up the sun and stars just for him. As if she was something...special.

Nonono, she was not dealing with this now. She was on a mission, and said mission needed a plan to be formed in order to get back at Kato once and for all. All her focus needed to be on that. That and nothing else, she ordered herself. Her emotional turmoil could wait until later. Way later. Possibly, even never.

"D-don't mention it..." she muttered, shyly averting her eyes from him for a moment, before she waved her spoon in front of his face. "Focus on eating! We need our energy for today. There is much to be done!"

His soft expression changed into a look of curiosity again, since he still wasn't fully aware of what exactly she was up to, but he obliged and they enjoyed their breakfast in much more silence than they did their dinner the night prior.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

After they had finished their breakfast and Cho came back to retrieve the dirty dishes, Momo informed Yokarun of the new bounty that Kato had put out and what she and the other women had talked about earlier at the reception. His eyes gained a forlorn shimmer over Cho's misfortune, only to burn with intensity in tandem with his collar's increased blazing once hearing about Kato's involvement. Momo was glad to see that he felt the exact same as her over the entire situation.

"Since killing him is not truly a viable option," there was a clear bitterness in his voice over that fact, but he stayed collected as he continued, "what is it that you had in mind? You said something about teaching him a lesson?"

"Exactly. Right now, Kato is so high on fear due to your visit last night and it seems he doesn't trust his own priests to protect him from you." Momo started to spread the notes out in front of her on the table, "If we play our cards right, we can scare him even further and convince him that all of this was the result of his selfish actions. Maybe he will go easier on the people after this to keep him safe from further spirit attacks. The least we can get out of this is more money," she finished with a coy grin.

Yokarun didn't look as convinced yet, eyeing up the pages in front of him.

"You're really optimistic about him changing his ways."

Rolling her eyes, Momo crossed her arms, "Nothing wrong with some healthy optimism. Never underestimate the choke-hold fear can have on humans, especially powerful ones that are strangers to everyday hardships of the common man. Death is the one thing that they can't subdue or buy their way out of, so they will do just about anything to enjoy the luxury of life a little longer, for as long as possible if their couffers can fund it."

That made him hum thoughtfully and he picked one of the pages up to read it.

"You're not wrong. But how we are supposed to achieve this little miracle?" His eyes went from the page up to her. "As you can recall, he uses talismans and barriers. Given his hysterical state of mind, they might be around his whole estate by now. No way of me getting near him."

"Then we have to find a way of making you immune to the barriers," she said with a determined spark in her eyes as she too started to pick up pages. "That way you can pester him again and then I will swoop in to save the day, pretend I exorcised you and give him a stern talking. And then, we come back and celebrate our victory with some fine sake!"

Yokarun looked at her with a doubtful expression at how sure she sounded.

"And how in the hells do you want to pretend to exorcise me? If it was just Kato you could fool him, but he always has seasoned priests surrounding him who would be able to pick up on any trick you want to pull."

Momo only raised a finger to silence him, her eyes on the pages.

"One step at a time. If we can't figure out how to keep you safe, this plan won't work in the first place. So get those peepers working and read."

Letting out a sigh, he shook his head, but did as he was told all the same, albeit somewhat begrudgingly.

Yokarun figured that when Momo had set her mind on something, she would do anything to see it through. And it was not like he was against the idea to teach Kato a lesson and hopefully help the good towns people. He was just worried that this might backfire in some way or another and then she would have the lord's ire directed towards her. It already had been a bold move of her to insult him in public and he doubted her Miko status would protect her much longer. Hopefully, she could come up with a good plan and he could manage to keep her safe.

-----------------------------------------------------------

They spent the whole rest of morning and to midday going through the notes of Momo's grandmother. From time to time, Yokarun would voice his opinion on her theories about spirits and Yokai or outright correct them. But most of the time, he praised her insightfulness and commented that she had a unique way of looking at things. It made Momo happy and proud to hear how highly Yokarun spoke of her grandma. Even when she wasn't here anymore, she managed to earn respect so easily.

Whenever Yokarun corrected or added something about spirits and Yokai, Momo tried to remember it. Having a Yokai friend who could tell her most things was interesting. Maybe she should start writing her own notes on Yokai. Could be useful in the future.

The day was turning into afternoon, when Momo finally came across something. Her grandmother wrote down a theory that if someone would want to ward themselves from the powers of a local god, they would need to change the inscription on an ofuda to ask for protection from the gods and not against evil spirits. It just needed to be a stronger blessing than the other ofuda's and talisman's one would want protection from.

Momo mulled this over. She had no connection to the local Kami and she doubted she would get assistance from the priests here. But she knew how to draw out more of the god's powers with her abilities. It was something her grandmother taught her, to make sure she was able to create powerful talisman to ward of even the strongest spirits. She could go to the local temple, purchase one of the ofudas and change its inscription slightly and then perform an inconspicuous prayer while coaxing more spiritual power from the Kami than a normal priest would be able to.

She had muttered the step by step for this part of the plan out loud, for herself but also so that Yokarun knew what she had in mind. He had not interrupted once and was now tapping one of his claws thoughtfully against his maw.

"This sounds indeed like a good plan. A spiritual protection directed towards the local Kami itself would not harm me and if you can make it stronger than what the priests are using, I should be able to go through barriers. Talismans should also not activate."

Excited that he agreed with her idea, Momo nodded. "Exactly! It wouldn't be able to protect you from blessed weapons, but I'm sure you're fast enough to avoid attacks from those."

"Of course, that is child's play to me," he said with such confidence that was rare to hear from him. She chuckled and then slapped her hand on the table. "Excellent. Then let's go to the temple and see if we can snatch an ofuda."

They quickly gathered the pages and put them neatly back together into the notebook, before stashing it back into the basket. Momo also grabbed some ink and a brush that she hid in her robes for the ofuda alteration.

The prospect of returning to the temple of this town didn't thrill her much, but they had no choice. She would have to endure any scornful comments of the priests and just get on with it. They might have expelled her from performing any shrine maiden duties due to her lack of training, but they could not deny her entrance when she wanted to pray like any normal citizen could.

When leaving the inn, she came across Emi, who she had a very quick chat with. Momo almost wanted to tell her of their plan, but that would include explaining her Yokai friend. Which probably wouldn't go too well. Instead, she merely told her she was out for another stroll and would be back for dinner, for which she would pay this time. With that, she left the inn and tried to walk as casually as possible to the temple.

Yokarun insisted on coming too, saying he would follow her within the shadows. He wouldn't be able to enter the temple, but given the nature of what they were doing, Momo felt a bit safer knowing he was close by. Although, she hoped he would not overhear anything that could give her little secret away. She didn't want to explain herself to him and he was already very cautious of the plan.

Alone with her thoughts, her mind was racing. While she was confident that this first step would work out just fine, Yokarun's words kept repeating itself in her head:

How was she going to pretend to exorcise him without actually doing it and making it look believable?

In the past, she had assisted her grandmother in performing cleansing rituals, albeit she never paid enough attention to remember how they worked. Another shortcoming of hers. Never listened and thought she knew better. And now in the present, just like her grandma had warned her time and time again, her past arrogance came back to bite her right in the rear.

Well, if she didn't know how to perform a normal exorcism, she had to come up with her own method. She always thought of something brilliant and out of the box to solve her problems. Those blockheads of priests would absolutely marvel at the feat she will definitely perform and undoubtedly throw themselves at her feet when all was said and done.

She grinned wickedly at the image.

The urge to prove herself to everyone who doubted her skills and shove that arrogance of theirs right back at them became bolstered, fattened with pure determination. All she needed was a bit of time and a spark of inspiration.

Momo completely believed she would figure something out.

She had to believe it.

Her expression sobered again.

Will power and quick thinking were all she had. And they were all she needed.

No fancy Miko training.

No one to hold her hand through this. She was more than capable to do this on her own.

A harsh wind rushed past her, causing her robes and hair to flutter and made her stop for a moment.

Yokarun must have run ahead, she thought with a smile. Brushing a strand of loose hair behind her ear, she continued her walk.

[princesssarcastia]

it's always worth your time to examine why you like a character. especially if you're drawn to one or two characters more than any other in an ensemble cast, especially if one or both of them are not main characters!

are they white? (yes. they're almost always white). i'm not even going to ask if they're a man, that would be moot.

alright. now, look me in the eye and tell me it's not because they're white. if you can, i'll know you for a liar.

when you list off the qualities, plot points, and potential that drew you to your blorbo, you probably won't mention their race or their gender! but you're a fool if you think that doesn't factor in.

[whatvioletdoes-blog]

2 and a half months after starting to write it, chapter 3 of our Shadow POV fic is done and up! Who knew simple fight scenes would be so hard to write (Shadow's too sassy and done with things for a normal fight description apparently)

Summary:

The Chain deals with the monsters after making things unnecessarily harder for themselves Shadow's so ready to be done with all water ever

[cricketnationrise]

Took me forever to send you this because I couldn't decide which Beyoncé lyrics to send (if the ones I picked aren't inspiring, feel free to request different ones, there's so many to pick from!) so I hope i'm not too late 🙃 this is so fun, thank you for organizing this fest!

9:26pm, the brownstone, Alex Claremont-Diaz, "Private show with the music blasting / He like to call me Peaches when we get this nasty", rated E 😈

My Ao3 username is Calou 😊

fitting that you were right under the wire in submitting because it took me almost five months to get to this prompt. i hope its worth the wait!

a big thank you to everyone who submitted and to everyone who's been reading and commenting along the way. i love doing the ficlet fests, the prompts are always a delight and let me get out of any writing funk i find myself in. yall rock.

as a parting gift for Ficlet Fest 500, please enjoy exactly 1000 words of straight gay up filth, as requested in the GC.

read the rest of the ficlets here

❤️🤍💙❤️🤍💙

9:26pm, the brownstone

Alex’s brain falls out of his head when Henry comes downstairs. He apparently took Pez’s dress code seriously for once; he’s dressed to fucking impress. (Alex is so far past impressed he’s having heart palpitations.) Henry looks good in everything, from a full suit to sweatpants, but when he lets himself relax, lets himself lean into being one hundred percent himself, he ascends to a whole other level.

His white shorts are going to be the death of Alex. They’re short, showing off strong calves and stacked, polo-playing thighs, and just this side of respectably opaque. But if there’s a strong enough backlight, anyone who isn’t intimately familiar with Henry’s particular topography, will be. The shorts would be enough to cause Alex a factory reset, but then he notices the shirt. It’s halfway unbuttoned, straining to accommodate Henry’s wide shoulders, and short enough in the torso that he’s baring midriff. And it’s one of Alex’s shirts. The novelty ice cream cone print has never looked so fucking good. 

Alex can see the tops of Henry’s hipbones—they’re mouth-wateringly obscene. Henry shouldn’t be allowed out of the house like this; he’s a danger to everyone around him. Drivers will run their cars off the road, pedestrians will walk into poles, et fucking cetera. Really, Alex has a fucking duty toward public safety to tackle Henry onto their couch and take him apart with his teeth. 

So he does.

Henry makes a noise somewhere between a squawk and a whimper and Alex wants to lick it out of his mouth. He captures Henry’s lips in a kiss as they land, barely letting him breathe, let alone put up a token protest because he feels like they should be social. Henry groans and melts into the cushions, letting Alex do whatever he wants. The trust Henry puts in him is heady, and Alex spirals that much higher when Henry throws his arms around Alex’s neck to keep him in place. His own hands are busy mapping every bit of exposed skin on Henry’s chest, slipping beneath Alex’s own fucking shirt to reach the scant inches that are still hidden below fabric. Alex takes advantage of Henry’s gasp of pleasure when Alex scratches lightly at his bicep to slip his tongue inside Henry’s mouth.

Both of them are already breathing hard, the sound of spit and panting filling the air. Alex manages to stop kissing Henry’s mouth, but only to nip down his throat, pausing at the pulse point to bite down. Henry always complains about having to be careful of covering the marks Alex leaves, but he never actually asks Alex to stop. (They were thirty minutes late to meet Nora for brunch last month when Alex caught Henry pressing down on a hickey in the bathroom and Alex had to bend him over the sink about it.) Henry’s moan at the graze of Alex’s teeth against his neck is a siren song; the way he tips his head to the side to give Alex more room, a gift from the gods. 

Henry pushes at his head, directing Alex with a pleading whine. Alex is only too happy to oblige, nipping and licking and sucking down Henry’s sternum, fingers fumbling to open the shirt. He spends a few minutes teasing Henry, alternating kisses with quick bites across his soft belly. Alex noses along his waistband, inhaling the scent of sweat and something uniquely Henry. Alex’s hands tighten on Henry’s thighs involuntarily when Henry’s fingers find a home in his hair and pull tight. Alex can’t wait another minute to get Henry’s cock in his mouth.

Alex liberates his curls from Henry’s hands and rearranges them so that Henry is sort of upright and Alex kneels on the floor between his legs. Alex means to dive in at once, but he has to take a second to fully absorb the fucking daydream of a man in front of him. Henry’s eyes have darkened, pupils blown wide and clouded with arousal. He’s sagging into the couch, relying on the furniture to keep him sitting up, seemingly unable to count on his muscles to do the job. Henry’s flushed from his cheeks to his hips, his hairline starting to darken with sweat. Alex’s gaze keeps snagging on the hickey he left—one fine day he’ll give into the desire to leave a whole goddamn collar of them.

Henry shifts, drawing Alex’s attention to his erection, straining against the white fabric of his shorts. Alex can’t help but to give him a firm stroke to his bulge, delighting in the strangled gasp it pulls from Henry. He can feel Henry twitch beneath his palm, can feel Henry’s racing pulse through the fabric, and then he’s moving—undoing Henry’s fly and pulling down his shorts and briefs in one fell swoop.

Henry actually shouts when Alex takes him to the root in one long smooth motion—he’s never been more glad for his lack of gag reflex. He stays there for a moment, breathing through his nose, the tip of Henry’s cock right at the back of his mouth. He looks up at Henry through his eyelashes. Henry’s practically shaking with the effort of holding himself still. How unnecessarily gentlemanly. Alex pries Henry’s hands out of the couch cushion and back into his hair before moving his own hands to Henry’s hips. He blinks twice, their nonverbal green signal, just to really drive the point home. With a mumbled curse, Henry starts thrusting and Alex closes his eyes, groaning every time Henry’s cock dips into his throat.

Alex’s jaw aches from the stretch, and his own cock is leaking and pressing uncomfortably against his zipper, but he couldn’t care less. He’s got Henry filling his mouth, surrounded by his hands and thighs and noises and taste—

They’re definitely going to be late to Pez’s party, if they even make it out of the house. Alex couldn’t give less of a fuck if they don’t; there’ll be other parties.

[ersatz-introspective]

is there anyone on tumblr who genuinely hates abigail or are we talking about reddit or sumn. like we agree abigail is literally perfect right. what's everyone talking abou

[tinesleftnipple]

From ep 8 after yuan comes back. Cross hair shot of wei qian. He's being targeted. He is yuan's prey!

[starflungwaddledee]

Does starstruck have teeth?! Also, political backstory?! Why is she in politics???

i think that all waddle dees have teeth, but i would say that hers are particularly unusual and make her even more resistant than most when it comes to opening her mouth.

and good catch on that one, i actually tried to sneak it past! 😂✌️ but you're right to be dubious about the idea!!

politics is probably not a particularly good place for someone of her uhhh... intellectual calibre. i admittedly can't really see it resulting in anything less than a crisis of some kind

[pynkhues]

I feel like from browsing tags on tumblr and on AO3 that DM is more popular than Loustat, which I find super interesting. Personally I love both so I’m happy to get any content, but I was initially really surprised that was the case given the amount of content in canon is almost the exact inverse to fandom.

I wonder if this is because DM hasn’t happened yet so there’s more to speculate, on up to and including the dynamics at play. But I do ALSO wonder if it’s because it’s more acceptable to ship and you’re less likely to have gotten hate about DM compared to Loustat over the last two years. Which I find soooo funny because if that’s the case, when it actually happens I suspect people will be in for a rude awakening.

Anyway, just wondering if you’ve noticed this and had any thoughts? You’re very insightful about these things and I know have been in various fandoms before.

Ah, it's kinda funny you bring this up, because I was actually talking about something adjacent to this with @hypermania yesterday.

I think they're a fun ship with a fun dynamic generally, and I think you're right that a part of it comes from the fact that DM hasn't happened yet. I think that opens up the overall possibility of what their dynamic and relationship could be, especially given there's a wide window of time to play around in between the 70s and the modern era. I think their particular dynamic can at first glance look pretty trope-y too in a way that often appeals to fandoms (enemies to lovers! Mutual obsession! A hardened character who's actually a traumatised victim who just wants love and the snarky antagonist who'll love him - entire fandoms have been built on the back of that), and I think as a ship, people probably see them as having less baggage than Louis and Lestat, both in terms of actual canon elements (no dead child, no dv, no murder, etc.) and in terms of -- y'know. *gestures to the fandom*

I also think, at least in terms of fic, that people probably think Daniel and Armand are easier characters to write, which - - mm. I think Daniel definitely is easier to write than Louis and Lestat are, but I don't think Armand is at all. This is actually what me and Courtney were talking about yesterday - that there's a tendency to defang all these characters, but particularly Armand it seems? There's this sort of fanon version of him that's almost as popular as housewife Louis which is as this waifish little weirdo, when Armand's pretty specifically dangerous, especially in the show. He's a master manipulator and an apex predator, and while, of course, he's not just those things, it does seem to be a part of him that's softened when it comes to writing fic which has him falling pretty neatly into a character archetype that I think is just generally very popular in fandoms, even though it's not necessarily the way I'd personally interpret him.

I also - - mm. Trying to find a way to say this, haha. Sex work is a pretty popular trope in fanfic, and it has been in every fandom that I've been in. I think Armand having a canonical past in that is appealing to certain parts of fandom, for better and for worse, to say nothing of the canonical BDSM element of his character (which I think is less popular with Louis, because I think Louis as a dom didn't match with established post-s1 fanon between seasons, which is kind of interesting to me in particular given I think it makes a lot of sense).

So yeah, I think it's a mix of things, ranging from them just generally having an appealing dynamic and being open to possibility and having less (perceived, at least) baggage both in canon and fandom, and them also - particularly Armand - being shaped by fanon into versions that just generally seem to be popular across fandoms.