#this isn't an invitation to debate either. keep it out of my notes.

[meowyjean]

hey y'all, jily isn't synonymous to anti regulus and jegulus isn't synonymous to anti lily either. don't drag either of their names carelessly for debates you want to have. thanks x

[adrianasunderworld]

I posted 16,910 times in 2022

That's 1,104 more posts than 2021!

1,847 posts created (11%)

15,063 posts reblogged (89%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@curetapwater

@zonerz

@phoenixyfriend

@elytrians

@mangacupcake

I tagged 2,896 of my posts in 2022

#twisted wonderland - 1,764 posts

#twst yuu - 363 posts

#miss yuu - 355 posts

#twst oc - 355 posts

#obey me - 294 posts

#obey me shall we date - 283 posts

#divus crewel - 171 posts

#headmistress rosehearts au - 171 posts

#leona kingscholar - 155 posts

#papa crewel - 129 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#what gets me is that he had to have ordered the syrup and made the recipe at least a day or two ago before even doing this service contest

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Au where Mcs phone still gets service down in the Devildom, or maybe the D.D.D can connect to human phones. Either way Mc can still contact people back home. And their mom is just always blowing up the phone. She's so supportive,so loving, so very very nosey.

"Tell me about your roommates, do I know their parents? Yes I know they're demons. But I've played with the Oujia board a couple times in my day, you never know."

She'll be on face time and see someone walking in the background. "Is that Mammon? Hi! Is that the one that likes you? Mammon honey, don't be embarrassed. I can't blame you, after all they do take after me."

"Levi,honey, you're looking a little pale, have you been going outside like I told you to? And Belphie have you lost weight? Mc did you get that recipe I sent you?"

"So you're able to come for dinner? You know I've been meaning to invite the boys, it is the holidays after all... You know what, put Lucifer on the phone. Don't argue with me. Give him. The. Phone."

That's their mom now.

2,796 notes - Posted March 16, 2022

#4

Papa Crewel

a drabble In which Yuu/Mc realizes Crewel has become their father figure.

Summer vacation is fast approaching and Yuu is...still there. It’s not surprising but also very upsetting. But right now the most pressing issue is how they will spend the summer. Because with the school being closed for the next few months, Yuu is kinda screwed and will likely be stuck as a grounds keeper for Crowley just so they have a place to stay. Luckily for them, the rest of the staff won’t let that happen. They all debate on who should act as Yuus guardian over the summer. Trein initially offers. He’s a father himself and raised two girls, what's one more child for a couple months? Crewel immediately shoots it down, and says he will gladly take Yuu in. He says it would be best for them to go with who they would be most comfortable with, and as their homeroom teacher they know him best. But truthfully Crewel has grown rather fond of Yuu over the school year. To simply pass them off on someone else felt wrong. Besides, a summer with old Trein? His pup would be bored out of their skull and he can’t have that. Other staff members offered up their homes, but Crewel refused to back down on the matter, and it was decided Yuu would be sent to live with him.

On the last day of school, after everyone had gone, Yuu and Grim packed whatever few belonging they had into the back of Crewels car before bidding campus farewell for the time being. The drive isn't very long, and they are soon pulling up to the surprisingly large house. A few excited dogs run up to greet them, and Yuu thinks this may not be so bad. Crewel shows them to their room. Grim makes himself comfortable on the bed as Crewel explains the house rules. Which isn't much, mostly the usual clean up after your self, if you're going out let him know, etc. For such a strict professor, he’s oddly lax as a guardian. As the next couple weeks pass, things are...normal. Yuu sleeps in a bit, plays with the dogs, maybe walk around with Grim to explore the neighborhood, is always back in time to help Crewel make dinner. This is the most stability Yuu has had in almost a year and it feels surreal. They keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it never comes. Instead of Overblots and magical misshaps, they get lake visits and shopping trips. 

Their room is comfortable. The first week there Crewel helped them unpack and even offered to take them to get a few things to make it more to their liking. Like picking out bedsheets, curtains, maybe some posters. Yuu doesn't want to take advantage of their teachers' generosity, but Crewel won’t take no for an answer, and soon the room feels almost like Yuu had lived there the whole time. Even the dogs have taken to napping at the foot of the bed with Grim as if it's always been this way. Among the things Crewel got for Yuu was a new phone. He said the one Crowely gave them was no better than a cheap brick, and that they needed something that wasn’t going to give out on them anytime soon. Especially in an emergency. Yuu realized Crewel was serious when they and Grim got lost on one of their outings. They ventured farther into town and got completely lost. Every Turn seemed to make it worse and the streetlights had already come on. Not knowing what else to do, Yuu called Crewel who picked up after a couple rings.

 “Hello, Pup, having fun out there?”

 “Um…Crewel? I need help.”

His voice got very serious at hearing how worried they sounded. “What’s wrong?”

   “Grim and I got lost in town and I have no clue how to get back to the house.”

   “Do you know the street name you're on?”

   “Um…White Avenue. And there's a cafe nearby called the Red Rose.”

   “Alright, I’ll be there in about ten minutes. Just stay put.”

   And true to his word, Crewel pulls up in his car soon after, asking if they're okay. Yuu felt an overwhelming sense of relief. They had gotten so used to dealing with everything themselves, that something as simple as being picked up when they're lost was refreshing.

As the summer went on Crewel continued to look after Yuu. From getting their back to school supplies. Taking them on day trips to visit friends. Even scolding them to stay in bed and drink their medicine when they got a nasty cold after getting caught in the rain. One night as they were video chatting with Deuce and Ace, Crewel came into the room and reminded them not to be up too late since they had a ton of errands to run tomorrow and said goodnight.

“He sounds like your dad.” Ace joked.

“Papa Crewel!” Grim agreed, knowing better than the boys that that wasn’t much of an exaggeration. 

Yuu only rolled their eyes. “He’s just being responsible and looking after me.”

“Like a parent would.” Deuce said.

“Are you going to change your last name when Crewel adopts you?” Ace continued to tease. Yuu let him have his fun, but the thought of their professor being like their dad stuck in their head long after the call ended.

An old friend of Crewels was having a baby, and Yuu had tagged along with him to the shower. Everyone was nice to them, people were laughing as the new mother opened gifts. Parents were sharing stories and had their children running about. Yet Yuu had never felt so…alone. In school they had their peers and friends, there was hardly a chance to be lonely. But here everyone was so familiar with one another, family and life long friends. Yuu felt that familiar sense of hollowness they felt over winter break. They missed their friends and family back home. They tried not to dwell on the very real possibility they would never see them again. When it was finally time to leave, Crewel noted how silent Yuu was on the drive back.

Yuu can’t sleep that night. Not wanting to disturb Grim or the dogs, they slowly slip out of bed and wander the halls of the large house. Eventually they sat in the dark of the living room. Hugging a furry pillow, Yuu started to cry. All the loneliness and homesickness that had built up finally came bursting out in muffled sobs. They didn’t know how long they sat in the dark until a familiar voice interrupted.

“Pup? What’s wrong?”

Crewel sat next to them wondering if Yuu had hurt themselves or something. Instead they threw their arms around him and kept crying, the sound no longer muffled by the pillow. Through their sniffling, he managed to figure out what was wrong and hugged them back. Telling them that it would be alright. They weren’t alone. They had him, Grim, and all their friends. 

As Crewel continued to comfort them, they realized Ace wasn’t really joking. Crewel had become a father to them in every way that mattered. 

2,923 notes - Posted April 30, 2022

#3

Leona x Miss Yuu be like. No I will not take criticism.

@mangacupcake

3,699 notes - Posted September 21, 2022

#2

The usual “Mc gets turned into a small child through some magical mishap.” But instead of jumping into the typical cute tomfoolery, Mc does not remember anything past age five, who these people are, or where they are and why, and they are terrified. Mc is looking around the alchemy classroom, all these strange people are staring down at them, and they start bawling their eyes out. 

Their friends try to comfort them, but nothing works. Floyd gets the bright idea to pick Mc up, because kids love being picked up, right?! “Come on, Shrimpy, no need for that!” But all little Mc sees is this big dude with needle sharp teeth and they start screaming and thrashing in his arms. Crewel has to take little Mc away from Floyd and try's to get them to calm down in vain.

“I WANT MY MOMMY!” They keep sobbing at the top of their lungs. (Or daddy, grandma, brother, whatever best suits your Mc.) It gets to the point where Crewel has to put a calming spell on them and they doze off almost immediately, because absolutely nothing they said or did worked. According to him, the effects of the potions will wear off on their own, but that takes a few days.

As the rest of the week goes on, little Mc is passed around from staff member to staff member so they don't distract, or get scared again, by the students. Usually they will be sitting coloring in Crowleys office, or in the back room of Sams shop playing with some toys he had in stock. But even so, that doesn’t stop any of their friends from trying to see Mc. Grim is the first one to get close again to Mc. Crewel explained very calmy that this...cat was their friend, and it was a magic cat that could talk, so don't freak out. Mc thought it was like in their shows back home. Like Jiji from Kikis Delivery Service. So they were okay with Grim despite the initial surprise. Their more human friends, like the Heartsybul and Scarabia gang were not that hard to get used too. Especially when Trey brought cookies, and Kalim being Kalim. 

The issue arose when the students with not so human features got involved. Mc absolutely refused to go near Floyd, and by extension Jade. The one time Idia left his room, he ran into little Mc who was left to play in the courtyard under Silvers watch. (He had fallen asleep, but his woodland friends had taken over.) Idia, to his credit, had heard how scared little Mc was of everything and tried not to be spotted. But sadly he was. They both stood frozen in wide eyed horror staring at one another. Silver woke up and found the odd sight, it would have almost been funny if both of them didn’t look like they were about to cry. Mc hid behind Silver and Idia bolted. 

Jack wasn’t going to hold it against Mc if they were wary of him, at the moment he was a stranger to them after all. But Ace, Deuce, and Grim made a big show of how Jack was their friend, and look how fluffy his ears and tail are! Mc at this point was more curious then scared, and asked nicely if they could pet his tail. When Jack gave the ok, Mc wasted no time in petting it. Jack tail started to wag, and Mc laughed from his tail floof hitting them in the face. It kinda remined Jack of playing with his little siblings. Leona absolutely avoided Mc, he wanted no part in any of this. So of course, Ruggie told Mc there was a grumpy lion man around here that needed some cheering up. Then set them loose in the dorm. Cheka 2.0.

 Lillia had taken to looking after Mc. This wasn’t his first rodeo. Despite the fact he looks like a vampire, he befriended tiny Mc relatively quickly. He is, after all, a parent himself and knew how to calm down a crying child. Mc picked up his paternal vibes and now they're besties. Lilia loves to coo at the Diasmonia boys, “Oh this takes me back. I remember you all were this small.” They have to hide Mc at snack time though

“Uncle Lilia is going to go make you some mac and cheese!” he exclaimed before leaving.

Silver scooped up Mc and ran for it. 

“But I want Mac and cheese!”

“Trust me, no you don’t.”

Malleus, like Jack, wouldn't hold it against Mc if they were afraid of him. But part of him really didn't want to find out if that was the case. Sure normal Mc wasn't scared of him, but he didn't really want to see five year old them sobbing at his presence like they had with some of the other students. Lilia had prepared for this though. "See that tall horned fellow over there? He really wants to be your friend. He doesn't get invited out to play very often and it make him sad. So I think it would be very nice if you invited him."

Mc wasn't very sure, but if Lilia said it, it had to be the case, right? So Mc took whatever toys they had been playing with and cautiously walked up to him. "Um...excuse Mr. Malleus sir. Um...do you want to play with me?" They held out the toy him and Malleus was surprised, but gladly accepted.

When Mc finally turned back to normal, everyone was so relieved. For one they didn’t have to feel like they were walking on eggshells around them anymore, and they no longer had to babysit. Mcs memories of the past several days were hazy at best. But the sight of Floyd scooping them up and seeing row of sharp teeth was vividly familiar. “Were you bored without me, Floyd?”

“You were no fun small, Shrimpy.”

5,134 notes - Posted May 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

A female Mc making friends with a group of friendly succubi/girl demons, and whenever they come over to hang out or have a sleepover, none of the brothers are allowed anywhere near Mcs room. Of course that's not going to stop any of them. Mammon will try to get in the room, and when that doesn't work they'll resort to trying to listen through the wall to see what Mc has to say about them,to no avail. The only one that successfully infiltrates the sleepover is Beel, who wasn't even trying.And that's because he knocked on the door and went, "Can I have some of the pizza you guys ordered?" 🥺 and then they let him in.

Beel comes out the room hours later with sparkly nails,a bowl of popcorn, and smelling like strawberries. When his brothers bombard him with questions, Beel says he can't tell them anything because the girls swore him to secrecy and that they won't share their snacks with him at the next sleepover if he tells them.

5,776 notes - Posted February 22, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[mooniefics]

— in the grand scheme of things [ 1 ]

pairings : zeke jaeger / reader, referenced eren jaeger / reader

word count : 8.4k

tags : unhealthy relationships, relationship discussions, implied cheating, drinking, break ups, eventual smut, praise kink, mutual infidelity, dubious morality, love triangles

warnings : contains nsfw, sexual coercion, intoxicated reader, rlly toxic behavior

summary : you and eren hadn't been doing the best these past few months, and no one that you knew seemed to have any answers for you, or pointers in the right direction. who better to offer you some sound, insightful relationship advice than his older brother. or so you thought.

note : i apologize if the text convoformatting is a little yucky, i pinky promise it looked wayy better on ao3 (//▽//)

— originally posted 1 / 20 / 21 on ao3 —

you would reluctantly admit that you and eren had been experiencing a few issues as of recently.

it was the run-of-the-mill turbulence: ignored texts and phone calls, unexplained hostility, hanging around with your shared group of friends—more his than yours—without you. you'd been able to ignore it around midterms, being so busy with studying and getting all your family affairs in order for the end of the year that you didn't have much time to worry about how he hadn't bothered to respond to your "happy new year, baby!!!" message you'd sent days ago.

but winter break came and went with no reply from him, you spent christmas and new years in the company of your parents, who couldn't seem to keep quiet about asking about "that jaeger boy". you couldn't really blame them for their questions, you'd been friends for nearly four years now, in a relationship since the night of senior prom, even followed each other to the same university with a few other high school friends just to stay close. the summer that preceded your first year of college was so full of love and life, celebrating your newfound freedom that you had always thought would come with adulthood. but you supposed that it was just the hopeless romantic in you talking, it was called the honeymoon phase for a reason.

consulting his best friends about his sudden detachedness yielded nothing—mikasa had never held much besides poorly hidden disdain for you, and all armin had to offer was nervous glances over to the uninterested girl as he assured you that he was probably stressed about his classes, or had another disagreement with his mother about his choice of major, just excuse after excuse for his friend's behavior. you were feeling desperate. you had little desire to break things off, to throw away nine months of commitment despite how your relationship had soured. you were in love with him, and he hadn't explicitly expressed that he wanted to end things, just left you out of the loop for a bit, nothing that couldn't be fixed with a nice long conversation over dinner, right?

but how could you reach him if he wouldn't answer your calls, if his friends only seemed to want to placate you rather than actively help, you felt like there was nobody to turn to—except him.

zeke, the ever-elusive older brother. you'd met him upon one of your first visits to eren's house, a brief, somewhat awkward exchange when you'd ventured into the kitchen by yourself to grab a few things for your friends in the living room. he'd startled you when you turned out of the pantry to find him standing by the fridge, eyeing you and your armful of chip bags curiously, only wearing a pair of thin-framed glasses and grey sweatpants, revealing the sculpted expanse of his muscular arms and torso, an unopened can of beer in his hand.

"you one of eren's friends?" he'd asked, cracking open the tab and taking a generous gulp.

you replied with a quick nod, adding a sheepish "yup..! everyone else is in the living room, i'm on snack duty" with a shaky smile.

he chuckled, shaking his head and running a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. "typical eren. 'm zeke, good to meet you."

he didn't bother to ask your name before he disappeared into the adjacent hallway, the distant sound of a shutting door finally letting you release the breath you didn't know you'd been holding. that was how a majority of your exchanges went over the last few years, the longest conversations you'd had was when he'd offered to help you on your physics homework more than a couple times, his number was only in your phone because of the one time you'd worn the teeshirt of a band he happened to like and he wanted to send you a playlist. there were plenty of things you didn't know about him, but he was eren's older brother—half-brother, if you wanted to get technical—and after seeing the deflective nature of his closest friends, zeke seemed to be your next best option.

so now you were here, nervously standing at the door to his new apartment, dressed nicely so you didn't risk making a bad impression after not having seen him all these months. he seemed sympathetic over the phone when you'd called him last night, not minding how you'd contacted him out of the blue or that it was only for the sake of asking something of him, inviting you to discuss things more thoroughly over dinner. you didn't know whether he'd extended a helping hand for his brother's sake or your own, but you would be grateful no matter what if he gave some sound advice and a few words of reassurance.

you were startled out of your thoughts by the sound of the lock unlatching, the door swinging open to reveal zeke, smartly dressed in a pair of dark jeans and dress shirt, the top few buttons left undone. "sorry if i kept you waiting," he said, stepping aside to allow you in, "dinner's just about ready."

"no worries." you replied quickly as you slipped off your heels, hoping the heat warming your face wasn't flushing visibly on your cheeks.

he had always been a good-looking guy, an effortless sort of attractiveness that was only magnified by the relaxed yet perceptive air he carried. but he'd changed since that day you first met—his shaggy hair had been trimmed back into a shorter, more manageable style, the usual scruff of facial hair had grown out into a well-maintained beard, frames that similarly complimented his handsome features perched on the bridge of his nose. flashing a polite smile, you stepped into the apartment, trying not to let your anxiety get the better of you as the door was shut and locked behind you.

"nice place." you mused, peering about at the spacious, well-decorated interior as you followed beside him.

"thanks, honestly i'm glad i could find someone that was willing to split the rent," you felt nerves stir in the pit of your stomach, the thought of having to meet the other tenant leaving you feeling a bit uneasy. he turned down to glance at you, grey eyes glinting as he offered you an easy grin, "you don't have to worry about my roommate, i kicked him out for the night so you didn't feel uncomfortable."

you were sure the blush on your face was evident now, biting at the inside of your cheek as you both entered into the kitchen. "oh.. thank you. sorry if i caused any trouble, i know this was kind of last minute."

"no worries." he echoed your earlier sentiment, motioning you to the table just beside the kitchen before he returned to the skillet on the stove. the warm scent of coriander and turmeric filled the air as he lifted the lid and set it aside on the counter, stirring the simmering contents within. "hope you like curry," he said over his shoulder, turning down the gas on the stove and opening up the cabinet beside him to pull out the plates, "i didn't make it too spicy, just in case."

"i don't really eat it too often, but it smells amazing."

you felt yourself starting to relax into the chair, shedding your jacket and hanging your purse on the side of the chair as you watched him scoop a generous portion of white rice onto each plate. it was just you two here, he was willing to help, and you were incredibly grateful for his hospitality.

you pulled your phone out of your pocket to fiddle with while he was still plating the food, aimlessly tapping through your apps to kill some time. your text to eren from a few days ago still read "delivered", and you felt a slight twinge prick in your chest as you closed out of your messages, opting to scroll through your feed on one of the few social medias your friends had convinced you to download. it was relatively safe to look there, seeing as eren didn't post all that often, if at all, but seeing everyone your age, people that you knew from your classes posing with their boyfriends and girlfriends and going out on excursions with their peers made you feel jealous. you couldn't have imagined what you had done to deserve such a shitty situation.

your thoughts were interrupted by the dull clink of the plate being set before you, the clatter of silverware following as he rounded over to the opposite side of the table to place his things down. you switched your phone on silent just in case, tucking it back into your purse and sitting up a bit straighter in your chair. but instead of sitting down, he wandered back over to the kitchen, reaching up into a different cabinet to fetch two glasses.

"i'm assuming talking about your relationship troubles isn't the easiest, so pick your poison. i've got gin, tequila, beer—" he listed off the myriad of drinks he had at his disposal, pausing to throw you a glance. "but i honestly pegged you as a vodka kind of girl."

you felt a nervous giggle bubble up in your chest, fingers twisting in your lap, feeling more than juvenile as you replied. "i'm still under twenty-one, so i'm not really much of a drinker.."

"come on, you're in college now," he said, pulling a bottle of vodka from one of the lower cabinets and stepping over to the fridge, "most of the people hosting parties don't give much of a shit whether you're of legal drinking age or not, and i've got a feeling that you really don't either. i know i got shit-faced plenty of times during my freshman year."

you mentally debated the principles of accepting, he was right in saying that you had attended plenty of parties where you drank with your friends, suppressing a grimace at the memories of you throwing up in a stranger's bathroom while an equally drunk historia or sasha held your hair back. but those times you'd been looking to get wasted, drinking in this context would just be for the sake of loosening up, easing the sting of ripping off the metaphorical bandaid that was the thought of your relationship slowly crumbling right before your eyes.

"you're right," you relented, much to his delight, "and, yes, i guess i am a vodka kind of girl."

you didn't appreciate how charming the grin your words garnered was, fixing your eyes on the steaming plate of chicken curry in front of you before you could embarrass yourself. you were here to figure out how to smooth things over with your boyfriend, not oogle at his unnecessarily attractive older brother.

"here, something simple to start you off." he set down the glass on your place mat, finally taking his seat across the table, "there's plenty of ginger beer and limes in the fridge, and plenty of vodka still left."

you stole a glance at his drink. "whiskey, on the rocks.. how refined."

he gave a low chuckle at your sarcasm, taking a slow sip. "it's an acquired taste, i wouldn't expect someone your age to appreciate it." that was right, he was older than you, significantly older than you. just because you were legally an adult didn't mean your life experience could crop up to zeke's.

"old man." you murmured, a small smile perking up at both of your lips as you spooned some of the curry and rice into your mouth, "wow, thi' i' really gu'!" you managed to speak around the mouthful of food, grey eyes watching you intently with an obvious bemusement from across the table.

"i'm glad you like it. guess those years working at a couple restaurants around town weren't a complete waste." he said, tasting his own bite of the food, "cumin's a little off, hope you can forgive me for that."

"are you kidding me? this exceeds restaurant quality. i can barely put eggs in a pan without burning the kitchen down."

you were nearly a quarter through your plate already, setting your utensil down to take a sip of the drink he'd made for you. it was simple, bubbly, a nice mix of ginger, vodka, and lime to cool off your tongue. you could barely taste the alcohol, which somewhat eased your worries of becoming a drunken mess that required him to babysit you for the rest of the night.

you were both silent for a moment, the air occupied with the scrape of spoons and quiet sips from your respective glasses, and you were beginning to dread ruining such an easy mood with the topic of your emotional turmoil. but zeke beat you to the punch, clearing his throat as he settled his gaze onto you.

"so, you and my brother. you wanted to talk about that, right?"

you allowed yourself to frown a bit, taking a generous sip of your drink before you answered. "yeah. i don't really know where to start.."

"when did you first start noticing problems?"

you felt somewhat eased by his calm tone, bright grey eyes that were entirely focused on you, wordlessly reassuring you that you could trust him with this. you'd come this far, there was no point in trying to back out now.

"well, i guess it was around november." you began, scraping all of the food left onto one side of your plate to keep your hands occupied, "we'd all met up for halloween, me and eren and mikasa and armin—" you prattled off the other names of your friends, even some that you weren't sure he knew from your high school days, but he nodded along all the same. "and we all had an amazing time. got all dressed up, wandered around campus and crashed in on the frat parties, drank ourselves stupid, like you said. and at one point i just completely lost track of eren, and i didn't see him or anyone else besides sasha, connie, and mina for the rest of the night. after that, he kind of dropped off the face of the earth, wouldn't pick up my calls or answer my texts, always told me he was busy when we ran into each other on campus, and he wasn't at his dorm most of the time i came to try and check on him."

by the end, you'd finished off your drink, zeke wordlessly getting up to grab everything to pour you a new one without you asking. you were more flustered at his attentiveness, forcing yourself to chalk it up to him being an excellent host as he returned with a freshly opened can of ginger beer, pouring it over the ice in your glass and adding at least two shots of vodka, finishing it off with half a lime before returning to his seat. had he put that much alcohol the last time?

the thought slipped your mind as he swallowed a few spoonfuls of curry and spoke. "hmm.. so everything was going just fine, and then all of a sudden radio silence?"

you nodded, working on your remainder of rice, watching his face take on a pensive expression.

"if i'm being honest, eren has always been a little shithead." you suppressed a giggle at that. "he's rude, he's immature, and most of all, he's a terrible liar."

"mhm, the ears are a dead giveaway." you added, earning a grin over the rim of his glass.

"exactly. my stepmom— his mom always called him on his shit with that." you shared a moment of laughter at that, the memory of how defensive he would get over in when you'd first pointed it out making you feel a distant nostalgia creeping in the back of your mind.

you remembered how easy the days where all you had to worry about was catching up on all your late work and forcing yourself to learn about nintendo games for the sake of impressing your crush. now on top of school, you had bills and parties and shitty professors and an even shittier situation with your first long-term relationship that had started off so well yet devolved into feeling like you were a million miles away despite living on the same campus.

"so, eren is a shithead. and a terrible liar. go on." you took a long sip of your drink, unable to distinguish the warmth of the alcohol from the warmth of the curry in your stomach.

"well, he's just— how do i say this..." zeke murmured the last bit more to himself than you, pushing up his glasses on his nose and scratching the back of his neck, "he doesn't know a good thing when he sees it." you felt your heart skip at that. "like that mikasa girl, her and eren have been friends since grade school, and never once in all those years has eren ever acknowledged the way she's fuckin' head over heels for him." the mention of mikasa made you feel a sharp pang echo through your chest, suddenly feeling much more disheartened than before, especially at the mention of her perpetual affinity for him.

"but, i do have to give the kid some props," he continued, taking a sip of his whiskey, "at least he had enough of a brain to realize that you're a real catch. if i'm being honest, you're out of his league, and when you first started dating, he knew that."

you couldn't tell if your face was feeling hot because of his words or the fact that you'd just finished off your second drink in one long gulp, already reaching for the unopened ginger beer and vodka. blinking away the glassiness starting to settle over your vision, you met his gaze, suddenly feeling much smaller before him. he waited until you'd finished refilling your drink before he began again, not saying anything about how you'd accidentally poured much more vodka than you meant to.

"i think eren's problem is that he's getting too cocky," your appetite was starting to disappear as you focused on his words, still trying to finish what was left on the plate, "doesn't know his ass from his elbow, but he still thinks he's got everything figured out. you know what i mean, right?"

you nodded with an affirmative hum, a series of incidents that made you want to rip the boy's head off flashing through your mind only added credence to his claim. your tongue was starting heavy in your mouth, movements sluggish as you washed away what was left of dinner with more of your drink. you hadn't been truly drunk in months, not since that halloween party, only indulging in the occasional mimosa over breakfast with your family and your celebratory champagne for new years.

you hoped the heaviness weighing at your lids didn't show on your face, or that your words didn't string together when you replied. "i know exactly what you mean, can't imagine how hard that was to deal with for the last nineteen years."

he chuckled, finishing off his whiskey. "i've saved that kid's ass more time than i could ever care to count. being the older brother is a thankless fuckin' job if i've ever seen one. you done with dinner?"

"yeah. thank you again, it was amazing."

he grinned at your praise, rising from his seat as he spoke. "here, table's kind of crowded, we can move to the couch. i'll take care of dishes later. you want a refill?"

"sure." you responded before you could really think about your answer, trying to subtly steady yourself on the table as you got to your feet, head already starting to spin.

blinking away the blurriness fuzzing at the edges of your vision, you wandered past him through the kitchen and into the adjacent living room, falling into the cushions of the couch before you could trip up over your own feet. you felt embarrassed by your lack of tolerance, but felt some of that tension ebb away when he made his way over to sit next to you, fresh glass of ginger beer and vodka in hand. you didn't expect to feel the warmth of his thigh pressing into yours when he settled down, placing your drink on the coffee table before he turned down to speak to you.

"alright, i haven't said much in the way of advice, so here's what i think."

you grimaced internally, reaching over with an unsteady hand to grab your glass and take a long sip to brace yourself for his thoughts. you weren't expecting that it would be an easy pill to swallow, he'd probably be realistic about things and tell you to just suck it up and break things off while you could still maintain a shred of dignity.

"i know this is probably not what you want to hear, but i really think you should break up with him."

your lips pressed into a thin line, partly from his assertion but mostly because of the burn of alcohol sliding down your throat. there was definitely much more vodka in this than there should be, but you didn't want to seem weak before him, trying not to shudder as you continued to take small, fast sips.

you nearly spat it up on yourself when his hand settled on the skin of your thigh exposed by your skirt, wide eyes raising to meet his intent gaze. "don't tell me you think a guy that ditches you for just about three months now is worth your time, even without everything else considered."

"everythin' else?" your words were starting to slur together, but you still tried to drown out the dread tangling in your gut with the bubbling contents of the glass.

"you haven't figured it out yet, have you.." he faltered, a slight frown drawing across his lips when you gave a hesitant shake of your head, sighing as he pulled his glasses off of his nose and folded them neatly to place on the coffee table. "think about it; he disappears on you while he was drunk at a party, most likely with hanging around alone with the female friend that's clung onto him for a majority of his life, and then after that night he just completely gives you the cold shoulder, avoids you every time you try and come talk to him, like he's running away from you." he paused, adam's apple bobbing in his throat. "like he's hiding something."

you felt your heart sink, biting firmly down on your bottom lip, a thick lump forming in your throat, eyes stinging. "s-so, you're saying th-that—"

you couldn't blink away the first tears as they dribbled down your cheeks, choking back a small sob. he carefully took the nearly empty glass from your hands and replaced it on the coffee table, you could make out the expression of pity drawn across his handsome features through your watery gaze. you didn't protest when the arm closest to you moved to wrap around your waist, the other curling around your shoulder and drawing you against him. restrained sniffles gave way to hiccuped sobs, your own hands linking around his neck and squeezing him tighter against you as you wept out into the empty air behind him.

normally you would've put on a brave face, maybe excused yourself to the bathroom to let out a few silent tears before you returned to thank him and stammer out some excuse to leave and spend the rest of the night wallowing on your own. but the alcohol had melted away any barriers you would've put up against zeke's compassion, made you crave the security his warmth provided as he pressed his face into your shoulder, a large, gentle hand rising to stroke over the crown of your head. he let you cry on your own for a while, not minding how your fingers clutched tightly at his shirt or how your snot and tears wet the pale fabric, petting your hair and rubbing soothingly over your shuddering back.

your adjacent thighs were nearly overlapping each other, but all you could think of was how your hammering heart felt like it was one beat away from bursting at the seams, the dim glow of the lamp in the corner that blurred into a shapeless ball of light, his steady breath fanning across the skin of your neck.

"that asshole doesn't deserve you." he murmured, voice low as his lips ghosted over your shoulder, strong arms fastening their hold around you.

you couldn't help but shudder at the feeling as you sniffed, swallowing down the tension balling in your throat before you managed a shaky reply. "h-he's your brother, i thought you'd b-be on his side.."

"what makes you think i'd be on his side after hearing how he treated you?" his fingers worked their way deeper into your hair, palm cradling the back of your head. you forced yourself not to squirm when his face nestled further into the crook of your neck. "you deserve someone mature, someone who can treat you right.. someone who can make you feel good..."

you let out an alarmed breath at the feeling of a soft kiss over your skin, then another, posture stiffening as your grasp around his neck slackened. "wait, i c-can't," you started, the sudden sensation of his fingers sinking into your waist and drawing you closer against him making you lose your words for a moment, "i haven' officially broken up with eren, just because he might've ch-cheated on me doesn't mean-"

"there's no use trying to deny what he did.. what's done is done, you need to do what's best for you—right here, right now." his voice lowered even further, barely a whisper as he implored, "what do you want to do?"

you bit back a weak sound when his tongue drew a slow lick over the sensitive skin, the involuntary heat stirring between your legs making your thighs clench. this was wrong, you shouldn't be here, you shouldn't be letting this happen, an endless stream of muddled thoughts flashed through your mind as you desperately searched for some sort of excuse to buy yourself a few more moments to think. a distant memory popped into your head, the blurry mental image of zeke with his arm draped around a dark-haired woman when you'd dropped by to visit eren just before you'd both moved in on campus.

"g-girlfriend!! don't you have a girlfriend?!" you blurted desperately, a small whimper slipping out of you as he gave a brief suck over your pulse.

"girlfriend?" he paused his motions, chuckling lowly and giving a small shake of his head when he realized who you were thinking of, "oh, pieck? i'd hardly call her a girlfriend, just an old buddy. honestly, it's no wonder you got stuck in this sort of situation, you manage to find an excuse for everything."

you couldn't ruminate on his patronizing tone for longer than a moment before he returned to kissing at the sensitive skin of your neck, testing the waters of your resilience. you were afraid of your responsiveness to his touch, your body's unabashed honesty, afraid of how your protests had devolved into uncertain whimpers and shifts in your seat.

"good girl," he murmured, sending a jolt of heat racing up your spine, "see how easy that was? this is what you want, isn't it?"

you allowed the fingers in your hair to gently tug your head back, exposing more skin to his eager mouth as he teased a bite just under your jaw, drawing a soft whine and an even deeper flush of heat over your cheeks from you. your movements were sluggish, limbs leadened with inebriation falling down easily when he urged you down onto your back. in one slow blink he'd settled on top of you, warm lips melded easily against your own as his fingers began to work at unbuttoning your blouse.

maybe he was right, maybe you just needed to accept that you and eren's time had come to pass and indulge in what you really wanted—and now that he'd made it an option, what you really wanted right now was to feel the warmth of his bare flesh on yours, taste more of the whiskey on his breath as his tongue slid between your teeth, replace every hint of eren that still resided on your skin with his scent of expensive cologne. you could already feel the ache of a forming bruise at the base of your neck, fingers messily tangling in his hair and back arching up to his hands when they began to smooth across your chest, snaking under your body to undo the clasp of your bra.

"you never told me what exactly you wanted, baby.." he murmured over your lips, low-lidded eyes meeting yours, "do you want us to just kiss, or do you want me to touch you?"

"touch me, please.." you mumbled restlessly, quickly becoming impatient with the fact that his hands had halted after slipping the straps of your bra free from your arms and tossing it somewhere behind him to be forgotten.

but even after you answered, he didn't continue, a smug smirk tugging at his lips as he gazed down at you. "and then what after that? do you want me to touch you here? his fingers ghosted over the swell of your breasts. "or here?" one hand trailed down the length of your abdomen, forefinger just barely hooking onto the waistline of your skirt and giving it a teasing tug.

"zeke." you whined in frustration, mind foggy with lust and alcohol, uncoordinated hands wrestling with his shirt despite not having undone the buttons first, "you're being mean.."

"sorry," he said without a hint of remorse in his voice, only pride as he returned his hands to your chest, "you're just too easy to tease, so responsive, i'd never get bored of playing with you."

you took it as a compliment, as praise, rather than what it really was. it was easier to think of it like flattery in the moment, to push the obvious reminder that his brother had gotten bored of you out of your mind. despite the implication of such a statement, you couldn't help the odd sense of safety you found in such an equivocal intimacy, hazy, not sound of mind, not entirely yourself as you offered him your body, his to kiss and grab and bruise if only for the night.

you hummed with approval when his lips trailed down to the valley of your chest, fingers sinking into the soft flesh of your breasts, but making a point to avoid your nipples, only further denying you the stimulation that you thought he'd finally assured you with that last arrogant taunt. you could feel his smile on your skin, nearly huffing at the realization that you couldn't squeeze your thighs together to give yourself some friction with him positioned between them like he was, buzzing with warmth yet entirely unfulfilled.

"patience is a virtue.." he murmured sagely, unfazed by your second sound of annoyance.

"what about trying to fuck your brother's girlfriend is virtuous." you bit back, momentary anger leaving you in a surprised pant as he gave a gentle tug to one of your nipples.

"ex-girlfriend." he corrected after a quiet chuckle at your forthrightness, mouth closing around the pert bud not being rolled between his slender fingers.

you moaned out a soft curse, hand threading back into his thick hair and pressing him further against you. the fog that had been momentarily sobered clouding your senses once more, hips rutting up into nothing as he worshipped your skin with his lips, teeth, and tongue. you felt the spark fully reignite when one hand moved back down your stomach to wrestle with the button of your skirt, the zipper sliding down easily after it was undone, fingers delving under the loosened waistline to palm at you through your underwear. he pulled away from your nipple with one last gentle bite over the tender skin, low voice at a husky mutter.

"have you ever had sex before?"

you quickly nodded down at him, seeing your own dazed stare reflected in his darkened eyes, pupils almost entirely overtaking the cool grey.

"was it with him?"

you swallowed thickly, suddenly finding yourself unable to meet his gaze, turning away to focus on your long finished drink on the coffee table, ice already half melted in the sweating glass. "yes." you barely whispered.

"was it good?"

you bit the inside of your cheek, blinking fast, trying to dispel the blanket of unease that was quickly settling over you, suffocating you. you only answered with a non-committal shrug, feeling your face burn with a humiliation that he couldn't have thought such a line of questioning would have not inspired.

he maintained a steady gaze with you for a moment longer, lowering his head back to rest at your shoulder without another word and picking a place on your neck to bite and lick at, fingers rubbing slow circles over the drenched fabric beneath them. a small moan bubbled up in your chest, squirming at just the easy attention over your clit, lids falling shut as your head sank back into the cushioned arm of the sofa.

you sighed out a small whimper of relief when he finally tugged your underwear to the side, fingers instantly slicking with your arousal when they met your bare skin, sliding in with little resistance. he'd started out with just two, but the incessant desire to be filled was quelled for the moment with them, drawing a pathetic mewl out of you when they curled just right within you.

"are you always this excited?"

another question you didn't know the honest answer to, but you shook your head anyways, accompanying it with a weak "n-no" to stroke his ego like you knew he wanted you to. you went stiff with a sudden tension when felt a third finger prodding at your pussy, eyes flying back open as you made a disconcerted sound of protest.

"relax.." he murmured into your shoulder, biting softly over one of the fresher marks, "if you can't handle this, how can you take me?"

you took a shaky breath, taking your bottom lip between your teeth as you let your thighs fall open a bit more, doing your best to not clench your muscles. and you could feel how he let out a low groan over your skin when he finally slipped in all three, burying them knuckle-deep, rewarding you with a smattering of open-mouthed kisses across your bruised flesh.

"good girl. good girl." he nipped at your jaw, adjusting the speed of his wrist to match how your hips rolled up to meet his hand, the pad of his thumb rolling firmly over your clit.

you could feel that warm knot in your stomach tangling further, the tantalizing thought of release ebbing every bit of trepidation out of you as you allowed your moans and whines to spill out into the open air, heels digging into the felt of the couch around him. but just moments before you could find your high, his touch gone, and he was rising off of you to sit back on his calves, absentmindedly wiping the wetness from his fingers away on his pants, making quick work of his shirt, standing briefly to kick off his pants and help you out of your displaced bottoms before he settled back over you.

your skin was hot with need against his own, arm linking around his sturdy back and pressing his lips back over yours, letting him guide one leg up against his side as he lined himself up with you. you squeaked when you felt the tip of his cock press into you, hands bracing themselves on his shoulders, wide, unfocused eyes gazing up at him for some sort of reassurance. and that sense of security filled your heaving chest, that knowing look he focused solely on you, only made for you in this moment, forehead pressed to yours, breath fanning over your lips.

a strained, shuddering whine broke from your throat as he eased himself inside of you, inch by inch, barely able to hold your eyes open enough to maintain his fixed stare, mouth falling open in a feeble attempt to gasp back in all the air he'd pushed out of you.

"fuck." he growled lowly, fingers sinking almost painfully into the thigh in his grasp, trying to fit his body as close as it could possibly be to your own.

another sound rumbled out of him from deep in his chest when your nails dug into the firm muscle beneath them, hungry, greedy lips capturing yours. his pace was mercifully slow, given that he was probably just as eager for his own release as you were for yours, but the overwhelming fullness that you felt each time his hips met yours drove whatever tiny breath you'd been able to catch between his kisses.

you spread your legs as far as the narrow space of the couch allowed it, whimpering, feeling how you were already making a dripping mess of your thighs and the fabric beneath you. your heart was practically beating out of your chest, so loud in your ears that you wouldn't be surprised if he could hear it too, his mouth catching every pant and moan he drew from you, the steady pace of his movements falling away into an ardent, frenzied rhythm. his mouth strayed back to your neck, grunting and biting into the abused flesh, and without the barrier to muffle your sounds you were whining out into the open space of the apartment, gasping in the air humid with your shared arousal, nails scratching down his back without care for whether they'd leave a mark, only dragging them back across his hot skin over and over again just to hear him groan out your name once more.

you could feel yourself climbing back up towards that delightful precipice, legs wrapping around his body and forcing him deeper into you so he could reach that spot that made white stars burst across the darkness of your close-lidded eyes. you tried to force your mouth to form coherent words, to warn him about how dangerously close you were, but all that spilled from your lips was more breathless sounds, body arching up to press against his as heat scalded over every inch of your bare skin, limbs shuddering and clinging desperately to him as he continued to roughly thrust into you.

tears were pricking at your eyes by the time he moaned a jumbled string of curses into your neck, arms nearly giving out beneath him as he spilled himself inside of you, your chests heaving in an unmatched, ragged unity against each other. he stayed there for a few moments, still inside you, struggling to catch his breath but still pressing the occasional kiss over your neck and shoulders. your fingers released their grasp on him, not realizing how hard you'd been clenching your hands until you felt the stiff ache resonating through your joints.

you tried to murmur something to him, but all that escaped was a weak whimper, legs slipping back down to lay on the couch, arms resting heavy on his back. you hadn't meant to fall asleep so fast, but your head had already been spinning from warm shocks still echoing through every fiber of your body, let alone the alcohol and the sheer physical exertion. you let your eyes fall shut, lids far too heavy to keep open, and slipped away easily into a dreamless slumber.

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

zeke blindly reached about for the towel he'd set aside near the sink, finally grabbing it and pressing it to his dripping face, patting his skin and beard dry before tossing it into the hamper by the door. replacing his glasses onto his face, he blinked away the grogginess in his eyes, running his fingers through his hair to flatten it into a somewhat presentable style. he turned to the open door, catching a glimpse of you nestled under the comforter of his bed, a small smirk tugging at his lips.

he'd carried you to his room last night, but didn't get the chance to clean you up until this morning. by then, the bruises that had been an angry shade of red over your neck and chest had settled into your skin and darkened significantly, some bordered by deeper teethmarks that still had yet to fade. you hadn't stirred when he'd pulled the covers away from you for just a few moments, peeling off your underwear that he'd haphazardly replaced on your body to keep the mess to a minimum and gently wiping his cum away from your skin with a wet washcloth. he'd really tired you out, and something about seeing you so exhausted after just one night with him made a flicker of pride swell in his chest.

flicking off the light in the bathroom, he didn't bother to add a shirt over his relaxed attire of just a pair of sweatpants as he left his bedroom, making sure to quietly shut the door behind him.

"rise and shine." his back was still to the kitchen when he heard reiner's voice, turning to face his roommate who was looking at him with a mix of disapproval and curiosity, most likely having gotten a good look at the scratches you left down his skin last night.

"how was your time at bertholdt's?" zeke asked, ignoring reiner's frown as he glossed over his intrigue, wandering over to the fridge to grab some water for himself.

"not great." he grunted, reaching into the cabinet below the stove and fetching a pan, "he decided to invite annie over when he heard i was coming. you can imagine how boring it was to watch those two make eyes at each other the entire night."

zeke chuckled at that, cracking the top off of the cool bottle in his hands and taking a refreshing gulp, glancing at the table and noticing its lack of plates and the leftovers of night-old curry. "oh, you did the dishes. thanks."

"yeah, yeah, just glad you had your fun last night without me having to hear it." he stepped aside to let reiner put a carton of eggs and the butter out of the fridge. "but seriously man? the couch? you're gonna have to get that dry-cleaned or something, and i'm not helping you pay for it either."

"don't worry about it, i'll take care of it." he replied with a lazy smile, quickly adding on to his smooth response, "and be nice, alright? it's someone we know."

"who?" he asked, not at all looking it but obviously interested in his answer, flicking on the gas under the pan and dumping a spoonful of butter into it.

"one of eren's friends." reiner's eyes shot briefly over to him at that, prompting him to give a brief description of you, "remember? you saw her that time we all met up to watch that horror marathon while i still lived with my parents."

"wait.. you told me about her. isn't she dating your brother??"

"was dating my brother." he corrected, rolling his eyes at the disgruntled bewilderment etched across his friends face, "what? i had to show her that this generation of jaegers wasn't a complete disappointment.."

"whatever, man. your business." he finished off his water bottle in silence, watching reiner crack a few eggs in a bowl and whisk them together with a fork, finally breaking the silence with a generous offer. "you want me to make something for her?"

a slight grin broke out across zeke's face, dumping the empty plastic into the recycling bin, slapping reiner's back affectionately. "thought you'd never ask. thanks again, man."

"at your service." was his grumbled, monotone reply, the shadows weighing under his eyes clearly showing how late he'd arrived home last night and how little sleep he'd gotten. zeke was sure that once he'd got some coffee in him he'd cheer up a bit.

he was sure reiner wouldn't be done for another few minutes, so he wandered back into his room, wondering if you'd woken up yet so he could direct you to the shower if you wanted one. in the time that he'd been in the kitchen, you shifted around in bed, having rolled onto your back and knocked the covers away to reveal your bruised chest, hair covering half of your face but still identifiable. perfect.

zeke fished his phone from the pocket of his sweatpants, unlocking it and tapping into the camera app, taking a few steps closer to the bed and zooming in a bit before he snapped a picture of you.

                  10:39 am  you you sent an image to eren

eren  10:40 am uhhh did you send that to the wrong person

eren  10:41 am wait hold on who is that zeke who the fuck is that

eren  10:42 am is that my fuckingngirlfrined

you missed a call from eren

eren  10:43 am why the fuck aren't you fuckign picking up

you missed a call from eren (2)

eren  10:45 am holy shit what the fuck this can't be fucking happening zeke what the fuck is wrong wjth you you piece of fucking shit

zeke tapped out of his messages with his brother, sliding over his notifications setting to "do not disturb" before dropping his phone back into his pocket. he couldn't help the low chuckle he let out at his frantic replies. maybe if he'd held the same enthusiasm with you then he wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. moving over to your side of the bed, he took a seat on the mattress beside you, perking up at the sound of your small groan, eyes sleepily fluttering open to gaze up at him.

"g'morning." you murmured, letting out a quiet yawn as you sat up in bed, holding the sheets up to cover your bare chest despite him having already seen you naked.

"how'd you sleep?"

"like a fucking rock." he laughed softly at your bluntness. "my head kinda hurts.. sorry i fell asleep on you last night."

you looked positively adorable right now, and he was glad you weren't panicking or having any second thoughts about him, that you had fully digested the reality of your situation and come to peace with it. well, at least the situation before he'd sent that picture to eren.

"don't worry about it," he assured you, keeping the thought of his brother probably blowing up his phone and leaving the usual voicemails of him screaming at him when he was angry in his inbox, "i'll get you some breakfast soon. need any ibuprofen?"

"yes please." you smiled gratefully up at him, his heart twinged. "and could you grab me my purse? i left it in the kitchen, my roommates probably wondering why i didn't come back last night."

he began to say yes, but thought of how you were probably receiving a similar slew of alarmed messages by this point made him stop. "how about a shower first? you'd probably feel a lot better after that."

you hummed thoughtfully for a few moments, rubbing the sleep from your eyes with the back of your hand. "a shower sounds nice.. if you don't mind."

"wouldn't have offered if i did, babe." he grinned at the way your cheeks flushed, waving a hand over to his bathroom door, "shower's in there, plenty of towels on the rack by the tub."

he stood, turning to begin making his way to the door to give you some privacy, but felt your fingers gingerly wrapped around your wrist. "zeke.. thank you. for everything. i've been in a really tough spot for the last few months, and now everything seems... it all seems a lot clearer to me, like i just took the hardest step and it'll be a breeze after this."

your smile was genuinely, infectious, eyes full of gratitude, and had it not been for the heavy news that you would most likely be finding out about within the hour, he probably would've responded with one of equal radiance. but he managed to perk up the corners of his lips for you, tracing back to press a quick kiss over the top of your head.

"at your service."

he was pleased to see that his copied, more charmingly delivered words garnered such a positive response from you. and so he made his way back out into the kitchen, pulling out his phone to briefly check the amount of notifications that had racked up on his lock screen. thirty-six messages and sixteen missed phone calls. damn was that little brat persistent.

despite having essentially thrown you under the bus, he didn't feel any semblance of guilt for the action of having sent that incriminating photograph. the only remorse he felt was for leaving you as the sole recipient to his brother's rage, and the fact that he was starting to feel a strange sort of affinity for you, something lighter and more innocuous than the lust that he had shown you the previous evening. so he slipped over to the dinner table, acknowledging reiner's announcement that your eggs were ready with a short hum, finding your purse exactly where you said it had been.

he could hear the sound of the shower being turned on, and he felt safe unzipping the small bag and rummaging around to fish your phone out from beneath your other belongings. as he'd expected, there were a few missed calls from a "sasha", who he assumed to be your roommate, the messages from "eren <3" quickly beginning to pile up on your home screen. and as the "incoming call" text showed on the screen and the phone began to vibrate, zeke held down on the power button, completely shutting it off before he pocketed the device.

he just had to keep you busy, get you to focus on anything besides your desire to get to your purse and check your phone, or figure out a polite way to quickly shoo you out of the door and get home before you realized that you didn't have it in your bag. he hadn't really planned for this outcome, he usually didn't have this sort of compassion for others when he set his mind to getting something done, but he had a feeling that the extra work would be worth it in the grand scheme of things.

⥼ next chapter

[katsukikitten]

A/N Hello all and welcome to the seven day event! I have a few more slots open if you all would like to leave a request! I've decided to start off with Daddy aizawa from a request from @jordan102791 that has been long neglected! So please leave a like reblog or comment if you've enjoyed!

Bodies flood the busy streets, shoulders slumped in attempt to shield themselves from the howling wind, all the while reminding Aizawa why he hates coming into the city.

The biting winter wind picks up, carrying with it the sounds of a cry for help.

mew

mew

Aizawa's ears perk at the pitiful sound that barely echoes in the alley he's passed.

"I don't need a cat." He grumbles to himself and as if on cue another meow rings out. This time much more desperate than the last.

MEW

He pushes on, heart beating in his chest as his head thinks up all sorts of terrible scenarios, all the while the weak little meow echos in his head.

He sighs turning on his heel as he backtracks towards the small cries. The meow getting weaker and weaker as he gets closer. The small space quiets as he stands in the mouth of the alley as if all the sound were swallowed. He let's deft eyes roam over the piles of stinking trash and buzzing flies.

mew

His ears twitch, straining to hear the tiny creature until finally he spies a box moving. He approaches hand picking up the damp cardboard box to reveal something similar to his horrific thoughts.

Despite being a hero things that are sad and hard on the heart never get easier. Cold eyes dull themselves to the sight of the momma cat and the siblings lying still slightly frosted over as they lie on top of one another.

The kitten's small eyes are blurred from hunger and cold, barely opened as it desperately tries to nuzzle its mother for milk.

"Hey there little one." He soothes as the baby cries more just fitting in the palm of his hand. Giant moon jade eyes stare into Aizawa's soul begging for help.

He swallows thickly, gently sticking the kitten into his warm inner chest pocket, feeling the little being vibrate in the new fur lined oasis. Aizawa carefully wraps the other cat and kittens in his linen restraints heading straight to a park for a proper good bye.

He stands over the mound of dirt, vision threatening to blurr over the small tragedy. It's ironic, he has seen plenty of deaths, witness some people's twice in a sense, he could hardly shed tears then but over cats he barely knew they threaten to fall. Just as the snow does overhead. Suddenly his chest brings vibrating again serving as a reminder as to why he set down this heart hardening path.

No matter how big or small, he wanted to save lives. Was going to save lives.

It's just hard to bear witness to the fact that he cannot save everyone.

His gloved fingers slip into his chest pocket to give the little kitten a few scratches as he speaks.

"Let's get you checked out little one." His eyes flash to the time on his wrist. He bows to the mound before trudging through the frozen earth with burning muscles back towards the city.

Shouta finds himself in front of a small old brick building sandwiched between towering skyscrapers. The building looks warm, inviting as the picture window illuminates the darkening sidewalk with soft yellow light. A skinny man with a dog much too large for his frame stands at the counter. Smiling even as he fights with his overly excited dog.

Then he spies you, his heart skips a beat in his chest, he thinks to turn around. Not ready to deal with the ghost who stands behind the counter. A face he almost forgot.

But how could he ever forget you.

"Like an endless night sky..."

Shouta stares in for another moment, a small mew encourages him to step inside what was the closest veterinary hospital at the time. The old wooden door chimes over head as the long dark haired man makes his way in while the large dog barrels past him.

"Ah I'm sorry Brutus is just so excited about the snow!" The skinny man smiles warmly, straining as he's pulled along by the choking dog. Shouta tries harder than ever to keep the sneer off of his face. It's not as if he *hated* dogs, they just weren't his cup of tea.

As he steps up to the counter he sees you standing there. Smiling warmly in a set of black scrubs with little pink paw prints littered across the fabric for design.

"Hello and welcome!" Your smile becomes impossibly bright as you handle a blue clip board, "Are you here to make an appointment? I don't believe I've seen you here before."

You fight to keep the blush off of your cheeks as he is by far the most handsome man you've seen. Not to mention the way your stomach twists when you look at his scar, pulling an inkling feeling from the depths of your mind.

Did he look familiar to you?

Maybe? But only because you see thousands of faces a month since moving your office to the city.

Aizawa says nothing, feigning disinterest as he pulls the kitten from his pocket and sets it on the counter. The tiny thing shakes a little, meowing for warmth, staring at Shouta as if he betrayed it.

He swallows thickly almost choking on the guilt. Your small hands scoop up the shaking ball of black fur, tilting it this way and that as your eyes glow all before cuddling it to your chest with one hand. Your other has a pen scribbling across an exam sheet before it is poised near the top.

"Name for you, love?" You ask softly, blinking away what must be your quirk as the brilliant color fades. He wonders if your personality is always this flirty.

"Aizawa Shouta." He watches with cold eyes as his name takes form in your swirling script.

"And for her?" You prompt, the kitten meows but you rock it gently. His eyes weigh heavy on the little kitten. He is quiet for a long moment as you give him time to think.

"I really don't need a cat..." You laugh at his response, your eyes flicker to his now agitated ones.

"I'm not asking you to raise her. I'm asking you to name her.

"Nozomi." His voice comes out breathy and something about his scruffy cold face melting just a bit encourages a wide smile to play on your lips.

"I like it. We will have to care for her for a few weeks since her condition is so severe." You turn the clipboard towards him to sign, "You found little Nozomi just in time."

Starless night eyes flicker up towards you in slight confusion.

"How did you know?" He remembers you blinking away your quirk. He had only guess that it could tell conditions of something living. Could you see the past too?

Suddenly he feels a bit vulnerable, biting back the urge to suppress your quick with his own.

"Lucky guess." You shrug, pulling back the clipboard, "Now I'll need your number."

You slide a post it note and a pen to him that he eyes suspiciously.

"For? She won't be my cat." He voice comes out icy but you press on anyway, looking up at a handsome and clearly caring man through long lashes.

"Oh, for me silly. How else will I be able to send you cute pictures of 'not your cat'." You smile devilishly to which his eyes seem to ice over more causing the feeling of rejection to settle in your stomach. Although you take it in stride as you offer, now, a more professional smile, eyes sliding to the clock.

"Well you can visit as often as you'd like if you even choose to. But now it is closing time. Mr. Aizawa."

You escort him to the door, his gloved hand slides over fur that matches his eyes before he sighs out turning his back determined to leave the little kitten behind.

He truly doesn't need a pet.

Tonight he dreams of two sets of eyes. Wide jade moons and your own vibrant color swim in his dreams.

Weeks pass as every Sunday Aizawa finds himself in front of the small brick building. Each time debating if he should go in. Why was he here? Just for Nozomi? Or was an overly flirty Veterinarian the cause for his return? Should he really be here? I mean he seriously DOES NOT WANT A CAT.

Or a significant other for that matter.

Yet he finds himself getting out of bed on his only day off only to be pulled back here stating in the picture window at Nozomoi lying on the counter and at you talking so sweetly to her. He feels tethered to this place and he cannot fathom why.

This isn't the first kitten or cat he's ever saved. You aren't the first person he's ever been secretly attracted too.

But you may be the first to keep feeling him in.

His hand finds the old brass knob on it's own, giving it a twist as the bell over head chimes. Bright eyes flash his way before your signature dazzling smile settles across kissable lips, delicate hands lifting the soft black fur to you.

He allows his signature blank almost exhausted expression to settle across his features as he speaks to you, hands ever stretched out for Nozomi.

Just as in life, hands always reaching out for hope.

He cradles this kitten that is so suddenly turning cat close to him. Settling in his now favorite oversized leather chair that basks in the sun by the picture window. He reminds you so much of a cat himself. His cold expression that can meld into content or even a hint of happy when his eyes settle over something he likes. You wonder if this is what keeps attracting you to him.

Every now and again you get a look of approving content that makes your heart soar. You let your nails bite into the palm of your hand as you push down such trivial feelings, especially when he had made it so clear that he is uninterested.

Customers come and go, passing by what is becoming the new normal. A strong yet lanky male in a black cable knit sweater, long hair pulled back in a messy manner, his scruff somehow effortlessly perfect. His long legs concealed in well fitted black jeans, Nozomi lazing atop his thighs. One hand rests on purring black fur while the other holds either a book or the days paper.

Your eyes find his scar winking in the sunlight often, in fact your eyes catch his content form more often than not.

You grit your teeth, setting down a file as you remind yourself over and over that he is just a patients owner.

He seems to be the loner type so why bother?

Well you bother because of the way his skin feels agaisnt yours even if it is a brush of your fingers as you hand over "not his cat" Nozomi.

You bother because you enjoy his smile that causes your stomach to knot and you want to bother because he just looks so calm and zen sitting in the over sized leather chair lapping up the sun as well as any cat would. Dark summer night eyes glance towards you causing you to turn on your heel. Heading to the back for coffee only to be disappointed to see the pot missing.

"Ah I forgot Brutus jumped up on the table...." You stare at the deeply grooved wood as the scene plays line a movie in your head. You sigh deeply as you gather your jacket for some much needed air and caffeine.

"Yumi I'm going to try to get some coffee since I don't have any appointments. Did you want any...." Your voice dies down as you push through the door to find a lobby full of waiting people. The jacket is shed from your overworked shoulders as you begin to assist the sudden burst of walk ins. You do not see Aizawa in his normal chair, only Nozomi whose turned into the standard office cat as she lounges in the fading sun.

You huff as your day gets seemingly longer.

Eyes crossing as the rush seems never ending before you come across the final familar face.

The slim man with his muscular dog Brutus barreling into the counter.

"Ah Dr. Y/LN. I'm so sorry to come, yet again to ask for help..." He seems shy, blushing even as Brutus slams heavy paws onto your scrubs. Attempting and failing to lick at your face as you scratch his ears.

"Ah Mr. Takahashi, it is no worry at all. What seems to be the problem?" The giant grey dog presses more weight agaisnt your strong frame threatening to topple you over.

"I...I..." His cheeks flush further as you look over the man who must be two years your senior. He never trips over his words when he speaks to Yumi. You watch his facial expression change as if he suddenly remembered why he was at your practice.

"I think he may have swallowed part of his bone. He just ch..chews on it so quickly I cannot turn my back for a second. I saw part of it was missing and got worried." You activate your quirk, watching the dog play with the tire toys you recommended two weeks ago before watching Mr. Takahashi pat Brutus on his boxy head.

*"Let's go for a walk boy!"* You watch him walk and he accidentally ends up here before you blink switching from the past to the present so you can see what truly is.

Only the best dog food digests in his stomach as his intestines work normally, nothing lodging in them nor his throat.

He barks for a treat and you oblige giving him a biscuit before you turn to your accident, worrisome customer.

"Worry not as he hasn't eaten anything he shouldn't have! You may want to get going. He's going to have to make a pit stop on the way home." You wink as Takahashi blushes furiously signing away at the clip board before the giant grey dog catches sight of something outside. Rushing for the bustling city dragging his owner along.

The bell chimes over head at his departure as you sink onto the counter pressing the heels of your palms into your eyes until you see stars.

"I'm about to clock out. Is there anything else you need from me?" Yumi asks as she locks up the filing cabinet. You shake your head no while her soft hands collect her jacket to fight against the biting cold.

Still pressing the heels of your palms into your eyes you groan loudly into your empty office.

"Uuugghhhh."

"Rough day huh?" A smooth voice asks causing you to jump out of your skin. Vision still blurred from the abusive pressure. As you blink away the fuzzy galaxy you have created a fine creature stands before you.

Tall and brooding as he always is, Nozomi hops from his shoulder onto the counter. Your eyes follow the movement and spy two cups of coffee.

"Ah you didn't..." You blush furiously as you stare down at what has to be a cell phone number. "Wh...what's this?"

"Its my number *silly*. How else am I supposed to send you cute pictures of Nozomi?" He mocks your usually playful tonewith a cat smile plastered on his lips before he leans closer pressing a small kiss to your forehead. He leaves you stunned as you rack your brain for memories or signs that he likes you.

"Well you can visit as often as you'd like." He scoops up Nozomi with one hand and his coffee cup with the other before he gives you a toned back.

It's only after the bell has chimed overhead, leaving his retreating silhouette does it all come back to you.

His scar.

The taste of smothering smoke pushes down your throat as your mind dredges up memories long lost to trauma.

Of strong cloth pulling you out before strong arms wrap around your waist as you faded in and out.

A shaking hand pressing up to a handsome soot covered face as you caress softly.

*"Like an endless night sky..."*

Your breathing hitches as you claw at your throat, the burns on your shoulders screaming from the memory of your 21st birthday five whole years ago.

Of the night you died in his arms.

And then came rushing back clawing through the zipper of a black bag with no recollection of the night before.

Only the distant memory of smoke and endlessly stunning starless nights.

[leonawriter]

Foxes and Spirits and Office Chairs

Read it on AO3

Fandom: Bungo Stray Dogs, Mononoke

Characters: Atsushi, Kunikida, Dazai, various others mentioned and appearing.

Pairings: Dazai/Chuuya (background).

Summary: There's a fox sitting in Kunikida's chair when Atsushi arrives at work that morning. This would be far stranger if Atsushi didn't have a very concrete suspicion of who that fox was.

...

The day after it's all over, Kunikida is mad that Dazai is late for work, which isn't exactly a rare thing to happen, but neither is Kunikida getting mad over it when they have so much more work to do than normal. The events of the past few days had certainly created enough of a backlog.

He's also, Atsushi notes as he and Kyouka go through the Agency's door, yelling about the fact that somehow, a red fox has managed to sit itself - no, it turns out, not sit, more like curl up - in the middle of Kunikida's chair, so he can't sit down unless he uses a different chair entirely.

Atsushi takes one look at the fox, its ears twitching, and one of its eyes slowly opens. A brown eye.

He blinks. 

The fox blinks right back, and then seems to smile, which is really just its - his - eyes closing into crescents, and his ears twitching again.

Kyouka gives him a curious look when he sighs, but he doesn't know how to explain, and where he'd start even if he did. All he can do is wonder if what he's about to do is going to break any unspoken rules. Although if it does, Ranpo is looking over his way and just looks amused rather than worried, so he can only assume that things are going to be fine.

He walks through the office, over to Kunikida's chair (which is right next to a temporary replacement, which is just like Kunikida to say that it isn't ideal to have to switch chairs or something like that, and reaches out to put his hands around the fox, which he knows isn't sleeping, or dangerous at all.

Well, perhaps the last one isn't so much- it's a point of view thing. And even if the fox has fangs and claws, he's fairly sure he won't use them here, and that's all that matters, really.

"Come on, Dazai-san," he says, already resigned to the fact that this is going to be his life from here on, that the entire office will have to get used to this, "you can't pretend you aren't here all day."

Kunikida stops his tirade and turns to stare at Atsushi, and the fox now dangling in Atsushi's arms, which is likewise staring balefully up at both of them now. His legs are hanging from Atsushi's arms, mostly because he still isn't sure what the accepted way of carrying a fox is, especially when they aren't commonly accepted pets in most parts of the world. 

"Atsushi," Kunikida says, "did you just call that fox Dazai?"  He blinks, and freezes at the whine coming from said fox, and glances over at Ranpo, who is still looking like this is all great fun. "I can understand that it's doing a very good job of interrupting my schedule in that idiot's absence, but-"

"...actually," he says, before Kunikida can go any further, "I'm calling him Dazai because this is Dazai. I- you weren't there? But-"

He's interrupted by laughter - Ranpo's laughter, in fact.

Kunikida just continues to stare at Dazai, the Dazai in his arms, as if the statement is too difficult to put together in his head after hearing it heard said aloud.

"That- that doesn't make any sense," Kunikida says eventually. "Abilities don't work on Dazai. There isn't any ability that should work on that waste of space, and there's no reason why such a ridiculous one as the sort to turn people into animals should work where others have failed!"

Ranpo just keeps laughing. Dazai squirms in his arms, but Atsushi isn't about to trust him not to jump right back onto Kunikida's chair, or worse, cause other sorts of trouble around the office. Like this, it might wind up worse than what they usually have to deal with from him.

"That'd be because it isn't an ability," he finally says, which makes Dazai whine again. Kyouka comes up next to them, looking at both him and the fox and Kunikida and the laughing Ranpo, and seems to be debating just how odd this all is. She'd been involved in things recently more than Kunikida had, toward the end, but hadn't been there for everything. "Though... come to think, why are you like this?" He finally puts his coworker down but makes sure to not let go. "Did you... forget how to turn back again?"

The way Dazai's ears flick and the way he immediately seems to want to not look Atsushi in the eye says a lot. Everything, really. 

"...Kitsune?"

Kyouka only says the one word, but it's what gains the attention of several of the others.

Atsushi nods, biting his lip a little as he does so.

He can still remember the previous evening, having been only one of two people to have been able to reach through the illusions and find his way through to the source of it all, only one of two people who had seen and heard things that no one else could see or hear, or should, for that matter. Things Dazai would never have wanted anyone else to know, except that something had happened to bring it all up again, raw as Atsushi's own memories of the orphanage had been when those had been brought up during the case covering the headmaster's death.

They'd had help. A stranger in odd traditional clothes and marks on his face who had seemed to know what was going on, the same stranger who had been there during the entire rest of their case, before any of the illusions had begun showing themselves in the city streets at all.

The man had acted as if seeing such personal things that Dazai would never have intentionally shared with anyone was completely normal. Stood or sat calmly through it all. Even though he was someone who didn't exactly have any right to any of what he'd walked into-

As if Atsushi himself had that right, when Nakahara- when Chuuya-san had made it plain how uncomfortable he had felt, too.

Then again, there had been a gentleness to the man when he had dealt with Dazai in person that had eased his mind somewhat about that. As well as the way Dazai himself hadn't exactly pushed him away either. In fact, Dazai had seemed oddly curious, both during the worst of it, and when it was all cooling down.

"My mother," Dazai had said, still caught by his own illusions, still needing to pull at the threads of them so that he could figure out who he was again. "She used to live with us, and I think I was almost happy. My father would tell her those three words each night, and she would go to him. But then one day he didn't, and she never came back. Not to him... and not to me."

And what were those three words, the strange man had asked.

"I don't know," Dazai had said. "I've forgotten. I don't even- I don't even remember her face-"

Which was something that Atsushi could sympathise with. He himself couldn't remember the faces - or anything else, for that matter - about his own parents. He'd always assumed somehow that Dazai had had... something, something more, but somehow this feels worse, in a way that he can't quite describe.

Something about having had, and forgetting. Knowing what you've lost.

Atsushi had been there when Dazai had been struggling and vulnerable. He had been there when Chuuya-san had said that everything was reminding him of a story he'd read once, when reading up on folklore, and the man with the gold hair and the markings on his face had smiled, and asked Chuuya-san this time, what those three words were. 

He'd been there when Chuuya-san had said, absently at first-

"Come, love. Sleep."

He'd been there when the four of them - or perhaps the three, considering the way that the strange man had just been smiling - had come to the realisation that the words weren't just an invitation, but a single word, a name, the word kitsune. The word fox.

Dazai's mother had been a kitsune. One that had left her son behind, who had grown up to not know who or what he was, and Atsushi had been the one to thank the strange man after all was said and done, no matter that he said that he hadn't done anything, and had been the one to see Dazai collapsed in the small mafia executive's arms, with two pointed ears and a tail poking out from underneath his coat, and he had also been the one to offer to take him home to the dorms, to tell him that none of what he'd learned would go beyond the three of them, none of it, if Dazai himself didn't want it.

Dazai had just stared at him, wide-eyed, and said rather simply that Chuuya was the one to tell me to come home first, so he gets dibs.

But now Dazai was on four legs in the Agency office, and he was just whining about everything rather than actually being upset, and...

"I thought kitsune tended to have nine tails...?"

"No, that's only when they've lived long enough. Right?"

"Why are you asking me? I'm not the one talking to the fox, here."

"R-right..."

All of which, although perfectly natural questions to be asking, were maybe not the best to bring up there and then, especially not with the potential direction they might go in, which he really hoped didn't happen.

"Given that I still don't believe in anything more supernatural than the extent of our own abilities, I find it hard to think of any of this as anything other than an elaborate prank by someone who still hasn't arrived at work!"

Kunikida's glare is almost enough to make Atsushi begin to apologise without even thinking, even if he isn't doing anything wrong, and it wasn't a prank. In fact, the only thing that stops him from saying sorry even just for the fact that Dazai was being frustrating like he normally was, was the bark that came from the fox - from Dazai - and that was followed up by another, and then another, fox-barks that sounded out loudly in the small space of the office, kon kon kon, just like that.

And then the barks turned into laughter, and Atsushi could hear clapping from over where Ranpo was - Ranpo, who had revealed himself at some point during the entire debacle of the past few days to not be entirely human himself - and Kunikida made an odd whimpering noise before sitting down hard into his seat, which Atsushi vaguely noted still had fox hairs on it.

Because Dazai had turned back into a human-shaped person, albeit sat on his backside on the floor. 

Because Dazai was laughing, and something in Atsushi's chest lightened at the sound of it, now knowing for sure that at least he hadn't done anything wrong by saying what Dazai was, when he himself couldn't.

Because Dazai was currently human enough to laugh like one, but just like the previous evening, two pointed ears stuck up from his head, and an white-tipped orange tail could be seen sticking out from underneath his brown coat, both moving perfectly in time with his moods and responses and not in any way even plausibly some sort of costume.

Knowing Dazai, for all Atsushi knew the only reason he'd been able to shift back when he still wasn't used to this being what he was at all was that he'd been so caught up in laughing at Kunikida, that he'd stopped thinking about it, and had forgotten he didn't know how.

The ears and tail wouldn't budge for most of the rest of the day, however, which was a problem all of its own, considering how they could hardly let Dazai out on cases when he was looking like that, and Dazai himself spent most of the time complaining of how loud everyone was being, and how his chair didn't have nearly enough space for his tail.

...

AN: As said, a lot of those flashback events are part of a crossover story that I keep thinking to myself that I'll write, but put off because I'm not confident enough in how to write the Mononoke side. In short, however-

The Medicine Seller came to Yokohama, and wound up dealing with an Ayakashi that was tied to a case that the ADA was investigating, which triggered off some repressed memories for Dazai, which caused a second case for the Medicine Seller to deal with - until Chuuya basically cooled Dazai down effectively with those three words, because he wasn't just remembering them, but he meant them, too. And yes, Dazai did spend the night over with Chuuya (though probably just sleeping, mostly because of reawakened trauma and the exhaustion that brings, put together with actually feeling safe and comfortable).

I might well write more for this, even if it's not the backstory, to be honest, because as much as I love white-furred nine-tailed fox Dazai that's old as hell, I also love the red-furred Dazai that's still a cub, really, just a tiny cub compared to all those kyuubis.

The myth is based on one I've seen around (and that I saw someone use in an old fic of theirs, somewhere).

[nerdofspades]

Okay. I want to take this as a little thought experiment and track through the events here. First, we're assuming a GIW/Tucker internet scrub to keep Bruce and anyone else in the League from finding anything too detailed and specific about Amity Park and Phantom. Now there's a question of how does the League learn about Amity Park. Because I see three main options. (Obviously there are more as they suit your crossover needs, but let's just look at three for now.)

The first and, in my opinion, funniest option is Constantine, Zatanna, or some other magician in the League coming in one day and drawing a nice red circle around Amity labeled "do not enter." This option doesn't help us because it would trigger Batman's paranoia. So the magic gang is not the first to learn about ghosts in Amity.

The next two options are very similar. Either Bruce hears something through billionaire gossip, or Clark hears something at work.

For Bruce, he would probably hear something about Vlad Masters moving to Amity Park and becoming mayor. And haven't you heard, that town has a serious ghost problem! I've heard Vlad call it an infestation at times. Oh, they do have a local hero handling the issue. Masters doesn't seem to like him much, but even he admits the hooligan gets the job done. (Side effect, Lex Luthor knows about Amity. But he probably doesn't actually hear anything useful either and does not care.)

Clark is probably not the person assigned to the piece about Amity Park, but he definitely hears about it before it gets published. Probably one of the times Amity got invaded. Walker or Pariah. Possibly also the Youngblood-Ember team up, and that one raises more fun problems of Clark paying attention to Fenton and Phantom for League files. For the others he probably gets the gist of "small town gets invaded for [small chunk of time] and the local hero handled it. Everything's fine now." He nodds along and mentally dismisses the scale of threat the invasion would have had because it got handled by someone before the League even heard about it and never left that town. Clearly not much of an issue.

In both cases Clark and Bruce do some cursory research just to have enough information to make a file about Phantom and Amity Park in the League database and move on.

Now we get to the JL networking parties. First question, who makes contact to deliver the invite? They don't have a good way of reaching out to Phantom (and likely other low level heroes that haven't been introduced yet, it's not like they're in the phone book) and I doubt the JL is gonna leave a note with governing bodies or law enforcement. Especially not in cities where they don't know much about local corruption or other political issues.

So hand delivered. Do they get the Flash to handle it? Are heroes dispatched to deliver them based on proximity of their territories? Or similarity of work? (For that one do they think Danny is a lesser spirit and send a mage? How quickly does the magician realize they've miscalculated and do they care enough to warn the rest of the League?)

(Also, do they invite Red Huntress as well? I would assume they know about her.)

Contact made, how long does it take them to figure out that Phantom is a literal child and so OP he could take on Superman? Would he win? Debatable. But he definitely isn't losing a straight fight against the Big Blue Boy Scout either.

They probably realize he's a teenager first. Danny's never been particularly good at hiding that and in this version of events the League has no reason to believe he's ancient because they haven't dug deep enough to find the records from Ancient Egypt. Danny is a teenager using modern slang, playing Doomed, and probably fits in better with any sidekicks/protégés that got brought along than he does with the other independent heroes.

Them figuring out how strong he is comes in when they start trying to parent him or tell him to stop.

(Leave it the adults? There aren't any competent ghost hunting adults in Amity.)

(I'm fine. Being a ghost makes me super resilient. I pretty much just need a good nap and I'm back at full health. No permanent injuries so far. Well. Other than the one that killed me.)

(How'd I die? That's rude to ask. Do you want someone asking you about your worst trauma that drove you into hero work?)

(Justice system? Well, the GZ doesn't really have one right now. And I'm not super comfortable trying to force anything on them in general, and definitely not until I know more about how everything works and can ascend to the Throne.)

(Yeah. I'm technically King in Waiting because of Right of Conquest or something like that. Clockwork hasn't explained it super well.)

I don't know how long these conversations take or who's having them. But. Suffice it to say the Justice League does not know what to do with this boy. (Not sure if they consider him a good or bad influence on their kids either.)

I know it's a classic trope of danny phantom x dc crossovers that the Justice League or the Batfam finds out about Amity Park and immediately starts an investigation, but honestly, that doesn't really make sense in world.

Like, there are ghosts in Illinois. Whoopdeedoo. There are aliens in Metropolis, assassins in Star City, metas in Central, and every type of crazy imaginable and a few that no one would ever think of in Gotham. The DC world is a very weird place.

More than that, I think it kind of misunderstands what the Justice League originally was. A lot of the time fanon and canon both treat it like some kind of centralized superhero organization with the main group as the bosses. This isn't really how it started in the comics though, from what I understand. At first, the Justice League was a bunch of independent supers with their own independent territories who occasionally talked to each other. They would get together if say, there were aliens in Star City and Green Arrow needed advice on how to take care of them, or if there was a worldwide threat they needed to work together to address, but for the most part each hero had their own jurisdiction and they were not fond of people intruding in that territory. Local problems were dealt with by local heros, and if there wasn't a local hero? Just wait a couple of weeks, the police can handle it until someone pops up.

My point is that the League is really unlikely to try to swoop in and completely figure out Amity Park's situation, or even to really care about it once they realize that they already have both Phantom and Red Huntress. At most they might invite them to a few get togethers for networking.

I bet Batman wouldn't even care that much. I know he's the king of paranoia and contingencies, but he focuses almost all of that on people he knows are threats. He doesn't have time to care about a couple small town heros with small town problems, the Joker just got out of Arkham and he's going to kill hundreds of they don't catch him fast. (This isn't to say I think B would look down on small timers, but he would probably see them as little leagues, because he has no reason to suspect that it's that important. People with the power of the Justice League aren't just crawling out of the wood work, and it makes far more sense for him to assume that the problems in Amity Park aren't particularly powerful. Like how non Gothamites never believe that normal human rogues could actually be that dangerous.)

Crazy stuff is everywhere in the DC world, and unless you make it their problem, most supers assume that it's taken care of.

That said, it would totally be awesome if the Justice League was throwing a get together for lesser known less powerful heroes and just didn't realize what they had invited until it smacks them in the face.

[backtothebog]

you're absolutely right, you will be blocked immediately and there will be no engaging in actual conversation

you say that as if that was something you seek right now, if we already speak about hypocrisy. be honest to yourself, you don't want to talk to me or those that reblogged from me or would agree rather me in good faith

because there's absolutely no point in talking here. and I'm sure you know that as much as I do. as if you actually want to talk to me. it's fruitless rounds of the same arguments on both sides that people keep screaming at each other as if either party would cave in at some point. what kind of conversation do you want to have with me, honestly?

you all will pull out the same "receipts" that are either fake, one sided, poorly researched or cases of bad individuals that are dangerously generalized.

you won't even actually engage with any of the points I would make because things will be twisted, taken out of context, purposely or accidentally misunderstood or just ignored (which will happen on both sides, if we're being honest, because it's two groups of people that cannot actually engage with one another because one just wants basic human rights to be recognized and the others want to take them away/keep them as limited as they currently are)

claiming nobody actually listens to what "terfs" really say is hilarious when they literally, actually shove their ideology down everyone's throats. they literally walk around and harass people very blatantly and openly (online AND irl), share their views out in public for everyone to see, push themselves to the fronts of marches and have quite some prominent figureheads. but what an oppressed group of well-meaning people they are. it's quite hard to NOT actually listen to terfs and their kin and similar bigots

so yes, you're absolutely right

there will be no actual engagement with your opinions and viewpoints and you will be instantly blocked

like I didn't actually engage with or did block or delete your predecessors and their notes

you act as if I owe you anything 😂

this isn't a school debate club

I am not obliged to have a fun little chat with you in any way

I don't give a flying fuck what you might have to say

like you don't actually care what I would bring up in an honest attempt to have a rational and calm conversation where each party is open to reflect one's own and the opposite's points - because such a conversation wouldn't be possible with you, just be honest to yourself, you are just not interested in that

someone who actually wanted such a conversation wouldn't try to be a lil dipshit to their potential conversation partner first

we don't know each other. you come to me, you are a dick and then you expect a nice talk and a warm welcome

this was a post that was obviously not meant for you (even though it's about your peers, so I obviously cannot complain about people feeling attacked and thus coming for me)

but frankly, it was quite naive of me to think you wouldn't come (though I am still so surprised how fast it happened? get a life maybe??? it was MINUTES after posting????)

but yeah, I don't want you on my post, I didn't invite you to my post, I didn't ask for stupid discussions that cannot possibly be taken seriously from either side because no one will listen to the other, no one respects the other, no one is interested in actual reflecting about the other's points because both sides think the other is insane and a cult and wrong and brainwashed

but seriously

what do you expect

why do you think I would respect you

why do you think I would give you a platform

you people come to me uninvited, you people come to harass me personally, you people come to call me out for things I didn't even say 😂

and you think I will respect you and your opinions enough for me to actually start a conversation with you and see eye to eye with you, as if you did that with me?

I owe you jack shit

and you come to bother me once

why would I want you to bother me again

of course you're getting blocked 😂

and you even think you're so clever to predict this to happen as if that's something crazy to do

would you not throw a person out who comes to you solely to be an ass to you?

good riddance! get well soon!

t*rfs really don’t even try to hide the fact that they actively seek out especially young people to convert them to their vile fascist views