#this was so cool to write

[cheshirecatuniverse]

Gummy Bears (Rao)

"Rao" Misaki Mario x Reader (She/Her)

Song: Skipping Stones (feat. Jhené Aiko) - Gallant

Summary: In which you have too many run-ins with Rao and every time you want to stay with him longer. But your nightmares never go away.

WC: 7.2k

Notes: my works can be gorey, violent, and other mature themes! lots of plot. reader went through a traumatic experience and has an injury that effects their lifestyle. there's also a nickname reader gets called by. murayama's bestie makes an appearance. barely edited I'm so sorry, it will be soon!

It was quiet, as quiet as a restaurant could be midday. There was only an elderly couple who stopped eating to exhange a word or two sometimes and a young woman with her child sleeping in a stroller.

Even the clatter of the dishes being washed echoing from the kitchen was tolerable. You considered the moment a gift as you enjoyed the soft hum of the music playing through speakers. But it was all tragically ruined by someone's finger.

"Stop tapping the glass."

Tap Tap Tap.

You put down the cup you were cleaning and lifted your head to the ceiling, "Do you have a death wish, kid?"

Your fellow waiter snorted at you, "Pretty sure if I did you'd still be fired."

He continued to tap on the cups lined up and it took too much of your willpower to not follow up on your warning. He happily ignored your looming urge to throw him across the restaurant.

The new generation were just so rude, which was your own but that wasn't the point.

You hated new coworkers, especially when they were from that nearby boys school. Usually they last a month, before they get bored or decide it wasn't worth the extra cash. That leaves yourself with cleaning up after them.

If you were going to be honest though, the current newbie wasn't as annoying as you'd have thought. Which was more than fine, but it doesn't mean you want to get along with him. You were only here to get your paycheck and a daily free meal. So, you focused on yourself. Tilting your head to the right to look closely and dried the glassware.

The door opened, and you heard several people step in. There it is. Well it seemed that having some quiet wasn't very realistic.

"It's yours," your coworker shot over the cabinet door he sat by, putting the clean aprons away.

You clenched your jaw because he was right. Of course you knew that. But this little brat had to tell you the obvious. "Put the glass away then."

He waved you off without turning away from the cabinet. "Yeah, Yeah. When I'm done here."

You let a breath out from your nose and threw the towel down. For the first time you looked at the people who came in, seated and restless. The black uniforms that you've grown accustomed worn by all of them. It was around that time school was out.

As you stepped around the lunch counter you didn't notice your coworker pop his head up from the floor. He scrambled up and stood like he was struck by lighting. Mouth opened and closed like a fish trying to talk underwater.

You slid the worn-down menus to the six boys, "Okay, what drinks can I get you guys started on?" Your tone was never much for customer service but at least you knew how to word yourself.

"Three waters, two cokes, and a green tea," It was the one at the edge of the booth, with tinted glasses.

You began to write- "Yah, Mercy. You know I want a beer."

You turned a little to your left, and you could see your dear coworker making motions in front of his face. Is he telling you to smile? You gave a simple glare in warning and turned directly at the table. The Suzuran student who wanted a beer was the one with crazy hair and even crazier eyes to match it.

"Yeah and I want a unicorn. But guess what? They don't exist and you're underage. So three waters, two cokes, and a green tea," You read out from your writing pad with your head tilting to side. "That it?"

Crazy hair slumped and dropped his head harshly on the table. The giant thud didn't make you react, much to the surprise of the biggest person at the table. He had a grimace on his features as he looked at you, though his eyes felt different. You immediately pushed that thought out of your head. Don't try reading people, you thought. Especially this one, you heard one of them call him Rao. Although you tried keeping Suzuran information limited, there were enough rumors about him to reach you.

Mercy, as it seemed, let out a mix between a scoff and cough at crazy hair in the corner. "Sorry about him, and if you can get us a basket of bottomless fries..." The sulking crazy hair boy slowly rose up, like his soul was revived.

"...Can I smoke in here?"

You squinted and said nothing for a minute. "Sure go ahead. While you're at it, go ahead and blow the smoke in front of the baby." You jabbed a thumb to the back, the soundly sleeping small child with his mother at the farthest table. You watch as Mercy dropped the cigarette he had ready between his fingers. Rao followed his gaze from your finger to the left corner of the restaurant, his expression darkened even more.

If he thought for one second that you were going to let one of his buddies expose the baby to second-hand smoke, you were willing to throw your job away. He could intimidate you, even threaten you. It wouldn't move you one bit.

Everyone went quiet quickly, so you gave one last look and walked away.

"Wow. What did you do to her, Mercy?"

"Ah? I don't even know her."

You sighed when your coworker kept whisper-yelling at you for failing to be nice to Rao and his group. This day needed to be over. And over fast. You kept your words curt as you gave them their drinks and their food that followed.

When you were done with them, you heard someone call your name while you were wiping down tables. It was Yuki, the young woman who came here with her child once a week.

"Sorry. I-" She hesitated before raising her hand with an envelope. "I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't an emergency, but is it possible for you to watch Isamu? I have to drop off paperwork off to the office across the street, and I know he'll wake up if I take him."

Yuki wasn't a friend but she was someone you knew well, as she lived two apartments down from you. You checked the time and then back at her, "How long do you need me to watch him?"

"It shouldn't be longer than 15 minutes."

You checked the time. Well, you were going on break in five.

"Yeah, sounds good."

"Thank you, thank you! I'll pay you back, I promise." You waved her off. You really didn't want anything in return. She went back to the table to gather her things and pushed the stroller to the counter.

You sat on a stool, giving your aching feet a break. The kid was still asleep, thankfully. He was small, really small. Maybe a year old? You may have remembered Yuki saying he was turning two soon.

Someone slammed one of cabinets behind the lunch counter loudly and woke him up immediately. Your glare was loud enough for your coworker to put both his hands up, "That's my bad, honestly."

The little kid was wailing and you shakily picked him up. A good temperament was something you lacked these days, but you were relieved to feel the kid accept you. He clung to you as you rocked him and you leaned over to the stroller to find his sippy cup. You did find it, but when you tried reaching for it, it fell and rolled across the floor.

"You've gotta be f-" You clamped your mouth shut. No cursing in front of small children.

Your eyes slightly widened in surprised when you saw someone's feet stand around it. Rao reached down and grabbed your lifesaver. With a napkin in his hand he wiped the top of it and slowly stepped in front of you.

"Here."

Rao still had the same grimace on his face. Body towering over you in a much more exaggerated way because you were sitting. It was like the world's smallest and most intimidating eclipse. It's probably the only way you can call him small. You were sure the muscles in his arms were bigger than your head.

Confused at the way his emotions were frozen on his features, you wondered. Just what is he doing? You took the cup with caution, as if you were taking a bone from a bear.

The kid calmed down when you placed it in his hands. You patted his head as you watched Rao walk outside to where the Suzuran boys were waiting.

◇♧◇

Shopping wasn't your strong suit. Okay, it was but not in any way that was good for your wallet. There was only one goal right now, quick cook food and medicine from the convenience store. Hunched over the candy section was nothing, you were just looking. Your hand that slipped and pushed a bag of gummies into the basket? Purely accidental.

Too busy looking at the gummy packets piling in your basket you didn't hear the door chime or the footsteps behind you. On instinct, you tense up with your shoulders raised. You felt an arm slip around your shoulders and felt someone on your right side.

"Sweets," someone giggled and pushed your head down to bump it with her own.

You rolled your eyes, "Hi to you too."

You didn't imagine seeing your friend here, especially since she lived in the Sannoh district. Not to mention she was in Sannoh Rengokai. This was more out of her way.

She hummed and let you go, "I haven't seen you in a bit. So when are you going to start working with me for real, Sweets?"

"If you go get me ibuprofen maybe I'll think about it."

Your dull headache that began an hour ago was a reminder that you had to restock your kitchen. Your friend returned from a couple aisles away and handed you a bottle of ibuprofen. You said thanks and placed it in the basket while she looked at you curiously.

"Are you sick?"

"My head just hurts," you shake your head.

She pursed her lips into a thin line and looked at the back of the store. Where a group of guys were grabbing a variety of drinks. In a quieter voice she asked, "Is it your eye? Your next appointment is for next month right?"

"Yeah but it's always been like that. It's fine," you sighed.

The conversation got cut short at the call of her name. A couple of people walked over to you, some of them with black uniforms. It instantly reminded you of Suzuran but these guys weren't, the uniforms were slightly different.

One of them pointed at you which you didn't like very much, "Oh, Who's this?"

Your friend introduced you and then looked at you, "This is Fujio, he's from Oya High."

He waved enthusiastically with a big smile, "Nice to meet you."

That made you raise your eyebrow, "But I thought you and Murayama were done with Oya?" As soon as you said that you realized that he wasn't anywhere to be seen or heard. "Where he is by the way?"

She looked down at the ground and tried not to look mad, "Away. On a trip or something. But yeah, we don't go there anymore. I still like hanging out with these losers though."

"You mean you like to leech off us."

"And you let me because you love me, Todoroki," She leaned towards the guy with the glasses and blew kisses at him until he walked away. "Anyways. You should come hang out with us, Sweets."

"Sweets? No way is her name Sweets!" Two figures you unfortunately recognized. Rao and the guy shouting at you as they came over, crazy hair. There was change in Rao's eyes, they widened a little. Your vision didn't let you see it.

You tilted your head at crazy hair, "I thought you were just having a bad hair day last week but I guess I was wrong."

Your friend laughed at that. "Wait, wait. You know Binzo?"

"I don't." You were staring at Rao, who easily loomed over everyone around you. He had originally stepped as close as Binzo but took a small step back. Hands in his pocket, he watched.

Binzo had a hand on his chin, his eyes wide in fascination, "So why sweets and not salty?"

"When we were younger people called her that because she liked to eat or make anything with sugar." Your friend pointed at the basket you were holding, half of it had candy.

You were embarrassed enough to rub a hand on the back of your neck. You buried it down and headed to the register with our friend clung onto you as she laughed.

After she said a soft sorry, she smiled, "Are you coming with us?"

"My head," You pointed quietly at yourself, "Maybe next time, okay?" Although you really wanted nothing to do with Oya and Suzuran.

You didn't understand how your friend still stuck around them. Everything that happened at the peak of Kuryu made you want to lock yourself in your apartment forever. The throb of your headache got worse.

She nodded, "And you'll let me take you next month? Y'know to-?"

A hum left you, agreeing. You paid for your things, your head tilted to right as you read the total amount. She turned around to look at the rest of the group.

Arms crossed she asked, "And which one of you men are gonna help her with her bags? She's not feeling well enough to be left alone."

At the sound of no one stepping up she had taken a breath to yell. You rolled your eyes hearing it but it still gave you secret and small smile. The yell never came though, you heard someone walk forward. He was swift to grab your bags, you couldn't turn your head to the right fast enough to see him.

By the time you had realized who it was he stood outside, waiting with your bags. Waiting for you.

"Ah?" Your hearing was good enough to hear Binzo's confusion. It mirrored your own.

Fujio walked over to the window beside the entrance and started dancing. Dancing? Even though Rao had his back turned.

"Alriiight Rao! A gentlemen as always," Fujio said in approval.

Your friend nodded in agreement and bumped her hip against yours. With a jolt you looked over at her.

"Well go on," She smiled mischievously, "Y'know I haven't gotten my hands on him. He is cute right?"

You sputtered out half words and noises of confusion. You walked fast, away from her, away from Fujio, and hopefully they didn't see the slightest red on your face.

Outside, you froze in place. Rao was so tall that you stared at his chest and you refused to look up. You jabbed your thumb over your shoulder.

You mumbled, "Ah... this way."

To your happiness it was a quiet walk, your noise sensitivity probably didn't help your head. The two of you kept some distance and the one time you glanced over he was staring straight ahead. God, his jawline looked chiseled from stone. The guy looked like an ancient warrior who's defeated armies, which is a funny thought while looking at him hold your grocery bags.

The headache bothering you since the last hour got worse even through the quiet. If you didn't do anything about it now it'd cause more trouble. Desperate, you turned to look at him again.

"Can you hand me that bag, please?" You pointed and he gave it to you. Rao watched you frantically find the medicine you were looking for. You took a couple a pills, not needing water even though your throat didn't appreciate it. Forgetting about him for a moment you hissed in pain and rubbed your fingers against your eyes.

"Are you okay?" Rao asked softly. You were caught off guard at the tone of his question. His voice was deep but didn't hide the concern.

You shrugged it off, "It's just a headache."

He went back to facing ahead and you thought it was the end of it.

Rao said your name and asked, "What highschool do you attend?"

"Oh. Why?" You left out any malice because you were genuinely curious.

"I haven't seen you around."

Since you gave him and his friends the worst customer service in the world a week ago, you almost wanted to say.

"I do school online," you sighed and kicked a can on the ground, "No problems that way. Actually going to school- that's too much." After Kuryu, after what you did, after everything.

Rao left a big pause, like he was trying to form what he wanted to say to you.

"Listen..." He stopped his footsteps, "If anyone from Suzuran did anything they shouldn't have-"

"Ah?" You shake your head, "Like I would let anyone from that place even near me." You managed to look him in the eye and let yourself smile, "No offense."

Rao let out a scoff but lightly he told you, "None taken. But you seem to not like Suzuran very much."

"I don't like the idea of Suzuran," You corrected and began to walk again. That was enough to for him to drop the subject, but it wasn't bad.

The rest of the walk was peaceful, with a few words in between but it didn't feel awkward like the beginning. Rao wasn't the worst person to walk you home. Which was a frightening thought only to you. He respected your space and let you talk freely. Well he didn't allow you to talk freely, but anything you said felt like it was heard by someone who wouldn't judge you.

There was nothing you knew about him. You knew enough to know he wasn't awful but that was all you wanted to know. You weren't going to analyze him, keep the little details in mind, or find out his weaknesses. You were just going to acknowledge that Rao was here, with you.

Outside your apartment you told Rao to leave the bags against the wall. He was quiet when he slipped away. When you unlocked the door to your apartment you bit your lip. Damn it.

Rao felt someone grab his wrist, he turned around to see you. You were refused to make eye contact and shoved something in the palm of his hand, "Bye."

There was no time to say anything as you rushed yourself and your bags into your home. Rao looked down at his hand, a soda. A strawberry flavored one, with little cartoons and pink hearts on the can.

"Bye," Rao with wide eyes whispered to himself.

◇♧◇

You now were officially working three jobs. Your friend was ecstatic when she got your call. She had wanted you on her team since she had gotten back into kickboxing. To your suprise, it was your least stressful job. You cleaned her wounds up between rounds and got to watch her beat men twice her size.

After another victory, there were plans to go out to eat. The both you were walking to the restaurant, she mentioned that a couple others would join you too.

You shivered in the cold and your friend basked in it after hours of fighting. The mini dress you had on was too cute that you had to wear it, there weren't too many occasions for it anyways.

"So you wanna tell me what happened with Murayama?" You asked to distract yourself from the crisp night air.

Caught off guard your friend flinched, "Huh? There's nothing."

"Nothing my ass. It's honestly kinda freaky that he's not with you. Is he really on a trip?"

"Yeah, he actually is and I was supposed to go too. Murayama, Seki, Furuya, and me," She looked away and found interest at the closed shop windows, "We got into a fight. He thinks I need to stop avoiding what Kuryu did to us."

"I'm sorry," and you meant it. You were sorry that he had point.

She said your name and looked at you, "...do you think we'll ever be able to talk about it?"

Your eyes stung, "I wish I knew."

That was a lie, you only wanted to lock yourself in a room. Where no one can hurt you, where no nightmare can find you. That could be enough. But you didn't say anything, you blinked your tears away and took a deep breath.

When you two made it to the restaurant, you sighed in relief when you felt the heaters. You rubbed your arms up down to get your blood warm again. Your friend ran over to a table as soon as she saw the people she was looking for. As you followed slowly behind, you froze at the sight of Rao. Oh, you gotta be kidding me, you thought.

It was strange not to see him in his school uniform, a good strange. Something that you weren't going to pay attention to. Rao was in the middle of a conversation with Fujio, Binzo and a couple others when he saw you. Your friend had called your name and dragged you over to the table. You sat down next to her and across from him.

Rao looked at you and you looked at him, and awkwardly you thanked him as he poured you a cup of water. He kept his stare on you and he said something to himself so quietly you could only hear an incoherent grumble. Out of habit you tilt your head to the right, wordlessly asking him a question.

"You look really nice," He finally told you.

You took a sip of water to hide your nerves, "You do too."

Your friend draped her arm around your shoulders and announced, "Y'know, Sweets is my fastest cornerman. She could be my medic too and be faster than the one we have now."

"That's true, we saw you between rounds. You were like a cheetah," Fujio gave you a thumbs up.

You were surprised, "Oh. I didn't even see you guys."

"Cause I put up a fun match right?" Your friend beamed. "Better than any of those rigged ones on tv."

You nodded energetically, "God, of course you are. You hit like a truck. You should watch your kicks though. You get too excited and hit early and lose damage. The guy was slow though- and with a big ego, you were gonna win either way."

That made her light up, with her knees on her chair she jumped up and hugged you. You groaned and made a bad attempt to get out of her grasp. For a small second in time you felt like nothing had changed the past couple of years and you let your childhood friend celebrate the deja vu.

She laughed, "Will do, Coach!"

"Yah, Sweets, do you fight? We should go one-to-one," Binzo asked.

"Nope," Your friend and yourself say at the same time. You hissed lightly at her to let you go.

You pointed, "She's got that covered."

The opponent she faced really was never going to win, even if you didn't know your friend, you knew that. You couldn't help watch closely tonight, your neck sore from how you liked to tilt your head. Crowds of people cheered and it made your friend's opposition grow taller. His movements were exaggerated and he kept making laps around the ring. The dead giveaway to you though, was that his gloved fists weren't even up to his face.

Just thinking about it all made you look at the people around you. Binzo's body spread out as much as he can with his chair at a farther distance than the others, relaxed but easily reactionary. Fujio seemed to like to keep his hands in his lap or on Tsukasa's shoulder, gently patting him. He had an injury, maybe a sprained shoulder or arm. Before you could process it, your stare made it Rao's hands. Arms crossed and tucked in arms, it wasn't a barrier, no, it was an act of soothing.

You caught yourself in time, you looked down at the table. Water, you needed water. When you reached for the glass you grabbed air. Your stomach dropped at the sight. You missed the fucking glass, you thought. It was about 4 inches farther.

Reality hit you and you were quiet the rest of the time. Even Rao spoke more than you. While your friend tried to ask you questions to join in the conversation you just nodded or shrugged.

"Hey." Outside the building, everyone was about to part ways but your friend pulled you aside. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

You took a step backwards, "It's fine."

You were in the Sannoh district and getting home would take a little longer but you just wanted to be alone. You shrugged off the sound of your name being called and left.

In some sick way you wished you were back to a couple years ago. Before everything hurt so much, you were so empty and cold. It was better that way, it was better than trying to shove everything you felt down in the abyss.

The uncomfortable soreness of your heels, your cold arms and cheeks, and the tight feeling in your throat. You walked through it.

Your ears caught the sounds of the occasional car that drove out of sight. Building owners had begun to close their shops and offices as you passed by. The sound of a big dog barking in a home nearby echoed from somewhere. Someone's footsteps who walked around in the alleyways closely. But nothing seemed to process in your mind or maybe you didn't even care.

A gasp barely left you when you got slammed against the alley wall with a rusty knife pressed against your neck.

"Your fucking wallet. Now, bitch." The stranger jammed the knife harder into your throat. It was dull but if the man wanted he could jam it through your neck. He smelled like alcohol and vomit, the smell. That's all it took.

A cold and dark room, your vomit, blood, and decaying flesh being the only thing you could smell. Some people remember their first kiss, favorite Christmas, anniversaries and birthdays. You could only remember how much you threw up in that awful room. Your infected wrists and blisters on your face, you could still feel them everyday.

Fingers weak and jittery, you failed to get his hands off of you. It was clear what was going to happen and again there was no one. The worst of the world would follow you until you were dead. You were alone.

So you did the only thing you could do, run your mouth.

"Fuck off," You tried to scream but it came out strangled. There wasn't any stopping him, things like this would just keep happening.

He growled and yelled so close to your face you could feel spit on you. You could feel the knife begin to cut your throat, you whimpered quietly in pain. Don't cry.

Just as you were ready, he flew into back of alleyway. You stumbled away from the wall and your hands found the dumpster to lean on.

Rao didn't look anywhere near you, completely focused on the man who had just started to get up. The grimace on his face that had most of the times was absolutely nothing compared to the look he had right now. His eyes completely dark with no empathy for the drunk.

Your attacker made the stupid decision to lunge at Rao. His wrist was caught easily. It only took Rao to tightened the grip around his wrist for the knife to the ground.

Rao scowled, "You ever hurt another woman again, I'll find out. I don't give second chances." You turned away when you saw him raise his other fist. A couple loud thuds and a yell were enough to know that the drunk was out cold.

You breathed heavily, and tried to get your legs to stop shaking. It wasn't working. You felt a hand touch your shoulder and you yanked yourself away.

You turned to Rao with a scoff, "Can you stop helping me?"

"Why?" Clearly taken back but Rao didn't move any closer.

"You don't know who the hell I am. You have no idea-" You sucked in a breath, "I'm the type of person who would work for yazuka, Rao."

You walked back to the dumpster and found an old metal machine to sit on. You curled up on yourself, as much as you can with a short dress. Did you want to go home? Did you wanna go back to that dark room? Anything felt better than being here with Rao. Him being anywhere near you was suffocating. God, you couldn't stop shaking. There wasn't anywhere you wanted to go, everywhere you go you felt the same.

Rao took a knee in front of you. He looked up and down, he scanned for anything serious. He had his hands on either side of you, but he never touched you. Then he looked at your eyes.

"Are you? Right now?" He asked.

"What?" You lifted your head. Rao, day or night, cold or warm, actions or looking afar, could never fail to make you confused. You paused for moment, weighing the choices.

"No," You whispered.

"Then it doesn't matter," He simply said. Like it was the easiest thing in the world. It took your whole being not to snap at him.

Rao reached out a hand before he pulled it back a little, "Can I look at you?"

He gave you all the time in the world, no ticks of impatience anywhere. You finally nodded and he checked the cut on your neck. It felt strange to feel his fingers. Confused, you felt his hand at the back of your neck and it returned with fresh blood.

Rao called out your name in a way that made your chest hurt. He rose up to his feet, "You need to be taken to a hospital."

"No, No," You shake your head, "I'm fine it's nothing. Look I'm fine and I'm standing." The impact to your head didn't felt like it had hurt at the time. You moved a hand to the back of your head the cut, it was as superficial as the one on your neck.

"Rao, it looks worse than it is." Your adrenaline wore off and you started to get cold again. You shivered, "Please. I just want to go home."

"Are you sure?" You nodded immediately and he sighed. He looked down the alleyway and then to you. When he slipped off his jacket you would never imagine that he would put it over your shoulders.

"Okay. Let's go then."

Rao watched you slip your arms through the sleeves, your fingers barely peeked through. When you zipped it up to cover the bloody mess he realized how small you looked in his jacket.

At your door, you could hear a distant bark. The lock clicked open at the turn of your key. Before you turned the knob you sighed.

"You can come in," You said softly.

There was no way you wanted to look at his reaction, so you stayed turned away and pushed the door open. You flipped the light switch at the exact same time your dog ran over.

It made sense that he was stand-offish with Rao behind you. "Sit. Good boy." You commanded and made you way inside. Rao watched you walk into the kitchen and then looked at your big dog. He had a black spiked collar with a heart shaped name tag that said Baby.

"He's trained," You called out from the other room, "Doesn't bite anyone's head off without my permission."

That didn't surprise Rao. He unhooked your heels from his fingers and put them in the shoebox near the door. When you two made it to your neighborhood you slipped them off and sighed about how you were done with tonight. He had wordlessly taken the heels from your hands.

It took a couple minutes to find what you were looking for. You got off the kitchen counter when you took it from the top of the kitchen cabinet. Avitene powder wasn't hard to come by when your friend was a boxer. You took off Rao's jacket and cleaned yourself up. The powder clotted your bleeding and you found a couple bandaids for your neck and head.

You asked for help when Rao walked in. You held your hair up as he carefully placed the bandaid on your scalp. His hands lingered as he looked with worry, not that you could see it.

"I could still take you to the hospital." You shake your head at that and you let your hair down to make him pull away.

"Do you know what they would do?" You walked over to your fridge, pulling out a soda and water bottle. "They would say I don't need stitches, clean me up. Then charge me my rents worth."

Not to mention you had doctor visits often, but he didn't need to know that.

"Thank you," He told you when you passed him the water. You led him to the couch and your dog pranced over too. Head laid back and you took a minute to process. Rao looked at the couple of picture frames you had, one of your dog when he was a puppy and another of a younger you and your friend.

He turned to you, "Did you two grow up together?"

You smiled, "A little bit. It was the wrong place, wrong time. Somehow, we're still here."

Rao's arms were crossed, it made him look much bigger. You didn't read him, you didn't want to.

"It's good." He found his shoes to be particularly interesting.

"Hm?" You tilted your head.

"That you're still here."

◇♧◇

When Yamaguchi told Rao that a girl was at Suzuran to see him his stomach flipped. He's been seeing you a lot these days but he never found you anywhere near Suzuran.

The rumors circling around about him recently, he knew them well. The girl who worked at that one restaurant half a mile away who kept being seen with Suzuran's strongest. Suzuran weren't the only ones, his own faction and friends were talking too.

Fujio had been telling him things to say to you since the convenience store. He immediately saw how much Rao paid attention to you. To help his friend, Fujio made sure to encourage him to voice out his thoughts and to make sure Rao made you feel comfortable. Which Rao really didn't need help with but Fujio advised him on what not to say. It was helpful.

The door to the roof creaked open. Rao should have known it wasn't you from how he heard no bickering from Binzo. When Rao turned around, what he found was your friend. A former Oya High part-timer and Sannoh's fighter. She was no joke, despite how easily she laughs and how affectionate she is with you.

She gaped at the whole school view, "Never been here and this place is already giving me memories."

Binzo grinned, "Missing Oya, huh?"

She didn't answer and instead looked at Rao. With a wink she smiled and waved.

"I need to talk to you." Yamaguchi and Binzo stepped closer- "Alone."

Binzo groaned but she taunted them with a wave. Her smile dropped immediately when they closed the door to the roof.

"I need a favor and you're going to do it."

"I am?" He furrowed his brows.

"Do you know about the appointments?" She quickly judged the confused look on his face and shaked her head. "...'Kay, well for long time I've been taking Sweets to her doctor's appointments. Never missed one, but now I don't got a choice."

"Why does she have to go?" The look on her face made him feel unsettled. A hundred thoughts seemed to go through her mind and she pursed her lips.

"About 3 years ago Sweets got hurt. The only reason she got better cause we were there for her. But now it's just me," She ran a hand through her hair, "Everyone else is dead or on the run. I don't know if I should even be telling you this."

Her pace was fast, Rao followed carefully. As he started to process it she began to walk away.

"If she doesn't miss the doctor's appointment tomorrow then this will be worth it." She glared at him, "At least just walk Sweets there. You don't do it, fine. You can not care. But if you hurt her, I'll kill you."

She walked away, and Rao could hear her laugh ring inside the building at a joke Binzo made.

◇♧◇

A Saturday was a perfect day to stay inside all day. Everyday was, if you could. Originally, you had plans but they're not going to happen. You called out of one of the restaurants you worked at and your friend's boxing match.

Baby had already been walked and fed. There was a constant squeaking from his chew toy outside your bedroom. You were nice and comfortable in your bed and sipped on your fresh tea.

A month ago you had been attacked. For a little bit you had to wear turtle necks but your cuts healed nicely. You didn't tell anyone what happened but Rao had made sure to check on you. At the restaurant it's a common sight to see him pass by or come eat with his group.

Whenever he pulled you aside to talk, Binzo would make faces behind Rao. You made sure to shut Binzo and your coworker up with a wack of a dish rag.

The closet door was opened and Rao's jacket was hanging in the corner. Your ears heated up, when you had worn it that singular time it smelled really nice. The cologne he wore you didn't know the name to but it was on your mind often these days.

"I should give it back," You told yourself.

Not today, though. Today you were going to stay inside and sleep. The mug you had in your hands was now on your nightstand. Right as you settled into your covers you heard your dog bark. A knock at the door made you roll your eyes.

Now who the hell was that? The neighbors never bothered you on the weekends and on the afternoons. No one texted you today other than your friend who okay'd your absence.

Begrudgingly, you shuffled over to your door. With the dog ready at your side you found, Rao?

You were embarrassed, "I... didn't know you were coming." Your sweats and old sweatshirt proved that.

Baby circled around Rao when he came in. You smiled at how gentle Rao patted the dog's head.

When your dog walked away, satisfied with the attention Rao turned to you. "Sorry, I should have called but I wanted to offer this in person."

"Offer what?"

"To take you today."

Your throat hurt, "What did she tell you?"

You were going to beat the hell out of your friend. How did she think this was a good idea? Rao called your name out to try to calm you, it was clear by your panicked eyes.

"Just that you needed to go to your doctor's appointment."

Okay, good. But still not good, you did calm down. You had told her you were not going, she guessed that Rao would work. You still planned to jump her for roping him into this.

With the soft encouragement Rao gave, somehow you ended up sitting on the couch as you slipped your shoes on. Well, if you wanted to get there on time there was no time to change.

You didn't want to talk and Rao respect that. He didn't need to know the details and it was a sensitive subject.

But when you two entered the waiting room his heart dropped. The eye posters and pamphlets on the wall. You had to go to the ophthalmologist?

When the nurse called your name, you stood up and began to walk away. Before you could take a step Rao grabbed your hand.

"I'll wait here." He watched your eyes water and you nod.

As you left, Rao realized you always had your head tilted to the right. He remembered the one time that Binzo teased you for it and how quiet you got. Rao may have to fight him again.

Rao had seen you reach out to things hesitantly. You were always aware of your steps and always on edge if you weren't in your home.

Why didn't he see it sooner?

It had gotten dark when the two of you walked out. You said nothing about your visit, you said nothing at all. Too much was happening in your head, so you were more stuck in there than out here.

You tripped over a box, that's what happens when you're not careful. If it weren't for Rao's hands that steadied you, you would have met the pavement.

"Are you-" You didn't let him finish as you stumbled somewhere, anywhere.

Away, you wanted to go away. Ignoring Rao as he called your name. It hurt so much.

Rao found you breaking a bottle against a dumpster. He tried getting your attention but nothing was working. Rao just watched you pace and pace until you walked to him.

"Did you know I can't see anything in my right eye?" You tried to smile and failed. "That I haven't been able to for years now."

Rao said your name and you scoffed, so tired of your feelings.

"No, no. Listen, I did a lot of bad things. I hurt so many people because that was the only thing I was good at. And when I wanted to leave," You gasped for air as tears streamed down your face, "I got what I deserved."

The only thing he could do was hold you, and that's what Rao did. You sobbed and cried on how it was your fault. Mumbled his name against his shirt. It was a long a time before you stopped crying. Rao didn't care, he could have his arms around you for an eternity. If it was for you, he would.

Anyone that walked by he made sure to shield you from them. Anytime your arms started to shake in anxiety he rubbed them up and down. And when you repeated over and over again how it was your fault he told you that he was here. He was.

Rao asked after you stopped crying, "Do you want to go home?"

You shake your head, for the first time you didn't want to. Slowly, you pulled away from him. You needed to stand on your own feet. Your head cleared.

"I don't know where I want to go."

Rao hummed and thought. He took your hand when he found an answer, "Let's get you gummy bears."

"How do you know I like gummy bears?"

"You had a bag filled of them one time."

You giggled, and then you couldn't stop laughing. Rao couldn't stop his smile that appeared.

He remembered. So you agreed. When he walked you home and kissed your cheek, you felt better.

You walked your dog, gave him a treat. Washed your face and teeth before going to bed. You dozed off in your warm bed and the last thought you remembered made you smile.

That was the first time you laughed in years.

[inkskinned]

please i love you i'm begging you bring back suspension of disbelief bring back trusting the audience like. i cannot handle any more dialogue that sounds like a legal document. "hello, i am here to talk to you about the incident from a few minutes ago, because i feel you might be unwell, and i am invested in your personal wellbeing." "thank you, i am unwell because the incident was hurtful to me due to my childhood, which was bad." I CANT!!!!

do you know how many people are mad that authors use "growled" as a word for "said"? it's just poetics! they do not literally mean "growled," it's just a common replacement for "said with force but in a low tone." it's normal! do you hear me!! help me i love you please let me out of here!!!

[noodles-and-tea]

Continuation of this

[bruciemilf]

Need a teen! Bruce au where he’s exactly like Justice League! Batman and Battinson in one. That mf put the fear of every god in Ra’s Al Ghul.

Everytime he’s in a room with someone over 30 “Teenagers” by My Chemical Romance plays in the background.

Despite that, in his own way, he’s as gentle as can be with his league. Give me a young Diana who’s getting spat on and ripped apart by the media in a way not one of her male teammates get.

And she’s Wonder Woman. She shouldn’t be affected by it. And she is, anyway. Bruce relates to that in an uncomfortable degree.

“When I first became Batman, weak men tried standing in my way, too. “

“And what did you do?”

“I stepped over them.”

He has a tiny Robin he occasionally has to keep on a leash.

Give me somewhat teen mom Bruce who struggles to wrangle his unruly six year old who likes flipping from rooftop to rooftop and thinks fighting Bane is a piece of cake.

“If Tati can do it, so can I!”

“Dick,” he paused, before handing him a handfull of candy. “Wonderful emotional manipulation. Good job.”

“:D”

[castielsprostate]

having talented friends is so wild!!!!!! like. YOU!!!!!!!!!! YOU made THAT. YOU DID THAT?!?!?!?! YOU created!!!! THAT!!!!!!!!!!! WOAH!!!!!! praise!!!!!!!! praise for one thousand years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[crabussy]

asian glossy starlings are severely under utilised Scary Birds. I see crows and ravens and vultures where is the love for these freaks

oohhh you want to put them in your art so bad oooohh

ID: three photos of iridescent black-green birds with bright red eyes and small black pupils, with long crow-like beaks. END ID

EXTENDED ID: three photos of glossy iridescent dark green birds, feathers almost black asides from where the light makes them viridian green. They have bright red eyes with jarring black pupils set into their head like precious stones and seem to be staring directly at the viewer, and their beaks are similar to crow beaks. The first photo shows a group of six starlings clustered on a wooden pole, presumably on a wharf. The second photo is two of the birds perched on branches, and the third photo is a close up of a starling's face from profile view. END ID

[okkalo]

a lovestruck miya atsumu would do anything for you. he didn’t care about appearances and how he looked to anyone else. you were the one he desperately hoped would give him some type of approval, after all.

long day of walking and your feet are sore? he’ll do what he never would with anyone else and kneel before you like a damn dog, taking your shoes off for you and begin massaging your feet. something else sore? go ahead and tell him while he’s massaging and he’ll change his spot of focus without a second thought.

cold around him? he’s taking off anything he can to give to you in hopes it would keep you warm—please tell him to stop stripping in public. dropped something? oh, and it so happened to fall in the depths of the ocean? he’s diving right in. no equipment is needed for the best setter in the world (he almost died that day).

god forbid he see you with another man. he’s coming up to you like you’re a spiker he needs to claim, slinging his arm around you and butting straight into the conversation. if the guy’s far too close for his comfort, he’ll make sure to give you a big wet kiss on your lips as well. he’ll give you a list of reasons about why the other guy was far from your league once you two are alone as well.

miya atsumu hates losing after all, and he vowed to never lose you to another man.

[cozylittleartblog]

Columbo and the Knight (1984)

put me in the universe where Columbo ran through the 1980s and had a crossover episode with Knight Rider. I think they deserved it, and I am not just saying that because they're my two favorite Old Shows. @telebeast wrote a little fanfic blurb about it and I HAD to visualize it into a comic (which is also the longest comic I have finished thus far at five pages...), so writing credit goes to them.

Autism W!

[pillowspace]

artist/writer cycle

[magic-worms]

two primates

finally drew the tf2 baboon!! + some doodles i wanted to feature mostly heavy in since i haven’t seen nearly enough art of them together. i think he is a proud and loving dad. more under the cut

[unicornpopcorn14]

So we all know by now that Dazai is comfortable enough around Chuuya to show nervousness/worry.

Enough times for Chuuya to pick up on that pattern. The pattern, may I remind you, that doesn't have evident correlation to either nervousness or worry to most people. One that can even be interpreted as misplaced given the situation.

Which means that Dazai has done this in front of Chuuya so often, that Chuuya at first was hella confused, before he finally made a connection between when and why it happens. And still remembered that connection after four years of separation. Which gets us to my point:

What if this isn't the only emotion Dazai displays weirdly?

What if he has multiple unconventional patterns he displays for sadness, frustration, content, or disgust? The times he really feels them, and they become too strong for him to just deal with normally? What if these are the only times he's actually being genuine with his emotions?

And Chuuya is the only one who is familiar with them all?

Dazai would be jumping rope and Chuuya would be like, "quit sulking, let's get icecream"

Dazai hanging upside down on the couch and Chuuya going, "It's okay, mackerel. You can cry."

Dazai actually crying, full on heart-wrenching sobs, and Chuuya unironically going, "What, good news?"

It's just... comforting, for one person in Dazai's life to read him like a book. Everyone else would look at him like he's crazy, displaying wrong emotions/behaviors at the wrong time, but Chuuya knows that it's just how he processes feeling properly, and thus he's the only one Dazai can count on to put things into context and understand, which makes him display them even more openly.

Because Chuuya never shamed him for his quirks, as much as Dazai never did his.

[inkskinned]

okay is she being actually immature or is it just a woman over 30 expressing a human experience you find to be immature.

like yeah. at certain ages... let shit go. im not defending the real immature shit. im not defending the karen you're picturing. i worked in retail i hate those people too. (once somebody got mad at me because she didn't like how our winter window decor was a snowman smoking a pipe. i wish i was joking).

but men at 57 will write books about how 17 year old girls are soooo sexy. they will invent worlds where women have to be naked for "armor reasons." they will write songs that treat women as objects. people rush to defend them. meanwhile a woman at 35 will be like "heartbreak is hard, actually" or "i feel betrayed by a friend" or "i am struggling with something emotionally." immediately people will say stuff like this woman is 35 by the way. by the way this woman is SO OLD to be experiencing this. BY THE WAY.

im 31, almost 32. the other day a poet was blasted online because at her "big age", she had written a poem about feeling unloved. top comment was "this woman is 29 by the way." this woman is too old to still be useful, by the way. she has to behave better . maybe if she was a good wife and mother she could stop existing loudly, and the story could continue on without her. this woman has served her purpose, by the way. she's so cringe, by the way. at 29 - so old! - she still hasn't figured out that her existence should be one of shame.

[itslarsyouguys]

Ok in a lot of video games, you'd have someone in your group that can do something cool, like talk to corpses, and then you never use it. Why do they do that.

Veilguard gave us a guy that talks to corpses and legitimately everyone in the group is solving problems by having this guy talk to corpses. He's talking to corpses left and right, I just had three separate cut scenes of corpse guy doing his corpse thing and I love it.

[lilislegacy]

i feel like we gloss over the first few pages of SoN FAR too much. i mean, take percy’s name out and i would think it’s all about hercules. the book opens by dropping banger after banger regarding percy’s recent escapades, as if this is some epic greek myth.

like how did rick just casually slip in that percy strangled a sea monster with his bare hands (no biggie) and we as the readers were just like “sounds right, anyway—”

[chloesimaginationthings]

What comic is the bottom left image of springtrap from? (On the post where you say why you draw him blocky)

It’s from this comic!! A very normal father son reunion

Og post here

[scribefindegil]

I love first-person because it’s about what the narrator chooses to tell. What do they focus on? What do they leave out? What can you learn from reading between the lines? Are they lying to you? Are they lying to themself? It’s great for unreliable narrators and for epistolary storytelling! It’s intimate but there’s still a distance because you aren’t really seeing the narrator’s thoughts--you’re just seeing the story that they’ve constructed.

I love second-person because it’s a conversation. Does “you” mean a broad, indefinite “you”? Does “you” really mean “I” but with plausible deniability? Does “you” mean one specific person? Can they hear the narrator? Do they know the narrator? What is the relationship here? Who’s talking? Who’s listening?

I love third-person limited because it’s focused and intimate. What does the world look like from inside this character’s head? What are they seeing? What are they feeling? It doesn’t grant them the privacy that first-person does; the narrative isn’t something they’ve chosen, it’s invisible and inescapable. As a reader you’re not watching so much as astral projecting.

(I love singular point of view because of how much it leans into that limitation. You’re not getting the whole story; you’re not seeing anything unless this character sees it. How do you embrace that? What do you do with the gaps around the edges? How does that define--or warp--the events that they’re experiencing?

I love multiple points of view because of how it broadens your understanding of the story and the world. If two point-of-view characters react in opposite ways to the same thing, what does that tell you about them? About the world? How does it feel to spend time inside a character’s head and then see them from someone’s else’s point of view? How do all of these viewpoints work together?) 

I love third-person omniscient because the narrative is a character. It’s great for stories that know they’re stories! It allows for a camaraderie between the narrator and the reader! It allows for wider and more cinematic descriptions because you’re not limited to what a specific person can see! It lets you look at the characters from outside while still giving you the option to delve into their heads because you have full control over what you’re focusing on!

And I love authors who can combine viewpoints in ways you wouldn’t think would work but manage to pull it off! Stories with multiple point-of-view characters where one is first-person and the others are third! Stories that combine first- and second-person! Stories where the omniscient narrator suddenly refers to themself in the first person! Stories where you realize halfway through that you were wrong about who was narrating it!

Isn’t it fantastic that there are so many different ways to tell stories!!!!