#to be fair: I’m not actually sure what the dynamic is between them

[gay-victorian-astronomer]

you know, I used to think I managed to get away with a lot of stuff as a teenager because I was queer— for example, I could have my partner sleep over without anyone really batting an eye because that’s expected behavior for high school “girls” who are “really good friends” with each other

but tonight my Very Heterosexual teenage brother had a girl over & they’ve been alone together in the basement for the past few hours, and both of my parents are seemingly perfectly fine with this

needless to say I’m rethinking some things

[soaps-mohawk]

Cherry Red, Crimson Blood

Chapter 44: Little Shit

Summary: John has left a mess in his wake. Can the pack pick up the pieces before it's too late?

Pairing: Poly 141 x reader

Word Count: 9,659 words

Warnings: Alpha/beta/omega dynamics, a/b/o, angst, language, some fluff, kissing, Simon being an asshole, angst

A/N: I'm actually very excited for this one and I know you will be too

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It’s cold out. It feels fitting, a mirror of the emptiness in your soul. They’re not happy about you being out here, but you don’t care. You don’t care about much right now. You’re wrapped in a blanket regardless, tucked into the chair, curled in, making yourself as small as you possibly can. There’s a need deep within you to feel protected and safe. Part of you had wanted to curl up in bed and lay there for the rest of time, but another part of you desired to sit outside and stare at the sea in the distance. A deeper part of you wanted to go, but you know they’d shut that down as fast as the words could come out of your mouth.

They don’t seem eager to do much of anything for you right now.

It’s a fair assumption. They’re all dealing with John’s absence as much as you are. There’s a definitive hole in your pack, and no one will be able to fill it, no matter how hard they try.

“If you’re going to sit out here, at least drink something warm.” A cup of tea is set down on the table before a figure lowers themselves into the chair next to you with a grunt. “’S cold out.”

“Feels good.” You murmur, ignoring the steaming cup. Of course he’d bring tea. He wouldn’t be caught dead drinking coffee after the playful rivalry that’s been ongoing between coffee drinkers and tea drinkers in the cottage. At least that can continue even in the tumultuous state of the pack.

It falls silent between the two of you, an awkward silence. He’s the last person you expected to join you outside. He’s been avoiding you like the plague, but then again he’s been avoiding you as much as possible since you arrived at the cottage. You know he doesn’t hate you, but you’d almost prefer it. The distaste he held for you back when you first joined the pack would be preferable to this quiet avoidance he’s wedged between the two of you.

“You...doing okay?” He asks, and you almost laugh in response.

Of course you’re not. He knows you’re not. He’s perceptive and aware. He knows what you’re feeling even without you having to say it. He’s asking purely because of societal expectations, but he already knows. He’s not stupid.

At least in his head.

“No.” You answer honestly, tucking your blanket up tighter around you.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asks hesitantly.

“Do you want me to talk about it?” You retort. “Feelings aren’t really your thing.”

He shifts in the chair, glancing at you out of the corner of his eye. “Because you trust Johnny and Kyle more?”

“It has nothing to do with trust.” You say, your brows furrowing. “You’re just not the most...open person to talk to. Didn’t think you’d be interested in talking about feelings.”

“I’m just trying to be supportive.” He says.

“Well you’re doing a shit job at it.” You snap back.

Things fall silent between the two of you again, the wedge pressing on the edges of your bond, the little bond you have left. He’s done a good job at laying that barrier between the two of you, driving the space further and further in his distance. He’s the last person you want right now, but he’s the only one you have.

You let out a long breath, the air steaming in front of you. “He just had to be the one to go after Shepherd.” You say bitterly, your thoughts coming out before you can stop them. “He really just up and left and for what?”

“To make sure the pack is safe.” Simon says simply. “Alphas leave all the time.”

“But he didn’t have to! Not right now,” You say, turning your head to look at him finally. “Not when things were finally starting to get better.”

“He thought he had to.” Simon says, glancing sideways at you. “You know how he is.”

“Yeah and it sucks.” You say. “I wanted him to be better, to try harder to not think about the big picture...to think about me.” You let out a shuddering breath as you try to hold the tears back. “Just...why? Why him?”

Simon is quiet for a moment. “You wish I had gone instead.”

You give him a look. “You know that's not what I meant.”

“Is it? Because it sounds like it.” He says. “Would have been better if I had gone anyway.”

“Why, because then you wouldn’t have to deal with me?” You say, hurt and anger starting to churn in your chest. You’re getting frustrated with him and his emotional constipation.

“That’s not what I said.”

“Well it sounds like it.” You throw his own words at him, turning fully to face him now. “You really don’t want to be stuck here with me, in charge of me. Be honest.”

He’s silent for a breath, obviously trying to figure out how to answer in a way that’s going to hurt you the least. You don’t care. You want him to be honest and open, even if it does hurt. “It’s complicated.”

“That’s not an answer.” You say, letting the blanket drop from around you. You’re worked up enough from the emotions coursing through you, you don’t need it anymore.

“It’s the only answer I have.” He says, his voice firm.

You let out a sharp breath through your nose, pushing yourself up to stand. Some deep, twisted part of you wants to throw the tea at his face in anger, but you don’t. You won’t. You’re not brave enough for that. Instead you shove at his shoulder, barely making him budge. “You’re so fucking frustrating!”

You turn on your heel, storming back into the house.

“Well you're certainly not winning any popularity contests.” Kyle says, leaning against the door frame. 

“Piss off.” Simon growls, his shoulders hunched and tense like a coil ready to spring. 

Kyle glances over his shoulder as something thuds in your room. He wonders what it is you’ve thrown this time. Maybe yourself. That’s Johnny’s problem for now. Instead he steps out the door, sliding it closed behind him before making his way over to the tense alpha.

“You really are shit at this.” He says, sinking down into the chair you were sitting in. It’s still warm from your body, and so is the blanket as he drapes it over his lap. “You’re going to have to try harder than that.”

“I shouldn’t have to try at all.” Simon snaps.

“But you don’t have a choice right now.” Kyle says. “I know you’re scared.” He cuts off Simon before he can protest. “Shut up, I know you’re scared of having this much power, of doing something wrong, of hurting her, but you’re not doing anyone any favors being all moody. You’re throwing her off and you’re throwing the rest of us off.”

Simon stays silent, staring out into the distance as Kyle continues to speak.

“John did what he did and we can’t change that. There was no changing his mind. You know that more than the rest of us. Now you have to step up. He trusts you to do that. He trusts his omega with you. That speaks volumes of his trust in your ability to take care of his pack.” Kyle reaches over, putting a hand on Simon’s shoulder, rubbing it gently. “We’re right here with you. You don’t have to be scared.”

Simon slowly begins to relax, his shoulders lowering and jaw unclenching as Kyle continues to rub his shoulder, projecting his scent to try and diffuse the tension that had built in your exchange with the broody alpha.

“I hate it when you do that.” Simon grumbles, sinking further into the chair.

“It works, though.” Kyle says with a soft smile. “You’re the alpha in charge now, so start acting like it.”

“I don’t know where to start.” Simon says softly.

Kyle squeezes his shoulder. “Maybe with an apology.”

“He’s just so...emotionally constipated.” You say, throwing another pillow at the wall.

“He’s just...goin’ through a lot right now.”

“So are the rest of us!” You say, spinning on your heel to grab another pillow. “And we’re all doing just fine at trying to adjust!”

“Are we?”

You let out a huff as you stare at him, disheveled from the fit you’ve been throwing. Johnny grabs the pillow you’re bee-lining for, holding it out of your reach instead.

“That’s enough.” He says, letting the pillow drop to the floor before he reaches forward, wrapping an arm around you. He drags you up onto the bed, sitting you down between his legs.

“I just don’t get it.” You murmur as you sit there, drawing your knees up to your chest as Johnny starts to comb his fingers through your hair. “Why John had to leave, why Simon is being so difficult.”

“Ye want the truth?” He asks, tugging lightly at your hair. He’s starting to braid it, something to keep his hands busy.

“No.” You say, resting your chin on your knee. “I already know.”

“He’s just as scared as the rest of us.” Johnny says anyway. “He’s never been in this position before. None of us have. Sure, John’s left on solos before, but things are different now.”

“Because I’m here.” You murmur, leaning into his touch as his fingers brush your ear.

“A lot has changed.” Johnny says. “Not just because of ye.”

“A lot because of me, though.” You say. “If I hadn’t been here, if I hadn’t been added to this pack…”

“Things would have still gone to shit eventually.” Johnny says. “The truth would come out, Shepherd would run for the hills, John would chase after him. Difference now is there’s something tae come back to.”

Guilt churns in your stomach as you sit there, unsure what to say as Johnny finishes braiding your hair.

“You really think he’s coming back?” You say quietly after a moment, that guilt still chewing away inside your stomach.

“Course he is.” Johnny says, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you back against his chest. “He loves ye, he loves all of us. He has to ensure Shepherd is gone before he’ll feel safe again, before he’ll feel it’s safe fer you.”

He’s doing it for you.

It’s not the first time you’ve had that thought since your alpha left you.

You lean your head against Johnny’s arm, staring out the window at the grey world outside. It feels so dull and oppressive. For once you miss the sun and warmth of summer, the feeling of life instead of the chill that’s settled in your bones. It’s not cold in the house, yet you can feel a chill seeping down beneath your skin and into your very soul.

You curl up tighter in Johnny’s arms, pressing closer to his chest as if you might be able to sink deep into his very being. Maybe there you’ll finally be warm and that ache will ease just a little. His arms tighten around you, trying to offer you comfort, but it’s not enough. It’ll never be enough, not so long as John is gone. Your omega yearns for her alpha in a way you’ve never felt. You know separation can be hard on an omega, yet you’ve never quite experienced something like this.

Despite your hurt and anger and frustration, your omega longs to be in her alpha’s arms again. You want John to scoop you up and hold you tight in his arms and keep you there forever, safe and warm and protected.

Johnny’s trying his best, trying to offer you comfort but even he has to know it’s not enough. You need an alpha, you need someone there to offer some semblance of balance in the pack and for your omega. She’s not angry like she had been, but she’s restless still, pacing in her cage, waiting for something.

You let out a quiet breath, letting your eyes flutter closed for a moment as you sit there in Johnny’s embrace.

The quiet moment is broken by your stomach growling.

Johnny’s chest moves as he huffs out a quiet laugh, squeezing you tightly. “Come on, kitten. Let’s get ye some food.”

He finally lets you go, letting you slide off the bed. You grab a sweater from the closet before heading out into the main living area. Simon has disappeared unsurprisingly. Probably upstairs brooding, where he spends most of his time when he’s in the cottage. He almost spends more time outside the cottage now. He has to be going stir crazy laying low for this long. They all have to be.

Johnny passes by, brushing his hand across your back as he heads for the kitchen likely to harass Kyle while he tries to make lunch. Dr. Keller is nowhere to be seen, likely taking as much time to herself as she can. She’s been helping as much as she can while your pack tries to adjust to this sudden change. Mostly she’s been helping you, but the others have been utilizing her knowledge and understanding as well. It makes you feel guilty, making her work so much, but of course she’d never admit to being tired or worn out by the constant state of crisis within your pack.

You stand there for a moment, lost in thought until something warm presses against your back. You tense, slowly turning around to look up at Simon. He’s looming over you, staring down at you with his face hidden behind that stupid mask. You wish you could see his face and read him, but you know deep down his poker face is impeccable and you wouldn’t be able to read him anyway.

“You’re doing it again.” He says, and you know what he’s talking about.

“Sorry.” You say quietly.

“Stop apologizing.” He says rather harshly, making you flinch. His shoulders slump just a little at your flinch, a quiet sigh leaving his lips. “You shouldn’t be the one apologizing.”

You blink up at him. This is rather unexpected.

“We’re all going through a lot right now, a lot of changes...but that’s no excuse to be a dick towards you.” He lets out another breath. “I’m sorry.”

You continue to stare up at him in shock, not expecting him to go so far as to apologize for his actions. Especially not right now. “Are you...apologizing?” You ask him in disbelief.

“Yes.” He says simply.

You stare up at him for a long moment, staring into those chocolate brown eyes. He’s so big and imposing, yet he seems so vulnerable in this moment. Something stirs in the back of your mind, your omega starting to preen a bit at the idea of him finally bowing down before you and allowing you to be in charge. He’s lowered himself enough to apologize...what else can you get out of him?

A low rumble echoes in his chest as you stare up at him, a slow smile tugging at your lips. “You really mean it?”

“Stop it.” He growls, his eyes narrowing. “That’s not fair.”

“What’s not fair?” You ask innocently, batting your eyelashes at him.

He clenches his fist, his shoulders squaring. “I hate this new side of you.”

Your grin only widens as you step up closer to him. “Doesn’t smell like it.”

“Alright you two, come eat before you stink out the house.” Kyle says, breaking the tense moment between the two of you.

You give Simon a wink before turning on your heel, leaving the reeling alpha in your wake as you make your way to the table.

“How are things going?”

It’s an innocent question, but it almost has you in tears. How are things going? Your pack is on the fringes of a breakdown, the bonds have never been more tense, you have an alpha that doesn’t want to be an alpha. How are things going? Not great.

“They’re okay,” You lie, your fingers tightening around the edges of the book in your lap. “It’s an adjustment.”

“I bet.” Ashley says sympathetically. “I can’t imagine this would be an easy change.”

“They’re doing well all things considered.” Dr. Keller swoops in, saving you from having to come up with a response. “The separation of an alpha can be a hard thing to cope with.” Her eyes are on you when she says it, making the guilt in your stomach twist itself into knots.

“You’re a lot stronger than I would be in this situation.”

It’s directed at you, and you bring yourself to offer a small smile in response.

In truth you feel like falling apart. You doubt either women would care. They’re both betas, caretakers. You’ve cried in front of Dr. Keller so many times you’ve lost count, and you doubt Ashley would look down on you for showing such weakness. It might actually feel good, letting the emotions out in front of two people who understand.

“You need anything, you let me know.” Ashley continues. “Even if it’s getting the boys out of the house.”

They are out of the house currently, well, Johnny and Simon left. Well, it was more like Johnny dragged Simon out of the house. Going on a run, they said. A long run. Maybe to town and back. A run to clear the head. A run to get those emotions out.

How you wish you could go for a run right now.

Kyle is somewhere in the house. Kyle. You feel guilty for how much you’ve withdrawn from the beta. You can only imagine how he’s feeling. His alpha has deserted him too. You both share that closer bond because of John and yet here you are keeping Kyle at arm’s distance. You have something to bond over, something to bring the two of you closer together in your confusion and the adjustments you both have to make.

Yet here you are holding him at a distance.

It only adds to the twisting of the guilt in your stomach.

The room has fallen silent, Ashley and Dr. Keller both staring at you. You blink yourself back into reality, looking between them. You got lost in your mind again, a habit you still can’t break. It’s gotten worse in your isolation, often left with nothing but your thoughts for company.

Whose fault is that?

“Sorry.” You say quietly, adjusting yourself in your chair.

“Welcome back.” Dr. Keller says, giving you a soft smile.

“A fellow over-thinker.” Ashley says, giving you a wink. “I understand 100%. Why don’t we move on to less intense conversation.”

You glance down at the book in your lap. In truth you haven’t read much of it. You haven’t felt like reading much in the last few days. You haven’t felt like doing much of anything these last few days. Life has gotten impossibly hard with the desertion of your alpha. You hadn’t expected it to feel like this.

You hadn’t expected it to be so hard.

Everything has been thrown off, even your desire to function as a member of the pack. If you can even call what you have a pack. You’re more like four independent planets all stuck in the gravitational pull of the black hole that is the bond you share. You’re slowly inching closer and closer to the event horizon, the point of no return when the gravitational pull will be too much and you’ll be sucked in and spaghettified in the intensity of your bond.

You’ll all be sucked in eventually. There’s no escaping.

Well, that’s not entirely true.

There is an escape, a way to find the velocity to pull yourself free of the looming event horizon, but the pain of it will be far greater than the pain you feel now. There will be no recovery, no promise of a future for you. It will be the end of everything. You’ll fall into a different black hole and there won’t be anything waiting on the other side.

“So what do you think of the main character?” Ashley asks, drawing you from your thoughts once more.

“I think she could use a break from everything she’s been through.” Dr. Keller says.

You and me both.

As the days continue to pass since John’s desertion, things don’t improve much. Simon is still fighting his new role, driving Johnny to recede into himself again. Kyle is like a lost ghost, floating around the house like a specter. You...you’re going insane with it all.

You can’t take much more of this up and down, this lack of surety, the pain throbbing in the back of your head from the constant tugging of your bond. Their lack of motion has you spinning out of control. You need to take control, you need to help them and yourself. The pack won’t last like this, so you have to make things happen one way or another.

Looks like you have to do everything yourself again.

“Where’s Johnny.” You ask Simon as he passes by you in the living room.

“Upstairs I think.” He says, skirting past you.

“Will you go get him please?” You say, turning around to face him. “We need to have a pack meeting.”

Simon stares down at you for a long moment before nodding. “Fine.” He grunts.

You step out of his way as he heads for the stairs, his footsteps thudding up the steps. You let out a long breath, half expecting you’d have to fight him harder than that. You move to stand in front of the fireplace, a few seconds passing before you hear movement upstairs.

Three sets of footsteps make their way down the steps, the other members of your pack appearing one by one.

“Sit.” You say, pointing in front of you.

They move silently, sitting themselves down on the couches. Simon by himself on one, and Johnny and Kyle on the other. They’re sitting further away than they have been. It makes your chest constrict as you stare at them.

You clear your throat, the words you had planned vacating your mind as you stand before them. You have nothing to be nervous about. They’re just the members of your pack, men you’ve been around for almost a year now. You know them in and out, better than they know you. Yet you can’t hide the nervous twisting in your stomach as you stand there vulnerably.

You close your hands into fists to hide them from shaking as you look across their faces once more.

“I’ve gathered you here today to have a serious conversation.” You say, trying to keep your voice from wavering. “About us as a pack.”

Johnny shifts in his seat at your words, all of them staring at you intently.

“I know John leaving has been hard on all of us, but we can’t keep just floating around like a bunch of ghosts. It’s eating me alive and I can’t take it anymore.” You swallow the lump in your throat. “So, seeing as how no one else wants to do so, I’m taking charge of this pack.”

Simon shifts slightly at your words, just a flinch but you catch it out of the corner of your eye.

“My alpha is the one that left, so I should be the one to step up in his place.” You state firmly, not letting the thickening of Simon’s scent throw you off. “You can call me alpha now.”

Simon’s hands clench into fists, his scent nearly knocking you off your feet. “You think it’s that easy, do you?”

You steady yourself. You prepared for such an outburst from the broody alpha. “Yeah. I do.”

“You’re just going to step up and play alpha while yours is away?” Simon rises to his feet. “What gives you the right?”

“Well, you won’t do it.” You snap, steeling yourself as he steps closer. “So someone has to.”

His eyes narrow at your words. You’ve hit a nerve and he doesn’t like it. Good, you think. Serves him right.

“We can’t keep going on like this.” You continue, trying to reason with him. “Someone has to take charge and since you won’t, I will.”

“That’s not your place, omega.” His scent slams into you again and you feel the urge to drop as your status slips out of his mouth.

“Then do something!” You’re shaking now, fighting off his dominance. He’s using his own status against you. It’s not fair, but it’s what you want. “Man up and be an alpha.”

“Hey!” Kyle is between you before Simon can take another step forward, pushing the alpha back. “You’re not helping anything getting all puffed.” Johnny is on his feet too, halfway between you and the couch. “She’s right.” Kyle continues. “We can’t go on like this. John left and we can’t do anything about that. We need a leader.”

“You want that to be me?” Simon scoffs.

“Well, yeah.” Kyle says. “You are second alpha. It’s your job to take John’s place in his absence. We need you to take his place.” Kyle pushes him back another step. “You have to decide. You can’t fight our omega on wanting to step up because you don’t want to step up yourself.”

You feel like passing out as you stand there, still trembling from the onslaught of alpha you had just faced. You’re proud of yourself for facing it as long as you did. Months ago you wouldn’t have even approached the subject, much less stood up to him like that.

If you were stronger, you might have fought him back.

“It’s me or you.” You say, stepping out from behind Kyle. “It can’t be neither of us.”

Simon stares down at you, his eyes hard. His scent has dispersed a bit, the heavy ozone of it fading. The scent of beta is pushing it aside, but your nose still burns from his anger. He’s still frustrated, but you can see the tension in his body lessening. You imagine his jaw unclenching, his shoulders lowering just centimeters. You’ve got him right where you wanted him to be.

You step around Kyle, putting yourself back in his space. Kyle doesn’t move, inches away from your back. He and Johnny are still as statues, waiting and watching what’s going to happen next.

You reach for Simon, putting your hands on his arms. You gently guide him back before pushing him backwards onto the couch again. He goes easily, slumping back into the cushions. You stand over him and he lets you take the dominant pose this time. You move yourself so you’re between his knees and you bend down to take his hand in yours. It’s rough and calloused, even time away from handling weapons unable to soften the roughness of his skin. It’s the first time you’ve touched his skin since the day he rescued you. It’s the same hand he used to scruff you, the same hand that saved your life.

“I don’t want to have to do it.” You say softly, tracing the back of his hand. “I’d prefer it were you.” You lift your gaze from his hand to his eyes. “I trust you to do it. I know that probably doesn’t mean much, but it’s the truth. John trusted you to save my life once, and you did. He trusts you to take care of his pack, and I do too.”

He stares up at you for a long moment, his chest rising and falling with even breaths. You’re projecting your scent just a bit, trying to ease it deep into his brain where his alpha lies, use your power against him to convince him to take on this role so you can stop going insane.

“I need you, alpha.” You whisper.

His eyes darken, his hand tightening around yours. You’ve got him right in his soft underbelly.

He pushes himself up to stand, forcing you back half a step. Your chests brush as he looms over you, his scent thickening in the air, but not in the way it had before. The leather and natural muskiness invades your senses, seeping deep into your brain. You stare up at him, waiting for him to make the next move.

“Fine.” He breathes, dropping your hand. “I’ll do it.”

A small smile tugs at your lips. You got him hook, line, and sinker.

More days pass and slowly your pack begins to settle. Simon has shifted into his role easily, taking over as alpha. Johnny and Kyle no longer seem so weighed down, and the tumultuous energy has subsided a bit. You feel lighter, like some of the pressure has been lifted from your shoulders.

It has.

You’re no longer the only one holding the pack together, desperately clinging to the strings of your bonds. Simon is right there by your side, gluing them down so they no longer slip away.

You quite like him being alpha. He wears the title like a king and you find yourself feeling a stirring of excitement in your stomach every time you think of Pack Alpha Simon. It fits him, being in control of not just Johnny but everyone. Even Kyle seems a bit more at ease despite the missing link.

Your missing link too.

“Kyle?” You say softly, almost afraid to disrupt him where he sits on the couch reading.

“Hm?” He hums, glancing up from his book.

“I...was just wondering...how you were doing?” You wince at the awkwardness of your own words.

“Fine.” He shrugs, marking his place in the book.

“You’re sure?” You ask, slowly lowering yourself onto the opposite side of the couch. “I mean, our alpha is gone.”

Kyle nods slowly. “Yeah, he is.”

You swallow the lump in your throat. “I miss him.” You hate to admit it, but you do.

“I know.” Kyle says, reaching out for your hand. “I do too. He may be a shit alpha, but he’s our alpha.”

You can’t help but laugh a bit at his words. “That is true. You really think he’s coming back?”

Kyle nods. “I think so. I doubt he’d leave us high and dry. He loves both of us too much for that.”

You stare up at him. You forget just how much John cares for you and Kyle. It’s easy to forget with how he’s been acting lately. He left for you. He left for the good of the pack, to go eliminate the last threat hanging over your heads. Once Shepherd is gone, then you can finally move forward. You can finally decide what comes next.

What does come next?

Will they return to the military? Will they go back to the way life was before? You can’t expect them to give it up. You’ve come to that conclusion easily. They won’t leave that way of life without a fight, and you can’t ask that of them, not matter how badly you want to. You’ll go back to life on base, life the way it had been before. The constant worry and stress will always be a part of your life, no matter what. They’ll always put the good of the world above everything else. Even your pack.

They promised they’d start putting you first, but you can’t ask them to give up their livelihood for you. It’s been their whole lives. They’re all career soldiers, they all started early and haven’t known anything else. This is what they do and it will always be what they do until they die or are forced to retire. You’ll always be there, waiting for them back home, praying they come back breathing and not in a coffin.

You’ll always have nightmares of that phone call, of getting that news.

“You okay?” Kyle asks, squeezing your hand.

You look back up at him, staring into those deep brown eyes. “Yeah.” You nod. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Simon?”

Simon glances up from his phone, turning his head to the side. No word from John yet, but then again it could be too soon. He doesn’t know anything, and it’s driving him insane. He doesn’t like not knowing. He knows Shepherd had been found, though captured or spotted he’s none the wiser. John could have been going on a stakeout for all he knows. It could be weeks, months.

It’s been just over a week and he doesn’t know anything yet.

He hates it.

He turns his head to the side, staring at you. You’re standing there, looking small and timid next to the couch. So different from how you stood up to him days ago when you forced him to finally accept he’s in charge. He had to take on that role because John wanted him to. That’s why he knew first, that’s why John spent so much time preparing him. Simon have to take on this role eventually, whether he wanted it or not.

“Have you heard anything from John?” You ask, shifting on your feet.

It’s the first time you’ve asked about John. Sometimes he wonders what’s going through your head. You’re angry and frustrated with John, he knows that much. He can read that on your face. He knew from the teary goodbye, the look of despondency hidden behind the quiet confidence on John’s face when he walked out the door that something had transpired between the two of you when he told you. Maybe you already knew. Maybe you already understood this would happen eventually.

If John would have let him, he would have gone instead, if only to save you from having to face this.

It would have been easier for him to play the soldier and assassin. He’s done it many times before.

“Nothing.” He says honestly. Better to give you the truth than false hope.

John will return, even if you told him not to. He’s too stubborn for that. He won’t give up that easily. He’ll know you’d change your mind if you told him to stay away. You didn’t. He can tell that much, but he knows. He understands.

“Oh.” You say quietly, almost as if you’d had a false hope that there was word, some small message to let you know he’s alive, he’s well, he’s coming home.

He can’t come home soon enough.

You slowly inch around the side of the couch before sitting gingerly on the edge of the cushion. You’re moving like you’re approaching a wild animal, but in your mind you might just be. He’s not a wild animal. If anything he’s the opposite of right now. He’s tired, worn down from the sudden weight of responsibility. He wouldn’t even bare his teeth if he could.

You’re holding a book in your hand. You clutch it to your chest as you slowly lean back, scooting until you’re comfortable on the opposite end of the couch from him. Why you chose there and not across from him, he doesn’t know. You could have sat anywhere in the house and yet you decided to sit next to him.

Perhaps it’s some deep omegan need for comfort and security. You certainly need a lot of that right now. You’re going through a tumultuous time and you’ll need all the comfort you can stand. He’s the one that’s supposed to give that to you, yet he finds himself withdrawing from that desire, that need. You won’t want his comfort because he’s not your alpha. He’ll never be your alpha, he’ll never be good enough.

Simon sits there, still as a sniper as he watches you slowly inch your way into a comfortable seat. You haven’t spoken a word since your small, quiet acknowledgment of his answer to your question. Maybe you’re too afraid to speak more, ruin the moment, drive him away when you’ve so obviously sought him out for more than word on your absent alpha.

He stays there as you move, slowly shifting yourself on the couch until you’re curled up in the corner. It’s reminiscent of how you used to sit in the rec room all those weeks ago, curled up on the couch while he sat as far as he could from you, at least until those bonds began to grow, those steel-bound threads of alpha and omega began to wind themselves around you like nooses.

Bonds are like nooses. One fails they all do. That’s why he’s always hated them, why he’s always avoided them.

Why his mother never gave in.

His hand curls into a fist, nails digging into his palm as he forces the thoughts away, shoves his past down into the recesses of his mind where it belongs.

You seem ignorant to his inner struggle as you sit there, book open in your hands. You’re lost in a fictional world, ignorant of everything going on around you. How easily you slip into a realm of distraction, he’ll never know. There will always be a part of him that’s aware, hypervigilant to the world.

Maybe you can drift off so easily because you feel secure enough to do so. You feel safe enough with him there to sink deep into a stupor brought on by words on a page. It stirs something inside of him. Pride? Honor? Guilt?

You’ve sought him out for safety and security and here he is blocking you out more and more. You had to face him down to force him into this position when he should have stepped into it in the first place. He should have done more, been more. From the start he should have been a better alpha, even if he wasn’t yours, even if he’d never be yours. He’s an alpha in the pack, he should start acting like it.

The vulnerability that takes. The weakness he’ll have to show.

It’s okay. The soft voice of his mother floats through his mind. Better to be soft than hard like your father.

A shiver runs down his spine, making his whole body tense. It draws you out of your book, your head turning to look at him. Not quite so lost as he thought, then.

“Simon?” You ask quietly, concern lacing your voice. “What is it?”

Your omega must be sensing some sort of danger. He’s on edge, your omega is responding, looking for reassurance that there’s nothing wrong, there’s nothing there.

“Nothing.” He answers, forcing himself to relax. He has to put his hackles down, otherwise the moment will be ruined. “Just thinking too much.”

He’s not sure why he said it. Maybe it was because he knew it would draw that small smile on your face.

He likes it when you smile. You haven’t been doing much of it lately, but then again, you haven’t had much of a reason to. Why smile when the world is crumbling around you? Yet there are still moments when he sees that side of you, you let out on base. Those happy moments when life was good and easy and predictable. Back when he allowed himself to feel, to touch, to smell, to devour your very being.

He misses it.

No he doesn’t.

It’s too much of a risk, too much of a vulnerability to allow that again. He can’t open himself up to that when it will only lead to more hurt on your part. Everything ends in hurt. It’s all he can do, all he’ll ever do. He’s hurt Johnny, he’s still hurting Johnny. You’ll crumble in his hands too, slipping through his fingers like sand.

He sits there still as you begin to slowly shift yourself so you’re facing him, putting your back to the fire. He watches you from the corner of your eye as you begin to stretch out, joints cracking as they straighten. His eyes lower to your feet as they slowly slip across the couch, inching closer and closer to him. His hand twitches, his breath stilling in his lungs.

He can’t move. He’s stuck there, stuck watching as you slowly press upon the barrier between the two of you, breaking down that boundary he’s set in place with just a simple movement. He can see it crumbling as your bare toes inch closer and closer until they press against the soft fabric of his jeans. Just a brush, just a tickle against his leg.

“Do you have to do that?” He asks, still staring down at your toes.

“It’s a small couch.” You say simply, not even looking up from your book.

“There’s an empty one right there.” He nods towards the empty couch across from him.

“I like this one better.”

His hand closes into a fist as you push against his leg with your toes. That boundary is crashing down, crumbling brick by brick as your toes bend, feet arching as you push against his leg.

“What are you doing?” He still hasn’t moved. He can’t bring himself to.

“My toes are cold.” You say, turning a page in your book.

“There’s a fire right there.”

“I don’t want to get up.”

Little shit.

He swallows the growl crawling up his chest, swallows down the emotions threatening to choke him. He’s right back in the rec room with your toes on his arm as the two of you read in silence. You’d gone toe to toe with him then too, the snarky remarks flowing like water between you. How easily it came, how easily it flowed, how easily you faced him on and didn’t back down.

Fucking hell how he’s missed this.

He doesn’t move, doesn’t get up like he once might have. Instead he sits there, letting you rest your toes against his leg, even though he knows they aren’t cold.

Something draws you from the sweet edge of sleep and forces you back into the world of the living. You’re not sure what it is at first, unaware enough you can’t think rationally. You had been so close to the sweet bliss of sleep for your morning nap when something woke you. You try not to think about it, chasing that edge of tiredness that’s quickly fading from your mind.

A pain in your stomach pushes it even further away. It takes your breath away, pulling you right into the world of wakefulness. For a moment you think you might be dying. Appendix burst, GI bleed, some sort of horrible gas cramp. You did have a big breakfast after all.

No, it’s none of those things. That pain begins to shift, morphing into a gnawing feeling that grows until a low rumble sounds.

You’re hungry.

For a moment you wonder if you did sleep and you’ve slept through lunch. A quick glance at the clock tells you it’s only eleven. Not quite time for lunch yet.

You try to ignore it, try to curl up and go back to sleep, but that gnawing pain continues, keeping you from finding that tiredness that drove you to seek out your bed in the first place.

Instead you sit up with a huff, shoving the blanket off of you. A snack it is then.

The gnawing pain continues as you rise from the bed, padding quietly over to your half closed door. You slip through the gap, the living area empty. Upstairs or outside then, you think.

You head for the kitchen, digging through cupboards as the pain in your stomach continues to intensify. If you don’t eat right this minute you might die. You want something fast, but all you’re finding is cans and packages of food you’ll have to cook. You don’t have time for that.

Desperately you search, your hands starting to shake as you comb through the cabinets for something that might calm the uncomfortable growling in your abdomen.

Finally you find an unopened package of cookies. Tea cookies, you think, but you don’t care. You nearly rip them open in desperation, shoving one in your mouth. They’re dry, but you don’t care. They may as well be manna from heaven in this moment.

You carry the package over to the sliding door, staring out at the yard as you continue to shove cookies into your mouth. It hasn’t rained in a few days, the deck starting to dry out finally. It’s still cloudy and grey though, the sea reflecting the sky in the distance.

You stand there, lost in space and time until you reach into the packet of cookies only to meet air and crumbs. You stare down at the package, your stomach still rumbling hungrily like an insatiable monster. 

Insatiable. Hunger. 

“Oh fuck.” You say, staring down at the package still. 

“What?” Kyle says, approaching you from behind. 

You turn on your heel, hand still in the package. “I’m hungry.” 

“It’s almost lunch time.” He says. “What would you like to eat?” 

“No, no.” You gulp. “I’m hungry.” 

He stares at you blankly for a moment before realization crosses his face. He stares at you wide-eyed, shifting on his feet nervously. “Oh shit.” 

“Sedation is an option but I’d have to get the supplies for it.” Dr. Keller says. “We’re not equipped here for something of that caliber. I can get the supplies, but we might not have enough time, even with Kate’s help.”

“It might be risky, drawing that much attention.” Kyle says. “People will have questions.”

“You’re not even nesting yet.” Dr. Keller says with a sigh, glancing at you. “This is bad timing.”

“It’s not like I can control it.” You say around a mouthful of chips.

You’ve already downed three sandwiches and you’re working on polishing off an entire bag of chips.

“I know.” Dr. Keller says softly.

“Is there any way to stop it from happening?” Johnny asks.

“Not without considerable risk.” Dr. Keller says. “Especially this close.”

“What do we do then?” Kyle asks, looking at you.

“It is possible for a beta to help, but it’ll be a long and painful heat without an alpha.” Dr. Keller says.

A hand lands on your shoulder as they continue to brainstorm. You look up from the bag of chips, a handful halfway to your mouth. Simon is standing over you, his hand on your shoulder. He tilts his head in the direction of your door before removing his hand. You blink at him as he walks towards it, pushing the door open before disappearing into your room. You shove the handful of chips in your mouth before putting the bag on the coffee table. You lick the crumbs off your fingers as you make your way towards the open door.

It’s bold of him, entering your room just like that, but your interest is piqued.

He’s standing next to the bed, fingers toying with the edge of the blanket tossed haphazardly across the mattress from your attempt at a nap.

“Simon?” You ask quietly.

“Close the door.” He says, turning around.

You pull it closed behind you, turning the nob so it doesn’t make any sound. Something tells you he wants to keep this as quiet as possible. Nerves start to rattle inside of you. What does he want? Why does he want to keep things quiet? They must notice you’ve disappeared, but Simon doesn’t seem to care either way.

“Come here.” He says, holding out his hand.

You approach slowly, a bit hesitant from the alpha being in your space. It is your space now, your room. Even if you haven’t nested yet, it’s still your safe, sacred space. He hasn’t been in your space yet. You haven’t even invited him in, and here he is just walking in and making himself at home.

Your fingers tremble as you slip your hand into his, letting him pull you closer. He toes off his boots before turning back towards the bed. You watch as he stares at the giant bear for a moment before he shoves it off onto the floor on the other side of the bed. It almost makes you laugh, it would have had you not been so nervous. What he’s doing is bold, and it’s leaving you unsettled.

He climbs onto the bed, sitting in your spot. He uses the hand in yours to pull you up onto the bed as well. He relaxes back against the headboard as you wind up in his lap, straddling his waist.

“What’s happening?” You say, staring at him wide eyed. You haven’t been this close to him in months, and here he is just sitting you right in his lap like it’s nothing.

You’re going to get whiplash if he continues this.

“I did you a disservice.” He starts, tilting his head back to stare up at you. “That time I made you use sedation for your heat. I was too afraid of hurting you to see what it really meant, to understand the risks and what it would be like for you.”

“You don’t have to apologize.” You say quietly, trying not to jump as his hands come to settle on your thighs.

“I do.” He says, his eyes soft as he stares up at you. “I wasn’t man enough to face down my fears. I’m not making that mistake again.”

“Simon-”

“Don’t.” He says quietly. “Don’t talk me out of this.”

You shake your head. “You don’t-”

“I want to.”

His words have your protests dying in your throat. You stare at him wide-eyed. This feels like it’s coming out of left field. Things have shifted since his ascension into pack alpha, including the distance that had wedged between the two of you. Though he’s still been spending the least amount of time with you, you can’t deny he doesn’t feel quite so distant anymore. It’s comforting, just knowing there is an alpha there that would catch you if you fell.

Still, to go to this extent, to move this fast feels uncharacteristic for him.

“Simon,” You say softly as his hands trail up your thighs, reaching for your own hands.

“I should have done more, I should have been more for you.” He continues, almost as if he’s talking to himself. “You were right. I should have stepped up as soon as John said he was leaving.” He lifts your hands until they’re resting on either side of his neck. “I want to do this for you.”

You swallow thickly as you stare down at him, your fingers trembling where they rest against his mask. It feels strange being this close to him after so long. He’s being so...vulnerable suddenly and it’s making your head spin.

“Take it off.” He says.

“What?” You blink at him in surprise. You didn’t expect this at all.

“The mask. Take it off.”

“You...you’re sure?” You ask.

“Do it.” He says firmly.

Your fingers are still trembling as they curl around the bottom of the fabric. You can hardly believe this is happening, this is real. You’re really going to see his face. You had resigned yourself to only ever seeing him in his mask for the rest of your life, that he’d never willingly become that vulnerable with you. Yet here he is, coming into your space and opening himself up to this vulnerability.

Slowly you tug the fabric upward, revealing his scruffy chin. It’s the most you’ve ever seen of him when he tugs his mask up to eat. You continue pushing the fabric upward over his lips, your thumb tracing the scar there for a moment as you try and gain the courage to continue. It’s really happening. You’re about to see his face for the first time.

You push the mask up over his nose, thumbs gliding over his cheeks as you continue, pushing it up higher and higher. You take a deep breath in before tugging it upwards, pulling it completely off. He blinks up at you, leaning his head back against the headboard. You stare down at him in shock and awe, taking in his full face for the first time.

“You’re so...British looking.”

It’s the only thing you can think of to say. His face falls slightly, his brows pinching.

“Not-not in a bad way, it’s just...I’d know you were British if I saw you walking down the street.”

You wince at your own awkwardness. You’re not making it any better.

“You’re a handsome British man.” You say, cupping his cheeks.

He stares at you blankly for a moment and you worry you’ve fucked this up before his lips twist up in a smile, his arms wrapping around your waist.

“Like what you see?” He wiggles his eyebrows.

“Very much so.” You say quietly, cupping his cheeks.

You want to kiss him. You want to lean down and press your lips against his. You’re not sure where the desire has come from, when this sudden shift and change happened, but you can’t deny the desire you feel towards him. Maybe it’s your looming heat, maybe it’s because he’s the only alpha around, maybe it’s because he’s finally stepped up into what you knew he could be for you, what he could do for you.

He doesn’t stop you as you start to lean down, giving into the impulsive need. You wait for him to push you away, wait for him to change his mind and walk out the door, but he doesn’t. His arms tighten around your back, pulling you flush against his body as your lips touch his in a gentle, hesitant kiss.

A low growl rumbles in his chest as you kiss him, his hand flattening against your back. Shivers run down your spine, a quiet whine leaving your lips. His hand slides up your back, sinking into your hair to stop you from pulling away.

“Missed this.” He murmurs against your lips.

“Why did you wait so long?” You say quietly, kissing him again.

“Couldn’t stand the thought of hurting you again.” He says, pulling away. “I did it enough times before.” He stares up at you like you hung the moon and the stars. “I wasn’t fair to you.”

“You seriously don’t have to apologize.” You say, putting a finger on his lips. “I know you were being Mr. Emotionally Constipated So I Have To Make Myself Suffer For No Reason. It works for you, though.” You shrug. “Pairs with the Mr. Dark and Mysterious well.” You smile down at him. “Who knew Mr. Dark and Mysterious would also turn out to be Mr. Very British. Should have known with all the tea talk.”

He tightens his grip around you before suddenly pushing himself up. He flips you over onto your back, his hand squeezing your side, making you giggle. You trust him not to hurt you, his movements done in jesting not anger.

“You little shit.” He chuckles, resting on his elbows above you.

You smile up at him, pulling him down for another kiss. “I missed this.”

“So did I.” He says before kissing you deeply.

The kiss has electricity shooting down to your toes. Your whole body feels alive as your lips move against his, your arms wrapping around his neck. One hand slides into his hair, the short soft strands slipping through your fingers. You rake your nails across his scalp, a low growl rumbling in his throat. He pushes his body down against yours, squishing you into the mattress but you don’t care. He’s so big and warm it makes you feel safe and secure and for the first time since John left, your omega has settled contently.

You pull away begrudgingly after a few moments, staring up at him. You still can’t believe you’re seeing all of him, that he’s honored you with this chance to see his face fully.

“You really mean it?” You breathe, the hand in his hair sliding to cup his cheek.

“Of course.” He murmurs, pressing a kiss to your palm.

“We should go let them know so they can stop stressing.” You breathe.

“Good idea.” He kisses you one more time before he pulls away, letting you get up off the bed.

You grab his mask, handing it to him. “Here.”

He stares down at it for a long moment before pocketing it. “I don’t need it.”

You stare at him in surprise. “What?”

“I’ve been hiding long enough.” He says. “There’s no reason to now.”

You give him an incredulous look. “What happened to you?”

He shrugs. “Had an epiphany I guess.”

“One hell of an epiphany.” You say as he opens the door.

“It might be our only option.” Dr. Keller says as you step out of the door. “It’s going to be a rough heat though.”

“I’ll do it.” Simon says, standing next to you.

The three of them look up, Johnny doing a double take. Dr. Keller’s face slowly morphs into a smile as she stares at Simon. She’s seeing his face for the first time as well. It speaks volumes to his sudden new-found trust that he’s letting her see him as well. Or, maybe he’s solidifying her place among the allies of your pack. He knows how much she means to you, how much she means to the others.

It almost makes you want to cry.

The room is silent as Johnny and Kyle stare at Simon in shock. You stand next to him, a small smile on your face. Things are finally turning around, things are finally starting to shift and heal within your pack, even with John out of the picture for now. He’s going to be surprised when he comes back.

Simon shifts on his feet next to you, his hand squeezing yours gently. It grounds you, keeps you steady as he speaks the next words, the words you never thought you’d hear from him. They’re sincere, not born out of necessity or need. He really does mean them.

“I’ll help her through her heat.”

NEXT ->

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[rosieyart]

okay, by popular demand (and by popular demand, i mean 3 people and my inability to keep my mouth shut) i am here with my saiou/ousai relationship + mini character analysis. this is an elaboration on this ask i got earlier !!

i should mention that i’ve only ever played through v3 once, so there is probably a lot i am missing, nuance wise and what not. i also haven’t edited this well, so it’s kinda just a word dump (sorry), so i’m not sure how understandable/coherent it’ll be. nor do i know how original my ideas are; there’s probably someone who’s dumped their opinions exactly like mine somewhere… in any case, here is my conclusion on why i think saiou is a rather intriguing ship and why i’m personally drawn to them, individually n otherwise ✌️

ouma kokichi. god what a complex character. some might argue otherwise, but i think his character and his arc throughout the game is not only hard to crack/understand, but integral to the v3 plot and overarching themes presented. well never truly know what he was thinking, and so many have already fought tooth and nail to defend or oppose him. in my humble opinion, however, the way i see it is this: ouma’s overall goal was to unite everyone against an active, obvious threat in the killing game. the mastermind was hidden amongst them, as they decided found out on, and by outing himself as the mastermind, making himself a clear and obvious target, it encouraged the remaining survivors to build trust within one another and fight together. kokichi realized very early on that no one was going to trust anyone as long as there was a hidden mastermind posing as a student within their group. he knew they weren’t going to get anywhere if they kept doubting each other — so in a very unorthodox way, he united them together. they didn’t need a friend, he realized, they needed an enemy. and by default, he sort of becomes shuichi’s nemesis as most antagonists in the games do.

i was on tiktok the other day and found this comment that i thought made a good point, regarding kokichi’s character and why people hate him.

though i am biased, i think it’s fair to say that in a world without the killing game, kokichi would want to be friends with shuichi. or at the very least, he’d be intrigued by him and push shuichi’s buttons to figure him out. i think it’s funny and such a nice detail to notice, but just as shuichi (and us, by default) are confused about kokichi and his actions, shuichi himself is actually a mystery to ouma as well. in the eng version, kokichi had shuichi labeled “trustworthy?” on his whiteboard meanwhile in the jp version, it’s “tricky/can’t figure him out.” in both versions regardless of translation, i think it’s fair to say that kokichi is intrigued and wants to understand shuichi better. one part of their dynamic i really love is the whole “i’m gonna annoy because it’s so fun and you react to said annoyances in ways i thoroughly enjoy.” and it’s fun, and silly, but i think it’s also kokichi’s way of figuring shuichi out. shuichi is… an anomaly. he’s an ultimate detective who’s supposed to search for the truth, yet he is ironically afraid of what he’ll find out. he has a knack for discovering and unearthing mysteries (he can’t help but connect two dots together) and yet he simultaneously is hesitant to discover more. he wants to find the truth, but is willing to tell lies in the classroom trials. this is a really fun juxtaposition with kokichi, who is notorious for telling lies and skirting around the truth like it’s the plague. and yet, they both want the same thing: to find out the truth and be done with this killing game. one is searching for the liars within their group, the other is finding out the truths.

this is one reason why i really enjoy saiou. one of the biggest themes for drv3 is the relationship between truths and lies. there’s the overarching “truth” of their world which is that it’s gone to hellfire and everyone but them are dead. the world ended. except, nope! that’s a lie! the *real* truth is that they’re in a killing game show. kokichi is known for telling lies, and so when he reveals the fire destroyed world outside and says that this is the truth out of the outside world, it’s ironic. kokichi knows there’s something else up, but he reveals the truth of the outside world to them (this, from what i understand/theorize, is ultimately to further everyone’s hatred towards ouma and help them form a close and trusting bond together, but the symbolism behind it is really interesting to me). “here is your truth,” he says, and they can’t dispute it as a lie because it’s right there in front of them. just like they couldn’t dispute gonta in the fourth trial.

except… what *really* defines truth? kokichi must’ve known the outside world was a lie, or that there was something more to it, otherwise why did he go through with his suicide in chap 5? to beat a dead horse: he tells a lie about the “truth” that is the outside world. we circle back to this lie vs truth theme in chapter six when shuichi starts questioning his sense of self. what is really true if he used to be someone else? if his memories and experiences are fake, does that make himself a fake human? a fake person? ultimately we come to know that it doesn’t matter — *he* gets to choose his own truth, even if there are lies buried beneath them. his memories may be fake, but his emotions and feelings aren’t. you cant fake the beating of your own heart or the pain you feel at knowing it’s all unreal, that it’s all a *lie*.

one thing i just thought was so so clever and genuinely helped me understand kokichi more was his friendship reward. for every friendship star completion thingy you complete, you get their underwear (💀) and a special skill to use in the trials. kokichi’s friendship reward is “kind lie.” he has a multitude of lies under his belt — real ones, hurtful ones, white ones, and ofc kind ones. you could argue his plan to deceive everyone as the mastermind was both a hurtful lie and a kind lie — he was ultimately lying for the greater good (imo). shuichi, despite being afraid of the truth, has no problem lying for the greater good either. i was so confused about the whole “perjury” aspect added to this game. i thought it was just another lame addition that didn’t make sense as a means of attempting to change it up a little in comparison to the last two games. but now i understand it’s greater purpose. lying is ultimately not a bad thing. not always, anyway. lying, as we find out, can help us pursue the truth. and i think kokichi knows this to be true in some ways, which is why he’s always acting so oblivious and naive at some times — or outright lying when he knows the truth is the opposite of what he’s saying. without a doubt, kokichi seriously helped move debates along during the trials. pretty sure whether you hate him or love him, people could agree to that. even if he appeared to be spouting nonsense or derailing the conversation, shuichi being the detective he is was able to slowly but surely understand (if only somewhat minimally) kokichi’s methods and thinking process. which is why chap 5 was so wild because it quite literally was all up to shuichi. kokichi single handedly put his trust into kaito to follow through with the plan, and shuichi to figure it out; NO ONE ELSE would’ve been able to figure it out except shuichi (except maybe maki but she was too stubborn to see thru to the truth). and that is like. holy shit??? that’s crazy to me and i think it shows that despite not trusting anyone and not knowing how it was going to turn out, kokichi took that gamble anyway. and it worked! except yknow. it also didn’t, in a way. all in all, the lying aspect of the trail grounds ties into the bigger overarching theme of choosing your own truth to live, and choosing what lies to believe in — good or bad.

side note: i think it’s so funny how mad kokichi gets when shuichi lies about seeing him in the virtual world in chapter four. had shuichi not lied, we wouldn’t have figured out it was gonta (or more likely, kokichi would’ve spoon fed the answer to everyone a bit more). gonta wasn’t supposed to have memory loss, and i have to wonder if not lying about kokichi would’ve made the trial go along if gonta still had his memories from the virtual world. in any case, when shuichi pulled the “yeah i actually did see you walk up the stairs” — the fact he LIED (mr “i’m searching for the truth so we can live and find the culprit” detective) to notorious king of liars ouma kokichi was so funny to me. like girl. ofc kokichi’s gonna realize you lied. and he did and he got so fucking mad over it and kokichi being petty like that and just saying “yeah okay gonta’s the culprit” is so funny to me. bro was LIVID he decided to just up and say the truth to be petty 😭

moving on, i think the big three characters juxtaposed with shuichi is something to note. those three being kaede, kaito, and kokichi. mayyyybe i’m looking a bit too much into this but i want to mention their relationship with shuichi and their character designs because it feels very intentional to me. a while back i discovered shuichi and kokichi have inverted color palettes — black with light accents vs white with dark accents. grey-ish yellow vs purple eyes. but the eye color inversion also actually applies to kaito and kaede, who, just like kokichi, have purple eyes. here is my argument: purple is an important color to the story, as it overall conveys a symbolism for trust and truth. if you look at those three’s color palettes, purple is a notable color. for kaito, it’s dominating. kaede, she’s a bit more desaturated, and kokichi it’s like his accent color. barely there, but noticeable nonetheless.

kaede is our first culprit (except she isn’t since her plan failed). she is trusting and sweet and kind and encouraging. she is desperate, *desperate* to find the mastermind first thing because she is heavily determined to help everyone escape. her color palette is a mix of purple and pink, with pink being more prominent and her purple being a more lavender shade. she’s desaturated in color, especially in her eyes, and i want to say this is likely symbolic of her desire to find the truth, yet her willingness to deceive others simultaneously. she’s not a bad person, far from it, but when she “kills” rantarou, she doesn’t own up to it immediately. she owns up to it eventually, but she also doesn’t take advantage of the first blood perk as a means of further trying to find the mastermind. she is willing to lie about her plan to shuichi (even if it’s lie by deception/not telling) and willing to take a risk to find and kill the mastermind. this, i believe, is why her eyes are so desaturated in purple; she is telling the truth, but it’s watered down.

kaito is almost the complete opposite of kokichi, but also not exactly the same as kaede. out of the three, he has the brightest purple eyes and the most purple on his body. he is a living, breathing, walking example of trust and truth. he wants to find the truth so badly and would never even THINK to tell a lie. would never even consider murder, even if it was the mastermind. his hair is purple, his jacket is purple, and his eyes are purple as all hell. purple, in my opinion, is a huge color resembling truth and trust. he *trusts* maki just because he wants to. he *trusts* shuichi just because he wants to. he wants to believe in them because he wants to find the good in everyone. his trust in them help bolster shuichi into a better mindset, especially after kaede, and encourages him to keep going. kaito might not be the brightest, nor the most helpful in the trials, but emotionally he is vital to shuichi. because he *trusts* shuichi.

kokichi has the least amount of purple in his color palette, but i think his purple accents are the most important out of all of the purple trio. if purple is the color of truth and trust, then having that color reflected on kokichi almost seems ironic and misinforming. except it isn’t. ouma kokichi, the notorious king of lies, is actually quite good at leading everyone towards the truth. the only purple on him is in the dyed tips if his hair and his eyes— almost like the truth his bleeding out of him, or rather just barely visible that you can’t make it out unless you focus hard enough. after all, at first glance i imagine everyone would take in the checkered scarf and the fact black and white is so prominent on him. i think it’s symbolic to have purple as his eye color. it’s a nice character design aspect imo, but it also harkens back to that one saying “the eyes are the window to the soul” or something long that line. despite what kokichi might say or do, the truth is in his eyes (literally). it’s silent and unassuming, but it’s there. his eyes are actually a brighter and darker purple than kaede’s. not as bright as kaito’s, but still something to note.

with all this being said, shuichi gets a difference sense of truth and trust from each of them. kaede provides him an equal dose of truths and lies, kaito gives him absolute truth, and kokichi gives him almost all lies to find the truth.

and i really, *really* love the dynamic between shuichi and kokichi with this whole truth vs lie theme. kokichi, as we learn in his free time events, loves to play games. he’s a bit childish but still extremely mature. his way of having fun is messing with people (though not necessarily in a mean way. after all, he makes the stakes extremely high and concerning, like killing yourself if you lose — but he still purposefully rigs each game so they end in a tie, or with shuichi winning. hell, he STABS himself, hurts himself, in the knife game that is in the final FTE and holy shit if that isn’t foreshadowing for chapter five idk what is. he is willing to hurt himself to avoid others getting hurt. obviously this can get more complicated when it comes to chap. 4. you could argue he hurt miu and gonta terribly and he should’ve died if what i said was true, but i would counter argue by saying the killing game would’ve gone on and on, just like tsumugi wanted, without his intervention there… still a heart wrenching trial nonetheless and gonta and miu both deserved better imo. but what would danganronpa be without unfair trials and bullshit like that?).

it’s this push and this pull, this dance, if you will, between shuichi and kokichi. kokichi is a trickster pulling various stunts and never revealing his hand, and shuichi is a detective trying to uncover his secrets. i think kokichi gets thrilled at the prospect of being uncovered like that — he lies and he lies and he *wants* someone to catch him. after all, in the love suite hotel his entire thing is phantom thief being captured by detective shuichi…… the fact he still says “because i love you shuichi” is fucking insane, but that’s actually not the most important part here. during the love suite, he brings up playing games again, just like in the FTEs. “you weren’t bored playing with me, were you?” kokichi asks. and then “are you mad because i toyed with you? don’t worry. i’m always thinking about you!—“ (bombastic side eye 🤨🏳️‍🌈) “—you’re always trying your best to catch me. i really have to give it my all to win .” and then shuichi points out directly after that he seems to be enjoying himself, despite being a “cornered criminal.” and that’s when kokichi admits that he *wants* shuichi to catch him. ….. oh boy the connotations here are kinda crazy but…. it gets even crazier. i cant believe this part is voice acted but here i’ll just link the video so people can watch. (from 4:32 to 5:10) a lot of this, esp towards the end, is likely for the whole romantic love suite hotel roleplaying thing going on to appease the audience playing the v3, but even still it’s such a fun dynamic. again, the push and the pull. it almost feels like a game of tag, the thing going on between shuichi and kokichi. except it’s hard sometimes to figure out who’s running after who. overall, kokichi is a liar and it’s hard to tell what he says is true, and shuichi is a detective hungry for truths.

side note 2.0: i think a lot of people hate saiou because it feels toxic and i can sorta see where they’re coming from: from a very bare bones glossing over their character dynamic, i could potentially see how they got to that conclusion, but i don’t think that conclusion did any real deep diving into their dynamic and characters. so no, saiou is not toxic. and also, it should be mentioned the moment shuichi shows signs of unease in the love suite hotel after kokichi shoved him over the bed, bro was up and out. kokichi respect boundaries and understands a no when he hears one 😁👍

tldr: truths vs. lies. games. purple = truths and trust. chasing after one another. saiousai cool ✌️👍

[lazysoulwriter]

Thirsty Tweets and Subtle Touches - Paul Mescal.ੈ♡˳

FIRST OF THE YEARR requested! hope you like it. feel free to send me requests! I might take a bit, but I swear I'll get it done! ♡

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . ───

The set was buzzing with laughter and a hint of mischief. Y/N adjusted their mic as the camera crew made final preparations. Sitting between Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal, the trio radiated effortless charm. They had been promoting their new film for weeks, and this particular segment promised to be a memorable one.

“Alright, you three,” the host grinned, holding up a fishbowl of folded papers. “Ready to dive into the chaotic world of thirsty tweets?”

Paul leaned back with a chuckle, his hand casually brushing against Y/N’s arm. “Can’t wait. I’m sure Pedro’s got a fan base ready to leave us speechless.”

Pedro smirked, leaning toward Y/N. “Don’t let him fool you. Paul’s the real heartthrob here. Just wait.”

Y/N couldn’t help but laugh, shooting Paul a teasing glance. “Let’s see who gets the most blush-worthy tweet.”

The host pulled out the first tweet, reading with dramatic flair: “‘Paul Mescal could ruin my life, and I’d say thank you. Every time he wears a white tank top, I lose five years of emotional stability.’”

The room erupted in laughter as Paul pretended to be scandalized. “A white tank top, really? That’s what does it?”

Y/N leaned closer, their hand resting lightly on Paul’s thigh. “Don’t act surprised. You know exactly what you’re doing.”

Paul’s grin widened, and he glanced down at their hand briefly before turning back to the camera. “Caught red-handed, huh?”

The host, clearly loving the interaction, moved on to Pedro’s tweet. “‘Pedro Pascal could step on me, and I’d thank him. Actually, I’d beg for it.’”

Pedro’s laugh echoed through the room as he adjusted his jacket dramatically. “Finally, someone understands me.”

Y/N giggled. “See, this is why you’re the internet’s daddy.”

“Oh, we’re doing that, are we?” Pedro shot back with a mock-serious expression, pointing at Y/N. “Watch out. You’ll be next.”

The host shuffled the papers and read the next tweet. “‘If Y/N doesn’t realize they’re the hottest person alive, I might just scream. Also, their smile? Criminal. Arrest me immediately.’”

Paul placed a hand over his heart. “I’m with them. Honestly, Y/N, your smile should come with a warning.”

Y/N’s cheeks flushed, but they played it cool. “You two are laying it on thick today. Is this what promotion does to people?”

“Promotion or honesty?” Paul quipped, his eyes sparkling.

Pedro leaned back, observing the palpable chemistry between Y/N and Paul. “You two should just get a room already. Seriously, the tension is suffocating.”

Paul’s response was immediate. “Why would we do that when we have a perfectly good audience to witness?” His hand shifted slightly, grazing Y/N’s fingers, and the two exchanged a look that could have melted the cameras.

As the tweets continued, each one seemed to heighten the dynamic. Pedro’s charisma kept the energy light and fun, but the underlying current between Paul and Y/N was undeniable. Every touch, every glance, felt deliberate but natural, leaving fans with plenty to dissect.

By the time they reached the final tweet, the host looked nearly out of breath from laughing. “Okay, one last one, and it’s a group effort. ‘If Pedro, Paul, and Y/N walked into my living room, I’d simply pass away. No funeral needed. Just vibes.’”

Pedro raised an eyebrow. “No funeral? Not even a memorial?”

Y/N nodded solemnly. “Just vibes. Seems fair.”

Paul leaned into the mic. “Well, we’d bring great vibes, so...”

The three shared a laugh, the chemistry and camaraderie evident as the segment wrapped up. As the cameras stopped rolling, Paul’s hand lingered on Y/N’s, his voice low. “Drinks after this?”

Y/N grinned. “Only if Pedro’s buying.”

Pedro groaned. “I knew this was a setup.”

[whitecompri]

HEYHEY !! love your work sm, Keep it up!! (But also make sure to take time to yourself 🙏)

I have a request once your ready for it !!

Can I have sonic and shadow x reader !

Okay so IDK if you ever seen this movie but it's called "kubo and the two string" SUCH A GOOD MOVIE BTW IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT

but there is the main character who plays with a magical shamisen which is a Japanese instrument if I'm correct (sorry if I'm not!) but yk what if they saw y/n use it storytelling to cream? Since the two had to babysit her yk??

(also bonus points if y/n makes a little paper sonic)

Okay hope this is fun to write for !! Make sure to take care of yourself !! :D

Melody of The Heart

Pairing: Sonic and Shadow x Reader

Genre: Romance, light comedy

Rating: G (General Audience)

Warnings: Light romantic dispute, Slight hints of jealousy and rivalry

A/N: Thank you for the request! And yes, I did watch that movie. It's actually been a long time since I saw it, but I absolutely loved it when I saw it. About this story, I thought it was interesting to do it in this format with Sonic and Shadow in the same story instead of in separate stories, I think it suited the main dynamic well later. I hope you don't mind and I hope you like the result.

--*--

That cold morning seemed peaceful, the sound of birds in the trees, the soft breeze rustling the leaves and grass. Everything would’ve been perfect—if not for the incessant sound of an argument happening nearby, in a clearing, followed by the sharp noise of two extremely fast figures breaking through the silence.

The two figures spun between the trees, zigzagging, one chasing the other, until they stopped on opposite sides, a pair of green eyes locked with a pair of red ones.

The two hedgehogs growled in unison.

“This isn’t getting us anywhere! It’s better if you just give up and accept I’m superior, Blue Hedgehog...”

“Ha! Good one, Shadow. But I’m the one saying this isn’t getting us anywhere—everyone knows I’m faster than you. No need to even race.” He pointed to himself with his thumb, and Shadow just scoffed, crossing his arms.

“In that case... a race through the whole valley this time!” He barely gave Sonic time to register the words before taking off.

“Hey! That’s not fair—” Without wasting another second, the blue hedgehog took off after his rival.

Once again, the two were neck and neck in the race. Sonic turned to him, flashing a smug, challenging grin.

“Just reminding you, you’re the one who started all this...” he said with a laugh, speeding up just a bit.

Shadow narrowed his eyes, skating faster behind him.

“If you accepted the challenge, it’s because deep down you think you’ll lose...” the black hedgehog said, passing slightly ahead of Sonic.

Suddenly, both of them widened their eyes and came to an abrupt stop, kicking up a cloud of dust. They stood side by side, staring further ahead, down a small trail in the woods.

Then they looked at each other again, a new kind of determination settling on their faces.

On the trail, you were walking peacefully, carrying a long case in your left hand and holding the strap of a backpack with your right, distracted by the calm path.

Suddenly, you heard a loud and familiar sound—something speeding toward your direction. Jumping in surprise, you looked up and saw the two figures had stopped right in front of you.

“Ah—hi boys, what a surprise seeing you here...” you said, letting out a relieved sigh.

With a sly grin, Sonic ran up beside you, casually draping an arm over your shoulder.

“Hey... I guess I did owe you that walk through the woods, huh?” he winked. But before you could answer, a hand shoved his face aside, pushing him back, and was replaced by Shadow’s imposing presence.

“Don’t mind him...” the black hedgehog extended his hand toward you. “There’s a lavender field nearby I’ve been meaning to take you to for a while now,” he said intensely, his red eyes locked onto yours without blinking.

“Thanks for the offers, boys... but...” You couldn’t even finish. Suddenly, arms wrapped around your waist, lifting you just enough to be carried a bit further along the trail. You clutched your case tightly, keeping it from falling.

Turning in surprise, you realized Sonic was the culprit.

“There we go, leave that grumpy starfish behind...” he said in a low tone, placing a hand on your lower back to walk with you. “Where were we? Oh right, a nice little forest trail walk.” He chuckled.

But just a moment later, a strong gust of wind rustled your clothes and kicked up dust in front of you. As it settled, you saw Shadow standing with arms crossed right in your path.

“Trying to steal her from me?” he said in a threatening tone, his eyes beginning to glow a deeper red, his quills sparking with energy.

Sonic let go of you, stepping in front protectively, a more serious and determined posture taking over. He clenched his fists, his own quills starting to spark as well.

“Maybe I am... I mean, obviously she’d rather spend time with me. I’m not some grumpy old man...” Sonic said, smirking. Shadow clicked his tongue.

“She’d rather be with someone serious than a hyperactive delinquent like you...” Sonic scoffed at the comeback.

The two stepped forward, baring their teeth with a low growl.

Before they could go any further, you stepped between them, placing a hand on each of their shoulders, stopping them and breaking the tension.

“I appreciate it, boys... but I’m a little busy right now... alright? I don’t have much time.” You smiled at both of them. They relaxed, Sonic rubbing the back of his neck, Shadow crossing his arms with a low ‘hmph’.

With a sigh, you turned to continue walking down your path, but as you turned, you jumped again—seeing a figure just a few meters away. Your eyes focused on the rabbit, who held a bag in her arms and smiled kindly.

“Am I interrupting something?” she asked softly.

“Ah—Vanilla... No, don’t worry, sorry for being late...” You gripped your case tighter.

“It’s alright, dear, I had to step out, but Cream is still waiting for you at home with Gemerl.” You nodded at her words and started walking again.

“Alright, I won’t take long to get there, I’ll take good care of her today.” Smiling, you passed Vanilla and continued on the path.

“Hey... aren’t you forgetting something?” Vanilla asked with a small laugh.

Freezing mid-step, you already knew what she meant. Slowly turning your head, you focused on the two hedgehogs, still standing impassively, watching you eagerly.

“I-I bet they’ve got better things to do... right, boys?” you said, hoping they’d agree.

“Actually... I’m pretty free today,” Sonic said with a sly grin.

“I also have no tasks to attend to...” Shadow said, eyes closed, arms crossed.

“That’s great! I’m sure Cream will love having the three of you spend the day with her!” Vanilla clapped her hands in delight, turning to you. “Well, no need to worry, dear, these two strong hedgehogs will definitely be a big help!” she said happily, turning to leave again.

“Yeah... incredible help,” you sighed, already knowing full well the rivalry between the two when it came to your attention.

“Good luck, see you later!” she waved.

You stood there for a few seconds, watching the two. Sonic and Shadow exchanged glances, then walked over to you, passing by your side.

“What’re you waitin’ for? Cream needs her babysitters,” Sonic said cheerfully, wearing a smug little grin.

Shaking your head, you started walking after them.

--*--

You had barely knocked on the door when you suddenly heard the sound of small footsteps running and the door being flung open, revealing a little rabbit with a wide smile stretching across her face.

“Miss [Y/N]!” she said, practically throwing herself at you, hugging your waist, with both her Chao hugging you too.

“Hey, Cream, good to see you too.” You laughed, gently placing a hand on her head. Then she quickly looked past you and saw the two hedgehogs.

“And you brought Mr. Sonic and Mr. Shadow!” she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with joy.

“Yeah, yeah... They... they’re going to help take care of you today...” You scratched your neck.

“That’s right. I was thinking... how about we start with a little friendly competition, huh?” Sonic stepped forward, stretching his arms up.

“Nothing of the sort... Cream would rather have a quiet afternoon tea...” Shadow walked past you, taking Cream’s hand, entering the house, followed closely by Cheese and Chocola.

“Wait—let Cream choose what she wants to do first!” Sonic walked past you too, entering the house, the three of them disappearing inside.

You stood for a moment at the doorway, listening to their conversation. Then you turned your head, hearing heavy metallic footsteps.

“Situation analysis: psychological distress detected, increased heart rate,” Gemerl stated, staring at you. “Would you like me to eliminate the intruding hedgehogs?”

“There’s no need, Gemerl. I appreciate the concern, but I can handle them. Don’t worry.” You waved him off, closing the door behind you and stepping into the house. Gemerl followed closely behind.

“Structural damage to the house is likely,” he declared.

“I know... I’ll keep them under control.” You placed your fingers to your temples, already predicting it was going to be a long day.

--*--

You were silently drinking a glass of water while sitting on the couch, your eyes following the movements of the three around the house for some time now. Beside you, your case rested, still closed.

Behind the couch, Gemerl stood still, also analyzing everything meticulously.

In front of you, Sonic dashed by, laughing, with Shadow chasing after him. In the distance, you could hear Cream’s giggles.

Soon, she appeared from the hallway, running in your direction, her eyes gleaming with playful excitement. She crouched behind the couch, putting a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture. You nodded, understanding the game.

A few seconds later, in the blink of an eye, Sonic stopped in the middle of the room, stomping his foot, then turned to you.

“Did you see Cream around here?” He took a step toward you.

“No... maybe she’s... in her room?” You shrugged. The hedgehog narrowed his eyes but nodded slowly, dashing off toward the room.

Cream popped out from her hiding spot, giggling softly. She tiptoed, trying to cross the living room toward the kitchen.

“Aha! I knew you were nearby!” Sonic’s voice echoed. He ran back into the room, picking Cream up in his arms, and she laughed joyfully. “Gotcha! You can’t escape the fastest thing alive!”

You couldn’t help but smile at the interaction between the two. Suddenly, there was a flash beside them, and Shadow appeared with his arms crossed.

He immediately noticed your faint smile, raising an eyebrow.

“Well... I think it’s clear who was the best babysitter for Cream today...” the black hedgehog said, locking eyes with Sonic.

“Me?” the blue hedgehog replied smugly.

“No... me.” Shadow pointed to himself. “I know how to take care of children in a careful way you’ll never understand.”

“And I know how to have fun and not sulk all the time at least...” Sonic said with a frown.

“Boys... stop it already... I don’t want you two fighting in here... Gemerl is on the verge of exterminating both of you if anything gets broken.” You warned them. Both turned their attention to the robot behind the couch, noticing his defensive stance and analytical gaze, just waiting.

The two looked at each other, preparing to open their mouths to say something else—probably something provocative about being stronger than Gemerl—but when you saw they were about to speak, you quickly got up from the couch, placing your glass of water on the coffee table.

“Alright... how about we get Cream ready for bed? It’s getting pretty late...” You picked up your case and walked toward the rabbit’s bedroom.

Sonic wasted no time following you, still carrying Cream, and Shadow followed behind him.

--*--

You gently tucked the little rabbit into bed. She hugged her Chao and settled in under the covers.

“All right, Cream... how about a bedtime story now?” You smiled softly at her, and her eyes lit up.

“I’d love that!”

Behind you, Sonic and Shadow sat in chairs, watching everything closely. Then, their expressions shifted to curiosity as you picked up the long case you’d been carrying all day. They exchanged surprised glances, realizing they still didn’t know what was inside.

Your fingers deftly unlocked the case. You opened it, revealing a unique instrument, resembling a kind of three-stringed lute.

“What’s that?” Sonic asked, staring at the object.

“Hm? Oh, it’s a shamisen, a Japanese musical instrument... You’ve never seen one?” You picked it up, starting to tune it gently.

“Since when do you play that?” the blue hedgehog asked in surprise.

“There’s a lot about me you two don’t know.” You smiled, grabbing the plectrum from the case and running it across the strings, producing a slightly off sound. You tuned it again. “Alright, Cream, what kind of story do you want to hear?”

The rabbit thought for a moment, bringing a hand to her chin.

“Could you tell a story about me?” Sonic said playfully.

“Why would she tell a story about you? There’s nothing interesting to tell about you...” Shadow said, staring at Sonic. “A story about me would make more sense...” He closed his eyes.

“Cream gets to choose. I’m telling a story to help her sleep, not to help you two sleep.” Cream giggled softly at your words.

“Well, Miss [Y/N]... could you tell a story about two knights who love a princess?” she said, hugging her Chao tighter.

Your eyes widened at her words—apparently, what was going on between the three of you was pretty obvious even to a child.

“Alright, let’s see...” You ran the plectrum over the strings again, now producing a pleasant and flowing sound. Then you began to play a slow rhythm.

Suddenly, from inside the case, a few colorful papers flew out as if carried by the wind, beginning to circle around you and Cream. Everyone’s eyes widened as they watched the magical sight with awe.

The papers fell to the floor, spreading themselves in order.

“Once in a land beyond moon’s gentle light,

Lived two bold knights who longed for the same sight.

One born of shadow, with sorrow and might,

The other from sunlight, swift, pure, and bright.”

Suddenly, a blue paper and a black one rose, quickly folding into very familiar shapes. Sonic chuckled, realizing it was an origami version of himself. Shadow gave a faint smile at the paper version of him. Both were clearly mesmerized by the magic.

“The first was forged on the moon’s silver stone,

Raised by cold silence, always alone.

The Knight of the Shadows, strong and controlled,

With crimson eyes and a spirit bold.

He had lost much, seen worlds torn apart,

Yet carried his battles deep in his heart.

Silent but fierce, he stood ever tall,

A warrior of dusk who would never fall.”

Your eyes drifted to the two hedgehogs, who watched intently, hardly blinking at the mini show performed by the papers. The little origami Shadow stood in a combat stance as more papers formed monster-like shapes. The origami leapt into the air, arms outstretched, launching small paper Chaos Spears at the monsters, destroying them.

“The second one raced with the wind in his hair,

A laugh on his lips, with never a care.

The Knight of the Light, with freedom his guide,

Humble and brave, with nothing to hide.

He danced through the day with speed and with grace,

A smile like sunshine lighting his face.

He feared no danger, he fled from no fight,

For love was the source of all of his might.”

More papers folded into small, colorful badniks. The origami Sonic turned into a little ball of paper, launching himself at the enemies and destroying them, then folding back into Sonic’s shape.

“But then came a princess, gentle and wise,

With songs on her lips and stars in her eyes.

The Princess of Melodies, soft and divine,

Whose shamisen glowed with a golden shine.

No sword did she wield, no armor to wear,

Yet magic flowed with each note in the air.

And when she sang, both knights took their chance,

Each hoping to win her heart with a glance.”

As the rhythm continued on the shamisen, one sheet flew up and formed into a small origami resembling you. It landed between the two knights, holding a tiny paper shamisen, mirroring your own movements as you played and told the story.

“One brought bright roses, fierce red and wild,

The other gave lilies, soft and beguiled.

They started to boast with silly delight,

Trying to prove who’d win her that night.

‘I beat a whole robot—blindfolded, too!’

‘I saved a small kitten while tied like a shoe!’

‘I caught a comet mid-fall and then grinned!’

‘I cooked a chili dog... and it barely got singed!’”

You heard Cream giggle softly beside you as the little origami Sonic and Shadow seemed to argue with one another. Then, two different flowers were formed from paper, falling into each of the origamis' hands. They both turned to the tiny version of you, knelt, and extended their hands with the flowers.

"At last, the two knights, both hearts full of bloom,

Knelt down and offered their flowers of gloom and of plume.

The princess looked on, her choice near the end..."

At that moment, you heard Cream’s sleeping breath, your fingers immediately stopping their movement on the shamisen. Your eyes turned to the side, seeing the little rabbit sleeping deeply with her Chao. Then, you lowered the instrument, walking back to the case, noticing the stunned looks from the two hedgehogs.

“H-h-hey... What about the end of the story? Which knight does the princess choose?” Sonic stood up, walking toward you, stepping over the now-still origamis on the floor.

“Cream’s already asleep, so there’s no reason for me to keep telling it...” You gave him a mischievous smile.

“That’s not fair... You should finish the story...” Shadow also stood from the chair, stopping by your side.

Suddenly, the creaking of the front door caught your attention, followed by Vanilla’s voice.

“Everyone, I’m home!” she called cheerfully.

“Come on, our babysitting shift is over...” You nudged Sonic with your elbow, then ran the pick across the shamisen strings. In the blink of an eye, all the sheets and origamis flew back into the case, organizing themselves. You put the instrument away, grabbed the case again, and left the room.

“Hey... That power of yours is amazing...” Sonic commented, walking alongside you. “We were seriously impressed...”

“I know, I could see it on your faces.”

The two hedgehogs nodded, following close behind you.

Vanilla was in the kitchen, handing a few grocery bags to Gemerl.

“Hello, I hope it was a peaceful day...” she said, turning to you all.

“Definitely, it was very peaceful, no worries at all.” You replied cheerfully, picking up your backpack from the table and slinging it over your shoulder.

“That’s great, Cream always falls asleep so fast when you come to tell her stories.” Vanilla noted, making you smile warmly.

“Whenever you need me, you can count on me... and the boys.”

The eyes of both hedgehogs widened at that, and you noticed they were slightly blushing under their fur.

“Well, shall we get going then?” You looked at the two of them, turning to leave the house, saying goodbye to Vanilla and Gemerl.

--*--

Your steps down the path were calm, even though it was nighttime—after all, you still had two strong hedgehogs following you closely.

“I know a diner that has the best chili dogs...” Sonic said beside you, his hands behind his head as he walked along.

“Nonsense... There’s a restaurant with proper meals nearby... A real dinner.” Shadow walked beside you on your right, glaring at Sonic on your left.

“I’ve got an idea... How about the three of us go eat somewhere together?” You suggested, without taking your eyes off the path ahead.

The two exchanged glances, then nodded briefly after a few seconds.

“Fine by me... as long as I can see your origami show again later.” Sonic shrugged, a small smirk on his face.

“I’m also interested in seeing your powers again.” Shadow said, also cracking a faint smile.

You let out a nasal laugh, not quite sure what you were going to do with those two you adored so much.

[zeropro]

since you've already shared your opinion on thundercracker, could you please tell us your thoughts about skywarp? 🙏🙏(btw absolutely love how you draw him❤❤)

haha, hm…I don’t really care much for canon skywarp! sorry! I fell in love with this character while reading starscream fan fiction, I had very little opinion on him at all prior. he wasnt in TFPrime, and Earthspark’s skywarp was completely forgettable. yeah, I think the most ive seen of him in canon is idw1, and haha, he sure is a guy who is in that comic sometimes. he sure does shoot thundercracker for not wanting to genocide a whole city. 

the fun thing with skywarp in fan fiction is his lack of any real canon characterisation means he can really be whatever you need him to be to round out your home brew seeker trine dynamic. most fics write him as the most emotionally open of the three, sorta acts like the glue that keeps starscream and thundercracker from breaking apart, sorta like their kid brother. i like a skywarp that is just a silly little guy who just wants to have a good time and actually cares about his trine and canon skywarp… decidedly is not that XD 

which i guess is fair, skywarp does spend a lot of time getting betrayed by the other seekers in most media. earthspark starscream left skywarp and nova storm behind when attempting to escape GHOST, idw skywarp calls both thundercracker and starscream traitors to their face, cyberverse starscream slorped all the seekers when he absorbed the allspark, and lets not even talk about what skybound starscream did to him while he begged for his life. there never seems to be much love between the seekers in any media, despite them referring to each other as brothers, which is a real shame in my opinion. I havent yet gotten to the part in idw where thundercracker writes a screenplay about starscream and casts skywarp to play starscream, but that does sound like somethjng hilarious to look forward to, as I’m kind of just really wanting to see my boys have a positive canon interaction for once lol. 

apparently skywarp features really prominently in dreamwave, even becoming leader of the decepticons at certain points?? but I don’t plan to read those comics. I did read the wiki tho, and like honestly? good for him uwu

the most consistent character traits for skywarp in pretty much all fanfiction is that he is 1) a prankster and 2) he’s stupid, or is at least thought to be.  turns out both these traits are canon to his character spanning way back to his toy description!

((also thank you im glad you like how i draw skywarp ngl I think a major factor in why I like skywarp so much is because I really like my design for him, like?? am I allowed to find my own drawrings cute??? he’s so cute omg just look at him! he’s my boy!!! he’s my aaaaaahhh!!!!!!))

[broidobe]

𝔯𝔢𝔱𝔠𝔥

requested!

☾being in a relationship with all four members of mayhem is… an experience, to say the least. between pelle's unsettling habits, euronymous’ ego, hellhammer’s weird sense of humor, and necrobutcher just trying to keep some sanity in the house, you’ve got your hands full☽

☾warnings: dark humor, mentions of blood/gore (it’s mayhem, come on), slight possessiveness, chaotic poly dynamics, and some surprisingly soft moments☽

𝓼𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓻𝓮𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 ᡣ𐭩 𝓪𝓯𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓭𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱 𝜗𝜚 𝓱𝓪𝓽𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷

⁎⁺˳✧༚black metal masterlist

living with mayhem is like existing in a never-ending fever dream. there is no normal here—only varying degrees of what the fuck.

euronymous likes to act like he’s in charge, walking around the apartment like he’s some kind of black metal warlord, but the second you sit on his lap or kiss his cheek, his whole act crumbles.

“hmpf,” he grumbles, trying (and failing) to keep up the cold exterior. “you’re distracting me.”

you lean in closer, lips grazing his ear. “good.”

his face burns. he refuses to acknowledge it.

but oh, he loves when you praise him. tell him he’s the most brilliant guitarist in norway? suddenly, you’ve got a smug, insufferable euronymous hanging all over you for the rest of the day, hand possessively on your waist.

“of course i am,” he mutters, but the way he melts under your touch says otherwise.

then there’s dead. sweet, unsettling dead.

he’s a little too fascinated with death, but that’s not exactly a surprise. you’ve woken up more than once to find him staring at you like he’s making sure you’re still breathing.

“…do you ever think about being buried alive?” he asks, completely serious.

you blink. “no, pelle. i really don’t.”

he nods like he respects your choice, but he definitely does. he’s oddly soft with you, though, despite all the disturbing things he says. he loves when you play with his hair, sighing quietly as he lays his head in your lap.

sometimes, after a show, he comes home covered in blood—his blood, or sometimes something more questionable. you just sigh and grab a towel.

“this is the last time i’m cleaning blood off you,” you lie.

he only smiles. you both know you’ll do it again.

hellhammer? absolute menace. no shame, no filter. the things that come out of his mouth make euronymous cringe sometimes.

he thinks it’s hilarious to tease you.

“so, what’s it like dating norway’s most dangerous band?” he grins, stretching out on the couch like a cat.

you roll your eyes. “more like babysitting norway’s most dysfunctional band.”

he actually cackles. “fair enough.”

despite his attitude, he’s surprisingly affectionate. always slinging an arm around you, pulling you into his lap just to annoy euronymous. he loves roughhousing, too—he’ll playfully wrestle you just for an excuse to pin you down.

and necrobutcher? the only semi-responsible one. he’s the closest thing to a voice of reason, but even he has his limits.

“are you seriously burning more church photos in the living room?” he groans, rubbing his temples.

euronymous just shrugs. “it’s for the aesthetic.”

necrobutcher turns to you. “you’re the sane one. please, talk some sense into them.”

but at this point? you’ve just accepted the madness. you give him a helpless shrug.

“…you know what? fine. fuck it.” he throws his hands up. “i give up.”

out of all of them, necrobutcher is the one who actually makes sure you eat, drink water, and don’t lose your mind in all the chaos. he’ll throw a jacket over your shoulders if you’re cold, mumbling something about you catching a cold.

he acts like he’s above all the nonsense, but if you grab his face and kiss him, he’s gone. absolutely weak for you.

“you’re terrible,” he mutters, but his ears are pink, and he’s holding onto your waist like he never wants to let go.

dating all four of them means there’s never a dull moment. nights spent tangled together after shows, late-night debates over who’s the most true black metal, and an endless supply of chaos.

and somehow? you wouldn’t change a thing.

[actuallysaiyan]

C'est Si Bon(Mafia!Toshinori Yagi x Fem!Reader)

warnings: smut, unprotected sex, rough sex, nipple play, vaginal fingering, spitting, slight d/s dynamics, biting, lewd themes word count: 1.5k pairings: Mafia!Toshinori Yagi x Fem!Reader summary: he just loves how corruptible you are, and you love how rough he gets with you. a/n: part of the Une Belle Histoire/To Have and To Hold universe. art of Toshinori in banner is from freesilverwind on Twitter/X\\ for you @thoraeth

dividers: @adornedwithlight

taglist: @thissaintjessi.  @cherryblossombankai, @sunflowers-heart,  @erebus-et-eigengrau @pixelcafe-network

Having him in your bedroom was a rush. You watch as he gets closer to you, his eyes alight with desire. Toshinori was hungry for you, that fact was obvious to you. But you were so inexperienced with this kind of thing, you weren’t quite sure where to start.

“You’re so fucking cute,” he growls softly before kissing you hungrily. “Just listen to me, kitten. I’ll take good care of you.”

He continues to kiss you while his hands caress and soothes over your sides. He loves the cute little outfit you have on; a soft pink cashmere sweater with a skirt to match. The white tights you put on to keep yourself warm during the bike ride only served to make your man even harder.

“Sweetness,” he grunts as he begins to knead your breasts harshly. “I’m sorry I can’t be any more gentle with you. You’ve made me so fuckin’ hard.”

He tosses you onto the bed, loving the way your eyes widened and your breasts bounced. Even just this bedroom is so damn adorable. The thought of corrupting you has made him hungry and lust after you. He knows he’d never actually hurt you, but he can get rough with you. You love it too, knowing this is how he shows his affection at times.

Toshinori unbuckles his belt and unzips his pants. He kicks off his boots, making his way over to the bed like a predator stalks its prey. There’s just a little hint of uncertainty in your eyes, which only makes his cock throb under that tight pair of jeans he wears.

“It’s okay, kitten. You look good enough to eat.”

He crawls onto the bed, dwarfing you in comparison. You whimper when his hands press against your breasts once again. Toshi kisses you with fervent hunger and need. With a single thrust of his hips, you feel his erection poking you.

When he takes a moment to pull back and look at you, he groans. There you are, laying on your frilly pink and white pillows with your hair splayed all over. Your cheeks are flush and your lips parted as you let out the cutest little noises. To think, he hasn’t even undressed you and you already look fucked out.

“Cute little kitten, just begging for it.” He spreads your thighs and wraps them around his waist.

For a few moments, Toshinori grinds against you as he kisses you. His tongue slides into your mouth as his big hands work on the tiny little buttons of your blouse. You gasp when he just rips it open, baring your cute bra to him.

“Shhhh…I’ll buy you another one,” he murmurs against your skin.

Toshinori is like a rabid animal as he licks, sucks and bites your skin. He’s eager to leave his mark; to let the world know that you belong to him and only him. There's a slick that dribbles from your core, making you feel even more aroused than before. You try to tell him, but you’re almost too embarrassed to say what’s happening to you.

So you take his hand and guide it between your thighs. Toshinori growls loudly when he feels just how soaked your little panties are. Oh, you aren’t being fair at all. Even though he just tore open your blouse, he wanted to try and take it slower.

“So wet for me, huh?” He asks, his warm breath on your neck. “I knew you’d be excited for this.”

He helps you pull down your skirt, tights and panties. Once you’re naked on the bed, he bites his bottom lip seductively. Oh you’re so fucking cute like this. He knows that he’s the only man you’ve been with and you’ve only done so much with him, so every time you two are intimate, it makes things even more exciting for the both of you.

Toshinori runs his thumb down your soaked folds, watching as your little hole clenches around nothing. You’re wanting him so fucking badly, and it only drives him even more mad for you. He continues running his thumb over your clit and folds, making you mewl for him. You’d probably come undone just from this.

“Tell me,” he growls softly in your ear. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

You cover your face, trying to hide how embarrassed you are by this. “N-no, too embarrassing.”

He uncovers your face, pinning your wrists above your head. He kisses you fiercely, making you shudder with need. You cant your hips a few times, trying to get a little friction from him. He whispers in your ear again, “tell me.”

You swallow hard and take a deep breath. All the acts that you two have done together, everything feels so good. You remember the time he kissed and suckled on your nipples, fingering your little pussy. Or the time he kissed all the way down and devoured you like the wild animal that he is.

“I want you,” you whimper. “Want you to fuck me.”

He doesn’t need to be told twice. Just the sound of you swearing like that makes his head spin. You rarely swear, and just knowing you want him to be deep inside you, it’s adding the fuel to his fire. He pushes one of his fingers into you, his other hand keeping your wrists pinned to the bed.

“You like that, don’t you?”

You nod your head, barely able to answer him properly. He curls his fingers against that sweet spot inside of you. Your hips buck up, and you let out the cutest little moan. Toshinori laughs at your reaction, but you know it’s not a mocking laugh.

“That’s my good girl,”

The words swirl in your mind as you ride his finger. Then another one joins the first, curling up against that spongy spot. You’re panting before long, the coil in your stomach tightening so fast. Before you know it, you cry out as you ride out those waves to perfect bliss.

Toshinori eagerly prolongs your orgasm until you slump against the bed. He smiles devilishly as he pulls his fingers from you, bringing them to his lips. He grunts loudly as he gets to taste you. You watch with hooded eyes as he cleans his fingers.

Without waiting any longer, he pulls his pants down. His throbbing cock slaps against his abdomen. Toshinori growls when you try to reach out to stroke him.

“Cockhungry, huh?” He grins as he spreads your thighs even wider. “Just wait. Be a good girl and maybe I’ll give you what you want.”

You whine as he uses the head of his cock to smear your slick all over your cunt. He growls again when he prods your little hole, watching it try to suck his cock into you. You’re such a needy girl, it’s hard for him to tease you for too long.

He slams into you, going balls deep with one solid thrust. The bed creaks under his harsh movements. The sound of skin slapping together fills the room along with your moans of pleasure. Toshinori leans in and he chuckles darkly as he kisses you roughly.

“You were needing this, huh?” He asks, nipping at your bottom lip.

All you can do is moan and whimper, which makes him even more aroused. He’s not complaining, he knows how you get when you get a good fucking like this. It’s what you need, even if you act all prim and proper around everyone else. 

His big hands soothe up and down your sides before he kneads your breasts. You yelp when he tugs on your nipples, and your walls clamp down around him. His eyes widen.

“Ohhhh, so you like it when I’m this rough with you huh?”

One of his hands soothes down to your clit and he leans in closer just to be able to spit on the swollen bud. He begins to rub it in fast little circles, alternating between that and pinching your clit. His other hand works on your tender breasts. With all of the rough stimulation, you’re pushed over the edge once more.

The pulsing of your walls drives Toshinori crazy. He goes back to roughly gripping your hips, pulling you closer to him with every snap of his hips. He’s grunting and growling as your orgasm pushes him closer to his own peak.

“Gonna fill up this cute little pussy,” he growls. “Gonna mark you up from the inside out.”

With a few more rough thrusts, Toshinori roars as he begins to spill deep inside of you. Shots of thick, hot cum coat your insides. You shudder as you take it all, a blissful smile on your face as you slump down on the bed again.

He rests against your chest; he’s sweaty and tired. There’s a little impish grin on his face when he goes to kiss your neck, sucking on one spot to leave a mark. Then he kisses down to your nipple, latching on to suckle for a bit as he comes down from his high.

“Fuck, I love corrupting you.” He says, grinning up at you.

When you run your fingers through his sweaty hair and you tenderly give him words of love, Toshinori melts. Though he may be rough with you, he knows you love him all the same.

reblogs and comments always appreciated!

©actuallysaiyan 2025– do not repost on other platforms, copy, translate or edit my works!

[tokki------0]

Between the Rays of the Setting Sun

summary:A heartfelt confession of love under the stars turns a close friendship between Y/n and Hanni into a tender and promising romance.

words count :2000

A/n: :)

The sun slowly dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of orange and pink. Y/n sat on a blanket spread over the grass, a light breeze playing with her hair. Beside her, Hanni leaned over a wicker basket, carefully unpacking their picnic.

"I think I overpacked," Hanni said with a soft laugh, pulling out a small bowl of fruit.

Y/n shook her head with a smile. "You always say that, but I bet you’ve planned everything perfectly. Like always."

Hanni glanced up, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Oh, you mean like that time I forgot the utensils?"

"Or the time you forgot the blanket, and we had to sit on the scorching sand?" Y/n replied, laughing.

Hanni burst into laughter. "Okay, okay, fair enough. But this time, I promise everything’s perfect. I wanted it to be special."

Those words made Y/n's heart race a little faster. She couldn’t help but look away, a shy smile tugging at her lips. "Special? Why’s that?"

Hanni shrugged slightly, pulling out a thermos of iced tea. "Because you’re special, that’s why."

A Moment Frozen in Time They settled in comfortably, sharing the dishes Hanni had prepared with care. Their conversation flowed naturally, peppered with laughter and playful teasing. It was their dynamic: lighthearted, joyful, yet with an unspoken depth only they understood.

As the sun continued its descent, the air cooled gently. Y/n leaned forward to grab a piece of cake from the basket, but Hanni was quicker, snatching the last piece before her.

"Hey!" Y/n exclaimed, feigning indignation.

"What? All’s fair in love and war," Hanni replied with a wink, bringing the piece of cake to her lips.

But instead of eating it, she suddenly offered it to Y/n.

"Here," she murmured.

Y/n hesitated, a little surprised. Then she smiled, accepting the offer and taking a bite, all the while feeling Hanni’s soft gaze on her.

"You’re too kind," Y/n said quietly after swallowing.

"Only with you," Hanni replied without hesitation.

The Confession Silence settled between them, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. The two young women gazed at the sky, now darkening as stars began to appear one by one, like tiny sparks of light in the vast night.

Eventually, Hanni broke the silence. "Y/n, there’s something I need to tell you."

Y/n turned to her, intrigued by the seriousness in her voice. "What’s wrong?"

Hanni seemed to search for the right words, her fingers nervously playing with the hem of her skirt. "You know… I spend so much time with you, and every moment always feels perfect. Even when nothing special happens, I feel happy, just because you’re there."

Y/n felt her heart quicken.

"And recently," Hanni continued, "I’ve realized that what I feel for you goes beyond friendship. You mean so much to me, and I can’t keep it to myself anymore."

She took a deep breath before saying the words she’d been holding back. "I love you, Y/n."

Y/n was speechless, her eyes searching Hanni’s to make sure she’d heard correctly.

"I understand if you don’t feel the same," Hanni added quickly. "I don’t want this to make things weird between us. But I had to tell you."

Y/n’s Response A tense silence lingered, but Y/n eventually smiled. "Hanni…"

Hanni looked up, ready to hear a response—whether good or bad.

"You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to say that," Y/n admitted softly.

Hanni blinked, surprised. "Wait… you mean…"

"Yes," Y/n replied with a light laugh. "I love you too. I have for a while, actually. I just didn’t know how to say it."

Hanni’s face lit up, a huge smile spreading across her lips. "You’re serious?"

"Completely."

Before Y/n could say anything else, Hanni leaned in to hug her, her arms wrapping gently around her shoulders.

"I’m so happy," Hanni whispered against her.

A Kiss Under the Stars They stayed like that for a moment, embraced under the starry sky. Then, slowly, Hanni pulled back just enough to meet Y/n’s gaze.

"Can I?" she asked softly, her eyes flicking to Y/n’s lips.

Y/n nodded, a shy but happy smile on her face.

Hanni leaned in and placed a light kiss on her lips. It was soft, filled with tenderness and promises.

When they pulled apart, their eyes met again, and they burst into laughter, as if the emotions were too overwhelming to contain.

The Rest of the Evening They spent the rest of the evening talking, dreaming of their future together. Hanni cracked jokes to lighten the mood, while Y/n teased her gently about her dramatic flair.

But despite the laughter, there was a new warmth between them—a bond even stronger than the one they had shared before.

When they finally decided to head back, hand in hand, the world felt different, as if it were glowing with a newfound light.

Hanni turned to Y/n one last time before parting ways. "Thank you for giving me the courage to be honest. I’m so happy to have someone like you in my life."

Y/n smiled, squeezing her hand. "Me too, Hanni. And I’m not going anywhere, no matter what."

Under the stars, they promised each other a love sincere and lasting—a love that had just begun but already felt eternal.

The End.

[katyawriteswhump]

love and other catastrophes at the omega cafe (3.2/8)

And here's 3.2, sorry about the little wait. The chapters are pretty long in this and today I needed bite-size chunks to cope!💚

Summary: Steve is a runaway Omega who gets a job at an Omega café, where he’s basically paid to curl up and purr in Alphas’ laps. It’s legal, and he earns a living, rents his own place. He’s getting along fine for a packless Omega. Then Alpha rockstar Eddie Munson turns up for an hour of ‘kitty’ petting, and shatters Steve’s fragile little world…

Rating: as flagged earlier, we're E now; No major warnings; Tags: omega steve, alpha eddie, a/b/o dynamics, fluff and angst, sexual content 💚 

Chapter 1 on tumblr (also index post) Chapter 2 on tumblr Chapter 3.1 Chapter 4.1 On AO3

🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛

Preview:

“Okay, Honey,” Eddie said, “as long as you understand nothing’s changed?” Steve resisted unleashing a disappointed squeal. He was sooooo mixed-up. “How about we start with your head in my lap? That sound good?” “Sure.” Steve ran shaky fingers across his lips. “Business as usual, huh?” Eddie helped Steve arrange himself flat on his back, legs stretched along the length of the couch. He rested his head on Eddie’s thighs, with one of the many cushions wedged between them. He relaxed almost instantly. He was facing straight up at Eddie, which was different and nice. Beyond nice. Eddie kicked off fiddling with the kitty ears, which amused and fascinated him. He twanged their band, then captured little strands of Steve’s hair from beneath it, tugging and tangling. Steve tingled everywhere Eddie deigned to touch. Especially his exposed belly, which Eddie soon blessed with some delicious, circular rubs.

Chapter 3.1 Chapter 3.2 below cut

The back of the café was a total dump, which was a problem for Steve.

Where the hell could you entertain a rockstar who doubtless lived in the lap of luxury? There was only the washroom, the corridor, a poky galley kitchen and…

Tommy’s office.

Tommy had inherited the café from his aunt. He wasn’t a terrible manager, leaving most of the day-to-day running to Carol. He kept himself occupied with other ‘business’ operations, which tended to crash and burn. His office was usually filled with boxes of whatever dubious stock he was trying to shift that month.

Speak of the devil—Tommy emerged from the office, wearing his usual badly fitting brown suit.

“Steve! My employee of the decade!” Tommy didn’t even sound that snarky. He grabbed Steve’s arm and tugged him inside. “Hope you like what we’ve done with the place.”

Steve blinked. “Um, yeah?”

“Yeah? Is that all you can say? Jesus, I spent all day getting this turd to shine.”

To be fair, the Beta had done a decent day’s work for once. His desk had been pushed against the breeze-block walls, which had been covered with deep-purple chiffon drapes. A comfy chaise-longue had been dragged in, almost lost beneath a slew of cushions, some of which looked nearly new. The floorboards were covered with a deep-shag rug, with a couple of dubious brown stains on it.

The icing on the backroom cup-cake was a cracked vase with fake daisies. And a paper lantern barely shading a super-bright and buzzing pre-LED bulb.

Steve wrinkled his nose, slightly bemused. He had never been in an actual brothel.

He was damn sure they looked exactly like this.

“Now, where did I put that kitty-tail butt-plug?” said Tommy, with a quizzical tap of his chin.

“What? No… Carol said…” Steve felt like the dirty rug had been yanked from under his feet. He’d never had anything up there, and he sure as heck wasn’t ready for it. Even for Eddie! “I didn’t agree… I don’t… I can’t…”

“Relax! I’m kidding.” Tommy clapped Steve on the shoulder. Steve managed to rein in his panic enough to scowl. “Look, you’re the boss here. As far as I’m concerned, same rules apply as always, although back here… Screw it, it’s up to you. That guy tries it on, you know how tuned in Chrissy and Carol are to your squeals. We’ll come running, I promise. Tho’…” He flashed a mega-watt grin. “We’re all keeping our fingers crossed for more tips in triple figures, huh?”

“Yeah? Maybe use it to buy a proper lampshade, you cheapskate. Oh, and a less skanky rug would be nice.”

Tommy hooted, swaying back onto his heels. “Watch it, Kitty-boy. Or I’ll send Carol in, claws out. She’s in a total pre-heat mood tonight—meeeeow!”

Once Tommy left, Steve got changed into his black velour hotpants and a proper tight, cropped tee that showed off a swathe of his lil’ flat tummy. He even purred slightly as he slid on his kitty-ear headband. It nestled so prettily in his hair. He quietly knew he rocked that look better than anyone, even Chrissy.

He then buckled on a purple collar with delicate silver kitty-shape studs.

No jingly bell.

They were okay in a noisy café. Back here, it’d sound absurd. He had a stuffed cat tail to affix to the back of his shorts. He put that aside too. He way preferred the little cottontails they wore on monthly bunny nights. Finally, he went light on the make-up—no kitty nose, just his usual brown mascara and eyeliner and a few wispy whiskers sketched with the same.

At five to seven, when Eddie was due, Steve perched on the chaise-longue. He found himself rubbing his bare tummy, trying to breathe slowly and calm himself.

It didn’t work. He began to feel slightly sick.

The clock ticked toward ten past seven.

Maybe Eddie wasn’t coming? A lump lodged in his throat, which he struggled to swallow.

At quarter past, he heard voices in the corridor. Tommy… and Eddie! Steve flung himself back against the couch, one arm thrown above his head. The other gravitated to his upper inner thigh, where he lightly stroked the downy hair.

The door opened. Eddie absorbed the sight of Steve and stopped dead.

“Damn, look at you.” Eddie sounded oddly wistful. “You’re a bit too fucking much, Stevie.”

Right then, everything felt too much. Steve hardly knew what he was doing, striking some slutty pose. He lapped up the sight of Eddie—no hat, scarf, or shades hiding those to-die-for eyes.

And his scent.

OMFG.

If Tommy had pumped much chemically crap in here, Hurricane Eddie swept all aside. Smoky, plummy yumminess swirled into Steve’s mouth, his nose. For the first time, he also caught hints of dark chocolate. He wanted to chew on it like a kitty with a cat-nip cushion.

All this passed in a twitch of an eyelash.

Then Steve said, slightly wobbly, “Hey there. Looking pretty awesome yourself.”

Eddie beamed, closed the door. He cast off a leather jacket, plastered with dozens of stitched patches, and closed the gap between them with two long strides. He sat down beside Steve, who sprung up keenly allowing Eddie to envelop him. Steve buried his face beneath Eddie’s collarbone. He inhaled long and deep, desperately resisting the urge to slide his nose up to Eddie’s scent gland and drown in it. His chest firmed against Eddie’s, and his knee crawled into Eddie’s lap already.

Eddie drew back, tenderly cupping Steve’s jaw. “You okay there, Stevie? You’re trembling.” His face clouded and he puffed through his nostrils. “Did that asshat manager ask you to do anything you didn’t want? If he did—"

“No!” It was the truth, tho’ the butt-plug gag hadn’t exactly helped his nerves. Yeah, right, Harrington. Or did you hate the idea only because, like the normal kitty-tail, it’d spoil the view of your ass? “Really, I’m fine.”

“Okay, Honey,” Eddie said, “as long as you understand nothing’s changed?” Steve resisted unleashing a disappointed squeal. He was sooooo mixed-up. “How about we start with your head in my lap? That sound good?”

“Sure.” Steve ran shaky fingers across his lips. “Business as usual, huh?”

Eddie helped Steve arrange himself flat on his back, legs stretched along the length of the couch. He rested his head on Eddie’s thighs, with one of the many cushions wedged between them. He relaxed almost instantly. He was facing straight up at Eddie, which was different and nice.

Beyond nice.

He lapped up Eddie’s hilariously dorky grins, and those dimples. Just as intoxicating, he absorbed Eddie’s bare arms for the first time, the long rope-like muscles patterned with gracefully flowing tattoos. There were bats and crazy puppets and laughing skulls. They ought to scare Steve shitless. Instead, he repressed a strong urge to lick them.

Eddie kicked off fiddling with the kitty ears, which amused and fascinated him. He twanged their band, then captured little strands of Steve’s hair from beneath it, tugging and tangling. Steve tingled everywhere Eddie deigned to touch.

Especially his exposed belly, which Eddie soon blessed with some delicious, circular rubs.

He didn’t even have to worry about sparkling conversation, something that’d played on his mind. Eddie chatted excitedly about his afternoon in the studio:

“I got my mojo back, Stevie.” Eddie tickled a finger under Steve’s chin, setting Steve giggling between mad purrs. “I got a demo with me. You wanna hear?”

Steve’s purrs jammed up in surprise. “Yeah! Totally.”

“Only if you’re sure? Honestly, I remember what you said about music being overwhelming and all—”

“No, no, no, no, no. Honestly, I’m cool.”

I’ll never flip out with you to hold my hand, Alpha.

Steve’s right mind was literally face-palming, Seriously, Harrington?  However, the majority of his brain cells screamed, Lalala not listening!

He settled sidelong in Eddie’s lap, with Eddie’s earbuds nestled in his non-kitty ears. Eddie hooked an arm around Steve’s shoulders. His finger hovered over ‘play’ on his phone. “Ready, Steve?”

Steve quirked a smile, nodded.

A thudding base-beat started up, joined by howling guitars. The volume wasn’t too high. It still shook Steve to his core. He huddled tighter into Eddie, fingers twisting in the front of Eddie’s vest. Then he dared peep up, eyes stretching wide.

“Okay?” mouthed Eddie.

Steve nodded. An ape-wire electro-synth noise joined the fray. Then, flying above it all, somebody started to sing. Eddie started to sing:

Mate me in blood

Set a fire in my bones

My brain is your creature

Your death knell rings home…

Steve couldn’t make sense of this shit. But when Eddie screamed the word ‘home,’ it struck him hard and deep.

His brow flopped heavily against Eddie’s neck. Unsurprisingly, he could smell Eddie—a powerful red wine flavor, now with a metallic hint. Like it was blended with blood. He could smell himself too. Their mingled scents rose and clouded the room. The music was killing him and he was dying happy…

Eddie shut off the song. “Shit, sorry. You okay?”

Steve jerked his chin up, lip hitching in a snarl. Simultaneously, he clawed at Eddie’s vest like a wild thing.

“Please, Alpha! I need it… I need you… More music… MORE!”

A wave of slick gushed from Steve. He was gonna roll over and present himself, then a desire for friction consumed him. He ripped the protective cushion from Eddie’s thighs.

Seconds later, he was humping himself crazily into the stunned-looking Alpha’s lap.

Chapter 4.1 on tumblr

Chapter 4 on AO3

🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛

Thank you so very much for reading. If you enjoyed, every little like and reblog or comment means a lot to me so thank you💚

Other ramblings 💚🐈‍⬛💚 I used the idea of A!Eddie’s voice getting O!Steve all worked up in a recent fic, and here it is again, because I liked the idea, whoops… Okay, and another a little change… I was going to write this all Steve POV, then Ohemgeee (thank you!) suggested in a comment that Eddie’s POV might add something in terms of mutual longing and I thought about it and yeah, it would. We will probably be getting a close-up of Eddie’s thoughts in chapters 5 and 6… 

I am always happy to tag, pls let me know, or you can follow the tag #steddie omega cat cafe 💚

tags 💚🐈‍⬛💚 @disrespectedgoatman 💚 @bumblebeecuttlefishes

@katethetank 💚 @themoonagainstmers 💚 @chaotic-waffle 💚

💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚

[lemotmo]

I know a lot of us have said at this point we don’t care how we get buddie canon we just want it because we’ve been waiting for it for so long now. Which fair because it’s been years lol.

I’m not dooming or well I’m not trying to anyway so i apologize if it comes off as such but im curious on your thoughts and if after the last few episodes you’ve changed your mind and become a little more actually yeah i would rather them not do it this way and do it this way instead?

Because for me I was def at the point of I don’t even care how it’s done at this point as long as it’s done but I do believe we have hit a point of yeah actually scratch that I do care.

Because this? If this is how they are going for buddie canon? I can’t say I’m a fan of it. No one is happy. The vibes are completely off. The dynamic between them is off because the show has taken Eddie Diaz main character and turned him into

“This week With Guest Star Ryan Guzman, playing Eddie Diaz, Evan Buckleys Love Interest”

And I just. I don’t want that. I can’t imagine anyone wants that. We know for sure Ryan and Oliver don’t want that. They have said so many times they don’t want Buddie unless it’s with them keeping their dynamic and relationship in tact. And you can not do that when you suddenly sideline one of them and treat them like a guest star love interest. All their development happens off screen. They aren’t in the episode unless it’s to propel the others storyline and then they disappear for weeks at a time again. Moments between them happen off screen.

Idk. I guess congrats to Tim because he apparently did find a way to show me I’m not just a I don’t care beyond it happening after all.

#giveEddiehismaincharacterstatusback

First, I want you to know that I fully respect your views and your opinion here. I don't think you are dooming at all. You are just concerned and disappointed. I get that.

But my opinion is quite the opposite of yours. 🤷‍♀️ Let me explain:

Have they treated Eddie really badly these last episodes? YES! YES! YES! Did I hate the way they treated him? YES!

He should have been notified about Bobby's death. Hell, he should have been in the episode in the first place. They never should have done the Vertigo plot either. It was just one bad idea after another for Eddie.

Eddie Diaz' story has been sidelined for waaaay too long and I HATE it! I've been pretty vocal about it too.

I loved how he seemed to get some focus in the beginning of 8b. I was so relieved to see his storyline progress. I didn't even mind him not being in 8x11, because while he wasn't physically present, he was THERE in everything Buck said and did.

Eddie is my favourite character and I would gladly watch this show just for him and him alone, even if he did only have 2 minutes of screen time last episode. I'm there.

I think the idea behind having Eddie move to El Paso was two-fold:

A. They needed to find a way to get Chris back.

B. They wanted to show us how much Buck missed Eddie and how Buck and Eddie's lives are so intertwined that their friendship never faded into nothing. They were constantly in contact with each other.

They did a good job with that in the first half of 8b, but then 8x14 happened and he wasn't there at all. Now, logically I understand what they were trying to do here. They wanted the audience to wonder if Eddie would ever come back and if he might stay in Texas forever.

The problem is that it was pretty clear from the get go that Eddie was never going to stay in Texas in the first place. Ryan's name was still in the credits, as was Gavin's. There was no exit announcement and in interviews Ryan never said anything about Eddie leaving forever.

So Eddie was always going to come back. Everybody knew this. In that case, why couldn't they find a few seconds to add in someone calling Eddie to tell him about Bobby?

And when he finally did come back, he was only there to eyefuck with Buck, eat crumpets and look gorgeous while a tear was rolling down his cheek.

I do think this was all plotted and planned to make us wonder if we wouldn't only lose Bobby, but Eddie as well. But the execution of the storyline fell flat. No one liked Eddie's absence and everyone was very vocal about it as well. 😋

But I do think the Buddie dynamic and relationship is still very much intact Nonny. I don't see a problem there. I'm sorry. Eddie was only gone for 2 episodes and in the third one Buck picked him up and brought him home. I mean, they picked up right where they left of.

So I can't lie. I'm very happy with this progression. I do expect some more Eddie scenes and development in the next two episodes. I think we'll see more of him then. But as usual, only time will tell if my expectations will be met. 🤷‍♀️

And as for the vibes Nonny? The vibes are still very much there for me. Even in those brief minutes he was on screen in 16, he got to spend those minutes practically glued to Buck's side. They were presented to us as a unit, which I found very interesting.

Their connection and chemistry still has soooo much untapped potential. Their story still needs to be told.

I love Eddie so much and I want to see him achieve the kind of happiness he dreams of. And I do think that finally admitting that he is in love with Buck, a man and his best friend, will set him on the path of joy.

Same for Buck by the way. The man has been looking for love for his entire life. He has been left too many times. It's time for him to recognise what real love looks like, embrace it and just go for it.

These two idiots are perfect for each other.

So yes Nonny, no matter how Buddie begins, I will be sat and I will be there every single step of the way.

It's just how I roll.

¯\(ツ)/¯

[dafpork]

OKAY. here is my Memorandum on why i don’t like B💥ffy (please forgive the ridiculous censoring, i don’t want this to show up in the tags for people just minding their own business) or, more accurately, the attitudes surrounding it. this just a huge huge huge rant 6 years in the making, you’re free to reblog but i’m not trying to start any sort of drama or conflict because that’s dumb and we all have better uses of our time! and it really is not that serious. i just need to lay out my thoughts so i can neatly put them away.

so there are quite a few reasons why, and i think they boil down to:

just not what i go for in a ship

it’s not what i want out of either character

i personally can't see it working

i personally think it's largely carried by bandwagon appeal rather than any actual founded ""evidence"" (ship for ship's sake)

there is a huge, recurring problem of many shippers acting like they ARE an authority on these characters or their cartoons... when they aren't at all lol i don't know how to make it sound nicer but it's true

riding on this, just bad experiences with many shippers and seeing it as a recurring problem. i've noticed the people who like Bugs and Daffy to act like divas often act like divas themselves. weird superiority complex

have had way too many experiences with people putting Porky/Dafpork down in favor of B💥ffy instead of letting it coexist and that gets me a bit irked, especially when i've had multiple posts vaguely referring to me to do this when i have literally just been Sitting Here, even as recently as last month 🙃

SO. YEAH. i'll just go through these points, maybe add more to this or make another follow-up. i've let all of this stew for so many years that i kinda can't believe i have a chance to "relieve" it all, and my mind is blanking as a result...

but it's true, there is just the basic "i don't go for this ship dynamic". i don't! enemies to lovers is not my cup of tea. i love odd couple type dynamics (i wouldn't have this blog if i didn't), but any ships i've been passionate about in my time on the internet--very few tbh--have been rooted in at least some form of fondness for the other. and this is literally just my taste, i don't think i'm morally superior than anyone because i don't like enemies to lovers. and i realize the irony of saying this when so many shorts have Porky trying to kill Daffy, but there's still an established fondness that has been baked into their dynamic in the start, and even with those antagonistic shorts i wholly believe there is at least some form of one-sided fondness on Daffy's behalf. and sometimes it's double sided depending on what tricks he's pulling/Porky getting a bit into the act.

this is also leeching into some other points already, but.. Daffy's behavior towards Bugs has always registered as a fair-weather friend to me. the whole joke is that when he acts all friendly to him, it's because he wants something for his own personal gain. and i'm sure you can make a case for that with how Daffy acts around Porky, since heckling him is for his own personal satisfaction, too.. but there's a difference between him lambasting or not enjoying Bugs' company until the most convenient time to save his own skin. i'm also just largely bored by Bugs' boredom, he doesn't feed into it and respond in the same way Porky does. and i know that's a point of appeal for a lot of people, but not me--i don't go for the world weary Bugs. just like i don't go for Excessively Selfish And We're Meant To Largely Root Against Him Daffy. i'll probably rephrase this more eloquently at another time, my thoughts are fleeing me... but for that i just can't see it working. and i know that's exactly why some people ship them, it's like a surprise and turning the dynamic on its head.. and you have stuff like Daffy kissing him on the cheek for having an idea to save his skin or Bugs pulling a Daffy and kissing him on the forehead when Daffy is trying to kill him which i think is funny people love that screenshot/short so much, i mean i can't judge since how many of my Dafpork kiss screenshots are in a similar context? ...actually not many, but i've always hated that short for how out of character Daffy is in it even with his hatred for Bugs. Daffy should never be the one hunting!!!!!! the fuck!

but i just don't get anything out of it for that reason. i don't like the world weary Bugs, i don't like unlikable asshole fallguy Daffy, i get nothing putting those two together. just personal preference. i salute those who are able to make the chemistry work and enjoy it, but i just can't. this might also be because i just can't see Bugs being shipped with anyone, he doesn't register as the type to carry an actual relationship to me. i feel like he's way too independent of a character for that. maybe i'm projecting my potential aromanticism onto him! iunno! but Bugs and romance do not compute to me. especially with Daffy and vice versa, i just can't see them getting anything meaningful out of it. but i know there are shippers who have found that for them and i respect it! that's great. genuinely.

now we're delving into the spicier and pettier side of things, oh boy. but. yeah. i'll be completely honest and say i think this ship is completely driven by bandwagon appeal. i mean, a bandwagon has to exist for some reason, and i can see why it would be erected: the enemies to lover angle, the subversion, the heavy Bugs and Daffy-focused marketing of the last half-century. in spite of my feelings, it is a classic ship dynamic and i see why people go for it. but i feel like that's just so much of what it... is.... people genuinely don't know that there are other options and don't explore them. you see people talking about Bugs and Daffy and nothing else and so you just assume that's the default. this isn't helped by Porky having either been swept under the rug or treated AWFULLY, like if my only view of LT was through TLTS i probably wouldn't ship Dafpork either because what the actual fuck

but that's the thing. THAT'S THE THING. people take TLTS as gospel and act like they are so smart and Right and correct for their TLTS centric views. i've seen so much disdain for the originals and that pisses me off, genuinely. sweeping it under the rug because they're "old". you don't have to be a nut like me and have seen all 1,000 shorts. i am a glaring exception and not the rule. you don't have to have an encyclopedic knowlegde of these characters or shorts to enjoy them... but i've seen so many people act all high and mighty and like they know everything, when all they know is a very specific part of history--that's almost all founded by a game of telephone, because modern incarnations misrepresent the appeal and dynamics of these characters--and they pass it off as fact and talk down to people who don't like it. and it makes me want to scream. because if you want to play the know it all game, i will go there! and i will bring up more than just the 2 Chuck Jones shorts you ever so charitably decided to use as "evidence", in spite of showing no interest for any other shorts and garnering a greater context for these characters! AUGH SORRY IM BEING RIDICULOUSLY PETTY BUT IT'S LIKE. THE DOUBLE STANDARDS DRIVE ME INSANE. please do not talk down to me and act like you know everything because you don't. i don't either. but i most certainly can play the argument game if someone really wants to and i can do it for hours lmfao because i actually know these characters and watch them in different contexts and have an understanding of their motives and intentions, instead of looking at everything through a ship focused lens!

and that's the thing, too. i feel like so many shippers only look at the characters through a ship focused lens and not through a character centric lens. that's the difference with me. Dafpork is my favorite ship of all time and always will be. but the fact that i can shove them together like two Barbie dolls is just a happy bonus--i'm in it for the CHARACTERS first and foremost, and just the fact that they have this chemistry and ability to be smacked like Barbie dolls is a bonus. and so often i feel like so much of BFY or just , the LT fandom in general, is curated through vague stereotypes or expectations or fandom/ship-centric viewpoints instead of the characters and history themselves. and that's when it really gets to be a problem when you pass yourself off as knowing everything. you're just seeing what you want to see and hearing what you want to hear

and maybe that's true of me too! i know it is! there's a reason my blog is called Dafpork and not B💥ffy. but this leads to another point: i've had so many experiences where BFY shippers will put Dafpork under the bus and it's like. WHY? not that either is excusable, but you'd think that us Dafpork shippers would have a little bit more warranted frustration at being the absolute underdogs... gosh i got so mad i already lost my wording for this. but BFY is the biggest ship in the fandom and one of the most popular normie ships, what do you gain by vaguing Dafpork bloggers or the ship itself and acting like you're so threatened by it?? especially because... i love Dafpork, never shipped anything else and never will, but i understand why people like B💥ffy and i'm more than happy to coexist! but i barely ever see people extend that same grace to us. i saw someone genuinely get upset and making a bunch of posts when Daffy and Porky got married in LTC because it "threatened" B💥ffy. and i know this is rich coming from me, but... IT'S NOT THAT SERIOUS? even i can say "it's just a joke none of this matters"!!!!!! NONE OF THIS MATTERS!!! NOBODY making these cartoons, particularly the classics, were doing it out of the goodness of their hearts! these "jokes" are because homosexuality is funny and unnatural and it's so funny to see a man kissing another man and disarming their masculinity! (i'm being heavily sarcastic). Bob McKimson disparagingly described his unit as being filled with "drunks and queers". like. reclamation exists, it's most certainly what i'm doing, Daffy and Porky have helped me work out a lot of internalized homophobia on my behalf and it is through these silly gags admittedly at my expense that they have. the power of reclamation is really important. but.... these are gags... they're not married for real... it's Looney Tunes..

and i swear it feels like some people aren't willing to educate themselves. like, i'm always gonna ship Dafpork but i understand why people go for the other ship. but i feel like that same grace isn't extended to us. and i would be less offended if people weren't so dishonest about it. instead of calling Porky the token straight friend and saying he enables Daffy (yes, real takes i have seen) and that's why you can't see them together, because your entire understanding is informed by TLTS, just straight up say "i don't know/have very little interest in Porky and so i haven't really thought about how he might fit into this dynamic. he's not a focus of mine". THAT'S FINE!!! JUST SAY THAT!!!! that hurts my feelings so much less than pretending like you know all these things and just. AUGH. AUGHHHHH. not everyone has to ship Dafpork, i'm not saying Dafpork is right and the other is wrong, but i'm just so put off by other people not sharing that same flexibility! it legitimately offends me a little, especially because WE ARE THE UNDERDOG. I WROTE THE FIRST DAFPORK FIC THAT I CAN FIND ONLINE. I COINED THE SHIP NAME! I DIDNT INVENT THE SHIP BUT I'M TELLING YOU i can trace all of these historic moments BECAUSE FOR AWHILE IT WAS JUST MYSELF AND LITERALLY ONE OTHER PERSON and we kept it all in discord. THAT SHOWS YOU HOW MUCH OF A DISADVANTAGE WE'RE AT!!! that i can trace much of the ship's "history" BECAUSE I HAVE FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE! BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING/NOBODY!!!!!! i promise we are not a threat to one of the most popular bandwagon ships ever!!

and i also just. really don't like the complacency in this ignorance either. i've had people say "if i'm wrong don't correct me sorry for not having knowledge of an old as hell short as if i'm supposed to know that" which makes me want to tear out my hair. instead of putting down these shorts and characters, you can just say "i haven't seen a lot of these shorts, i'm curating this from my specific point of view"!!!! but there's just such this weird attitude problem i keep seeing and i myself have gotten posts vaguing me from people i've never interacted with!! and it's just like. dude. i. WHAT!! i'm not saying you have to ship Dafpork, i'm not saying you have to do ANYTHING, i just... i. man i don't know i'm so mad i lost my wording.

but any chance of me liking the ship has been completely ruined by the arrogance of so many people. a lot of these incidents i'm mentioning were years ago, so it probably doesn't matter, but i still see the same snark and talking points repeated... and also sorry but i really don't like "how about we settle for Bafpork instead" GET THAT RABBIT OUTTA HERE!!!! i don't mind poly ships at all, but i swear people who say that often feel like they say it just to appease the crowd (it's me i'm the crowd). like. think about these characters for a sec. do you really think all of them make a good couple together and think it enriches their character or do you just want a compromise.

there is again the whole Porky fatphobia angle as well because he's not a skinny easily-able-to-sex-up furry twink rabbit but i've said enough for now. for now.

[love--and--venom]

Dead Man Walking: Chapter Nine

Summary: Time flies by as you and your group fall into a comfortable routine. Not much has changed besides a small increase in physical affection, but that's only because the boys can't decide who gets to kiss you first. They eventually come to an agreement after some overly competitive contests. In Garrett's camp, all hell breaks loose when Shane is confronted by his leader

Warnings !!!!! violence, physical altercation, descriptions of injuries, side character death, allusions to SA and cannibalism

Series Masterlist

After Chris and Hongjoong indulged the others for a bit, letting them shower you with the physical affection they had been holding back, it was clearly time for a talk about boundaries. With everyone’s agitation resolved, you actually came to a pretty easy agreement. You could go on runs twice a month, whether it was for supplies or just to get some fresh air. A new rule for everyone was also implemented: no more individual searching. Everyone had to stay in pairs at least. A couple of the boys didn’t really like it, but everyone knew it was necessary. And pretty soon the group fell back into a comfortable routine. 

Another three days after their confession, Hyunjin loudly complained to you about being stuck inside still. His wound was healing really well, but there was bound to be some muscle loss after being immobile for so long. He’d need at least two weeks of rehabilitation before even thinking about going on runs again. He was not very happy to hear that bit of information.

The garden and water system were a huge success. Even without rain, the cutter managed to collect the morning dew and condensation when it was humid enough. One raised garden quickly multiplied into six, taking up almost all of the floor space in the basement. Minho, always the planner, accounted for this and made sure to leave pathways open. A combination of the grow lights and natural light produced a myriad of vegetables. Your group had bell peppers, spinach, kale, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, and roughly a million potatoes. 

Just like Yeosang said, the dynamic didn’t change much besides being more cuddly, which you certainly weren’t complaining about. The one thing the boys were still trying to decide? Who would be the first one to kiss you. Nobody wanted another argument, so it was only fair to give everyone an equal chance. Which, to them, meant some extremely intense games of Uno instead of just, you know, asking you. So unbeknownst to you, they split into groups of four, and the winners from those groups played against each other. The final game was between Chan, Yunho, Wooyoung, and Jisung. To say it was intense would be an understatement. It lasted nearly three hours. But they had their winner, and once he had the honor of the first kiss, the others would not be holding back.

“Oh, Y/N!” Jisung sang as he waltzed into Jongho’s office, where you sat on the floor across from the desk. You looked up from the book Yunho snagged for you on his last run, stifling your smile at his giddy expression.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” You teased while slotting a bookmark in your page and setting the book to your side. Jisung shut the door then plopped down right next to you, nudging your thigh with his own.

“I have a very important question for you,” he stated with a sly grin. You raised your eyebrows and gestured for him to continue. “Can I have a kiss?” You couldn’t contain your giggles this time, hiding your face behind his shoulder.

“That’s your super important question?”

“Come on! I’m being serious,” Jisung pouted and crossed his arms. You took a deep breath to compose yourself before sitting up.

“I know, I’m sorry. I was just caught off guard,” you reassured him while lacing your fingers through his. “I wasn’t really expecting any of you to ask so formally.”

“Consent is very important, Y/N,” he huffed dramatically. You rolled your eyes and squeezed his hand.

“Anyway, it’s about time one of you asked. I was starting to think you guys didn’t want to kiss me.”

“Oh, quite the opposite.” You tilted your head, humming to voice your confusion. “We couldn’t decide on who got to go first.”

“Ahh, I see. Knowing you, I’m guessing there was an overly competitive solution.”

“Don’t call us out like that!” He playfully shoved your shoulder, letting you laugh at your own joke for a bit before pulling you to straddle his lap. Your hands naturally landed on his shoulders while his settled on your hip and cheek. He winked at you before crashing his lips to yours, sliding his hand back to grip the hair at the base of your neck. He pulled away entirely too soon for your liking, grinning with satisfaction at your reddened cheeks.

“I hope you realize that I basically just opened the floodgates,” Jisung teased with a pat to your hip. You giggled as he stood, pulling you up with him.

“Hey, don’t threaten me with a good time,” you quipped while following him out of the office, heading in the direction of the break room.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Jisung's grin widened when Chan snuck up to toss you over his shoulder, pulling a surprised yelp from you. 

“Honestly, I don’t know why I agreed to playing fair,” Chris complained while walking toward his shared office. “I should have pulled the leader and the eldest card so I could go first.”

“That’s so petty,” you responded with a light smack to his butt.

“Watch it.”

“Oh, come on! It’s right there, I couldn’t waste my opportunity,” you protested, holding on to his biceps to steady yourself when he set you back on your feet. Your freedom was short-lived as he caged you in against the wall, wasting no time to pull you in for a kiss with a hand cradling the back of your head. You gripped the front of his shirt, whimpering quietly as he playfully nipped your bottom lip.

“Louder,” Chris demanded, squeezing your hip while licking into your mouth. A whine caught in the back of your throat, turning into an airy moan as his tongue ran along yours. He broke away to press hungry, open-mouthed kisses down your neck, stopping to suck dark purple marks on your pulse point and in the juncture of your neck and shoulder. Someone cleared their throat from the doorway, causing your eyes to snap open. 

“I’m not interrupting, am I?” Hongjoong smirked at the blush growing on your cheeks. “We need to talk with San and Changbin about reinforcing the building’s defences.”

“Fuck, I forgot about that,” Chan sighed, leaving one last lingering kiss on your lips before heading down the hall. You shook your head, still reeling a bit from the roller coaster these boys just put you through. 

“Hey,” Hongjoong stopped you with a hand to your cheek before you could leave the office. You looked up at him expectantly and were disappointed when he kissed just your forehead. “What’s with the pout, baby? I’ll get to have my way with you soon.” He winked, then disappeared, heading in the same direction as Chan and leaving you alone with your jaw dropped.

“God, they’re gonna be the death of me,” you muttered to yourself, smiling despite your slight annoyance with the teasing.

While things were going well for your group, tension grew stronger by the day at Garrett’s camp. He and Shane constantly butted heads, especially about Shane’s girlfriend and what his priorities should be. The camp was very unevenly split between the two. The younger men, who made up nearly three quarters of the group, all sided with Shane while the men in their 40s and older stuck with Garrett. All that tension finally blew up after yet another robbery failed because of Shane's distraction.

“That’s the fifth fuckin’ time you’ve let easy pickins get away!” Garrett shouted at the younger man in the middle of the group’s main bonfire clearing. 

“Shut the hell up, old man,” Shane groaned with a glare. His arm draped over his girlfriend’s shoulders, tucking her against his side to watch the confrontation. 

“Watch your tone with me! What the hell do you expect us to eat since you can’t seem t’get anymore livestock?”

“We still got plenty! Jason just sliced up that Jesus freak, and there’s the brothers Mike brought in a few days ago!” Shane argued, rolling his eyes with a scoff. “You’re makin’ it sound like we got nothin’.”

“Not to mention,” one of the younger men nearby spoke up. “We have five of them snobby bitches in the fun tent. Sure, they ain’t as meaty, but they’ll do in a pinch.”

“You stay outta this, Max,” Garrett warned and pointed at the man, who raised his hands in surrender. He turned back to Shane with a heavy sigh. “Y’know I hate doin’ this, but you’re on probation ‘til you’re ready to behave.”

“Oh you gotta be shittin’ me,” Shane growled, gently removing his girl from his hold to invade the current leader’s face. “I’m not a goddamn child.”

“Well you’re fuckin’ actin’ like one. You wanna be treated like a man? Get your fuckin’ behavior under control.” They stared each other down, neither man willing to back off this time. A heavy silence fell over the clearing as the nearby group members watched with bated breath. 

“Get ‘im, honey,” Shane’s girlfriend encouraged with a wicked grin. Garrett ground his teeth and turned to her.

“Stay the hell outta this, bitch. You oughta learn your–” The leader stumbled backwards from the hit to his jaw. His fingers brushed over the swollen skin as he gaped at Shane in disbelief.

“Didn’t I tell ya to watch your mouth, old man?” Shane taunted with a smirk.

“You got some nerve,” Garrett seethed, spitting on the ground near the younger man’s feet. “You wanna be a big-shot? Come on, then!” He curled two fingers in a ‘come here’ motion. 

“You’re gonna fuckin’ regret pissin’ me off,” Shane snarled, stalking forward to throw another punch, aiming for the nose this time. 

“That’s my line, boy,” Garrett retorted as he ducked under his fist, locking Shane’s other arm to his side as he tackled the younger man, sending them both to the ground. Garrett tightened his grip, keeping Shane in a body lock while Shane repeatedly jammed the elbow of his free arm into the older man’s shoulder.

“Come on, Shane!”

“Show the old man who’s boss!”

“Don’t let that kid embarrass you!” Shouts from the nearby group members grew louder as more people circled the brawl. 

“Get offa me!” Shane growled and dug his knuckles into Garrett’s temple. The latter cried out with his grip faltering slightly. Shane took advantage of the moment of weakness, shoving Garrett away and quickly standing to take an offensive stance. Garrett scrambled to get up, but was knocked onto his back when Shane kicked his chest. He wheezed, clutching his shirt over his solar plexus as he struggled to catch his breath. Shane stomped on his face, blood immediately gushing from his nose.

“Finish him, Shane,” his girlfriend urged from the sideline. 

“S-Shane, plea-please don’t,” Garrett begged as he shakily rose to his knees. He hunched over with a hand over his nose in an attempt to stop the stream of blood. 

“What’s that? You’re askin’ me to stop?” Shane mocked, circling the older man like a predator with its prey. “I thought you were gonna put me in time-out, show me how to behave like a man.” 

“Some man you are, Garrett,” a young man on the side laughed.

“Get up, man! Come on, don’t be a pussy! Stand the fuck up and knock this kid down,” one of the two older men watching from the crowd shouted.

“Nah,” Shane drawled, pushing Garrett over with a kick to his ribs. “He won’t do shit. He knows he can’t beat me.” Shane kneeled, hovering over the older man. 

“Weak little bitch,” Shane’s girlfriend giggled behind her hand. Shane grinned at her, blowing her a kiss before turning back to the older man.

“Y’see this?” He lifted his necklace from his collar bones, letting the teeth rattle together ominously. “I think you need a reminder of just where I got these. You remember David, right?”

“David? He went missing months ago,” the man that was encouraging Garrett earlier interjected. 

“Ohhh, you didn’t tell them? Tch, tch, tch,” Shane scolded while wagging his finger. 

“Tell us what?!”

“David got in my goddamn way so I killed the dumb bastard,” Shane snapped, glaring at Garrett’s friends. Their faces blanched as they gaped at the younger man.

“No! No fucking way! Garrett, that ain’t true, right?” The quieter of his friends questioned. The silence that followed was the only answer they needed.

“I’m thinkin’ I wanna add to my collection,” Shane grinned, looking disturbingly excited. He pulled his hunting knife from his belt, letting the sunlight glint off the metal and into Garrett’s eyes. He flinched, gripping the hem of Shane’s shirt desperately.

“Oh, fuck! I’m sorry, goddammit Shane, I’m sorry! Don’t–”

“Shut the hell up.” Shane stabbed the older man in the center of his neck, cutting him off as he choked on his own blood. 

“Garrett!” His friends cried, making his head jerk to the side to stare at them with wild eyes. Shane ripped the knife out, chuckling and pointing the dripping blade at the older men.

“Don’t act all concerned now, fellas,” he mocked with a tilt of his head. “You coulda stepped in ages ago. I couldn’t beat all three of ya if y’all worked together. You wanted him dead, right?”

“No! You fucking spoiled little shit,” the vocal friend roared, taking a step forward until the quiet friend grabbed his arm. 

“I’m sorry, Garrett,” the quiet friend refused to look at the dying man, pulling the other man away from the crowd. Betrayal crossed over Garrett’s face briefly before he turned blank, sputtering a final, raspy breath.

“Anyone else wanna fuckin’ test me?” Shane flicked some of the blood off his knife, splattering the ground and Garrett’s clothes. He spun in a circle, holding his arms to the side as a dare to the others. “That’s what I fuckin’ thought. Y’all answer to me now, got it?”

“U-Um, aren’t you gonna put him down before he turns,” a younger kid, no older than 18, nervously asked. 

“No need to be scared, now, Thomas,” Shane softened ever so slightly when he turned to him. “We’re puttin’ him on the fence. Chris, Travis, string him up.” While they dragged Garrett’s body away, Shane looped his arm around his girlfriend’s waist, leading her back to their tent.

“That was quite the show, honey,” she gushed, pressing closer into his side. She batted her lashes, looking up at him with watery doe eyes. “We’re gonna look for her, right?”

“Yes, darlin’. Don’t worry your pretty little head about it. I’ll find Y/N.”

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[arceespinkgun]

In regards to Marvel Prowl, I think the disconnect about Prowl’s character has to do with the difference between the UK and US comics? Maybe he was portrayed a little different in one of them that caused the origin of the prick personality to come to light. I’m not too sure

Unlike somebody like Grimlock who was written really differently between the US and UK stories before attempted course correction, Prowl never struck me as being particularly different between them. Budiansky's US comics from the very start still featured some level of bluntness and rudeness to him, like I remember Prowl saying he found Bluestreak's prattling annoying. And when Mirage suggested the Autobots just steal fuel from the humans, Prowl didn't say something like, "Stealing from other lifeforms is wrong" but instead said, "Your plan is both simple and simple-minded" lol I do think this abrasive streak led to the prick in-joke, I just personally don't consider a fundamentally good person lacking in social graces or getting stressed out to be a prick.

I do think that UK writer James Hill wrote him as the most angry of all the writers, he's the one who wrote him snapping at Jetfire, but like I said in another post that still reads as pretty mild behavior. Actually, can I just say that this snippet I've put below the cut from "Hunted!" which is one of the annual stories Hill wrote really reminds me of like, the dynamic between TFA Prowl and Bumblebee? XD

"Prowl? How much longer must we monitor these news broadcasts?" Bumblebee's words echoed throughout the cavernous room that he shared with the Autobots' master strategist.

"Optimus Prime instructed us to look out for Decepticon activity," Prowl snapped, his eyes hardly leaving the grey image that he watched flickering across a large video screen, "and that's what we're going to do until he and the others return to the Ark."

Bumblebee moved away from his comrade, his arms slumped by his sides. It just wasn't fair. The other Autobots were on a mission, a mission that would undoubtedly bring them into conflict with the Decepticons. It was a mission that Bumblebee had been purposely excluded from. "It's typical," he muttered, just loud enough for Prowl to hear. "Why's it always me that gets the boring tasks? I bet Jazz never…"

"Look… on the screen!"

Bumblebee hurriedly spun around. On the video screen an unshaven man could be seen standing in the centre of a jungle clearing. Torrential rain battered his frail form and a blanket had been wrapped around his shoulders. A young woman was gently trying to persuade him to enter a nearby Jeep. Prowl remained motionless, completely trans-fixed by this image. Long minutes passed before he spoke. "Can't you see it?" he whispered, almost to himself. "On the ground, a small piece of metal."

"Are you all right?" Bumblebee asked. He was beginning to worry about Prowl. Perhaps the pressures he was under had finally taken their toll on his logic circuits.

Ignoring his friend's concern, Prowl continued to stare at the screen. "Quickly, computer," he shouted, "freeze frame! Now, enlarge the picture." He turned toward his smaller comrade. "According to the commentary I received through this audio link-up," he said, pointing to a heavy cable that connected his chest to the video screen, "that man is Doctor John Butler. He was a member of an expedition team that recently disappeared in South America. The Red Cross found him in the jungle and he's now being treated for shock in a convent hospital."

"That's all very interesting," Bumblebee said, a quizzical expression etched across his robotic features, "but what's it got to do with us?"

The Autobots' tactician pointed fiercely at the computer-enlarged image on the video screen. A small metallic chip was lying in the undergrowth. "That piece of metal is not of Earth design," Prowl exclaimed, "It was manufactured on Cybertron… And if my memory circuits are correct, it was once part of Ravage's armoured hide!"

"But that would mean the Decepticons are active in South America."

"It's more than likely. We'd best inform Optimus Prime." Prowl raised his right arm and spoke into a radio transmitter that he'd previously built into his wrist circuits. "Autobot Prowl calling group leader Optimus Prime." There was no reply. Prowl switched to another frequency. "Prowl calling Optimus Prime." Again nothing. Not even the faintest whisper of a signal. "It's no good," Prowl cried, "something's interfering with the radio transmissions. I'm receiving nothing but static!" Rage swelled within him and he tore the audio link up from his chest in an uncharacteristic fit of anger. A shower of sparks was sent across the room.

"Hey, watch it!" cried Bumblebee.

Prowl marched toward the room's exit.

"So what do we do now?" Bumblebee shouted after him.

"There's nothing we can do," he replied, "except wait."

"Wait!" Bumblebee chased after the taller Autobot, placing an arm on his friend's shoulder. "The longer we remain inactive, the greater any possible threat becomes. Surely the two of us should go to South America and investigate."

"No," Prowl said, as he turned and looked down at Bumblebee. "Such a move is out of the question. We've no idea of the Decepticons' strength or of Megatron's plans. Logic dictates that we remain here until Optimus returns. He'll decide on an appropriate plan of action." "

Twin Twist and Top Spin are in the Ark," Bumblebee persisted, "I'm sure they'd help us."

"For the final time, Bumblebee… No! We are not going to South America." Prowl had never been in the jungle before. It was a dark and primal place that defied logic. It was not to his liking. It's utter madness, he thought. How did I let myself be talked into coming to South America?

[stolasbuckzo]

Theory Time: S3 Leak

I’m not entirely sure if this leaked footage is intentional, like what we saw with the Sinsmas episode, but either way, I want to discuss this scene. We see Octavia following someone whose identity is obscured—possibly Blitz, Moxxie, or even Millie in disguise. The figure’s height isn’t visible for long, and their face is completely covered. This person leads Octavia through a door, which stands out to me because she looks nervous, as though she’s either meeting someone secretly or feeling uncomfortable in her surroundings. It’s understandable given how manipulative her mother is. I can imagine Stella forcing her to attend the event under the guise of “duty” and “keeping up appearances as the Goetia heiress.”

I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if the figure were Blitz in disguise. He has gone to extreme lengths before to find and help those he cares about. We saw him risk trespassing on Stolas’s property despite their severed transactional relationship. He even tracked down and asked around about his sister’s whereabouts despite Barbie’s clear desire to cut him out of her life. It wouldn’t seem out of character for him to go to these lengths for Octavia either, despite her evident resentment toward him.

In “Sinsmas”, it was clear to me that Blitz not only envisioned Octavia as part of his small, growing family but also went out of his way to tell Stolas not to give up on her, even though she had cut him off. Reflecting on that, I believe the whole “You love him” situation needs to be resolved before Stolitz can actually come together. If they rushed into a relationship without addressing it, that would only seem to confirm Octavia’s fear that Stolas “left” her for Blitz. I think this is something both Stolas and Blitz understand deep down.

In my opinion, Blitz needs to be the one to reach out to Octavia, encouraging her not to give up on Stolas. I could see Blitz being the one who ultimately helps mend their bond, as he himself has grown to value family more. Knowing Vivienne’s writing style, I suspect she might frame this development in a positive light, showing Blitz’s growth. Back in season one, Blitz had little to no remorse when tearing families apart, like when he casually killed that husband during their hit job. However, in season two’s finale, he couldn’t bring himself to destroy a family because he now sees Loona, Stolas, and Octavia as his own. That scene where he calls off the assassination really resonated with me.

To be fair, I wouldn’t say Blitz broke Stolas’s family apart. You can’t break something that was already shattered, and Stella’s cruelty played a huge role in that. However, Blitz’s presence did make Octavia believe that her father had abandoned her for someone else. I’m sure Stella whispered those lies to her, vilifying Stolas and making her think he would leave her behind.

Looking ahead to season three, I hope Blitz is instrumental in bringing Stolas and Octavia closer than ever. I imagine he might have a heartfelt conversation with Octavia that parallels Loona’s talk with her in “Seeing Stars”, reinforcing the “like father, like daughter” theme. Maybe that’s the moment Octavia decides to secretly visit Stolas, knowing full well she isn’t supposed to because of his exile. However she did already broke that rule before severing their relationship in Sinsmas. Who’s to say she won’t bend the rules again to maintain some connection after everything between them is resolved?

It’s hard to say exactly how this story will play out. Maybe Octavia will pretend to stay “estranged” from her father but secretly communicate with him. I could see her using a burner phone to text him under Stella’s nose. That way, Stolas could have peace of mind, knowing his daughter doesn’t truly “hate” him. Perhaps Octavia, in her own way, in actuality struggles with guilt, thinking she’s a burden to her father. This dynamic could offer powerful moments of healing and reconciliation between them.

[googleitlol]

After Wukong rejoins the group, things between him and Dove get a lot better. Sure, it's more awkward at first, but a whole less violent. They can actually be… friendly with each other? Even though the others get used to it, the change in dynamic is almost unnerving at first. I like to imagine whenever two of them, maybe Pigsy and Sandy have a moment to talk on their own, they make sure what they're seeing isn't some hallucination. Kind of a, 'You see this too, right?' moment.

Anyway, Wukong is having a blast now. Not only is he back, but he also lets himself indulge in teasing/getting payback on Pigsy for the Bone Demon incident. One great example is when he goads Pigsy into patrolling a potentially dangerous mountain. When the pig demon goes to take a nap instead, Wukong makes sure Tripitaka knows just how much effort he put into slacking off before he returns.

And then… well, that's where the trouble begins.

Dove Masterlist:

Landscaping

“Wukong really is in a meddling mood today.” Wujing remarks from where he sits next to you, the two of you basking in the midday sun with Tripitaka and Ao Lie. Your group is stationed by a large tree at the base of a wide mountain, waiting the return of two of the monk’s older disciples. After being warned of the danger posed by the area you all were meant to trek through next, Zhu Bajie was sent to go and patrol the area.

Unfortunately for the pig, Sun Wukong decided to tag along. “It has been some time that we’ve been travelling since our last encounter with a demon. I think the lack of serious threat has left him bored.” You shrug in response to the river demon’s observations. “If anything that old woodcutter told us was true, his boredom may be coming to an end.” He hums, looking out towards where his brothers took off.

“I hope for the sake of my heart, it doesn’t.” Tripitaka shudders, his tired gaze turned skywards. “I have had my fair share of demons trying to eat me, this never happened back home. I just want to get past one mountain without being caught by any monsters or upsetting anyone we shouldn’t.”

You can’t help but feel sorry for the monk. In the time you’ve been in travel with him, the sheer amount of demons that have looked to make him their meal has been problematic. With how much farther you have to go, you feel like saying it won’t happen anymore would be a lie. “If you want, Tripitaka, I can use my gift for a bit while we wait for Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie to return.” You offer, getting up to offer him a hand.

The monk shakes his head, swatting at a fly too close to his face. “Thank you, I think I should be able to manage for now.”

You offer a polite smile, mimicking his actions when you hear buzzing by your ear. “Alright, just let me know if–” The insect grows bolder, fluttering about your face. “Ugh! This annoying little…”

You notice the tiny monkey’s tail before the fly lands on your nose.

Sandy’s head tilts to the side when you go silent. “What is it?”

“…Sun Wukong?” You blink, and in an instant, the monkey returns to his form with a jump into the air. The shock of the action is enough for you to shout, falling back as the demon lands.

The Monkey King cackles, crouching down when you sit up. “You caught on faster than Pigsy!” He smiles, and you can’t help but roll your eyes. Maybe Sandy was wrong in calling him meddling. At the moment, ‘rowdy’ fit him better.

“Where is he?” You use your finger to push him out of your face by his forehead, the King cooperating and stepping back to let you up.

“Still rehearsing what to say.” He answers while you dust yourself off. “He decided to take a quick nap instead of scouting, like I knew he would. I left him once he finished practising what to say in case any of us ask what he found.”

The monkey shifts into his younger brother, muckrake and all. “‘There was a rocky cave, with three sections!” He imitates, albeit dramatically. “There are wretched monsters and wild animals at every turn! We better turn back and return home, I’m sure my wife and father-in-law have been missing me.’” Sandy chuckles a little under his breath while you cross your arms. “That’s a bit dramatic of him, don’t you think?” Monkey King shifts back, seemingly still struggling to regain his composure.

It’s only made worse when Pigsy returns, spouting about the very same words Sun Wukong had already shared. He seems quite confident in himself as he prattles on. “There are wretched monsters and wild animals at every turn! We better turn back and–”

“–return home, I’m sure my wife and father-in-law have been missing me.” Wukong finishes in unison with his brother, the pig frowning when he does. The Monkey King scoffs. “Practise really did make those lines perfect, didn’t they?”

“Wha–?! But how did you…”

“Lying about going on patrol?” Wukong crosses his arms, giving Pigsy a pointed look. “I’d say that’s worth three strokes of my trusted staff. What do you say, Pigsy?” The pig demon looks at him wide wide eyes, almost shaking when he mentions his staff.

Luckily enough for him, Tripitaka intervenes. “There will be no beating anyone today.” He looks between his disciples, Wukong looking a bit disappointed while Pigsy sighs in relief. “Bajie, please go out and scout properly this time?”

“Ugh, fine.” The pig snorts, grumbling before he turns to leave back towards the mountain. The disappointment on the Monkey King’s face melts into a smug grin as he watches his brother march back to do his job properly this time.

While he scouts, the rest of you find yourselves waiting by the base of the mountain. You admit, being able to sit for a while instead of marching through trails of wilderness for hours is a nice change of pace. However, it quickly becomes old the longer you have to wait. Sitting with the horse, then leaning against the tree for shade, to the idle conversations that would occur between you and the others, you were getting bored.

An hour drags by, and then another. One can only admire the clouds in the sky for so long before becoming restless. Taking the horse to graze helps alleviate the itch to keep going somewhat, but it doesn’t help for long. You half-wonder if Bajie decided to take another nap somewhere else, but would he really risk getting caught like that a second time? Maybe something worse might have happened?

After a third hour passes, Tripitaka begins to voice your concerns. “Bajie has been gone for a while now. You don’t think something could have happened to him, do you?”

Sun Wukong gives out a hearty laugh from his spot in the tree you sit by with Sandy, resting on a low-hanging branch. “That pig is such a coward, he’d run at the first sign of danger.” He falls back, his tail hooking around the branch to face his master. “If he’s been gone for this long, he must be taking his time patrolling the mountain.”

“Still… something doesn’t feel right.” The monk frowns, his eyes fixed on the mountain. You frown, understanding the uneasiness in your friend. If Pigsy really was fine, would he be taking all this extra time to comb through the path? You half-expected him to return with some haste after being exposed by Wukong, to make up for slacking off.

You look over to Wukong, the monkey quickly catching your eye as you nod towards Tripitaka. “What?”

“Maybe one of us could check on Bajie?” Your brows raise a bit as your suggestion is made.

The Monkey King rolls his eyes, looking back at the worried expression from Tripitaka and quickly letting out a sigh. “How about this? Pigsy likes to move at a snail’s pace on his own anyway, why don’t we all just go and catch up with him?” He suggests, though the annoyance in his voice is far from well-hidden.

Tripitaka hums, glancing at you. “With Wukong’s logic, whatever Pigsy has covered so far should be safe.” You shrug. Even if the path isn’t safe, if something happened to Bajie, Tripitaka still has Wujing and Wukong to protect him. Between the lot of you, whatever potential trouble the pig demon might find himself in can be dealt with swiftly.

The monk frowns, deep in thought, likely thinking over the situation just as you were doing. After a few moments, he relents. “We might as well, it will be better than sitting around doing nothing.” With his word, your group gets to their feet. With the monk mounting the horse and Sandy taking the lead, you set off to begin hiking up the mountain.

A tense silence fills the space between the group as you journey up the mountain. Everyone is on alert, watching for any movements in the shadows of shrubs, listening for footsteps. Each of you prepare yourselves for some sign of your friend, some sign you aren’t alone.

A shudder from Tripitaka makes you glance back at the monk. His eyes look from one side to the next, shuddering again with a worried frown. Sometimes you forget how on edge he can get, especially when told of nearby danger.

You make eye contact with Sun Wukong, nodding over to the monk. He looks back at his master while you shift into your dove form to rest on the man’s shoulder. You do your work, using your gift to put his mind more at ease.

He notices rather quickly, cracking a small smile before Wukong clears his throat. “Master, you needn’t be so worried. You know I will not let anything happen to you while I am here.” He jumps in front of the horse while he speaks, walking backwards so as to not stop the group.

“If any demons dare to show their wretched faces, it will only take a swing of my staff to send them down to the ten kings!” He boasts, taking his staff from his ear and extending it to spin the weapon in his hands. Facing forward, he scoops up a few rocks to throw into the air and uses his staff to bat them all into a tree further ahead. When he runs out of ammo, he throws the staff itself, impaling the tree through completely.

The monk blinks a few times as his disciple retrieves his signature weapon. “I really am fortunate to have him as my disciple, and not an enemy.”

“Take it from someone who has fought him, you are lucky to have never felt the pain from that staff.” Sandy laughs, and you find yourself amused as Wukong returns, flipping through the air.

He shows off a bit more as you continue on the path, showing off kicks and punching the air. At one point, he shatters a boulder you pass by with only his head. Is it a little over the top? Absolutely, but it does wonders to lift Tripitaka’s spirits. 

By the time Wukong is finished with his demonstration, the air is considerably lighter. He takes his place beside Tripitaka and the horse, looking up at you with a smirk. You give a quiet coo in response, thankful for his help in reassuring the monk of their safety. You have to say, with the jabs between you two being less frequent and of a more playful nature, working with the Monkey King is becoming easier than you ever thought it would be. Dare you say, sometimes it was even fun.

It isn’t as though you were unaware of his cleverness before– his more impulsive actions sometimes made it difficult to remember– but you find it easy for the two of you to bounce off each other’s ideas. Sure, there are times where his plans baffle you, but you found that trusting his plots usually works out well. Whether it’s in battle or in the midst of a ruse, even with something as simple as how you worked to help Tripitaka, the two of you are surprisingly good at coordinating together.

For some time, the hike is uneventful. There is still no sign of Pigsy, but before you can worry yourself with his whereabouts, you hear a distant cry further ahead on the path. Cries for help.

“That sounds like a man…” Wujing frowns, your group quickening their pace to find the source of the voice.

Up ahead, you spot a bush, an elderly man just behind it. “Someone, please! Save me!” He shouts, groaning in pain as he keeps a tight grip around his leg. The closer Tripitaka rides, the more you can see of him. He’s on his side, his clothing scratched and torn. His grey– almost silver– hair is a bushy mess. His leg looks mangled, twisted in the wrong direction and dressed in blood. “Please, you must help me! I cannot move!”

Tripitaka wastes no time in dismounting, crouching down to the man while you return to your human form. Sun Wukong is quick to join his master’s side. “What happened to you?” The monk frowns, inspecting the elder for any other concealed injuries.

“I am a daoist from the temple just west of here. I was travelling with my disciple before he and I were attacked by a tiger.” He explains, his breathing heavy from the pain of his wounds and spent energy. “It killed him and dragged him away. It left me for dead, but I am afraid it may return. I beg of you, please help me return to my temple, and I will be in your debt!”

“Of course we will help you.” Tripitaka offers the elder a kind smile, turning to call one of his disciples. “Sha Wujing, bring my horse here for this man to ride. We can accompany him to his temple together.”

The man hisses through his teeth, clutching onto his injured leg. “I cannot ride.” He is able to shift over enough to show a gaping wound on his inner thigh, a deep cut that runs down his leg and already looks to be infected.

Looking closer, you take a step to the man. “Here, let me have a look at it.” You move past Tripitaka to crouch down, but a hand grabs you by the arm before you can.

You look back to find Sun Wukong, his glare making you freeze. However, his eyes focus not on you, but the elderly man. He pulls you closer, leaning over to whisper. “The last time you healed anything physical, you were unconscious for hours.”

“You mean when you were blind?” You match his volume, the reminder getting him to actually look you in the eyes for a moment, just to give you an annoyed look. “Why are we whispering?” His eyes narrow at the question, though he turns his attention back to the injured daoist before you can get an answer.

“Don’t waste your talents, Dove.” Is all you get before he crouches down in front of the old man himself. “If he is not fit to ride, let me carry him.”

A chill runs down your spine from his tone alone. His previously relaxed posture is now rigid, hostile. His smile to the man feels more like a threat than an invitation. You, Tripitaka, and Sandy look to each other from the sides of your eyes, even the horse looks concerned.

If the man notices the clear aggression in the offer, he does not show it.  “How kind of you, hairy-one.” Despite how uneasy you feel, you hold in a snort of laughter at the man’s words and Wukong’s look of offence.

“Hairy-one?” He frowns, the old man smiling.

“Yes, please. I would greatly appreciate it if you were to carry me.” He responds, and the monkey demon lets out a short huff.

He reaches down, getting the daoist up and onto his back while Tripitaka gives you a look. You quickly put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll keep watch. If he’s acting like this, something must have tipped him off about this man.” You keep your voice low, the monk nodding in response.

“Thank you, I just didn’t want to leave him on the side of the road. Do you think he might be…” He trails off, looking back at the disciple and daoist.

“You just stay close to Sandy, I’ll call out if anything happens. If I do, ride off as fast as you can and hide.” You instruct, following his sight to the two before Tripitaka gets back onto the horse. You and Sandy were talking about how quiet these last few days have been, maybe some monster overheard you and decided to keep you on your toes.

It’s silent as you continue westward, unease wrapping around the group as you go. You make sure to glance over to the old man every now and then, keeping him and Wukong in your sights. Even when they begin to slow a bit to readjust every now and then, you stay by their side. Tripitaka and Wujing begin to get farther ahead, which is honestly a good thing if this man isn’t who he says he is.

You catch his eyes a few times, giving you a strange look. It gives you bumps along your arms, and you tell yourself not to reach for any of your weapons. He hasn’t done anything yet. You see him give the same look to Tripitaka, making you feel even better the further he and Sandy get from the stranger.

After some time, the monk and his disciple are so far off, they are no longer in your line of sight. Wukong pauses again to adjust his grip on the daoist before humming. “Dove, would it be alright if I bugged you for something?”

“What is it?” You frown, a little put off by his cautious words. It would be more normal if he just told you to do whatever it is he wants.

He matches your pace but keeps his distance. “Sandy is with Master, and they are already so far ahead of us… I don’t want to slow us down any further but I would really appreciate something to snack on right now.”

…Is this some ploy? A show for whoever this man is on his back? “Seriously? I am not your servant–”

“Please, Dove.” You look down as his tail wraps around your arm, looking back up to find a pleading look in his eye. “I think I saw some berries a little further back.” Alright, this is definitely an act. Some reason to be alone with the daoist, perhaps. Why else would he wait for Sandy and Tripitaka to be out of sight before asking? It’s clear that he knows more about the elder on his back than he’s letting on, but you trust that whatever Monkey knows, he can handle it.

“Alright, I will be back soon. Shout if you need me.” You nod, the monkey mirroring your action before you transform into a dove and begin your flight back. All you can do is hope the Great Sage knows what he’s doing.

Surprisingly enough, you do find the bush of berries Wukong mentioned. Maybe part of him really does want something to eat quickly. You start picking the berries, your thoughts drawing back to the strange daoist, the odd way in which he was looking at you and Tripitaka. Usually, it is your friend’s demon disciples that draw the eyes of strangers, not their human travel companions.

There has to be something wrong with that man. You’re embarrassed you didn’t catch it yourself, that it took Sun Wukong stepping in to tip you off. Part of you wonders how he can pick up on these things so quickly. He wasted no time in killing the bone demon when she was disguised. His ability to recognise danger on a whim is quite helpful, but you wish you knew how he did it.

You wonder how long you should take picking these berries, it’s obvious Wukongs wants time to deal with that daoist on his own. Just when you decide to head back, a thunderous boom sounds from the distance. The ground beneath your feet shakes and you stumble back, only just catching yourself. You barely have any time to regain your bearings as a second deafening crash echoes through the land, tremors shaking the earth beneath your feet even more violently than the first.

A tree crashes down to the ground, nearly crushing you in the process before you jump out of the way. What is going on?! What was that, two earthquakes under the span of a minute? Your head immediately swivels to the west, certain that whatever just happened is the result of a certain simian. That’s when you take a moment to blink, the sight before you confusing to look at. You see two mountains where the horizon used to be.

“What the…?” Did they just appear? How?! You could have sworn they weren’t there before, over where you left Wukong and the old man… There is no way this could mean anything good.

To add to your horror, a third mountain materialises before your very eyes, creating a third explosive boom. The ground shakes again, even more forcibly than before. It’s enough to knock you off your feet entirely. Once the earthquake stops, you’re able to sit up again. What the hell is happening back there?! Is Tripitaka okay? Is Sun Wukong fighting the old man now? Why are mountains appearing before your eyes?!

Your questions are put on hold when you hear his scream.

So loud, he’s yelling at the top of his lungs. Dropping whatever berries you had picked, you transform to fly back to where you left the Monkey King. He has to be in trouble, he would never shout like that if he wasn’t.

The closer you get to the spot where you left him, the closer you get to the mountains. The three are practically stacked onto one another in a cluster. They start to tremble, a flock of birds taking off from the trees on one of them when they do. Once the trembling stops, you hear his voice again, a furious howl coming from below.

Following his voice, you dive down. It takes a little while before you’re able to spot him, just his head. You land, rushing to his side before a gasp escapes your lips. Your eyes widen at the sight of him, or… what you can see of him. The Monkey King lays against the ground, his body pinned down by the newly-arrived mountains. Only his head and a forearm are visible. He’s bloodied and bruised, his head whipping around wildly and his breathing erratic.

He grunts, straining as the mountains once again shake. His hand digs into the ground for support, but his efforts are shown to be fruitless when the mountains remain, and he slumps back in exhaustion.

“Sun Wukong!” You call, rushing to his side and kneeling down. If he can hear your voice, he ignores it, his eyes darting frantically to and fro. They’re unfocused, panicked. His breaths are mercurial as he tries again to free himself, each attempt as successful as the last. He’s barely taking anything in. “Wukong– hey.”

You take hold of his swivelling head, working your gift into his mind. “Wukong… breathe.” It takes him time, each breath working to ground himself amidst his panic. He starts to slow, blinking a bit as he looks up at you. His head falls a bit, leaning into your hold as you continue using your gift. “It’s alright, I’m here.”

“Dove?” He frowns, coming back to his senses.

“Sun Wukong, what happened? Where is that old daoist?” You question, looking back behind you to make sure you are really alone, that this isn’t some trap.

Wukong growls at the mention of the man. “That was no daoist, it was a demon. I wanted to get him alone so I could deal with him myself when the coward summoned these cursed mountains!” His fist slams into the ground, the earth quivering beneath it.

You frown a bit, hoping he doesn’t cause the ground to open up under you from unbridled anger. “Why not say anything before?”

“And risk another incident like with the bone demon?” He brings up a fair point, grunting as he plants his palm into the ground and attempts to free himself once more. He grits his teeth, straining with his eyes trained to the ground as he puts his all into lifting the mountains.

You quickly turn his head to look at you again. “Stop, you’re hurt.”

“I have to get out!”

“And we will get you out, but it’s clear that these mountains aren’t moving. All you are doing is wasting your energy.” You point out the obvious, making him groan with frustration. You can’t say you blame him in the slightest. Wukong already spent five centuries under a mountain, you can’t even begin to imagine how much dread and trepidation saturate every bone in his body in this moment, having to relive it all again.

“That demon must have Master by now, and I am stuck under here!” He shouts, clenching his fist.

“Sandy is with him.” You remind the sage, standing up as you begin to rack your brain for your next steps. “I am sure he won’t let anything happen to him. Just breathe, we have to get you out of here first before we can help Tripitaka.”

You try to think of what to do, but what can you do? If the Monkey King is unable to move the mountains, what can your mortal strength do to help him? With Sandy occupied with Tripitaka and the demon on his way to steal the monk away– not to mention the fact that Pigsy is still nowhere to be found– you can’t count on them to assist. You might have to go out and find someone that could help. If this demon summoned these mountains, surely there is a way to send them away, right?

Looking back down at the monkey demon, you notice his breaths becoming irregular and crouch down to once again hold his head. “Monkey, hey. Look at me.” He does as you ask, unable to hide the anxiety in his eyes. You can’t remember a time you have ever seen him like this. You’ve seen him concerned, for Tripitaka, for you, but this is different. This is fear.

You remember a time you thought the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, held no fear in his heart. How wrong you were, then. In his state, how could you go find help and leave him here on his own? “I’m right here. We’re going to figure this out together, okay? I’m not leaving you here, not even for a moment.”

Your words seem to help, his eyes softening. He reaches up to your hand holding the side of his face, taking hold of it with a securing grip. For now, it seems the best you can do is comfort the monkey demon, despite your own worries starting to eat away at you. There is no way you can just leave him here with his anxieties to eat away at him, but how else are you meant to find a way to help him?