#until she's collected everyone's hand is limited to only 3 cards

[geminiamethyst]

Skyline Gang: Trial of Darkness. Chapter 4

Chapter 1: click HERE

chapter 3: click HERE

Chapter 5: click HERE

The next morning, everything was in a bit of a rush. Dude had stayed true to his word, and managed to convince everyone to go up into the attic with him. They brought brooms, dusters and a few cleaning cloths. Even if they don’t look through everything, the most that they could do was give the room a rushed cleaning job. They were limited for time, Dude even skipped out on his usual morning run just to get started. They only had roughly an hour and a half until they had to open the park and the staff would be arriving soon to get started on food prep and safety checks on the rides. Sooner or later a member of staff might interrupt to check things over or ask for an extra hand. So the faster they look through the attic and give it a quick sweep, the sooner they can get on with their own usual routine.

No one had been up in this place for quite some time. The only evidence that someone was up there recently was Dude’s footprints in the dust from the night before. Boxes had been stacked haphazardly, leaving some of the Gang to move the boxes to prevent them from toppling over. It was quite stuffy from previous summers and the sun shining through the windows, catching the dust floating in the air. It was quite a large space. Aside from the spare bedroom, it could be an ideal storage space too. Or even a workshop for Bud as it would give him more room to invent things. Either way, no one was going to be occupying this attic until it was given a proper clear out. It could take a few days with how much limited free time everyone had.

“EW! Dude, why are we doing this again?” Mimi grimaced as she looked at her hands. They were almost completely grey from the dust after touching one of the boxes.

“We need to clear this place out Mimi.” Dude responded, rolling his eyes. “Two months and we haven’t even looked around this attic properly. Now before the park opens is a good a time as any to get started.”

“You are so cleaning my outfit for this!” Mimi whined, brushing the dust off of her as best that she could.

“Don’t get your tights in a tangle Mimi! It’s not the end of the world!” Pip exasperated a long sigh. Mimi scoffed but decided to not complain any longer. She was outnumbered her, and no matter how much she whined, she knows that she won’t get out of this. As she was sweeping the floor, Candi scanned everything carefully. She wanted to find out what was making those noises from the night before. She was still paranoid that she heard something that frightened her. Rainbow stayed close to her, sensing all of her distress. He found a bit difficult to manoeuvre for a bit. So far, they hadn’t found anything. Just boxes of objects that were left to collect dust. The windows are closed, so nothing could’ve gotten in or out. Aside from Dude’s footprints before everyone started their work, nothing was disturbed at all. There was nothing to be worried about.

“Ohhhh! What’s this?” Sprout asked, pulling away some boxes. He then let out a loud grin. It caught everyone’s attention. “Bonkers!”

“What is it?” Mimi asked, forgetting her previous complaints.

“A magic cart! Look at this!” Sprout declared. Everyone gathered around him. He was hurriedly inspecting a small metal cart. Both shelves of it had a large box that was stuffed with various magic tricks. Cards, hankies, feathers, even matchboxes could be made out from the top of both boxes. There was even a top hat, which Sprout was quick to swap his hat for. He hurriedly rummaged through the cart, grinning like the Mad Hatter. “A wand, cards, books! This is the best find ever! I claim this as mine!”

“So, what? You want us to do a magic show for our first show?” Pip asked, feeling a little excited herself.

“Why not?! I love magic!” Sprout grinned. “And kids love magic!”

“You do realise that we’re going to have to practice magic as well, and that could take quite a bit of time.” Bud brought up, picking up a deck of cards to inspect.

“The magician that I was trained under taught me for a few months. It’s not as hard as you think, Bud.” Sprout smiled with extreme confidence. It wasn’t a big deal. He can teach everyone else what he knows (or at least the bare minimum for the time being) and they’ll be okay to self learn in no time. As everyone else started to ask Sprout a few more questions, Candi’s attention was suddenly on something else. Pressed up against the cart was an old book. Only Candi spotted it. It was covered with dust, hiding the dark colour of the cover. The pages, once pure white, had gone yellow with age. It was a bit odd that it would just be left there like that. It had this enticing feeling to it. It was like anyone who had looked at it, would be drawn to it like a moth to a flame. No one else seemed to have noticed it.

“What’s this book?” Candi asked, picking up the book. The enticing spell that it had on her, had made it impossible to resist. The air felt static around her, her fingertips feeling tingly. Propping the book with one arm, she flicked through the pages. There was a musty smell from the yellowed pages. Dust flew from it with each turn of a page. Someone hasn’t looked at this book for a very long time. Candi scanned each page a little, her actions seemingly ignored. There were poems in them. Each one unique to the other. Candi found herself grinning at a few of them. This poem was quite funny sounding. The air continued to feel static as she silently read it. There was this conciseness within her, urging her to read it out loud. She wasn’t sure if she should fight it or not. Maybe speaking it quietly won’t harm anyone?

“Yang and Yin,

Yin and Yang,

Watch this cupboard open with a bang!

Yin and Yang,

Yang and Yin,

May my opposite be within!”

[commander-kirschtein]

modern!au random quirks headcanons for the aot veterans

i’m back bitches with more brain rotting headcanons (if you want to see the ones for the 104th they’re here and if you think i should do some for the warriors then let me know!) - mac

masterlist

erwin smith:

erwin has the loudest fucking sneezes, like you jump out of your skin when he does it.

definitely texts with proper grammar and punctuation. never used an emoji in his life.

eats pizza with a knife and fork.

don’t ask him to take a picture of you. it will be blurry and his finger will be in the frame (why do all my headcanons make him sound like a grandpa lmao.)

doesn’t have spotify/apple music because he still listens to cds!! he’s got a massive collection of them hoarded in his house and car (don’t you dare put a cd in the wrong case unless you want to feel his wrath.)

levi ackerman:

he has every group chat he’s ever been invited to on mute. would only ever open them just to get rid of the notification bubble.

talks to children and babies like fully grown adults.

wears headphones even if he isn’t listening to music so strangers don’t disturb him.

levi’s also the master of untangling headphones, or anything that needs untangling for that matter (he’s petra’s go-to necklace untangler.)

paints his nails black and wears a few rings on each hand “because it will hurt more if i ever need to punch someone.” (“okay but the nail varnish??” “oh that’s just because i think it looks hot.”)

hange zoe:

never shuts up about conspiracy theories - even if they don’t believe them they’ll spend hours watching videos about them on youtube (“moblit did you know that beyoncé is part of the illuminati-” “go to sleep hange it’s 3am.”)

is double jointed and isn’t afraid to show people at the strangest of times (“hange no one at the store wants to see how you can twist your body into a pretzel!”)

refuses to go to a doctor unless they’re on the brink of death. not to mention they’re the most accident prone person on this planet (moblit suggested that they wrap them self in bubble wrap - they actually did it much to his dismay.)

has three cats with really human names if that makes sense?? probably called phil, sandra and dave.

will only eat cereal at night. they will refuse it for breakfast but will eat 3 bowls between 9pm and 11pm.

mike zacharias:

i saw this drawing once of mike doing woodwork and i have come to the conclusion that yes, he is a DIY husband! he makes gifts out of wood for his friends but he will also put together your IKEA furniture, fix your boiler and put up that shelf you’ve been meaning to put up for 8 months. he’s just the best.

go-to person if you ever can’t open a can or a lid. mike is undefeated when it comes to opening things.

he and erwin definitely got drunk and dressed up in drag (petra did the makeup and nanaba has pictures.)

cracks his knuckles like 5 times a day. if you ask him he’ll crack your knuckles for you.

is the person who will ask what drinks people want and make them for everyone (he’s a sweetheart.)

moblit berner:

definitely has a karaoke sesh every time he’s in the shower. hange has secretly recorded for blackmail purposes.

is that person who locks their car doors twice for good measure.

bought a pregnancy pillow because he likes to be comfy.

took a first aid course because he was sick and tired of hange burning them self every time they cooked dinner.

mixed a bunch of spirits together once and called it his ‘cocktail of death.’ he had to get his stomach pumped the very same night.

nanaba:

get her to braid your hair, she’s amazing at it. she can do really cool french braids and fish braids and it looks so pretty !!

definitely the ‘mom’ friend. always the designated driver (okay but imagine nanaba having to put up with a drunk erwin and mike that’s so funny - “erwin did i ever tell you that i fucking love you so much?” “oh mike, buddy, i love you too.” “okay lovebirds it’s time for bed.” )

bakes a lot and makes the best fucking brownies and cakes ever. every weekend she will bake and bring whatever she makes into work on monday and everyone loves her for it.

can fall asleep anywhere. mike once found her asleep on the floor next to her bed because she was too tired to get into the bed itself.

has a knack for interior design. knows what looks good and what matches. her house looks like an IKEA showroom.

petra ral:

okay but why can i see petra going to zumba twice a week?

snorts when she laughs. she’s also got that kinda laugh that makes you laugh yourself so you just spend 10 minutes laughing for no reason.

wears cute dangly earrings all the time. always got the perfect manicure too (”just in case i need to scratch oluo’s eyes out for looking at my ass for the tenth time today.”)

you know when you walk past a stranger and get a whiff of their scent and it’s like, really nice? yeah, petra is that stranger.

organises the birthday cards and secret santa for her friends and workplace every year.

oluo bozado:

probably drives just over the speed limit because he thinks he’s cool (until he gets pulled over and given a ticket lmao.)

drenches every meal in mayonnaise. doesn’t season his meat either (disgusting.)

won’t open doors for people unless he thinks they’re attractive.

obnoxiously yawns loudly and probably chews with his mouth open (apologies to oluo fans, i just see him as being super fucking annoying ahahah.)

cuts the crusts off his sandwiches. also refuses to eat the crust on pizza.

gunther schultz:

made an instagram for his dogs. doesn’t even have a personal instagram, he just wants the world to see how cute his dogs are.

if you’re on a roadtrip, pass gunther the aux cord, he’s got the best taste in music.

always wins card games - from poker to UNO, he will always win.

has loads of old gaming consoles for nostalgia purposes. he is unbeatable on smash bros and mario kart, don’t even attempt to challenge him - you will lose.

such a good cheesy party dancer. pulls out the moonwalk and the robot every time.

eld jinn:

always wearing plaid?? does he own anything else? We will never know.

gives everyone head pats and fist bumps.

will do that really annoying thing where he goes ‘what’s that on your shirt’ so you look down and he flicks your face with his finger.

touches the top of the door frame every time he walks through one.

if anyone ever asks him to do something, he responds with ‘yes chef’ (and on that note, watches loads of gordon ramsey. quotes him at least 6 times a day - including calling oluo an ‘idiot sandwich.’)

[xiaoquanquans]

at my disposal

sypnosis : y/n and chishiya became allies after y/n had saved chishiya from getting killed in a game of tag . they helped each other stay alive in the borderlands while also collecting all the needed cards to return back to the real world . after following chishiya around religiously , y/n had fallen hard for chishiya and he had explained to her that he did not care for her and would do anything to keep himself alive . all the remaining players had split out to collect the face cards . y/n and chishiya were focusing on completing the diamond cards . but chishiya did what he had to survive .

tw warnings : swearing , manipulation , death , betrayal , mentions of alcohol , self harm , blood , depression ( do not read if you somehow relate to the tw’s , i genuinely care okay ? take care of yourself bby 🖤 )

notices :

• MANGA SPOILERS!!

• mixed pov’s

• the game announcer speaks in bold and sly remarks or important sentences are written in italic

• lowercase

• this ff might be a bit confusing , because it’s a knowledge diamond based game

• chishiya’s true nature / canon chishiya

• gender neutral reader

• not proof-read

—

the game that we will be playing is the keynesian beauty contest . difficulty K♦️. henceforth, the rules shall be explained . within one minute all of you will pick a number from 0 to 100 . after everyone has entered their numbers , an average number will be taken from the addition of the numbers of all the 5 players . the player that has the closest number to the average number will be the winner and earn one point.

here we were , all five of us facing each other at this pentagon shaped table awaiting for our deaths . the rules were simple , win or die .

if you get an answer wrong you’ll receive -1 point. it’s game over for those who reach -10 points.

kuzuryuu keiichi , the third highest executive at the Beach was directly facing me , chishiya was to my left and an additional two players as well .

benzo, an wise old man and hinako a snobby looking woman .

upon heading the rules it was obvious that only one of us would make it out alive . i wished that i had known that before entering the courthouse .

i turned to face chishiya only to see him sneering at keiichi.

only one player will make it out alive .

-

chishiya

why was he so special to me , so intriguing .

i was the one who saved him but for some reason i’m also the one following him around .

i was a smart person , i figured it out quick .

it was obvious to me that i was in love with him , and he noticed it as well .

one day , we were both hanging around the poolside of the Beach far away from each other when we exchanged glances .

not long after he made his way towards me and pulled me aside .

he stared me blankly into my eyes , no emotion portrayed through them . listen , i’ve seen the way you’ve been looking at me and it’s genuinely really annoying but you have to know .

i do not like you , i don’t want to like you and i never will . if we were in a bad situation i would not hesitate to sacrifice you to safe myself . i would use you at my disposal if i had to so stop giving me those looks , you should know that i hate them and i do not care about you .

after that day , we rarely exchanged words . but for some reason i still kept following him around . he was cold to everyone else , i wasn’t anyone special . but god forbid him , he was just so unique to me . he couldn’t keep me away from him and his god complex even if he wanted to .

-

before i could speak up i was quickly outspoken by keiichi .

“ you’ve all heard the rules . if you have no further questions we will continue and start the game. ”

chishiya snickered. he knew that it was going to be him . he knew that he was clever and he showcased that every chance he could .

he knew he would be the one to walk away from the court with the card in his hand . the K of diamonds would just merely be another addition to his substantial stack of cards that he had collected or as some might say , stole .

the first few rounds had passed and everyone had gotten the hang of the game . it was simple to everyone in the room . all you had to do was get the calculations right in the time limit of 5 minutes .

hinako spoke up , “ so this game , is merely a deduction of how far the opponents can calculate? ”

i let out a quiet laugh , everyone had already registered that after the first round and here she was only figuring it out now .

you made a bet with yourself , she’d be the first one out , if not the second .

“ but what we’re reading isn’t mentality but rationality . ” chishiya replied .

after a few rounds the tables weren’t turning , keiichi had been winning every round because of his solid strategy of everyone keying in either 0 or 1 . someone had to do something or else we’d all lose to him .

so i realised i had to change it up a bit .

i quickly inputted the number 100

it took everyone by surprise , i knew i had no chance of winning because 100 was definitely too far from the average but i inspired the rest to take part in what i was doing while also taking away keiichi’s advantage.

a few more rounds passed and both Benzo and Hinako had reached -9 points . I was on -7 and Chishiya was on -8 . Keiichi was leading with -4 points .

Both Benzo and Hinako were one point away from death , so they had to be extra careful in the next round .

Unfortunately for them , they guessed a number that was too off from the answer , causing the acid on top of them to pour down , melting and disintegrating their bodies until they were gone .

Chishiya smirked at it . Their lives had meant nothing to them and so did yours . He knew what he had to do after this . How he could ensure his survival by taking you out .

-

and here you were , in the pitch black bar of the Beach . gulping down bottles of alcohol , trying your best to forget about what had happened . you weren’t weak , you kept telling yourself that even if you didn’t believe it . but deep down you knew you were .

once you were done with your bottle you slammed it against the counter , breaking it into hundreds of shards .

you took the biggest one you could find and lifted up your sleeve .

this wouldn’t be your first mark, your arm was filled with lines that were distinct in width from past experiences that you had before coming to the Borderlands .

before you could hesitate you did it . the glass shard sliced it’s way through your skin with ease .

you dropped the shard out of pain causing it to break off into many smaller pieces .

once again you scavenged for more alcohol , looking for fire whiskey which was something that could help numb the pain .

after minutes of searching you finally found a bottle-

“ y/n what happened , why is the whole bar in a mess? ”

you turned around to face kuina , a look of worry was displayed all over her face .

she made eye contact for a moment before looking down towards your arm .

“ what were you thinking? ” you heard her mutter .

she quickly took the bottle of whiskey out of your hand and placed it on the counter , after that she slowly brought you to the other side of the bar due to there being shards of glass everywhere on the floor.

once she sat you down she went to look for a medkit, leaving you to yourself and your thoughts . kuina took as little time as she could because she knew you weren’t in the right state of mine to be alone .

once she found the kit she rushed back to the bar , only to find that you’ve fainted from the all the loss of blood . it was a thin cut line but a very deep one , it looked like you might have even accidentally cut off a vein .

after you had woke up the next day you and kuina had a long talk and after that you felt much better .

until you ran into chishiya again on the same day.

-

since there are only 3 players remaining , a new rule will be added into the game. if two players pick the same number they will both get -2 points .

i was already on -8 , meaning any wrong choice would lead me to my death .

picking 0 or 1 would definitely lead me to my death , so I’ll choose a random number between 2 and 100

how about , 62 .

the results are in , chishiya is the winner , number 23.

-

y/n ( -10points )

chishiya (-8 points )

keiichi ( -7 points )

-

and that was it ,

endgame for me .

before accepting my death i had one question , how did he figure out i was going to pick 23 .

and as if he read my thoughts , chishiya spoke up .

“in order to distance yourself you would’ve picked a number in between 2 to 100 because 0 or 1 had the highest chances of being duplicates .

after clearing all the possibilities of you picking a random number i was left with 62 and 74.

and i chose between those , and to my luck you picked 62 and all i had to do from there was divide 62 in half . leaving me with 23.

with this , a player has reached -10 points , it is now game over for that participant .

chishiya laughed , “ like i said you’re at my disposal , should have listened the first time . ”

and those were the last words i heard before meeting my end .

- END -

tags: @donnyhateslife @hvrriicane @myloveforchishiya ( dm to be added to tag list )

oui oui love yall 💖

[honnybunnie]

Mc stuck or getting caught in the rain.

Lucifer:

It was late, he spent most of the day at rad, as he was exiting rad their you were laying in the ground. He was aware of the petrichor in the air, but he hadn’t bought an umbrella to shield himself.

There was no doubt in his mind that you were going to be drenched in rain water soon. The clouds looking more heavy as the seconds passed. Lucifer was not aware that you were welcoming the rain.

Drip, drip, and suddenly a downpour. All he could do was hover over you. With eyes closed you felt droplets, and a sudden weight over you. You unfurled your eye lids, to see Lucifer on top of you. He spoke “I can’t allow to get sick, it will disturb your studies.” You were a blushing mess, “ I Was waiting for you to leave rad, so we could walk together.” There was no change in Lucifer’s stern face, he retorted, “I see shall we rush to the dorm then.” “No we can stay like this until the rain dies down,” you reply not making eye contact. Lucifer Laughed a bit, displaying a small smile, “Yes lets stay like this a while,” he muttered placing a hand on your cheek.

Mammon:

He was out on a beauty errand for Asmo, Drizzle formed in the air. Looking for some shelter he rushed under into a coffee shop. They informed him that if he wanted some shelter he’d have to buy something. Without thinking he used the money for Asmo’s errand. “Oh crap” he thought, he may face the 5th’s temper.

He sat at the window in the coffee shop. He started to play on his D.D.D. to think of his next scam. Both of you not noticing each other for a bit. You took off your hoodie, and extended your arms, letting the precipitation hit your face. Triggering Mammon to look outside at you, “Oi!,” he shouted not knowing that you couldn't hear him. As soon as he was gonna bolt the coffee shop, he felt some warmth wrap around his eyes. One of the witches that he had a pact with Uttering “Guess who?” you spotted him finally, but felt in this situation you should let him be. You don’t want to fathom the thought of what she can do to you and Mammon. Putting your hoodie on and jogging to the house. At the same time Mammon finally removing the witches hand stating to her “your hands are too warm.” You were no where no longer there. He sighed realizing he missed a chance to walk home. 

(Hooray if you knew what Kdrama I was referring to)

Leviathan:

Its like hes cursed or something, though he didn’t dislike getting caught in the rain. But the one time he leave the house to get something to match his otaku self. The thought of his limited edition Ruri-Chan Ur card getting wet terrified him. He felt one drop on his cheek and retreated to a nearby park. He found shelter under one of the seating areas. It looked kinda abandoned, but he saw one person there, skipping, and spinning in the rain. ‘What a normie,’ he thought. Glaring in their direction. The rain was hitting so hard, and the Normie was still embracing the droplets as it hit their surface. It wasn’t, they stopped, that Levi realized ‘Wait that’s my Normie, they’re going to catch a cold.’ “Mc,” Levi shouted, placing the card down, and running over to them. The confidence faded when they finally were face to face. “w-w-what are you doing,” he stuttered, “I-I don’t want to have to cancel any matches or tournaments to take care of you,” he mumbled becoming increasingly drenched by the minutes.

You cupped his cheek, “I don’t think I’ve seen it in anime, but I have in Korean Dramas,” you grazed his hair with your other hand, and leaned in half way hoping he’d meet halfway too. Very reluctantly, he leaned in, finally connecting the lips together. 

You indeed got a cold, none the less, he was at your side for the most part.

Satan:

You watched in horror, the sudden grey skies, and water flooding the air. You weren’t expecting it. Its difficult to know if its going to rain, the sky only illuminated black skies. Sighing at the book in hand, you returned into the building the book recited in. The bookstore, you acquired a book that Satan desired to add into his piling collection. It had been the last one, he was smart enough to always place a order before the release date. However Lucifer had placed you into the care of Satan for exams, so he lost the opportunity to do it on time.

You rested in the area, where others who were also seeking shelter were, reading their books. It seemed appropriate to do the same. Upon placing a finger on the first page, you felt a very forced tap. Responding to the touch and viewing up. Realizing the Demon in front of you now looked embarrassed, He sighed. Meeting eye level, “I’m sorry if I startled you,” he avoided eye contact, “they said the last person to buy the book had h/c hair, and was in store. I should have know it was you.” You relaxed your shoulders, retorting “then lets read it together. He nodded in agreement and sat next to you.

Asmodeus:

The pour down had been passing though for a while, thought maybe going to Majolish, skimming thought the new “fall” collection and testing out outfits would help pass the time. “Devildom doesn’t even have any season,” you snickered, “but I’m a sucker when it comes to autumn colors.” You wanted to view yourself in the bay mirrors. Taking a peek behind the curtain, there was no one in sight. So quickly you took a stance in front of the 3 sided mirror taking a quick spin.

Taking a glance on behind you though the mirror., there was a familiar pink haired demon. You didn’t want to be spotted, right now was the best time to be alone without any of the brothers.

Organizing all the scattered clothing in the dressing room, rushing the process causing you to fumble a bit. “Are any of these dressing rooms opened,” he shouted, “everyone saying except you. He placed himself in front of yours, jigging the handle. The door was neglected to be locked due to your earlier panic. The door was swung opened. Quickly covering what you could, a surprised yet amused Asmo entered the enclosed space. Eyeing you head to toe, toe to head. He hurriedly progressed into the room, and locking the door behind him. “MC, if you wanted me to see you so bad, you should have just said.”

Beelzebub:

He was out for a run being a practically hot day at devildom, he decided to run in the rain without a shirt. He definitely caught the eyes of many admirers. He passed Madam Screams, without the desire to munch out on the pastries. The smell that usually allures him, was washed with the rain. 

Passing the buildings into the forest, he picked up the aroma of someone familiar. Trailing the scent, he spotted you, leaning and sleeping against a tree which. There was enough coverage for you in the rain. The sight of your damp body, lured him closer, ‘Were they okay,’ he thought. Scanning you, he was only able to spot red tint on your cheeks. “Are they sick,” he whispered, connecting the foreheads. You were warm.

He wasn’t as soaked as you, but he didn’t want you to be exposed to the precipitation again. So he positioned you next to his chest, concealing you from rain. Shielding you from the rain with his Sweater.

You woke up when the rain had transformed into drizzle, with mist. blinking you eyes, only now noticing the warmth, and figure cuddling you. “Beel?,” you questioned. He smiled setting his head on top hers, a blush running across your face. “you don’t have a fever no more,” he mumbled. Blanked stared, he laughed at the expression, dragging you close. “Lets stay like this longer,” he stated.

Belphie:

I was in the middle of my afternoon nap, repeating the words that Lucifer Scolded him for. He wasn’t interested in the task that Lucifer was about to pass down to him. 

He groaned at every word, Lucifer spoke. “Belphie, stop,” Lucifer scoffed, “Look Mc is still out in the gloomy weather, Take this umbrella to her. No more complaints. GO!” 

Remembering his task, he smiled a bit, only he was available. He was going to be able to share a umbrella with them.  Reaching the destination, he spotted you making conversation, with Solomon who was offering to share his umbrella with you and to walk you all the way home. Belphie wasn’t having any of it, he bolted forwards, snatching your waist. You were shocked, glancing into his eyes, him glaring you down. “I’m going to take them home, after all we sometimes sleep together,” Belphie sputtered. Solomon was amused by Belphie’s sudden open affection towards you. Smirking at his jealously. Pulling you under the umbrella and laying his arm on your waist. “Mc, if you can’t nap with other men, you can’t share umbrella’s either,” he vocalized. You could only smile, and nodded in agreement.

[four-loose-screws]

An Interview with Mr. Toshiyuki Toyonaga about Fire Emblem (Claude‘s Japanese VA), Pgs. 1 & 2

The gaming magazine scene is still a pretty big deal in Japan to this day. Admittedly... I only cared about them to collect the giant bonus posters. I always swore I would read the magazine, but with the hours in a day being so limited, I never did.

Until last November, that is!! I bought Nindori (Nintendo Dream) for a Zelda poster, and saw that the main article of the issue was... An interview with Claude’s Japanese VA!! Now that’s the real treasure!!

And as I read, it only got more and more interesting... turns out Mr. Toshiyuki Toyonaga has been a Fire Emblem fan since the very, very beginning, and has all the unique feelings towards FE of someone who is simultaneously a fan and a professional.

I’ve gone to hell and back slowly working my way through this translation. It just so happened to be at a really high level of Japanese. One of the fun things about being a translator is, you never really know exactly what’s going to be a challenge to translate for you. (Even kid’s books can use a bunch of words you don’t know and throw you in for a loop sometimes.)

And now, it’s finally ready to start posting!! Please enjoy it to your heart’s content!!

However... the interview doesn’t start until page 3, so everyone will have to wait until the next post before you can start to read it. ^^’ For now, enjoy some awesome commentary from Senri Kita, on her illustration for the promo card that came with this issue!

Pg. 1 (pg. 12 in the magazine)

Fire Emblem Cipher Finale Special Feature

Fire Emblem Party

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Fire Emblem (FE) series. The release of the 22nd booster set in October is the grand finale of the TCG FE Cipher, and the promo card included with this magazine will also be the final one. As such, we included a special feature about Claude, the character featured on the card, and the history of Fire Emblem! Please enjoy this lavish party!

Voice Actor of Claude in “Three Houses”

An Interview with Mr. Toshiyuki Toyonaga

About Three Houses & the 30th Anniversary

Pg. 14 ->

Introduction of a Deck w/ the Promo Card + New Booster Set Information

Hero Research Lab

Pg. 22 ->

Promo Card

“Secret Dance Prodigy

Claude (Fodlan)”

Enclosed in the back of the magazine ->

-> The formal event outfit that Claude can be changed into if you purchase the DLC

Claude (Fodlan)※, from “FE Three Houses,” the latest release in the FE series. This card is part of a set with the other class leaders, Edelgard and Dimitri, who were included in previous issues. Because this is the finale, Claude is wearing formal clothing, and the card is holographic!

(above) The scene from “FE Three Houses” that is portrayed on the card. It is from the Officer’s Academy ball.

※Claude (Fodlan): Because there is another character with the same name in “Genealogy of the Holy War,” Claude is called “Claude of Fodlan” in FE Cipher.  (T/N: This distinction does not apply in English, as Claud and Claude are spelled differently. Both are クロード in Japanese.)

Pg. 2 (pg. 13 in the magazine)

making

[rough sketch] The scene for this art is the ball, so I decided to use warm tones, and bring the entire piece together with an orange-gold color. I arranged the information that I wanted to convey (that Claude is drawing the hand to him) in such a way that it would not be covered by the card icons or frame.

[midway progress] I cleaned up the lines that I drew loosely on the rough draft. I also created different layers for the outline and the colors to make it easier to color when the time came.

[finished drawing] I adjusted Claude’s right hand to give it depth, then added another chandelier in the background. When I finished coloring the entire piece, I adjusted it to fit the color scheme I had first imagined. Finally, I added the glittering lights as a finishing touch.

comment

“There’s only one expression that Claude would have in an illustration on the dance floor at the ball!” I thought, and drew him winking. I thought it would be fun for it to seem like his dance was gradually pulling in the wallflowers, so I created that feeling. I left it up to imagination whose hand he is pulling (because everyone is wearing formal clothing that’s different from their casual outfits). I also studied all the art I had of him as closely as I possibly could to get his face just right. I wanted his personality to come out in the illustration, so I hope I got it right!

Senri Kita

An illustrator. She’s worked as a designer and pixel artist at several game development companies, and was the illustrator for FE: Path of Radiance (GameCube), as well as the pixel artist for Kirby: Squeak Squad (DS). Freelancer since 2006. For FE Cipher, she’s provided the art for many characters, including Ike (from Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn) and Gatekeeper (from Three Houses), who’s always standing in his unique spot. She is an active creator of character art and other illustrations for the app game Fire Emblem Heroes.

[albertasunrise]

Coffee and Crisis - Chapter 2

Summary: Marcus has been pretty unlucky in love. With a failed Marriage and engagement under his belt, will his luck finally change when he meets a pretty, young English girl in his favourite cafe?

Warning/Content: Angst, Blood and Injury, Smut 18+

Paring: Marcus Pike/ Original Female Character

§

He woke up alone. The clean, clinical smell of a hospital assaulting his senses as he blinked a few times in an attempt to clear his mind a little. His eyes scanned his surroundings. He was in a private room. The door across from him had a clock hung above it that ticked obnoxiously loud despite the constant beep of the heart monitor beside him. There was a window to his left. The view little more than the familiar skyscrapers that occupied his day to day life. His mind wandered to Ada then and where she was… How she was. He shifted slightly in his bed and immediately regretted it, letting out a pained yell as a white-hot agony tore through his middle, rendering him limp in his uncomfortable hospital bed. A nurse sprinted into the room with a familiar face behind her, one that seemed to suck all of the air from his lungs. She was at his side in a heartbeat, taking his face in her hands as she checked him over whilst the nurse spoke words he couldn't hear.

‘Marcus?’ Her voice pulled him out of his reverie, blinking at her a few times before nodding ‘Are you in pain?’

He nodded again. His words escaped him as he stared into her green orbs, captivated by her gaze as she stroked circled on his cheek with her thumb. He knew the nurse must have done something as the pain started to ease but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Ada any more than she could tear hers away from him.

‘I’ll leave you two to catch up.’ Said the nurse with a smile.

Ada let herself sit in the chair behind her, keeping Marcus’ hand in hers as she smiled up at him. A silence hung over them for a while as the duo carefully constructed what they were going to say to each other, the words dancing on their tongues as they formed on their lips.

‘How are you?’ Asked Marcus suddenly, taking Ada by surprise.

‘I should be asking you that.’ She chuckled, giving his hand a squeeze ‘You scared the crap out of me.’ She finished, the smile falling from her face as the memories of that day flooded back ‘I thought I was going to lose you. You’d lost so much blood and they wouldn’t let me…’

‘Shhh.’ He hushed, squeezing her hand and giving her a sweet smile ‘I’m okay. I’m right here.’

Ada smiled back at him but her heart still raced in her chest, the images assaulting her mind making her breathing quicken.

~

‘Marcus?’ She sobbed, shaking his shoulder lightly in an attempt to wake him ‘No... Stay with me.’

‘He dead?’ asked one of the masked men, kicking the agent’s leg with his heavy boot.

‘He needs a hospital now!’ She growled, looking at the man with a venomous expression ‘Please!! Let him go or he’s going to die.’

‘Now why would I let my leverage go.’ He chuckled, tilting his head to one side as he spoke ‘You best do all you can to stop him from clocking out before their time’s up.’

‘I’m a nurse!.’ Came a voice suddenly, pulling everyone’s attention to a woman in the corner ‘I can help him.’

‘Fine.’ Spat the man, motioning her to move with the barrel of his gun ‘But everyone else stays where they are!.’

The nurse quickly made her way to the duo’s side, taking in the state of the agent and sucking in a breath through barred teeth.

‘He’s lost a lot of blood.’ She stated, giving Ada a pained expression ‘Help me lay him down.’

The two women carefully adjusted the man’s position so he was laying down, the nurse removing her coat and rolling it up so she could place it under his head. She placed two shaky fingers on Marcus’ neck, her eyes travelling up to Ada who was watching her carefully.

‘His pulse is very weak.’ She stated, her face grim as her eyes drifted to the windows ‘They need to hurry up or he’s not going to make it much longer.’ She stated.

The phone started to ring then, making everyone just from their skin as the ringleader forcefully picked up the phone and answered it. Ada had zoned out due to the nurse's statement, her eyes fixed on Marcus whose skin had taken on a scary shade of white.

‘We will exit from the rear of the building.’ The man ordered, motioning for his companions to make their way to the back of the cafe ‘Once we’ve left you can come in and rescue the hostages.’ He finished, slamming the phone down on the counter and looking down at Ada ‘Look’s like they came through for your boyfriend after all.’

Then he was gone and the cafe became a flurry of activity. EMT’s dropped to her side as police worked on removing the hostages from the cafe safely. The nurse who had helped her started firing off some medical jargon that Ada didn’t understand. All she could do was watch as they tried to stabilise him, hooking him up to machines as a gurney was lined up beside him. Suddenly an alarm started blaring and Ada’s stomach dropped.

'What's happening?' She screamed, her stomach twisting in knots.

‘He’s crashing.’ said one EMT as the other grabbed a familiar-looking machine.

One cut away his clothes as the other pulled out the paddles and placed them onto his now bare chest, his body arching as they shocked him.

‘Nothing.’ one stated as he placed a mask over his nose and mouth and pumped the bag attached to it a few times.

Pulling away, the other medic shocked him again. The sight of Marcus’ body arching like that making Ada feel sick and she sobbed openly as she silently willed him to come back to her. Finally, the alarm changed its tune and they all breathed a sigh of relief, quickly manoeuvring him onto the gurney and pushing him out of the cafe to the waiting ambulance. They said nothing about Ada jumping in after him, sitting her on a seat to one side as one jumped in the cab and the other continued to pump air into the agent. This was not how Ada had expected to spend her day but she knew she’d couldn’t leave him. She couldn’t lose him.

~

‘You’re thinking about it.’ He accused, giving her hand a slight tug to bring her back to awareness.

‘Sorry, it’s just…’ Her tongue felt heaving in her mouth as she let her eyes lock with his, his brown orbs glittering in the artificial light ‘You died in front of me.’ She stated ‘I had to watch them shock you twice, it was horrible.’

‘Hey, I’m okay now.’ He replied.

‘Yeah but you weren’t.’ She snapped, instantly regretting her tone ‘When they finally let me see you again you had a tube down your throat breathing for you and they’d said you were in a coma. I was told that you’d suffered a lot of trauma and that it was going to be touch and go.’ She paused to take in a shaky breath ‘When they finally took you off the vent I sat and waited for you to wake up but you wouldn’t, no matter how much I talked your ear off. I thought I was going to lose you and it killed me.’

‘How long have I been here?’ He asked suddenly as he processed what she was telling him.

‘3 weeks.’ She replied, wiping her tears away with her free hand ‘You’ve been in a coma for 3 weeks.’ She sobbed then, looking around the room a little panicked ‘And you woke up alone.’

She balled at her statement, throwing her face into her hands as great sobs racked her body. Marcus watched her in shock a moment as he processed what she’d just said before letting his hand settle on her head, stroking her hair with his fingers and waited for her to let it all out.

‘Hey.’ He said finally, carding his digits through her hair ‘It’s going to be okay now okay.’

§

Marcus was discharged a few days later and Ada had made it her mission to care for him, sleeping on his couch and working from his lounge as well a caring for him. After a few more weeks he was cleared to go back to work but was limited to desk work until, something that had relieved Ada. Much to both their distaste she eventually went back home. She was glad of her office again, falling back into her old routine with ease but she found herself missing Marcus terribly. At night she was plagued with nightmares of his bloody form. His blood on her hands. She’d wake in a cold sweat, chest heaving and she would sob until she finally felt exhaustion get the better of her. She was working away when her phone buzzed on the tabletop making her leap out her skin. Picking it up she smiled when she saw Marcus’ name flashing on the screens.

‘To what do I owe this pleasure?’ She asked, grinning down the phone as she spoke.

‘Well, I wondered if you were free this evening’ He replied, his tone making her heart flutter.

‘I think I have some time.’

‘Well, I wondered if perhaps you would like to come for dinner this evening. I would love to cook for you as a thank you for everything.’

‘Marcus you don’t need to thank me.’ She replied, her voice wobbling a little.

‘No, but I want to.’ He replied ‘Shall we say 7?’

‘Sounds perfect. See you then.” She hung up and a large grin spread across her face ‘Shit what do I wear?’ she asked out loud, glancing at the time on her laptop. Only 4 hours to decide.

§

‘So where did you learn to cook like that?’ Ada asked as she sipped on her red wine, eyes fixed on Marcus as he smiled back at her.

‘My mum.’ he replied, collecting up the dishes and taking them over to the sink ‘She loved to cook and I loved to help her.’

‘I bet that your past girlfriends loved that.’ She joked, taking another sip.

‘Certainly helped.’ he replied with a chuckle, making his way back to the table and sitting down again ‘Thank you for taking care of me.’ He then said, changing the subject as he looked at her with a different expression ‘Not many girls would sleep on the couch of a man they’ve just met and nurse him back to health. You’re pretty amazing.’ He finished as he placed his large hand over hers.

‘So are you.’ She replied sweetly, her cheeks flushing at her statement.

‘Shall we go sit on the couch?’ He asked, motioning over his shoulder with his head but his gaze not leaving hers.

‘Yeah.’

Placing their glasses and the bottle down on the coffee table, they both sat, an awkward silence settling over them for a moment as neither one knew what to say. Ada felt a heat start to bloom in her belly as she looked him over. He wore a smart pair of jeans and a burnt orange shirt that complemented his golden skin tone perfectly and accentuated his muscular arms. She licked her lips at the sight. She wanted to kiss him, to feel his strong arms around her as she kissed and licked his neck and jaw. She wanted him. Scooting closer to him, they shared a heated stare. Marcus’ hand balled at his side as he fought the urge to pounce, unsure what Ada wanted but he didn’t have long to wait. She captured his lips in a heated kiss, fingers carding through his hair as her tongue traced the seam of his lips and moaning when he allowed her entry. His hands snaked around her waist, pulling her so that she was straddling his hips and his hands travelling up her shirt, leaving her breathless from the contact. Shaky fingers started to work at the buttons on his shirt as she kissed him hungrily, moaning in his mouth as his strong hands grabbed her ass and guided her hips as she started to grind against his growing arousal.

‘Are you sure?’ He breathed against her lips as he pulled away for a moment.

She just nodded, pulling open his shirt and over his shoulders, running her hands down his toned chest. He angled his hips a little giving her the delicious friction that she was craving and she could already feel herself edging towards her climax. Her jeans were unfastened in a heartbeat and his hand was cupping her sex, fingers toying with her entrance as he placed open mouth kisses down her neck.

‘Shit.’ She breathed as he pushed one thick finger into her heat, grinning against her skin at her reaction.

He planted his free hand on her back and flipped her onto her back, pushing a second digit in to join the other as he nibbled and licked her skin. When he curled his fingers and hit that spot she fell over the edge, back arching as she climaxed loudly. Her moans only made him more aroused and he quickly yanked down her jeans, taking her underwear with them.

‘Marcus I need you now.’ She breathed, pulling him close and devouring his lips.

He lined himself, teasing her a little before finally giving in to her begging and pushing in slow. She gasped a little as he stretched her out, the pain making her wince and Marcus pulled back a moment as his brow furrowed in concern.

‘Does it hurt?’

‘Just keep going.’ she breathed, hands grabbing his ass and urging him to move.

He did as he was told and filled her to the hilt, moaning at the tightness before placing soft kisses along her jaw. He stayed still for a moment, allowing her to adjust to his size before he started to rock his hips back and forth. His place started slowly as they shared sloppy kisses, Ada’s nails digging into the muscle of his back as he continuously hit that spot within that drove her closer and closer again. When she began begging him to move faster his upped his speed, knuckles going white as he gripped the arm of the couch for support. Ada’s second orgasm was intense, her whole body convulsed as he fucked her through it, praising her as she came down from her high. His own peak was not far behind and his hips stilled as he finished, kissing her sweetly as they panted in each other's arms.

‘We’re definitely doing that again this evening.’ She panted as she kissed his sweat-slick skin.

‘Definitely.’ he replied with a smile, killing her nose ‘But first… Desert!’

[zephyr-together]

it’s been exactly one month since top surgery! here’s a summary of what all went down! disclaimer: please do not feel that you need to feel pressured to remember things from this post or any other, your doctor should instruct you on the most important things to do or not do, and also this is my experience and everyone’s will be different! 

I saw Dr. Kenneth Wolf! I highly recommend him if you’re in the area or able to get to him, very skilled and very cheap (only was $5400, $5900 if you get nipple grafts which I ended up deciding not to have) there is a 250 lb weight limit though, they weigh you the day of surgery so if you’re unsure if you’ll be able to make it I’d suggest seeing a surgeon who operates more on plus sized folks

he was/is SUPER booked, I had my consultation in October and had to schedule surgery in June. this made me confident I made the right decision though because of how many people go to him, and having to be stuck in the body I didn’t want for a lot longer than I thought made me more eager to have it so I wasn’t as scared as I would have been otherwise. that being said, it might be smart to ask ahead how long the wait time is so that you can save during that time! because I didn’t know about the wait I had already had most of my money that I got together since last June so I could’ve had it about four months sooner, but hey everything worked out in the end :) 

speaking of saving money, for this doctor there’s a $500 down payment that I paid when I went to the consultation visit (if you’re out of the area they can do consultation over email btw!) the rest was collected about a week and a half before surgery. I have a debit card so it had to be split up in three transactions. I’m very thankful they worked with me on that!

I went into a small room where the doctor met me, marked me up and took my picture. then he said the anesthesiologist would meet me, which she did in a few minutes and went over a bit of questions/paperwork and took me to the operating room! 

I lied down on a table with my arms out, it felt like I was an alien getting vivisected, that combined with my needlephobia made that a bit scary but I’ve been waiting so long so it was exciting too. they had me hooked up to an IV but I think they did that while I was under because I felt the needle go in and then out. and then in a minute I was out! 

I wasn’t aware of this because it was during the surgery but they have a machine to massage your legs to keep up circulation and I had a tube down my throat too. when I woke up the first thing I hear is “the surgery was a success!! :D” and it felt like a weird dream because of anesthesia but in what felt like a few minutes I was almost as awake as normal which was surprising because I was out of it for hours after getting wisdom teeth out so I thought this would be way worse in that way

I had three intense sensations when I woke up: nausea, tightness and hunger. they asked right away if I was nauseous and gave me an alcohol patch to put on my nose which immediately took the feeling completely away. I had a very specific craving for Burger King’s impossible whopper, I think that’s because of not being able to eat I wanted something substantial like meat (vegetarian so closest thing to it) and something QUICK because hungy 

the tightness was pretty intense and unexpected, I felt desperate to rip off my surgical vest but they assured me it’s actually fairly loose. I think it’s just the incisions that give you a tight sensation but what you see and feel on your body is the vest so your brain says that’s the culprit I think. as time went on I ended up feeling desperate for the vest actually but I’ll go into that later

when I got the whopper I’m VERY thankful my dad who met us after picking it up also got the milkshake because I couldn’t produce saliva at all and didn’t know that would happen. I think that’s from having the tube in my mouth. I also could barely hold anything with my left hand because of that being the arm I had the IV in, but both the no saliva and limp left hand things went away in a few hours I think

by the time we got home which was I think an hour and a half after I woke up, I had really intense pain in my throat and under my armpits. the painkillers they gave me eventually kicked in about an hour or so after I took them, I’d suggest to bring them to surgery maybe if possible so you can take them asap, I think I wouldn’t have had that at all if I did, at that level of intensity anyway. for my throat I basically went nuts and drank water, had popsicles, ice cream, fruit, cough syrup, etc and it went away in 2-3 days or so

speaking of the pain under my armpits, that was from the tubes in me to drain extra unwanted blood and puss and stuff like that, it sounds super awful but I wasn’t allowed to remove the vest for five days and I’m naturally sweaty so I didn’t even know there were tubes in me or that I was draining until like four days later. I was stuffed with tons of gauze under the vest so eventually when I did notice the drainage we pulled out the dirty ones and pushed in some clean ones (they provide you with the same kind of gauze). the main awful thing about it was just the idea of having tubes in me, it didn’t bother me so much when I thought it was part of the incision haha...

now that I complained about the tube and throat pain I will say the “pain” for me of the actual incision area was almost nothing for me at all, just a bit of a weird tingly or pokey sensation every so often and that’s all really. but again everyone is different ! 

appetite was funny because it felt like I’d feel really hungry and eat hardly anything and feel good! another post suggested to have pineapple to help with bruising and I think it worked because I ate pineapple constantly and had pretty much no bruising at all

also I hope this isn’t too gross but I couldn’t pee and I was constipated. it wasn’t too much trouble because for the. pee I could just push and it’d come and for constipation that’s a problem that happens for me in general. both took about a week to wear off. they’re side effects of anesthesia I believe. other side effects I had from that were my legs and arms would feel pretty sore at times and my legs were wobbly, they said that I’d need to move my legs around a bit every once in a while to prevent clotting and I got a bit nervous about that so I ended up going for two walks a day! probably not needed to do that much but I think it helped speed up leg recovery 

after that more intense pain was gone after just a few hours I felt fine to watch shows and play viddy games! I thought I’d be zonked out for days or something but I was pretty alert after just a few minutes of coming out like I said. I could’ve probably drawn or made plushies too but it just felt so weird to move my arms at that point and was probably for the best I didn’t and just watched stuff and played games and slept a lot. it felt a bit frustrating how boring it was at times after a week or so but I just focused on how much of my life I’ll feel good now because of this so the recovery time isn’t that bad knowing that

five days after the surgery I had my first post op appointment! this was for the doctor to inspect the incisions, give us ointment to put on the scars and more gauze, and to finally be able to throw away all of the gauze that was under the vest! at this point I was allowed to take off the vest to replace the gauze and put ointment on as well as shower, and was given bandaids to put on the tubes for showering. however the sensation of not having the vest on at this point was SO horrible to me, I felt like a doll that was being pulled and unraveled apart, it made me want to throw up too so I took a shower as fast as possible and then just opted to get my hair shampooed at salons every other day for a couple weeks, so in retrospect I could have not gone five days with no shampoo but nothing can go absolutely perfectly after all!

a couple days later I ran out of oxycodone and tried replacing it with motrin which gave me three vivid nightmares in a row of having really bad fights with my parents and friend over dumb things which sounds silly but it messed me up emotionally and I kept sobbing uncontrollably out of nowhere that I felt like such a burden to take care of. I thought I was just emotional from the surgery but as soon as I switched to tylenol that went away completely! I don’t think it’s that motrin is bad because I looked it up and it’s a rare side effect, it’s just either that my body specifically doesn’t like it or it was the way it was combined with the antibiotic I had 

the second post op was to remove the tubes and it was 13 days after the first post op. they said if you live out of the area you can remove the tubes yourself so I’m very thankful we’re in the area haha. the left tube came out so smooth and quick that I didn’t feel it even come out at all! the second hurt for a second but I think because it kept getting bent backwards but it didn’t hurt too much. the tubes were SUPER wiggly and actually pretty flat so I think they’re constantly improving them to make them less and less noticeable. 

I was told I had to use the bandaids on my holes for showering and keep gauze on them too for just two more days and I could also throw the vest away then. I still felt too sensitive to get rid of the vest yet and wore it for another week, I still have it in case I want it for now (been going without it for about three days at this point) it still feels very strange without it since it feels like it’s holding you together but I think no matter how healed you are it will a shock to your body to not have that on anymore...also the “holes” from the tubes are more like slits which just look like slightly more open areas of the incisions so it’s barely noticeable. there’s some swelling where that used to be but that’s going down! 

now at this point where I’m at, I still feel best putting ointment on with gauze and bandage wraps I bought as a transition from the vest to nothing under the shirt which seems to be working pretty well! it might be that I’m autistic that I’m so sensitive to that feeling and had to have my vest on longer and now this instead of nothing. also I took three weeks off of work initially (I work a desk job) and asked for a couple more weeks of working from home before going back to the office to be able to adjust

also I will say if you live alone, I think you can handle surgery and taking care of yourself if you’re determined, as long as nothing you need to use to feed yourself and whatnot is up too high, too low, or too heavy. but if you can I’d highly suggest staying with someone who can help take care of you, it really helps easy the transition. in my summary I will say there was almost no pain at all but a whole lot of WEIRD stuff I wasn’t used to, but in the end it’s not a whole lot to deal with, considering! 

[spirit-shroud]

what are some roles that have been largely changed for cityrune? since you said queen was an influencer now :]

hi ty for asking me im vibrating. havent gotten to talk about this au now for three years and now that chapter 2 is like real and this time i can like........draw occasionally and i have more understanding of nuance...... [grips table] [screams]

this isnt quite what you asked but heres what's everyone from chapter 1 has been Up To with a little bit of context (and under a read more bc it got LENGTHY):

kris - professional stay at home teen (they live w/ asgore n help run the flower shop sometimes. this decision was entirely bc i dont like toriel). was wrongly diagnosed w Sudden Soul Rejection when they were incredibly young and given an experimental transplanted soul as a replacement. it works for them fine, give or take having to see gaster once a month for checkups. but sometimes the soul makes them skittish n decides they're going to sit in front of the pc and play 30 consecutive hours of a certain simulation game and not even let them drown people in the pool. if it were entirely up to them, they'd be like. passing out on the sofa to documentaries about bigfoot. or practicing cool knife tricks to impress their friends at their next tabletop meetup

- EDITED IN: the soul is kind of their friend. they are wearing a hypothetical get along shirt. most of the time, they agree on actions and things to do. tends to refer to themself + their soul as we/us which originally was just something they did in their head but they kept slipping in speech/text n just became a Thing of how they talk. switches to 'I/Me' whenever smth is wrong.

- also edited in: they believe the soul they have is their original soul bc nobody has told them otherwise. whenever theyre like 'oh yeah we think about our soul n view it as a separate entity to us like. all the time. it likes to hurt if we make too many choices it doesn't seem to like and kind of forces us to be a toned down version of what we want to be but thats just how souls are haha' and everyone is like.... 'Hey Kris That's Really Not How It Is.' theyre like. 'huh. gonna ignore that for now' - this was going to be a plot point

toriel - head of H0MEWOR1D (H01)'s department of education; kind of lost her roots as a simple math teacher as she was pushed into a lot of power she didn't even really seek out. divorced asgore over some miscommunications in their relationship; also loosely as a result of grief from asriel's death

asgore - the same. runs a lil flower/gift shop. people come in more to talk with him than to buy flowers most of the time, though

asriel Flowey - he's back in flower form, thanks to the government an accident. causes a lot of technology glitches wherever he goes, and wants revenge. isn't sure how to go about it. asriel "died" around 8 years before the story takes place and kris still misses him and refuses to even THINK about even the IDEA of calling someone their sibling after what happened, just in case it somehow happens a second time

susie - more of the same really. she spends most of her time either at grillby's (she's sort of become his assistant n helps with opening/closing. it just happened) or getting into low-stakes trouble w/ kris

noelle - she's in the city's equivalent of college and shes so tired. shes So Abysmally Tired n got kinda pushed 2 follow in her mom's footsteps. she's rarely around anymore except through text or on monsters & mages (dnd) night. (however.........she will come back w/ a long break n hang out w everyone again)

berdly - tbh i didnt even consider berdly when i made the au initially. idk what he's doing. probably in a similar situation to noelle??? canonically got kicked out of the M&M group due to clashes w/ other players but lurks in their group chat to posts memes sometimes

didnt rly think of any other of kris' classmates (+ their families) after ch1 and probably will continue to not, until chs 3-5 come out and i gotta whip up roles and histories for like. a lotta guys all of a sudden. i also forgot about noelle's parents

sans - runs a convenience store that everyone kind of thinks is a front, but also it has really cheap snacks and the local teens make a point of stopping there after school. so essentially, more of the same papyrus - similar to ut. is a very polite and sweet boy but you'll know when he's coming

grillby - he's back. he runs a bar like back in ut but the cozy vibes and weird-for-a-bar hours keep attracting kids who need parents, so half of his menu is comprised of overly sweet mocktails. usually only frequented by monsters

QC - same as usual. has a "rivalry" with grillbz but, theyre besties and have a book club

mettaton - he's real and he's back. he's similar to how he is back in ut w/ his EX body. likes to hang out at grillby's and talk to unsuspecting fans. has a show for everything

napstablook - similar to how they are in ut. helps mtt with making music sometimes. doesn't leave the house too often, but spends a lot of time posting on undernet

undyne - unfortunately. more of the same. she is a cop in the monster district. i am also upset by this but couldn't think of anything better for her

alphys - a doctor studying under dr. gaster in the hopes she'll one day take over his research. she spends most of her time as a nurse with a bigger title, though, and blocks out the weirdness of her job with anime.

gaster - weird guy. H01's top soul researcher and resident House wannabe. trying to manufacture the ultimate soul that can be controlled with simple internal switches, but so far he's only had 1 (very limited) success with a certain human. monsters just melt, and darkners just sorta......get weird... he's onto Something, though.

ralsei - lonely boy with some very strange hobbies. popular on UnderNet for poetry, baking videos, and general cryptid vibe. is the DM for the monsters & mages group (also seems to think everything is actually very fine in H01 when it is very much not)

lancer - about the same. professional Round Boy. lives w/ rouxls full time. follows susie around like a lost puppy and calls himself her "underling."

rouxls - runs a hotel/casino kind of deal where the objective Bad Guys hang out, and usually ends up doing any of the spade king's paperwork.

spade king - mafia godfather. kind of a dick. don't play cards with him

seam - works with the spade king as his right hand cat more or less because they have for a lot of years and are in that 'sunk cost fallacy' zone. thinks of retiring to a quiet life in the monster section of town like, daily

jevil - used to work with the spade king, but got imprisoned for Crimes. got weird after The Accident (separate from asriel's accident)

temmies (all) - dont really get mentioned except offhandedly but they run the monster space station. so far, are the only monsters who have ever been to space.

as far as chapter 2 goes:

yeah i dont have much so far for characters. in the original version of the au i accidentally made darkners as a whole just kinda..... not great? like all sorts of weird organized crime ties n sort of going out of their way to be A Problem to the city (not even in like. a revolution way. in a working against them but with the same goals kinda way). with the whole context it worked At The Time, bc i just had the spade king to look to as a villain, and also in this au the darkners are just trying to survive a world that ultimately was not built for them (that humans think they own, and monsters sort of... seeing this and wondering what it'll mean for them whichever one wins), but w/ new info abt how the dark world works n more guys to work with i want to kind of. edit the vibe a bit. like yea darkners will ultimately do whatever it takes to take over H01, but maybe in a better way than like. idk. all this. it doesnt have to be peaceful or anything it just has to be more adaptable as we meet more kinds of darkners

however yeah i thought up 'queen as some sort of childless mommy blogger/influencer' and that completely revived all memory i had of this au. she should be on mtt's talkshow. also she sells collectible wine glasses w/ her likeness

spamton is another one of gaster's failed soul experiments, but he hasn't melted yet, and seems............fine? sort of. so he hasn't gotten decommissioned yet. he does want to give you malware tho. hot monster singles in your area n all that

im blanking on the rest of the guys but i hope any of this was comprehensible

[guigz1-coldwar]

'Back on it' : New chapter for "Redemption in a Spirit in a Cold War" is out !

"Back on it"

"Sometimes, I'm feeling so free, forgetting about the big problems I have in my life because you're there for me and I just want to enjoy those rare moments with you."

Chapter Summary : After paying her respects to Lazar, Yirina is finally going to Laos with Park to join Woods team to work against Naga.....

To read it on AO3, click here !

Words : +3500

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I didn't know of what Park was planning but she did right today, she managed to give me an moment to finally pay my respects to Lazar himself at Tel Aviv, his homeplace. Even if I still feel that guilty in me of that particular day for what happened, I still remember the positivity of Lazar's behavior that he was showing to me, he was really my brother....it's been 3 years since he's gone but he is never forgetten by me & Park. I wished things to be differents but it happened sadly. I hope that he found better peace at where is he now....He can't be forgotten !

It was hard for me to leave the cemetery and it was the same thing for Park too but we finally managed to get out, still having tears on our faces as we were going back into the plane that was awaiting for us, ready to fly away from the city to get to our destination : Vientane in Laos. Since we left Tel Aviv at nearly 10 AM, we should arrive in the Laotian capital after midnight. I didn't sleep too much on the flight, mostly checking up my diary and everything I did write for almost 2 months and also writing down that memory about meeting up with Naga.

Like I thought, we arrived at Vientane after midnight at 1 AM and to say, we were an bit tired of the flight as we didn't take an nap for the large part of it, hoping that we could get to the place Woods is awaiting for us. Me & Park were surprised to discover that Garrett was awaiting for us at the airport, asking if we did have an good flight and how I was feeling after what I did. We did answer his questions before we could leave the airport, our equipment with us to the direction of Woods's team safehouse.

"Wait, where's the safehouse ?" I was asking that question to Garrett who was driving, Park on the front passenger seat and me on the backseats as I could see that we were getting out of the city limits, 5 minutes after we left the airport.

"Yes, where it is ?" Park added as she didn't know like me.

"Okay, you're ready to hear this ?" Garrett started, his eyes quickly looking at us before getting them back on the road in front of him. "Let's just that the CIA managed to reuse an old Laotian Air Force base for them." He replied, making my eyes go wide...how did they succeed ?

"Are you kidding ?" Park raised an eyebrow to him.

"Not at all !" Garrett scoffed, removing his right hand from the steering wheel for an few seconds to strectch his fingers.

"But the governement is communist !" I exclaimed, having some history knowledge about the country in my head. "They will found out that the CIA is here."

"Maybe, the CIA is bribing the governement to keep their eyes shut." Garrett said, his right hand passing through his lips before putting it back on the wheel. "Since Naga is hiding in the jungle, having an old base at our disposal is helping us." He then looked through the mirror to me. "I heard that Woods briefed you an little on that."

"He didn't tell much about it." Park told him, looking outside in the darkness of the night as we were leaving the Laotian countryside to enter its jungle "He said that he will make an full briefing for us tomorrow."

"He's right since everyone is exhausted after today." He stated to us. "We had an mission today and it was very long." He looked at an roadsign outside before he take an turn to the right on an dirt path. "We shouldn't too far from the base now." He added before he start to make some signal with the car lights, shutting it down and lighting them up in an quick succession.

"What's that for ?" I demanded, pretty curious.

"Signal code to say that we're friendly." He responded as from afar we could see the entrance of the base that was looking pretty old and its gates opened. "It's the best way to make sure that we aren't greeted by bullets."

"Because they're shooting at sight ?" Park asked to him, an bit confused.

"Why they wouldn't be ? They want to keep their presence an secret and no one want to have problems here with the local authorities." Garrett expressed, nervous about thinking about it, that could be heard in his voice and his face. "And also because it's the CIA." He continued as he was parking the car in an parking space, filled with military trucks. This base was guarded like an normal one with military personal on watchtowers and guards patrolling around.

"Yeah...because it's the CIA !" I thought to myself, saying it in an very low voice, knowing well of the CIA's bad business...well, everyone in his car know about it. "This place is looking well to not be old." I proclaimed, looking outside to see the base that was in an good shape.

"Of course, they renovated the place down." Garrett breathed before he got out of the car with us too. "They even decide to use some Huey helicopters." He pointed to us in an direction, discovering some helicopters that were checked up by crews.

"Looks like some people here wanted to relive the Vietnam War." I spoke up, seeing those helicopters, having flied in some of them...in my fake memories of course and I'm sure that we will have to use them in the future. I was thinking of it as we were unloading our own bags from the car trunk.

"Some of them are from the US reserves and two of them are belonging to the Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force." Garrett told us, helping us to get our bags out of the car. "We can thanks the CIA's bribes to the governement." He sighed in relief before he closed the trunk. "Okay, let's go join the team." He started to move away from the car as me & Park follow him inside the main building of the whole place that was looking like an big hangar.

"Here you are, you two !" An strong male voice said as we were entering the hangar with our bags in hands, it was Woods himself dressed in civilians clothes coming towards us. "Welcome to Laos." He offered his hand to me & Park and we shook hands with him separetely, getting our bags on the ground.

"You did miss us, it seems." I scoffed in an funny voice and Woods rolled his eyes around.

"Both of you ? Well...yes." He admitted, sounding not sure. "Before we start...."

"Yes, we know the warning, Woods." Park stopped him as she knew of what he was going to talk along with me...don't be too public, girls !....."It's good to see you too."

"Fine, since you know that....It's still for you too, Garrett." Woods continued to his statement, pointing at Garrett.

"I know but Song is been away with Sims, Mason and an small part of your guys in the jungle." Garrett expressed to him and me & Park were pretty curious and he could see it on our faces. "Woods send them for recon, should be back in the afternoon today." He added, giving us details about it...until I saw from afar, Hudson himself, arms crossed and leaned against an wall, looking at us, me especially, he wasn't willing to get to us to say something...he's kinda creepy....must not look at him, now...

"They should come back here with intels about where this little drug warlord is hiding inside the jungles." Woods stated, crossing his arms to look to, what I suppose to be his desk as he walk to it. "But there's something you two should see." He sniffed as he was taking in his hands two playing cards before getting back to us. "You need to watch your back." He told us, handing the first card to Park

"What the fuck ?" Park started, looking at the playing car that she was given : an picture of her on it, she was the Queen of Hearts. "Helen Park : To be captured alive !" She repeated, seeing the inscription on the photo.

"You're not the only exception, this is your playing card, Yirina." Woods gave me the other cards and I could see that I was also the Queen of Hearts alongside Park.

"Yirina / Bell : To be captured alive !" I whispered with the same inscription Park had on her cards. Now the whole Perseus Collective know that I'm alive and well. "Where did you find them ?" I demanded to Woods.

"From the Perseus agent that allowed us to know about Naga." He replied, leaning against his desk behind him. "The same thing like Adler, you became Perseus targets." He added.

"Yes but you know well that we ain't going to hide." I spoke up, giving my thoughts to Woods about it. "And besides, they think that I'm 'Bell'." I continued, seeing this name alongside my real name even if it was troubling me to be honest. "Damnit." I sighed, pulling the card in my jacket.

"Seems that someone needs some Bourbon !" Another voice came in and when I look around, I could discover an old face I didn't see for an month..

"Wolf ?" I breathed, amazed to see him here.

"I heard that you worked with Wolf an month ago in the New Orleans and Sims asked for him to come so I agreed." Woods explained as we were shaking hands with Wolf, he didn't change in an month to say.

"It's good to see the two of you here." Wolf said with an smile to me & Park before he look at Woods. "Any news from the recon team ?"

"No, we should have informations about them in the morning." Woods responded before he removed himself from his desk. "Anyway, you might want to take an look around." He suggested to us as we just arrived and we nodded.

Once we nodded, Woods took us for an little tour around the place and also outside, presenting the base like if he did live there, he did also gave an workplace near Garrett's desk and we learned that we were going to sleep in an dorm with everyone....great ! All of that while been watched by Hudson himself, still at his same spot, looking at us with his eyes hidden by his usual sunglasses, he's looking like Adler in my first days in that safehouse 3 years ago.

When the whole presentation 'à la Woods' was finished, we got our gear out of our bags and put at our personal workplace with Park until it was time for everyone to go take an nap but not for me as I wanted to do something before actually going to sleep. So, as Park & the other were going to sleep, having an little kiss from her before she left for the dorm, I decided to go see Garrett that was the only one with me to not go directly to sleep.

"Garrett ?" I started in an low voice, walking towards his desk with joined hands. "Is there any secured lines here, I would like to make an call." I explained to him.

"Oh, an call ?" He whispered, getting up from his chair. "Yeah, sure, follow me." He gestured as I follow him behind and then, we arrived in a another room where there were some phones on an table. "Who do you want to call ?"

"Zasha !" I replied, getting myself near an phone.

"Good...well, I will leave you to it then, Yirina." Garrett smiled at me and it was reciprocal until he left the room, not closing the door behind him as I start to dial Zasha's number from their office in Century House. It's one of the numerous things I have noted in my diary, not wanting to forget about it....one ring.....

"Zasha Smirnov !" I could hear their voice in an rapid moment, having heard only one ring, meaning that they were near the phone at their office.

"How's my best friend at work ?" I said in an good mood, trying to think positively. Because of timezones, it was only the beginning of the evening in London.

"Oh, Yirina !" They exclaimed, sounding happy that I called. "I'm so happy that you're calling, you arrived in Laos ?" They demanded.

"Yes, it's almost 2 AM in here, what about you ?" I responded, checking if no one was coming in in case.

"Almost 8 PM, I was going to join Portnova at her place of work." They replied, making me smile, knowing that today was the first day of job as an maths teacher in the University of London. "Hopefully, your call was well made because I was ready to leave." They stated.

"Well, guess that I'm lucky !" I said before I make an little laugh and they did the same too. "How's work, Zed ?"

"Honestly, it's perfect, very nice." They answered, hearing them having an breath and sounding very good. "The people I'm working for are very nice." They added, sure of their words.

"That's the main thing, I knew that you will like the MI6." I stated to them.

"Hey, today, they brought me to play an little game during an break." They told me, getting my attention on it and removing my eyes from the door.

"Really ? Explain." I said, very curious.

"They called it 'Bullshit'." They started, narrowing my eyes as I thought that they were insulting me before realizing that was the name of the game. "It's hard to explain but I will try : we're playing with an deck of 52 and we had to get rid of the cards that we were given" They breathed as I heard it before they continue. "You have to play cards in an order but if you don't have it, you have to lie but if you get caught lying, you're taking the pile and if you're thought that someone was lying didn't cheat, you take the pile."

"That's sounds an great game to say." I exclaimed, sounding happy that Zasha was able to have an good animosity with their new friends at the MI6.

"At first, I thought I was so bad at it but then, it worked and I won by an lot." They admitted to me, laughing about it. "The others were either focused on calling out the others instead of me."

"Now, you got very lucky !" I scoffed, making them laugh through the phone.

"I have an lot of fun to be real, it's wonderful." They told me. "It's sure that me & you are going to make an game."

"Count on me & Park !" I affirmed to them, raising my index finger.

"By the way, me & Portnova are....well, we're organizing an little private wedding party to celebrate our union and you & Park are invited." They revealed to me, making my eyes goes wide.

"Really ? I....Zasha, it's amazing." I was in an loss of words, feeling the happiness in me about hearing that idea from them. "When it will be ?"

"Since you're in Laos for undetermined time, it will be the 4th of June." They responded and I nodded to myself before I look around....to see Hudson standing at the door and looking at me.

"Okay, Zed, I will be there, don't worry." I smiled before Hudson creepiness remove that smile, making me look away from him. "Listen, I have to go...say hello for me & Park to Portnova." I demanded.

"Don't worry, I will, give my regards to Park too." They asked.

"Good, I will call you later, bye Zed !" I told them.

"Bye, Yirina." They said before I hang up the phone, finding myself alone in that room with Hudson who, when I turned around, was still there near that door.

"Are you going to stand there and still looking at me as an creep or you're going to talk ?" I asked to him, serious in my voice and clenching my fists

"No." He answered briefly before he took an pack of cigarettes in his hand. "Follow me, we need to talk." He ordered in an harsh tone, gesturing at me before he walk away.

I could have tell him to fuck off and going to bed for good but then, I found myself obliged to follow him and wanting to know what does he want with me. I thought that he was going to talk with me near his desk or mine but instead, it was outside that our talk was going to take place, near the big door of that hangar. He stopped himself once stepped outside, to light up his cigarette but he wasn't talking at all.

"What do you want ?" I directly ask to him after an few seconds of weird silence.

"Need to talk things about you." He responded, blowing some smoke out of his mouth, his eyes focused on looking in the horizon.

"Really ? You're suddenly interested in knowing me better ?" I said, offusqued as I was crossing my arms, looking away from him. I wasn't pleased to be with that guy.

"Listen, there's things I'm sorry with."

"Oh yeah ? Like you're sorry that you worked with Adler to brainwash me ?" I asked him rhetorically.

"Do you think that I was pleased with that ?" He got his eyes back on me as I was doing the same by hearing his words, getting my attention. "It's not because I'm Adler supervisor means that I did agree on that." He added to his statement as I was keeping an straight face. "Believe me, I wasn't happy about that at all."

"But still, you still treated me like if I was only an terrorist." I exclaimed, remembering the few little talks I had with him in the past and they weren't good. "You're the one who ordered Adler to terminate me...why aren't you finishing the job since Adler wasn't doing it ?" I questioned him, sure of my words.

"I have my reasons, Grigoriev." He responded, taking an deep breath.

"Wow, I'm not 'Bell' for you, anymore ?" I breathed, faking to be amazed towards him as inside of me, I was wondering what make him change his mind to call me by my real name. "Are you going soft or it's maybe one of your usual lies ?" I continued, wanting to know even if I could prevent in advance that he wasn't going to respond. "It's sure that you don't believe someone that isn't an american."

"Yes." He simply whispered.

"For you, you need to know that I'm an british-russian woman but I guess that it doesn't change an thing for you, still staying the good american patriot, right ?" I stated clearly in front of him, remembering some words that Park used to describe him.

"What I wanted to say is that it's good that you're here." He affirmed to me, making me narrow my eyes. "I know that Adler did brainwash you, left you for dead and an lot of things but you know well of the dangers of letting Adler in Perseus's hands." He continued, trying to convince me of 'Adler's good side'

"It doesn't please me but since 'I have no choices'." I quoted the numerous times I think about that possibility. "Isn't strange to see the brainwashed woman trying to rescue the man who has broke up her brain ?" I demanded, not wanting any answers from him and I even gestured that he didn't need to respond, it was strange to be sure.

"Do you have memories back ?" He chuckled, changing the subject as he crush his cigarette with his feet.

"Yes." I replied in an low voice. "Why do you want to know ?" I added.

"I just wanted to know about this, wondering what was your past." He answered, scratching the back of his bald head.

"Sometimes good, sometimes bad." I sighed, thinking of all of the memories I did relived, it was an lot of them. "Things that I can't talk about and if I do, it's only to my closest friends." I admitted, making him sure that he's not part of that category.

"I understand." He breathed before I decided it was time to get back inside and to go to sleep. "Grigoriev !" Hudson stopped me before I could have one feet inside the hangar. "How do you feel right now ?"

"Right now ?" I repeated, an bit confused of that ordinary question from him, my hands right on the door handle. "I don't know, been to an place that I thought to have set an foot in my 'old times', it's making me nervous." I said, mentioning that fake memories I had in my head. 'Bell' knows Vietnam...not me. I then put my right feet inside before I stopped to look at him witn an serious glare....

"I'm just trying to redeem myself and make the good, Hudson, keep that in mind !"

[oureuphoria]

Worst of You - JJK 02

You meet him under horrible circumstances but that doesn’t stop you from developing a very abnormal and completely unsolicited crush on your local hot police officer™. Too bad you have a bitch of a best friend, anxiety and an inability to learn from your mistakes which cripples your chances to be with the man of your literal dreams. Oh, and he has a lifetime’s worth of emotional baggage at 23.

Or

“I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong.” “Cool, I’ll let everyone know that you’re moving in then.”

Genre: fluff, angst, comedy

Pairing: officer!jungkook X collegestudent!reader

Word count: 2,083

Note: I am actually not American so if I depict the American school system, police system or any system incorrectly then I am really sorry!

| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 |

You awaken from your not-so-graceful sleep only to see that it was 1:50pm and you had overslept. Oversleeping was very a common thing for you because you often forgot to set your alarms. You’ve trained your body to wake up at specific times from your unchanging routine which is why you were awake, minutes before your meeting with the goddamn Officer and very much not ready. You rushed out of bed with so much force that your self-induced blanket burrito rolled out onto the floor where you laid limply, regretting the brute force you had gotten up with. However, you didn’t learn anything from your mistake and continued with that same force towards the bathroom only to hit your bathroom door square in the face. 

You made it on time, looking somewhat presentable (you tried your best in the compressed time limit). Alex offered you a ride which helped unbelievably because you were incredibly late. You speed-walked to the front counter wand asked the secretary where to go. She looks at you plainly and before replying with much annoyance. “Officer Jeon instructed me to refer a message to you. The perpetrator confessed to the crime late last night and the case has been closed, we will no longer been needing your time.” Oh. Your heart began to sting a little at the realisation that you will never see the officer again but the realisation that you were free overpowered the pain. You smiled while walking towards the door but your happiness was short-lived. You spotted the attacker, hand-cuffed. You locked eyes for the second time although they seemed a lot less manic. 

He didn’t recognise you, that was clear enough but you knew you’d never be able to forget him and that thought scared you. Enough so to leave you frozen in the middle of the station. You stood there for what felt like an eternity before an officer shook your shoulder. “Are you okay?” You didn’t really look at her before nodding, a smile on your face as you thanked her a sped out of the building. You walked back to your dorm with only one thought on your mind. 

_______________________________________________

Morning classes were a bore and you often found yourself reciting the entire script of a movie instead of writing notes. You looked concentrated and teachers never noticed so it never really harmed anyone, except your GPA of course. It had been just over 2 weeks since you became the hottest news on campus and it blew over quite quickly. The buzz was bound to return though because the student who was attacked, William, was set to return to school that day. 

You were fired from your job at the store (because apparently hiring college students was problematic) which meant you had to spend your weekend tutoring privileged high schoolers instead. It was a Tuesday and you were at lunch when William approached you with a light tap on your shoulder, you removed your earphones from your ear and turned to face him but the moment your eyes landed on his face you could feel your lunch creeping back up. 

You were too scared to approach him yourself so you left a get-well-soon card and a teddy bear for him at the hospital which you assumed was why he was there. “I just wanted to thank you for that night, who knows what would’ve happened if you didn’t call the police when you did.” You smiled but it was half-hearted. Your mind was filled with a quiet chant of ‘it should’ve been me’ every time you saw his face. “Honestly, it’s fine, I’m glad you’re okay.” You awkwardly gestured a thumbs up which was meant to be reassuring before you put your earphone back in and went back to your sandwich. Trying to shut up before you embarrassed yourself further ended quickly when he tapped your shoulder lightly again. 

“I’m sorry to bother you again but I was kind of wondering, did you know him? You know the student who…” “No, sorry I didn’t.” You answered quickly because you wanted the conversation to be over as soon as possible but you might’ve come off as rude. You noticed a glint sadness in his eye, a need for closure, a need to know he did nothing wrong. “I don’t think he had a motive for doing what he did to you though. From what I know, you’re a nice guy, I mean your hospital room had flowers everywhere.” He chuckled a little before furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. 

“You visited?” It was just then that you remembered that you had forgotten to sign the card. “Oh! Yes, I left a bear there it was pink, kind of ugly but it was the best thing the gift shop had. It was either that or a Giraffe that said ‘it’s a boy!’” You were rambling, you knew that much but you couldn’t stop yourself if you tried. “Thank you, for everything…” “Y/N.” “Right, Y/N. Maybe we can get coffee sometime or something?” You gulped while in deep thought, you weren’t sure if you could ever make it up to him but you were willing to try. “Sure!”

Once he left, you stared back at your deflated peanut butter sandwich before poking at the stale bread. “Ah, fuck it.” You threw away your crusty sandwich and walked to the nearby cafe which you often avoided like the plague during lunch hours because it was bustling with students. That day was an exception, you needed carbs and you needed them stat. You walked into the cafe, ready to order cheesy fries when you saw him. Officer Jeon. You cursed under your breath and allowed yourself to stare a little. You knew officers often came here since it was around the station but you had never seen him there. 

You were waiting in line while he sat down with 2 of his co-workers. You watched them pick up the menus and discuss what they wanted to eat. You were invested in staring until a loud voice startled you. “Next waiting.” That was your cue and you almost missed it staring at the Officer with obvious heart eyes. You held the little table number concoction in your hand as you made your way to sit in the far corner seat where you always sat. But you didn’t go as unnoticed as usual. The incident was still fresh news for the a few students even though it had been 2 weeks. Some students thought you were a hero while others remain confused because “does she even go here?” But the majority never really cared about you but stared anyway because that was the way society worked. You sat and slowly retracted into a small ball of dismal anxiety while you waited for your cheesy fries to arrive. 

“Hey isn’t that the awkward kid that you questioned, Jeon?” The officer parallel to him asks loudly, clearly pointing at you which made you retract into the corner even further. “Oh yeah I saw her at the station, poor thing she looked so helpless.” To make matters worse, the woman next to him was the one who checked on you at the station. To top off the embarrassment, Officer Jeon turned around to look at you right when you accidentally smashed your toe on the edge of the table while trying to grab your bag. You winced and chanted “ow, ow, ow, ow,” until you abruptly stopped after realising you were being watched by 3 amused officers. 

You managed a small smile and a wave before you grabbed your laptop from your bag and tried to distract yourself from the major discomfort you had endured. Everything went well for a collective amount of 37 seconds before the man you found intimidatingly attractive sat on the seat opposite yours. You peeked over your laptop a little because for some reason you believed that if you couldn’t see him, he couldn’t see you. However, his tall physique allowed him to clearly see you crouched behind the laptop screen. “Hey.” You feigned a smile and pretended to not be completely disturbed by his presence. “Hi.” You squeaked back before internally slapping yourself for sounding so timid but unfortunately your handbook on social interactions seemed to lack a chapter that covered ‘how to talk to attractive police officers who you are low key crushing on but can never be with for longer than 2 seconds without combusting into a nervous mess’. 

“How’s everything going? I heard you visited the station looking a little scared.” You chuckled nervously, your laugh becoming slower and slower before dissipating into an awkward silence. “You see, that wasn’t me that was just someone who happened to look a lot like me. You know, me and my common face.” These were moments you wished you could forget because your communication skills were frankly astonishing. However, instead of worrying over your inability to make small talk, he laughed. Officer Jeon laughed at something you said and it was super fucking cute. 

“You know Y/N, you’re really…unique?” You held back a snort as you laughed under your breath. “You seem so shy and timid but you looked like you were going to bite my head off at the station.” You started violently chugging your water down, this time for far too long because you didn’t want to reply. “Well, you see I was very…dehydrated? And you know what dehydration can do to someone.” You were never a very good liar which proved to be an important skill in times like such. 

He curved his eyebrow at you questioningly but didn’t care to press further, soon after the waiter came with your cheesy fires. You thought it would be rude to eat in front of him so you just stared at the bowl quietly. “Aren’t you going to eat?” “Yeah I was just waiting for it to cool down.” You awkwardly crouched to slowly blow on your cheesy fries which just made him stare at you amusingly. “You’re a weird kid, Y/N. I’ll get going now, it was nice catching up.” You nodded before William crossed your mind. You lunged forward to tug on his sleeve to stop him from leaving. “Wait, do you think you could um, tell me what happened with the case?” “Meet me here tomorrow at 5 and I’ll tell you what I can.” And with that, he left. 

“And thEN HE LEAVES, HE JUST LEAVES ALEX, DOESN’T EVEN GIVE ME HIS NUMBER, OR EVEN HIS FIRST NAME?!?” You angrily protested to your friend who was more interested in her phone than the conversation. “Hey, Alex, are you even listening?” Your question fell on unhearing ears so you yelled again to catch her attention. “Alex!” “What?” She replied, a little annoyed but she didn’t push further at the sight of your glare. “I’m sure he was just leaving then because he had to, you know, special police business or something. I bet he’s into you, you’re adorable.” She ruffled the top of your head and you smiled bitterly. Compliments from Alex were normally out of pity and she had a lot to pity you for. She was prettier than you, nicer than you and uncannily good at socialising. This generally meant that whatever boy you were into, was into her. 

“Is he really that cute? I need to meet him.” “No! I mean, I don’t even know his name, it’s not important. Don’t waste your time.” Your abrupt exclamation made you feel a little guilty. You’d never voiced your insecurities with Alex and yet you held her completely accountable which was entirely unfair. “Oh, alright. So, what movie are we watching tonight?” Her attention was trained on her phone again as she asked the question. She looked up at you suddenly with pleading eyes and you knew exactly what she wanted. “Just go.” You waved her off with your hand and she didn’t hesitate before leaving you to go to her room. You allowed yourself to melt into the couch as you moped over spending another Friday night alone again. “Wait, Alex! Can I come with you?”

[wedreamedlove]

Bai Qi In Love - Character Study

Archiving from Reddit. This is also the main post I wanted to bring over but it required my previous Bai Qi - Character Study post LOL.

So I went through Bai Qi's Spring Festival Date and I have not been the same ever since, so I wanted to expel all my emotions in another character post.

Had a couple of songs in the background while I was writing this, so feel free to put them on too while reading this post LOL.

Contains spoilers up to Chapter 15 and lines from unreleased CN cards. Translations are from the CN and JP version, so may have differing lines from the ENG version.

My road map this time is starting out with the origin of Bai Qi's love, moving onto his letter, how he's gone through his life with MC being his North Star, and then finishing off again with just how much he wants to share every moment of his life with her.

I mentioned before in my Speech Quirks post that Bai Qi always defaults to absolute sincerity when he's not sure how to respond to MC and I hope this reminds you of that, and just how he has a sixth sense when it comes to MC. Every cell in his body is attuned to her.

Normally, this level of devotion to someone is probably unhealthy but, well, MC is the paragon of goodness here so he's in good hands LOL.

FALLING SLOWLY (IN LOVE)

First (another song here!), this is the JP translation of ground zero in the [Campus Date]:

The man raised his knife and attacked Bai Qi, stabbing the sharp blade at him. But still, Bai Qi desperately countered.

Finally, everyone was knocked down but Bai Qi, who was bleeding horribly, stumbled. In his hazy consciousness, the sound of the piano gradually weakened. It was like falling into light from heaven.

In that moment, the boss of the gang took this chance to kick Bai Qi and, because of that hit, Bai Qi fell from the rooftop.

Bai Qi reached out with both hands, trying to grab something as he felt himself plummeting.

Suddenly, a melody reverberated, filled with a strong energy, pressure, and tension.

That sound crossed space and time and resonated with Bai Qi's memories.

The sight of his father wearing a military uniform and his gentle mother... memories of his childhood poured into him all at once.

"Lieutenant General, regrettably, there was no evidence of Evol in his genes."

"There's no meaning for such a useless thing to exist."

Since his mother passed away, he was always alone. It was like he was the only one in this world.

If he died, those guys would probably be happy.

Bai Qi heard rhythmical and strong piano notes and, as he was engulfed in the fierce winds, he felt his body becoming lighter.

"NO!"

Not like this.

His life didn't need his father, friends, or a meaning.

Bai Qi clenched his hands into fists with these strong emotions and the power, sleeping deep in his body, awakened.

He felt a pulse in the wind and, between the vast expanse of heaven and earth, life spread through on the wind.

The melody he heard eventually turned into something overflowing with emotions. In the depths of autumn, the gingko leaves blown up by the wind danced and glimmered in the air.

Bai Qi traveled through the air like a bird and small birds, with their wings spread, gathered happily around him.

Entranced with the piano notes, he hummed freely to the song.

The birds flapped their wings, startled by Bai Qi's sudden humming.

Bai Qi gently picked up a small bird and continued to hum.

It was joy for his reborn self and a declaration of the coming light and end of darkness.

He heard the singing of a girl along with the piano notes.

That clear voice had a powerful force which captured people's hearts and wouldn't let go.

The girl's singing and piano drew Bai Qi's mind and body over strongly.

The wind lifted Bai Qi's body and carried him to a window. Looking inside, he saw a girl playing the piano.

Maybe it was the reflection of the gingko leaves fluttering outside the window, but the girl's eyes sparkled like stars.

She continued to accompany herself on the piano and it was as if she was resonating with the wind.

It was an ordinary girl, but he felt a strong spirit from her.

The girl's hands danced on top of the white and black keys and her piano song shook Bai Qi's heart.

He quietly watched her, feeling that the seed sown in his heart was sprouting.

The girl had no idea that her piano saved a boy who was about to fall into a dark abyss.

And there was no way for the girl to know that the boy swore on his life to protect her.

BTW, the song MC was playing at this time was Liszt's Liebestraum No. 3 (Love Dream). During the second anniversary, Papergames confirmed some of the piano songs in the game.

I don't think it needs to be said that Bai Qi was literally going to die at this moment. Not only physically but I'm sure he was mentally at his limits too. Despite the tough act he puts on about being used to loneliness and not caring for what other people think about him, humans are social creatures. He felt like he was all alone in the world and was about to give up on life. I feel like we can draw some analogies to depression here.

There's also an intentional foil in [Chapter 12] between Bai Qi, Jay, and Josie. There's a reference to Josie in [Chapter 7] and MC was sympathizing about how Evol made Josie get treated like a monster, and that sort of darkness can easily change someone. Bai Qi's reply is:

[Main Story 7-18]: "Then I'm very lucky. There was someone who caught me right before I hit the bottom."

But going back to the scene with Jay in [Main Story 12-8], when he's being interrogated, he accuses Bai Qi of not knowing anything about the despair he went through. But, as we all know, Bai Qi lost his father (when he didn't show Evol genes), lost his mother (in the fire), and lost his younger brother (their father took him away and their relationship soured after the death of their mother).

Yet, unlike Jay, he didn't lash out at society and turn to the darkness because he met MC.

[Campus Date] is such a critical date about Bai Qi's character and his convictions and how, while a part of it was formed to go against his father's version of justice, it really solidified because of MC. He learned to love life and cherish its preciousness because of MC.

Because of just how important this ground zero is for Bai Qi, we see references made to this scene again and again and again:

[Main Story 15-7]: "And you saved me. Don't lower your head, look at me. Don't feel insecure and don't feel like you're useless. You caught me again right before I hit the bottom."

[Spring Festival Date]: "The day I met her, there were gingko leaves drifting and falling slowly through the air, and it was the most beautiful time in late autumn. It was also the darkest time of my life. But she was the one who caught me tightly when I fell."

[CN Rumors and Secrets: Ashes]: Bai Qi is bleeding out and touches the picture of MC that he always keeps on him in his breast pocket and sees that a corner of it is stained red. Then he thinks back to the time he heard her play the piano, lightly, gently, slowly, and how it seeped into his body and heart. [Context: this is before he reunites with MC].

THE. LETTER.

We learn about it in [Chapter 7] and how Bai Qi gave it to Minor to pass to the MC, but she saw the bloodstains on it and, because of the bad rumors around Bai Qi and how she misunderstood the sight of him threatening a student to cough up (stolen) money, she thought the letter was a threat LOL.

I'm laughing out loud, but rest assured I'm actually crying inside.

However, the truth is that it was a goodbye letter:

[Main Story 7-20]: "What I regret the most? Probably not handing that letter to that girl personally. [Was it a love letter?] No, it was a goodbye letter. [Why did you write a goodbye letter?] Why should I tell you? [Bro, look, everyone's listening. Give me some face] Because that girl said that she hated it the most when people leave without saying goodbye. [One last question. Could you tell us what was in that letter?] It doesn't matter. Let's just leave that letter in the past. We'll have lots of time in the future together."

For those curious, the contents of the letter is from [CN Rumors and Secrets: Angled Light] but I think this is part of the Dream Heart Lake event series and so won't be released: "Saturday, 9:00AM, I'll be waiting for you in the school library."

By the way, to make things more tragic, you also learn here that he waited for 14 hours at the library, until he was forced out because it was closing, and before he left he slid a gingko leaf into a book that had a collection of Lord Byron poems, which the MC often carried.

The reason he wanted to say goodbye to MC was because, after his Evol awakened and he was going to graduate, his father enlisted him into special training and (threatens) points out that Bai Qi now has someone he wants to protect, but MC is special and she won't have a peaceful life. Does Bai Qi really think he can protect her (as he is)?

It doesn't say what page Bai Qi placed the gingko leaf into, but in [CN Rumors and Secrets: Ashes] Bai Qi thinks he finally understands one of the poems in the book.

Lord Byron's "Don Juan" - Canto the Ninth, XVI and I bolded the part he quotes:

"To be, or not to be?" — Ere I decide,       I should be glad to know that which is being? 'Tis true — we speculate both far and wide,       And deem, because we see, we are all-seeing; For my part, I'll enlist on neither side       Until I see both sides for once agreeing; For me, I sometimes think that Life is Death, Rather than Life a mere affair of breath.

Meanwhile, in [CN Tide of Light SSR Chasing Dreams Date]:

"That year, I did want to give you that letter personally. But I gave myself a way out and left it up to luck. I knew that, at the time, I was still lacking a lot and so I decided that I had to meet you again with my best self."

On a last note, in [CN Yesterday's Breeze SSR Former Days Date] MC asks Bai Qi if he has ever imagined them not reuniting with each other again:

"I've thought about it before. I've thought about how, if I wasn't there, would there be people who would bully that girl and would there be anyone who'd get back at them for her? I've also thought about whether there'd be someone who'd give her a love letter and if she would end up loving someone else... So, if I was to ever meet her again, I had to make sure to catch her. And I'd never let go again."

BTW, in this date, MC has some sort of dream projection where she goes back to their high school days (but the past her also exists LOL so there's two of them) and she has some fun interactions with a grumpy high school Bai Qi. But the heartbreaking part is that MC sees the letter and runs to find him and you get to hear Bai Qi say, self-deriding, that he knew "she" wouldn't come...

HIS (GUIDING MOONLIGHT) NORTH STAR

So, after seeing just how important MC is to Bai Qi, is it any wonder that every atom of his body is attuned to her? SOBS HE JUST LOVES HER SO MUCH. Xu Mo may have the red string of fate, but Bai Qi has "all roads lead to you". She's his lodestone and his compass always points to her.

[CN Lost Forest SSR]: "I will always walk towards you first. You're forever my flag, the one I've kept to throughout every moment of my life."

[CN Go See Him: Military Uniform]: "This uniform and these medals are my convictions, and you are the direction I move forward in."

[CN Southern Wind SSR Road Trip Date]: "The start and end of this journey is you."

I feel like I'm missing more, because I swear the majority of Bai Qi's cards all seem to have some sort of direction quote and relating it back to MC.

Anyway, I won't bother bringing the examples I put in the other post (because they're over there) but this is also why it melts me whenever there's description about Bai Qi's eyes following MC or whenever he's just focusing his attention on her (with heart eyes) in the ASMRs.

Additionally, in my previous character study for Bai Qi, I talked about how MC and Bai Qi both encourage each other to grow with unconditional love and acceptance, but I want to add some quotes here about just how much he takes becoming a better person for MC to heart:

[Spring Festival Date]: "She's the one who told me I could live more strongly, and she's also the one who told me I could live more gently."

[CN Clear After the Rain SSR]: "You're the only one who can find the real me."

[CN Drunk Easterly Wind SSR Three Worlds Date]: "Regardless of whatever lives we have, I will always take my best self and give it to you. This isn't an undertaking and it's not a joke. All of these are just words from my heart."

[Slightly Drunken Date]: "No matter which side of me, they're all yours."

What can I say except that's love, baby! You don't need to complete each other, you just need to encourage each other to be the best version of yourselves!

FOREVER BY YOUR SIDE

Now that we've gotten through the bulk of what I want to say, I'm just going to dump all the romantic stuff Bai Qi has declared to MC.

It really bothers him that he wasn't there for most of her early life, but he maintains his optimism (wouldn't be surprised if he learned it from her) and looks forward to their future together.

[Prank Date]: "I wasn't there for your university, middle school, or elementary school years, and even the time before then. In my memories, there's only the sight of you in high school. At that time, your hair was longer than it is now. But it doesn't matter. From here on, we have time to create new memories."

[Love of my Life SSR Goodnight Wish Call]: "I just... thought about you in many small instances. For example... a movie, a song, a lyric, when I'm crossing the road, and... the moment I close my eyes [...] As long as you're willing, I want to take all the time that's considered yours and turn it to "ours" [...] I want to know how you were before I met you. I want to walk the roads you've walked before, see the sights you've seen before, and... brand my mark on all those moments [...] Yes. I really care about that. I want to make up for all the time I wasn't there in your life. But, right now, what I care about more is our future [...] In our future... I want to hold your hand and walk to the end of our ever after. That's the best future I can imagine."

[Mediterranean Date]: "The missed holidays, the dates I couldn't make, and the many times I had to disappear without being able to tell you... I've never had the time to make up for all of these things. So, no matter what we do, no matter where we go, as long as the person beside me is you, I won't have a single objection."

[Love of my Life SSR Wish Call]: "My wish? From the second I met you again, the wish I made to the stars every night has already been realized."

[2018 Birthday Message]: "Sometimes, whenever I pass an interesting place, I'll think about when I can bring you here to walk around. Whenever I eat something good, I'll buy one more on habit. And, whenever I run into danger on missions, I just need to think about you and my will to fight is rekindled. Because you're here, happy occasions went from being for one person to being for two people. And all the things that would worry someone have disappeared into nothing. Is it strange to hear me say this? But I want to tell you, just how important you are in my life. I don't believe in fate, but I believe in miracles. Meeting you is the most precious miracle in my life."

[Spring Festival Date]: "In the rest of my life, I want to use it all to accompany you, care for you, and love you. This is all genuine. They're all words I want to say to you... words said only to you."

[Main Story 14-22]: "I'll be with you, until the very last moment."

MOM, I LOVE THIS 2D MAN SO MUCH!! Haha, sorry, I just had to get that out of my system. Thank you for reading up to this point and I hope this lets people appreciate Bai Qi more. Gotta spread more propaganda for him and convince people that he's not just the boring vanilla character.

He's someone who was teetering on the edge of darkness and could have become someone who lashed out at society like Jay, but instead he chose to be a protector of the people and to uphold justice (even if his methods are unconventional and morally grey).

He struggles with insecurity but it never gets in the way of what he wants to do and instead motivates him to continue to better himself for MC. There's nothing wrong with setting someone or something as your goal to get through life. Baby steps until you learn how to run on your own, or not when you find someone who will walk the road of life with you.

He's a man who loved the person who literally saved his life (and is probably his raison d'être) for 7 years, never forgot her during that time, and has finally reunited with her.

Okay, ending this post for real now with the Lunar New Year card. BTW the ENG version is totally fine and I have no qualms with its translation, but I just like the nuance more in the CN and JP version.

CN goes 你是我的此生眷恋 which is literally like "you're my affection/attachment in this life". If I wasn't separating it from the English version, I'd translate it as "love of my life" too to simplify it and make it flow. But I find it interesting that 眷恋 (juan lian; sentimental attachment) is used instead of 挚爱 (zhi ai; true love) and the way you'd actually write "love of my life" is 此生挚爱 (ci sheng zhi ai) rather than the card's 此生眷恋 (ci sheng juan lian).

JP goes おまえは俺の一生の憧れ which is literally like "you're the aspiration/longing of my life". Again, I find it so interesting that neither JP or CN are using the character for love 愛 (ai) and JP's 憧れ (akogare) bundles in feelings of yearning, longing, desire, and aspiration. IMO the JP version drives in the fact that MC is someone Bai Qi's trying to catch up to. He's loved her for so long, tries so hard to better himself, and all of it is to become a person he believes can stand by her side.

[cosmic-affinities]

Under the Guise of Seclusion

Summary: The Symbol of Peace as a title died years ago, Yagi Toshinori has already caught up. No one was ready, no one ever will be. All anyone can do is take the first step to move forward.

Our story started on Dagoba Beach, it's only fitting that's where this one ends.

AO3 Link

Fair warning it's a bit cheesy but it deals with a heavy subject. I finally had to bite the bullet and write the BNHA obligatory All Might dies fic, this is what happened. I hope you enjoy it!

A secluded beach is what everyone else saw.

To Izuku, it was the first place he felt strong. The one place he could always go back to if he needed to ground himself.

Now, all it would ever be was a gut-wrenching reminder of what was lost.

But he wasn’t alone, never really was if he is honest with himself. It wasn’t just after ground beta, he guessed that you never realize something has always been there until you have someone point it out to you.

That thought brought a new wave of sadness over him, the one who reminded him would never see how much he truly needed the reminder.

The three hardest days of his life had come and gone in a succession much too quick for Izuku’s liking.

The first was a month ago, All Might was hospitalized, a week since they put him on a slowly ticking down clock, and three days since- well, it was a thought Izuku couldn’t even bring himself to think.

If he let himself think it, he would start to remember that, no matter how indirectly, he was the one that started the ticking down clock.

Now here he stood, at a funeral, he never could have imagined going to, let alone choosing where it was.

Izuku was surrounded by everyone that touched All Might, he knew All Might wouldn’t want anyone to be left out. Everyone from the entirety of the current Class 3-A to pro heroes, to Izuku’s own mother.

But most importantly to Izuku, Katsuki Bakugou stood, hand never leaving Izuku’s no matter the amount of nitroglycerin between them. If anyone thought the pair was inseparable before they now looked like fools, they underestimated how well the two supported each other and just how willing they were to drop everything for the other.

In three days, the longest they had been apart was to shower, even then they took them at the same time so they didn’t have to wait twice.

When asked down the line why they couldn’t let go of each other they always said the same thing, they didn’t even realize until someone pointed it out. They both had a theory as to why but it was one answer they had learned to live without.

Maybe it was because they were apart when it happened, maybe it was the only thing holding them together, or maybe it was just a small comfort that they needed.

Three days ago Izuku sat with his mother in his childhood home, making small talk, nothing more substantial than pleasantries, leaving the hospital that day had been particularly rough. Katsuki figured they would need their time alone and decided to pay his folks a quick visit to kill time.

Within the hour they were reunited, each with the news that their earlier moments were their last with the now fallen hero. Their mothers clung to each other with no hesitation, both had tears and cries for miles, they had to get away.

With nothing more than a simple look and a nod, they made their silent way, hand in hand, to the children’s park they used to play at together. Neither of them shed a tear that first day, they didn’t let themselves under the guise of wanting to be there for the other. They would later realize they were always there for each other and holding themselves back for even a moment was all for themselves, a reassurance that they could, they needed some faith in themselves.

They made their way back to Izuku’s house, guiding the pile they once identified as their mothers, inside with them. Their mothers stayed together, finding comfort in the warmth of their best friend that they could find nearly nowhere else. Inko knew she couldn’t be alone and Mitsuki wouldn’t dare leave so they found themselves asleep next to each other, a result of their collective emotional exhaustion.

Izuku and Katsuki would have been in a state not too far from that of their mothers if they had not been on a couch. Again neither of them had to speak to know that Izuku’s room, not updated since middle school, was no place for them to be at the moment. Instead, they curled around each other, both so thankful they could do this, no longer angry because they couldn’t.

They wished to be back there, warm and comforted by the familiar smell and feel. Truly, they wished to be anywhere other than a secluded beach under a beating sun that felt no remorse for their loss.

They had listened to prayers and condolences, even gone as far as to accept them as kindly as they could, now they waited for the first person to make their own personal remarks.

Everyone was hesitant to make the first remark, some of the older pro heroes remembered how during even the most somber of moments All Might would make the first move and start the rigorous journey of lifting spirits. When asked why he never hesitated to be the first to speak he always said that the first step is the hardest to take, he would personally take as many as he needed to if he knew he was helping.

Izuku thought he could try to do the same but, unlike times where his body moved seemingly without permission, it was now frozen. Stuck. Waiting for another to take that first step, waiting for the person who would never take the first step again.

It was finally an uncharacteristically slow Gran Torino who stepped up first, he told the story of how Yagi Toshinori, once a frail young boy, was able to bear the weight of a room full of mourners and allow everyone to start becoming better. He admitted to that being the only reason he stepped forward, thinking of Yagi at his lowest made him realize that if he could do it then there must be some redeeming quality to it.

Next was Aizawa, he told the story of how he managed to corral one of the big three into helping him get over his own fears, eventually leading directly to his now-husband and indirectly to everything else in his life. Only a few were surprised at the sentimentality, everyone else knew these things were not taken lightly and this was the best moment to show everyone else how much All Might knew he meant to them.

All of the pro heroes made their way to the front, each giving away a piece of themself along with All Might. Everyone shuffled their way to the front, whether it was to say a sentence or to tell a story, they made as much peace as they could for the time being.

Eventually, only Class A was left, Katsuki broke the ice and made his way to the front with a squeeze of Izuku’s hand, it almost felt wrong as they split.

“All Might meant a lot to everyone, it's not fair to try and say he meant more to me because he always put all of himself into everything he did, including any connection he made. Whether he was saving you from a crumbling building or, in my case, from yourself, he made sure to make you feel as if you were invincible. I wanted to be angry, I really did, but he was the one who knocked it into my thick skull, that anger was a tiring front to keep up. He has been my hero since I was a snotty little brat, I have the holographic collectible cards to prove it, but in the past few years, he put an entirely different definition on the word hero. A hero isn’t just someone who defeats villains, it’s also someone who stops them from becoming villains in the first place, even someone who does nothing but save others is a great hero, a lesson I could have desperately used a long time ago. That being said, he taught me how to be a traditional hero, which in itself is a heroic act. He will have a permanent place in the hearts of everyone who has ever even so much as heard of him, we can all only hope to have a fraction of the impact he has had.”

Katsuki finished with no further conclusion, opting to head straight back to his place next to Izuku. Once their hands were linked, each held a bit tighter.

The rest of Class A went up, the girls went together in a small group, and everyone else went in pairs or by themselves, Izuku never moved. Finally, as Koda finished saying more words strung together than anyone there had ever heard him say, Izuku looked at Katsuki. It was the understanding in the ruby eyes that finally unstuck Izuku’s feet from the floor. He got the message of ‘it’s ok if you can’t go up there’ and knew he had to.

He walked up slowly, he was one of the only people to know every single person in the room personally, this led to him feeling as if every eye was watching him, he squared his shoulders and cleared his throat.

“I almost didn’t come up here. This entire time I had been trying to will my feet to move forward, take a step, and then another but they wouldn’t budge. That was until it hit me that even though All Might is- ahem, even though he is no longer with us he will never truly be gone. Whether you notice the influence he had on heroes or a simple look from someone, that reminds you of his never-ending compassion.

Every single person here knows how much All Might means to me, I am almost positive everyone has been subjected to at least one of my rambling sessions about him. Knowing that gives a glimpse into what he means to others, before he was my mentor he was another hero on a pedestal, and yet, as unattainable as he seemed, he touched every single person on this planet who believes in what's right and has seen him in action. A long time ago some lunatic said All Might was a true hero and, although I would like to reiterate that he was a lunatic, he was somehow right. All Might was able to give even more than himself if he needed to, he set his limits to smash them and set new ones.

Once his limits were finally set he still didn’t stop there, from there he guided others on their journeys of breaking down their own limits, unknowingly talking All Might’s down with them, he cultivated so much joy from seeing others succeed and so it was enough.

He continued to say that everyone was just enough, there is nothing more you need to add or take away, everything someone is has always been there, they just figured out how to mold it in the best possible way. I'm just glad that he saw what he needed to, in me.

Where we are all standing is not quite as random as many might think. Yes, it is a secluded beach that won’t be disturbed by anyone other than those allowed in here today, but it is also the start of the rest of All Might’s honor. This is where he trained me nearly four years ago, this is where he gave me the best thing I could ask for: a legacy to grow into. Although it wasn’t just for me.”

Izuku took a longer pause than normal, asking Katsuki to join him up front with nothing more than a look. Soon the duo was standing next to each other, linked by their hands.

“Many people have talked about everything All Might has given them, and all of the best things in my life can somehow be attributed back to him. That means that now All Might is permanently within all of us, we all know his phrase of ‘I am here’ and that ‘I’ now has to become all of us.

It won’t be today, it might not be for a while, but I can say with the utmost confidence that everything will be alright.

Why?

Because we are here.”

I wrote this in May of last year and only recently decided to brush it off and post it. It felt unfinished for a while. A friend pointed out to me that it is going to always feel unfinished because that's how the grieving process is. There is no neat bow on the end of a loss. All there will ever be is something that feels unfinished. I wrote it the night before my first birthday after a hard loss so this was lowkey a bit of therapy lmao.

Thank you for making it to the end of this fic! I respond to every comment so if you want to make my entire existence all you have to do is leave something below!

[tuckerm88]

Mid-Millennium Inception : Chapter 1

Charlotte, NC USA   October 2, 2019

“Mom…. Mawmaw…… I’ll be fine,” you say while unloading the car.  Your eyes roll in the back of your head, the slightest annoyance hidden in your voice, while a caring smirk forms on your face. 

You, a short slightly thick brunette, rolls her luggage into the airport.  Wearing your favorite worn black low top converses, black Adidas track pants, oversized light purple hoodie and black baseball cap that says coffee.  Right before parting ways, your mom starts to cry.  Your grandmother, one of the strongest people you know, looks at you with glassy eyes but not a tear drops, at least not in front of you.

“Guys, why are you looking at me like that?  Do you want me to stay here forever with you?” you laugh while you hug your mom first.  “No and yes,” she chuckles, “I know, I’m just going to miss you.” 

“I’m going to miss you too.  Both of you. But I’ve put this off too long.”

“I know, just be careful. Okay!!  You’re my only baby,” You look at your grandmother now, instead of tears you see exasperation in her eyes towards her only daughter being dramatic.

After your last farewells, you head to your gate to wait for boarding…

. . . . . . . . . . .

Seoul, South Korea

Twenty two hours later and with the worst sinus headache ever, you’re finally off the plane.  After collecting your luggage, you head to the exit to meet the driver.  The airport isn’t that crowded today, thank god.  As you come out, you see your name on a piece of cardboard and wave at the driver. “Hello” you both greet each other.

This is your first time out of the country.  You know the language from self-studying, but that’s it.  You know no one here….. AT ALL!!  But that doesn’t scare you as much as never leaving your small town.  Finally, after years of slaving and being patient, you are in Korea.  There’s been some bumps in the road, but that never stopped you.  You started to become interested in Korean food when you worked at a Japanese/Korean fusion restaurant.  You found a company, in Korea, who’s willing to take you in and teach you. 

You’re heading to Gangnam, to the restaurant and where you’ll be staying.   Dropped off in front of Kim’s Village, an eight story tall apartment building, you meet an assiduous looking man.  He looks to be in his forties.   “Hello, Genevieve Ainsley, correct? I’m Mr. Lee,” he bows.  

“Yes sir.  Hello Mr. Lee, it’s nice to meet you. You can call me Eve though for short,” you smile.

“Of course.  I’m here to help you get settled into your new place and answer any questions you may have and also make sure all paperwork gets handled correctly.  So let me help you with your luggage and head up.” He grabs the two large suitcases, rolling them around and heads inside after pressing the code.  As Eve walks in with her carry-on and back-pack, she looks around the start of a small corridor that leads through the other side of the building.  There is the first floor of apartments, which is about 6 in total it seems, mailboxes and 2 sets of stairs, one on each side of the building. 

Mr. Lee lifts the two suitcases up to take up the stairs.  “Oh,.. Mr. Lee, wait! What floor are we going to? Give me one of those or at least let me help,” Eve pleads as she goes to grab one of the cases.  But he’s already going up the stairs, carrying them like they weigh nothing and not full of clothes and small kitchenware. 

“We are heading to the 8th floor.  There is only one apartment available right now for you to be housed in,” he explains, no strain in his voice as he carries over a hundred pounds up the staircase.  You stand there gawking for a second.

At the top, you’re huffing a little.  You’re not fat per say, curvy with some small love handles, but you aren’t that fit either.  Maybe I should start working out, you think to yourself, while Mr. Lee is standing there with not even a drop of sweat or alteration in his breathing.  Damn he’s fitter than I thought he’d be. I need to figure out his routine.

There’s a door right in front of the stairway with the number 802 on it.  With the way Mr. Lee is standing in front of it, Eve assumes it’s her new place.  He starts to open the door, but gets a call and answers it first.  “Yes Mr. Kim,” he answers. .  Kim Kwanjoon, CEO of KJ Inc., owns multiple buildings and businesses in almost every industry, including the restaurant that you’ll be working at.  They talk for a few minutes and hang up. 

“Mrs. Ainsley,” he voices, while opening the door to the apartment, “there seems to be a problem at the restaurant.  As you know the chef isn’t back until Monday, which is when you are supposed to start.  But our sous chef called in just now.  So we actually need you to come in tonight. We seem to be short staffed.  Is that a problem for you?” He takes his shoes off at the entry.

“Of course not. I’ll try to help as much as I can,” slightly exasperated. Hopefully he didn’t hear that.

“I’ll let them know.  I can’t stay now, because I need to go to the restaurant.  Can you be there in the next 2 hours? The restaurant is only two blocks away from this apartment, so it’ll not take long to get there.”

“Yes sir, I can do that.”  He brings your luggage into the living room and hands you a packet of information.

“I apologize I can’t go over this with you right now. I’ll come back tomorrow to explain more.  The first page is things you will need today,” he opens it to show you quickly, “If you’ve any questions call me, my card with my number is at the top.  Do you have a cell phone?”

“Yes, I got a temporary at the airport, until I receive my registration card.”

“I’m impressed.  Most foreigners don’t think of those things when they come to work here,” looking at his watch. “Be there by 4pm, the front door and I’ll let you in.”

“Yes sir”

“Goodbye Mrs. Ainsley.  I’ll see you a couple hours.”

“Goodbye Mr. Lee”

 You stand in the living room, staring at the door for a few minutes.  Dazed with what’s happening.  OMG!?! I thought I’d have time to rest and unpack today and this weekend.  My head is still killing me, I slept like 2 hours on the plane.  What am I going to do?  You look at your phone and see its 2:23 and then start to move.  You roll your largest suitcase down the short hall to the bedroom at the end.  No time to really look around, you get the things you need out and pop 2 pills for your headache.  And then head back to the bathroom.  

  After a steaming hot 30 min shower, to hopefully get rid of your headache and get the 24 hours of plane grime off of you, you get ready for work.  Black non-slip kitchen Vanes with white soles, light gray cargo chef jogger pants, black tank top with a dark purple chef jacket (Eve’s favorite) over top, hair parted on the right with tapered side bangs in a tight bun in the back.  With minimal makeup applied, you double, triple check you have everything.  Grab a light jacket and walk out the door at 3:30 with knife kit in hand.

You’re standing at the front already when Mr. Lee walks up. “Early. Great.” You bow to greet him.  He takes you straight to the kitchen, since it's Friday afternoon.  The décor of the restaurant is very upscale café style with a Korean architectural influence to it.  There are three floors to it, the top floor being outside seating.  With no time to really chat, he shows you around. The kitchen is very well organized and clean.  With the dish pit to your right and the start of the server station to your left, the kitchen has a U shape to it, with in and out doors for the servers.  If you keep walking straight from the IN door, you will have the dish pit along the right wall with the clean dishes at the end, then storage and the back exit.  To the left is the space for servers to walk and grab food to go out the other side and the hot line. On the left wall, on the other side of the OUT door, is the cold station. 

Everyone is getting ready for the busy Friday night.  He takes you to the first station you will be working at, the hot station.  Being familiar with grills and stove, he put you there first to observe and help.  “Hello, I’m Youngjae,” a new face gushed.

“I’m Eve. It’s nice to meet you,” you reply.  He goes over the station with you and some of the dishes.  After a while, orders start to come.  You watch for a little, but then Youngjae starts to get overwhelmed.  Your instincts kick in, just by watching him you’ve picked most of the dishes.  You start to help him out. 

When it comes to cooking and creating dishes, you could say you’re otherworldly.  It’s like magic comes out of your hands.  You picked up on cooking quickly in school and in the industry.  You remember everything that you’ve learned, like the back of your hand.  But you still don’t consider yourself that great.  You’ve had limited chances to explore different foods, so you don’t consider your skills impeccable.

Youngjae is impressed though, “Wow, Eve. You catch on quick. How long have you been cooking?”

“I’ve been cooking for about 10 years.”

“Seriously.  You are only a cook. Shouldn’t you be a chef?”

“I was a sous chef back home but I want to be a master chef.  So I need to learn different cuisines and I wanted to travel, so here I am,” you beam shyly towards him.

“You must have started young.  You look younger than me.”  He laughs.

And there it is, your first insecurity.  You don’t look it, but you’re 30 years old.  Everyone usually thinks you’re anywhere between 22 and 26.  But you keep your mouth shut.  You started late on your dream, not realizing it until you were already in college for 3 years.  You had to start over pretty much and go to culinary school for another 3 years. During all that, you worked 2 jobs and also helped support your family.  While in college your dad became a drunk and quit his job, killing himself slowly.  You knew why, but also couldn’t accept why he was doing this.  Especially since he taught you to be stronger than that.  Why couldn’t he?  Finely he did die. You were sad, of course. You were a daddy’s girl until he changed.  But you were also relieved.  Because you felt it was holding you back.  You couldn’t leave your mom and mawmaw to deal with him.   So after a few years, you finally stabilized the financial situation with your mom and yourself, almost going into extreme debt because of your dad (and yourself trying to cope with all of it – online shopping).

Now here you are.  Living the dream you never gave up on.  Pushing the little insecurity down, you and Youngjae keep talking when able.  Finding out he’s like third in command, the Lead Line Cook.  He is 26, blonde hair, blue eyes with the help of contacts and a head taller than you, with a lanky build.  While talking to one of the dishwashers comes along to put clean dishes away and take dirty ones to the pit.   He comes up to talk to Youngjae.

“Hey man, what’s up? Who’s the new girl?” The dark chestnut haired boy says.  He looks young with his dark brown doe eyes with flakes of gold, bright with curiosity.  With his bunny smile, his cheeks bunched up and out to make cute crinkles at the sides of his eyes.  He looks even younger and innocent now. 

“Oh!!!  Hello, I’m Genevieve, but you can call me Eve.”

“Cool, I’m Jungkook.”

They go through normal pleasantries.  Jungkook is 22 and wants to work in the restaurant industry.  He is starting as a dishwasher and working his way up. 

The night finally ends and cleaning is almost over.  You and Jungkook have become fast friends in just one day.  All the boys in the kitchen have come to like you.  They even ask if you want to come out for drinks that night.  You would love to, but you are just too exhausted.  They understand and say maybe next time. 

Everyone grabs their things and heads out the door.  You start walking towards your new apartment.  The guys head the same direction and talk with you on the way.  Jungkook waits a little to  make sure you get into the building before following the rest.

You get inside, shower and finally relax in the bed.  You thought this was going to be a bad day, but actually turned out decent.

. . . . . . . . . . .

On top of Building 63, with the lit city underneath.  He stands on the edge looking out at the beautiful place that has grown so much.

“Hello, Hyung.  I was wondering when you would show up.” Taemin spouts.

“When did you finally get back?” Kia asks.

“I just returned today.  I figured it was time to come back and stay this time.”

“Father will be happy to hear that.”

“I’m sure he will.” Taemin says with indifference in his voice.

[radramblog]

My Commander Decks Pt.1

I was supposed to be going to a Commander night tonight, and that fell through, and now I’m just sitting here, staring at my deckboxes. So I thought I might channel that sorta fixation into a discussion of some of my (many) commander decks, the history behind them, and how my own deckbuilding ethos folds into them.

  The Mimeoplasm- Sultai Reanimator

My oldest and most storied deck, though it has changed a lot over the years. I first heard about commander not long after I started playing magic, and I didn’t have much of a collection at that point, nor did I have that much money to drop on a 100-card deck. I might not have even had the basics necessary at that point. When I heard of the upcoming release of Duel Decks: Jace vs Vraska, I ended up agreeing with my brother to split it- we pay half each, he gets Jace, I get Vraska, with the intent of turning that into my first commander deck, with my copy of Varolz, the Scar-Striped at the head.

Getting cards isn’t easy in Perth, as there aren’t many card shops and their stock is limited- ordering online is an option but it can take upwards of a month for cards to arrive from the US stores. As such, when I saw a significantly better generic BG “stuff” commander in Sapling of Colfenor in a local store, I was easily conviced to pick her up, sleeve her up, and lead with her for a long time

At this point the deck was still just a pile of (mostly bad) cards I liked, with somewhat of a graveyard theme, but it was my pile of cards, and I loved it. I have a lot of sentiment attached to most if not all of my commander decks, actually. Eventually we got to the release of Khans of Tarkir and Fate Reforged, and while somehow I never got convinced to run Sidisi, Tasigur, the Golden Fang, would eventually take command of the deck, adding Blue to its options.

Blue didn’t add much at first, and it’s still the least present colour of the three in the deck, but a looter or two and some funky spells were a fun time. I was never good at playing Tasigur, never really willing to delve too much, not willing to exile my own graveyard, a sentiment that would continue into the current configuration. Not long after this, one of my friends organised an online order, and I decided to order enough cards to completely retune the deck.

I’d like to argue I got lucky, seeing as a lot of the cards I picked up spiked not long after, but it was then that the style of the deck solidified, and it started resembling where the deck is at now. Despite the huge changes, however, I didn’t think to change the commander to the Ooze that now helms the deck until after, and it would take some time until a friend spotted a Mimeoplasm in someone’s binder at a draft for me to finally get the deck’s final commander, solidifying it as a Mimeoplasm deck rather than just my Sultai Reanimator deck.

Even now, this deck is an eclectic collection of my history with Magic. Ostensibly, it’s a deck that either tries to win on turn 2-3 by reanimating an insurmountable threat, or by grinding out value steadily lategame between engines, possibly ending the game with a convoluted combo. But that’s not really what the deck is, is it. It has the Vraska from that old Duel Deck, the misprinted Flooded Strand from my Khans of Tarkir prerelease. It has two of the 5 Masterpieces I somehow managed to open over the 3 entire blocks they did those, and it has the damaged Reanimate my best friend traded for for me (He needed value in the trade and I paid him back for it, but it still counts). Cutting anything from this list is like killing my darlings, maybe with the exception of the manabase (It’s still pretty awful).

 Radha, Heart of Keld- Gruul Topdeck

From my oldest deck to my newest. Radha is a deck borne of one evening- it was a friend’s birthday, everyone was peacing out and walking back to our cars, both me and the birthday girl are parked next to the local game store, which, hey, it’s still open, let’s take a peek. I ended up buying everyone a round of Modern Horizons packs, as well as a Japanese Ikoria booster for myself, and apparently my good deeds were repaid in the packs I opened.

From this, I decided I wanted to build a more unique deck. See, it hadn’t been that long since the Commander precons where WOTC had decided to make a new archetype in the form of Esper Topdeck, printing Aminatou and Yennet as commanders to promote this. But with M21 recent, and Vivien’s ability to play off the top, I wanted to see what the other two colours could offer for such a deck. Hence, Radha, Heart of Keld became the leader of my own Gruul Topdeck deck.

There’s a lot of ideas coming together in this deck. The options for topdeck manipulation in Gruul are largely just the artifact ones, so I wanted more options to manipulate the deck- hence, I made sure the ramp was largely Rampant Growth type effects so they would still be relevant as shuffle effects in the lategame. I knew I wanted to run Wrenn and Six, so I made sure just about every nonbasic in the deck was a Evolving Wilds type effect- they synergize with Wrenn, they are shuffles when I want them, and they mean I can put all of my actually good Gruul lands in my other Gruul deck.

Unfortunately, the most you can abuse topdeck manipulation in Gruul to do is mostly just using it to cheat creatures into play. So that was the angle I went for, throwing a variety of spooky creatures in that would let me have a variety of options if I had the capacity to manipulate my deck. The sheer number of basic-searching effects I had gave me an excuse to run the Conduit of Ruin toolbox package I had in mind, letting me play Deciever of Form, a card in my collection that I’d had my eye on for quite some time, off of a one-of Wastes. I wanted to run Oath of Druids, so the deck doesn’t play any creatures under 3cmc just in case I’m flipping blind.

The deck does a lot of powerful nothing, but it’s not a blue deck, so I think I can get away with that. It’s far from perfect, and despite my disgust with the card it probably needs a Sensei’s Divining Top, butt I think this deck is an elegant reflection of my own deckbuilding process, if I do say so myself (and I do!)

 Callaphe, Beloved of the Sea- Mono-Blue Devotion Voltron

I built a Callaphe deck because I saw a foil showcase one at a card shop for cheap, thought it looked gorgeous, and had a bunch of blue cards sitting around without a deck to put them in. It’s not as well thought-out as some of my other decks, but I’d argue it has a lot going for it. Turns out the best way to play a bunch of blue enchantments with devotion also happens to you stealing a bunch of stuff and drawing a bunch of cards. Neat!

Callaphe has a bunch of new cards in it that I haven’t gotten to try yet, but I’m excited to do so- it’s probably the first deck I’m going to pull out at my next commander night. It’s not particularly powerful, but she gets big surprisingly quick, and no-one expects the old Corrupted Conscience my own Commander trick. Infect is a perfectly viable way to win a game of magic! Especially when I’m using someone else’s creature!

 Mirri, Weatherlight Duelist- Cat Tribal

The first round of Secret Lairs were announced in December 2019, as I recall. My birthday is December 11, and so I decided to spoil myself a little and pick up the “OMG Kitties!” pack, all the cards of which became the basis for this deck.

I’m a cat person. My cat Ruby is a brat but I love her to bits. This is the cutest deck I own.

Building around the Ikoria companion restriction was interesting, as it meant cutting staples like Sakura-Tribe Elder and…actually I think that was it? Turns out when you build kitty aggro you don’t want a lot of things that aren’t kitties. I opted for Mirri over Arahbo, however, partially because I despise Eminence as an ability, and partially because I like that Mirri lets you swing with impunity without getting cracked back too hard. A bit of a nonbo with Kaheera, unfortunately, but you can do worse. Kaheera usually gets blown up at some point anyway.

I’ve had a surprising amount of trouble getting all the tokens for this deck. I’m working on it.

 Roalesk, Apex Hybrid- Simic Superfriends

The idea for this deck is actually a spin on one from Ben Doolittle, from his Conditions Allow series on EDHREC. It inspired me, and while I took the mechanical core of the deck from the article, the Superfriends spin was my own idea. Essentially, the plan is to use Clone effects to convert cards in hand into copies of Roalesk’s powerful enter the battlefield and dies triggers (as the clones are sacrificed to the Legend rule), making the main man himself big very quickly and proliferating counters onto a wide variety of spicy planeswalkers.

The deck was built not long after the dissolution of my first Cube, as such many of the cards were taken directly from it- just about every UG walker in that cube or in my binder ended up in the deck, which proved problematic when I rebuilt the cube. It also ended up with the Doubling Season I opened in it, giving it combo potential, but the only tutor around is Jace, Architect of Thought’s ultimate, so it’s not a guarantee (Though the one time I did get it off was incredible…). Most of the deck is filled with Clones and a whole 22 planeswalkers, fulfilling a variety of roles in the deck, leaving not a whole lot of room for more traditional answers but since I have superfriends that ramp, superfriends that draw, and superfriends that are removal, it has yet to be too big an issue. Outside of ramp, however, I find myself allergic to “staple” cards, and so relying on the planeswalkers that the deck is built around and that synergise with Roalesk and the other Proliferate effects in the deck is fine by me.

The deck actually got strictly better with the recent Commander rules change that made dies triggers work even if you put the commander in the Zone, but I was a little salty anyway, since I’d built it with the idea in mind that I wasn’t getting that double proliferate unless I worked for it. Ah, whatever, can’t complain about the devs making my deck better for me, right?

 Much like many of these rambles, I’m going to leave this one here, halfway through. In the second half, we’ll discuss my awful but hilarious 5 colour deck, my awful to play against monocolour deck, and 3 others. ‘til then!

[fsketchart]

Daminette December - Gaming

Cursing in this one, and insert a very serious fight. Big boy fight.

Update : Almost forgot the @noirdots <<< Kudos to noirdots for being my literal motivation for all of these

Damian knew it was inevitable. He would never be able to avoid it. Marinette and Damian had both long since been engaged, and his family demanded she come around for New year's. His family took a seat at the dining table. There was silence as each Wayne member stared coldly at one another. Marinette took a seat beside Damian with a blank expression. Bruce walked into the room. Alfred followed behind him, carrying a black brief case.

They both took a seat at the table. Each family member kept their hands to themselves, each glaring daggers at eachother. They knew, this could be the end of the Wayne Family

Bruce placed the brief case down and opened it. He cleared his throat and began to speak it a tired, and sad voice.

"Welcome, to the annual winter, Family Game Night™."

Everyone looked down at their hands, refusing to make eye contact with eachother.

"Tonight, we have a list of the banned, and unbanned games. Yatzee, Monopoly, Go Fish, all banned. Tonight, it was agreed that we would be challenging for the title of champion in a game of battle ships," Bruce spoke. He then took a deep breath. Everyone was on the edge of their seats. He pulled out a paper from the brief case. His hands shook.

"However, according to rule 78, the banned games, on the occasion of a new player, are unbanned for that night." Gasps filled the room, and fear filled their eyes.

Bruce took a deep breath continued.

"And as per rule 56, any occasion that banned games are revoked from the ban list, all participants must vote on the existing pool of newly unbanned games." Shouts and protests errupted from the room.

"Do you remember what happened last time?!"

"VETO VETO VETO VETO-"

"This is a sick joke!"

"YOU MONSTER!"

"YOU WERE LIKE A FATHER TO ME-"

Bruce held up his hand. Marinette just looked concerned. She glanced at Damian who looked like he was almost in tears.

Bruce held out cards and pens for everyone. He nodded. Everyone casted their vote from the entire, long long list of banned games.

Eventually, Bruce and Alfred collected and counted the votes. Aflred's eyes went wide with shock as Bruce looked terrified. Everyone tensed up.

"We have a...close win. Monopoly™ got one less vote...than Uno™."

Gasps filled the air. Jason started yelling, while Tim flipped over a chair. Damian started arguing with Dick as Marinette just gave another concerned look. Babs and Cass could be seen asking for a revote. Stephanie was seen cackling in the corner. Alfred could be seen banging his head against the wall.

Bruce just gave a grave look. He dug through the brief case and pulled on gloves. Then, he lifted up a deck of Uno cards in a Ziploc bag. Marinette started thinking that she got more than she bargained for.

Alfred got on gloves as well, and opened the bag and started shuffling. Dick looked away while Damian shielded Marinette's eyes.

"Any rules?" Bruce asked.

Dick raised his hand, "One draw limit."

Jason raised his hand, "Stacking +2 rule."

No one objected.

Damian raised his hand, "7 and 0's rule."

Marinette raised her hand. "Challenge rule."

Everyone gasped, but otherwise were silent. Bruce dished out 7 cards to each person.

(1 draw limit - if you run out of cards to play you only draw once.

Stacking +2 - if someone before you places a +2 you can also place a +2 and make the next person in line draw 4.

7 & 0's rule - If you place a 7, you switch the hand of your deck. If you place a 0, everyone rotates their deck to the direction of the game.

Challenge - If a 4+ color change is placed, you can challenge the person who placed the card. If they fail the challenge, they draw 4. If you fail, you draw 6 instead. If a person adds a 4+ and they already had a card of the same original color in the deck, they lose the challenge. If they added a 4+ color change, and they didn't have the previous color, they win the challenge. Yes I know a lot about Uno, I play Uno religiously. Was any of this relevant to the story? Absolutely not. Sorry.)

Insert a lot of screaming.

Damian : YOU BASTARD

Jason : I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY BROTHER-

Dick : GET DUNKED ON

Bruce : yo Dick that +2 was so hip bro-

Alfred : Master Bruce stop-

Bruce : No but I'm hip-

Marinette : Ok boomer.

Dick : OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!

Jason : SHOT FIRED.

Tim : BOW DOWN FOOLS-

Damian : *agressive chair flip*

Stephanie : *reverse*

Cass : OK HOLD ON-

Babs : *Reverse again*

Cass : Thank you, Babs-

Stephanie : *skip*

Cass : OKAY WHAT THE FU-

Everyone : NOT IN FRONT OF HER!!!

Damian : *already shielding Marinette*

Bruce : *casually drops +4*

Dick : Am I a fucking joke to you?

Damian : *already next to Dick about to deck the halls with him*

Marinette : I'm an adult-

Alfred : Not on my watch you aren't-

Jason : *casually drops a color switch*

Tim : OK WHAT THE HELL JASON THAT WAS UNCALLED FOR YOU UNCULTURED FILTHY SWINE YOU ARE THE DIRT I STEP ON, THE SCUM I CRUSH, THE INSECURITIES I SHOVE INTO DARKNESS-

Marinette : please no

Tim : Look Jason I'm sorry I really am you're my brother and I love you and you're the best and my favorite brother-

Damian : e x c u s e m e b u t w h a t -

Dick : Have you guys heard of updog?

Everyone : Omg everyone has heard of th-

Bruce : What's updog?

Dick : ಥ‿ಥ

Everyone : Dick no-

Dick : Nothing much what's up with you- ಠ∀ಠ

Everyone : *visible distress*

Bruce : *visible confusion*

Marinette : *casually calls out uno during the whole mess*

Everyone to her : ಠ ೧ ಠ

Marinette : ( ◜‿◝ )♡

Marinette ends up winning with Damian only having one more card than she (Tim gave him a plus 2 and he fell behind because if it.)

Sorry, short end gotta study for the PSAT's which they didn't tell us about until today. The PSAT is tmr and the SAT is like 3 school days after that so yipee they never told us I love school so much WHOOP WHOOP.

Also I'll start adding a tag list next prompt or the one after that. Tmr I'm gonna be hella busy and sad so YAYYYY! ꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡

[reidandwrite]

Family (Spencer Reid)

Overview - In which the reader and Spencer expand their little family. 

A/N: Part 2 to my story ...Surprise? I know I’ve been off the grid for a while, I’ve been trying to get back out there socially and, surprisingly, I’ve been pretty busy with plans! Since my mental health is doing so much better, I decided to come back to writing! This story was actually requested numerous times, so hopefully I was able to put a smile on some of your faces with this one :-)

“Okay, so it looks like this part is supposed to fit into this thingy right here,” Spencer mutters as he tries to force a piece of wood into another piece— and it definitely is not going to fit. Giggling, I push myself off of the couch and waddle a little closer to Spencer.

“Spence, are you sure you want to put the crib together yourself? Derek said that he’d be more than happy to do it for us and that he could do it in less than an hour,” I suggest as I try to massage my boyfriends shoulders to calm him down. 

“No, (Y/N), I swear, I can do it! I do not  need big, strong, Derek’s help to put together a crib for my child; I can do it, I swear!” A bead a sweat trickles down his forehead and I smile at the man’s determination. After giving a kiss to the top of his head, I make my way over to the kitchen and pour myself a glass of water. 

“So what do you want for dinner, babe?” I call out, peering into the fridge for something to whip up quickly. “I can make Spaghetti, BLT’s, maybe some-“ my list of dinner possibilities is cut off by a familiar sharp pain in my lower abdomen, causing a small shriek to escape my lips.

“Are you okay?” Spencer comes running to my side and walking me to the kitchen table, pulling out a chair for me. 

“Yeah, just this pain I’ve been feeling today, I’m okay though, nothing to worry about.”

“Where’s the pain?”

“Well, it started in my lower back but it’s worked it’s way up to my lower abdomen now,” I reply, taking heavy breaths. “It’s like every 20 minutes or so.”

“Babe, I think you’re going into labor,” Spencer stands up straight and looks frazzled as he’s pacing through the kitchen. “Alright, I’m gonna need a bowl of hot water, some scissors,-“

“Spence, I know that you know how to deliver a baby, but I’d rather our baby be delivered in an actual hospital. Can you grab my hospital bag in the bedroom so we can go?”

“Y-yeah, sure yeah, hospital bag, okay,” he replies anxiously. For a minute, I’m surprised. Spencer has always been the calm, cool, and collected one of us two. Normally it would be me overthinking and getting stressed out while Spencer has to constantly reassure me that everything was going to turn out fine.

Spencer appears back in the room holding my hospital bag and the car keys. I make my way to the front door and open it before looking back at and giving Spencer a bright smile. He reciprocates the smile as he glides my way and plants a soft kiss on my lips. “Shall we go have a baby?” His eyes gentle yet full of excitement at the same time. With that, we’re off to the hospital. The drive there is calm, despite Spencer going a little bit above the regulated speed limit and we’re there in 30 minutes. 

Two contractions later and he’s helping me steady my breathing as he walks me through the front doors of the hospital. Walking up to the front desk, he wastes no time with the person behind it, starting with, “My girlfriend is in labor, her contractions are about 15 minutes apart but her water hasn’t broken yet.” I groan in pain as he finishes explaining our situation to the person and before I know it, I’m getting sat down in a wheelchair as they push me down a hallway and into a room with a sheet hanging down to middle, dividing the room into two. “I, uh, I am really sorry but I though we asked for a private room?” Spencer turns to the nurse that’s pushing my wheelchair.

“Sorry sir, we don’t have anymore left,” the nurse says with an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, I’m not one to usually do this, but I, uh, I asked for a private room for a specific safety reason…,” he mumbles and flashes his FBI badge at the small lady.

“Oh! I am so sorry, sir, there’s a private room just down this hall.”

One more contraction later, I’m settled in my bed and Spencer is in the chair next to the bed, holding onto my hand for dear life. “I can’t believe you pulled the FBI card with that nurse,” I chuckle and shake my head, “what happened to never abusing your power?”

“That wasn’t technically an abuse of power… I actually did call and request a private room!” He smiles shyly while defending himself.

“Safety reason?” I raise my eyebrow and attempt to stifle the next laugh I feel creeping its way out.

“Hey, you know how dangerous my job is, you can never be too safe,” he states and leans over to kiss me on the forehead. Our small conversation is interrupted when we hear the door creak open. In walks in my doctor looking at a clipboard with my patient chart on it.

“So everything looks good right now, your heartbeat and strong and so is the baby’s. Since your contractions are still a good amount apart, we’re going to have to just wait a while until your contractions get closer together. Let’s say if it they get than 5 minutes apart,” he tells us happily. Of course, Spencer bombards the other doctor with a million questions all of which can be answered with one phrase: “(Y/N) and the baby are both completely fine and this delivery should be a piece of cake. When my delivery doctor leaves, Spencer and I only get a few more minutes of alone time before we hear a knock on the door. Our heads both snap up and look as the door creeps open and in come JJ and Will. 

“Hey, you guys made it!” I exclaim and sit up a little bit.

“Of course, we wouldn’t miss it for the world! Where is everyone else?” JJ puts her purse down on the counter and walks towards my bed.

“Oh, we haven’t told anyone else yet, just you two,” Spencer says and stands up, giving them both a hug. The 4 of us catch up and talk nonsense for a bit before Spencer and Will decide to go grab some coffee for them 3 and a big cup of ice chips for myself. As soon as the door closes behind our men, JJ scoots in a little closer to me. 

“So, now that the boys are gone, how are you? Really?” She raises and eyebrow and puts her hand over mine. Ever since Spencer introduced me to his team a month ago, JJ and I have been inseparable. Even if we’ve only technically known each other for 4 weeks, it honestly feels like a lifetime. I could easily see why she and Spencer were best friends: they shared all the same amazing qualities.

“I’m, eh… in some pain and, honestly, really, really nervous.”

“I was the exact same way with my boys. Don’t worry, you’ll be wonderful.”

“Yeah, but you’re a lot stronger than me, JJ,” I reply shyly, my face lowering a bit.

“Are you kidding? You are one of the strongest people I know,” she has a look of shock on her face, “and I am not just saying that. Mentally and emotionally, you’re a freakin’ soldier. You've been through so much and have still managed to come out of it all the kindest person alive. You are strong. If I can have two babies, you can easily have one.” 

I open my mouth in a smile to reply when I’m interrupted by the door swinging open followed by our significant others walking in. “Hi, what are we talking about,” Spencer inquires as he hands me a cup of ice chips.

“A secret,” I smirk at JJ, earning a slight giggle from her.

A good 5 hours later, my contractions are getting closer and closer together and before I know it, my doctor and a few nurses come in and prop my legs up onto the stirrups. It all happens so fast. The pain feeling like it’s ripping me in half. The relief when the baby is out and I can hear our child crying. The doctor exclaiming, “It’s a girl! Would the father like to cut the cord?” The next thing I remember, the nurse is walking my way with my newborn daughter cleaned up and wrapped in a tiny blanket. Spencer is half-sitting on the bed next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. After receiving our daughter from the nurse, I look down at her. Her eyes are big, brown, and full of curiosity, exactly like her father’s. She’s the most perfect being I’ve ever seen before. I look up at Spencer, making eye contact with him. His face looks the most calm and content he’s ever been. “You did amazing,” he whispers before tucking some of my hair behind my ear and kissing my forehead. 

8:42am the digital clock on my bedside table reads. It’s been 6 hours since I’ve given birth. Holding my daughter in my arms as I’m laying in my hospital bed, I look down and examine her perfect little face. “Hi, sweetheart. How are you doing this lovely morning?” She blinks her big, beautiful eyes at me. “Well, daddy and I have been waiting for you for a while now. We are so happy to finally have you here with us, my darling. Want to know about how daddy and I met? Well, about two years ago, mommy owned a bookstore. It was such a magical place, filled with so many different worlds. It was a safe haven for many. Mommy was very content with life; but then it got better. Daddy walked into mommy’s store and spent the entire day, literally open to close, walking through the store and reading different books. You see, daddy has a super power. He can read faster than anyone else can.” I glance over to see him sitting in the chair next to my bed, asleep. “But back to the story, mommy went over to tell daddy that she was closing up shop and the moment their eyes met, they were bonded. I know, it sounds so cheesy, but I can’t stress how true it is. And the rest is history. Now, mommy opened a new bookstore closer to home, and daddy and his team fight the bad guys of the world.” She makes a little squeak that sounds in-between a giggle and a cry. I giggle and kiss her forehead.

“And out of all of those books in that shop, our story is still my favorite,” I hear Spencer whisper. I look over at him and see his eyes slowly starting to open and a small smile appearing on his face. “How are you feeling, love?”

“We’re both doing wonderful,” I twinkle back at him. “How did we make something so perfect?” I flicker my eyes to our daughter. Spencer opens his mouth to respond but before he can get a word out, in walk Derek, Savannah, JJ, and Will. Derek and Will are each holding balloons and JJ and Savannah are each holding wrapped presents.

“Hey,” I exclaim with a gigantic smile as they walk through the door. Spencer turns around reacting the same as I did. They all greet Spencer and I before taking a look at the sleeping newborn in my arms. A chorus of Awww’s come from the group of people and the scatter around the bed to get better looks. 

“Spence,” JJ starts, “she’s beautiful.”

“Pretty boy, you made an even prettier girl,” Derek laughs as he hugs Spencer.

“Me? No, look at her. Absolutely gorgeous; that’s all (Y/N),” my daughter’s father replies.

“Have you two thought of names yet,” Savannah asks as she places her gift on the small coffee table across the room. 

“Yeah, uh, we actually decided it last night after Will and JJ left,” I look up at Spencer, mentally telling him to say her name. 

As if he could read my mind, Spencer clears his throat, “Everyone, please meet Diana Jennifer Reid. DJ for short.” Everyone’s reaction is sweet and after all the compliments, JJ starts to speak. “Diana Jennifer? Is that…”

“Diana for Spencer’s mother,” I speak as she fades, “Jennifer for Spencer and I’s best friend. The woman who has treated me like family since the day I waddled my big, pregnant belly through the Rossi’s front door.” When I’m done speaking, JJ covers her mouth in amazement and small ears start to form in her eyes. “Which reminds me, JJ? Derek? We were wondering if you two would like to be DJ’s godparents?”

“Are you kidding? Of course!” Derek exclaims as JJ nods her head. They both have excitement and flattery plastered all over their faces and they hug Spencer and I, being more gentle and delicate with me because of the child in my arms.

“How about a picture of DJ, her parents, and her godparents?” Will says as he pulls out his phone. JJ and Derek stand on both sides of my bed and Savannah pulls out her phone to capture a photo, as well. 

As we all start to pose, I take a quick glance around the room. Who new that Spencer would come with entire family like this? I’d never really had a close family and now I have a daughter and a huge family of FBI Agents that would protect us for the rest of our lives.

A few flashes go off and I realize that pictures are starting to be taken. I’m sure I don’t look too ready in any of them, but, truthfully, I don’t care. I don’t need a photo to remember this moment. Because this is now my family.

[masterlist]