#we’re gonna do whats called a pro gamer move

[crychan]

Its 3 AM and i just beat costlemark tower the stupid way i am at peace with life

[hornime]

voyeurant | kenma kozume x f!reader

he tentatively wrapped a palm around the shaft, shuddering at the contact, his eyelids fluttering shut. god, i’m such a pervert, thinking about her like this. she’d hate me if she knew i saw her like that, knew that i was touching myself thinking about her tits...

warnings: 18+, timeskip!kenma, kinda dubcon, kenma’s unintentionally pervy, male masturbation, poorly written video game content (i tried my best), mutual pining but u both are oblivious

w/c: 1.5k

a/n: yes, the title is a shitty pun of valorant. no, i will not be changing it. also this tiktok about timeskip kenma made me giggle so pls enjoy.

voyeurant: part one ↓ | part two | part three:

“fuck, i hate this map,” kenma grumbled into his headset.

your voiced chimed in his ears. “is it ascent?” you turned to see his face on your screen, pinched in annoyance. “ha, it is ascent. sucks for you.”

“which one are you on? haven?”

“you know it,” you chuckled. “your favorite.”

“i hate you.” he weighed his options, did he really want to play this game? the layout of the world made it irritatingly hard to strategize, and today’s losing streak was making him more agitated than usual. with a sign, he closed the application. “fuck this. i’m gonna go piss.”

“yeah, yeah, you’re such a big baby. and...” you released your mouse, throwing your hands up in triumph, “we just won. at this point, i’m gonna outrank you.” you were joking, of course. kenma wasn’t just a gamer, he was kodzuken, one of japan’s best pro-gamers, and you were just someone that played as a hobby. but it was always fun to tease.

“hmm,” he hummed. “i’m sure you will.” he turned his head to look directly at his webcam, smirking, “in your dreams.”

“ooh, catboy’s getting feisty!” he flinched at the nickname. “go pee so i can beat you at your best.”

he obliged, pulling his headphones off and looping them on the top of his chair. he casually raised his middle finger at you while smoothing out strands of his hair, prompting a series of profanities to escape your mouth, none of which he could hear. he chuckled playfully as you responded with two middle fingers of your own, before moving out of the camera to get to the bathroom.

you and kenma had met in an... interesting way, to say the least. after going moderately viral from lashing out at him for refusing to heal you in a game of overwatch—while he was streaming—the two of you reconciled over a twitter thread and exchanged gamer tags. since then, you’d struck up an easygoing friendship, characterized by almost nightly discord calls and occasional flirting. but we’re just friends, you often reminded yourself. and you were fine, well, mostly fine, with that.

tonight was like any other night: both you and him spending hours in a video chat with nothing better to do than mindlessly play games and bash each other. it was more than enough to strengthen your relationship but fell short of giving you the romantic tension you craved.

with kenma off in the bathroom, you, already bored, spun wildly in your chair. forgetting that your earbuds were still plugged in, the white wire caught on an opened can of coke sitting on your desk, spilling the sugary drink all over your keyboard and the front of your shirt. 

“shit!” you quickly scrambled for paper towels, but the still-connected wire yanked you backwards. in your haste for something to wipe the soda with, the fact that your camera remained on in the video call completely slipped your mind. making the split-second decision that the trip for a towel wasn’t worth it at this point, you quickly whipped off your shirt, dabbing the keys with the part that was still dry. since you were home, you’d gone braless, and your current predicament had you flashing your webcam.

now, kenma had seen a lot of things from your side of the call: he’d seen you get chewed out by your residential advisor for being too loud, you with two sticks of pocky poking out of your mouth like walrus tusks, and you doing random cosplay moves you’d seen on tiktok. what he wasn’t expecting to see, not even in his wildest dreams, was a screenful of your tits, slightly damp from the cola that had seeped through the fabric of your long-gone shirt.

he stopped in his tracks, still out of the frame of his camera, eyes wide and heart racing, desperately trying to calm down and prevent the gradual hardening of his cock in his pants. unable to deny his desires, he continued staring at your plump breasts on his computer, you completely unaware that he could see you.

you quickly threw your soaked top in the laundry basket before throwing on a random sweatshirt and trying to calm your frazzled nerves. you tentatively touched your keyboard, groaning internally when you fingers lightly stuck to the buttons. it’s gonna take forever to clean this, you mourned.

“hey,” kenma mumbled, reappearing on screen and shaking you out of your thoughts.

“hey.” you noticed his flushed expression. “are you okay? you look really red.”

“uh, yeah. i actually uh, i feel kinda sick. so i’m gonna, gonna go.”

“oh, okay.” why’s he acting so weird? “feel better!” you disconnected from the call with a huff, disappointment morphing your face into a pout. well, you thought, better get to cleaning.

kenma, on the other hand, was still, swallowing as the bulge in his boxers became agonizingly hard. though the only thing left on his screen was his reflection staring back at him, the luscious view of your bust was etched in his mind. his hands moved to free his cock, the tip an angry red and smearing pre-cum over the waistband of his underwear. 

he tentatively wrapped a palm around the shaft, shuddering at the contact, his eyelids fluttering shut. god, i’m such a pervert, thinking about her like this. she’d hate me if she knew i saw her like that, knew that i was touching myself thinking about her tits...

“fuck,” he whined, slowly stroking up and down. his thighs trembled as he fell back into his chair, mind wandering. he couldn’t stop himself, his thoughts become more and more lewd, fantasizing about how your breasts would bounce as he thrusted into you, how your thighs would wrap warmly around your head as he ate you out, how you’d cry out his name so prettily when he made you squirt around his fingers.

it was all too much, and as the circle he made with his fingers tightened as he reached his tip, he lurched forward, alarmed at how good everything felt just by thinking about you. i can’t cum, i can’t, the small part of his brain that wasn’t completely overtaken with pleasure tried to reason with him. there’s no going back if i—shit—if i cum. she’ll know, somehow, if i—if i cum, i—

the ecstasy kept clouding his judgement and his body worked against his mind as his hand pumped faster and faster while his conscience screamed to stop. his wrist wetly slapped the base of his cock, the sounds of both his hands and his moans getting too loud for comfort, but all he could think about was you. your eyes, your mouth, your chest, your legs, your ass, your pussy. god, he wanted to be in you so badly.

he couldn’t hold back, his insatiable need to cum overriding his senses, and the translucent liquid twitched out of his throbbing cock in spurts, drenching his fist and his balls. “fuck, fuck, fuck. i’m—fuck.”

he collapsed against the back of his chair, chest heaving with the sheer intensity of his orgasm. he combed a hand through his hair, the consequences of his actions now weighing heavily on his shoulders. i’m never gonna be able to look at her in the eyes again, he lamented. how am i ever gonna—damn it. 

the sudden ping of a notification had his eyes raising from the mess on his pants towards his computer screen. 

meanwhile, you were messaging kenma, a little off-put by his sudden radio silence but chalking it all up to his mysterious sickness.

[11:05 PM] you: hey ken! hope u feel better

[11:05 PM] you: if u get the chance u should check out what i added to our minecraft house. its perfect for sick victorian orphans like u

[12:14 PM] you: guess

[12:05 PM] you: guess

[12:05 PM] you: guess

[12:05 PM] you: guess

[12:05 PM] you: why arent u responding

[12:05 PM] you: guess

[12:05 PM] you: ok u got me ill tell u

[12:05 PM] you: its a hot tub

[12:05 PM] you: but with soup

[12:05 PM] you: but the soup is lava

[12:05 PM] you: genius right

[12:06 PM] you: anyway get some sleep and feel better <3

[12:06 PM] you: lmk if u wanna play animal crossing

[12:06 PM] you: actually no u should sleep. rest ur eyes and shit

[12:06 PM] you: no animal crossing for u!

[12:06 PM] you: sleep well so i can destroy ur ass in val tmrw

[12:06 PM] you: >:)

he sighed as he read your one-sided ramblings. he really liked you.

and he really wanted to fuck you. lucky for you, you wanted the exact same thing. 

if only kenma knew what you did on the other side of the screen, hands in your undies and his name on your lips...

>> part two

© property of hornime 2021. do not plagiarize any of my writing and do not repost/copy my writing onto any other sites.

[skyhawkstragedy]

Ameerah: *thinking she’s doing the shit*

Kyle and Joseph: We’re gonna do what’s called a pro gamer move

[tteokdoroki]

⤷ 𝐅𝐋𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐒 : WRITTEN CHAPTER

⤷ CHAPTER SUMMARY: convinced by eijiro to tell hawks how you truly feel, you decide to give him a call  and let it all out.

author’s note(s): ok so this chapter i thought would be hard to convey just over text so i decided to do it as both, however tumblr is poopy so the confession is split between part seventeen.five and part eighteen ! nonetheless please let me know how if you liked it turned out :(( ily !! ALSO IM SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY

previous | part eighteen - keigo takami | next

word count: 1.2K.

with shaky breaths, your tongue darts out to wet the dry planes of your lips— nervous building up as the pressure your teeth use to sink into the swell of your bottom lip. you shouldn’t be nervous. this is keigo, kei, the guy who sung songs about chicken wings and moved so fast his brain couldn’t catch up with his words. the guy who held you tight in his arms while you shook with fear, who stared at you warmly to calm your nerves on set.

keigo takami was the guy you’d fallen head over heels for.

you shift from under the blankets, the sight of your phone screen lighting up pulling you from your flurry of thoughts. the darkness of your room is brightened by keigo’s contact photo flashing before your eyes. 

it was a picture of him that you’d taken on a lunch date one day— his golden avian eyes that held nothing but the sun were focused on the delicious meal in front of him, a small, earth shattering smile painting his sweet lips. you could look at the photo for hours; but choose to answer the call before your mind can get away from you.

“kei,” his name falls easily from your tongue, tasting of familiarity and comfort, as if it were the only name you were made to say. you could never get tired of saying it, hearing it. “i missed you...”

keigo chuckles from over the line, the sweet melody reminding you of the songbirds that play their tune for you every morning. sinking into your oversized sweater, you suppress the urge to squeal like a school girl and roll over into your sheets— even the simplest things about him have you reeling from the other end of the phone. “missed me? baby bird it’s only been a few hours since you last saw me,” his timbre voice fills the air in your room, resting in every inch and every corner— surrounding you as if he was right there with you. “what is it about me that you miss baby? is it my eyes? my voice? my touch? my...”

which each suggestion, his voice drops an octave, making your heart thump louder in your chest to the point that you’re afraid he might hear it. an embarrassed heat burns at the tips of your ears, flustered without him even being there with you. “keigo takami,” you scold him gently, knowing that if he could see, the smile that spreads across your lips would betray you. “don’t you dare go making me flustered, i’m trying to tell you something important!”

“i’m all ears baby bird.”

he falls quiet, nothing but the sound of ruffling sheets and static between you. you know what you want to say, you’d practiced every word for hours with eiji over the phone before; but now that you were face to face or rather— voice to voice— you couldn’t even think straight. your palms are sweating, heart rattling against your rib cage and now your throat is dry. 

what can you say? what can you do? you don’t want to leave him hanging but you don’t know if you can form a proper sentence but it seems your mouth has a mind of its own; speaking before your thoughts can catch up with it.

“yn? baby?”

“keigo takami, i think i have feelings for you.”

you smack a hand over your mouth, just hard enough to send you flying back into your bed sheets and pillows. you had a whole speech prepared, a confession that could win oscars if you really wanted it to but of course, you’d gone and messed that up too. 

the silence that crackles in the air causes your mind to race with anxiety, how much of a fool you’d look if keigo didn’t feel the same. after all, he was the hawks, a pro hero who was just as good as anyone out there. number two on the ranks and at the top of the game, he could have any girl, any guy, any person he desired. so why on earth would he choose you?

“you think, or you know?” the pro whispers into his device and you could almost hear the smirk entangled with his very tone. he’s teasing you. hawks was always one for jokes and humour; one thing you loved about him was his ability to keep any situation light hearted— but for a second you wished that he took the situation seriously.  fumbling with your fingers, you debate on whether or not you should ask keigo to forget you ever said anything, you could deal with the repercussions after drowning yourself in mina’s ice cream later, but keigo seems to have other plans. “i like you too baby bird, i know i do.” he mumbles as if he’s gone shy, now he’s the one waiting anxiously for your response.

you release a breath you hadn’t realised you were holding, clutching at your chest as fresh air fills your lungs. “that makes two of us then,” you hum warmly, feeling your body warm up at the idea of your favourite pro liking you back.

but keigo doesn’t stop there, it’s almost as if he’s gripping the phone tighter— desperate to convince you that you’re everything that he needs. “i have for some time now yn, i don’t know when or how it happened, but i’m glad it was you. your heart and your soul are kind, half of me doesn’t want to taint it but the other half of me is a selfish bastard,” the hero you’ve come to care for pauses, mulling over his next words in a way that has you sitting up to prepare yourself. “that selfish side of me, that half of me needs you, wants to make you happy. that’s if you’ll let me, songbird...”

you find yourself nodding over the phone and it takes a second for you to realise that keigo can’t see you. desperately you wipe at your eyes, cheeks stained with tears you hadn’t noticed were falling and heart feeling more full than it’s ever been. 

you feel set free, cut from the restraints of your past love for bakugou— ready to make new ties with keigo.

“i want you too kei, more than anything.”

hawks lets out a contented sigh from his end, mumbling sweet words to you not long after. “then you can bet your ass i’m taking you on a date as soon as we’re both free, i’m gonna show you how much i care about you. how much i desire you, baby bird.”

the rest of the night is spent full of giggles and blushes and teases, keigo’s words burning a smile into your cheeks. eventually, he sends you to bed with the promise of a kiss as soon as he sees you next, hanging up the phone shortly after. 

plugging in your phone, you situate yourself amongst your pillows, ready to sleep with a smile on your face— when your phone lights up with a tweet notification from none other than the bird man himself.

‘sleep well, my baby bird, dream of me.’

it reads and despite the likes and retweet that flood the poor tweet, you know keigo wrote it especially for you. adding it to your bookmarks, before sending one of your own and drifting off to sleep.

‘goodnight bird boy, see you in my dreams.’

⤷ TAGLIST: ✈️ CLOSED

@underratedmage @darlingstudies @iambashfulperson @jqnposts @ih8beefnoodles @miniatureland @ozzy-bozzy @someweirdshitman @bro-vocaine @air-wreckaaa @xxangelofpunkrockxx @hyperkaiperrose @sailor-moons-butt @montechristos  @semiathleticnerdykid @headfirst-halo @sasukelore @patricia-ceballos @jadenyukis-bodypillow​ @leel-lol @bokutosuwus @moonlightaangel @atsumumu @cathy8taffy @sya-arts-blog @rosa-gamer @yuesphere @ela-ena @d3ad-b3at-b1tch @starry-yui @cowward @actuallyazriel @bunny-on-crack @yourlocalbabybird @moon-spirit-yue @chaichai-the-weeb @tuddles-on-ice @tamaki-amajiki-anon @loser-keiji @witcherydotcom @s4kurajima @nishinoya-is-baby @astroninaaa @witches-brewe @skyrina @underoosjae @darlingely @mirukosyn​ @peachpetalhoney @kayisweird

[idy-ll-ique]

Ethereal.

Pairing: Chris Evans x F!Reader

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: None

Requested: by @sushiinmidnight

How about reader x chris evans and they've met before and one day he is walking Dodger past a cafe and he sees her there and goes in to talk to her ends up raining so they go back to her place walking in the rain ....

Summary: Y/N has a job interview at a cafe near her house. As she is leaving after the interview, the interviewer asks her out on a date but before she could answer, Chris and Dodger interrupt her. What happens when Chris finds out that she said yes to the date? Will he try to win her over?

Author's Note: Hi guys, I'm back. first of all, @sushiinmidnight , thank you so much for the prompt! Many people were expecting the sequel to one of my other fics, Dogs (read it here). I decided to make it that (also, I'm sorry if the ending isn't what you required, I really am! hope you still like the fic 😚). Enjoy!

---

"I'm awfully sorry about this, Bet, but I have an important interview at the cafe and I can't keep Zeus alone at home," Y/N apologized to her sister again as she stood by her door. "Are you kidding? I love hanging out with Zeus, she is so friendly!" Bethany laughed, kneeling over to pet Zeus who sat by her feet. Y/N smiled.

"Thanks again, goodbye!" Y/N left and heard the door closing behind her. She walked to the cafe where her job interview was, nervously playing with her hands. Y/N had a degree in business administration, which she wanted to put to good use. Having been jobless for 5 years, she felt like she needed something to do.

She reached the cafe and a man waved her over. Immediately recognizing him as Oliver, her interviewer, she walked up to him. "Miss Y/N Y/L/N? Please, have a seat." She grinned at him and sat down. They exchanged greetings and proceeded with the interview.

In her opinion, the viva went great. Apparently, Oliver thought the same. "That was awesome, Y/N, you're good at this! I can't tell you this now, but I'm 95% sure that you're gonna get a call back." A relieved and excited smile bloomed on Y/N's face. "That is wonderful!"

"Hey, um, also off-topic, I wanted to ask you something." 

"Go ahead." 

"Do you wanna get a coffee with me sometime? I have another interview to take right now so maybe later?" Oliver rubbed the back of his head. She was about to answer him when a bark startled them both. They whirled around just as a dog jumped into Y/N's arms. "Dodger, stop both— Y/N? Hey, how are you?" 

"Hi Chris, I'm good. I missed you too, Dodger," Y/N laughed, kneeling and petting the dog's head as he happily wagged his tail. "Chris Evans?" Both turned to look at Oliver. "Hey, nice to meet you!" Chris smiled at the man. "Chris, this is Oliver, my interviewer." They shook hands.

"Oliver, nice."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you, too. Unfortunately, I have to leave now, so Y/N…?"

"Yes?"

"The coffee…"

Y/N considered her options. She had an obvious crush on Chris, but like, come on, as if he's ever going to like her back. Plus, Oliver was hella good-looking. "I'd like to go on a date," she smiled at him. "Awesome! I already have your number, I'll text you later, okay? Bye!" Oliver left.

Chris, meanwhile, sported a huge frown on his face. She was going on a date with Oliver and not him? No, he decided, he was going to convince her to acknowledge her crush on him and go on a date with him. Not Oliver. "Chris? Everything okay?" He looked at Y/N and an automatic smile bloomed on his face.

"Wanna have coffee?"

"Damn, what is it with handsome men asking me for coffee today? Do I look that good in this suit?" Chris laughed at her joke. "You look ethereal. Let's go inside." Chris and Dodger entered the cafe, leaving Y/N to gape after him. Wait, what? She looked ethereal? No, let me rephrase that, he thought she looked ethereal?

Feeling butterflies in her stomach, she walked in. She saw him sitting in a corner with Dodger's leash tied to the table. She went over and sat in front of him, unable to contain herself. "Do you really think I look ethereal?" she blurted out. "Of course, I've thought that ever since I first saw you at the park 2 months ago."

"Holy fuck, Captain America thinks I'm hot."

"Language." 

She burst out laughing at his joke, which caused him to smile. "Folks, what will your orders be?" They turned to look at the waitress, who gave them an amused smile. "Um, a Frappuccino, please," Y/N mumbled, embarrassed. "Same." She nodded and left. 

"So, what's up? What was the interview for?" Chris asked, leaning back. "Nothing, just a tech company. I'm gonna work from home; I have lots of free time but I can't go out because of Zeus." At Zeus' name, Dodger let out a mighty bark. "Dodger has missed Zeus a lot," Chris chuckled. "Yeah, Zeus misses him, too."

"Now you're gonna be too busy to hang out with me," Chris pouted. Y/N blinked, since when did they decide hanging out was normal? She had only gone out with him 2 days and hadn't even seen him for 2 months! And suddenly they were best friends? Something was fishy…

"It'll be a 9-5, so I'll be free in the evenings," she shrugged, playing along with whatever he was suggesting. "Great! We can continue hanging out at the park, with Dodger and Zeus." Ah, she should've guessed. He was suggesting it for Dodger, not himself. I mean, there was no reason for him to hang out with her anyway, except for the fact that their dogs liked each other.

"Here you are." The waitress placed the two cups in front of them. Y/N picked hers up, hearing a loud rumble outside the room. "Hm, look at that," Chris commented and both looked out of the window. The sky was dark, laden with rain clouds. "We need to get out of here quickly," Y/N sighed, sipping her coffee.

Just as she said that, they heard raindrops hitting the window. "Too late," Chris laughed. "Looks like the storm will last a while…" The intensity of the rain soon increased and it started thundering. Y/N took out her phone and called Bethany, keeping the call on speaker and placing it on the table. "Y/N, still at the cafe?"

"Yes, I'm trapped with… with a friend," she answered, doing her best to not glance at Chris. "Okay, I get it. Don't come walking in the storm, you fall sick too easily. Remember when you fell sick that one time when you were 16? Took you quite a while to recover." Chris snickered as Y/N went red. "Yes, yes I do remember. I just called to ask if Zeus can live a while longer with you?"

"Bro, she can live with me forever!"

"Shut up, she's mine. Why do you younger sisters always steal stuff? Anyway, I have to go now, bye!"

"Bye, broski." Y/N ended the call, playfully glaring at Chris as he wheezed. "What are you laughing about?" she chided. "You have got to tell me the story of when you were 16? What happened?" Y/N sighed and rubbed her forehead. They had to spend a while here, she might as well become friends with the guy she was stuck with.

"Nothing. I got diarrhoea and it's disgusting so… live with it." He pouted and crossed his arms. "Fine, only because it's disgusting." All of a sudden, a news anchor's voice filled her ears and she turned to look. The receptionist had switched on television there. 

The news reported that this unexpected storm was most likely going to last for hours. "Looks like we're all stuck here," she laughed seeing Y/N's expression. "I guess we are!" Chris said joyfully. Why was he so goddamn happy today? Y/N rolled her eyes at his cheerfulness.

Dodger hadn't barked in a while, so she glanced at him. "Aw, Chris, he's asleep," she crooned, clasping her hands. "He always sleeps during storms. The thunder scares him and when he's asleep, he can't hear it so that's good." Y/N laughed. "Zeus is the same, she's scared of storms too." 

"Our dogs are so alike, no wonder they like each other so much," she sighed, finishing the last of her coffee. "Can the same be said about us?" Y/N blinked and looked at Chris, who intently stared right back at her. "Uh… pardon?" she stammered. "What things do you like?"

"I… Marvel, I guess."

"Oh, I love that."

"You know my likes and dislikes, dude, we've met before," she deadpanned. "That I do," he winked, resting his head on the table. "Hey, can I ask you a question?" Y/N didn't want to be blunt, but she had to be. It was the only way to get some answers out of Chris' big, beefy body.

"Sure, love."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?" He sat up, frowning. "It's obvious you're flirting with me, I mean, I'm not dumb. I just… why? Why me?" He remained frozen for a few minutes before speaking. "I obviously like you," he spoke quietly, "I just want you to feel the same. I really do like you, Y/N. Ever since you offered me your water bottle the day we met. Remember that?"

She did, indeed, remember that.

"But it's just… I like that you are doing this… just… I felt like it was sudden."

"Do you want me to tell you the truth?" He looked at her with such innocent eyes that she found herself nodding involuntarily. "Please don't go out with Oliver today." Before she could stop herself, she started laughing. "Chris—" She took his hand and clasped it with hers, "—were you really jealous of Oliver?"

He pouted. "Not— not jealous…" he grumbled, reaching out with his other hand. "Aw come on, you are totally jealous of Oliver!" Y/N giggled, getting up. She sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. She liked him, he liked her, all was well and they were happy.

"Fine, maybe I am," he countered loudly, "Don't go out with him?" This time, it was much softer. "I won't, silly. I just had the best date ever." Y/N reached up to kiss his cheek, but pulling a pro-gamer move, Chris tilted his head so that his lips touched hers instead. Y/N wanted to pull away but she gathered herself and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Mm, you're mine," Chris mumbled when she pulled away to breathe. "Whatever you say, weirdo." He shoved her, rolling his eyes before quickly pulling her back to him, tightly wrapping his arms around her. "Your weirdo, right?"

"God, who would've thought Chris Evans would be so goddamn possessive," Y/N joked. "All the fanfictions about me correctly predict it…" Y/N looked at him with wide eyes. "What? You read fanfictions?" she asked loudly. "I've only read a few… they were somewhat accurate and somewhat not, but mostly fun. And surprisingly well-written."

"Hey guys, congrats!"

Chris and Y/N turned to look at the lone waitress and the receptionist. "Thanks! Just don't tell anyone, okay? People will come in mobs to kill me," Y/N snorted. "Come on, we've been hiding our relationship for a long time now, what's one more?" The waitress and the receptionist shared smirks. "Wait what? You're…?"

"Gay!"

"That's awesome!" Chris guffawed as the receptionist and the waitress shared a kiss. "I wish you both well," Y/N beamed at them. "As us, you!" the waitress grinned. 

---

"Y/N, I have to ask you something…" The rain had now cleared up, almost 3 hours later. Y/N, Chris and Dodger were now preparing to leave. "What is it?" She looked at him. "Tell Oliver you're not meeting him today." She good-naturedly rolled her eyes and took out her phone. "Okay, I'll tell him in front of you so you'd finally leave me alone."

"Babe, we're dating now, I'm never gonna leave you alone," he smirked. "Okay, you sap." She texted Oliver hi, I won't be able to make it today, I'm sorry :( and kept her phone away. "I am a sap and proud of it. Anyway, wanna come over later?" She considered her options. "I'll get Zeus from my sister's, change my clothes and be at your place soon, okay? Just text me your address."

"Great! Bye!"

"Chris, don't—" Too late, he gave her a quick kiss before she could remind him they were in public. As they walked in the opposite direction, Y/N shook her head.

No way today had just happened.

But it had.

And by God was it amazing.

---

A/N: Please leave a like, thank you for reading!!!! :)

[highwaydiamonds]

Um. Excuse me. You had cancer??

Yeah... I mean I guess I really haven't discussed it much on tumblr. I have a little bit, but only in vague ways, or rarely made veiled references in tags.

SO, get a drink, get a snack, because this is a bit of a saga, and you already know I am longwinded at the best of times. I'm going to do like Vizzini said, and go back to the beginning. I hope you're ok I'm making this public Shells, it seems easier to? And I'll put this behind a cut because I really do wax on ( and on).

It's the end of August 2018 and i appear to have gotten some kind cold/respiratory infection. I'm at work the first day of it and it feels like a cold. No big deal. (Also this is all pre-COVID so no I didn't have COVID). The next day I feel really awful, so I call off work, and figure all I need to do is rest and I'll be ok. Turns out, NOPE. The next day I feel worse- now I can tell I have a bit of a fever, my appetite was basically, " eat one baby carrot and my appetite is exhausted." Finally, I get to the point that I am having trouble lying down - as in I am becoming short of breath when I try to lie flat (sorry if I am using the wrong word - lay/lie was always a grammar issue that eluded me.) So, I decide, ok, i will be sensible girl and go get medical attention. But I am stubborn and feel the ER is overreacting, so I go to urgent care. i park in the front row of urgent car parking, but by the time I reach the intake desk I have to put my head down because I am so winded and a bit lightheaded.

They take one look at me and tell me, point blank, "we're getting a squad for you to take you to the ER." I say, " what? no, I don't need that, this is not that big a deal." They counter, " you could barely walk in the door and you you are having significant trouble breathing. We don't have the ability to see you here." So, for the first time in my life I have to go via ambulance from urgent care to a free standing ER.

I get to the ER - where they decide, OK, lady, you're a mess. Let's get some chest x-rays and we're gonna slap some IV fluids and I can't even recall if they immediately put me on IV antibiotics or not. But after two hours there they informed me, " hey.... So, we think you need to go to the hospital-hospital not the freestanding ER." I tell them well you better hand me my laptop ( I'm that bitch who takes the laptop with her juuuuust in case I am stuck in the hospital. you never know.) Because i am not going to a hospital until I figure out if they're in my health plan. I do so and then for the second time in my life, all in one night because sometimes I am an over achiever i guess, I go via ambulance to the hospital.

They admitted me and over the next few/couple/ hours ( it was hard to tell) I progressively felt worse. I had trouble breathing if I didn't sit absolutely straight up, and at that point I hadn't gotten good sleep for around 60 hours or so. Me being me I started to get teary and panicky, because I was so tired and wasn't sure what to do. I called for the nurse and she came in and then within the next half hour your girl got taken down to the ICU. By the time we arrived down in the ICU I was really getting panicky. My mom died in the ICU ( different hospital but still) and I knew the fact they took me down there was no laughing matter. I started to think about, " ok is this what death is like? this isn't what i thought it was going to be - this is panicky and scary and not all white lights and peace."

The next thing I knew - it was two days later, and I woke up intubated. Did you know that you can be conscious and intubated? I did not. I'll speed things up a bit here. I spent a total of 8 days in the ICU - I had one hell of a case of pneumonia, and there were a couple of other diagnoses thrown in ( nope, not cancer. promise, we will get there.) . The nurses I had were AMAZING. I was intubated for about 6 of those 8 days. Then I got weaned off of it. Funniest moment on the ventilator: Physical therapist comes around and says, " Hey let's get you up and walking, you think you can?" I nodded and shrugged my shoulders to try and communicate, " sure, ok!" It went totally fine, but there were nursing students, residents, other doctors and who knows who else looking out of rooms and over desks at the two of us just y'know... *walking down the hall*. I gestured to the people because it was just flipping weird. I had an audience at the exact time NOBODY wants an audience and it confused the hell out of me. PT advised me, " there aren't too many times ventilated patients are ambulatory. You're a bit of a curiosity so people want to see."

Once I got out of the ICU and was put back on a regular floor, I got to meet with other doctors re those other diagnoses I mentioned ( chronic things I just have to manage) I also mentioned that it had been a really long time since I had been to a GYN and as had been noted in the ICU I spotted quite frequently ( I have never, ever in my life been regular period-wise and it just got weirder over time, but I just didn't really consider it. So I asked while they were setting me up with new practitioners ( my previous doctor had retired) too please set me top with a gynecologist.

So I'm out of the hospital by September 10th, 2018. The gyro appointment occurs i want to say by mid- to late September. I go in and meet her and she's lovely. While I'm up on the table she says, " hey let's do all the things and get a uterine biopsy!" I say, " excellent, do the things!" We agree it's likely going to be nothing but hey we're smart people and we will play it safe. Huzzah Gyno visit accomplished! (if I were a gamer I'd make some kind of ladybits achievement unlocked now, but I'm not a gamer.)

Two or so weeks go by - or however long it takes to get those test results back (some of these spans are lost in the mists of time). Dr Boyle calls me and apologizes that the test results that she was sure would be nothing... they are not nothing. Turns out, it's endometrial cancer.

At that point you could have knocked me over with a feather. Shells, I wanted my mom to be there so badly, I can't even express it. She would have understood how I felt - she'd been there with her breast cancer. But at the same time, I was glad she wasn't there? I remember how heartsick my mom was to tell Grandmommy when Mom got cancer. I didn't want my mom to have to hear that news, to worry about that. Dr Boyle advised me that she would be referring me to a good oncologist and i should hear from them in a week or two.

Thus began MRIS and PET scans and ultrasounds, and blood work etc. The oncologist diagnosed that he figured I might be stage three, but it depended on my lymph involvement. It brought back memories of when Mom was diagnosed and when she told me she was stage three. I asked my Dad later, "what does that mean?" He told me, " there are only four stages, so what do you think?" This time around I knew what it meant. So, we put me down for surgery November 9th, 2018. That's two days before my birthday - so I joked that I was getting my cancer out for my birthday - hooray! My best friend actually flew in from texas for my surgery ( my best friend is a SAINT, and I love her more than pearls and rubies.)

Best surgery story from this experience: For my total hysterectomy (uterus and ovaries go sayonara and then also two signal lymph nodes in the chain of nodes on either side of the pelvis to se if there is any lymph complication.) I had to be tilted back - so with my head down to move as many organs away from the uterus etc during the laparoscopic procedure. I knew this going in, However, when I woke up back in my hospital room I looked at Bestie and said, " I hurt in places I didn't expect to hurt. Oh wait. My shoulders hurt because they're not used to being weight bearing, but the procedure was laproscopic - so why the heck does my vagina hurt?" Bestie in one of her best moments ever says, " I know why." I replied, " wait, YOU know why MY vagina hurts?!" She said, " yep. So your surgery was supposed to take 3-3.5 hours ended up taking 5 hours instead. Your uterus was really big. The oncologist told us they need up having to cut it in half to pull it out of you." bestie admitted she joked with the oncologist that it was like I had just birthed a baby, he looked back at her (NOT laughing) and said, " yes, that's basically what she did." I laughed so much at that ( i mean i was also well medicated, but still) I told Bestie, " I had a Uterus! Let's call it George!" ( In retrospect I am disappointed in myself that I misgendered my own uterus, I should have called it Georgina.)

So, after healing from the surgery, by about January of 2019 I started two courses (each with a few rounds) of chemo. First came what the doctors and I called "low-pro" chemo - that we did along with radiation. Honestly, though i was making a heck of a lot more bathroom trips, you wouldn't have generally known I was sick. Most of my coworkers had no idea. I just was a bit more tired than usual. After the low pro rounds - then we moved to the bigger guns. Radiation was done but I moved to more significant chemo drugs, This wasn't because things were bad - this was the plan all along :) But I knew the "high-pro" chemo was going to make me lose my hair. THAT was a psychic struggle. I cried so much knowing that was going to happen. I got hats and caps and I even got a very nice wig. I mean, I planned as much as a girl can plan when she hears that news. I even preemptively cut my long hair. It was about half way down my back at that point. So I went in and asked the stylist please braid it and put it in between two hair ties - and then cut it - so i could keep my braid. I couldn't do locks of love anyway as it was colored, and I know it's selfish, but I wanted my hair. So, the hair went from half down my back to a face framing bob. then I just waited. And then in a few weeks it happened. I could put my hands through my hair and easily, painlessly pull it out. I am not a cute bald girl. That's when people KNOW you have something going on.

I was very lucky though, there ended up NOT being lymph involvement, and even the high pro chemo didn't make me nauseous or lose appetite. I did have HORRIBLE bone pain usually the first week after chemo ( i'd get it every three weeks). I learned a hell of a lot from that. I also was able to get some meds to help alleviate it a bit, and I took time from work when the pain was at its worst. But I have never experienced pain like that - where no matter what I did - no position changes helped. Even ice packs or heat pads didn't help or do much. It was just a waiting game, a painful waiting game. Oh also - I learned that IV benadryl is nothing like oral benadryl. IV benadryl is like walking right into a brick wall made of sleep. That stuff knocked me the hell out right quick - amazing.

Right before COVID started and the world shut down I got the flu because my immune system was in the toilet- and so I spent another week in the hospital and except for the bone pain that comes with chemo, you know what is worse than chemo injections? POTASSIUM injections. Among other things, my potassium levels were low and so I got those injections with other meds. Those suckers HURT. they BURN, and so i spent a week in the hospital only to eventually come out and find out the world was starting to shut down from COVID. Not my job at that point, but my oncologist told me, " GO HOME - YOU KNOW YOU ARE IMMUNO COMPROMISED - DON'T STAY AT WORK." So, I went home until about a month after I finished chemo.

Since finishing chemo it's been about scans, which have gone ok so far... I'm not willing to talk about the R word. I just think I'll have to be careful the rest of my life - My mom always said, "once you've gotten cancer, you always have cancer." So, maybe it's the anxiety talking, but it's kind of like waiting for the other cancer shoe to drop. In the mean time though, it's business as usual - try to find good stuff in the midst of the hot mess. Cancer has been a crisis but not a reason to lose my sense of humor. I've needed it more than ever :)

So, sorry for the SERIOUSLY LONG ASS answer, but sometimes it's just better to lay it bare. I'm not ashamed of this stuff. It's been a lot. It's been a journey... It still is... it's part of the rest of my journey, which i hope isn't over by a long shot yet. I don't believe things happen for reasons - the world is WAY too absurd for that in my opinion, BUT good gravy have i been able to learn so much from this whole three ring circus. I'm not grateful for cancer, but I am grateful for the lessons.

Thanks for checking in, Shells. You're a complete sweetheart.

[heartwoodventures]

Heartwood Hatchingtide!

A mysterious note had been posted on the company’s bulletin board, beckoning members to meet at Mih Khetto’s Amphitheatre for a Hatchingtide celebration! But beyond explaining that the event was to ‘help the youth,’ details were scarce. Who’s organizing this? And what activities will happen? You’ll have to go to the amphitheatre to find out.

And the place is absolutely decked out in egg-related decorations! But most prominent is the large and ‘in charge’ chicken, dancing mad on the road leading to the center. They wave at you two, and then continue to jig.

Intrigued by the odd note, Aislinn made the time to wander her way over to the amphitheatre. Whatever was going on, her curiosity got the better of her and she needed to find out.

Cravendy What is an egg’s least favorite day of the week? Fryday! Happy....friday! xD )) Cravendy I inflict pain unto myself everytime I make a pun ))

Riylli shuffled her way through the city, keeping her head down and trying not to attract attention as she made her way to the Ampitheatre. Whatever dour mood she was in would be briefly erased however as soon as she took in the dancing chicken that appeared to be waiting for her. "Er... Cravs..? Is that you..?"

"Twelve save us." Aislinn said, shaking her head as a smile worked its way across her lips. She paused a few seconds more to watch the chicken in its maddening jig, a laugh bubbling up from her throat. "You know, I'd bet gil on it."

Riylli (I love the way our heads move watching her dance Riylli (getting in on the beat Aislinn ((We're mesmerized))

Aislinn - She waves to the chicken. "So what's all this about helping out at Hatchingtide?"

“Cravs? Who’s that?” The chicken momentarily stops dancing and, somewhere in the distance, a kid groans in disappointment. Seeing that, the chicken slumps, but begins to groove once more. “I...I am none other. Huff. Than. Chickendy Hound! And it was I that called you out today on a mission...most. Huff. Important.”

Aislinn's smile widens. "Sounds like you've been dancing there quite awhile, Chickendy Hound." she noted in amusement as she plays along.

Riylli staaaaaaaaaaaared, bewilderment on her face as she tried to wrap her head around exactly what was happening here. That was definitely Cravs. Even without the giveaway of the name, the only other one in the company that tall was Rising, who Riylli was particularly sure would not be able to dance like the chicken was after the previous night. "Er... And what's that then?"

“Ay shite, I’ve been dancin’ for bloody who knows ‘ow long...” Cravs grumbles, and at that very moment a mother and child strolls on by. Cravs stiffens and clears her throat. “I mean. I can dance all day and all night! But now, the egg advocates would have us take care of another chore-I mean, thing of utmost importance. And that...is collecting eggs!”

Riylli pauses her judgmental staring to instead watch the mother and child pass, seemingly getting distracted for a moment before turning back to the chicken and letting out a sigh. "...Right. We gettin' paid for this or what?" She asks coldly, apparently back to whatever bad mood she had been in before meeting Chickendy

In contrast to Riylli's foul (fowl) mood, Aislinn seems to be enjoying this all too much. She makes a poor attempt to hold back any more laughter and nods to the passing mother and child. She couldn't begin to imagine how hot a suit like that must get. "Aye, of course. Harsh task masters, these egg advocates."

“No good deed goes unpaid! Which is to say, no, we’re not gettin’ bloody paid for this. I asked.” Cravs crosses her arms and I swear, you could see her chicken hat’s eyes furrow in grumpy anger. “Though they said we can keep any extra eggs, which ye can probably sell if yer strapped for cash.”

"....ye -do- get a free chicken suit though. That count for anythin'?"

"How, exactly, did they talk you into this, then?" Aislinn wryly asks.

Aislinn leans forward a bit and lowers her voice. "Did you lose a bet?"

Riylli let out another long sigh. "I hate this damned city so much..." She mutters, pinching the bridge of her nose as she seriously considered just turning around right then and there

"Ch-chickendy needs no reason to spread cheer in the world!" It's unclear if that's the whole truth, half, or not at all.

Riylli shot Cravs a glare, "Oy Chickendy, you better give me a better reason than that. How'd the scary pirate lady that can't even apologize end up in a situation like this?"

That earns a doubtful, though amused noise from Aislinn. "Yeah, if Chickendy is anything like Cravendy I'm not sure that math works out." Nevertheless, she shrugs a shoulder. She needed a break from building the prototypes at any rate, it was why she wandered out in the first place. "Alright then, I'm in for a bit of egg collecting." paused. "Chicken eggs, right?" she asked, deciding she better double check.

“HEY. I’m not so cold that I’d refuse to do some good in the world! That, and I didn’t say no right away. These folk sense weakness and twist yer arm until...” Cravs hears something approach from behind and freezes up.

Aislinn ((I'm going to hear this song in my sleep)) Riylli ( PA PAYA Cravendy pa paya! :D ))

An egg advocate comes over, peppiness turned dangerously past the dial. They drop a box containing chicken costumes in front of Riylli and Lin and - did they wink somehow? “You must be joining our friend here in setting up! A thousand thanks for choosing to spend your time spreading the festivities!”

Riylli shot the newcomer a glare so powerful that it could probably be tried as physical assault. "You have to be joking. You want me to wear that shite too?"

Aislinn eyes the chicken suit that was so unceremoniously dropped in front of her. "Wait...you were serious about the costume?" she looked the egg advocate over. The maniacal exuberance and zippered up smile a touch zealous. "Why the suits? We're collecting eggs, right?"

Aislinn ((It's all fun and games until you get stuffed in a chicken suit))

“Of course! The kids -love- it, and it’s said that wearing this’ll help you collect the eggyest of eggs! Chicken eggs!” The advocate unpacks the box’s contents, finds a suit fitting Riylli’s size, and thrusts it upon her without a moment’s hesitation. This person is awfully pushy, with all the strength of a traveling salesman who's got their foot in the door. “Now now, no fussing and get cracking!”

Cravendy laughs weakly.

Aislinn suddenly finds her arms weighed down in a similar fashion. She narrows her eyes slightly over the bulky armload, very likely imagining an unseemingly kind of violence that would wipe the peppiness right out of the pushy advocate. But then she cuts a glance to the still dancing Cravendy and merely sighs. The Seawolf was definitely in dire straits. "Fine. But we bring you back eggs that are eggier than other eggs and then ALL three of us are off the hook."

Riylli is forced to accept the chicken suit into her hands, blinking as her stare went from it, to Cravs, to the advocate. She wondered if it would be possible to evade capture from this deep inside the city if she were to commit some sort of crime right about now. Her attentions thankfully turn back to Cravendy. "The next time we go out drinking, you're paying for every round I feel like havin'" Riylli stated her demands, figuring it would be in everyone's best interest to ignore the advocate

The advocate squeals with glee and points to the west. There, you’ll find the chicken coops, the eggs, the hens! Best of luck! And as the three of them make their way over, the moment Cravs is a safe distance away from the advocate she slumps over. “Thank ye both...that person is frighteningly stubborn. Ye don’t want to know.”

Riylli lets out an absolutely exhausted sigh. "Figured you wouldn't be doin' this if you weren't in some sorta trouble... One day we're gonna have to teach you how to talk to people though." She muttered as she shoved the mask on over her head.

Aislinn stares at the retreating advocate's back, noting how a squeal was not a verbal agreement. A point that might have to be dealt with later. For now, she turns to Cravendy and shrugs. "Sometimes I think our contracts are easier to deal with." she added.

Cravendy nods in agreement with Lin. Clear cut rules, payment! But in the world of volunteering and do-goodery, there was a wide spectrum of folk to tussle with. She looks over to Riylli and snorts. “Looks weird with just the ‘ead.”

Riylli began idly fiddling around underneath her mask as she tried to get it to fit properly. "Course these things don't fit my damn ears... Nice to know nothings changed around here." She muttered angrily, definitely feeling very spiteful today. "EVERY. ROUND." Riylli reminded Cravs, then finally began to put on her suit, grumbling all the while

Aislinn - As they made their way to this special hen house, Aislinn struggled into the ridiculous chicken costume. "Know what this is? This is Nymeia's jest in return for me laughing earlier." she shook her head, her small frame almost swallowed up by the bulk of the costume. Looking down at herself, she laughed. "What is my life right now?" she pondered aloud.

Cravendy ALRIGHT so since the fates up, lets hop to it xD )) Cravendy whoever gets the most eggs...wins! )) Riylli (BAH, I SUCK AT THIS FATE THO Cravendy SAME LOL  )) Aislinn Also same)) Cravendy GDI )) Riylli ( KNOCK ME TO VICTORY Cravendy these chickens have NO EGGCUSE being this rude )) Riylli (GAH Aislinn ((They're very eggcitable)) Cravendy at some point you get knocked around to much )) Cravendy you accept heavy as a way of life )) Riylli (using the aoe to dash me to other eggs Riylli (this is pro gaming Cravendy make sure to turn in your eggs! )) Riylli 16 Cravendy AGHF I keep interrupting myself xD )) Cravendy 12! LOL )) Aislinn ((9!)) Cravendy damn pro gamer over here ahah )) Riylli (Riylli shall win every hunt in this fc Riylli Y E S Cravendy EGG )) Cravendy OMG )) Cravendy thats cannibalism! xD )) Riylli (victory tastes so good Cravendy tho my parents own chickens and they egg their own eggs all the time lol )) Aislinn ((Are you eating them ALL? Cool Hand Luke over here)) Riylli eggsecution Cravendy STOP you'll overdose on them! )) Riylli (I aint doing it again you cant make me Aislinn ((EGGsplosion))

Cravendy limps away from the henhouse. Truly, these birds were in a fowl mood! But she’s managed to collect a dozen and that’s something, right?

Riylli finishes her hunt with sixteen total eggs in her basket, the ultimate hunter in both speed and grace. Of course, she may have thrown some chickens around and caused some children to cry, but victory is all that mattered in the end. If she had to be a chicken, she would be the GREATEST CHICKEN

Aislinn hurriedly clambers over the fence, a basket half-full of eggs and the sound of muffled curses coming from under her mask. "Those birds are not normal. I see why we need the damned suits now. They're protection."

Cravendy - “Never thought I’d be tossed around by a...by a chicken?!” Putting it into words doesn’t help at all. She peers over to Riylli’s haul. “‘ow’d ye manage to get so many?”

Cravendy LOL at any cost, Riylli will be the ultimate chicken xD )) Riylli (Shoving children over and stealing their eggs

Riylli puffed up her chest, somehow managing to look proud even inside such a ridiculous outfit. "When will you learn... Keepers are the greatest hunters there are! Doesn't matter if it's beast or bugs or... or eggs..." Her confidence wavered a bit at the end there, but she wasn't about to give up this opportunity to gloat

Aislinn pulls her mask off with a huff and pushes back the hair plastered to her brow. She quietly counts up the eggs between the three of them. "This better be enough to buy your freedom from this cult, Cravendy."

Cravendy “Smaller target is all. Chickens were too busy chasin’ me around.” Cravs smirks beneath her hat.

Riylli pulled her chicken hood off, freeing her ears from their confines and giving them a tentative flick. Despite herself, she was wearing a large grin that let Cravendy know this was not the last time she would hear of this. "Sure, sure, whatever you say."

“I ‘ope so too, Lin.” Cravs sighs, thinking back to how chicken-garbed strangers would pop out at the strangest of times, incessantly asking about when she was going to finally help out. But when she sees the smiles on everyone’s faces, a part of her gives. It’s not all to keep nosy birds off her back. “...OY WAIT. Cravs? It’s Chickendy!”

Aislinn starts peeling off the hen-pecked suit and shoots the Seawolf a wry smile. "Aye, aye. Chickendy. My mistake." she paused, struggling to fold the suit over one arm while holding her basket in the other. "Should we get these over to the amphitheatre so they can be...decorated or painted. Whatever they do to them next."

Cravendy sulks. She knows that tone. Call her crazy, but a small part of her had held onto hope that somehow the two of them hadn’t made the connection. “Ay, let's get this over with.”

Riylli glanced down at the mask in her hands and thought for a moment, before suddenly deciding to put it back on. "Think Ill keep this on 'till were out of the city... Personally I hope Chickendy sticks around though. She can dance for us next time we go out on a mission, keep our morale high." She teases

Aislinn slides a glance Riylli's way. "Might come in handy if we ever face down another mob of avians."

Cravendy nearly chokes at the thought of dancing to raise morale. But she fumes in silence.

As you approach the amphitheatre once more, the sounds of children laughing fill the air. All around you, families and friends excitedly partake in egg-related activities. The advocate happily accepts the party’s baskets, and then hands each of them a delicately painted egg. “You all did so good! Here, as a reward!”

Riylli silently accepted the egg, paused for a moment, then immediately dropped it. "Woops." She muttered, sarcasm absolutely dripping off her tone. It seemed now that the thrill of victory had faded, Riylli was back to her previously grumpy self. "So sorry, hard to get a good grip in this costume. You understand I'm sure."

Aislinn nods in thanks as she carefully takes the egg. She smiles in her quiet way as she runs a finger along its surface, appreciating the detail. After a moment, she looks back up at the advocate. "Those are quite some chickens you've got there. The suits did actually come in handy."

Cravendy takes the egg and pockets it. Somehow.

“No worries! Have another!” The advocate presents another gift to Riylli. A chocolate egg. They then turn to Lin, sunshine exuding from behind their feathered maw. “The finest hens in Eorzea! And they lay the tastiest eggs too!”

Riylli accepts the gift, and then drops the gift. "Woops." She said again, practically challenging the advocate to give her another. Pettiness was her specialty, and she could do this all day.

The henny-helper hums in thought, and then raises a finger as a lightbulb lights up above their head. They take out a sticker and plaster it on the center of Riylli’s chicken hat. Bock bock!

“I’m free now, right? I am, right?” Cravs asks, and the Hatchingtide worker nods. Cravs stumbles back in relief, and then looks to Lin and Riylli. “Thanks...er, strangers. Well, I must be off. To somewhere.”

Aislinn sighs softly. "Nymeia's breath." she says, barely audible. This way lay trouble, she could sense it. "Right, then. Ah...thank you, I suppose." It seemed the polite thing to say. "And...good luck with the rest of your Hatchingtide. We'll just be heading out now."

Aislinn begins back away slowly

Riylli stared, trying and ultimately failing to figure out a way to counter this attack as well. Giving up, she turned to Cravs. "See you later Chickendy, try not to make eye contact with any strangers on your way out." She said, offering her a wave. She followed close to Aislinn as she backed away, sighing heavily. "Lets go back to the house and burn this shite..."

Although they had been strongarmed into helping out, the three of them did good in spreading festive cheer in Gridania. But perhaps they would stay far away from any chicken-suited fellows in the future....just in case.

Aislinn - "Might come in handy though somewhere down the line." she says with such a straight face, it's unclear as to whether she's joking or not.

[theladypeace]

Ozpin: I’ve spent years trying to take down Salem, but I am yet to succeed—

Oscar: ok so we’re gonna do what we like to call a pro gamer move

[in-class-daydreams]

Parlay (Kuroo x Reader) | Chapter 4

Pairing: Kuroo Tetsurou x Reader (ft. Roommate Kenma)

Word Count: ~900

Genres: Fluff, angst if you squint, general buffoonery

CW: Some swearing, but otherwise none!

Summary: (Y/N), a first-year student attending Tokyo U, is living with her best friend, Kozume Kenma. Little did she know, her life would be turned upside down after being exposed to Kenma’s volleyball teammate and close friend, Kuroo Tetsurou. One wrong move, and the parlay’s stakes only get higher each time.

Chapters: First | Previous | Next

“This is impossible!”

“Kuroo, Kirby’s the easiest character to play as.”

After his character got knocked off the screen yet again, Kuroo flopped backwards and pressed a pillow to the sides of his head. Kenma rolled his eyes.

“What a baby,” he mumbled. (Y/N) nudged his shoulder with hers.

“Be nice to Kuroo-san,” she placed her head on his shoulder, “Not everyone can be a famous pro-gamer.”

Kenma looked away from her.“Pfft, I’m not famous.”

She grinned teasingly. “Kozume-san! Can I get your autograph? You’re my idol! Kyaaaaaa!” she squealed in an exaggerated high-pitched tone.

Kenma struggled to free his face from its place between her hands. His hands gripped her wrists and they play-wrestled together. Kuroo got over his despair over being a video game amateur, and watched the two roommates tease each other. The two of them were a cute couple. Kenma pulled (Y/N) towards him, and Kuroo jolted in his spot. Of course they’d kiss. They were boyfriend and girlfriend, after all. But why did the idea make him so uneasy?

Kenma leaned in close and coldly said, “If you don’t stop, I’ll make you do the laundry. All by yourself. For a week.”

(Y/N) gasped loudly. ‘You demon!’

“But folding clothes is so hard! Ken-Ken--”

“Don’t ‘Ken-Ken’ me. I’ll make you do it. I really will.”

(Y/N) retracted her hands. Pouting, she said, “Fine, fine.”

Since sitting together in class that first day, she and Kuroo went to class together every session. Afterwards, Kuroo would drop her off at work. Every day, without fail. She never could convince him to stay a while for some treats. Chisai’s songpyeon was a life-changing ambrosia, however, and she was determined for Kuroo to try it. Last week, she’d texted Kuroo to go into class without her instead of waiting for her in the hall. A minute before class was set to start, she scurried in and placed a cute wooden box tied with a silky lilac ribbon.

“What’s this?” he asked in surprise.

“It’s songpyeon! A gift from my coworkers and me,” she chirped.

“I’ve never met your coworkers, though?”

She shrugged, “We’re all like family at Chisai, so they wanted to thank the boy they see through the window who the time to make sure I make it to work safely. We’re all really grateful.” She bowed to him.

His heart beat a little faster. He kept chanting ‘Bro-Code, Bro-Code, Bro-freakin’-code!’ in his mind like a mantra.

“It’s not a problem. Thank you for the food.”

In the living room, she turned back to the TV screen and was reminded how Kuroo only got in 64% damage and took 312%. Rather than bruise his pride going easy on him themselves, she and Kenma had paired him against a CPU at the easiest setting. It looked like his pride couldn’t be saved after this defeat.

“Kuroo-san, don’t feel bad. Games are hard and you’re talented at a lot of other things, like school, and you’re good at volleyball, aren’t you?”

Kuroo straightened up at that, “Good? I’m excellent. I’m the school’s star spiker!”

“Actually, Ushi--”

The taller male cut him off, “Come to our game tomorrow. There you can see me in action, and I’ll prove that I’m amazingly talented.”

(Y/N) felt she had seriously opened a can of worms, “Kuroo-san, I never said that you weren’t--”

“Come on! This is a chance for you to see both your boyfriend’s and my talents. Just make sure you remember you’re Kenma’s girlfriend. Make an effort not to fall for me after watching me play,” he winked at her.

‘Idiot! That’s such a weird thing to say! Pull yourself together, Kuroo. Kenma, my sweet boy, I’m sorry I’m such a creep.’

Kenma and (Y/N) shared a look before the girl dryly replied, “I doubt that’ll be an issue.”

Kuroo ended up leaving for practice a bit early today, and Kenma had to pre-record some ”Let’s Plays” before finals week ate up all his time. Honestly, she wondered how her friend was able to be a successful gamer, and a genius setter who could analyze just about anything related to volleyball while being a college student. It was, quite frankly, the flex of the century.

Before he disappeared down the hall, he called out to her, “He’s an idiot, you know.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, he’s never gonna get it. He’s too wrapped up in his own head.”

Kenma huffed a laugh. He could feel the cogs turning in her head. The former brain of Nekoma’s volleyball team chuckled to himself. It looked like he’d be winning the bet sooner than expected.

(A/N) : Hey everyone! This chapter is probably one of the shorter ones we’ll write in comparison to some of the other ones. Hopefully, it still was just as enjoyable as the previous ones so far! The cover is slowly making its way to completion. (I just finished the linework for it T.T). Anyways, see you guys soon, and please look forward to the next chapter! :)

- Admin Kiwi-Chan

(A/N): This was a little shorter because I originally storyboarded it to be short, but I’m also kinda tired from doing four chapters in four days, lol. Hope you enjoyed, and the next chapter will be up as soon as editing is done. Thanks!

- Admin Mango-Chan

~~

Taglist: @joyful-jimin

[kitty8roses]

Me: *sits in a car for five hours*

My scoliosis: now, we’re gonna do what I like to call a pro gamer move

[ailuronymy]

Book Club: Tallstar’s Revenge, chpt. 19-27 overview.

Meta analysis of Erin Hunter writing tropes and trends, courtesy of two acclaimed e-sports commentators: 

“[Erin Hunter is] like, we need these characters to seem smart, so they will be the ones to call out all the bullshit. But they [the writers] don't go, wait, why is the bullshit even happening, it doesn’t make sense, and then write something better in the first place. I guess because we read these books on such a meta level so often, it really feels like watching one person play ping-pong against themselves, but one persona needs to look good so the other persona keeps giving themselves wedgies at the table and holding the paddle the wrong way. Which is... less impressive overall than just watching a nice normal game of ping-pong.” - S.

“Erin Hunter, about to self-own: I'm gonna pull what's called a pro-gamer move,” - K.   

“Literally! I can’t get past it. I know both players are you, Erin Hunter. I can see you putting on your dunce hat and walking to the other end of the table. You’re not tricking me.” - S. 

This week we’re discussing this chapter through these nine questions. Please feel welcome to do the same and @ailuronymy + use the tag #ailuronymy writing challenge. Happy reading and I’m looking forward to seeing your feelings about this book.

1. First impressions?

K. Oh boy. Lots of emotions, lots of rollercoaster moments. I'm actively hating the things that are happening, all the time, forever.

S. Mood. I would say actively detesting what's happening is the primary emotion now.

2. How did you feel reading this section?

S. Very much bounced between anger and frustration, with moments of genuine delight. Very much extreme ends of the negative and positive spectrum.

K. I don't think I've been more confused and full of pure venom in my life. As a writer I am appalled, and as a reader I am... so uncertain. The good bits were truly lovely to read, though. They made it feel worthwhile, when they shone through.

3. What chapter did you find most interesting/moving/effective, and why?

S. I think it's got to be the conversation with Heatherstar and Barkface. I think that most hooked me. I was also interested with the Flailfoot conversation, although I hated the turn it took. It will be different in my version.

K. Chapter Twenty is the one that actively had me yelling aloud. I was so ready for the Erins to make Tallpaw a tunneller out of sheer fear, and so to see the back-to-back catharsis of Heatherstar disbanding the tunnellers and then Dawnstripe being so A+... god. It got me good.

4. What chapter did you find least interesting/effective/most frustrating, and why?

K. I honestly blue-screened throughout all of Chapter Twenty-Seven, the last chapter. Without anything happening at all,  I saw a swathe of unending, dull descriptive text and my mind just blacked out to save me from comprehending any of it.

S. Was that the moonstone one?

K. Nope, that's like, the very last chapter of our reading. When he leaves the Clan and finds some rogue cat to lead him in the direction of a house.

S. Oh right. I forgot that too. I'm going to go with the Moonstone chapter, though. I fell asleep and dreamed of a better book for that whole time.

5. Is there a passage that stuck in your mind–for good, or not-so-good reasons? What is it, and why did it stand out? Try breaking it down and analysing what this passage does and how.

S. There were several things in this chapter I loved and that really resonated with my concept of Tallpaw and my writing. 

S. “He’d be a warrior soon, then a senior warrior like Hareflight. One day he’d be an elder, limping like Whiteberry and sharing stories from moons ago with his denmates. Above the vast sky stretched toward distant horizon. The Clan looked small and fragile beneath it. Was this it? His life laid out before him like an old story, told again and again through countless moons? Tallpaw’s chest tightened. Suddenly he felt trapped, as though he were in the tunnels once again.”

S. “A thought flashed in his mind. We’re just visitors, like the rogues. We arrive, we eat, we sleep, and then we move on to StarClan. The only difference was that Clan cats stayed in one place their whole life. I’ll only ever see heather and grass and sky. Tallpaw felt WindClan’s borders pressing closer.” I loved this kind of thinking showing up in the story, and I’d have loved way more of this and far far less of literally everything else. You could honestly cut out all of the Sandgorse angst and just lean into this, because it's good and it's real.

S. I also lost my whole mind at this bit: “They’re survivors, like you,” Barkpaw purred. They walked in silence for a while. Talltail gently steered his friend toward Outlook Rock.  “I love this view,” he mewed as he led Barkpaw out across the stone. Barkpaw peered into the night-shadowed valley. “Why? Everything is so dark and far away.”  Talltail sat down, beckoning Barkpaw to sit beside him with a flick of his tail. “Just wait.”  “For what?” The sky was growing pale as the sun pushed up toward the horizon behind them. Glancing over his shoulder, Talltail saw weak rays seeping through the bare branches of ThunderClan’s forest. “You’ll see in a moment,” he told Barkpaw.  As he spoke, the sun lifted above the trees. Sunlight swept the moor and lit up the tips of Highstones.  S. I was basically like fist-pumping. Canonical evidence that dawn is Tallstar's favourite time of day. I didn't know this before I wrote my other story, but damn it feels good. I love when things line up serendipitously like that. 

K.  Absolutely. Those felt so good to read. Not a very long passage, but: “How could his Clan be so unfeeling?” — This isn’t a galaxy brain take or anything, but I do love how evident it is that Tallpaw is just. Solidly projecting his own feelings onto everyone else. They’re not unfeeling, dog! You are!!

6. What themes have you noticed in this section? Are these themes a continuation of the themes you noticed in the first section, or has the story’s focus changed since then?

S. In the first chunk, I picked out "division" as a theme. And that feels very true still, as far as what's happening in the story. It's even more emphatic, with Palebird pushing Talltail out of her family (or so he feels, and with reason, in my opinion) and his self-imposed removal from the clan.

K. "Desire" might also be poignant for this section, actually. Talltail's desire to go off on his own, Barkface's desire for Talltail to be happy, so many other background characters doing something with their lives to have a new start (while Talltail broods).

S. Yes! I agree there. It's actually pretty interesting how the clan's unity in the face of tragedy and their kinship with the visitors is actually a big catalyst for Talltail to feel that division happening. The more together they are, the more apart he feels. I think desire is true of this too. There's--as always--a lot of emphasis on individuality, and choosing your own destiny and doing what you want.  It reminds me of that line from Hawkheart that I really liked, how every cat has to choose their destiny.

7. If you were going to learn a lesson from this section, what lesson would it be? What message stands out to you most clearly? Do you agree with it?

S. I think insofar as I can glean a lesson from this section, I'd go with learning from Heatherstar: sometimes it will be difficult to help people and they might resent you for it, but if you have the power to make a positive change, you should act, even though it's hard. S. That feels very appropriate, given the state of the world right now. So many people are angry that authority figures are telling them to stay home and prevent the spread of COVID, and are resenting the very people who are trying to save their lives. I can see that same issue playing out so clearly in these chapters, after the death of Sandgorse in the tunnels.

K. Absolutely. It's so, so easy to direct anger towards something or someone tangible, rather than accepting that there are things that Just Happen and there's nothing you can do about it.

K. I was going to say something very similar: the things you need to make yourself better aren't always the things you want to hear. So many people try to help guide Talltail away from his anger or towards other, much healthier ways of thinking -- all of them trying to tell him he doesn't HAVE to be a tunneler is one moment -- and he just HATES hearing it, every time. He doesn't want to accept it. It feels better to be in his emotions about it, even if that's most obviously the worst thing he could be doing for himself and for others. Sometimes you just have to let other people give you the honest to god vibe check and learn to put your heart down for a bit, to see what you need to see.

S. Definitely. I feel that getting better necessitates taking responsibility for yourself. It seems like Talltail is resisting that, maybe because it's difficult to be honest with yourself. If you try, you risk failing. And the problem with any kind of self-improvement or recovery is that it's overall made up of little moments of trying to be better every day. That's so much failure to face, it can feel insurmountable. Whereas one grand gesture of revenge? So much easier.  Anger is a motivating emotion, so if you stay in anger, you can often get things done. But anger is also an emotion that makes it harder to react with patience or think clearly. A double-edged sword, if you will.

K. Absolutely. Pinning "if I complete X Task, I will feel better and fix myself" on some big goal is way easier.

S. I think that's what's happening for him at this time. He's not willing to do the mundane, scary work of trying to be better each day, and is going for something he thinks will alleviate guilt instead. But of course it won't.

8. The title of this novel is Tallstar’s Revenge. How do you feel about that title so far? Does it reflect the content of the story well, or would you choose a different title? What alternative title would you suggest?

S. I personally feel the title sets up the story poorly. Because I knew it was hinged around revenge, I was alert and looking for it from the start. I was paying attention to potential betrayals or crimes, so on. And when I realised this extremely unlikeable awful character, Sandgorse, was the catalyst, I got real mad.

K. I don't even know what better title would work, since I'm honestly not very fond of the Super Editions titles. They just... all do the same, on-the-nose shit and it makes it very boring from the start.

S. I think if we were allowed to tweak it a little, The Forgiveness of Tallstar, would be a title I would potentially enjoy more. There's an ambiguity to it, re: who is being forgiven. Is it Tallstar who needs to be forgiven, or is it Tallstar doing the forgiving. And I think you could thematically tie that in so much better to the kinds of beats this story is already showing up.

K. The only like, quote from the book that I think you could mangle into a title is "We guard the edge of the world," which like... I dunno, having something like "On The Edge" included in there feels right. The book's obviously full of big tension and drama within Windclan, while also noting that they literally are on the fringe of Clan territory.

S. I think maybe Beyond the Edge of the World? Since that’s essentially where Tallstar’s journey takes him? 

K. Yeah!

9. Many of us read because we’re curious to find out what’s next. How has curiosity featured in your experience of this book? What’s motivated you to keep reading?

K. Hoo boy. Honestly, half of the reason I'm reading is just with crossed fingers that somehow, SOMEHOW, Talltail becomes better. I know he must. He has to.

S.  For me, curiosity is a big part of why I'm reading--and continuing to read--this book. I want to know what happens next! I'm just usually expecting not to like it.

Final notes:

K. I'm excited for Jake to show up, because I feel that'll help break up whatever the hell Talltail is doing. He needs an excitable twink to break him from the evil fog he's in. S. I don't know if Jake is a twink, honestly. K. Oh, very true. We do love a good himbo. S. He's a bit of a rolypoly boy, according to the wiki. K. OH, even better. K. I forgot that Talltail is the twink. S. He's just a long sad string bean.

K. I AM APALLED AT THIS TURN OF EVENTS, ERIN K. This book is… it’s like being consistently starved to death and then given like, a single apple slice and going ravenous for it. There are so many moments that FEEL great (even if they’re not miraculous, writing or content wise), almost solely because so many things that precede them straight up cause my reader brain to flatline. The despicable one-two punch of Chapter Nineteen into the handful of great moments in Chapter Twenty makes me feel like I’m being waterboarded by Erin Hunter. K. Erin Hunter, holding my head down into the waters of godawful content, before yanking me up for air to see Heatherstar and Dawnstripe saying Good Things just to shove me in again. S. I can't disagree with you. S. I genuinely had moments of going "yeah!!!" followed by "NO!!!" like that one John Mulaney skit.

S. Anyway, I'd like to start us off with a familiar old Erin Hunter classic theme, quoting my notes:  - "Is it even a Warriors novel without multiple birth scenes?" - "Oh excellent another peripheral birth scene, I felt that there wasn’t quite enough in this book so far" S. If I don't have multiple women moaning and/or shrieking and/or groaning from birthing pains in my Warriors novels, I'd be devastated. K. It'd break the immersion.

K. I am very happy to see Deadfoot on the scene though, even though he shows up for like. .5 seconds before he's gone. A very good and lovely baby boy. S. “Tallpaw turned back and tucked his nose under the black tom’s belly. “Hang on!” he warned, flipping the kit onto his shoulders. Tallpaw purred as the young kit dug his tiny claws into his pelt, and carried him over to his littermates.” uhhhh what the fuck K. YUP K. Y U P K. HEY ERIN S. Let me just uhhh toss this child like a sack of potatoes over my cat shoulder real quick. K. Tiny Tim over here S. I lost it. I'm like, you really don't care what cat bodies can do, do you?  K. Erin Hunter: hmmm what if we just pepper in some wack shit. Like, what if it's just. Nonsensical as fuck. Who's gonna tell us we can't? Harper Collins? S. And the answer is: of fucking course not, kitty kung fu time.

K. “You’ve turned mean, Tallpaw,” Reena spat. “ That’s why you’ve got no friends anymore. Whenever a cat comes near you, you bite their head off.” “So?” Tallpaw hissed. “At least I don’t kill them.” “See what I mean?” Reena’s gaze hardened. “Why don’t you talk to me once you’ve finished feeling sorry for yourself?” — God I love Reena, calling it like it is. S. Mood, but also: hate Erin Hunter for doing this to him, over Sandgorse. K. "Flailfoot is trying to reason for a Sandgorse Redemption Arc and I will NOT be having it, you LOSE sir, GOOD DAY," S. Note two from my notes page: "I DON’T CARE ABOUT SANDGORSE" S.  Gets abused by father. Father dies in what is objectively an accident caused by his own defiance and hubris. ??? Goes on a hateful revenge spiral to try and make daddy proud. K.  The worst part is that, unlike Bluestar's which was a fucking awful mess the entire way through, this one gives us just enough to show that the Erins are capable of like. SOMETHING. They can write okay things! They know what they're handing us is bullshit and they do it anyway! It's infuriating. S. From a writing perspective, it's kind of fascinating to see this all happen, because like. What a fucking horrorshow. S. Really feeling in this moment for the people who think Erin Hunter is a good writer. They're getting swindled on Sherlock is Garbage and Here's Why levels. S. Where's the secret good fourth episode, Erin???

K.  “Tallpaw’s wish to learn the skills that led to his father’s death shows true courage.” — HEATHERSTAR WITH THE PREMIUM ROASTS K. Followed by: image: “fuck them [tunnels]” K.  “Shrewpaw!” Dawnstripe glared at the apprentice. “Show some respect to your Clanmate.” Hareflight joined them. “Stop teasing him, Shrewpaw!” “This has gone beyond teasing!” Dawnstripe snapped. “If Shrewpaw were my apprentice, I’d claw his ears.” — HOLY FUCK, GET HIM K. The fact that nobody has noticed Shrewpaw using his claws during training is fucking ridiculous, though. He's done it the whole book, Erin. They would know. They would know. S. Admittedly don't love how everyone's concept of discipline is straight to violence, but we'll overlook that, I guess. K. I understand that like, bullying is something that can go unseen very often, but like. Come on, man. S. Yeah. It's like wearing knuckledusters to a playground fight. Hard to overlook.

S. It's what happens when your characters don't have internal worlds. They're just props standing there until you need them, not people watching and listening to what you're writing right in front of them. S. The problem with Erin Hunter's writing for me is that by this point it's hard to read their female characters generously. S. Most of the time I can go, "okay but if we pretend this woman is real, what rich inner world does she experience?" and try to pick up where lazy writers leave off, but like... Erin Hunter's characters are so vapid. K. It's horrible to read. It's just the worst. S. Not just the female characters, but especially the female characters. And I hate it. K. I'm genuinely surprised that Dawnstripe and Heatherstar haven't been mangled already, but honestly, half of my rage at this book comes from their moments, because it shows that the Erins know exactly what they're doing and how bad this fucking plot is. K. Two major background characters are constantly talking about how things Should Not Be The Way They Are, and it just makes me wanna bang my head on a wall. I know you can see the elephant in the room, Erin. You know this. You know the bad things you're making. S. I genuinely feel that’s why they do it. They make bad plots because it’s easier to make certain characters seem smart or likeable if everyone’s a rude idiot.  S. They’re like, we need these characters to seem smart, so they will be the ones to call out all the bullshit. But they [the writers] don't go, wait, why is the bullshit even happening, it doesn’t make sense, and then write something better in the first place. S. I guess because we read these books on such a meta level so often, it really feels like watching one person play ping-pong against themselves, but one persona needs to look good so the other persona keeps giving themselves wedgies at the table and holding the paddle the wrong way. K. FUCK, THAT'S EXACTLY IT S. Which is... less impressive overall than just watching a nice normal game of ping-pong. K. Erin Hunter, about to self-own: I'm gonna pull what's called a pro-gamer move, S. I just can't get past it. S. I know both players are you, Erin Hunter. I can see you putting on your dunce hat and walking to the other end of the table. S. It makes it really hard to sink into the story. Whenever something stupid happens, I'm brutally yanked out of the narrative, and it's happening constantly at this point, because of the direction they're taking Tallpaw. S. I've tried to like, put that aside and imagine his perspective, but it's so challenging for me to envision an experience where I'm a nice boy on a moor with an idiot backwards dad who bullies me and tries to control my life with emotional manipulation and disregard for authority, and then he dies of the thing everyone was saying was super dangerous and off-limits, and then I lose my mind because I didn't make him proud while he was alive (which he's not anymore, because of tunnelling) so I need to do the thing that killed him (which is tunnelling). S. Tallpaw can't be smart and also have this characterisation for me. It's too incongruent.

[moiraesthe]

Bee’s REREV2 quotes sentence starter pack - part 1

Great, the child has gunpowder. I'm calling you 'Pain-in-my-ass' from now on. Get some rest tall child. He sounds like a nice train conductor. I'm gonna have to take that as a 'no thank you', bye! ___, move, we're leaving! I've got my emotional support brick. Brick time! Bonk! She's a strong child! Pro gamer tip; Use the child. Any zombies out here? Any zimies? Any zim-zambonies? Do you wanna pick up your brick? Strong man! He's like Hopper 2.0. He's more dad and less sad. My thoughts exactly, small child! What do I break this with? This brick? You have a gun. Use it. Head for the tower! It's not the ass, but close enough. This music is not my favorite.. I feel in danger. I like her, I wish to hold her. I mean I hated the son of a bitch, but I didn't want this. I got the ass! I like him, he gives me good vibes. I can put her in my pocket. Time to leave!

[kermiekermie]

millenials: please don't kill innocent people!!!!!!

Gen z: yeah because racism and shit will just stop because we asked it to... anyways *hits tear gas canister with a tennis racket* we're gonna do what's called a pro gamer move

[superjennysunshine]

Alright Kiddo’s we need to talk about the left and Ableism.

(via https://open.spotify.com/track/2zQl59dZMzwhrmeSBEgiXY?si=z65TcLuBS1yRlG78bT5UMg)

Hey there Gamers. Coming at you from home which is actually this enchanted train car that will take me anywhere on earth so y’know that’s fun.

I’m on TikTok alot and about a third of the content I find on my For You Page is related to BLM, LGBT Activism, Radical Lefist views and the like. Which as a Bisexual, Trans Femme, Radical Lefist who supports BLM, I find myself happy about as it’s nice to see people who align with your views on social media. But lately I’ve been seeing some Issues. The first of these came in the from of a duet where the creator was chastising the comments of the duetee, a man with dwarfism who was talking about how he’s pro choice in a very pretentious manner. I went to the original video and looked at the comments and was pretty disgusted to see a lot of “Can’t see over the counter why are you even talking.” or “I could punt you.” etc. I left a comment on the duet about how I felt that was wrong, The creator of the duet agreed with me, and I moved on. Similar events occurred sparingly throughout the following couple of days until today where I came across another duet where another person was chastising the comments of a Trump Supporter with a disability.

Now look here guys. I fucking hate Trump and every last person who supports him. I will never forgive anyone who voted for him in the last election nor will I forgive anyone who does in this one. He is a mockery of ethics and goodwill. A boiling pit of hatred, ignorance, and bigotry wrapped up in one package.

But the simple fact is just because you hate someone doesn’t give you permission to be ignorant. You don’t get to just be an ableist asshole to this guy because he supports Trump. Criticize his political opinions, tell him he’s wrong, tell him about what Trump has done and why it’s wrong. But if you make fun of his disability not only does it highlight that you are in fact ableist which implicitly means you are also an asshole, but it only serves to perpetuate his ignorance.

Do you think the pro lifer with dwarfism is gonna change his opinion because y’all keep calling him short? Do you think the Trump Supporter with a disability is gonna change his view because you keep calling him an neanderthal?

Would you call a black Trump Supporter the N Word? I wouldn’t, that would be racist.

Would you call a gay trump supporter the F Word? Because I wouldn’t, that would be homophobic.

We’re supposed to be the people that inspire good change in the world. The people that understand that skin color, sexuality, gender identity, disability, etc. Are all things we are born with and can’t change, and that we shouldn’t judge or be judged for.

I get that we live in a world where people don’t listen. I’ve never met a Trump supporter in my life who would even listen to a damn word I say, let alone absorb any information I give them and make a decision or change regarding their political standing. I get that that attitude inspires hate. I get tired of trying to argue with people over the internet. It’s easier to call someone you don’t agree with an idiot than try to change their minds. But when you judge or make fun of someone you don’t like for something they can’t change, you are only perpetuating their ignorance, you are only inviting that same hatred towards yourself, and you are only pushing the world even farther away from becoming better.

[letstalksymphogear]

Symphogear, EP. 2 (Cont.)

Meanwhile...

A certain someone is having some flashbacks.

You’re going to see a lot of water symbolism around Kanade when Tsubasa is thinking about her. Feel free to use your imagination for that one.

“fuck yeah!”

“im so FUCKING MAD”

Hibiki’s B-Friend squad, known lovingly as the Anime Janai squad, ask Hibiki if she wants to go eat somewhere, which is the equivalent of asking a dog to play fetch. This is always guaranteed for a yes.

Unfortunately, she wants to look Responsible in front of her girlfriend. So she turns it down, with all the pain and gritted teeth anyone can muster in the most adorable fashion.

This is their running joke, and their aptitude for this is frightening. My theory is that they are passively the Gods of this world, and are perfectly aware that this is a work of fiction, but continue to live their lives gleefully to await the action that unfolds.

“i know bikki said no cause she luvs me and wants to be responsible but i wont lie i really wanted pancakes today”

More than you’ll ever know.

“you comin or what, we got pancakes ready, not that ill let you eat them. cause i ate them. all of em.”

“right i forgot- your opinion means jack diddly to me.”

And so she is arrested. Again. Sorta needlessly this time. I am pretty sure Tsubasa really just likes whipping out those handcuffs. Those things are like, comically huge. And that big buzzing noise is just funny.

“the test results are in! and you ARE the protagonist! whoops!”

“hey we’re gonna be relevant later right? i read the contract and we dont really get any lines until like next season and”

“speak another fucking word and i will rip your tongue out manually with my nails because i SWEAR to god i didnt do acting school for 15 years to blow this shot because of your bitching for fucks sa-”

They tell her aside from the first shock she’s fine but Hibiki ain’t having it. She wants to know why metal parts spring out of her like a bad Michael Bay movie.

“sit back. this is gonna be a long one.”

The show begins explaining the relics owned by each relic user, which so far have been two.

Sorry, my subs are broken. Tsubasa’s is Ame-no-Habakiri. Kanade’s, which is now Hibiki’s is Gungir. Relics are ancient technology from ancient times with ancient power capable of... ancient things. They use music and singing to activate. That’s all you really need to know. The relics are usually refined into amulets such as what Tsubasa wears, and they’re usually fragments of the original thing.

“all those years of karaoke are finally paying off”

Tsubasa points out, though, that using them isn’t as simple as singing a song and calling it a day.

You have to work hard to use them due to the nature of compatibility.

Hibiki asks the million dollar question. “I don’t have a relic, though.”

Naturally, she’s wrong. Back when Kanade accidentally impaled Hibiki, it left pieces of her relic embedded inside of her. This has been sitting there for years, and shockingly enough, no other doctor has noticed this and Hibiki has never felt any discomfort about this.

Tsubasa puts two and two together. Take a good look; this is the emotional equivalent of witnessing someone split an atom under a microscope.

The atom is officially split.

This is the face of someone who witnessed her girlfriend die to save a random person in her hands as she turned to dust, only to meet the survivor several years later and learn that she now owns the very thing that had her life saved in the first place, coming back to haunt her.

Naturally it’s not Hibiki’s fault but Tsubasa... let’s just say she could use a round of therapy or two. Or ten.

“i need to get her a pony.”

Hibiki, desperately wanting to cut the middleman of this needless growing angst between her and her girlfriend, keeps asking if she can tell someone about this. Literally just one person. They could probably just make whoever she wants to tell sign an NDA too, right?

“no”

Genjuro pulls the superhero secret identity motive. Others knowing means your friends and family may be at risk, since being a Symphogear is Serious Business.

“this is gonna suck”

Sam Reimi’s Spiderman strikes again.

Hibiki is successfully recruited into the 2nd Division ranks as a Symphogear, much to Tsubasa’s chagrin.

Sadbasa.

“cant believe she’s my teammate now to boot”

Hibiki tries to be nice and offers a friendly handshake, but unfortunately she hasn’t leveled their bonds enough to make it happen. Coincidentally, crisis strikes. It’s the Noise. It’s always the Noise.

Hibiki feels like joining Tsubasa, feeling as though she has a lot to prove. All of this has happened in the last 5-8 minutes.

“shes got guts, ill give her that”

An asskicking brews in the middle of the road. Tsubasa, naturally, fights like a pro. Hibiki... gets a good kick in.

It only pisses her off more. Tsubasa knows that Hibiki is using the gear wrong. There’s a fucking spear built into that thing, she thinks. You don’t need to fight hand-to-hand combat. What idiot would punch these things? I mean, I kick, but my kicks have swords on them. It’s not the same, damnit. It’s not the same!

Hibiki is a strange and special case. She has 0 idea she’s stepping into the shoes of someone else (or rather, a weak idea; she knows it belonged to someone else but she never genuinely met them), and she has no combat prowess and sorta fumbles everywhere. Tsubasa gets angrier because she’s projecting her own insecurities into Hibiki, because she thinks that Hibiki is trying to replace Kanade, when Hibiki is just trying to save lives, period. This is ironically what Kanade was inspired to do back when she was alive.

It’s one big case of emotional telephone that everyone is losing.

“fighting crime is fun!”

“MOOOOROOOOOOON”

Tsubasa fails her aspect of the trust fall, and thus Hibiki hurtles down to her doom unwittingly.

Solos the giant monster, like a True Gamer would.

Blows everything up, as stated in her contract. The explosions remind her of Kanade’s hair, you see. Big, red, and wild.

“did i do a good job? huh, tsubasa? did you see that kick? ive never kicked like that before! hey tsubasa! did i do good? was that good, tsubasa? this is my first time so i really dont know what im doing but i think that was good!”

“im not really good at stuff right now but i promise to improve and do better since i have literally only known combat for a few seconds, tops”

“...”

“you absolute motherfucker. first you show up to the concert me and my girlfriend hosted. your dumb ass doesn’t even LEAVE THE DAMN CONCERT HALL like everyone else did. it just stood and stared like an absolute moron, and my GIRLFRIEND had to SAVE YOUR DUMB ASS because your LACK OF BRAIN CELLS couldnt make your LEGS RUN. and she DIED FOR THAT. and now you not only come to the school I’M IN, to STALK ME for ANSWERS on WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED instead of MOVING ON WITH YOUR LIFE, you also WEAR MY DEAD GIRLFRIEND’S SUPERHERO OUTFIT, immediately MOVE IN TO GET IN HER POSITION, try to WORK WITH ME without knowing JACK SHIT about combat, and act as a GENERAL NUISIANCE SINCE DAY FUCKING ONE.”

“im going to fucking murder you.”

“hey wait okay maybe i did some mistakes but murder is not conducive to teamwork here okay lets just chill a moment and-”

It was at that moment that Tachibana Hibiki knew, she was in deep shit.

[bolbianddolanhouse]

BNHA self insert AU

Part 1, Start from the way beginning here!

Chapter 30.5: I’m Not Playing These Games!

There I stood in front of the person that made me flee to protect my family, the gang leader himself, Johnny. Two years since the incident and he shows up at my most vulnerable.

“How the hell did you get here anyways.”

“My right hand man here pulled what you would call a ‘pro gamer’ move and transported us here” he gives me a look “this would’ve been you but you just had to be good at heart and play hero” they roll closer to me “now everyone and their abuela are rising up and becoming the very thing that has failed them, heroes never gave a shit about us!” his voice steadily raising “I’ve killed them all and look what it has brought, no heroes and local law running in fear but I’m not the bad guy. If anyone wanted to join, they get the freedom to use their quirk in public, I’m empowering them!”

“That’s not empowerment!” I bark back “that’s terrorism! The people join out of fear and you use them like pawns to take over!”

“Terrorism, liberation, same thing!” he rolled his eyes “point is, I’m here to kill you once and for all!” he stopped 5 feet away from me “I don’t let anyone live to tell the tale of fighting me!”

“What will killing me do for you now?” I tried to find the logic in his plan “I’m already not returning home and everyone thinks I’m dead.”

“Ah I though so too until Humberto couldn’t shut his mouth about you being alive because he could see some ‘red string’ bullshit” he scoffed “his cousin pried information from him and I just had to see for myself, he had visions of you roaming around these streets and going to some sort of hero training school.”

“Fuck, he would develop his quirk better when I died” I muttered to myself. I had to think fast, since I’m not at 100 percent because technically my body is still healing itself AND I only had one gun on me with 10 bullets. “I’ve defeated you once, and I’ll do it again!”

“Oh? Where you planning to throw fists in this GUN fight?!” he pulls out a very weathered and old rifle, like it was cool “I brought the HEAT tonight!”

Out of habit, I pulled out my gun but burst laughing when I saw what he had “That?- pbbt! Boi brought the rifle Winston Churchill used in the war!” I cackled and made the other person crack up too. I start to tear up “Yo! How much did that cost you? 5 bags of wheat and a chicken?!” I laughed harder and the other person was rolling on the floor laughing out of control.

“Sorry boss but I warned you” said the lackey, trying to stop laughing “she was gonna roast you ass all because you took the gun from that veteran’s display at Century High.”

“Fuck you guys!” he cocked the gun “I’ll just end yall laughing!” 

At that moment, I lunged forward and knocked the gun out of his hands and threw in an elbow to buy me time to escape. I ran toward the warehouse area, hoping to hide and teleport out to familiar area. The area was void of anybody and my plan to teleport out was a bust because my body can’t handle a 100 meter teleportation, let alone a 2 mile one! Plan B, send an SOS ping to Mimi while hiding. I hid behind a tall stack of pallets, the sound of the other two coming closer and closer to the warehouse.

“19 to 20, can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear, what is going on?”

“Code Moonbeam, I need backup and escape.”

“-gasp- Who’s the perp?”

“It’s the gang leader that caused me to leave home, he found me.” The sound of a loud bang of metal on metal was heard, startling me. “Just please send me anyone that’s near downtown! I’m in a warehouse with the number 64 painted on it.”

“We’re on it! Hang tight!”

I’m absolutely terrified, who knows how long help will arrive or if I’ll make it out alive. This isn’t a training game, I have a high chance of not surviving this one.

“COME OUT, COME OUT ITATI!” yelled Johnny with a gun cock “I know you’re here! just give up and accept your fate.” He breathes heavily “I’ll make sure to put you in that empty casket!”

I stifle my sob, I was basically a sitting duck, waiting to get plucked. Two minutes of keeping silent, I hear a very distinct ‘SMASH!’ battle cry followed by the sound of a brick wall breaking. I peer over the pallets and see Midoriya, Bakugo, Iida, Todoroki, Uraraka and Kirishima. I ping Mimi again.

“Hey um 20, quick question, WHAT THE FUCK?!”

“IT WAS THE BEST I COULD DO! Everyone else was indispatch-able in a reasonable amount of time.”

“Okay, so who else is on the way?”

“Your caseworker, Hemingway, Midnight and myself with Jin.”

“HURRY PLEASE before the twinks become my liability!”

I look on to the madness going on the other side of my hiding spot, these crackheads are really wailing on Johnny and his right hand man. It wasn’t safe for me to come out and I had to think of something quick. Uraraka and Todoroki found me and almost gave away my location.

“Palma-san! Thank goodness you’re alright” sighed Uraraka in relief “who is that person in the wheelchair? and why are those two a threat?”

“No time to explain” I squeeze my eyes shut “I’m trying to think of a plan that won’t risk my body to further damage” I bring my hands to my face “I can’t teleport nor levitate very strongly and I only have 8 bullets now.”

“I saw that he has fire” Todoroki put his hand on my knee “if you copy my fire quirk, will that help your thought process?”

“Shoto, you’ve been granted the brain cell tonight!” my face lit up “I can still copy! This will work perfectly!” I clap my hands to refocus my thoughts “Shoto, on my cue, I want you to form an ice dome to trap in those two. Uraraka, on my cue, drop that stack of pallets on them. I’ll distract them long enough to get things in motion.” I stand up “In the meantime, Shoto, I’m counting on you to let everyone know to back off because I came up with a plan.”

“Right!” both affirmed with me before getting to their part of the plan. I copy Todoroki’s quirk and ran out to the action.

“ENOUGH FOOLING AROUND JOHNNY!” I bellowed to stop everything “this a fight between you and me! Square up if you’re so tough!” I strike a power stance to show my seriousness.

“Need I remind you that you’re the reason I can’t fight at my best anymore” he drops his rifle “you disabled my ability to use telekinesis along with my ability to walk” he summoned fire on the palms of his hands “you’re the real villain here! Fuck you and your heroics! People like you deserve death!”

“NO! It’s you that’s the villain” I take slow steps forward “I came here to hide from the terror you’ve caused in our quiet piece of town! No more will I hide, we settle this once and for all!” I unzip my bomber jacket and go into a fighting stance, everyone backed off the moment I got in my stance.

“Fine by me!” Johnny clenched his fists “first to die, loses.”

“BET!” I scream as I do the Rising Phoenix, flames cover my body and burn off my non-flame resistant items, luckily my outfit was flame resistant. I fight them the best I could to get them all in one spot for the plan to work but I was getting tired fast. My body was trembling for me to stop using the fire quirk by the time I get them where I wanted “URARAKA!” I screamed and the pallets fell on top of the two. “SHOTO NOW!” a blast of ice came in on the left and quickly engulfed them in a thick ice dome. I released my fire copy and gasped for air.

“Are they dead?!” worriedly peeped Midoriya.

“Not yet” I smirked “I’m gonna contact the police and caseworker, they’ll-” and before I could put my finger to the earpiece, I heard the ice cracking “TAKE COVER!” It was too late for me, since I was the closest, I got hit with shards of ice and got knocked down onto my back. I sat up quickly and saw that the two weren’t there but I knew exactly what happened. “The other person’s quirk was Wormhole!” I facepalmed myself “of course it was! That’s how they got here without a plane, they wormholed to coordinates.” I felt myself go weaker and weaker “Is everyone...okay?”

“Don’t move!” Bakugo cried out “you’re bleeding, somebody help me stop the bleeding!”

I look at my body and I saw a piece of ice the size and thickness of a portfolio file, pierced into my upper navel. I touch my wound and saw the blood on my hand “Huh? So I am” the sound of everyone panicking around me was fading, my vision blurring “just leave me here to die, it’s okay” I said smiling, accepting my fate “I lost, tell my family I love them, I’m coming home Jesus.” I slowly close my eyes because finally my agony of being in hiding and not being happy were coming to an end. I felt my body go into a comfortable numb feeling along with feeling light as air. A blinding white light came into view, ‘ah yes, the heavenly gates’ I thought to myself as I felt myself get closer to it. I regained my vision and I was met with a familiar setting of an IV drip, heart rate monitor, brain wave monitor and a TV in the top-right corner of the room.

“DAMMIT! I DIDN’T DIE!” I yell and winced in pain.

“She woke up, doctor” a nurse gasped.

“Bring in the legal guardian” said the doctor, then turned to me “Hello Miss Palma, that was quite the scare you gave your friends” he scribbled on a clipboard “can you recall how you got here?”

“I remember getting the ice in my navel and realizing I was bleeding” I take a look at my surroundings “then I closed my eyes because I thought I was going to finally die, then I felt numb then I saw the light” I looked at the doctor “now I’m here and awake, not dead.”

“Well that’s all thanks to your hero friends” he tucks his pen in his ear “they rushed in with your extremely fatigued body and the bleeding was stopped before you reached critical levels. We expected you to wake up in the late afternoon but it looks like you’re recovering fast.”

“Wait, what time is it?”

“It’s 11pm, you arrived here right before 10pm” he answered me and got up “I’ll leave you to the legal work with your guardian, expect me again in 2 hours.”

My caseworker walked in, tear stained and clutching her flies “Oh sweetheart!” she threw herself over my left side “how could I be so careless to just-”

“It’s not your fault” I interrupted her “nobody could’ve predicted this, I was being erratic and ran off by myself!” I told her everything that happened “Will I be okay?” I asked softy, stopping her scribbling “it’s just that, more and more things are popping up and I’m worried that I won’t be strong enough to last this final year of high school” I try not to cry “I don’t want to be relocated again or get sent home, my heart can’t take another one.”

“Sweetie, don’t cry” she put her files down to hold my hand “you won’t get sent away until the threat is gone. And you don’t have to worry about getting any of your tuition money getting taken away nor the labyrinth exam.”

“Wait what do you mean?” I was taken back by those words.

“The proctor properly documented what went wrong and everyone checked the exam requirements” her smile broke through like sunshine through gray clouds “since you got interrupted by a non-exam projectile by a non-staff, it falls under unfair termination, so you are set to take the real test in the last month of your 3rd year.”

“I got pardoned?!” I got excited but winced in pain “that’s great news! I guess I have time to heal until then huh?”

Midnight walked in with a phone in her hand “Oh it’s true, you are awake” she sighed in relief “We called your parents and your mom had a lot to say, very loudly.”

“Not surprised” I giggle “is she on the line? Put her on speaker.” Midnight put the phone on speaker and put it on my shoulder “hello? Madre?”

“Mija! Que en la Jesus estas haciendo” she exasperated “cada ves me hablan, voy en para cardiaco!”

“Sorry mom” I sighed “pero estoy en el hospital y no soy muerta, but what should I do? I took a lot of damage.”

“Ya saves que nessistas hacer mija” my mother took on a serious tone “ya se que no lo gustas pero dilen nessistas estasis.”

“Estasis? What is that?” muttered Midnight “I don’t think I like the sound of that.”

“I don’t like it either” I groaned “Estasis, or Stasis in english, is a quirk medical procedure were they put you in a mild coma so your body can heal from the inside out BUT this is only done on patients with telekinesis after surgeries, sever injuries and child-birth. Since telekinesis is very hard to suppress, it makes healing very difficult and posing danger to our already damaged bodies.”

“Is that why you didn’t want to go to the hospital after the practice exam?” Midnight sat by my right side, getting at face level with me “you feared of getting into stasis?” I nodded and she gave me a very understanding face “oh Ita, you’re our little trooper but now you really need it” she turned to speak into the phone “okay Mrs Palma, what needs to be done?”

As my mother explains how it’s done, everyone else is in the hallway in anxiety of my well-being.

“Do you think she’s going to be alright?” Kirishima worriedly asked Bakugo and Uraraka “that doctor didn’t seem too worried but that lady and Midnight were in shambles rushing in.”

“I’m worried about Iida-kun” Uraraka softly spoke, turning to were Iida was sitting “he hasn’t said a thing since they took her in. And he hasn’t changed out of his bloodied suit, poor thing, having to carry her limp body and screaming for her to wake up.”

“Probably thinking about their fight before the incident” Kirishima sighed “he thinks this is all his fault.”

“Well, isn’t it?” Bakugo butted in “if he didn’t interfere in her practice exam, wouldn’t she not be here?”

The two thought about Bakugo’s point and how it was true technically but then a portal appeared. Mimi and Jin rushed out of the portal.

Mimi scanned the room and locked sights onto Iida “YOU!” she screamed and ran over to where he was sitting and grabbed him from his suit collar “You told me that you’d insure her safety! Now I’m gonna lose her all because of your insolence!” when he didn’t give a response, Mimi slapped him so hard it made everyone’s head turn.

“Mimi thats enough!” Jin pleaded “let go of him, we don’t know who’s fault it is yet” he put his hands on her wrists “please babygirl.” She let go of Iida and Jin holds on to her arm “lets go in and check on her, she’ll be happy to see us.”

“Yes, lets” Mimi calmed down and walked into the hospital room with Jin.

-Few hours later-

“Okay Miss Palma” the doctor said as he attached a syringe to the IV drip “I got the dosage attached and it’s a slow drip” he puts his thumb on the plunger of the syringe “why don’t you sing for us” he gestures to everyone in the room “you’ve got quite the audience here.”

“Sure, any requests?” I get ready for the incoming comatose state.

“What’s that french song you sang when you were sweeping the other day?” recalled Uraraka “it’s very pretty.”

“OH I know which one you’re talking about” I clear my throat “okay, ready” the doctor started the drip before I starting singing “Hold me close and hold me fast...” I saw everyone smile and enjoy my singing, slowly feeling the medicine take effect “...and when you speak, angels sing from above...” I could barely feel the warmth of Mimi and Jin’s hands holding mine “...and life will always be, le vie en rose~” my eyes fluttered shut and the rest of my body went limp.

I was expected to wake up in 10 days, in those days, I’m as delicate as a newborn baby. Mimi and Jin take care of me by regulating my body temperature, bathing, feeding me liquids and making sure I don’t get bed sores. It wasn’t difficult but it got lonely as everyone but them got to go home for the holidays. On the ninth day, something came up were they were needed immediately. With Midnight unavailable to care for her, they turned to the help of the hero dorms. They teleported in with Ita swaddled in a sleeping bag.

“Listen up wannabes” Jin demanded everyone’s attention “we need your help for one day, see, we got summoned and can’t leave her alone” he gestures to Mimi “so we’re depending on you to care for her until we return.”

“I have instructions and schedule of feedings and other stuff” she slings off a duffle bag “here’s everything and the food.”

“We’ll take care of things!” Iida stands up to get the bag “you have my word.”

“Good!” she hands over the bag “if you fuck it up, I’ll end you.”

“Mimi, cool it!” Jin scolded “but seriously, if we come back and she’s in worse condition, I’ll make sure you won’t be able to reproduce!”

Mimi hands over Ita, then jumps in the portal. 

“Well, I’m confident that we’ll-” he turns and sees that everyone that was in commons area, fled to their rooms “I’ll take care of her” he sighed and took her to his room. He gently set her down on his bed and he sat on the floor to look through the bag. “Let’s see, theres the list and soup” he took out some books and a mini speaker “wonder what these are? Guess I should read the list” everything was neat and organized to Iida’s liking but the contents were a bit strange “let’s see, it’s 11am right now, so she had breakfast already. Next is... read to her?” he was puzzled on the scheduled item “well I can’t ignore it, I shall read to her” he picked up the book with a book mark sticking out of it “this one will do, The Secret Garden, chapter six” he cleared his throat “Next morning, Mary told Martha that she had found Colin...” he gets invested in the book and read it all the way to the end “...And by his side with his head up in the air and his eyes full of laughter walked as strongly and steadily as any boy in Yorkshire—Master Colin! The End.” He looked at the time, it was nearly 3pm! “Oh my- reading this book took so much time! What’s next on the list?” he looked and saw that he missed taking her temperature. He took note of the thermometer after the beep “Okay you’re at 89 degrees, nearing over-heating” he unzips the sleeping bag to see her in comfort wear and thermal socks, her squirming scared him but it was just a reflex. He carries her out to the commons room to set her on the couch as he heated up her soup.

“I’m sorry I’ve been such a jerk to you” Bakugo whispered as he sat down near her “but please come back stronger than ever, we need you.”

Tokoyami slid in the moment Bakugo got up to go back to his room “Ita, I miss you dearly” he nuzzled his beak against her forehead “when you wake up, I’ll help you back to your feet, I promise.”

“What are you doing?” Iida asked confused at the sight of Tokoyami nuzzling Ita’s forehead.

“She likes it when I do this” he responded without thinking “but usually were cuddling and kiss-” he stopped his sentence but it was too late, Iida put 2 and 2 together.

“You’re the mysterious boy she’s been sneaking off to make out with?!”

“Well, to be fair to her” Tokoyami laughed nervously “she hasn’t came over for a session for months” he stood up “I think she’s seeing somebody else or maybe is cooling off to start something with someone else?” he gulped “but we were never in a relationship and what we had was just purely physical, she’s a needy girl Iida-kun. If you kissed her, she’ll pounce on you for more.”

Things got very awkward after that, Tokoyami in general avoided Iida for the rest of the day. After Ita’s afternoon feeding came washing her face and letting her on the floor to listen to music. Iida laid on the floor next to her.

“Remember when we’d sit around and talk for hours” he reminisced “and how I’d hold you close, so many times I’d held back kissing you” everything was very still yet the music and company made his room less solemn “I just love you Ita. You’re amazing and I don’t know why you spend time with me when I ruin everything and cause you stress” he reached out to stroke her hair “I’m sorry for making you so angry that day, sometimes I don’t know how to approach things and I just end up ruining things. I have so many things to say to you” he turns his head to face her “I want to tell you how I feel, the dreams I have of you, all the wonderful feelings you give me when you run up with your arms out for a hug, the thoughts I have when I hold your hand” he sighs “but my mind blanks when I want to tell you, not for long though. When you wake up, and the day presents itself, I’ll ask you to be my girlfriend” a warm smile creeps on his face “I’ll give you flowers and set up everything perfectly so you’ll never forget it, we’ll kiss and be filled with our love...won’t that be nice?” he waited for a response like she was conscious “you’re my darling Ita, I love you” he kissed her nose.

Next on the list was to bend her joints and to rub the tension out of her back, it brought back memories from the time she came back from her first practice exam. Iida was feeling the regret of not telling her that day before her couch pass out. That didn’t matter right now, the day will come for his turn. He served her dinner and cleaned her up for bed. Mimi thought ahead and packed an air mattress so she didn’t have to bunk with anybody.

“Iida-kun, are you sure that air mattress is going to fit on your floor?” Midoriya asked in the open doorway of Iida’s room “it’s running up really big and it’s not at half-way inflated.”

“Not to worry” Iida tried to talk over the sound of the air pump “I’ll find a solution to fit this in, as long as she has a soft place to rest.” Ita was lying on his bed on her side, already looking like she fell asleep waiting for Iida to inflate the air bed. Finally, after rearranging half the room, the bed was ready for her. He puts her in the sleeping bag and places her on the air bed with 5 pillows laid about. He closes his door and crawls into his own bed “Good night Ita” he turned to her side of the room as he puts his hand on the light switch of his table lamp “sweet dreams, I love you.”

Dreams of her waking up and being back to her sweet, loving self came to Iida that night. When morning came, it was back to the harsh reality that she isn’t back yet. Still, he was full of duty to take care of her until Mimi and Jin came back later that day.

“Iida-kun, are her eyes supposed to do that?” Uraraka asked as she was looking after her on the couch as Iida was heating up her soup “it’s like she’s trying to open her eyes but can’t.”

“Oh that, yes it is” he responded from the kitchen “it’s more concerning if she doesn’t, it means that her brain is actively functioning at a normal rate.” the sounds of plates being shuffled were heard “I learned that from the papers her friends left for me, apparently when telekinesis users sleep, their brain activity spikes at random and their eyes do the same thing but at a much faster rate.”

“That makes sense on why she can stay up for days at a time” Todoroki said as he leaned in closer to her face “I wonder if she can hear us?”

“Give her some space Shoto” Midoriya warned “what if she wakes up seeing your face up in hers?” he turned to Iida walking in with the soup “can we watch you feed her?”

“Sure but it’s a bit of a strange sight to see her eat” he sat next to her and brought a cooled spoonful of soup to her lips, she does some quick sniffs and opens her mouth slightly to consume the spoonful “it’s an automatic response to swallow liquids so her food consists of soups with smooth textures.”

They keep watching her eat and see some of the after care until Mimi and Jin showed up.

“Alright, looks like she was well taken cared of” Mimi announced as she was inspecting her “thank you so much for caring for her.”

“Not a problem” Iida said bowing “we hope she recovers soon.”

Another 2 days pass, it’s New Years and she hasn’t woken up. Concern and slight panic set in Mimi and Jin as they really don’t know what to do. They call her mother and she said to wait it out a little longer as her brain might be adjusting back slower to full power. Everyone comes back to the dorms the next day and are worried for her, a knock at the door of their dorms kicked everything into high alert.

“Oh Shinso, nice to see you” Jin said relieved as he opened the door “we thought it was somebody else.”

“I came as fast as I could” Shinso panted “is she awake?”

Jin lets him in and walked to her room “That’s our concern” he opened the door to see Mimi taking her temperature “she was predicted to wake up 2 days ago but there’s no signs of her waking up soon.”

“It’s been emotionally taxing these last few weeks” Mimi sighed as she stroked her hair “I really want my baby girl back.”

“Can I have a moment alone with her?” Shinso asked and without hesitation, they got up and let him have his moment. He sighed the moment they closed the door “Oh Ita, I wish I was here to prevent this mess” he held her hand carefully “I have so many stories to tell and things to give you” he looks out of the window, it was dark with light snowfall out “I smoked that blunt you gave me, it was really good and I slept like a log that night” he chuckled “I dreamt about you that night and I couldn’t wait to come back to kiss you and play with you” he leaned in and kissed her lips “it’s not the same, wake up so I can get a proper kiss.”

Like it was on cue, she opened her eyes and groaned. She blinked and looked around her, not really processing what’s going on. “Wha- what day is it?” she stretched her body and her spine realigned “Hey Hitoshi! How was-”

“I can’t believe it!” he gasped “you woke up!” he ran to open the door “SHE WOKE UP!”

“Hmm? What’s the big deal with me being awake?” I asked as everyone piled in to see me.

“You took longer than 10 days to wake up!” Jin cried out, throwing himself onto her for a hug “but you’re back and nothing else matters!”

“Oh fuck really?” I hugged back “I must of been really injured if I took longer to heal.” Jin released his embrace “actually, if you say that, I don’t know if I’m at 100 percent then.”

“What do you mean?” asked Hansai “you took extra time, doesn’t that mean you can get back to things like normal?”

“Not exactly” I responded “I’m going to be weak and vulnerable but now I can sort of do things on my own, WHICH REMINDS ME!” I gesture for everyone to make room for me as I pull the covers off me to get up “it’s time to-” I felt my legs give out like they didn’t even try to support me and I fell.

“Oh shit you alright?” Yuka panicked as she helped me up.

“FUCK ME! I can’t walk” I stressfully screamed “I hate this side effect.”

After some quick planning on my next course of moves, everyone left my room again to leave me and Shinso alone.

“It’s getting really close to your curfew” I checked the clock, it was 7:50pm “you should go before everyone gets worried.”

“I’ll come by tomorrow to tell you about my time away” he leans in to kiss her, she kissed back “until then, stay warm love.”

Those words lingered with me all night, the thought of Shinso being the one I woke up to was making my heart pound. I was motivated to get better now, the sooner I can get back to full health, the sooner Shinso and I can be in an intimate relationship! Even though I had a week and a half until school resumed, I was still too stumbly to do any physical training or walking long distances in that matter. First day back and I was wheelchair bound but this time I had so many people helping me around. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel lonely or pathetic. I had so many holes in my schedule that I could leave 2 hours early if I wanted to. But I planned to fill them with training sessions and helping lower-classmen once I was able to. Soon I was able to walk and run like normal, I felt myself get stronger with my quirk too. Word got out that Iida helped me recover and was the one that carried me to the hospital that night. I gather the courage to say thank you to him after class, since lunch is right after the class we’re in.

“Hey Tenya!” I get in his way to get his attention “can I talk to you for a sec?”

“Sure!” he didn’t hesitate at my request.

I pull him to the far corner of the hall “I just wanted to say, thank you for helping me during my recovery time” I take a deep breath “and, sorry for being angry and shouty before I ran off.”

“Don’t apologize for that” he fixed his glasses “I’m sorry for pushing you too far to make you angry.”

“Well, I was wondering if there’s anything I can do to make it up to you?” I get timid “like, anything at all?”

“No need” he smiled “seeing you healthy and safe is reward enough” he put a hand on my shoulder “I’m just happy you’re back.”

“Okay, if you say so” I give him a tight hug “I’ll pay you back! somehow.” We part ways for lunch but I was in a dilemma, how could I see Iida with intentions of sparking something when things were going well on their way with Shinso?! Was I in denial that Iida doesn’t have feelings for me or that I don’t really want to be in a relationship with Shinso because of some underlying issue? I don’t know, it’s all very confusing that I’m teetering between them two when it’s super obvious who I want to be with. I meet up with Shinso at the roof of the hero dorms for a smoke sesh later that night.

“Hey remember when we danced up here?” Shinso said, laying next to me on the blanket.

“How could I forget?” I smiled, recalling that night “I was so sore from training but I forgot about my pain because you did that.”

“Remember what I said?” he cleared his throat “after the kiss?”

“Yeah~” I start blushing and turned my head away to hide my face.

“I’m holding myself against my word tonight” he gets closer and leans on his side “it’s the right time and I’ve been longing to ask” I turned my head to face him and he holds my hand “will you be my girlfriend?”

My heart felt like it stopped, this is it, your chance at happily ever after. I felt my face glow red and my lips trembling “Yes, I’d love to be your girlfriend.” As he leaned in to kiss me, as if to lock in my answer, my anxiety of if I chose the right answer was lifted off me. That or the high was kicking in, but I was happy that better days were coming...maybe senior year won’t be so bad.

-Chapter 30 End-

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