#weirdo behavior maybe take that energy and do something useful with it !

[kannagen]

Kamala is Brat!!!! Stay mad!!! But your music exists in the context!!!!!

💀 this is the only ask i have like ever received on this blog y’all are so weird

maybe re-examine your life and what brought you to sending asks to random nobodies to defend a politician’s bratness. thoughts and prayers

[veliseraptor]

In your opinion, what was it about Xue Yang that XXC found so amusing in the 'Villainous Friends' extra ? And why was XXC so easygoing and gentle with this weirdo delinquent who ransacked a stall for no reason ?

Lol though I ship xuexiao due to their Yi City chemistry, I also find it confusing why yi city XXC would trust this shady stranger. Naivete ? The belief that he can easily protect himself against potential threats ?

ooh these are fun questions. to take the first one first: I think it's basically that to Xiao Xingchen, Xue Yang in that extra comes off less as a genuine threat and more as a boisterous young man with too much energy. it's not quite him being "boys will be boys!" about it, and certainly he knows it's not harmless - he chastises Xue Yang for causing the damage he does! - but to his eye he's not seeing a serious problem so much as a kid (funny, given that their age difference is negligible, Xiao Xingchen is also a kid based on canon ages at the time) acting out for lack of discipline. we do also know Xue Yang has a cute face and a sweet smile, which I'm sure also helps with Xiao Xingchen judging him as, like, mostly harmless, just in need of some minor behavioral correction.

which I think in general reflects how Xiao Xingchen approaches the world, particularly before his bad breakup with Song Lan: he wants to believe the best of people, and generally does. he just is pretty easygoing on the whole! he's not an aggressive person! even when he does go on to arrest Xue Yang and take him to be judged after the Chang massacre, he's presented as less angry and more matter-of-fact, presenting the evidence and expecting justice to come of it.

as far as Xiao Xingchen trusting Xue Yang in Yi City...I actually think there's a lot going on there. in terms of why, right off the bat, he's not insisting on answers or outwardly suspicious, I think at that point Xiao Xingchen feels like he's lost the right to any high ground. he understands, too, that there are many reasons that someone might want to hide their identity or not talk about a painful (literally) past - he's doing the same thing, after all. allowing Xue Yang his silence also allows Xiao Xingchen his own.

also, initially, Xiao Xingchen isn't expecting his mysterious stranger to stick around. he expresses as much to a-Qing when she warns him about Xue Yang: "Once he's healed, he will leave on his own. No one would want to stay in this coffin home with us." (Chapter 39). he's a temporary stranger who will move out of Xiao Xingchen's life as soon as he moved into it. why interrogate him too much when he'll be gone soon?

then as time goes by, and Xiao Xingchen gets to know his mysterious stranger...well, it's true that he has a shady past, sure, and clearly there's things he doesn't want to tell Xiao Xingchen about, but there are plenty of things Xiao Xingchen doesn't want to talk about. there's also the fact that at this point Xiao Xingchen is...a little more jaded, and recognizes that the world is not always just and people might be persecuted or targeted not because they actually did something wrong but just because they made the wrong person angry. maybe his friend is a little sharp-edged and not always kind, but that doesn't mean he's a bad person.

finally: Xiao Xingchen is so desperately lonely and in need of a friend, and this is a person who seems to have, in spite of everything, decided to be Xiao Xingchen's friend. to a certain extent...it's not "I looked at the red flags and decided they were sexy" it's more "I looked at the red flags and decided I could fix him and it'd be fine, let the past live in the past."

basically I don't think Xiao Xingchen was naive about it, or that he immediately completely trusted Xue Yang. I think he made a decision based on a lot of emotional factors, and some logical ones, and it just ended up really not working out for him.

I mean, what it also comes down to is the question Xiao Xingchen asks Song Lan (rhetorically) in true more than truth: “But how does one recognize a wolf, if there’s no fur or teeth to give it away? How does one determine when to reach out and when to hold back? Is it better to offer kindness too much, at the risk of danger to oneself, or too little, and risk abandoning those in need?”

Xiao Xingchen would rather risk putting himself (and he would think of it as putting himself, not others) in danger than abandon someone in need out of fear. and he believes too, I think, that choosing that compassion might keep the proverbial wolf from biting.

and the miserable thing is that, in a way, he's right.

[broketiredandinattentive]

Screw the social model of disability.

I need to get this off my chest.

The popular understanding of the social model of disability has undermined my ability to be taken seriously. Yes, I am going to make this about me.

When people get on their soapboxes and start insisting that certain conditions wouldn't be disabling if society accommodated for them appropriately, 99% of the time, I am who they are imagining. I am a high masking neurodivergent. And I mean high af masking. I have two degrees, a full time job, a house, a fiancee, a step child, pets, and a car. As long as I hide my teeth, there is no outward sign of my disability to a stranger. Maybe someone might notice my pupils if I'm hypomanic. Only the slightest hint that something is wrong, and I've never had somebody pick up on it unless they knew my diagnoses.

What you will notice is my lack of social comfort. I'm very weird. I'm high masking, so I can play it off well. I really lean into it like it's a bit. I am the manic pixie dream girl. I am the quirky autistic. I am the fun, wild, enigmatic neurodivergent. I am a lot of fun in small doses.

But I am also the person who makes other disability advocates sick. I am the one who is disavowed. I am the one who is accused of "speaking over" others whenever I use my voice. I live in the grey area between fucked up and not fucked up enough.

So I am the perfect example for a stranger to point at and say, "If society didn't expect [X] from her, she wouldn't be disabled at all." In that moment, I am wholly invalidated in a way they cannot fathom. In that moment, I truly am the manic pixie dream girl, having her individual experience collapsed into a surface level understanding of how she interacts with the rest of the world. My inner world is irrelevant.

I can't clean myself.

I can't clean my house.

I can't manage my finances.

I can't tell when I have to use the bathroom.

I can't tolerate sunlight.

I can't tell how long anything will take or has taken.

I can't predict my energy levels.

I can't follow through on projects.

I can't update this fucking blog regularly.

My teeth are rotting. My esophagus is dissolving. My spine aches, and I can't finish a meal lately, no matter how hard I try.

But go ahead and boil my condition down to a quirkiness that the world can make allowances for. Insist that it's enough to not expect me to be on time, and ignore how I can't manage a short to do list on a completely open, unscheduled day. At your very worst, insist that the abundance of accommodations you provide me are proof that I'm not actually impaired at all.

It's the same as the conversation we keep having about glasses. I can't see. I can put on glasses. I can put on contact lenses. Even when I do, my eyes are still the wrong shape.

I was born wrong. I just was. I don't have to pretend that I am perfect to love myself. Perfection is not a prerequisite for acceptance. Society has a lot wrong with it, but it is not to blame for my broken brain, and you cannot fix me by changing your behavior. I pity anyone who cannot feel both broken and beautiful.

This shit feeds the people who insist that people like me are faking. Boil my entire condition down to quirkiness, and you have a legion of people arguing that it's not real. Sweep all the ugly parts under the rug, and you have entire communities insisting that we don't need help. To these people, the litter box is overflowing, and my teeth are aching because I'm a loser, not because I'm sick.

I don't need society to see me as capable. I don't want to be reframed as not disabled. I need people to understand that I am impaired. I need people to understand that my medications and therapies are keeping me alive. I need to be given grace and accommodations, not to eliminate my conditions, but to allow me to live a dignified life with them.

When you insist that disability is relative, you're not decentering the neurotypical experience. You're just pretending that we're not the weirdos. But we are the weirdos. And that's morally neutral. You can acknowledge an impairment without imposing a hierarchy beyond that of simple function. Yeah, neurotypical people are, on average, better at paying bills than I am. They can be good at that. I'm okay with them besting me in that arena. My worth as a human being isn't sapped from my bones just because somebody else is better at taking out the trash when it gets full.

Just let me be sick, ffs.

[jaijaitbinks]

what r ur thots on Fubuki roping Tatsu into doing something with the main gang (Sai, Genos, King, Mumen and maybe Bang & Bomb) to do smth together and her gradually getting closer to them all and finding actual people she can rely on and trust and omg I'm having so many thoughts about this

First off: Y E S!

Second: I misread this at first and thought you were calling me a thot-

But, back to the idea: I love it. Tatsumaki would be so annoyed with it at first, only putting up with it because it her little sister's friends. But slowly she starts becoming friends with them all.

Saitama because his sense of humor (and by that I mean his typically dry humor) is hilarious most of the time and he's just good to talk to, surprisingly. He doesn't sugarcoat anything, and he says it how it is. Blunt, to-the-point, realistic, and shockingly wise sometimes.

Genos because his eccentricity and generally over-the-top behavior is fun to watch + she already had a leveled sense of respect for the borg after the Garou incident. The kid is all over the place in a sense thaf he would do anything if it meant going above and beyond. And while it's also funny to see, it also makes him (for the most part) reliable. His approach to heroing is also nice to see cuz half the people she works with she feels doesn't take any part of their job seriously.

King because he's very "calm" and down to earth, which is exactly the type of person she like the most (not specifically in a romantic sense, but it's also not unlikely). He's chill, sorta of similar to Saitama but with a more... emotional charm? Like, she feels she can look to him for advice (although she [probably] never would), more so than she can with anybody else. And King in general just has this energy around him that keeps her collected. Like an anchor, almost.

Mumen because his enthusiasm and golden heart is honsstly super refreshing (although she'd never admit to that). What with working in the Hero Association, dealing with them along side boring monsters and irritating peers, Mumen finds enjoyment in his job—has a passion for it. And while she thinks his optimism is sometimes detrimental to C-Class, she admires his friendliness and constant desire to help people. God knows how little of that she sees in the hire classes.

And Bang and Bomb because Bang has a sort of parental vibe while Bang is like that amusing uncle who's the annoying older brother of the dad. Their dynamic is annoying, but in that sort of affectionate way. Bang is this old guy always trying to give lessons and be... well, parental. And Bomb is an older guy that just likes to fuck around while still caring for Bomb. Sometimes she feels jealous that she never had that kind of bond with Fubuki, but she's not the kind of person to resent those old guys for it. Instead, she just silently admires it. Some of Bomb's jokes are funny, too.

And honestly? As a collective, it's so goddamn fun hanging around these bunch of weirdos. Every time she sees them it's always something batshit going on, everytime they're around there's entertaining chaos she's grown used to. They rope her into it all the time after the first time Fubuki did it, but at this point she doesn't mind it. And she can see why her little sister loves these idiots.

[firecrackerhh]

I don’t think sending people death threats is right or whatever, but I’m not gonna pretend like the people crying about our very fucking existence haven’t done the same exact shit.

But of course, antis don’t have shit to say when WE get fucking harassed, fuck us right? Maybe we would be kinder to them if they showed any respect for us! But noooooo, fuck that, god forbid they don’t virtue signal every wretched hour about how every little aspect of the show, fandom and creator included, pisses them the fuck off at all times and how awful we are and how dangerous to society we are or whatever the fuck you mentally ill weirdos believe.

But the second we give them back that energy they wanna play victim? Spare me. Play in fucking traffic or something.

“But that’s-“ what? Is it mean? Am I hurting your wittle fee fees? 🥺 oh you poor fucking babies. Cry to someone who gives a fuck.

It’s not like any fan who tells these people to off themselves is gonna actually do it, antis live off of spite and hatred and frankly anyone with such rancid opinions as them tunes us the fuck out anyway. It’s the ones who don’t y’all should be worried about.

I just wish these people could stop being such fucking hypocrites. Like you can’t bitch and moan about death threats when you’re in a group of people who routinely say that others should die over fictional fucking bullshit.

May I remind you all that this fandom wasn’t half as bad before these miserable fucks came in and started their whining and crying over their bad faith takes on everything involving the show? If anything, these people love the drama, they love the attention, it’s probably the only reason why some of these bastards wake up in the fucking morning! But sure, cry like our negative attention isn’t what you want.

Sure, it’s the hazbin fans that routinely send death threats, say racist shit, act homophobic, whatever, yeah, it’s always the fans right? Never antis, no, not them, pure cinnamon rolls they are./sarcasm

Clean up your own fucking house before you judge other people’s dumbfuck.

And yeah sure, Squidiot apologized for whatever bad shit she’s said and done in the past, but to be honest with you folks, I don’t believe this bitch for a second.

Lmao the same bitch who claimed that Viv was going to destroy society with her fucking cartoons thinks sending death threats is bad when by her own ‘logic’ (if you could even call it that) the only way Viv’s “society ending” cartoons would stop being created is if she died.

I can’t imagine being such a fucking tool to where I don’t fucking realize “hey…maybe this group of people routinely sending death threats to people over fictional bullshit isn’t the group I belong in” but then have the balls to say to the world “Vivziepop’s cartoon empire should fall!!!” Or whatever wacko shit without realizing the consequences of such a statement.

And just for the sake of clarity, yeah, clearly I’m not the pinnacle of kindness myself, I’m beyond aware, but Christ, at least I don’t directly send people death threats or whatever, like yeah, I’ve said bad shit before, I’m not denying that, but at least I don’t send it to the people I’m mad at.

If an anti sees my posts and that makes them angry that’s their own fault for looking at my shit to begin with.

Honestly the fact that most of those pictures of “harassment” the anti showed of non-Hazbin fans is at most fans telling the person “can you shut the fuck up” is kinda evidence to me these people are babies.

Like statistically I know there’s gotta be some subsection of fans who do send death threats on the regular and that shit isn’t ok, but shitty people are in every fandom my dude, it’s kinda inevitable, maybe stop whining that the hazbin fandom doesn’t do enough to remove people from the fandom and focus on your fucking behavior.

As if removing people from any fandom is even really possible, definitely for a fandom the size of Hazbin. It isn’t like we vote in leaders or something, it isn’t like Viv is Zeus and the big Hazbin accounts are Olympians, at most you can warn people of a person’s behavior, ostracize them even, but that doesn’t guarantee they’ll stop watching the show or engaging in fandom in other ways or with a different group of people or something.

People are awful, so most fandoms are toxic waste dumps, the hazbin fandom isn’t special, neither are antis, we’re all varying degrees of awful, it’s just a matter of what degree you are, and I think being an anti is significantly worse than any fan of a stupid fucking cartoon.

Giving off some real “I have the right to free speech!” Energy tbh. Like we all have an opinion my dude, doesn’t mean we’re obligated to endure your horseshit.

But on the bright side, that free speech bullshit applies to us as much as them, truly nothing is more American than telling a bitch to shut the fuck up over their bullshit-ass opinion. God bless America.

🧨🔥~Firecracker out~🔥🧨

[inkdrinkershadowsinger]

ACOTAR Couples Headcanons

Rhysand and Feyre

They are the Pottery Barn couple one hundred percent.

Still wildly in love even centuries later because they genuinely believe that no one is better than the other person.

If Harry Potter existed in this world, you cannot tell me that Feyre wouldn’t be a diehard Potterhead.

Rhysand is one of those people who genuinely believes in conspiracy theories. He would have a tumblr dedicated to them.

Midnight cookie baking is a thing. The warmth of oven, the whispers because they don’t want to wake Nyx, and the complete and utter happiness of just being able to be together.

Lucien and Elain

Elain thinks that there is no one Earth who is more of a gentleman than Lucien. And Lucien definitely bumps up that gentlemanly behavior because he knows that she likes it.

Elain may not be a big reader, but she loves poetry. She loves how people can use words to mutate meaning and declare feelings that they wouldn’t be able to otherwise. She wishes that she were more eloquent, but since she can’t be, she allows poetry to do that for her.

Lucien can’t keep his eyes from Elain, and not in a, “You are so beautiful. I can’t stop staring at you way.” But in a, “Is this real way?” He doesn’t realize that when he’s not looking, Elain is looking at him in exactly the same way.

The parties that these two have are legendary. Their parties are always at the same time the best, the wildest, the calmest, and the place to be. They just have that energy that can shift and become whatever the people around them need them to be.

The two of them have the most lavish mating ceremony. He is the son of a High Lord and beloved of many Courts. Between them most all of the Courts demand an invitation, and it becomes quite the state affair.

Azriel and Gwyn

Azriel is known for his straight face, but when Gwyn’s around you can see everything that is thinking, whether that is thinking about how beautiful she is or smirking because she said something funny or contemplative because he’s thinking deeply about what is bothering her. Around her, he is an open book.

Gwyn is an absolute weirdo, but only because she is so academic. She is constantly studying a hundred different things at once, and she can recite any of those things at the drop of a hat. She is ridiculously intelligent and well spoken. Azriel will always look to her first when seeking information or an opinion.

At first, Azriel is weary of the services that are offered in the Library. He knows that they are meant for the women there so he doesn’t want to intrude, but when the priestesses decide to host a special service in the training area, Azriel joins them. He sings beautifully, and more than one person is brought to tears when he and Gwyn sing together.

When Gwyn is pregnant and her body seems to be betraying her. No sleep. Upset stomach. The only thing that calms her is when Az takes her flying. In the air, they take in the sight of Velaris, and something about the wind and the cool air settles Gwyn. It is no surprise when the baby is born with wings.

When Azriel and Gwyn have a child, Azriel can’t help but to look at the differences between his scarred and bloody hands the innocence of this child, but one talk from Gwyn and he realizes that he is being stupid. “You are whole because I love you,” she tells him. “And I am whole because you love me.” “And together, we will be more than enough for this perfect child. We can do anything, together, as a family.”

Mor and Emerie

Mor and Emerie are that couple that are never home, but when they come back from whatever far away land, they always have gifts for everyone. Sometimes, Mor even lets Emerie pick out the gifts though she still insists that she has the best taste.

Mor has never been obsessed with anyone quite in the way that she is with Emerie. If she weren’t so dang cute, Emerie might find it a bit weird, but Mor is Mor, and she is gorgeous, and Emerie loves her. So what if Mor keeps a scrapbook of their time together. Emerie will appreciate it centuries later as much as she appreciates it now.

Emerie has and always will be a badass on the battlefield. There is something about battle that gets her blood pumping. Maybe it because she wasn’t allowed to fight for so long, that now she loves it. When she and Mor are on the battle field or in the training ring together, nothing can stop them. The two move in perfect unison, and their blades and hands are deadly instruments.

When Mor finally decides to come out to her family, Emerie is right there by her side. Emerie, the woman who never gave into her own bigoted family, is a support for Mor when she needs her. And she is a fist when Keir tries to humiliate Mor. “She is in charge here,” she says. “Not you. She has always been better than you, and she always will be.” Keir leaves their presence with more than a broken spirit, a broken nose.

The pair are always holding hands. They love just being around one another, and it shows to everyone that they see. For years, Mor has had to hide who she is, but now, she walks the streets of Velaris hand in hand with the person that she loves most in the world.

Amren and Varian

Amren never knew what it meant to love. She still isn’t sure that she loves Varian, but she is suspicious of how much she cares for him. She knows that if anything happened to him, that she would want to burn the world to the ground. Rhys informs her that the feeling is very much love, and she considers it before deciding that maybe it’s not so bad.

Amren goes to the summer court on occasion, and she gets a little jolt of pleasure when someone remembers her past, and jumps at her presence. Varian laughs along with her. Nice isn’t meant for everyone. Amren will be Amren. And he likes her just the way she is.

The pair love to swim together in the Adriata. The sun glistens off of their skin, and each think that there is no better picture in the world.

Game night is a blood bath. Amren and Varian versus whoever, it doesn’t matter, Amren plays to win, and Varian plays to help Amren win. No matter what.

A mating ceremony may not be in the cards for them, but when Nesta tells them about the human concept of marriage. Amren demands a wedding. It is held in Velaris. The dress is huge. The cake is delicious. And Amren smiles.

Cassian and Nesta

Cassian and Nesta are the definition of ‘’I can make fun of them, but if you try it, you die.”

Nesta has never been partial to animals, but Cassian can’t seem to keep from bringing them home. Animals are just attracted to him. Nesta is the father that doesn’t want the dang animal to begin with, but then secretly gives it cuddles and treats whenever no one is around to witness her. They end up liking Nesta more than Cassian.

Cassian and Nesta love to talk. They just love to hear each other speak. It can be about important matters or it can be about nothing at all. But they always have their best conversations in the middle of the night. Lights off, the house quiet the pair whisper back and forth about books, about life, about love, the future, the past, nothing if off limits.

When the two have a daughter, she is the best parts of each of them. She challenges them in her teenage years, but even when the trio argue, they always come back together again because they are family. And no one knows what that means more than Nesta and Cassian.

There is not a night that the pair spend out of each others’ arms. They are simply the most comfortable and the most at peace when they hold each other as they sleep.

[1tsnoya]

if you’re up for it could you do a reaction to karasuno boys getting jealous of another teammate flirting with their female crush? 💘

✧･ﾟ𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬 ✧･ﾟ𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬

a/n: hi anon!! i wasn’t sure which characters so i picked 3!! i hope u enjoy the hcs !!<3

💌 tsukishima kei x reader, tobio kageyama x reader, shoyo hinata x reader, yuu nishinoya x reader

→ yooo cut it out😳cut the cameras,,,, deadass

→ rip in chat for whoever is flirting with u

→ he will give this person the NASTIEST and i mean NASTIEST glare ever

→ even better yet, it was one of his own TEAMMATES trying to flirt with u

→ actually two... who he could easily outsmart

→ i’m sure you can see where this is going

—

kei watched from a few feet away with those golden-orbed eyes that were usually filled with adoration for you. however this time, two energetic and loud boys made those eyes of his dark.

of course tanaka and nishinoya didn’t mean for them to come off as so flirty. it was just their usual silly, wanting-to-show-off, and “macho-man” behavior trying to make you laugh.

he hated it.

he wasn’t the possessive type, no he really wasn’t. but the way you put ur hand over your mouth trying not to laugh so hard made him annoyed, why didn’t you laugh like that when u were with him?

he hated crushes and hated the way you made his heart skip a beat like a rock in a pond. it was so annoying...but your smile? the way ur nose crinkled with you giggled at his sarcastic remarks? or the way you always stuck around despite his naturally cold nature?

god.

he fell hard.

jealousy was never something with kei. but this time it was

and of course it was you who made him feel like that, he just liked you that much.

so after a mental battle in his head, he huffed out, taking one last swig of water, and started walking towards u.

your eyes immediately shifted from the two second-years to him, “tsukki!”

tanaka and noya kept laughing together, almost out a breath, “oh hey!” one of them snorted, making kei raise an eyebrow, “look who it is! it’s-“

“uh, kiyoko was calling for u..”

the two balls of energy looked at eachother, back at kei, and over to where kiyoko was, the third year who the two of them pined over.

and they skipped together over to the girl, leaving u and tsuki alone, “she didn’t actually call them did she?” your voice spoke out

tsuki’s serious face turned into a tiny smile, only for you, “nope”

and then he heard it. there was that laugh that he was hoping to hear all along

→ the type to be angry from AFAR

→ as soon as he saw some guy flirting with u - his entire mood changed LMFAO

→ kageyama, in the middle of the court: 😀💢‼️

→ tsukki: aww is the king jealous?

→ homeboy’s scowl got worse and a lot more noticeable

→ hinata: uhh kageyama?? are u okay?

→ kageyama: 😀no

→ hinata: oooh ur jealous aren’t u?!!

→ shoyo knew about kageyama’s crush on you because of the way he always got a little nervous and pink in the face when you hung out with them so he pushed him to go “save you” from this weirdo

→ soon a blushy kageyama was shoved by an excited hinata to go and talk to you

—

“hey...” you turned away from the boy on the rival team to see a nervous tobio looking at you with a red tint on his cheeks. the boy from the other team had been using these (terrible) one liners to try and get ur attention. was it working? no not at all, but u know what it was doing..?

making karasuno’s notorious setter jealous.

he had approached you with his excited teammate, karasuno’s #10, who was standing behind him with the biggest grin you had ever seen

his voice was low and a little nervous, “so um..” he thought for a sec, trying to think of anything to get your attention away from this other guy, “do you like volleyball?

→🤦‍♀️ i- IT WAS ALL HE COULD THINK OF IN THE MOMENT OKAY SHBSMSDK

hinata tried to cover up his laugh but couldn’t, making you smile. after hearing his annoying teammate’s howl of laughter, he elbowed him in his side, muttering “shut up dumbass” under his breath

hinata was not impressed with him calling him a dumbass after HELPING HIM TALK TO U- but after seeing the cute and small interaction between the two of you, he didn’t mind.

→ oh boy

→ he will do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to get ur attention away from this guy flirting with u

→ and i mean ✨anything✨

→ tsukishima told him to lick the floor....

→ will definitely start jumping around and yelling to shift ur gaze from this rando to him

→ u know how aang kept wanting to show off to katara in ATLA??? that’s LITERALLY HIM

→ nothing was working until you heard a familiar voice start screaming at someone

—

“aww, does shortie want someone’s attention?”

hinata turned around as quick as possible to look up at the dumb blonde. his ears turning red and his eyes going wide made the middle blocker laugh to himself.

“i WASNT !! IMNKTDOINGANYTHINGIMJUSYWAITINGOFRTHEIRTIMEOUTOTBEOVE-“

you turned around from the guy who was trying to talk to you, he was telling some boring story to try and make himself seem cooler than he was. your eyes immediately went to karasuno’s #10, yelling so loud and so quickly to a tall blondie with glasses. he started to jump and once the blonde tilted his head in your direction, he turned his pink face to see you.

you recognized the boy, he sat behind you in your english class. it was none other than shoyo hinata, he always had something sweet to say and was terrible at spelling.

his face lit up when he saw you smile and when he saw how confused and annoyed the guy behind you looked.

maybe you’d try to talk to him more in your english class.

🌟 𝕥𝕒𝕘𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥 : @spriteandnicotine @fatheadthemango @tokobaby @virgosetter @tobiokvgeyama @bokutoscake04 @introvertatitsfinest @mcuparkers @yokikuu

[haikyuuuuuhypeeeee]

Chapter 4

⚠WARNING: Swearing, mention of previous characters' deaths

• ────── ✾ ────── •

“I just don’t get why no one wants to help me plan the shrine visit and picnic lunch.” Oikawa pushes his now-empty plate away and turns his head. You share a look with Makki and Mattsun.

“We just don’t want to get in the way of your vision.” Mattsun replies. “You’re the most creative of us all and we don’t want to bog you down.”

Oikawa only glances towards Mattsun before glancing at you and Makki. You both put on your most sincere faces, hoping to placate your irritated friend. It seems to do the trick, as he huffs and rolls his eyes.

“Well of course I’m the most creative. I guess I can plan everything and tell you all what to do.”

You smile at Oikawa, nodding. “That sounds good.” You enjoy the last bit of your dinner, keeping your eyes on your plate.

Since Hajime’s passing, there’s been a visible gap in your friend group. It’s not a gap that can easily be replaced or filled, but the balance of your group has been thrown way off course.

Makki and Mattsun try to lighten things up with jokes but most of the time they fall flat. And it’s not fair to always depend on them to keep the mood light when they can’t muster the energy to do it.

Most of the time you’ve remained silent on the outings. You’ll laugh at the jokes from Makki and ask everyone about their days, but nine times out of ten you’re hindered by the absence of Hajime to make meaningful conversation.

Surprisingly, the most consistent of your friends is Oikawa. But since there’s no Iwa-chan to reign him in, he has become the leader of your group - making plans, driving conversation and trying to keep your group from falling apart. The only problem is that Oikawa has utilized more...forceful tactics to get what he wants.

“For lunch tomorrow we’ll have to meet somewhere by the gym because I have training in the afternoon.” Oikawa states later, while everyone is leaving the restaurant. “And we have to get salads or something similar, I can’t eat anything heavy before.”

You send a quick glance to Mattsun, pleased to see Makki holding his boyfriend’s hand tightly. Of everyone Mattsun is the one who snaps back against Oikawa the most, unwilling to deal with his antics. Makki is the best at keeping him calm while you would try to keep Oikawa from escalating the issue.

“Oh, I can’t meet tomorrow, sorry. I’m getting lunch with my friend.”

Your friends all give you questioning looks - Makki and Mattsun look more excited (and ready to tease you if necessary.) But Oikawa narrows his eyes.

“Is this the same friend you ditched us for lunch yesterday and today?” His tone is accusatory and you inwardly sigh. So it’s going to be this kind of night.

“Yes.” You don’t want to beat around the bush but you don’t want to antagonize your friend with smart-ass answers. “He wanted to get lunch again so I agreed, I wouldn’t if we were planning on getting lunch.”

Oikawa scoffs. “You should always plan on getting lunch with us, Y/N.”

“Oikawa I think you’re skipping over an important detail.” Makki steps in, inadvertently stopping Oikawa from going off on you. But before you can relax he turns to you with a shit-eating grin. “You’re meeting with a guy?”

Shit.

Mattsun appears over Makki’s shoulder, giving a similar smirk. “Please elaborate, Y/N-chan. Who are you meeting with?”

“And when can we expect an introduction?”

You give Makki an annoyed look at his extra question. “His name is Osamu, and we worked on a project together for one of our classes. We worked well together so we decided to get lunch. It’s no big deal.” Your last sentence is directed to Makki and Mattsun, both waggling their eyebrows.

Despite their childish behavior you’d take it every day over Oikawa’s snide attitude.

“Osamu, huh?” Oikawa looks down at you with his head tilted to the side questionably. “How come this is the first we’ve heard about him?”

You shrug. “It’s no big deal, Oikawa. Don’t be a jerk.”

“Hey I’m just wondering why you never wanted to tell us about him.” He held his hands up innocently. “Are you keeping other secrets from us perhaps?”

You feel your eyes narrow and you can’t help but let a little venom into your words. “I’m not keeping secrets, Oikawa. Osamu and I worked on a project together, he found out about Hajime and I found out that he lost his twin brother, so maybe I’ve found another friend who I can relate to.”

Oikawa’s eyes widen marginally at the mention of Hajime and he doesn’t reply. His hands lower and he looks off to the side. You see Makki and Mattsun stiffen before Mattsun steps closer to his boyfriend.

It’s no wonder that people tell you not to joke about death or dying. It’s easy for people who haven’t understood how devastating the loss of a loved one is to make those simple jokes, because they’ve never experienced the instant the mood of a group plummets. It’s a powerful weapon, made to bring the strongest down a few notches. It’s one you wouldn’t ever use unless absolutely necessary, and even this time mentioning how you and Osamu were able to bond over your shared trauma was a slip made out of anger. But it was effective in shutting Oikawa up.

“Oh.” Makki says into the stifling silence. Oikawa still hasn’t looked away from the ground and now you feel guilty again for bringing the mood down. Twice in two days is not a record you wanted to make. Makki speaks up again. “That’s so sad, how did you find out about that?”

Here is where you hesitate, because you can’t say that you were texting Hajime’s old phone number and serendipitously the stranger receiving those messages not only is a student at the same university you attend but also lost someone close to him, and you agreed to meet with him for coffee after five minutes of your “meeting.”

“I think it just came up organically,” you reply, hoping you sound somewhat nonchalant with your fabricated explanation. “I don’t really remember the conversation exactly.”

“Huh.” Mattsun says. “Well if you guys are going to hang out more maybe see if he wants to come to our group therapy sessions. The next one’s in a few days.”

At this Oikawa whips his head up and glares at Mattsun. He doesn’t say anything in response to Mattsun’s suggestion but he looks livid. Mattsun in turn meets Oikawa glare with his signature, unaffected gaze.

“Okay, we’re gonna head out now.” Makki grabs his boyfriend’s arm and steers him towards their apartment. “Oikawa, we’ll text you about lunch tomorrow. Y/N, I want all the details from your ~date~”

“It’s not a date!” You call, but Makki doesn’t reply save for a little hand wiggle he sends over his shoulder. You sigh out loud and shake your head at your friends’ antics.

You turn to your silent companion, who has taken to glaring at the ground again. “Are you ready to leave?” He doesn’t answer you, not even nodding in agreement, but he stands straight and you both move together towards your apartment buildings.

Oikawa speaks up after a few blocks of walking in silence. “Did Osamu really lose his brother?”

“Excuse me?” You turn to your friend, appalled at such a question. “Are you really fucking asking if he was lying?”

“I’m just looking out for you.” Oikawa doesn’t meet your angry gaze but his voice has lost its disapproving tone. “Some idiots will lie to get sympathy or try to connect and get closer to you. It’s fucked up.”

Still feeling aggravated you turn forward and roll your shoulders. “I guess. But you didn’t see him. You’d have to be blind to take one look and think he’s okay.” His tired face pops into your head again, the look of a person just trying to scrap by one day at a time. It hurts to think about.

“Do you like him?”

You turn back to your friend, angry again, to see him giving you a calculated look. There’s something else there too, almost something like indignant hurt.

You know why he’s looking at you like that and it makes something in your stomach twist.

Oikawa is the only other person to know of your love for Hajime. He pried it from you years ago but had sworn on his own hair products that he wouldn’t tell a soul. In spite of Oikawa’s general obnoxiousness and seemingly fictitiousness, deep down he’s a very loyal friend. And even though he knew one of your deepest secrets, you knew it was safe with him.

But he badgered you for days on end to confess to Hajime and every time you told him no. He was annoyingly persistent, but not once did he say well what now? after Hajime passed.

You missed that annoying weirdo. You don’t like the possessive, mean and cruel Oikawa that’s taken his place.

“I don’t like him like that, Oikawa.” You say now, turning back ahead first this time. “He’s just a friend.”

You feel Oikawa’s gaze on you still but you don’t look back. He doesn’t say another word to you, save for a short remark when you leave to go into your apartment building.

“Have fun on your date tomorrow.”

He drops that line and walks away, leaving you to stare after your friend with your gut twisting.

Why does he have to do this?

Insecurity, jealousy, anger, depression - maybe a mix of all four and more. It’s partly why you’re giving him a pass for now.

Your phone pings when you get into your apartment, and you feel the tension from the day leave your body when you lock the door. You feel wrung out and you honestly just want to sink to the floor and just lay there.

Before you give into your urge to become one with the floor you pull your phone out to see who texted you.

If it’s Oikawa I’m going to flush my phone down the toilet.

But you’re pleasantly surprised to read the screen and not see it was Oikawa who messaged you. You unlock your phone to read the text, feel a smile tug at your lips and send a reply back.

Glancing down at the floor, it suddenly doesn’t look as appealing as it did before. You walk through the apartment, heading to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

• ────── ✾ ────── •

A/N: And we get a bit more of a glimpse into Y/N's friend group, and the dynamic is.......not ideal. Hopefully the friends can work through their problems and help each other......anyway, thank you for reading!

Taglist Open! Please send an Ask with the request to be added to It’s [Not] Okay Fic & SMAU: @psycho-nightrose @camcam1617 @kamalymaly @toobsessedsstuff @shookykookie30 @roro-707 @qualitygiantshoepsychic @cerealfrdinner797 @ara-mitsue @gray-444 @tanakasimpcorner @rintarovibes @jellien @everytimeswift @bongofrito

[goshi-kun]

Nekoma with an Intimidating Manager Who's Actually a Softie

Summary: you have a pretty intimidating aura but that doesn't stop the train of love that comes with managing the nekoma high volleyball club!

Nekoma x gn reader!! :)

Warnings: kuroo tetsurou 😐 jk i love him haa ha 

When you first started managing for Nekoma things started off really weird. There was some kind of tension between you all that you didn't quite understand.

The day you had been introduced to the team is when the tensions arose. You had known Kuroo since he was in one of your classes and he was extremely good at getting on every last nerve in your body- 😭 He finally got you to agree to become their manager after many weeks of pestering on his end.

***

"Oh, just so you guys are aware. I got someone to be our manager." Kuroo really didn't think it was gonna be as big of a deal as it was but everyone was immediately interested in who the new mystery manager was!

Questions like, "WHO!!??" "How do you know them?" "Are they cute??" "What's their name??" flew through the gym.

"Calm down jeez. Their name is Y/n and I advise against bombarding them with questions when they come by after practice tomorrow." Kuroo then left it at that. Only bothering to answer one of the many questions lmao.

It was the day after Kuroo brought you to the team's attention. You were kinda nervous about meeting them. They were all huge volleyball boys 🧍...you weren't scared exactly but you were worried that they would be put off by you. You had a bit of a reputation…

You didn't really talk to people. Not because you didn't like them just because you didn’t really care? You didn't need socializing to survive so you kinda kept to yourself most of the time.

People started to become pretty intimidated by you. You had no clue why, but you also didn't mind at the time and just let people think what they wanted.

So you can expect that when you walked into the gym for the first time your intimidating aura was the first thing the boys noticed.

You stood by the door you had just opened kinda confused on what to do next. All eyes were on you instantly and you were desperately trying to find Kuroo in the small crowd of GIANTS! You did eventually and Kuroo jogged over to you so he could introduce you to the team properly.

“Okay guys this is Y/n. They're gonna be our new manager so be normal please.” The gym was quiet for once. Everyone was giving you strange looks. They weren't necessarily glaring at you, but it was definitely uncomfortable in a way. You, wanting to make a good impression tried to lighten the mood.

“Woah, stare daggers at me any longer and I might bleed out.” Okay yeah it was morbid, but c’mon you were trying here!

Yeah things were definitely awkward to start out. No matter what you did the team was always so..intimidated by you? You weren’t quite sure. All you knew was that Yaku avoided you, Teketora was 10x more anxious near you than any other person you’ve seen him around, and Kenma wouldn’t even dare look your way. Kai and Kuroo tried to reassure you by saying that it was normal behavior for them, but you knew deep down what was up.

But, at the end of the day, you needed an extracurricular activity and you told Kuroo you would be a manager. Not wanting to go back on your word you decided to stay.

In the beginning of your volleyball journey it was like the manager and the team were in two separate worlds. The most interaction that would be between you all would be when you gave them water bottles. Jeez you even made that look scary. You didn't mean to be so intimidating or whatever, but it was just your pure nature as a person.

It worked for you in the end. You weren’t bothered by the lack of people's presence and actually felt unburdened by it at some points, but that didn’t mean you didn't want to at least become acquaintances with the team you would be spending a fair amount of time with.

You left practice early one afternoon and Kuroo took this as a chance to talk to the team about the awkward aura that was there every practice. It had been a week since you became manager and Kuroo couldn’t help but feel guilty. He was the one that got you into this predicament after all.

“Alright everybody! Gather up we need to talk about a few things.”

The group conversation started off with the “rudeness” that the team members were displaying. Leave it to Kuroo to add a lecture into what was supposed to be a simple conversation.

Kuroo placed his concerns and was curious as to why the tensions were so high. See Kuroo never looked at you as intimidating. A loner? Well sure, but that’s nothing he’s not used to. He meshes well with people like that. So you can only imagine his surprise when the team confides that they are actually pretty scared by your presence.

He totally thought they were dumbasses- cue another Kuroo mom lecture.

At the end you can say the team started looking at things from your perspective. They didn’t have much to say on the matter and the situation seemed to end there. That is, until next practice.

When you walked into the gym the following day you were greeted by one awkward wave from Inuoka. You waved back, but you were still confused. The energy between the players and you was still awkward, but now it kinda felt like..pity awkwardness? Whatever it was, it seriously weirded you out at first.

You decide to brush it off and continue with your manager duties. Until you get a call from your younger sister's school.

To your surprise it was your sister on the other end of the phone, not the school officials. She had gotten really hurt during her break period.

“What? Are you okay? Oh my god breathe it’s okay-” The panic in your voice could be heard throughout the gym and caught everyone's attention.

The conversation was mostly you worrying for your sister and making sure she was okay. After you were reassured you ended the call.

You were startled when you realized half of the team was looking at you with unreadable expressions. Was that- Was that shock on their faces?

“Um..uh Kuroo-san I’m sorry, but my younger sister needs me to pick her up. Our mother isn’t available. Is it alright if I leave?” You rush the words out of your mouth. You were made uncomfortable after realizing everyone heard you become your softer self while on the phone with your dear sister.

“Go ahead Y/n, no worries.” Kuroo was even surprised by your parent-like nature when it came to your younger sibling.

You exit the gym leaving the team beside themselves. Had they really read you the wrong way this whole time? In all honesty they felt extremely guilty. Even Kenma thought about how he had avoided you.

Now the next day was something else-

You enter the gym after your last class like normal, but somethings different. Your body is being pushed to the floor by..one..two..seven?? People?? Or maybe more! You couldn’t quite tell because you were being smothered in a group hug right as you walked through the doors.

“We’re sorry Y/n!!! We appreciate you!!” “We’ll never avoid you again!!” Yeah, they were babies and most certainly dumbasses, but you couldn’t deny that it felt good to have some support on your side. You finally felt accepted into this group of unique characters and it made your heart happy.

After that day things start becoming amazing. Your dynamic with the team is something people envied. You would help them practice and they would help you study, babysit, vent, whatever you needed they were there!

It’s known Nekoma isn’t the most popular group in the school, but the people who were more than non supporters made themselves less known when the school found out you were the manager. The team was grateful to say the least.

You were there to protect them from harm like some kind of hero and you were perfectly fine with that. It’s not like you were gonna go rumble with random kids to “defend the team's honor” -Kuroo’s words not yours. But it did feel nice to be somewhat of a protective blanket and they would give you the same energy in return.

Some weirdo bothering you? Well congrats you now have about 10 bodyguards. You’re welcome.

Kenma even lets you play his games when you’re bored during practice. He always reminds the team that you're the only one he tolerates-

Kuroo is still Kuroo and you were glad to have him a solid supporter during this whole thing. Yaku and Teketora warmed up extremely quickly. Yaku because you were another strong minded person he could agree with and Teketora because he thought you were “badass”.

The first years warmed up to you as well! You were honestly a parental figure and yeah it was weird getting used to having a whole volleyball team as your children, but hey that’s life.

In the end the team and you create an amazing dynamic. Yeah it was a bit of a rocky start, but that’s the past. You had many more memories to make with your new found family. <3

Thank you for reading 🤍

~~~

well um- yeah this is a thing. idk i had the urge to write something random so take this- 😭 okay love ya’ll stay hydrated 🤍

[kirieshhhka003]

I just wanted to say I love your writing a lot already. Would you be willing to do a yandere Illuso? If you need a prompt from that list I really liked “Killing for you is my favorite hobby”. That’d be a real interesting prompt for any of La Squadra! Thank you in advance ❤️

Thank you for your support and request, sweetie💚

Prompt 19: “Killing for you is my favourite hobby.”

Pairing: Illuso x reader

Warnings: gore, yandere behavior

Killing for you is my favorite hobby

You were sitting on a ground, your face was covered in tears and blood. You were watching your always kind and amiable boyfriend tormenting a corpse of a poor guy - well, that what remained of him. You couldn’t move a muscle, all you were able to do is quietly sobbing and begging god to end this madness up.

How did you end up like this?

It was a great day, you woke up in a surprisingly great mood, you were full of energy and strength for a new day. After taking a shower you decided to surprise your boyfriend with his favorite meal. You got to cooking and next few hours you spend by chopping vegetables, mixing ingredients, frying and baking. You tried to cause as little noise as possible, so you won’t wake up your boyfriend. And finally, your culinary masterpiece was ready so you decided that it’s time for your beloved to wake up.

- Honey, wake up, breakfast is ready and waiting for you. - You softly whispered in his ear while gently stroking his back. A young man slightly opened his right eye and looked at you kinda disgruntledly. For a few minutes he was just laying in your shared warm bed, enjoying a caress you were giving him, and when his mind was able to think properly, he asked:

- Why did you wake up so early? - you could hear a note of discontent in his voice, but moment later his tone switched to sweet and gentle, he looked at you lovingly and asked with a happy smile - What did you cook? - he looked like a fat lazy cat, waiting for his owner to feed him already, this sudden change made you chuckle a little.

- Lasagna, and you better hurry up, or it’ll completely cool - you answered and slightly pinched his cheek.

After breakfast you both, full and satisfied, decided to watch TV. As usual, there was nothing interesting to watch and Illuso was just mindlessly changing channels in an attempt to find something worthy. You were so bored, and a sudden idea came up to your mind.

- Hey, Illuso - you said in a slow drawl and ran your fingers through his soft brown hair.

- Whaaat - he replied in a same whining way, accepting your caress. He leaned towards your face and kissed you softly, what almost made you forget what you wanted to say.

- Let’s go for a walk, please? I’m so bored, I wanna go out somewhere nice. Maybe we’ll have a date, huh? - you said kinda clingy, slightly whimpering and looking at him with a puppy dog eyes. Your boyfriend gave you a “are you kidding me” look, you could see that he didn’t expect this question. He looked back at the TV screen and pondered about something for a while. When you gave up on the idea of taking a walk, Illuso said:

- You know, why not? It’s boring to stay at home all day long and do nothing. Moreover, an idea with date is cool, whe didn’t go out for a while. What do you wanna go? - your mood jumped up immediately, a happy wide smile appeared on your face.

- Shopping! - you shouted and hugged your boyfriend tightly. - Shopping! Shopping!

- Why am I not surprised? - replied Illuso and hugged you back.

***

Everything went well, you bought a lot of different stuff, your wardrobe was waiting for a few new things. It was a wonderful day, you two had a lot of fun. The evening was coming on and you decided to come home. You planned to buy some snacks on the way back and have a movie night.

Suddenly you heard male voice referring to you:

- Hey babe! Yeah, I’m talking to you! You wanna hang out with me tonight, huh? C’mon, you won’t regret it, I promise! - You turned around to see a person who was talking to you. It was a young man, maybe the same age as Illuso, he was slightly drunk, but you could see that he really meant what he said. You looked at Illuso but it seemed like he didn’t even notice someone talking to you.

- I-I’m sorry, but I’m with my boyfriend, so can you leave us? - You said stuttering, your voice was trembling.

- Boyfriend? This guy? Oh, c’mon, look at me, I’m way better than he is! So, let’s go with me! - He reached his hand to wrap it around your shoulder, but on the halfway it was intercepted by Illuso. He looked at the stranger with a purest smile on his face and said:

- Oh really? Well, I’d like to go with you too. What is that? You don’t like this idea? Well, if so, I want to show you something, let’s go! - Illuso grabbed both you and this guy and led you two somewhere. It took a few moments for man to realize what happened, but it was too late.

Suddenly you realized that something was off about this place, you were in a downtown area, but there were no people around. But how? Just a moment ago those streets were full of passers by.

- The fuck you want from me, you weirdo?! - A young man wrenched his hand out from Illusso’s grip and stepped back, ready to fight. When he looked down on his fists he noticed that something was wrong.

- What? Where the hell my left hand gone? - A few moments later a piercing cry split the silence of an empty streets. Dark, almost black blood gushed out of his wound, the man fell on his back and started to roll on the ground in pain and agony. You looked up on Illuso and saw that he was holding something in his hand, when you looked closer you understood that that was this guy’s missing arm.

A huge lump appeared in your throat, tears started to fall down your cheeks. Illuso came closer to man, swirling on the ground, and stepped on his chest.

- So you’re saying that you’re better than me, huh? Well, this whole situation proves that you were wrong - a smug smirk appeared on his face as he moved his foot from guy’s chest to his neck and than shifted all his weight on this foot. You could hear this poor guy’s bones cracking under the pressure that Illuso caused.

You backed from them two but your trembling legs weakened and you fell right on the ground. This poor guy was still alive when Illuso tore out his other arm. And again, and again, and again, he was tearing his body apart like a butcher carving up a carcase. Illuso didn’t even try to be tidy - he was covered in blood from top to toe, some of it got on your face and mixed with tears.

- See? That happens to everyone who gets in our way. But you don’t have to worry about that, I’ll continue to take care of it by myself. And, to be honest, killing for you is my favourite hobby - Illuso smiled softly at you and returned to the deed.

You were sitting there, covered in blood and street dust, trembling from cold and fear, quietly sobbing and watching your always kind and amiable boyfriend tormenting a corpse of a poor guy - well, what remained of him.

Masterlist

It was very hard for me to write all this violence scenes, so this was the first and the last time I wrote gore

[aineirisha]

What I confessed while daydreaming

It all started that night, that dreadful night. It all started with their threatening voices of fake silk. It all started with their eyes on you ready to devour you, ready to take away what was rightfully yours. 

It all started with ignorance. 

Myths and legends and things that are not human.

It all started...

Or perhaps it started centuries ago, you couldn't tell. You never really knew...

Things that are not human...

Stories that don't belong to humans...

And yet... 

You were...

Human...

...frightened by their energy, by the way they looked at you.

You couldn't trust them. No matter how they tried to convince you, you wouldn't trust them, your instincts told you not to. All your senses screaming at you, 

"RUN!!" 

But you couldn't move. You didn't understand. 

Why were you so scared? Why weren't your legs responding? Why couldn't you stop quivering? Why were those men...?

"Do not worry Hime-sama, we will not hurt you"

"We are just here to please you"

"Let us please you, Hime-sama"

"We are just going to play a little game, shall we Hime-sama?"

But they did not carry toys with them. No dolls or balls, no wooden horses.

What were four men trying to play with a seven year old girl?

Why are these men trying to play...

... With me?

You raised your eyes to meet theirs and fear took over. Thirst for power dripping from their gaze, running through their veins. 

You shed no tear, you voiced no scream, you made no expression. 

The moment their hands were over you, your chakra unfolded, piercing their bodies, breaking their bones, and exploding their organs. 

A lot of blood was shed that night, not one single drop was yours.

It all started that night with that dreadful feeling. 

The power of destruction. The drunkness that comes with it. 

 It started with you, with all that you never really knew... 

Urging you to flee...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Working at that restaurant had turned out to be an excellent choice. It gave you enough money to sustain yourself and the opportunity to meet the daily life in the village. Every day you got the chance to practice all that you couldn't practice on the training grounds. Your power was about sensations and emotions. To recognize those emotions you had to be around living things, preferably humans, and what better place than a restaurant. 

Dozens of different chakras came into the restaurant daily. Each time they became easier to identify and distinguish. Bit by bit colors started to appear and, if you concentrated enough, you could even perceive each one of the 7 pools of chakra. 

It was very challenging at first. Allowing yourself to be affected by other people's energy was a burden really heavy to handle. Lots of emotions were mixed in that closed space. And it could hurt, to feel other people's feelings as if they were your own. It was overwhelming.

Some time ago you had found your peace extending your own chakra around you far enough so that other's energy couldn't reach your core, you strengthened your vibrations to a point they were stronger than everybody else's, preventing your energy and emotions from being polluted with those around you and prevailing over them. And now that you needed to move forward, that you wanted to learn about control, you had to make your peace aside to prioritize knowledge. Ironic. 

It was an exhausting exercise, way more exhausting than shinobi training. But it was rewarding, what for so many years you did by pure intuition, now you were doing consciously. 

Besides, it wasn't all dark and gloomy. Your power gave you the possibility to have things your way if the situation turned out to be more than you could handle. That usually meant, as a result, a feeling of tranquility, a feeling of certainty that it was all gonna be ok.  The power was way easier to bear when people's energy was bright, so it was kind of for selfish reasons but the results were convenient for everyone. If needed, making other people feel at ease was the easiest thing to do; it didn't hurt, it protected your core from other's pain or low-frequency emotions -usually negative- and it always ended up working in your favor.  All you had to do was extend your chakra and sync your vibrations to the ones of the human in question. Truth was, you didn't have to do it on purpose anymore, your vibrations were so strong everyone else just synced to them almost by accident. 

Lots of clients came to the place when you started working there for that exact reason. Unconsciously, everyone kept coming back to feel that lightness, that warmth.  

Nevertheless and despite everything, manipulating emotions wasn't your favorite thing to do even if it was for a good purpose. Life felt more real when you let others be honest. 

That and... maybe if you didn't fear your wounds that much you could... 

Maybe if you could let go of the past... 

Maybe if you weren't so scared of your own darkness...  

When it came to your power you were always careful. Perceiving chakra and observing its behavior was a safe zone and you found the way to work from there. It was like experimenting. Sometimes you'd try with certain words or phrases, other times facial expressions, and you awaited the reaction. It was particularly interesting when you found an energy that changed with the presence of another person, whether it was a loved one or a hated one. 

********

The afternoon was perfect. The sun was up, shining bright and warm, only cooled by the blowing of the wind. The sky was blue and eventual clouds floated miles above your head. The day went by at work without much to worry about. Megumi-san was kind of a weirdo and you two got along perfectly. She was teasing and playful. You were always joking and laughing. 

You took a deep breath and looked up to the sky. Some birds were flying by. You smiled. The sound of your steps on the ground made everything feel real. 

The buildings were all painted with messy patterns that seemed to have no order or purpose. Maybe there was going to be some kind of festival or something... 

No, the paintings were too messy to look good. That couldn't be for decoration. 

What happened here?

And then you bumped into him. Green goggles on his forehead, blonde spikey hair, evil giggles, with a bucket and a painting brush on his hand. 

 You had felt his energy a block ago. 

Was he trying to get revenge?

Was he just playing games? 

It felt like both. A dark type of amusement. A mischief. He knew he was doing wrong and he was enjoying it. 

As you approached him, the feeling of mischievousness increased. 

Intrigued by the kid, you walked towards him and stood by his side. With your hands in your pockets, you contemplated his painting. 

"Is that a hat?" you asked, tilting your head trying to get the shape of the drawing.

He turned around to see you with a defensive attitude, used to people scolding him for everything. 

"Maa maa, nee-chan, it's not a hat, it's a snake, see? It has an eye" he said while pointing at the spot on the lower edge.

"But why does it have a...That?" you were certain that you had never in your life seen a snake with a bulge, that looked more like a camel with no legs. 

Or a hat...

"It's fat cause it ate the entire bowl of ramen, dattebayo," the blonde said while nodding, a huge smile on his face. He seemed really proud of his creation. 

You laughed noisily, completely amused by the kid's imagination. 

A neighbor came out of the building, shouting.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, LITTLE BEAST?!!" He threatened as he started walking towards the child furiously.

The blonde stared back at him for an instant and panicked. 

"RUUUN!!" He shouted at you as he sprinted to get as far away from there as possible. 

You did as told not giving it a thought. That man seemed terrifying. 

When you two finally stopped, you were safe, many streets away. You paused to catch your breath. He was already searching for his next victim with a malicious grin. 

He was punishing the people, you realized, and by doing so he was getting himself into so much trouble. 

Punishing them for what?

"Hey kid" you called him. "I know of a fence that is in desperate need of some painting" your house wasn't that far away. 

He followed you ready to attack, wielding the brush like a kunai. 

Your fence was wide enough to keep him entertained for a while. 

You took the lead, dipped your fingers in the bucket, and started doodling on the wood. His mesmerized gaze fell on you like a stray of sunshine. Finally, he had a partner in crime, and it wasn't Choji or Shikamaru, it was an adult. 

He didn't feel like the enemy anymore. 

You two started playing. Your clothes were probably going into the trash after this, the paint wouldn't wash off. 

"Too bad we don't have other colors," you sighed, enjoying your time with the kid. He had a nice laugh and three marks on each of his cheeks that made him look adorable. It had been a long time since you last played with a child.

"Maa, maa; when I become the Hokage I will have all the colors I want and people won't tell me what to do" he smiled satisfied. "You can come paint with me"

The Hokage?

"Why are you painting fences?... and walls?" 

That's not exactly something the Hokage would do... or maybe but not like this.

"I want everyone to acknowledge me," he said decisively.  

His energy amazed you. It felt like he was... broken?... but more than broken, cracked. It was like cracked glass refusing to shatter. His determination and wishes holding him together, helping him stand (like a tape or a band-aid). There was no nostalgia in him. Only the hopes that things would be better in the future. No, it wasn't hope... it was... 

Certainty.

You smiled to yourself with a lump in your throat and resisted the urge to hug him.  

What could have happened for a child to be so fractured?

And yet he seemed so brave, so strong. 

For a moment you forgot about his malicious shenanigans. His vibrations were so strong they were competing with yours. 

"You missed painting here" you teased him, passing your dirty fingers over his recent doodle. 

He pouted. "You need a little color too, nee-chan" his brush painted over your lines. "Now it's a clown" he giggled.

You burst in laughter. He looked at you surprised by your reaction. You hadn't scolded him or criticized him once. You were definitely a weirdo. 

He started laughing too. 

The game began, whoever covered most of the fence would win. He was already winning.

"That's not fair!! You have a brush!!" you complained. He stuck out his tongue to mock you in response.

"Naruto!!" you heard Iruka shout at the kid. "What do you think you are doing??!!!" he quickly grabbed the child's hand. 

You signaled Iruka to stop, your hands over your neck telling him to cut it. Naruto didn't know that was your house. As far as he was concerned you were manging a mischief together. 

Iruka looked at you startled and let go of Naruto's hand. 

"Iruka-sensei hi" you waved at him. It was time for your lesson. 

"You know each other?" Naruto was suddenly very confused. He stared at you and Iruka back and forth.

"Yeah, he's my sensei" you smiled. 

"You are a student?!" he was shocked.

You nodded. 

"But you look old"

"Hey! I'm not that old!" you put your fists on your waist, pouting.

Naruto thought about it. Maybe you weren't that much of an adult, not of the same kind as Iruka at least, or as the villagers. Old people don't do funny things and they don't paint fences. 

"Naruto go clean yourself" Iruka took the bucket and the brush away from him and sent him home. 

"YN-san I apologize for Naruto, he's just... I'll make it up for you" he said.

"Don't worry" You giggled "I bumped into him while he was using the village as his canvas and a man came out to beat the crap out of him so I thought it would be better if I just..."

 Teamed up with him. Take him out of there. Be friendly. 

"I'm sorry," he repeated while looking at your dirty fence.

"Don't be. It has potential. This right here looks like an eagle, and if I fix these, they could be mountains, and these right here..."

He just looked at you and smiled. You were kind and tender. Not ruled by people’s ideas of how things had to be done. You always... behaved unexpectedly. It was as if you could see beyond things. Whether it was a landscape behind the doodles or a friend behind a missbehaved boy, you never settled with appearences. 

 There is always more than meets the eye. There are always things we don’t really know.

But you wanted to know...

"Is he the student you always talk about?" Of course Iruka had told you about him. Sometimes you didn't even train and all you did was talk about your lives. Whenever any of you had a bad day you would always put support first. It was pretty comforting to have someone to talk to. Iruka's energy was one of the warmest, sweetest, most compassionate you've ever met, you admired that. It made you feel safe. 

"Yeah" he scratched his head.

"Oh, I get it now" you laughed as you got into your house. 

************

CH 4  CH 6

Masterlist

A/N: Ok, guys so first of all sorry for my grammar, spelling, syntaxis, and everything that has to do with writing structure. English is not my first language and boi this is harder than I thought (I'm better at writing in Spanish I promise)

Second: reader has been through a lot and I mean A LOT. She's been through so much I have enough material to write an entire ff about it like hell maybe even two who knows, so I'm struggling with how to tell you all that information. Maybe you won't get to know everything, just the important things. Bottom line she's had a rough time. (I'm actually a little bit scared to write that part cause it's pretty angsty, like right now she chooses peace and nice feelings but back then she didn't and turned her life into hell but I don't feel my writing is good enough to do justice to all that so... hope I get better) that doesn't mean there won't be angst i mean, there's no way to avoid angst when it comes to kakashi, so wish me luck.

And third: I suck at drawing so I can't show you what her power, energy and vibrations and all look like. I hope I was clear enough to give you a general idea (I'll probably get deeper into it later) but if I wasn't please let me know and I'll explain it better, it would be soooo helpful to know what you understood. 

And last but not least: THANKS FOR READING. let me know if you want to be added to the taglist :3 <3

@femboyneji @spnningtop @strawberrycakesstuff @cosplayartponypoli @ren-hatake

[give-seconds]

Survival of the Fittest

Summary: Welcome to the Badlands of Montana! This will be the setting of our game. What’s the name of the game? Simple, make it out alive. In which you and Jaemin are kidnapped and forced to try and find your way out of the Badlands.

Masterlist | Main Masterlist

“What’s that?” Jaemin asks as he walks over and picks up his sweatshirt.

“I think it’s a walkie-talkie.”

As soon as the words leave your mouth, the device comes to life. “Numbers 24 and 25.”

---Part 5

You and Jaemin freeze at the voice, turning to look at each other with wide eyes. Once Theos’ voice continues, your attention is brought down to the device in your hand.

“In past experiments, I have refrained from talking to my subjects until later, but I decided to make an exception for you.

“In the past, I’ve had subjects that took a day to move from the starting point; I’ve had subjects that started the game by going in the wrong direction; I’ve had subjects that missed the first bag; and even some that missed all three. But you two, you two are by far my most promising batch.”

As the words hit your ears, your stomach flips. His voice is like the voice of a proud father whose child won first place in a competition.

“Now, you might not be the first batch to escape, but there’s no doubt in my mind you two will be the cream of the crop so to say.”

“If we’ve already proven ourselves, why don’t you tell us we’re walking in the right direction? Rewarding good behavior and all.”

You’re surprised by the strength in Jaemin’s voice. Despite not having seen Theos, his voice alone is enough to scare you in a way you’ve never felt before.

“Instead, I’ll tell you why I chose you two to be my final subjects.”

You and Jaemin nervously glace at each other before looking back down at the device in your hand.

“I first saw you, Jaemin, at the grocery store. I remember thinking how weird it was that someone so young was shopping with someone even younger. So I followed you home, and I waited. I waited for three days, installing one of my cameras across the street so I could watch you without being there, and your parents never came home. So I went back to your house, waited until you and your sister were at school, and then broke in.”

Your head snaps up to look in Jaemin’s direction just in time to see the color slightly drain from his face. Your doom always had random people in it, your roommate is somewhat of a party person. Even if the parties were just five friends sitting on her bed, you learned to get over the uncomfortable feeling of random people in your space.

Jaemin shared a house with his family, presumably the house he and his sister grew up in. The idea of someone coming into something so private, someone as sick as Theos, was nauseating.

“Turns out, your parents left for Africa last year. You were left to take care of little Emma, even if she was a freshman at the time. Because that wasn’t the first time you had to take care of her, was it?”

“I don’t - this can’t have anything to do with why I’m here.”

Your heart breaks slightly how comparatively shaky his voice is, and it took everything in you not to look at him. He doesn’t need your questioning looks on top of everything else.

“Oh, but it does. You’ve taken care of Emma since you were in middle school, but not because you wanted to. If I learned anything from your parents’ service journal, they left you alone as soon as you turned ten. But if I had to guess, they weren’t around much before then.

“Reading those journals, along with that note Emma wrote you for your birthday thanking you for taking care of her, I knew I had to have you.”

Theos pauses, and you take the opportunity to try and mentally prepare yourself for “your story.”

“And then I saw you, y/n. If I’m being honest, I don’t know what first drew me to you. Maybe it was the countless hours you spent in the student lounge or the library while your roommate invited people over.”

You already felt sick for Jaemin, knowing this sicko had not only been watching him and his sister, but broke into their house and looked through their things. But knowing all that wasn’t enough to prepare you for the different kind of sickness that coursed through your body at the sound of your name.

“Or maybe it was the fact that after learning your name and searching for any social media, I couldn’t find any. I mean you have to admit, someone in this day in age not having any social media is pretty interesting. So when I wasn’t watching Jaemin, I was trying to find information on you. Eventually, I found your ex-husband, and I was shocked for the second time during my investigation. Here you are, a freshman in college, and you’re already a divorcee? I had to find out more. Skipping all the boring details, I managed to find out about your family.

“Your mom had been married three times, two alcoholics and one weirdo. If I’m right – that is, if Sam is right – you were kicked out at age 15? He also said that when you were kicked out, you lived with your dad. That he would refuse to take his medicine and would have seizures. He said you were always the person who had to take care of him.”

“Oh my God,” you whisper, bringing your hand to cover your mouth in shock.

You know the only person who would know that is Sam; he’s the only person you’ve told this to. You may not have spent a lot of time together, but the only condition Sam had for giving you the ticket here was that you told him about your life.

“I know you’re doing this as a test, but please tell me he’s okay?” You can feel Jaemin’s eyes on you, but you keep your eyes trained on the device.

“See, that’s the second plot twist I found in my research about you. Why would your ex-husband care so much about you? And judging from the fact he’s the last person you texted, I’d say you don’t hate him. After some convincing, I got Sam to tell me why you two got a divorce. He wants to love you, but he can’t. He’s aromantic.

“He told me he didn’t want to get too close to you in case you caught feelings for him. So instead of befriending you, he acted as cold to you as he could. He told me he could see how much you were struggling and that he liked it; it was easier for him to learn about your troubles instead of dealing with his own.”

“I know all this, I’m asking if you’ve hurt him.”

After hearing the strength in your voice, you understand how Jaemin was able to speak so confidently before. It isn’t about actually feeling in control, it’s about not letting the man spitting hurtful words at you win.

So yes, the reminder that even though you pretended not to know why Sam helped you, you knew why. That even though you told Jaemin he probably saw you as a charity case, the reality is, he saw you as a distraction. He used your problems to hide from his own, drinking in your life stories to ignore the fact he didn’t fit into the mold society had set.

He told you all this through a letter, apologizing for using you and acting the way you did. He explained that even though it started as a way to hide from his problems, it ended up

confirming the doubts he had. “I can’t stay married to you” he had written, “but if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. I owe you.”

When you read that, it wasn’t that he had used you that hurt most. It was that he was the one person you thought wouldn’t have the energy to be fake to you. You always thought Sam was just bored and looking for something to fix. He never tried to help you fix those relationships, instead offering a way out. It was refreshing to not have to deal with fake politeness.

As it turns out, he was fake from the very beginning. And after figuring that out, it was just easier to portray Sam as the man you thought he was.

“Did you love him? Or was he able to pull off that cold, distant personality better than I give him credit for?”

Theos’ voice draws you out of your thoughts, only to render you speechless once again. This entire time, the only thing you thought you had the upper hand on was that there was no one relying on you. You often pushed the thought of Jaemin’s sister from your mind. You know what it is like to be alone, and imagining that girl alone and scared for her brother’s safety made you anxious. With such thoughts for someone you didn’t know, you couldn’t help but feel relieved that no one was waiting for you.

Now that someone could be hurt because of you, someone you didn’t even love, you felt like you were suffocating. He had hurt you, but he didn’t deserve to be wrapped up in this.  

“I’ll let your silence speak for itself. You’ll be happy to hear that he’s safe with the subjects that escaped. I hope you feel special number 25, I haven’t had to kidnap anyone for information before.”

He laughs to himself, and you imagine he meant it as a genuine compliment.  

“As I said at the start of this game, I think you two are my most promising batch. You both have someone to live for, someone who depends on you. Both of you are fighters, not the type to give in. I thought these stories were important to tell you both, after all, trust is the important thing when trying to survive together.”

With that, the line goes quiet. A silence hangs over you two as you both continue to stare down at the previously live device.

“We um, we have to keep going,” he says quietly, breaking the silence. He lightly pushes your hand holding the walkie-talkie down to your side.

“Let’s change out the camera first.”

You shake your head, trying to push the conversation with your capture from your mind. Silently, you drop the walkie-talkie back into the bag and start looking for the cameras.

After you both exchanged the cameras, you transfer the leftover supplies from the old backpack into the new one. Before you had found the walkie-talkie, you were going to suggest that you two stop to eat. But now, and you’re sure the same is for Jaemin, you feel too sick to eat.

Silently handing him the bag, you can’t help but notice the shift in his attitude. You yourself are in no mood to partake in one of the many time passing conversations you two have come to have. But his attitude feels different, like he’s a shaken bottle of Coke ready to explode.

“Are you okay,” you ask timidly, not wanting to upset him anymore.

“I’m fine.”

“Jaemin-“

“No, y/n, no,” he snaps, turning to face you. “Just because we now know each other’s backstories doesn’t mean you get to do whatever this is. I’ve worked hard to make sure no one knows that about me and Emma. I called the schools for her when she’s sick, I taught her how to drive, and I’ve handled every finance that aren’t bills,” he scoffs, rolling his eyes. “My parents have the decency to do that for us. So don’t think just because you know this about me means I need your help. Because I don’t.”

For the second time in the past five minutes, a silence hangs over you two. You’re staring at him, a blank look spread across your face, as he stares back, breathing heavily from his sudden outburst.  

As shocking as it is, you can understand it. He’s feeling the same things you feel about your past.

Fear and shame.

Fear that because of his parents, he’ll be looked down upon. And shame because while he's afraid of being looked down on, he knows it’s justifiable.

“I’m sorry, you’re right. Just because I know that about you doesn’t mean I get to try and help you. God knows if any of us need help, it’s me. So let’s keep going.”

He looks at you, confusion replacing his previous hardened expression. You slightly smile at him, hoping to show him you’re on his side.  

“Come on,” you say, reaching out your hand to grab him and start walking. You’ve never been good at subtle comfort, but you’re hoping that by showing him you’re not going to judge him is a good start.

At first, he lags behind a few steps, letting you drag him. But when he eventually falls into step with you, he smiles at you over his shoulder, the same kind of smile you gave him.

Trust is everything when you’re trying to survive.

---

I’m sorry that took forever! I decided to join a few collabs to get over the writer’s block (which worked for the most part) and those ended up taking more time than I thought they would. 

I hope everyone has an amazing day/night, and I sincerely thank you for taking the time to read my stuff.  

Taglist: @drydrops891 

Previous | Next

[mostlymobilegames]

I'm most interested in seeing Malbonte's reaction to the MC's second assignment, the one with the race.

I guess the first one too, because it's basically the MC pushing a random mortal towards a good future or making her ruin it for shits and giggles. Either way, this is the MC's choice and it's not that crazy.

But the second one is when it gets serious, because this time there are actual instructions and Vicky is required to be a demon and I'm thinking about some possible outcomes.

So, if she kills the child, she's taking the demon's side, as the banner says, but this isn't necessarily demonic behavior, because she had orders and she couldn't prevent the little girl from dying either way. In comparison with the other assignments where she can be as chaotic as she wants AND change the course of the person's life, this time she has an actual objective... that doesn't change anything.

Now, this might or might not please Malbonte because it can be taken as the MC being cruel and coldblooded OR the MC being good at following orders, even if she isn't particularly happy about the task... or both, why not

But considering his reaction to Eragon's sister's death (genuine sadness):

And his response to "Your parents did the right thing murdering a kid":

I don't know how he'll feel about it. On one hand, the MC was basically forced to do this, on the other hand his parents did it out of desperation and love, not to keep the Balance, Harmony bla bla bla, BUT the little angel still had a possible future. Both kids were killed unfairly, but a mortal's destiny is written which is why the girl dies regardless of the MC's choice, while the angel could've lived a long life.

On the subordinating aspect, Malbonte could use this to appeal to Vicky's sense of "necessary evil". However, Adi says immediately afterwards: "Maybe you don't see it now, but you did the right thing. You're a fighter. This is the deed of a true leader". Leaving aside the similarities in the wording and both events, Vicky is characterized as a "true leader", which might not sit well with our one and only saviour Malbonte, who doesn't seem like the type to share a throne (although they do have that soulmate shit going on that makes literally zero (0) sense for now) so...

With the angel choice, it can also happen in different ways. Angel!Vicky has a strong sense of morality, or a "very limited understanding of what's right". This can make her more difficult to manipulate, just because her sense of good-evil is very strict and "the end doesn't justify the means", even if the end is better.

However, she still wants equality and a fair society without bloodshed. She lacks the arrogance and superiority complex of angels and genuinely wishes for a bright future where demons are on the same level... and that's what Malbonte says he's trying to achieve.

Also, the third assignment has a... strange banner. It doesn't say it will affect the future, it just says that "You pushed Beatrice to do a good/evil deed", so I'm wondering if it will matter at all, because banners don't normally appear for no reason, or if it was just for stats, since it's really vague and doesn't really hint at anything afterwards.

But the race one will definitely be the most interesting, because Malbonte could relate to the MC's struggle to do what she's assigned to do or what she thinks is right.

Also, this is completely unrelated to everything else, but I feel like there's a connection between Eragon's sister and the MC. Malbonte either knows something and doesn't trust Vicky enough to tell her or he doesn't know why they're connected either ("Why does it have to be us two?"- "Malbonte looked at me for a long time, as if trying to decide whether to tell me or not, but in the end, he just shrugged" and yeah, this makes it seem like he knows something, but he could also just have some speculations, since he wouldn't have been so freaked out about the visions if he was sure of wtf is going on). I think we can assume the angel girl was the only immortal who didn't treat Malbonte like a monster, a weirdo or someone he wasn't, she approached him with the typical childish curiosity, naivete and playfulness that weren't hiding some malicious intentions or desire to experiment on him. It makes sense that an experience like that left a forever lasting impression on Malbonte, especially if they had that cute moment with the pinky swear, considering he's never known a pure bond with anyone besides his parents, and even then the relationships can't be compared.

Now, going forward a few centuries, more or less, we have Vicky, who breaks a complete stranger out of a tower (in which he's been imprisoned for an eternity, only meeting with angels who taught him stuff, fucked with his brain and then left him to his loneliness) comforts him without asking for anything in return, feeds him healthy meals, worries about him 24/7 etc. Also, in their first meeting, Bont tells her "Your energy... I think I can trust you" regardless of the MC's path, as if he vaguely recognized her or the connection between them.

It doesn't seem like reincarnation is a possibility, since the biggest punishment, even for an immortal (🤡🤡), is death, but honestly it's so hard to tell what is and what isn't possible in HS's universe, and what's only exclusive for the birthright immortals or the Unclaimed or the MC. I mean, there is a weredragon that can be summoned telepathically like- at this point Vicky's father might turn out to be Eragon or some shit

[rainebowkitty]

Listen to Me and You’ll Have Nothing to Fear

It’s finally here, oh my g o d. Yandere bald Riddle Rosehearts x Reader in honor of cult leader @tsuisute and inspired by the sacrifices works of @muraenxdae and @nonsensical-twistedriddles​ 

Also, trigger warning for blood, leech abuse, and overall harmful behavior near the end of this fiasco work of literature (though it starts off surprisingly normal and just slowly descends into madness) 

Riddle Rosehearts was a practical dorm leader, someone who had never been tangled by the distasteful chains of love. He knew he never would be, at least not until it made sense to him. Love would just untidy his schedule and ruin his day. If it wasn’t convenient for him, it didn’t need to exist. 

Other than the color red, he had no relation to the disgusting emotion anyway. Not even when you arrived with your pretty eyes and calming smile. You had just been bothersome, always requiring him to take time out of his busy day to help you knot your disastrous tie or to remind you to study. It became apparent that he was going to have to tutor you whenever you failed the first test of the school year. It was clear you weren’t taking his suggestions, so he’d have to make you listen.

The two of you resided in the Heartslabyul common room with books, papers, and clipboards laying across your laps. Magic wasn’t a hard subject, yet you seemed to struggle exceptionally with it. Perhaps it was because you didn’t have an ounce of arcane energy in your bloodstream, but understanding it wasn’t that hard, was it? Maybe Riddle was just too used to the intricacies of a spell, how empowering the burst of light spiraling from one’s hand felt. It wasn’t difficult, yet you made it so with your confused expression and tiny frown. 

However, as time passed you seemed to understand. Your study sessions with Riddle started coming to a close, each aced test giving you more reason to escape his lecturing clutches. Riddle gratefully let you go with a stern promise to resume your study sessions with him if he caught another of your grades dropping. You hastily nodded, not planning to let so many of his lessons go to waste. Riddle didn’t have to help you, he could’ve forced an unlucky freshman to do it, but instead he had become your personal tutor. While you were thankful, it would be nice to have more free time once again.

Riddle had thought the same thing. He wouldn’t have to dance between drinking afternoon tea to arriving at your dorm for study sessions anymore. Still, how close the two of you had become was something unexpected. Again, you two had began traversing between his dorm and yours, the common room and the rose maze on days you two agreed to bask in the remaining daylight.

Did he miss you? That was unlikely. He had never particularly missed anyone before, never nurtured someone as he taught them the ways of his world while you shared tidbits of yours. He remembered the way you described something once; a giant machine that can transport you places. You said it was similar to a horse, but shinier. He had been intrigued until you revealed it was a car. It’s not like cars didn’t exist in the twisted wonderland, they were just impractical, especially for college students living in a campus easily navigated by foot. 

With annoying descriptions about something as simple as a car, why did he want to make excuses to see you? Why was it your side he’d stick to whenever his short height made it impossible to find Trey and Cater in the cafeteria? But most importantly, why did blood rush to his face at the sight of your smile or the brush of your hand against his as you both reached for a pencil? 

Actually, scratch that. Why did he feel the ugly green seeds of jealousy blooming in his chest whenever he witnessed you studying with none other than the Leech twins? It made sense to have a disliking towards Floyd seeing as that weirdo consistently teased Riddle with the degrading nickname of goldfish, but what had Jade ever done to the piping redhead?  

Perhaps it was the slippery eel qualities he shared with Floyd mixed with his overly mild personality. His kindness was truly unmatched, especially to his brother who he let get by with anything. The thought made Riddle sick, just as Floyd did now whilst poking you, breaking your focus. You were trying to learn something you didn’t know, and even if you went to the Leech twins over him, Riddle wasn’t going to easily accept Floyd’s attempts to pester you as you studied. 

He fumed towards the three of you, his heeled shoes annoyingly unable to make their normal satisfying clomping sounds on the carpeted library floor.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He hissed primarily at Floyd. Only when he noticed your clear alarm did he realize he sounded as if he was punishing you as well. He wanted to take back his harsh gaze, but something deep within told him just to press harder. Guaranteed results wouldn’t come from being merciful, even if that path might result in your gratified smile. 

“Helping,” Jade bowed his head a little as he responded, as if that made him any more innocent for dragging his disruptive brother along. 

“Maybe you are, but Floyd is just being a distraction,” Riddle huffed, foot tapping the carpet with an impatient, unsteady rhythm. “If he won’t leave, I’ll take over this study session myself.” 

“Very well,” Jade rose from his seat. “Come on, Floyd. The Heartslabyul dorm leader would rather us be elsewhere.”

“But I wanted to poke the goldfish,” Floyd pouted as Jade dragged him off. At least one of them had a brain enough not to bother a frustrated Riddle Rosehearts. 

“What was that about?” Riddle whispered harshly. “If you needed help, you know I’d assist you. Why did you go to them?” 

“I’m having trouble grasping the geology of this world,” you let the words helplessly tumble from your lips as your eyes pleaded for forgiveness. “Jade is the founder of the Mountain Loving Club. I thought he’d know better.” 

Your tango with words became too much for you, allowing you to slip up. You had said someone was better at something than Riddle. While you weren’t sure the boy was that narcissistic, his face definitely showed his offense at your claim. 

“I’ve studied any subject you can imagine for years,” he glared as his face grew red with rage. “Just because I’m not wasting my time in the Mountain Loving Club doesn’t mean I’m not well versed in my geology. How dare you assume otherwise.”

You had heard him yell, maybe even scream at disobeying first years before. Why did a shiver go down your spine whenever he whispered? He wasn’t even in your ear, but perhaps he was in your head. You almost felt helpless at the thought, but it’s not like he could read minds. You were safe, even as his tense form seemed so shaken with rage that the paper fibers of your textbooks thinned and paled under his pressing fingers. The remnants of a thank you danced on your lips as the tutoring session came to a close, but he had already turned on his heel and left by the time the first word left your mouth. 

He was furious, that much was certain. How much so would remain a mystery until you uncovered the truth.

~

Three days had passed since you last saw the boy, but he had certainly seen you. He watched the precise way you sipped your tea, the way he had taught you to do so. He noticed and kept track of every person you had spoken to. Each place you had been, so had he, only little red clumps of hair giving away that he was even present.

He was obsessed with you, but not so much the way you continued on as if he didn’t exist. On one hand he couldn’t understand the ongoing anger towards you, towards Floyd and Jade, towards the books you read and notes you took without him there. It was maddening, unexpected, and most importantly, inconvenient. So he began plotting ways to make it convenient, the red hairs on his head the worthy sacrifices made for a thorough plan of correction. 

It wasn’t more than two days later that a note was slipped under your dormitory door. You recognized the neat cursive as Riddle’s. It had only been marked time and time again on your schoolwork as he added notes and criticisms meant to improve you as a student. 

The letter looked more rushed than what was to be expected of Riddle. It also seemed to be written in red ink, something you didn’t know the boy to have. He preferred the regular black ink of the magic casting pen he kept secure in his uniform shirt pocket, so why the sudden change? Whatever it was, it only made the frantic looping of his handwriting seem more urgent. Preparing yourself for the worst, you rushed to his dorm room with purpose in your step. 

Upon arriving, you knocked knowing he wouldn’t appreciate you barging into his room. Even in crisis, you were smart enough to know Riddle appreciated his privacy. 

“Come in,” you heard him call, his tone much calmer from the last time you heard it five days ago. 

You opened the door slowly, your eyes drinking in the sight of the room as you searched for his short figure. He was nowhere to be found, nowhere at all even as the door slammed shut behind you with a swell of magic.

You swallowed down your panic, knowing it was just proper etiquette to close the door after a guest’s arrival. You then ventured to the center of the room, eyes scanning your surroundings as you notice an abnormally large red puddle leaking from behind the dorm leader’s bed. You cautiously investigate, uncovering the piled bodies of the Leech twins, blood pooling from their heads like the oceans they used to swim in. 

You wanted to scream, feeling the tense clumping of your vocal cords before a hand was clapped to your mouth, preventing you from making a sound at all. 

“You’re late,” Riddle’s voice creeped into the air, his breath raising the hairs on your neck as he remained close to you. 

“Didn’t you read what time you were supposed to be here in the letter?” His head tilted as he asked the question, his curiosity veiling all the rage in his system. “I wanted you to arrive before Jade, well, you saw what happened to him.” 

You indeed saw what happened to him as Riddle’s tight hold on you forced you to face the bodies. Your eyes squeezed shut, but Riddle had moved in front of you now. You were already breaking one of his rules by trying to block him out of your sight. 

“Open your eyes,” he commanded, his hands still harshly gripping your shoulders. 

One eye at a time, you made yourself gaze upon him. Only it didn’t look like him at all. Staring you in the face wasn’t the Riddle Rosehearts you’d come to know, but a stylish young man going bald minus two particular strands of royally red hair; the pieces sitting in the shape of a heart at the center of his forehead, only complete with his signature crown.

“Riddle,” you tried speaking but he put a finger to your lips. 

“You clearly don’t know what’s best for you if you enlist these eels as your tutors,” Riddle kicked Floyd’s unresponsive face with his heeled shoe. “So from now on you listen to me and only me. Got it?” 

You couldn’t believe this was happening. Riddle had killed two people for you? He had broken the very real laws enforced by the proper authorities just to tell you you were wrong? But most importantly, had the stress of it all really gone to his gorgeous, crimson hair? 

“I said,” suddenly he had flipped you around, pushing you into the nearest wall beside the corpses of the Leech twins. “Got it?”

You reluctantly nodded as you tried to swallow your fear. It appeared this was it for you. Your life would consist of his rules and games with hell to pay if you failed to obey. 

“But don’t fret,” he caressed your cheek, a sudden gentleness overcoming him. “By my hand, you’ll be perfect in no time. Doesn’t that sound divine?” 

He noticed your lips tremble in fear as you hummed in response. “Mhm,” you had hesitantly agreed before his lips met yours. With that one consoling, ensuring kiss went the final sprigs of Riddle’s hair, cast into the drying pool of leech blood along with his remaining sanity. 

If you happened to enjoy this (somehow) then feel free to suggest more silly (or serious) twst content like this! If you want more bald yandere stories (who wouldn’t) then check out the people that inspired me and their Malleus, Vil, and Jamil versions of this theme! They’re seriously awesome!

@tsuisute​ (for Malleus) @muraenxdae​ (for Vil) and @nonsensical-twistedriddles​ (for Jamil) <3

Thanks and come again, folks! 

[toomuchponytail]

Could you please do a prompt with a villain splits their personalities (whether separate entities or Jekyll/Hyde sort of situation.) One side is their cold, calculated, reserved persona and the other their kind, charming, caring persona that shows their hidden affections & love for the hero and it so happens the hero shares a somewhat hidden affection for the villain. Thus they both charming and flustering eachother. Bonus if the reserved one still has a bit of that affection but still hides it.

Oh, Anon, this, this is fantastic! The confusion! The possibilities! I totally loved Jekyll and Hyde, it was one of the three books I always carried around with me when I was in high school, so I’m definitely going to lean into that one, forgive me. I hope that I can measure up to this, I tend to be not so good at the whole romance thing, but here we go, I love this idea, I’ll try to do it due diligence, Villain came out a little less cold and calculating than I think you wanted? (They didn’t listen to me)  So if you’d like me to try again, just let me know!  (Also all the sorry for length, both of the prompt as well as the time it took for me to produce said prompt, for a long time there, the words weren’t working properly, I’m trying to reinstall an earlier version to see if that helps?) 

I hope that your day is as refreshing as a tall glass of ice cold water after something strenuous, picture waterfalls, ice caps, condensation, I hope today is the fulfilling of needs without worry for what will come next. Rest, acknowledge your needs and be refreshed. 

Hero had realized right away that something was different about Villain when they’d run into them at a small time gang-war several weeks ago, Villain had been far from their regular self, their dark eyes snapping with some magnetic electricity that made the hero feel all tingly–must be some evil plan. Villain had been leaning against one of the shipping containers arms crossed over their chest as fire rained around them, hero hadn’t even seen them at all until they’d had to duck out of the way of some idiot with a flamethrower. 

Then Villain had been there like they’d materialized, offering a hand to the gasping hero, a mischievous smile on their face.  

“Getting yourself into trouble without me huh?” The Villain had purred as they’d helped them to their feet, “What if I were all possessive and aggressive?” 

Hero was too confused to laugh at the Villain’s joke, they just narrowed their eyes, wiping soot across their face accidentally, “What?” Villain was never this…conversational, they tended between long silences and awkward monologues that the hero’s team had always teased was to impress them. In short they tended towards shy calculation which paid off into hard to beat plans, once when hero had admitted to Villain that they found them brilliant when they were both dangling over the remains of a ruined coal mine, Villain had blushed so red that hero was worried that they’d driven up their blood pressure. But that was normally, this Villain didn’t seen even a little embarrassed as they flirted with them shamelessly. 

The Villain snickered at their hero’s confusion, “It’s alright, I can share,” then they’d put their hands on hero’s shoulders, a move that hero would have immediately remedied if the Villain’s eyes hadn’t become so concerned, so serious, “Just be careful alright? I need someone to stop me, before you I was woefully successful.” 

“Did you hit your head or something?” Hero shouted above the groan of twisting metal around them, they knocked the Villain’s hands off of their shoulders to inspect their head. 

But the Villain only laughed, “I just decided to stop pretending that I don’t care about you,” Villain shrugged, “I’ve got to get back to work, some of these shipping containers are well stocked if you get my meaning.” 

Hero shook their head, “Now Villain I’m not letting you go until my medic gets a good look at you, you’re acting really weird, stay right here, I’ll be back,” but they’d been gone when hero had turned around, vanishing like they’d been made of smoke. 

Hero resolved to keep an eye on Villain, and whatever was responsible for Villain’s shift in behavior hero was determined to figure it out. 

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It would go without saying that hero hadn’t expected their day to end this way, they had just been going about the usual business, waiting for a text from the chief of police as they did their surveillance on an apartment that they suspected was one of the warring street gang’s hubs of operation. . 

They were in the team’s fake delivery van, alone this time, nobody had wanted to come with them, seeing how things turned out they were glad no one else had taken them up on the offer. 

It must have been around three in the morning, peak crime hours, but nothing had happened all day, and hero or not, their eyes were burning with exhaustion, it was way easier to stay awake when there were things to do. 

Right when they were about to call it a night they decided to swing by Villain’s hot spots, see if they could spot them, it had been a few weeks since they’d seen them at all, that wasn’t odd by itself, Villain normally went underground to plan, getting everything in place before they tried to accomplish whatever it was they were working on this quarter, but hero still had that odd run-in in their head, and they really wanted to make sure that Villain was okay.. They started the van, casting an angry glare at the apartment where nothing had happened, and drove down to the pier, nothing, just the moonlight reflecting off of the choppy water. 

They drove by the lower district, but it was almost eerily empty, not even one passed out drunk to take home. One the last stop, hero inwardly exalted, a dark colored sedan was outside of Villain’s favored chop-shop/car repair place. Hero went around, parking the car close enough to watch the sedan, but not close enough to be spotted, and readied themselves for some action. 

But their excitement went to waste, they watched the vehicle for more than thirty minutes before they felt their eyes start to burn with exhaustion again. Villain must be inside doing some work, they likely wouldn’t be out for several hours, hero groaned, and debated just going home, they smacked their head onto the steering wheel in frustration squeezing their eyes closed, trying to rid them of the burning scratchiness. 

There was a tap on the window. 

Hero’s eyes shot open, only to see Villain’s face at their driver’s side window, mischief glinting in their dark eyes, Villain motioned for hero to open the door, hero shook their head no, glaring at them, Villain rolled their eyes and motioned for hero to roll down their window. 

Hero froze, they almost didn’t do it, but they figured that they wouldn’t be doing their duty if they didn’t at least listen to what the Villain had to say, so hero rolled the window down about an inch and a half. 

“What do you want?” they demanded, still glaring at the Villain through the glass. 

“I wanted to ask if you always have such awful stakeouts? My guys and I have been watching you bash your head against the steering wheel for the last half-hour.” 

Hero flushed, but their voice was angry,  “I didn’t–It was just the one–Mind your own business weirdo, who watches people?!” 

“Isn’t that what a stakeout is?” Villain’s eyes were bright with laughter, they mimed slapping their forehead, “that’s why you’ve been having such a terrible time! You don’t know what you’re doing! Why don’t you let me in and I’ll give you some pointers?” 

“Wh-what?” Hero stuttered, “No? 

“Is that a question? C’mon, you’re more clever than that!” Villain grinned, not unkindly, in fact, hero was left realizing with an odd warm sort of feeling in their chest that the grin made Villain look cute, not that they were supposed to find their enemy cute, but, um, oh crap they found their enemy cute. 

Hero reddened, “I’m n-not!” 

“Alright,” Villain held up their hands in mock surrender to the flustered hero, “You’re not clever, but you said it not me.” 

Hero was taken by surprise at the Villain’s friendly ribbing, they were used to Villain being quiet, careful, sort of shy,  this Villain was…dashing? No, that wasn’t it, suave? That wasn’t exactly right either, whatever it was pushed them past cute–they were practically…Hero realized that they were staring at Villain, and not only that, staring at them and thinking about how attractive they were! Hero swallowed, reddening even further, “Get off of my van,” they growled, I’m going to have to get a handle on that… they thought to themselves. 

Villain was smirking back at them, no doubt because they’d just watched the hero stare at them in admiration for a few moments, “Alright, I’ll go,” they replied softly, the smirk never leaving their eyes, “But if you want to know what I’m up to just come over tomorrow, you know my place?” Villain took a half-step back, “Oh, and first rule of stake-out, and this will apply tomorrow, bring food, and maybe come in something a little more comfortable, that suit isn’t doing anything for you anyway.” 

Hero swallowed again, nodding distractedly, they didn’t trust their voice to try and throw one more digging remark, feeling hot and cold all at once, they’d never be so stupid as to show up and cater their own kidnapping would they? But they couldn’t stop the little flutter in their chest when they thought about the Villain’s smile. 

Oh this was so bad. 

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Villain was putting the finishing touches on their plan, sticking another color coded pin in the map of the city, humming absently, totally engrossed in their work. 

Everything had been going so smoothly now that they’d figured out how to focus their energy, no more drama with hero, only the clever planning that had gotten them the respect in the first place. Plus with their new energy focus they might just be powerful enough to defeat them! Were they a little worried about the lost hours over the last few week since they’d injected that mix of vitamins and biosourced proteins that was supposed to make their powers stronger? Maybe, but that was a problem for another day, besides nothing out of the ordinary had happened! They were fine, more powerful, and had given up on trying to get hero to like them, everything was going great! 

There was a polite cough behind them ripping them from their self adulation. 

Villain whirled around, their hand going automatically to their belt, already knowing that they wouldn’t find anything there, they hadn’t bothered to arm themselves for a peaceful night in plotting destruction. 

Stupid! 

Hero was standing a little ways behind them, it took them a moment to recognize them out of their suit, they were wearing…They were wearing their civilian clothes, holding a take-out bag? What the hell was going on? Villain’s face must have given away their obvious confusion. 

Hero cleared their throat, “Um, you said to meet you here?” They made a point of studying their shoes, lifting up the take-away bag like an offering, “I, uh, brought Chinese? I hope that’s alright?” 

Villain couldn’t say anything for a few long moments, they’d only ever dreamed of having dinner with hero, or at least, they had dreamed about it, but they were done trying to get hero to notice them in that way, right? “I’d never tell you to meet me here!” Villain growled, forcing their expression to look fierce, “I’m not sure what you’re planning hero, but this is highly irregular!” 

Hero’s face fell, if only imperceptibly, but they were looking at the Villain like they were trying to work something out, even if their face had gotten a little flushed, “Uh, yeah, you’re totally right, this was a trick, I–I poisoned the food, you got me,” they were trying to fold into themselves, thinking abstractly how lucky vampires were, being able to turn into a bat and fly away. 

 The Villain’s face felt hot, their heart fluttered like the traitor it was. Hero would never poison them, what were they doing? 

Villain almost let hero reach the door, they had the nerve to look a little dejected even, plus what the hell was going on? They had to ask hero why they thought that they had told them to meet them here, that was just good Villainy right? 

“Wait,” Villain felt their face get hot when hero turned around with some annoyed version of hope in their eyes, that dopey grin tugging at the corners of their mouth, shit, why were they looking at the hero’s mouth what was wrong with them!  “did you bring sesame chicken?” 

Hero didn’t answer for a second, like Villain’s question had come out of nowhere, then they held up the bag again, “uh, yeah, and moo shu pork and broccoli, but if this was a mistake or if you’re busy…” 

Villain shook their head, trying and failing to push all of their embarrassing thoughts away, hadn’t they gotten rid of those? 

Villain shook their head again, forehead still wrinkled in confusion, “It’s fine, I’m just, um…a little confused.”

Hero stood in the doorway for a second holding the bag before giving up on trying to figure out what Villain was planning and walking back in, they’d know soon enough anyway if this was a trap, damn, should have told someone where they were going…But that would have meant admitting that they thought they were going on a kind of date with their mortal enemy…They were so not having a handle on this. 

“So, what did you want me here for again?” hero said conversationally as they made themselves busy taking the takeout boxes out of the bag. 

Villain was frozen in their chair watching hero take the food out, feeling uncomfortable in having their enemy in their lair when they were planning…. Villain shot to their feet and pulled a curtain over their map board knocking the little tray of pushpins over as they went, “So that’s your game?” they accused when they were finished, “You wanted to see what I’m plotting and tried to catch me off guard with food?” 

Hero looked up obviously  frustrated, “You told me to come over! I said that already.” 

“And when did I do that? Do you think I wouldn’t remember talking to you? I never forget any of my run ins with you!” Villain realized with growing embarrassment that they’d just said far too much, but they tried to keep their face stern. 

Hero was looking back at them strangely, “Wait, you’re you right now, aren’t you?” 

“What?” Villain sputtered, “Who else would I be?” 

“I don’t know, but the last two times I’ve talked to you, you seem…” Hero flushed, far too attractively for Villain’s liking, “..Different.” 

“Different how?” Villain’s bewilderment was starting to shift to fear, it would explain all of their lost time, the weird inside jokes they now seemed to share with gang leaders and subordinates alike, it would explain why they were so tired all of the time. 

Oh shit, the trials had had some weird gene altering effects at first, but they’d gotten rid of them right? Right?! Plus they felt fine! 

Hero reddened further, “I don’t know, confident, um, flirty, I uh…” Hero gestured to the food, “I fell for it I guess?” 

Villain couldn’t stop their mouth from falling open, it felt like their thoughts all smashed to a halt with a scratching record sound buzzing in their ears, “You came here to go on a date with me?” They asked incredulously. 

“Oh don’t rub it in!” Hero responded crossly, “Like I said you asked me! You seemed pretty into the idea too!” 

Villain rubbed their temples and sat back down in their chair, “oh something is definitely wrong with me,” they murmured to themselves, hero looked a little offended.

“No! I like you okay? I can’t believe I’m talking about this!” Villain growled, “Listen,” they started finally, “We can unpack all of this later okay? Right now I need you to come with me to my lab and look at some samples, I think I may have somehow altered my genes.” 

“Oh that sounds bad,” hero looked both concerned and confused, “Can I ask how and why?” 

Villain shook their head, “I’ll explain when we get down there, as will you, about everything I’ve said and done over the last month that you know of.” 

“Alright,” Hero agreed, “But just to warn you it’s not much, just the two conversations.” 

“That I can’t remember, and apparently asked you out like I’d…that I don’t remember,” Villain burned with embarrassment what the hell was wrong with them? 

“Y-yeah,” hero cleared their throat and broke eye contact,  “should I bring the food?” They gestured to the still steaming Chinese on the desk. 

Villain shrugged, everything was already so weird anyway, “Sure, why not,  let’s just hope I don’t accidentally clone some rice or something.”

[undecidedpersonality]

“All the Bright Places” Book Review

By Jennifer Niven

4.75/5 stars

**spoiler free but read at your own risk**

Theodore Finch has been deemed the impulsive, weirdo, freak of his school for years now. Violet Markey has been apart of the popular group (cheerleader, famous web magazine, dating the most popular jock) since she moved from California a few years ago until her sister died and she stopped doing the things she was passionate about. So it is an odd sight to see both of them on the ledge of their school’s bell tower one morning. Neither know why the other is up there but from helping each other down (one pretending to save the other for the sake of their status), they form an odd relationship in the form of wandering their seemingly boring state of Indiana. CW: suicide, death (in the family), mental health/illness.

I feel like I have to come out right and say: This book had me sobbing at 1 am and absolutely wrecked me. I’ve only ever cried this hard over a book one other time and probably only ever shed a tear over a book maybe four or five times. So this is important that I was so torn up by this book but also so compelled to keep pushing forward and continue reading through tear clouded eyes. But on to the real talking points.

This book was fun and I loved how into Finch’s and Violet’s brain that we got. Despite neither of the main characters being super open to other people around them, I think it was important how much they admitted to us as readers and what they understood about themselves. With that being said, I think there is an important conversation to be had about mental illnesses and the labels that they create. Some people on Goodreads believed that it was too predictable and that it was bad that the characters “became their mental illnesses” but I argue that that is kind of the point. Why? Because with Finch, he didn’t define his illness first for us and then act that way, we found out so much later in the novel for us to reassess his behavior. Similar with Violet, her mental illness is never defined besides the obvious signs of grief and depression. They were very real to me and presented in ways that makes sense of being molded and having a relationship together.

I can’t think of an actual reason why I didn’t give this novel a five out of five stars but there was a hint of something missing. I think a very few parts of the writing were more bland which paled in comparison to the very beautiful thought processes of our main characters and their love for words––one through writing, one through song. It definitely wasn’t enough though to take me out of the reading because, of course, I still loved it. Some of the more intense scenes of fighting also could have packed in the punch of just how high energy the scenes were but I couldn’t perfectly picture the struggle.

And if I haven’t said it yet: I absolutely adored our main characters (and honestly even our side characters). They were the main drive of the story with how much they felt and the hate-to-love trope was done so wonderfully that the sudden thoughts of lust never felt forced or awkward but necessary to the pacing of the plot. I also enjoyed the constant dichotomy of the two nearly the entire novel, up until the very end. Their enjoyment to “wander” and explore parts of their state was also a unique and interesting way to bring the two closer together in a way that pushed them out of their comfort zones to show growth through each new place. It also made me want to find hidden wonders in my own state and Indiana. I could speak a lot more about how the end, despite making me extremely upset, made me angry at both characters but also understanding of both––but I won’t because too many spoilers of course.

Overall, I think readers who are huge fans of characters and character growth/development will love this book. Also fans of sappy contemporary stories as well as hate-to-love romance tropes that explore hard, but important, topics.